Note 24 — I

In connection with the tūkkam ceremony, Mr. L. K. Anantha Krishna Aiyar writes as follows.24 “There are two kinds of hook-swinging, namely Garuda (Brahmini kite) and thoni (boat) tūkkam. The ceremony is performed in fulfilment of a vow, to obtain some favour of the deity Kāli, before whose presence it is carried out. The performer of the ceremony should bathe early in the morning, and be in a state of preparation either for a year or for forty-one days by worshipping the deity Bhagavati. He must strictly abstain from meat, all kinds of intoxicating liquors, and association with women. During the morning hours, the performer dresses himself in a garment tucked into the waist-band, rubs his body with oil, and is shampooed particularly on the back, a portion of the flesh in the middle of which is stretched for the insertion of a hook. He is also taught by his instructor to perform various feats called payitta. This he continues till the festival, when he has to swing in fulfilment of the vow. In kite swinging, a kind of car, resting on two axles provided with four wheels, is employed. On it, there is a horizontal beam resting on two vertical supports. A strong rope tied to a ring attached to the beam is connected with the hook which passes through the flesh of the back. Over the beam there is a kutaram (tent), which is tastefully decorated. Inside it, two or three persons can swing at a time. There is a different arrangement in some places. Instead of the beam and the supports, there is a small pole, on which rests a horizontal beam provided with a metallic ring at one end. The beam acts as a lever, so that one end of it can be either raised or lowered, so as to give some rest to the swinger. The rope tied to the ring is connected with the hook and the waist-band. For boat swinging, the same kind of vehicle, without wheels, is in use. For kite swinging, the performer has his face painted green. He has to put on artificial lips and wings in imitation of those of the kite, and wears long locks of hair like those of an actor in a Kathakali. As he swings, the car is taken three, five, seven, nine, or eleven times round the temple. In boat swinging, the car is likewise carried round the temple, with the swinger performing his feats, as in the case of kite swinging, to the accompaniment of music. He has to put on the same kind of dress, except the lips and wings. In pillayeduthutūkkam, or swinging with a child in fulfilment of a vow, the child is taken to the temple by his parents, who pay to the temple authorities thirty-four chuckrams in Travancore, and sixty-four puthans25 in Cochin. The child is then handed over to the swinger, who carries the child as he swings. These performances are sometimes made at the expense of the temple, but more generally of persons who make the outlay in fulfilment of a vow. In the latter case, it costs as much as Rs. 150 for the kite swinger, but only Rs. 30 for the boat swinger. During the festival, they are fed in the temple, owing to their being in a state of vow. It is the Nāyars, Kammālars, Kuruppans, and Izhavas, who perform the swinging in fulfilment of a vow. In the fight between the goddess Kāli and the demon Darika, the latter was completely defeated, and the former, biting him on the back, drank his blood to gratify her feelings of animosity. Hook-swinging symbolises this incident, and the bloodshed by the insertion of the hook through the flesh is intended as an offering to the goddess.”