Exploring
Shades of Madiga Caste and Culture in Yendluri Sudhakar’s Speaking Sandals and Vemula Yelliah’s Kakka
Mahima Gupta
PhD Research Scholar
Department
of English and Modern European Languages
University
of Lucknow
Lucknow,
India
Abstract:
Indian English writing is profound with
cultural spirit of all the geographical regions in the form of diverse
languages and foods which stem from several religions, castes and communities.
The aspect which dominates Indian ethos is our caste system. The Varna system
is ubiquitous in both Northern and Southern India therefore multiple Dalit
communities are present. Thus, Dalit writings are written in various languages
such as Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada etc. These communities have
their distinct customs, traditions, beliefs and uniqueness of language. Also
language reflects their identity, struggles and position in society. The
present paper attempts to look into the nuances of Madiga community which is
one of the major Dalit communities in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu
Dalit writers like Yendluri Sudhakar and Vemula Yellaiah presented their varied
experiences of fellow Dalits in their works. It tells us about Madiga life and
culture in detail. These contemporary Dalit writers talk with pride about their
traditional practices, food, occupation of leatherwork, cultural significance
of dappu drum and language spoken.
Keywords: Caste, Drum, Madiga, Sandals,
Untouchable
.Kokoli Sengupta presents a case study of the Madiga community in a research
paper published in Sage Journal titled “Untouchable Among the Untouchables: A
Case Study of the Madiga community in the Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh”
whereas Simon Charsley discussed about the practice of Untouchability in the
state of Andhra Pradesh in her Jstor article “Interpreting Untouchability: The
Performance of Caste in Andhra Pradesh, South India” Dr. Jayaram Gollapudi
through his research paper titled “Madiga’s Traditional Food, Culture and
Lifestyle” throws light on the Madiga culture and tradition. In the chapter
“Contesting Caste and Gender Heirarchy: Understanding Dalit Women Literary
Writing in Telugu” in the book Dalit Literature and Historiography Dr.
Chandraiah Gopani and V. Swetha explores the relationship of caste and gender
and its effect on the lives of Dalit women through the analysis of Dalit women
literary writing in Telugu. In the paper titled “Triumph of Tenacity: Exploring
Gogu Shyamala’s ‘Tataki Wins Again”
Namana Ashok examines the short story with a feminist perspective. Another
article, “Life Reflections of Madigas in Telugu Literature” by Dr. Darla
Venkateswara Rao discusses the life of Madigas in narratives. Sreenivas Teegala
writes about “Inter and Intra Caste Relations of Madigas and Their Subcastes in
Telugu Region” The paper titled “Impressions on Contemporary Telugu Literary
Scene” examines how different streams reflect the evolving consciousness and
socio-political dynamics within the literary realm including the multifaceted
narratives of Telugu literature. Dr. Mallikarjuna Chiruthoi explains the
cultural symbolism of Madiga Community in the paper “Mathamma Jathara: A
Cultural Symbolism of Madiga Community”.
Hinduism in India had 4 divisions of people
in the Varna system: Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra. Dalits were
excluded from the varna system and were known as the untouchables for a long
time.the word Dalit implies to people who have been oppressed and destroyed by
people above them in the social hierarchy based on division of labour, rules for
inter dining, inter marriage etc. Members of the scheduled castes
have denied claims from different castes. Protesting their mobility pressured
them to stay on the outskirts of the villages, and their physical separation
made them untouchables. Therefore the term ‘Dalit’ also provided a political
and cultural identity which helped in assertion of their rights and
mobilization of like groups. Contemporary Dalit writing is distinctive in its
theme and style. Contemporary Dalit writers articulate their experiences in an
explicit manner and they show a sense of pride towards their roots and the
community they belong to. They are writers like Bama, P. Sivakami, T.S. Pillai,
Joopaka Subhadra, Vemula Yellaiah, Yendluri Sudhakar etc. Yendluri Sudhakar’s Speaking Sandals (2023) talks about the
Madiga life. It was translated by K. Purushotham. Apart from Madigas in
villages collecting cattle carcasses, tanning the skins to make leather, and
then producing items of everyday local use from it, other castesof the
constellation specialized in tanning, in high quality manufacturing of
particular articles with the repair of footwear so familiar in the recent
pastas a generally available fallback and in the trading of skins, leather, and
finished products. Madiga writing is a sub-genre of Dalit literature and
stirred it with the Dandora Movement, a movement which claims Dalit
reservations in Andhra Pradesh. The text presents the life of Madigas in its
full swing keeping intact the spirit of their occupation of sewing sandals,
cultural traditions of playing dappu drums. In Madiga culture, drum plays a
significant position. G. Laxminarsaiah writes in the foreword, “Madiga lives
are entwined with the drum and the sandals, the chief emblem of madiga
livelihood …Similarly, taking pride in the occupation of sewing sandals,
considering it a potential science and holding sandals as their caste deity are
indicative of the madiga self-respect.(8-9)
Yendluri Sudhakar’s Speaking Sandals explores the cultural
nuances of the Madiga life. The food which they eat consists of beef curry,
rooster curry, sankati made of coarse grain like ragi. The community also
relishes winged termites. The narrator tells the entire process,
At the beginning of the monsoon season the
yanadis go to the mud mounds that the termites build as nests. They reach in
the dead of night or at early dawn. They pour some water on the termite mounds
to soften the mud. Then they make a small hole in each mound with a stick and
pour in a special preparation of their own. This secret preparation of theirs
makes the inside of the termite nest very humid and uncomfortable, driving the
wined termites out. Meanwhile, they dig a small pit near each termite nest.
They place a lighted lamp in each pit. The winged termites come out swarming
towards the light- and get captured in a pot then the women roast the winged
termites in earthen pans and winnow them to remove the wings. (Sudhakar 118)
The narrative talks about the mythological
tale of Jambavantha, the progenitor of the Madigas in the first story. Brahma,
Vishnu, Shiva and the forefather of Madigas named Jambavantha were the joint
owners of this animal. One day Parvathi and Shiva found a male child lying so
they raised him but did not offer him its milk. Accidentally when the child
tasted the milk the other day, he thought that if the milk tastes like
ambrosia, then how heavenly its meat will taste so he killed Kamadhenu. Then
Jambavantha divided its meat into four equal parts and set apart three of the
portions for the gods. But the boy insisted on eating meat so Jambavantha gave
him. Therefore, the share of Jambavantha is little less than gods. Thus, the
three gods cursed him, “Thatha! Since your share is less, your caste is low. So
Jamavantha! You will face hunger in future. You will have to butcher cattle,
you will have to tan their hides, you will have to stitch sandals.” (Sudhakar
14)
Sudhakar also
highlights the prominent role of the dappu drum in Madiga culture. The Madiga
dappu (drum) stands as a symbol of their existence, pride and achievement, and
a heightened interest in Madiga heritage. It is usually played in every
significant occasion be it wedding, temple fairs, festivals, child-birth or
funeral. The narrator says, “Every Madiga house has at least one drum. The
carpenters of the Madiga community called as mastins make the drum. The story
reads, “All we need to do is to get a hoop of neem wood and hand it to the
mastins. If it is wood from a fig tree, even better. The mastins shape the wood
and strengthen it with iron strips. Then they grind tamarind seeds into a
paste, smear it around the edges of the drum and tighten it with ropes. The
leather for the drum is the cured hide of a young bull---it’s best if the
animal is only one or two years old. The leather is fastened to the drum with a
circular strap. The damp drum is placed beneath a stone slab to dry in the hot
midday sun. Then they take the drum out, trim the edges and smoothen it. After
that, it has to be warmed over a slow flame. Finally, they test it by beating
on the leather to check the resonance of the drum.” (Sudhakar 17) The Madiga
men are great drum players. They can produce all types of rhythms on the drum
like the rhythm of a train, of thunder, a rivulet, floods. Pedabodenna laments
on the fact that the traditional art of playing the drum is disappearing as the
youth refuse to learn it from their elders likewise the art of sewing sandals.
Madigas are experts in stitching sandals. It is reflected in the fifth short
story titled ‘Speaking Sandals’. Sudhakar writes, “The Nawab was astonished. He
held the sandals in his hands and keenly examined them. What a wonder! Not a
single seam was to be seen! The weight of those excellent sandals and placed
his right foot into the new one. The sandal made a creaking sound, like a voice
going, ‘Ayya, sir.’ … What a wonder! Not a single seam was to be seen! The
weight of those excellent sandals, made from the hide of a young calf, was
hardly twenty grams! The nawab was amazed at the workmanship. (Sudhakar 35)
Meat festival is
celebrated by the madigas when they slaughter a buffalo. The entire madigawada
was filled with excitement to relish the meat as Sudhakar writes, “Everybody,
children, women and all would be busy with different tasks- the women grinding
chillies in a large mortar, the young boy’s scorching the buffalo’s legs and
head over the fire, some preparing the blood recipe, and the rest drying the
extra meat.” (Sudhakar 36) The songs sung by Madigas also hold great cultural
value. They often sing harvest songs. The songs resonate with the inequality,
pain and humiliation they face.
We don’t want the rule of the brown doras!
Babu! We don’t want the rule of the doras!
Are we vengeful bees? …
Why is it that you hate us,
The malas, the madigas? (Sudhakar 38)
Another song which Benny-mava sings:
Thayille! Lilliyo
Let me tell you a story, ralilliyo.
Oh, you madiga,
Is our path not bitter?
The landlords grow fatter; come, come here,
madiga!
I’m drunk on toddy
I’ll tell my story, ralilliyo. (Sudhakar 40)
Sudhakar highlights the
home remedies of the community. A fellow character Mala-Guriah bandaged a
broken hand with raw egg, ghee, jaggery- all ground into a paste to heal the
bone.
Vemula Yellaiah’s Kakka (2021)is a novel based on marginalization within Dalit
kinship. It is translated into English by K. Purushotham and Gita Ramaswamy. The
events Yellaiah narrates revolve around the politics of Dalit empowerment. The
novel presents several rituals like the ritual of retaining the placenta/umbilical
cord in an earthen pot, the coming of age of girls celebrated by isolating them
from the family, giving them special food and an anointed bath, dressing them
in new clothes, and so on. The novelist presents a glimpse of the cattle
festival in the first chapter. Yellaiah writes, “Today is the cattle festival…
The temple in the forest needs to be whitewashed with lime, the bullocks’ horns
need to be coloured, the bulls need to be decked up for the fight. Seven types
of vegetables have to be gathered, turmeric rice has to be cooked and offered
to Pochamma, the temple deity. The entire place needs to be decorated with
festoons and colours…” (Yellaiah 17) He further tells, “Not to be left out, the
cows and calves joined the celebrations. They jingled their garland of babul
and jute pods while the boys sang merrily, matching step with the cattle… The
lineup of cattle against the lush green resembled rows of Bonalu, festive pots with food offerings for folk deities.
(Yellaiah 18) The skill of making sandals is highlighted by the novelist that
the protagonist Kakka asks Pakir-thatha to teach him their ‘caste-trade’.
Yellaiah says, “Kakka watched Pakir-thatha’s workmanship as the implements in
his hands moved deftly while stitching the sandals. Pakir-thatha cut sheets of
leather into different shapes. Kakka began to sew; he pricked his fingertips
with the knife and other sharp tools. He learnt the art of stitching sandals
without putting the knife and awl down.” (Yellaiah 61) Kakka also learnt to
play the dappu drum from Pakir-thatha to play for marriages and funerals. The
novelist also throws light on the practice of Madigirkam. He writes,
In the landlord’s house, we stamp the cattle
dung and make dung cakes, fetch firewood for the hearth, stitch sandal for all
those who need them. You will be offered 30 seers of grains for making and
mending sandals, and listen! For other services, 120 seers, and for harvesting,
a pot of millets … We are offered what the chief of the Madigas gathers on the
winnowing tray and the grain used for warding off the evil eye… (Yellaiah 63)
The folk songs are an integral part of a
community. The Madigastoo have their folk songs sung during harvest or
festivals. Here is a song addressed to Lachi, i.e Goddess Lakshmi.
The children and we starved ourselves
Though it was our hands that harvested
We, the labourers of sundry castes …
Madigas, from whom sandals are at a great
distance
Though they make pearl like sandals (Yellaiah
166)
The rites of puberty are narrated by Yellaiah
through Lasmakka’s character. The novelist writes,
Muthaiduvalu arrived
the following morning. They brought sesame seeds, broken rice, coconut and
jiggery for Lasmakka. They changed her clothes, and made her sit in the
enclosure raised for the purpose. They broke a coconut over her head. Fastening
a cloth around her waist and shaping it into a pouch, the women placed betel
leaves and nuts in it. They smeared turmeric and kumkum on her face and feet…
(Yellaiah 70)
In order to understand the multiple
depictions of the Madiga caste and culture in Speaking Sandals by Yendluri Sudhakar and Kakka by Vemula Yellaiah, one can attempt to weave narratives that
allow them to experience the day-to-day life, the culture and the
socio-political history of this community within the Indian setting. Despite
being different in form and content, both are accounts of the Madiga caste, a
community that has been historically oppressed and assigned to impure
occupations. In these stories the authors speak for the Madiga people, their
people, their traditions and culture that are often forgotten or misrepresented
in the dominant narratives.
In Speaking
Sandals, the use of sandals enables the author to graph the struggles and
the eternal spirit of the Madiga people and their quest for self-assertion. The
writings of Sudhakar demonstrate how caste-based occupations can be practiced
as both an oppression and an act of defiance as the Madiga people struggle to
find themselves in the caste stratified India. In this image, Sudhakar
underscores how the Madigas cannot only be defined by their poverty but also
that there is also pride and strength in their culture. In the same
vein, Kakka fleshes out the
complicated dimensions of Madiga lives, focusing on the community’s social
marginalization and institutional profiling. Yellaiah emphasizes the brutal
reality in regards to conflicts and discrimination targeting people based on
caste, yet she also includes images of the community’s spirit, self-respect and
its fight for the Madigas not to be treated as ‘animals’. Kakka’s words call
Yellaiah to explain the way in which the victimhood and cultural trauma can be
reversed, how a Madiga can be proud and satisfied because of their identity.
In this order, Speaking Sandals with Kakka
offer a varnished image of caste narratives and the stigma that accompanies
caste labor. Reclaiming symbols associated with ‘caste’, these pieces open up
pathways to a more rounded identity that goes beyond the conventional roles
attached to them. In this regard, both the texts turn out of creative activity
which aim at a social mission of fighting for the acknowledgement, dignity and
rights of Madiga or oppressed caste communities
in India as well.
Works
Cited
Sudhakar, Yendluri. Speaking
Sandals, South Side Books, 2023.
Yellaiah, Vemula. Kakka,
Hawakal Publishers, 2021.
Gollapudi, Jayaram. “Madiga’s Traditional Food,
Culture and Lifestyle.” IJCRT, vol. 6,
no. 1, Jan. 2018.
Gopani, Chandraiah and V. Swetha. “Contesting
Caste and Gender Hierarchy: Understanding Dalit Women Literary Writings in
Telugu.” Dalit Literature and
Historiography, edited by Saroj Kumar Mahananda, Pragati Publications,
2023, pp. 44-56.
Kumaraswamy et al., Cultural History of
Madigas: A Brief Study, edited by
Thallapally Manohar, Pragma Publications, 2016.
S.
R. Sankaran. “Development of Scheduled Castes in Andhra Pradesh: Emerging
Issues.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 33, no. 5, 1998, pp. 208–11.
JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4406342. Accessed 23 Oct. 2024.