Crafting the Divine Ship: Understanding Indigenous Shipbuilding Practices through Performative Traditions

Abstract

The Malabar coastline in present-day southwestern India is renowned for its maritime heritage and its indigenous shipbuilding traditions. Much of what is currently known about shipbuilding in this region’s past is garnered from European documents, marine archaeology, and excavations of ancient ports. This article adds to this knowledge by consulting centuries-old performative traditions and folklore. Specifically, we examine the Thottam of Marakkalathamma, which is an expression of veneration for the goddess Marakkalathamma. It is sung as a prelude to Theyyam performances (a ritualistic dance form) that takes place in northern Malabar, in present-day India’s Kerala State. The article focuses on the materials and labour of shipbuilding, the form and motifs of ships, how ships were tested in oceanic waters, and rituals associated with shipbuilding. By intertwining a translation of the thottam and ethnographic fieldwork, this article argues that a history of shipbuilding can be found in an embedded mode in this performative tradition.