The status of shepherds in the novel ‘Keethari’

Abstract

The author of the novel 'Keethari' is S. Tamilselvi. The introductory message about the novelist summarizes all the details about education, work, marriage, family, and arrival to the field of writing. In this novel, the shepherds lead a nomadic life due to the occupational system. Due to their sheep herding occupations, nature leads them to live a nomadic life in search of grazing and water. Men and women are engaged in sheep herding without any discrimination. Therefore, the habits of the shepherds change accordingly. The diets of the shepherds' lives are also structured to suit the nomadic life. In that way, the artifacts used by the shepherds are also different from the artifacts of the common people. Some professional beliefs are found among the shepherds when steering sheep. Marriage is one of the major turning points in human life. At such an important juncture in the life of the bridegroom, he has to go to the shepherd. Therefore, in the life of the shepherds, instead of the bridegroom, they perform the wedding rites with the shepherd's crook. The article sets out to explore the rituals, stories, songs, deities worshiped by the shepherds, the blessings bestowed on the shepherds by Parvathi and Lord Shiva, and the manifestation of the shepherds' kindness in their daily troubles of the shepherds.