Chennai :
Odhuvar is a Tamil word which has its root in the Tamil term odhal, which means recitation. Literally, the word odhuvar would refer to a person who recites.
However, in the Tamil Saiva tradition, the word would normally refer to a person who sings the praises of Lord Siva in temples. Since the odhuvars are trained in the traditional style of singing devotional songs, the Saivite devotees who listen to them during temple worship recount an empyrean emotional experience.
Odhuvars sing the devotional songs composed by the Saivite saints, like Karaikkal Ammayar, irunavukkarasar, Tirugnanasambandar and Sundaramurthy Nayanar. The works of the latter three saints, taken together, are known as Thevaram.
They lived and composed the songs, set them to music, as also sang them in the Siva temples between the 6th and 9th centuries.
The provenance of Tamil music is attributed to the Tamil singers of yore who were called paannar(s). The Thevaram songs which have been composed in pathigam (or ten hymns) style are set to specific pann(s) or raga.
Rajaraja Chola is credited with the retrieval of the sequestered palm leaf manuscripts of the Thevarams from the Siva temple in Chidambaram, re-organising this into the 12-volume Thirumurais with the help of Nambiandar Nambi, a devotee of Siva, and nominating paannars at temples across the Tamil land to sing hymns in musical form.
The odhuvars have come to be identified with a new generation of trained professionals. But, it’s apparent that a large number of the young hereditary professionals have started leaving the profession in search of better avenues mainly due to insouciant social attitude and insufficient income potential. Even though the larger Siva temples in the State employ them under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, their salaries are reported to be meagre to retain them.
Satgurunatha Odhuvar of Kapaleeswara temple has stated in an interview: “It makes me sad that so few youth are coming forward to follow this tradition of serving God. Finance is one reason for this decline.”
Indira V Peterson, in the Journal of the American Oriental Society (Jan-Mar, 1982), has suggested that “besides being a literary record of the pilgrimage of the saints who composed and sang the thevarams, the songs reveal a conceptual orientation to pilgrimage as being central to the Tamil Saivite cult and that through this orientation the songs have played a powerful role in shaping Tamil Saivite community’s view of itself as a separate linguistic and regional culture.” Any effort taken to preserve such a hoary tradition may augur well to those interested in preserving living heritages.
The writer is VP (Education & Training), India Cements, and has worked in UNESCO for 10 years on various projects
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by S. Venkatraman / Express News Servic e / December 20th, 2016