CAIVAM - A RELIGION AMONG TAMIL SPEAKING REFUGEES FROM SRI LANKA

Caivam (Shaivism, Shivaism) is what gives Tamil speaking refugees from Sri Lanka in India and in Western countries their psychological and emotional sustenance, allows them a connection with their culture and traditions and the ability to resist assimilation and create a separate ethnic identity while giving them the strength to deal with the loss of their rightful place in their own country. A Tamil speaking refugee is a political refugee who as the first generation in a foreign country is constantly on the edge of returning - waiting for successful peace negotiations or a realisation of the ultimate aim, the foundation of an independent state called Tamililam (Tamil Ealam). Caivam is an expression of these hopes, symbolised, above all, by two gods, Vinayakar and Murukan, sons of Civan,who act as liberating deputies. The element of resistance is turned not only against the Sri Lankan government, but also against political Buddhists promoting an ethnonationalist Sinhala-Buddhist ideology. Tamil speaking Caivas have suspended former rivalries with Tamil speaking Christians, but the relation to the Tamil speaking Muslims is disturbed on institutional level by political, not religious, dissent. Caivas have established a division of labour with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) on the basis of a common aim which is vaguely given as vitutalai, 'liberation'. The two gods mentioned are regarded as the foremost liberators in refugee Caivam. The involuntary refugee situation turns conservative Caivam gradually into a theology of liberation. The role of women in this process should be noticed.