Proceedings of the South Indian History Congress

Journal of the South Indian History Congress since 1981

ISSN No.:2229-3671
UGC CARE Listed Journal

ERASING CULTURAL MARGINALITIES: MODERNITY AND THE

DECLINE OF SUBALTERN CUSTOMS
Author(s): Sourav V
Source: Proceedings of the South Indian History Congress 41(2023)

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Published By: South Indian History Congress

© 2023 South Indian History Congress. All rights reserved.

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ERASING CULTURAL MARGINALITIES: MODERNITY AND
THE DECLINE OF SUBALTERN CUSTOMS

Sourav V
Research Scholar
Department of History
University of Calicut

Kasaragod, a borderland district in the present-day state of Kerala on the

far south coast of India, entertains a society built via centuries of immigration and
cross-cultural transactions. It hosts native speakers of Urdu, Tulu, Konkani,
Maratha, Kannada, and Byali apart from Malayalam which dominates the
linguistic demography of the state in general. The land is thus celebrated as
saptabhasa Samgama Bhoomi or a land of seven languages. This is proportional
to the religious diversity of the place as well consisting of Muslims, Hindus,
Christians, and Jains in significant numbers. When the emergence of the
revivalist movements, in that reformist process many local customs disappeared.
This same process happens as a part of the state/central modernization process.
This paper is trying to find out the problems created by the process of
modernization. This section is divided into two parts. One is trying to find out
that modernization created a threat against the local customs including the
Education institute evicted Dalit customs and their daily hood. When the state
officially declares that Onam is the official festival of Kerala, it creates problems
in the local customs. However, the state administration denied the local custom of
Tulu Onam practice and its importance. Thus, the indigenous people did not
remember the importance of this ritual tradition. The second part is how the
revivalist movement changed the local customs of Alamikali and Moosakuttan
of the Ullal Dharga.

Kasaragod, a bordering present-day Kerala state on India’s southern coast,

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entertains a community built through centuries of migration and cultural
exchange1. This land is considered a region where seven languages are spoken.
This is proportional to the religious diversity of the place with Muslims, Hindus,
Christians, and Jains.2 The emergence of revivalist movements and
modernisation process created several changes in the local customs. Many local
customs decline as a part of the state or central modernization process. This paper
will try to trace the issues that created two parts of the modernization process.
One, the modern state-building process rejected the local rituals of Gulikan
Theyyam3 and Tulu Nādu Onam celebration. Another is the disappearance of
Alamikali and Moosakuttan due to the revivalist movements.

The Central Government and the Dalit Custom

The massive advance of urbanization and developers creates problems in

society. Dalits were mostly affected by this type of modernization. In other
words, this eviction is strongly opposed by the unity of the people, they formed
organization and protested against the eviction. The protest groups are from the
local Hindu, Christian, and Muslim communities. Hindu society consists of upper
castes and Dalits. But these upper castes, religious communities, or organizations
are not ready to protest on their part when it comes to eviction of Dalits.
However, upper castes and other communities are still against them, and this
modernization of Dalit society is against them. In terms of the process of
institution building, society creates a perception that Dalits are against
modernization and institute. This process created a problematic situation for
Dalits, that way Dalits who were marginalised from society, did not get any
support and was self-isolating from society.

In India, The Constituent Assembly passed the Central Universities Act,

of 2009. The construction of Kerala Central University took place in Kasaragod,
Periya. It is situated on 50 acres of land owned by the Plantation Corporation of
Kerala4. Dalits were evicted from their land during the construction process of

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the educational institution. 16 Dalit families lived in Malathumpara5. Today this
area comes under the administrative block of Kerala Central University. In this
area, there were 16 Dalit families living under one tribal chief and they worship
Gulyakan. There is a kavu (temple) to worship Gulikan Theyyam. According to
their view, these regions were the path of Gulikan. Gulikan is the god of subaltern
and is worshiped by Mavilan, Varnan, and Malayavettivar communities6. Lord
Param Shiva was considered as the god of the lower classes and Dalits got
Gulikan Theyam when Shiva became Aryanised. The legend behind Gulika is
that he is derived from Lord Shiva's toe. Worshiped as an avatar concept of Lord
Shiva, he is very angry in nature and bestows blessings on the faithful. Gulikanis
still outside of the upper caste worshiping places like Kavu, temples, etc.

The Central University of Kerala and the Central Government demanded

Dalit's land and theynegotiated certain things with Dalits. The Central University
of Kerala said that they gave 16 job opportunities for one member from each
evicted family and rebuilt Gulikan worshiping places. When Central University
started, they avoided this demand. After that, the 16 Dalit families protested 3
months in the front of Central University of Kerala. The eviction process takes
place under the false influence of the leaders of the community. They were well-
educated Dalits, who were brainwashed. After the eviction process, the Dalit
family was denied justice, and the mainstream society and their community
withdrew its support. and society withdrew their support. On October 16, 2012,
t h e Central University of Kerala Vice-Chancellor and Dalit families signed a
joint contract. It was denied by the newly elected NDA government in 20147.Still,
they have not got justice and they are fighting against injustices. However, the
popular drive of urbanization and modernization marginalizes the lower class.
They did not get justice from society and political parties also became neutral in
such social issues.

Onam Festival Marginalized Subaltern Custom of Tuluva Onam

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 Poliyandry was a practice, custom, and ritual followed by the Tuluva of
Kasaragod, especially in Kasaragod, who was part of the Tuluva dynasty.
Kasaragod is also known as Tulu Nādu. Modern-era Kasaragod is a part of
Kerala. These rituals are performed during the Malayalam month of Thulam
(Libra-September-October). It occurs during the twilight of the full moon in the
month of Libra. People bury the Pala tree trunk (blackboard tree) cut by the side
of the entrance of the house, cowshed, Tulasi tharra (A podium-like stone or
cement construction in front of traditional Hindu houses, housing the holy Tulasi
(Basil) plant and sides of wells. It shows family unity, all family members purify
their bodies and light the pulse tree. A multi-branched Pala tree has three sides
and is used for polyandry. A half-cut coconut shell blends into the Pala tree
branch and the lightning. Then they called Poliyandra three times. It occurs north
of Kasaragod.8 These rituals are coordinated by women, which is not done in
other parts of Kerala.

During the formation of Kerala state, Kerala declared Onam as the state
festival. According to mythology, King Mahabali of Kerala defeated the gods and
began to rule the three worlds, and it was during his reign that the local people
saw the best of times; Prosperity and glory reigned everywhere. The gods became
insecure about the popularity of King Mahabali and the gods decided to end
Mahabali’s reign on Earth. They asked Lord Vishnu for help to end the region of
Mahabali. Lord Vishnu appeared as Vamana (minor Brahmin) and tricked the
king into giving him the land. Therefore, King Mahabali was sent to the lower
world; But Vishnu also granted his wish to visit his land once a year. Onam
celebrates this homecoming of the king9. This Onam festival is celebrated
religiously and Onam festival dominates the local customs or creates a hierarchy
culturally.

Onam is the mythological character of Mahabali. He was viewed through

the perspectives of the Arya-Dravidian conflict and through the perspectives of

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just society ideologies and polyandric perspectives. It denotes the common man's
view of life, agrarian relations, and social justice. Onam in Kerala is mainly
centered around Maveli and this period was considered as an agricultural festival.
When Tuluva Onam looks at Maveli, he is a commoner, working in the paddy
fields, he arrives with muddy feet, he is not a king, not a ruler, but humble10.
Calling Balendra in Tulu Mahabali is a myth, but not like the Onam myth.
Balendran who ruled the mountain and the seashore was a farmer in his land
which became very prosperous and ensured social justice or in other words
heaven. The gods, jealous of this opulence, sent Kali god to destroy the opulence.
Unfortunately, Kali was arrested by Balendran and imprisoned in the upper part
of the house. Paddy and other agricultural materials are stored in the upper part, it
is called Attam in Malayalam. The gods sent Vamana to free Kali. Vamana gets
the land in the Purana, and in Tulu, the land is owned by Brahmins and their
laborers are subaltern peoples and is a very feudal-agrarian setup. Balendra was
questioned by Vamana because he was an agrarian and he was the custodian of
the land. In the Tulu history, Brahmins are the landlords. They appointed several
subaltern castes for their land maintenance purpose. Balendra is one of the
representatives of the subaltern community. For that reason, Balendra gave land
to Vamana. He lost his land and prosperity and was given two rights by Vamana.
The two rights are, that Balendra can visit this land in the time of Tulam and
Deepavali. Balendra is allowed to revisit Tulu Nādu twice a year. In Onam
mythology, Vamana asked for three feet of land, in the same way, Vamana said
in the first built house, cattle shelter well, and pond. Second feet plantation of
Coconut and bananas, conducting cockfighting and Pototam male Buffalo running
competitions, and third built worshipping places for gods.11

These were purely based on agrarian relations while the Onam myth is
related to the Aryan-Dravidian conflict nature. In the process of Sanskritization,
all myths and beliefs merge into a unified form. This unification process
happened in the case of Tulu Onam. Tulu Onam was marginalized because of

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the influence of Brahmanical Malayali Onam and with the cooperation of the
modern state.

Alamikali and Its Vanishment

Alamikali is both a folk art and a festival. It is practiced in the region of

Alampally near Kanhangad in Kasaragod District. In the South Canarese region,
they were also native to locations like Chithari, Kottikulam, Kundamkuzhy, and
Mangalore, the latter of which is in the modern state of Karnataka. Alamikali is
basically a Muslim festival cum art form and it organised by Turkan Muslims
Muslims of the region. Alanis, the chief performers belonging to the lower caste
Hindu community, especially Tiyya, Mukuva, and Dalit castes. The Alami word
is derived from the Arabic word 'trusted one' and Kali means in Malayalam play.
This art form cum festival was boycotted by the upper caste Hindu community,
which includes Nair, Marar, and Kongoni Brahmins and also native Muslims of
the region they belong to Shafiite Muslims.12

Turkan Muslims who had settlements in the region practiced Alamikali as

part of their cultural life as migrant Muslims13 and they faced conflict with native
Muslims of Shafiite Muslims. Turkan Muslims speak Hindi, Urdu, and
Hindustani dialects (Mathur). Alamikali is introduced by them and native people
call them Sahib. Sahib's name is an honorary name. Turkan Muslims were known
for their martial skill and the locals called them Sahib.14 They migrated during
the 1780s and '90s, they worked as Tipo cavalry15 and his administrative works.
Turkan Muslims followed the Hanafi school of Sunni Judaification. Kasaragod
and Malabar native Muslims followed the Sahafi school of Judaification, they’re
ideologically opposed to their performance of Alamikali. A few writings are
available based on the migration of Turkan /Muslims, and this community has
denied these allegations about their writings. They are of the view that there is no
connection with the Rawthers,16 who migrated from Tamil Nādu, and no
connection with Decani Muslims of Decan17, Turkan Muslims, who were

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formerly Hanafi and later mostly Shias. Though Hanafi Sunnis by practice,
Turkan Muslims had also adopted multiple Shia festivities and icons.18

Alamikkali is practiced in memory and commemoration of the Karbala

war and the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (Al-Hussein ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib) on
10 October 680 CE, son of the fourth caliph Ali (Ali ibn Abi Talib) and grandson
of Prophet Muhammed (Muhammedibn Abdullah). The suffering of Hussein, his
soldiers, and their families are re-enacted during these 10-day-long performative
festivals during the time of Muharram (Ashura).19 Alamikkali ceremonies are
conducted on the 10th Day of Ashura. Alamikkali is principally a Muslim ritual
and its participants are Hindu, Alamikali has two mythical narrations about the
main the main object of Vellikkaram or a silver hand. Vellikkaram was
worshipped by Turkan Muslims and they were considered as the Hasrat Hussein's
hand, When the Yazid army assassinated Hussein, His body was cut into pieces
before burying it. It is believed that the soldiers who tried to bury his mutilated
body found it impossible to bury his hand beneath the sand that kept resurfacing
every time they attempted to cover it21. Eventually, they left his remains and
returned back to Yazid’s camp with his head as a war trophy22. Turkan Muslims
of South Canara believe the Vellikaram in their custody to be the severed hand
of Hussein that was passed across generations as a jeweled relic, signifying both
divinity and martyrdom.

According to Hindu mythology, they believe it is the Lord Vishnu's hand

(Balan). Behind the myth, the local oral sources say that in the daily custom, people
were entertaining the dusk time on the seashore including Mucus (fisherman).
They suddenly noticed that the weather nature of the region changed. It was rainy
and stormy in nature. However, they witnessed a man drowning with only his hand
above the waters in the storm. There soon erupted a commotion on the shore to save
the man and it was the Turkan Sahibs who finally came to aid. They swam across
the waves and got hold of the drowning man’s hand. They however found it only

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to be a silver hand. But, considering it to be a divine relic, the people on the shore
began venerating it. Since they initially got hold of the hand, the Turkan Sahibs
turned the custodian of the silver relic which they believed to be Hussein’s Hand24
whereas their Hindu co-practitioners began to venerate it as the hand of Lord
Vishnu himself who abodes in a great cosmic ocean called Palazzi.

However, this festival art form is virtually extinct now in the erstwhile
South Canara region. Alamikali practices were opposed by the native Muslims
of Shafiite, When the revivalist movements rejected the practice, The minority
of Turkan Muslims ended this practice and its performance. Post-Independence,
Turkan Muslims migrated to other parts of India and outside. Their survival
became threatened and isolated from society. This could potentially be for various
reasons ranging from religious compartmentalization and the rise of communal
hatred within communities to the decline of feudal agrarian relations in the region
since the land redistribution of the 1970s and subsequent gulf migration and
urbanization drive.25

Many Hindu rituals,26 mainly Theyyam rituals, and 27

were part of the
Alamikkali ritual. Band the up, Aginipradaksinam (round to fire pit), and firepit
throwing.28 We can see the similarity to the Pettatullal in the month of Makara.
Hindu rituals including agnipradashinam, Idol worship of Vellikkaram, and
ezhunallippu were first halted for being un-Islamic, Shia rituals including
sahibs giving blessings using peacock feathers, Muslim woman participation in
this custom, and only revivalists preferred Annadanam (mass feeding).

Moosakuttan, The Male Goat

About 20 years ago, a male goat wandering in Kasaragod was named

Moosakutan. Moosakuttan is the offering of believers in Ullal Dargah. They
believed that relief from pestilence, women's marriages, living quarters for
migrant workers, etc. were part of offerings. Moosakutan is a male goat,29 he has

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horns and a mustache, and a bag is attached to his body, and the faithful give
food for him and deposit money in the bag.

The locals did not care about his religion and caste and he became a
symbol of religious harmony. Locals know about the Shaikh's offerings at Ullal
Syed Madani Dargah Sharif Masjid. People did not think of it as a religious
symbol. Goat has broken religious and caste boundaries and participated in many
rituals in Kasaragod to defend against communalism30. These conditions
changed in 1992, after the demolition of the Babri Masjid, Moosakuttan stopped
offering offerings because the practice was under threat from Hindu revivalists.
After the demolition of the mosque, Kasaragod has been reporting around 26
cases of murder with Hindu-Muslim clashes every December.

There are other instances of multicultural subaltern customs being

confronted by various facets of modernity. Kanhangad, Parapalli is a symbol of
religious harmony. Anyone can take the money deposited by Parapalli and he can
use the money for any purpose. However, this custom has faded. Many of these
religious practices died out as part of the Hindu revivalist movements. The
Muslim folklore of Ali-Theyyam31 disappeared in the region due to the decline
of the Parapalli ritual. The demolition of the Babri Masjid changed Madian
Colom customs and rituals. The temple guardian is the main idol of Madian
Colom.32 He is a warrior of Kolathiri. He captured Allanadu and his companion,
whose favorite friend was Sheikh Umar Samarbandi. His cremation ground is
Kanhangad, the Mosque is known as Athinjal Mosque, 33 and the temple keeper's
Madian Colom stands nearby. It was built in the same year. This mosque and
temple are a symbol of religious unity, but it was changed by Hindu revivalism
and the customs and rituals collapsed.

After the independence, many changes took place during the period of
state formation. During Kerala state formation, Kasaragod merged with Malabar
in the 1950s. However, as a part of modernization, many subaltern customs

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vanished. This article traces the reasons behind the decline of subaltern practices
due to two distinct aspects of modernity: religious revivalist movements and
Modern state-building. Alamikali, as part of Islamic revivalism, and,
Moosakuttan customs ended by the reason of Hindu revivalism. While looking at
modern state buildings, Central University of Kerala forcefully displaced Dalit
customs and finally, Kerala State ignored the local custom of Tulu Onam as it
vanished from the mainstream locations.

End Notes and References

1
Ozinjavalappu, Santhosh, 2021, interview
2
Kundamkuzhy, Udhyan,2021, Interview
3
Mash, Kundamkuzhyile Alamipalliyum Alamikkaliyum,.2021
4
Rawaneneswaram, Raveendran, Made Made Snanam,2014, pp. 23-53
5
Ibid, 2014, pp. 23-35
6
P. Narayanan, Interview, 2022.
7
Ravaneeswaram, Raveendran., Made Made Snanam 2014, pp. 23-35
8
Ibid., 2014, pp. 51-57
9
Desk India Today, Happy Onam 2021; History, Significance, Quotes, Wishes for
WhatsApp and Facebook status, 2021

10
Ibid, 2014, pp. 51-57
11
Bruckner and Viveka Rai, Oral Tradition in South India: Essays on Tulu Oral Epics, 2017,
pp. 110-145
12
Choyambu, Interview,2022
13
Kundamkuzhy, Udhayan, Interview, 2021
14
A. M. Sreedharan, Folklore: Sameepanangalum Sadhyathakalum, 2009, pp. 93-97
15
Bolar, Varija, R., Turks in Karnataka, 2012, p. 34
16
C. Haneefa, Islamum Rawthermarude Paithrikavum Pinnitta, 900 Andum. 2012, pp. 10-20
17
Mathur and Jairath.K., Social Stratification Among the Muslims of Keraka, 2001, pp. 129-
137

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 18
Subaida, Alami,2013, P:64
p. 19
Claus. J., Diamond and Mills. A., South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia, 2005, p. 324
20
Jr. Goldschmidt. Arthur, and Davidson, Lawrance, Consist History of the Middle Eastern,
2006, p. 67
21
T., Simi, Alamikaliyude Samoohikayikyavum: Anustanaparamaya Alamikalepattiyulla
Padanam 2004, pp. 64-74
22
Muhammed, Jamal, Arabikalude Charitram, 2019, pp. 196-200
23
Hudawi, Kasarkodette Muslimgalude Charitram, 2008, pp. 160-170
24
T. Simi. Alamikaliyude Samoohikayikyavum: Anustanaparamaya Alamikalepattiyulla
Padanam, 2004, pp. 65- 64
25
Choyambu, Interview, 2022
26
M., Vishnu Namboothiri, Folklore Nikandu, 2000, pp. 47
27
Ibid., 2000, pp. 100
28
P. Narayanan, Interview, 2022
29
Raveenswaram. Raveendran, Made Made Snanam, 2014, pp. 67-77
30
Ibid, 2014, pp. 67-77
31
Balan, Kasarkod Charitravum Samoohavum, 2013, pp. 46-50 Ibid,2014, pp. 67-77
32
Ibid., 2014, pp. 67-77
33
Choyambu, Interview, 2022

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