Sense of Caste as Sense of Ritual
Ritualization in Thirayattam
Keywords:
Thirayattam , ritualization, caste, Dalit ritual practices, sacred space , ritual environment, embodimentAbstract
The paper explores the interplay of performance and caste in the ritual festival of Thirayattam in Kerala in South India. This day-long festival features the performances of Thirayattam, in which Dalit (“lower caste”), performers transform and dance as deities in a state of possession trance. In events of the festival, there is ritual action that signal inversion of caste and elevation of status of the Dalit performer. This paper looks at the process of ritualization in Thirayattam, with framework of ritual as practice propounded by Catherine Bell. It takes a close look at the production of ritual environment through strategic action of participants of the ritual complex. The paper studies specific ritual activities to argue that interaction of ritual participants with the space structures the ritual environment in Thirayattam as sacred, pure and hierarchical. The paper argues that the strategic action involved in ritualization builds an implicit disposition of caste-affirmation.
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