Monday, July 05, 2004
Stories.
Just back from visiting my parents and sister,
I almost felt like a child of ten again,
Each time I leave my home I feel so bad about what I am missing all the time. I left home at the age of ten and haven't had an extended stay at home until now. And now that my job is of this nature, I cant really hope to have that privilege later too..
That aside, my community, the Nairs of kerala, and the traditional family that I live in have a lot of stories about them, and each time I go home , it is a newer experience and an exposure to old stories some forgotten for years and some newly heard.
My family name is Naduvani roughly translated from Malayalam to English, it means the 'rulers of the land' It is perhaps the last remnant of a once powerful NaduVazhi?... The stories of my land and family like any old story lies entwined in magic and mystery,
It is said that the family came to the central kerala from Malabar (northern kerala) and settled there, and that during a time when our Thaivazhi (the matrilineal line of inheritance which determines the tharavadu or family name) was at the end of line due to scarcity of girls born in the family we had to adopt a girl from the Azhvancheri (an old and famous family of shivite brahmins) to continue our line. We have a kavu [a temple to the goddess of durga] that is associated with the family name called Naduvani kavu where along with goddess durga, our paradaivam and karanavanmar [ancestral deity and our ancestors] are worshipped.
The kavu has an interesting history, It is said that the bhagavathi [goddess] of the temple was one of three heavenly sisters, and the other sisters are also worshipped in nearby kavu's the Oldest of the sisters are supposed to be a very angry person, and hence the temple does not have a roof over it so that the deity sits under the natural elements. Our goddess we consider her as our heavenly mother, but like any mother, she too got angry once, It is said that in the annual festival in which the velichappad [the oracle] was enacting the old purana story of darika vadham [killing of a demon] as a drama-ritual the person acting the part of the demon was killed by the velichappad using the sacred sword [pallival] and was dumped into the well nearby, The annual ritual drama was stopped from then on, and the sacred sword and chilambu [anklet] of devi was then on kept in our tharavadu [ancestral home]. These things were known to the eldest members of the family alone, but when it a prashnam [prophesy through jyothisham according to Indian tradition] was done, these things were pointed out again with out any promptings from our part.
It is also said that our family has another ancestral temple [of shiva] some where in north malabar where our members are supposed to visit.
We Nairs have a matrilineal society and according to it, the family property and the rule of it goes into the hands of the eldest female member of the Thaivazhi. After marriage, the bride-groom is supposed to stay with the bride's family unlike the custom of the majority of world. The females also have greater say in ending the marriage and choosing a new bride-groom if they so wish. This matrilineal form of inheritance meant that while the rest of India wishes for a male child to be born to be the inheritor, the Nair family wishes for a female child to carry forward their thaivazhi. The right to do poojas [worship] in the Tharavadu kavu's etc are with the females. They were also taught the vedas and martial arts like kalari if they so wished.
Though my immediate family lives in the house of Naduvani, we are a different thaivazhi when considered in the strict matrilineal sense, My grand father (mother's father) is of the Naduvani stock while my grand mom (mother's mother) is of chanacham veedu of cherthala (and the sub family padinjare kunnumpuram). That means that though we live in the naduvani veedu, we are of the chanacham veedu (another old tharavadu but from the southern kerala). My mom tells me that as a member family of chanacham veedu, we get invitation from the festival of ancestral deities from chanacham veedu also every year. My father is of a tharavadu called elangikkamali and the sub-family group pookkattupadi.
We also have a sarpakkavu [temple for a personal deity in the form of snake] In our family home.
More interesting details as and when I remember more.... ¶ 12:40 PM
I almost felt like a child of ten again,
Each time I leave my home I feel so bad about what I am missing all the time. I left home at the age of ten and haven't had an extended stay at home until now. And now that my job is of this nature, I cant really hope to have that privilege later too..
That aside, my community, the Nairs of kerala, and the traditional family that I live in have a lot of stories about them, and each time I go home , it is a newer experience and an exposure to old stories some forgotten for years and some newly heard.
My family name is Naduvani roughly translated from Malayalam to English, it means the 'rulers of the land' It is perhaps the last remnant of a once powerful NaduVazhi?... The stories of my land and family like any old story lies entwined in magic and mystery,
It is said that the family came to the central kerala from Malabar (northern kerala) and settled there, and that during a time when our Thaivazhi (the matrilineal line of inheritance which determines the tharavadu or family name) was at the end of line due to scarcity of girls born in the family we had to adopt a girl from the Azhvancheri (an old and famous family of shivite brahmins) to continue our line. We have a kavu [a temple to the goddess of durga] that is associated with the family name called Naduvani kavu where along with goddess durga, our paradaivam and karanavanmar [ancestral deity and our ancestors] are worshipped.
The kavu has an interesting history, It is said that the bhagavathi [goddess] of the temple was one of three heavenly sisters, and the other sisters are also worshipped in nearby kavu's the Oldest of the sisters are supposed to be a very angry person, and hence the temple does not have a roof over it so that the deity sits under the natural elements. Our goddess we consider her as our heavenly mother, but like any mother, she too got angry once, It is said that in the annual festival in which the velichappad [the oracle] was enacting the old purana story of darika vadham [killing of a demon] as a drama-ritual the person acting the part of the demon was killed by the velichappad using the sacred sword [pallival] and was dumped into the well nearby, The annual ritual drama was stopped from then on, and the sacred sword and chilambu [anklet] of devi was then on kept in our tharavadu [ancestral home]. These things were known to the eldest members of the family alone, but when it a prashnam [prophesy through jyothisham according to Indian tradition] was done, these things were pointed out again with out any promptings from our part.
It is also said that our family has another ancestral temple [of shiva] some where in north malabar where our members are supposed to visit.
We Nairs have a matrilineal society and according to it, the family property and the rule of it goes into the hands of the eldest female member of the Thaivazhi. After marriage, the bride-groom is supposed to stay with the bride's family unlike the custom of the majority of world. The females also have greater say in ending the marriage and choosing a new bride-groom if they so wish. This matrilineal form of inheritance meant that while the rest of India wishes for a male child to be born to be the inheritor, the Nair family wishes for a female child to carry forward their thaivazhi. The right to do poojas [worship] in the Tharavadu kavu's etc are with the females. They were also taught the vedas and martial arts like kalari if they so wished.
Though my immediate family lives in the house of Naduvani, we are a different thaivazhi when considered in the strict matrilineal sense, My grand father (mother's father) is of the Naduvani stock while my grand mom (mother's mother) is of chanacham veedu of cherthala (and the sub family padinjare kunnumpuram). That means that though we live in the naduvani veedu, we are of the chanacham veedu (another old tharavadu but from the southern kerala). My mom tells me that as a member family of chanacham veedu, we get invitation from the festival of ancestral deities from chanacham veedu also every year. My father is of a tharavadu called elangikkamali and the sub-family group pookkattupadi.
We also have a sarpakkavu [temple for a personal deity in the form of snake] In our family home.
More interesting details as and when I remember more.... ¶ 12:40 PM
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Oh!! good to know that u finally wrote somethin' new on the blog,hehe,i visited ur blog sometime back, but it wasn't updated. Anyways,i hope it wud have been a great experience meetin' parents and sister back home.
>>Anyways,i hope it wud have been a great experience meetin' parents and sister back home.
u bet!! ,, I still have not come out of that hangover, and dont know if every thing i have learned and earned are worth what I am missing.
u bet!! ,, I still have not come out of that hangover, and dont know if every thing i have learned and earned are worth what I am missing.
I came across ur blog while doin a www search on velichappad. I'm from Kerala too, but I'm a Achayathi, so I'm not that familiar with the Hindu culutral side of Kerala. After reading ur blog, I've realised how ignorant I've been abt my culture.Ur blog has inspired me to start learning a lot more abt my state, its varied traditions n' cultures.Thx a ton.
Annie.
Annie.
# posted by 
: 11:21 PM
: 11:21 PM
Hey,
thx for u'r appreciation :),
btw, did u know bt the achayan side of kerala :)? specialy the synod at udayamperoor and kunan kurishu satyam and the rest of history?
also if I am not wrong, one of the original bibles, [guess older than the dead sea scrolls] was in kerala which was taken to london recently..
more over, unlike other portions of the country, we are the only ppl who can claim to have the two religions, islam and christianity from the time of the founders and that too with out forcible conversions.
thx for u'r appreciation :),
btw, did u know bt the achayan side of kerala :)? specialy the synod at udayamperoor and kunan kurishu satyam and the rest of history?
also if I am not wrong, one of the original bibles, [guess older than the dead sea scrolls] was in kerala which was taken to london recently..
more over, unlike other portions of the country, we are the only ppl who can claim to have the two religions, islam and christianity from the time of the founders and that too with out forcible conversions.
On the process of getting to know everything abt the past.N' the more I get to know, the more interesting it b'coms. Unfortunately,thr aren't too many sites offering info abt the Hindu traditions of Kerala. Cud u help me out??
Annie.
Annie.
# posted by : 3:01 AM
: 3:01 AM
By the time of your post, can I assume that you are writing it from the American cost?? :) [here it is 4:00 am :P and I cant believe that you will stay this late researching.]
and yeh, history is such a fascinating subject and I would love to help you as much as I can but let me admit that my knowledge is very limited.
Also What is it that you are researching? just the ancient kerala history or just the hindu customs? especially velichappadu and all?
ny way, see u trow,
and yeh, history is such a fascinating subject and I would love to help you as much as I can but let me admit that my knowledge is very limited.
Also What is it that you are researching? just the ancient kerala history or just the hindu customs? especially velichappadu and all?
ny way, see u trow,
I do stay in America n' yea..u're rite, history is a fascinating subject, esp whn it is about ur own culture.I just want to know abt the old hindu customs, everything that it comprises of,the beliefs, superstitions,traditions,velichappadu,sarpa kaavu, evrything. Wud really appreciate it if u cud help me out.
By the way, my yahoo id is nuthin_lasts_forevr. U cud reply to me over thr if u want.Ciao.
Annie.
By the way, my yahoo id is nuthin_lasts_forevr. U cud reply to me over thr if u want.Ciao.
Annie.
# posted by : 10:59 PM
: 10:59 PM
On what you seek, I dont think you will get that sort of information
in the web, Most of the keralites have already forgoten the customes,
and traditions, and where they exist, they have mingled and altered
beyond recognition with the north indian customs and beliefs.
From what I have had chance to experience, I know very little about
the hindu customs, and that too is limited to Nair cast. The rest of the divisions of
Hinduism in kerala too have their own rich tradition and heritage.
Of these traditions/rituals/customs that I have had chance to participate in,
I can elaborate.
I belong to a tharavadu, called Naduvani [as you might have read from
the blog. -- which was really writen in a moment of homesickness :) ]
We believe that each being in this universe has a soule, And Hinduism [the farthest
reaches of it in vedas] considers loosely, the collective conciousness [not the
correct term, it is really a beyond-conciousness , but i guess u might have no
interest in those] as the supreme [the brahmam].
Most of the rituals center around invoking this ??[It is not a being
but something beyond a being.. as it cant be accused of any gender, emotions, body, or any
or the other aspects connected with being a being.], Or the many forms of it in our pantheon
of gods. [each of the multiple gods is thought of as a dimention of the brahmam and during
the prayers and worships, thought as supreme during the ritual that
espouses that god.]
that much about the beliefs. I am not sure if that is the kind that you
wanted to know.
On superstitions, Since it is a loaded term, I will take the original
latin meaning of the term -stare/stand over-.
Those include the often used jyothishm, rituals , the manthra-vadam
[haven't seen one yet, but would love to :) ] , devaprashnam etc.. etc..
All these are centered on the above concept of brahmam, and its
dimentions, and its invocation, and such.
on tradition, we have the martial tradition of kalari which is one of
the toughest in existance, in terms of training, and also ayurveda, an
alternate system of medicine, [these are not exclusively hindu domain,
but the foundation of both the systems revolve around the soul and the
body and the things mentioned above.] [these are not perhaps the tradition
you are asking for, if so, mention what you want more explanation on :)]
There are books available in kerala which might help you in your quest,
which you can get, including Eithihyamala and old literary works, if you
are looking for more hard-core info for some project/thesis or
something. [++ i cant remember much more :) ]
hope u'll get what u seek...
~rahul
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in the web, Most of the keralites have already forgoten the customes,
and traditions, and where they exist, they have mingled and altered
beyond recognition with the north indian customs and beliefs.
From what I have had chance to experience, I know very little about
the hindu customs, and that too is limited to Nair cast. The rest of the divisions of
Hinduism in kerala too have their own rich tradition and heritage.
Of these traditions/rituals/customs that I have had chance to participate in,
I can elaborate.
I belong to a tharavadu, called Naduvani [as you might have read from
the blog. -- which was really writen in a moment of homesickness :) ]
We believe that each being in this universe has a soule, And Hinduism [the farthest
reaches of it in vedas] considers loosely, the collective conciousness [not the
correct term, it is really a beyond-conciousness , but i guess u might have no
interest in those] as the supreme [the brahmam].
Most of the rituals center around invoking this ??[It is not a being
but something beyond a being.. as it cant be accused of any gender, emotions, body, or any
or the other aspects connected with being a being.], Or the many forms of it in our pantheon
of gods. [each of the multiple gods is thought of as a dimention of the brahmam and during
the prayers and worships, thought as supreme during the ritual that
espouses that god.]
that much about the beliefs. I am not sure if that is the kind that you
wanted to know.
On superstitions, Since it is a loaded term, I will take the original
latin meaning of the term -stare/stand over-.
Those include the often used jyothishm, rituals , the manthra-vadam
[haven't seen one yet, but would love to :) ] , devaprashnam etc.. etc..
All these are centered on the above concept of brahmam, and its
dimentions, and its invocation, and such.
on tradition, we have the martial tradition of kalari which is one of
the toughest in existance, in terms of training, and also ayurveda, an
alternate system of medicine, [these are not exclusively hindu domain,
but the foundation of both the systems revolve around the soul and the
body and the things mentioned above.] [these are not perhaps the tradition
you are asking for, if so, mention what you want more explanation on :)]
There are books available in kerala which might help you in your quest,
which you can get, including Eithihyamala and old literary works, if you
are looking for more hard-core info for some project/thesis or
something. [++ i cant remember much more :) ]
hope u'll get what u seek...
~rahul
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