India~Spirituality~ The Cobra Temple

India is a country of great spirituality where people take their religious beliefs seriously and live them publicly. About 80% of the people are Hindu, 12-14% are Muslim, 5% or so are Christian and the rest are Buddhist, Jain, Sikh and a few Jews. Temples and mosques are everywhere. Hindus wear signs of devotion on their foreheads and days are punctuated by the call to prayer for Muslims broadcast over loudspeakers from nearby mosques. 
One of the earliest forms of religion is represented by a temple we visited in Kerala. It was an outdoor temple. We took our shoes off at the gate and walked about 300 yards to the altar area. The path was lined with large ceramic horses, painted and in various stated of deterioration. The horses are gifts from worshipers.  About 10 new horses are added every year and the most broken up are retired.
A focus of this temple is the five headed cobra and other mystical animal forms. The priest was welcoming and performed a small ceremony to give us the ashes for a blessing. Big festivals are held here and worship includes gifts of alcohol and tobacco to the deities. This temple and this early form of Hindu belief is primarily found outside the cities.

Priest at the entrance to the Cobra Temple

Walkway to the altar

The horses that lined the path

The altar

Five headed cobras

Priest conducting a worship ceremony.