Paper short abstract:

The gift of decoding the 'language' of the snake gods through ritual music, dance and pictographic art, was the duty of the Pulluvans, a marginalized group whose identity differed in the geographical regions of Kerala reflecting assertion and subjugation.

Paper long abstract:

The Indian social and cultural mindscape is a world wherein people, animals, animate and inanimate objects all contain an aura of sacrality. In the context of Kerala, the snake is not a mere reptile but holds a pride of place in many Nair and Namboodari tharawads (households). The serpentine domain exists parallel and independent to the 'mainstream' gods with their territorial contours and followers. They have their own sacred texts though oral in nature and their own sacred calendar. The Pulluvans were responsible for ritually purifying the living space of their social and economic superiors, invoking boons for children and general wellbeing of the tharawad. The consumers of the cultural exorcism were the dominant land owning castes. Though the Pulluvan community is spread across the entire state, their fortunes reflect different historical trajectories. The Christian missionaries were active in propagating education which enabled the Pulluvans to climb up the social ladder. The regions of north Kerala continued to be ruled by feudal fiefdoms and its attendant rituals which entrapped the Pulluvans in their hereditary occupations.