Home > Kerala Villages > Malabar > The Village Astrologers of Malabar

The Village Astrologers of Malabar

The professional astrologers of Malabar go by the distinctive caste appellation of Kanisans. Astrology is a science perhaps as old as the Hindu religion itself. Its predictions are still followed and its tenets still acted up to with religious scrupulousness by the Hindu is general; and the people of Malabar from no exception to the rule. In ancient days the Nambutiri Brahmins of Malabar possessed a monopoly of all the learned profession including astrology and astronomy but later on the Kanisans of Malabar appear to have infringed this Brahmin monopoly. The first of these was the result of the union of a Brahmin astrologer and a Tiyya women whose son was brought up and educated in the father’s profession and become a profound astrologer and the progenitor of the modern class of our village astrologers, viz, Kanisans. These gradually came to encroach upon the old Brahmin preserve, and at this day Kanisans from an important factor in our village society. The science is now studied and practiced by other people as well but the Kanisans are the birth-right holders in our village economy. The whole tradition appears to be an exaggerated version of some old incident in which the Pashur Bhattathiri forms the central figure. Some Brahmin astrologer owing to criminal intercourse with some Tiyya women may have been excommunicated by his co-religionists and the offspring of the union, educated in all the lore of his father’s profession may have become the founder of the modern class of Kanisans.

The probability of the tradition may be inferred from the fact that at this day the most profound astrologer in the country is the Pazhur Kanisan. Notice the identity of the house-name of the Brahmin in the tradition and that of the profound astrologer Kanisan, viz., Pashur . According to current popular accounts the Pusher Kanisan goes through the process of his astrological predictions in the gate-house. It is here that he gates filled with the fullest prophetic inspiration; and the saying has it that any predictions made at this particular spot, even without the aid of anu astrological calculations, come out turn in consequence of the divinity that hadges round it. This idea is clearly brought out in a familiar old couplet which may be freely translated as follows:

“ Nothing is more effective than
The Pazhur gate-house prophecy.”

The Kanisans are practically the guiding spirits in all our social and domestic concerns. There is not a single occasion or event amongst us which does not require the service of the Kanisan. On the birth of every infant the first thing done is to note the exact moment of its birth for the purpose of casting its horoscope afterwards. For this purpose the Kanisan’s service are invariable in requisition. He is always consulted as to the causes of calamities, and the explanations offered by him effectually allay the apprehensions of those who consult him on such matters. He has to find out lucky and unlucky days and moments for the commencement of journeys, and has to show favorable junctures for the beginning of important undertakings, such as betrothals, marriages, to ensure, sowing seeds at seed-time, etc. He has to find prescribe remedies for untoward events and to find out proper physicians for the treatment of disease. He has to cast the horoscope of every new-born child. He has to find out auspicious moments for children to begin their alpha and beta. One our New Years Day and the first day of our Onam festival he has to walk round the village visiting the houses therein with small chits of cadjan containing the consequences resulting to the country at large from the New Year and Onam falling on those particular days of the year. In short, as the recognized oracle, his services are of hourly utility in our social and domestic life.

The process usually gone through by the Kanisan in foretelling the future will, doubtless, repay noticing. A pouch of cowries and a piece of chalk from the inevitable accompaniments of the Kanisan. He seats himself on a mat spread on the ground floor. Then he draws in front of him on the ground with the chalk a rectangular diagram with twelve compartments representing the twelve signs of the Zodiac. He then unlooses his pouch containing the cowries and pours its contents on the mat. The five big cowries of the whole collection are then taken and placed side by side in a row outside the diagram, usually on the mat. These five big cowries are said to represent

1.Saraswathi (the goddess of knowledge)
2.Ganapathi (the remover of obstacles)
3.The Kanisans own Guru or preceptor
4. The Sun
5. The great planet Jupiter

To all these at the outset the Kanisans gives due obeisance by touching his ears and the ground with both his hand three times. Then he makes certain mathematical calculations with the help of the cowries as the old Romans did on the basis of the certain established rules and formulas in the end he explains the result of all his calculations. It is the position of the heavenly bodies that enables him to make these predictions.

The class of Kanisans in an interesting one. They are also called Kanisan Panikar in certain places. In conformity with their traditional origin they are a low class of people whose approach to a high caste. Hindu pollutes the letter much to the same extent as Tiyya’s world. The Kanisans follow the Makkathayam rule of succession and in some parts they practice polyandry like some of their Tiyya kindred of the southern parts. Amongst the Kanisans it is the sons that perform the funeral obsequies but in all other respects their social and religious ceremonies bear the striking impress of a Marumakkathayam origin. They keep the top-knots like the Nair are an extremely clean and tidy class. With us the name Kanisan Panikar has passed into a household word for a foolish and idiotic man. He forms the subject of many a folk-tale in which he portrayed as a senseless idiot capable of doing some of the most witty and foolish acts. They are not, however, flourishing community are naturally averse to any kind of manual labour and depends for their profession brings them. The influence of the astrologer Kanisans is much greater with the interate classes. Like all others of our village claimants the Kanisan is remunerated with fees which very according to circumstances. It may rise to twenty five rupees or thirty rupees or it may even shrink into four annas. The nature of his profession being such as requires extreme modesty and unselfishness he is not expected to quarrel over the remuneration dew to him. The casting of horoscopes is by far the most lucrative. Owing to their profession having been greatly usurped by men of other castes, they have practically lost their professional monopoly of if and a corresponding reduction in their income has been the natural result but even this reduction of income has not been powerful enough to force them to turn their attention to other fields of earning or other departments of study.