Divine Demarcations: Re-reading the select Religious and Ritualistic spaces in Kerala

Abstract

The panoramic coastal landscape of Arabian Sea was the ploughing ground for a
mélange of cultures. Kerala located in the southernmost part of India is regarded as a
treasure trove of diverse cultures, religions, rituals, legends and myths. According to
anthropologists, the autochthonic tribes of the land worshipped the aniconic mother
goddess as their tutelary deity in the lap of sacred groves (kavus). The kavus were
accessible to all. With the passage of time, due to cultural acculturations these secular
landscapes of kavus got converted into temples. With the installation of Gods and
Goddesses in temples, the spaces became clearly demarcated. The norms of sacredness
and profanity entered into the dictum of worship system. As a result, certain sections
of society and their accessing of the sacred spaces came to be connected with impurity.
The forbidding of women from many of the religious rites and rituals highlights the
gendered spaces in the worship system. The paper tries to have a glimpse of the
transformation of religious spaces in Kerala and strives to explore the engendered ritual
spaces, with reference to selected rituals popular in Kerala.