It is a common belief among the Muslims[1] in Malabar area until recently(?) that if you offer a cattle(can be anything from rabbit to buffalo) to the Maqam of Sayyid Madani of Ullal [2], they will reach there by the time of the next Uroos[3] themselves. People will tie a badge on the neck of such animals writing “to ullal sayyid madani” as a notice to the public, it is the property of Ullal sheik, it will be free to go and eat anything wherever it wishes, no one will be dare enough to harm the property of shaikh.
when I am very young, I heard this from many elder people, explaining how the cattle reach Ullal without the help of any one. They says it will disappear when uroos days are near by, and reach ullal by walking and sometime, they even travel in train or lorry. I really wonder, as even an average person cannot easily find out where that train goes unless he read the direction sign on train or inquire with the station master or some one else. It is quiete interesting that this cattle will understand by some spiritual sense, that where that train exactly go. Sometime sardarjis may mis board the train, but this cattles never, as of the available information.
You just imagine how interesting is the scene, a cow waiting at Badagara Railway station for Mangalore Mail or Chennai-Mangalore west coast express!!!
They know where exactly they have to get down. After getting down at Ullal station, they go directly to the Maqam – Looks like a story in a childrens magazine right ?.
But dont take it so silly. For many people, this is not a joke, since most of them offered like this and the cattles disappeared after some months!!! So all are 100% sure that it has reacher the exect destination. Only God and some anti social activists know where it reached.
After I started understanding things rationally, I found(like many people) how this cattle are reaching Ullal. Truly saying, none of these are reaching ullal, Actually what is happening is very interesting, the anti social activists in the nearby area will not down the cattles offered to ullal and they will be waiting to get a best chance to trap it without knowing anyone else, also they wait some days, even months, to do so, so that the people will not suspect anybody. They will either sell it at good price at some distant place or – if it is small enough – they kill and fry it to serve for the alcohol party.
So the poor cattle, instead of reaching maqam in ullal, they are reaching in the hands of anti social activists. Thanks for the good hope of poor people!!!.
However, according to tiger, those who are helping anti social people also belongs to the same category!!! Luckily now none are offering anything like this in our area, it is the sign that people are getting educated.
Notes:
[1]- Not only some illiterate Muslims but some poor Hindus in our place too believe so.
[2]- A famous sufi Ullal sayyid Madani thangal burried (Maqam of Sayyid Madani) near the town of ullal, near Mangalore
[3]- The death anniversary of the sufi’s
