A tribal family at Edamalakkudy, the remotest tribal grama panchayat in the State, is facing ‘ooruvilakku’, social boycott enforced by the tribal council.
According to customs prevalent among the Muthuvan tribespeople in the Munnar forest division, those who face ‘ooruvilakku’ are not even allowed to talk to others.
The family that faced boycott is that of panchayat Community Development Society chairperson Remani of Ampalappady settlement and her husband Arjun, a former panchayat member.
The incident that led to ‘Ooruvilakku’ occurred on November 23 in connection with ‘Urumalkettu’, a tribal custom of giving headgear to those male members on completing the age of 18 years.
As part of the custom, ‘chanaka vellam’ (water mixed with cow dung) would be sprinkled on the walls and floors of the nearby houses. There would also be singing and dancing by youngsters on the occasion.
When ‘chanaka vellam’ was poured on the walls of Ms. Remani’s house, she protested against it saying it was painted only recently.
The tribal council chaired by the ‘Oorumooppan’ (chieftain) took up the issue and ordered ‘ooruvilakku’ against the family for disrespecting the tribal custom.
Since December 4, the family has been living in isolation.
A panchayat official said that ‘ooruvilakku’ is not uncommon there and a man who faced ‘Ooruvilakku’ years back was living in a cave in the forest away from the settlements. ‘Ooruvilakku’ is enforced even on minor issues.
However, most of the instances are related to disrespect towards the tribal custom or marrying those from outside the community.
Babu, a tribal promoter and a Muthuvan community member at Andavankudy settlement in Edamalakkudy, told The Hindu that ‘ooruvilakku’ is enforced for six months and after that there are chances of withdrawing it by the tribal council if the family adhered to the norms.
