The Power of Pandi: Multiplicity, Ambiguity, and Intimacy at a South Indian Temple
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Syracuse University SURFACE Theses - ALL January 2017 The Power of Pandi: Multiplicity, Ambiguity, and Intimacy at a South Indian Temple Julie Ann Edelstein Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/thesis Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons Recommended Citation Edelstein, Julie Ann, "The Power of Pandi: Multiplicity, Ambiguity, and Intimacy at a South Indian Temple" (2017). Theses - ALL. 135. https://surface.syr.edu/thesis/135 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses - ALL by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract This thesis is an ethnographic account of Pandi Koyil, a small temple located in the South Indian city of Madurai. The temple, its presiding deity Pandi Muneesvarar, and the devotees who worship there represent a diverse spectrum of narrative histories, ritual practices, and community identities. This thesis demonstrates how the multiplicity, ambiguity, and power of the deity Pandi fosters the multiple narratives, differentiated practices, and relationships of intimacy that surround him. First, this thesis presents the multiple origin stories people tell about the founding of Pandi Koyil and the mythological identity of its main deities, while also explaining the caste and religious diversity of the temple community. Next, it addresses the material practices of worship that take place at the temple, looking particularly at possession and prophesy. This thesis uses theories about dividual personhood and substantial exchange to interpret these practices as links of intimacy between Pandi and his devotees. Furthermore, it argues that possession and prophecy telling can be understood as examples of diffused authority. Lastly, this thesis focuses on the intertwined characteristics of ambiguity and potency in Pandi’s personality through addressing aspects of eroticism, danger, and practices of animal sacrifice present in his worship. The Power of Pandi: Multiplicity, Ambiguity, and Intimacy at a South Indian Temple by Julie Edelstein B.A., Temple University, 2011 Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Religion Syracuse University May 2017 Copyright 2017 Julie Edelstein All rights reserved Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ i Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Diverse Origins and the Stories People Tell ................................................... 19 Chapter 2: Possession, Relationship, and Authority ......................................................... 63 Chapter 3: Power and Personality ................................................................................... 118 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 151 Works Cited .................................................................................................................... 154 Vita .................................................................................................................................. 159 iv Introduction Backgrounds and Backdrops The political climate in Madurai, Tamil Nadu was abuzz during the winter months of 2016-2017. Hardly a month past Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s shocking announcement initiating his demonetization scheme throughout the country, Madurai was still reeling from the financial plan’s chaotic effects when I arrived to begin field research in mid-December. Banks were packed with crowds of people waiting in anxiety and frustration as they scrambled to exchange recalled banknotes before the old 500 and 1,000 rupee denominations became defunct. Lines snaked out of ATM booths as people made their frequent, sometimes daily pilgrimages to attempt withdrawing whatever amount of cash they could from ATMs that were chronically understocked or empty, all while negotiating government imposed withdrawal limits. Commentary on the hardships initiated by Modi’s demonetization swirled in conversation, newspaper articles, and the international media.1 Friends of mine in Madurai criticized the ill conceived and poorly implemented government plan to make India into a cashless society, while uncertainty about how the scheme would continue to unfold circulated throughout the city. Friends and commentators questioned whether Modi would be able to amend the problems unleashed by demonetization and its disproportionate burden on “regular people” - those without endless sources of money and close political ties. Would demonetization really quell black money and corruption as Modi’s administration claimed? Or would it instead 1 See for example, Ann Rutledge, “Modi’s Risky Revolution: Demonetization Will Only Work if India’s Economy Picks Up Steam,” Forbes, January 18, 2017, accessed February 22, 2017, http://www.forbes.com/sites/annrutledge/2017/01/18/modis-risky-revolution-how-the-indian-prime- ministers-demonetization-move-could-backfire/#a9dd95d40e03. 1 impose impossible hardships on those without bank accounts, laborers paid primarily in cash, small business owners, and the millions of others inconvenienced by the plan? My friends speculated that Modi dropped this unexpected financial bomb during the middle of his political tenure as Prime Minister so that he would have time for his reputation to recover from the shock and anger demonetization has inspired, while also giving him the opportunity to possibly prove the long-term benefits of his plan. Yet my friends remained skeptical and all agreed that the implementation of Modi’s vision of a cashless society had failed, despite whatever laudable causes it was supposed to support or whatever successes in might yield in the future. And what of Modi’s other campaign, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan - the country-wide mission to “Clean India”?2 Madurai city was freshly painted with countless public service announcement murals encouraging citizens to clean India of garbage, poor sanitation, plastic waste, and other forms of environmental pollution - all under the watchful, paternalistic gaze of Mahatma Gandhi whose iconic circular spectacles are featured as the obviously symbolic logo of the Clean India campaign. Although most people who mentioned the Swachh Bharat project to me in Madurai were enthusiastic about the benefits of a cleaner city and a plastic-free environment, they were nevertheless doubtful of Modi’s ability to accomplish his stated goal of purification - at least without concerted governmental action to create infrastructure to support better overall sanitation. While the switch to a cashless society seems impossible according to many people I spoke with as long as a large percentage of the population lacks a bank account and access to the technology necessary for making digital transactions, the switch to a trashless society 2 See the official Indian government website for Swacch Bharat Abhiyan at https://swachhbharat.mygov.in. 2 seems similarly impossible when garbage collection is often as unreliable as the dry Tamil monsoon. But Modi’s nationwide plans were not the only political problem festering in Madurai. Following the abrupt and widely mourned death of Tamil Nadu’s charismatic Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram3 on December 5, 2016, frustration, rumors, and conspiracy theories mounted throughout the state. Madurai was freshly plastered with countless posters promoting Sasikala - the endlessly controversial AIADMK4 party’s touted successor. Formerly rumored to be Jayalalithaa’s same-sex partner, widely disparaged as “just” the beloved late Chief Minister’s maid, and sharply critiqued for her lack of political credentials, Sasikala’s name and face frequently evoked distrust and even disgust. Recast by supports as “Chinnamma” - literally, “Little Mother” - in a nod to Jayalalithaa’s famous moniker of “Amma” - “Mother” - Sasikala’s image was printed in endless iterations across Tamil Nadu’s cities. Either alone or displayed in a photomontage next to images of Jayalalithaa herself, Sasikala’s face was ubiquitous in Madurai during my period of field research. But despite whatever visual clout Sasikala’s face garnered through repetition, many Madurai residents were provoked by what was viewed as an utter disgrace to Amma’s power and perseverance. People wondered how they could be expected to swallow this leech on Amma’s splendor, this supposedly power 3 A fascinating article published on The New York Times Magazine website offers a portrait of Jayalalithaa’s controversial but powerfully charismatic persona. Rollo Romig, “What Happens When a State is Run by Movie Stars?: The frenzied, fanatical politics of Tamil Nadu, India,” The New York Times Magazine, July 1, 2015, accessed February 21, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/05/magazine/what-happens-when-a-state-is-run-by-movie- stars.html?_r=0. 4 AIADMK stands for the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which was Jayalalithaa’s party, as well as the party of her equally famous predecessor, former film costar, and party founder M. G. Ramachandran. 3 hungry political opportunist who had snatched Jayalalithaa’s money and fame in the wake of her unexpected death. This palpable distaste for Sasikala pulsated throughout Madurai. Her pictures were everywhere