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Namboodiris give up religious
monopoly in Kerala

Orthodox Namboodiris in Kerala have given up their monopoly on priesthood in temples.

The apex authority of the Namboodiris (the most orthodox Malayalee Brahmins) was forced into the move due to depleting strength of the community and an acute shortage of priests in temples across Kerala.

Six Namboodiri families that have the powers to interpret Vedic and Shrouthik matters, constitute the apex authority. The proclamation was signed at an extraordinary meeting, at the Peruvanam Shiva Temple near Thrissur on Monday.

It said that all Brahmin communities among Kerala - Namboodiris, Embrandiris, Tulu and Konakani Brahmins - will be treated as religious equals. If other Brahmin community members practice traditional religious and temple rules, they can be selected as temple priests.

Terming the proclamation as revolutionary, Brahmin community leaders said it would lead to unprecedented solidarity between various communities in Kerala and other states, if implemented in letter and spirit.

Mullaneszhi Sivadasan Namboodiripad, a signatory to the proclamation, said, "We have been discussing and debating the issue for many years. We have now taken a radical decision aimed at changing an age-old convention."

Many believe the Namboodiris decided to lift the bar because of problems plaguing the community.

The main reason is a Kerala High Court order two years back. Acting on a petition from a low caste, as to why he should not be allowed to become a temple priest, the court had decreed that priesthood in temples cannot and should not be the monopoly of Namboodiris.

Since then, prominent Namboodiri families have been discussing the issue. For ages, the Namboodiris have had the last say on all religious matters. They bestowed a lower status to other Brahmin communities.

The community now constitutes less than one per cent of Kerala's nearly three million population. Educated Namboodiri youngsters do not find the priest jobs at temples interesting and attractive. Many have been leaving the state for better employment opportunities.

"Remuneration of priests in temples is very low. Therefore, temple jobs are a liability these days," said a young Namboodiri, a senior executive at the Taj Group of Hotels.

Moreover, strict temple customs stipulated by the Namboodiris have been drawing flak from various political parties and Hindus religious bodies. Recently, the decision of the Guruvayoor temple chief priest to conduct a purification ceremony on Congress politician Vayalar Ravi's son had invited flak from various quarters. Non-Hindus are not allowed into the Guruvayoor temple and the thantri ordered the purification ceremony because Ravi's wife Mercy is a Christian.

Namboodiri community leaders said another reason for bestowing equal status to all Brahmin communities was the construction and revival of new temples across the state. While new temples are being built and dilapidated ones are being revived, the Namboodiri community has been unable to supply priests.

Religious observers say the move is the second revolutionary movement that has seized the conservative Hindu community in the state.

The first, seven decades ago, was led by Communist patriarch E M S Namboodiripad.

There was unprecedented upheaval in the community when Namboodiripad led the reform movement Namboodiriye Manushyanakkuka (Make the Namboodiri a human being) that urged community members to shun their ritualistic and cloistered way of life and become modern human beings.

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