Pulluvan is a scheduled caste group in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. They belong to the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

religion. The term ''pullu'' means a bird of omen. There are many sub-divisions within the Pulluva community, the majority known as ''Nagampatikal'' (people who sing snake-songs). There are also pulluvars who are not Naagampatikal, known as ''Pretampatikal'' (people who sing ghost songs). Most of the art forms of the Pulluvar are ritualistic. Most of their songs are related to worship, ritual, custom and exorcism. The Pulluva art is expressed in the background of snake-worship, ghost worship and magic.L.S. Rajagopalan, "The Pulluvans and their music". The Journal of the Madras Music Academy 51 : 72-80, 1980 The Pulluvar of Kerala are closely connected to serpent worship. One group among these people considers the snake gods as their presiding deities and perform certain sacrifices and sing songs. Known as ' Pulluvan Paattu', this is performed in the houses of the lower castes as well as those of the higher castes, in addition to serpent temples. File:Pulluvan pattu in Ashtamudi temple1.JPG, Woman playing a Pulluvan vina.

References

*Chummar Choondal, ''Pulluuvar (janatapathanam).'' Trivandrum: Charithram Publications. 1981. *{{in lang, fr Christine Guillebaud, ''Le chant des serpents. Musiciens itinérants du Kerala'' (+ 1 DVD-rom), CNRS Editions, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081125061031/http://www.cnrseditions.fr/ouvrage/6022.html Dravidian peoples Kerala society