REVISITING THE ENDANGERED FOLK RELIGION OF KERALA

Author(s): Krishnan S Navaneeth

Source: Proceedings of the Indian History Congress , 2018-19, Vol. 79 (2018-19), pp. 329-337
Published by: Indian History Congress

Stable URL: [Link]

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 REVISITING THE ENDANGERED FOLK
RELIGION1 OF KERALA
Navaneeth Krishnan S
JNU

The territory of Cheras (Kulashekaras) roughly comprised of what is

present day Kerala. The paddy cultivating plains were the spheres of influence
of Brahmin temple corporations (Brahmadeyas), the Brahmin chronicle called
Keralolpathi (the origin of Kerala) mentions about 32 Brahmin villages in
Tulu Nadu and 32 in Kerala. There are several areas which find no mention
in Keralolpatti; but the archaeological sources and the presence of folk
religion and their oral traditions provide idea about the society, economy and
organization of polity in those areas. The areas which were not influenced
by Brahmins included high ranges (areas where spices were cultivated) and
coastal areas (areas where spices were traded). The harvest of paddy in low
lying plains was insufficient to feed the entire population,2 hence requirement
of paddy for rest of the kingdom was met by the rice brought from Tamilakam
by the Jain trading guilds like Ancuvannam, Manigramam, Valanciyar,
Nanadeshikal, Valanchiyar, Ayyavole and Nalppathennayiravar. These Jain
traders in exchange of rice might have carried spices to Tamilakam through
various ghat routes. In Sangam Era, early Cheras worshipped a deity called
Kottavai. Sreedhara Menon has defined Kottavai as war goddess of Cheras as
per his assumptions, which could mean that early Cheras were followers of
Folk religion (Dravidian) not Brahmanical religion.
The pre 11th century period of Kerala witnessed the entry of waves
of Tamil Bhakti movement into Chera Kingdom. The Alvars and Nayanars
singing hymns in praise of Bhramanical deities brought a concept of new
religious consciousness in the Chera kingdom. The Brahmanical temples later
emerged as space of cultural developments as well. The Brahmin temples might
have encouraged the performances of Koothu3 and Mahabharataparayanam
etc. The origin of koothu goes back to ancient Dravidian folk performance
of Tamilakam called Therukoothu. The themes in early therukoothu were
not of brahmanical classics instead were on Tamil epics. Some of them such
as, therukoothu are Nattu Koothu, Pei Koothu, Thunangai Koothu Kuravai
Koothu, and Valli Koothu. The koothu by the name ‘Kali-ankam’ might have
propagated Kali worship etc. in society at that time, thus deities like Kannaki,
Kottavai, Porkkali and several Bhagavathis (Shakthis) got transformed into
Kali or Bhadra or Bhadrakali. One such example is Chiri Kurumba Kavu
(Sree Kurumba Kavu) at Kodungaloor, which was once housing the deity
called Kannaki or Ottamulachi (one with single breast); this deity was related

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330 Medieval India

to the story of Kannaki and Kovalan of Sangam period. The Cheras used
to present meat and kallu (native toddy or arrack) as nivedyam (offertory)
to Chiri Kurumba Kavu,4 which was a characteristic feature of folk deity
worship in Kerala. The festal celebration of Chiri Kurumba was called as
Bharani or Kodungaloor Bharani. In Bharani festival5 of this temple there
used to be a festival of cock sacrificing, toddy/ arrack drinking and singing
Bharanipattu. Many of these traditions still continue attracting thousands even
after this Kavu was incorporated into Brahmanism and got transformed into
a Kali temple. The transformations of folk deities into Brahmanical deities
might have been done to achieve Kshatriya status offered by vedic rituals of
Brahmins.
The travelogues of Suleiman and Abu Zaid are primary sources as
well as proof of Arab geographical knowledge till 9th century. Suleiman’s
account6 gives significant information about idol worship in Kerala at that
point of time. He wrote that people claimed that idols in the temples spoke to
them through their priests.7 Those priests mentioned by Suleiman might have
been priests of folk religion similar to that of Theyyam, Velichappad etc. that
we understand in later sources like Aithihyamala.8 Suleiman also describes
about people hunting and eating wild animals.
The Kavu can be viewed as non-brahmanical sacred space or place of
worship of Folk religion (Dravidian). Some of the Kavus had sacred groves
(with a protected sacred forest area). It was a sacred geography where the
deity was supposed to be roaming. In many Kavus no worshipper goes at
night especially on full moon night, as the Theyyam in trance roams on the
sacred grove at night and in the day he lives like a normal person.9 The form
of priest that existed in the Kavu can be compared to that of shamanistic
tradition. The priest in the form of Theyyam undergoes trance and speaks to
the worshippers as the deity is speaking to them. The people would approach
Theyyam regularly to take blessing and obeyed his commands as god’s own
words.
As mentioned earlier, there are several folk deities in Kerala, one
such deity is Muthappan. The anthropogenic personification of Muthappan
is evident from the idol of Muthappan as an old man with long moustache
having hunting weapons and dogs. The Theyyam of Muthappan is living image
of the idol who in trance communicates the message of Muthappan to the
masses. The major offerings in paimkutty (offertory to Muthappan) consisted
of toddy or kallu (liquor made from coconut or palm trees, arrack or charayam
(liquor made from jaggery or sugarcane), meat (mainly rooster meat) and
ganja (leaves from a native species of marijuana called Neela Chadayan or
Chadayan). Thus in terms of rituals and offertory itself the worship of folk
deity in a kavu is very different from that of a Brahmanical temple.

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 IHC: Proceedings, 79th Session, 2018-19 331

The serpent worship is a folk tradition consisting of rituals common

to all folk traditions like Tottampattu (devotional ballads in praise of serpent
deities), Panchavarnakalam (drawing cabbalistic figure using five natural
colours) and Pambuthullal (similar to Theyyam).10 In Pambuthullal the shaman
is a Pulluva woman who gets possessed by Nagayakshi and gives blessings
and orders the deeds to be followed. The ritualist in the annual ceremony of
Nagapanchami were Pulluva mantravadis11 (folk priests of Pulluva caste).
In some erstwhile kingdoms of Kerala, every town or village had its images
of cobras roughly carved on stone. These cobra stones were placed either on
a platform of stone especially erected for them, usually at the base of a Pala
(Frangipani tree) or an Aal (Banyan tree). The cobra stone is also worshipped
by those who had no progeny (fertility cult). These mantravadis also cured
people bitten by snakes. Pulluvas used to go with their pot-drum (pulluva
kudam) to the houses where they were asked to play and sing songs which
were acceptable to the snake gods, in return for which they received money as
alms (padaithal).12
A serpent deity that was related to the Mappila Muslims was the
shrine of Kunji Rayan13 (who was a Muslim Saint). Mappila devotees of Kunji
Rayan exhibited snakes in a box and collected alms for a snake mosque near
Manarghat at the foot of the Nilgiri hills. Similarly, Palluvas used to go with
their pot-drum (pulluva kudam) to the houses where they were asked to play
and sing songs which are acceptable to the snake gods, in return for which
they received money as alms (padithal).14
The Kuttichathan (later incorporated into Brahmanism as Vishnumaya,
the son of Shiva and Kulivaka) was a folk deity worshipped by natives of
Malabar, whose worship was characterised by rituals of Velichappadu (the
folk priest holding heavy hooked sword, chilambu,15 and aramani16) who
gets possessed by Chathan (Shamanistic). This deity also has Theyyam ritual,
where possessed Theyyam of Kuttichathan gives orders and blessings to the
worshippers. People did Chathan Seva (worship of Kuttichathan and other
Chathans) for safety, to teach betrayers a lesson17 etc.
The presence of Theyyam is not just a part of folk religion of Kerala;
this tradition is also associated with Mappila Muslims of Kerala. These
Mappila theyyams indicates the spread of earliest Islam in Kerala amongst
the people outside the influence of Brahmanical networks of social system.
The most popular Mappila theyyams are Aali Theyyam or Aali Chamundi
Theyyam (performed annually in Arikady Parasthanam Bhagavathi Ali
Chamundi kavu near Kumbla in Kasargod, North Kerala),18 Mukri Pokkar
Theyyam, Ummachi Theyyam, Bappiriyam Theyyam and Koyikkal Mammad
Theyyam etc. The presence of Theyyam indeed indicated the association
of Mappilas with folk religion, as few Mappilas were worshipped as folk

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332 Medieval India

deities with shamanistic Theyyam. The Aali Theyyam is the Theyyam of

Mappila mantravadi character Aali (Ali).19 The Shaman in trance speaks to
the believers as Aali is ordering to the believers. The rituals of thottampattu
and panchavarnakalam also exist for Mappila Theyyam, just like every
other folk deity of Kerala. Other than Theyyam Mappilas native to Thanur,
Malappuram, North Kerala are known for their belief about Akasha
Gandharva.20
Yakshis and Yakshas (male counterpart of Yakshis) were a part
of deities of mother goddess, fertility worship and protectors in ancient
times. They were incorporated into Jainism as protective deities of the
Thirthankaras. Therefore Jainism has 24 Yakshas and Yakshis for 24
Thirthankaras. For example the Tirthankara Chandraprabha had Shyama
(for Digambaras) alias Vijaya (for Svethambaras) as Yaksha and Jwalamalini
(for Digambaras) alias Bhrikuti (for Svethambaras) as Yakshi. The shrines
of Tirthankaras and shrines of Yakshis and Yakshas of Jains dotted various
jungle trails which connected spice producing areas of Kerala with
Tamilakam. The Jain temples and Shrines along the jungle trade routes
might have offered protection and chalet21 for traders. The Tazhekkavu
inscription provides us evidences about the land grant to Nalpattennayiravar
guild and the Jain temple. The income from the granted land was used to
light the lamb for Yaksha. Since these Yakshas and Yakshis were protective
deities, the presence of shrines of Yakshis along the jungle trade routes may
be indicating the sense of protection felt by Jain traders along the trade
routes. The shrines of Yakshis might have been sacred spaces of Jain traders.
The jungle trade routes in the high ranges of Kerala like Wayanad, Munnar,
Kothamangalam, Perumbavoor and Palakkad, Thrissur etc. we could find
evidences of Jain temples and shrines of Yakshas and Yakshis.
After Jain guilds were lost its prominence and disappeared their
place was taken over by Tamil Pattars, Ravuthar Muslims, Syrian Christians
and folk deity worshippers who traded with Tamilakam. The Jain institutions
were replaced by Brahmin institutions, St. Thomas Christian churches and
Sufi Dargahs (mostly related to Ravuthar Muslims) and Khanqahs in the
hinterlands. In many places Yakshis were demonified by both Brahmin
conjurers and exorcist Kathanars (the Christian priests were respectfully
called as Kathanars by natives). The Yakshis, Chathans, Marutha and other
folk deities were depicted as negative forces or diabolic entities and their
mutation and transformation from being gods into being personification of
malice, vengeance and wickedness (as evil-gods and evil-goddesses). The
Brahmin and [Link] Christian influenced folk stories mentioned in
Aithihyamala roughly defines Yakshi as a young shape-shifting woman who
is bewitching, fanged, voracious, vampiric fiend.

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 IHC: Proceedings, 79th Session, 2018-19 333

The Aithihyamala narrates that, the Yakshis waits on lonesome

moonlit jungle paths for ill-fated male victims to wander into her snare. Once
she bewitches him with her charm and beauty, she leads him to her abode (i.e.
Pala or Karimbana or Aal tree) and ends up eating his flesh and drinking his
blood. What were left of the Yakshi’s victim in the morning were nails, hair,
and bones that lie scattered below her night-blooming Pala (Frangipani) tree.
The Yakshi stories of Kerala’s Brahmanical and Christian traditions exposes
shared religious frameworks and philosophies. The Jain concept of sacred
space associated with Yakshi was redefined and re-presented as a space of
negativity emulating from the tempting blood-sucking seductress. Thus in
the folklores, such sacred groves were depicted as haunted by Yakshis, for
example - Yakshiparambu (on the way from Thrissur to Irinjalakuda) in
the story of Kaladiyil Bhattathiri,22 in Aithihyamala. The Kadamattathu
Kathanar23 was a conjurer-exorcist-priest-saint from the Kerala’s Christian
tradition. The Kadamattath Kathanar’s folklore associated with conjuring of a
Yakshi24 is said to have taken place in a route connecting Thiruvananthapuram
and Padmanabhapuram in Travancore.25
In the book Yakshas by Ananda Kentish Muthu Coomaraswamy,
who mentions the ways to identify the sculpture of Yakshas and Yakshis from
all other sculptures. One such paradigm is presence of bells in the sculptures
of most of the Yakshas and Yakshis. He further defines that there is a belief
that Yakshas and Yakshis have voice like that of bells. Applying the view of
Coomaraswamy, I could identify the goddess in Paruvassery Palli Bhagavathi
temple as a Yakshi, because it has a bell in the right hand. In the same temple the
deity worshipped as Ayyappan was identified as Thirthankara Chandraprabha
by Professor Raghava Warrier. If the male deity is Chandraprabha then the
Yakshi worshipped as Bhagavathi is in fact Jwalamalini Yakshi. Similarly,
the goddess worshipped as Brahmanical deity Parvathi in Neelamperoor
Palli Bhagavathi temple (Palli ususually denotes Budhist shrine) has snake
hood on top of its daruvigraham (idol made of neem tree wood). Hence, the
goddess could be Padmavathi Yakshi, the protective deity of Thirthankara
Parsvanatha.
Therefore, we can infer that quite dispersed were the icons and shrines
connected with Jainism and Budhism, but their meanings were mutated and
modified over years of Brahmanical incorporations which transformed several
kavus of Kerala into Brahmanical temples. But, the Yakshi worship continues
till date in certain places of Kerala and one such place is Durgambika temple
near Madayi where annual pooja (ritual and festal celebrations) for Yakshiamma
(mother goddess Yakshi) is performed. The rituals in annual pooja for Yakshis
consisted of rituals like making panchavarnakalam of karalaroopam26 of
Yakshi and performing kalampattu.27 Similar Yakshi worship continues to

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334 Medieval India

exist in temples of Muppathadam and Chengamanad too. These temples, over

time, managed to bypass the attempts of Brahmin authorities to demonise
Yakshis.
Similar instances of incorporations could be seen in festal celebrations
of various religious institutions across the region. The annual celebrations
of Kavu are called Velas, characterized by Utsava Chanda (annual fair
markets). The Velas were also harvest festivals held at the time of harvesting
of spices in uplands and rice in lowlands. The annual festivals of Brahmin
temples called Pooram have incorporated the elements of Velas of Kavus.
The Poorams also have elaborate rituals like ezhunallath28 of thidambu on
top of elephants, theatrical performances (Kathakali, baale, koodiyattam
etc.) Chakyar koothu,29 daffmuttu30 and kolkali31 etc. (which substituted folk
performances like Theyyam, thirayattam,32 Velichappad thullal etc. The
orchestrated performance (which substituted kalampattu of Kavus) of chenda,
kombu kuzhal and elathalam are collectively called as melam33. The bringing
of offerings to temples in a series of varavu (arrivals) was incorporated from
Velas of Kavus.
The largest festivals of Mappilas were nerchas,34 which were annual
festivals or Uroos (Urs)35 day of the Sufi Sheikhs at their Jaram36 (Dargah).
These nerchas were expensive and rich pageantries which combines nominally
Islamic elements with certain features of indigenous folk festivals. Thus, the
focal point of all nerchas is the reverence shown to their beevi, peer, sheikh, or
shahid. The nercha was characterised by festal celebrations, fair market and
the performances of daffmuttu, arabana muttu and kolkkali and performances
of folk worshippers. The most important part of nercha was the bringing of
gifs as offerings to Jaram by Mappilas, folk deity believers, Khalasis etc. in
a series of varavus. In Chandanakudam nercha at Jaram of Chettuva, the
pilgrims on foot or on top of the elephant carried pots covered with sandalwood
paste which was dedicated to the Jaram. The ceremony of offering was often
conducted before a nilavilakku, a tiered metal lamp found in houses, kavus,
Brahmin temples, old Mosques, old Churches and old Synagogues of Kerala.
The annual festal celebrations of church called Palli Perunnal were
also an exhibition of the centuries long evolution of syncretic-plural culture of
Nasranis. In Palliperunnal also ezhunnallath of elephants wearing nettipattom
(caparisons) and ritual performances like melam (native bands) are a common
sight. In Palliperunnal of Latin Christians, they staged theatrical performances
like chavittu natakam37 (plays based on Biblical themes or European Christian
history for example Karlaman natakam based on Emperor Charlemagne),
which exhibits influences from folk theatre of Kerala.
It is a true fact that folk religion (Dravidian) of Kerala is losing its
independent existence as a religion. But the characteristics of the endangered

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 IHC: Proceedings, 79th Session, 2018-19 335

religion survives trough incorporated rituals of invasive religions, thus

evidence of their existence survives. In jungles of Kerala we can still find
existence of Kavus of several unidentified deities. One such Kavu was recently
discovered in a forest area near Aanakkal in Malampuzha, Palakkad. This
Kavu was an undisturbed site, not impacted by the influence of Brahminical
mutation process. In the Aanakkal kavu, the deity was seated on top of an
elephant, as represented in the stone idol. Alongside the central idols are
idols of elephants, wild boars, deer and tiger etc. Sometime later this site
was invaded by brahmanical fanatics and they declared it as an Ayyappa
temple, which clearly indicates that incorporation and sanskritization are still
a continuous process. But even after centuries long colonization through faith
and devotional literatures, the society never generated a varna (Chaturvarna)
system like that of North India. Therefore as long as evidences do not die, the
proof that Dravidians once had a religion and deities of their own38 can be
proved academically, which is the undying power of academics.

NOTES AND REFERENCES:

1. The non-Brahmanical worship in Kerala like Shamanistic Theyyam, Sacred

groves, Shakthis etc. are collectively called Folk religion or Dravidian religion.
2. Even today with advancement in technology, paddy cultivated in Kerala is
insufficient for entire population.
3. The ‘koothu’ is a solo narrative performance interspersed with mime and
comic interludes.
4. Sreedhara Menon, Kerala Charithram, DC Books, Kottayam, 1973, p. 96.
5. M.G.S Narayanan, Perumals of Kerala Brahmin Oligarchy and Ritual
Monarchy, p. 232.
6. See account of Suleiman in Neelakanta Shastri, editor. Foreign Notices of
South India from Megasthenes to Ma Huan, pp. 122-128.
7. Ibid., p.126.
8. Kottarathi Shankunni, Ithihyamala, Current Books, Kottayam, 1996.
9. Thulasi Kakkat, Man by day, goddess by night: Theyyam in pictures, The
Hindu, August 26, 2017.
10. T.K Gopal Panikkar, Malabar and its Folk, G.A Natesan & Co., Madras,
1900, p. 146.
11. Edgar Thurston, “Omens and Superstitions of Southern India: Edgar
Thurston: Free Download & Streaming”. Internet Archive, VED from Victoria
Institutions, 30 Oct. 2016, [Link]/details/OmensDIGITAL., p. 102.
12. Ibid., p. 102.
13. Ibid., p. 101.

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336 Medieval India

14. Ibid., p. 102.

15. Clilambu is a peculiar type of anklet which has bells on it.
16. Aramani of Velichappadu are huge and heavy waist belt studded with bells
17. For details see “Avanangattu Panikkarum Chathanmarum” in Kottarathil
Shankunni, Aithihyamala, Current Books, Kottayam, 1991, pp. 552-564.
18. For details about Ali Chamundi see The Dance of Ali Chamundi in “https://
[Link]/”.
19. T. Ajeesh, Theyyam Kadhakal, Manorama Books, Kottayam, 2013, p53.
20. P.R.G Mathur, “Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts”, Http://ignca.
[Link]. Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2017.
<[Link]
21. The chalet were the accommodations for traders.
22. See the story of ‘Kaladiyil Bhattathiri’ mentioned in Kottarathil Shankunny,
Ithihyamaala, Kottayam, 1998, p. 106
23. Ibid., pp. 428-441.
24. Ibid.
25. Corinne Dempsey, Nailing Heads and Splitting Hairs: Conflict, Conversion,
and the Bloodthirsty Yakṣi in South India, Journal of the American Academy
of Religion, Vol. 73, No. 1 (Mar., 2005), pp. 111-132.
26. The figure of Yakshi like that of a traditional mural drawn using five natural
colours on the floor of pooja sthanam (place where ritual will be held).
27. The kalampattu is a singing ritual similar to the tottampattu of all folk
deities.
28. The ezhunnallath ritual is seen only in Kerala. These rituals were part
of folk religion of Kerala, which was later incorporated into annual festal
celebrations of Temples, Mosques, Jarams and Churches etc.
29. The Chakyar Koothu is a Brahmanical performance art from of Kerala.
It is primarily a highly refined monologue where the performer narrates
episodes from Brahmanical epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata
and stories from the Puranas.
30. The duff muttu is an art form prevalent in the Malabar region of the state
of Kerala in South India. It derives its name from the duff, a percussion
instrument made of wood and Ox skin.
31. The kolkali is a folk art performed in North Malabar. In kolkali the dance
performers move in a circle, striking small sticks and keeping rhythm with
special steps. The circle expands and contracts as the dance progress.
32. The Thira is a ritualistic performance held in folk deity kavus, which is
similar to Theyyam.
33. The melam is an assembly of percussion performers, held at the courtyard
of Brahmin temples during the annual poorams.
34. Stephen F. Dale and M. Gangadhara Menon, ““Nerccas”: Saint-Martyr

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 IHC: Proceedings, 79th Session, 2018-19 337

Worship among the Muslims of Kerala”, Bulletin of the School of Oriental

and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 41, No. 3 (1978), pp. 523-
538.
35. The Uroos is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint in South Asia, usually
held at the saint’s dargah.
36. The dargah of a Sufi saint is popularly called as Jaram in Malabar. For
example Munambath Beevi Jaram in Ponnani and Veliancode Jaram in
Ponnani.
37. The Chavittu natakam is a performing art form of Christians of Kerala,
believed to be originated during the 16th century, this art form has traces
of influences from both folk theatre bale and Magi plays of Eastern Syrian
Christianity.
38. The Dravidian Folk deities are completely different from Brahmanical
deities of North India.

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