In the last few years, I have been trying to trace out things from my past—that is to say, the past of Kerala and my community—to understand how things were before changes happened. Changes such as the arrival of new gods, of new practices, new social relations and the like. And also, most importantly, before the establishment of a post-colonial legal system.
I have discovered two major things.
One is the arrival of new gods into Malluland. The older gods were human-like and had all the villainous bends of mind and playfulness that could be seen in people. They were divine, of course, but they liked meat and blood and the body. It is only after the arrival of aryan/sanskritic/hindu gods that these ordinary gods were pushed aside to make way for puranic gods. It seems that the ‘civilised’ hinduism is a recent arrival.
Second is the realization of regular marriage as the legitimate form of conjugality. Prior to this, at least in the Nair community, monogamy was not the norm. Women could—within the limits set by the elder man of the house—take lovers and dismiss them. This of course caused difficulties in inheritance and family size, but marriage between two people and two people alone was not a norm. It seems that the ‘civilised’ marriage is also a recent arrival.
In the light of these discoveries, I think it is a little stupid to consider marriage and the puranic gods as natural to my self. They were/are a historically and materially determined fact, just like geocentrism.
There are two ways to deal with this (actually there are three).
1. Go back to the past. 2. Accept the present—things change. 3. Be stupid and think that the present alone is real.
Second option is the ‘wise’ one. First option is the ‘resistant’ one. Third is impossible for me.
So, do I resist (and what am I resisting? Aryan Invasion?) or do I accept? Do I give into one woman, a satvic god, and die? Do I fuck around and find out my god (literally)?