Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies

Volume 29 and Evil in Hindu and Christian Theology, Myth, and Practice Article 7

2016

Agency in the Subaltern Encounter of Evil: Subverting the Dominant and Appropriating the Indigenous

James Ponniah University of Madras

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Recommended Citation Ponniah, James (2016) "Agency in the Subaltern Encounter of Evil: Subverting the Dominant and Appropriating the Indigenous," Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies: Vol. 29, Article 7. Available at: https://doi.org/10.7825/2164-6279.1630

The Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies is a publication of the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies. The digital version is made available by Digital Commons @ Butler University. For questions about the Journal or the Society, please contact [email protected]. For more information about Digital Commons @ Butler University, please contact [email protected]. Ponniah: Agency in the Subaltern Encounter of Evil: Subverting the Dominan

Agency in the Subaltern Encounter of Evil: Subverting the Dominant and Appropriating the Indigenous

James Ponniah University of Madras

THIS essay focuses on subaltern encounter of addressed theodicy with a subaltern programme evil that occurred in two different religious of action. Because Vaikundar chose to situate orbits, namely, and Christianity in theodicy within the context of social . The Hindu phenomenon to be studied is discrimination and religious exploitation of his Ayya Vaḻi1 (henceforth, AV) founded by Ayya time, he proposed various measures to conquer Vaikundar (1809-1851) and the Christian evil, evil which manifested itself in inequality, phenomenon, Bible Mission (henceforth, BM) -oppression etc., Similarly, through established by Devadas Ayyagaru (1840-1960). various ways to be discussed below, Devadas too While attempts have been made earlier in the designed a new programme of theodicy by writings of Chad Bauman, Zoe Sherinian, incorporating practices from the domain of folk Eleanor Zeliott, Sathianathan Clarke and culture, thereby empowering the religiously G.Patick2 to study the relation between religion marginalised lay people. They both exercised and subaltern agency in India, this work has a subaltern agency in evolving concrete strategies different focus in that it employs the idea of to empower the subalterns to encounter evil. subaltern agency to discuss the parallel ways Before focusing on their strategies, let me first through which two nominally Hindu and furnish an overview of these two movements. Christian movements, originating from two Introducing the Phenomena under Study different backgrounds and time periods, have Ayyā Vaḻiis one of the contemporary 'Hindu' developed a subaltern theodicy, borrowing from religious movements spread primarily among classical and local traditions, to offer a means for the Cāṇārs (also known as Nāṭārs now) in the critiquing domination and overcoming southern districts of Tamilnadu (especially in marginalization. ). This religious movement While there is ample literature both on was founded in the latter part of 19th century by Christian and Hindu theodicy more broadly, this Muthukuttisamy, popularly known as Ayya article’s contribution is to look at the respective Vaikundar (b. 1809) and grew so rapidly in the theodicy through subaltern lens. While most of 19th and 20th centuries among the low caste the existing works of theodicy in both the people (especially among the Cāṇārs) that the traditions revolve around philosophical debates movement is estimated to have seven hundred that try to reconcile one’s belief in the existence thousand adherents all over the world today. of God with the fact of evil, my endeavour here was born as a Cāṇār (whose is to delineate how both Vaikundar and Devadas

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies 29 (2016): 46-53

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Agency in the Subaltern Encounter of Evil 47

occupation then was toddy-tapping) in the with God, something about which the Lutheran princely state of —ruled according to Church did not approve. After several warnings the Brahminic varnashrama ideology and arguments, his services of forty-six years as and, as a result, the low caste Cāṇārs suffered a touring evangelist in the American Evangelical multiple forms of discrimination.3 Vaikundar Lutheran Mission were officially terminated as identified himself totally with the oppressed of March 1, 1938. In the same year, he found an masses, especially with the Cāṇārs and independent Pentecostal movement called Bible interpreted their experiences of caste Mission. Of late, the Bible Mission has become a discrimination, injustice and exploitation as force to be reckoned with in Andhra Pradesh, prevalence of , i.e., evil power.4 AV one of the southern states of India. The state understands kali as an all-pervasive evil power witnesses a mammoth gathering of nearly three that is both cosmic and personal, invisible and to four hundred thousand people for its annual visible. While describing in various idioms kali’s meeting at Pedakakani in Gunter district pernicious presence throughout all aeons, AV normally held in the last week of January. BM is frames as the full maturation of kali a unique phenomenon not only because of its whose embodied form is none other than the popularity but also for its distinctive practices as king of Travancore himself. Though his official discussed below. Though Devadas’ view of evil name was Swathithirunal, Vaikundar named was a traditional Christian idea, namely, evil as him Kalineecan (‘personification of evil’). Even the work of the devil, his battle against evil was as he held Kalineecan responsible for the a digression from his former Lutheran Church to miseries of the downtrodden, Vaikundar include local beliefs and practices. claimed himself to be an of whose Exploring Common Grounds and Strategies in mission was to launch a decisive battle against Subaltern Encounter of Evil various forms of evil (kali) and to inaugurate When we analyse the origin, the vision and Dharma Yuga. Both his views on Kali Yuga and his the contributions of these two religious leaders, vision of Dharma Yuga, as described below, were subalternity and peripherality seem to framed as an emancipatory project for the undergird both these phenomena. Both hailed subaltern masses. from a low caste subaltern background. One The contemporary Christian phenomenon (Devadas) was a Dalit and the other (Vaikundar) to be explored in this paper is Bible Mission, was a Cāṇār, one of the most oppressed groups founded in 1938 by a Dalit Lutheran layman, in Southern Travancore. Both found their Mungamuri Devadas, popularly known as religious leadership outside mainline religious Ayyagaru (Father) Devadas in Andhra Pradesh, traditions. Having defected from the Lutheran India.5 Devadas served in the Lutheran Mission Church, Devadas started his own indigenous both as a teacher in the seminary and a warden Pentecostal Church, BM. Vaikundar, being a low of the boarding house for the boys at St. Paul's caste Cāṇār, was never part of mainline Hindu Church, Rajamundry. Devadas was a powerful religion and founded his own brand of religion preacher held in high esteem by all. But trouble called AV. Both lived on the margins of society, started when he openly talked about visions and leading a very simple ordinary ascetic life, dreams through which one can communicate

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48 James Ponniah

befitting a sadhu in the Indian tradition. Both claimed that, in bright daylight, God wrote two worked for the marginal groups. Devadas words—Bible Mission—in the air and told him “to worked for the religiously marginalised, the come out as a prince of an army.”9 Subsequently, ordinary lay people whose needs were largely this command resulted in the foundation of a ignored in the clergy-centred mainline Pentecostal church called BM. Further, by Churches.6 Unlike the Lutheran Church claiming that he had direct access to God and His characterised by top-heavy administrative plans through dreams and visions, Devadas structures, Devadas made BM a self-governed constructed a new source of authority— church in which ordinary local people enjoyed extraneous to the Lutheran Church—to autonomy by actively participating in and legitimize his teachings and practices. While he managing the day-to-day affairs of the Church.7 rejected the invitation to be ordained as a Vaikundar worked primarily for the socially minister in the Lutheran Church, he—after his marginalised, the Cāṇārs who were placed on expulsion—not only claimed that he was the periphery of the fourfold caste system. directly ordained by God in a vision, but Considered a little above Paḷḷars and Paṟayars, exercised self-assumed authority to ordain one Cāṇārs were still regarded as polluting and had of his followers as a minister.10 Similarly, though to maintain a physical distance from the high born in a low caste Cāṇār family, Vaikundar, as . They had to keep thirty-six paces away mentioned above, declared himself to be an from and twelve from Nayaṟs. Their avatar of Vishnu, a blasphemous claim in the women were allowed neither to cover their eyes of Brahminic Hinduism. breasts, nor to wear shoes or golden ornaments.8 Thirdly, they also exercised agency to build While their background of marginality did their campaign against evil upon indigenous influence their views on evil as noted above, it categories, and in the process constructed their also drove them to exercise subaltern agency to religious phenomena as eclectic. Even as he invent various strategies to carry out a spoke extensively about the demons and evil programme of emancipation from various forms spirits, Devadas integrated into his teachings of evil. To begin with, both the leaders exercised the common Hindu folk’s beliefs and practices subaltern agency to identify marginality itself as related to devils. For instance, just as in a Hindu a form of evil to be addressed, confronted and folk temple, he introduced for his people overcome. It is to be noted that while the Christian mantras (prayers), which he himself campaign against marginality was more formulated, to be used as exorcist spells to cast pronounced and well articulated in Vaikundar, out demons. He also introduced the practice of it was rather subtle and circumspect in the case writing divorce letters to the devil. Further, of Devadas. Secondly, while identifying Devadas also incorporated the Hindu folk themselves with the marginal people, both the practice of speaking with the dead into the leaders exercised subaltern agency to make new fellowship of the departed spirits. Thus, while claims, which were anti-establishment and innovating new strategies to take on evil in the subversive, to earn for themselves a special world, Devadas responded to the common folk’s status that would legitimize their proposals of sensibilities, evolved a ‘people’s weapon’ to fight subaltern theodicy. For instance, Devadas evil, and built his BM church on eclectic

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practices. Similarly, even as he claimed to be an groups in mainline Hinduism. For instance, he avatar of the Sanskritic God Vishnu, Vaikundar rejected idol worship and ritual offerings as they adopted folk religious practices such as trance both facilitated and legitimized the exploitation and kaṇakku (divination) to incinerate the evil of the common people by the temple priests. spirits,11 thereby making AV a fusion of the Further, he also sought to dismiss the dominant classical and the folk traditions. Having discourses of that time which exalted emerged from the ocean of , one of Travancore king’s reign as 'Hindu State par the six abodes of the Tamil Saivite deity excellence', since it upheld varnashrama dharma Murugan, Vaikundar announced himself to be ideology and its unjust hierarchical structure. an avatar not of Siva but of Vishnu, Further, According to Sanskritic Hinduism, doing charity Vaikundar became eclectic when he claimed to to the priests is a supreme dharma. The have been married through ekanai kalyāṇam king of Travancore who implemented this (representational marriage)12 to a host of dharma fastidiously at the time of Vaikundar was goddesses from different Hindu religious praised as a dharmakarta (exemplar of dharma), traditions such as Parvathi, Valli, and since he fed hundreds of Brahmins every day but Theivanai to unite them all in him so that he at the expense of the poor who were heavily could become super-powerful to launch a taxed to support this practice of dharma. He decisive battle against kali in this Yuga. imposed on the Cāṇārs various types of taxes— Fourthly, both the leaders, in the nearly three hundred of them—which included implementation of their emancipatory project, tax for the palm trees, right to grow hair and to exercised subaltern agency to undermine beliefs wear gold ornaments, taxes for women’s and customs which they saw as practices of breasts, taxes not only for the living but also for domination and forms of exploitation in their the dead.13 The high castes made the low castes respective mainline religious traditions. bonded labourers and extracted free labour Contrary to the then existing Lutheran practice, from them, but called it ūḻiyam (service). Devadas encouraged his followers to explore Vaikundar questioned such exploitative alternative ways of communicating with God, customs, and took upon himself the challenge of not only through visions and dreams but also correcting this unjust situation in many ways: through fellowship with the dead, as mentioned He described the reign of Travancore State as earlier, especially with the spirits of saintly the climax of the spread of kalimayai (illusionary people like Sadhu Sundar Singh. He argued that power of evil) since it discriminated against the such practices were compatible with the Biblical low caste people in every way; he claimed that world-view. In doing so, Devadas, as a the important mission of his avatar was to end Pentecostal religious leader, undermined the kalimayai spread in the kingdom; he openly existing institutional practice of mediating the declared, as mentioned earlier, that the other divine through the hierarchy of the mainline purpose of his Vaikunda Avatar is to inaugurate churches, and thus redefined the power an egalitarian Dharma Yuga. relations between the laity and the clergy. Fifthly, while attempting to torpedo the Similarly Vaikundar also overturned the then existing lopsided ideas and beliefs, both the long-held beliefs and practices of the dominant leaders exercised subaltern agency to introduce

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50 James Ponniah

new and nuanced meanings into these notions prayers. He held a popular Hindu view that great to render them more inclusive and liberative so hermits like Sadhu Sundar Singh and other as to fit them into their vision and agenda. For saints are wandering around the earth and can instance, in line with his declaration that he appear to people at their will to talk to them and came to usher in Dharma Yuga, Vaikundar bring them to God. Communicating with the redefined the very notion of tarmam (Sanskrit departed souls and receiving a message from dharma) with a new dictum “Tāḻakiṭapārai them have become a common practice in BM. It taṟkāppatuvē tarmam” i.e., to protect the lowly is is a special practice at their meetings to place in tarmam.14 In doing so, he sought to universalise the corner of the prayer hall an empty chair, the notion of dharma itself. Thus he privileged carefully covered with white linen, so that the the low castes over the high castes and made spirit of Devadas can come down to be with the them special beneficiaries of his new dharma in followers of BM. Similarly, AV also has a sharp contrast to the varnashrama system which practice of placing in their temples an empty primarily contributed to the well-being of the chair which they call āsaṉam (seat) which they high-castes but neglected that of the low castes believe is occupied by Vaikundar himself. and untouchables. To counter the king’s Even while exercising subaltern agency and practice of feeding the Brahmins, he introduced deploying multiple strategies to wage war aṉṉatāṇam (free meal) which was served in AV against kali and Satan, both the leaders realised temples to all guests irrespective of caste, class, the almost insurmountable challenges of their gender and age. Vaikundar’s universal dharma task. They both held that evil power had a near covered not only the subalterns and other inescapable sway over people and their human beings but also the whole of cosmos— behaviour. For Vaikundar, kali is ubiquitous and animals and plants, mountains and rivers. subtle in this Kali Yuga unlike the previous six Akilattiraṭṭu, the scripture of AV, contains a ages.16 He drew his followers’ attention to the number of passages in which Vaikundar imparts nature of kali as an inner power of evil that good dharma to the living and the non-living reigns over the minds and hearts of people beings in the world and calls upon them to live living in this age and makes everyone act against in peace with one another, even as he exhorts uṇmai (Truth). Hence, the battle against kali has them not to fight and discriminate on account of to be waged primarily in the minds of human physical size/strength. Just as Vaikundar beings. That is why Vaikundar said ‘kali eṉṟāl eli wanted to end the evil of violence among the allavē, kaṇaiyāḻi vēṇṭāme’17 meaning ‘kali is not a non-humans and ensured the well-being of all mouse and you do not need any hammer to kill beings in the universe,15 so also he redrew the it’. Similarly, Devadas also held that Satan power relations between the powerful and the always seeks to occupy the minds of humans. His powerless both in the human and the cosmic attractions, the worldly ways, are so powerful world. that humans can be trapped as his slaves Likewise, Devadas too exercised subaltern forever. It is because of this that he introduced agency to reinterpret the idea of revelation. He the practice of writing divorce letters to Satan argued that in order to bring people to Him, God to end this bondage. continues to reveal his plans in visions and

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Further, both of them believed that keeping cleanliness did yield desirable results and oneself clean inwardly and outwardly, earned respectability for the subalterns. For spiritually and physically, is an important way instance, the LMS (London Missionary Society) of overcoming the invisible power of evil. report of the year 1892 reads: “It is true that Devadas espoused the idea of ‘personal and their (i.e. of the devotees of Vaikundaswamy) community holiness' which demanded from his bodies and their houses are more cleanly [sic] followers a rigorous pursuit of values of than those of the rest.”19 cleanliness, self-control and abstinence. He In doing so, both leaders demonstrated their taught that God's children should be holy and intuitive understanding of the relationship pure as God is. Just as he ensured that both between power and values. The axis of inside and outside of the places of worship be purity/impurity operative overtly or covertly in kept clean, Devadas also insisted on practices of multiple contexts and myriad situations in personal cleanliness and self-control such as India20 is built on a dichotomous value wearing washed clothes for prayer, washing framework that associates the values of one’s feet before worship, fasting and avoidance cleanliness, and vegetarianism with of liquor. In doing so, Devadas claimed to follow Brahminical purity but assigns the lowest social a Telugu folk proverb, ‘A clean pot for cooking status to the low castes and the untouchables food, a clean body and a clean heart for who are structurally devoid of the possibility of worshipping God.’ Likewise, Vaikundar too practising such values. The monopoly of such called upon his followers, the marginal people, values by dominant castes and their display of to undertake (practices of self- such values in the public domain as identity mortification and self-restraint—avoidance of markers of certain castes earned for them high meat and alcohol) not only to discipline oneself social status in the hierarchical Indian social and to restore self-respect, but also to build up order. As a result, certain values like purity and the inner capacity to counter the presence of cleanliness came to ‘possess that element of kali in the outer world. Thus both men insisted power which permit dominant classes to on physical cleanliness and inner purity subjugate subordinate classes (as impure) with a primarily for two reasons. Both saw purity as a minimum use of physical force.’21 By necessary condition to tap the divine power to appropriating the values of cleanliness, self- take on evil. Secondly, both realised that their restraint and vegetarianism, these subaltern followers, given their poor economic leaders have not only challenged and background did not care to keep themselves undermined the monopoly of the dominant clean and neat. Hence, they could only hold low groups over these values, they have also social status against Brahminical purity. demonstrated their subaltern agency by making Knowing well that the subordination of the low these values new symbolic capital to the castes was caused by the stigma of impurity subalterns, thereby democratizing such values. ascribed to them by the high castes, both In doing so, they sought to deprive the dominant decided to confront this social evil by imparting groups of their ‘weapons of symbolic violence’ practices of cleanliness and abstinence to the that helped them subjugate the subordinate marginal people.18 The practices of physical groups on account of impurity. In exhorting

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their followers to espouse the value of purity, noble ones. Cāṉṟōrs were a select group of Cāṇārs these two subaltern leaders attempted to who were given divine parentage in AV’s confront head-on the social evil of pollution and mythology. By making them transformative untouchablity. agents of Dharma Yuga, Vaikundar assigned an While viewing evil as a powerful force to important role to the erstwhile subalterns who reckon with, both the leaders did not see the would serve as interface between the evil order common people as passive victims and mute of Kali Yuga and the just order of Dharma Yuga. spectators. Their direct experience of God22 on Thus, through the production of new the one hand and the encounter of evil on the narratives and the introduction of innovative other drove both the leaders to innovate for practices in favour of the subaltern folk, both their subaltern people new ways of the leaders provided the common people with encountering evil powers wherein the agency directly accessible alternative keys to divine was placed in the hands of the people and not in energies. This shows that they both refused to the intermediaries. For instance, by providing place the marginal people at the receiving end. the common people with a set of prayers and Rather both Vaikundar and Devadas made the exorcist spells to cast out demons, and by subalterns active agents and citizens of Dharma introducing the practice of writing divorce Yuga and Kingdom of Heaven respectively. letters to the devil, Devadas empowered them to Conclusion overcome evil on their own. Further, while This essay has explored how two different developing the BM as a unique Pentecostal religious leaders belonging to different church by popularising the idea of historical periods and cultural backgrounds had communication with God through dreams and acted in a remarkably similar way to exercise visions, Devadas also showed the common folk subaltern agency and to deploy innovative in India that each one of them can have one's strategies to encounter evil. Their strategies can own direct relationship with and non-mediated be viewed as a programme of liberation for the experience of God and can use these subalterns in that they subverted the dominant immediately available resources to conquer evil. discourses, broke the monopoly of certain Having conquered Satan and his evil powers, his powerful groups over cleanliness and divine followers would be elevated to the status of mediation, made new claims in support of their bridal church and privileged to be in the liberative agenda, drew upon common people’s Kingdom of Heaven. Similarly, Vaikundar also cultural resources to introduce eclectic declared that he came to inaugurate the Dharma practices and empowered the subalterns to Yuga which is to be carried forward by the tackle evil in concrete terms. followers of AV with the help of Cāṉṟōrs, the

Notes

1 All Tamil words in this article, except the names (including other non-Tamil words) such as avatar, of persons, and goddesses, are italicized and Sadhu, dharma, varnashrama dharma, mantras, Kali transliterated according to Tamil Lexicon, Madras: Yuga, Dharma Yuga etc., are not transliterated but University of Madras, 1982. Common Sanskrit words italicized.

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14 2 See Chad M. Bauman. Christian Identity and Dalit Muthukuttisamy, Akilattiraṭṭu Ammāṇai, th Religion in Hindu India, 1868-1947, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Susintharam: Star Press, 1185 (13 edition), p. 221. 15 William B. Eerdmans. 2008; Zoe Sherinian, Folk Tamil Mani Bharathi, Akilattiraṭṭu Viḷakkaurai. Vol.II, Music as Dalit Liberation Theology, Bloomington, Chennai: Thirunamapuhazh Press, 2003, p. 81. 16 Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2014 ; AV’s mythology of Yugas believes in a total of Sathianathan Clarke, eight aeons or Yugas. They are Neetiya Yuga, Chatura Dalits and Christianity: subaltern religion and liberation t Yuga, Nedu Yuga, Kretha Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara heology in India, Delhi ; New York : Oxford University Yuga, Kali Yuga and Dharma Yuga. The first three Yugas Press, 1998 and the last Yuga would have no parallels in the http://dx.doi.org/2027/mdp.39015043092652; G mainstream . 17 Patrick, Religion and Subaltern Agency, Chennai: Akilattiraṭṭu, 224. 18 University of Madras, 2003. It may be noted that Ghasidas (1756-1850) and 3 See G Patrick, Religion. pp. 23-60. Guru (1856-1928) prescribed similar codes 4 For AV’s unique understanding of kali as evil of conduct for the low caste Chamars and Eḻavās power, see James Ponniah, “Alternative Discourses of respectively. 19 Kali Yuga in Ayya Vaḻi,” Nidan: An International Journal As quoted in Patrick, Religion, p. 97. 20 for the Study of Hinduism. July 2014, pp. 65-85. While a fuller consideration of the key Indian 5 See Solomon Raj, A Christian folk-religion in India: categories of purity/pollution (or auspiciousness/ a study of the small church movement in Andhra Pradesh, inauspiciousness) lies beyond the scope of the with a special reference to the Bible Mission of Devadas, present paper, important works on this idea include New York: P. Lang, 1986. John B. Carman and Frederique A. Marglin (eds.,) http://dx.doi.org/2027/mdp.39015078372227 Purity and Auspiciousness in Indian Society, Leiden: E. J. 6 Ibid., p. 10. Brill. 1985; Louis Dumont and D.F. Pocock, 'Pure and 7 See James Ponniah, “The Eruption of the impure', Contributions to Indian sociology, 3: 9-39, 1959 Autonomous and the Birth of ‘Bible Mission’: http://dx.doi.org/2027/mdp.39076000775515; M.N. Exploring an Instance of Lay Leadership in India” in Srinivas, Religion and society among the Coorgs of south Thomas Cotti (Ed). Many Tongues, One Spirit: Local India, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1952. Ecclesiologies in Dialogue. Berkeley: Jesuit School of http://dx.doi.org/2027/umn.31951001521980t Theology in Berkeley, Santa Clara University, 2013, 21 David Hardiman, The Coming of : Adivasi pp. 59-74. Assertion in Western India, Delhi: Oxford University 8 See Patrick, Religion, pp. 27-28. Press, 1987, p.163. 9 Solomon Raj, Christian folk-religion, p. 26 22 The followers of AV believe that Muthukutti, 10 Ibid., p. 32. before he claimed himself to be Vaikunda avatar, 11 Patrick, Religion, p. 80. disappeared into the Tiruchendur ocean for three 12 Patrick, Religion, p. 94. days during which time Vaikundar had a direct vision 13 Ibid., p. 45. of and conversation with all Hindu gods and goddesses.

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