The Taming of Alii1 Vijaya Ramaswamy ABSTRACT The story of Alii figures in the Tamil version of the Mahabharata. She is described as a type of "Amazonian" beauty, a vehement hater of men. In the zigzag movement of the Alii legend through space and time, the heroine Alii as well as the Alii myth get tamed and subsumed into the patriarchal register. RESUME L'histoire d'Alli figure dans la version tamile de Mahabharata. Elle est decrite comme un genre de beaute "amazonienne," une femme qui a une haine vehemente envers les hommes. Dans le zigzag de la legende d'Alli a travers l'espace et le temps, l'heroi'ne Alii ainsi que le mythe d'Alli sont apprivoises et subsumes dans le registre patriarcal. Myths and legends are not frozen in time. dramatised versions of Alii both on stage and on This article looks at the changing perceptions of screen. The available multiple texts, however, by women in Tamil society and the imaging of Tamil and large represent the voice of patriarchy. women within the male patriarchal register, Although the nature and content of the Alii myth(s) focusing on the transformational qualities of myths. suggest a non-patriarchal origin, there are no extant I contextualize some leading Tamil myths that are versions that have not been diluted by "patriarchal women-centred in terms of their historical and taming." Therefore the recovery of the geographical specificity. A critical study of such a non-patriarchal Alii has to be done by fragmenting leading Tamil myth - the legend of Alii - the mega-narrative of the "Mahabharata Alii" and demonstrates the gradual process by which an examining the sub-text of these versions. indigenous narrative is tamed to fit the patriarchal mould. In the process of its transmissions and transmutations, the myth does not follow a linear TAMIL WOMEN course but tends to zigzag between the image of AND A MAHABHARATA MYTH women within the indigenous Tamil tradition and their absorption into the Brahmanic patriarchal This inclusion of a myth from the stereotyping of women. Alii, a popular ballad Mahabharata is an attempt to contextualize the among Tamils for over one thousand five hundred process of transmission and transmutation of a great years, goes through a metamorphosis in the course epic that may have had its birth in the of four related narratives: Alii Arasani Malai, non-Sanskritic early Tamil society. The myth of Pavazhakkodi, Eni Etram and Purandaran Kalavu. Alii and her marriage to Arjuna, a leading Multiple texts of all these ballads exist, protagonist of the Mahabharata hence constitutes a including stage and cinema versions, some dating significant regional variant of a grand narrative. back to the early twentieth century, and this article Wendy O'Flaherty's statement could well be the traces the zigzag movement of the Alii myth starting point of such a study: "The Mahabharata through the quartet of narratives as oral (popularly grows out of the oral traditions; it flickers back and sung) ballads, versions published at various points forth between Sanskrit manuscripts and village of time in history, authored by poets who have storytellers, each adding new lists to the old story, provided their own twist to the Alii tale, and constantly reinterpreting it."2 The Mahabharata epic is located primarily Pattupattu, Purananuru, and Ahananuru. The in Northern India, with the main action centres - Mullaipattu describes women carrying shining Indraprastha, Hastinapura and Kurukshetra - spears. T.N. Subramaniam, the historian of the situated geographically in the present Indian states Sangam age, points out that women bodyguards of of Delhi and Haryana. Yet this great epic crossed the king were called urimai surtram and referred to the Vindhya mountain ranges in Central India fairly as being "beautiful, courageous and alert," all the early and reached the Tamil country during the adjectives which were used to describe Alii Rani.5 early Christian era corresponding to the Sangam Alii was probably a local cult figure and period of the Tamils (roughly 3rd century BC to 3rd the product of a society which was non-patriarchal. century AD). Draupadi, the polyandrous queen of H.W. Tambiah in his presentation on "Pre-Aryan Mahabharata emerged as a major folk deity in the Customary Laws"6 refers to such early Tamil Tamil country.3 Fire walking is an important ritual practices as romantic unions, marriages following of the Draupadi cult. The Tamils not only brought elopement, etc. He authenticates his statement on to center stage the avenging woman Draupadi, but pre-Brahmanical customs by quoting the also interspersed the story of Alii, the Amazonian Tolkappiyam: "After untruth and rapacity appeared, queen, within the Mahabharata, which resulted in the Brahmanical custom of karanam (formal the transmutation of what appears to be a local marriage) came to be observed."7 P.V. Kane in his myth. It is significant that Alii Rani (Queen Alii) History of Dharmashastras suggests that herself does not move into the greater Mahabharata matrilinearity and the use of metronymic tradition. Instead it is the great epic which moves suffixes/prefixes was not confined to Malabar in southwards, absorbing into it many indigenous ancient times but prevailed in some other parts of myths like the story of Alii. Thus the presence of South India as well.8 The eminent Tamil scholar Alii in the Mahabharata narrative is confined to Thaninayagam9 comments on the megalithic culture South India and she finds no place in the Sanskritic of Tamil Nadu: "The only fact which is clear is that North Indian versions of the epic. most, if not all of the Tamil speaking groups were originally matrilineal and even, in some cases, matrilocal." SITUATING ALLI IN TAMIL SOCIETY The fusion of indigenous Tamil elements The Alii myth in its various shifts and with the newly emerging Brahmanical forces in the movements clearly points to a coming together of South is demonstrated in the Alii myth in terms of two traditions. Alii Arasani Malai combines the locale and its characters. For instance, the indigenous Tamil traditions, which can be broadly gypsy, or Kuratti, who is an indispensable feature categorised as Dravidian, and the Sanskritic, of the Kurunji Tinai, the hilly tract in the ancient 10 Brahmanical tradition, which makes its presence in text Tolkappiyam, is present in the Alii stories. In South India towards the latter part of the Sangam Alii Arasani Malai, Krishna appears as a gypsy age (Kadai Sangam). This cultural encounter was a singing of fertility of the Tamil country and long drawn process. Caste hierarchies were not recommends a charm to Arjuna to win the heart of indigenous to early Tamil societies which consisted the reluctant Alii. of kudi, a generic term meaning inhabitants. The The transformation of this quasi-tribal kudi were economically stratified in terms of society into a caste-based society was largely the occupational differences but there were no caste influence of Brahmins leading to Sanskritization. hierarchies as such.4 The Sangam poet Awaiyar, a Patriarchy, which lies at the root of man's power low born Virali (minstrel) of the Panar caste, talks and woman's subordination, was a logical of dining with the king at his table. Such instances concomitant of Brahmanization and Sanskritization. of social egalitarianism in ancient Tamil society can Brahmanical notions of purity and pollution created be multiplied. untouchability and the distancing of those castes The character of Alii is reminiscent of the which performed menial services. At the same time, Mudinmagalir or the valorous women who feature the notion of pollution also marginalised women time and again in such Sangam anthologies as both ritually and socially. The act of giving birth as well as her monthly menstrual cycles rendered a Siva and the secular power of the imperial Pandyas. woman impure. Male canonical writers assigned Malayathuvasa Pandya, who came in the lineage of ascriptive and prescriptive roles to women that Kulasekhara, was childless. He tried to remedy the would enable man's control over women, in both situation by the performance of parivelvi, i.e. horse sexual and social terms. The myth of Alii and its sacrifice. The king's efforts failed to give him an fusion into the Mahabharata epic has to be viewed heir but bestowed on him powers which challenged in terms of this transformational phase of Tamil the supremacy of Indra, the God of Gods. Seeing society. his own position being challenged, Indra assured The legend of Alii has as its locale the the king of a progeny if he performed the sacrifice Pandyamandalam region, with Madurai as the focal known as putra kameshti yaga. The result of this point. The location of this myth in Madurai sacrifice was a three year old daughter with the becomes extremely significant since the historical freakish feature of three breasts. The peculiar course of Madurai foregrounds the kind of power appearance of this girl born to rule over a kingdom politics that has generated the Alii myth. The greatly depressed Malayathuvasa Pandya who association of women with political power in the prayed to Siva. The Tiruvilayadal Puranam which Pandyan kingdom (in striking contrast to other is the sthalapurana (an account of the sacred regions where male control over the state is geography) of Madurai records the response of Siva unquestioned) can be seen in other origin legends in the following canto: which seem to bear no direct connection with Alii. According to oral tradition, a woman founded the O King! Treat your daughter as though she Pandyan kingdom. The Buddhist text Mahavamsa were a son: refers to a Pandyan queen who became the wife of Perform for her all the rites as specified in Vijaya of Sri Lanka.