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FOREWORD: NATURE AND ANCESTOR WORSHIP ARE PART OF FOLK VERSIONS OF HINDUISM

By P.T. Bopanna

Ideas of nature worship and ancestor worship which characterize Kodava religion are widespread and found in all folk versions of Hinduism, says Dr Neravanda Veena Poonacha, who retired as Director of the Research Centre for Women’s Studies, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai.  

In her foreword to the book ‘Kodava Religion at Crossroads’,  Dr Veena notes: “The idea that the Kodavas are not Hindus was born out of the nineteenth century colonial knowledge production systems and was part of their divide and rule policy.”

Dr Veena (in picture), who has a Ph.D. in Sociology from SNDT Women’s University, has contributed significantly to the growth of women’s studies scholarship, through her research, publications and teaching. 

On the book Kodava Religion at Crossroads, edited by me, Dr Veena says: “This volume locates the inquiry into Kodava religious practices and beliefs in the context of the current political and socio-cultural trends in the country.  The introductory chapter exhorts the Kodava community to adopt a rational outlook and avoid adopting customs/beliefs that diverge from their indigenous culture.

“Bopanna contends that the Kodavas are forgetting their proud heritage and adopting practices that diverge from the indigenous culture. Some examples he cites include, adoption of Hindu religious rites and, festivals as well as belief in rebirth and astrology. Kodagu is located at the confluence of three major cultures of South India—Tulu, Malayalam, and Kannada. This contact with other cultures has enriched the Kodava culture as evident from the folk literature of Kodagu.  It is therefore necessary to accept that people mediate their environment in ways that best suit them. It is not possible to expect people to conform to an imagined cultural past in the name of maintaining their cultural exclusivity.”

The third aspect explored in this volume concerns the apprehension within the community for the loss of Kodava culture. This is a real concern because the Kodava culture is transmitted orally and there is no specialized group of “memory keepers,” in the community to preserve and transmit the cultural legacy.

Dr Veena’s publications include From the Land of a Thousand Hills: Portraits of Three Women of Coorg (Kodagu) in South India, 2002. She was awarded a PhD degree in 1991 for her thesis Women in Coorg Society: A Study of Status and Experiences through the Use of Proverbs, Folksongs, Oral Histories and Genealogies.

Her publications include From the Land of a Thousand Hills: Portraits of Three Women of Coorg (Kodagu) in South India, 2002. She was awarded a PhD degree in 1991 for her thesis Women in Coorg Society: A Study of Status and Experiences through the Use of Proverbs, Folksongs, Oral Histories and Genealogies.

Paperback copy of the book Kodava Religion at Crossroads is available on Amazon: