Index

AAdi Dravida castes

association, 109ban on Kopkamtib, 280caste boundaries and inter-caste

perceptions, 89–90definition of, 34–35kangany recruitment, 87–88Murugan temples, 141Penang Mariamman temples

admission to, 89Sangams, 88–89, 91in Thaipusam, 330

Agamic Hinduism, 20, 26, 30, 36–37, 98

Agamicization, in Malaysia, 115–19Agamic pantheon, 290Agamic temples, 91–93, 96Agastya, 169Agnimukhan, 155ahamkara, 144Akhiresa, 143alankara deepam, 200, 301aluga kavadi, 213, 238n82, 250

Kallar festival, 258in Penang, 250

amnesia and trance, 323–24Amos, Eva, 349n150anava, 51Anbe Sivam, 48

annathanam, 248–49, 260anti-Brahman movement, 77Appadurai, Arjun, 37–38, 55n11Arasaratnam, S., 8–9, 12n11, 88–89Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Temple,

PalaniBrahman Thaipusam. See Brahman

Thaipusam, pada yatracaste deity of Chettiars, 93healing traditions, 257Idumban, 267kavadi ritual, 256mythology, 299–300Panguni Uttiram, 257self-mortification, 257

Arul Mihu Navasakhti Vinayagar Temple, 277

Aruncalan, M.V., 44astrology, 308asuras, Murugan’s battle with, 334–36asuric inversion, 150axis mundi, as pilgrimage sites, 290,

292, 297ayuta puja, 23

BBabb, Lawrence, 198–99, 270, 309Banugopan, 155Barber, Benjamin, 8Barron, J.M., 89

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392 Index

Batu Caves Thaipusam, 297–99abishekam, 207alankara deepam, 200asrama, 190Cave Villa, 194–95, 198chaulum, 207crowd maintenance, 202Dark Cave, 191devastanam management, 201,

233n25, 235n43foreign tourists, 28funfair and retail stalls, 210Golden Vel, 207, 211Hindu murthis and temples, 186–87,

193, 196kaliyuga, 194kavadi ritual. See kavadi ritualkolattam, 203kunratal, 234n31limestone outcrop, 188, 190lingam, 234n36meelam performers, 203Muzium, 197–98nadaswaram and drums, 200, 236n54navagraha planets, 192pantarams, 206, 233n30puja and archanai, 207sadhu, 233n28silver ratham, 201Sree Ganesha Temple, 188Sri Maha Mariamman Kovil

Devastanam, 187–88Sri Subramanya Swami Kovil, 187Sungai Batu, 189Temple Cave, 190–91, 193–94temple management committee,

209Thambusamy Pillai, K., 186–87thaneer panthals, 204–5upayam, 237n62utsava murthis of Murugan, 189–90,

235n44

Vaishnavite imagery, 197vel placement, 187vibhuti, 225, 229, 235n49, 236n51

Beardsworth, Timothy, 327Beck, Brenda, 339–41Bhagavad Gita, 41bhakti movement, South India, 41–43

impact of, 42Nayanars, 43–45and transgressive sacrality, 43–47

bhuta, spirit worship, 99–101Biardeau, Madeleine, 258Bilainkin, George, 129n87Blackburn, Robin, 67Bose, Subhas Chandra, 4brahmadeyas, 26–27, 47Brahman food, 283n32Brahmanic Hinduism, 20, 27Brahman Thaipusam, pada yatra

appointment of Kavadi Master, 260–61

arrival at Palani, 265–66bhajan session, 263, 265–66, 283n34on the day of Thaipusam, 266–67devotees’ apparel, 268Ganapati homa ceremony, 260kavadi designs, 261–62Kavadi Muttirai Nirattal, 261pilgrimage party organization,

259–60pilgrims, continual arrival at

Palani, 267–68on road travel, Palakkad–Palani,

262–64spiritual discovery process, 269–70

British colonialism in Malaya, 3British East India Company, 65British orientalist scholarship, 65–66,

70–71British racial theory, 70Bryant, Edwin, 25, 56n45Bumiputeras, 6

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Index 393

Ccakra, 335–36Caldwell, Robert, 68–69Cave Villa, 194–95, 198Central Indian Association of Malaya,

4Ceylonese Tamils, 3Champakalakshmi, R., 25, 47, 54n2,

86–87Chettiar community, 93–95Chettiar management of Penang

Thaipusamchariot halts for devotees, 247, 249chariot journey from Kovil Veedu,

247kavadi bearers, 246–47marriage ceremony, 249–50mass feedings, 248–49musical arrangements, 247–48pongal ceremony, 246reception of official guests, 248,

282n5Chettiar temples, in Malaysia, 94Chitrai Puruvum, 258Chola dynasty, 26–27Clothey, Fred W., 134, 135, 140coconut shattering, 253–54, 283n11Collins, Elizabeth Fuller, 203, 237n61,

241n108, 242n115, 350n161colonialism/colonial knowledge

British orientalist scholarship, 65–66

mosaic ethnology, 66–69Social Darwinism. See Social

Darwinismcommunal trance, 320

DDaniel, E. Valentine, 303–4, 306, 310Dark Cave, 191de Gobineau, Arthur, 69demon devotee, 329–31

de Sales, Anne, 289dharmasastra (dharmic law), 22Dirks, Nicholas, 74, 85n110divination process, 307–12Divine Life Society, 112Divine Reality, 153Dravidianism, 107, 109–10. See also

Adi Dravida caste

EEllis, Francis Whyte, 68Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 327

Ffasting, 315–16Federation of Malaya Census Report,

3Fijian Hinduism

firewalking ceremony, 275history of, 274–75Thaipusam festival, 276

firewalking ceremony (timiti), 270, 275Flood, Gavin, 353n221Fuller, C.J., 97

GGovindaraj, Datuk S., 114–15gramadevata, 99guardian deities, 99Gupta era, 25Guru-Guhan, 154

HHAB. See Hindu Advisory Board

(HAB)Hartsuiker, Dolf, 292headwriting (talai elluttu), 303–5HEB. See Hindu Endowment Board

(HEB)Hiltebeital, Alf, 47Hindraf. See Hindu Rights Action

Force (Hindraf)

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394 Index

Hindu Advisory Board (HAB), 272Hindu Dravidian India, 19Hindu Endowment Board (HEB), 108,

272Hindu mediums, 308Hindu pilgrimage sites, features of,

297Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf),

5, 10–11, 120–23Hiranyan, 155Hodgson, Brian Houghton, 68homa fire, 260, 282n4

Iiccha sakti, 166Idumban puja, 230–31, 338–39independent assisted workers, 2–3Indonesian Hinduism, 279–81inspiration trance, 320

JJaffna Tamil temples, 95–97jajmani system, 23, 302Jalan Batu Caves, 228James, William, 323jati (caste), 31, 34Jeyakumar, D., 10, 12n22Johnstone, Charles, 83n49Jones, William, 66–68

KKalagam in Singapore, 271kalasha kavadi, 240n93kalavu, 166Kallar festival, 258Kampong Medan incident (2001), 9Kanthashasti, 148karmam, 51, 205, 217, 306–7, 310, 312karumbu kavadi, 214Kataragama temple, 273kavadi-c-cindu, 226Kavadi Muttirai Nirattal, 261

kavadi ritual, 167–71aluga kavadi, 213, 225, 238n82arati, 222–23arrangements, 224, 230Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani

Temple, Palani, 256–57bhajans, 223bongo drums, 227Chitrai Puruvum at Tiruchendur,

258Christian colonial writers on,

257–58Idumban puja, 230–31kalasha kavadi, 240n93for Kali/Durga, 215Kallar festival, 258karumbu kavadi, 214kavadi-c-cindu, 226kavadi dance, 226–27maccha kavadi, 239n93mayil kavadi, 239n93Muneeswaran/Muniandy

devotees, 215Nagercoil Murugan temple, 259paal kavadi, 212–13, 238n82pallava kavadi, 240n93pannir kavadi, 239n93pantarams, 229pujari (spiritual leader), 219–21Puranic mythology, 212, 223puspha kavadi, 214rudraksha seeds, 218sandhana kavadi, 240n93spontaneous trance states, 223Temple Cave, 228–29trance training, 219, 221–22, 226tulasi/sandalwood seeds, 218–19Vaikasi Visakam at

Tirupparankunram, 257vel kavadi, 213–14, 217, 224–25worship of Murugan, 224, 299–300

Kerling incident, 119–20

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Index 395

Kirsch, Jonathan, 133n158Knipe, David, 45Knox, R.A., 317Krttika maidens, 146ksatriyas, 30–31Kulandai Veylayudaswami Temple,

266kulavarna tantra, 331kundalini, 335kunratal, 172kurukkals, 39

LLewis, I.M., 317–18Lim Teck Ghee, 132n146lunar cycle, 174Lyall, Charles, 82n35

Mmaccha kavadi, 239n93macrocosm, 154Mahadevas, 142mahapralaya, 164Mahathir Mohamad, 8Mahavani festival, 23Making of New World Slavery, The

(Blackburn), 67Malayan Chinese Association (MCA),

5Malayan Indian Congress, 5, 9Malay ethnicity, 7Malay political paramountcy, 6Malaysian Hinduism

Adi Dravida castes. See Adi Dravida castes

Agamic temples, 91–93Ceylonese “Jaffna” Tamils, 95–97Chettiars, 93–95Deepavali festival, 106–7Divine Life Society, 112Dravidianism, 109–10evangelical challenge, 123–24

guardian deities, 99Hindraf, 120–23Hindu reform movements, 107–8Kerling incident, 119–20Malaysian Hindu Sangam, 114–15non-Agamic temples, 101overview of, 86–87plantation temples, 102–3popular Hinduism, 97Ramakrishna Mission, 111ritual specialists, 104–5sabhas and sangams, 108Sanskritization/Agamicization in,

115–19Satthya Sai Baba, 112–13Shiva Family, 112spirit worship, 99–101Tamil Reform Association, 113–14Temple of Fine Arts, 112Thaipongal festival, 106–7Thaipusam festival, 105–7tutelary deities, 99urban temples, 103village deities, 97–99wayside shrines/temples, 103–4

Malaysian Hindu Sangam, 114–15, 216

Malaysian IndiansHindu Rights Action Force, 10–11independent assisted workers, 2–3kangany recruitment in, 2labour in, 1–2non-assisted workers, 2–3plantation culture, 8–10population, 5race and religion, 5–8

Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), 209

Malaysian pilgrimage site, Batu Caves, 297–99

Manu Dharma Sastra, 66–68Marimuthu Pillai, 280, 287n103

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396 Index

mass feedings. See annathanammatal hobbyhorse, 166mattyanam, 174Mauritian Thaipusam, 278–79Mauryan era, 24maya (illusion), 51mayil kavadi, 239n93MCA. See Malayan Chinese

Association (MCA)Medan, Indonesia

Kopkamtib ban, 280Marimuthu Pillai, 280temple construction in, 279

meelam, traditional instruments, 39Merdeka (1957), 3, 5, 208Metcalf, Thomas, 80MIC. See Malaysian Indian Congress

(MIC)Michell, George, 148microcosm, 154Miller, Cynthia J., 127n31Mill, James, 68moksha, attainment of, 44, 294Moronis, Alan, 291–92mosaic ethnology, 66–69Mother Goddess, 98Mukundan, K.A., 89muladhara cakra, 170–71, 335Muller, Max, 68Muneeswaran temples, 117–18murthi, 39–40Murugan–Devayanai–Valli triad, 334Murugan, Tamil deity

battle with asuras, 334–36cosmic history, 134–36, 332–33cultus, 173–75implications of marriages, 162–67kavadi ritual, 167–71marriage to Valli, 158–62Northern–Southern fusion, 138–39Puranic mythology. See Puranic

mythology

ritual chronometry, 173–75sacred geography, 171–73Sanskritic Skanda, 136–38Skanda-Murugan, 139–41

Muthukumarasamy, M.D., 324–25Muzium, 197–98

Nnadis (web of nerves), 154Nagercoil Murugan temple, 259Najib Abdul Razak, 11, 121–22, 191,

209nakasastra pucam, 174Nattukottai Chettiar community, 246Navaratri festival, 23Nayanars, 41, 43–45Neo-Hinduism, 75, 107Neo-Shaivism, 77–79, 107New Economic Policy (NEP), 6non-Agamic temples, 40, 101non-assisted workers, 2–3

OObeyeskere, Gannanath, 128n53, 329O’Flaherty, Wendy Doniger, 347n80O’Malley, L.S.S., 256–57On the Origin of Species (Darwin), 69otuvars, 48

Ppaal kavadi, 213pada yatra. See Brahman Thaipusam,

pada yatraPalaiyakkarars, 29Palani temple. See Arulmigu

Dhandayuthapani Temple, PalaniPallava dynasty, 26–27, 41pallava kavadi, 240n93Pallava rule, 26Panguni Uttiram, 257, 270, 282n7pannir kavadi, 239n93pantarams, 105

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Index 397

Parasivam, 164paricanankal, 36Paripatal, 138Parmer, J. Norman, 12n9Pasupati, 50Pati–pacu–paca, 49–53pattars, 39Penang Thaipusam

Chettiar management of, 246–50coconuts as vow fulfilment, 253–54,

283n11non-Chettiar kavadi worship, 250–53thaneer panthals, construction of,

254–55Periyanayaki Amman temple, 267–68Periya Purunam, 41, 48pey, spirit worship, 99–101phase of separation of ritual, 289piratakkalam, 174plantation-oriented culture, 8–10plantation temples, 102–3, 121popular Hinduism, 97Portuguese Catholicism, 97possession trance, 320post-war reform movements, 4Pravana Aum, 146pretas, spirit worship, 99–101Pugh, Judy, 308Puranic mythology, 24–25, 212, 234n33

advidya, 152asuras, 141–42, 145, 149cakras, 155devas, 145, 154Guru-Guhan, 154Kashyapar and rishi, 143–44Krownchan, 147maram, 156mayai, 143Pravana Aum, 151Siva’s wedding to Uma, 142–43Skanda Shasti, 148tapas, 144

Veerabahu, 146Yoga-Sakti, 153

Purusa Sakta, 30puspha kavadi, 214

Qqualities, human (kunams), 305–6, 313

Rrajadharma system, 28Raja Rajesvariyamman Temple, 116rajas (passion), 313–14, 316Ramachandran, C.P., 12n1Ramakrishna Mission, 111Ramanathan Kalimuthu, 91, 95Ramasami, E.V., 79Ramayana Gallery, 198Ratnam, K.J., 12n19Ravindra K. Jain, 126n10Reptiles Galore, 198reincorporative phase of ritual, 289rishi Agastya, 48Risley, H.H., 73rita dharma, 149ritual, phases of, 289rites of separation, 303–7Rouget, Gilbert, 317, 320–21, 323–24rural–urban migration, 9

Ssacred chronometry, 173–75sacred geography, 171–73sadhaka’s level of spiritual

development, 269–70sahasrara cakra, 171Saiva Agamas, 48Saiva Siddhanta

Agamas, 48definition of, 47mathas, 49Pati, Pacu, Paca, 49–53philosophy, 20, 49–54, 163

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398 Index

Saiva Siddhanta Church, 112Saiva–Vaishnava traditions, 32Sakti, 50sanctum sanctorum, 38, 187, 193sandhana kavadi, 240n93Sandhu, K.S., 2sangam, 24–30sannyasin, 293, 311Sanskritic Skanda, 136–38Sanskritization, in Malaysia, 115–19Sastras, 37Satthya Sai Baba, 112–13sattva (lightness), 313–14, 316–17self-mortification, 257Seychelles Thaipusam, 276–77Shiva Family, 112silapasastra, 37Singapore Hindu Association, 114Singapore Thaipusam, 270–72Sinha, Vineeta, 291Sivajnanabodham, 49Skanda-Karttikeya, 136–38Skanda-Murugan, 139–41Skanda Purana, 140Smartha Brahman community, 262Social Darwinism

archeological and geological discoveries, 69

British orientalist scholarship, 70–71

British racial theory, 70caste categories, 72–73Indian bioracial taxonomy, 71Lemuria, 71On the Origin of Species (Darwin),

69of racial theories, 6, 8religious traditions, 73–76

solar cycle, 174Somaskanda, 26Sontheimer, Gunther, 30

South African Hinduism, 274South Indian dynastic polity, 21South Indian Hinduism

Agamic/Sanskritic religion of, 20bhakti movement of. See bhakti

movement, South Indiacaste in, 30–35development of, 20non-Agamic and popular temples,

40Saiva Siddhanta, 47–53sangam and dynastic Hinduism,

24–30state and kingship, 21–24temples and kingship in, 35–40transgressive sacrality and. See

transgressive sacralitySouth Indian kingship, 21–24,

300–303South Indian labour, 2South Indian Reform Movements

anti-Brahman movement, 77colonial ideologies, 76, 79Neo-Shaivism, 77–79

spiritual discovery process, 269–70Sree Ganesha Temple, 188Sri Lanka

Asala festival, 272–73kavadi ritual at Kataragama

temple, 273–74Sri Maha Mariamman Devastanam,

187–88, 216Sri Paranjothy Vinayagar temple, 206Sri Subramanya Swami Kovil, 187Sri Thandayuthapani Kovil, 206Stein, Burton, 19, 28, 54n1sudras, 30Sungai Batu, 189Surapadman, 143susumna nadi, 335Swamimalai temple, 172

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Index 399

TTai Pongal, 282n3tamas (darkness), 313–14, 316, 332Tamil chronometry, 173Tamil colours in Thaipusam, 339–41Tamil Hinduism. See South Indian

HinduismTamil Reform Association (TRA),

109–10, 113–14, 271Tanah Melayu, 122Temple Cave, 190–91, 193–94, 336–38Temple of Fine Arts (TFA), 112tempocosm, 307Tenaga Nasional, 204Tevaram, 41TFA. See Temple of Fine Arts (TFA)Thambusamy Pillai, K., 186–87,

232n13, 297thaneer panthals, in Penang

Thaipusam, 254–55Tharpar, Romila, 75Thondar Padai, 4tirtha yatra

ascetic practices, 293–94attainment of moksha, 294axis mundi, 290, 292, 297boons of deities, 294–95deity’s history, association with,

291–92fulfilment of vow, 294–95geographical features, 292–93imbued leavings, 296local divine worship vs., 290mutual transfer, deity and devotee,

296ragas, 313sannyasa/renunciation, 293trance as. See trance state

Tiruchendur Murugan temple, 173tirukkalam, 173Tirumai, 41

Tirumantiram, 48, 50Tirumular’s aphorism, 48Tirumurukarruppatai (TMP), 138Tirupparankunram temple, 173, 257Tiruttani Murugan temple, 173Tiruttontar Purana, 48TMP. See Tirumurukarruppatai (TMP)Tower of Babel, 81n17TRA. See Tamil Reform Association

(TRA)TRAC. See Tradition, Religion,

Aspiration and Culture (TRAC)traditional society, caste system in, 35Tradition, Religion, Aspiration and

Culture (TRAC), 113trance state

Agamic gods, 325–26amnesia and, 323–24arul, 324–25attainment of, 331–33bhakti, 326definition of, 317demon devotee, 329–31individual impact, 322–23induction of, 320–22, 326–28key themes in, 318–19Rouget’s classification, 320training, 328

trance training, 219, 221–22transformative phase of ritual, 289transgressive sacrality

concept of, 45Nayanars and, 43–45and popular Hinduism, 45–47

Turner, Victor, 289tutelary deities, 99

UUnited Malays National Organisation

(UMNO), 4–7urban temples, 103

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400 Index

Ussher, James, 81n13utsava murthis, Murugan, 189–90, 200,

235n44

VVaikasi Visakam, 257vaisyas, 30valangai/idangai divisions, 33van Gennep, Arnold (ritual phases

conception), 289varna dharma, 168varna system, 30–31vastu purusa mandala, 37vel kavadi, 213–14, 217, 224–25Vellalar caste, 31, 33, 49veriyattal, 162vidya, 312–13Vijayadisami festival, 23–24Vijayanagara dynasty, 28–29village deities, 97–99

Vinayakar Agaval, 234n35virabhadras, 45–46vow fulfilment, 309–10

coconut smashing, 253–54, 283n11fasting, 315–16

WWard, Colleen, 324Washbrook, David, 76wayside shrines/temples, 103–4Whitehead, Henry, 256–57Wilson, C., 89womb chamber, 38

YYoga Sakti, 154

ZZaehner, R.C., 53Zvelebil, Kamil, 148

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