Education for Identity

Abstract

The hereditary women dancers of South India are popularly called the Devadasis as an umbrella reference and are specifically called the Kalavantulu in the Coastal Andhra region. I am a descendant of these Kalavantulu families and approach this presentation through ethnography as an insider of these families.  The presence and activity of the devadasis as part of the temple rituals and at the king’s court preceded British rule for generations. The knowledge of our women was in their dancing bodies, which were the source of information for celebrated Sanskrit texts on dance and music. The bodies of our unmarried, financially independent women were stigmatized during the nationalist period. Victorian morality forbade them from performing their songs as they were based on eroticism. Their songs were, however, danced to by the upper-class ‘respectable’ women, stripping the devadasis of their agency and even identity. The devadasi families sought to camouflage their identity, and English education was the answer- this time for the men. Almost a century later, the scramble is for the most contemporary education in the Education ‘market.’ Our families shy away from the thought that the dancing body is a knowledge repository. Ironically, the texts written, based on the dance of the devadasis, are the reference for today’s classical dancers. The text removes the burden of human experience and living history for the dancer today. Natural femininity is replaced by a presentation of feminine grace, as the male teachers would like it to be. Erotic songs are sung for a deity with devotion and not amour. The movements are carefully calibrated so that the respectable bodies and the audience are comfortable. Where, then, is the devadasi today?