LEARNING FROM POOR CLASS DALITS-5
Caste and Creation Stories
-Parattai
Caste and Creation Stories
-Parattai
We all know the creation story in Rig vedha. It starts with a golden egg being the first that came into the
universe. Out of this golden egg came the Maha Purusha, the God. From his head came the Brahmin
caste, from his shoulders came the Kshatri caste, from the hip came the Vaishia caste and from the legs
came the Sudhra caste. Thus the story tells us that God has created the caste system.
The Dalits have different stories of creation. A Dalit old man, in one of the villages in Cuddalore
district, told me this story. In this story black colored Periyayi, the mother Goddess is the first to come
in to exist. With her came a white crow. This crow gave Periyayi four seeds. Periyayi planted the
seeds and out of the seeds four castes came out. The four castes people were fighting each other.
Periyayi got angry and destroyed four castes and white crow. Then she conceived a golden egg and all creations including trees, birds, animals and humans came out. They lived happily and peacefully.Periyayi was happy and left them.
universe. Out of this golden egg came the Maha Purusha, the God. From his head came the Brahmin
caste, from his shoulders came the Kshatri caste, from the hip came the Vaishia caste and from the legs
came the Sudhra caste. Thus the story tells us that God has created the caste system.
The Dalits have different stories of creation. A Dalit old man, in one of the villages in Cuddalore
district, told me this story. In this story black colored Periyayi, the mother Goddess is the first to come
in to exist. With her came a white crow. This crow gave Periyayi four seeds. Periyayi planted the
seeds and out of the seeds four castes came out. The four castes people were fighting each other.
Periyayi got angry and destroyed four castes and white crow. Then she conceived a golden egg and all creations including trees, birds, animals and humans came out. They lived happily and peacefully.Periyayi was happy and left them.
There is another creation story. The young boy, living in a village near Chengalpattu, told me the story.
In this story there were two eggs, one made of gold and another made of mud. From the golden egg
came varies caste people who fought with each other. Periyayi destroyed that creation and sat on the
mud egg. From that egg came all creation.
It seems both the two stories told by Dalits are counter stories to the Rig Vedha story. These two stories
tell us that there is no caste system in the creation. The Goddess Periyayi does not like the system
because that system has created conflicts. These stories also tell us that there is no inequality among
the creation. Plants, creepers, animals, birds and humans are brothers and sisters. Since they came out
of one egg.
In this story there were two eggs, one made of gold and another made of mud. From the golden egg
came varies caste people who fought with each other. Periyayi destroyed that creation and sat on the
mud egg. From that egg came all creation.
It seems both the two stories told by Dalits are counter stories to the Rig Vedha story. These two stories
tell us that there is no caste system in the creation. The Goddess Periyayi does not like the system
because that system has created conflicts. These stories also tell us that there is no inequality among
the creation. Plants, creepers, animals, birds and humans are brothers and sisters. Since they came out
of one egg.
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