University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations Summer 2011 Flood of Memories:Narratives of Flood and Loss in Tamil South India Aaron Patrick Mulvany University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Folklore Commons, History Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, and the South and Southeast Asian Languages and Societies Commons Recommended Citation Mulvany, Aaron Patrick, "Flood of Memories:Narratives of Flood and Loss in Tamil South India" (2011). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 383. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/383 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/383 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Flood of Memories:Narratives of Flood and Loss in Tamil South India Abstract Legendary deluges such as those said to have over-swept the Tamil lands or the flood waters that appear in popular religious and folk tales have long been a part of Tamil folk experience, and they serve as the backdrop against which contemporary flood is experienced. In this light, this dissertation explores the development and of disaster management policies in the Union Territory of Pondicherry from their origins in colonial-era policies to the significant e-orientationr that followed the 2004 Asian tsunami. Conclusions are based on 14 months of ethnographic research in coastal fisher communities and government relief agencies in the Union Territory. Historical data collected from archives and interviews with territorial officials and NGO workers complement insights gleaned from extensive participant-observation and field collection among deep-sea fisher populations in the former rF ench territories of the Coromandel Coast. Part one defines a amilT “flood imaginary” by exploring myth-historic instances of flood in the amil-T speaking region of India. The study then examines flood in the rF ench colonies of India during the 18th and 19th centuries. Together these provide the background for better understanding the policies and beliefs about flood in place prior ot the 2004 Asian tsunami and the effects these had on preparedness and resilience at both community and administrative levels. Part two focuses on the ways in which these affected how the territorial government and at-risk communities responded to the 2004 tsunami. Tensions that arose between government and community post-tsunami are examined through the interrogation of documents of agencies that undertook rehabilitation. ”Official” narratives of relief and reconstruction are balanced against the perspectives of recipients of government and voluntary aid and the local panchayat leaders who are agents of first resort for lodging requests and grievances. Through a comparison of relief efforts taken within a single state, this research higlights the efficacy of an approach to disaster relief and mitigation planning that appropriately integrates outside expertise with community metis and demonstrates the value of policy informed by ethnography. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group South Asia Regional Studies First Advisor Lisa Mitchell Second Advisor Dan Ben-Amos Third Advisor Rupa Viswanat Keywords Tamil, Memory, Flood, Disaster, Relief and Rehabilitation, Pattanavar Fisher communities Subject Categories Folklore | History | Social and Cultural Anthropology | South and Southeast Asian Languages and Societies This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/383 FLOOD OF MEMORIES: NARRATIVES OF FLOOD AND LOSS IN TAMIL SOUTH INDIA Aaron Mulvany A DISSERTATION In South Asia Regional Studies Presented to the Faculty of the University of Pennsylvania In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2011 Supervisor of Dissertation Signature_________________________ Lisa Mitchell, Assistant Professor, South Asian Studies Graduate Group Chairperson ________________________________________ Daud Ali, Associate Professor of South Asian Studies Dissertation Committee Lisa Mitchell, Assistant Professor, Department of South Asian Studies Dan Ben‐Amos, Professor, Near Eastern Languages and Civilization and Folklore & Folklife Rupa Viswanath, Professor of Indian Religions, Georg‐August‐Universität, Göttingen FLOOD OF MEMORIES: NARRATIVES OF FLOOD AND LOSS IN TAMIL SOUTH INDIA COPYRIGHT 2011 Aaron Patrick Mulvany To my daughter, who will never read this; To my father, who will; And to my wife, without whom neither ever could. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS An undertaking like this is not possible without the help and support of too many people ever to name. But to some special thanks are due. At the University of Pennsylvania were Lisa Mitchell, my dissertation advisor, and Dan Ben‐Amos, without whose support I would have given up many times over. To my cohort and those who came before, but especially Walt Hakala, whose friendship and offers of beer always came at the right time. In India I give my thanks to Jean Deloche, at the EFEO, who excitement recharged my own. At PILC Drs. Parasuraman and Ravishankar helped me a great deal with my Tamil, and at Pondicherry University Dr. A Chellaperumal and student Bhagath Singh were of immeasurable help. Also at the university, Dr. S. Ariokianathan, upon whose friendship and scholarship I depended in equal measure. F. Cyril Antony’s assistance in understanding the civil service in the former French colonies grew into fast friendship. Within the government, my research would have quickly stalled without the assistance of Ragesh Chandran, L. Mohammed Mansoor, and V. Jayanand, and many others at PIA and the Department of Revenue. And in the fisher villages I thank especially Ramalingam, Puthupattar, Tangavadivel, Tandavasamy, though many others helped me in nearly equal measure. Finally, to Christie and Tatum, who gave me unwavering support both at home and abroad. iv ABSTRACT FLOOD OF MEMORIES: NARRATIVES OF FLOOD AND LOSS IN TAMIL SOUTH INDIA Aaron Mulvany Lisa Mitchell Legendary deluges such as those said to have over-swept the Tamil lands or the flood waters that appear in popular religious and folk tales have long been a part of Tamil folk experience, and they serve as the backdrop against which contemporary flood is experienced. In this light, this dissertation explores the development and of disaster management policies in the Union Territory of Pondicherry from their origins in colonial-era policies to the significant re-orientation that followed the 2004 Asian tsunami. Conclusions are based on 14 months of ethnographic research in coastal fisher communities and government relief agencies in the Union Territory. Historical data collected from archives and interviews with territorial officials and NGO workers complement insights gleaned from extensive participant-observation and field collection among deep-sea fisher populations in the former French territories of the Coromandel Coast. Part one defines a Tamil “flood imaginary” by exploring myth-historic instances of flood in the Tamil- speaking region of India. The study then examines flood in the French colonies of India during the 18th and 19th centuries. Together these provide the background for better understanding the policies and beliefs about flood in place prior to the 2004 Asian tsunami and the effects these had on preparedness and resilience at both community and administrative levels. Part two focuses on the ways in which these affected how the territorial government and at-risk communities responded to the 2004 tsunami. Tensions that arose between government and community post-tsunami are examined through the interrogation of documents of agencies that undertook rehabilitation. ”Official” narratives of relief and reconstruction are balanced against the perspectives of recipients of government and voluntary aid and the local panchayat leaders who are agents of first resort for lodging requests and grievances. Through a comparison of relief efforts taken within a single state, this research higlights the efficacy of an approach to disaster relief and mitigation planning that appropriately integrates outside expertise with community metis and demonstrates the value of policy informed by ethnography. v Table of Contents List of Tables vii List of Illustrations viii Note on Orthography and Translation ix Common Abbreviations x Introduction 1 1. A Flood Imaginary of the Tamil Lands 32 2. The Colonial Foundations of Flood Response 62 3. Intermezzo: Entrenched Regimes of Response 124 4. Before: Problems of Memory, Problems of Response 181 5. Rehabilitation: Discussions and Debates 242 Conclusion 293 Bibliography 303 vi List of Tables 3.1 Karaikal monthly rainfall totals, 1950-1954 133 5.1 Comparison of key damage metrics, 1977 and 2004 257 vii List of Illustrations 0.1 Urban fisher village abutting Pondicherry’s seawall 04 0.2 Natural Hazards, human disasters 11 1.1 India and detail of Coromandel Coast 33 2.1 Pondicherry at the time of the Dutch Invasion, 1693 67 2.2 Pondicherry and its enclosure, 1739 72 2.3 1694 Dutch Town Plan 73 2.4 Detail by Jean Deloche 74 2.5 Pondicherry and its environs, 1704 75 2.6 View of the Ruins of the Citadel, September 1762 104 3.1 Pondicherry Pier, 1954 129 3.2 Tsunami Memorial in Veerampattinam 138 3.3 Tsunami Memorial in Karaikal 139 3.4 Senkeni Amman Temple Foundation Narrative 139 3.5 Karaikal monument in context, looking north 143