NAMPOOTHIRIES PART 6
8 YAJURVEDAM AND SAAMAVEDAM CENTRES.
The Namboothirisare probably unique to have a sub-caste of Brahmanans who are
excluded fromVedams.
They are called"Othillatha Namboothiris" (Namboothiris without Othu)."Othu" is
the colloquial word for Vedam.
These include Chaathira Namboothiris(who were engaged only in military
exercises, in the form of games likePanemkali), AdukkalaNamboothiris (who
specialised in large-scale cooking), and,interestingly, some
keezh-santhiNamboothiris (temple priests).
TheAstavaidyans, eight families of hereditary physicians, except Vaidyamadham,
areOthillatha Namboothiris.
All Othillatha Namboothiris study Samhitha (Vedictext) but not the remaining
portions like Brahmanam, Aaranayakam and Upanishad.Also, they do notperform any
Vedic Sroutha ritual, nor teach or practice Vedam recitation.
Among the original32 Namboothiri Graamams (villages), Sukapuram (Chovaram),
Perumanam andIrinjalakuda were the Vedic strongholds. Perinchelloor
(Thaliparamba) Graamamhas had a strong Vedic base in 9th and 10th century.
In Sukapuram, there were originally only Rigvedis of Kaushitakanrecension and
Samavedis.
Aaswalaayana-Rigvedam was added later whenseveral Namboothiri families of
Panniyoor Graamam joined Sukapuram.
In Irinjalakuda, there is no Rigvedam. TheYajurvedic Namboothiris there are
mostly of Baudhayanan recension and rarelyBadhoolakan.
In Perumanam, theRigvedam is Aaswalaayanan and Yajurvedam, Baudhaayanan.
9 VedicTeaching and Recitation:
Namboothiris, who are entitled to recite Vedams,have evolved a rich and
diversified culture of Vedam recitation. Their recitation is quitedifferent
from traditional vedam recitations in other parts of India.This is due to a
variety of features, such as the pronunciation of Sanskrit inKerala. An
Important feature is nasalization, a feature of Malayalam in generalwhich seems
to be relatively ancient. (In Sanskrit it was called"anunaasika athiprasaram")
Another reason may be that a much larger percentage ofMalayalam words is of
Sanskrit origin than is the casewith Tamil. It may also be connected with the
isolated development of theNamboothiri tradition, which was not exposed to
contact with other traditions.And lastly, though there have been
manyNamboothiri scholars of Sanskrit, there has not been a tendency to bring
existingpractice in line with the norms established in the past. Rather, the
livingtradition has been left to prevail and develop freely.
The first four to six years of traditional educationamong the Namboothiris,
(between Upanayanam and Samaavarthanam) is spent on thememorisation of the
Vedam.
Each boy memorises,of his own Vedam, most or all of the "Samhitas" (Vedic
texts). Thismay be followed by more advanced recitations, in particular of
the"padapantha" and of some of its "vikriti" modifications.
There are particular "vikriti"modifications of Namboothiris that are notknown
in other parts of India. (Cf. Staal, 1961.47-49, 59-61).
In both Rigvedamand Yajurvedam recitation, the Vedic accents Udaatha, Anudaatha
and Svarita,are taught in a special manner: the teacher keeps the pupil's head
straight forthe Udaatha, bends it down for the Anudaatha and bends it to the
right forSvaritha.
When the accentshave been properly learned and memorised, the head should no
longer be moved. There are also special handgestures ("Mudra") that accompany
special features of Vedamrecitation. The Namboothiri Saamavedis use different
movements.
While all Vedicrecitations are taught at home, there are two special schools
for the teaching of Rigvedam, one atThrissur and the other at Thirunaavaaya, in
Malappuram district.
The Thirunaavaaya School was formed by aNamboothiri of Puthillath Mana
supported by several other Namboothiris andfinanced by Saamoothiri Raja (King
Zamorin) of Malabar.
The Thrissur school was supported by the Raja ofCochin. There are differences
in the style of recitation of the two Rigvedischools. The Thrissur school
(Brahmaswam Madhom) has a few students even now,while the Thirunaavaaya school
is not functioning.
The Thrissur school recently started admittingchildren of families, which
originally followed Thirunaavaaya style.
There was an ideato form a school to teach Yajurvedam, in recent years, but it
has not beensuccessful yet. In the Yajurvedam, there are also two traditions
that differ slightlyin style of recitation, one following the Peruvanam Graamam
and the otherIrinjalakuda.
The Yajurvedam and Saamavedam are being taught inhomes.
The Saamavedamtradition is the feeblest (with only 21 families) and will
perhaps be the firstto disappear. These 21 Manas are Nellikkaattil Mammannu,
MuttathukaatilMammannu, Thottam, Perumangad, Korattikkara (all in Paanjaal,
Thrissurdistrict), Moothiringod, Naripatta (Kodumunda, Palakkad dist.),
Pakaraavoor,Mangalatheri (both in Mookkuthala, Malappuram dist.),
Vadakkaanchery (Valiya),Mundaya (Kaattukulam, Palakkad dist.), Kaambram
(Padinjaarangadi, Malappuramdist.), and the nine families based at Kidangoor,
near Kottayam, namelyMalamel, Muriyoth Malamel, Kallambilly, Nellipuzha
Kallambilly, Paatyal,Onamthuruth Paatyal, Mulavelipuram, Vaatana and Podoor.
Out of these 21, 20have Othu (Vedam) while Kaambram Mana, due to its
affiliation to PanniyurGraamam, is excluded from Othu. All the five
Paanjal-basedfamilies along withPakaraavoor and Mangalatheri have the right to
perform Yaagam.
Extensive studieswere conducted on the Namboothiri style of recitation of
Vedams by Frits Staal,(1961), Gray (1959) and Howard (1977).
Conclusion: A time span of about two millenniaseparates the Vedic Indians from
the Namboothiris, the Malayalam-speakingBrahmanans. "The difference in life
style, practices and beliefs betweenVedic nomads and Namboothiri Brahmanans is
almost total", says Frits Staalin his book "Agni".
In terms of casteand religious observances, the Namboothirihas remained
orthodox until the beginning of the 20th century. (To know more about the
changes ofNamboothiri community in 20th century AD, Click here )
Devoted to theirrituals, Tanthric as well as Vedic, from which outsiders are
excluded, theywere relatively unaffected by modern "English" education.
"MostNamboothiris have been settled as peaceful villagers, country
aristocrats,small land owners, connoisseurs of literature and the traditional
arts (likeKathakali), scholars and gentlemen", observes Staal.
According to Ananthakrishna Iyer in his paper on"The Cochin Tribes and Castes
II " (Madras-London, 1912),"...the most conspicuous characteristics of
Namboothiris are simplicityand exclusiveness, obviously the former predicate
does not extend to theirrituals".
Article edited by P. Vinod Bhattathiripad
Ref:"Agni" by Frits Staal, Asian Humanities Press, Berkeley, 1983.
10 NamboothiriWits
Namboothiris arefamous for their wit and humour. They generally enjoy it by and
on themselves. Even when such wits are aimed at him, he coolly enjoys them and
never gets offended.
This ability is thecontribution of the Namboothiri culture and the surroundings
in which he wasbrought up.
Such an ability toenjoy wits often helps to ease the tension of his mind and
relieve pains andsorrows. But many other communities are not familiar with this
culturalbackground. This hasled to the feeling that the Namboothiris are stupid.
The famous wit ofVaazhakunnam Atithiri is a good example.
Once when theAtithiri saw people decorating the road with festoons, he asked
why they weredoing it. The reply was that the "thukti" (District Collector)
wascoming. Then he asked: "So if you decorate like this, he won't come, is
itso?" "No" was the reply, "It is because he is coming"."O,ho!"exclaimed
Atithiri. "He is coming through these festoons."
It is easy tointerpret it as Namboothiri's foolishness. But, the fellows did
not know thathe was actually fooling those self-styled clever men.
Yet anotherexample: When buses started plying for the first time on our roads,
oneNamboothiri stopped a bus by just waving his hand. The conductor asked him
to get in. Then theNamboothiri said: "I never thought this much when Ittyasu of
my Illam(house) told me that the bus could roll through the road, and stop when
onewaves his hand. It is really a wonder!"
By this statementthe Namboothiri pretends to be a fool while making fun of the
driver andconductor, without practically losing anything by himself.
In addition, by such jokes, he gets the sympathyof the bus operators. Only a
Namboothiri could do it.
When the famouspoet Vallathole Narayana Menon returned from a Russian tour
(which he undertookfor raising some financial assistance for certain projects),
V S Nambudiripadof Vadakkumkara Mana (popularly known as VSN, who was famous
for his wits) cuta joke. He asked Vallathole: "Went with one son and returned
with two, is it not?"He went with his son named Gopi, but returned with double
gopi ("irattagopi"). It is a usage in Malayalam meaning "nothing" - Vallathole
had returned emptyhanded.
My note- I have read elsewhere Vallathol was slightlydeaf.
People will notoften understand the meaning and the implications of such a
joke. At the sametime, it has a sting which pierces the other person. Such
statements are referred to as"nasyam" by Namboothiris.
Normally, the witsare quite spontaneous, and the ability is inborn for a
Namboothiri. A witcannot be repeated for a second time because the
circumstances are different.The wits are often accentuated and complemented
through facial expressions,sound modulations and actions of fingers and limbs.
The roots of Namboothiri wits may be traced to"Koothu", a form of Sanskrit
drama performed byChakkiar community. Namboothiris used to listen to "Chakkiar
Koothu"which has given them the training for using and enjoying wits in their
dailylife.
Article prepared by V. M. N. Nambudiripad. For more Namboothiri
wits:"Namboori Phalithangal" by - Kunhunny, Publishers : CurrentBooks,
Kottayam, 96 pages, Price: Rs.25-00, June 1997
I will continue in next posting.
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