TOGA:NDRA NAME KA:PPA:TTANO: MAY THE GODS PROTECT US A CONTRIBUTION TO NILGIRI RELIGIOUS INFRASTRUCTURE.

• Author: ZVELEBIL, KAMIL V.

An Irula informant comments on the tribe's religious observances. Text in Irula, with translation and extended commentary by Kamil Zvelebil.

INTRODUCTION

IRULA RELIGION [1] SEEMS TO BE organized in a complex hierarchical structure with important nuclei and nodes, and less-important peripheral spots and areas. It is of course a living organism from which deities are lost while others are added. This complex structure has its nucleus in the local level of the protective village deities and the family or clan home-gods, who are regarded as the most powerful, effective, concrete and best-defined divinities.

For all Irulas there is, on the highest level, a vague notion of the Supreme, called pa:rvadi-Parame:cura, always quoted as a pair, derived from the supreme divine pair of Hindu Saivism. [2] The next, much more concrete and important level, with its own myths and cultic places (Rangaswamy Peak, Karaimadai Temple, Nanjangode Temple, etc.), is occupied by two gods, the Vaisnava Rangaca:mi and the Saiva Maha:de:curaca:mi, also appearing as Malle:svara, Ma:de:cura, Ma:de:cu:rca:mi, or even Nanjunda.

On the third level are the local village deities (protective gods worshipped by all inhabitants of the respective place of habitation) and house-gods, that is, protective deities of clans and/or families (these, too, have their own myths and mini-myths as well as legends and anecdotic stories).

The collective terms used to designate the deities of the three "upper" levels are toga:ndra (Dravidian) [3] or deyva ([less than] Indo-Aryan). [4]

"Below" the three levels of the hierarchy already mentioned there are many "lower" levels occupied by demons or devils (pe: [less than] DEDR 4438 Ta. pey), often bound to a locality and worshipped by all Irulas of that particular place; goblins and ghosts (go:lu, cf. Kurumba go:lu, ?DEDR 1918 Ta. kuli); demoniac and monstrous demigods (muni [less than] Skt. muni); vampires (jo:ke, DEDR 2870 Ta. coku).

Several mountains are worshipped as divine or sacred; ant-hills are worshipped (often with "resident" cobras); trees are worshipped, too. It also seems that certain animals are considered worthy of worship (snake, tiger, junglecat--Felis chaus). Certain ancestors and mythical heroes (e.g., Karayya, Billayya, Kovan, etc.) are, too, objects of worship and legends in various Irula communities.

It is this third level of local village and clan deities that forms the subject of the following study.

Myths, even seemingly crude, simple, "primitive" myths, transmit a basic message from generation to generation and represent an attempt--probably of a non-rational kind, perhaps a kind of universal "primitive" non-rational, non-linear logic--to grasp reality, or rather, I should say, Reality. We agree that the special quality of myth is not that it is false but that it is "divinely true" for those who believe it, while it is a fairy-tale to those who don't. Another paper will hopefully be dedicated to Irula myths. [5]

The present paper consists of an Irula text with translation and annotation, and my commentary on a species of taxonomy of the third level of deities, along with some description of the bu:je, or ritual worship of these divinities. This description is authentic in the sense that it is a primary text, offered by an educated native Mele Na:du Irula informant, a young man [6] from the Mele Na:du Irula village of Kunjapene. [7] It was taken down by me early in 1981 and is well preserved on magnetic tape.

The present paper represents the first part of my interview with the informant, which ended with my questions and some discussion, and included the informant's enumeration of the deities worshipped in Kunjapene:

nama u:rili banimaga, bagavadi, tambattekkallu ma:ri, vo:ttettoga biliyatoga, padanema:ri. nama u:rili immattu da:n. togan:ndru name ka:ppa:ttano. banimaga ta:yi ka:ppa:ttano. "In our village [there are] Banimaga, Bagavadi, Ma:ri of the Pillar Stone, Deity of Hunt--The Great God [and] Padanema:ri. That's it in our village. May the gods protect us. May Mother Banimaga protect us."

Of these deities, four are female: Banimaga, Bagavadi, Ma:ri of the Pillar Stone, and Padanema:ri; the deity of the hunt, considered the great deity is, according to the informant, neither male nor female. The protective deity of the whole village is Banimaga. Padanema:ri is the guardian goddess of the informant's kula.

After an interruption, the interview continued; the informant was kind enough to supply me with many further details, which require additional careful study, and will, hopefully, be the subject of an independent paper.

IRULA TEXT

1. na:mu toga:ngadu da: nambuge:mu. 2. toga:n collugatti, namaku nama badukeku [8] ennenne ve:nungade, namaku ta:n da: de:varuga, deyvanga, togaga. 3. banimaka, macanita:yi, bagavadi, padanema:ri, ve:ttettoga. 4. inne, na:mu kolla ca:miye na:m' vananguge:mu. 5. anne bu:jikamu, banimaka, macanita:yi, bagavadi, padanema:ri ovvonduku ondondu. 6. banimaka:ngadu, namu u:riliye kadaka toga. 7. macanita:yingadu, nama u:rili kadakadu. 8. bagavadingadu, nama u:rili kadakadu. 9. padanema:ringadu, vo:re u:rili kadakadu. 10. ve:tte toga. 11. idu na:m ve:tteku po:gatti, namku toga:ndera pa:ttu, nalla oru ve:ttene tarano, i: ve:ttettogatte na:m' vanan(gu)ge:mu. 12. inumu, ve:ttettogadengade, biliya toga. 13. ada:vadu biliya togaku na:mu ga:vu kodukadu, a:du, ko:yi, idella: na:mu ga:vu koduke:mu. 14. (i)nnu tambittekkalu. [9] 15. tambittekkallu ma:ri' enda oru pe:ru. 16. idu' oru togattu pe:ru. 17. nama u:ruku ma: manju illa:de po:na:, ma: vu:ganunda:ku ve:ndi, i: tambitte kallanga:duke na:mu po:yi, tegina ka:yi dettu, toga ku koduke:mu, vananguge:mu 18. idu namak'oru nambike. 19. i: toga:nd'ella eppu na:m toga morge:mu [10] da:, e:pral ma:ca, a: tamilili cittre ma:catti, na:m togatte . . . toga morge:mu, toga morgatti namku bu:je-n-ondu kadakadu. 20. bu:jeli teginakayi, va:pammu, co:dacambra:ni, [11] puttupammu, [12] idella na:m adike padike:mu. [13] 21. innum collapana:, ga:vumu [14] koduke:mu. 22. ma:rita:yi-n-conna: ga:v'allukka ta:yingadu pe:ru. 23. i: to:ga'lla:, e:nduoru ma:catti toda:nginamu, [15] mangavara, buduvara, i: randu na:lu toga morgad'ondu. 24. a: toga mo:rdaku mudallu, na:m' mudal na:lu u:r cutrano. [16] 25. u:re vala vandu da:n, [unintelligible] par(u)ppo: pammo: id'ella vaiici, [17] u:r cetti, bu:je aduttu ku:reke vattu, maruna:lu ra:ve, gudike po:ge:mu. 26. adi po:yi, bu:je ma:di, togaku ni:ru vattu, ida: ni:ru vattu i: bu:je ma:duku mudallu, nallacanne ni:r'a:dano, ni:r'adna pinbe, va:yike vandu, ci:le kettono. 27. pudu ci:lene kettono. 28. pudu ci:le kedkada: [18] alladu, va:yilene dekkono. [19] 29. va:yilene anne dettu, pindu pudu tundu kettina:, bu:je ceygano. 30. bu:je ceygat'mudallu, gente, [20] genatte, bu:je tattu, id'ella na:m' ve1iki, cuttama: kond'po:yi vitkkano.

KVZ: ya:ru pu:je ceyra:nga?

PSV: bu:ja:ri.

KVZ: pu:ja:riya:?

PSV: a:.

31. pinbe genatte, va:pammu, udubatti, [21] venne, pa:lu, iduma:ri bu:jeca:manatt'ella na:m' vattu, buduvara na:!ku, ellakum colli u:rke: colli, ella vandudu, [22] amma:dri toga mo:rgemu, annen' collivono. 32. artara:ve, [23] na:m' po:yi poranga:lu, id'ella eduttupoyi jo:du ca:pa:tt' eli' eduttu po:yi, adi bu:je ma:dano, bu:je ma:didu [24] a:ttapa:tta kadakadu. 33. ella: a:ttapa:ttam ittu, adili pongci, [25] anda togaku vandu, bu:jeyili paracikka, [26] paracina kon'vittu tegina kay,de [27] dekkadu, id'ella dettu-m [28]--ittu vande, [29] podayikkano, mudallu. 34. podatta vande [30] adili pammu, teginakayi, aremudi [31] teginakayi a:lge kodutta: aremudi

Vandu togaku vattugaru, ade kadeycili a: pammugummu [32] kadana: ad'ella:m panni ti:n' tingaru. [33] ideu banimaga [34] toga.

KVZ: banimaga toga?

PSR: a:.

36. innondu puttupammu proukka ma:ri.

KVZ: ma:ri innoru...?

SPR: ma:ri.

37. puttupammu porukka-v-en'conna:, mudal na:lu vandu ella: [unintelligible] [35] puttupammu dekka varala:, detta voyi. 38 togakum a:ttum [36] voyi. 39 pa:ndiputtu [37] kambaputtu [38] 40. apo: puttu dettaodane, adta na:lu puttupammuo:de ade eduttuvargadu, vayicu vanda ponnu makka. 41. vayicu vanda ponnu makka, ado:de a:la ce:ra:da ponnu makka, cinna ponnu makka. 42. namu u:rili banimaga, bagavadi, tambattekkallu ma:ri, vottenttoga biliyatoga, padanema:ri. 43. nama u:rili immatu da:n. 44. toga:ndru name ka:ppa:ttano. 45. banimaga ta:yi ka:ppa:ttano.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION [39]

1. We believe that there are indeed god[s]. [40] 2. When you say "god[s]," whatever is needed by us for our livelihood, for us [there are] truly gods, divine beings, deities. [41] 3. Banimaka, [42] Mother Macani, Bagavadi, Padanema:ri, Hunt-Deity. 4. In this way, we worship many gods. [43] 5. Thus we perform worship for each one of them separately, [for] Banimaka, Mother Macani, Bagavadi, padanema:ri. 6. Banimaka is a deity available in our very village. 7. Mother Macani is found in our village. 8. Bagavadi occurs in our village. 9. Padanema:ri is available in another village [44] 10. Hunt-Deity. 11. This, when we go hunting, having looked at our gods, we worship this hunt-deity in order to give [us] a good hunt. 12. Moreover, if you say "Hunt Deity," it is a great deity. [45] 13. Precisely to that great deity we bring sacrifice, goats, fowls, all that we offers [as] sacrifice. 14. Moreover, there is the Pillar stone. [46] 15. The name of the Pillar Stone is Ma:ri. 16. This [too] is the name of a deity. 17. I f there are no rain-clouds [over] our place, in the desire to cause rain to fall, we go near this Pillar Stone, break fresh coconut and give [it] to the deity [and] worship. 18. This is a belief of ours. 19. As to when we worship all these divinities, in the month of April, in that Tamil [language] [it is] the month of Cittira, [47] we worship the deities ... the deities, and worshipping the deities, there is a bu:je (ceremonious, structured worship) [48] for us. 20. In the bu:je, we offer to them fresh coconuts, plantains, sixteen [kinds of] incense, [49]...