A Paper Presentation
in American Academy of Religion(AAR) Conference
on April, 11th 2015 @ Ohio
Ritual as Symbolic Discourse
of Human Formation:
Pottan Theyyam- a Case study
Abstract
Theyyam is
a subaltern ritual practice; prominent and popular in North Malabar, Kerala. It
can be perceived as an embodiment of subaltern religious thought. It reflects the socio-religio-cultural life
of the people. The Theyyam deities
are the personifications of local heroes, heroines, victims and so on. They
reflect the religious quests and symbolic resistance of the subaltern people. Pottan Theyyam is a very good example
for this religious embodiment. It is a personification of a lower caste
untouchable who questioned the caste system. This particular ritual practice is a powerful, symbolic resistance
against the caste discriminations.
A
symbolic discourse reading of Potten
Theyyam is attempted in the proposed paper. Potten Theyyam as a symbolic discourse engages in critical
dialogue with the dominant caste discourses that sanctioned by the classical
Sanskritic Traditions. The ritual song used in Potten Theyyam is known as Chalapattu.
It is a power critique of the popular Advaidic
conceptions of Sankaracharya. And it
is a powerful social satire too. Pottan
Theyyam, as the name pottan (means
‘Idiot’) indicates, it goes beyond the normality. Being constructed or
conformed by the caste discourse is the ‘normality’ in a castiest society. But
the ritual process and mythical narrations of Potten Theyyam ritual, challenges this type of conformity. There is
a ritual inversion in the Pottan Theyyam
ritual process. It calls for a re-ordering of the social order that which is so
much hierarchical with caste prejudices. Pottan
Theyyam as a whole is a symbolic discourse that engages in the making of
the worldview, way of life and worship pattern of the subaltern people in North
Malabar.
In
and through the Pottan Theyyam ritual tradition, the subaltern
communities of the North Malabar are re-defining their identity and
re-positions their social position and status. More over for a meaningful
subaltern engagement in the social space of North Malabar, Pottan Theyyam works as a
powerful religious resource and tool.
Thus ritual as a symbolic discourse of human formation contributes a
major role in the making of subaltern communities in North Malabar.
***
