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CH PTER ITHE UNTOUCHABLES AND UNTOUCHABILITY I N KERALA

T h e p r a c t i c e of untouchab i l i ty and unapproachab i l i typre va i l ed i n Kera la dur ing t h e modern per iod . A t t h i s t i m et h e Hindu s o c i e t y i n Kerala had been div id ed in t o twoc la sse s , popu la r ly known a s t h e *Savarnas t ( touchab les ) o rh igh c a s t e Hindus and t h e Avarnas (un touchab les ) o r - lowcaste Hindus. T hese e v i l p r a c t i c e s t ou ch ed ev er y a sp ec t oft h e l i f e of t h e Hindus a t t h i s t i m e .

M A I N C USES OF THE PR CTICE OF UNTOUCHAETLITY ANDUNAPDROACHABILITY

The main causes o f t h e p r a c t i c e o f Untouchab i l ity andUnapproachabl l i ty might have been th e d i s t o r t i o n of Vedici de a s a s t h e f i r s t c au se a nd t h e f o r c i b l e c o nv er si on fromHinduism t o o t he r r e l i g i on s a s t h e second cause . Ther e l i g i o u s i d e a s and p r i n c i p l e s of u ni ty and onenessenshr ined i n t h e Rigveda w e r e i gn or ed a s a r e s u l t of t h ed i s t o r t i o n o f v e d i c i de a s. T h er e i s r ef er en c e i n t h eRigveda about the secret of i o n a l s t a b h ic h c an bea t t a i n e d t h ro u gh t h e un i ty o f men i n l l m tters a t h e i rl i f e i n soci e ty . The Rigvedic ad vic e t o human beings i st h a t f o r t h e enjoyment of good re s u l t s of dharma andpr os pe r i t y i n a un ifo rm na tu re? human un i t y th roughorganis l r r ions and s t re ng th of menta l u ni ty through knowledge

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a r e e s s e n t i a l f o r t h a t p u rp o se . A n oth er R ig ve di csu g g e s t i o n t o human beings i s t h a t f o r t h e achievement

o n c e pt o f p r o sp e r ou s f u t u r e , t h a ti s t h e paramount aim, t h e u n i t y of Mantra , o rg an i sa t i onand e q u a l i t y of t ho u gh t a r e e s s e n t i a l f o r t h e pu rp ose . 2Rigvedic b le ss in g t o human be ings i s t h a t f o r t h e achievem entof e s t a b l i s h i n g m utual f r i e n d s h i p f o r ever, t h e equality i nc on ce pt , h e a r t and mental u n i t y a r e e s s e n t i a l f o r t h a tpurpose .3 The p ra c t i c e o f un to uc ha b i l i ty andu n a p p r o a c h a b i l i t y and t h e c o n c e pt of p o l l u t i o n a r e n o ti n consonance w i t h t h e gbove men tioned r e fe re nce s c i t e dfrom t h e ?igveda. The i d e a s i n t h e Rigveda have beenchanged from p e r io d t o p e r i o d a c c o r d in g t o t h e i n f l u e n c eof each per iod .4 The changed ve d i c id ea s i n each per iodh el pe d t o s t r e n g t h e n t h e c a s t e s t r u c t u r e and l e d t o make

r e s t r i c t i o n s i n r e g a r d t o c a s t ei sm .

Ano the r impor tan t cause of th e e v i l cus toms ofun to uc ha b i l i ty and unappro acha b i l i ty migh t have been t h e/ f o r c i b l e c o n v e r s i o n from H induism t o o t h e r r e l i g i o n s . The

I. R ip ed ar n, Vo1.8 Malayalarr Trans.C.F.CNarayanan N am pooth iripad, (vadakkemadam, (3rahmaswom)Trich ur -1 , Sep tem ber 1986) Mandalam-10, Suktham-191,P.1096, V Z2. ibid, F.1097, V 3

i b i d , P.1097-98, V 4. Vedabandu, Rigveda P ra ve si ka , (Malayalarr.), (K era laS ah ity a Acaderni, T ri ch u r, (ITational Book S t a l l ,Kottayam, 1988). FP. 144-91.

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R es o lu t i ons pass ed a t t he mee ting o f t h e V a id ikas he ld a tt h e Es ta te o f f ic e of zamorin under t he ausp ices of zamorinManavikrama Raja and Malayam Collector R.H. E l l i s on20th August 1922 proves t h e f a c t t h a t t he re occuredconv ers ions f rom Hinduism t o Is lam a s a r e s u l t of Mappi llar e b e l l i o n o f 9 1 5 Because t h e f o r c i b l e ~ r o m

----th e s id e of Mappilas m de cus tomar y v i o l n t o t h e Hindus.he de fau lted pe r sons a r e p r ovided t o g e t a r e ce ip t f o r

in format ion of t h e i r p u r i f i c a t i o n th rough temple worsh ipfrom t h e owner o r manager of t h e temple: and pre se n t tb e f o r e t h e z am orin f o r t h e i s s u e o f a c e r t i f i c a t e from h i mby i n d i c a t i n g t h e i r r e - e n t r y i n t o t h e i r own c a s t e byremoving po l l u t io n th rough t h e exp ia tory func t ion s a t ten-ples.we m y conclude here i n t h e l i a h t of th e above sa id Resolut iont h a t th e progranune of re tu rn of th e converted Hindus t o th eHindu fo ld might have been a pr a c t i c e here i n t h e p a s t ,t h a t s f r o m t h e t im e of f o r c i b l e c o nv ers io ns t o o t h e rre l i g io n s onwards. Gra dua lly such conve rsions might have beenincre ased here; and th e r- . l e rs and people might have been

5. Resolu t ion passed a t t h e meeting of th e Vaid ikasheld a t Es ta te O f f ice of Zamorin under t he ausp icesof Zamorin Manavikrama Raja and Malayam Collector? He E l l i s on 20th August 1922 MS.(Malayalam)7 v a l l a th o l Vidya Peedam Library, Sukapuram, ~ d a p a l ) .

6. ibid, P 2

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i n d i f f e r e n t t o t h i s p r a c t i c e of r e t u r n of t h e co nv ert edHindus a t a l a t e r t ime, because of pol lu t io n . Thecon vert ed Hindus on th e ot h e r hand might have beenin d i f f e r e n t to wards t h e e x p i r a to ry p ro ce du re a t te mp le s.So t h i s concep t of p o l l u t i on w i t h the conjunct ion ofchanged vedic id ea s might have been a cause of r i g i d i t y 'ofcas te i sm i n Kerala and t h e e v i l p r a c t i c e s of u n t o u c h a bi l it yand una ppro ach abil ity. The Re solu tion passed i n 9 2 2 mustonly have been a remnant of t h e p a s t p ro ce du re t o r e tu rnt h e con vert ed Hindus. So t s c l e a r t h a t t h e f o r c i b l ec o nv e rs io n s of t h e p a s t w e r e t h e r o o t c a us e o f t h e e v i lp r ac t i ce s o f un to uch ab i l i ty and unapproachabi l ity i n Kerala.

Malabar law was custom modified i n accordance w i t h t h e i rneeds by th e Erahmins. Thus re gu la ti on s re ga rf in g

I un touch ab i l i ty , unapproachab i l i ty . unp erce ivab i l i ty e tc .Were made by them and s t r i c t l y enfo rced by th e s t a t e whichto te l ly change6 the manner of l i f e of mi l l ions of low ca s t emen who formed t h e m aj or it y of p op ul at io n of Keral a .

C a s t e i s m was p r m ln e n t i n Hindu So c ie ty a t t h ebeginning of the 9th cen tury . The hig h caste Kindusl i k e t he Nambuth ir is an

'I.T.K,Ravindraa I n s t i t u t i o n s and Movements inKerala History (Char i thram Pub l ica t ion s ,Trivandruar, 19 ) Ch.11, o ~ . c i t . , p.42.

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p r iv i le g ed s t a t u s i n s o c ie ty , Even high caste Nairsservad the Nemb u th i r i s as danes t l c servants. Theuntouchable ca st e s who con st it ut ed th e bulk of the populationw e r e i n a very backward cond iti on and severe r e s t r ic ti on sw e r e imposed upon the i r general freedom of movement.

Each of the bove sa id cat eg ori es of Hindus had ca st esand sub-castes. Brahmins t h a t i s the Nambuthiri Brahminsinclud ing a l l classes of V e d i c nd non-Vedic Brahmins wereconsidered t o belong t o the f i r s t c at ago ry of castes. Thesecond category was the Kshat r iyas which included Tampurans,Tamoans, Samanthans etc. The t h i r d category w a s t h e Ambala

a s i s . I n Malabar Sociology, Vaisyas have been conspicuousby thei r absence. Adikal , Chakkiyar , Chakkiyar Nambiar,

The Nambuthiri rehmins were the h ig he s t c l a s s i nKerala i n the so ci a l h ierarchy . The second important classes

P I

8. M.Sankara Menon, Census Re oort of India . Cochin1901,Vol,XX, p t ,~ ,- Cochin Govt, Ijress Ernakulam,Ch,VIII, P 189

uwere th e Kshatr iyas. The Ambala V a s i s and the high classN a i r s belonged t o th e t h i r d category. The fo urt h categorybelonged t o th e Sudras which in cluded th e l o w c l a s s a i r s of

e r a l e as w e l l as non-Brahmin non-Malayali) castes ofh i g h e r class. The f i f t h ca tegory appl ied t o the untouchablecastes and s i x th ca tego ry appl i ed t o the s t i l l lowerunapproachable castes, run t o p t o b o tt un of the s o c i a lh ierarchy , po l lu t ion w a s pra ct i ced i n Kerala.

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Chengazhi Nanbiar, Kollat tu Kurup. M a r a f N-iyassan,Pisharodi, Poduval, Thiyyattunni. Variar etc were includedi n Anrbala V a s i s Below them stood the high caste a i r sinc ludi ng many sub-divisions i n which t he Ng he stsub-castes were known as Wriyam, i n Malabar and Vellaymai n Cochin. &nong t h m t h e r e were various grades of socials t a t u s and t h e members of th e h igher sub-castes d i d notfr ee ly mingle with those of the lower. The Brahmins weredeemed t o be polluted by the touch of t h e N e i r s Belowthem w a s the s ta tu s o f l o w c a s t e Sudras. There are f o u rinter-mediate castes between Nayars and th e pol lu ti ngCastes t h a t may be called low class Sudras f o r want of abetter generic nameY. Veluthedans, Velakka Thalavans,Chaliyans and Ezhuthachans etc, were i nc lu de d i n t h i scategory. Nairs and the castes above the a i r s werepo l lu tad by the touch of these people. The non-MalayaliBrahmins and sane non-Malayali castes had the same statuss those of the l o w c l a s s Sudras. The ca ste s below t h e l o w

caste N e i r s w e r e t h e popu la rly known untouchable andunapproachable castes.

9. C.Achutha Menon, Cochin S t a t e Mannual, (GochinGovt. Prea8, Ernakulam. 1911 Ch.111, Cb.cit.P.202.

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The castes below the l ow c a s t e N a i r s were general lyhaving socia ith varying degrees i n accordancewith their Th. K alans with in the Iso ci al dis tance of 24 Malabar f e e t pol luted cas te s abovet h e m The Ezhavans and Panans had t o keep 32 f e e t awayfrom th e hig her ca st es . The fishermen canmunity a s sucha s Mukkuvan. Valan. Arayan e t c , had t o keep a dis tance of36 f e e t f ra n t he c a s t e s above them. The Kanakkans andKootans had t o keep a di st an ce of 48 f e e t from the h ighercas tes . he higher csstes would be pol luted by t h eapproach of Cherumans o r Eulayann w i t h i n a distance of6 4 Malabar feet. The Parayans and Vettuvans had t o keep

t i s t m c e from th e hig he r ca st es . The Nayadies/ --and Ulladans had t o keep 74 f e a t ..i s tance r u n t h e h i s h e rcastes .

The c a s te s t a t u s s t ip u l a t e d t h a t a member whoacquired po llut io n by tw ch o r approach o r i n any othermanner but had not performed any purificatory ceremonywould be severaly de a l t w i t h the nature of punishmentdependins o n th e degree of p o ll u ti o n acquired. The

10 here i s reference in the following source aboutthe so cia l di s t an ce d each classes of people-Census Report of Cochin, 1901. Vol.XX, Pt.1Ch.VIII, P 182

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p o l l u t io n v a r i e s i n c onnection wit h i n t e r 4 n i n g .in t e r - ma rr i ag e and pol lu t i on by touch o r approach. l I nconnect ion wi th inter- dining, t h e h i g he r caste members ifpar t ak i ng of t h e meals ~ r e p a r n d y one of a lower castewas a caste off ence. For example. no membe r of any hlgher

11 C.Achutha Menon. Census of India , Cochin, 19111Vol.XVI11 Pt.1. (Cochin Govt. Press. Emakulan.1912 Ch.XI, P 68 Par-92.

e e t a c lee r p i c t u r e o f the above sa id restricted=as ru l e s frcm t h i s Repor t that , The mealsprepared by persons belonging t o h i ghe r ca s t e s canbe partaken of by thoae belonging t o the lower ones,but the c on ve rs e. 'i s s t r i c t l y p r oh ib i te d , e s p e c i a l l yi n the caee of females. A high class Nambudirimale may e a t th e food cooked by low class Nembudiries,and even by Tinnnulpads, t their females cannot*Si mi la rl y Nayar males ca n pa rt ak e of t h e mealsprcpared by any Nayar without dist inct ion of sub-caste; b u t a female belonging t o a lower. A l lNayar females can ea t t o ge th e r i n ehe same roomb u t th os e of hi gh er sub -cas tes may no t s i t i n t hes me row for t h e purpose with those of a lower one.S i m i l a r r u l e s are o bse rv ed a l s o a o n g the lowercastes I n t a r - m a r r i a g e a l s o i s genersl ly governedby the same r u l e s a s t h o s e of Inter-dining.Nambudiri female ca n of co ur se be marr ied only i nh e r own c l a s s . bu t a Nmbudiri male can formSambandham un ion i n any cas te below h i s . bu t no tbelow t h a t of Hayara. s a rule Nayar belongingto the Nayar and in -m ed ia te c as te s may marry onlywhere they ea t , t h a t i s with equal s and super iors .bu t these r u l e s are n ot s o s t r i c t l y observed i nthese days as fo rmer l y , e spec i a l l y bg the Nayars.P o l l u t i o n i s anot he r e l emen t f o r cas t e d i f f e ren -t i a t i o n , a n d there a r e some f ea t u res o f it whichare p e c u l i a r t o this p a r t of India. A Naabudiri i sp o l l u t e d by the touch of any one below h i m i n theSocial Scale, while Kammalans and the castes belowthem p o l l u t e h i m i f they approach wit hin a prescr ibedradius . Similarly, t h e members of any other castesa n p o l l u t e d by the touch or approach. ae t h e casemay be, of the castes b l o w them.

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c a s t e e a t s w i t h t h e Ezhavans o r Tiyyans o r chogmars. Thehigher male members were prevented from having sexualconnection with lower caste females below the rank cf Nairsand male m e m b e r s of a l l c a s te s w e r e prevented fran havingsexual re la ti on s with females of hi ghe r caste s. Thenon-performance of funeral r i tes and non-observance of ceremonialpollutions such as death, bi rt h and pol luti on i n connectionwith women etc, were sane Of the of fences t o cas te ru lesand res t r ic t ions . Similar offen ces, i f canmitted betweenmembers of sub-castes, were t r ea ted s m i n o r oms.

he eat i ng of f lesh, f i sh and th e use of intoxicat ingdrinks were proh ib i t ed to B r a hm i n s Kshatriyas and AmbalaVasis. E u t the Nayars and castes below them were prohibitedf r an th e use of beef only from t h e i r food. The accountsof 1901 Madras Census Report show t h a t th er e were twentytwo c as te s i n Halabar which po ll ut e e v e n without touchingbut do not e a t beef. l2 t i s no t iceab le th a t i n f e a s t sand on ceremonial occasions, some restricted formalitieshad t o beobserved i n the allo ca tio n of se ats i n t h e diningha l l according t o so c ia l s ta tus . Th i s customary statusi n Ksrala bound up i n a l l dealings between each c as te

12. W.Francis, Census R e ~ o r t f In dia Madras, 19018Vol.XV, Pt.1 G4vt. P r e s s , Madras, 1902 Ch.VIII .138 9.

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wi th o th e r ca ste s. Widow rema rriage w a s not allowedamong Brahmins. I n f a n t marri age was a ca mon r u l e amongth e Malaya li s and g i r l s were enforced t o marry beforepuber ty i n th e Malaya11 c a s t e syetem.

A t t h i s t i m the Hindus observed varying degrees ofd i s t an c e s i n p o ll u ti o n. l3 These varying degrees of dist anc esi n p o l lu t i o n a c co rd in g t o caste s t a t u s were appl icab le t ot h e whole of Kerala. l4 Every m n considered himselfpo l lu t ed by th e touch o r approach of one of a c a s t e belowhim. A Nambudiri i s pol lu ted by the touch of any onebelow hlm. i n the Soc ia l Scale while Kammalans and the

14 . Pharoah 6 Co., G az at te er of Southern Indi a,Athaenem P r e s s , Madras, 1855 P.518.t i s sa id i n t h i s Gaze t tee r t h a t t he Thiyyas ofMalabar w e r e not allowed t o approach within sixteenf e e t of Super ior Hindus: bu t i n t h e north ofMalabar th ey may approach wi th in f i v e f e e t , andgenera l ly a c tua l contac t on ly i s considered theret o cause po l lu t i on .L.K. Anantha Krishna Iyer, The Cochin Tribes anda s t e s Vol.1, (Cochin Government Press , Ernakulam,1909., F i r s t Edit ion , Cowo Public at ions, New D e l h i1981) Ch.XVI p.311

The author rejects th is above s i d d i s t znceby s ay in g t h c t So f a r as my information goes,t h i s does not appear t o be correct. They(Thiyyas of North Malabar) cannot approachBrahman houses o r temples, nor can theypa ss th rough Brahman Vill ag es i n Palghat.No member of any higher c stes e a t s wit h them .

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c a s t e s below them p o ll u t e him i f they approach with in aprescr ibed radius. The Namtuthiri was considered himselfpolluted even by t h e approach of a N a i r w i th i n s i x f ee t . 16Similar ly, the m em b e r s of ny o t h e r c a s t e s were pol lu tedby th e touch o r approach of the c a s t e s below them. hemembers o f a l l c stes must s t r i c t l y obey the dis tancepol lut ion. No such dis tance of po l lu t io n was associa tedwi th t he Ch ri s ti ans and Muslims whose touch was cons ide redas po l lu t ing . Such type of pollution acquired by t h eHindus var ied on th e grounds of t h e i r so ci al s tat us . twas decided by the Vaidikas that the suggested expiatoryprovis ions t o the de fau l t s of Hindus i n regard t o theMappila rebellion of 1 9 2 1 t t h e i r meeting i s enough t oa l l Hindus exc ep t Brahmins. 17 For example, i f Brahminsacquired it by t ouch or by in ter -dining o r i n t e r -mar r i agewith them. they were ex-caamunicated f r a n t h e caste.Sim ilar was th e cas e of a l l ot he r Hindu cast es. becauseof the Orthodox character of the society. The Mappilarebedlion of 1921 a l s o res ul te d i n var ious degrees ofpo l lu t ion t o some of the Hindus of B r i t i s h Malabar. The

15. C Achutha Menon, The Cochin State Manual , o~.ci t . ,Ch.111, P 195

16. K.V. Krishna Ayyar, sh o rt History of Kerals.Pub.by S.V.Pal P a i Co. Ernakula 1966 .mC h e X V I P.128.

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co nt ac ts by touch l i k e Co-living and ea t i ng of the foodprepared by the Mappi las in ter -din ing and s o on, with thHindus during the course of r e b e l l i o n r e su l t ed i n s e v e ra ltypes of p o l l u t i o n t o the Hindus i n regard to the periodof rebel l ion. l8 Thus i nte r- ma rr ie ge , i n t e r d n i n g ndp o l l u t i o n by touch or approach were the tests by which

cas t e - s t a t us o r so c i a l s t e t us was de te rmined i n Kerala.

P u r i f i c a t i o a tr zm p UutrioaThere were var ious k inds of p ur i f i c a t io n wbfch ex i s t e d

i n K er al a i n r eg ar d t o p o l l u t io n by touch o r apprcach. Thei d e a of p u r i t y or c l ea n l i n ess was r e spons i b le fo r t h ep o l l u t i o n by touch or approach. The Nambuthiri Brahm-and Kshatriyas were po l l u t ed by t h e touch of h ig h c a s t e

a i r s i n such a way t h a t the l o w c a s t e N a i r s who pollutedt h e h ig h c a s t e Piairs by touch. The Kammalans p o l l u t e d theNairs by appmaching within twelve feet . l9 The approach

\o f a Nayadi within a di st an ce of three hundred fee t i s saidt o c o nt m in e te a Brahman, who ha s t o ba the and pu t on a newsac red thread, t o cl ea n himself of pol lution.. . I f a Nayartouches a Brahman, t h e l a t t e r should bathe. I f a thandan,Tiyan. Carpenter blacksmi th , gold s m i t h cheruman, Paraiyan,

19. V. Nagam Aiya, The Travancore Stnte Manual, V01.11T r a v a n c ~r e overnment Press Trivandrum,1906 ~h.~,~.390.

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o r Nayadi approaches a Brahman o r Nayar wi th in t h ep ro h ib i t e d s t a n c e , they h av e t o b a th e t o c l e a n se the m se lv esf r u u t h e p o l l u t io n . 20 p lu ng e b a t h e i n t h e t a n k o r streamw a s t h e method o f washing o f f po l l u t io n of a l l kinds. Butt h e p o l l u t io n by touch o r approach can be removed only withsome pu r i f i ca to ry ceremonies a l s o bes ides ba the i n wa te r.For example, i f a Nayadi who p o l l u t e s a B r a h m i n bya pp ro ac hing him wi th in a d i s t a n c e o f fo u r f e e t ( i n s p i t e o ft h e 74 f e e t approach di s t a n c e between t h e Nayadi and Brahmin),t h e Brahmin has t o ba the , renew h i s sacred th rea d and dr i nkPanchagavyam. Such ki nd of p u r i f i c a t o r y bat he and o th erpu r i f i ca to ry ce remonies had been obse rved i n Kera la dur ingt h i s time. The lower castes a l s o o b se rv ed p o l lu t io n a ryp u r i f ic e t i o n s , j u s t as i n the cas e o f h igher castesMr K V Krishna Ayyar say s t h s t A Pulayan a lmost a t th eo t h e r end o f t h e s o c i a l s c a l e , would b o t l ~ e i v e t i m e s i ftouched by a Parayan. and seven times i a p ~ r o a c h e dwi th int h e p r o h ib i t ed d i s t c n c e by an Ul la t an , and symbolica l lyempty h im sel f o f h i s p o l l u t e d b lo od by p r i c k in g h i s f i n g e r

20 S Appadora i I y e r , Madras Government MuseumBullettin, Vol.11, N o 1 ; Anthropology. Na a d i e sof Malabar (Government P re ss , Madras, 1901 o ~ . c i t . ,P.71.21 Panchaqawam i s a m ix tu re of t h e f i v e g i f t s of t h e

cow m i lk , c u d s , b u t t e r , u r i n e and dung.

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w i t h a t h o r n a nd s h ed d in g a few d r o p s b e f o r e h i s l s tbathe: 22 I n t h e same way, i f Ve t t uvan who was po l l u t edby a Nayadi o r a n U l l a t a n , s h o u l d h a ve b ee n t a k e np u r i f i c a t o r y b a th es w i th f a s t f o r s ev en d ay s: s u b s i s t i n gon water a n d t o d d y f o r t h e re mo va l o f p o l l u t i o n . 2 3 Thust h e l ow er c a s t e s a s w e l l a s t h e h i gh e r c a s t e s o bservedp u r i f i c a t o r y ce re mo nie s f o r r em ov in g p o l l u t i o n .

T he p o l l u t i o n a c q u i r e d b y t h e Hi nd us b y t h e t ou c h o fo t h e r r e l i g i o n i s t s l i k e C h r i s t i e n s and Muslims c ou ld beremoved t h r o u g h t h e p u r i f i c a t o r y p r o v i s i o n s o r d e re d by t h erulers . F o r ex am ple, d u r i n g t h e t i m e of M ap pi la R e b e l l i o n i n1921, t h e p u r i f i c a t i o n from t h e p o l l u t i o n a c q u ir e d by t h e H indus( e x c l u d i n g Br ah m in s) who h ad d o n e an y work a t t h e t i m e i nc o n t r a v e n t i o n o f Hindu r e l i g i o u s P r a c t i c e s c o u ld b e o b ta i ne dby d o i ng e x p i a t i o n a s t w en t y one d a y s 3V a s hi v ad u s ( o f f e r i n g s ) a nd s h o u l d b e of e r ed t w e l v e t h o us a ndNamajapams ( t o u t t e r name of t h e d e i t y such a s S i v a o rNarayana t o t h e i r n e a r e s t temple a cc or d i ng t o t h e

*t em p le c u st o m s a p p l i c a b l e t o t h e i r c a s t e s . Each t y p e o f s u chp o l l u t i o n h ad e ac h t y pe of p r o p e r p u r i f i c a t i o n s l i k e t h ea bo ve s a i d , f o r t h e r e mo va l o f p o l l u t i o n a n d a g a i n t o become

22. K.V.Krishna l iyyar , s h o r t H is to ry of Kera l a ,o p . c i t , , Ch.VI, ~ p . 1 2 8 .23. T K Sank ara Menon, Cen sus Re po rt o f Cochin, 1931,

Vo l . XX1 Pt .1 (Co chi n Government P re s s , Ernakulam,19 33 ) App.11, P.290, par.4.24. R e s o l u t i o n p a s s e d a t t h e m e e t i ~ g f the-...PP. 1-2.

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Hindus. 25 An in te re s t in g type of p u r i f i c a t i o n had e x i s t e di n t h e C ochin s t a t e i n r eg ar d t o such pol lu t ions . In thecase of caste of fe nc es me ri ti ng ex-communication, Sudras andp e r so n s i n f e r i o r t o them i n c a o t e co u l d be saved r o m t h a tpena l ty g the Raja of Cochin by prese nti ng t o them w i t h h i sown hands a Kindi o r v e s s e l o f w t e r t o d ri nk . m 6 Fewof t h e converted low ca st e peoples such as Pula)-ans,F i shemen etc; had taken this oppor tuni ty t o re turn aga int o Hinduism fran the converted re li gi on . They had t o takewat er f rom any member of th e Cochin roya l f m i l y f o r theremoval of t h i s po l l ut io n acquired by being converts,Enforcement of Caste ules

The C a s t e System of Kerala was t h e most r i g i d cunparedt o o th er par t s of India. The cas te ru les and ord inanceswere dr as t i c and t h e i r observances w e r e rigorously enforced.Even violat ion of i t s uninportnnt rules had merited penal tyof var io us kinds and imposi t ion of var ious degrees ofpur i f i ca t io ns . Vio la t ion of i t s more important rules hadmeri ted complete ex-communication from t h e cas te and soc ie ty .

25. =-The Vaidikas decided i n t h i s meeting t h a t thereading of Vedas by t h e Sudras,the wearing of earr i n g s by the Hindu females l i k e Mappila women,draped dresses by t h e Hindu females etc. through t h epznacez- :f Mappilas; and suggested ex pi at io n t ot h e s e d e f a u l t s a s three days Panchaaawm Seva andshould be of fe red no t le ss than three thousandNamai aDams.26 Census R e ~ o r t f Cochin, 1911 Vol.XVII1, Pt.1o ~ . c i t . , Ch.XI, P.70 Par 95

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Kera la had s t r i c t l y obse rved atmospheric po l lu t ion wi thto u ch p o l lu t i o n , b u t other p a r t6 of I n d i a observed onlytouch po l lu t i on . The t i n y p la n t of untou chabi l i ty grewi n t o t h e mighty and many-branched tree of unapproachabil i tyi n i t s p ri e st -r id d en and f e r t i l e s o i l . 27

Caste rules a n d r e s t r i c t i o n s were s t r i c t l y e nfo rcedi n Kera la through th e agency o f ca a t e a ssoc ia t io ns popu la r lyknown as enangu and t a r a gssocia t ionszand through the

a id ikans and th e r u l e r o f th e s t a t e . The du ty o f thesover ign w a s t o p r o t ec t t h e heala (genera l l a w of thisc o u n t q ) and uphold t h e Marvadp o r Acharam (customary ru le s)o f each caste and loca l i ty . 2e These ru les were enforcedby t h e enanqu and assoc ia t io ns i n th e case of minoroffences and by t h e va id ikans and th e ruler of t h e s t a t e i nt h e case of more ser io us ones 29 t was on the occasion of

27. T K Sankara Menon, Census ewrt of India, Cochin,1 9 3 l , o ~ . c i t . Vo l . x x I pt.1 ch.XII, p.251, par 1128. K V Krishna A w a r The Zamorins of C n l i c u t n m the

was the a s s o c i a t i o n o f a number of familieso ng in g t o t h e same sub-cas te i n a v i l l a g e andwas the as so ci a t io n of t h e leading men ofvar ious castes i n a v i l l ag e .

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a death o r marriage o r oth er occurances i n a family, thefamily mmbers of enansu system, who made the necessaryarrangements f o r th e occasion. 3 on such occasions, thee ld e r s o f t he families used t o s e t t l e a l l a o c i a l d is pu te sand dispose of minor ca s t e offences. The type ofpunishments were suspension from the enanqu associationand imposed fi n es o r ot he r s ma lle r punishments. The f inesthus rea l i s ed were p a i d i n t o t h e funds of t he vi l la getemple. Although t h i s system did not exist and th i sa s s o c ia t i o n f a i l e d t o t a k e a ct io n , memb e r s of o thercastes and sub-castes came t o t ake ac tions . The t rsass oci at io n punished f o r the breach of caste r u l e s bysuspending fzun t h e priv i le ge s of t he v i l l age comuni tysuch as the ser vic es of the v il la g e barber, washeman,c h it ik a n o r p u r i f i e r om po l lu t ion etc. h e moreimportant cases w e r e repor ted t o the Vaidikans Ta s o r t of head among p ri e st s , o r i s Highness, t h e Raja,according t o th e seriousne ss of t he offence, and ac t io n

30. The detai ls about the functions of enanauand ass oci at io ns taken from: P.GovindaMenon, Census R e ~ o r t f Cochin, 1921, V~.XIXPt.1 Cochin Government Press Ernakulua, 1922)Ch.XI, P.69, Par.94.

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was taken according t o t h e i r o rd er s. 31 Complete axcommunication could not be passed w i t hou t t he sanc t i ono f t h e mler. t i s clear from the foregoing explanat iont h a t i n the cas te i sm , t h e p r ec t i ce o f un t ouchab i li t y andunapprc)achabil i ty i n Ke rala was t h e imposed c ur se upon thepeop l e a s a na t i ona l p roduct o f t he s oc i a l s t r uc t u r e andt h e s t r i c t enforcement of ca s t e ru les .

BRIEF DESCRIPRION ABOUT THE UNTOUCHABLE AND USAPPROACHABLECASTES N KERALA

From to p t o bot tom of t h e s o c i a l h i e ra r ch yuntouchabi l i ty and unapproachabi l i ty w a s prac t i c ed i n Kera la.These ca st e s bea rin g d i f f e r e n t names, f o r example, chiruman,pu layan et c. ) bu t pe r fo mi n g t h e same func t ions i n d i f f e r en tp a r t s o f t h e c o u n t r y, s ho ul d be t r e a t e d s bel ongi ng t o t h esame ca s t e o r not . Accord ing t o t h e customs of t h e OrthodoxHindu So ciet y i n Kerala, a l a r g e number of castes belonged t othe impure category of populat ion i n r eg ar d t o t h e i r s o ci o,economic and r e l i g io u s s t a t u s . The measurement s c a le ofimpuri ty var ied from caste t o cas t e . The most important

31 The p o l l u t i o n a cq u ir e d by the Hindus exceptBrahmins during the t i m e of Mappi la rebel l ionof Malabar i n 1921 i s an example of more s e r io u so f fences t o caste r u l e s . T h i s case had been seenby the Zamorin of Calicut and Malayam Collector asone of se r i ou s case So a committee of Vaidikash el d a t t h e E s t a t e o f f i c e of Zamorin and MalayamC o l l e c t o r R H E l l i s on 20th August 1922 andpassed a r e so l u t i o n w i th some prov i s ions i n r ega rd t oremove su ch po ll ut io n.

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i mpure s ec t i o n s among them w e re t h e lo w c l a s s H in dus,a b o r i g i n a l t r i b e s and lower c u s t e im m i g ra n ts f ro m o t h e rp a r t s o f I n di a . Each o f t h e s e c l a s s e s had c a s t e s a ndsub-cas t e s .

Unapproachable c l a s s w a s e c t i o ~ f H in du s o c i e t yi n r eg a r d t o t h e p o l l u t i o n i n K era la compared t o o t h e rp a r t s of Inc?ia. I n o t h e r p a r t s o f I n d i a, T h e ir ( P o l l u t i n gc a s t s ) e s s e n t i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c i s t h a t , a cc o rd in g t o t h et e n e t s of o r t h odox Hindu ism, t h ey a re t ho ug h w i t h i n t h eH in du s y st em , ' u n t o u c h a b l e ' , t h a t i s t o say , t h a t f o r a l lo t h e r H in du s th e y c a u s e p o l l u t i o n by t o uc h a n d d e f i l e f oo dor wa t e r . 32 B ut i n X e r a l a, t t r e h i gh c a s t e Hindus had been2 o l l u t e d e ve n t h e a ?> ro ach of p o l l u t i n q c a s t e s w i t h i n ap r e s c r i b e d d i s t an c e . C a s t e S t a t u s w a s i mp or ta nt i n t h ec a s e a p p r o a ch t o a p e rs o n . F o r ex am ple, t h e d i s t a n c e ofa p? ro a ch was h i g h s r when a - . p r o a c h i n g t h e h i g h e z c a s t e s l i k eErahmins and X sh a t r i y a s and it was lower when approachingt h e Nairs. t i s c l e a r from t h e a b w e f a c t t h a t t h e2 :; pr oa ch ab le d i s t a n c e t o h i g h e r c a s t e s was v a r y i n s a c c o rd i n gt o t h e c a s t e s t a t u s of h i g h e r c a s t e s . I t i s a n i n t e r e s t i n gt h i n g t h a t t h e u n a p ? r o a c b b k c a s t e s a l s o o bs erv ed m utu alp ol lu Lk io n among th em w i t h i n t h e f o l d o f p o l l u t i n gc l a s s e s o f indu S o ci e ty , j u s t as i n t h e c as e ofh i a h e r c a s t e s . So K M P a n i k k a r o b s e r v e s

32 R ep or t o f t h e I n di a n S t a t u t o ~ ommission Vol. IPT. I The Condi t ion of t h e pro ble m, (Gov?rnment ofI n d i a , C e n t r a l p u b l i c a t i o n Branch, C a l c u t t a , 1930)op c i t Ch.4 p.37.

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that Untouchable Society w s in fact an imitation ofHindu life, in all its weakn~sses, ften enforcing amonthemselves social distinctions as rigid as among casteHindus, and consequently as broken up and divided as theother. 3

The low class Hindus can be divided into foursections in regard to the length of unapproachability.The first section can be called as higher unapproachablecastes and the second section as lower unapproachablecastes, the third section as the Forest and Hill tribesand the fourth section as non-indegenous castes. Thehigher unapproachable castes can be again divided intothree groups, in regard to the distance of their

unapproachability.Hibher Una~roachab3e aster

The castes belonging to the first group of higherunapproachable section polluted the higher castes byapproach within twenty four feet. In the distance ofpollution, the artisan class, collectively known as theKarmnalans belonged to the first group of pollutingcastes. Marassari or Carpenter, Kallassari or Mason,

33 K.M. Panikkar, Hindu Society at Cross Roads,Published by P.S. Jaya Singh, (Asia publishingHouse, Bombay, First Ed.1955, Reprint:1967)0p.cit.. P.54.

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Musari 7 razier, Kollan or blacksmith, Tattan or goldsmith were included among the artisan community.Tolkollan or leather worker also included in theco mn it y. of Kamalans.

The second group of higher unapproachable sectionincluded the castes like the Ezhavas, Panans, ~elans,~'Mannans and Vilkurups. These castes had to keep a I 7distance of thirty two feet away from the h i , g b e r , m s .> . . - .._.The Ezhavas were known in different names at variousparts of the country. To the South this class is knownas Shannars: to the north as Teeans, Denominationscarrying with them but slight shades of disinction,and all may be considered as applicable to the samerace . 4 Palm cultivation and toddy drawing were theirheriditary occupations but they were also engaged inagriculture. The Panans were engaged in sorcery aswell as medicine. In th e case of profession, the Pananswere ... the musicians of the inferior order, but to thisprofession they add that of players, pretend t aknowledge of medicine and the occult sciences-the twolatter accomplishments are here generally united adoctor being necessarily a nusician, and about equally

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s k i l f u l i n b o th c ha r ac te rs n . 5 L.K ~ n e n t h aKrishna 1yers t a t e s t h a t some of t h e Pananm were engaged i n magicalrites of a r e p u l s i ve c h a r a c te r , i n order to becomepossessor of a powerful medicinen, t h e pos ses sio n ofwhich was believed t o have t h e power of obta in ing anythlnqhe wished,36 The Vi lku rup a were engaged i n makingumbrellas, bows and arrows. Vilk urup s w r s o c a l l e db ec au se t h e i r t h e i r o c cu p at io n i n fo rmer t i m s was t ot r a i n low caste youngmen t o a t h e l e t i c f e a t s and arms,and t o make bows and arrows. 37 There were n o s u b c a s t e

\among t h e Vi lku rup s. Ve lan s and Manna8 were t h e washenmn-- ...- -- -.__ -o f t h e p o l l u t i n g castes hey had t o s tand a t a d i s tance /. . .. . ~of t h i r t y tw fee t f r o m. t h e.. Brahmins., - The services of ,)- ~ ZC____ ~-mannans and Vela ,ns arenxrsgu.tre.d by caste women..-__ o r

~___-,---

p u r i f i c a t i o n a f t e r d e l i v e ry an d monthly p er io d . The-Velans a l s o ac ted as phvaicians -06-~~kweclasses..~,. ~.~ .. . , ... .-~.-- ~. . L/

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engaged i n works r e l a t i n g t o f i s h i n g an d sea. The39P u l l m a n casts w a s g e n e r al l y h el d t o be i n f e r i o r t o Tiyyans.

They were t h e s i n g e r s b e f o r e th. S e r p e n t K ~ v M ~ O They singa t t h e S erpe nt Kavus a pecu l i a r s ong , accompanied by t h et o g of an i n s t r umen t called Pu ll uv a Kudam a k i n 5 of p o t ) .They were also tmployed i n medicine and t h e i r f emaleswere mid wives of t h e low ca st e s . The Kaniyans belongedt o t h i s gro up of t h i r t y s i x f e a t d i s t an c e c a s t e s - I The G

. chief occupat ion of t h e Kaniyan6 w a s t o cast horoscopesand t o c ho os e t h e p r o p i t i o u s t i m e f o r t h e c e l e b ra t i o n o fma rria ges and o t h e r ceremonies . Logan sap s, H i s @aniyan9work i n s h o r t mixes him up w i t h t h e g r a v e st a s wi th t h e mostt r i v i a l o f t h e d om es ti c e v e n t s o f t h e p eo pl e, and h i si n f l u e n c e a n d p o s i t i o n are cor respondingly grea t . 42

39. H,A.Stuart, Census eport of Madras. 1891, Vol.XII1Government P re ss , Madras, 18 72.40. S e rp e n t Kavue w e r e t h e w or sh ipp ing p l a ce s of s e r pen t s .

They were ge ne ra l l y known i n Kerala a s S iThe p u l l w a n s had t o e p aSerpent Kavus f o r s i ng in g songs.41. L.K. Anantha Kris hna Xyer. The Cochin T ri b e s andcastes, Vol.1, Ch.XI, p.228.The a\ lthor say s t h a t t h e Kaniyans had t o keept h i r t y s i x f e e t from a Brahmin and twenty fou r f e e tfrom N a i r , but o n a u r r i a g e o c c a s i o ns a - ? a i r g i v e sa B i f t daksh ina) o f fou r annas and betel l eavest o t h e a s t r o l o g e r s t a n d in g c l o s e b e s i d e him and y e tt h e r e was no p o l l u t i o n .42. Wil li am Logan, UALABAR Vol-I Government of IWBtas,1887r R m r i n t , C ha rfth ra m ~ u b l i c a t i o n s . Trivandrur~.

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OWS Wlapprochable: CastesThe above mentioned th r e e groups of c a s te s were th e

h i g h e s t u n a p p r o a c h a b l e c a s t e s i n Kerala and b e l w themstan ds th e po si t i on of lowest unapproachable ca s tes .There were four groups among the lowestunapp,pmachable.cas tes .

The f i r s t group of th e lowest po l lu t in g c as te s wast h e Kanakkans and Kootans. They had t o keep a d is tanceof fo ur ty e i gh t f e e t away from th e h igher ca s tes . TheKanakkans were good boat-men a s w ell as a g r i c u l t u r a llabou rers . The Kootans were a g r ic u lt u ra l labourers .

The second group of t h e lowest p ol lu ti n g ca st eswas in clud ed th e rmlayans. The Pulayans o r Cherumans , {

- -

had t o keep a d is t an ce of s i x t y four f e e t away from th ehigh er c a s te s . They were engaged i n a g r i c u l tu r a l l a b o u r .The Malavedans of Travancore were not a h i l l t r i b e ast h e i r name im pl ies . They were employed by Su dra 8farmers t o guard th e cro ps from th e ravages of w ildbeas t s . 4 The Malankuravans were engaged i n a g r i c u l t u r a llabour found mostly i n some ta lu k s of Travancore are as,wi th two sect ions -one l i v in g i n the jung les and the o the ri n t h e pl ai ns . The Malankuravans were obl ige d t o s tand

43. Edgar Thurston, Madras Government ~ I u s ~ w ,B ul le ti n, Vo1.III. No.1, ~n th ro po lo gy . Noteson some of t h e peo ple of Malabar, ~ al av ed an sof ~ravancore ; Pdscel lanea with s x p l a t e s ,(~overnmentPress Madras, 1900) P. 06

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c c c u p a t i c r , ~ . e The Ulladans were chiefly engaged i na g r ic u l tu r a l l a h u r , f e l l i n g t r e e s and i n scopping outlogs fo r boa ts .

The approach of f o r e s t t r i b e s and h i l l t r i b e s a l s ocauses po l l u t i o n t o ca s t e H indus. They were influencedby a l l t he p r e jud i ces o f c a s t e , and w ere d iv ided i n tos ev e ra l d i s t i n c t t r i b e s w i t h l i t t l e i n te rc o ur se w i t h eacho the r bu t t h e i r cha r ac t e r was s i m i l a r w hich pa r t ak es o ft h e rude w i ld n es s of t h e i r h i l l s , b u t it was i n no instanceferocious . 49 The r u l e r t r e a t e d t h e f o r e s t and h i l l t r i b e sw i t h g r e a t a f f e c t i o n . e ven th ou gh t h e j u ng le a nd h i l l t r i b e scause po l lu t i on t o t h e h ighe r cas t e s . The i r app roach

48. c.Achutha Menon, Census Report of cochin , 1891,Pt 1 Ch.XI.P.114. Dar.274- There i s a r e f e r encei n t h i s re p o rt abou't th e Nayadies t h a t They a r ea l a z y p eo ple a n d a z e t h e most i r r e s p e r e s s i b l e ofbegga rs. They s u r p r i s e t h e t r a v e l l e r by t h e i rclamorous howl f o r ch a ri ty and fol low h i m f o rmiles t o g e t h e r till they get something. On t h ere c e ip t of some sm ll p r e s e n t , t h e y e x p r e ss t h e i rg r a t i t u d e by d i s c h a r a i n g a v o l l e y o f B i l l i n g s g a te .

49. Ward and Conner, G eographical and s t a t i s t i c a lMemoir... Vol.1, P.15750. L.K.Anantha Kris hna Iy e r , The Cochin T ri b e s andC aste s , Vol.1, P.21,He savs i n th e c as e of Kadars. of Cochin. t h a twheneter i s Highness t he ~ a j ao u r s i n t h e f o r e s t sthey fol low h i m ca r r y him from p l ace t o p l a ce i nManjalS o r Palanquins, ca rry Samans and i n f a c tdo eve ryt hin q f o r him. i s Highness i n return wasmuch atta ch ed t o them, fe ed s them, gi v es themc lo th e s, ornaments, combs and loo kin g gl as se s.

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with in twenty fo ur fe e t causes po l lu t io n t o c as te Hindus,There were a large umber Of P o t e a t a n d H i l l t t i b e s n

Kerala. Some of them were t h e Ir ul as . Kadars Malayans,Mala Pantaram, Walapulayans, Malayarayans etc The I ru laswere a Semi-Brahmanised f o r e s t t r i b e who were found mainlyi n Malabar and w a d . The Badagas of B i l g r i s was a KanareseCaste and chiefly engaged n agr i cu l tu re .52 The Eravallenawere a Tamil and Malayalam speaking jungle tribe found nt h e C hit to or Taluk of Cochin St at e. Their chief occupationwas agriculture, The Kadars and Malayans were t h e mosttyp ica l of t h e fo re st t r i b e s i n Cochin. The Kadars werefound n Nelliampathi and Parambikulam w h i l e t h e Malayanswere foudd i n o th er h i l l s and fo re s ts . The Mala pantaramwere a nomadic t r i b e found i n t h e h i l l ranges near r iversand were a l s o known a s Paliyans . The Mala pulayans werefound i n the Anjanad Valley of the Devikulam Taluk n

51. Pharoah Co., G aze tt eer of Southern In d ia , P.519.52 Edgar Thurston, Madras Gwernment Museum Bulle t in ,vo1.11, 1~0.1 ~ a a a g a s f Ni lgr is , tGovernment Press ,Madras. 1897 P . l - ~ h e a u th o r a av s t h a t The nameBadaga- o r Vadugan means no rtheknert and t h eBadagas, who speak a language a l l i e d t o Kanarese,a r e no doubt descended front Kanarese Hinduc o l o n i s t s from t h e Mysore Country, who migra ted,probably about three centur ies ago. t o t h e h i l l sowing t o famine, p o l i t i c a l turmoil , o r l o c a loppression n t h e i r own countryY.

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North Travancore. The mlayarayana were nomadica gr ic u lt ur is ts and hunters. Thm Mannans of Travancore wash i l l t r i be ; l ive d inside th e fo re st s under th e custody ofForest Department. T h i s department employed t h em for thecollection of minor f o r e s t produces. The Kanikkars was ah i l l t r i b e i n Travancere su bsi st in g mainly on migratorycultivation, hunting and on f o r e s t produce. Th eir so ci als t a tu s was no so low as that of the Pulayas. 5

There were also some o ther t r ibes i n Kerala who werecausing po ll u ti on t o high ca s te Hindus. Some of them werePaniyans, Kururnans, Karimpalans and Mavilans. The membersof Paniyan, a jungle t r i b e were engaged i n agriculureand fount5 chiefly i n the Wynad and Kottayam ta lu k s ofMalabar. T h e i r pos ition i s sa i d t o be very l i t t l e aboveth a t of a slav e, f o r every Paniyan i s landlord's 'Nano,and though he i s of course, fr e e t o leave h i s master,he i s a t once traceU and good care is taken that he doesnot get employment elsewhere . 54 The Kurnman was another

53 V,Nagam Aiya, The Travancore S ta te Mannual,V01 13 r Ch-IX P 408

54 V Stuart Maaras, Census Report 1891. Vol.XIICh X Op.C i t . , p.249.

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c ste whose p r i n c i p a l o c c u p a t i o n w a s wood c u t t i n g an dt h e c o l l e c t i o n of f o r e s t produce . Kar impalans werefoun d i n t h e n o r th e r n t a l u k s o f M alabar D i s t r i c t . TheKu r i ch y as an d Kurumbars w e r e f ou nd i n Malabar and engagedi n t h e c u l t i v a t i o n o f t h e Cardamom t rees which g row i nt h e h i g h p a r t s o f M a la ba r ab o v e t h e range o f s u k h e in .T h e i r C h i e f o c c u p a t i o n were Kumeri s h i f t i n g ) c u l t i v a t i o nan d g a th e r in g honey. b l av i l an s were fo un d i n t h e C h i r a kk a lTa luk o f Malabar and were employed a s mahouts, a l s o c o l l e c thoney a n d o t h e r f o r e s t pr o du c es .

A n ot he r t y p e o f p o l l u t i n g c a s t e s w ere t h e non-i n d i g e n e o u s H indus i n K e r a l a . They had a s i m i l a r s t a t u s

55. R.Dis.Nd.4374/42 d a t e d 30.4.1942, No.Per1.D.143 2 dated 1 4 t h p r i l 1942. ~ e g i o n a iArch ives . Kozh ikode) . I n t h e xn n u a l R e p or t o f1942 a bo ut t h e p r i m i t i v e t r i be s and back wardcommuni t ies t o t h e c o l l e c t o r of Malabar from t h eSub-Col l e c t o r o f a lappuram, t t e s t h a t t h ePan iyans and Kummans were t h e o n ly t w o backwardc om m u ni ti es f o un d i n l a r g e num bers i n N i l a m b u rAmarambalaa and Mambad amsoms of Ernad Ta luk o fB r i t i s h M ala bar.

56. Repor t s of a Jo i n t Commission , Eenga l and Bombaya p p o i n t e d t o i n s p e c t i n t o t h e s t a t e c o n d i t i o no f t h e P ro v in c e of M a la ba r i n t h e years 1792 andP r i n t e d b y H . S m it h , F o rt S a i n t G eo rg ee t t e re ss , 18 62 ) p.14, Par.15.

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l i k e the low c a s t e Nai rs . A l l foreign Hindus exceptBrahmins ca us e a Nambuthiri i n Kerala by contac t , whi le 57th e low c a s t e Hindus i n Malabar cause a tmospher ic pol lut ion.Some of th e se c a s t e s were t h e Ambattans, Andis, Chakkans,Devangas, Kaik olans, Odden, P ala ns et c .

The Ambattans were Tamil barbers and Andis were ac l a s s of Tamil beggars. The Chakkans were t h e Tamil o i lp r e s s e r s and dea l e r s i n o i l . Devangas were a c a st e ofweavers who speak Telugu o r Can ares e and were found i n t h eC hi t tu r and Ta la p p i l l i Taluks of Cochin s t a t e . 58 TheKaikolans were a l s o weavers and imm igrants from Tamil Nadu.Kudumbies were a Konkani s pe ak in g peop le and engaged i nag r i cu l t u r e and f i e ld l abour . 59 I t i s p o ss ib le t h a t t h e i r

57. C.Achutha Menon, Cochin Census Report , 1891, Pt .1 ,Ch.XI, p.114, pr .2 75.58. L K Anantha Krishna I y e r , The Cochin T ri b es andCas te s, Vol. 111 (Cochin Government Pre ss, ~rnak ul am .912, Re pr in t Cosmo P u b li c a ti o n s, New De lhi,1981) p.369.59. Kudurbies were one of the immigrants from Konkanfspeaking s ta te . They came t o Kera la i n r eg a rd t o

th e inhuman p ra c t ic es o f Por tuguese invaders a tGOa. Souven ir, is su e d f o r t h e A l l India Saraswathc u l t u r a l o r g a n i s a t i o n , rd conference by t h eGen eral Se cr et ar y, G.Venugupalakamath (vi dy ap r i n t s , K aloor Road, Cochin, 1974) p.19,K P Nayak i n h i s essay on t h i s Souvenier , s ayst h a t an eminen t r e s ea r che r V a lou l ika r , e s t ab l i s he dt h e f a c t t h a t t h e c a p i t a l of t h e B i l a ha ra s was t h efamous town of B e l i i n Goa and t h e B ila ha ra s weret h e an ce sto rs o f Kudumbies today.

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ignoran ce of Malayalam language might have been t h e cau sewhich re le g at ed th e Kudumbies t o a degraded le v e l i n Kerala.Odden was a Telugu c a s t e who were engaged i n e a r t h work anddigg ing tank s e tc . Otans were o t he r c la s s o f p o t t e r s fromTamil Nadu. These were some of t h e fo re ig n Hindus i nKerals who suf fe r ed the e f f e c t s o f un to uch ab i l i t y i nKera la .soc ia l S t a t u s o f - t h e Low aste Hindus

The low c a s te Hindus a l s o observe mutual po l l u t i o namong them i n t h e m atter of food and drin k. A t h epo l l u t in g ca st es such a s th e Kammalans th e SzhavasFisherman Pulsyas e t c . were forbidden t o e a t the foodprepared by t h e c as te s lower than them a s t h e ca se may be.But the food and water from the castes above them wasac ce pt ab le t o them. For example t h e food of c a s te s abovet h e xammalans such a s th e Brahmins K sh atr iya s and Sudraswere acc ep ta bl e t o th e Kammalans: bu t th ey were forbid dent o e a t what ev er was prepared by t h e ba rbe rs washermenand other casteman below them i n ~ t a t u s . ~ O /o member ofany higher ca s t e s e a ts with th e Ezhavas. The Ezhavas e a ta t the hands o f a l l ca s t es above them i n S o c i a l S t a t u sbu t s t r i c t l y abs ta in from tak i ng t he food of Kammalans

60. L.K.Anantha Kr ishna Iye r The Cochin T r ib es andCastes Vol.1 Ch.XVII1 pp.352-3.

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6v a l a n s A r a y a ns a nd t h e members o f o t h e r low c a s t e s .A s r e g a r d s s o c i a l s t a t u s t h e P ulay an s e a t a t t h e h an dsof l l c as te -m en a bo ve them b u t a b s t a i n f ro m e a t i n g t h ef o od p r e p a r e d b y t h e V e l a k k a t h a l av an s M annans Pan an sVe t tu v an s Pa ray an s Nay ad i s Ul l a d an s M alay an s an dKadars. 62

The p o l l u t i n g c a s t e s a nd sub-castes among eachcommunity w a s n o t f r e e i n t h e c a s e o f o b s er v in g a pp ro ac ha nd t ou c h p o l l u t i o n . I n t h e case of t o uc h p o l l u t i o na l l t h e a r t i s a n c l a s s e s were p o l l u t e d by t h e t o u c h oft o l k o l l a n s a sub-c as te among them. The de gr ad a t io n o ft h e t o l k o l l a n s was p r ob a bl y o n a c c ou n t o f t h e i r work i nl e a t h e r w hic h i n i t s e a r l y s t a g e s w a s a n u n h o l ys u b s t a n c e . 63 The t o uc h o f t h e Malayans p o l l u t e s t h eKad ars an d V i c e V ersa. I n t h e c se o f a p p r o a c h p o l l u t i o nt h e P u l a ya n s were p o l l u t e d b y t h e P a r a ya n s N a y ad ie s a n dU l l ad a n s. P a r a y a n s a nd V e t t u v a n s h a dt o k e e p fe w d i s t a n c e sm u t u al l y. P u l a y a n s a n d V e t t u v a n s b a t h e when t h e y a p p r o a c ho n e a n o t h e r f o r s s r eg ar ds t h e i r s t a t u s t h e r e w a s ap o i n t of d i s p u t e as t o wh o were su p e r io r t o t h e o t h er . 4

61. b i d Ch.XVI1 p.339.62. a d Ch.VI P.12063 C.kchutha Menon C o c h in S t a t e M a nu alCh.III p.203.64. L.K. Anantha Kr i s hna Iy er The Coch in T r ib e san d Cas tn d V01 .1 Ch.VI p.121.

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The N a t t l ~ a t i v e )Malayans and Tamil Malayans had t okee? a c e r t a i n d i s t a n c e among th em a n d t h e T am il ~ X al ay an sw ere n o t a l l ow e d t o a p r o a c h t h e N a t tu M alayans w i t h i n ac e r t a i n d i s ta n c e. T he re w a s n e i t h e r i n te r - r ra r r i a g e n o rin te r -d inn inc ; between them.65 Thus p o l l u t i o n by touc h andap pro ach and c a s t e r e s t r i c t i o n s on i n t e r - m a rr i a g o an di n t e r - d i n n i n g ~ s l s o p r e v a l e n t among t h e p o l l u t i n g Hinduc a s t e s a c c o rd in g t o t h e i r c a s t e s t a t u s i n Kerala.

m ix tu re of veda ntis m end animism which i s c o n t a i n e di n t h e Hindu c u l t u r e o f I n d i a was t h e r e l i g i o n ofP a l a y a l i e s . The 3 ra hm i ns o b s e r v e V e da n ti c r i t e s f o rr e l i q i o u s o b se rv a nc e s. The c a s t e s b el ow th em s uc h a s thK s h a t r i y a s f o l l o w t h e f o o t s t e p s o f arahm ins. 3 u t t h e y weren o t a l lo w e d t o r e a d Vedas, o r pe r fo r m t h e p u r e l y B ra hm i ni ca lr i t e s such a s p r i e s t l y f un c t i o ns , Y aq ms S a c r i f i e s ) , etc. 66The High C l a s s Na ir s and Ambala V a s i s were n o t a l l o w e d e v e nt o r e a d o r h ea r t h e Vedas. *Th e i r knowledge o f r e l i g i o n i sc o n f i n e d t o w h at i s g l e a n e d f ro m t h e I t h i h a s a s a nd P ur an a s,

65. i b i d , o l . I ChII p. 3766. C oc hi n C en su s R e ~ o r t , 1901, V o l . XX p t . I p. 30

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which pract ical ly form r e l ig i o u s t e x t s for th people6i n general , and are very widely ree and studied by t h m

The Hindu ca st es b l o w th e high class Hairs and PmbalaVasis worship the same god6 as those of the higher cas tes .Besides t h i s worship they a l s o had f a i t h i n Sakti female)worship. ~ of them have their own temples also.dedicated t c K al i, o r sane manifestat ion of t h a t Goddess.w i t h prie s- chosen f r a amongst themmlwes. where theyce l ebra t e ch i e f ly the Mandala D U I ~ . ~ ~hey wereignorant about the vedic and Tant r ic forms of r i t u a l s ofd e i t i e s vhich was performed i n temples by the Brahminpr i e s t s . Most of t h e i r re li gi o u s knowledge had b e n comingfrom the epics of India such as Ramavana and Mahabharatp.acause o l d members of these ca st es now a l i v e 80 years

o r more o ld includ ing women have ex c e l l e n t knowledgeabout these two epics.

Kaasaalans o r Ezhavans had the r i g h t to worship theg re a t Hindu gods i n the i r om way and were not allowedt o worship as i n t h e c a se of higher c a s t e s i n p ub li cr e l i g i o u s o r hi gh er c a a t e s r e l i g i o u s i n s t i t u t i o n s , butw i t h the influence of Sr i . Harayaria Guru the Ezhavas

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had begun to worship hig her fo m 8 of worship t o SivaSubrcraania and Oanapathi. 69 ih blayarr nd parayamworshipped the Ba ity through l e s se r f o n w of EUndur i t u a l s . heir posit ion on tho other hand w a s d i f f e r e n tfrom t h a t of an Ezhavan or Kannalanr th e m w a s nothingcamnon between th bel ie fs r i t u a l and prac t ic e of thoformer nd those of the l a t t a r m h le s s those of theB r a b i n o r the Hair. 70 ... the lower cl as se s havetheir own p ar ti cu la r temples though receiv ing thed e i t i e s of the higher orderst their worship of thefahovever i s generally postponed to a long l i s t ofi n f e r i o r d i v i n it ie s o r minute demons whom t h e i rgr at i tu de o r apprehension leads t h m frequently top r o p i t i a t e nor sha l l w wonder that th s a c r i f i c i a lli b a ti o n s which fona s o na tu ra l a pa r t of those ceremoniesshould so often lead to excess They treated thsupkt na tura ls w i t h m o r f e a r and performed vario usr i t u a l s t o p ro p i t i a t e the ods t to win t h e i r favour. Theulayans lso b el ie ve t h a t s p i r i t e x er ci se n influence

69. L.K Ananta Krillhna Iyer he Cochin T r i b e s an9Cs V01.1 CheXVI p.311.70 Census emrt of CochAn 1911 Vol.XVII1 pt.1Ch.IV p.21. par.38.71. W R D nd COaRJICR. GeocrraDhical and st trstic l

Memoir... V01.1 pp.103-4.

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over th e members of t h e i r fa mi lies , and, there fore,regu lar of fe r in gs a r e given t o them every year e nSankranthi daysa. 7 ~ o s t f the po l lu t in g ca s t es havedone such o f fe r ing s to in fe r i o r as well as super io r de i t i e s .

The low ca st e people al s o had taken pilgrimages toot he r p a r t s of t h e country. wChowrymalay o r Rama ~ s h w a rr e t h e limits of th e i r journeys; they seldom take r e l ig ious

vows, o r become saunasees; a few may perhaps be met whohave visi ted Benares, but t w i l l general ly be foundt h a t di sc on te nt o r embarrassment has alon e warmed t h e irp ie ty in to such a pilgrimage. 7 3 Sas tha o r Iyyap pan ~worship was common among t h e M alayal ies. nWorshipped a she s by a l l c as t es of people i n Southern India,especia l ly , i n Malabar, Cochin. and Travanco re, he smore revered and feared by the low castes i n r u r a lp a r t sn . 74 The lower c a s t e s worshipped t h i s d e i t y f o rprotection against demons and all kinds of i l l n e s sbecause most of th e se c a s t e s were doing work i nag r icu l tu r a l f i e l d s and fo res t s . The r a hm i n s a l s oworshipped t h i s d i et yr I n t h e temple a t Saberirnala,

72. L.K. Anantha Krishna Iyer The Cochin Tribesand Castes. Ch.VI. P.113.73. WARD and commR Geograph ica l and S ta t i s t ica lMemoir..74 L K Anantha Krishna Iyer, The Cochin Tribesand Castes, Vol.1 Ch.XVI p.312.

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the re was no sc c ia l discriminat iOn i n regard to worshipfrcm time immemorial and a l so be fo re the t h e of templee n t r y movement i n Kerala. 'Amongst the crowd of shrines.t h a t o f Iyappa a t Chow Malay at t racts p a r t i c u l a rdevo tion; inc red ib le numbers (and many from the eas te rnc o a t ) f lo ck in g t o t a t the period of the f e s t i v a l(January) to present their w w s and of fe rin gs , al thought i s s i t u s te d i n the wildest country poss ib le ,

This land had certain numbr of Bhagavati Kavus. 76These Kavus were b u i l t maln ly of wood w i t h tiled W f s .Sane images of s tonee o r id o ls s tand in t he open a i r spaceunder b ig trc s l i k e A (Ficus t e l i g i ~ s a ) ~a la( a l s t o n i a s c h o la r is ) etc; these were a l s o known as Kavus.Basides Bhagaveti Kavus. Sastha. VettEkkorumakan anddemons l i k e Kuttichathaa. Oulikan a160 have Kavus, hesed e i t i e s and demons were gropit izted w i t h s a c r i f i c e s andt h e i r wishes had ta nte rpr ete d by oracles . ane ofthese avus l i k e t h e avus of Sastha o r Ehagavathi have

75. Ward and Canner G e o q r a ~ h i c a l nd S t a t l a t i c a lMemoir... Vol.1. p.105.76 P. Anujan Achan Arehaeolo~v. Leaf l e t No.3(Helayalira). Gochin overnment Gawttq7th December 1927. Vol.WtI1. Noel6rs lement to pt ;.II Bducation Dept. p.13his docwrnnt s t a t e s t h a t Bhagavathi c a w

w r the ancient p laces O f worship i n h r a l a .

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of fe r ings s imi la r to those of the temples. Most of the lowcastes we th worshippers of their own Kavus o r other .*Their religion i s more purely animistic than t h at ofcastes above them and included i n thei r number are thedevil-dancers. ast mlo ge rs. and ot he r representative8 oft h e primitive 'medicine-man*

They have their own 'velicchapads* o r or ac le s i nKavus, They v i s i t pr ivata houaes and declare th e i roracles when they h ve worked themselves up i n t o frenzy,d ~ c l o g*wi thers hine r* round the yard. and s la sh ing a ttheir foreheads w i t h a sworda. 78 ~ h u she 1 r casteswho had completely immersed i n supers ti t io n , had theirown de i t i e s f o r worship and p ar ti cu la r mode of worship andofferings. Moat of the orac les w r from the castesbelow the N a i r A l l Hindus had f a i t h i n magic and witchc r a f t , .. here m a multitude of pagodas calledNuddees, dedica ted to Bhagavadi (the Buddra Kali of theBastern Coast) 8 her favour i s bribed o r resentorent supposedt o be averted by annual s ac ri fi c e of buffaloes. sheep, o rpoultry, a t h e r a l ta r8 the Kirrupie of th vi l l ageperfonns the ceremonie.8 during the f e s t i v a l s i n s t i t u t e d

77 C A 1NNES Madras D i s t r i c t Gazetteers 'MALAB '.V O ~ O X ,~a.by. .BoE~an~rB.S.Baliya, curator,Madras Record of f i ce , 1908; &print ; GOV~.P=SSMadras, 1951) Ch,III, p.124.

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i n honour of this gooddess. some of her vota t ies suspendedfrom hooks are thus carr ied round her shrinem.

9

The h i l l t r i b e s w r purely an imis t i c i n re l ig iousl i f e and worshiped demons of various denominations.t r ee - s p i r i t s . and h i l l Gods l i k e ala Vashi and Ayyappan.They revered the se s p i r i t s and demons a s patron ofvi l lag es, protec tors of springs and dwellers i n f o re st s.The st on e o r images under a tree was t h e i r worshippingplace and made offerings to it Amongst t he d i v i n i t i e sp e c u l ia r t o t h e h i l l t r i b e s a r e t h e shawars o r thedead heroes fable d t o have f a l l e n beneath the sword ofpanch a Pandoos . 8 The po l lu t ing cas t e s and h i l ltribes some t i m s nada offerings t o the Brahmanictemples o r publ ic Hindu r e l i gi ou s i n s t i tu t i o n s i n whichth ey had no access, a s an act of r e a l i t y i f t h e i r godswere troub led by some s p i r i t s of an ce st or s o r demons.The Panis s of Malabar, a f o r e s t tr ibe have only very crudeideas of re l ig ion . 'Believing i n de vi l s of a l l so r t s andsiz es. and professing t o worship th e Hindu di vi ni t i es .they reverence especia l ly the god of the jungles. Kad

79. W R D and CONNER a o a r a ~ h i c a l nd S t a t i s t i ca lMemoir al -I ae.c;L p 104

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Bagavadi, o r according t o anothe r ver sion , a d e i t y c a l l e dKuli, a malign ant and terr ible being of nei ther sexwhose f h r i n a s take ho om of a btorrg placed urwiar atree, o r sometimes a c ai r n of atones. 181

The worship of ancestors, snakes. trees andanimals was a l s o pr ev ale nt mong the Hindus. Y ncestorsare worshipped with quite as much devotion as the Godso r Goddesses, and t h e i r relics are even enshrined andgiven of f er in gs to.m8 Usually. they w e r e worshippedannually by canmenunoratlng the anniversary of theancestor 's death, .The Mayadl has to keep s o f a r awayfrcm oth er people t h a t he has no opportunity ofknowing anything about th Hindu gods o r the Auanas.He bel ieves t h a t h i t god i s a Mala Devan mountaingod. H e i a a l s o an ancestor worshipper, and keepsrepresenta tions of the depar ted m a r the hu t 3 mese rpen t worship occup ies a p m m i a e n t p l ~ c e n therel igious worship of Uair castes . he place of sexpent

B.Edgar Thurston, Madran Government Mus8um WI1lettinrVol.11, W.1 (Oovemment Press, Madras, 1879 p.21.82,Cochin Census emrt 19Q&, Vol. X, pt.1, p.31.83.S. Appadorai I y e r , Madras Government Mumeurn Bullet in ,Vol.II, No.1 l Is of Malabar t ovemment Press,Madras 1901)

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worship w a s known a s Sarpakavu o r Nagattam Kavu which w a si n t he midd le o f j ung l e trees. Sirpakaw. they arecovered wi th t h e image of a snake , a r e p t i l e here morethan us ua l l y venerated, and whose worship would appear t obe of a very a nc ien t da te . Before the t emplecompounds o r with in the t emple peepa l t rees w e r e foundand worshipped. I n f e s t i v e acc ass ion s a m inia tur e imageof t h e d e i t y i s p l aced near t h e t ree wi t h a bhandaramo r t r M a u r e box i n t o which t h e v o t a t i e s of t h e p o l l u t in gc a s t e s d ro p t h e i r c as h o r j ewel of fe r ings . 85 p l a n t sl i k e T u la s i (ocinaun sanctum), V i l w a m A e g l e mannelos)were also worshipped a s sacred . The an imals l i k e cow,and bul l , w e r e a l s o worshipped a s sacred. So Franc ism y r i g h t l y o bs e rv es t h a t T h e Hindu a d or e s n a t u re i na l l i t s forms. from th e sun i n t h e sky. t o t h e s t o n eon t h e ear th ; t h e oxen and implements of a g r i c u l t u r eare bo th a l i k e venera ted , a s are a l s o t h e k i t e s oa rin gi n t h e heavens. t h e monkeys i n t h e trees and the snakes

84 ward and Conner, Geographical and S t a t i s t i c a lMemriy.. Vol I O p . c i t r p 105

85 C A Innes, Madras D i s t r i c t Gazet t eers . MALABAR:.Vol . 1 . Ch.111, op.cit. p 152

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on the ground: wh ils t k i l l i n g a cow, has been considered asdeserving o f g re at er punishment, than slaying a low castsman. 86 Thus the re l igious rites of th e Hindus i n Keralaw e r e a mixture of Vedantism and Animism because of thed i v e r s i f i e d id ea s i n a common fonn of religious faithSOCI L LIFE

The s o c i a l l i f e of the po l lu t ing classes i n Keral awas i n a very miserable cond ition. Like th highercas tes . t h e i r dwel lings a l s o were po llu ted by th e toucho r approach of the c a st es below t h e m i n t h e s o c i a l s ca l e.The poll ut i ng ca st es must s ta nd from a person of highercas t e o r h i s dwel li ng a t t he d i s t ance p re scr ibed by t heso ci a l scale . and they never l ived i n houses s i t ua t edwi thin a ce r t a in d i s t rnc e O f each oth er . In ordinaryconversat ion such expressions as a Tiva-oad o r aCheruma- ad t h a t is the d i s tance a t which a Tiyan o rcheruman has t o keep) were comnonly used.

The low caste Hindus were not permit ted t o l i v enear the temples. mPlace of residence becomes mom

86. Francis Day. The Land of the Parumals o r Cochiai t a ~ a s tnd i t s resent. Gantz BrothersAdelphi presa. Vepery 1863, AES Reprint.J .J et le y, f o r Asian Educational serqice NewDelhi, 1990) ch.VI1, op.cit P.285.87. C A Innor Madras i s t r i c t Gazatteers, MALABARVo1.I. c ~ . x x ~ ,.103.

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.88honourable as t approaches the Wicinity of the temples,...The higher castes w e r e t he r es iden t s near the tamples andthe lower cas t es r esided i n hu t s f a r away fran thepremises of temples. The po l l u t i ng castas es pec i a l l yt he s t i l l lower sections among t h m l ived f a r away fromth e v i c i n i t y of high c a s t e men. Houses of parayas w e r esituated away from othe r r esidences ou t s ide the v i l l age ,These places were often unhealthy and u n f i t f o r humanl i v e s where they had no access t o t he amen ities ofcu l t u r ed l i f e . Material ly and Metaphorical ly their

wratchednes8, ignorance end s upe r s i t i t i on . 89 Thusex i s t ence w a s dark. stoeped as they w e r e i n f i l t h and

d i st a nc e i n t h e case of res id ents degraded t o lowercastes from the main stream of Hindu society.

They w r denied admiasion i n t o publ ic placesl i k e temples. markets, p ubl ic of f ices publ ic schools etc..f o r the cause of pollution . For exmp le. the Pulayas weredenied admission i n t o pu bli c markets, and must s tand a t ad i s t ance to make t h i r purchases o r sa les . The Behavasw e n not pe ltted to en t e r w i th i n a na t ive cour t o f

88. a s d and Conner. tk io gra~ hica l nd S ta t i s t i c a lMemoir ~ . c i t . p.105.89. Censue awrt of Cochin, 1931, V 0 l . W . pt.1Appendix 11 o~.cit. p.290. par.590. L.K. Anantha Krishna Iyer,. The Cochin Tribes andC a s a a , V01.1 Ch.VI ~ 0 1 2 1 .

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j u s t i c e as they might po l l u te th e judges, who were membersof the h igher cas tes . aste r e s t r i c t i o n s were also madei n connec tion w i t h th e use of dr es s, ornaments.dwellings etc The po llu ti ng ca st es used ce r t al n wordsl i k e Tarnpuran f o r address ing the h igher castes. Thepo l lu t ing castea were forbidden to use pub l ic madsaccording t o their wishes. When on o r ne ar er a mad, th eyannounce t h e i r ap ~ ro ac h hrough sounds because t h e i rpresence caused pol lu t io n t o tha h igher cas tes . heParayas dare not t o a p ~ro a c h h e h i gh e r bibes. bu t i fconversation between them pmve a t any time necessary

9they must ca l l out a loud fru n as f a r as they can be heard.For enample. S Appadoral I y e r s t a t e s th zt , .whilet r a v e l l i n g by r a i l o r on the publ ic roads i n Malabar,one may observe a f e w ragged and d i r t y c lo thes spreadnear the road with one o r two copper co in s on them: anda t the serne t i m e hear a chorous of s t en to ria n voices a ta distance of a hundred yards, emanating ft m a f wmiserable specimens of humanity, st an di ng gho st- like with

92. R e ~ o r t f s Jo in t Conmission, Bengal. nd Bombava ~ ~ o i n - d o i n s w c t i n t o t he s t a t e and condit iono f t h e ~ ro v i n c e f Malzbar i n t h e year 1792 and1793 Vol.1, Fort St. George Ga ze tt e press

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dishevelled hair and jaded lookm. The coins representthe alms given by the char i tab ly d lsposed t ra ve l le rt h e persons ro the Nayadis*. 93 The sounds used by thelow castes when passing through the roads helped thehi gh er c as t e men go smoothly on the road withou t t h eattack of pollution and the lower castes from punishments.The re su l t was th at a m n of any of th e very low cas te smay undergo cons ide rable inconvenience and delay i ng e tt in g from one plac e t o another. 94 1n this case, thpreference of using the road was only the monopoly ofh ig he r cas t e s a t t h i s t i m e The higher castes viewed thepresence of untouchable castes. a t every pla ce with alarmand indignation because of the defilement.

There w e r e sane res t r i c t ions i n regard to drinkingwater. Even i n r i v e r s the lower classes had separatesp ot s t o clea nse themselves. any village draws i t swater from a river, the les w i l l be required t o

5take their supply frun point , lower down

93. S.Appadorai Iyer, ~ a d r k ovt.Musatnn Wlllettin:Vol.11, No.1. The Nayadis of Halabar Govt.Presa,Madras, 1901) P 6694. C A Innes, Madras ~ i a d r i c t azet teers . HALABAR ,~ d . y P B Bvans, VO~JI,ch.111 p.104.95. Report of the Indian Statutorv Commission, V01.1pt.1, Ch.4 O~.~it.p.38.

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T h i s s o c i a l custom might have been one of th e products oft he s i x t y f o u r a n a c h a r a s p e c u l i a r to Kerala and theeleventh among them w a s 'you m u s t b ath e i f you touchpo l lu ted w e l l s o r t anks (pol lu ted by the touch of lowcastes). 96 he p o l l u t i n g castes were denied t h e use ofwatar from the w e l l s or t anks eh e h i g h e r classespublic tanks and wells. One of th e re q u e st s t o t h eZamorin about the polfution of Mankawu tank) i nC al ic u t by th e N k i r s and Menons of ankavu w a s that theabove said tank was being polluted by the touch andbath e of Tiyyas and Moplahs and so it became useless tothem and they complained t o th e a ut ho ri t ie s. 97 The tankw a s surrounded on a l l s i de s by blair houses and Z a m o r i n sl e t t e r to M r . Thorne i n connection with this case expla insthe se r iousness of t h i s po l lu t ion . ~ s y s i n h i sl e t t e r date d 6th July 1925 t o M r Thorne that ,

dear M r Thorne,Please go through th enc losed pe t i t i on

see from it t h a t a s im i la r pe t i t i on has been su lmit ted t o

96. Cochin Census R e ~ o r t ,1901, Vol.XX, Pt.1 Ch.VIIIAppendix. o ~ . c i t p.178.97. Pi le No.R.Dis 4468/25 dated 5.8.1925. ~ e t i t i o nof Mankavu r e s id e n ts d ate d 1 4th June 1925,MS. (M alayelm), (Region al Arch ives, Kozhikode)98. Mr.Thorne J .A. Thorne w TheEState Collectoro f t h e amor i n of C a l ic u t a t this time.

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you. I do not know what action you have taken on it Thef a c t s s t a t e d i n the p e t i t i o n a r e t ru e . The tank i n fro ntof my palace i s a temple tank and cannot be used by personsunder po ll ut io n and the tank i n question i s th only othertank i n the l oca l i t y fo r the use of the ca s t e re siden t s.I f the t res pass complained i n the pe t i t i o n i s allowed t ocontinue m even a f ra id of breaches of th e peace betweenthe caste Hindus and the ~hiyyasand Moplas of the locality.I s h al l be, thankful , t o you theref ore i f you w i l l see yourway to r e s t r i c t the use of the tank i n ques t ion to theca st e Hindus of the l oc al i t y. m Some ex t ra c ts of theremarks of the chairman (Muncipal) i n t h i s ca se t o theco ll e ct o r was t h a t *The tank i s surrounded on a l l thes ides by Nair houses; and it i s s i tu a t ed near the p lacewhere th e l a d ie s of th e Zamorin'e Kovilakanr re si de g. 100

According t o the anc ient so cio- reli gio us custan, whenevera death tak es pla ce i n a Nair fa ni ly , th e members havet o perform f une ral obsequies i n a tank f o r a certain numberof days; i f any omits t o perform them he loses caster

99. F i l e No.R.Dis 4468/25 dated 5 8 1925100 i b i d , Mankavu Kulam, op.c it , P.2 par.6

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and he cannot perfow them i n a tank which i s used ortouched by th rnoplas, thiyyaa o r o th e r so-ca lled lowercastes . . There ar e no doubt, two o th er tanks i n thevi l lage , they are pr iva te ones; o m i s at tached to thezamorin s Kovilaksn, and th e o th e r to a Nambudiri l l c u aand these cannot be touched by the Naira for the purposesabove mentioned. *lo *If the Mbplas and Thiyyas are keenon having a tank f o r t h e i r use, they can apply to theMunicipal Council t o provide a tank f o r them, i f theycannot-themselves fi n d the means f o r sin ki ng One. ,102The chainnan concluded t h a t i n the in te re s t of peace ti s be t t e r t o l eave the t anks as t h e y were. 103

I n Cochin, the accounts of 1933 records shows thatth e t o t a l number of tanks and we lls maintained by pub licfunds and no t open t o a l l sec tion s of th e people wereabout 61 tanks and 123 w e l l s i n th state. lo4 1n th irpeti t ion regarding the use of Niloth Chira, tank) a tPanniankara (in B r i t i s h malabar) by th lower castes,t h e p e t i t i o n e r s s ug ge st t h a t i the l o w castes thmugh

101. x d , o ~ , c i t . par.7.102. i b i d , o ~ . c i t , p 6 par.2003.w104. Cochin Legislative Council proceedings,dated 12, December, 1928, p.471.

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mis take , ignorance or i n t e n t i o n a l l y the h i g h e r c sterresumed t o use it o nly a f t e r the c u s t o m a r y p u r i f i c a t i o n sduly per formed by the Brahmins. lo5 n e s e rules were a l s oa p p l i c a b l e t o th e t emple t ank s and w e l l s I n 1929, one oft h e d i s c u s s i o n s i n t h e Cochin L e g i s l a t i v e C o un ci l w sabout th a ~ c e s s l b i l i t y f t h e Koodalmanikkam t emp le t an k

~ u t t a n ulam* o the lower ca s t e s , t h e P anehay at memberm106o b s e r v e d t h a t , it c a n n o t e thrown open to a l l classes.

T h e e was a w e l l unders tood scale of d i s t a n c e s w i t h i n w hichp er so ns of d i f f e r e n t castes may no t ap p o a ch each o t he rwi thou t one o f t h e m p o l l u t i n g t h e o t h e r and t h ey n ev e rl i v e i n house s s i t u a t e d w i t hi n a c e r t a i n d i s t a n c e of eacho th e r . F o r examp le, i n t h e case o f N a i r s The nearap r ro ach any wh ere n ea r h i s v i c i n i t y o f a cheruman, pulayan,o r any i n f e r i o r b ei ng , e ve n a Tiyan. as he walks t o h i shouse from t h e temple , c le an sed i n body and mind, h i s marksnewly s e t on h i s fo rehead wi th Sanda l wood p as te , i sp o l l u t i o n . an d h e mu st t u r n and b a th e ag a i n ere he can

105. F i l e No.4466/25 da te d 5.8.1925-Petition t o t h eD i s t r i c t M ag i s t r a t e o f H a lab ar by t h e r e s i d e n t sof Panniankara hsun of C al ic ut Tzluk . (BundleN0.263 Re gion al A tc hhU es Kozhik ode) p.1. par 4

106. II.C.L.C., Vol.11, p t. 28 ,d ate d 8 August, 1929,Motion No.15, p.2425.107. L e t t e r d a t e d 24 Januarv 1871, No.60, from Mr TSha nau nni Menon. Diwan of Cochin. t o the B r i t i s h--~ r e s i d e n t .par ?; The Record of Adminis trat ion,Coch in Sts*, pt.111, (Co chin GovernmentP 1925) p.66.

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e n t e r h i s house a nd e a t m . 08 and the Brahmins do notf a i l t o encourage impressions s favourzble t o t h e i r owni n t e r e s t , n o class below t h e Hair dare approach theirneighbourhood. and d r a w water f rom the tanks adjoiningthem, o r persume t o ba the i n those l ava to r i e s . . 109

The d e n i a l of temple tanks and wells as wel lasp u b l i c t u l k s and w e l l s on t h e plea t h a t they would bepo l lu ted i f they bathe i n them, and the prevision ofsepata te tanks and w e l l s f o r the u se o f p o l l u t i n g c a s t e swere the ex l s t i ng p ra c t i ces which insu l t e d th low casteHindus. These k inds o f po l lu t ion d i s t ances from pub l i cp laces seg rega ted th e lower cas t e s from c i v i l i s e d l i f ei n Kerala.

I t i s clear frcm the f a c t s d e s cr ib e d i n t h i s c h a p t a rt h a t t h e r i g i d i t y of c a s t e customs and usages w e r e respons ib lef o r th e den ia l o f t emple en t ry t o untouchab les. They w e r es ub je ct ed t o s e v er e s o c i a l d i s a b i l i t i e s i n t h e m at te r offreedom of movement i n reg ard t o pub li c places a s w e l l a6i n t h e v i c i n i t y o f h ig h er castes. The r e s t r i c t e d r i g i dcasteism had given the low caste Hindus a degraded statusi n s oc ie ty . t this t i m e caste monopoly w a s reflected i n

10B.F.Fawcett. Madras Government Museum Bu l l e t t in ,Vol.111,. No.3; Anthropology'Navars of Malabar'~ h;piates (Government press Madras. 1901).

109. Ward and Conner. G e o a r a ~ h i c a l nd s ts t i s t ica lm i Vol.1. p.105.

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every aspect of l i f e he r i g i d i t y of this caste monopolycont r ibu ted to the Hindus i n accordance wi th t h e i roccupa t i ona l s t a t us the denia l o f temple ent ry . hede ni al of temples and i t s premises t o a s e c t i o n of Hindusnamed them a s l o w c a s te Hindus o r po l lu t in g Hindus w st h e f i n a l s t a g e i n t h e p r a c t i c e of u n t ou c h ab i li t y andunapproachab i li t y e v i l s i n Kerala . s a r e s u l t o f theban on e n t r y i n t o h e p r e c i n c t s of temples and approachof h igh er c as te s made them s tr an ge rs t o t h e new turn s ofs o c i a l l i f e . Thus the pr ac t i ce of un touchabi l i ty andunapproachabil i ty was a cu rs e upon Hindu so ci et y i n Kerala.These e v i l p ra c t i ces had k e n made a b l ack spo t uponHinduism i n Kerala once upon a t i m e these e v i l s c au se dt o fo rb i dden temple e nt ry t o one se ct io n of Hindus andsegregated t h e m from t h e e n li g ht e ne d p r i n c i p l e s ofHinduism by pr a c t i c i n g st r a n g e r methods of Hinduismi n t h e form of un to uc ha bi l i t y and unappro achabil i ty.