ENTHURAI…
[Erayumanthurai, Poothurai, Thoothoor, Chinnathurai, Eraviputhenthurai, Vallavilai, Marthandamthurai and Neerodi.]
Introduction:
Our Tamil poet Kannadasan has sung:
“Unnai arinthaal, unnai arinthaal
Ulahathil poraadalaam.
Vaazhnthaalum thaazhnthaalum
Thalai vanankaamal nee vaazhalaam”
This means that in order to live an honorable life, one need to know himself. This is what Socrates also said long ago, “Know thyself.” Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan of Atlanta has said, “The higher man rides on the shoulders of the past, the more likelihood that his perspective of the present will be clear.” Only by knowing our past can we truly get to know ourselves. History shapes our self-definition and our relationship to community; it locates us in time and place and helps to give meaning to our lives.
History is the only way we can learn from the past. History allows us to grow by standing on the shoulders of giants. Make a mistake once, and you are humans. Never learn from what happened before, and you are dumb. “Those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it,” said George Santayana, the American philosopher.
The past is history and the future is mystery. The time we live in right now is a gift from God – that is why it is called the present. And to make the most of a present, we have got to try to use the insights gleaned from the past to create a better future.
Remembering will make you better. Remembering will make you smarter. Remembering will transform you from a people of history to a people of destiny.
So let us now briefly look into our ‘history’:
Unlike Europe, “…not even the biggest or most important of the twenty –eight states (of the republic of India) have had their histories written.” [p.13, Ramachandra Guha, “India after Gandhi- The History of the World’s Largest Democracy”, HarperCollins Publishers, NY, 2007]. If this is the case with such a great nation, what about us who were till few decades ago were almost illiterate? We need to make our own history with material available or long fetched. C.S. Venkatachar seemed to have told that “every work of history is “interim”: to be amplified, amended, contested, and overthrown by works written in its wake.” [p.14, ibid] As Marc Bloch said my attempt here is to make a layman “survey of the horizon before plunging into thickets from which the wider view is no longer possible.” As such, defects will be enormous. “When time comes for my attempts to be superseded by studies of deeper penetration” [p.14, ibid], those attempts will be rewarded…
I am aware that I am not addressing a passive reader. You are from the same area, knowing many of the things presented here, of course with your own preferences which direct and dictate how you look at the past.
History can be the vital thread that holds a nation together, as demonstrated most strikingly in the case of Jewish history. Conversely, for us – the fishermen of ‘Enthurai’, who have lived in a world in which we apparently had no history, its absence can be devastating. [Inside front floppy, “Why History Matters”, Gerda Lerner, Oxford University Press, NY, 1997] That is why I attempt on a history of our people. It is not that I am certain of anything, but that I wish to understand our people, their culture, their faith and so on and to pass on this knowledge to our future generations…
The ‘Mukkuvar’:
We are Mukkuvar and are proud to be known so. This word seemed to have originated from the Sanskrit word for fisher man, ‘macua’.
Our Past:
There are two theories regarding our origins.
1) Dravidians, the original settlers of the Indian subcontinent were pushed down to the South by the invading Aryans. And the ones who were pushed down up to the seas had to depend on the seas. May be that this people were already fishing in the Ganges and other North Indian rivers! [Even the great author of Mahabharatha, Vyasa was said to be a son of a fisher (boat) women!]
2) That we came from Ceylon/ Srilanka.
Our traceable history begins with the arrival of the Portuguese Missionaries in India especially with the arrival of Francis Xavier at our coasts.
These neo apostles reached Kappad near Kozhikode on 20th May, 1498, along with Vasco De Gama, the famous navigator. He had to return to Lisbon due to the unfriendly reception, violent encounters and consequent killing of his friends. A second expedition under Captain Alvarez Cabral anchored at Cochin on 26th November 1500. Cabral soon won the good will of the Raja of Cochin and thereby permission to work among the early Christian communities scattered in and around Cochin. When King Goda Varma of Cochin was defeated and kept a prisoner by the king of Kozhikode, a third fleet under Admiral Albuqurque with greater reinforcements rescued him. In gratitude, he granted permission to build a fortress at Cochin with a church at the centre. Later, as decreed by the King of Portugal, Albuquerque directed the priests to proceed to the neighboring villages to teach the Christians there.
At the behest of the Emperor, John III of Portugal, more friars and priests reached Goa on 6th May, 1542. Along with them landed a group of missionaries of the Jesuit Order led by Fr. Francis Xavier (St. Francis Xavier), a brilliant scholar. In time he moved south to Cochin and studying the situation, sought help for more missionaries.
By the zealous activities of these missionaries Pope Paul IV, established on 4th February, 1557, the Diocese of Cochin. Its boundaries extended from Canannore in the north to Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari) in the south and other regions.
The narrow strip of coastal parishes from Pallithura to Erayumanthurai formed the Trivandrum Portuguese Mission (the fourth district) of the diocese of Cochin. This was temporarily annexed to the diocese of Trivandrum with Bishop Derere as its administrator, when the diocese of Cochin was bifurcated in 1952 to create the diocese of Alleppey. On 20th May 1955 this territory was definitely integrated into Trivandrum. This has coincided with the appointment of Bishop Pereira as the Auxiliary of Trivandrum. [We have to trace our almost 400 years of religious history till 1952 in the history of the diocese of Cochin. Thereafter it could be found in the history of the diocese of Trivandrum.]
When the reorganization of the Indian states, based on the Languages, was made we became part of Tamil Nadu as Tamil was our mother tongue. [This means that our civil history till 1960 has to be found in the history of erstwhile Travancore Kingdom and since then in the Tamil Nadu history, especially in the Ezhudesam Panchayat and later Thoothoor and Kollemcode Panchayats in the Vilavancode Taluk of Kanyakumari District.] We need to undertake a compiling of our history from the above sources for our future generations and to keep us together as one people.
Our Present:
Looking at the Present we feel confident of our future. In spite of the geographical decline and slow infrastructural growth, our human resource is very strong and vibrant, our attempts at seeking job opportunities are adventurous, our economy is growing though needs to be monitored to become more and more productive and profitable and as such the possibilities are many and varied…
The Future:
Thinking of our future, we need to be aware of our strengths and weaknesses. It will help us to plan and work out our growth successfully.
Strength:
Of all the fishermen of the entire Indian coast we are uniquely skilled fisher men.
We explore and adapt to new technologies very fast both in craft and gear.
Manuel Shark hunting- we are the only people of such sort in the world.
We dare to migrate to any state or any seas where there is fish…
We entered into the large scale/ corporate fishing as captains and engineers in the fishing vessels, as well as traders.
Another blessing of our community is those in the teaching profession both in the schools and colleges.
Latest technologies are not alien to our youngsters, including the Information Technology and the Computer Sciences. Some of them are proving it in the advanced European countries and the USA.
We do have scientists, industrialists and professionals in many fields.
Our entry into the local governments started in the sixties is picking up now slowly…
Our entry in the civil services also started as early as the seventies…
In sports and games we are behind none; especially in foot ball we are a force to be counted with and the formation of many clubs foster this.
The libraries and other social organizations brought in the air of free thinking and literary and artistic interest.
It was our Schools and lately the college that brought the changes we see in our society today.
Of late the lay participation through the Parish Councils, the Social Service Societies, Women’s Organizations, Basic Christian Communities, the Self-help Groups and so on had its own impact our growth.
Our economic strength from fishing, especially shark hunting, gulf countries, Vishakapattinam and now Europe and the USA is another strength.
Weakness:
Our geographical marginality and the consequent and constant threat of sea erosion and now the tsunami is the foremost of our weaknesses.
Majority still depending on fishing with traditional skills in today’s competitive atmosphere…
Still very much unorganized…
Illiteracy and superstitious religiosity…
No power to control the price of our catch due to the lack of infrastructural facilities…
High density of population and the consequent poor health and hygiene…
Alcoholism and tobacco usage…
No other alternate employment…
No waste management… Non availability of potable water…
The CRZ of the Govt. of India which restricts habitation within 500 meters
practically makes our settlements illegal.
Keeping ourselves still aloof from the main stream…
Still considering ourselves as backward…
The group-ism and the resulting in-fights within and among villages leaves us with police cases involving our time, talent and treasures.
Squandering money on Church feasts, marriages and so on, rather than investing in productive enterprises.
Land is so basic for any existence. Till very recently we didn’t realize it. But by the time we realized it, we don’t have any more lands! Without land we can’t do anything. As the refugees in Kurukshetra in 1947 cried out for land for cultivation, we too need to seek for lands for our growth in safety. Our need, if not passion for land should be elemental. Then only we can survive.
We need to have inspiring leaders to take us to the promised lands with their own inspiring leadership and lives which in turn may become our literature.
In short, have no leader to challenge, inspire, champion and lead…
No land of our own to have a rightful foot hold…
No literature/ history to guide with the past experiences and to connect us with the present and the future…
In conclusion…
The past is history; future a mystery and the present a gift. That is why we call it the ‘present’. Let us make our present a present/gift to our future generation. For this, we the fortunate ones shall take the lead. The community will ever be grateful to such ones. Let us respond to Bharathiyar’s call:
“Oli padaitha kanninaai vaa vaa vaa
Uruthi konda nenchinaai vaa vaa vaa
Valimai konda tholinaai vaa vaa vaa…”
to build a better future for our people in the eight villages from Erayumanthurai to Neerodi and to the rest of humanity.
- Pankiras Arulappan.
31.12.2007 [10/01]
[Erayumanthurai, Poothurai, Thoothoor, Chinnathurai, Eraviputhenthurai, Vallavilai, Marthandamthurai and Neerodi.]
Introduction:
Our Tamil poet Kannadasan has sung:
“Unnai arinthaal, unnai arinthaal
Ulahathil poraadalaam.
Vaazhnthaalum thaazhnthaalum
Thalai vanankaamal nee vaazhalaam”
This means that in order to live an honorable life, one need to know himself. This is what Socrates also said long ago, “Know thyself.” Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan of Atlanta has said, “The higher man rides on the shoulders of the past, the more likelihood that his perspective of the present will be clear.” Only by knowing our past can we truly get to know ourselves. History shapes our self-definition and our relationship to community; it locates us in time and place and helps to give meaning to our lives.
History is the only way we can learn from the past. History allows us to grow by standing on the shoulders of giants. Make a mistake once, and you are humans. Never learn from what happened before, and you are dumb. “Those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it,” said George Santayana, the American philosopher.
The past is history and the future is mystery. The time we live in right now is a gift from God – that is why it is called the present. And to make the most of a present, we have got to try to use the insights gleaned from the past to create a better future.
Remembering will make you better. Remembering will make you smarter. Remembering will transform you from a people of history to a people of destiny.
So let us now briefly look into our ‘history’:
Unlike Europe, “…not even the biggest or most important of the twenty –eight states (of the republic of India) have had their histories written.” [p.13, Ramachandra Guha, “India after Gandhi- The History of the World’s Largest Democracy”, HarperCollins Publishers, NY, 2007]. If this is the case with such a great nation, what about us who were till few decades ago were almost illiterate? We need to make our own history with material available or long fetched. C.S. Venkatachar seemed to have told that “every work of history is “interim”: to be amplified, amended, contested, and overthrown by works written in its wake.” [p.14, ibid] As Marc Bloch said my attempt here is to make a layman “survey of the horizon before plunging into thickets from which the wider view is no longer possible.” As such, defects will be enormous. “When time comes for my attempts to be superseded by studies of deeper penetration” [p.14, ibid], those attempts will be rewarded…
I am aware that I am not addressing a passive reader. You are from the same area, knowing many of the things presented here, of course with your own preferences which direct and dictate how you look at the past.
History can be the vital thread that holds a nation together, as demonstrated most strikingly in the case of Jewish history. Conversely, for us – the fishermen of ‘Enthurai’, who have lived in a world in which we apparently had no history, its absence can be devastating. [Inside front floppy, “Why History Matters”, Gerda Lerner, Oxford University Press, NY, 1997] That is why I attempt on a history of our people. It is not that I am certain of anything, but that I wish to understand our people, their culture, their faith and so on and to pass on this knowledge to our future generations…
The ‘Mukkuvar’:
We are Mukkuvar and are proud to be known so. This word seemed to have originated from the Sanskrit word for fisher man, ‘macua’.
Our Past:
There are two theories regarding our origins.
1) Dravidians, the original settlers of the Indian subcontinent were pushed down to the South by the invading Aryans. And the ones who were pushed down up to the seas had to depend on the seas. May be that this people were already fishing in the Ganges and other North Indian rivers! [Even the great author of Mahabharatha, Vyasa was said to be a son of a fisher (boat) women!]
2) That we came from Ceylon/ Srilanka.
Our traceable history begins with the arrival of the Portuguese Missionaries in India especially with the arrival of Francis Xavier at our coasts.
These neo apostles reached Kappad near Kozhikode on 20th May, 1498, along with Vasco De Gama, the famous navigator. He had to return to Lisbon due to the unfriendly reception, violent encounters and consequent killing of his friends. A second expedition under Captain Alvarez Cabral anchored at Cochin on 26th November 1500. Cabral soon won the good will of the Raja of Cochin and thereby permission to work among the early Christian communities scattered in and around Cochin. When King Goda Varma of Cochin was defeated and kept a prisoner by the king of Kozhikode, a third fleet under Admiral Albuqurque with greater reinforcements rescued him. In gratitude, he granted permission to build a fortress at Cochin with a church at the centre. Later, as decreed by the King of Portugal, Albuquerque directed the priests to proceed to the neighboring villages to teach the Christians there.
At the behest of the Emperor, John III of Portugal, more friars and priests reached Goa on 6th May, 1542. Along with them landed a group of missionaries of the Jesuit Order led by Fr. Francis Xavier (St. Francis Xavier), a brilliant scholar. In time he moved south to Cochin and studying the situation, sought help for more missionaries.
By the zealous activities of these missionaries Pope Paul IV, established on 4th February, 1557, the Diocese of Cochin. Its boundaries extended from Canannore in the north to Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari) in the south and other regions.
The narrow strip of coastal parishes from Pallithura to Erayumanthurai formed the Trivandrum Portuguese Mission (the fourth district) of the diocese of Cochin. This was temporarily annexed to the diocese of Trivandrum with Bishop Derere as its administrator, when the diocese of Cochin was bifurcated in 1952 to create the diocese of Alleppey. On 20th May 1955 this territory was definitely integrated into Trivandrum. This has coincided with the appointment of Bishop Pereira as the Auxiliary of Trivandrum. [We have to trace our almost 400 years of religious history till 1952 in the history of the diocese of Cochin. Thereafter it could be found in the history of the diocese of Trivandrum.]
When the reorganization of the Indian states, based on the Languages, was made we became part of Tamil Nadu as Tamil was our mother tongue. [This means that our civil history till 1960 has to be found in the history of erstwhile Travancore Kingdom and since then in the Tamil Nadu history, especially in the Ezhudesam Panchayat and later Thoothoor and Kollemcode Panchayats in the Vilavancode Taluk of Kanyakumari District.] We need to undertake a compiling of our history from the above sources for our future generations and to keep us together as one people.
Our Present:
Looking at the Present we feel confident of our future. In spite of the geographical decline and slow infrastructural growth, our human resource is very strong and vibrant, our attempts at seeking job opportunities are adventurous, our economy is growing though needs to be monitored to become more and more productive and profitable and as such the possibilities are many and varied…
The Future:
Thinking of our future, we need to be aware of our strengths and weaknesses. It will help us to plan and work out our growth successfully.
Strength:
Of all the fishermen of the entire Indian coast we are uniquely skilled fisher men.
We explore and adapt to new technologies very fast both in craft and gear.
Manuel Shark hunting- we are the only people of such sort in the world.
We dare to migrate to any state or any seas where there is fish…
We entered into the large scale/ corporate fishing as captains and engineers in the fishing vessels, as well as traders.
Another blessing of our community is those in the teaching profession both in the schools and colleges.
Latest technologies are not alien to our youngsters, including the Information Technology and the Computer Sciences. Some of them are proving it in the advanced European countries and the USA.
We do have scientists, industrialists and professionals in many fields.
Our entry into the local governments started in the sixties is picking up now slowly…
Our entry in the civil services also started as early as the seventies…
In sports and games we are behind none; especially in foot ball we are a force to be counted with and the formation of many clubs foster this.
The libraries and other social organizations brought in the air of free thinking and literary and artistic interest.
It was our Schools and lately the college that brought the changes we see in our society today.
Of late the lay participation through the Parish Councils, the Social Service Societies, Women’s Organizations, Basic Christian Communities, the Self-help Groups and so on had its own impact our growth.
Our economic strength from fishing, especially shark hunting, gulf countries, Vishakapattinam and now Europe and the USA is another strength.
Weakness:
Our geographical marginality and the consequent and constant threat of sea erosion and now the tsunami is the foremost of our weaknesses.
Majority still depending on fishing with traditional skills in today’s competitive atmosphere…
Still very much unorganized…
Illiteracy and superstitious religiosity…
No power to control the price of our catch due to the lack of infrastructural facilities…
High density of population and the consequent poor health and hygiene…
Alcoholism and tobacco usage…
No other alternate employment…
No waste management… Non availability of potable water…
The CRZ of the Govt. of India which restricts habitation within 500 meters
practically makes our settlements illegal.
Keeping ourselves still aloof from the main stream…
Still considering ourselves as backward…
The group-ism and the resulting in-fights within and among villages leaves us with police cases involving our time, talent and treasures.
Squandering money on Church feasts, marriages and so on, rather than investing in productive enterprises.
Land is so basic for any existence. Till very recently we didn’t realize it. But by the time we realized it, we don’t have any more lands! Without land we can’t do anything. As the refugees in Kurukshetra in 1947 cried out for land for cultivation, we too need to seek for lands for our growth in safety. Our need, if not passion for land should be elemental. Then only we can survive.
We need to have inspiring leaders to take us to the promised lands with their own inspiring leadership and lives which in turn may become our literature.
In short, have no leader to challenge, inspire, champion and lead…
No land of our own to have a rightful foot hold…
No literature/ history to guide with the past experiences and to connect us with the present and the future…
In conclusion…
The past is history; future a mystery and the present a gift. That is why we call it the ‘present’. Let us make our present a present/gift to our future generation. For this, we the fortunate ones shall take the lead. The community will ever be grateful to such ones. Let us respond to Bharathiyar’s call:
“Oli padaitha kanninaai vaa vaa vaa
Uruthi konda nenchinaai vaa vaa vaa
Valimai konda tholinaai vaa vaa vaa…”
to build a better future for our people in the eight villages from Erayumanthurai to Neerodi and to the rest of humanity.
- Pankiras Arulappan.
31.12.2007 [10/01]
1 comment:
Waa re Waaaa!!! what a fantastic thinking.. I'd never read any article twice except a few. This one is really nice one. sounds like the author carries this land in his heart. He might be a social worker. Good luck Mr. Erayumman Panky. Expecting you to write, inspire ppl and guide them to victory. Good that your places doesn't have ego or ditched politics. You guys will shine if stay together.
All the very best
Rasigan....
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