From transience to immanence: Consumption, life-cycle and social mobility in Kerala, South India

Modern Asian Studies

Volumn 33, Issue 4, 1999, Pages 989-1020

  Osella, Filippo ^a   Osella, Caroline ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CONSUMPTION BEHAVIOR; LIFE CYCLE; MOBILITY; SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS;

INDIA;

EID: 0032696433     PISSN: 0026749X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0026749X99003479     Document Type: Article

References (126)

1. We have been supported during various fieldwork periods from June 1989 to 1996 by the Economic and Social Research Council; the London School of Economics; the Leverhulme Trust; the Nuffield Foundation; and the Wenner-Gren Foundation. We have been affiliated to the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvanan-thapuram, the Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai, and the Centre d'Etudes de l'Inde et de l'Asie du Sud, Paris. We are grateful for comments on earlier versions of this paper to James Carrier, Simon Coleman, Chris Fuller, Thomas Isaac, P. R. Radhakrishnan, Andrew Russell, Yasushi Uchiyamada, and members of the South Asia seminar group at the University of Edinburgh.
2. A. Appadurai and C. Breckenridge, 'Public modernity in India', in C. A. Breckenridge (ed.), Consuming Modernity: Public Culture in Contemporary India (Delhi, 1996), p- 5.
3. See also A. Appadurai, 'Consumption, duration and history', in A. Appadurai, Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimension of Globalization (Delhi, 1997), pp. 66-85; D. Miller, 'Consumption as the vanguard of history', in D. Miller (ed.), Acknowledging Consumption (London, 1995), pp. 1-57.
4. See also A. Appadurai, 'Consumption, duration and history', in A. Appadurai, Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimension of Globalization (Delhi, 1997), pp. 66-85; D. Miller, 'Consumption as the vanguard of history', in D. Miller (ed.), Acknowledging Consumption (London, 1995), pp. 1-57.
5. We use the term strategy in the sense intended by Bourdieu; see, for example, P. Bourdieu and L. J. D. Wacquant, An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology (Chicago, 1992), pp. 128 ff.
6. While this transience:permanence dichotomy is similar to that described by Miller in Trinidad, local evaluation of the terms is very different: D. Miller, Modernity: An Ethnographic Approach. Dualism and Mass Consumption in Trinidad (Oxford, 1994); A. Appadurai, 'Disjuncture and difference in the global cultural economy', in Appadurai, Modernity at Large, pp. 27-48.
7. While this transience:permanence dichotomy is similar to that described by Miller in Trinidad, local evaluation of the terms is very different: D. Miller, Modernity: An Ethnographic Approach. Dualism and Mass Consumption in Trinidad (Oxford, 1994); A. Appadurai, 'Disjuncture and difference in the global cultural economy', in Appadurai, Modernity at Large, pp. 27-48.
8. T. N. Madan, Non-renunciation: Themes and Interpretations of Hindu Culture (Delhi, 1987); L. Dumont, Homo Hierarchicus (London, 1970).
9. T. N. Madan, Non-renunciation: Themes and Interpretations of Hindu Culture (Delhi, 1987); L. Dumont, Homo Hierarchicus (London, 1970).
10. Miller, 'Consumption as the vanguard of history'.
11. Cf. C. Campbell, 'The sociology of consumption', in Miller (ed.), Acknowledging Consumption, p. 113.
12. A. Gell, 'Anthropology, material culture and consumption', Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford, 19 (1988), pp. 46-7.
13. J. Carrier and J. Heyman, 'Consumption and political economy', The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, vol. 3, 2 (1997), PP. 355-72.
14. See, e.g. A. Aiyappan, 'Iravas and culture change', Bull. of the Madras Govt. Museum (ns), 5, 1 (Madras, 1944); T. Isaac and M. Tharakan Isaac, Sree Narayana Movement in Travancore 1880-1939: A Study of Social Basis and Ideological Reproduction, Working Paper no. 214, Centre for Development Studies (Thiruvananthapuram, 1986), pp. 5-7.
15. See, e.g. A. Aiyappan, 'Iravas and culture change', Bull. of the Madras Govt. Museum (ns), 5, 1 (Madras, 1944); T. Isaac and M. Tharakan Isaac, Sree Narayana Movement in Travancore 1880-1939: A Study of Social Basis and Ideological Reproduction, Working Paper no. 214, Centre for Development Studies (Thiruvananthapuram, 1986), pp. 5-7.
16. R. Hardgrave, The Nadars of Tamilnad (Berkeley, 1969); D. Templeman, The Northern Nadars of Tamil Nadu: An Indian Caste in the Process of Change (Delhi, 1996).
17. R. Hardgravc, The Nadars of Tamilnad (Berkeley, 1969); D. Templeman, The Northern Nadars of Tamil Nadu: An Indian Caste in the Process of Change (Delhi, 1996).
18. D. Menon, Becoming Hindu and Muslim: Identity and Conflict in Malabar 1900-1936, Working Paper No. 255, Centre for Development Studies (Thiruvananthapuram, 1994), pp. 7ff; T. Isaac, 'From caste consciousness to class consciousness: Alleppey coir workers during inter-war period', Economic and Political Weekly, XX, 4 (1985), pp. 5-18; Isaac and Tharakan Isaac, Sree Narayana Movement in Travancore.
19. D. Menon, Becoming Hindu and Muslim: Identity and Conflict in Malabar 1900-1936, Working Paper No. 255, Centre for Development Studies (Thiruvananthapuram, 1994), pp. 7ff; T. Isaac, 'From caste consciousness to class consciousness: Alleppey coir workers during inter-war period', Economic and Political Weekly, XX, 4 (1985), pp. 5-18; Isaac and Tharakan Isaac, Sree Narayana Movement in Travancore.
20. D. Menon, Becoming Hindu and Muslim: Identity and Conflict in Malabar 1900-1936, Working Paper No. 255, Centre for Development Studies (Thiruvananthapuram, 1994), pp. 7ff; T. Isaac, 'From caste consciousness to class consciousness: Alleppey coir workers during inter-war period', Economic and Political Weekly, XX, 4 (1985), pp. 5-18; Isaac and Tharakan Isaac, Sree Narayana Movement in Travancore.
21. Isaac, 'From caste consciousness to class consciousness', note 68; cf. R. O'Hanlon, Caste, Conflict and Ideology (Hyderabad, 1985), pp. 113 and 249.
22. Isaac and Tharakan Isaac, Sree Narayana Movement in Travancore; Nataraja Guru, The Word of the Guru: An Outline of the Life and Teachings of the Guru Narayana (Cochin, 1968); P. Parmeswaran, Narayana Guru, the Prophet of Renaissance (New Delhi, 1976); K. Gough, 'Palakkara: social and religious change in Central Kerala', in K. Ishwaran (ed.), Continuity and Change in India's Villages (New York, 1970); M. S. A. Rao, Social Movements and Social Transformation: A Study of Two Backward Classes Movements in India (Delhi, 1979).
23. Isaac and Tharakan Isaac, Sree Narayana Movement in Travancore; Nataraja Guru, The Word of the Guru: An Outline of the Life and Teachings of the Guru Narayana (Cochin, 1968); P. Parmeswaran, Narayana Guru, the Prophet of Renaissance (New Delhi, 1976); K. Gough, 'Palakkara: social and religious change in Central Kerala', in K. Ishwaran (ed.), Continuity and Change in India's Villages (New York, 1970); M. S. A. Rao, Social Movements and Social Transformation: A Study of Two Backward Classes Movements in India (Delhi, 1979).
24. Isaac and Tharakan Isaac, Sree Narayana Movement in Travancore; Nataraja Guru, The Word of the Guru: An Outline of the Life and Teachings of the Guru Narayana (Cochin, 1968); P. Parmeswaran, Narayana Guru, the Prophet of Renaissance (New Delhi, 1976); K. Gough, 'Palakkara: social and religious change in Central Kerala', in K. Ishwaran (ed.), Continuity and Change in India's Villages (New York, 1970); M. S. A. Rao, Social Movements and Social Transformation: A Study of Two Backward Classes Movements in India (Delhi, 1979).
25. Isaac and Tharakan Isaac, Sree Narayana Movement in Travancore; Nataraja Guru, The Word of the Guru: An Outline of the Life and Teachings of the Guru Narayana (Cochin, 1968); P. Parmeswaran, Narayana Guru, the Prophet of Renaissance (New Delhi, 1976); K. Gough, 'Palakkara: social and religious change in Central Kerala', in K. Ishwaran (ed.), Continuity and Change in India's Villages (New York, 1970); M. S. A. Rao, Social Movements and Social Transformation: A Study of Two Backward Classes Movements in India (Delhi, 1979).
26. Isaac and Tharakan Isaac, Sree Narayana Movement in Travancore; Nataraja Guru, The Word of the Guru: An Outline of the Life and Teachings of the Guru Narayana (Cochin, 1968); P. Parmeswaran, Narayana Guru, the Prophet of Renaissance (New Delhi, 1976); K. Gough, 'Palakkara: social and religious change in Central Kerala', in K. Ishwaran (ed.), Continuity and Change in India's Villages (New York, 1970); M. S. A. Rao, Social Movements and Social Transformation: A Study of Two Backward Classes Movements in India (Delhi, 1979).
27. R. Hardgrave, The Dravidian Movement (Bombay, 1965); T. K. Oommen, Protest and Change: Studies in Social Movements (Delhi, 1990), pp. 67ff; C. H. Heimsath, 'The functions of Hindu social reformers - with special reference to Kerala', The Indian Economic and Social History Review, XV, 1 (1978), pp. 25-39; O'Hanlon, Caste, Conflict and Ideology; D. Hardiman, The Coming of Devi: Adivasi Assertion in Western India (Delhi, 1987).
28. R. Hardgrave, The Dravidian Movement (Bombay, 1965); T. K. Oommen, Protest and Change: Studies in Social Movements (Delhi, 1990), pp. 67ff; C. H. Heimsath, 'The functions of Hindu social reformers - with special reference to Kerala', The Indian Economic and Social History Review, XV, 1 (1978), pp. 25-39; O'Hanlon, Caste, Conflict and Ideology; D. Hardiman, The Coming of Devi: Adivasi Assertion in Western India (Delhi, 1987).
29. R. Hardgrave, The Dravidian Movement (Bombay, 1965); T. K. Oommen, Protest and Change: Studies in Social Movements (Delhi, 1990), pp. 67ff; C. H. Heimsath, 'The functions of Hindu social reformers - with special reference to Kerala', The Indian Economic and Social History Review, XV, 1 (1978), pp. 25-39; O'Hanlon, Caste, Conflict and Ideology; D. Hardiman, The Coming of Devi: Adivasi Assertion in Western India (Delhi, 1987).
30. R. Hardgrave, The Dravidian Movement (Bombay, 1965); T. K. Oommen, Protest and Change: Studies in Social Movements (Delhi, 1990), pp. 67ff; C. H. Heimsath, 'The functions of Hindu social reformers - with special reference to Kerala', The Indian Economic and Social History Review, XV, 1 (1978), pp. 25-39; O'Hanlon, Caste, Conflict and Ideology; D. Hardiman, The Coming of Devi: Adivasi Assertion in Western India (Delhi, 1987).
31. R. Hardgrave, The Dravidian Movement (Bombay, 1965); T. K. Oommen, Protest and Change: Studies in Social Movements (Delhi, 1990), pp. 67ff; C. H. Heimsath, 'The functions of Hindu social reformers - with special reference to Kerala', The Indian Economic and Social History Review, XV, 1 (1978), pp. 25-39; O'Hanlon, Caste, Conflict and Ideology; D. Hardiman, The Coming of Devi: Adivasi Assertion in Western India (Delhi, 1987).
32. We argue this point more fully elsewhere: F. Osella and C. Osella, 'In pursuit of progress: Kerala Izhavas and the twentieth century struggle for social mobility' (book manuscript, n.d.).
33. R. Jeffrey, 'The social origins of a caste association, 1875-1905: the founding of the S.N.D.P. Yoga', Journal of South Asian Studies, no. 4 (1974) pp. 39-59; Gough, 'Palakkara'; Rao, Social Movements and Social Transformation; D. Menon, Caste, Nationalism and Communism in South India: Malabar 1900-1948 (Cambridge, 1994); J. Chiriyankandath, 'Communities at the polls: electoral politics and the mobilization of communal groups in Travancore', Modern Asian Studies, 27, 3 (1993), pp. 643-65; G. Rajendran, The Ezhava Community and Kerala Politics (Trivandrum, 1974); Oommen, Protest and Change: Studies in Social Movements, p. 261.
34. R. Jeffrey, 'The social origins of a caste association, 1875-1905: the founding of the S.N.D.P. Yoga', Journal of South Asian Studies, no. 4 (1974) pp. 39-59; Gough, 'Palakkara'; Rao, Social Movements and Social Transformation; D. Menon, Caste, Nationalism and Communism in South India: Malabar 1900-1948 (Cambridge, 1994); J. Chiriyankandath, 'Communities at the polls: electoral politics and the mobilization of communal groups in Travancore', Modern Asian Studies, 27, 3 (1993), pp. 643-65; G. Rajendran, The Ezhava Community and Kerala Politics (Trivandrum, 1974); Oommen, Protest and Change: Studies in Social Movements, p. 261.
35. R. Jeffrey, 'The social origins of a caste association, 1875-1905: the founding of the S.N.D.P. Yoga', Journal of South Asian Studies, no. 4 (1974) pp. 39-59; Gough, 'Palakkara'; Rao, Social Movements and Social Transformation; D. Menon, Caste, Nationalism and Communism in South India: Malabar 1900-1948 (Cambridge, 1994); J. Chiriyankandath, 'Communities at the polls: electoral politics and the mobilization of communal groups in Travancore', Modern Asian Studies, 27, 3 (1993), pp. 643-65; G. Rajendran, The Ezhava Community and Kerala Politics (Trivandrum, 1974); Oommen, Protest and Change: Studies in Social Movements, p. 261.
36. R. Jeffrey, 'The social origins of a caste association, 1875-1905: the founding of the S.N.D.P. Yoga', Journal of South Asian Studies, no. 4 (1974) pp. 39-59; Gough, 'Palakkara'; Rao, Social Movements and Social Transformation; D. Menon, Caste, Nationalism and Communism in South India: Malabar 1900-1948 (Cambridge, 1994); J. Chiriyankandath, 'Communities at the polls: electoral politics and the mobilization of communal groups in Travancore', Modern Asian Studies, 27, 3 (1993), pp. 643-65; G. Rajendran, The Ezhava Community and Kerala Politics (Trivandrum, 1974); Oommen, Protest and Change: Studies in Social Movements, p. 261.
37. R. Jeffrey, 'The social origins of a caste association, 1875-1905: the founding of the S.N.D.P. Yoga', Journal of South Asian Studies, no. 4 (1974) pp. 39-59; Gough, 'Palakkara'; Rao, Social Movements and Social Transformation; D. Menon, Caste, Nationalism and Communism in South India: Malabar 1900-1948 (Cambridge, 1994); J. Chiriyankandath, 'Communities at the polls: electoral politics and the mobilization of communal groups in Travancore', Modern Asian Studies, 27, 3 (1993), pp. 643-65; G. Rajendran, The Ezhava Community and Kerala Politics (Trivandrum, 1974); Oommen, Protest and Change: Studies in Social Movements, p. 261.
38. R. Jeffrey, 'The social origins of a caste association, 1875-1905: the founding of the S.N.D.P. Yoga', Journal of South Asian Studies, no. 4 (1974) pp. 39-59; Gough, 'Palakkara'; Rao, Social Movements and Social Transformation; D. Menon, Caste, Nationalism and Communism in South India: Malabar 1900-1948 (Cambridge, 1994); J. Chiriyankandath, 'Communities at the polls: electoral politics and the mobilization of communal groups in Travancore', Modern Asian Studies, 27, 3 (1993), pp. 643-65; G. Rajendran, The Ezhava Community and Kerala Politics (Trivandrum, 1974); Oommen, Protest and Change: Studies in Social Movements, p. 261.
39. R. Jeffrey, 'The social origins of a caste association, 1875-1905: the founding of the S.N.D.P. Yoga', Journal of South Asian Studies, no. 4 (1974) pp. 39-59; Gough, 'Palakkara'; Rao, Social Movements and Social Transformation; D. Menon, Caste, Nationalism and Communism in South India: Malabar 1900-1948 (Cambridge, 1994); J. Chiriyankandath, 'Communities at the polls: electoral politics and the mobilization of communal groups in Travancore', Modern Asian Studies, 27, 3 (1993), pp. 643-65; G. Rajendran, The Ezhava Community and Kerala Politics (Trivandrum, 1974); Oommen, Protest and Change: Studies in Social Movements, p. 261.
40. The data on which this paper is based are drawn from our periods of joint fieldwork (1989 to 1991; 1995; 1996), within one rural panchayat referred to by the pseudonym Valiyagramam or (following local usage) as 'the village' (ii gramam). The panchayat is at the south-east corner of Lower Kuttanadu, the rice-growing area of Kerala, South India, part of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore. Population at the 1991 cenesus was 27,569. In 1990, 27% of the panchayat's population were 'Forward' (i.e. not Scheduled Caste convert) Christians; 1.5% Brahmans, Ambalavasis, or members of other twice-born jatis; 25% Nayars, savarna Hindus; 23% Izhavas, an avarna O.B.C.; and 6.5% Kannians, the Viswakarmi group, and other non-twiceborn artisan and service castes. Thandans, Pulayas, Parayans, Pannars and other related Scheduled Castes account for 17% of total local population.
41. Carrier and Heyman, 'Consumption and political economy'; R. Wilk, 'Consumer goods as dialogue about development: colonial time and television time in Belize', in J. Friedman (ed.), Consumption and Identity (Chur, Switzerland, 1994), p. 102; M. Rowland, 'The material culture of success: ideals and life cycles in Cameroon', in Friedman (ed.), Consumption and Identity, pp. 155ff.
42. Carrier and Heyman, 'Consumption and political economy'; R. Wilk, 'Consumer goods as dialogue about development: colonial time and television time in Belize', in J. Friedman (ed.), Consumption and Identity (Chur, Switzerland, 1994), p. 102; M. Rowland, 'The material culture of success: ideals and life cycles in Cameroon', in Friedman (ed.), Consumption and Identity, pp. 155ff.
43. Carrier and Heyman, 'Consumption and political economy'; R. Wilk, 'Consumer goods as dialogue about development: colonial time and television time in Belize', in J. Friedman (ed.), Consumption and Identity (Chur, Switzerland, 1994), p. 102; M. Rowland, 'The material culture of success: ideals and life cycles in Cameroon', in Friedman (ed.), Consumption and Identity, pp. 155ff.
44. Chettu is a slang word in common use among young people. Its literal referent is to toddy-tapping, cettuka, and to the toddy-tapper's knife. The slang concept picks up notions of sharpness, knife-like-ness, cutting, so to be chettu is to be, in English idiom, a 'sharp' dresser. Jada is another slang word, whose literal meaning is shiny: to be jada is to be, in English idiom, a flashy person.
45. E.g., P. Gilroy, The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness (London, 1993), pp. 72ff.
46. D. Miller, 'Style and ontology', in Friedman (ed.), Consumption and Identity, p. 75; J. Friedman, 'The political economy of elegance: life cycles in Cameroon', in ibid., pp 176ff; see also V. Maher, 'Sewing the seams of society: dressmakers and seamstresses in Turin between the wars', in J. Collier and S. Yanagisako (eds), Gender and Kinship: Essays towards a Unified Analysis (Stanford, 1987).
47. D. Miller, 'Style and ontology', in Friedman (ed.), Consumption and Identity, p. 75; J. Friedman, 'The political economy of elegance: life cycles in Cameroon', in ibid., pp 176ff; see also V. Maher, 'Sewing the seams of society: dressmakers and seamstresses in Turin between the wars', in J. Collier and S. Yanagisako (eds), Gender and Kinship: Essays towards a Unified Analysis (Stanford, 1987).
48. D. Miller, 'Style and ontology', in Friedman (ed.), Consumption and Identity, p. 75; J. Friedman, 'The political economy of elegance: life cycles in Cameroon', in ibid., pp 176ff; see also V. Maher, 'Sewing the seams of society: dressmakers and seamstresses in Turin between the wars', in J. Collier and S. Yanagisako (eds), Gender and Kinship: Essays towards a Unified Analysis (Stanford, 1987).
49. See A. Gell, 'Newcomers to the world of goods: consumption among the Muria Gonds', in A. Appadurai (ed.), The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective (Cambridge, 1986).
50. Baggy, oversized clothing derived from 'raggamuffin', via Jamaican dancehallstyle and urban north-Atlantic Black styles. One famous exponent is Apache Indian, a UK-born Sikh popular in UK, Caribbean and India alike. Apache Indian has appeared in a recent Tamil film (Lovebirds). On the importance of 'street style', see also S. Westwood, 'Gendering diaspora: space, politics and South-Asian masculinities in Britain', in Van der Veer (ed.), Nation and Migration: The Politics of Space in the South-Asian Diaspora (Philadelphia, 1995),pp. 197-221.
51. On processes of changing moralities, see e.g. K. N. Panikkar, 'Creating a New Cultural taste: Reading a Nineteenth-Century Malayalam Novel', in Culture, Ideology, Hegemony: Intellectuals and Social Consciousness in Colonial India (Delhi, 1995), pp. 123-44; G. Arunima, 'Matriliny and its Discontents', in India International Centre Quarterly, vol. 22, 2/3, Summer/Monsoon (1995), pp. 157-67; T. K. Ramachandran, 'Notes on the Making of Feminine identity in Contemporary Kerala Society', in Social Scientist, vol. 23, 1-3 (1995), pp. 109-23.
52. On processes of changing moralities, see e.g. K. N. Panikkar, 'Creating a New Cultural taste: Reading a Nineteenth-Century Malayalam Novel', in Culture, Ideology, Hegemony: Intellectuals and Social Consciousness in Colonial India (Delhi, 1995), pp. 123-44; G. Arunima, 'Matriliny and its Discontents', in India International Centre Quarterly, vol. 22, 2/3, Summer/Monsoon (1995), pp. 157-67; T. K. Ramachandran, 'Notes on the Making of Feminine identity in Contemporary Kerala Society', in Social Scientist, vol. 23, 1-3 (1995), pp. 109-23.
53. On processes of changing moralities, see e.g. K. N. Panikkar, 'Creating a New Cultural taste: Reading a Nineteenth-Century Malayalam Novel', in Culture, Ideology, Hegemony: Intellectuals and Social Consciousness in Colonial India (Delhi, 1995), pp. 123-44; G. Arunima, 'Matriliny and its Discontents', in India International Centre Quarterly, vol. 22, 2/3, Summer/Monsoon (1995), pp. 157-67; T. K. Ramachandran, 'Notes on the Making of Feminine identity in Contemporary Kerala Society', in Social Scientist, vol. 23, 1-3 (1995), pp. 109-23.
54. See I. KopytofF, 'The cultural biography of things: commoditization as process', in Appadurai (ed.), The Social Life of Things; J. Parry and M. Bloch, 'Introduction: money and the morality of exchange', in J. Parry and M. Bloch (eds), Money and the Morality of Exchange (Cambridge, 1989).
55. See I. KopytofF, 'The cultural biography of things: commoditization as process', in Appadurai (ed.), The Social Life of Things; J. Parry and M. Bloch, 'Introduction: money and the morality of exchange', in J. Parry and M. Bloch (eds), Money and the Morality of Exchange (Cambridge, 1989).
56. Cf. D. Miller, 'Absolute freedom in Trinidad', Man (ns), 26 (1991), pp. 323-41.
57. We also infer ethnicity, as suggested by his physical features, as unambiguously 'Dravidian'; this is a local category opposed in Kerala and Tamil Nadu to 'Aryan' looks, represented here by Aravind Swamy. As we have suggested elsewhere, 'Southern' style features (e.g. curly hair, dark skin tone) arc, in Kerala, associated with low caste origins (F. Osella and C. Osella, 'Articulation of physical and social bodies in Kerala', Contributions to Indian Sociology (ns), 30, 1 (1996), pp.-37-68). This needs to be compared with Tamil readings of 'Dravidian-ness' and working-class identities (see e.g. M. S. S. Pandian, The Image Trap: MG Ramachandran in Film and Politics (Sage, Delhi, 1992), pp. 3gff). While Indian readers have asked us to develop this theme, we prefer for the moment to defer this difficult question until we have opportunities to discuss it further with local people and with other south Indians.
58. We also infer ethnicity, as suggested by his physical features, as unambiguously 'Dravidian'; this is a local category opposed in Kerala and Tamil Nadu to 'Aryan' looks, represented here by Aravind Swamy. As we have suggested elsewhere, 'Southern' style features (e.g. curly hair, dark skin tone) arc, in Kerala, associated with low caste origins (F. Osella and C. Osella, 'Articulation of physical and social bodies in Kerala', Contributions to Indian Sociology (ns), 30, 1 (1996), pp.-37-68). This needs to be compared with Tamil readings of 'Dravidian-ness' and working-class identities (see e.g. M. S. S. Pandian, The Image Trap: MG Ramachandran in Film and Politics (Sage, Delhi, 1992), pp. 3gff). While Indian readers have asked us to develop this theme, we prefer for the moment to defer this difficult question until we have opportunities to discuss it further with local people and with other south Indians.
59. Cf. D. Miller, Material Culture and Mass Consumption (Oxford, 1987); Miller, 'Consumption as the vanguard of history'; D. Miller, 'Introduction: anthropology, modernity and consumption', in D. Miller (ed.), Worlds Apart: Modernity through the Prism of the Local (London, 1995).
60. Cf. D. Miller, Material Culture and Mass Consumption (Oxford, 1987); Miller, 'Consumption as the vanguard of history'; D. Miller, 'Introduction: anthropology, modernity and consumption', in D. Miller (ed.), Worlds Apart: Modernity through the Prism of the Local (London, 1995).
61. Cf. D. Miller, Material Culture and Mass Consumption (Oxford, 1987); Miller, 'Consumption as the vanguard of history'; D. Miller, 'Introduction: anthropology, modernity and consumption', in D. Miller (ed.), Worlds Apart: Modernity through the Prism of the Local (London, 1995).
62. A. Appadurai, 'Introduction: commodities and the politics of value', in Appadurai (ed.), The Social Life of Things, p. 38.
63. G. Mathew, Communal Road to a Secular Kerala (New Delhi, 1989), p. 76; D. Kooiman, Conversion and Social Equality in India (New Delhi, 1989), pp. 148-54; see also P. Bourdieu, Raisons pratiques: sur la théorie de l'action (Paris, 1994), p. 121, on the codification of symbolic capital implied in sumptuary law.
64. G. Mathew, Communal Road to a Secular Kerala (New Delhi, 1989), p. 76; D. Kooiman, Conversion and Social Equality in India (New Delhi, 1989), pp. 148-54; see also P. Bourdieu, Raisons pratiques: sur la théorie de l'action (Paris, 1994), p. 121, on the codification of symbolic capital implied in sumptuary law.
65. G. Mathew, Communal Road to a Secular Kerala (New Delhi, 1989), p. 76; D. Kooiman, Conversion and Social Equality in India (New Delhi, 1989), pp. 148-54; see also P. Bourdieu, Raisons pratiques: sur la théorie de l'action (Paris, 1994), p. 121, on the codification of symbolic capital implied in sumptuary law.
66. Gold is a special kind of consumption item. Among the mainstream a woman's jewellery should be 22ct gold (swarnam), and there should be plenty of it; at even the poorest of marriages, the bride will wear at least 24 g. of gold. Malayalis working out of Kerala often comment on the lesser use of gold jewellery among women in other parts of India, noting with horror that in some places, ornaments are made of silver, a substance locally considered fit only for children's waist-chains or young girls' anklets; these items also increasingly being seen in gold.
67. This relationship may be part of a wider and older 'regal' pattern; see, e.g. V. N. Rao, D. Shulman and Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Symbols of Substance: Court and State in Nayaka Period Tamil Nadu (Delhi, 1992); P. Price, Kingship and Political Practice in Colonial India (Cambridge, 1996).
68. This relationship may be part of a wider and older 'regal' pattern; see, e.g. V. N. Rao, D. Shulman and Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Symbols of Substance: Court and State in Nayaka Period Tamil Nadu (Delhi, 1992); P. Price, Kingship and Political Practice in Colonial India (Cambridge, 1996).
69. See, for example, K. T. Achaya, The Food Industries of British India (Oxford, 1994).
70. P. Bourdieu, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (Cambridge, 1984).
71. e.g. E. T. Mathew and P. R. G. Nair, 'Socio-economic characteristics of emigrants and emigrants' households: a case study of two villages in Kerala', Economic and Political Weekly, July 15 (1978), pp. 1141-53; P. R. G. Nair and P. M. Pillai, Impact of External Transfers on the Regional Economy of Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram, 1994); P. Kurien, 'Non-economic bases of economic behaviour: the consumption, investment and exchange patterns of three emigrant communities in Kerala, India', Development and Change, 25 (1994), pp. 757-83.
72. e.g. E. T. Mathew and P. R. G. Nair, 'Socio-economic characteristics of emigrants and emigrants' households: a case study of two villages in Kerala', Economic and Political Weekly, July 15 (1978), pp. 1141-53; P. R. G. Nair and P. M. Pillai, Impact of External Transfers on the Regional Economy of Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram, 1994); P. Kurien, 'Non-economic bases of economic behaviour: the consumption, investment and exchange patterns of three emigrant communities in Kerala, India', Development and Change, 25 (1994), pp. 757-83.
73. e.g. E. T. Mathew and P. R. G. Nair, 'Socio-economic characteristics of emigrants and emigrants' households: a case study of two villages in Kerala', Economic and Political Weekly, July 15 (1978), pp. 1141-53; P. R. G. Nair and P. M. Pillai, Impact of External Transfers on the Regional Economy of Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram, 1994); P. Kurien, 'Non-economic bases of economic behaviour: the consumption, investment and exchange patterns of three emigrant communities in Kerala, India', Development and Change, 25 (1994), pp. 757-83.
74. Since the late 19805, which have seen the Gulf war, fluctuations and devaluations of Gulf currencies relative to the Rupee, decreases in Gulf wages, worsening of contracts and conditions, tougher legislative controls on migrants, as well as a natural end to the period of migration for those who went out in the early 19703, many have begun to settle back in their natal village.
75. A 1996 development was the opening in town of a shop specializing in selling imported items, a 'tax paid shop', instantly ironicized by villagers as 'the smugglers' shop'.
76. Cf. Bourdieu, Distinction, pp. 71, 249.
77. See also Friedman, The political economy of elegance'; Rowland, 'The material culture of success'; Wilk, 'Consumer goods as dialogue about development'; Miller, Modernity.'An Ethnographic Approach.
78. See also Friedman, The political economy of elegance'; Rowland, 'The material culture of success'; Wilk, 'Consumer goods as dialogue about development'; Miller, Modernity.'An Ethnographic Approach.
79. See also Friedman, The political economy of elegance'; Rowland, 'The material culture of success'; Wilk, 'Consumer goods as dialogue about development'; Miller, Modernity.'An Ethnographic Approach.
80. See also Friedman, The political economy of elegance'; Rowland, 'The material culture of success'; Wilk, 'Consumer goods as dialogue about development'; Miller, Modernity.'An Ethnographic Approach.
81. Recent changes in marriage practices and dowry rates are an area which we, unfortunately, do not have space to address here, but discuss at length in 'In Pursuit of Progress'.
82. See also Rowland, 'The material culture of success', pp. 157ff; R. Wilk, 'Houses as consumer goods: the Kclkchi of Belize', in B. Orlove and H. Rutz (eds), The Social Economy of Consumption (Lanham, 1989).
83. See also Rowland, 'The material culture of success', pp. 157ff; R. Wilk, 'Houses as consumer goods: the Kclkchi of Belize', in B. Orlove and H. Rutz (eds), The Social Economy of Consumption (Lanham, 1989).
84. Cell, 'Newcomers to the world of goods', p. 114.
85. R. L. Stirratt, 'Money, men and women', in Parry and Bloch (eds), Money and the Morality of Exchange, p. 107.
86. Cell, 'Newcomers to the world of goods', p. 112.
87. Ibid., p. 114.
88. Ibid., P. 115.
89. Cf. M. B. Mills, 'Contesting the margins of modernity: women, migration and consumption in Thailand', American Ethnologist, 24, 1 (1997), pp. 37-61.
90. Gell, 'Newcomers to the world of goods', p. 114.
91. See, e.g., R. Jeffrey, Politics, Women and Well Being: How Kerala Became 'A Model' (Delhi, 1992), pp. 195ff; K. Mahadevan and M. Sumangala, Social Development, Cul
92. See, e.g., R. Jeffrey, Politics, Women and Well Being: How Kerala Became 'A Model' (Delhi, 1992), pp. 195ff; K. Mahadevan and M. Sumangala, Social Development, Cul
93. See B. A. Prakash, 'Impact of foreign remittances', Economic and Political Weekly, 8 July (1978), pp. 1107-11; P. R. G. Nair, 'Incidence, impact and implications of migration to the Middle East from Kerala (India)', in R. Amjad (ed.), To the Gulf and Back (New Delhi, 1989), p. 352.
94. See B. A. Prakash, 'Impact of foreign remittances', Economic and Political Weekly, 8 July (1978), pp. 1107-11; P. R. G. Nair, 'Incidence, impact and implications of migration to the Middle East from Kerala (India)', in R. Amjad (ed.), To the Gulf and Back (New Delhi, 1989), p. 352.
95. F. Osella, 'Caste, class, power and social mobility in Kerala, India', unpublished Ph.D. thesis (London, 1993); C. Osella, 'Making hierarchy natural: the cultural construction of gender and maturity in Kerala, India', unpublished Ph.D. thesis (London, 1993); Y. Uchiyamada, 'Sacred grove (kaavu): ancestral land of "landless agricultural labourers" in Kerala, India', unpublished Ph.D. thesis (London, 1995).
96. F. Osella, 'Caste, class, power and social mobility in Kerala, India', unpublished Ph.D. thesis (London, 1993); C. Osella, 'Making hierarchy natural: the cultural construction of gender and maturity in Kerala, India', unpublished Ph.D. thesis (London, 1993); Y. Uchiyamada, 'Sacred grove (kaavu): ancestral land of "landless agricultural labourers" in Kerala, India', unpublished Ph.D. thesis (London, 1995).
97. F. Osella, 'Caste, class, power and social mobility in Kerala, India', unpublished Ph.D. thesis (London, 1993); C. Osella, 'Making hierarchy natural: the cultural construction of gender and maturity in Kerala, India', unpublished Ph.D. thesis (London, 1993); Y. Uchiyamada, 'Sacred grove (kaavu): ancestral land of "landless agricultural labourers" in Kerala, India', unpublished Ph.D. thesis (London, 1995).
98. B. Beck, 'Colour and heat in South Indian ritual', Man (ns), 4 (1969), pp. 553-72; A. Ostor, The Play of the Cods: Locality, Ideology, Structure and Time in the Festivals of a Bengali Town (Chicago, 1980),pp. 180-1 ; J. Parry, 'Death and digestion: the symbolism of food and eating in North Indian mortuary rites', Man (ns), 20, 4 (1985), pp. 612-31. It is generally agreed that a coconut tree is what should properly be planted at Izhava funerals. Izhavas are closely identified with coconuts, both through their caste-specific occupation of tapping coconut trees, and through origin myths offered by themselves and others, which identify them as a population which came from Sri Lanka along with the coconut tree, a plant not indigenous to Kerala.
99. B. Beck, 'Colour and heat in South Indian ritual', Man (ns), 4 (1969), pp. 553-72; A. Ostor, The Play of the Cods: Locality, Ideology, Structure and Time in the Festivals of a Bengali Town (Chicago, 1980),pp. 180-1 ; J. Parry, 'Death and digestion: the symbolism of food and eating in North Indian mortuary rites', Man (ns), 20, 4 (1985), pp. 612-31. It is generally agreed that a coconut tree is what should properly be planted at Izhava funerals. Izhavas are closely identified with coconuts, both through their caste-specific occupation of tapping coconut trees, and through origin myths offered by themselves and others, which identify them as a population which came from Sri Lanka along with the coconut tree, a plant not indigenous to Kerala.
100. B. Beck, 'Colour and heat in South Indian ritual', Man (ns), 4 (1969), pp. 553-72; A. Ostor, The Play of the Cods: Locality, Ideology, Structure and Time in the Festivals of a Bengali Town (Chicago, 1980),pp. 180-1 ; J. Parry, 'Death and digestion: the symbolism of food and eating in North Indian mortuary rites', Man (ns), 20, 4 (1985), pp. 612-31. It is generally agreed that a coconut tree is what should properly be planted at Izhava funerals. Izhavas are closely identified with coconuts, both through their caste-specific occupation of tapping coconut trees, and through origin myths offered by themselves and others, which identify them as a population which came from Sri Lanka along with the coconut tree, a plant not indigenous to Kerala.
101. Uchiyamada, 'Sacred grove (kaavu)'; cf. C. Osella, 'Making hierarchy natural'; F. Zimmermann, The Jungle and the Aroma of Meats: An Ecological Theme in Hindu Medicine (Berkeley, 1987); C. Malamoud, 'Cuire le monde', Purusartha, 1 (1975), pp. 91-135.
102. Uchiyamada, 'Sacred grove (kaavu)'; cf. C. Osella, 'Making hierarchy natural'; F. Zimmermann, The Jungle and the Aroma of Meats: An Ecological Theme in Hindu Medicine (Berkeley, 1987); C. Malamoud, 'Cuire le monde', Purusartha, 1 (1975), pp. 91-135.
103. Uchiyamada, 'Sacred grove (kaavu)'; cf. C. Osella, 'Making hierarchy natural'; F. Zimmermann, The Jungle and the Aroma of Meats: An Ecological Theme in Hindu Medicine (Berkeley, 1987); C. Malamoud, 'Cuire le monde', Purusartha, 1 (1975), pp. 91-135.
104. Uchiyamada, 'Sacred grove (kaavu)'; cf. C. Osella, 'Making hierarchy natural'; F. Zimmermann, The Jungle and the Aroma of Meats: An Ecological Theme in Hindu Medicine (Berkeley, 1987); C. Malamoud, 'Cuire le monde', Purusartha, 1 (1975), pp. 91-135.
105. An Izhavati (barber-priest to Izhavas, who conducts weddings and funerals) told us that the coconuts grown from 'burial trees', full of concentrated life-giving powers, are in demand by sorcerers, and can be sold for ten times the market price.
106. The most extreme example of this process in Valiyagramam is represented by a (S.C.) Pandaram family who, having come into money via U.S. migration, now live in the two-storeyed palace which they bought from the area's former landlords, aristocratic Nayars who moved out to the city.
107. Cf. Price, Kingship and Political Practice in Colonial India, p. 135; Bourdieu, Distinction, pp. 71, 249.
108. Cf. Price, Kingship and Political Practice in Colonial India, p. 135; Bourdieu, Distinction, pp. 71, 249.
109. Some, instead of the usual family name on the plate outside, have self-chosen house names, often Hindi-ized or Sanskritized to show sophistication ('India Sadanam'); sometimes named after the householder's son and heir ('Murali Bhavan'); sometimes frankly ironic ('The Ritz'). We once saw a wooden dog-kennel outside a small house, whose owner had mischievously painted the kennel's name over its entrance, 'Chikku Bhavan'.
110. This house-building style has been made fashionable in Kerala by the architect Laurie Baker; see Gautam Bhatia, Laurie Baker: Life, Work, Writings (New Delhi, 1991).
111. See J. Garsten and S. Hugh-Jones (eds), About the House: Levi-Strauss and Beyond (Cambridge, 1995).
112. M. Moore, 'A new look at the Nayar taravad', Man (ns), 20 (1985), pp. 523-41.
113. V. Daniel, Fluid Signs: Being a Person the Tamil Way (Berkeley, 1984), pp. 79ff; Uchiyamada, 'Sacred grove (kaavu)'.
114. V. Daniel, Fluid Signs: Being a Person the Tamil Way (Berkeley, 1984), pp. 79ff; Uchiyamada, 'Sacred grove (kaavu)'.
115. See, for example, C. Classen, 'Sugar cane, Coca-Cola and hypermarkets', in D. Howes (ed.), Cross-Cultural Consumption: Global Markets, Local Realities (London, 1996); Miller, Modernity: An Ethnographic Approach; U. Hannerz, 'The world in creolisation', Africa, 57, 4 (1987), pp. 546-59.
116. See, for example, C. Classen, 'Sugar cane, Coca-Cola and hypermarkets', in D. Howes (ed.), Cross-Cultural Consumption: Global Markets, Local Realities (London, 1996); Miller, Modernity: An Ethnographic Approach; U. Hannerz, 'The world in creolisation', Africa, 57, 4 (1987), pp. 546-59.
117. See, for example, C. Classen, 'Sugar cane, Coca-Cola and hypermarkets', in D. Howes (ed.), Cross-Cultural Consumption: Global Markets, Local Realities (London, 1996); Miller, Modernity: An Ethnographic Approach; U. Hannerz, 'The world in creolisation', Africa, 57, 4 (1987), pp. 546-59.
118. Appadurai, Modernity at Large; K. N. Chaudhuri, Asia before Europe: Economy and Civilisation of the Indian Ocean from the Rise of Islam to 1750 (Cambridge, 1990); D. Rudner, Caste and Capitalism in Colonial India; the Nattukottai Chettiars (Berkeley, 1994); N. Dirks, 'Castes of mind', Representations, 37 (1992), pp. 56-78.
119. Appadurai, Modernity at Large; K. N. Chaudhuri, Asia before Europe: Economy and Civilisation of the Indian Ocean from the Rise of Islam to 1750 (Cambridge, 1990); D. Rudner, Caste and Capitalism in Colonial India; the Nattukottai Chettiars (Berkeley, 1994); N. Dirks, 'Castes of mind', Representations, 37 (1992), pp. 56-78.
120. Appadurai, Modernity at Large; K. N. Chaudhuri, Asia before Europe: Economy and Civilisation of the Indian Ocean from the Rise of Islam to 1750 (Cambridge, 1990); D. Rudner, Caste and Capitalism in Colonial India; the Nattukottai Chettiars (Berkeley, 1994); N. Dirks, 'Castes of mind', Representations, 37 (1992), pp. 56-78.
121. Appadurai, Modernity at Large; K. N. Chaudhuri, Asia before Europe: Economy and Civilisation of the Indian Ocean from the Rise of Islam to 1750 (Cambridge, 1990); D. Rudner, Caste and Capitalism in Colonial India; the Nattukottai Chettiars (Berkeley, 1994); N. Dirks, 'Castes of mind', Representations, 37 (1992), pp. 56-78.
122. Miller, Modernity: An Ethnographic Approach; Appadurai, 'Consumption, duration and history', pp. 66-85; cf. J. Comaroff, 'The empire's old clothes: fashioning the colonial subject', in D. Howes (ed.), Cross-Cultural Consumption: Global Markets, Local Realities (London, 1996), pp. 21; Wilk, 'Consumer goods as dialogue about development'.
123. Miller, Modernity: An Ethnographic Approach; Appadurai, 'Consumption, duration and history', pp. 66-85; cf. J. Comaroff, 'The empire's old clothes: fashioning the colonial subject', in D. Howes (ed.), Cross-Cultural Consumption: Global Markets, Local Realities (London, 1996), pp. 21; Wilk, 'Consumer goods as dialogue about development'.
124. Miller, Modernity: An Ethnographic Approach; Appadurai, 'Consumption, duration and history', pp. 66-85; cf. J. Comaroff, 'The empire's old clothes: fashioning the colonial subject', in D. Howes (ed.), Cross-Cultural Consumption: Global Markets, Local Realities (London, 1996), pp. 21; Wilk, 'Consumer goods as dialogue about development'.
125. Miller, Modernity: An Ethnographic Approach; Appadurai, 'Consumption, duration and history', pp. 66-85; cf. J. Comaroff, 'The empire's old clothes: fashioning the colonial subject', in D. Howes (ed.), Cross-Cultural Consumption: Global Markets, Local Realities (London, 1996), pp. 21; Wilk, 'Consumer goods as dialogue about development'.
126. Madan, Non-renunciation.