Udayor Blog

Udayor Team

The just concluded International Congress on Kerala Studies at the AKG Centre, what was claimed to be a curtain raiser for tomorrow’s Kerala, was part of a road show. But beyond the urge for capturing the mundane rewards of parliamentary democracy there were deeper plots in this...

The show had behind it Thomas Issac, who considers himself the post-EMS
think tank of the CPI(M) and M A Baby who adorns the robe of a patron saint of fine arts, very unusual for a revolutionary. These are both different communists as the cadres of the working class party know...

There are big lies being floated in the name of the party, after the last jamboree in 1994 with the same name it was claimed that the People’s Plan exercise was an invention of the comrades in Kerala. What later nose dived. The common people exposing the big lie at the elections...

Earlier the infighting at CDS and the large amounts of international aid that came in for the KRP saw Thomas Issac losing out in CDS. How he reappeared in the CPM with a larger than life image. With the new magic device in hand, was soon in the key post at the Planning Board...

The first assignment given to those officers who took charge of the Rural Development Department under the new Congress lead UDF government was to dispose off the truck loads of ‘kaipustakam’. This taken at night to unknown locations to be buried...

Read on ...


It is another kind of idol worship, the imposing building of AKG Centre in the state capital is a symbol. Of a passion called communism that ordinary people nurtured, of the coming of a new heaven on earth. What if the dream is long dead people still go after it, ritual of elections and power keep it going. Forget that there is no such hopes anymore, no hair splitting debates on dialectical materialism. No romancing of the Prague Spring. In a world order eaten up by the old imperialists, coming now as WTO and TNCs, the communists have learned the game. But they repeat the old mantras, they too know that they are hollow now. The real Kerala where minority feudalism and an ocean of poverty exists, where hurricanes of suicides shatter lives they have their hypnotic band. Hungry coir workers stand dazed.

The just concluded International Congress on Kerala Studies at the AKG Centre, what was claimed to be a curtain raiser for tomorrow’s Kerala, was part of their road show. But beyond the urge for capturing the mundane rewards of parliamentary democracy there were deeper plots in this. As usual. But of late people have grown to understand things a bit. How it did not make the landmark event it was projected to be. Despite the best cooperation from the minority controlled media. For the Communist Party of India (Marxist) the aggressive child of undivided Communist Party of India, it is also seeing the pulls and pushes of the modern times. Though it is all cleverly hidden the rat races and monopoly instincts are driving the party. After all there is big money in it.

The latest show had behind it Thomas Issac, who considers himself the post-EMS
think tank of the CPI(M) and M A Baby who adorns the robe of a patron saint of fine arts, very unusual for a revolutionary. These are both different communists as the cadres of the working class party know. The CPM leaders in the state who rose up from the ranks know that they are no comparison, they bow out. The void left by the communist head priest EMS Nampoothirippad is still vacant and some of the contenders have been summarily disposed off. Where the Issac – Baby combine has volunteered and as everyone knows they have the blessings of the powerful Christian community in Kerala. What if the Christian community was, still is, staunchly anti-communist, perhaps, as they see, the fight can also be from within. How the main revolution in Kerala they are now aiming at is stopping the Hindu community organize, war against (Hindu) communalism.

There are big lies being floated in the name of the party, after the last jamboree in 1994 with the same name it was claimed that the People’s Plan exercise was an invention of the comrades in Kerala. Though the hyped plan nose dived the same claim is again being floated. Career politicians have a way of forgetting things, or pretending to do that. For the back door deals of the People’s Plan and the money transactions that went in to it were exposed in the media. It is surprising how the thick skinned ring leaders are parroting it again. The final statements from the organizers this time also gave the indication that old rhetoric and rituals will once again come to the fore. The grave issues facing the state pushed further under the carpet. Where lies and tantrums are liberally used.

The Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) technique which went in to the People’s Plan was known to Rural Development professionals for a long time. That before the CPM Parivar organizations and people are said to have invented it. It was an unethical academic practice because the theoretical base of the approach was formulated by the international RD guru Robert Chambers. Introduced in Kerala through a Dutch assisted pilot programme by the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), another CPM Parivar outfit. The Kerala Research Project (KRP) of CDS had attempted this at few places, important being Kalliassery Panchayat. Though the People’s Plan exercise was a natural outgrowth of this project, Thomas Issac, one time fellow traveler of the Project disowned it’s past. Paraded it as his own brain child, with a smoke screen of Parishat given part of the credit, also veteran EMS, all for free.

The infighting at CDS and the large amounts of international aid that came in for the KRP saw Thomas Issac losing out in CDS. How he reappeared in the CPM with a larger than life image. With the new magic device in hand. Aged EMS, a cult hero for the communists, who was given the credit for the People’s Plan, did not deny that. That apart from the Sastra Sahitya Parishat. Though the jargon was unmistakably from modern management no one questioned about the veracity of the claim. It was a clever plot, which succeeded beyond the wild dreams of the plotters. Communism as an ideology is itself borrowed in Kerala and another replacing it was easy done. But ‘foreign funds’ was some thing nasty as the comrades were tutored over time, not foreign ideas, how the proponents of the People’s Plan vehemently denied the Dutch – CDS – KRP links. But later this did come out in the news.

That the huge army of people drawn from various departments and academic institutions, apart from party cubs, made the People’s Plan a festival of sorts is true. Many naïve experts gave their life to it. Ignorant about the strings behind, how books after books were churned out for use at the local body levels. What were given the popular name of ‘kaipustakam’. Since none of them, from Thomas Issac down, had any exposure to ground level development these turned out to be a massive waste of public money. If a social audit of this is made, including the hours spend by the academics and scientists, it will be Herculean. What eventually happened was tragic, that when the CPM lost the elections, where the big lie was rejected by the common people.

The first assignment given to those officers who took charge of the Rural Development Department under the new Congress lead UDF government was to dispose off the truck loads of ‘kaipustakam’. This taken at night to unknown locations to be buried. A power hungry individual had misguided a large population. Among them academics and technocrats of the highest caliber. For the people at the local body level, illeducated and unexposed, the modern jargon from the academics was Greek. But they kept coming in hordes to the capital, also elsewhere, to attend the marathon seminars. After all they got decent travel and stay allowances. Why not go and sleep when the hollow theories were being emptied out. Lofty concepts like watershed management were trivialized by the instant experts, sourced from imported text books, how the panchayat members came to believe that free poultry is what ‘watershed’ meant. How People’s Plan came to be called ‘decentralising corruption’.

The series of exposures in the local media after the People’s Plan circus did not deter the heroes repent. They stood their ground, after all they knew it was a drama from the very beginning. Neither were they shaken when documentary evidence was published about the Dutch connection. Now to come back on the stage in 2005 with the same formula and jargon once again is indeed a courage beyond compare. What unfortunately reveals the mindset of the plotters. It was after the last ‘International Congress’ that Thomas Issac got the key slot in the State Planning Board. An ordinary academic suddenly changing colours, obviously with the blessings of the powerful Christian community and media. A post where the decisions about how the state resources are to be used is made. Where crucial policy decisions of the government are made. What was mission accomplished.

Worse, the powerful Syrian Christian community in the state saw to it that the post went to another man from the species CP John, another revolutionary under the wings of a break away communist party of old comrade M V Raghavan, when the Congress lead government came to power. Like P J Joseph from the community giving way to another minority party in the education port-folio. To ensure continuity, milk the state for own community good. Other naïve leaders watched, happy with state cars and police escorts. This time around there is another kill in the International Congress. The political polarization triggered by the majority communities of Nayars and Ezhavas had brought to public notice the burning issues of Kerala. How the so called minorities, though they are not minorities by any definition in Kerala, captured Kerala economy and polity. This has been white washed, debates almost killed.

There were targeted efforts to side track the real issues at the Congress. Like Chief Minister Oommen Chandy coming out with a statement that it was the communists who ruined the state agriculture sector, by opposing tractors. The script writers possibly expected a media debate to follow, a juicy ‘vivadam’ in Manorama, religiousy followed by the sheepish others. Parallel economy of the minority that saw every native vocation pale out did not come up for debates. The alarming sale of agricultural land to the moneyed and internationally linked minority communities, also their promoting mono-culture plantations did not come up either. When one of the speakers pointed to the problem of minority politicians monopolizing the various ministries this was turned around to mean another thing. The Congress did not have any session for history this time. For history is to be hurting to the duo who organize the meet. The Syrian Christian history of abetting colonization is now known. No parade of the ‘Sayippu’ either.

The pro-poor CPM and its Congress did not also look at the criminal loot of tribal lands by the powerful minority Christian community. Neither the encroachment of the forests, severely damaging the state’s natural survival systems. What has been happening now for half a century. The delegates and the leaders who stole the lime light were far too frightened to look at the tragedies. They were given the hospitality by the clever groups who had their agendas. Thus the International Congress of the CPM ensured that the debates remains where it was. No disturbing questions are raised. With assembly elections round the corner it has also ensured that the theoretical lead for the revolutionaries in Kerala will be provided by the same people, who effectively bargained for their seats in government. With the CPM poised to win the next elections it is strategic planning that went in to this jamboree. New age communism is here to stay, names of beloved people like AKG give them the shield.

For the CPM this is a crucial juncture in Kerala, they are by all means certain to win a land slide victory few months from now. It is to be a huge responsibility that they are to take on. The people who take shelter under the communist band wagon are still among the best in Kerala. As every one knows it also has some of the least corrupt leaders. But that in itself will not mean much if the good intentions are not translated in to visible results. There is no hope for Kerala within the obsolete rhetoric of the earlier days. Kerala economy and society are different. Planning for the state has to begin afresh taking the ground reality in to account. That shedding the inhibitions of olden days, for, Kerala scene is different from the national scene. V S Achuthanandan, braving the hills and valleys tracing forest encroachments should now dare to say that it is the Christian lobby that does it most. Instead of making cowardly statements that it is a ‘mafia’ behind. Objective assessment of Kerala society and plans addressing the issues alone will save the state. Efforts from within to divert the direction, like this Congress, will see more damage, more suicides. Courageous decisions will see Kerala lead India tomorrow.

Special Correspondent

When Pannyan Raveendran of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) won the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha elections it was a defeat for the Congress lead United Democratic Front (UDF). But for the third contender Bharateeya Janata Party (BJP) it was not just a defeat but total ruin. For the so called value based party, claimed to be a child of the Sangh Parivar lead by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), had to face allegations of selling votes. Unheard of in Indian democracy, here was another Kerala Model. As the election results show the pro-BJP votes went to the UDF and LDF. Captive votes going to the UDF with the official permission of the BJP leaders known to be RSS representatives in the party. Thus the BJP, as a single party taking on the multi-party coalitions of the LDF and UDF and making a dent this far, crash-landed. The followers of the Hindutwa groups who campaigned whole heartedly have been humiliated and many of the leaders were shell shocked at the outcome. Soft spoken and graceful senior leader O Rajagopal himself came out in public, telling that things are indeed rotten.

The last Parliamentary elections in 2004 saw a record performance for the BJP when O. Rajagopal, former union minister and highly respected leader polled more than 2 lakh votes completing just below the UDF candidate. It was an impressive show on many counts, primarily because the party had consolidated substantial share of the Hindu votes.

For the minority controlled politics in Kerala this was something surprising. Rajagopal was almost poised to win but later there were rumours that some of the rival groups owing allegiance to the RSS had indeed diverted votes then also. What exceeded all limits this time, part of the votes going to the LDF as well. This has been happening all along, the RSS has its rationale for this. The Communists, of the LDF , are the main enemies of the RSS in Kerala and they are fighting pitched battles in the northern districts. Thus to have a Communist lead government is not to their liking. How they contrive and transfer the votes to defeat the Communist candidates. They know they don’t stand a chance to win. Since this is an underhand deal the names of candidates to whom captive Hindu votes are to be transferred come at the last moment.

This comes as a generosity the receiving parties show some courtesy and main among these are withdrawal of police and court cases against the cadres. For the RSS – BJP combine in Kerala have thousands of cases filed against them across the state. It is a clever ploy of the ruling parties, controlled by the minorities whatever the front, where they trap the Hindutwa workers in criminal cases, some times false cases. This later used as a bait for compromise, the trauma of being implicated in court cases force the cadres to accept such deals time and again. Huge amounts are required to keep the court battles going, how many lawyers eventually became leaders of the BJP. There is also a steady flow of these stigmatized workers to the underworld. The main case this time was against the student wing of the group, ABVP, which had attacked shops on the MG Road in the capital, now mostly belonging to the minority communities. The trade off from this election victory for the UDF – BJP tie-up, apart from other benevolence perhaps, was a promised withdrawal of the cases by the Christian – Muslim lead Oommen Chandy government.

Now the previous elections in Thiruvananthapuram saw many assembly constituencies giving the majority mandate to the BJP though they lost in the parliamentary election. These were to be seats where the BJP was to win in the assembly elections few months away. Give them a presence in the Kerala assembly where there is no one to talk about the marginalized Hindu community. A dream shattered in the present drama. Worse the Kerala electorate had rejected the UDF as a minority monopoly in the last local body elections, where they were reduced to Malappuram and Kottayam, areas of the Muslim and Christian community respectively. It was ridiculous to have asked the Hindu community to vote them this time. Some of the RSS cadres posted to the BJP are notorious for their hobnobbing with the infamous minority community leaders and they have an octopus hold on the party as the RSS claims to be the mother of the BJP. To make things worse RSS supremo K S Sudarsan had visited Kottayam to hold an in-camera talk with the Syrian Christian clergy just before the elections. Widely reported, either it was a trap that the naïve RSS leadership fell in to or a dangerous message.

Objectively looked at there are very few among the BJP followers who come from the Khakhi school of the RSS Shakhas. But the RSS make demands on the party and many leaders find it repulsive, how there are many groups in the party owing allegiance to various lobbies. What is also visible at the national level. With the general decay in the post-colonial Indian polity the BJP is also prone to all the games and rites of corruption and this give enough space for under hand deals. Though the RSS claims to give full freedom for the Parivar organizations they in reality put pressure on the day to day working of the BJP. And as a result,with no hope of coming to power, demoralized as much, the BJP in Kerala has a leadership which is happy with their designations. Those who want to make strategic moves find it impossible as their hands are tied. To top it all the RSS has no competent leadership in Kerala who can take on the moneyed and powerful minorities. They perform well in some other sectors, the workers epitomes of sacrifice.

With the inner contradictions the BJP leaders feel belittled, helpless. Since the RSS has a statewide network of cadres and an aggressive front these BJP leaders seldom take on them. In the recent episode the BJP leader O Rajagopal, after the exposure, had told TV channels that he was facing threats. This is a normal practice with the RSS and many fearing disgrace refuse to openly admit that. Though the RSS has done yeoman service in Kerala, often remaining the lone protector of the Hindu community in many crisis situations, they have also been a failure as the aggressive minorities have eaten in to the core of Hindu life in Kerala. How Kerala Hindus lead the world in suicides. That despite the RSS work for over five decades in Kerala. It reflects on the reducing presence of the RSS in the Kerala villages where once the Shakhas were a constant presence. The RSS in Kerala also failed to cultivate visionary leaders and are only able to parrot the upper Indian debates, where the ground reality is totally different. How many of the promising people are parting company with the RSS. A big chunk of the votes polled by the LDF from Hindutwa sympathizers is actually based on individual choice. They don’t see the Hindutwa groups as a hope any more.

Which means that the majority Hindus are invariably drifting to the LDF, what the RSS was trying to prevent surreptitiously. Field level information in Thiruvananthapuram show that the old BJP followers have mostly voted the LDF this time. Areas once considered strongholds of the BJP showed a majority for the LDF candidate. Obviously the last minute messages to vote the UDF did not go well with the pro-BJP electorate. In Thiruvananthapuram, the seat of government, they are exposed to the misdeeds of the minority parties. To ask the very same people to vote them was a blunder on the part of the leadership. Where the allegations of money being paid comes to the fore. Having been in the deal for several elections now those in the game had perfected the operation is certain. What was known to those in the inner circuits, but now with the revelation of the senior leader O Rajagopal it is known to all. The message is simple though sad, the RSS – BJP combine in Kerala no more give hopes to the ordinary Hindus in the state. In a state where minority colonization is in place they will have to look for alternatives or perish. For the RSS and BJP it will be an arduous task to heal the wounds and the indications are that they are heading for confrontation and a bigger crisis.

For Kerala ruled by the LDF and UDF, these alternating every five years, it is a tragedy as the fronts are both catering to minority demands. The minority vote banks and money transformed Kerala politics with no hope of change. The Communists are majority Hindus, though not subscribing to the Vedic Hinduism of RSS, but have very powerful and tactful minority members in key positions. Thus the old communism, that talked about equity and land distribution, is now at the beck and call of the minority feudal oligarchy. Senior communists like V S Achuthanandan while at times attacking the minority also refuse to admit Hindu led parties to LDF, stopping a Hindu consolidation there also. For Congress the party originally had stalwart leaders who were in the front in the freedom movement. Later the Syrian Christians, who were then allies of the British, captured the party. The parting of octogenarian K Karunakaran was the last nail on the coffin as it is. Though they tried to promote Ramesh Chennithala, a Nayar, as KPCC President just before the elections in a fire fighting operation, this did not work as expected. But the new vigour saved the party from total annihilation. Kerala has its economy taken captive by the minority communities and the politicians irrespective of community are trying for personal benefits. Now with the new equations the Hindus on the run are further demoralized, that by the champions of Hindu nationalism. As some one remarked, like the suicide prone Hindus in Kerala, organized Hindutwa is also showing suicidal tendencies.

hindutwa%20analysis.doc

(From Udayor, newsletter from www.nairs.org December 2005)

Manu Pillai Thampuran

( An interesting Contribution, compilation perhaps, received on Email from Manu Pillai Thampuran. Original sources, if any, not known.)

Travellers of yore nicknamed Kerala Penn Malayalam, "the Malayala land of women." It was an unusual place. Here, mostly within the large and powerful Nair caste (and some smaller ones), women ruled. Not on royal thrones with giant armies but as heads of giant households--positions often more powerful. Here, women were educated, respected, moved about without fear or censure, participated occupationally wherever they wished, and were the major force leading Kerala to become India's first near-100% literate state.

The Nairs defied the rest of India, where patriarchal patterns have remained entrenched since Manu and other post-Vedic lawgivers reassigned women to the status of sudras, low caste.
After marriage, a bride does not move into her husband's home, as is the common practice among Hindus. The opposite occurs. He comes and lives with her and her family. In fact, only on very special occasions would she ever visit his family's house.

The senior female member is the uncontested head of this tarwad, a sprawling matriarchic residential complex with several buildings, its own temple, granary, water-well, orchards, gardens and large land holdings. The senior male member, called karanavan (the senior lady's brother), looked after the basic affairs of the house and implemented decisions made in consultation with the senior lady. "Because of the financial advantage they enjoyed, women were able to keep the men under their thumbs," Mr. Narasimhan, a Trivandrum lawyer, explained .

"And because the husband came to his wife's house, he dared not ill-treat her or misbehave, else he would be sent out. In his own tarawad, a husband lived with his sisters and aunts. Similarly, if he tried to rebel or show dissension there, he would be thrown out by the karanavan and not entitled to his share of the property. So, he was forced to keep a low profile for a peaceful existence."
But the idea that these warrior-class men were reduced to spineless housewhimps is totally false. They just weren't allowed to be tough warriors inside the house.

Daughters of a family would get equal shares of wealth and property, and equal shares for their children, but sons would only get a small share and nothing for their children.
A great part of the strength of the system evolved because royalty practiced and condoned it. The royal family of Travancore has, in fact, had eight girl adoptions since 1,300ce for the sole reason of keeping the lineage going on the woman's side. The Travancore queens were very famous for spearheading major social and intellectual freedoms for women. In 1811, the daughter of a musician, Swathi Thirunal, was adopted and became queen at age 20. Overnight, she made sweeping changes, abolished all forms of slavery, banned the existing heartless overtaxation of the poor and totally overhauled the justice system to protect those too poor to "buy" justice.

In 1817, by royal proclamation, she made education open to all classes. The rest of India looked on in amazement. In 1868, Queen Gowri Lakshmi Bayi began vaccination campaigns, first vaccinating herself and the royal family to prove to orthodox opponents that the animal vaccine was neither sinful nor deadly. In 1925, Queen Regent Setu Lakshmi abolished animal sacrifice at Hindu rites and outlawed the local Devadasi temple dancer custom that had degenerated into little more than temple-sanctioned prostitution.
These Queens deserved and earned all their accolades. They were true nobility. "Our women of yesteryears were highly knowledgeable, well-versed in Sanskrit and could correspond intellectually with scholars," Princess Parvati Bayi said. "Our grandmothers even spoke fluent English.The women of matriarchal Kerala were voracious readers, adept at music and arts and never wasted their time. Even those that stayed home had the zeal to acquire knowledge.They also were trained in the Martial Arts of Kerala and often fought enemies during attacks on the family mansions during wars "

The Brahmins constantly due to jealousy no doubt tried to rank the Nairs as Sudras . They even exploited the support the Nairs gave them by forcing Nairs the Aryans to marry Dravidians to result in dark skinned progeny .Thus they could on the basis of colour make the society classify the Nairs as Sudras. They succeeded in Nair-Dravidian marriages but failed to lower the Nairs. This is a major reason why most Nairs of Kerala inspite of Aryan lineage are dark .

The Nairs who were warriors went out of business since the 1600s due to the guns and modern arms of the British . Nair militia was also disbanded by various rulers, leaving them jobless. Lower castes introduced in their place how various others also came to be called Nairs. Then even the Nairs got subdivided . The Menons and Pillais became the highest as Governers, Millitary officers , Ministers and so on. Following them came the Nairs, Panickers and Kurups as the managers of palaces or estate managers of Pillais and Menons. Following them came the Kaimals and Variars who were the Landlords . Then there were the Thambis and Varmas who were above the Pillais and Menons and were the Kings. The Poduvals became the assistants of Brahmins and Nairs in Temple matters.

The Brahmins who did not divide property allowed only their elder son to marry a Brahmin lady . The rest married Nair ladies and lived in their exquisite mansions . Their children were Nairs in spite of Brahmin fathers.

The way of travel of the Nairs was extremely sophisticated. A Nair man would travel on a Horse unlike the Brahmins who were traditionally allowed only to walk with a servant (who would be a lower Nair) holding an umbrella. On the other hand Nair women used to travel in ornate Palanquins held up by four lower Nairs . Surrounding them would be two rings of lower Nair women . Then three rings of lower Nair men armed with swords. The men would chant “hoy ! hoy! “ throughout the journey to warn the lower castes on the roads to move away as they pass. This way of traveling was usually done by Menons and Pillais. The others had lesser servants or less beautiful palanquins. Brahmin women were allowed to travel only with their female servants on foot on the rare occasions when they were allowed out of the house. The Brahmin ladies were always jealous of the splendor of Nair ladies who always wore heavy jewelry and good clothes and were free to leave the house and didn’t accept supremacy of the men.

Also they learnt singing and Bharatanatyam which was disallowed for Brahmin women. However they were not court dancers ever .Also Nair women never had to pay homage or respect the Brahmin ladies . Whenever a procession of Nairs or Brahmins passed the lower castes on the roads specially women were to remove the clothing covering their torso because it was only the privilege of upper castes to cover their breasts. If any lower caste women did cover herself her breasts would be cut off. Also if they didn’t keep a distance of 92 feet from the upper castes on the road they would lose their heads. Some say it is this disgusting and cruel practice of the Nairs and Brahmins that has resulted in most of them becoming ruined now.

The Brahmin Ladies attached the title ‘DEVI’ after their names. The Nairs didn’t have any such titles. But people used to call them ‘amma’ with respect . Thus Nairs began to attach ‘amma’ after their names. The ‘amma’ title was very much like the British title of ‘Lady’ given to noble ladies. Male members were addressed as ‘Thampuran’ often ‘Thambra’ in common use, by the commoners.

Some Customs and Ceremonies of the Nairs

The Nairs were the swordsmen, the military caste of the west coast of India. They constitute the majority of the Kerala Population. The ever so many rituals performed by this community reveal their matrilineality and their unique social setup.

Birth Ceremonies:

A Nair woman has to observe certain ceremonies during pregnancy. Puli-Kuti, literally meaning drinking tamarind juice, is one among them. It is performed on a particular day in the ninth month. Not only the day, even the hour is fixed by the local astrologer. The pregnant woman, after having bathed and properly attired, is seated facing eastwards in the principal courtyard (natu-muttam) of the Tharavaad (ancestral family house). The Ammayi or maternal uncle’s wife and the brother of the pregnant woman officiate this function.

As soon as a child is born, the mother and the baby have to undergo some rite of purification. The baby is placed on the naked floor, and its father or uncle sprinkles a few drops of cold water on it. Pollution is observed for fifteen days after delivery, by all the members of the Tharavad, during which period they are prohibited from entering temples and holy places or perfoming any ceremonies.

The Naamakarnam is performed on the twenty-seventh day after the child’s birth, when the Kaaranavan (senior most elder) of the Family gives to the child a spoonful or two of milk mixed with sugar and then names the child by calling it in the ear by the name three times. The Annaprasaanam is choroonu takes place on an auspicious day in the sixth month, when the uncle or the father of the child first feeds it with rice. It is only after this ceremony that the child can be fed with rice. The ear boring takes place at the end of the first year after the child’s birth,and the vidyaarambham in the third in fifth year.

Marriage Ceremonies:

Marriage among the Nairs used to mean either the formal ceremony of tying a Thaali round the neck of a girl, accompanied by festive celebrations, known as the Thaalikettu or Kettukalyaanam, or the ceremony of actual alliance as husband and wife known as the Sambandham or Pudavakoda. Now marriage is only the ceremony of alliance as husband and wife.

The bridegroom who ties the Thaali can only be selected from certain well recognised families in the village called Machchampikkars. Those were the members of the earliest Nair families appointed for this purpose by Royal writs. This ritual has not been found in these days.

A day was fixed for arranging the preliminaries of the wedding. When all the relatives and men of the village were invited as also the astrologer (Kaniyaan), who forthwith fixed the most auspicious day for the celebration of the ceremony and noting it down in what was called a chaarthu or cadjan-writ, handed it over to the uncle or Kaaranavar of the family who then dismissed him with presents. The chaarthu stated that a boy should be selected as bridegroom whose natal star agreed with the girl’s and also decided what star would be agreeable and fixes a muhurtham for the ceremony as well as for fixing the main pillar of the marriage pandal. A few days before the commencement of the building of the pandal, invitations were sent round to all the relatives, friends and villagers.

The main pillar of the pandal is generally made out of the jack or Mukampala tree which is cut for the purpose that same day and raised at the south west corner of the pandal,which itself has to be built on the eastern side of the house. A Kathir Mandapam, a raised floor with a grounded roof beautifully decorated with pictures, mirrors and glass globes,was erected inside the pandal, and it was here that the actual wedding took place.

The first item in the celebration was what is called the Ayani oonu, a sumptous banquet given by the bride’s people to the selected bridegroom or manavaalan as he was called. On the morning of the first day of the marriage the girl was taken to the bathing tank in regular procession headed by one of the machampi women (sisters-in-law) well dressed and decked with costly ornaments and holding a plate containing the girl’s wearing apparel to be used after bath, a mirror and other toilet articles in her left hand and a metal hand-lamp called Changalavatta in her right. After bath the girl was taken back to the house and seated in a separate room, and then the assembled guests were served with a rich feast. Then came the rite called kaappukettu or tying prathisarabandham (a piece of string ) round the wrist of the girl. This is done by Maaran, the Brahmani or sometimes the brother of the girl, accompanied by a song called Subhadra Veli (the account of the famous marriage of subhadra by Arjuna) by the Brahmanis, a class of Ambalavaasis, who were accomodated inside the house and placing a garland around his neck formally invited him to start for the marriage pandal.

A procession was then formed at an auspicious hour from the bridegroom’s house, the bridegroom mounted on an elephant or walking on foot and holding in his hand a sword covered with a palmyra leaf or sword case. He was received at the gate of the pandal by a few female members with the Ashtamangalyam (Note: Explain) in their hands and was then conducted to a seat of honour in the centre of the pandal where his feet are washed by the brother or maternal uncle of the girl. The girl was then brought by her brother, covered up like a ghosha woman holding in her hand an arrow and a looking glass and seated either next to him on the left side both facing the east. At the auspicious hour fixed by the astrologer who was in ready attendance, the bridegroom received Thaali (wedding jewel) and placed it round the neck of the bride, whereupon the groom’s sister tied it round the neck of the girl. Then the bridegroom’s own men, a machchampi, took the girl into the Manavara, a decorated apartment in the inner part of the house, where both the bridegroom and the bride were required to remain under a sort of pollution for three days.

Then followed a sumptous meal in which the women were served first. Earlier marriage was celebrated for four days with various sports and amusements for the delectation of the visitors. On the fourth day a ritual called mannu-neer-korikondu varika (bringing of water from a neighbouring tank or well) was conducted with songs, music, and much pomp. On this night the females closely related to the girl make presents of sweetmeats. That same night the Maran removes the kaappu or string tied on the first day from the hands of the bridegroom and bride and performed certain purificatory rites, after which the couple go to the neighbouring tank to bathe. This part of the ceremony is also attended with some pomp. The water brought during the evening will now be utilised to purify the bride and bridegroom. Then the bridegroom was dismissed with presents of rings,ear-rings etc. money and clothes by the father and uncle of the bride. This concludes the marriage ceremony.

Death Ceremonies:

When a person is about to expire all members of the Tharavad, one by one pour a few drops of water into his or her mouth, holding in the hand a piece of gold or a gold ring. If the Tharavad is rich enough to afford it, a small gold coin is placed in the mouth, and the lips are closed. As soon as death has taken place, the corpse is removed from the cot or bed, and carried to the Vatakkini (a room in the northern end of the house) where it is placed on long plantain leaves spread out on the floor. The corpse is covered from top to toe with a washed cloth and placed on the floor with the head towards the south. Two lamps are kept burning, one near the head and the other near the feet of the dead body and here the neighbours come to take a farewell look at it.

Then comes the Pattum Kachayum Iduka or the placing of new clothes over the body by all the relatives outside the Tharavad. The body is then removed to the cremation ground in the south eastern corner of the Tharavad garden, where the funeral pyre is prepared of the wood of a mango tree cut for the ocassion. The corpse is generally carried by the Machampikkars on a bier made of bamboo. The body is placed on the pyre with the head towards the south. The junior members go around the pyre three times, throw paddy and rice over the dead body, prostrate at the feet of the corpse and then set fire to the pyre, the senior Anantharavan (nephew), who is next in age to the deceased, leading them. When the body is burnt the funeral party bathe, and then follows the breaking of the pot. This consists off the chief mourner carrying on his head an earthen pot filled with water with a small hole at the bottom, thrice around the pyre and then breaking the pot near the head of the corpse. When the water thus trickles down from the pot, the junior members direct the particles to the corpse, probably to purify it.

The Sanchayanam or the collection of the cremated remains takes place generally on the seventh day. The bones are collected in the new pot and deposited at the foot of a fig or jack tree, and at the next convenient opportunity removed there from and thrown into the waters of a sacred river. The ground itself, where the body has been cremated, is dug up and sown with grains or planted with a coconut tree. After the Sanchayanam funeral cakes are offered to the names of the departed, in which the Maran officiates as priest.

Pollution is observed for fifteen days by the members of the Tharavad On the 16th day, a grand feast is given to all the relatives and friends of the Tharavad.