Hinduism: Kerala
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The early days
Devdutt Pattanaik, June 18, 2022: The Times of India
As per legend, the western coast of India, especially Kerala, came into being when the sea recoiled in horror on receiving Parashuram's axe soaked with the blood of the many kings he had killed because they failed to uphold dharma.
Parashuram then distributed the exposed land amongst Brahmins. Since Brahmins were forbidden to own property, he created a new set of Brahmins by resurrecting those who were being cremated on the seashores, according to one folklore.
Since Brahmins did not know how to till the land, he got people from other lands to create rice fields. As these migrants became servants, who needed instructions, they were called shudra. Soon after, new communities emerged when Brahmin men began to marry Shudra women. All these legends come from local folklore, including Kerala-mahatmya and Keralolpatti, which can be traced back to the 16th century. Parashuram wanted Brahmins to transmit land, not to their sons, but to their nephews, born of their sisters. This was Parashuram’s way of atoning for the sin of killing his own mother (on his father’s orders, but resurrecting her later) for the crime of alleged adultery.
Today temples associated with Parashuram’s resurrected mother, Renuka, are found in the northern part of the western coast and matrilineal customs are found in the southern part. However, not all Brahmins agreed to matrilineal property transmission.
Parashuram was further disappointed with the Brahmin behaviour. Though asked to collaborate and flourish in unity, they would keep competing with each other, seeking more land and more power, rather than focusing on governance.
So, Parashuram asked the Brahmins to get a king from a neighbouring land to settle their dispute. This king would govern the land and be responsible for it. However, he would risk the threat of being dethroned, if he ever saw the land as a source of power and pleasure.
These kings were called the Perumal kings of Chera who ruled between the ninth century and 12th century. These Perumal kings were deeply influenced by Adi Shankaracharya and introduced the elaborate caste system that Kerala would later become infamous for.
The last Perumal kings, as per one legend, converted to Islam as he saw the miracle of the splitting moon. Other legends say he left the throne as he had broken the code of never enjoying the land he was sworn to protect and govern.
The earliest scientific evidence of kings of Chera-bhoomi (which later came to be known as Kerala-bhoomi) comes from the inscriptions of Ashoka about 2,300 years ago. This was probably a land where people spoke a proto-Tamil language until the 10th century at least — a sliver of a place between the sea and high mountains, rich in coconuts and herbs, occupied by toddy trappers, fisherfolk and tribes well versed in hunting elephants, catching snakes, and gathering medicinal herbs.
Over time, Kerala has evolved in two distinct ways: The cosmopolitan coastal parts that got exposed to traders from around the world, including Jewish, Christian, and Arab traders who married local women, and respected matrilineal practices. The conversative hinterland became agricultural, hence, with relatively more temples and Brahminical control.
For centuries, the locals worshipped spirits and gods associated with mountains, trees and rivers. They also worshipped the spirit of dead heroes and kings that were summoned in elaborate ceremonies involving song, dance, music, elaborate masks and make-up.
We still see these practices in rituals known as Theyyam in north Kerala and bhoota-kolam in south Karnataka. These spirits were summoned to drive away ghosts and malevolent spirits, to cure diseases and snake bites, and to usher in good luck. This gave rise to the practice of all kinds of sorcery that Kerala became famous for.
Rice cultivation was probably introduced by Brahmins who migrated to the land from the north, maybe as early as the fifth century AD. These Brahmins not only brought with them Sanskrit language, and the Vedic culture, but also the newly emerging ideas associated with temples, known as Agama Tantra, through which spirit gods could be embodied in images and icons, and given a temple home to reside in.
Such Brahmins became rather popular and were invited by southern kings, and offered these newly embodied deities, and their Brahmin caretakers, agricultural land grants for the upkeep of the temple. This Brahmin control over common land probably popularised the legend of the dwarf-like Brahmin who turned into a giant and claimed all the land of the erstwhile king of Kerala, Mahabali, whose return once every year is celebrated as the harvest festival of Onam.
Ambalavasi were Brahmins who lived in temples and managed temple ceremonies and land. They were representatives of the gods and effectively the landlords. Only the eldest son would be allowed to marry to avoid property disputes.
The other sons were permitted to have relationships with daughters of local chiefs, the Nairs, and with courtesans, who were independent women. The story cycle Parayi Petta Panthirukulam composed in the 17th century proclaims how Brahmin fathers produce great sons, no matter which family the child is raised in, even if the mother is ‘low caste’. This is when the term Nambudri, a word of uncertain etymology, emerges to identify the Kerala Brahmin.
The local women did not understand concepts like marriage or fidelity to a man. They had many lovers, and their daughters inherited the property, which was managed by their brothers. The warrior Nair communities have stories of many Brahmin sons-in-law, while coastal mercantile people speak of Jewish, Christian and Muslim sons-in-law. These were the maha-pillai, or the great-sons, from which comes the term Mapplai or Mopplah.
Besides Shiva and Vishnu, temples of Kerala therefore enshrined goddesses who are independent, wild and fierce (Bhagavati) and her powerful sons. The most powerful gods are like Sastha, seated atop mountains, who shun women and practice celibacy. We see how body and sexuality plays a key role in these temples.
Not surprisingly, the earliest literature of Kerala is a mix of devotional literature based on Puranic deities like Shiva, Vishnu, Ram and Krishna, and erotic literature with Brahmins courting courtesans, who were often attached to the temples, like the devadasi.
After the legendary Chera period that ended in the 12th century, Kerala was fractured into a set of feuding kingdoms, which resisted Chola invasions, created their own unique identity distinct from Tamilakkam, and eventually became British feudatories. Between the tenth century and 16th century, the Malayalam language emerged, distinguishing itself from old Tamil, with the help of Sanskrit, via an intermediate literary language known as the pearl-coral tongue (Manipravalam).
Brahmins always shaved their head, but not entirely, to differentiate them from Buddhists and Jains. A tuft of hair was tied and turned into a bun (shikha). Brahmins, who tied the bun in front, were said to be the older migrants. Those who tied the bun behind were the later migrants.
Adi Shankaracharya, the most famous child of Kerala, was born in the eighth century in the family of earlier migrants, long before Malayalam was spoken. He travelled from south to north, probably pioneering the idea of pilgrimage that changed Hinduism forever.
