Author(s): Dhema K.S, Shalini S, Aishwarya J Nair

Abstract: Valluvanad was one of the final frontiers for western civilization. A land of immense beauty inhabited by people with strange traditions and practices which could at best is called Paganism. Hinduism which used to be practiced here and identified itself more with the plethora of indigenous beliefs than with the Vedas. Though Tippu Sultan’s invasion and the subsequent British rule did expose them to the world outside, they remained in their small universe happy and content. Hence till the 1970’s most of this region was untouched by modernity therefore unlike the rest of Kerala, still have Tharavads, sacred grooves called pambinkavu, velichapad and of course the rich mythology inherited from ancesters. One of the integral parts of this mythology is the supernatural world inhabited by Odiyans and practitioners of Odiyanseva. Odiyan and the stories associated with it is a major part of folklore. The Odiyan is a mythical figures really, a kind of shape shifting assassin from the stories of Northern Kerala. Odiyans are like any other creature of the night; like vampires, ghosts and succubi, creatures born out of fear and darkness. The legend is still alive though and people in rural areas do believe in the Odiyan.

Keywords: black magic, caste system, magical realism, professional assassins, the oil, the myth.

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.51.54