Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Pānān
Pānān.—The Tamil Pānāns are said, in the Census Report, 1901, to be also called Mēstris. They are " tailors among Tamils in Madura and Tinnevelly. They employ Brāhmans and Vellālas as purōhits. Though barbers and washermen will not eat food prepared by them, they are allowed to enter Hindu temples." The Malayālam Pānāns are described in the same report as " exorcists and devil-dancers. The men also make umbrellas, and the women act as midwives. In parts they are called Malayans, and they may be descendants of that hill tribe who have settled in the plains." In the South Canara Manual, the Pānāns are said to be "the Malayālam caste corresponding to the Nalkes and Pombadas. They are numerous in Malabar, where they are also known by the name of Malayan. The devils whom they personify are supposed to have influence over crops, and at the time of harvest the Panans go about begging from house to house, dancing with umbrellas in their hands. On such occasions, however, it is only boys and girls who personify the demons." "The village magician or conjurer," Mr.Gopal Panikkar writes,*[1] " goes by different names, such as Pānān, Malayan, etc. His work consists in casting out petty devils from the bodies of persons (chiefly children) possessed, in writing charms for them to wear, removing the pernicious effects of the evil eye, and so on." On certain ceremonial occasions, the Pānān plays on an hour-glass shaped drum, called thudi.
In an account of the funeral ceremonies of the Tīyans, Mr. Logan writes †[2] that "early on the morning of the third day after death, the Kurup or caste barber adopts measures to entice the spirit of the deceased out of the room in which he breathed his last. This is done by the nearest relative bringing into the room a steaming pot of savoury funeral rice. It is immediately removed, and the spirit, after three days' fasting, is understood greedily to follow the odour of the tempting food. The Kurup at once closes the door, and shuts out the spirit. The Kurup belongs to the Pānān caste. He is the barber of the polluting classes above Cherumans, and by profession he is also an umbrella maker. But, curiously enough, though an umbrella maker, he cannot make the whole of an umbrella. He may only make the framework; the covering of it is the portion of the females of his caste. If he has no female relative of his own capable of finishing off his umbrellas, he must seek the services of the females of other families in the neighbourhood to finish his for him. The basket-makers are called Kavaras. Nothing will induce them to take hold of an umbrella, as they have a motto. Do not take hold of Pānān's leg."
In an account of a ceremonial at the Pishāri temple near Quilandy in Malabar, Mr. F. Fawcett writes *[3] that "early on the seventh and last day, when the morning procession is over, there comes to the temple a man of the Pānān caste. He carries a small cadjan (palm leaf) umbrella which he has made himself, adorned all round the edges with a fringe of the young leaves of the cocoanut palm. The umbrella should have a long handle, and with this in his hand he performs a dance before the temple. He receives about 10 lbs. of raw rice for his performance." It is further recorded by Mr. Fawcett that, when a Tīyan is cremated, a watch is kept at the burning-ground for five days by Pānāns, who beat drums all night to scare away the evil spirits which haunt such spots.
The following account of the Pānāns is given in the Gazetteer of Malabar. "The name is perhaps connected with pan, music. They follow the makkattāyam family system (of inheritance from father to son), and practice fraternal polyandry. In South Malabar there are said to be four sub-divisions, called Tirurengan, Kōdaketti (umbrella tying), Mīnpidi (fish catching), and Pulluvan, of which the last named is inferior in status to the other three. They are also divided into exogamous illams or kiriyams. They worship Kāli, and inferior deities such as Parakutti, Karinkutti, Gulikan, and Kutti Chāttan. Their methods of exorcism are various. If any one is considered to be possessed by demons, it is usual, after consulting the astrologer, to ascertain what Murti (lit. form) is causing the trouble, to call in Pānans, who perform a ceremony called Teyāttam, in which they wear masks, and, so attired, sing, dance, tom-tom, and play on rude and strident pipes. Other of their ceremonies for driving out devils called Ucchaveli seem to be survivals of imitations of human sacrifice, or instances of sympathetic magic. One of these consists of a mock living burial of the principal performer, who is placed in a pit which is covered with planks,on the top of which a sacrifice (hōmam) is performed with a fire kindled with jack Artocarpus integrifolia) branches. In another variety, the Pānan cuts his left forearm, and smears his face with the blood thus drawn. Pānans also take part with Mannāns in various ceremonies at Badrakāli and other temples, in which the performers personate, in suitable costumes, some of the minor deities or demons, and fowls are sacrificed, while a Velicchapād dances himself into a frenzy, and pronounces oracles." It is further noted, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that "to constitute a valid divorce, the husband pulls a thread from his cloth, and gives it to his wife's brother, saying 'Your parisha is over.' It is a traditional duty of the Pānans to furnish a messenger to announce to an Izhuvan (or Tandān) girl's mother or husband (according to where she is staying) that she has attained puberty."
In the Census Report, 1901, Anjūttān (men of the five hundred) and Munnūttān (men of the three hundred) are returned as sub-castes of the Malayālan Pānāns.
For the following account of the Pānāns of Travancore, I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. The word is of Tamil origin, and means a tailor. The title taken by them is Panikkan, the usual honorific appellation of most of the industrial castes of Malabar. They are supposed to be one with the Pānāns of the Tamil country, though much below them in the social scale. They observe a pollution distance of thirty-six feet, but keep Mannāns and Vēdans at a distance of eight, and Pulayas and Paraiyas at a distance of thirty-two feet from them. They are their own barbers and washermen. They will eat food prepared by Kammālans, of whom there is a tradition that they are a degraded branch. Tiruvarangan, one of the popular sages of Malabar, who are reputed to be the descendants of a Paraiya woman, is said to have been a Pānān, and the Pānāns pay him due reverence. In the Kēralolpatti, the traditional occupation of the Pānāns is said to be exorcism, and in British Malabar this occupation seems to be continued at the present day. Umbrella-making is a secondary occupation for the men. In Travancore, however, the only occupation pursued by the Pānāns is tailoring. The tāli-kettu celebration takes place before the girl attains puberty. If this ceremony is intended to signify a real marriage, the girl is taken to her husband's house on the fourth day of the first menstrual period, and they remain thenceforth man and wife. Otherwise a sambandham ceremony has to be performed either by the tāli-tier or some one else, to establish conjugal relations. Inheritance is mostly paternal. The dead are buried, and death pollution lasts for sixteen days. The spirits of deceased ancestors are appeased once a year by the offering of cooked food on the new-moon day in the month of Karkatakam (July- August). Ancestors who died from some untoward accident are propitiated in the month of Avani (August-September) by offerings of flesh and liquor. The latter ceremonial is termed vellamkuli or water drinking. Small earthen sheds, called gurusalas or kuriyalas and matams, are erected in memory of some ancestors.
The following account of the Pānāns of the Cochin State is extracted from a note by Mr. L, K. Ananta Krishna Aiyar.*[4]
"The Pānāns give, as the traditional account of their origin, a distorted version of the tradition as to the origin of the Izhuvans, which is found in the Mackenzie Manuscripts. The Pānān version of the story is as follows. One day a washerman of Cheraman Perumāl chanced to wash his dress very clean. On being asked by the Perumāl as to the cause of it, the washerman said that it was due to the suggestion of a handsome carpenter girl, who saw him while washing. The Perumāl, pleased with the girl, desired her to be married to his washerman. The parents of the girl were duly consulted, and they could not refuse the offer, as it came from their sovereign. But his fellow carpenters resented it, for, if the proposal was accepted, and the marriage celebrated, it might not only place the members of her family under a ban, but would also bring dishonour to the castemen. To avert the contemplated union, they resorted to the following device. A pandal (marriage booth) was erected and tastefully decorated. Just at the auspicious hour, when the bridegroom and his party were properly seated on mats in the pandal, the carpenters brought a puppet exactly resembling the bride, and placed it by his side, when suddenly, by a clever artifice, the carpenters caused the building to tumble down, and thereby killed all those who were in it. They immediately left the Perumāl's country, and took refuge in the island of Ceylon. The ruler was much embarrassed by the disaster to the washerman, and by the flight of the carpenters, for he had none in his country to build houses. A few Pānāns were sent for, and they brought the carpenters back. On their return, they were given some fruit of the palmyra palm, which they ate. They sowed the seeds in their own places, and these grew into large fruit-bearing palms. The Pānāns possessed the privilege of keeping these trees as their own, but subsequently made them over to the Izhuvans, who, in memory of this, give even to-day two dishes of food to the Pānāns on all ceremonial occasions in their houses. They have been, on that account, called by the Izhuvans nettaries, for their having originally planted these trees.
"There are no titles among the Pānāns, but one, who was brought for examination at Trichūr, told me that one of his ancestors got the title of Panikkan, and that he had the privilege of wearing a gold ear-ring, carrying a walking-stick lined with silver, and using a knife provided with a style. Kapradan is a title given to the headman in the Palghat taluk. In Palghat, when the Kapradan dies, the Rāja is informed, and he sends to the chief mourner (the son) a sword, a shield, a spear, a few small guns with some gunpowder, a silver bangle, and a few necklaces. As the dead body is taken to the burial ground, the chief mourner, wearing the ornaments above mentioned, goes behind it. In front go a few persons armed with the weapons referred to. Three discharges are made (1) when the dead body is removed from the house, (2) when it is placed on the ground, (3) when it is burnt. The next day, the chief mourner pays his respects to the Rāja, with an umbrella of his own making, when the Rāja bestows upon him the title of Kapradan.
"There are magicians and sorcerers among the Pānāns, who sometimes, at the request even of the high-caste men, practice the black art. Some of the Pānāns, like the Parayans, engage in magical rites of a repulsive nature, in order to become possessors of a powerful medicine, the possession of which is believed to confer the power of obtaining anything he wishes. They also believe in the existence of a demoniacal hierarchy. Changili Karuppan, Pechi, Oodara Karuppan. Kāli, Chotala Karuppan, Chotala Bhadrakāli, Yakshi, Gandharvan, and Hanumān are the names of the chief demons whom they profess to control with the aid of mantrams (consecrated formulæ) and offerings. They also profess that they can send one or more of these demons into the bodies of men, and cast them out when persons are possessed of them. They profess to cure all kinds of diseases in children with the aid of magic and medicines, and all the castemen believe that harm or even death may be caused to men with the aid of sorcerers. In such cases, an astrologer is consulted, and, according to his calculations, the aid of a magician is sought for. When a person is suffering from what are believed to be demoniacal attacks, he is relieved by the performance of the following ceremony, called pathalahōmam. A pit about six feet in length, three feet in depth, and a foot or two in breadth, is dug. A Pānān, covered with a new piece of cloth, is made to lie in the pit, which is filled in with earth, leaving a small hole for him to breathe. Over the middle of his body, the earth is raised and made level. A sacred fire (hōmam) is made over this with the branches of a jack tree. Near it a large square is drawn with sixty-four small divisions, in each of which a small leaf, with some paddy (unhusked rice), rice, flour, and lighted torches, is placed. Gingelly (Sesamum) seeds, mustard seeds, grains of chama (Panicum miliaceum), horse gram (Dolichos biflorus), eight fragrant things, the skin of snakes, dung of the elephant, milk of the pala tree, twigs of the banyan tree, dharba grass, nila narakam (Naregamia alata) oil, and ghee (clarified butter) are put into it until it burns bright. The sick man is brought in front of it, and the sorcerer authoritatively asks him — or rather the demon residing in his body — to take these things. The sorcerer puts the above mentioned substances into the fire, muttering all the while his mantrams invoking the favour of Vīra Bhadra or Kandakaruna. The significance of these is 'Oh! Kandakaruna, the King of the Dēvas, I have no body, that is, my body is getting weaker and weaker, and am possessed of some demon, which is killing me, kindly help me, and give me strength.' This done, another operation is begun. A fowl is buried, and a small portion of the earth above it is raised and made level. The figure of a man is drawn by the side of it. Three hōmams (sacred fires) are raised, one at the head, one in the middle, and one at the feet. The above mentioned grains, and other substances, are put into the fire. A large square with sixty-four smaller squares in it is drawn, in each of which a leaf, with grains of paddy, rice, and flowers, is placed. Another mantram in praise of the demons already mentioned is uttered, and a song is sung. After finishing this, a small structure in the form of a temple is made. A small plantain tree is placed by the side of it. A padmam is drawn, and a pūja (worship) is performed for the Paradēvatha, the queen of demons. The sorcerer makes offerings of toddy, beaten rice, plantains, and cocoanuts, and soon turns oracle, and, as one inspired, tells what the deity wishes, and gives information as regards the departure of the demons from the body. It is now believed that the patient is free from all demoniacal attacks. The buried man is exhumed, and allowed to go home.
"In the Palghat tāluk, the following form of sorcery is practiced, which is believed to relieve persons from demoniacal attacks and disease. If, in the house of any casteman, it is suspected that some malign influence is being exercised by demons, a Pānān is sent for, who comes in the evening with his colleagues. A hōmam is lighted with the branches of the trees already mentioned, and into it are thrown six kinds of grains, as well as oil and ghee. As this is being done, Kallatikode Nili, the presiding archdemon, is propitiated with songs and offerings. The next part of the ceremony consists in bringing a bier and placing a Pānān on it, and a measure of rice is placed at his head. He is, as in the case of a dead body, covered with a piece of new cloth, and a small plantain tree is placed between the thighs. At his head a sheep and at his feet a fowl are killed. He pretends gradually to recover consciousness. In this state he is taken outside the compound. The Pānān, lying on the bier, evidently pretends to be dead, as if killed by the attack of some demon. The propitiation with songs and offerings is intended to gratify the demons. This is an instance of sympathetic magic.
"Some among the Pānāns practice the oti (or odi) cult, like the Parayas. The following medicines, with the aid of magic, are serviceable to them in enticing pregnant women from their houses. Their preparation is described as follows. A Pānān, who is an adept in the black art, bathes early in the morning, dresses in a cloth unwashed, and performs pūja to his deity, after which he goes in search of a Kotuveli plant (Manihot utilissima). When he finds such a one as he wants, he goes round it three times every day, and continues to do so for ninety days, prostrating himself every day before it. On the last night, which must be a new-moon night, at twelve o'clock he performs pūja to the plant, burning camphor, and, after going round it three times, prostrates himself before it. He then places three small torches on it, and advances twenty paces in front of it. With his mouth closed, and without any fear, he plucks the plant by the root, and buries it in the ashes on the cremation ground, on which he pours the water of seven green cocoanuts. He then goes round it twenty-one times, muttering all the while certain mantrams, after which he plunges himself in the water, and stands erect until it extends to his mouth. He takes a mouthful of water, which he empties on the spot, and then takes the plant with the root, which he believes to possess peculiar virtues. When it is taken to the closed door of a house, it has the power to entice a pregnant woman, when the foetus is removed (cf. article Parayan). It is all secretly done on a dark midnight. The head, hands and legs are cut off, and the trunk is taken to a dark-coloured rock, on which it is cut into nine pieces, which are all burned until they are blackened. At this stage, one piece boils, and is placed in a new earthen pot, with the addition of the water of nine green cocoanuts. The pot is removed to the burial-ground. The Pānān performs a pūja here in favour of his favourite deity. Here he fixes two poles deep in the earth, at a distance of thirty feet from each other. The poles are connected by a strong wire, from which is suspended the pot to be heated and boiled. Seven fire-places are made beneath the wire. The branches of bamboo, katalati (Ackyranthes Emblica), conga (Bauhinea variegata), cocoanut palm, jack tree (Artocarpus integrifolia), and pavatta (Pavatta indica), are used in forming a bright fire. The mixture in the pot soon boils and becomes oily, at which stage it is passed through a fine cloth. The oil is preserved, and a mark made with it on the forehead enables the possessor to realise anything that is thought of. The sorcerer must be in a state of vow for twenty-one days, and live on a diet of chama kanji. The deity, whose aid is necessary, is propitiated with offerings.
"One of the ceremonies which the Pānāns perform is called Thukil Onarthuka (waking thukil, a kind of drum). In the month of Karkadakam (July-August), a Pānān, with his wife, provided with a drum and kuzhithalam (circular bell-metal cymbals), goes to the houses of Brāhmans and Nāyars after midnight, and sings sacred songs. During the week, they sing standing underneath a banyan tree near the western gate of the Trichūr temple. From the temple authorities they get five measures of paddy, half a measure of rice, some gingelly oil, and a cocoanut. For their services in other houses, they receive a similar remuneration. This is intended to drive evil spirits, if any, from houses. Another of their festivals is known as Pānān Kāli. The traditional account therefor is as follows. Once, when a Pānān and his wife went to a forest to bring bamboos for the manufacture of umbrellas, they missed their way, night approached, and they could not return. They began to be frightened by the varieties of noise heard by them in the wilderness. They collected pieces of dry bamboo and leaves of trees, and burned them. In the presence of the light thus obtained, the woman caught hold of a creeper hanging from a tree, and danced in honour of Bhagavathi, while her husband sang songs praising her. The day dawned at last, and they found their way home in safety. In memory of this incident, the Panans organise a party for a regular play. There are ten male and two female actors, and the play is acted during the whole night.
"The religion of the Pānāns consists of an all-pervading demonology. Their chief gods are Mukkan, Chāthan, Kappiri, Malankorathi, and Kali. Pūjas are performed to them on the first of Medom (April-May), Karkadakam (July- August), Desara, and on Tuesday in Makaram (January- February). These deities are represented by stones placed under a tree. They are washed with water on the aforesaid days, and offerings of sheep and fowls, malar (parched rice), plantains, cocoanuts, and boiled rice are made to them. Their belief is that these deities are ever prone to do harm to them, and should therefore be propitiated with offerings. The Pānāns also worship the spirits of their ancestors, who pass for their household gods, and whose help they seek in all times of danger. They fast on new-moon nights, and on the eleventh night after full-moon or new-moon.
"The Pānān is the barber of the polluting castes above Cherumans. By profession he is an umbrella-maker. Pānāns are also engaged in all kinds of agricultural work. In villages, they build mud walls. Their women act as midwives.
"As regards social status, the Pānāns eat at the hands of Brāhmans, Nāyars, Kammālans, and Izhuvans. They have to stand at a distance of thirty-two feet from Brāhmans. Pānāns and Kaniyans pollute one another if they touch, and both bathe should they happen to do so. They are their own barbers and washermen. They live in the vicinity of the Izhuvans, but cannot live in the Nāyar tharas. Nor can they take water from the wells of the Kammālans. They cannot approach the outer walls of Brāhman temples, and are not allowed to enter the Brāhman streets in Palghat."
In the Census Report, 1891, Pānān occurs as a sub-division of the Paraiyans. Their chief occupation as leather-workers is said to be the manufacture of drum-heads.*[5]