Maaran
Encyclopedia
Maaran is the name given to the temple musicians of Travancore
, Cochin
and Malabar
in the state of Kerala
, India whose primary duty was to provide the traditional temple Sopanam
music. Their position in the caste system varies from place to place in Kerala. In Travancore, although they were Ambalavasi
they had status intermediate between Itasseri Nair
subcaste and Chempukotti Nair (Intermediate between Nair proper and Nair Inferior). In Malabar they enjoyed relatively superior status.
Edgar Thurston in his "Castes and Tribes of Southern India" states their traditional origin and occupation as follows: Before the days of Sankaracharya their sole occupation was beating the drums in Brahminical Temples. When Sankaracharya was refused assistance in the cremation of his mother by the Namboodiri Brahmins, he is believed to have sought in despair the help of one of these temple servants with whose aid the corpse was divided into eight parts and deposited in the pit. For undertaking this duty which the Namboodiris repudiated from a sense of offended religious feeling, the particular Maran was thrown out of his caste by the general community and a compromise had to be effected by the sage with the rest of the caste who returned in a body on the day of purification along with the excommunicated man and helped Sankaracharya to close his mother's death ceremonies. In recognition of this timely help Sankaracharya is said to have declared the Maran to be an indispensable functionary at the death ceremonies of Namboodiris and Ambalavasis.
The traditional occupations of the Maarans was sounding or playing the panchavadya or five musical instruments in temples known as the "Sankhu (Conch), Timila, Chenda, Kaimani and Maddalam". The Asu and Pani are sounded by the highest dignitaries known as Asupani Maarans. The beating of the Pani is the accompaniment of expiatory offerings to the Saptamata
or Seven Mothers of Hindu
religious writings namely Brahmi, Maheshwari, Kaumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Indrani and Chamunda
. There are certain well established rules regarding the hymns to be recited and the music to be played. So religiously have these rules to be followed that during the Utsavabali that the priest who makes the offering, the Variar
who carries the sacred lamp and the Maaran, all have to fast and dress themselves in the orthodox Brahminical fashion, with the Uttariya or upper garment tied around their torso like the Sacred thread.
The higher classes of Maarans (Asupani Maarans) claim six privileges Pani or Pano, Koni, Thirumuttom, Nadumuttam, Velichor and Poochor. Pani is the right to play the Asu and Pani. Koni literally means a ladder and refers to the stretcher made of bamboo and kusa grass or straw on which corpses of high caste Hindus are laid. Thirumuttom is the right to sweep the inner courtyard of Temples, a privilege otherwise reserved for the Ambalavasi castes. Nadumuttam is the right of erecting a small pandal or booth like in the courtyard of a Namboodiri house where oblations are offered to the departed spirit on the tenth day since death. Velichor is the right to retain remains of the sacrificial rice offered to the manes and Poochor the right to retain a part of the offering of flowers and food made to the deity.
The higher classes of Maarans in Malabar consider themselves superior to other Maarars owing to ritual purity and abstinence from flesh and liquor and also their aloofness from the lower classes who assist at funeral ceremonies and function as priests for the Nairs. During Jati Nirnayam they were classed inferior to Nair proper (the three proper Nair castes: Illakkar, Swaroopakkar & Kiryathil) and hence sometimes considered the lower ranking section of Ambalavasis. These families were known in Malabar as Marars whereas in Travancore they continued to be included among the other Maarans.
Though playing the music in temples is their main vocation, they are indispensable in Namboodiri, Kshatriya and Ambalavasi funeral ceremonies and almost all ceremonies of the Nairs such as Kettu Kalyanam. Some practised sorcery and witchcraft and were also priests in temples dedicated to Bhadrakali
. They assisted the Namboodiris and Raja
hs during the Chowalam or tonsure ceremony.
and North Travancore, up to Alapuzha, the Maarans are divided broadly into two groups, the Marars, also known as Asupanis, and the remaining Maarans. The Marars are those higher classes of Maarans who distanced themselves from any other services, such as serving as funeral priests etc., but temple service and hence secured a higher status, among the Ambalavasis, with the honorific title of Marar. From Alapuzha southwards, there exists no such division and even the Asupanis were included among the remaining Maarans of Central and Southern Travancore.
The Maarans here are divided into several groups on various bases. Sometimes they are classed on the basis of the castes whose various rites and rituals they perform such as Illathu Maarans for those who were priests of the Illathu Nairs. Likewise they may be classed as per locality also. For instance Tekkumkur Maarans and Vadakumkur Maarans. On the basis of occupation the highest were the Asupani Maarans followed by subcastes known as Seethikans, Mangala Maarans etc. However the real social divisions of the Travancore Maarans are only four and they are:
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
, Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
and Malabar
Malabar District
Malabar District was an administrative district of Madras Presidency in British India and independent India's Madras State. The British district included the present-day districts of Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad , and Chavakad Taluk of Thrissur District in the northern part of...
in the state of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, India whose primary duty was to provide the traditional temple Sopanam
Sopanam
Sopana Sangeetham is a form of Indian classical music that developed in the temples of Kerala in south India in the wake of the increasing popularity of Jayadeva's Gita Govinda or Ashtapadis.-Etymology:...
music. Their position in the caste system varies from place to place in Kerala. In Travancore, although they were Ambalavasi
Ambalavasi
Ambalavasi is a generic name for a collection of castes among Hindus in Kerala who render temple services.-Etymology:The term Ambalavasi is derived from two Malayalam words, being Ambalam and Vasi...
they had status intermediate between Itasseri Nair
Itasseri Nair
Itasseri Nairs or Itacheri Nairs were one of the subcastes belonging to the Nair community in Kerala. They used to be gentry, feudal lords, administrators or owners of temples and even vendors of milk, butter and curd....
subcaste and Chempukotti Nair (Intermediate between Nair proper and Nair Inferior). In Malabar they enjoyed relatively superior status.
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Origin and occupation
Below is an excerpt from the Madras Census Report of 1901 which reports the Maarans as:Edgar Thurston in his "Castes and Tribes of Southern India" states their traditional origin and occupation as follows: Before the days of Sankaracharya their sole occupation was beating the drums in Brahminical Temples. When Sankaracharya was refused assistance in the cremation of his mother by the Namboodiri Brahmins, he is believed to have sought in despair the help of one of these temple servants with whose aid the corpse was divided into eight parts and deposited in the pit. For undertaking this duty which the Namboodiris repudiated from a sense of offended religious feeling, the particular Maran was thrown out of his caste by the general community and a compromise had to be effected by the sage with the rest of the caste who returned in a body on the day of purification along with the excommunicated man and helped Sankaracharya to close his mother's death ceremonies. In recognition of this timely help Sankaracharya is said to have declared the Maran to be an indispensable functionary at the death ceremonies of Namboodiris and Ambalavasis.
The traditional occupations of the Maarans was sounding or playing the panchavadya or five musical instruments in temples known as the "Sankhu (Conch), Timila, Chenda, Kaimani and Maddalam". The Asu and Pani are sounded by the highest dignitaries known as Asupani Maarans. The beating of the Pani is the accompaniment of expiatory offerings to the Saptamata
Matrikas
Matrikas , also called Matara and Matris , are a group of Hindu goddesses who are always depicted together. Since they are usually depicted as a heptad, they are called Saptamatrikas : Brahmani, Vaishnavi, Maheshvari, Indrani, Kaumari, Varahi and Chamunda or Narasimhi...
or Seven Mothers of Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
religious writings namely Brahmi, Maheshwari, Kaumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Indrani and Chamunda
Chamunda
Chamunda , also known as Chamundi, Chamundeshwari and Charchika, is a fearsome aspect of Devi, the Hindu Divine Mother and one of the seven Matrikas . She is also one of the chief Yoginis, a group of sixty-four or eighty-one Tantric goddesses, who are attendants of the warrior goddess Durga...
. There are certain well established rules regarding the hymns to be recited and the music to be played. So religiously have these rules to be followed that during the Utsavabali that the priest who makes the offering, the Variar
Variar
Warrier is a South Indian, Hindu caste of the Ambalavasi community from Kerala, India. They are engaged to assist the Namboodiri priests in temple-related chores, primarily catering to the floral requirements and daily maintenance of the temple. Variars form an intermediate between Dwija and...
who carries the sacred lamp and the Maaran, all have to fast and dress themselves in the orthodox Brahminical fashion, with the Uttariya or upper garment tied around their torso like the Sacred thread.
The higher classes of Maarans (Asupani Maarans) claim six privileges Pani or Pano, Koni, Thirumuttom, Nadumuttam, Velichor and Poochor. Pani is the right to play the Asu and Pani. Koni literally means a ladder and refers to the stretcher made of bamboo and kusa grass or straw on which corpses of high caste Hindus are laid. Thirumuttom is the right to sweep the inner courtyard of Temples, a privilege otherwise reserved for the Ambalavasi castes. Nadumuttam is the right of erecting a small pandal or booth like in the courtyard of a Namboodiri house where oblations are offered to the departed spirit on the tenth day since death. Velichor is the right to retain remains of the sacrificial rice offered to the manes and Poochor the right to retain a part of the offering of flowers and food made to the deity.
The higher classes of Maarans in Malabar consider themselves superior to other Maarars owing to ritual purity and abstinence from flesh and liquor and also their aloofness from the lower classes who assist at funeral ceremonies and function as priests for the Nairs. During Jati Nirnayam they were classed inferior to Nair proper (the three proper Nair castes: Illakkar, Swaroopakkar & Kiryathil) and hence sometimes considered the lower ranking section of Ambalavasis. These families were known in Malabar as Marars whereas in Travancore they continued to be included among the other Maarans.
Though playing the music in temples is their main vocation, they are indispensable in Namboodiri, Kshatriya and Ambalavasi funeral ceremonies and almost all ceremonies of the Nairs such as Kettu Kalyanam. Some practised sorcery and witchcraft and were also priests in temples dedicated to Bhadrakali
Bhadrakali
Bhadrakāli , is one of the forms of the Great Goddess mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam. In Sanskrit, the word Bhadra means "blessed", "auspicious", "fair", "beautiful", "good", "fortunate", "prosperous"....
. They assisted the Namboodiris and Raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
hs during the Chowalam or tonsure ceremony.
Subdivisions
In Malabar, CochinKingdom of Cochin
Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...
and North Travancore, up to Alapuzha, the Maarans are divided broadly into two groups, the Marars, also known as Asupanis, and the remaining Maarans. The Marars are those higher classes of Maarans who distanced themselves from any other services, such as serving as funeral priests etc., but temple service and hence secured a higher status, among the Ambalavasis, with the honorific title of Marar. From Alapuzha southwards, there exists no such division and even the Asupanis were included among the remaining Maarans of Central and Southern Travancore.
The Maarans here are divided into several groups on various bases. Sometimes they are classed on the basis of the castes whose various rites and rituals they perform such as Illathu Maarans for those who were priests of the Illathu Nairs. Likewise they may be classed as per locality also. For instance Tekkumkur Maarans and Vadakumkur Maarans. On the basis of occupation the highest were the Asupani Maarans followed by subcastes known as Seethikans, Mangala Maarans etc. However the real social divisions of the Travancore Maarans are only four and they are:
- Orunul Maarans: This was a comparatively small class of Maarans. What is unique about these Maarans is that whoever does the Thali Kettu KalyanamKettu KalyanamKettu Kalyanam, also known as Thali Kettu was the name of an elaborate marriage ceremony of the Malayala Kshatriyas, Samanthans, Nairs, Maaran, and Ambalavasis communities of the Indian state of Kerala...
or ritual marriage ceremony of four days and ties the Thali alone is the husband of their females. But in Kerala the husband who tied the thali was only the ritual husband and actual marriage or SambandhamSambandhamSambandham was a form of marital system primarily followed by the Nairs in what is the present-day Indian state of Kerala. This system of marriage was followed by the matriarchal castes of Kerala, though today the custom has ceased to exist...
was carried out later with another man of the same or superior caste. The Orunul Maaran females may have Sambandham or consort either with the Thali tier alias the ritual husband or else only with a Namboodiri and no other Maaran may be accepted for Sambandham. Thurston states thus about the Orunul Maarans:
- Irunul Maarans: Unlike Orunul Maarans, it is not mandatory for the Irunul Maarans that their women have SambandhamSambandhamSambandham was a form of marital system primarily followed by the Nairs in what is the present-day Indian state of Kerala. This system of marriage was followed by the matriarchal castes of Kerala, though today the custom has ceased to exist...
either with their Thali husband or else a Brahmin. They may consort through Sambandham any Maaran of the same caste and not necessarily the Thali tier. Widow marriage is permitted for the Irunul Maarans.
- Chepat and Kulangi Maarans: These were initially local varieties from Chepat and Kulangi and later became independent sub-castes of the Maarans. Ranking at the same level are two other Maaran subcastes known as Asthikurichi and Pulikkal Maarans. While the former assisted Brahmins at funeral ceremonies the latter were required to purify the Nairs after pollution. These Maarans also assisted the Brahmins and KshatriyaKshatriya*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
s in the Chowlam ceremony. They are also known as Seethikans derived from Chaitika meaning one concerned with the funeral pyre.
- Muttal Maarans: They are those Maarans considered lowest in the scale and found only in Kalkulam Taluk, now in Tamil Nadu. Traditionally they are supposed to have been an inferior class of people who were elevated in that district to a significantly superior position, rendered necessary by a temple exigency. The very term 'Muttal' means substitute or emergency employee.
Manners and customs
The customs and ceremonies of the Maarans are the same as the Nairs excepting for the Annaprasana ceremony of first food giving when the Maaran child partakes consecrated food of the temple unlike the Nair child whose ceremony is performed at home. Maarans could be purified from death pollution by the Namboodiris while they themselves were purificatory priests of the Nairs. Technically all Maarans are expected to be abstainers from meat but barring the Asupani class (Marars and Asupani Maarans) and those in the service of temples and Brahmins, this rule was not uniformly practised.Status
The status of the Maaran community varies from place to place in Kerala. Eventually they were broadly divided into two classes namely the Marars of Malabar and the Maarans of Travancore. The Marars correspond to the Asupani Maarans and were considered higher in status owing to their aloofness from the other Maaran subcastes as also from performing any other services, but those within the temple, whereas the Maarans of Travancore were considered lower in status. Thurston mentions how higher classes of Maarans would be polluted by eating the food of a Nair belonging to lower subcastes. All the same, a Nair belonging to higher subcaste would also lose his caste status by eating the food of a Maaran.Famous Marars
- K.KarunakaranKannoth KarunakaranKannoth Karunakaran was a senior politician from Kerala, India belonging to Congress party. He was a former Chief Minister of Kerala, Home minister of Government of Kerala, and Cabinet Minister for Industries of Government of India. He was one of the most influential persons in Kerala politics for...
(Ex C.M) - Shadkala Govinda MararShadkala Govinda Marar, or was a Carnatic Musician from Kerala, India. He was a contemporary of Saint Tyāgarāja and Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma. He was also adept in playing musical instruments like Chenda, Edakka and Thimila...
- K. MuraleedharanK. MuraleedharanK. Muraleedharan is an Indian politician from Kerala. He was elected as member of the Lok Sabha thrice from the Kozhikode constituency, representing the Indian National Congress, subsequently leaving the party in 2005.-Personal life:K. Muraleedharan was born to K...