DEPARTMENT OF English

 F.No.- M.R.P.(H)–1907/14-15/KLMG023/UGC-SWRO

Summary

The very word magic is often taken to be derogatory as it connotes the unscientific and barbaric for most of us. The same underestimation calls for magic and rituals to be researched as significant epistemological domains.  Rituals in religion have been exhaustively studied and researched since the path-breaking exploration began by James Frazer in The Golden Bough. The current research falls within the purview of cultural studies and attempts to probe the tradition of magic lore among the Syrian Christians of Kerala. It is not just a historical analysis but uses the historiographic question as a springboard to see the ways in which the tradition of magic has carved the current religious practices. 

The chapter one of the project is entitled as ‘Inand Out; The Problem of the Discourse of Magic in Religion’. To begin with, the canons and decrees of the Synod of Diamper are closely read to unearth the instances where the hegemonical European Church condemns the rituals and practices of the indigenous Church of Kerala. Other historical narratives on the Syrian Christians from travelers and missionaries of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were also included in the analysis. It was the whole way of life of this unique Christians, which was put to question by the Western counterpart and schisms and rituals were found to be mere props of political maneuvers. The history of the Irish indigenous Christian’s experiences at the disposal of the Latin church was also incorporated into the study. Interestingly many of the astrological rituals originated in the Celtic ancient communities seemed to have been adopted by the official Church for the dissemination of the doctrines in the later period in history. Thus the discursive irregularity in appropriating the question of magic lore is established through instances of magical rituals in and out of the church practices. The instances of inquisitions and witch hunting in the Latin Church and burning of the Syrian manuscripts in the Church of St. Thomas were compared to propose that branding and appropriation of magic are political in nature.

               The second chapter in the project is ‘Sainthood and the Cult of Saints in Kerala’. The tradition of sainthood and the process of canonization is historically approached in the first part of the chapter. The historical analysis reaches a culminating point in the thesis with the significant changes brought to the way in which saints were conceived among the Syrians of Kerala during the Latin invasion. Doctrinal changes in the adoration of Holy Mary and the parallels in her cult with that of Devi in the Hindu tradition is brought in for further analysis. The popular saints of the period and their cult worship are examined in the light of ritualisation.

The final chapter of the project, ‘The Ritual and Magic in the Popular Culture of the Syrian Christians of Kerala’, surveys the contemporary rituals of the Christians in the domain of space, time and body. The element of inculturation in the context of Kerala is given specific association in the study. The popular turn of the Christian rituals and the magical association is marked with the myths and legends of Kadamattathu Kathanar. The performative turn of the Christian ritual is scrutinized with the example of ‘Kappalottam’ in  St. Mary’s Forane Church Kuravilangad.