Karinthandam

11. December 2018

 

 

Once upon a time…..

 

… during the Indian colonial era. The mountains of the Wayanad district were still unconquered by the British. There was only one path that the local Adivasi, the indigenous people, knew. An English engineer hired Karinthandam, a chief, to show him the way. He did so. And as a reward – he was killed by the Englishman! Why? So that he could claim that he was the first to find the way on his own and he couldn’t use a witness.

 

The story could end here, but in the years that followed, many people had mishaps, accidents and misfortunes on this path. The Adivasis were unanimous: Karinthandam’s spirit was not at rest and was the cause. And what do you do about a ghost? You call a black magician! And in no time at all, the magician had tracked down the spirit and bound it to a tree in Lakkidi with two chains.

 

The misfortunes stopped. But something else strange happened: the tree grew and grew – and with it the chains! They had never been replaced since the time of the black magician. So they built another shrine in this place and people come to pay homage to it.

 

There is also a new development: an Adivasi director has filmed the story of Karinthandam. She is the first female director in India who is an Adivasi!

 

Here is the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RhPWXgFhwQ