VELLORE: There's probably nothing as big as COVID-19 in contemporary global history. It has devastated ‘advanced’ economies, laid bare chinks in public healthcare, and brought to reality deepest of our fears. In Tamil Nadu too, the virus has grabbed a significant place in history — by become a part of the folklore.
Heartrending tales and miseries of the past used to be passed on to younger generations through folklore — villupattu and kaniyankoothu in southern districts, udukadipattu in the West, and therukoothu in northern regions. Storms, deluges, even the tsunami made it to the State folklore over the years. Now, it’s the turn of the pandemic.
“The storm that devastated Danushkodi in the sixties, the Ariyalur train accident, and the tsunami are now told as folk songs and tales,” says R Ramanathan, former head of the folklore department at the Tamil University in Thanjavur. Even the fall of US space station Skylab in 1973 is remembered in Tamil folklore.
“It’s interesting to study the different forms in which the virus is drawn,” says Umadevi, an assistant professor at the University of Delhi. “Various forms of representation of the virus are a product of people’s imagination. In parts of Tamil Nadu, you can notice it being customised.” The virus taking the form of Yama — the god of death — accompanied by his assistant Chitragupta was the popular theme.
The virus also caught the imagination of therukoothu performers. Pokkilikattai dances in places such as Wallajah also feature the virus as the central theme now. In many paintings, the virus resembles the local form of scarecrows — a face with eyes and tongue sticking out.
It’s subliminal messaging to create fear, say experts. “Seeing that naturally creates fear, makes us go into the defensive. As a consequence, it will make us take up precautionary measures,” believes Na Mammathu, a researcher in Tamil folk music. It will also not be surprising if people start worshipping the virus.
When the plague hit India hardback in the years, a ‘plague’ Mariamman temple sprung up in Coimbatore. “In those times, innocent people did not know how pandemics affect humans. So, they tried to relate them to the local deities and began to worship them,” says Ramanathan, who has done extensive research on the subject. “The virus has impacted every aspect of our life, cutting across religion, caste and creed. It is going to linger in the minds of the people in the form of folklore for a long time,” says Umadevi.