Indian Religions - Renaissance and Renewal - Anna S. King
Brahminisation of Dravidian Religions: The Case of the Muttappan Cult of North Malabar
Indian Religions - Renaissance and Renewal - Anna S. King
Theodore Gabriel [+]
University of Gloucestershire
Theodore Gabriel is Honorary Research Fellow in Theology and Religious Studies at the Department of Humanities, University of Gloucestershire and Assistant Professor in Religious Studies at the Queen's University (Canada) Study Centre in Hailsham, East Sussex, England.
Description
This chapter describes the Muttappan cult of North Malabar, a significant religious phenomenon of Northern Kerala, which is rapidly increasing in popularity and spreading to other regions not only of Kerala but also to other Indian states. More interestingly it displays features of Sanskritisation or Brahminisation of what is essentially a tribal or low caste religion whose origins are from the worship of a folk hero or forest deity.