ABSTRACT
Imagine … as some of us go to bed at four in the morning after a long night of playing Xbox 360, or chatting with friends, or convening a fraternity meeting, or writing papers, some people on the other side of the globe wake up and take a bath in the bathing tank outside and perform daily rituals around this time. This remains true in the lives of both Nambtiri1 Brhmans and Ayyappan devotees in Kerala, the southwestern state of peninsular India located between the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, occupying a total area of 24,148 square miles and with a coastline of 360 miles. Its geographical position and abundance of natural plant products add to its natural beauty and serenity, and Malayalis (people of Kerala), who speak Malayalam, popularly refer to it as “God’s own country”. Kerala’s socio-religious and cultural matrix, an amalgam of native and foreign cultures and creeds, shapes its distinctive culture.
