When a Woman “Becomes a Dog”: Metaphors of Menstruation in Central Kerala, India

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the shifting and contemporary manifestations of menstrual taboos in central Kerala, India, particularly through the evocation of zoomorphic language and symbolism. It specifically focuses on a seemingly commonplace metaphor, pattiyayi (has become a dog), and argues that its connotative and cultural meanings have negative consequences for the construction of gender in Keralan society. The metaphor likens a menstruating woman to a dog. Further correlations between dogs and rabies patients culturally place the three categories – the domesticated carnivore, the person with a stigmatized illness, and the menstruating woman – as liminal entities, equivalent by association. Additionally, examining dog idioms (patti) in Kottayam that refer to the Dalit castes, the paper elucidates how idiomatic expressions evince societal juxtapositions of menstruating women with socially disparaged castes. These allegorical concurrences also draw attention to how the body and its organic activities and the propensity of certain bodies to incur permanent and internal pollution are at the root of symbolic denigration and gender and caste hierarchies. Furthermore, through the Foucauldian perspective on language, the paper links the dog metaphor to a micro theory of power by signifying the role of gendered power relations and the coalescence of discursive and material processes in historically shaping it.KEYWORDS: Dalitsdogseveryday languagehuman–animal relationsmenstruationmetaphors AcknowledgementsThe author expresses her gratitude to Professor Rowena Robinson for her intellectual contributions, constructive suggestions, and encouragement during the development of this paper. The author also thanks Dr Anthony Louis Podberscek and the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments.Disclosure StatementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.Notes1 Even though the regional caste hierarchies across the country and Kerala are complex, the Pan-Indian varna system divided them into four main categories: Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Shudra. These groups were considered above the line of pollution and were considered savarna (with varna), below which fell the avarna (without varna) castes, considered polluting, even by touch (hence earlier called “untouchables”). At present, they are designated by the Indian state as Scheduled Castes and often refer to themselves as Dalit.2 By the same token, in many other religions and cultures around the world, female sexuality has been linked with death and catastrophe. In formative Christianity and its interpretations of the Fall, Eve is a symbol of “female physicality and “unruly” sexuality, which has the threatening power of getting out of control (Corrington & Streete, Citation1992, p. 54). The whole responsibility of sin and death is assigned to the woman (Corrington & Streete, Citation1992) – “from a woman sin had its beginning, and because of her we will die” (Ecclesiasticus 25:24). In Islam it is generally understood that “social order […] requires male control of women’s bodies and sexuality, [as] female sexuality, if uncontrolled, could lead to social chaos” (Ikkarcam, Citation2000, p. 2; 305; quoted in Dialmy, Citation2010, p. 162). Furthermore, there is a prevailing belief in many cultures that female fertility conflicts with man’s appropriation of nature, resulting in a contrasting relationship (Bloch & Parry, Citation1982, p. 19). The Tanzanian Hadza tribe believes that female reproduction is “mystically incompatible with hunting big game,” where the hunter’s wife’s menstruation will diminish the effectiveness of his arrows, and a wounded animal will recover from its wounds if the wife is pregnant (Bloch & Parry, Citation1982). Among the Lugbara tribe of Uganda elaborates on female sexuality as an opposing force to human fertility, deeming it hazardous and unproductive. Men are considered to possess and control sacred ancestral fertility associated with the compound, ancestral shrine, and the authority of elders. And women, by the vice of their dangerous bodies and reproductive phenomena, are only passive partners in this arrangement (Bloch & Parry, Citation1982). In Tamil cosmology, women’s bodies are commonly perceived as inherently weaker and impure than men, primarily due to bodily phenomena such as menstruation. Consequently, women are believed to be more vulnerable to possession by malevolent spirits, particularly during menstruation (Caplan, Citation1989; Nabokov, Citation2000, p. 70). Closely related to this is the belief in Kerala that the bodies of young girls are susceptible to being possessed by lustful male spirits if they come in contact with unidentified statues (Mohan & Padmarajan, Citation1991) or locks of hair.3 The hymns included in the Vedas are explained in-depth and completely in the Brahmanas, a group of classical Indian prose texts.4 Ancient kings practiced the Vedic Horse Sacrifice, or ashvamedha, as a ritual to establish their rule and obtain blessings of wealth and success. A magnificent stallion was chosen for the ritual, and the king's army followed it as it roamed free for a year to symbolize the extent of his kingdom. The horse was then brought back and sacrificed.5 Housewife, Ezhava caste, aged 34. Interview at Ayamkudi, Kottayam, July 12 2018.6 Housewife, Ashari caste, aged 56. Interview at Kottayam, July 14 2018.7 Edmund Leach (Citation1964, p. 35), while outlining his theory of taboo as “we make binary distinctions and then mediate the distinction by creating an ambiguous (and taboo-loaded) intermediate category,” observed that certain animals such as pets are symbolic tokens that occupy the “liminal” space between the classifications of human and not-human.8 See endnote number 3.9 Dalit Bandhu N. K. Jose, interview, Vaikom, Kerala, July 2018.10 A man following the practice of austerity concerning food, sex and so on, for the Sabaraimala temple pilgrimage. Sabarimala is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, located in Kerala, India. Women of the menstruating age (between 10–50 years) were forbidden from entering the temple up until September 28 2018, when the Supreme Court of India revoked this prohibition on grounds that it infringed upon their constitutional right to equality and the fundamental right to practice religion. However, when women devotees made attempts at entering the temple after the verdict, they were stopped by protestors from climbing the “18 holy steps” leading to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.11 Rekha Raj. (January 25 2015). Arthavam Samsarichu Thudangumbol. Mathrubhumi Illustrated Weekly.12 An initiation ritual that is only performed by the members of the upper caste Hindus. This ceremony recognizes a male youngster as a member of his community and signifies the beginning of his life as a student. The sacred thread that the person will wear as a mark of their new status is a key marker of this event.13 A concoction that is prepared by blending five cow products, such as cow dung, cow urine, milk, curd, and ghee.14 For details, see Dyer (Citation2016).15 While it was a straightforward task for the informants to scrutinize the etymology, meaning, and cultural significance of every other word, custom, and symbolic idiom that signifies menstruation in the field, most of them had no immediate or precise answer about the origins and signification of the metaphor pattiyayi. It is rather a taken-for-granted trope, a “funny” and “arbitrary” idiom that has been there “forever.”16 Bourdieu affirms that “an institution, action or usage which is dominant, but not recognised as such, that is to say, which is tacitly accepted, is legitimate” (Citation1993, p. 70).