The Pulluvans, Sacred Serpents and Performative Healing in Kerala

Abstract

The Indian socio-cultural mindscape is a world wherein people, animals, animate and inanimate objects all contain an aura of sacrality. In the context of Kerala, the snake is not a mere reptile but holds a pride of place in many Nair and Namboodari tharawads (caste Hindu households). The human and the snake have a very subtle and symbiotic relationship: local lore mentions the serpent as a protector of the clan’s fertility and economic prosperity. The serpentine domain exists parallel and independent to the ‘mainstream’ gods with their territorial contours and followers, their own sacred texts though oral in nature and their own sacred calendar. The Pulluvan (a Dalit caste) has the hereditary right to ritually appease the snake gods through music and dance—sarpam thullal. In order to unravel the complexities of the performance, the communities and their mutual relationship in the socio-cultural domain, it is essential to analyse prevailing social institutions like caste and patriarchy, the patronage of the dominant castes and the ritual economy, where the labour of Pulluvans is appropriated. The chapter seeks to explore how power and marginality operate in the performance space. How has the ritual transformed itself to survive in a market economy and a highly consumerist society of Kerala? Is it possible to dissect the subject formation of a community, both in terms of caste and gender, who is marginalized at one level but also possesses the power to perform cultural exorcism?