Historiographical Encounters in Colonial South India: The Kēraḷōlpatti’s Multiple Lives

Abstract

The impact of the colonial encounter on local historiographical practices in India has been at the center of several debates, often characterised by polarised positions. By analysing the reception of versions of the Malayalam Kēraḷōlpatti by British administrators and a missionary in the beginning of the nineteenth century, the article argues that these successive textual encounters produced several hybrid forms of history, mingling local traditions with historiographical practices common in Europe. In addition, local traditions often acquired new 'mediatic' characteristics that helped them reach new audiences and gain new significance, thus advantaging some textual traditions at the expense of others. In turn, the promotion of these texts made them privileged targets for the development of counter-narratives about the past.