Unravelling an Alternative Sexual Ethic: A Study of Vadakkan Pattukal
Sexual ethics in India are still heavily inscribed by colonial ideas that privileged Victorian morality and regional ethnopolitical compulsions. While the existence of a robust history of sexual ethics that celebrates sexuality is evident in India, in the sculptures in ancient temples and wall paint...
| Published in: | Nidān |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Univ.
2022
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| In: |
Nidān
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| Further subjects: | B
Ethics
B Colonialism B Folksong B Sexuality B Ethnopolitics B Female B Matrilineal |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Sexual ethics in India are still heavily inscribed by colonial ideas that privileged Victorian morality and regional ethnopolitical compulsions. While the existence of a robust history of sexual ethics that celebrates sexuality is evident in India, in the sculptures in ancient temples and wall paintings, as well as in texts like Kamasutra, these parameters are commonly believed to have belonged to an ancient period. Today, patriarchal control over female sexuality is pervasive in India, and its legitimacy is drawn from tradition. This appears to be a travesty, and the truth is far from what is portrayed. While it is impossible to uncover practices and beliefs that have a Pan-Indian implication, it is possible to examine evidence at a regional level. This paper attempts to reveal early attitudes to sex and sexuality in Kerala based on an analysis of a genre of folksongs from the Malabar region of Kerala, vadakkan pattukal (literally "songs from the north"). Uncovering past cultural beliefs and attitudes to sexuality is imperative, especially in current times, when patriarchal backlash and right-wing ideologies seek to control female sexuality and reproductive rights under the pretext of assertive nationalism and cultural identity. |
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| ISSN: | 2414-8636 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Nidān
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.58125/nidan.2022.1 |