If Sita was Malayali

A Kerala researcher’s translation of Ramayana introduces you to the many oral versions of the epic that originated in Wayanad, and thrive in the tribal and Dalit communities of the region

The Ramayana is a gift that keeps giving. For an epic that many believe was first composed in 8,78,000 BCE, it continues to grow, evolve and thrive in its multitudinousness. Azeez Tharuvana, who grew up in Tharuvana, in the Wayanad district of Kerala, has lived with these stories since childhood. The forests, hills and temples in this town are repositories of many myths and legends, he says. “[As a child] I remember enjoying the view of Banasura hills from the backyard of my home. Growing up, we heard so many stories about it, which left me  astonished,” he recalls of the lofty mountain—one of the tallest in the Western Ghats—named after a legendary king with thousand arms, who was the son of the great asura king Mahabali. It’s also why he decided to study the folk versions of epic stories in Wayanad, when pursuing a PhD.

The problem was that none of these stories had been documented in written form before. That he was a Muslim researching Hindu mythology made the task doubly challenging. “There were many limitations [when it came] to accessing temples for research purposes,” he tells mid-day in an email interview. But, Tharuvana remained persistent, spending the next four-and-a-half years interacting with local tribes, documenting the oral retellings of the Ramayana. His PhD, Wayanadan Ramayanam, went on to win three awards, including the Ambedkar National Excellency Award in 2014.

Jadayattakavu near Pulpally is famous, as the Hindus and the Adivasis in Wayanad both believe that this is the place where Sitadevi disappeared into the earth. Pics courtesy/Azeez Tharuvana

This research is now being resurrected in a just released title, Living Ramayanas (Eka, Westland), translated by Obed Ebenezer S. The Ramayana had a rich oral tradition, long before Valmiki wrote it down, says Tharuvana. “These stories were earlier collected by sages, and all these [accounts] were entirely different from each other. It is impossible to count the number of existing oral Ramayanas,” he admits. Unlike written texts, which are solid and unalterable, oral narratives are free flowing, like water. “They are constantly subject to change. Even when two people tell the same story, variations are visible in the plot and narrative.”

Wayanad was no stranger to this tradition. In fact, the landscape and geography of this region, “became a tangible backdrop, lending authenticity to these retellings”. In the book, Tharuvana has documented three kinds of unwritten Ramayanas that emerged from the region—the Adiya Ramayana, which despite many different versions is ascribed to the Adivasi community; the Wayanad Chetti Ramayana is a Dalit interpretation of the epic; and the Wayanad Sitayanam is credited to the upper caste Hindus residing there. “Each sect believes that the Ramayana stories originated within the territory of Wayanad,” says Tharuvana. Incidentally, according to HD Sanghalia, an archaeologist, who has done in-depth studies on the Valmiki Ramayana, the text originated in northern India, taking place beyond the Vindhya mountains. “But since these [narratives] are not historical, each folk community is free to believe that these stories originated among themselves,” feels the researcher, who is currently an assistant professor and the head of the Department of Malayalam at Farook College, Calicut.

Azeez Tharuvana

The book explores several reasons for the spread of Ramayana tales in Wayanad—one possible explanation for this is the interaction between tribes from the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Another reason, the author says is the “migration of communities from other parts to Wayanad”. All the major communities who have assimilated mythological tales into their oral tradition (Kurichyas, Adiyas, Kurumas, Chettis and the Savarna Hindus) are those who migrated into Wayanad in different epochs. There are also a large number of Jain, Buddhist, Muslim and Christian communities here. “It is natural for settlers to connect the names of places to the world of legends and myths in order to establish their settlements as sacred and unique,” Tharuvana writes in the book.

There was also the caste system, which denied the illiterate and the poorest of poor, the opportunity to enter temples or learn to recite the Ramayana. “Paniya and Adiya tribes were enslaved by the upper caste Hindus till until recently [the tribal slavery system in Wayanad was banned by law in 1975]. Many of these tribal  Ramayana stories are distorted versions of the stories heard by these tribes from their upper caste masters during the time of enslavement,” he explains.

The Valmiki ashram in Pulpally, where Sita is said to have stayed. Sage Valmiki is said to have visited several places in Wayanad, before he started living in this ashram. Valmiki heard Sita’s cries, after she was abandoned by Lakshmana

The geographical features of Wayanad too played an important role in shaping the myths. Communities tend to create stories behind unanswered natural phenomena, he says. He gives the example of the legend of Ambukuthimala, a mountain inside the Wayanad district of Kerala, which from a distance, looks like a woman lying stretched out. “It is believed that Ahalya was  resting over the mountain before attaining moksha,” he says. There’s another legend behind Jadayattakavu near Pulpally in Wayanad district. “The Hindus and the Adivasis both believe that this is the place where Sitadevi disappeared into the earth.” That’s because in the summer, the fields near Jadayattakavu fissure, forming crevices large enough for a cow to disappear into. The author says that it is quite likely that people have witnessed the disappearance of such animals into these gorges, and have linked it to the epic. “The Wayanad Chettis even connect the origin of the name of their community to this place. It is believed  that while Sitadevi was going down into the earth, Sri Rama grabbed her hair and a tuft [jada)] came off.  In the course of time, the word jada was corrected as cheda. Sita is worshipped in this form as Chedathilamma. Chedathinkavu is the moola stanam—the place of origin—of the Lava-Kusa temple at Pulpally.”

Of the many Ramayana stories he has researched for the book, Tharuvana says that he found the Adiya Ramayana most fascinating. It was relayed to him by Kali Mathei, an elder and traditional healer of the Adiya tribal community of Thrissilery, in the northern Wayanad. “According to this story, Sita is an Adiya tribal woman. The whole epic takes place in Wayanad district adjoining Coorg in the state of Karnataka. Prominent Adiya gods such as Mallappan, Sidhappa, Mathappadeivam, Tirunelli Perumal are part of this version of the epic. The crucial identity crisis caused due to land issues among tribes has also been covered here in a significant way. Another notable feature in the Adiya Ramayana is that there is no war,” says  Tharuvana of the retelling, which has also been included in the Calicut University syllabus.

Kanneerthadakom (pool of tears) is said to have formed by Sita’s tears, during her stay at Ponkuzhy. The hermits who saw Sita living alone took her to Valmiki’s ashram in Ashramkolly near Pulpally. There, she gave birth to Lava and Kusa

Tharuvana says that often higher myths (of organised religions, which are widespread), drown out the lower myths (of tribals/indigenous communities, local), even though both contain stories of the origin of the universe and of man. But, he says that “true researchers do not accept some versions of Ramayana as the prime ones, and others as negligible”. “Ramayana is a vast tree with indestructible roots that has spread across Asian countries. It is an ocean.  Each of the narratives are the streams and rivers leading to that ocean. This means that all of them are important. In other words, Adiya Ramayana is as important as the Valmiki Ramayana.  Researchers unequivocally reject the notion that some texts are higher and some have lower standards. The beauty of Ramayana is its versatility. This is how it has survived. Attempts to reduce it to a single text are an intrusion on the rich Ramayana tradition.”

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