The History of the Awakening of the Ilava Community of Kerala

AWAKENING OF THE JLAVAS

THE HISTORY OF THE AWAKENING OF THE lLAVA COMMUNITY OF KERALA

BY GEORGE JACOB, B.Sc., B.D.

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts

McMaster University October 1982

MASTER OF ARTS (1982) (Religious Studies) TITLE:

AUTHOR:

McMaster University Hamilton. Ontario.

The ~istory of the Awakenin~ of the Ilava Community of Kerala George Jacob, B.Sc.

B.D. SUPERVISOR:

Professor Paul

(University of Kerala), (University of Serampore) Yo~nger

NUMBER OF PAGES: vi, 135

(ii)

ABSTRACT The Ilavas are the largest community in Kerala.

They were traditionally considered outside

the pale of Ilvarna" and treated as "untouchables' by the higher castes.

,. -

A member of the community Sri Narayana Guru (1855-1927) and his disciples introduced religious and social reforms that brought in an awakening among the 11avas at the beginning of the twentieth century.

The changes among the I!avas brought them into a series of

escalating confrontations between themselves and the supporters of the caste-structure.

This thesis focuses on the transformations of the Ilava community and analyses how they now fit into the larger social structure.

It asserts that the awakening

of the Ilava community should be understood as a process of "modernization". It is described as modernization because it is an indigenous, historical and ongoing process in which people participate consciously.

The Ilavas

in their awakening have incorporated the values of modernity into their

culture without losing the core-values of tradition.

The history of the

awakening of the Ilavas is a case of the modernization of a traditional

society.

(iii)

ACKNO;VLEDGEMENT The

aUG~or

wishes to express his deep

appreciation and gratitude to Professor Paul

Younger Hho had consistently throughout the "hole time frame generously helped in the preparation of this thesis.

Sincere gratitude is also amply

due to Drs. J. G. Arapura, D. R. Kinsley and P. Granoff for constructive criticism and helpful

suggestions.

(i v)

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