Literature As Reflection Of The Society;War Songs With Special Reference To Cheroor PadaPattu.
Literature is an important source material for the process of historical reconstruction.So a researcher may required to take a literary work which predominantly uses history as its subject matter,so that he could examine the ways and the extent to which an imaginative work appropriates history.
In any study of literature, a carefull attempt is necessary to distinguish between two different approaches to the text, literary scholarship and literary interpretation.
The central driving purpose of literary scholarship is to establish facts surrounding the production and reception and influence of the text. This task requires the empirical study of a complex and wide-ranging series of questions involving the author, the historical period in which the work was produced, the variations in the text, the literary tradition which the author inherited, the verifiable responses to the work, and so on.
The literary scholar's major task is to reconstruct the historical milieu out of which the work emerged and to follow the history of the text once it has been produced.
Literary interpretation, by contrast, concerns itself with meaning and value, rather than with historical origins. Working directly with the text created by the best scholarship, the literary interpreter explores patterns of meaning, interpretative possibilities, so as to offer some insight into what the literary work might communicate to a modern audience. This exploration might very well involve making value judgments about the text, comparing it with and ranking it against other similar works. Comparisons of this sort are among the most important tools of the interpreter of literature.
The aim of literary interpretation is to explore possible ways of reading and evaluating the text. Since literary fictions are inherently ambiguous, there is no final closure on any particular text, no single determinate meaning towards which literary interpretation is moving.
There are, however, interpretations which are more or less persuasive than others, and an important part of literary interpretation is to weigh one interpretative possibility against another. Sophisticated literary interpretation often requires the ability to entertain simultaneously a range of different interpretative possibilities.
So, a carefull glimps on the literary scholarship and literary interpretation of the War songs of Malabar would tells us the lagacy of struggles from the part of a minority group against the colonial Masters.War songs ,as a part of literary product, appears to be relevant to the present day, since it contained many information regarding the life of an era.As far as the history of Malabar is concerned,war songs constitute a major category of Mappila songs.
Second half of the 19th century witnessed the compossition of around hundred padapattu(war songs) in Malabar which narrates ,along with the contemporary issues ,the events during the formative phase of Islam ,particularly battles fought by Prophet Muhammed .The War songs like Badar Padapattu,Uhd Padapattu, Makkam Fath,Khandak and Khaibar Padapattu etc are about the histories of Islamic battles in verses1.The miraculous power of Badar Padapattu could be seen from the fact that ‘blood stained copy of badar padapattu was found on the body of mappilas in Manjeri temple where they found dead in the battle against British troops in 1896.These songs, sung at various social gatherings reminded the Mappilas about the sacrifice made by the martyrs for the cause of Islam.
Within the war songs ,there was a separate category,which extolled the heroic exploits of the martyrs of malabar who died in their battle against the indigenous and european enemies.The most popular war songs of Malabar were Malappuram Padapttu,Mannarghat padapattu,Manjeri Padapattu,cherur chinth ,Kapratt Krishna Panikkar Pattu ,cherur padapattu etc. No wonder,these war songs were identified by the British authorities as the inspiration behind many of the rural revolts of malabar in the 19th century.As F.Fawcett rightly remarked that these poems must be read if the Mappilas are to be understood 2.
Cherur Padapattu is an important among these types of war songs.It narrates an historical event of a struggle,Cherur revolt, between a group of seven muslims and british at cherur,a village close to Tirurangadi. Cherur Padapattu otherwise called ‘Sarasar Guna Tirutaula Mala’ is a joined composition by Cherur Mammad kutty and Muhiyudhin describes the cherur riot of 1843.
Within a short period after the cherur revolt,cherur Padapattu became very popular in malabar and was instrumental in disseminating the anti british sentiments in Malabar.This work,completed in Hijra 1261 was entrusted to the press namely ‘Malharul Muhimmath’ at tirurangadi owned by Sayed Ali of Tellicheri.But soon British official confiscated the press and copies of the manuscript .Thus British authorities banned the publication of the song.But the poem was transmitted orally and the memory of the heroic fight is still kept alive in malabar 3.
marthanda varma is very famous kerala king ,for he defeated the dutch forces at kulachal in 1744.c.v.raman pillai has written a novel named marthanda varma.in it a hero like character is there.it is ananda padmanabhan valia padathalavan.in the novel he is made a nair ,son of thiru mukattu pilla.but actually he is a historical figure.he was not a nair,he was from a channar family.he was the marthanda varmas very trusted person,was his body guard,his army chief and his closest friend.history books usually try to conceal him.only reference of him will like this---after the death of army cheif ananda padmanabhan,aiyyappan (pillai or nair )was made cheif.---.ananda padmanabhan was treacherously killed.his tomb is till in kanya kumari district.he was actually the strength and brain of modern travancore.without him marthanda varma would have been killed by pillamar in his twenties. also mankoikkal family which is refered in the novel also existed.they too is a channar family.never and not a nair or kuprupp family.this two families exists in kanyakumari district.
ReplyDeletemarthandavarma trusted ezhava soilders.its wrong that he as a whole distrusted nairs.actually all pillais were not nairs.it was not a caste name but a title position granded by king. Pillai was a lord postion or title given by the king after a ceremony called thirumukkam pidikkuka .the selected person sits on an elephant and is taken around the city ,followed by other lords and important officers.when this procession reaches the palace ,king receives him and the title of pillai is bestowed to him.he can build a big house in that particular place where his lord ship is given.he shall be known with the title of that place with sufixed with pillai eg kazhakutton pillai,chempazhanthi pillai etc.there is a doubt that ramanamadom pillai is a brahmin.in 1830s even during the british rule a brahmin was given the title of pillai,he was the then devan in travancore. its like a lord or prabhu.bhrahimin,muslims and christian pillais were also given pillai position.similar to pillai the title given in kochin was menon and in kannur it is nambyar. menon title were held by ezhava familes and other castes.as it is now belived as a caste name ,they now dont use it nowadays.these were more an administrative postion than a military position.they were entrusted with the duty to collect the tax from land in that locality.for that a small army was allowed to be kept under them.
in north its likely that entire army of kolathiri and majority of zamorins was thiyyas.there is no nair pada mentioned in the records of these kings.actually the word nair and nair pada was repeatedly used by portugese.due to many reasons our earlier historians studied and may be only read their writings ,records,letters etc.thus the wide spread concept of nair pada imprinted in the minds of us.to be frank i never came across a firm evidenace of nair pada ever existed.only one was a battalion in madras regiment.and remember it was one of the first units disbanded or renamed just after independance.by then it was not actually a nair pada as many non nairs were in it.
During the time of velu thampi naval supreme commander of travancore was a ezhava.he was a friend of veluthampi and fought against british.he is also considered as one of the bravest warriors in kerala.when veluthampi began preparations for a war against british ,a rival group formed which opposed the velutampi.they asked kuthira pakshi ,a famous warrior then ,who was also a good fighter well trained in weapons ,to go and meet naval commander,who was in support of velu thampi.if commander does not joins with the rival group he shall be killed by kuthira pakshi.commander was then in his 50s but was a master in arms.kuthira pakshi asked him to meet in a paddy field .when he came he was asked to leave tampi and join the rival group.but he declined.at last kuthira pakshi drawed sword and attacked the commander.but the older commander slipped aside and cut down the kuthira pakshi.kuthira pakshis death stired a general fear amoung the rivals of thampi.which helped him to organose a fight against british.
ReplyDeletethe naval commander during velu thampi's time was and is a great warrior and brave personalites of kerala.he was the one who made the plan to attack manrove thuruth.after the defeat of velu thampi ,the commander was taken prisoner and brought before manrove.manrove himself conducted the trial at sankumukkam beach.the prisoner was brought before him and was burried upto neck.the british cheif sat before him in a chair.he asked the prisoner "did u fought agianst british" answer was yes.again "did u killed british men" the middle aged naval commander replied "yes i have killed british men.if possible i shall do it again.they are the invaders."monrove was suprised to hear this reply.he did't expected such a reply.he understood the spirit and braveness of the commander ,understood he fought for his mother country and for freedom.so he pardoned the commander and released him.he eventually went back to his house.
one of the stories about sakthan tampuran ,a reference about the vadakkum nadan guarding brigade is said.it was a ezhava army ,its head was also an ezhava.