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SPE | |
OFFENM|||||||||N||||
A PROCESS OF I.
 
 

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The book, h ; , cy. Hini u socio-cultural lic religious signs, explores the shifting in eanings of the term "femininity" across time and space. While showing how these constructions of femininity lie deeply embedded in socio-political and cultural processes, the book also reveals how these constructions always place Women in discriminatory, secondary positions handing out norms and structures into which females are compelled to socialise Illinsolves.
The process of deconstruction in this Work is in seeking to look critically at legitimised societal Practices, rituals and
raditions which are gendered,
Rs 295
 

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The Spectrum of Femininity A Process of Deconstruction

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BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Dilemma of Theories: A Feminist Perspective
Ideology, Caste, Class and Gender
The Politics of Gender and Women's Agency in Post Colonial Sri Lanka
Pennatimayin Parimanankalum, Pennurimayin Vilakankalum (Tamil) (Facets of Female Subordination and Women's Rights)
Tamil Varalaarru Patimankal Silavarril Oru Pennilai Nokku (Tamil) (Tamil Historical Images and a Feminist Deconstruction)

The Spectrum of Femininity A Process of Deconstruction
SELVY THRUCHANORAN
VKAS PUBLISHING HOUSE PVT. LTD

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Copyright © SELVY THIRUCHANDRAN
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of the publishers.
Author's Note: I have refrained from using the word feminity" which is now in vogue and have opted to use the word femininity" because in this book I seek to explore the varied constructionswhich have accompanied the term through time.
Printed at Kay Kay Printers, Delhi-1 10007

To my father S. Handy Perinbanayagam who enlightened me on the deconstruction of many a social process, when I did not even know what Social Science was.

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Comtemits
Preface
1.
PART
Women, Violence and Hinduism Widowhood as a Comprehensive - Pattern of Asceticism Social Practice and Scriptural Sanctions The Hindu Caste Identity and its Violent Gender Patterns Hierarchy of Castes and Hierarchy of Values Marriage Arrangements by Caste Hierarchy The System of Sati and Hindu Widows. Violence as a Marker of Religious and Ethnic Identity Devadasis Through Time and Space: A Socio-political Deconstruction The Political Culture and the Devadasi Devadasi, A Shift from the Temples to the Royal Court The Decline of the Devadasi System and the Persistence of the Devadasi Ideology The Structure and Ideology of Devadasis-Sri Lanka The Northern Scenario Arumuga Navalar and the Protestant Ethics
Female Revolt-Saintly and Veiled Bhakti and its Social Psychological Meaning
10
12
14
16
21 27
29
3.
33
35
38
45
46

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viii Contents
From Punitavati to Karaikal Ammayar 49 Bhakti as a Symbolic Protest 5 The Imagery of Ghosts 57 Kotai's Rejection of a Mortal Husband 60 Symbols and Significations of the Legend and the Reality of Andal 6 Andal's Bhakti Experience as Witnessed Through Her Hymns and their Deviance 64
PART
4. The Construction of Gender in the Social
Formation of Jaffna: Some Thematic Observations 77 Education for Women 86 Cultural Synchronisation at the Level of Patriarchy 92 Brahmanical Penetration 94 Strange Combinations and a Comprehensive Theory 95 A Counter Ideology in Action 97 Dowry and the Idea of Women's Wealth (Stridhanam) 100 System Challenging Ideology and its Linkages to Gender Ideology 102 Gender Specific Attitudes of the Youth Congress 103 Manudharma Shastra Verse 15 108 Subaltern Constructions 109 5. The Social Implications of Tesawalamai and their
Relevance to the Status of Women in Jaffna 121 Tesawalamai as the Codification of the Socio Religious Practices 127 Property Relations 130 Divorce and Remarriage 131 Alien Concepts and what they Signify for the Culture of Jaffna 136 Vellala Sanskritisation 137
Index 45

Preface
he collection of articles in this book deals with a series of issues, superficially at variance with one another but possessing an underlying unity - a unity that deconstructs femininity across theories, incidents and instances of history.
Images of femininity have been constructed through a process of history, while the same process has also revolved on inbuilt contradictions in the constructions. Femininity as a construct is not only a continuous historical process but also derives its linkages, connotations and derivations from a wider spectrum of socio-political and cultural aspects. It is interdisciplinary and cuts across human and natural sciences. Biological differences have also created differential mental representations which have been subsequently canonised. It is an effort now to deconstruct the eventual demarcations which were symbolised with signs, simplified with explanations based on theories of knowledge and as foundational science.
Women have resisted these constructs through time: female saints have rebelled through spirituality. Dancers degraded socially had images of independence and freedom. One also sees the woman devalued through the existent laws with female rights being transformed through colonisation. The influence of Colonialism and brahmanical hegemony has eroded some of the traditional egalitarian structures in the Jaffna society. Seemingly contradictory themes such as Nationalism and Colonialism can create the subjugation of women. Nationalism through the glorification of ideal womanhood and Colonialism through its portrayal of the "other woman" - the "barbaric uncivilised"

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X Preface
native woman, combine to make women the subjects of creations. Women are not allowed an existence of their own. Nationalist creations, journalists' views, literary expectations, religious creations, Colonial creations, - the range is numerous - all these crowd to restrict, confine and subjugate the woman.
Violence against women is another theme which one can identify in this book. Violence of many forms are present in society. Violence has been ideologically legitimised in the societal rituals and in the representational media here. It is treated as a manifestation and a consequence of the construction of femininity - the inferior, the weaker, the subjected, the powerless other, whom power seeks to control and subject and mutilate. Both verbal and physical violence coexist with one leading to the other.
This compilation of papers is a modest attempt to show how the female as against the male has been subjected to constructions and re-creations over time - in history, in law and within religion. Indeed the thematic unity is not incidental but purposefully selected to illustrate the striking similarities.
I wish to record my gratitude to the International Centre for Ethnic Studies for giving me permission to use the paper on Tesawalamai which was published in Thatched Patio, and the Women's Education and Research Centre for enabling me to reproduce the paper, The Social Implications of Tesawalamai and Their Relevance to the Status of Women in Jaffna which appeared in the journal, Nivedini. To the Social Scientists Association, Colombo, for sponsoring the study on Jaffna Women, I express my thanks.
And Shiranee Mills who proof read the manuscript with a rare dedication and Carmen Peiris who had to patiently do a lot of changes in the type-setting are not the last in the list though mentioned last.
Selvy Thiruchandran

PARTI

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Chapter 1
Women, Violence and Hinduism
H induism is a complexity of thoughts, theories, dogmas and doctrines. The various theories expounded, which have now come to be called Hinduism collectively, have had different interpretations at different times. These comprise many schools of thought and different philosophical systems such as the Vedanta and Saiva Sidhtanta The socio-economic developments have had their direct and indirect impacts initially on the origin of the theories and subsequently on the interpretations of the theories. However, a historical treatment of the subject is not the scope of this chapter. The dogmas by themselves, and the diverse commentaries on these dogmas have not shed any light on the status of women. They are highly philosophical and removed from the perspective of ordinary man and woman. But the way the people practised this religion from time to time has led to a development of a status of women which when analysed historically makes generalisations impossible. One cannot do more than make an analysis of the principles involved in the practice of Hinduism. The conflicts and contradictions in source materials are far too many. Hindu women are too large and heterogeneous a group to be treated as one single unit of

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4 The Spectrum of Femininity: A Process of Deconstruction
research. General statements about them can be made only with limited references which can be questioned when taking into consideration the regional and country specific variations. The regional cultural influences and the impact of various other religions have also to be taken into consideration. These influences have in fact affected the men and women who called themselves Hindus or remained for the major part within the tenets of Hinduism. Besides these, there is a major division within the cultural system which the sociologists have called the "great tradition" and the” little tradition".
The concepts of "little tradition" and "great tradition" were initially used by Robert Redfield when he identified a twin process in the religions in South Asia (1961:41-42). He identified the "great tradition" which is cultivated in schools and temples, and the "little tradition" which is essentially the "culture of the unlettered in the village communities". Mckim Marriot (1955) and Milton Singer (1972), later applied this distinction to the Indian scenario. The "great tradition" consists of the sanskritised rituals and liturgical practices pertaining to Brahmanical Hinduism. The "great tradition" was sustained by the high castes of liberates who controlled education and literacy. According to Mckim Marriot, the "great tradition" is documented in the Vedic literature” (Brahmanas, Upanishads) and the two great epics Mahabharata and Ramayana“ (1955:181-197). The literature of the "little tradition" consists of legends and proverbs. The "little tradition" consists of mother goddesses, fertility and therapeutic cults and animism.
Romila Thapar (1985) argues that the Brahmanical tradition and the Sramana tradition are contradictory systems and that the Sramana tradition is "the other' of the Brahmanical tradition. The Brahmanical tradition based on

Women, Violence and Hinduism 5
the Vedic texts and the Dharmashastras was determined by the hegemony of the priestly caste. This tradition partronaged by the royalty was antagonistic to the Sramana tradition. The Sramana tradition refers to the bhakthi cult and the major part of the little tradition. In fact the bhakthi cult and the tantric cult as part of the Sramana tradition were protest movements.
It is agreed that in the Sramana and the little tradition women had a better status and the lower caste women within Hinduism enjoyed more freedom. The type of freedom they enjoyed was couched within the idiom of loose morals and condemned as low caste behaviour. The right to divorce, the right to remarry, living together, freedom of movement, freedom from ritual seclusion and restraint are some of the benefits the little tradition conferred on Hindu women.
Though the term "violence" includes both the physical and the mental types of violence, the conceptual definition of the terms "violence" and "aggression" which the psychologists and behavioral biologists refer to has to be distinguished. While the word aggression may denote the background to violent acts, and to violent acts themselves, violence by itself may connote the consequences of aggression (John Archer 1994 : 2). Physically aggressive, verbally abusive and psychologically damaging speech and acts which cause injury to the mental mind and the physical body are referred to as "violence".
Widowhood as a Comprehensive Pattern of Asceticism
Violence in many instances is legitimised both in the Hindu scriptures and through the cultural system that draws its inspiration and functionality through Hinduism. Since Hinduism is not codified in one single text many

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literary texts have over time acquired the status of religious texts and a few secular texts have acquired a religious status. Hence such texts are accepted as canonical texts and used often to devalue and dehumanise women with overtly violent sanctions. In addition to the Vedic literature, the two great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, Puranas and the Bhakthi literature have now been given scriptural status.
Widowhood has come to be recognised as a social institution with customs and practices spelled out in detail. The practices included tonsure, giving up ornaments, giving up foods rich in spices and aroma, caking heads with mud and sleeping on stone beds. These practices are alien to a culture that allowed widow re-marriage, as is evident from the customs still followed by the low caste Tamils, other tribal societies in South India, and the Sri Lankan Tamils. This is an instance of regional variation due to patriarchal cultures influencing Hinduism.
The impact of Buddhism was another significant factor which influenced the practices and customs pertaining to widowhood. There are customs commonly known as kaimai nonpu which means "widow penance" or "widow asceticism". The extreme asceticism expected of widowed women has parallels in the ascetic codes of Buddhism and Jainism, Shaving the head, wearing robes, restricting food habits, giving up luxuries and material things and sexual abstinence, (self-denial in general) are part of a code of conduct for Buddhist and Jaina monks. The word nonpu is etymologically linked to the idea of Buddhist penance. Brahmanical Hinduism picked up these ideas and instituted them as good for their widowed women. They were expected to wear white, and among some castes they had to remove their top garments. This mode of dress resembles the robes of Buddhist monks. The concept of chastity was

Women, Violence and Hinduism 7
now modified and made inclusive of a self-denial code for women whose husbands were no longer enjoying the pleasures of life. Hence, in this process the Buddhist code of renunciation is imposed on women. The whole ideology is directed at controlling the sexuality of women. The deprivations by way of food are to curb her sexual appetite and the deprivation in the mode of dressing and ornaments are to diminish her sexual attractiveness. Thus women's sexuality had become the exclusive possession of the husband. The ritualised patterns of widowhood which symbolised negation of sexuality and world rejection and which became high caste norms during the latter periods of history had its beginnings in the Dharma Shastras.
What then was the reason for this patriarchal institution? One could speculate: Women who owned property would take away the property with them when they remarried. The husband's brothers could no longer have access to her property if the woman married again. If she remained single she would assert her rights over her property.
The practices and customs of widowhood were thrust upon women who had lost their husbands. This is social patriarchy's conflation with asceticism to create a religious patriarchy. The fact that these customs were commonly practised by the Brahmin caste could testify to the fact that these were originally Brahmanical customs which other castes started to imitate in order to climb the social ladder.
The practice of tonsuring of widows has further implications with connections to sexuality. Hair in various cultures has symbolic meanings, signifying power, virility, vigour and, vitality in men, among women it meant an additional charm to femininity, both implicitly have connections to human sexuality. Hence absence of hair, the

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removal of it ritually or otherwise means absence of sex, negation of sexuality, which should lead to renunciation of it towards asceticism and the codes of restraint are primarily the process of these achievements. Obeyesekere has drawn our attention to the symbolic cultural representations of hair in the religio-social practices among the Hindus and Buddhists. While differentiating between the symbolic meanings of the matted hair and the shaven hair he argues that the shaven hair may suggest the principle of castration but it is connected to renunciation and chastity (Obeyesekere, 1981:33-34). It may be noted that both aré related to the principle of restraint. This custom was later practised by the royal women also implying an upper caste behaviour pattern.
These customs aimed at controlling female sexuality are indeed very violent aberrations. These are/were practised ritually and sanctioned in the Hindu scriptures.
Social Practice and Scriptural Sanctions
Eleven of the thirty-three women I spoke to in Tamil Nadu, did not approve of widow remarriage. Eight of the eleven women are widows. The main reason for their disapproval was expressed in terms of caste. The unanimous view was that it was against caste rules. Abstention from marriage was argued as a privilege and an exclusive practice of the high caste. That it was "against our customs and shastras" (religious scriptures) was said to me with authority as if revealing an ethnic and religious requirement to some one who was ignorant of these good habits. It was argued by one woman that as part of Brahmanic rites the bride is first married to Siva and when the husband dies Siva takes her back and as His wife she cannot be married to anyone. Religious demand and traditional ethos, she reiterated

Women, Violence and Hinduism 9
cannot simply be cast away due to someone's need for pleasure.
It was also argued from the point of view of chastity that a woman can have only one man in her life. The eight widows have reconciled themselves to their status as the result of their karma, though one woman rebelled against it by expressing her sufferings as worse than instant death on the funeral pyre of her husband (sati). Interestingly marriage and remarriage though connected with Shastras and religion are not viewed from the point of companionship and the need of the women to enjoy life with feelings of friendship care and attention. Implicitly it was argued from the point of bodily sexual needs and that a woman needed to curb those needs was a view that dominated their arguments. Sexual purity and chastity were the main requirements for a woman. Connected with ideas of penance, abstinence and self control, remaining single is treated as a womanly virtue.
Their personal deprivations, stigma and ostracized social existence were accepted by them as part of their karma. Though the social existence of women were within the household either natal or affinal, they remained the renouncers at different levels. They remained inside most of the time because they were regarded both ritually and socially as inauspicious. Within the high caste she was an outcast. Her sexuality was pronounced dead and made inactive while a series of outward symbols signified the process effectively. The tali” and pottudo which signified active sexuality, fertility and marital auspiciousness were removed. White colour which is symbolic of death and asexuality was chosen as the colour for her dress.
In conclusion it has to be said that prohibition on widow remarriage was lifted in 1856 by law, and only three

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widows were aware of it. They said that laws have no impact on social customs, caste rules and shastras, which are hard to break. Ghild marriage was prohibited in 1891, but still among this group ten children were married at the ages of ten to sixteen. The age difference between husbands and wives ranged from five years to thirty years.
The women, it has been amply revealed were quoting Shastras but in social practices have been found to be violating the shastric taboos at various levels. Violations occurred for economic reasons and in certain cases due to the change of attitudes. A few others did it consciously as a means of expressing protests. The Brahmanical patriarchy does remain as a powerful ideological force with clear caste connotations.
The Hindu Caste Identity and its Violent Gender Patterns
Purity and pollution are clearly defined in the laws of Manu (V85 III. 239): a chandala (a prototype of the untouchable) a menstruating woman, an outcast, a woman who had just given birth and an eunuch are sources of impurity. Note the analogy between the low caste and women who can be temporarily impure. A woman is a field (kset) and a man's seed is received and nourished (Mies 1980:42). The field in which the seed is nourished should be pure. The following verse in the Bhagavadgita speaks of the evils of caste intermix and relates it to the defiled
WOΠO3):
"We know what fate falls on families broken: The rites are forgotten, vice rots the remnant, Defiling the women, and from this corruption, Came mixing of castes, the curse of confusion Degrade the victims, and damns the destroyers."
(Verse 41 from Chapter: Arjuna Vishatayoga)

Women, Violence and Hinduism l
Though caste is determined and inherited through the male line, women's sexuality was equally important to ensure purity. The Brahmanical interest is visible. If prepuberty marriages don't take place, the Brahmin parents are guilty of a great sin. It is important to know that the offenses, which were punished by the caste Panchayat (caste government), included the following:
Offenses against commensal taboos; Offenses against sex or breaches of the marriage rules of Caste, Widow remarriage in the case of castes which do not permit widow remarriage.
By caste law, women of some low castes such as Tiyan and Parayar were not allowed to wear clothes above their loins. This is seen as a sign of subordination. By a strange irony this custom was also followed by the high caste Brahmin widows as well. Here it was symptomatic of the cult of renunciation where the feeling for the body is progressively neutralized.
Hierarchy of Castes and Hierarchy of Values
Women's seclusion and exclusion as symptoms of purity and evidence of self-control became prestigious. So were the habits of teetotalism and vegetarianism. These were imitated by the lower castes with a view to raising their status and gaining acceptance. The imitation process included customs, rituals, ideology and way of life. This process described by Srinivas (1966:6) as "sanskritisation" was a rather general process except in the case of sati. Sati, exclusively a Kshatriya practice initially, was taken over by Brahmins first and by the other castes later.
Wherever caste rules were violated, violence in the form of punishment and sanctions was used by them through the

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caste panchayat so that everyone remained within the caste dharma. Among the non-Brahmins it was the men who demanded a particular type of behaviour from their women. Seclusion and purity concepts were demanded from them not necessarily through overt violence but through symbolic violence. The overtly oppressive customs were introduced and the process was made easy by the broader patriarchal system that was the norm despite matrilineal structures being prevalent in some cases. Wives and daughters were under the effective control of the husband and fathers. Hence, both symbolic violence and Overt violence could be used on their women to insist on a particular manner of behaviour. This was not a passive process as far as the women were concerned.
Marriage Arrangements by Caste Hierarchy
The Dharmashastras speak of eight types of marriages as having existed simultaneously. The more patriarchal marriages arranged by fathers for their daughters accompanied by religious rituals were reserved for the highest caste, the Brahmins. These marriages were called the brahma, daiva, prajapatha and arsha - words with divine connotations. The giving of dowry was the norm in these marriages. "The gift of the virgin” accompanies the dowry in these four forms of marriage. These four forms of marriage though grouped together, have a few differences in terms of the associated prestations. The brahma and daiva marriages insist on dowry in valuables with costly garments and ornaments. The arsha marriage specifies the gift of a cow and a bull. In the prajapatha marriage there is no mention of any material transfer (Tambiah 1973:69). Marriage by mutual consent and by one's own choice was called gandarva marriage and was (free romantic union)

Women, Violence and Hinduism 13
considered appropriate for the aristocracy (Kshatriya). This and the rakshasa marriage by capture (forcible abduction) and bereft of religious rites was also allowed for the Kshatriya caste. Paisasa and asura, meaning non-human or demonic, were considered lowly and base were reserved for the Sudras, the lowest caste. This was co-habitation with no religious rites or abduction. These eight forms coexisted and were hierarchically ranked as appropriate for different castes (Karve 1953:132). However, the more patriarchal ones gained acceptance and dominance and became the most popular system i.e. arranged marriages with dowry, accompanied by religious rites (Tambiah 1973:69). Paisasa Asura and Rakshasa forms of marriage ie. by abduction of the woman was accepted in the scripture as appropriate for certain castes.
It has to be added that a Brahmanical scale of values with a heavy load of patriarchal ideology infiltrated down the line and diffused and changed altogether the more egalitarian systems of the other castes as far as gender was concerned. As the priestly caste they had the exclusive prerogative of making the laws and giving them a canonical and scriptural status.
Equally significant is the place of gender in the nonBrahmanical religions in India in which caste was rejected, and gender egalitarianism was ideologically accepted. Tantrism , Buddhism and Jainism rejected caste and on principle accepted gender equality. The cult of Tantra centers around orgiastic mystical rites and confers a primacy on the female energy as worthy of worship and honour and Buddhism accepted women as nuns in their order, though after much deliberation (Thapar 1984:48). Brahmanical Hinduism rejected the right of women to become renouncers (sanyasins). This right was conceded to

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men only. However, there are a few women as exception to the rule in the Hindu tradition, who defied caste rules and became saints and renouncers (Thiruchandran 1993:5682).
The System of Sati and Hindu Widows
During the Vedic times the system of Niyoga (the dead husband's brother or a close relative marrying the widow) was prevalent and was a recognised social system. This system is prevalent even today among the poorer class. By about A.D. 1000 a total prohibition of widow remarriage seemed to have finally crept into the Indian society.
Sati literally means a virtuous wife and pati means lord. Hence the term satipati, refers to husband and wife. Later the word derived the secondary meaning of self-immolation on the husband's funeral pyre. The extreme virtue of a good wife is to destroy herself after her husband's death. She should not think of continuing to exist without the husband. Winternitz calls this a "hideous custom". Westermack in "The History of Human Marriage" seems to assert that this is an ancient custom among various people widely prevalent and that India was not unique in practising it. He gives two reasons for this. Primitive people got rid of the surplus women this way. Later a theory was developed. on this that widows were believed to be unclean and sinful. The second reason Westermack suggests is that most races believe in some forms of survival after death, since most races believe in another world. A woman considered as the exclusive property of her husband was not allowed to survive him. He, it was thought, would need her in the other world.
Rigvedic civilisation does not have evidence of the practice of sati. It was centuries later, during the epic period

Women, Violence and Hinduism 5
that there was reference to it in the Mahabharata. The origin of this practice was sometimes traced to a Rigvedic hymn. "Arise Oh Woman to the world of living. Departed is the life of him with whom you liest, to marriage, here thou has attained with him as husband who graspeth thy hand". The one who grasps her hand and marries her is probably the brother-in-law or a close relative. This hymn where the word "age" was mentioned, (which means the place of dwelling) was substituted by the Brahmins later to "agneh" which means fire. Both Wilson (1849) and Kane (1974:625, Vol part 1) are of the opinion that there was no authority both in the Vedas and in the laws of Manu to sanction the practice of sati. However, Kane (1974:625-26) testifies to the reference to sati in the Vishnu Dharmasutra (400 B.C. to 100 A.D). Specific incidents of sati are for the first time mentioned in the Mahabharata.
Excessive love and devotion and confused feelings of dejection and grief over the sudden death of the beloved, coupled with the state of helplessness would have been the root cause of voluntary self-immolation to begin with. Such women would have been declared praiseworthy and virtuous heroines. Their deeds could have become examples later on for others to follow. It was also a convenient way of getting rid of widows who would have been a strain financially and otherwise on relatives. However, the rigidity with which this hideous custom was enforced and the horror stories connected with this custom, when others physically forced, unwilling screaming young widows into the fire, is a blot on human civilisation. That, mass murders were committed in the name of religion, and with the expressed sanction of religion, add sacrilege to the dehumanizing barbarous practice.

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Violence as a Marker of Religious and Ethnic Identity
In 1987 a woman could be forced to become a sati in India (Roop Kanwar) and a temple constructed in her name to mark her greatness. This was not merely an act of violence. That this incident could be used, glorified and sanctified as singularly great in terms of building a cultural, religious and a political identity for a group of Hindus has opened up awesome vistas. The identity was of a multiple character, Rajput, Hindu, traditional as against modern/ western. The highest levels of virtue and glory a Rajput woman could rise to was to die with her husband ritually to the chanting of Hindu mantras was the constructed ideology. of the identity of the period for a specific group of Hindu
WOICl.

Women, Violence and Hinduism 7
Notes
l/2. Saiva Siddhanta, Saivism, Vaishnavism
The Saiva siddhanta philosophy was given its final form in the fourteenth century in South India. The philosophy was developed through a series of expositions in the Tamil language, both in prose and verse. Its emphasis is on the primacy of Siva as against Vishnu. However, it cannot be said that saiva siddhanta is a complete breakaway from the Vedic doctrines. The deviation from the Vedic sources is limited to the flavour it acquired in the process of assimilation of local philosophical views.
3. The Vedic literature consists of Rigveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda and Yajurveda (called collectively the “four Vedas"), the Aranyakas and Brahmanas. They do not however belong to the same period. These texts give primacy to ritual sacrifices. The last section of the Vedic literature, called the Upanishads, was the beginnings of a philosophical inquiry proper. This is also called the Vedanta, the end of Veda. The Sanskritic Hindu philosophy, since then called Vedanta was developed with innumerable commentaries and interpretations by the Brahmin scholars. They are in classical Sanskrit, which was for a long time the exclusive knowledge of the high caste Brahmins. Women were categorically exempted from studying them on par with the Sudra caste. The hegemony of the Brahmins was continuously maintained through the Vedic knowledge and the ritual practices. Hinduism has many systems of philosophy. The Vedanta is the oldest and is based on the Vedic literature and has a strict dogmatic adherence.
4. Mahabharata Ramayana are called thihasas(epics). They usually illustrate moral truths through the heroes/heroines and others. The most famous of them are Ramayana and Mahabharatha.
5. Dharmashastras are classical socio-legal code books with a religious sanctity, the most important of them is Mamudharma shastra.

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The Spectrum of Femininity: A Process of Deconstruction
Puranas are religious texts dealing with myths of gods and goddesses. Pottu is a decorative mark worn by girls and married women on the forehead as a symbol of auspiciousness and removed ritually when one becomes a widow. Tali is a ritual ornament, a symbol of marriage for women given by the husband as part of the marriage ritual presuppose an involvement with rituals. This, then means that it signifies a social process of bride and groom getting together with the blessings of elders and the society at largė.

Women, Violence and Hinduism 19
References Archer, John. 1994 "Male violence in perspective" in Male Violence John Archer (ed) Routledge, London New York. Kane.P.V. 1974. History of Dharmasastras, Poona Karve, Irawati. 1953. Kinship Organisation in India. Poona. Marriott, McKim. 1955. "Little Communities in an Indigenous Civilization" in Village India: Studies in the little community. ed. Robert Redfield and Milton Singer University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Mies, M. 1980. Indian Women and Patriarchy, Conflicts and Dilemmas of Students and Working women. Concept Publishing Company New Delhi. Obeyesekere G. 1981. Medusa's Hair: an Essay on Personal Symbols and Religious Experience. University of Chicago Press. Redfield, Robert. 1961. The little Community, Peasant Society
and Culture. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. - 1972. When a Great Tradition Modernizes: An Anthropological Approach to Indian Civilization. Praeger, New York. Thapar, R. 1984. Ancient Indian Social History: Some
Interpretations. Orient Longman-India. Thapar, R. 1985, Syndicated Moksha in Seminar, No. 313, 1985,
pp. 14-22. Tambiah, S.J. 1973. "Dowry Bride Wealth and the Property Rights in South Asia." in Bride wealth and Dowry. Jack Goody and S.J. Tambiah, ed. Cambridge University Press, London. Thiruchandran, Selvy. 1993 “Female Revolt, Saintly and Veiled"
in Nivedeni, Vol. 1 No. 1 December 1993. Wilson, H.H. Two lectures on the Religious Practices and opinions of the Hindus delivered before the University of Oxford 27th and 28th February 1849, MDCCCXI.

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Arsha
Bakti Dharma, Dharmic
Dharmashastra Dharma sangatam Kaimai nonpu Puramas
Prajapata Sati
Tali
Tamtric
Tetiyatettam Vedanta
Vedas/Vedic
Glossary A form of Marriage Devotion Righteous action, rules, norms and decorum. Atharmam is the Tamilicised negative prefixed form of dharma Classical socio-legal code books Indecision between two sets of codes/ethics Widowhood penance Religious texts dealing with the myths of gods and goddesses A form of marriage Self immolation by females A ritual ornament, a symbol of marriage for
WOIII The cult that celebrates the female energy as the goddess Acquired property The Hindu philosophy based on the Vedas, also called the Upanishads The earliest religious texts in classical Sanskrit, four in number, called Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda

Chapter 2
Devadasis Through Time and Space A Socio-political Deconstruction
Wit. within the definition of Hinduism which covers nearly two thousand years of growth, schisms, cults, scriptures, commentaries and interpretations are characterised by paradoxes. An ambivalence has risen structurally into the meanings of concepts that surround women's behaviour and decorum. She is often placed between opposites and dichotomies. She is shakti and a weaker sex. She is auspicious (sumangali) and polluted. She is the maker and destroyer. She creates but herself is polluted during the time of creation. She is the evil force but she is godly as a mother. As a young woman she is sexually dangerous and vulnerable but in a married form she is harmless and passive. A devadasi is also a paradox par excellente. A devadasi is a nithiya sumangali (Kersenboom story,xv.1987) auspicious forever. Under normal circumstances, the state of sumangalai is bestowed on a woman who is married and whose husband is alive. Tali, flowers, gold, the mark on the forehead called pottu are the symbols of being a sumangali. The state of sumangali is dependant on the husband and is conferred by the

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husband on a woman. It is strictly a condition within the family. When the husband dies all the symbols are removed and she is ritually pronounced inauspicious and kept away from all auspicious events such as weddings. All this would explain the role of a husband and its significance for the ritual status of a woman. However, in the case of the devadasi she is not within the family, is never married to a man, has relationships with many men and she is considered perpetually sumangali.
The nithiya sumangali concept of a devadasi can be etymologically explained but only superficially. Devadasi is the Sanskrit rendering of the Tamil word Tevaratiyal meaning the slave of god, slave here means a ritual wife. A woman is dedicated through various ceremonies of marriage to the deities in the temple. Since she is married to the God himself, his immortality has conferred the status of being always sumangali on her. However, her auspiciousness is not merely a concept. She has been treated as an auspicious being but only at one point of time in history.
This paper makes an attempt to trace the image of the devadasi from a historical perspective. The title of devadasi as the servant of god was conferred on a certain category of women after the 9th century. However, the devadasi concept with its various connotations has been in vogue from the Sankam age to the present day literary productions and in the narrative of the Tamil films. There was a bardic tradition in the Sankam age where female artists such as Virali and Patini were identified as musicians and dancers. The Virali and Patini must have been the antecedents of the Tevaratiyal. There are many references in the Sankam literature to women who are not married and from outside the family offer sexual services. They were called porud

Devadasis Through Time and Space 23
Pendir, varaivin magalirand were condemned by Tiruvaluvar for causing disruption in the family life of others. Those within the family were separated as Kula Makal (woman of the family) and those outside the family were called Vilai Makal (women for a price). There was a close connection of women to the religious rituals such as the role played by Ahaval Makal and Calini, the female priests of the Sankam age. This has cumulatively led to a tradition of artistic skills being developed by these women. Dance and music have become their monopoly. The next period (of the epic Silapatikaram) saw refinement and sophistication in the art form. The courtesan Matavi is a dancer. The Arangetu Katai of Silapatikaram gives details of her rigorous training for seven years and the development of a more scientific art with the necessary refinement and sophistication. One cannot miss the bardic elements in it. Her debut was in the king's court and she received a gold medal.
During the post-Sankam period a shift in the social values system took place. There emerged a division between the householder and the renouncer. The family now treated as a socially indispensable institution is now placed as the other to the cult of renunciation by the Buddhists whose influence was great. The brahmins who claimed that the order of gruhasta (the householder) is the only order had to assert their claims to hegemony. Interestingly the family was elevated to a concept of dharma by both the Buddhists and the brahmins. Ilara dharma, (the dharma of the household) was newly constructed placing the household within the religious fold. But there was an interesting development, where the dharmic role had to fall on the women of the householders. The sexual wife had to become asexual, sex having been conceptually limited to procreation only. Sex for pleasure was delegated to other

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women outside the realm of the household. This role fell on the "other women", the prototype of the devadasi. Ideologically and structurally a division of ethics evolved out of this. There was a manaiyal, one who belongs to the house and a kamakilati, one who gives erotic pleasure. The deeroticisation of the female within the family and within the dharma of the family continued to be upheld as passivity against the active male principle. In the process new vocabulary developed during the post Sankam period with ideological underpinning to refer to such women. The women who give erotic pleasure to men are called paratai (prostitute), vilai matu (woman for a price), porudpendir (women who are paid materially), kanikaiyar (courtesan), potumakal (common women). Interestingly within the paratai group there evolved another division called the ill paratai (paratai for the householder) and seri paratai (paratai from the slum). The former kept by men on a regular basis is a woman whose status is similar to that of a concubine. Seri paratai lived in the outskirts where men paid occasional visits. The system of extra-marital relationship was not only accepted but also considered to be socially necessary for men. Prostitution had become institutionalised with a stigma on the women who were socially marginalised with derogatory names.
In the next period with the cultural revival during the Pallava Pandya period, art and artistic development centred round a Tamil Sanskrit synchronisation. The bhakti emotion needed music. Temple worship became a regular feature of the social life of the people and this period was the beginning of the temple centred culture. This was to flourish later during the Chola period. Women were once again noted as singers and dancers. Religious hymns were also set to music. The Tevaram hymns and the vaishnawa

Devadasis Through Time and Space 25
pasurams were set to music. There is however, evidence to connect the artistic women with the temples during the Pallava period itself (Kersenboom story 1987:22-23). It was in the age of the imperial Cholas that evidence is found of the institutionalisation of the tevaratiyar. The exact date of the dedication to the temple is still disputed. This period has a variety of epigraphical and literary evidence with which a comprehensive picture of the institution can be reconstructed. For the first time these women are mentioned as tevaratiyar (slaves of gods) in an inscription of Kulotunga III dated 1184 A.D. to denote them as servants of the temple (Nilakanta Sastri, 1975:562). The important aspect of the tevaratiyar system is that it should be viewed from a political angle as well.
The temple was the meeting point of the people. Devotional songs were sung and elaborate rituals and ceremonies took place in the temple, and the people were witnesses to the visible grandeur of the kings' rule. A cultural tradition of a synthesis of the Sanskritic and Tamil forms in fine arts and architecture that developed during this period centred round the temple. This phenomenon has connections with the women of fine arts (called the devadasis/tevaratiyal later) who were dedicated to the temple, the cultural and political symbol of the Chola history.
The association of tevaratiyar with the temples is a significant variation from both the social and cultural conventions that had been built up in Tamil history. This history has been built up with ideas of morality, purity, chastity and the honoured status of the family, and these were equalled to godliness. In this process, though love and sex were not considered sin and condemned, they were regulated within the boundaries of legitimacy of marriage

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for women. The other woman became an image of chaos and frailty and was socially an out-cast. This brings out the paradox of the status of nitya sumankali. She was taken right into the place of sanctity of the temples during the Chola period. The explanation for this strange twist of a social outcast being ritually married to a deity has to be sought politically. Before attempting such an explanation, the structural process of the dedication to the temple and the social status of the tevaratiyar at this historical period needs to be discussed. This is essential to comprehend the contradictions that had now emerged.
A young devadasi is ceremoniously dedicated to the god with rituals similar to those of a Brahmanical marriage ceremony. She goes to live in the temple premises. She is not allowed marriage to a mortal. Her unmarried status is equal to being ritually celibate. Sex is allowed. She is also allowed to have children. She is expected to undergo a rigorous training in dance and music. Through her mother or grandmother, her availability is advertised to the public. A man is then accepted as her patron, but it is customary that the man should be married. Her dedication to the temple is a symbol of social status. She is however not expected to serve the patron as a wife does. Her nondomestic role is thereby emphasised. She dedicates herself to the vocation of dance and music. In addition to this she has to do a series of services to the temple, like lighting the lamp and dancing in processions when the deity is taken out on festival days.
In short, we witness here a process of the much despised dasi, a social outcast and a professional artist, now being brought into the temple with pomp and ceremony and with high rituals, on a par with a sumankali and married to immortality. As a secondary process her artistic

Devadasis Through Time and Space 27
accomplishments as a part of a refined cultural heritage were also accepted.
The Political Culture and the Devadasi
An attempt will now be made to explain the significance of the inclusion of the profane' into the sacred. The Chola kingdom grew in splendour and at its height consolidated its power structure through the temples. The temples became the symbols of cultural unification which also signified a political unification. The temples, built at Tanjore spoke of the splendour of the Chola capital. The temple called the Kankaikonta Colapuram (which meant the acquisition of Kankai, i.e. the river Ganges to the Chola kingdom) was a political connotation linked to a cultural symbol. The temples were sometimes built for the specific purpose of having the coronation ceremony. They were used for the coronation. The famous temple at Chidambaram was renovated and made bigger to stage the coronation. The imperial court of the Cholas became synonymous with the temple. The temples possessed huge sums of money and land. The revenue of the temples was used to maintain hospitals and monasteries and colleges. The political ideology of the Chola kings was closely connected to the structure of the temples. The need to legitimise the highly artistic talents of a group of women who were progressively marginalised has now been combined with politics. The equation is royal court, plus temple plus art, and therefore artistic women. The principle of dedication to the temple of the tevaratiyar was well entrenched in the system. As much as the king's political stature and power were linked to the ritual and ceremonial aspects of the temples (viz coronation ceremony in the temples) as a process of legitimising his power and unifying

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his control, the tevaratiyar’s legitimacy and acceptance were sought through the temple. They had a de facto right on the temple premises. For the last rites of the tevaratiyar, flowers and sandal wood paste and a garland from the deity of the temple were sent. Occasionally the fire for the funeral pyre was sent from the temple kitchen and the deity observed pollution for a day and no pujas were conducted (Srinivasan 1988:182). This led to a revolutionary cultural break during the Chola period.
This exclusivity of the temple tevaratiyar was maintained with meticulous care. There was an instance where a king had returned the temple tevaratiyal promptly to the temple to which they belonged when they got mixed up with the palace service (Inscript. 7). The reference to a devadasi called Valli as belonging to the Charturana Panditha Mutt shows that they were welcome in the mutts (monastery) and learning centres were open to them and they were indulging in some kind of philosophical education (Inscript.8).
That they were welcome in the families of the high caste is seen in the hospitality extended to them to perform such auspicious ceremonies as welcoming the bridegroom, blessing the bride and singing songs at weddings (Srinivasan 1988:18).
The "other woman" syndrome underwent a historical evolution. As independent women of aesthetics and art during the Sankam period they were also connected to the rituals of the period. During the late Sankam period they were despised and cast away and even outcast with a caste name. They were again recognised and their culture was revived and associated with the temple. They became the cultural symbol of the political authority. They had a matrilineal inheritance pattern and enjoyed special rights as

Devadasis Through Time and Space 29
the only women who were allowed to adopt a child under the Hindu law (Srinivasan 1988:188). Their non-domestic role and the matri-centred culture, to which they were given sanctions, were the extraordinary features of the system. However, their ritual as well as their social status diminished during the latter part of the Chola period when the empire started to disintegrate. When that happened they simply became seductive women and lost their former status.
The next two historic periods saw the general decline in the system due to the lack of royal patronage. The system deteriorated into mere prostitution. The system was later abolished by the British in 1947 by law. As long as the devadasi system was in vogue, music and dance remained their monopoly. Its association with the devadasis prevented other women from actively participating in it. The divide between devadasi and non-devadasi was extended to the
artistic vocation too.
Devadasi, A Shift from the Temples to the Royal Court
During the Chola period the royal court was identified with the temple. The temple became a political symbol and the royal court became a cultural symbol. The devadasis represented both a cultural and a political symbol. During this period the king was equalled to an avatar (reincarnation) of god Krishna, and the pomp and ceremony that accompanied the king consecrated him as a human god. The devadasis played a prominent role in the ceremonies and processions of kings. This was done on the ideology of "king equals god". According to a travel account of Domingo Paes of a nine-day festival conducted in the "house of victory", the king and the deity enjoyed a status of equality and the devadasis danced the whole day (Kersenboom 1987:35). It could also be concluded that the

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king's procession resembled that of a deity from a temple. The temple devadasis were employed in the royal palace to do the arati (a rite of welcome) daily and during the festivals with much pomp. They were also expected to sing and dance in the palace. The devadasis were enrolled along with the courtesans. It is estimated that nearly twelve thousand women lived in the royal palace. Their duties extended to handling swords and shields, wrestling and the use of martial instruments. However, the temple devadasis continued to live in the temples and continued to be associated with the temple rituals. Their exclusive identity with the temples became diffused by their frequent involvement in the services of the royal court and palaces.
Special care was taken to continue the fine art tradition through proper tutors, and a rich cultural tradition was maintained by the devadasis for a period. Though the development of fine arts was a simultaneous phenomenon which was protected, the diversion from the temple to the court had a negative influence. The partial dissociation from the temples has to be viewed correctly to understand this phenomenon. The temples during the Chola period were not merely places of worship and meditation. They were works of art, centres of intellectual discussions, education, culture and aesthetics (Thapar 1966:214-215). The association with the temple had a cultural connotation for the devadasis, whereas the entry into the court had a sexual connotation. In the palace establishment there were many women chosen not only for their skills in music and dance but for their beauty and youth. Some were imported from abroad and some were captives of war (Nilakanta Sastri 1966:314). The devadasis turned courtesans with their skills in dance and music became concubines of princes and nobles. The kings maintained regular harems. One notices

Devadasis Through Time and Space 3.
here the use made of them by the state in changing their roles to the rulers' advantage on the grounds of their nonfamily status. They were progressively withdrawn from their independent and autonomous system. The increasing association with the court was one of the causes for the degeneration that set in the devadasi system in the early 19th century. The actual decline of the devadasi system was caused by many factors during the British period and will be dealt with now.
The Decline of the Devadasi System and the Persistence of the Devadasi Ideology
There were many factors that contributed to the degeneration of the devadasi system, some ideological and some social and structural. The temple administration was always state managed and so was the cultural development. With the British conquest state patronage was withdrawn. In the vacuum created, the Brahmin priests of the temple walked in claiming legitimacy on grounds of ritual purity. The local landlords joined hands with them by virtue of their socio-economic hegemony. The devadasis now became their de facto concubines. The temples ceased to maintain them and once their allowances were withdrawn they became increasingly dependent on these two types of men for their survival. With the dissociation from the temples, association with the court and now their dependence on the Brahmins and landlords who were not necessarily patrons of art but kept them as concubines, the devadasis lost their ritual and social status. They had acquired an image merely of providing sexual service. The patrons of art had ceased to play their role and there were no organised programmes for the teaching and training of music and dance. Most of the devadasis had resorted to unskilled dance

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forms which lacked both aesthetics and refinement. The devadasis had also been designated a caste with connotations of socially degraded behaviour patterns considered as "typical of their caste."
During the British period some members of the local elite had become conscious of some of their oppressive customs and had acted as pressure groups for a number of reforms. There were three sets of people who had come together on the question of devadasis. The imperial masters thought that they had a mission of civilising the natives. The local elite, the nationalists, and the social workers had started to question the propriety of the institution and considered it a blot on the civilisation of India. The missionaries thought that it was an immoral system. The masters, the bourgeoisie, and the missionaries were all influenced by Victorian ideology. Those who professed conflicting ideologies had come together and this led to the unforeseen success of the movement. The abolition of the system however, had other implications.
Since the devadasi system comprised women who had a ritual status, an independent and privileged socio-economic position, its abolition did away with a significant and rare phenomenon in the history of women. They had power, status, independence, artistic skills and accomplishments. They were not pushed into domesticity and exclusive child care activities that led to social deprivation. They owned property and their daughters enjoyed the right of inheritance (Srinivasan 1987:187). Those who opposed the system had done so only on one ground - the degeneration of the system into mere prostitution. The devadasi system was viewed on a par with sati, female infanticide and widow seclusion and regarded as a retrogressive Indian system.

Devadasis Through Time and Space 33
Its abolition had other consequences as well. The monopoly devadasis had on the dance and the music tradition was broken. The oriental character of these art forms was then discovered by the theosophists who revived them. Since then the dance has been renamed Bharata Natyam and the classical music entered the housewife's home as honourable and divine. The ideological dividing line that separated women of fine arts and domestic women is no longer visible in the Indian context. But it entered another sphere - the Tamil cinema. The same ideological underpinning was now directed at women actresses. Those who perform the Bharata Natyam and sing classical music are regarded as honourable women, close to religiosity and spirituality, whereas women who act in the films have a devalued social status like the devadasis of the Vijayanagara period. This image has of late improved slightly, but the film actresses continue to maintain an ambivalent image as idols and as women of cheap availability.
The Structure and Ideology of Devadasis in Sri Lanka
The exact date on which the devadasis were brought to Sri Lanka still remains unknown. It can be assumed that it was during the Chola period of South India that the devadasis were brought to Sri Lanka, perhaps in connection with the rituals of a famous temple. It could very well have been done officially at the request of the Sri Lankan king and the Indian king complying with the request. It could be speculated that the Chola kings brought with them devadasis in order to build Hindu temples in Sri Lanka, thus completing a process of the necessary paraphernalia of temple worship of the time. However, there are neither inscriptional nor literary reference made to any such event. There is evidence that the devadasi system that prevailed in

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the north and south of Sri Lanka operated on similar lines as in India. In Sri Lanka too they were connected to temple rituals and resided in the temple premises.
Ibn Batuta (1344 AD) the Morocan traveller has mentioned that there were five hundred women who sang and danced for certain rituals at the Vishnu temple at Devi Nuwara (Dondra) (Sivasamy 1988:52). There were seven devadasis at the Sivan temple at Vijayarajeswaranmat in Kantalai. (Sivasamy 1988:51). The Sandesaya poems written in Sinhalese between the 14th to the 16th centuries have referred to dancing performances carried out at the royal palace of king Parakramabahu and refers to the eyes of the dancers as rows of quivering bees. They are further described as glancing through the corners of their eyes. It has to be noted, that the devadasis who ritually belonged to the temple were brought to the royal palace in order to entertain the kings. This was a practice similar to the Indian system where the devadasis performed at important state functions. The Salalihini Sandesaya speaks of Tamil drums and conches, the ringing of bells and the chanting of eulogistic hymns by Tamil maidens so as to attack others. The Salalihini Sandesaya refers to the nautch girls of the Vibhisana Devalaya at Kelaniya and specifically mentions that the eyes of the dancers follow the movements of their hands. These references indicating the nature of a particular style of dancing and its technical aspects, suggest the amount of training that has gone into it. Inscriptional evidence show that the Nanda Light of the Sivan temple called Vanauan Matavi at Polonnaruwa the Chola capital of Sri Lanka, was lit by the devadasis who were stationed there (Sivasamy 1988, 53).
The reference made to the presence of devadasis testifies to other historical facts such as the introduction of the

Devadasis Through Time and Space 35
Chola fine arts to Sri Lanka. It also speaks of the Hindu influence which has penetrated Sri Lankan arts and the royal patronage extended without much hesitation by Sinhala kings to other forms of art based on an alien religion. It is important to realise that the misogynist tendency for which there is a great deal of literary evidence in Tamil literature is missing in the reference to the devadasis in the Sinhala literature. Tamil Buddhists of the post Sankam period, were the greatest exponents of "women hatred." This had not penetrated into the Sinhala Buddhist psyche at that time of history. There is a positive reference made to the devadasis which is generally related to their skills. The preoccupation of Sandesaya poems is not with the bodies of the dancers but rather of their skills. The devadasi was no temptress to the composers of the Sandesaya poems.
Apart from these references to their presence both at the temple and the palace, their skills in form and technique and the accompaniments used, there is no material to reconstruct the devadasi institution. Questions such as who maintained them , their life style and social status will remain unanswered till fresh evidence is found.
The Northern Scenario
Sivasamy adheres to a theory that the devadasis were patronised by the Tamil kings in Jaffna but no evidence is cited for this. Jaffna literature such as Vaiyapadal and Kailaya Malai do refer to the dance and dancing women. Though this in itself is a piece of significant information, what is more significant are the terminologies used to refer to them. Vayapadal refers to them as matchucu Vili natyam seivor (those who dance with poisonous eyes, here the metaphor of a snake is used for the dancer.) The second

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reference is karavu manakkanikaiyar (women with malicious minds). Such references are indicative of the degrading social status of the devadasis. One does not know whether it was a simultaneous process that took place while they were being patronised by the kings or whether it happened subsequently when Vaiyapadal and Kailaya Malai were written.
Apart from the regular settlement of the devadasis in temple premises and adjacent areas in Vanarponnai, Inuvil, Nallur Maviddapuram and Alaveddi, special troupes of devadasis had been brought from India for temple festivals by temple proprietors as well as rich merchants. There is interesting evidence that the dance tutor Suppiah had sung satiric verses for a devadasi named Kanaki who belonged to the Vaideswaran temple at Vannarponnai.
In this context a news items published on 10 Octobar, 1877 in a newspaper called Ilangai Nesan is an interesting piece of historical evidence that throws light on the institution of devadasis of Jaffna. Significant information has been given by a certain reader in the form of a letter addressed to the editor with the title "An agonising piece of news" (Sanshala sangati) of which a brief summary is given below. Many years ago a Sivan temple was set up in Vannai (Vannarpannai) by Vaidyalingam Chettiar. In addition to the main requirements needed for the temple, he also brought people from India who were well versed in the dance form and music. These people who continued to live in the Vaideswaran temple performing their dances were educated too. Most of the Kanikaiyar were excellent dancers and musicians.
The devadasis of this temple had been hired for performances in other temples of Jaffna. Continuing with the description the author further states that three women,

Devadasis Through Time and Space 37
namely, Nagaratnam, Kamalam, Vedakutti went to the Vishnu temple in Vadamaratchi. Nagaratnam died as she was afflicted with some disease. This is a prelude to some very important social information which is relevant to this project. While Raying tribute to the dead woman, the last part of the letter mentions how the family members consisting of grandmother, aunt, uncle and daughters cried at the funeral. The conspicuous absence of the mother from the scene was explained thus: that the mother and the brother died a few years ago of plague. The point that I am trying to make is that the kin group of chief mourners mentioned are of a matri-centered clan. These are reminiscences of the South Indian matrilineal heritage of the devadasis. The author while lamenting the death of the devadasi, lists her virtuous qualities such as kindness. He also refers to the excellent standards she consistently maintained in her dance performances. He pays compliments to very specific dance forms, moods and techniques. She is referred to as matusiromani and mangai mallal (a woman with highest virtues and a woman of good qualities). These are also good examples of the taste of the captivated art critic whose letter suggests the social acceptance of the devadasi's dance at the time. An appreciation made openly of the dance to the newspapers and reference to the virtues of the woman as matusiromani and mangai nalal are indicative of the acceptance of devadasis in the social milieu of the time. Hence, the reference in Kailaya Malai to Natchuwili natyam must have been an attitude that developed subsequently or it could very well be a textual attitude of the "great tradition". Equally significant are the levels of perfection to which the dance recital of these particular women has rendered itself. Apart from the ritualistic participation in the early days

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women's talents were for the first time harnessed through classical music and dancing. Andal and Karaikal Ammaiyar continued the tradition of religious women and the devadasis were the forerunners of the process of secular learning. This is true of the women of Jaffna as well. Sivalingarajah (1984:26) has rightly pointed out that the first set of educated women in Jaffna, were indeed connected with the profession of dancing and music. He further states that Yalpana Vaipa Kaumudi refers to a few men who were educated but adds that other than two women, the women who were identified by the missionaries as educated were the dancers who could sing.
Arumuga Navalar and the Protestant Ethics
This rich tradition of dance form seems to have declined in Sri Lanka. The devadasi dance called Satir was certainly not the same as the temple dance of the Chola period. The word Satir has connotations of an unrefined play with sexual meanings.The withdrawal of the royal patronage and the successive colonisation of Sri Lanka by the Portuguese, Dutch and the British led to the deterioration of the cultural heritage. The Christian and Catholic attitudes to the temple centered rituals were nothing but contemptuous. The colonial attitude saw an internalization of different kinds of ethics in the local scene. The Victorian ideology and the Protestant ethics filtered down to the Jaffna conscience with disastrous consequences. Arumaga Navalar was the chief protagonist in this process. He wanted to cleanse the indigenous Jaffna culture of its so called unorthodox elements. This was indeed an attempt to reform Hinduism. Folk religion, Pattini Goddess worship together with the devadasi system became the main targets of his reformation policy. They

Devadasis Through Time and Space 39
were impurities in his vision, he thought they had to be belittled and separated from Hinduism, both structurally and ideologically. His Hinduism, which was saivism, had to be elevated with a new ethical persuasion. The "little tradition' and the subaltern representation of art were scoffed at as corrupting influences. Two streams of thoughts could be identified in his vision - one of male chauvinism which did away with devadasis and the female goddess and the other of the Vellala high caste consciousness which looked down upon the subaltern representations of culture. He also considered Kannaki worship as blasphemous due to the fact that she was a Jaina woman and that she belonged to the chettiar caste (merchant). His Palapadam (Text for children) advises children mot to view Terukkutu, street dramas, as it is sinful - which is a conceptual Protestant ethic. Devadasis were also sinful. Misogynist terminologies were freely used against the devadasis and they were even referred to as depraved women who led men to their destruction.
The manner in which the devadasi was connected to an image of the temptress has had disastrous consequences for the social milieu of the Jaffna Tamils. It was an uphill task for women from Jaffna to take to dancing even after the devadasi dancing tradition was revised into an acceptable terminology such as Bharata natyam. The social taboo continued for a long time and even in the dramas performed in Jaffna women's roles were played by men. The devadasi connotations prevailed upon these too. Bharata natyam gained social acceptance first among the Colombo Tamils and Sinhalese. The Jaffna Bharata natyam artists reacted cautiously with a slow uptake to the South Indian influence and the situation improved steadily after 1960. The devadasi connotation must have been so great that it is now very difficult to trace the devadasi families.

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They must have got assimilated with the local Jaffna population with no attempts made to maintain their earlier secial identity.

Devadasis Through Time and Space 41
References Inscriptions 1. S.I.T.I. Vol XIII South Indian Temple Inscription, No. 251, P :
281 Archives of Government of Madras, Law Department, 1953-7 2. A.R.E. 136 of 1934, Annual Reports of Epigraphical 137-138 of 1935 Department of the Archeological Survey Southern Circle, Government of Madras

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Books Kersenboom, Story S.C. 1981. "Virali". in Journal of Tamil Studies,
No. 19, June 1981. - 1987 Nithiyasumankali, Devadasi Tradition in South
India. Motilal Banarsidass Delhi. Meenakshisundaram, 1963. Philosophy of Tiruvalluvar. Madras
University. Nilakanta, Sastri. 1966. A History of South India. Oxford
University Press. Madras. Nilakanta, Sastri, K.A. 1975. Colas Second Edition, Madras. Srinivasan, A. 1987. "Women and Reform of Indian Tradition Gandhian Alternative to Liberalism." in Economic and Political Weekly December 19, 1987. - - 1988. "Reform or Conformity, Temple Prostitution and the Community in the Madras Presidency". in Structures of Patriarchy State Community and Household in Modernising Asia. Bina Agarwal Ed. Kali for Women, Delhi. Sivasamy, V, 1988. Bharata Kalai New Era publications, Jaffna, Sri
Lanka Sivalinga Rajah S. 1984. Vadamaratciyin Kalvipparampariyamum, Illakiya Valamum, Trans. The Traditions of Education and Literary Pursuits in Vadamaratci, Tirumahal Alutukum, Chunnakam. Thapar, 1966. A History of India, Penguin Books, England.

Devadasis Through Time and Space 43
Ahaval makal
Arati
Attam
Avatar
Bakti Bharata natyam Chola
Dasi Devadasi/Tevaratiyar Dharma, Dharmic,
Gruhasta Illara dharma Ill parattai Kamakilati
Kanmaki
Kankai Kanikayar Karmatic Music Kula makal/ Kutum patupen Kutu Manaiyal Matavi
Nitya sumankali Parattai (yar) Parattai ceri Parattayil Pirivu
Glossary Women priest An auspicious ritual of welcome or farewell done by two women which conveys blessings, generally to welcome
SOYleO6 Non refined dance form Re-incarnation
Devotion Indian classical dance The name of a royal dynasty Slave/servant Women attached to temple services Righteous action, rules, norms and
decorum. Atharmam is the Tamilicised
negative prefixed form of dharma
Householder V, A code of ethics for household practises Concubine
Woman for erotic pleasure The chaste wife of the hero in the epic Silapatikaram who was celebrated later as the Goddess of chastity (Pattini teivam) The river Ganges Accomplished courtesans South Indian classical music
Woman who belongs to the family Folk dance One who belongs to the house The devadasi dancer, the concubine of the hero in the epic Silapatikaram Perpetually auspicious
Prostitute (s) Slums where a prostitute lives Separation from the wife, while being the prostitute

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The Spectrum of Femininity: A Process of Deconstruction
Piran porulal Piran iyalal Piran varaiyal Porut pentir
Potu makailir
Pottu
Sankam
Sati Seri parattai Silapatikaram
Tali
Tevaratiyal/Tevaratiyar
Tevaratti
Vaishnawa/Pasuram
Varaivin makalir
Vlai makal/Vlai matu Virali
An object which belongs to another Possession of another Within the limits of another Women who are paid materially/ mercenary women Common women/Prostitutes A decorative mark worn by girls and married women on the forehead as a symbol of auspiciousness. Association or assembly of poets Self immolation by females Prostitute from the slums An epic of the post-Sankam period by a Jaina author A ritual ornament, a symbol of marriage and auspiciousness Woman/women dedicated to the temple, literally means the servants/ slaves of gods The woman who performs rituals to the deities Belonging to the Vishnu Hinduism/Hymns Women who have transgressed the limits Woman for a price A female specialist in music and a dancer capable of predicting the future
sect in

Chapter 3
Female Revolt-Saintly and Veiled
his paper deals with two women saints of the Tamil region and discusses the signification of the symbols used in their hymns and tries to understand them from a social, psychological point of view. Of the two women Karaikal Ammayar and Andal, attention will be focussed first on Karaikal Ammayar'. Karaikal Ammayar was a Saiva saint and Andal was a Vaishnava saint.
Avvaiyar of the Sankam age is sometimes treated as a saint (Chakravarty 1989:18) though there is some confusion as to whether she fits into the cast of a saint. Her life story shrouded in mystery has left behind a literary tradition about her birth as an abandoned child. She has been credited with a poetic gift, an acute perception, a sense of humour and wit and a common sense which led her to play an effective role both in the social and political life of the country. She advised kings, prevented wars, composed moral treaties, protested against married life, disowned her beauty and youth. The myth has it that she became an old woman by the grace of god to prevent marriage being thrust on her. She remained a spinster and wandered through the Tamil region independently, advising,

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rebuking reprimanding and ridiculing kings and social equals, men and poets, yet enjoying their company. Any claim to spiritual attainment has to be dismissed though she renounced youth and good looks, and with those, her womanly decorum. She mingled with the secular so much that the works she has left behind speak of moral values, state-craft and polity, virtues of a good wife and the household dharma. She advised children and elders alike.
What is significant in the life of Avvaiyar is the symbolic meaning which emerges out of it. The total rejection of the feminine appearance and feminine decorum and norms is one. She did not have the right to remain single and reject marriage. But she did both. How she does it, is rendered into a myth of divinely intervention. She is made an old woman instantly. This is done on the assumption of a world view that youth and beauty are hindrances to a single woman. Female sexuality posed problems here not for her as much as it did for men. Once she attained old age, she is found to have mixed freely with men (kings and poets and ordinary men) wandering through kingdoms, leading an independent life, disassociated from a kinship circle and accepting all and sundry as her companions. In this process she commanded respect and fame which she deserved. Hence in all the roles she played, her gender and sexuality are neutralized by the myth.
Bhakti and its Social Psychological Meaning
Bhakti (devotional religious experience) has emerged as a form of dissent to existing religious experiences. We take this premise to understand and explain the emerging new social phenomenon of a historical period. The highly didactic moral treatises bereft of emotion, and the rationalistic approach which explained the phenomena of

Female Revolt-Saintly and Veiled 47
birth and death as cause and effect (the karma theory) left no room for human corrections and attempts at improvement at a worldly level. In Buddhist philosophy the "divine" is eliminated. Renunciation by which a desirelessness was aimed, did not meet with this worldly aspiration.
Economically the country was moving towards the acquisition of the surplus and this worldly engagement now needed a religious principle based not entirely on renunciation. In this process the people moved from the religious aim of an abstract Buddhahood to a personal God. An all consuming emotional devotion was both a reaction to the rational principles of Buddhism and the meditative technique of concentration of the gnana and karma yoga of the sanskritic vedantic Hinduism. In fact the social dharma, duty custom and decorum were cast away in the path of bhakti. This is particularly an alternative to marriage (Andal, Karaikal Ammayar, Mahadevi akka)
Kosambi (1962:29-34) gives two social functions of bhakti vis a vis reconciling different sects and schools of thought among the ruling class during a period of abundant economic surplus and the need for divine intervention in times of human distress. The second reason could be expanded to include gender distress for the emergence of women saints. Both women saints were from high castes. The first reason applies only partly to the Tamil region. There was no indication of abundance of surplus production but the indications are there, towards the creation of surplus. To this can be linked Chicherov's (1971) contention that rise of bhakti has connections with the rise of commodity production. This is true of the period which he covers from the 16th century to the 18th century. In the Tamil region too the rise of a merchant community

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thriving on the inter-regional trade was witnessed. Karaikal Ammayar is herself the daughter of a rich merchant and so was her husband from a rich merchant family dealing in trade across the regions by sea. This had resulted in the formation of new castes, though the caste structure and the supremacy of the Brahmins had not been eroded fully. Strict and rigid caste codes could not be maintained. The dependence of the artisans on the market had freed them from their feudal lords. However the reasons for the rise of the woman saints have to be analysed from a perspective of gender specific social relations. Unlike the men saints the women saints are from high castes.
One cannot overlook two other factors which are not totally independent of the above reasons. First, the spirit of an incipient nationalism which saw Buddhism and Jainism as foreign elements, converged on an argument for a Tamil religious sentiment. This did accommodate partly the Sanskritic Hindu elements. The convergence was on a Tamil Hinduism which accommodated elements of Tamilness and some elements of Sanskritic Hinduism though it rejected the pure vedantic line of Hinduism. In this context it has to be asserted that in the experience of the sankam period, life and literature which were one with nature and with the human pathos of love and war, had still not receded into oblivion. Attempts were made to revive the former, but into a divine love of bhakti.
Bhakti emerged as a reaction not only to the rational principle of Buddhism but also against the renunciation which insisted on a denial of sex and family life. Bhakti combined piety within the household and family and used the symbols of the aham” poetry of the sankam period. The aham idioms were revived on the mortal/God relationship. So in the war against Buddhism which had a greater impact

Female Revolt-Saintly and Veiled 49
on Tamil regions than Jainism, the rise of nationalism included in its fold the lower castes along with the Brahmins. The climate was conducive to include women as well into the fold. As wives, sisters and mothers, women had a role to play in the reconversion of husbands and brothers from Buddhism and Jainism (Mangaiyarkarasiyar, Thilagavathy and Isai Gnaniar)
The mass appeal of Buddhism and Jainism in the Tamil region was now viewed as a social crisis and this necessitated a situation where all and sundry (low caste and women) could be included. Whereas the social climate that had arisen now could accommodate women's religious experience, there were other reasons which had contributed to the emergence of women. The sentiments expressed by women were recognised within the religious fold as sacred. However the reasons why women became saints are indeed different.
From Punitavaty to Karaikal Ammayar
A short note on the life story of Karaikal Ammayar is not out of place in our attempt to understand the background to her revolt. One of the problems of ancient history is to sift the history from myth. The primary source of information is the Periya puranam which is an epic form of literature with as many as sixty-three saiva saints as heroes and heroines. The contents of Periyapuranam were recorded centuries after the happenings and it is possible that the author culled the information from the oral tradition. While these limitations have to be kept in mind, Karaikal Ammayar's Own poetical work gives us some insight into her deviance and her yearnings.
Karaikal Ammayar whose real name was Punitavaty was born to a rich merchant, also the local headman. She was a

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devotee of Siva even in her younger days. Being the only daughter of a rich merghant, she was brought up with love and care and her marriage was arranged by the elders. The father was reluctant to send her away with the husband as was the custom. Due to his wealth and social position he was able to arrange a matrilocal marriage and the son-in-law lived in his house and he set up a business for him. According to the text Punitavaty was a dutiful wife and a beautiful maiden. Her devotion to Siva was not a hindrance to her household dharma and she fed Siva's devotees at her house. Though the husband was not particularly concerned with her religious activities, he did not prevent her from doing service to devotees.
Life was pleasant, till one day, when lunch was not ready, she fed one of the devotees with one of the two mangoes the husband had sent home. When the husband came home, and ate the other mango, he found it delicious and asked her for the other. Placed in a dilemma, she went in and prayed to Siva and the fruit was replaced. When the husband ate it, he found it even more delicious and found that it was not the mango, he had sent. He then demanded an explanation. Unable to lie to him she revealed the truth. Laughing mockingly at her and unable to believe her, he demanded that she produce another mango. This she did. Astounded and perplexed at her supernatural powers and her divine involvement he was convinced that she was not an "ordinary women". He left her, went away to an adjoining sea port resumed his business and remarried. When news reached her that he had married again, her relatives took her to him. He came to receive her with his second wife and child and fell flat at her feet. He had named the child Punitavathy. When the relatives questioned him about the unusual behaviour of prostrating

Female Revolt-Saintly and Veiled 51
before his wife he explained the reason and said, "She is no ordinary woman."
Astounded, Punitavaty then prayed to Siva that the flesh of her body which had sustained beauty for his sake, may now be removed from her physical frame and that she may be granted the form of a ghost which dances around Siva. She was then transformed into a ghost with skin and bones, a form loathsome to the mortal eye. She roamed about in her ghostly form. There is internal evidence in her poem for this. In one verse she says: "To be one of that God's ghost herd I am" (Atputa Tiruvandadi 86).
Bhakti as a Symbolic Protest
From the life story of Karaikal Ammayar, inferential evidence will be drawn out to support a hypothesis of gender based sufferings which she had to undergo due to the unjust and non-egalitarian social structure of the period. This would also lead to a social, psychological discussion of the experiences of a woman who was affected. This in turn would be connected to the contents of her work and it would be shown that certain facets of her thinking are indeed symbolic manifestations of deep distress, and deprivations.
The early childhood of Punitavaty was one where she received intense care and attention and love. Her father, according to the myth, contracted a matrilocal marriage to avoid being separated from her. The comforts and luxury of an affluent life style were there for her. We are told that her father was a rich merchant. She was beautiful and talented as proven by her poetical composition. There is evidence in her hymns, of her familiarity with the sankam literature. A note of incompatibility is hinted at when the author says

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that the husband has no inclinations towards serving the devotees, but did not prevent her from doing this.
During that period in history the cultural life of the people (music, art and literature) was closely connected to the religion of Hinduism. Significantly the author is silent about the qualities or achievements of the husband but naively hints at the differential aptitudes and accomplishment between them, when he compares the wife to a peacock and the husband to a bull. The author however is emphatic that she served the husband as a dutiful wife. However, one cannot but question as to why the wife could not tell the husband freely that she had given one of the mangoes to the devotees. This would lead us to conclude that:
1. She did not have the right to give away anything
without the husband's permission.
He did not like it that she entertained the devotees.
3. She did not feel free to tell him what really happened but had to seek divine help to produce another fruit
2.
The "bull" metaphor also could refer to other qualities of insensitivity to culture. Reading between the lines a series of signifiers point to very clear patterns of incompatibility and a subject-lord relationship between them. The episode of the mythical mango is brought in as a justification for the husband to finally abandon her. His pronouncement that "she is no ordinary woman" is clearly due to his realisation that she is far superior to him in intellect, and in cultural accomplishments. He then naively accepts that she is socially not suitable to be his wife.

Female Revolt-Saintly and Veiled 53
A man could easily reject a wife on the premise that she was unsuitable with any one of the following reasons - because she was unchaste, frivolous or disobedient. No divine involvement was necessary. In this case no false allegations were possible as her behaviour was immaculate and within the wifely dharma. It was not possible for a "peacock" to reject a "bull" as womanly decorum and feminine code of conduct laid down in the laws did not allow divorce at that time in history. However his decision to leave her would not have left Punitavaty happy. His desertion had social implications for her and her family. An inauspicious state had descended on her and dishonour on her family. Remarriage was forbidden by law. The rejection would have been socially interpreted as a personal failure of the wife. The author is silent regarding what happened or how she spent her time till she was told that her husband had married.
This must have been a period of intense depression for her. The second marriage of her husband had convinced her that she had been rejected completely and this had shattered her. However, as polygamy was the norm she was prepared to go back to him and live with his second wife. Upto this stage it was clearly indicated that there was no other option or alternative for a woman other than to go back to the husband who had rejected her and married again. (This is why Punitavaty did not feel free and unburdened when her husband left her). To Punitavaty the final blow was the second rejection when he came with his second wife and daughter and said, "you are no ordinary woman' and fell at her feet. The sequence of her emotional grievances have to be understood: her childhood and talent, imbalance in married life with an incompatible husband, whom she had to obey and serve and to whom she

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had to be a dutiful wife, the husband abandoning her, having to face social ostracism as a result, his rejection and his preference for another woman for a wife, lack of alternatives in life, (socially, married life was the only fulfilment and goal in life for a woman) another attempt to reach him, a second rejection, and confrontation with his second wife and the child, which is the final stage. Her personal failure now stares naked in the form of the wife and child and her husband. Mentally she is now ripe to renounce the world. The only alternative available was religion, a search outside the bonds of marriage, family and household.
Her deprivations are now cast in a religious idiom. This did not go as far as directly questioning the social definitions and stereotypes of proper feminine behaviour or the institutionalised forms of sexual inequality. They remain only as experiences of an individual who was oppressed. Attention has also to be drawn to the general theme of the bhakti cult by male saints. They were viewed as a radical protest against an oppressive social structure. Some of them belonged to the lowest strata of the society. God was viewed as a friend and a redeemer with emotionally close and deep links due to the worldly suffering of pain and misery. Godhood has become the heart of a heartless world and the "opium" or the pain killer. Revolt here finds expression through a cultural medium, with a religious idiom of an individual soul and a universal soul. The soul as suffering and wandering, without knowing its goal is trying to find solace in god, seeking guidance, direction and finally unification.
Having been freed from the bonds of marriage, Punitavaty resorts to an unconventional life-style defying

Female Revolt-Saintly and Veiled 55
feminine behaviour and taboos. This can be achieved only within a religious garb for women.
The contents of her hymns will now be analysed to show the connection of her life expressions and the unconventional mode of thought which are startlingly different. Though Karaikal Ammayar's (Punitavaty's) hymns in general were the expression of the terrible worldly suffering, pain and misery that found a natural outlet in her devotional songs they have a difference which is peculiar to her experience in life. Her hymns form three parts.
1. Arputa Tiruvantati, of a hundred and one verses 2. Tiru Irratai Manimalai of twenty verses 3. Muta Tirupatikam of eleven verses.
The first composition of the hundred and one verses are expressions of intense love and devotion to lord Siva. A textual analysis of these verses betray a feeling of helplessness and loss of faith in humanity. She is longing for moral support and seems to be leaning against him in times of inner turmoil and intense mental pain. Her overall identification with god is that of a father figure, she transplants the earthly figure of her father to god, though loving and caring, her real father could do nothing to alleviate her suffering. Hence her choice of a divine father. In verse five she refers to Siva as "my mother".
"Calling you my mother, I beseech to you God. You would solve my intense sorrow".
Her mortal parents failed to give solace and happiness. She knew they were helpless. In verse three she is determined and vows emphatically.

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"In all my seven births, I will belong to thee, my devotion is only for you. Except for you I will not belong to anyone else, anytime".
Her devotion to the mortal husband had become meaningless. Humanity had failed and rejected her. So she transfers her devotion and herself to be possessed by the immortal God.
In verse ten, she reiterates
"My father who is sweet, will be kept on my heart as a sweet possession, I took him for me, I am pleased to take him as my lord. There is, for me, something rare"
Reading through the hundred and one verses, one gets the feeling of a lost soul searching for its bearings, for support and strength. There is an ardent desire to possess and own someone whom she could call hers, on whom she could depend as a saviour, who could relieve her of the pain and misery. It was a search for something honourable and stable.
The mental agony and her traumatic experience had affected her physical body. She has been reduced to a skeleton, perhaps also due to the fact that she rejected food. A similar phenomenon of ascetics and those possessed by spirits becoming like skeletons and losing as much as sixty pounds in a short time was observed by Obeysekere (1981;77) in his study of women ascetics in Sri Lanka.
Punitavaty acquired the form of a ghost, loathsome to the mortal eye. Having got this form she revelled in it and called herself "Karaikal Pey" (ghost from the district of Karaikal) in her hymns. The casting away of her bodily flesh was a symbolic expression of aversion towards her own body and sexuality. Her beautiful form and her sexuality were both rejected by her husband. This was a symbolic

Female Revolt-Saintly and Veiled 57
communication with the world. From this developed the whole psychology of ghost, cemetery, and all the paraphernalia of the gruesome hostile attributes of a loathesome experience to which she takes us in the "Muta Tirupatikam”.
In the eleven verses in Muta Tirupatikam no detail of horrors is spared. The feelings of estrangement due to a complete alienation is visible here. Alienation is used here in the sense of being alien to other human beings, to nature in which she lives and the entire surroundings. Her beautiful form, her intellect, have all been plundered from her. The humanity that surrounds her, her husband, parents kith and kin have become alien to her. Her alienation is a self alienation. Reverse the gender of the self here and there are a number of alternatives. A second marriage could be contracted by a man and the concubinage system afforded him a companion and a sexual partner. These were options closed to women. The shame and dishonour that falls on a woman has serious psychological dimensions when interpreted as a personal failure. In preference to human beings, she seeks the company of ghosts and converts the human habitat into that of a cemetery in which ghosts reside. It is a misplaced hostility, a symbolic rejection of all the trivia which are of no use in alleviating her suffering. This is how one can contextualise the reactions of the bitter and startling details of the cemetery and ghost herd that is supposed to reside in the cemetery with lord Siva.
The Imagery of Ghosts
In Hinduism, there have been traditions built up
through myths and fables about demons, ghosts and spirits.
Ghosts and spirits possess' human beings and they are

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exorcised by priests. It is commonly believed that they reside in cemeteries and that some of the dead turn into ghosts and spirits. This theory is founded on the theory of rebirth and on an assumption that those who die with unfulfilled desires turn into ghosts and harass those near and dear to them. Lord Siva while residing in the cemetery has a herd of ghosts who keep him company. The "Peymahal" of the sankam literature was supposed to have resided in the battle ground eating corpses, vying with vultures and monkeys. They were also represented as fierce. With flesh of bodies in their hands, they dance wildly: (Maturaikanchi) and they are "with dry hair, protruding teeth, gaping mouths, green eyes that roll with rage." (irumurkarrupatai lines 47-51) One of the poetesses of the sankam literature was called "Peymahalir Ilaveyini. The epithet was perhaps added later by someone to suggest that she was ugly. It was likely that Karaikal Ammaiyar was aware of the "peymahalir" concept of the sankam literature and picked up the ideology and used it as a means of symbolic communication with the world. The signification of this is many faceted.
In the Hindu mythology, Siva is assigned the task of destruction whereas Brahma creates the world and Vishnu preserves it. Siva destroys the world at a time when sin abounds, by his dance called "urttuva tandavam". The world is then recreated with new beings and with fresh dharma by Brahma and so it goes on in a cycle. This dance of destruction takes place in a cemetery with an audience of ghosts and spirits who revel in it. Karaikal Ammayar's choice was "urutuva tandavam", the concept of destruction. She begs lord Siva to dance. She is keen to destroy herself and the universe. The site of destruction is the cemetery which is also called a forest (emapurankadu) in Tamil.

Female Revolt-Saintly and Veiled 59
Unable to bear the heat of the forest, flesh of the corpses are melting away, the ground is wet as a result, ghosts with long teeth, sunken eyes, take the corpses and relish them, dancing willy.
(Muta Tirupatikam 2)
The eagles and other birds peck the corpses making holes in them"
(Muta Tirupatikam 3)
In the first stanza of Muta Tirupatikam she describes herself thus.
Breast sagging, body shrunk with protruding veins, eyes sunk, two white teeth protruding, stomach hollow, hair red, long feet, in this form of a skeleton, in the form of a female demon, I see with glee the dance of my father, in the cemetery surrounded by ghosts.
She has chosen a combination of ghost form - the stage of a cemetery and the dance of destruction. Whereas the hymns of other saints were set to music and sung in temples, at home and at devotional gatherings, Ammayar's hymns of the last two works were set aside and do not form a part of the bhakti hymns.
Ramunujan (1989:14) has drawn our attention to a temporary phenomenon in South India. A woman who is deceived or violated by a man flies into a fury as a reaction. This fury gives her powers and she is made into a goddess. These goddesses do not descend from heaven, but are human beings who ascend into a deviant and at times a demonic divinity. Anger becomes the main theme in these goddesses cults.

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Along with the other saints, Karaikal Ammayar is also worshipped in temples in her skeletal form.
Kotai's Rejection of a Mortal Husband
The tradition of Krishna bhakti originated with the twelve Alwars in the Tamil region in South India. The Alwars were Vaishnava saints and were collectively called Alwars. As saints they have delved deep into bhakti. The hymns of the twelve Alwars collected into one volume by the Vishnu devotees is called "Nalayira Thivya Prabhamdam". (Collection of four thousand divine hymns) Andal whose real name was Kotai was the daughter of Vishnu Chittar also called "Periyaluar” (the eldest of the Alwars). Andal is the feminine form of Alwar. She lived around the 9th century (Ragava Iyengar 1931) and is the only woman among the twelve Vaishnawa saints.
Andal's birth is shrouded in mystery. It is similar to the birth of Sita. In the myth, she too emerged from the earth as a gift of mother goddess. Her father was a temple priest, himself an ardent devotee doing service in the temple. Legend has it that one day Kotai was seen by the father wearing the garland he had made for Lord Vishnu. He considered it profane and reprimanded her and told her not to repeat the irreverent act. It however appeared that she was in the habit of doing this daily. Periyalwar did not use that garland and was perturbed. In his sleep, Vishnu appeared before him and said he liked to have the garland worn by Kotai. Thereafter Kotai was called "Sudikoduta Nachchiyar" (The one who wore the garland before giving). She it appeared had turned into a devotee of Krishna, the avatar of Vishnu and considered him as her lover lord and wanted to be married to him. She rejected marriage to a mortal man. Her devotion found expression in two major

Female Revolt-Saintly and Veiled 6
works called "Tirupavai" with thirty stanzas, an innocent feeling of love to a personal god of a young girl and "Nachchyar Tirumoli” with 143 stanzas, the ardent and passionate love pangs of a young maiden languishing in love, begging for union with her lover. The legend ends with the father taking Andal to the Vishnu temple in Sri Rangam dressed as a bride where she disappears into the temple and takes the form of a statue next to Vishnu.
In her village, Sriviliputtur, a temple has been erected for her. In some Vishnu temples, the statue of Andal dressed like a bride with long garlands is found next to Vishnu. Her Tirupavai hymns are sung in the Vishnu temples daily and in vaishnava homes. However, her Nachchiyar Tirumoli hymns are less known because of the use of the bridal erotic image in them. They are neither recited in temples nor homes, except one hymn where the dreams of Andal getting married to Krishna are depicted. This is recited in Vaishnawa weddings as part of the marriage rites.
Symbols and Significations of the Legend and the Reality o Andal
For Andal's father Vishnuchittar, Andal was a divine gift, a godsend. His life had been one of loneliness. It appears that the father daughter relationship was one of mutual love and regard. The father did not present an image of a cold patriarch who ordered or commanded her. He was the mother figure and source of maternal affection for Andal who was motherless. w
The second factor, which is even more significant in Andal's life was her early association with the bhakti and the signs and symbols of the Krishna cult. Her father was a temple priest. Hence Andal grew up in an atmosphere charged with devotion and rituals. In the bhakti cult there

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were variations in the treatment (bhavas) of gods who were brought into a human kinship relation. For the men saints God was the husband and lover. They were the beseeching lovers/wives asking for a union with god. For Karaikal Ammaiyar, Siva was the father figure. For Andal's father however Krishna was a little son whose frolics were admired and appreciated with devotion.
Vishnuchittar in four hundred and seventy three verses describes Vishnu's life story, his birth in detail in the various stages and the legends of Vishnu and his avatars with deep involvement and feelings. This emotion packed bhakti episode must have had an impact on Andal. The child image of Krishna presented by her father grew in Andal's mental scenario and enraptured her. Krishna was a great polygamous lover whom many young maidens called the "gopis" (the cowherd women) longed to marry. Krishna philandered with them promising to marry each of them. In Andal's childhood fascination for Krishna was an enriching experience. She had begun to treat herself as one of the gopis. Hence her desire to wear the garland made for Krishna by her father.
Perialwar was partly responsible for the development of this fantasy in her mind. As noted earlier, his fondness for her grew. His love for Krishna as a son was transformed to Kotai as a daughter. He had begun to see Andal as a divine figure. A feeling of veneration had developed in him. This had manifested in a dream fantasy where he had been told by Lord Krishna that he loved to wear the garland worn by Kotai. This could be testified to in one of his hymns where in the role of a mother, he laments the loss of his daughter to god. This is usually interpreted as his personal loss.

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"I had an only daughter, and goddess like I brought her up, the fair eyed god has taken her."
(Tirumoli III VI-4)
The dream of Periyalwar and Vishnu's request that Andal should wear the garland made for him before taking it to the temple has profound significance. Flowers and garlands are symbols of marriage and matrimony in the mortal world. They symbolise the auspiciousness of married life. A married woman has to wear flowers, and garlands are exchanged as part of a marriage ritual by the bride and groom. Flowers are ritually removed from a widowed woman and they become taboo for widows in the Hindu world. Periyalwar by his devotion to child Krishna had been instrumental in elevating Kotai to a divine consort for Krishna. His dream and the garland adorning Kotai are testified to by the name bestowed on Kotai as "Chudikuduta Nachchiyar”.
When the father found Andal in the garden, he gave her the name Kotai which meant (flower) garland. This is also symbolic of the flower garland he gave Vishnu as part of his daily ritual.
The childhood fantasies which were in a way influenced by the surroundings and the physical environment in which Kotai lived (temple, rituals, bhakti hymns flowers and garlands) and the unconscious mould within which Periyalwar had placed the daughter with the symbolic signs of the flower garland, would have all helped Kotai, to develop within herself the image of Krishna as a lover and husband. This grew into an intensely passionate lover relationship and she breaks into hymns. The legend tells us that Andal refuses to marry a mortal and declared herself as the bride of lord Krishna and threatened to destroy herself if pressurised into accepting a mortal husband. The Tamil

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concept of Karpu (chastity) has played a role in Andal's rejection of a husband. Having considered herself not an ordinary devotee but a devotee in the role of a bride who was seeking consummation of marriage with Krishna, she could not accept another husband.
Andal's Bhakti Experience as Witnessed Through Her Hymns and their Deviance
The woman's body has been seen as a thing of beauty by many poets. Sankam literature has reference in abundance to the feminine form and figure which are described poetically with similes and metaphors picked up from the fauna and flora.
The next period in history saw a threat in the woman's body. It became the means of seductive evil to those who wanted to renounce the world and to achieve a sexual desirelessness, both Buddhistic and Hinduistic. These kinds of sentiment have been diffused in the bhakti cult where femaleness was discovered as close to emotions and feelings. The saint poets opted as women to express their devotion but in Andal, one finds a complete breakdown of body taboos.
Andal's anatomy was not her destiny. She breaks down the cultural constructs of male and femaleness. To Andal her body and form in the times of marriage and bridal mysticism were sexual objects, the experience of which was a normal part of sex. Through devotion Andal had challenged the attempts to reduce the sexuality of women to its reproductive functions. Her devotion was expressed through her body. Andal's experience was not a revolt but only a dissenting opinion. It is a conscious violation of social taboos imposed on the feminine gender as a strict code of

Female Revolt-Saintly and Veiled 65
conduct. While sex itself is taboo for an unmarried young maiden, to speak of it or to find sex as a source of pleasure were taboo even for married women. It was a freedom allowed to the devadasis and Andal had come within the devadasi limits in her role as a devotee. Karaikal Ammaiyar renounced sexuality and got rid of feminine beauty and form, a total rejection, but Andal revelled in her sexuality, within a framework of bridal mysticism.
"There is no need of shame for me" (Nachchiyar Tirumoli 617) Andal says breaking conventional notions of modesty.
"My breasts are for Govindan
(Nachchiyar Tirumoli 620).
"I pine and languish inside But that thief and plunderer that Govarthan (another name of vishnu) never cares whether I am alive or not, if I see him These breasts which are no use I shall pluck from the roots and fling them at his chest so will I extinguish my fire"
(Nachchiyar Tirumoli 634)
This is the climax of her desperate longing for consummation with Lord Krishna.
In her poetic longings and in her pining for union with Krishna, she treats him as a friend and lover on equal terms. She rebukes him, ridicules him and condemns his frolics with sarcasm and uses double meanings to reproach him. The image of Krishna is not that of an overlord.

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It now needs to be explained why and how these nonconforming women were not only accepted, but venerated and included on levels of parity of status with the men saints, and their hymns were accepted into the Hindu canonical literature. Non conforming men, of other religious sects as Tantric Lokayat and Pasupatas were either treated as heretics and proscribed to go underground or thus forced into peaceful decay.
The first reason is direct and simple. Women were still for the major part within the bhakti idiom of a wandering and helpless social being seeking union with god. Their personal deviance at an individual level was ignored and it disappeared in the overwhelming image that they gave of themselves as being devoutly religious. Second, the role of the Tamil language - the poetic excellence of the literary production at this juncture within the phenomenon of rising nationalism cannot be ignored or under-rated. During this phase anything non-Buddhistic but Hinduistic had to be encouraged and accommodated. The third reason which is even more important is the development of a peculiar factor related to the bhakti movement, which despised maleness. The maleness and machismo of the male saints were discarded by the male saints who took on a feminine garb by treating themselves as females. The saints became feminine figures of emotion, compassion, selfless devotion, and love that is needed for union with the male lord. The ideology of femininity was celebrated. Hence a tradition had been built up in which femaleness as a medium to godhood in the bhakti tradition was recognised. This spread to the other regions in India and a number of women saints such as Mira of Rajasthan, Mahadeviakka of Kannada, Lal Diddi of Kashmir emerged in different periods in different parts of India.

Female Revolt-Saintly and Veiled 67
This process has been described by Ramanujan (1980:10 thus):
"Saints have become a third gender, the lines between male and female are crossed and re-crossed in their lives.'
Ramanujan (1989:14) identifies yet another, significant reason for accepting the women's bhakti literature. Their unconventional behaviour, deeds and values in general were accommodated for the fear that they might become real alternatives. While coopting this literature the sting is taken out of it and that is how radical elements were later routinised. This is true of the two Tamil women saints.
Apart from the afore mentioned reasons, there is one more significant reason for accepting Andal's hymns. Her outbursts (despite the veil of bhakti) had transgressed the limits but they were contained within the frame work of a bridal need for consummation of marriage. The matrimonial legitimacy was evident in her dream in which she describes (ten hymns) her wedding to Krishna. This clearly separates Andal from the devadasi model.
However, except for these dream hymns, others are not recited publicly because of the frank sexual imagery employed in the hymns. Here we have to recall Ramanujan's reasons for these hymns being accepted wherein he says they are contained, lest they become real alternatives. .
Andal and Karaikal Ammaiyar are both partly accepted and partly rejected. The process of acceptance has very subtly rejected a part of the controversial hymns by not using them, publicly in devotional gatherings. In a way, they are contained, accepted and rejected.
This is the reason for the lack of a continuity in the tradition of dissent and revolt by women and the

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emergence of saintly women of the calibre and nature of Karaikal Ammaiyar and Andal.
The bhakti expressions are also called revolts (Gohain 1987: 1970) and as a counter system (Ramanujan 1989:10). However, the bhakti cult did not act as a means of expressing mass discontent of the prevailing social structures of Oppression and discrimination based on a principle of organisation and solidarity with an aim to change/challenge the social reality. They are not revolutions or revolts in that sense. The flood of bhakti included the lower caste also as social equals on the religious plain as devotees. The women saints' religious expressions have to be viewed as manifestations of revolt and dissent against social constraints and inequities suffered on account of belonging to a particular gender. They are expressions of personal grievances but they were also not organised on internal or external principle. In this process of expressing their grievances they have courted "deviant" behaviour. Conditions laid down for them both in conventional social behaviour patterns and religious codes of behaviour were violated.
The bhakti cult viewed on a wider perspective, is a dissenting counter system to the orthodox religious institutions. The sanctity of the Vedas, the primacy of rituals, the authority of the Brahmins, and the caste system were challenged. It also included in its fold an elevation of the feminine principle. This violated the sanctity of social conventions and the laws of Manu which denied women an inclusion in religion and kept them as socially inferior species confined within the domestic realm of the household. This however was a temporary phenomenon as many other counter systems had been.

Female Revolt-Saintly and Veiled 69
Notes
l. Women saints
Three women saints are included in the list of the sixty-three canonised saiva Tamil saints. Mangayarkarasiyar, the queen of the Pandya king, and saint Isai Gnaniyar, the mother of Saint Sundarar, are listed along with Karaikal Ammayar. Mangayarkarasiyar played a major role in reconverting her husband from Jainism to Hinduism. This is a historic mission as far as her contribution is assessed, in the wider context, both politically and religiously. Isai Gnaniyar was the mother of Saint Sundarar and had been instrumental in the moulding of Sundarar from a layman to a saint. Hence she too was included in the list. However, there are no hymns composed by them. Neither have they made on their own, any claim to spirituality. Thilagawathyar was responsible for reconverting her brother Thirunavukkarasu from Jainism to Saivism, who later became an ardent saiva devotee and was credited with the composition of the sweetest of hymns. He was included in the list of saints but not Thilagawatyar.
2. Karaikal Ammayar
Her real name is Punitavaty. She is so called because she hailed from Karaikal which was a busy sea port for several centuries with active trade and a merchant community thrived here. She refers to herself as "Karaikal Pey" in her last hymns (Karaikal Ghost). It was customary in olden days to give the identity of a person with the place name accompanying the name. Lately the place name forms an initial with the surname. The word Ammaiyar refers to mother (Ammai) to which is added an suffix "Ar” which is an honorific suffix added to an honourable person who commands respect.
3. Vaishnavaism, Saivaism
There are many cults within Hinduism which give primacy to one personal god. During the Pallava period both the

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The Spectrum of Femininity: A Process of Deconstruction
Vaishnawa cult and Saiva cult united against Buddhism and Jainism. Saivaism gives primacy to Siva and treats him as the only superior god and others as insignificant. It is the same with Vaishnauaism. There have been violent clashes and debates between them in history. The saiva saints are sixtythree in number and are called Nayanmar. Their life stories and their hymns were collected and compiled in the 10th century AD during the time of the Chola king Kulattunga II (AD 1133-1146 AD) by his prime Minister Sekkilar. Karaikal Ammayar was one of the sixty-three Nayanmars. The Vaishnawa saints are twelve in number and Andal was the only woman saint among them. Vaishanawa Saints are called Alwars, their life stories and hymns were collected by a Vaishnawa Brahmin called Nathamuni somewhere between the latter part of 10th century AD (Ragava Iyengar 1931).
Vedanta
Hinduism has many systems of philosophy. The Vedanta is the oldest and is based on the vedic literatures and has strict dogmatic adherence and rituals. This is based on the Vedas, and the subsequent vedic literature and vedic authority were continuously maintained on this system of philosophy. The vedic literature which is in sanskrit was hegemonic and gave supremacy to the Brahmins.
Sankam Literature and Aham
The collection of group poetry of the earliest Tamil literature is called sankam literature, which meant literature of the assembly or association. The sankam literature is believed to have been produced or compiled in an assembly of learned scholars, poets and kings. They were compiled with meticulous rules of division. The major division was that of "aham" and "puram”. Translated directly they mean interior and exterior respectively. Those of subjective experience of love and its various moods were called the aham. The rest of

Female Revolt-Saintly and Veiled 71
all the objective phenomenon is called the puram which mainly consisted of war episodes.
6. Andal, Alwar
Alwar in Tamil means one who dives deep into the ocean of bhakti and the corresponding feminine term is Andal.

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References Chakravarty Uma (1983) “The development of Sita Myth: A Case Study of women in Myth and Literature": in Samyashakti Vol l No. 1 July 1983, Delhi. Chicherov A.I. (1971) India, Economic Development in the 16th
18th Centuries, Moscow. Gohain, G. (1987) The Labyrinth of Baktti, On Some Questions of Medieval Indian history, Economic and Political Weekly Oct. 14, 1987. Kosambi D.D. (1962) Myth and Reality, Bombay India. Obeysekere G. (1981) Medusa's Hair: An Essay on Personal Symbols and Religious Experience. University of Chicago Press. Ramanujan A.K. (1989) "Talking to God in the Mother Tongue,
Manushi Nos. 50-52.

Female Revolt-Saintly and Veiled 73
Arupa Pattu Arupa Tiruvantati Avatar
Avvaiyar
Bhakti
Brahma
Cheetanam Devadasi/Tevaratiyar Dharma, Dharmic
Dikhsa Emapurankadu Kapalika/Kalamuka Karma
Karpu Maturaikandam Muta Tirupatikam Nonpu(s)
Pattimi
Pey Makal Sankam Saraswati
Saiva, Saivism, Siva
Saivite Silapatikaram
San Karaneoriya
Sraтата
Glossary
Part of Tiruvasakan Part of Karaikal Ammayar's poems Re-incarnation Female poet of the Sankam period Devotion
The creator
Dowry Women attached to temple services Righteous action, rules, norms and decorum
Saiva Initiation
Cemetery
A militant Hindu cult Part of the Hindu and Buddhist philosophy which explains one's present and future births as decided upon by his/her actions in previous births
Chastity
A text of the Sankam period
Part of Karaikal Ammayar's poems Penance, Rituals Chaste woman, refers also to the goddess Pattini (Pattini teivam) Ghostly woman Association or assembly of poets Goddess of learning and fine arts Religious sect within Hinduism which gives primacy to god Siva Follower of Saivism An epic of the post-Sankam period by a Jaina author The religious head of the Mutti system Saivisam in India Non Brahmanical traditions

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Sитатgali Tiru Irrattai Mami Malai Tirumurukarrupatai Uruttuva tantavam Vaishnauva
Vaishna vais m
Vedanta
Vishnu
An auspicious woman, usually married Title of Karaikal Ammayar's period A test of late Sankam period Siva's dance of destruction Belonging to the Vishnu sect in Hinduism A sect within Hinduism which gives primacy to god Vishnu The Hindu philosophy based on the Vedas, also called the Upanishads The Hindu god of the trinity, who preserves the order

PART II

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Chapter 4
The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna
Some Thematic Observations
G is a social construction. The idea of social construction is widely used in the discourse of almost all human and social science disciplines. The metaphor of constructions is used differently by different authors. By social construction I mean the creation of meanings of a given phenomenon through the inter-play of actors, institutions, habits and regulative ideals and behaviour. According to Berger and Luckmann (1966:50) habitualisation leads to institutionalisation to which all human activity is subject'. The usage of the concept then should delineate the process of a certain phenomenon being institutionalised, thereby contributing towards the process of creating social reality. The social reality is thus legitimised through various processes and phases. A society forms its own unique construction from its own historical and economic situations. The field of gender studies has found this metaphor very useful, specially when the term sex is differentiated from gender.

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Social formation here refers to a particular society with its inter-relations of socio-economic factors. The Tamils of the northern province from Jaffna are mostly Hindus with a patriarchal ideology and practise the saiva-sidhanta philosophy of Hinduism which though developed in South India could not be said to have emerged as the dominant philosophy there. The Jaffna Tamils by and large are saivits as against the South Indian Tamils among whom the vishnava cult is pre-eminent. There is a kind of separation even in the dialect from the South Indian Tamil language (Indrapala:1968) which was greatly influenced by the North Indian languages. In short the Jaffna Tamils developed a distinct culture of their own, different from the South Indian Tamil culture. It is a highly stratified society with a hierarchial structure, within which duties and obligations are most important.
The caste system is the most predominant institution through which the stratification is effected in Jaffna. Though the hierarchy and the stratification in principle are similar to the South Indian system, one notable absence in the Jaffna society is the absence of the priestly hegemony of the Brahmins as stated earlier. Politics and social life are dominated by the land owning vellala caste. The Brahmins are relegated and defined in terms of their priestly functions within the temples as performing religious rites. They do command respect but not power and authority. The philosophical and the religious foundations of the Jaffna people, significantly separated them from the South Indian socio-religious behavioural norms. The most important aspect of this is the absence of the Brahmanical hegemony as stated earlier and the influence of Dharmashastric gender values'. This had serious implications for the gender norms of the Jaffna people. Some of the

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 79
Dharmashastric injunctions which curtailed the freedom of women in India did not affect the women of Jaffna in the same manner as they did their counterparts in South India. There are some overtly violent gender behavioural norms such as female infanticide, widow immolation, prohibition of widow remarriage and the severe restrictions placed on the widows' manner of dress and behaviour which are prescribed in Manu Dharmashastra. This type of Dharmashastric injunctions are not practised by the Hindu women of Jaffna. These socio-religious norms pertaining to women's behaviour, it has to be emphasised, are spelled out in great detail in the Dharmashastras and held out as laws.
One interesting feature in the Jaffna Tamil social formation is the absence of a distinct Christian Culture as opposed or different from the Hindu culture (Thiruchandran 1991). The attitude of the minority Christians in merging ideologically with the majority Hindus on a cultural identity and subscribing to the overall Tamil culture emphasising their common belonging and common linguistic heritage have negated this difference. This has prevented any overt expressions of anti-Hindu feelings and a formation of a sub-Christian culture with a different value system for Christian women.
Jaffna's social formation can easily be characterised as consisting of two opposing ideologies.
1. A defence of the socio-economic status-quo, often expressed as criticisms covertly and overtly of changes that would alter the stability of the social process.
2. The radical critique of the status-quo and the suggestion of new standards and values for the society.

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A brand of nationalism, narrow and inward looking is co-opted into the former, while a progressive anti imperialist type is part of the second ideology.
Despite the changing political conditions, some of the socio-political leaders of Jaffna tried to maintain the socioeconomic status quo during the pre-colonial and colonial periods. This has led some social scientists and political analysts to view.Jaffna, as comprised of a non-dynamic social formation or one replete with a unique conservatism. This aspect was also viewed as an explanation for maintaining the hierarchical system despite high levels of literacy and educational pursuits. The hierarchy that I speak of here entails a hierarchy of caste, class and gender. -
What I would call the system maintaining ideology was referred to by Sivathamby as the ideology of saivism cum Tamil language to the point of perceiving a Christian Muslim exclusion in Jaffna (Sivathamby, 1993:94). In my view this conceptual framework cannot be taken as a continued and permanent entity for social science analysis. This was a short lived pre-colonial ideology which was subjected to a lot of transformation.
The system challenging ideology which is totally opposed to the status quo maintenance, was an egalitarian ideology first propagated by the Jaffna Youth Congress. The class caste hierarchy was vigorously challenged. It was part of their agenda to work for total equality and freedom. Theirs was a nationalism which advocated an all inclusive Sri Lankan identity against narrow, local identities, such as Tamil or Hindu. Gender equality was not advocated vigorously as much as caste or class equality. But the important variation from the former ideology was that the Youth Congress was not against gender equality. One reason put forward apologetically by the last surviving

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 8
stalwart of the Youth Congress, Orator Subramaniam, who passed away on the 18th of February 1994 was that gender equality in Jaffna did not need as much attention as in India. But action oriented programmes to combat the caste system were needed in Jaffna, where one section of the community was dehumanised by the system of untouchability, prevalent only among the Tamils, in Sri Lanka. The Youth Congress had to take it up as an issue of priority.
The gender analysis that follows falls easily into the conceptual framework of two opposing ideologies. The system maintaining ideology drew heavily from a narrow brand of nationalism. Nationalism here merely meant indigenous practices versus westernisation, but they were not against a compromising attitude towards power sharing with the masters. Within the framework of system maintenance, Tamil gender ideology easily assimilated the ethos of the western culture which spelled specific gender subordination. A content analysis of my source material will bring out this contradiction. This is a contradiction because while westernisation was usually rejected as alien or foreign, alien and foreign conservatism as regards the gender hierarchy was accepted.
Although I derive most of my data from past history I avoid periodisation, but rather trace some thematic elements which go to construct some aspects of the gendered social reality. The data includes a collection of popular Tamil and English newspapers and weeklies published in Jaffna from 1800. Their contents are analysed. A thematically constructed gender ideology is built up. The periodisation of 1800 is incidental and is not indicative of any historical event. The inquiry does not cover the contemporary period, as access to men and women and

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material at the time of war in Jaffna has become a hazardous task. Normalcy in the socio-political conditions is necessary for any scientific inquiry. The normalcy I speak of here is the prevalence of settled and peaceful conditions, where the people have begun to interact with each other without fear and inhibitions.
This paper concentrates on certain attitudes, as part of the gender ideology, habits and customs practised by the people of Jaffna, through institutionalised social sanctions. As a secondary process an attempt will be made to explain how and why certain process have taken precedence over others. While doing these two tasks, the impact of various influences such as colonialism, which have shaped the content of gender ideology will also be highlighted. The themes picked up show continuity. This paper is in effect an attempt at de-construction to arrive at the patterns of the construction of gender.
Newspapers such as the Hindu Organ, The Ceylon Free Press and the Jaffna Native Opinion strove hard to stay within the Tamil cultural norms and tried to propagate them through their articles, editorials and news items and the specific interpretations they gave to the socio-political and socio-cultural events and incidents that took place in Jaffna. However, there was an exception to this. To this dominant ideology were added two shades of ideology which were dominant in alien cultures. The first was the Brahmanical and the second was the Victorian. These two were progressively and systematically assimilated into the hegemonic Tamil gender ideology. Examples are picked up at random to show these trends. These newspapers while assimilating and accepting gender specific hierarchical notions of other cultures had also performed another task simultaneously of attacking and ridiculing the alternative

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 83
progressive notions of gender equality of other cultures as inferior to their own. An otherness was constructed.
In the Hindu Organ of 22nd September 1897, there is a letter written to the editor signed "nationalist" addressed to "dear sisters". The letter advises the sisters to save the nation, rebukes them for wearing dresses. He laments, not only have the women given up their religion but also the caste system and the love for their nation. The letter is titled "The Ugly Dresses of Women of the "Kaliyuga". The caste code, the religious codes and the spirit of nationalism are equated with the traditional saree clad women. On another level within the code of nationalism, caste, religion and women are embedded as equally sacred and inviolable.
The Jaffna Native Opinion of 8 April, 1907 also treated women's dress as a national symbol. Here again it is a letter written by a person who had anonymously called himself "Seeker of Good" (of the community). In his letter he classified women on the basis of their clothes. Women, he says, dress like the ladies of the Masters (British), - "the English turai chani", the village girl "naddu vasi", the town girl "nagarappenin", the prostitute "dast", the dancing girl,"kuttuppenin” and like the women of the Northern country "vadadesa pennkal" (India used to be referred as the Northern country (Vada Desam). The Women, the author emphasises, are dressed in various modes and fashions and are not interested in temple worship. They go there to attract men and to show off their finery to other women. In the last part of the letter the "Seeker of Good" lists some of the adornments used by the women such as hankies, woolen thread, bead chains and having classified them as unconventional forms, implicitly condemns them as nontraditional outfits for Tamil women.

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Similarly the Ceylon Free Press of 18 July, 1933 had published a speech made on the occasion of the old boys school day of Jaffna Hindu College by Mr. S. Natesan.
"Westerners admire the dress of our women folk. It is elegant, graceful and artful. It is a pity now, to see the poor type of dress worn by girls in their schools". He appealed to all ladies and gentleman present to see that their children did not forsake the modest and graceful dress which was the object of other nations' envy. He hoped Rev. Bicknell who was on the stage would exercise his influence on the missionary schools and get their girls to look like Tamil girlso.
Another way of keeping the woman within the national mould was to treat the Western women as the 'other', lowly, uncivilized, manly and morally inferior. The Hindu Organ 28 July, 1897 condemns the western women in its editorial as manly and disobedient to their husbands and fears, with reason, that over time these women would seek complete equality with men in social behaviour by entering into the sphere of 'mens' jobs. They are, he reproaches, riding bicycles fast, and that is fraught with all kinds of dangers.
On 14 July, 1897, the Hindu Organ published a speech of Senator Beranger, under the title "Morals of Europe". The Senator while calling the attention of the government of France " to the increase which is taking place in the various forms of immorality in France in general and in Paris in particular" has singled out the women. "Young actresses say things which will make the most hardened man blush. As to their costumes, the skirts have given place to tights of a natural colour and of such a diaphanous texture, that they do not appear to exist". The ideas and themes of Victorian morality are picked up by the editor of the Hindu Organ to his advantage placing them against the "time

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 85
honoured customs and usages of Hindus". While doing this he emphatically denigrates the western women's morals. He says,
"The morbid taste exhibited by men and women especially of the latter for reading sensational love-stories contained in the novels and other forms of light literature with which the west is inundated, the New Women who queens it over society and holds the man in abject subjection to herself directly giving the lie to the scriptural imprecation he shall rule over thee', the woman worship which is springing up in consequence of the New women's movement, the ball dances in half dress, all point to a state of things which has no parallel in the East".
While the Western women's dress, morals and their quest for equality are treated as belonging to an alien culture (which is the 'other'), the Hindu Organ does not hesitate to place education also within the same other-ness. On 9th January, 1895 the Hindu Organ ridicules the family life of a Mr. and Mrs. Cox. Mrs. Cox's lap dog implicitly linked with her inclination towards bestiality, promiscuity and extra-marital relationships is treated as part of a western value system. More importantly these habits are considered to be the results of women's education. This short write up "on European married life" ends with a warning that it is detrimental to teach a western value system to Hindu women through education. The 'otherness' syndrome speaks, rather, eloquently most of the time, and rather implicitly at times, of certain dichotomous sensibilities and strange equations. The western woman - (though the reference is to actresses) is scantily dressed, therefore she is permissive and immoral. She is shameless, she reads sensational love-stories. She is irreligious as she tries to join the new women's movement by disobeying the

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Biblical dictum “ he shall rule over thee”. Education for women is equated with acquiring western values. These are the equations. The Western women are dichotomously placed against the women of eastern culture with its timehonoured values and customs.
Education for Women
Education for women was advocated, though such advocacies were more often characterised by an ambivalence, and limitations - limitations such as those that would keep women within the traditional and cultural mores. The sanctions that were inserted within the discourses on education for women were done with a view to prevent women from transgressing the limits of their socio-cultural systems. Education for women was a subject constantly taken up in the editorial columns. The Editorial of Hindu Organ on 20 October, 1896 is an interesting example of a convincing ambivalence. The advocacy for education for women has many pre-conditions. However, it is interesting to note that the editor takes care to say initially that women's education is not an alien or a foreign idea. Education for women, he urges is part of the traditional world-view. Women like Avvaiyar and Karaikal Ammayar', of the olden days were educated women. Second, the editorial exhibits a fear that educated women may become immoral, the same was argued in the previous section as an equation. It would be of interest to link up another short writeup on education for women, which appeared on the Illankai Nesan on 12 June, 1879 on the same equation. It says that though women's education is good and generally leads to a good life, happiness and helps attain ethical standards, one woman who was educated had deserted her husband and children and

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 87
eloped with a young man after having written to him. There is an additional equation here. If the woman is educated she will write love-letters to her illicit lover.
The editor of the Hindu Organ having seen the negative and positive aspects of women's education talks about the benefits of education for women. All the arguments it has to be emphasised, are legitimised from the view point of how women's education will benefit the man, the husband.
1. Only educated women can fulfill the demands and desires of the husbands. An illiterate woman talks about the neighbours, the jewels and her clothes. How can an educated husband tolerate such a wife? He, in due course will be influenced by the wife's illiteracy and her behaviour. He would then demean himself losing the benefits of the education he derived.
2. Since education broadens one's horizons, knowledge and intelligence, the educated wife becomes an asset to manage the family. She will render great service and solace to the man she married.
3. The children born to educated wives are generally more intelligent than those who are born to noneducated women.
Interestingly the editor, does not deny the ability and capacity of the women to study and grants that like men, women too are able to learn and pass examinations with merit. This is a significant variation from the Victorian ideology which saw women as sick and weak, unable weak, unable to undertake hazardous tasks such as education. The other arguments are in tune with Victorian ideology. The

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advocacy for women's education is not within the discourse of women's rights to education, but for the benefit of their husbands in order to make the women more effective household managers and rear more intelligent children. Of greater significance is the last paragraph of this editorial. I quote in translation:-
"Now having taken into consideration, the situation in our country, our highly educated and religious elite should get together, and convene an assembly and decide and do the needful, to ascertain how our women should be educated according to our religious mores and caste codes."
The consensus here fits aptly into my first conceptual framework of system maintenance.
On the theme of education for women there is an interesting debate (Hindu Organ 11 December, 1893), which is symptomatic of a protest from a woman against the principle of education based on religious mores and caste codes. However, the complete debate cannot be reconstructed because the number om which this woman had written the letter is not filed in the archives, but there is enough substance to substantiate my argument that it is indeed a counter ideology that challenges the system. It is of significance that the debate is started by a woman who had to remain anonymous. The sequence of the debate can be reconstructed thus. To an article or a letter written by Jaffna Tarisanan (Jaffna Observer), (a pseudonym) a woman had responded and expressed dissent on the various patriarchal values, again under a pseudonym (one who is talking the truth). A third party, a man again under a pseudonym has taken up the argument of Jaffna Tarisanan and rebukes the woman calling her the "good sister"

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 89
through an article. The title of this article is "Anganakilasmrit", the name of an obvious Brahmanical text which seems to be source material which he has used for the discourse on education for women.
The article opens with a statement that the behaviour of the women of a particular group sets the standards for the civilization of that group. The Indian epic-purana-famous women such as Sita, Savitri and Shakuntala are evoked as examples. It is reiterated that education for woman is not for earning a livelihood. He spells out the content and the reasons for women's education.
1. Women should be educated in religion, its codes and mores, so that they will not be converted by the Christian Missionaries.
2. They should be educated in Tamil literature, Hindu history and the geography of the Hindu country. They should not be exposed to the western system of education.
3. They should be educated in hygiene. They should know the nutritional value of food items and how to nurse and care for the sick.
4. They should be educated in music (not dancing) so that they can please the husband and others in the household.
5. Physical exercise is also necessary for women because only children born of healthy women can be healthy.
The first part of the article ends with a plea that this kind of education for our women will only be suitable for our country. The demands of the ethno-linguistic and ethno-religious nationalism which has picked up some

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strands of Brahmanical ideology, one would note, here have not excluded western Christian views altogether. It has very carefully incorporated in its framework a conservative western ideology - the Victorian. Women seen primarily as wives and mothers have to be specialists on the vocation of home management - which included nursing, hygiene, knowledge about the nutrition levels in the food - these, summed up in the terminology of home science was an invention of the Victorian era in England.
Another intriguing phenomenon - a continuous theme - is to do with genetics coupled with the women's reproductive capacity. Earlier we have noted that education for women is advocated on the basis that only children born to educated mothers will be intelligent and resourceful. In the present discourse it is said that physical exercise should form part of the educational programme for women, as only children born of healthy women will be healthy. It is further said that only this type of education will benefit our country. One wonders not without reason, whether what is talked of here is eugenics. Though the idea of eugenics was found in the Old Testament, in Plato's Republic and in Darwin's theory, it was only in 1883 that Francis Galton coined the word eugenics in his Hereditary genius. In 1869 he said that he had evidence for the belief that it would be quite practical to produce a highly gifted race of men by judicious marriages over several consecutive generations. There is reason to believe that these nationalists too are talking of judicious marriages with educated and healthy women to produce better sons for the country.
A further point that needs to be highlighted is the reference to Sanskritic chaste heroines such as Sita, Savitri and Shakuntala and the Vedic Maitriye and the conspicuous absence of militant Kannagi of the Tamil epic. This is an

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 9
indicator of the penetration of a Brahmanical Hindu ideology of a submissive, passive chaste womanhood.
The discourse on women's education that was discussed above converges on a selective social conservatism which upholds the hierarchical system of caste, class and gender.
The second part of the article is about the debate and the protesting woman and how she is rebuked and reproached for her critical dissent. To Jaffna Tarisanan the woman poses the question whether he would like women to be locked up like parrots in cages. The essayist defends Tarisanan by arguing that being locked in cages like parrots prevents women from being attacked by animals. Women, he says should adorn themselves with the four great virtues of bashfulness, chastity, fear and foolishness and stay inside the cages so that they will not be seduced and men will not be attracted by them thus endangering their chastity. (He equates men with animals)
To the second point raised by the woman whether Tarisanan had not met women of wisdom and education, the writer's answer was an affirmative 'no'. He claims that the werld is full of women:-
- with lowly disposition, who imitate the western
women in their manner and morals - who deliver speeches at houses, temples and public
assemblies - who find their husbands by themselves - who treat their husbands as servants - who write letters and promise to marry a man, but
marry another - who visit others on their own without their husbands - who desert their husband and marry other men - who hold hands with the husband on the streets

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No attempt is made to conceal the misogynist trends in the above account of the type of women he met.
Cultural Synchronisation at the Level of Patriarchy
The woman writer also raised a pertinent question as to why Jaffna Tarisanan' was celebrating the customs and habits of the Indian nation which deprive the Indian women of their freedom and treat them like slaves. It appears that she referred to some great Indian women in her letter.
The author of the essay does not answer the question but says that the woman who raised this question is a "paraiya” by caste while those Indian women are high caste elitists who are honoured by the British governor. The notions of high caste and high class belongings on the one hand and subservience and loyalty to the British Government on the other are part of the same social conservatism which characterises the system maintaining ideology which is also patriarchal and misogynist.
More significant from the point of view of the 18th century socio-political conditions in terms of the gender ideology and its counter ideology is the last section of this essay. The woman had alerted "Tarisanan' to a few books such as Pen Mati Mali, Pen Manam and Pen Kalvi. Translated literally they mean The Garland of Women's Wisdom, The Honour of Woman and Women's Education. The author, dismisses them as unheard of and wonders whether by reading those books the woman had come to this state of raising gender specific inquires and whether in these books there is a recipe for making black women white. The woman together with the books that argue for women's rights are scoffed at. But he goes on to advise her on Biblical dictums since she is a Christian woman. As a Hindu

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 93
nationalist he is not rejecting Christian values. As long as they are patriarchal he has no qualms about quoting them. He quotes chapter and verse:
Chapter I
3rd sentence: If Jesus guides the men, a woman should
be guided by man.
6th sentence: If a woman doesn't want to wear a veil let her shave her head. If she is shy of shaving her head let her wear the veil.
9th sentence: The man is not created for the woman but it is the woman who is created for the
a.
31st sentence: In assemblies let women not talk, to talk
they have no rights.
12th sentence: To advise and preach to men and to
(2nd Chapter) exercise authority I have not given women the rights. (sic) (Implication - she as a woman has no right to say what she had said to Jaffna Tarisanan)o
The author of this long essay after having stipulated conditions for the kind and content of education for women, has taken to task rather unkindly the woman letter writer for her dissenting ideas and notions of protest. Notions of caste codes and high class belonging have also been easily inter-woven into patriarchal ideology as a precept for women. The continuity of this comprehensive ideology can be seen later, when Sir. P. Ramanathan (considered a national hero in Sri Lanka) opposed the granting of universal adult suffrage on the ground that to grant the right to vote to non-vellalar men and the women

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would lead to "mob-rule" and that it was an anathema to the Hindu way of life (P. Ramanathan, 1934:4,14).
Brahmanical Penetration
The Jaffna Native Opinion which came out in 1900 seems to have had more access to Brahmanical Hindu Texts. The flow of reading material from India had become steady and the influence is very visible in these papers. Looking up to Hindu India to counter the spread of Christianity, at a time when India had awakened at the national level to the archaic Hindu customs which ill treated Indian women is indeed a paradox of history.
Three strands of thought can be identified in the short stories editorials and in the essays and articles published in these papers. The good wife is extolled and qualities of such a virtuous wife are listed. Qualities central to a good wife's character are service, subservience and sacrifice, not only to her husband but to his entire clan of household members, the father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law and brotherin-law. To speak of obedience and service to the husband's clan in a matri-local society, in fact is evidence enough to show that alien ideas are being brought through cultural exchange.
Second, the qualities of a bad wife are expounded us in the JNO of 11 March, 1907; 27 May, 1907, 17 June, 1907 and 8 July, 1907. The bad virtue-less wife is compared to death, treachery (qualities), demon and donkey, (nonhuman species). On 11 March, 1907 a few stories are discussed to illustrate the wickedness of such a wife. The issue of 26 November, 1906 gives the story of the chaste Sita. The sentiments and motions of Mamudharma Shastra which are misogynist are the third type. The ficklemindedness, the innate nature of women to be unfaithful to

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 95
the husbands, women's intellect being dull and her obligation to be always dependant on the man and follow his foot steps are given as facts of life on 13 January, 1908.
The Jaffna Native Opinion of 28 October, 1907 quotes Mamudharma Shastras famous dictum, that a woman should act like a mother when feeding the husband, like a prostitute while in bed and be a counsellor like a minister when he is in despair. Despite this ideological infiltration, it is a matter of doubt whether, such ideologies have successfully entered the consciousness of the people and has led to specific behaviour patterns in Jaffna. It appears that the Tesawalamai ideology has acted as a counter ideology as will be discussed later.
Strange Combinations and a Comprehensive Theory.
The Jaffna Native Opinion of 30 November, 1935 quotes Hitler as saying that the woman's most important duty is to look after her husband, her children and her home. Hitler's saying is compared with a couplet in the Tamil Tirukural' and the author marvels at the wisdom of these great minds who have agreed on women's decorum and her profound duty. Having quoted Hitler, a Westerner, the author strikes a note of caution.
"However, today in our country, we know that women are talking about equality of men and women. This is one of the evils of blindly following the Western civilization"
While chastity was always included in the repeated discourses on family on 9 December, 1907, 23 February, 1907 and 28 October, 1907, "The state of Chastity" has been the title of short essays with quotations. Quotations are illustrated both from Manudharma Shastra and Tirukural. These are clearly attempts to combine various shades of the hegemonic gender ideology in order to arrive at a

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comprehensive theory for women's behaviour. In the dominant gender ideology in India, ideas of motherhood are dormant (Thiruchandran, 1993:52).
The role of the wife and her characterisation are the major components. In the theory formation in Jaffna, however, this was different. Motherhood was equally a part of the gender ideology (Thiruchandran: 1991). Two reasons could be speculated. First, the social formation of Jaffna which remained largely uninfluenced by the Brahmanical socio-religious hegemony also largely rejected Brahminical gender ideology. Second, the ideal of Victorian motherhood was implanted by missionary education. Christian journalism which reflected this process steadily picked up some of the negative images of women as did Hindu journalism from the Indian sources. The educative process seems to have influenced the social process. The part played by the hegemonic English educative process in Jaffna is also a contributory factor in this process.
The Christian Tamil/English newspaper called the Morning Star reproduced the motherhood ideas. The Christian Hindu rivalry found expression through the columns of the Hindu Organ and the Morning Star. The Morning Star founded in 1841 was the first newspaper in Tamil in Sri Lanka. The Morning Star (Udaya Tarakai in Tamil) published both in Tamil and English gave extensive coverage to Christian activities and had special columns in Christian religious discourses. In many of its columns motherhood ideas were propagated and often compared to godliness. The editions of 27 January, 1845; 13 March, 1845; 25 September, 1845 had short columns with titles on "Mother's love" and "What is Faithful".
"The patriot expects fame, the friend sympathy, the lover pleasure, but maternal affection springs from the breast un-invoked by the touch of interest."

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 97
What is so firm? Time, misfortune, penury and persecution, hatred and infamy may roll their dark waves successively over it, and still it smiles unchanged. A mother loves and loves for ever. (27 January, 1845). Her watchful care protected you...in infancy. ...... nourished you with milk. Taught your lips to move and your tongue to lisp its uniform accents. (13 March, 1845)
A man's mother is the representative of his maker. Will not desert him, when he suffers. Will mot listen, when he is slandered. Will solace him in his sorrows. Her affection knows no ebbing tide It flows from a pure fountain. (25 September, 1845)
The sentiments and style of the above verses are representations of the Victorian ideology of motherhood. The Indian gender ideology gave a dominant place in its composition to wifehood and its virtues, chastity being the highest. Chastity in Indian literature was elevated to godliness. Pattini and pativrata are godly terminologies. In the Tamil region of Sri Lanka especially in Jaffna, motherhood and wifehood are blended in an easy coexistence in the totality of gender ideology. The restrictive and overtly regulative strictures placed on the Indian wife found no place here. Journals like the Morning Star and other Christian and English literature were the source for the infiltration of the motherhood ideology of the Victorian
Ca
A Counter Ideology in Action
The dominant ideological content was not always the driving force. Women, we have already witnessed have protested through the letters to the editor columns as was the case of the "truth-telling woman", who challenged

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Jaffna Tarisanan" with convincing arguments. There were a few instances which spoke of a counter ideology.
The Intellectual Preceptor of March/April 1886 has a news item of a woman which is thought provoking. A woman by the name of Marimuthu informed the public that her husband took away the jewels and the deeds of her dowry property against her will, when she refused to sign, papers to enable him to mortgage the property. She says she hereby informs the public that she did not agree and that she will not agree to sell, mortgage or rent her property and her husband has threatened to forge her signature. This is a case in point where a woman has acted contravening the Manudharma shastra Tirukural and Biblical dictums of unduestioning obedience and subservience to one's husband. Even if we assume that her natal family was behind her to protect the daughter's inheritance, the fact is that social norms such as family honour and the notion of unity within the family did not deter her from making a public declaration.
The woman, it would appear has laid claims to her property rights as exclusively hers, within the conjugal relationship. She has acted within the Tesawalamai ideology of stridhanam - woman's wealth (Seetanam is the corrupted form used colloquially)'. Dowry was traditionally viewed as exclusively the woman's property.
Another incident reported in the Jaffna Native Opinion of 30 November, 1908 is also symptomatic of the above spirit though expressed differently. The episode titled "big tall"' relates an incident. It has a prologue which says that the bride's party nowadays are very keen to get a thick tali chain and a big tali. They, the writer says, usually insist on a certain number of sovereigns being used to make the chain

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 99
and the tali. This they do, as soon as all arrangements are finalised for the betrothal.
In an incident which was reported the reporter says when the mother of the bride found fault with the size of the tali and made an issue of it, the bride got up and ran away, thus ending the matrimonial rites. Whatever the reason, the bride and the mother had the right to reject the marriage.
However, the reporter advises all concerned to give up the demand for big talis and concentrate on the ritual values of marriage. The incident signifies the power relations between the bride's party and the bride groom's party. This factor is a significant variation from the present day situation where considerable amount of moral and social pressure is exerted on the bride by her natal family not to pay heed to insignificant details, but to view the social status marriage confers on her. In the social hierarchy today the bride and bride's parents are placed lower than the bride groom and his parents. It is a common occurrence, that marriage is viewed as the ultimate goal in a girl's life, she is persuaded, emotionally blackmailed and even threatened by her parents and by elderly relatives to consent to marry against her will as a social and a family obligation. That this bride and her mother could refuse a marriage is an indicator of different socio-economic conditions in Jaffna.
A further news item can also be brought as evidence for this kind of attitude. The Catholic Guardian of 2 August, 1881 expresses sympathy with the attempts made in India to get six lakhs of widows remarried. The paper wishes that the prohibition on widow remarriage be lifted and the widows be married again. Since widow remarriage was not prohibited in Jaffna either legally or socially (Tesawalamai

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legitimises remarriage), this kind of sympathy was symptomatic of a rejection of the Brahmanical ideology by sections of people. Such incidents and attitudes are pointers of a middle class Tesawalamai ideology.
Dowry and the Idea of Women's Wealth (Stridhanam)
Sociological and legal opinion about the concept of dowry in Tesawalamai have often (Perinbanayagam 1982:168, Tambiah.S.J. 1973:111-137, Tambiah.H.W. nd.) viewed the dowry as woman's exclusive right to property. In fact this aspect was also seen as the matrilineal system of Jaffna society, which has culturally connected the people of Jaffna with the Kerala people in India. However, the ideological status of dowry is different from the way it is practically operated in Jaffna. Dowry negotiations over time, have frequently degenerated into business bargains. The woman is the weaker party, socially inferior, despite the fact that she is bringing property into the alliance. The socially inferior status of a woman is constructed on the social need of a husband for a woman. There are two cases reported in the Jaffna Catholic Guardian which are symptomatic of the present day dilemma of the "dowry' for women.
The Jaffna Catholic Guardian of 6 August, 1881 has this to say of dowry. However poor the parents are they are forced to find dowry to get their daughters married. Giving dowry is more hazardous than bringing up children. Though the parents are willing to give as much as they can as dowry to their daughters the bride-grooms insist on getting more, and even force the parents to get a share from their elder sons and they do succeed. This is perhaps the origin of the system of "donation', which is currently practised in Jaffna, where the sons set aside a portion of the dowry brought by their brides by mutual agreement,

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 101
towards their sisters' dowry. This arrangement is done, mutually by both parties in a society, where the conventions within the system of the family as part of the socio-cultural norms demand that the well being of the sisters are part of the brother's responsibility. On another level this is also a part of their responsibility to their parents to reduce the financial and the mental burdens of the parents by helping them to find husbands for their daughters. These demands are usually explained away within a code of obligatory and mutual duties.
Dowry appears to have been a major social evil from what the paper of 27 August, 1881 says. In one of the letters to the editor, a reader had responded rather satirically to a previous report on the sympathy expressed to Indian widows. (2 July, 1881). The letter is titled rather poetically with implied meanings, "Widowhood and Virgins" anonymously signed as "seeker-after benefits". While affirming his sympathy and extending his best wishes to the Indian widows, the "seeker after benefit” says that since widow remarriage is customarily accepted in Jaffna we need not bother about it, but in Ceylon (read Jaffna or Tamil areas), there are thousands of virgins still to be married and they cannot be married because the parents say:
1. Why should we give dowry.
If the bridegroom is willing to accept what we give as dowry let him marry our daughter, if not let our daughter stay with us.
The author of the letter is in sympathy with unmarried virgins, who are deprived of a normal married life and calls upon Ramanathan (Sir.P we presume) to take up the issue in the legislature so that action might be taken against the

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parents for keeping them unmarried. Alternatively he suggests that the daughters should be given the freedom to find their own suitors. Surprisingly there was no suggestion from him/her to abolish the system of dowry. Since there was no reason for a man to remain anonymous on such an issue we can infer that the author, is one of those virgins or a woman who is in sympathy with the virgin. It could very well be a social taboo for women to say either get us married or give us the freedom to choose our husbands.
The problem of dowry continues to haunt many parents in Jaffna, even today. Despite other egalitarian structures and property rights and equal access to education and other markers of socio-economic status, dowry has continued to undermine the status of women in Jaffna.
System Challenging Ideology and its Linkages to Gender Ideology
If the system maintaining ideology stood unequivocally for maintaining the hierarchical structures based on caste, class, age and gender and on narrow ethno-linguistic consciousness, the youth Congress ideology challenged the same hierarchical structures with broader progressive nationalist aspirations seeking total liberation from the shackles of British imperialism. They had a political agenda and a social agenda. Within their social agenda the Youth Congress, did not have elaborate plans for gender equality unlike the Indian nationalist movement which had an active campaign against the overtly exploitative and discriminatory socio-religious practices, which kept Indian women in servitude. However, women's issues were not ignored. In one of the resolutions passed at its annual sessions in 1925 the Youth Congress called for the abolition of the dowry system (Jane Russell, 1982:27). When the report of the

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 103
Donoughmore Commission was published, the executive committee of the Youth Congress passed the resolution that the:
"Congress disapproves the retention of communalism and the non-extension of franchise to woman between the ages of 21-30. (Kadirgamar, 1980:49).
At the 6th annual session in 1930 the Youth Congress passed among other resolutions that this Congress hold: that no nation can rise to the fullest measure of its destiny as long as women do not take an active part in the civil life of the country and appeals to the women of our land to come forward to share with men the responsibilities in the building up of the nation. (Kadirgamar 1980:69).
The Congress gave further legitimization to their views on gender, by inviting Kalyayasundaram Mudaliyar and Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya from India, who were at that time involved in the women's rights discourse in India through their speeches pamphlets and books. Since no systematic records were kept on the Youth Congress, it is difficult to know the contents of their speeches. The presidential address, on the occasion of Kamaladevi's session said that her presence was a challenge to the women of Ceylon to serve their country. Kadirgamar re-assures that the Youth Congress session was not a totally maledominated one. There were always a few women present at the session (1980:82).
Gender Specific Attitudes of the Youth Congress
Kesari and Elakesari, the papers edited by the Youth Congress activists in fact became the official voice of the Youth Congress for a long time. It would be of interest to know that a content analysis of Kesari had clear visions on their attitudes towards gender. Subramanya Bharatiar's

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revolutionary poems and songs including his radical feminist ideas were first published in 1930 in the Elakesari weekly by the treasurer of the Youth Congress, at a time when Subramaniya Bharatiar was little known even in India (Kadirgamar, 1980:70). The Kesari's views on gender were a challenge to the prevailing conservatism. Indira Nehru, (before she was married to Gandhi) had on 12 February, 1942) authored an article titled "Women in the U.S.S.R." In the article she quoted the socialist leaders.
"There can be no talk of any sound or complete democracy, let alone of any socialism until women take their rightful and permanent places both in the political life of the country and in the public life of the community in general." She quotes Lenin as well to say how conscious he was of women's roles in the revolution. A few more examples, are given below to show the coverage Kesari has given to the women's question. The Kesari of 20 March, 1942 reported the annual meeting of the Ceylon Federation of University women held at the Women's Centre at Maruthanamadam where the president Mrs.R.R.Chelliah read a paper on Women and the Brave New world.
The 7th November, 1946 Kesari gave one full page coverage to the "Women's International Democratic Federation which represents today women of 23 countries". This organisation was formed as an anti-fascist democratic organisation of the people to safeguard peace. The conference, it is said demanded the right of women to fully participate in the new government's coming into being after the war. An article written by Hajrah Begum on the same page reported "Indian delegates Impressions on the Women's Conference in Moscow".

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 105
The January 22 issue of 1942 has an interesting section under "our Colombo letter" with the title "Bicycles meant for all". A sub-section poses the question why Tamil women do not cycle (in Colombo). Worm", who is the author of this section claims that he asked a Tamil mother of four daughters why she did not permit her girls to cycle. One of her daughters is married, one a graduate, another in the training college and 4th in "Varsity'. The mother "Worm' claims was brutally frank.
"I have no objections to cycling as such. It is a difficult thing to get the girls married. As it is, dowries have to be found and numerous other demands met. If I permit my girls to cycle it will be more difficult to get husbands for them. My girls will be branded as shameless or forward hussies. The fact that one girl has graduated and others are going to the University and training college has made matters worse than they would have been. Young men are afraid of educated girls. How much more would they be of educated girls who dare to cycle on public highway".
Mr./Ms. Worm concludes, "I could not find an answer, for she spoke the truth. The narrowness of the conception of life, the rigid and prudish fetters that bind our society are only too well known."
However, Mr./Ms Worm speaks rather eloquently of the counter ideology in the next paragraph.
"I could only crack back at her, send your girls on bicycle to find husbands. Of course the girls are furious, they are nagging the mother to death. They say "Old (emphasis in the original) people think that our only job is to get married to particular (emphasis in the original) husbands who are afraid of education and cycling."
Worm sympathises with the daughters. "My sympathies are entirely with the young people whose freedom of movement is thus fettered".

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The ideology that was expressed in the Jaffna Native Opinion and The Catholic Guardian was taken over by the Ceylon Free Press in the 30s. While criticising the boycotters and the swarajists of the Youth Congress as silly idealists, The Ceylon Free Press on 29th July, 1933 called Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya "the political mother of the boycotters" striking a note of ridicule and abuse.
While what has been expressly stated by the progressive idealogues is documented for analysis and critical treatment, what they did not say is also equally important. In the midst of the currents of religious obscurantism and emerging ethno nationalism in Jaffna as witnessed in the columns of the Hindu Organ, The Catholic Guardian and the Morning Star, which had revived the national within very passionate idioms and created an otherness for the other cultures, the Youth Congress ideology remained secular with no notions of otherness. The Youth Congress rejected imperialism, but not the western thoughts and philosophy. This is important for gender construction because of the fact that despite having Tamil pundits and Saiva siddhantists among them as those needed for intellectual discourse, they did not recreate a Tamil or saivite gender ideology based on Tirukural, Silapatikaramo or on any Saiva texts, as other nationalists and social reformers have done. Neither did they reject Western ideas of women's liberation. The gender ideology was usually created and reconstructed through religious and cultural texts.
However, the post-colonial period in Jaffna did not see any radical social movement which challenged the patriarchal structures in a meaningful manner. The continuation of the radical ideology found expression through another channel, the progressive Tamil writers. Influenced by the writings of Periyar and Subraamaniya

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 107
Bharatiar a radical strand of thought emanated from the Tamil writers. Around 1942 there were many writers who had been sensitized to gender inequality. The manner of expression of the gender sensitiveness had two outlets. One was to challenge the patriarchal ideology in the ancient Tamil literary productions and the other was to create new ones on a principle of gender equality. An example of the former were the attempts made by Saravanamuttu (pen name Saratha) in the poems titled Nyaya Vatam (The debate on the Principle of Justice), and Shakuntalai Tuyar (Shakuntala's Distress). (The collection of these poems are now published in a book called Kavichuvadu). The former challenges Rama for banishing Sita to the forest for fear of public opinion. The latter talks of the unjust episode of the king Dushyanta forgetting Shakuntala and disowning the son born to them in the forest. Both these episodes are given sympathetic treatment from a woman's perspective.
An example of the second trend which is symptomatic of the radicalism of the writers is found in the collection of short stories by Varathar. In the collection called Kayamai Mayakkam, in the short story titled "The woman of the modern era' the author makes the heroine shoot the drunkard womanising old husband. The author concludes the story saying that she did not kill the husband, but she shot at the age old Puranic idea that a woman should worship the feet of the husband taking them on her head, however immoral he be. The author makes special mention of this story in his Foreword and regrets that the readership missed the moral of the story. While the progressives praised his attempt, the traditionalists labelled the heroine a husband murderess. The author makes a point by being critical of the gendered position of the society which demands meticulous codes of restraint from women. While

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the author's motive and the reception by the traditionalists are clear indicators of the social phenomenon, the traditionalists versus the progressives, another important factor which is worth pointing out is the outright attack on the particular verse in Manudharma shastra which says that
Even though destitute of virtue or seeking pleasure elsewhere or devoid of good qualities, yet a husband must be constantly worshipped as a god by a faithful wife.
(Manudharma Shastra Verse 151)
The author is clearly rejecting Brahmanical Hinduism and its influence.
The Thamil Makal, perhaps the first women's journal in Sri Lanka was published in 1923. It is indeed difficult to ascertain the kind of gender equality and gender sensitiveness that this journal was adhering to as copies of this journal are difficult to come by. There was only one single issue (the second issue, 1952) in the National Archives which is co-edited by Mrs M. Mangalaammal and Miss. M. Puvanesvarithevy. There are indications that the authors were influenced by the first wave of feminism in India and by the Indian nationalist movement. There are clearly inherent contradictions in the views expressed in this issue. Chaste women, worshipping the husbands are explained rationally and very radical views of the revolutionary poet Subramaniya Bharatiar are also forcefully expressed with clarity of thought (p 21 and-15). Femininity with its subservience and service attitudes and compassion and the great qualities of chastity are praised both in the editorial and other articles and the authors want the other women to draw from the principle of shakthi (p 16, 31). The article on Pennulakam (A Woman's world) is very typical of these contradictions. It advocates education

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 109
for women, praises the ancient Tamil women whose primary virtue was chastity, condemns those women, who demand equality like the women of the external world (meaning the Western world). The author urges that the greatest service is service to Siva and admonishes women for demanding equality of rights.
Subaltern Constructions
The discussions so far, concentrating on the mainstream construction of gender of the hegemonic bloc has not taken note of the subaltern construction. The hegemonic elite consisted of the two like minded groups with consciousness of two types. The first being the local indigenous consciousness grown on the native land. And the second being the one which was influenced by the imperialists and foreign modes of thought. Interestingly they both point to an inward looking conservatism. Both these groups were looked upon as cultured groups who knew the cultural heritage based on classics and the religious mores and values of the so called “Great tradition”. Below them there were people of the low caste and low class. It is generally assumed that these people also had a folk wisdom that they acquired out of empiricism and experience. This stock of knowledge, it must be emphasised also contributes immensely to the reconstruction process of the gendered society. However, it is a matter of doubt, whether all the proverbs in use are creations of the subaltern groups. It could very well be possible that others also used this form of expression. In those instances the language and the idioms used become the tools for identifying them as whose creations they are.
My analysis of the above however is limited to proverbs alone'. I have not included folk stories and folk songs

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Random observations of behavioural norms of the subaltern groups, however, reveah a sense of gender equality, where the codes of submissiveness, passivity and seclusion are dispensed with in the social arrangement. And their social freedom is not limited by either written or unwritten gender conventions. Proverbial wisdom however, seems to suggest just the contrary. The male bias and the sex stereotypical constructions that are found are not merely exceptions.
That women are vain about their looks and are unduly preoccupied with their mode of dress is emphasised in a proverb which says “Iraval pudavaiyil nalla oru koiyakamam”. With a borrowed saree she has made a beautiful koiyakam. The koiyakam is the pleated end of the saree that is tucked up at the waist behind. This mode of draping the saree was fashionable in olden days. That this proverb is related as a quotation from someone is suggested by the expression "it seems'. This adds to the satirical note.
“Urukul natakum visayam yarruku terium? Ulle irukum kumariku terium". Who will know what is happening in the village? The young maiden inside the house knows them all.
"Pen vala pen porukamattal". (Usually) A woman is jealous of another woman who is happily married.
Penkalkudinal sandaikal peritidum. Where women gather, there fights will be multiplied.
That women are by nature prone to gossip, that they are inquisitive, jealous and quarrelsome is the constructed wisdom of these three proverbs.
The secondary status of the women who are generally considered a burden is brought out in the proverb which concludes that to be born a woman is sinful. So it is to be

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna
born with woman. "Pennapirapatum pavam, penodukudi pirapatum pavam”.
A woman's silence and quiet mannerisms are argued for in the following proverb with a warning. "A tobbaco leaf is lost when it is opened". (Has no value if the aroma is lost in the process) So is the woman who laughs.
On gender discrimination as part of an observed social reality, a proverb says that a son's child is carried and a daughter's child is walked.
"An unmarried woman (virgin is the word used here) is like a fire' is a proverb, which subtly and metaphorically speaks of the sexual vulnerability of a woman and the need to get her married. The saying "Vala kumar mula neruppu" (a virgin who is not living with her husband is (like) fire that is not glowing) also implicitly argues that her passion also has self destructive properties (by implying the possibility of going astray or wrong). It also says that her sexuality may give an appearance of being contained but in reality it is not so. Hence the metaphor of the fire not glowing. This kind of proverbial knowledge is used to limit and at times curtail the freedom of movement of young girls and even to get them married young and to force marriage on girls against their will.
It is of interest to know the meaning a simple word val (to live) has acquired. The word has acquired a gendered social dimension far removed from the original meaning the root connoted. In the two proverbs the word is used to mean to live with the husband or in the state of being married. Hence if the word is used with a male it simply means to live, if used with the feminine gender it means to live with a husband. The patriarchal construction implies a meaning that life for a woman is meaningless if not lived with the husband. From this process of gendered

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signification, the word vaalaveddi has been derived for a widow. This word has derogatory and inauspicious connotations. Translated literally it means one who leads an empty and a meaningless life (by the husband's death).
It appears that a barren woman and a divorcee are viewed derogatorily. These women are stigmatised by society both at the hegemonic level and at the subaltern level.
The proverb warms us that “Enapen iruvar kudinal kaya varahu, nira pohum.” If two barren women get together the rice which is kept in the sun will turn to chaff.
“Setauan Pendilai Katimalum Vittauan Pendilai Katakutatu?
Marry, you may a woman whose husband is dead (widow) but not a woman who is separated from her husband. The proverb argues rather eloquently that a woman deserted by a man has been found unfit for marital relationship by him, hence no other man should marry her. That the onus and responsibility of the unsuccessful marital relationship is totally due to a woman's lapse is implied.
The above proverbs, though a few, have demonstrated a striking resemblance in their meanings and expressions to the hegemonic construction of the dominant groups. The subaltern gender images speak the same ethos of the status maintenance group. One would perhaps wonder what is at stake for the subaltern group also to speak in similar language and express similar meanings to those of the status maintenance groups. This is a case of further evidence to show that gender discrimination cuts across class and caste. The males who probably authored these proverbs have probably done so at two levels - they could

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 113
very well have been the observers of the social gender phenomenon which is discriminatory and exploitative at all levels. They could also have been males who could gain by being dominant over another group - i.e. the females. On another level which is equally significant, these sayings testify to the process of the hegemonic values being copied by the lesser social groups as a process of sanskritisation. It could very well be also due to the consent given by the subaltern social groups to the moral and intellectual leadership of the historical bloc, in Gramsci’s parlance (1971:61). The moral and intellectual leaders in any society were/are anyway a male biased group. The hegemonic bloc it appears has got the consent of the dominated group - the consent to build a particular social order for the dominated by their organisational role in society - the proverbs are indeed an expression of their consent to the moral and the intellectual reforms effected through a "pedagogic process" (1971:350).
This paper has made an attempt to pick out a few thematic observations mainly from the newspapers and oral tradition as part of the subaltern consciousness to show the construction of gender. There are indeed patterns of a gender hierarchy and patterns of a patriarchal culture with an ambivalence. The content analysis has brought to light various shades of the same ideology and a counter ideology as well. The reception of western liberal ideology through the channels of English education, the acceptance of Victorian morality, and the way the Jaffna society produced its cultural representations are clearly indicators of the structures of power relations, the imperialists versus the natives. The Brahmanical Hinduistic penetration and looking up to India for examples, on the other hand, are the productions of a counter ideology which tried hard to

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imitate a system which appeared akin to the indigenous system through the linguistic link. This was a pseudo nationalistic reaction. This was neither the part of the Youth Congress ideology nor the Arumuga Navalar' activities for reassertion of culture as far as the gender relations are concerned. The system maintaining school of thought essentially had a social conservatism which incorporated into its agenda motifs of a narrow inward looking nationalism and hierarchies of caste class and gender, while cooperating with the imperialists on the agenda of system maintenance, the disintegration of which they thought, would jeopardise their socio-economic status. The repressive ideology has also found its way into the subalterns patterns of construction.
An equally significant phenomenon both politically and culturally is that the demand for equality for women has always been a part of the radical and progressive agenda, but the implementation of it - unlike the demand for class and caste equality - has always been left to the women themselves to strive for and achieve.

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 5
Notes I would like to thank two people, Maeve Bhavan and the late
Orator Subramaniam, the former for useful comments and suggestions from which I benefitted and the latter for answering my queries about the activities and publications of the Youth Congress. Since it was his wish that I should direct my attention to the unresearched Jaffna women, a task now partially fulfilled, I dedicate this paper to his memory.
1.
Dharma Shastra, Manu Dharma Shastras The classical socio-legal code books in Sanskrit authored by the Brahmins, of which the Manu Dharma Shastra is the most quoted as the legal and religious authority for the injunctions on the social and the familial behaviour of women. Youth Congress The Youth Congress, originally called the Students Congress was founded by some radical youths in Jaffna in 1920s. Influenced by the liberal western ideas and by the nationalist movement across India their first target of attack was imperialism. However, the inegalitarian and the hierarchical socio-economic structures based on caste, age and class soon became subjects for critical analysis. The ideology and activities of the youth congress were to have a great impact on politics of Jaffna and the youth congress was the beginnings of left politics in Jaffna. I had the opportunity of meeting Orator Subramaniam in Colombo, in early February. He was able to answer all the questions that I asked him and was particularly happy that I had embarked on this project.
Kaliyuga According to the Hindu Puranna there are four ages (yuga), and Kali yuga is the last in which there is general deterioration. Mr. Natesan was the principal of Parameshwara College, and is the Son-in-law of Sir P. Ramanathan. He was one of those who was keen on maintaining the Hindu way of life in Jaffna and was an active supporter of the cultural revival and worked against the Christianisation of Jaffna.

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6. Rev. John Bicknell was the principal of Jaffna college founded by the American missionaries. He was a man known for his liberality of thought and many past pupils of Jaffna College lay special emphasis on the kind of freedom they enjoyed in the school by way of speech, thought and action. Perhaps Mr. Natesan was here critical of Rev Bicknell for letting his girl students wear western dresses.
7. Avvaiyar, Karaikal Ammayar
Avvaiyar was a female poet of the Sankam period. She was credited with poems of exceptionally high standards. She was also revered and respected for her wit and wisdom with which she rebuked kings and poets alike with ease and charm.
Karaikal Ammayar Karaikal Ammayar was a female poet saint of the Pallava period. Her real name was Punitavaty, as was the custom those days her place name Karaikal was added to her acquired name Ammayar which means mother (ammai) with the honorific suffix "ar" added to it. She was credited with three sets of long hymns in praise of lord Siva. Both these women are considered to be exceptionally talented as poets. 8. Puranas and epics are religious texts in Sanskrit dealing with the myths of gods and goddesses and sages and humans with godly qualities. Later they were either adapted or translated into the regional languages in India. Savitri, Sita and Shakuntala were virtuous wives of men. Their primary virtue was chastity, while untold sufferings at the hands of their husbands and destiny were supposed to have enhanced their womanly virtues as qualities of obedience and conjugal fidelity. 9. The quotations given here are not found in the Bible in this order. Nor are they a true rendering. They are perhaps reproduced from a Tamil translation of the Bible. 10. Tirukural is a Tamil text of the post Sankam period. The couplets are noted for their brevity and clarity of expression and thought, usually hailed as a text of great wisdom and quoted for any type of discourse.

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 17
ll.
12.
13.
14。
15.
Stridhanam is a Sanskrit word, the meaning of which is women's wealth. Tali is a ritual ornament, a symbol of marriage for women. Tali is usually mistaken for the chain by many non-Tamils in Sri Lanka. The chain on which the Tali is hung is called the Tali kodi.
Silapatikaram This is a famous Tamil epic which immortalised the concept of chastity through its heroine Kannaki. Pattini the Sanskrit word for a chaste wife was conferred on her. This was later to develop into a cult which was brought to Sri Lanka as the cult of Pattini deiyo. In contemporary Sri Lanka she is a common deity both for the Tamils and Sinhalese connoting two ideals, those of justice and chastity. The proverbs are selected from the popular proverbs used in Jaffna from the collection of M. Ramalingam's book titled (trans) The Proverbs of Jaffna in Conversational Usages (see primary sources).
Navalar Arumuga Navalar popularly known as Navalar (one who has a powerful tongue) is credited with having played a major role in the Hindu revival movement, which was intended to stall the spread of Christianity in Jaffna. He was also responsible for building up a tradition of Tamil prose. He is viewed as a Tamil nationalist who revived both saivism and Tamil and prevented these from being dominated by Christian and western values. The fact that he was from the high vellala caste and his conscious projection of his caste-belonging inevitably had led to a vellala saiva hegemony in the social formation of Jaffna during the colonial period.

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References Gramsci A. 1971. Selections From the Prison Note Books trans. Quentin Hoare & Geoffrey Smith. Lawrence and Wishart, London. Jane Russell, 1982. Communal Politics under the Donoughmore Constitution 1934-1947. Tisara Prakasakayo. Ltd., Dehiwela, Sri Lanka Kadirgamar.S, 1980. Handy Perinbanayagam, A Memorial Volume, The Jaffna Youth Congress and Selections from his Writings and Speeches, Sri Lanka, Jaffna. Perinbanayagam.R.S, 1982. The Karmic Theater, Self, Society,
and Astrology in Jaffna Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann, 1966. The Social Construction of Reality, A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge, New York: Doubleday 1966. Ramanathan.P, 1934. Memorandum on the Donoughmore
Constitution. London. Sivathamby. K, 1993 Yalpana Samukathai Vilankikollal, Atan Uruvakkam, Iyalpu, Acaiviyakkam Pattiya Oru Piraramba Usaval. Trans: Towards Understanding the Jaffna society, A Preliminary Inquiry into its Formation, Innate Tendencies and its Dynamics Tambiah, H.W. N.d The Laws and Customs of the Tamils of Jaffna, The Times of Ceylon. Tambiah, S.J. 1973. Dowry, Bridewealth and the property Rights of Women in South Asia. In Jack Goody and S.J.Tambiah, Bridewealth and Dowry. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Thiruchandran, Selvy 1991. Subordination with a Difference, The Concept of Matriliny within a Patriarchal Structure in Thatched Patio Vol 6 Nov./Dec, International Centre for Ethnic Studies Publication, Colombo. Thiruchandran, Selvy 1993. The ideological Factor in the Subordination of Women, A comparative Analysis of Tamil Women of Madras Across Caste and Class. Unpublished Phd. Thesis Vrije University, Amsterdam.

The Construction of Gender in the Social Formation of Jaffna 119
Primary Sources Hindu Organ Jaffna Illankai Nesan Jaffna Catholic Guardian Native Opinion The Ceylon Free Press The Intellectual Preceptor The Native Opinion The Morning Star The Thamil Makal Kavichuvadu Kayamai Mayakkam Yalpana Pechu Vallaku Palamoli by M. Ramalingam

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Devadasi/Tevaratiyar Illara dharma
Kamikayar Kammaki
Kula makal/Kutumpatupem Nitya sumankali Parattai (yar)
Pillaiyar
Sankam
Sитатgali
Tevaratiyal/Tevaratiyar
Varaivin makalir
Vlai makal/Vila matu Vira Saivisim
Glossary Women attached to temple services A code of ethics for household practices
Accomplished courtesans The chaste wife of the hero in the epic Silapatikaram who was celebrated later as the Goddess of chastity (Pattini teivam) Woman who belongs to the family Perpetually auspicious
Prostitute (s)
Siva’s Son Association or assembly of poets An auspicious woman, usually married Woman/women dedicated to the temple, literally means the servants/ slaves of gods Women who have transgressed the limits
Woman for a price Cult of Hinduism based on heroism

Chapter 5
The Social Implications of Tesawalamai and their Relevance to the Status of
Women in Jaffna
BE to the same ethnic group has not by itself contributed to the same experiences for people. Apart from the caste, class and ethnic belonging which have differential impact, the sub-cultural system which they embrace has also led to peculiar experiences specific to the sub-cultural system to which they belong.
This paper makes an attempt to argue that the Tamils governed by Tesawalamai in Sri Lanka are more likely to be within the Sramana tradition and the society reflected in the Tesawalamai is an indicator to this proposition. The Sramana tradition as argued by Romila Thapar (1985) is the other of the Brahmanical tradition. The Brahmanical tradition based on the Vedic texts and the Dharmashastra was determined by the hegemony of the priestly caste. This tradition patronaged by the royalty was all along antagonistic to the Sramana tradition. By the Sramana tradition is meant the bhakti cult and the major part of "the

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little tradition". In fact the Bhakti cult and the Tantric cult as part of the Sramana tradition were protest movements.
This paper is structured in the following order. The major facets of the socio-religious conditions in Jaffna are identified first. They are then related to the code of Tesawalamai in general to show linkages. The argument concentrates on the status of women using these as example.
The Tamils in Sri Lanka fall into three distinct groups. The Tamils who are citizens of Sri Lanka from the earliest times of its history are found in scattered settlements all over the Island and have their traditional homeland in the northern and eastern provinces and are called the Jaffna Tamils and Batticaloa Tamils respectively. The Tamils in the plantation areas in the central highlands brought by the British from South India as indentured labourers to work in the coffee and tea estates are called "Indian Tamils". The Tamils in the eastern province are mostly matrilineal and practise Dravidian folk religion and claim origin from Kerala in South India (Obeysekera 1987). The Tamils from the northern part, from Jaffna, are mostly Hindus with a patriarchal ideology. About their origins, the popular theory is that they have come from the present state of Tamil Nadu, though some scholars trace them to Kerala. (Tambiah H.W. n.d.) I tend to agree with the latter view. Matrilineal inheritance patterns in the Jaffna province and some of the social practices and the legal code called Tesawalamai have led Tambiah (H.W.) to conclude that the Tamils of Jaffna province have migrated from the Kerala district in South India. The social habits, the marriage rites of the olden days and the culinary art of Jaffna have much in common with the Keralities than with the South Indian Tamils.

The Social Implications of Tesawalamai 123
The Sri Lankan Tamils are by and large Hindus. A variety of cults, beliefs and practices and philosophies are culled under one flag and called Hinduism. The belief systems and philosophy and even the day-to-day religious practices of the so-called Hindus differ from one another according to the subculture they belong to. There are many religions within Hinduism. The concept of Hinduism is an invention of the orientalist scholarship to differentiate it from Christianity and Islam (Tapar. 1985), to distinguish the indigenous from the alien.
In the Jaffna province however, the various schools of Hinduism are not fully represented, (Vedanta, Lingayat, Sahaktas, Vira Saivism etc). Almost all those who call themselves Hindus in Jaffna call themselves Saivites. There are a few Vaishnava temples to which the Saivities go to pray and offer prayers. The philosophy behind the religion is Saiva Sidhanta. The textual religion is Saiva Sidhanta. The textual religion, the Saiva Sidhanta philosophy and the puranas (in Tamil) and the devotional bhakti songs and the understanding of the philosophical concepts like self, maya and the other worldly life are matters for the literati and the adherents of the great tradition (Mckim Marriot, 1995). The lettered high caste and class who indulge in this theology of Saivaism are worshippers of the Siva clan. (Siva, Siva's consort Parvati; Siva's sons, Pillaiyar and Murugan). In these temples Pujas are performed in Sanskrit and the rituals are generally sanskritised. The folk tradition consists of fertility cults, Mother Goddess and the Pattini cult. Within the opposites of Vedic non Vedic, Brahmana/ Sramana the agama tradition is non-Vedic and teaches a different orientation connected to temple worship emphasising devotion or bhakti in its highest form. Central to the Vedic ritual is the homam (the sacred fire). It is

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important to know this difference. The philosophy that has been introduced into Jaffna was based on the non-Vedic, agamic tradition, which is different from the Brahmanical Hindu philosophy. This was an important factor in that it also determined a different value system for the people of Jaffna. The diksha - the initiation of the saivites by which three distinct bars of holy ash is worn upon sixteen different parts of the body is allowed to all Saivites irrespective of caste and gender. This is anti-Brahmanical and falls within the Sramana tradition.
Another important factor which needs to be emphasised in this context is that unlike Christianity or Buddhism, Hinduism does not have an ordained clergy or an institutional order to propagate or preach the dogmas of religion. The system of mutts that operated in India where the religious saints presided did not have its parallels in Jaffna. This was further accentuated by the fact that the brahmins unlike in India were/are not a powerful group who were/are the pace setters of the society. Their duties in Jaffna are/were confined to the temples alone and did not extend to the socio-political realm as they did in India. The cultural revival that was spearheaded by Navalar also had its impact in diminishing Sanskritised rituals that had crept into the religion. Navalar preached against the Vedic brahmins conducting pujas in saiva temples. He refused to accept holy ash from brahmins and advised the public not to invite the brahmins to perform ceremonies at home. The brahmins unable to survive without the support of the community started doing pujas according to the rules prescribed in the Sivaagamas (Sathasivam 1979). In the caste-based hierarchically organised society the brahmins had a ritual status and vellalars (farmers and professionals), had the socio-political status which is valued higher.

The Social Implications of Tesawalamai 125
Some of the more overt forms of oppression which affected Hindu women of India including those who live in Tamil Nadu did not penetrate into Jaffna: extreme forms of widow seclusion, prohibition of widow marriages, sati (burning of widows in the funeral pyre of the husbands), female infanticide may be mentioned. Closely connected with Brahmanical Hinduism over centuries these practices had at times an invisible and subtle sanction and at times more open legitimisation from the Brahmanical texts, (the law books and puranas) the authors of which were brahmins. The extreme obsession with the concepts of chastity and virginity have manifested in this kind of cruel practices. There are inumerable stories in the puranas and ithihasas' to illustrate the virtues of the noble chastity of women.
By a stroke of accident in history these overt forms of oppression did not affect the women of Jaffna - the geographical isolation of Jaffna from South India by sea was a factor which prevented the inflow of these values on women. Due to this reason - the geographical isolation from the mainland, -Jaffna developed a distinct culture of its own with a variant dialect (Indrapala, 1968), a variant socio-economic structure and legal systems (Tambiah, S.J.). The absence of Brahmanical Hinduism in Jaffna is the most important factor in this whole process.
The religious aspect is emphasised for the following reasons. Religion as understood by many as the polar opposite of secular is an error as far as Hinduism is concerned. In Hindu India it is a whole way of life, a complex intermix of what is generally termed secular. Ramayana and Mahabaratha are merely part of the literary production of a historical period but were later elevated to a religious status and in fact its recitation formed a part of the religious ritual in later times. The hymns, thevarams as

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they are called of the bhakti cult sung with devotion to a personal deity form part of the literary tradition in Tamil and are taught in class rooms as Tamil literature. Painting and sculptures usually depict a religious theme. Politics and social movements have always a religious content (Thapar 1985). Dharma as it is called with a religious meaning transcends religious boundaries. The meaning of dharma extends to concepts like one's duty in secular life as well. It is the dharma of the burglar to rob. A wife is a sahadharmini (partner in the path of dharma) and a dharma pattini (one whose dharma is chastity). Many an injunction on women were effected with much ease in the name of religion. Religion was used to legitimise and rationalise them by laying claims to old tradition and culture when there were revivals. Women who lost their husbands had to be ritually pronounced a widow by shaving their heads, breaking their bangles and taking off the pottu in the presence of Hindu priests. The exclusion of the women from the sacred rites and ceremonies and the knowledge of the vedas, women being treated as lesser mortals on par with the sutras is even now legitimised by Sankarachariyar in India. But the nonVedic agamic Hinduism does not exclude women from the initiation called the diksha.
When one looks at this phenomenon very carefully and compares it with the pattern of life in Jaffna one would notice that this streak of extreme religiousness, an obsession with the religion or an attempt to "secularise religion" (Thiruchandran, 1984) is absent.
This factor can be further validated when one analyses the contents of the political movements that originated in Jaffna. The Youth Congress was secular in its character with no claims either to Hindu or Christian sentiments. Even the Federal Party with their defensive chauvinism did not claim

The Social Implications of Tesawalamai 127
a place for Hinduism. The Tamil militants with their demand for a separate state and traditional homelands did not talk of a Hindu identity. Hindu fundamentalism was never a problem in Jaffna. They had no conceptions of a classical Hindu golden age (Pathmanathan, 1986). This aspect could be validated more when one realises how women were not brought into the religious sphere. Religion remained outside the purview of the socio-political and socio-economic realms historically and remains so at present. The Brahmanical scale of values have the least influence on the women of Jaffna. One should recall at this juncture how Mahatma Gandhi in the phase of Indian nationalism projected Sita of the Ramayana, the long suffering submissive women as the model for the Indian womanhood.
Tesawalamai as the Codification of the Socio Religious Practices
The customary laws of the Tamils in Jaffna are called Tesawalamai. It literally means "the customs of the land". It is a collection of the customs of the inhabitants of Jaffna pertaining to inheritance, property rights, dowry, adoption laws, laws on slavery and divorce. It was codified by the Dutch Governors in 1906, approved by the local chieftains, later adopted by the British and remains the operational law till now. It is generally accepted that Tesawalamai protects the rights of women and indeed may contribute to the better status of women in Jaffna (Tambiah S.J. 1973) (Perinbanayagam, 1982). A discussion of Tesawalamai with its clear matrilineal character would further illustrate the degree of the deference in the subordination of women in Jaffna. Some parts of Tesawalamai show very clear trends of a matrilineal system favourable to women. An ambivalence

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towards the patriarchal blend is also visible. Tesawalamai insists on the attainment of the age of maturity for marriage for both men and women. This clearly shows that child marriages were not encouraged. According to the Manu Dharmashastra the parents are guilty of a heinous sin if the daughters are not married before puberty. In the olden days, as testified to by the Tesawalamai, there were no elaborate marriage rites and ceremonies. The central rite was the tying of the tali followed by a simple ceremony performed by the elders with a Pillaiyar Puja. The present elaborate ceremonies with the Sanskritic mantras with homam is a recent innovation. The homam ceremony, the rites accompanied by the recital of the rites connected with the gift of the virgin (kanya tanam), the six kinds of gifts and the elaborate rites accompanied by the recital of Sanskrit verses, called slokas are superimposed Aryan rites on the simple nuptial ceremony known to the Tamils (H.W.Tambiah, n.d.)
Many of these rites performed at the weddings of the high caste velarlars were probably brought into Jaffna by the later stream of migration of Tamils from South India. However, the introduction of the Brahmanical marriage rites which were legitimised by the Dharmasastras and the brahmin priests did not succeed in creating an ideology of a devalued women. The mantras are in Sanskrit, an alien language beyond the comprehension of the bride and groom and the congregation. It signified only a process of imitation for the glamour alone and not for the meaning. It became a symbol of high caste social behaviour without the entire ideology behind it being absorbed. Neither did it create role models based on the same value system.
The customs of stepping on the grinding stone as part of the marriage rite which is performed in Hindu marriage

The Social Implications of Tesawalamai 129
is an example of this. This rite represents the fallen status of a woman who was turned into a stone on the grounds of infidelity to her sage husband. This is a puranic myth. However, this phenomenon cannot be generalised as an example of sanskritisation in Jaffna. The Brahmanical lifestyle did not have an appeal to the people of Jaffna. There was no ideological conversion to a Brahmanical value system as far as women were concerned. The elaborate colourful and prolonged ceremonies and rites were enacted like a drama with an audience looking on.
As stated by H.W. Thambiah, the formal type of marriage among the Tamils was simple and devoid of religious rites. The marriage rites among the ancient Tamils varied, but in the main, consisted of the tying of the tali by the bridegroom, and the gift of a cloth to the bride (kurai). The Tesawalamai too recognised these ceremonies as the only important rites. On some marriages, Thambiah adds that Ganesha, the God of Nuptials, is invoked by a simple ceremony performed by the elders. The ceremony consists of the planting of a piece of kusa grass in a ball of cow dung and invoking the blessings of this deity. (Tambiah, H.W., No. 107).
Among the Vellalars, these ceremonies were the only ones observed at one time (see Report of the Commissions Regarding the Marriage Ceremonies). Since these simple ceremonies are very similar to those of the Malabars of the south-west coast of India and since sambantam' is the term used even today to designate the matrimonial alliance in Jaffna, Thambiah H.W. argues that the Jaffna Tamils have more connections with the Malabars of the south Western coast of India. The more elaborate form, of vivaha (See Notes") practised today is a more recent innovation by

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130 The Spectrum of Femininity: A Process of Deconstruction
Brahmanical priest craft and were brought by the later stream of Tamil migration.
That Tesawalamai is a curious co-existence of rites showing tendencies of both matrilineal and patriarchal systems in a society could be explained by the fact that some of the Dharmasastric concepts crept into the Tesawalamai laws before they were codified. The impact of the Roman Dutch Law which is visible could have possibly been assimilated during the process of the codification. Tesawalamai has been modified from time to time, so that today the impact of the English Law is also in evidence (H.W. Thambiah). This infiltration process has had a negative impact on women. A discussion of Tesawalamai as far as how it affects women is essential to exactly determine its progressive trends and the subsequent infiltration of a patriarchal system.
Property Relations
Tesawalamai divides the property into three categories as mutisam, chitanam and tediyatetam. Of this, mutisam is the inherited property of a man from his parents, chitanam is the property of the woman, given by her parents, when she marries as part of her inheritance and tediyatetam is the acquired property of the man and wife in their lifetime. These three types of property remain separate. Chitanam belongs to the wife legally, the mudisam to the husband and the acquired property belongs legally to both husband and wife. The property is divided between the sons and daughters in the following manner: The daughters get the dowry of the mother, and the sons the mutisum of the father. The acquired property is divided equally among the sons and daughters. The daughters get their share when they marry as dowry, whereas the sons inherit their share

The Social Implications of Tesawalamai 131
only at the death of their parents. Women have access to property of any kind, movable and immovable. S.J.Tambiah (1973) argues that Tesawalamai has a much stronger notion of female property rights than is contained in the classical Indian Dharmashastras.
The woman's chitanam reverts, in the event of her dying without issue, to her sisters, sister's daughter and granddaughter, in that order, and does not go to the husband. The wife's chitanam is not liable for her husband's debts. The rents and profits of her property are also not liable for her husband's debts. If the wife dies the wife's father remains in possession of her estate. If the man dies with children the wife takes charge of the whole property and her dowry. The husband manages the property of the wife but cannot take it over, or inherit the property. Hence the property of the husband and wife is kept separate.
Divorce and Remarriage
The Tesawalamai itself provides no ceremonies for a divorce and speaks of a separation of the property when the wife or husband lives apart and contemplates remarrying. (Thes. Code. Part IV. Section I and Part I, Section 10). The recognition of polygamy placed no restraint on husbands getting remarried. Some Christian and Victorian ideas were incorporated when the Tesawalamai was compiled by the Dutch and hence the absence of any provision that a woman divorced by her husband without formality could contract a legal marriage can be explained.
But when she remarried, she had to give up her right to the hereditary property and half the acquired property of her husband in favour of her children. (Thes. Code, Part I, Section 9 and 10).

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When one examines the customary Laws of the Tamils of Jaffna, one is forced to the conclusion that in Tamil society a divorced woman was not prevented from marrying a second time. The Tesawalamai permits the remarriage of widows. These factors, it has to be emphasised, are violations of the Dharmashastric principles which categorically forbid widow remarriage and divorce. However widow remarriage and divorce, were/are notably prevalent among the non-Brahmanical low castes. Despite customary and the legal requirements being lifted in India by law, women are still unwilling to remarry due to the social stigma attached to such practices.
When widows remarry the daughters by both marriages get her property. When a widower remarries he must ensure that the wife's dowry, and fifty per cent of the acquired property (till then), should go as dowry to the daughters. It would then mean that, when the wife wants a divorce from her husband she gets her dowry back, and half of the acquired property.
It would be interesting to note that when these customs were codified, women were not gainfully employed. Hence her entitlement to the fifty per cent of the acquired property is for the services rendered as a housewife and mother and to the general upkeep of the family which she maintains (wages for household labour!!).
The chitanam or dowry is divided into three parts, cash, jewellery, land or house. While the movable property can be mortgaged or sold by the wife, the immovable property can be sold, mortgaged only with the consent of the husband. This could be an infringement on her property rights, considering the fact that the husband can sell his mutusam and the tediyatetam which he has earned, without the consent of the wife. It was probably believed that women

The Social Implications of Tesawalamai 133
who are not world-wise need to be checked and authorised before they undertake major transactions. Disposing of land or house by women was brought under patriarchal control. "A married woman governed by Tesawalamai is not a femme sole. She is subjected to the marital power of the husband". The right of the husband to give his consent to the alienation or mortgage of his wife's separate immovable property is an incidence of his marital power” (Sri Ramanathan: 1972).This concept is alien to Tesawalamai (more on this later).
More importantly the unique advantage of Tesawalamai for women is in the situation of divorce or separation. The Tamil women governed by Tesawalamai in the event of a divorce or separation from their husbands get their entire dowry and half the acquired property of the husband. "If the husband squanders the dowry and the dowry is diminished during marriage the same must be made good from the acquired property (tediyatetam) of the husband (Tambiah; H.W. 1965). The right of the women to their chitanam and tediyatetam has reduced to a great extent their dependency status on others and this in fact accounts for the status of the single women in the community.
The idea of having a separate property and having exclusive rights on their property have also other results for the women. Women as wives live on their property with their husbands. This frees them from in-law intervention. The oppressive dominating mother-in-law syndrome which is found in the Indian scenario is not a problem for the Jaffna wives. The conflicts they have with their mother-inlaw are conflicts in terms of generation gap. But there is no domination by the mothers-in-law. The dowry as spelled out in Tesawalamai has a strong similarity to the Malabar system and has very little in common to the stridhand known to

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134 The Spectrum of Femininity: A Process of Deconstruction
Dharmasastras. Tesawalamai recognised the right of women to her own property - towards the upkeep of the property whereas the notion of female property right is alien to the Dharmasastras.
Thus the Tamil customary law recognised the economic independence of women. Her dowry property, gifts received by her and property inherited by her were her separate property. In this respect the customary laws of the Tamils are superior to some of the texts of the Dharmasastras which were reluctant to recognise the separate property of the wife.
There are other significant differences between the Dharmasastras and Thesawalamai codes:
The adoption of a son by a son-less couple among Brahmanically influenced Indians is done in order to provide a son to perform the funeral rites. But under Tesawalamai, both women and men are given the right to adopt only to provide an heir (Tambiah, H.W. n.d.); barenness or absence of a son are not grounds for divorce. Sons and daughters are treated alike in terms of love and child care needs; girls are not devalued in day to day living (Thiruchandran, 1984). Selective abortion and sex selection by amniocentesis in India are symptomatic of the residual ideology of infanticide. The recent phenomenon of dowry deaths and the revival of "sati" are a sad twist of a religious identity crises and an oppressive dowry system to suit the demands of consumer capitalism. A testing of this phenomenon by an analysis of the situation against the socio-economic totality should finally lead to the concept of a devalued woman. This phenomenon is not overtly expressed in the socio-religious patterns of existence of Jaffna.

The Social Implications of Tesawalamai 135
Apart from these legal concepts and the ideology behind them which has successfully contributed to diminishing the sufferings of the female, there are a few social structural elements which helped this process. Certain "uniquely Dravidian institutional features" (Obeysekere 1987) have also left an ideology behind them which help to treat women better even to the present day. They help to adjust her social roles. Cross-cousin marriage which was the norm in olden days took away much of the alienation, tension and feelings of strangeness of the women when she entered the folds of the newly acquired relationship - husband, father-in-law, mother-in-law, sisterin-law and brother-in-law. In a cross-cousin marriage the husband is known to her from her infancy and the husband's parents were her aunt and uncle who have now acquired the new kinship label of mother-in-law and fatherin-law. She has moved with them from infancy and she is aware of and used to their temperament.
The system of child marriages by which little girls are burdened with the heavy responsibility of married life, a Brahmanical custom, is totally absent in Jaffna.
1. Caste pollution - if left too long unwed girls would
choose their mates outside their caste.
2. An obsession with the cult of virginity - if left too long unwed she may lose it - are two reasons one could attribute to the pre-puberty marriages among Brahmins, which custom has spread to the nonBrahmin -castes as well).
However, cross-cousin marriages and the matrilocal residence are not the universal norm. Changing socioeconomic conditions and urbanisation have taken women

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136 The Spectrum of Femininity: A Process of Deconstruction
away from their parental homes to places where their husbands work. Marriages are increasingly contracted outside the kinship circle. This does not in any way change their status - the daughters are not virtually given away for ever, they maintain very close and have an emotive relationship with their parents and brothers, whose help, advice and affection are a continuous source of strength for the women.
Alien Concepts and What they Signify for the Culture of Jaffna
It is ironical that in a few instances the Victorian ideology of the west was in contradiction with the more egalitarian structures of the colonies as far as women's rights were considered. Matrilineal succession, women's individual right to property, existence of polyandry, and loose marriage ties where divorce was easy, were part of the social arrangements in India and Sri Lanka (Obeysekere, 1967). The imposition of the Roman Dutch Law by the British between the period 1803-1833 altered the more egalitarian structure in three major areas. As pointed by Obeysekere, they are:
1. The notion of communal property was introduced at marriage, which did away with the customary notion of as separate estate of woman and has given way to man's control of wife's property. Thus men became the legal custodians of their wives' property. 2. Alteration of the strictly bilateral rules of
inheritance. 3. Change in the texture of the more liberal divorce laws of the Sinhalese and introduction of the patriarchal ideology of Roman Dutch Law, which

The Social Implications of Tesawalamai 137
granted divorce only on two grounds - adultery and malicious desertion.
The same kind of anomaly is seen in the Tesawalamai - the traditional customary laws of the Tamils in northern Sri Lanka. That the Tesawalamai did not recognise the principles of a full community of property in 1705 and the fact that subsequently the principle of separate estate was eroded by the husband's power of administration over the community of property was traced to the impact of the Roman Dutch Law (S. Goonesekere, 1980).
The influence of Christianity or rather the influence of an imperialist colonial ideology can be traced in the use of the concept of pagan in Tesawalamai (Tesawalamai Ordinance no.17 and 18). The word pagan has different connotations. It could mean a non-Christian, non-Jew, a heathen - nonbeliever or one who is not enlightened or civilised. These are visions typically Western or are imperialist constructions thrown at the indigenous community to connote meanings of social inferiors. Tesawalamai refers to the property rights of the heirs of pagans married to Christian wives. The tetiyatettam property of pagans and Christian wives cannot be claimed by the heirs if the pagan dies without any issue (for being pagans).
Vellala Sanskritisation
It is a common assumption that Jaffna Tamil Vellalars are more sanskritised than Batticaloa vellalars where the Brahmanical values are less established. (Obeysekere 1987). This is also assumed to be the reason why the Pattini cult prevailed as an independent cult and is wide spread in Batticaloa.

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138 The Spectrum of Femininity: A Process of Deconstruction
According to Obeysekere in the "Sanskirtised North" (north here refers to Jaffna) Brahminical values are firmly established and due to that the Pattini cult is not popular. This by itself cannot be empirically proved. And the conclusion that the east coast female is less frustrated than her northern counterpart due to the Sanskritisation process needs to be re-examined. The Sanskritisation process in the North did not bring about the Brahminical values which particularly affect women. The imitation of the values of the higher caste or the infiltration of hegemonic Brahmanical Hinduism did not happen the way it did in South India where brahmins held superior positions socially, ritually and economically. The religious sphere was their preserve from where all power emanated. The conservatism of the North caused by geographical isolation was of a different kind. The cultural synchronisation was a slow process even during the times of the western colonisation. None of the socioreligious customs or practices mentioned earlier which have their origins in the Sanskrit texts - law books, puranas and Ithihasas - which affected South Indian women through a process of Brahmanisation, penetrated into the North Sri Lanka.
The cult of Pattini was not popular in Jaffna. There are two aspects to it. The textual literature silapatikaram continued to enjoy a prestigious place among the literate Tamils and the vernacular pundits and the other scholars. Through this process the cult of chastity was legitimised both in the "little tradition' and "great tradition' among all sectors of the people across caste, class, urban and rural divides. The reason for the marginalisation of the Pattini cult is different. There were many temples for Pattini such as Kannaki Amman, Madha, Mari Amman, Muthu Mari Amman (Arokiasamy, 1953). During the saivite revival

The Social Implications of Tesawalamai 139
Arumuga Navalar considered the folk religion and its rites as Jaina woman" and at other times as a "demoness". Consequently, Kannaki worship gave way to the worship of either Siva's consort or Saraswati, a Sanskrit goddess of learning and fine arts (Perinbanayagam, 1982). Whether the transformation of Pattini to Saraswati created an ideology which contributed to the high female literacy is to be investigated.
However, on comparative terms, the Eastern woman in Sri Lanka is less Sanskritised than her northern counterpart and the ideology of matriliny has a better social grounding in the eastern province. The high class vellalars have assimilated some aspects of the Brahmanical system like the marriage rites which spell out subservience. But between the actual practice and the ideology there is still a difference. As has been shown by Shanmugalingam (1988) in his study of the Turkkai Amman temple of Tellippalai, the sanskritised rituals have not completely done away with the folk patterns. In this study he has also identified worship patterns which are novel to Jaffna. The offering of gold tali pottu to the goddess, and the sumankali supasinio, the rites performed respectively by unmarried women praying for married life and married women praying for long wedded life are too few to mention. The tallipottu sumankali pucai performed by married and unmarried women praying for married life and for a long wedded life are reminiscences of the Brahmanical nonpus'. This worship in this temple is initiated by the wife of the head Brahmin priest.
The entry of the female into the sacred realm is also an interesting phenomenon in the male-dominated religious rituals which are common to all religions.
The nonpus were performed by the Brahmin women in India for whom divorce and remarriages were religiously

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140 The Spectrum of Femininity: A Process of Deconstruction
and socially instituted taboos. For all intents and purposes their social existence depended on possessing the tali and hence the signification of the tali. This is a clear indication of the penetration of alien Brahmanical rites into traditional worshipping patterns. It is merely a process of imitation and not Sanskritisation by itself imitating a high caste value system to rise in the social ladder. It is important to recognise this difference. The reason for this is not simply to follow Brahmanical patterns but to follow them for other socio-economic reasons caused by duress and StreSS.
Eighty per cent of the devotees are females out of which sixty-five per cent are ummarried girls (Shanmugalingam, 1988). A large number of youths have died in Jaffna in the last decade due to the ongoing war and this has left many women unmarried. This certainly has a connection with the emergence of the tali pottu ritual and the frustration of northern women is not due to Sanskritised Brahmanical values but due to other socio-economic reasons that have caused frustration at different levels. It is at this point that Brahmanical rituals are sought after.
Yet despite the penetration of the Brahmanical rituals, Jaffna remained for the major part within the Sramana tradition. The Tesawalamai code is a clear reflection of this
process.

The Social Implications of Tesawalamai 14
3
Notes Dharmashastras are classical socio-legal code books with a religious sanctity, the most important of them is the Mamudharma shastra Saiva Siddhanta, Saivism, Vaishnavism. The Saiva Siddhanta philosophy was given its final form in the fourteenth century in South India. The philosophy was developed through a series of expositions in the Tamil language, both in prose and verse. Its emphasis is on the primacy of Siva as against Vishnu. However, it cannot be said that Saiva Siddhanta is a complete breakaway from the vedic doctrines. The deviation from the Vedic sources is limited to the flavour it acquired in the process of assimilation of local philosophical views. Puja/Poosai. A manner of worship with specific rituals. Puranas are religious texts dealing with myths of gods and goddesses. Itihasas are epics usually illustrating moral truths through heroes/heroines and others. The most famous are the Ramayana and Mahabharatha. A Pottu is a decorative mark worn by girls and married women on the forehead as a symbol of auspiciousness and removed ritually when one becomes a widow. A Tali is a ritual ornament, a symbol of marriage for women given by the husband as part of the marriage ritual. Sambantam basically means a relationship and does not presuppose an involvement with rituals. This then means that it signifies a social process of bride and groom getting together with the blessings of elders and the society at large. Vivaha, (the Sanskrit term for marriage) is conducted with a series of rituals with the involvement of priests. Cheetanam is a corrupted form of the Sanskrit word 'stridhana the meaning of which is, the property belonging to woman. Pattini literarily means a chaste women. Kannaki of the epic Silapatikaram was celebrated for her chastity by being elevated to the status of a goddess, around which developed in Sri Lanka and India the cult of Pattini.

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10. Sumankali Supasini refers to the auspiciousness of women, on whom the auspiciousness is conferred by the living husbands, giving women the right to wear the symbols of married life, the tali and pottu. The meanings are subsequently extended to include unmarried young women so as to get them the auspiciousness acquired through marriage. Nonpu is the name for this ritual in India where women through the rituals pray for the long life of their husbands. Unmarried women are also coopted into the process of this ritual as a means to getting the same auspiciousness.

The Social Implications of Tesawalamai 143
Agadma
Bhakti Chetamam Dharmasastra, Manu
Dharma
Dikhsa Homan Ithihasas Kannaki
Kayna Danam Mahabharata Murukam Mudisam Mut
Nonpu(s) Pattimi
Pottu
Pillaiyar Puramas
Ramayana
Sankam
Sarasuvati Saiva, Saivism, Siva
Glossary Non Brahminical Religious rites prescribed in specific texts. Devotion Dowry Classical socio-legal code books with a religious sanctity Righteous action, rules, norms and decorum Saiva initiation Sacred fire - as part of Brahmanical rites Epics The chaste wife of the hero in the epic Silapatikaram who was celebrated later as the Goddess of chastity (Pattini teivam) Gift of virgin The great epic Son of Parwaty and Siva, A Hindu deity Inherited property Hindu religious organisation set up
· similar to the Sanga or the church
Monastry
Penance, rituals Chaste woman, refers also to the goddess Pattini (Pattini teivam) A decorative mark worn by girls and married woman on the forehead as a symbol of auspiciousness.
Siva’s Som Religious texts dealing with the myths of gods and goddesses A famous Sanskrit epic Association or assembly of poets Goddess of learning and fine arts Religious sect within Hinduism which gives primacy to god Siva

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Saivite San Korachariyor
Shaktas Sambandam
Sramana Silapatikaram
Sumankali Sumankali Supasini
Tali
Tantric
Tetiyatetam Vedamta
Vedas/Vedic
Vira Saivism Vishnu
Vivaha
Follower of Saivism The hereditary religious head of the Mutt system Saivism in India Those who belong to the Shakti cult Basically means a relationship and does not pre-suppose an involvement with rituals. This then means that it signifies a social process of elders and the society at large blessing the bride. Non-Brahmanical traditions An epic of the post-Sankam period by a Jaina author An auspicious woman, usually married New rites performed by women and girls for long wedded life A ritual ornament, a symbol of marriage for women The cult that celebrates the female energy as the goddess
Acquired property The Hindu philosophy based on the Vedas, also called the Upanishads The earliest religious texts in classical Sanskrit, four in number, called Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveds and Atharvaveda Cult of Hinduism based on heroism The Hindu god of the trinity, who preserves the order The Sanskrit term for marriage is conducted with a series of rituals with the involvement of priests.

Index
Aggression, definition of, 5 Ammayar, Karaikal, 45, 47-51,
55-59, 62, 65, 67-68, 86 life of, 49-51 works, 55-59 Andal, 45-68
See also, Kotai Andal and Karaikal Ammaiyar,
38 Arangetu Katai of Silapatikaram,
23 Archer, John, 5 Arokiasamy, 138 Arranged marriage, 13 Arsha marriage, 12 Asceticism, pattern of, 5-8 Asura marriage, 13 Atputa Tiruvandadi, 5l, 55 Avvaiyan, 45—46, 86
Beranger, 84
Berger, Peter L., 77
Bhagavadgita, 10
Bhakthi cult, 5.
Bhakti,
Andal's experience, 64-68
as symbolic protest, 51-57 social psychological meaning, 46-49 Bharata Natyam, 33 Bharatiar, Subramanya,
103-04, 106-08 Bicknell, 84 Brahma marriage, 12 Brahmanical Hinduism, 4, 6,
13 Buddhism, 6, 13, 48-49, 124
Castes,
hierarchy of, 11-12
marriage arrangements by,
12-14
Ceylon Free Press, 82, 84, 106 Chakravarty, Uma, 45 Chattopadhyaya, Kamaladevi,
103, 106 Chelliah, R.R., 104 Chettiar, Vaidyalingam, 36 Chicherov, A.I., 47 Christianity, 123-24
Daiva marriage, 12

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146 The Spectrum of Femininity: A Process of Deconstruction
Darwin, 90 Devadasis,
decline of system of, 31-33 during Chola period, 24-27 during Pallava Pandya
period, 24 during post Sankam age,
23-24 during Sankam age, 22-23, 28 ideology, 31-38 in historical perspective,
21-40 in Sri Lanka, 33-40 nithiya sumangali concept,
21-22 political culture and, 27-29 protestant ethics and, 38-40 shift from temples to Royal
Court, 29-31 structure and ideology of,
33-38 system, 31-38 Donoughmore Commission,
103 Dowry, 100-02
Elakesari, 103-04
Galton, Francis, 90 Gandarva marriage, 12-13 Gandhi, Mahatma, 127 Gender construction,
in social formation, 77-ll4 Ghosts, imagery of, 57-60 Gohain, G., 68 Goonesekere, S., 137 Gramsci, 113
Great tradition, concepts of, 4
Hajrah Begam, 104 Hindu caste identity, 10-11 Hindu Organ, 82-88, 96, 106 Hindu widows, 14-16 Hinduism, 3-5, 48, 52, 78,
123-27, 138 History of Human Marriage, 14 Hitler, 95
Ibn Batuta, 34 Ilangai Nesan, 36 Il paratai, 24 Illankai Nesan, 86 Illara dharma, 23 Indrapala, 78, 125 Intellectual Preceptor, 98 Isai Gnaniar, 49 Islam, 124 Iyengar, Ragava, 60
Jaffna,
social formation, 77-ll4 status of women in, 121-40 Jaffna Catholic Guardian, 99
100, 106 Jaffna Native Opinion, 82-83,
94-95, 98, 106 Jainism, 6, 13, 48-49
Kadirgamar, S., 103-04 Kailaya Malai, 35-37 Kaimai nonpu customs of, 6 Kamakilati, 24 Kamalam, 37
Kanaki, 36

Index
Kane, P.V., 15
Kanikaiyar, 24
Kankaikonta Colapuram temple,
27
Kavichuvadu, 107
Karve, Irawati, 13
Kayamai Mayakkam, 107
Kersenboom, Story S.C., 21,
25, 29
Kesari, 103-04
Kosambi, D.D., 47
Kotai,
bhakti experience, 64-68 legend and reality, 61-64 rejection of mortal husband,
60-6 Kula Mamka, 23 Kulotunga III, 25
Lal Diddi, 66
Lenin, 104 Little tradition, concept of, 4 Luckmann, Thomas, 77
Mahabharata, 4, 6, 15, 125 Mahadevi akka, 47, 66 Manaiyal, 24 Mangaiyarkarasiyar, 49 Mongalaammal, M., 108 Manu, 10, 15 Manu Dharmashastra, 79, 94-95,
98, 108,128 Marinmuthu, 98 Marriage,
arrangements by caste hierarchy, 12-14 Marriot, Mckin, 4, 123
147
Matavi, 23
Mies, M., 10
Mira, 66
Morning Star, 96-97, 106
Mudaliyar, Kalyayasundaram,
103
Muta Tirupatikam, 55,57,59
Nachchyar Tirumoli, 61, 63, 65 Nagaratnam, 37 Nalayira Thivya Prabhandam, 60 Natesan, S., 84 Navalar, Arumaga, and
protestant ethics, 38-40 Nehru, Indira, 104 Nilakanta, Sastri K.A., 25, 30 Niyoga, system of, 14
Obeysekere, G., 8, 56, 122,
135-38
Paes, Domingo, 29 Paisasa marriage, 13 Palapadam, 39 Paratai, 24 Pathmanathan, 127 Pen Kalvi, 92 Pen Mamam, 92 Pem Mati Mali, 92 Perinbanayagam, R.S., 100,
127, 139 Periyapuranam, 49 Plato, 90 Pollution, 10 Potumakal, 24 Prajapatha marriage, 12 Proudpendir, 24

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Punitavathy, 50 Punitavaty, 49-51,53-56 Purity, 10 Puvanesvarithevy, M., 108
Rakshasa marriage, 13 Ramanathan, P., 93-94, 101,
133 Ramanujam, AK, 59, 67-68 Ramayana, 4, 6, 125, 127 Redfield, Robert, 4 Republic, 90 Roop Kanwar, 16 Russell, Jane, 102
Sanskritisation concept, ll Saravanamuttu, 107 Sathasivam, l24 Sati, system of, 14-16 Seri paratai, 24 Seetanam, 98 Shanmugalingam, 139-40 Singer, Milton, 4 Sivaagamas, 124 Sivalingarajah, S., 38 Sivasamy, V., 34-35 Sivathamby, K., 80 Social formation,
Brahmanical penetration,
94-95 comprehensive theory,
95-97 cultural synchronisation,
92-94 dowry and stridhanam,
100-02 education for women,
86-92 gender construction in,
77-114 ideological content,
97-100, 102-03 of Jaffna, 77-114 strange combinations,
95-97 subaltern constructions,
109-14 thematic observations,
72-114 Youth Congress attitude,
109-4 Sramana tradition, 4-5 Srinivas, l l Srinivasan, A., 28-29, 32 Stridhamam, 98, 100-02 Subramaniam, 8l Suppiah, 36
Tambiah, H.W., 100, 122,
128-30, 133-34 Tambiah, S.J., 12-13, 100, 125,
127, 131 Tamil Tirukural, 95 Tantric cult, 5 Tantrism, 13 Tesawalami,
alien concepts, 136-37 as codification of socio
religious practices, 127-30 divorce and remarriage,
131-36 property relations, 130-31 relevance to women's status
in Jaffna, 121-40

Index
social implications of, 121-40 vellala sanskritisation, 137-40 Tevaratiyar, institutionalisation
of, 25-26 Tamil Makal, 108 Thapar, Romila, 4, 13, 30, 121,
123, 126 Thilagavathy, 49 Thiruchandran, Selvy, 79, 96,
126, 134 Tiru Irratai Manimalai, 55 Τίruραυαι., 61 Tiruvaluvar, 23 Tonsuring of widows, 7
Udaya Tarakai, 96
Vaiyapadal, 35-36 Values, hierarchy of, 11-12 Varathar, 107 Vedakutti, 37 Vellala sanskritisation, 137-40 Vilai Makal, 23 Vlai matu, 24 Violence,
as marker of religious and
ethnic identity, 16 definition, 5 Vishnu Dharmasutra, 15 Vishnuchittar, 60-63
Westermack, 14
149
Widowhood,
as asceticism pattern, 5-8 Buddhism impact on, 6 Hindu caste identity and,
10-11 Hindu widows, l4-15 penance, 6 sati system and, 14-15 scriptural sanctions, 8-10 social practice, 8-10 tonsuring, 7 Wilson, H.H., 15 Wintermitz, 15 Women,
caste and values hierarchy,
11-12 education, 86-92 Hindu caste identity, 10-11 marriage, 12-14 revolt, 45-68 saints of Tamil region, 45-68 sati system, 14-15 scriptural sanctions, 8-10 social practice and, 8-10 status in Jaffna, 121-40 violent gender pattern,
10-11 wealth, 100-02 widowhood, see, Widowhood
Yalpana Vaipa Kaumudi, 38 Youth Congress, Jaffna, 80-81,
102-09

Page 83

SELVY THIRUCHANDRAN is presently the Executive Director of the Woleil's
Education and Research Centre (WERC), Colombo. She is the Editor of Nivedini, (English and Tamil editions) a feminis Ljournal published bi-annually by heIt organisation. Irriages, a collection of research papers of the multi-lingual media-monitoring project conducted by WERC was edited by her,
Dr. Thiruchandran, holds a B.A. Degree froIIn the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka and Cobained hier Masters and het Ph.D in the Netherlands. She pursued her doctoral studies at the prestigious Wrije University of Amsterdam.
ISBN 81-2.59-5)7-3

Page 84
Another book by Selv
IDEOLOGY, CASTE. C.
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