AAR- conference paper

                 

                                                   

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.

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