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tradition
Gods of clay, men of craft
The Hindu
5 November 2006
A. SRIVATHSAN
The connection between the craft and worship is special to Ayyanar
temples.PHOTOS: A. SRIVATHSAN
KEEPING vigil: Ayyanar on the horse.
THE verdant fields, the unusually thin and tall coconut trees and the
tail end of Nagamalai Mountains make Melakkal the kind of village
many urban travellers would romantically and affectionately dream
of. Even the long wait for the bus only seems appropriate.
Signs of change
As you approach the village, the ubiquitous tea kadaigreets you
with a loud film song. It is not the radio that blares, but the
television. Down the road, the grocery shop is using an electronic
weighing machine and crates of soft drink are piled at the entrance.
At the bend, a makeshift petrol bunk sells petrol in empty soft drink
bottles. Concrete houses, newly-laid marble steps, a big school and
girls commuting 25 km daily to study in engineering colleges are
telltale signs of change.
However, on the outskirts of the village, the figures of fierce-looking
Karuppusami on horseback with a scary demon by his side and
Ayyanar on another horse, looking calm but assertive, are signs of a
different kind. They are signs of continuing traditions of craft,
myths, rituals and caste politics.
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Ayyanar and his retinue of 21 gods are worshipped as protective
deities. Ayyanar with his whip and Karuppusami, his most important
companion with a moustache and an aruval(a large sickle), are
eternally vigilant and stand guard on the outskirts of the village.
Ayyanar temples are not architecturally elaborate. The principal
deities Ayyanar and consorts Pushkala and Purnakala are
sculpted in stone and enclosed in a small shrine. Other deities are
made either in clay or stucco. While the gods of stone remain inside
the shrine, gods made in clay are kept in open air. Ayyanar and
Karuppusami sit on horses as tall as 20 feet and greet you at the
entrance. At a few places like Mazhaiyur near Pudukottai, attendant
gods like Semuni are not part of the Ayyanar temple but have their
own place and votive horses.
Natarajan Velar is the priest of the Melakkal temple. His narration of
the temple history and the cult of Ayyanar have no reference to
dates, kings and texts. All he can say is that it is a hoary tradition
and his family has served as priests for ages. Scholars may describe
Ayyanar worship as ancient and connect it with the Jains or Sastha,
Vishnu and Shiva, but Natarajan seems to remain outside such
concern. He enjoys a special relationship with the god he takes care
of; so do the other velars. Velars are a community of potters and
they make the idols and serve as priests.
Special connections
Attendant gods.
The connection between the crafts and worship is special to Ayyanar
temples. At an auspicious time, the villages collect money and
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commission the priest and his family to make new terracotta horses
for Ayyanar and, if necessary, a new Ayyanar too.
A handful of earth from the village is given to the priest who is also
the potter. The clay is then chosen carefully and the earth given is
mixed with it. Two kinds of clay are scooped from a relatively dried-
up water body. In the wet bed, clayey earth locally known
as Karambaiand a little grainy sandy earth called Paruman are
collected. It is then mixed with elephant dung and river sand in
suitable proportions. The legs of the horse are made first. Next, the
body is finished and then the head. Shifting the parts is an
important process. A makeshift bamboo and other improvised
cradles are used. The parts are joined together and stitched with
clay. There are variations to this process. In the Pudukottai region,
instead of elephant dung, paddy husk is mixed to ensure better
bonding. When the horse is ready, it is carried in a procession to the
temple and placed by the side of the Ayyanar. The old ones areremoved and kept aside to disintegrate.
The festival is elaborate. A few dance in trance and goats are
sacrificed. The head and legs of the animal are given to the priest as
his share. At times, the fleshy thighs are also shared. When I asked
a priest how they managed to sacrifice animals despite the
prohibition, he smiled ingeniously.
Being a priest does not pay Natarajan. But he has managed to
balance his aspirations to earn better and the yearning to stay with
traditions by turning priest after his retirement. So did Rajendran,
at the Singampidari temple near Madurai.
Earlier, the priests had lands donated to them. Velars are not
agriculturalists and hence leased their lands to the wealthy and
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dominating caste groups in the village. Some could never recover
their lands from the powerful lessees. A few have lost properties for
other reasons as well.
The potter-priest relationship associated with Ayyanar worship may
not be the same in the future. Rajendran's two sons are employed
in private firms in big cities and have less to do with the temple.
People like Krishnamoorthy in Arapalayam have left pottery and
making Ayyanars to his brother. While his brother earns Rs. 2, 000
by making five horses and two gods, he claims to earn Rs. 20, 000
from his catering business. His brother makes up by selling pots and
clay stoves on a busy street in Madurai.
However, the future is not bleak for Rangaswamy and his sons.
They are recognised craftsmen and are busy touring many parts of
India and selling terracotta artefacts. Based at Mazhaiyur, they still
make horses and terracotta gods for the village, but are not priests.
Rajathi at Varapur near Pudukottai manages to continue her father's
craft tradition through her self-help group. Some have successfully
managed to remain with the crafts.
Changing craft
Votive horses.
It's not just the economics; even the iconography and the crafts
have changed. At a few places Ayyanar now appears with an aruval.
At Kochadai, just outside Madurai, Muthiah Sami and Ayyanar have
acquired metallicutsava murthis or processional icons that are taken
on vahanas or vehicles during festival days. This was largely absent
in village temples. Prof. Aiyanar at Madurai Kamaraj University
points to many more differences and relates them to the changing
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socio-economic conditions. He even identifies specific caste symbols
in the icons. A research scholar in the same university describes
how Jain Tirthankaras in abandoned caves have been converted to
Karuppusami. All that is required is a simple brush stroke that can
paint a moustache over the abandoned Jain gods. Gods appear to
be as malleable as their material. However, a few desiring
permanency and cost reduction have started to make Ayyanars in
solid brick and mildly reinforced cement work.
At every Ayyanar temple, there is a shrine located away from and
outside the boundary wall of the main temple. It is the shrine for
the fiercely reassuring Sonai Sami, the God of the Dalits. Even
today, at a few places, the Dalits though they enter the Ayyanar
temples freely are reluctant to go near the sanctum. The shrine
for Sonai Sami is alloted exclusively for Dalits. During festivals, their
offerings are not easily offered to the main gods. One of the priests
said this is not an issue since everyone knows their place. It lookslike some practices that ought to have changed have not yet
changed.