Jinnumma As a Negotiated Category: Gender, Political Islam and Women Faith Healers in Malabar

This paper investigates the evolving role of Jinnumma within the Islamic faith healing tradition in the Malabar region of Kerala, India, with a specific emphasis on the growing presence of Muslim women healers. Traditionally, faith healing practices have been controlled by Muslim clerics and male members of the healing family; however, there is a noticeable shift as Muslim women (Jinnumma) increasingly claim their roles as healers. Constrained by historical exclusion from formal education in Islamic healing knowledge and ritual authority, these women have developed different strategies, such as involuntary spirit possession, to create their own space within the healing tradition. This newfound ritual authority not only provides them with financial and social independence but also grants them decision-making power within their families. Despite their increasing involvement in healing rituals, women healers face significant challenges, including resistance from their communities and from Political Islam. Utilizing ethnographic methods, this study analyses how Muslim women are reinterpreting faith healing practices and engage with the challenges posed by reformism and political Islam. Additionally, the paper explores how these women establish their social legitimacy and healing rituals they employ through a gendered perspective.