Homage to the Departed

Homage to the Departed makes an original foray into the thinking of some tribal groups in northern Kerala about death and dying. Having realised that the available ethnographies of Kerala are often conceptually and methodologically flawed. Manjula Poyil has gone directly to her source and reports the beliefs andpast practices to do with death common practices as well as treatment specific to age, gender, and the status of one who has died. Ghosts, omens, ritual dance at funerals, the appropriate musical instruments and memorials are some of the aspects of funerary practice described in this study. Especially important among these is the aniconic tutelary deity, almost ubiquitous in historical India. The sensitive question of the space and voice conceded to women in social dealings with death has also been accomplished in this compelling book.

About The Author: Manjula Poyil belongs to Kannur district in Kerala. She had her MA and Mphil in Histroy from the University of Calicut. She took her PhD on the topic “ Death, Funeral and Ancestors:Cult of the Dead and Malabar Tribes” from the University of Calicut. She has several articles published in national and international journals and volumes. The work Homage to the Departed: A Study of Funeral Customs. Among the Tribes in Malabar, Kerala is a revised and updated version of her research thesis. She currently teaches history in the University of Kannur.