P.
Krishnaswami
Christ
University, Bangalore
Paper Title: “Tamil Society’s Engagement with Secular and Sacred:
An Overview of Multiple Traditions”
Abstract
This paper looks
at the various strands that characterized the culture of the Tamil society from
the ancient period to modern. Ancient
Sangam literature was secular in its outlook but it also had its objects of
sanctity. Virtue and ethics based
personal and social life was the ideal concept of the Sangam society and that
has made them see God in their Kings. So there are references to Murugan,
Vishnu and Korravai (Durga) not paying any devotion to them but trying to see
their characteristic traits in their monarchs. The religion of the Sangam
period is said to be Dravidian as it has many references to Veriattam (possession of women) and Nadukal (hero stones) which were the
practices of the peasantry. This might make one to conclude that the
religiosity of the Tamils is basically occupation based. Political imperialism brought about changes
trying to homogenize all the belief systems but as Jainism and Buddhism
flourished along with Hinduism, the Vedic dominated Hinduism always
accommodated non-Vedic ‘Dravidian’ elements in it. The earlier concept of ‘virtue and ethics
based personal and social life’ found its finest expression in Kambaramayanam and it was least
projected as a mouthpiece of
Vaishnavism. This tradition continued through the ages. When Brahmins
performed yagnas the peasantry
sacrificed animals to propitiate the spirits of their ancestors and to
reinforce their ‘blood relationship’ with them. While Cholas institutionalized
religion through the construction of huge temples, Alwars and Nayanmars tried to alter the personal relationship of
the peasants with God by making the relationship hierarchical. God is supreme
and total surrender is the only way for moksha.
Parallel to this mainstream theology, the peasantry constantly invented its
own ‘subaltern theology’ creating Gods from their own folk and weaving a
plethora of myths and legends to perpetuate them. Even Jayalalitha could not change
this, as she withdrew the ban on animal sacrifice she introduced in 2003 within
a year in 2004. The huge contribution of western scholars during the second
half of the 20th century attempted to see this complementary
relationship between mainstream gods and personal gods. These studies were
mainly based on oral traditions. Their studies show that both the systems have
their own method of sanctifying secular things
Key
words: Sangam
literature, religiosity, subaltern theology
Dr
P.Krishnaswami has been teaching Tamil language and Literature to the
undergraduate students of Christ University for the past 35 years. Literature,
Folk epics, Folk Religion and Cultural Studies are his areas of interests. He
is also a translator and his translation of a Kannada novel Chidambara Rahasyam
fetched him the Central Sahitya Akademi Award in 2006. Currently he is engaged
in the documentation of Tamil folk epic Annanmar Kathai (The Brothers’ Story)
as a part of Major Research Project.