Hearing attuned: an exploration of the sonority of the Aravan festival in India

Abstract

The paper explores the sonic aspect of the annual Aravan festival celebrated in the rural village of Koovagam, Tamil Nadu, India. The festival has gained popularity as the “Koovagam transgender festival” due to the participation of thousands of transgender women, known as Aravanikal in Tamil, from across India. The paper explores the relationship between the festival and sound by examining four distinct aspects: a patrikai (brochure), a village-specific mythical story, a unique listening experience of a group of women, and the participation of Aravanikal in the festival. The study unveils the integral role of sound, interwoven within a myth, in shaping the identity of the village. It delves into how this significance resonates within the local culture’s perception of sound. The paper demonstrates that a particular group of women is excluded from participating in all sensory aspects of a ritual, except for the auditory realm. In this cultural context, sound is not subject to the same restrictions as other senses. The paper further argues that the festival has a hidden erotic dimension beneath its apparent layers, which is revealed through sounds, producing an “aural erotica” that subverts existing norms governing discussions about sex.

Keywords:

• Aravani
• ethnography
• eroticism
• ritual
• sound

Acknowledgments

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the residents of Koovagam in the Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu for their unwavering support, love, and care during my fieldwork. Thanks are owed to all Aravanikal who significantly contributed to shaping the paper. A special acknowledgment to Professor P Thirumal from the Department of Communication, Hyderabad Central University, for his intellectual vigor and constant encouragement. Finally, I extend my gratitude to the journal editors and anonymous reviewers for their meticulous review and constructive feedback, which helped refine the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 I conducted fieldwork from 2015 to 2017 as part of my PhD. The sensory dimension of the festival had not been developed in the context of my doctoral research. Following the completion of my PhD, I conducted additional fieldwork in 2022. This article, which is a component of the broader examination of the festival’s sensory aspects, is built upon the data I gathered during these years of fieldwork.

2 Archeologist Nagaswami notes the deep influence of Sanskrit/Northern elements in the administrative services, religious practices, and rituals of ancient Tamil rulers, challenging the idea of a completely independent Tamil culture and literary tradition (see Santhanam 2012). However, historian MGS Narayanan contends that Tamil has never been fully dominated by Sanskrit influence (The Hindu, 2009). Hart III (1974) and Ramanujan (1981) discuss the reliance of Sanskrit on the Tamil culture and literary tradition, asserting that numerous elements deemed sacred in Tamil have been incorporated into Sanskrit.

3 The epic Mahabharata has several versions in Tamil Nadu. Villi Paratham is an expansion of Parata Venpa written by Perunthevanar in the 9^th century. In Tamil Nadu, these different versions are referred to as Paratham.

4 Tamil Nadu has 32 Koothandavar Koyils, and I’ve visited some. The Aravan story and Koothandavar’s iconography differ across locations. Narratives about the deity’s arrival in specific villages also vary. Koovagam oorukkar believe that Aravan’s head gained immortality after the battle and came to the village.

5 For the enactment of the first and second wishes of Aravan, the festival relies on Villi Paratham, while for the third wish, it relies on the folklore circulated in the region.

6 Aravani is singular while Aravanikal is plural.

7 For the palooth ceremony, a group of pujaris wash the chariot of Aravan after its procession on the 16^th day. They wash it with a mixture of milk and turmeric diluted in water.

8 Feld (1996) elucidates the crucial role of sound in understanding a place, coining the term “acoustemology.”

9 Melam consisted of traditional musical instruments like one thavil, two thamukku, two chatty, one nayanam, and one or two palaha. All these instruments except nayanam belong to percussion instruments while nayanam resembles a flute. Though melam consists of various instruments, it is referred to as drum beating in the village for its extensive use of drum/thavil.

10 The village has five different castes: Vanniyar, Asari, Ambattan, Vannan, and Adi Dravidar. Adi Dravidar, also referred to as Dalit or Harijan (SC community), occupies the lowest rung in the caste hierarchy.

11 Scholarly works examine how songs and music serve as sites of resistance for the Dalit community in India (see Dalton 2008; Mohan 2016; Placid 2021; Sherinian 2014).

12 The festival includes two tali-tying ceremonies. On the second day, two men from the Vanniyar community, representing the bride and groom, perform a knot-tying ceremony. This is followed by the tali-tying ritual between two men from the Adi Dravida community, enacting bride and groom. From the 14^th to the morning of the 16^th, there is a tali-tying ceremony where Aravanikal and men dressed as women tie the knot with Koyil pujaris, representing Aravan.

13 Corbin (2016, 309) illustrated how the bell tower situated in the middle of the town/village forms an “auditory space” by “structuring the space across which their sound carried.”

14 There are studies that examine the connection between gender and sound (Boyle 1987, Nguyen 2022, Soudant 2021). However, there is a limited number of studies exploring how identification with a specific gender leads to a unique sonic experience and the significant role that gender plays in shaping auditory spaces.

15 See Reddy (2005) for an understanding of the significance of this clapping for hijras (neither man nor female).

16 Aravanikal tie the knot with Koyil pujaris who represent Aravan. Subsequently, Aravanikal cosummmate marriage with men who desire to have a sexual union with them, provided that consent is established between both parties.

17 I am indebted to Simon and Gagnon (1968, 5) for the term “sexual vocabulary.”

18 Cavan (1968) notes, societies that consider talking about sex to be taboo depend on metaphors and idioms to denote sex.

19 An effigy of a warrior is made with tree branches, hay and leaves, and it is placed on the processional chariot.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anupama K P

Anupama K P currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the department of Journalism & Mass Communication at the University of Calicut. She obtained her PhD in 2020 from the department of Communication at Hyderabad Central University, India. Her research focuses on exploring the dynamics of rituals, performance, senses, and culture, delving into the various ways in which these elements interact and influence each other.