In this
final segment of my Vatnsdaela Saga and The Legend of Ponnivala
comparison I want to stress the important role both stories play as
“keystones” in their respective cultures. Both celebrate
foundation-forming events that oral tradition has come to associate
with one specific geographic region. Both celebrate the increasing
independence of that region from a distant and powerful monarch or
king, the very political powerhouse initially involved in its
creation. Both are stories about the beginnings of agriculture in a
previously wild (unfarmed) area. Furthermore, both stories express
local pride in a specific ancestry and in a variety of cultural
details that describe the area’s unique social identity.
Furthermore, each story fosters a special sense of social belonging
that the residents of its core region still feel to this today. As
is commonly the case for a keystone legend, folk art and local
customs mark the conscious preservation of that tale in many ways.
As one moves through the story landscape, in either case, one can
see, hear and sometimes viscerally experience reminders of its
legendary characters. These reminders are naturally expressed in
various features of the local landscape and also are captured by
their local geographic names. These same traits often find further
celebration through folk art and in other artistic ways. Image one
shows a key expression the Vatnsdaela Saga is currently finding in a
huge embroidered folk banner/tapestry that is right now being created
(July, 2014) by a large team of students at the Icelandic Textile
Center in Blondos, Iceland. Image two shows a piece of a similar
mural found on a temple wall by the author of this blog in 1965,
right in the middle of the area where the Ponnivala story is most
celebrated and remembered. South Indian temple murals come and go as
strong sun and heavy rains usually destroy them within years of their
making. However there are many other expressions of Ponnivala story
interest as well. I will include just a few, below.
This next set
of images shows two other ways in which the Ponnivala story is
commemorated. The first picture captures a fleeting moment in a folk
drama, a staged performance presented in a local temple compound.
Parts of the legend are here being re-enacted by local bards for an
enthralled audience. Such performances are rare these days, due to
heavy competition from Bollywood the cinema, local television
networks and a strong DVD industry. Nonetheless, people still
enjoy watching these folk dramas which depict these popular and
well-known local heroes’ role in shaping regional history. The
second image shows a village drummer who is also a singer. His
popular folk musical performances help keep the memory of this great
story alive.
This next
image sequence shows how, in both Iceland and in South India, various
local commercial interest have incorporated story motifs and names
into their own promotional strategies. First we see the façade of
the Viking Hotel in Reykjavik where a Viking presence is celebrated
in several visual ways. In the second image we see the same, on a
smaller scale. Here a tourist lodge has been named after Ponnivala’s
main heroes and then advertised on the cab of a motorized rickshaw
which the driver is proud to show off. Many other local companies in
Ihe Indian case, for sure, and likely in Iceland as well, use similar
labels and epithets in an effort to keep the memory of ancient story
heroes alive.
The final
image sequence in this blog series shows a fanciful Reykjavik roof
top with the Viking dragon as its feature motif. In the Indian
parallel we see a trucking firm that has named itself after the
Ponnivala heroes, Ponnar and Shankar. In sum, the Vatnsdaela Saga
and the Legend of Ponnivala are not just stories that have come down
to us from the past. Both legends still play an active role in the
formation of a regional identity. Both stories are an essential
vehicle used to convey and express local residents’ sense of
ownership of a long, long tradition of cultural pride!
~ Brenda E. F. Beck
