From Possession to Freedom: The Journey Of Nili-nilakeci

By: R Umamaheshwari

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Synopsis: The Tamil text, Nilakeci, dated around the 5th century CE (debated), is an unusual literary creation. It retrieves a violent, vengeful pey (female possessing spirit) of Palayanur, transforming her into a Jaina philosopher. It was a profoundly subversive idea of its time, using the female persona and voice (for a hitherto disembodied being) to debate with preceptors of different schools of thought/religions of the time, all male, barring the Buddhist nun, Kuṇṭalakeci. Nilakeci's debates focus on questions of non-violence, existence of the soul, authorship and caste, among others. However, in order to truly appreciate this alter-texting, one has to unravel layers of other texts and traditions: the lesser known villuppattu (bow-song) and natakam (theatrical) versions of the pey Nili stories, as well as the story of Kuṇṭalakeci's own transformative journey. Umamaheshwari situates these in a comparative context, while maintaining the centrality of the debates within Nilakeci, using translation of selected excerpts.