Between Isolation and Assimilation of Belief System
Anthropological studies on tribal integration show the process of assimilation of cultural traits through contact with other castes and communities. The process between isolation and assimilation is highly significant from the context of cultural institutionalisation among the Kurichiyan where Hindu concepts such as Karma, purity, and pollution have adopted and assimilated in the local beliefs and practices.
It is an established fact that interactions between the tribal people in Wayanad and their non-tribal neighbours have not only resulted in the influence of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism on tribal beliefs and practices but also in the transformation of traditional rituals and performances of the tribes.The agricultural economy of the Kurichiyan paved the way for their social and economic relations with the immediate neighbours and that influences them a lot in adapting with the Hindu way of life and belief system. The close location of agricultural lands of the Kurichiyan and the neighbouring Hindus influences them a lot in adopting the Hindu religious rituals and practices associated with agricultural operations. Offering toddy to lord Muthappan (a Hindu deity not worshipped earlier by the Kurichiyan) is one among such rituals. In Kumbhappattu (a ritual song of the Kurichiyan sung during the Thira festival), a folksong in which the Kurichiyan share their belief that devils and evil creatures existed on earth and their goddess Malakkari protected the earth and the sea. The Kurichiyan are under the belief that evil spirits are responsible for the destruction of agricultural crops. According to their legends, God Malakkari invited the folk deity, Muthappan12 to Wayanad to teach the techniques of toddy preparation to the Kurichiya. After teaching them the process of preparation of toddy, Muthappan offered toddy to the evil spirits.
They started to dance in fury and Malakkari easily destroyed them. It is significant to note that Muthappan is identified in their legends and folk tales but was not worshiped as a popular deity until recently. It is also reported by the informants that the local Hindu deity Valliyoorkkavu Bhagavathi was not worshipped by the elderly Kurichiyan. Now the situation has changed and the majority of the families started to worship Hindu deities and thereby Hindu belief systems started to institutionalise in the religious realm of the Kurichiyan.Aiyappan (1990) discussed the changes that happened in the purificatory practices adopted by the Kurichiyan with the influence of Brahmins. He wrote that for the ucharal (1st of Makaram (January-February), when the earth is said to ‘menstruate’) ceremony they used to sprinkle holy water over their shrines, houses, and fields. For routine ritual purification, the holy water prepared by a Brahman is replaced by coconut water. In order to make an adaptation to this trait and sustain it (because now they believe that keeping pollution is not supportive to their social system in the present context of Wayanad), they attribute any change in tradition to the will and command of their god Malakkari. These changes in ritual practices seem to be compromises to the high level of purity-pollution complex of the Kurichiya. According to recent information from the Kurichiyan, the use of holy water from the Brahmin priest and coconut water are still in use for removing pollution and there is no change to this practice for the last many years. Their explanation for the existence of this practice is that the same rite is also practised by other non-tribal Hindu castes of their area towards purificatory rituals.
Animal sacrifice was done as part of religious practices by some of the castes and communities in Kerala including the tribes. But the Kurichiyan have no such practices in their ritual traditions. They believe that the God Malakkari was responsible for putting an end to animal sacrifices and instead of sacrifice they offer toddy to their deities. It is important to mention the influence of Jainism in curtailing rituals like animal sacrifice in Wayanad. Later, the offering of toddy as a ritual practice became institutionalised in the rituals of tribes including the Kurichiyan.
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