March 24, 2012
A "Veerakallu" tells a story in three stages that are carved as three rows. The bottom row depicts a battle. This might be a duel, fight with an animal or a full fledged battle. The warriors are armed with swords or spears or bows and arrows. The stone engraving is dedicated to one particular hero featured in such a conflict. In the middle row, we realize that he is already dead but victorious. He is accompanied by nymphs, angels and other celestial beings here in his heavenly journey. At the top row, he is in the presence of god represented by a deity. It could be a shiva-linga or Krishna or some other god from the virtually infinite Hindu pantheon.
Next we were led to hall that featured the bamboo and wooden utensils of the local tribes. Constructed from dried bamboo and palm leaves, cow dung and mud are used frequently as sealants. I had seen some of the kitchen utensils like coasters and tamarind urns of this type at grandmother's house. Achan was able to identify the purpose of most of them as well. At least when it comes to the kitchen, a common cultural thread runs throughout Kerala. There was an impressive 5 ft tall cylindrical vessel for storing grain. Cylindrical and conical fish trapping baskets that are used to catch fish from the local streams. Huge palm leaf winnow-like umbrellas. A cradle either meant for twins or one enormous baby!
The museum showcases several granite statues that have come up in the archeological excavations. Granite seems to be the stone of choice since the Veerakallu are also carved from those. Couple of specimens had granite with heavy dose of infused quartzite that gave them a black and white color blend. The statues were elaborate in their exaggerations. The female figurines, some of whom were identified by the names Rema, Uma and Urvara, resembled the famous Daryaganj Yakshi in their pose. But instead of the unmistakable whisk of that Yakshi, here these women seemed to be frozen in stone holding lotus buds. The male statues invariably had facial hair. Few of them sported well maintained Bhagat Singh style mustaches. Both men and women sported long hair tied up in buns. Three statues of a writer with disproportionately large writing tool. These statues easily bring to mind popular representations of Thiruvalluvar and VedaVyasa.
The statue of a travelling sage had distinctly Chinese features. Were Huang Tsang or Fahien ever in Wayanad? A playful male with a primitive catapult and another dancing with a pot on his head. Couple of men with what looked like circular jingle bells in their hands were identified as "Nattuvan"-the dancers. Our guide lady told us that most of the statues were recovered from private land and had already been in various stages of abuse and disuse. There was a large thick white granite slab with primitive Tamil writing on one side and Malayalam on the other. This was being used as a washing stone in a house nearby till the museum secured it! No wonder that many of the statues were disfigured.
In glass cases, the museum stores clay models, pots, figurines and polished stone butt axes from the neolithic period. Since Edakkal caves with their famous petroglyphs were my primary target for the Wayanad trip, I was excited to see the tool in the museum before the art they accomplished in the caves. The final section of the museum displays wooden and metallic weapons and musical instruments of the local tribes.
Located in an unassuming building at Ambalavayal by the side of the Sultanbathery highway, the Wayanad Heritage Museum is a must visit for anyone interested in history of South India. "Since you have come this far, you must take a look, " Subair insisted.
The lady at the counter hesitantly asked if we would like to have a guide for the museum. Sure, Why not? A seemingly reticent middle aged woman dressed in a livery blue saree and a black scarf covering her head was the guide to be. I think she was pleasantly surprised to have visitors who didn't mind getting a tour. While we were inside, three other groups of tourists hurried through the musuem. That seems to be the general trend that we bucked.
Right at the entrance welcoming visitors is a "Veerakallu", roughly translated as "Valiant Stone". This is the common title given to the numerous approximately 5ft by 5ft engraved stones from the mostly 10th to 14th century that have been recovered near Amabalavayal and Edakkal areas of Wayanad. They are remnants of the Hoysala and Vijayanagara empires that once stretched into Wayanad centuries before Hyderali and Tippu Sultan. Getting to Wayanad via Karanataka and Tamil Nadu is definitely easier than climbing up Thamarassery Churam. So the cultural influx and political allegiance of this land remained northwards for a very long time in history. Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Islam, Hinduism again, Islam again and Christianity held predominant political sway over this land since the first few centuries before Christ.
A "Veerakallu" tells a story in three stages that are carved as three rows. The bottom row depicts a battle. This might be a duel, fight with an animal or a full fledged battle. The warriors are armed with swords or spears or bows and arrows. The stone engraving is dedicated to one particular hero featured in such a conflict. In the middle row, we realize that he is already dead but victorious. He is accompanied by nymphs, angels and other celestial beings here in his heavenly journey. At the top row, he is in the presence of god represented by a deity. It could be a shiva-linga or Krishna or some other god from the virtually infinite Hindu pantheon.
These stone engravings show the generous mixing of Jain, Buddhist and Hindu religions in the region while remaining fundamentally true to the war-like nature of the many aboriginal tribes who inhabit the jungles of Wayanad.
Next we were led to hall that featured the bamboo and wooden utensils of the local tribes. Constructed from dried bamboo and palm leaves, cow dung and mud are used frequently as sealants. I had seen some of the kitchen utensils like coasters and tamarind urns of this type at grandmother's house. Achan was able to identify the purpose of most of them as well. At least when it comes to the kitchen, a common cultural thread runs throughout Kerala. There was an impressive 5 ft tall cylindrical vessel for storing grain. Cylindrical and conical fish trapping baskets that are used to catch fish from the local streams. Huge palm leaf winnow-like umbrellas. A cradle either meant for twins or one enormous baby! The museum showcases several granite statues that have come up in the archeological excavations. Granite seems to be the stone of choice since the Veerakallu are also carved from those. Couple of specimens had granite with heavy dose of infused quartzite that gave them a black and white color blend. The statues were elaborate in their exaggerations. The female figurines, some of whom were identified by the names Rema, Uma and Urvara, resembled the famous Daryaganj Yakshi in their pose. But instead of the unmistakable whisk of that Yakshi, here these women seemed to be frozen in stone holding lotus buds. The male statues invariably had facial hair. Few of them sported well maintained Bhagat Singh style mustaches. Both men and women sported long hair tied up in buns. Three statues of a writer with disproportionately large writing tool. These statues easily bring to mind popular representations of Thiruvalluvar and VedaVyasa. The statue of a travelling sage had distinctly Chinese features. Were Huang Tsang or Fahien ever in Wayanad? A playful male with a primitive catapult and another dancing with a pot on his head. Couple of men with what looked like circular jingle bells in their hands were identified as "Nattuvan"-the dancers. Our guide lady told us that most of the statues were recovered from private land and had already been in various stages of abuse and disuse. There was a large thick white granite slab with primitive Tamil writing on one side and Malayalam on the other. This was being used as a washing stone in a house nearby till the museum secured it! No wonder that many of the statues were disfigured.In glass cases, the museum stores clay models, pots, figurines and polished stone butt axes from the neolithic period. Since Edakkal caves with their famous petroglyphs were my primary target for the Wayanad trip, I was excited to see the tool in the museum before the art they accomplished in the caves. The final section of the museum displays wooden and metallic weapons and musical instruments of the local tribes.
There was a notice about a 40 minute multimedia presentation on Wayanad heritage available on demand. But since we were aiming to cover half the district during the day, we skipped it. Though the centuries old statues and idols still retain most of the glory, the hardly a decade old museum walls were showing lightning type cracks all around bearing testimony to the deplorable degradation of Indian standards and ethics. Hopefully, the museum will be still standing when we get to plan another trip.
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