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Revision as of 08:08, 3 June 2015 by Sitush (talk | contribs) (→The Socio-Political disparity: completely inappropriate, and the source is poor)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Ethnic group| Regions with significant populations | |
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| India Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka | |
| Languages | |
| Vernacular: Malayalam | |
| Religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Dalits, |
Cheramar Christians is a Christian-Converted Caste people living mostly in Kerala State and also in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka of southern India; and they belong to the “Dalit” communities (not factually, for they have no reservations and privileges as of other Dalits) or “Dalit Christians” called in India and in its constitution referring to castes categories and sub-castes of India as one among the thousands of thousands castes of India, but with lower levels irrespective of their long back historical existence and contributions as of any castes in Kerala and India.
Etymology and Nomenclature
The names commonly used for Cheramars are Pulayan, Cheramar, Pulaya, Pulayar, Cherama, Cheraman, Cheruman, Cheran, Wayanad Pulayan, Wayanadan Pulayan, Matha, Matha Pulayan. They are the names generally used for the particular scheduled caste group of people whose lineage or existence could be found as powerful rulers of ancient BC and loyal land owners and working force.
Cheramar - Name
Fundamentally these caste people belong to the Aadi Dravida Community called “Pulaya” or “Pulayans” tribe who also were called Cheramans styled in the vernacular Cherumakkal. The term 'Cheruman' from the word 'Cheru' which means 'small' in Malayalam and also the Cheruman denoted the short physical stature of these people. And ‘Cheru’ has another meaning “Cheli or Mannu” (Mud or Clay or Soil) and “Makkal” (Sons) which means the sons and daughters of soil or land. They belong to the agricultural community, as in ancient Kerala and south India; having own –caste-bound livelihood and works. They have dark complexion and strong physique.
And in the modern century, the name 'Cheramar' was officially given to the Pulayas as per their request to the Government because they claimed that they were the descendants of 'Chera Emperors' who ruled over Kerala in the AD 1st century. The name came into official use from the time of Sreemoolam Thirunal Maharaja. Now their official Government Records and certificates or wherever or in whichever refers to caste, it is written “Cheramar Christian”.
The Socio-Historical-Political Evolvement and Existence of Cheramars
The Economic, Educational and Occupational History
The Cheramars or Pulayas were not allowed to possess land. They were paid in kind instead in cash. Women were paid less than men. The women were not allowed to cover their upper body. They lived in miserable huts called 'madam.' They were scantily clothed. The disabilities affected even their purchase and sale. The Cheramars were restricted from choosing their occupation. Both male and female Pulayas were mainly agricultural labourers. They also performed most of the manual, unskilled, virtually unclean and least prestigious jobs. As they could not enter a town or village, no employment was available to them, except that of working in the paddy fields. They could neither work as porters nor as domestic servants, for, they defiled everything that they touched. [4] The Cheramar children were not permitted to attend schools. Till 1865, all Government schools were meant for the Savarnas (High Castes). But practically, till 1906, when Ayyankali the Pulaya, the Messiah of Pulayas, earned permission to start a school exclusively for the Pulaya children, but no Pulaya child could attend school peacefully. Teachers were unwilling to teach in Avarna (lower caste) schools. Even after 1906, there were struggles in many parts of the state on the issue of admission of the Pulaya children to the Government schools. The Pulaya children were threatened by school authorities and local leaders in some places. Ayyankali asked the Cheramars and Pulayas to not work in the field until they stop beating their children. And also he asked the Pulaya women to wear ‘Kallu Mala’ (Stone Chains) to cover their upper body. In 1914 the Pulaya women stopped wearing and when they started to wear bodices, it was also a matter of torture and communal violence.
The Religious History – Cheramars and Hinduism
On denial of entry and worship the “high-Caste Gods”, they worshipped at places called Kavu (groves). They believed in a non-empirical world of supernatural beings called ‘Pishachukkal ‘ – demons, which emphasizes propitiation from human beings in various forms. The principal Pishachukkal (Demon-gods) which the Pulayas worshipped were Kali, Chathan, Apasmaram, Parukutty, Karimkutty, Murudha, and Mallan. They were worshippers of serpents, ancestral spirits and performers of witchcrafts and called ‘Manthravadhikal”. And not only the ancient period, the Cheramars were discriminated and tortured even after the famous Travancore Temple Entry Proclamation was made in 1936 and even after eleven years, such a proclamation was made in Cochin too. Still now there are temples in which the Cheramars or Hindu Pulayas cannot perform rituals as of others.
The end of Slavery and Reformism
“The scares” (Paraya scare, Mannan Scare etc.) were ended in Malabar during British rule. But it was banned in Travancore in 1695 AD by Unny Kerala Varma. The anti-slavery campaigns along legal proclamations during the 1800s (mainly by Missionaries and foreign rulers) spread great fear among the high castes that felt that the missionaries had usurped the landlord’s position of authority over the Pulayas. Thus by 1850 and 1855 it was declared that owning slaves was illegal. The missionaries’ anti-slavery campaign and their continued pressure on the Travancore government finally ended in the emancipation of the slaves. On 24 June 1855 in a prominent case in Kottayam, a Syrian Christian landlord was fined and punished for kidnapping a Pulaya convert (Cheramar Christian) as a result of the united action of a group of Pulayas. The missionaries gave support to the Pulayas in their opposition to the landlord’s action with the permission of Travancore Dewan.
Following the emancipation of the slaves in Travancore in 1855, a significant number of Pulayas from different parts of Central Travancore approached missionaries (LMS, CMS and others) with requests for "Christian instruction" and "slave schools," clearly indicating their readiness to move to a new religion and further their alliance with the missionaries. Form 1800 and succeeding years the annual numbers of adult baptisms were from 100 to 500 in a year.
Also Read
References
- Sreedhara Menon, Kerala Charithram, Vol. 1, 1964, p. 78.
- A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PULAYAS OF KERALA 08_chapter1. pdf
- A memorandum signed by one of the Pulaya leaders—John Joseph08_chapter1. pdf
- Mateer, Op. Cit., P. 4.
- Chendarasserry, T.H. P., Ayyankali Smaraka Grandham (Malayalam), Prabhath Book House, Trivandrum, 1974, p. 20.
- Journal of Kerala Studies - Volume 10 - Page 57
- Alexander, K. C., “Changing Religious Beliefs and Practices of the Pulayas of Kerala,” m a 1 Action, No. 5, September–October 1968.
- Velayudhan, P. S., SNDP Yoqa Charithram (Malayalam), 1918, p. 201.
- Alexander, K. C., Social Mobility in Kerala, Deccan Colleq- e of Post Graduate Research Institute, Poona, 1968, pp. 228-230.
External links
- People of Kerala-Cheramans-Parayas
- Cheramars get inconvertible status or certification
- Mandal COmmission Report
- Pulayanar Kotta and Pulaya Kings
- The Cheras and Post Chera Period
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