Abstract:
The complex structure of caste, class and gender as a powerful force of subjugation has evolved over centuries in the Indian subcontinent. There is a great diversity of practices in terms of caste and gender from region to region. The diversity of geographical regions and ecological zones, signifying a variety in landforms, flora and fauna, climate, modes of production, cultural practices, beliefs in religious deities, etc. have resulted in differences in social stratification. Therefore, we can see that the practice of the caste system is very intense in certain regions as compared to others. Similarly, there exists varied forms of patriarchies and gender relations in different parts of the subcontinent. Caste-based patriarchy evolved as a result of various dominant social arrangements and is infused with complexities, varying again from region to region. Interesting to note is the representation of this dominant structure of caste, class and gender in the writings from different pockets of our country, such as, the Tamil Sangam literature as well as Dalit women’s autobiographies.
Many contemporary regional writers from across the country have dealt with the shackles of caste discrimination and its powerful impact on social stratification. Well-known Tamil author, Perumal Murugan (b. 1966), deals with the multi-layered shades of caste, class and gender in his books. His narratives, while portraying the culture and tradition of agrarian societies, raise questions on the powerful structure of dominance in terms of caste-based and class-based patriarchies. This paper is an attempt to study select novels of Perumal Murugan to explore the Brahmanical model of patriarchy and how the dominant structure becomes all powerful when juxtaposed with the notions of caste and class hierarchies. The paper will be based on the theoretical foundation of Dalit Feminism to explore the silent voices of the oppressed.
Key Words: Dalit Feminism, patriarchy, caste, class, gender, Perumal Murugan
The relationship between caste, class and gender in India developed over centuries and has been recorded in various prescriptive texts, myths and literature. In order to understand the evolution of this dominant structure, it becomes imperative to understand social formations and stratification right from the early societies. The available documents through archaeological evidence of early prehistoric societies in the Indian subcontinent, such as tools, pottery and cave paintings, hardly provide a conclusive idea about social and gender stratification. The sexual division of labour in those societies has been understood to be not very rigid and women played several important roles, including taking part in hunting activities. Women’s reproductive role also was seen as one of great importance and in several societies, the mysterious power of the ‘Mother Goddess’ was therefore recognized. Noted feminist historian, Uma Chakravarti, traces the evolution of this dominant structure through the Vedic period to the rise of the Gupta dynasty around 300 A.D., the time-period when historians have traced the development of Brahmanism. Analyzing the texts of early Vedic times, Chakravarti highlights the strong patriarchal nature of the society which was evident in the hymns valorizing male war heroes or the lack of significant hymns celebrating female deities. In the later Vedic texts, Chakravarti notices “more direct evidence…(and) fears regarding the sexuality of women not directly under the control of men, especially husbands.” (Chakravarti 43) She further provides instances from Buddhist and Jaina texts as well as the Dharmashastras to provide instances of the evolution of the complex structure of caste, class and gender. The time period from when historians trace the development of Brahmanism and Brahmanical social relations is roughly the rise of the Gupta dynasty around 300 A.D. Slowly the caste system and strictures of untouchability were infused in the society. The formation of patriarchy and the subordination of women vis-à-vis the pre-colonial structures of caste and gender in India has been dealt with several researchers to explore the dominant structure of caste and gender. This study attempts to look at the strictures of caste and gender in the colonial period as portrayed in select translated texts of Tamil writer, Perumal Murugan.
Perumal Murugan writes in Tamil and has penned ten novels, five collections of short stories and four anthologies of poetry. His works have been translated into English. His fifth novel, Madhorubhagan (translated as One Part Woman), had attracted a lot of controversy from local caste-based and religious Hindu groups for his fictional portrayal of traditions at the Ardhanareeswarar Temple, Tiruchengode. After a series of protests and an attempt at a ‘peace talk’, Murugan was forced to submit an ‘unconditional apology’ and to withdraw all the copies of his book from the market. That led him to announce on Facebook in 2015 that he was giving up writing. Subsequently in the year 2016, the Madras High Court dismissed a series of litigations and suits concerning the objections on the book by citing Article 19 (A) of the Constitution of India and directed the state to provide required protection to artistic or literary people as well as guide local administration to be sensitive to such issues. Following this ruling, Murugan resumed writing and published a collection of poetry. This study will look into the concept of caste and Brahmanical patriarchy in four of his works – Pyre (2016), One Part Woman (2013) and its sequels, A Lonely Harvest (2018) and Trial by Silence (2018) – from a Dalit feminist lens.
Dalit feminism is that branch of feminist perspective that involves raising questions on issues of caste and gender roles among the Dalit population. Dalit literature mainly deals with an attempt to articulate silent and unheard voices. Dalit women’s writings bring to forefront issues of caste and gender identities. Such narratives are important documents to understand the various kinds of exploitation of Dalit women by upper caste people, as well as, internal gender hierarchies within Dalit families. Dalit women in particular have to deal with the triple layer of subjugation on the basis of caste, class and gender. In this context, Nivedita Menon identifies significant challenges to feminist politics from caste politics and states, “Among Dalit women, there is a general suspicion of mainstream Indian feminism: they see it as being dominated by privileged, dominant caste and upper-class, urban feminists and their issues.” (Menon 167) Perumal Murugan’s books take up the intersecting structures of caste, class and gender which reinforce issues of Brahmanical patriarchy and resultant oppressions from the perspective of an insider. Murugan’s books are set in traditional agrarian communities, bound by strict caste-based regulations. The settings that he chooses for both his books, One Part Woman and Pyre are close-knit agricultural societies, which have their own norms in terms of tradition and cultural practices. The village plays a very important role in Murugan’s novels and has a character of its own. More often, the village assumes an all-pervasive importance and dominates the individual characters.
Murugan’s novel Pyre is set in the protagonist, Kumaresan’s village to which he brings his newly wed bride, Saroja. Their marriage is an inter-caste one and they plan well in advance how to play safe by not divulging Saroja’s caste identity to anyone. Nothing, however, could have prepared the couple, particularly Saroja, on the site when they entered the village. Throngs of people wait for them on the rocky cliffs surrounding Kumaresan’s house. The involvement of the village in such individual affairs is significant to understand the community-based social life of the people. The boundaries of public and private identities are unknown in communities such as the one portrayed here. Whatever affects an individual affects the entire village. In this case, the suspicion that one of their own has married a woman from a lower caste causes total disruption in the village activities which ultimately leads to the unified ganging up of the villagers in an attempt to ruthlessly kill Saroja while her husband is away. Highlighting the total lack of inclusivity among the high caste community, Vinothraj Amaldass states –
“(M)ost of the village communities, till date, practice untouchability in one form or the other. The traditional atrocities are either active practices of discriminative exploitation or punishments against the rebelling Dalits….The traditional forms of punishments are coupled with physical attacks, religious, cultural, social and economic sanctions and boycotts on Dalits. Excommunication is the most common and stringent punishment to dissident Dalits. Amongst all defilements, inter-caste marriages are least tolerated and severely punished.”
The villagers in Murugan’s novel are ruthless and have no sympathy for someone outside their caste. The entire community of men and women come to Kumaresan’s place to make an inquiry about the new member. The scene of the first day continues thereafter repeatedly. The village feels that Saroja’s entry has defiled the sanctity of the place. Kumaresan is repeatedly asked to confirm Saroja’s caste identity. Inquiries such as this keeps on haunting the couple –
“Everyone was asking him about her….
‘All right. What is her caste?’
‘Same as ours.’
‘You can’t fool us like this, Mapillai. There will definitely be a village meeting in a few days. We don’t know what the village is going to say. Just be careful.’” (Pyre 28)
The village as an important entity, dictating terms and conditions to every member of the society, is omniscient and omnipotent in Murugan’s novels.
In Murugan’s novel, One Part Woman and its sequels, Trial by Silence and A Lonely Harvest, the village is equally powerful and dominates the lives of individuals. Kali and Ponna’s childlessness, is as much a matter of their personal concern, as that of the village’s. In this village setting too, the line of divide between the private and the public is missing. People come and go to each other’s houses with as much ease as they interfere in each other's personal lives. Therefore, it is quite understandable that caste-based social norms have been prevalent in the village community since ages. Ponna’s inability to conceive, even after twelve years of married life, comes under the radar of various caste-based gender specifications. The matter evolves into a public issue from a personal and familial one. People enquire, pass comments and give unsolicited advice to Kali and Ponna about their conjugal life with ease.
The dominance of caste-based strictures is noticed in the social institution of marriage and child birth among other regulations. Caste-based marriage is the central premise of the novel, Pyre. Other than the hostility of the entire village, Kumaresan and Saroja have to bear the brunt of going against caste restrictions in marriage from Kumaresan’s own family members. His mother, Marayi’s reaction to their inter-caste marriage, is probably worse than many of the village folks’. She blames Saroja for enticing her son, grabs her by the hair and also does not hesitate to slap her son repeatedly in front of the entire village. Very often her wails and whimpers are juxtaposed with dirges, such as,
“I, his mother, had rejoiced that he would bring me an elephant.
I chirped like a cuckoo that he would bring me a horse.
I danced like a peacock in joy that he would fetch me a cow.
I was deliriously happy that he would bring home a goat.
But he has unleashed a cat upon us.
Do I catch and tether it or let it wander free?
I could not rejoice at the sight
of a sturdy wedding tent,
of invited guests, of the sound of drums,
of him tying the taali.
That joy, alas, was not mine!” (Pyre 23)
The mother’s lamentation is fused with underlying meanings of caste distinctions. Her reference to the animals – elephant, horse, cow, and goat – signifies her wishful desire to get her son married to someone productive and worthwhile, in this case, to a girl from the higher caste. The comparison of the bride to a cat shows the mother’s hatred for her daughter-in-law who does not belong to their caste, and therefore, cannot be tethered and bound to the norms of their village community.
Kali and Poona’s marriage, on the other hand, does not cause any furore in the village as it is an arranged one and within the boundary of caste dictates. However, interesting to note here is the treatment of the larger picture of the institution of marriage within the specifications of cultural and gender norms. As people belonging to the higher caste in the village, Kali and Ponna’s childlessness also come within the radar of caste-bound social norms. Hence, there are first subtle hints and then direct coaxing by family members as well as the village community for Kali’s remarriage. Even though Kali and Ponna are caught in their own personal grief about their childlessness, what bothers them more is the constant nagging of the villagers. Caste-bound social norms attached to childlessness, such as, Ponna’s inability to participate in various functions, etc., are nothing less than the discrimination meted out to people of the lower caste. It is not only Ponna who has to go through all these tortures, but Kali too who is made a laughing stock by villagers on the basis of his doubtful masculinity –
“According to them, only the man who induced morning sickness in his wife in the very second month of marriage was a real man. When the girl looked unchanged in over a year and a half, it simply meant the husband’s ‘work’ was not up to the mark. And the entire bunch of Kali’s friends had insisted on this several times.” (Woman 82)
Often, Kali and Ponna discuss adoption but that too had to be within the dictates of caste norms. Ponna is not averse to the idea of adopting a child, but “she would prefer one from the same caste.” (Woman 229) While going to the temple of Maadhorubaagan, the half-female god with her parents, Ponna is overcome by maternal feelings for the small child of the couple who shares the cart with them. She feels like holding the child and keeping the baby on her lap but “caste laws forbade her from touching the child. She refrained from even playing with caste children, since she feared some rebuke or comment.” (Woman 155) Kali, too, is conscious about this caste hierarchy. When his mother and Ponna’s family insist that Ponna should go to the chariot festival, where on the last day childless women are permitted to have consensual union with men who are thought of as ‘gods’, Kali vehemently protests saying, “More than half the young men roaming about town are from the “untouchable” castes. If any one of them gets to be with Ponna, I simply cannot touch her after that. I cannot even lift and hold the child.” (Woman 140) Even though Kali desires to be a father more than anything, it is a caste issue which is primarily in his mind. However, later in their desperate state of minds, both Kali and Ponna forget these caste issues which have no significance for them then. Frustrated at the way that she was treated, Ponna rages at her husband, “Go somewhere and get me a child....I don’t care even if it is from an untouchable woman. I don’t care if you have to buy one for money.” (Woman 231) The same desperation can be seen in Kali too when in a half drunken stupor and out of helplessness, Kali gets Mandaya, a man of low caste, to promise him to give his child that was going to be born soon to him. Mandaya’s wife, Katthayi rushes out of the hut in anger and scolds her husband, “Will you eat shit when you are drunk….What will you do if he comes for real later and asks for the child….Even if we do, how can our child grow up in his household? Think before you speak! If they heard us, his relatives will come here to beat us to pulp. Let him find a child among his relatives.” (Woman 199) Hence, it is quite obvious that even though Kali and Ponna belong to high caste, they are not free from the dictates of the social norms.
In this context, Murugan presents a contrasting picture of flexibility in social norms among those born in the lower caste families. In A Lonely Harvest, one of the sequels to One Part Woman, the author projects certain titbits of the life of the ‘others’ living in the same village. Ponna’s growing relationship with Vengayi, the helping hand in the farm, provides an insight into the life of the high caste vis-à-vis the life of the ‘others’. Ponna forbids Vengayi to address her as ‘Saami’, the usual salutation for the high born and instead asks her to call her by her name. Unlike others who would not even bother to think about the low caste people, Ponna works towards making things easier for Vengayi. Since Vengayi was not allowed to draw water from the well, Ponna sets aside a separate pot for her and places a large vessel of water near the weir, so that Vengayi’s work of watering the land becomes less laborious. Vengayi too, on her part, genuinely cares for the pregnant and recently widowed Ponna. Her way of looking at life is in sharp contrast with the upper caste people of the village community and therefore, helps the readers peep into the culture and traditions of the other segment of the society. When the field is ready, Vengayi coaxes Ponna to sow the seeds with her own hands, knowing well about the caste and gender restrictions applicable to Ponna’s life in her state of widowhood. Vengayi says, “Saami, people say that women in white are like the goddess. Please think of that. You are pregnant now. If you sow the seeds with your own hands, they will be blessed and will grow well….What is there in a sari? You could just wear a coloured sari. In our community, they don’t insist on these things any more.” (Harvest 160) Vengayi’s statement highlights the flexibility of gender norms among the low caste people of the same village community. Even in matters of widow re-marriage, the low caste people are more progressive than their counterparts. Vengayi makes a mention of this to Ponna and says,
“In our community…they say a woman should not stay widowed. My mother’s younger sister’s son got married just last month. His father had died some five or six years ago. She was a widow all these years and lived by herself. What was she going to do with a husband at that age? But they said she needed a husband to take part in all the wedding rituals for her son. So my father put a pottu on her forehead and married her. In front of several witnesses at a temple, he took vermillion in his hands and marked her forehead with it. That was the wedding. Then my father and she performed all the wedding rituals for her son. This is how we poor people do things. It is people like you who are concerned about so many things.” (Harvest 161)
Vengayi’s description of the simple way of dealing with life’s complexities by the people of her caste is way different from Ponna’s experiences with high caste norms. Murugan takes up this issue again in the other sequel, Trial by Silence, where Kali’s uncle, Nallayan decides to marry a low-caste widow. In his advanced years, no woman of his community would be ready to marry him. But his decision is vehemently protested by his extended family as it would be against the caste dictates and social norms. In this context, Nivedita Menon throws light on the complexities related to the social norms expected of widows from a feminist angle and states –
“The porous borders evident here between the categories of ‘unmarried woman’, ‘widow’ and ‘prostitute’ – each of them a woman unbound by marriage – reflects the intense patriarchal anxiety about controlling female sexuality. This is a broader phenomenon – in Kannada, Tamil and Telugu, ‘widow’ is a term of abuse (for men too) and in some North Indian languages, the words for ‘widow’ and ‘prostitute’ are either very similar or identical. In Hindi, for instance, raand is widow as well as prostitute….Accompanying this expectation of sexual purity on the part of widows and simultaneous fears about their sexual agency, is of course, the sexual exploitation of widows, often by men of their own families, which is never acknowledged or punished.” (Menon 133)
Murugan throws light on the complexities of life for widows in all the novels selected for study in this paper. What is interesting here to note is that the widows portrayed in these novels – Kali’s mother, Seerayi; Kumaresan’s mother, Marayi; and Ponna (in A Lonely Harvest) – are all women from the upper caste community. But even then, things are not easy for them. Seerayi confides to Kali how she had to protect herself from advances made by other men after the death of her husband, which includes even her brother-in-law, Nallayan. Marayi too suffers in a similar manner. After the untimely death of her husband, she has to take great care to act as per social norms of ‘purity’. Her family members protect her from any untoward experience with their constant presence till Kumaresan grows up and can assume the role of the man of the house. Bound by the ‘white saree’ and several restrictions imposed upon them, these widows’ lives are dominated by the patriarchal social norms. Murugan’s portrayal of the agrarian communities in his novels highlight the existence of strict regulations among the high caste community, whereas, those who are considered as ‘low born’ seem to be leading life in a more practical manner.
Another important aspect of caste and Brahmanical patriarchy that we find in Murugan’s novels is the juxtaposition of rituals and customs with caste-based beliefs. Kali and Ponna, being a part of the high caste society, are bound by several ritualistic norms, particularly for their childlessness. They go to meet an astrologer in Kaliyur on Kali’s mother’s insistence who informs them through his special rituals that the couple’s childlessness is because of Kali inheriting a curse. The astrologer lists down offerings that are to be made for appeasement to the deity. Accordingly, Kali and Ponna go to the Karattur Murugan temple seeking redemption from this curse by scaling the hill where “(f)or seventy days, they lit the seventy lamps and cast themselves at Murugan’s feet, pleading for his blessings.” (Woman 22) In the process, they use the entire castor seed yield from that year to light those lamps and have to additionally buy more and take some in alms to continue with the ritual. Later they worship Devatha or Maaddhorubaagan, the half-female god, also known as “Mother God”. Ponna does not even hesitate to take up the dangerous task of climbing and walking around the steep wall down the Dandeeswarar temple which was believed to fulfil one’s heart’s desire. These rituals bring new hope to Kali and Ponna every time. But their fervent prayers remain unanswered. Kali and Ponna leave no stone unturned in matters of rituals in the hope that their prayers would be answered. Murugan’s narrator states in a heart-touching manner –
“In the matter of offering prayers, Kali and Ponna left no stone unturned. They did not discriminate between small and big temples. They promised an offering to every god they encountered. For the forest gods, it was a goat sacrifice. For the temple gods, it was Pongal. For some gods, the promises even doubled. If a child were indeed born, the rest of their lives would be spent in fulfilling these promises. Kali, in fact, was ready to forgo his cattle and all that he had saved with his incredible frugality, if only their prayers would bear fruit. But no god seemed to pay heed.” (Woman 47)
The ritualistic customs based on caste strictures are severe for women in comparison to men. In A Lonely Harvest, the sequel to One Part Woman in which Kali dies, Ponna needs to go through a village ritual which signifies a purification ceremony cum a test for her to gain everyone’s trust that the child that she was carrying was indeed her dead husband’s. Before the ritual, Ponna’s mother-in-law goes to each and every relative’s house, seeking their confidence. During the get together, the entire village comes together and after the rituals performed by Ponna, the village barber announces Ponna’s case to the gathering and requests them to accept the child in her womb as Kali’s.
The involvement of the entire village community in ritualistic traditions is seen in the novel, Pyre, too. The villagers were on the verge of starting their preparations for the annual chariot festival when Kumaresan brought Saroja in their midst. Kumaresan’s bride attracts the curiosity and subsequent hatred of the entire community because of her ‘low caste’ identity. Anandita Pan highlights the double jeopardy of Dalit women on the basis of caste and gender and states –
“At the core of Dalit Feminism is the understanding that ‘dalit woman’, which is its primary constituency, is located at the intersection of caste and gender. Dalit women are not monolithic entities who can be neatly categorized either as ‘women’ or ‘dalits’. In mainstream Indian Feminism and Dalit Politics, caste and gender are considered two individual and mutually exclusive categories defining ‘women’ and ‘dalits’ respectively.”
In line with Anandita Pan’s statement, we are aware that Saroja attracts the attention of the villagers because she is considered as the ‘other’. But at the same time, her gender also creates additional problems. Even though the entire village treats her as an untouchable, Kumaresan’s distant relative does not hesitate to approach her with sexual favours in mind. Saroja, thus, suffers doubly for being a woman and of low caste. The entire village community is upset with her not only because she is not from their caste, but also because her entry to the village creates problems in conducting the annual chariot festival. Many of them opine that the festival that year should not be conducted as their village had been defiled by the entry of Saroja. The angry villagers outcast Kumaresan’s family and don’t allow them to draw water from the village well. These instances in Murugan’s novels deftly showcase the Brahmanical patriarchal norms centring caste and gender in the community.
Sharmila Rege has pointed out the abundance of autobiographical narratives in the domain of Dalit writings and says, “Most of the recently published dalit writings are autobiographical in nature; a circumstance that has led some scholars to question the radical potential of the increased accessibility of dalit writings.” She also highlights how several Dalit scholars are against writing autobiographies and compare the process to “digging out stench from hateful waste bins of the past.” But there are others of the same community who have defended the importance of this genre and its significance for the community. Perumal Murugan’s books are not autobiographies, but they bring about several concerns related to Brahmanical norms of patriarchy in terms of caste and gender. His mastery in the portrayal of such issues central to the Dalit consciousness is a result of his keen observation of life around him juxtaposed with his own perspective of being an insider, aware about the realities of the life and times that his stories project.
References:
- Amaldass, Vinothraj. Breaking Pyramid: A Dalit-Self’s New Humanity (Kindle Edition). ISPCK, 2020.
- Chakravarti, Uma. Gendering Caste: through a feminist lens. SAGE, 2018.
- Menon, Nivedita. Seeing Like a Feminist. Zubaan, 2012.
- Murugan, Perumal. One Part Woman. Penguin Random House India, 2013. (First published in Tamil in 2010). Referred to as ‘Woman’ in this paper while quoting from the text.
- ----. Pyre. Penguin Random House India, 2016. (First published in Tamil in 2013).
- ----. A Lonely Harvest. Penguin Random House India, 2018. (First published in Tamil in 2018). Referred to as ‘Harvest’ in this paper while quoting from the text.
- ----. Trial by Silence. Penguin Random House India, 2018. (First published in Tamil in 2018). Referred to as ‘Trial’ in this paper while quoting from the text.
- Pan, Anandita. Mapping Dalit Feminism: Towards an Intersectional Standpoint (Kindle Edition). SAGE, 2021.
- Rege, Sharmila. writing caste/ writing gender: narrating dalit women’s testimonios (Kindle Edition). Zubaan 2013. (First published in 2006)