Les dialogues de la possession : ritualité et divinisation des ancêtres chez les Mavilans et les Malavettuvans
What does possession add to rituality? When possession enables one to hear the words of gods or ancestors that have authority, when it gives the possibility of a dialogue between the living and the gods, is it possible that it could participate in the dynamics of transformations and continuity of rituals, thus enabling their adaptation to new contexts? In the north of Kerala, we studied the rituals of Teyyam, a possession ritual of popular Hinduism in which the gods are performed by ritualists from lower castes who will, in some instances have the opportunity to share the message of certain gods criticizing caste discrimination. If this ritual implements a hierarchical reversal, yet also reaffirms, in its staging, caste distinctions, why is this situation accepted? As we will demonstrate, the Teyyam ritual, in addition to being a means to consult the gods, nowadays also constitutes for many, a commemoration that can inspire social struggles.  The Mavilan and the Malavettuvan are related Adivasi communities that practise the rituals of Teyyam in their isolated villages. However, they have included in this ritual the worship of their own ancestors, recently deceased individuals who distinguished themselves during their lifetimes by their positive leadership. During the dialogues that take place in the ritual space, we can hear the ancestors argue about the importance of maintaining solidarity among the members of the family group, at a time when, more and more in society, there is a decline of the extended family as a support group. These ancestors can also, through dialogue, transmit an ethic of leadership and responsibility to the heads of the household, current or emerging. As was the case in the past, one wishes, today, that ancestors continue to do after their death what they were doing during their lifetime: act as a mediator with power and intervene to help members of their community.   The experiences that happen with possession and that we observed, suggest that the performers or the devotees may influence the words spoken by the ancestors and the gods. The inner landscape of the individuals, their experiences, their desires, their understanding of the nature of the gods and ancestors, what they would like to experiment, say or express, whether conscious or not, intentional or not, can influence the words they speak. If, sometimes, the unchanged character of the ritual is used to argue and to establish its authority, possession may allow flexibility in the articulation of the words of the gods and ancestors, and hence adaptability to new social issues. When something new or unusual occurs during a ritual, it must then be validated, interpreted, or contested, but those that assess these changes are, sometimes, these same gods and ancestors who, in the ritual space, are speaking through the possessed.
possession transmission Mavilan Malavettuvan anangu Teyyam Kerala Ritual Ancestors Hinduism