October 30th was the 100th birth anniversary of Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar (a hero of the Thevar caste). Thevar Jeyanthi has been notorious for inter-caste riots and violence, and just as recently as a few years ago individuals tended to go slightly overboard in their exuberance, brandishing sickles in the middle of the major Goripalayam intersection where the Thevar statue is located. There is often tension between Thevars and Scheduled Castes (Dalits) throughout Tamil Nadu, particularly in the southern districts. Just before Thevar Jeyanthi, a statue of Ambedkar was "disrespected" in Madurai leading to the stoning of buses. It is difficult to find out exactly what happened to this statue, because the media will not print such details. (It is illegal to print or say things which might inflame or incite religious or communal tensions, and this seems to include newspapers and other media outlets covering such incidents in detail. Just a few weeks back a radio DJ up in NE India made some apparently racist comments against the runner-up of Indian Idol, but it was impossible to find out what these comments were because no one would print them. It is also illegal to "hurt someone's religious sentiments" and often this is interpreted very liberally.) The Chief Minister of TN just named the Madurai airport "Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar Airport," an action which many individuals (particularly those from the Scheduled Castes) tend to interpret as an assertion of Thevar supremacy. Needless to say it is all very controversial and I will refrain from saying any more.
Things have changed a lot in the past few years, and you don't see sickles at Goripalayam. There was violence in other districts, and a member of Parliament did get stabbed in the stomach on the way to Madurai, but Goripalayam (the epicenter of the Madurai celebrations) was relatively under control, at least when I went there in the morning. I took a couple of short videos of the exuberance, and I thought it was interesting to compare the way that women and men conduct processions. The women's procession consisted of women and young girls walking in an orderly line around the statue carrying molleppaari (sprouts, considered holy, usually grown for religious festivals) on their heads. The men's "procession," on the other hand, consisted of circling the statue over and over again at top speed hanging off the sides of vehicles, whooping and hollering and whistling at the top of their lungs. Men and young boys were also dancing; Tamilarasi wanted to leave because she said they were dancing "obscenely" because of me. It didn't seem any more obscene than usual, but we left before things got too crazy (read: after the women's procession was over).
Things have changed a lot in the past few years, and you don't see sickles at Goripalayam. There was violence in other districts, and a member of Parliament did get stabbed in the stomach on the way to Madurai, but Goripalayam (the epicenter of the Madurai celebrations) was relatively under control, at least when I went there in the morning. I took a couple of short videos of the exuberance, and I thought it was interesting to compare the way that women and men conduct processions. The women's procession consisted of women and young girls walking in an orderly line around the statue carrying molleppaari (sprouts, considered holy, usually grown for religious festivals) on their heads. The men's "procession," on the other hand, consisted of circling the statue over and over again at top speed hanging off the sides of vehicles, whooping and hollering and whistling at the top of their lungs. Men and young boys were also dancing; Tamilarasi wanted to leave because she said they were dancing "obscenely" because of me. It didn't seem any more obscene than usual, but we left before things got too crazy (read: after the women's procession was over).
Men's "procession"
Women's procession
2 comments:
I like the sprouts best. That is a pretty impressive and artistic display.
ooops
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