Kerala Religion and Culture

¤ The People

People in Kerala are known to be modest and simple. They are a curious melange of the natives and those outsiders who chose to make Kerala their permanent abode.
Aromatic spices, lustrous gems and pearls had enticed many foreign traders to this land of plenty. The Arabs, Assyrians, Babylonians, Phoenecians, Israelis, Greeks, and Romans entered Kerala through its waters, gently adding to the racial stock of the land.

Chinesevisitors too have left their mark on this beautiful landscape. With their strong and sturdy build, the Syrian Christians stand out in the crowd. The Muslims, Christians and Jewswho settled in the Malabar region in the 1st century a.d., mingled well with the Hindu majority of Kerala and have co-existed peacefully ever since.


¤ The Caste System

By the 8th century a.d., the Aryans had succeeded in introducing the caste system. Untouchability and casteism were natural fallouts as the system grew rigid by the day. Innumerable caste divisions yielded the Pulluvas, Panas, Velans, Malayars, Unni, Pisharotti with further sub-castes.


¤ Major Communities

The Ezhavas form a major community in the state. Tiyyas, a sub-division of the Ezhavas, came from north Sri Lanka and settled in the Malabar region. Basically agricultural labourers, they are traditionally coconut cultivators. Dr. K.M. Panikkar has traced their origins to Polynesia. Like the Nayars, or the warrior class, the Ezhavas believe in maintaining a militia to defend their land. But the Ezhavas, like the Kammallas and Mukkuvas, are avarna, or those who belong to a lower caste (all those below the Nayars), whereas the Nayars and the Nambudiris, or priests, are savarna, or those who belong to a higher caste. The Nayarsare further divided into sub-castes.


¤ Other Important Caste Prevailing In The State

There are other castes like the Velakkittala(barbers), Velluttetattu(washermen), Chakkalla(oilmongers) and Maran(temple dependants). The Kiriyamsand Illams served in the houses of the Nambudiris. The Gurukkal, Panikkarsand Kurupswere designated as instructors to the Nayarswho underwent training in traditional gymnasiums known as kalaris. However, the rigidity of the caste system is being steadily eroded today.


¤ Major Tribes

Ooralis Tribe
The Western Ghats as well as the coastal plains of Kerala are home to a number of tribes. The Ooralisare among the few tree-dwelling tribes of the nation, found around the famous Periyar Tiger Reserve. Not many trees are used to live in, yet they serve as watchtowers to keep a check on elephants and boars that stray into the fields. The Mananns, or expert fishermen, traditionally collect honey from heights usually abuzz with dangerous hill bees. These fishermen who usually climb at night to avoid being stung, scale the trees with the help of bamboo spikes that are hammered into these trees.

Dravidian Tribes
The Kadars, Paniyans,Muduvansand the Malayansbelong to the early Dravidian race and could be found in the hilly tracts. These tribes, with their flat nose, short stature and dark skin, apparently belong to the Negrito race.

Irular Tribe
Among the Irular tribe of Palaghat District, ritual dance and music accompany death rites.The hill tribes try to appease Maladaivangal, the Hill God, through a number of rituals that include dancing and singing, lest they gets wiped out.

Hill Tribes
The hill tribes do not contribute to the economic mainstream as much as the Pulayans, Parayans, Nayadisand Ulattans– the agricultural labourers do. A lot of Christian converts are from the Pulayatribe. Most of the tribes otherwise, belong to the lower castes of society, employed usually as agricultural or industrial labourers. The Mavilon, Velan and Koppalan are some of the other tribes of Kerala.

¤ Customs

Kerala’s customs have been handed down the ages, and still retain their age-old charm.The deep-rooted caste hierarchy yielded many inhuman practices. Untouchability was one of them. Even the shadow of the avarna (low caste) was believed to contaminate the environs. Social reformists such as Sree Narayana Guru and V. T. Bhattatiripad strove to eradicate such practices in the early part of the 20th century. The Janmi, or feudal system became synonymous with exploitation.
As a mark ofrespect to the superior feudal lord, one was to remove the upper garment and bare the shoulder before being permitted to don it on again.


¤ Prevailing of Marriage Institution

In the olden days, the institution of marriage or veli allowed for polygamy and at times, polyandry. The custom of sealing a number of alliances amongst the tribal Adiyars is practised till date, even though wedding rituals are performed only during the first alliance. Kings had the singular privilege of maintaining a number of Nayar concubines, who lived within the palace, and were paid a regular maintenance allowance. The rich Nambudiri men followed a similar custom andpractised sambandham, relationships outside marriage with Nayarwomen, while their own women strictly practised monogamy, and moved around under a marakkuta (covered umbrella) and ghosha (veil) in public.

The Nayarsappeared in public with swords in hand. However, Nayarwomen were ostracised and even killed by members of their own clan if they were molested or even touched by the low caste, Pulappedimen, during certain months.


¤ A Matrilineal System

During the Chola Wars in the 11th century, menfolk had to be away for long periods of time. This set the tradition of marumakkathyam, a system of matrilineal descent, in which the women controlled the family property. The daughters of female ancestors were entitled to the tarawad (ancestral home), though the Nambudiriscontinued to practise the makkatthayam or patrilineal system.


¤ Temple Significance In Kerala

Temples in Kerala are the hub of socio-religious activities. Hindu marriages are performed in these temples and include rituals such as kanyadanam (giving away of the bride), panigrahana (holding hands) and sapta padi (seven steps taken jointly by the bride and bridegroom around the sacred fire).

Other ceremonies that are performed in these temples are the namakaranam (naming the child), nishkramanam (taking the child from the house into the open), karnabhedam (piercing the ear) and vidyarambham (initiating the child into education).


¤ The Dress Code

The simple dress code of the people of Kerala defines their simple lifestyle. Mostly dressed in white, men wear the mundu, a sarong-like lower garment that extends well below the knees. Not uncommon though, is the sight of men who conveniently fold the mundus above the knees to the right, amongst the Hindus and to the left, amongst the Muslims. The bordered mundus of the latter are kept in position by a nool, a waist-string that is often attached to metal boxes containing the Koran.Such variations may be observed in different castes and regions. For instance, dhoti, another name for mundu, is worn only by the lower castes that rarely use the pavamundu (shirt). Even their women never wore a blouse or a jacket till recently. For the better off, torthu is a scarf that is worn on the shoulder, especially on festive occasions such as a wedding. The peasant class wears the thoppi, a cap made of palm leaves that protects against the burning rays of the sun. The traditional undergarment is called the Konam or Koupinam.

The White Jew may well be seen walking towards the synagogue in a richly- coloured long tunic, with a buttoned waistcoat over it, white trousers, a skullcap and sometimes a turban. Home wear is uncomplicated; just a coloured loincloth, a shirt and a skullcap.

The simple white dress of malayali women is a sign of their inward purity, observed Gandhi who was struck by the simplicity of their dress code.

The traditional attire of the antharjanam, the Namboodiri women belonging to the uppermost division of the caste system, is the pudava, a ten metres long coloured cloth. This is wrapped around the body in the orthodox style, with portions passing between the legs and reaching well below the knees. The extreme end of the pudava is held in the hand, which is also used to hold a large concave palm leaf umbrella while out in the sun. The women of Chetty, Vellala and Kusuvacommunities wear the chela, a deep coloured ten-metre wrap.

The presence of Tamils from the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu adds to the variety in the style of dressing. The Tamil women from Kerala wear the pudava in a style that leaves only four folds on the left side and the rest of the material is passed between the legs to be tucked up behind. The remaining portion is wrapped twice around and carried over the right shoulder, then over the chest that is covered by a blouse.