The Odiyans of Malabar

The Odi Cult and the Kalladikode Neeli

In the previous article, we read about Yakshis, especially Kalliangattu Neeli and the Panayanar Yakshi, and their connection to the Kadamattathu Kathanar. While those stories and myths were linked to Travancore, Malabar was also well known for sorcerers, witchcraft, and black magic. Some years ago, I wrote about the Chattans of Malabar and the evil eye; now we will explore the Odiyans of Malabar, who were mostly based in Palghat and Valluvanad. Sometime ago, we saw a movie with a kind and loving version of an Odiyan, played by Mohanlal, in a movie of the same name. But in historic accounts, Odiyans were not exactly friendly, as you'll see in the study that follows. Women were terrified of these Odiyans, as shown by mentions of these apparitions in many accounts and some old autobiographies. We can also find cases in court records describing horrifying acts by some Odiyan offenders. Let’s take a closer look.

The earliest anthropological studies of this cult were published by Edgar Thurston, who wrote about the castes of South India, and by L K Anantha Krishna Iyer, hailing from Palghat, who focused on the castes and tribes of Cochin. Iyer established that this was a cult among the Parayas of Cochin and Palghat. Although outcastes under the prevailing caste system, they were surely the early settlers of the land. Unable to live among the upper castes or engage in paid professions, they were mostly associated with tribal activities and menial work. However, among the Malabar Parayas, there were also learned figures, such as Pakkanar and Naranathu Branthan, both highly revered in Kerala folklore (see the linked article). Some of these Parayas were renowned for their mysterious black magic. Many were believed to possess divining powers and were called upon to recover stolen property and to exact revenge or punishment on someone's behalf. Working as a medium for the god or goddess, they accepted minor payments or gifts, cast spells, and supplied charms for good luck.

By definition, the Odiyan can break a human body using their magic, as demonstrated by snapping a twig in their hands. Iyer confirms this after interviewing an Odiyan in Shoranur and defines it as a form of black art practiced by the Parayans, who, once proficient, could render themselves invisible or assume the form of a bull, cat, or dog at will. Armed with powers to entice women, they could destroy fetuses, make someone sick or die, or transport them from one place to another without the person even knowing what was going on, and so on and so forth.

A Parayan determined to learn this black art finds a guru, proves his resolve by serving as an understudy, and endures many tests from his master. For example, the master suddenly becomes invisible, then reappears before the young fella as a raging bull, a snarling dog, or a mad bull elephant. Seeing this, the novice should not even flinch. He should be able to spend lonely nights in dense forests infested with spirits and wild animals, amid terrible nocturnal sounds. After he passes these ordeals, his guru initiates him into the brotherhood during a special puja on an auspicious day to his favorite Neeli, also known as Kalladikode Neeli. Following this, plenty of meat and liquor are consumed, and the disciple is taught to prepare the potent medicines (pilla thailam/angola thailam) required for the black art.

The main ingredient in the preparation of the pilla thailam (infant oil) is a human fetus, six or seven months old, from a young woman in her first pregnancy, belonging to a caste other than his own. The Odiyan sets out at midnight from his hut to the house of the woman he has selected. He walks around the house several times, sprinkling guruti (a mixture of water, lime, and turmeric) from a coconut shell to simulate blood, and muttering certain verses/mantras to invoke the aid of Neeli. He also draws a yanthram (cabalistic figure) on the ground, taking special care to observe omens as he begins.

Should the omens be unfavorable, he postpones collecting the fetus. If all is well, the chosen woman-victim is forced to come out, herself knocking down doors, if need be, and yields to the influence of the Paraya magician. The Odiyan leads her to a secluded spot and extracts the fetus. Depending on the Odiyan's mood, the womb is either filled with medicinal plants or with rubbish, and the woman is left to live or die. The fetus is then mixed with a powdered human skull and boiled or distilled to make the pilla thailam. This thailam, when applied to certain parts (typically behind the ear) of the Odiyan's body, allows him to assume the form of an animal he wishes to become. With that, he is ready to execute the contract from a client, such as killing, maiming, or scaring the intended victim. In most cases, the victim's neck bone is snapped (Odikkuka).

The Angola thailam is made from a specific fruit of the (Arinjil) tree, which is said to bear many fruits, among which only a special fruit is believed to possess life and motion. This fruit can descend and return to its position at night. A fruit that has descended is plucked by these Odiyans waiting under the tree, just as it attempts to ascend the tree to return to its position. When it is at hand, extracting the oil from it involves precisely the same operations as those used to extract infant oil, and this must be done within seven hours of its plucking. A mark made of this oil on the forehead will enable the possessor to achieve his desires and to transform himself into any animal he likes.

Strange were the ways in those days, as you can imagine, and most people believed in all these things – spirits, demons, black magic, and whatnot. In such times, the client contacts and contracts an Odiyan, who then sets out alone or with an assistant after drinking a hefty amount of alcohol. Omens must always be favorable, and if so, nothing impedes him; anyone in his path is summarily dealt with. Once at the destination, he entices the victim out of his home, stupefies him, and finishes him off with severe blows to the head or by strangulation with two sticks. Most of the time, he transforms himself into an animal apparition after applying pilla thailam behind his ears, and once he has ensured the victim is alone, he completes the contracted act. He can also vanish at will if confronted or cornered.

When an Odiyan is hired to commit murder, he waits outside the victim’s house at night in the guise of a bullock. If, however, the person is asleep, the Odiyan assumes the shape of a cat, enters the house, and induces the person to come out. The victim is then knocked down and strangled. The Odiyan can also, by using mantras and special medicines, induce sleeping victims to open the doors and sleepwalk to the Odiyan. There were even Odiyans who shot blunt arrows at victims, stunning them, after which they were bludgeoned (the stick or truncheon was known as Odi vadi) into submission and compelled to swear that they would not reveal the identity of their attacker.

By the end of the 19th century, courts, police, and improved education had eradicated most of these acts and brought the cult to an end. Criminal cases from those early days point to the prevalence of such acts and the fear they inspired, even among the educated and upper classes. As a result of increased police scrutiny, Parayans stopped discussing the cult and professed total ignorance, fearing severe punishment. Many such 19th-century cases can be found in the case journals of Malabar and Cochin. As children who grew up in Malabar, we heard many such stories even in the mid-20th century. Though they were mostly the fruits of a fertile imagination, they still scared us quite a bit. Malabar Parayans are not necessarily the same as Tamil Parayas. They were more outcaste, beef eaters, and were never allowed anywhere near upper castes, as there were even cases of them stealing children from upper castes.

U B Nair tells us that members of the brotherhood are bound to secrecy by solemn oaths, and the secrets of their craft are not lightly shared with any outsider. They should have one or more disciples or apprentices who, in the first place, are bound to strict obedience. These apprentices fill vacancies in the brotherhood. Saraswati Nair (KPS Menon’s wife) recounts stories of Odiyans from her younger years in her book, listed under references. Blood-curdling accounts of broken bones and animal apparitions scared her to death, and she recounts a case in which some 24 of them were apprehended for a mass murder and hanged by Justice Madhavan Nair. Locals feared that the Odiyan would take the judge away, but nothing happened to him.

P Rama Pisharody explains: The ancient people of Kerala were a sort of aborigines who had lived in the land from time immemorial. We cannot say exactly when they settled in the land or where they came from. It appears they came from the forests and were unfamiliar with village life. They were afraid of demons and other evil spirits and felt the need to control them. Kaali, Kooli, Kaappiri, Karinkutti, Kuttichathan, Mahakali, Chandi, Chamundi, Kalladikode Neeli, and so on were, they believed, around to terrify them. Therefore, big trees, stones of huge bulk, mud, and pieces of wood were considered to be worthy of worship to ward off trouble. Cherumans, Pulayas, Kanakkers, Parayas, Malayas, Kadars, Vettuvas, and Nayadis were among the aborigines who had their own poojaris to look after their needs. 'Yantras' or metallic pieces with figures cut in them, possessing, according to them, occult powers, were used by these aborigines. These metallic pieces also took on an iconic effect because they belonged to the image-making blocks variety. Huge, upright blocks of granite were supposed to contain evil spirits and were given crude shapes for worship. This was more or less the second stage of the Icon in Kerala. After waves of Nairs and Namboothiris arrived, and life continued, castes and creeds, tribes and social positioning occurred, and with that, the independence of the aboriginal tribes vanished. Perhaps they took to black magic as a profession, since it was financially rewarding and an opportunity to get back at the upper classes.

It is not that the Odiyan always has his way; for example, the Odiyan may take the form of a bull, but it might have some sort of deformity. It might appear three-legged or tailless, which could amuse the onlooker and prompt him to take a closer look. This gives the Odiyan enough time to mount an attack and kill the prey as he approaches. Nevertheless, these deformed bodies could be their undoing. A seasoned mantrikan or a learned elder could easily recognize the anomalies and act accordingly to avoid the bluff or take countermeasures, such as pouring hot water on the form (or water mixed with cow dung and boiled). Another strange fact is that after transforming into an Odiyan, he must be completely nude; otherwise, the Odi seva fails and the Odiyan reverts to human form. It is believed that Odiyans can’t perform the Odi seva when light falls on them; they need pitch darkness, and for that reason, Odiyans don’t exist these days.

Kalladikode Neeli

Now we come to the Paraya goddess, or Kalladikode Neeli (Karineeli) of Palghat, whose abode lies within the Siruvani forests of the Muthkulam village. These forests are full of medicinal and magical herbs and are home to many visiting sorcerers who come to hone their skills, obtain special boons, make potions, gain power from the Goddess, and tether evil spirits to tree trunks with nails after invoking Neeli.

As the story goes, Neeli and Malavayi were creations of the sage Uthithappan, an incarnation of Lord Siva. They were nomadic orphans, without a name or address. When Uthithappan did not help them formalize their existence by giving them names, they prayed to the goddess at Thurumulakkal, who took away the paddy crop from Uthithappan and the phenomena of sunrise and sunset from him. When Uthithappan went to the goddess to learn the reason, he was told about the plight of the two women. Anyway, the two were named Malavayi and Kalladikode Karineeli, and a local chief, Kalladi Muthappan, was given responsibility for protecting them. Later on, the two ladies went to take a dip in a nearby pond owned by a fella named Nallachan, who took offense and accosted the girls for using his pond without authorization. It appears that while Malavayi addressed Nallachan respectfully as a brother, Neeli took a sensuous approach, which infuriated Nallachan, who cursed Karineeli and asked her to leave the hills. According to folklore, Karineeli became pregnant while trekking downhill (don’t ask me how) and later gave birth to her son, Karikutti. It is said that the hill deities are all descendants of Neeli and comprise some 390 Chattans, 4448 magicians, and many thousands of assistants. The Thotta dances prevalent since then are meant to propitiate Neeli and Karikutti.

The Odiyan appears as a character in several well-known works as well. Velutha, Arundhati Roy’s protagonist in The God of Small Things, is seemingly adept at Odi, though his skill in this craft is only indirectly connected. Anita Nair's Better Man features a Kampan, with references to other Odiyans in a Valluvanad village. Jithu and Jisha, in their paper, tell us that historically, Odiyan shamans were linked to sorcery, including feticide and black magic, practices deeply ingrained in the customs of South Indian indigenous tribes. In resistance to Aryan incursions on Aboriginal lands, Odiyan shamans harnessed their mystical expertise. As societal dynamics evolved, they developed countermeasures against Aryan settlers, leveraging lunar cycles to avenge themselves, often by taking on various forms.

The novel Odiyan by P Kannankutty is a masterpiece that rivals Jeyamohan’s Nayadi book Nooru Simhasanangal. Set in rural Palghat and written in the Malayalam dialect spoken by the lower classes, it takes you through the life of an Odiyan family, their struggles, their ties to the local landlord, and the communities at Paruthipully. The opening scene, with Karimandi atop the palm trees, surveying the region, is so finely written that you will think you are on the tree, and minutes later you will fall with Karimandi from the tree and wince as the body impacts the rocks below. Highly recommended, I can only regret it was never made into a film. Exquisitely blending myth with reality, Kannankutty gives you a taste of Palghat in the 60s-70s.

All said and done, anthropologists and folklorists conclude that it was a belief that was exaggerated over time (Odi was even mentioned in the Mahabharata, it seems) as a means of self-preservation among the affected lower castes and communities. The existence of Odiyans rested on the upper class's fear that the downtrodden might seek revenge.

References
Omens and superstitions of Southern India – Edgar Thurston
Notes on some people in Malabar – Edgar Thurston
Light of Other days – Saraswathy Menon
Cochin Tribes & Castes - L Anathakrishna Ayyar
Odiyan – P Kannankutty
Iconography in Kerala – P Rama Pisharody (Akshvaani – Dec 1958)
The chilling lore of Kalladikode Karineeli - R Sasisekhar (On Manorama Dec 2020)
An ethno-archaeological study of Shamanic Oddities from the Neolithic culture of South India reveals changes in folk rituals, particularly in the practices of Theyyam and Odiyan transformation - Jithu Dhanian D. C.and Jisha V. G.
Nayars of Malabar – F Fawcett

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Maddy’s Ramblings – The Mysterious Pakkanar

Maddy’s Ramblings – The Evil Eye

Maddy’s ramblings – The Bewitching Yakshi

Maddy’s Ramblings – Neelikatha – Myth or Legend

Maddy’s Ramblings – The Chatans of Malabar

Note: there is a Tibetan community called Odiyan – This has nothing to do with them.