Published on Ultra Violet
When it was announced recently that the first batch of non-Brahmin students were being ordained for priesthood in Tamil Nadu, it was a great reason to cheer and celebrate that priesthood has been “officially” thrown open to all the castes and that Brahmin exclusivism was set to break (at least theoretically). But, what is disappointing is that all women are denied this right and there is no talk in Tamil Nadu of any legislation, anywhere in the near future, to grant them the right to officiate as priests.
I could branch off into a tangent, right now, right here, and talk about how women are being systematically treated as a caste, and how that in turn leads them to being denied equal rights, being treated as untouchables, being discriminated against. And this, despite the obvious fact that women don’t form a homogenuous category except on the basis of their sex, and that not all women are equally disadvantaged. But I will refrain from my urge to track the caste-patriarchy nexus, not because it doesn’t exist, but because the phenomenon of depriving women the right to become priests is a disease that has infested most of the world’s religions.
Religions, whether Abrahamic (Judaism, Islam, Christianity) or Eastern (such as Hinduism) consider a woman to be in a “fallen state” during her periods. Whereas, religions which grew as a response against caste—which encoded the concepts of purity and pollution—such as Buddhism and Sikhism condemn the practice of considering women as “impure” while they were menstruating.
This ancient issue of impurity during menstruation has ensured that women in the reproductive age group are barred from the Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala in Kerala. The contentious reasons merit a monstrous tag: presence of fertile women causes trouble to Ayyappa’s volatile bachelorhood, and that sometimes, the menstrual odour would attract wild animals in the forests through which the pilgrims have to traverse. New age religious sects haven’t updated their views on menstruation either: Mata Amritanandamayi’s sect runs temples where two women are appointed as priests to a single temple “so that each can keep away for four days in a month, during their menstruation.” (I am unaware of who the priest would be when the two women’s cycles begin to sync.)
Article 17 of the Constitution of India abolished caste-based untouchability, but perhaps we need another section/amendment to abolish menstrual taboos. Or, haven’t our religions heard of “seminal” fluids yet? What is their pollution quotient? Then, if pollution is any problem, will our holier-than-thou holy ones switch over to battery-powered priests? By the way, do these menstrual taboos apply to our goddesses? Are there days in every month when they too begin to pollute the temple?
While these logic-defying practices fall within the ambit of organized, mass religions, local practices fare no better either. The Times of India (June 8, 2008, Chennai edition) carried a report on how a Tamil Nadu state minister had on May 27 inaugrated an ‘isolation room’ for women during menstruation in the remote village of Thuvaar in Thirupattur. According to the ToI report, a soothsayer had predicted that rains failed because the village gods were antagonized over the fact that the ‘Muttukuruchi’ system had been discontinued for the past few years. In order to revive the system of isolating women and young girls on their attainment of puberty, the villagers had constructed the cramped eighty square foot isolation room were bleeding women would be banished.
Thousands of years ago, the Mayans believed that menstrual blood changed into snakes used in black magic. It appears that we hold on to such regressive beliefs, and haven’t really come of age yet.
Nice things about the menstruation taboo….
As a young girl I recall the glee with which I used to welcome my periods, never had stomach cramps AND was not allowed to do mundane kitchen and other household chores, thanks to the impureness of my bleeding self. I could lie in bed all day long, reading and dreaming -without interruption.
I also recall the women in the construction site nearby, positively glowing during the Ayyappa days, reason -the men actually took care of themselves, no booze, no beatings and no sex for 30-35 days, Pure Bliss! They definitely cared less about not being able to pay respects to the male God in his forest abode. But, if he was the reason the husband/men behaved for a couple days….. then God bless the GOD and his taboos.
Aristotle is said to believe that women had lesser number of teeth, all he had to do was count the number of teeth of an adult woman (probably none wanted to open their mouth to the wise one!). Given this, can you imagine what his version of menstruation would be?. Cut to the present, I can bet that other than male doctors few men in this modern, information saturated era would be any more informed about womens bodies and its biology. So, what is the role of women in the origin and perpetuation of these taboos? In my case and maybe in most others of my generation, all knowledge that was gathered about menstruation came solely from women; my mother, sister, girlfriends, girl-cousins, basically a load of crap! For once, I cannot blame men in this vital knowledge-transfer as their knowledge about this was zilch and sensibly (again, for once) kept quite about it.
Goddesses, ummmm well…
Since, I am not the religious type, (not taking priesthood even if offered – while menstruating or post menopause.), we will leave out menstruating Goddesses and talk about daughters who are menstruating and those who will in future menstruate. The knowledge-transfer system about females via females, appears to work against us (reasons are many). Can we -informed- women come up with a list of facts and fiction about menstruation in the Indian context? -fiction should be so much fun (I’ll take that!!!). A list that middle and high school girls can easily assimilate, complete with advocacy info about asking Gov. and industry to subsidize sanitary napkin cost, info about recyclable, affordable and safe materials to use. And for the large number of girls who barely have clothes to cover their bodies, what can be done? Free ones out of a dispensable machine -dream this is! But a possible one.
Much as it is satisfying to record and analyze the universal injustices done to women, we can also maybe pause and see if we can reverse this female specific knowledge-gathering-transferring process to work for us? Making it more useful to a girl as she goes about her business of growing up and becoming a power to reckon with.
Recalling my journey from girl to womanhood, the question about the role of women in perpetuating menstruation taboos –pretty significant, I have to admit!
related site : http://www.mum.org/
Hi Meena,
nice article made me think about my 14 year old days
anu
Yes, anu…
I wanted to post some of the issues you raised in the latter part of your post… But something stopped me from raising the issues of sanitary napkins, because I wanted this post to have a limited scope of addressing menstrual taboo, priesthood and seclusion. Likewise, I even left out the stereotype of the “mad” woman and the PMS.
Providing sanitary napkins from dispensable machines is actually not an impossibility. They can certainly provide free sanitary napkins at least to school-girls who are staying in government hostels. To a government that can give free TVs, free sanitary napkins at least in school/college hostels would be much more welcome. Some of my friends in advocacy/legislation are working towards this, and let’s hope something materializes…
Yes, it does seem like a female specific knowledge-gathering process. But as far as I can talk about my experience, it is the man of the house who imposes the taboo part of it. I am not sure women make so much of a fuss over something that is happening to everyone of them.
Thanks for dropping here, and writing so much. I am so happy you could think of your 14-year-old days. I thought too, and none of it was pleasant, really.
Men are incomplete without these knowledge transfers……anu and meena … keep walking
Meena,
Your observation that Buddhism condemns the practice of considering women as impure during her periods is unconvincing. Moreover, I must admit, it is not consistent with the facts regarding the Sabarimala temple.
The Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala is historically a Buddhist pilgrim destination. The evidence for this, is quite superficial too. Ayyappa pilgrims chant the mantra, “Swami Sharanam” , the ‘Sharanam’ call to the gods is essentially a Buddist practice, “Buddham Saranam Gachami”.
The upper caste nampoothiris (Kerala Brahmins) do not make pilgrimages to Sabarimala because of its Budhist origins.
One of the easiest( ‘easiest’ and not ‘most effective’) ways to work at discarding taboos is to speak about it.And you have done well in this direction.That women refrain from speaking about their periods even in women circles, has more to do with the female psyche’s adjustment to centuries of male domination and not as much stigma. If the latter were the case , boys would’nt have braved to speak of masturbation or even sex.
In deeply parochial societies such as kerala, to which I belong, even talking about periods or the menstrual cycle is abhorred.
Let alone,the female anatomy, even sex is considered sinful in most religious circles, that advocate a sort of hypocritic chastity and hatred for materialism.
Kerala’s present left goverments attempt to revise the school curriculum to include detailed studies of the same, in life science lessons has met with stiff opposition from the influential church leaders.
The stigma attached to menstrual blood is deeply discriminatory as well. Why is it, we must wonder, that an adolescent male’s wet dreams or nocturnal emissions are spared from the ambit of taboo when the life giving periods can’t be?
Pramod, great point here. The tamil word for periods is “theetu” that which is polluting. A derivative, “theendamai” is the word that is used for untouchability. So we know how these stigmas are, as you say, “deeply discriminatory.”
I didn’t expect any guy to respond to this post (what to say, even I am a woman with prejudices). I am so happy you responded, as did Vishal… (Hey Vishal, without you, this blog will look very lonely indeed)..
Excellent post. I have published it on NGO Post -
http://ngopost.org/story.php?title=Menstruating_Goddesses_%AB_Meena_Kandasamy
You may want to publish other such articles on NP.
I foud the comments pretty informative as well!
Excellent post. I have published the same on NGO Post -
http://ngopost.org/story.php?title=Menstruating_Goddesses_%AB_Meena_Kandasamy
I even found event the comments very insightful especially the word “theetu”
That makes it another guy posting on ur blog!
There is one custom in our community, where in one of the festival days, we call children for lunch. And funnily guys up to about 18 years are allowed. but they exclude girls who have started menstruating.
I did not realize this for a long time, until this time around my mausi was not able to find any girl children, inspite of me seeing so many of them in neighbourhood. On pestering her more she told me that it is not considered good. No matter how much of convincing on my part, would make her change the stance.
For me the shock part of this thing was that maid’s daughter was not allowed to eat, who was about THAT age. I wonder how much of psychological effect will that kid grow up with.
On another note, recently I did a little bit of writeup on Devdasis, and I know this is off track from this blog title, but something again which I really cant understand.
http://www.itihas.org.in/SattvaMarch2008.pdf
Hello Meena,
I am Telugu poet and Journalist watching your site accidentally. i felt happy to read your poems who were translated in English.
I like to send my translations to your site.
Thanking you
Mayank, Thanks for posting and for the link.
Goli, I know how she must have felt like. The first time I was excluded, or treated as an untouchable was when I had my menarche. So I know the trauma it causes. On one hand, you have no clue to what’s going on within you, and on the other, you have no idea why people are acting so bad.
NIrmala, I don’t publish poems here. But I can recommend a few good journals. Why don’t you mail me: meena84 [at] gmail [dot] com
People should turn to atheism… if a certain section of people are not allowing others to worship their idols, why should they be adamant on worshiping such idols.
Educate people about the non-existence of “all prevailing, omni-preset almighty”.
India and world at large will live in peace and harmony. “Get rid of root of all evil”
I agree that the question of priesthood is more towards social equality rather spiritual growth.
I don’t believe that the issue of social injustice laid on either untouchables or women can be addressed by providing such authority.
The new group of priests will emerge as another sect of the society who consider themselves to be superior than the others. How will the government or the responsible authority address this issue?