25.0 Introduction
In August 2019, I participated in a Keda Vettu Virundu1 ritual dedicated to folk god Agarathiappan, the kaval deivam (guardian) of the Keelavari village in the Upper Palani Hills of the southern Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu.
For appeasement of Agarathiappan, the sacrificial ritual was organised by a Kallar2 clan. An elder member of the clan narrated the story behind the ritual:My father and all his seven siblings faced a premature death. A few days before their death, most of them dreamt of a fearsome man chasing them for their lives. We could not comprehend the reason behind their dreams. Recently, we found out from one of the elder Chakkiliyars3 of Keelavarai village that our grandfather, the then maniyam (village headman), gave an unjust verdict to an innocent Chakkiliyar woman at the village panchayathu.4 She performed adichuviluthal5 at the Agarathiappan shrine and committed suicide. The innocent woman’s curse is upon our clan, and Agarathiappan is taking the lives of our clan’s male members prematurely.
The kodangi (shaman) of the Agarathiappan temple interrupted Kodiveeran and narrated Agarathiappan in a frightening manner:
The suggested interpretation of the name Agarathiappan is 'the angry deity'. Agarathiappan - omnipotent, absolute, and all-pervasive - is beyond fear and finite existence and is therefore, believed to protect his devotees against fear and give them eternal peace. Every night Agarathiappan rides around the village to protect it from ghostly dangers. We regard him as a good and benevolent protector. He guards our fields, crops, and herds, and drives away our enemies. Agarathiappan is also a malignant spirit who haunts his betrayers and enemies by bringing calamities to the individuals. Agarathiappan’s worshippers purportedly appease him in the past with human sacrifice; today, we appease him by offerings of the blood of swine, goat, sheep, cock, and other animals or by cooked food and strong liquor.
He is worshipped regularly or periodically, or when he shows signs of anger through premature deaths.An elder Chakkiliyar woman continued the narration of Agarathiappan:
Apart from humans, he protects other animate and inanimate objects within the Keelavari’s sacred geography which is his abode. He is the protector of Sholas6 which is our kovil kadugal (sacred grove). We are forbidden from tree felling, cattle grazing and hunting of animals, and deadwood collection. Agarathiappan punishes those who violate these rules and I have witnessed many violators are punished by instant death of individuals or their cattle. Our panchayathu also punishes them with fines ranging from money for the village to a feast for the villagers.
The elder Kallar continued his narration:
As per the kodangi’s request, we are organising keda vettu virundhu to appease Agarathiappan and the Chakkiliyar community members. I pray to the fearsome Agarathiappan to take away the curse upon my clan and shower blessings to us and our progenies.
In the folk ritual, I witnessed through deterrence a virtue of environmentalism; communal harmony in the form of brotherhood prevails amongst the people of Keelavari village. Besides, the working of the panchayathu is based on the folk deities. Their impartial judgments result in the amicable settlement of disputes and differences, leading to harmonious living. Apart from this, various myths of folk deities relating to the establishment of justice enhance the belief of the people that these deities punish wrongdoers and come to their rescue when needed.
The transactionality of the folk religion deals with the transactions between the villagers and the folk deities. The devotees’ prayers for being cured of their diseases, their protection and protection of their cattle against infections, and fulfillment their wishes, and their subsequent offerings as a thanksgiving to the deities and various kinds of offerings are important in the traditions of folk worship.
Undoubtedly, there is an unbreakable bond between the villagers and their deities, adding an essential dimension to the folk religion, namely trans- actionality. What the villagers give (different kinds of offerings) to the deities and what they get from them (protection, communal harmony, and so on) constitute transactionality of the folk religion. The syncretism of major religions with the folk religion results in peaceful coexistence of people with various faiths and helps in maintaining the communal harmony.The transactionality has an interactive space and all the major religions are found accommodating folk practices. It is evident in Roman Catholicism and Islam with the Tamil folk religion (Bayly & Kolff 2012:59). The folk ritual practices of animal sacrifice, tonsuring, and spirit possession dance are common occurrences in a Catholic church and a Sufi dar- gah. The Lady of Health shrine at Velankanni, in Tamil Nadu is an important Catholic pilgrimage centre. Apart from Christians, a large number of Tamil Hindus flock to this Catholic church to be cured from their illness. The ‘Virgin Mary’ (Lady of Health) is revered as ‘Mari’ (Mariamman, a Tamil female folk goddess believed to possess healing power) by the Tamil Hindus. It is also believed by the worshippers that the present day Catholic shrine was built over an Amman Kovil (folk temple). In St. Antony’s Shrine at Tuticorin animals are sacrificed as a reverence to the Catholic saint. Similarly, at Nagore Dargah, the tomb of sufi saint Shahul Hameedd Nagoori, the Tamil Hindus throng for their wellbeing. Muslim priests are known for curing evil spirit possesseing humans, wherein they would pray and tie a thayathu7 around their neck, and it is believed that people are energised with positivity and the evil spirit is warded off. The syncretic tradition of the folk and the Brhamanic Hinduism has a long history. But in recent years, a trend has been noticed where efforts are directed to return to folk tradition from the Brahmanised version.
25.1