ARTS OF KERALA
Performing Arts of Kerala
Kerala hindu Art
- Kathakali
- Chakyar Koothu
- Nangiar Koothu
- Mohiniyattam
- Thiruvathira
- Koodiyattam
- Panchavadyam
- Ottamthullal
Kathakali is one of the major forms of classical Indian dance. It is another "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colorful make-up, costumes and facemasks that the traditionally male actor-dancers wear.Kathakali primarily developed as a Hindu performance art in the Malayalam-speaking southwestern region of India (Kerala).
Kathakali's roots are unclear. The fully developed style of Kathakali originated around the 17th century, but its roots are in temple and folk arts (such as Kutiyattam and religious drama of the southwestern Indian peninsula), which are traceable to at least the 1st millennium CE.A Kathakali performance, like all classical dance arts of India, synthesizes music, vocal performers, choreography and hand and facial gestures together to express ideas. However, Kathakali differs in that it also incorporates movements from ancient Indian martial arts and athletic traditions of South India. Kathakali also differs in that the structure and details of its artform developed in the courts and theatres of Hindu principalities, unlike other classical Indian dances which primarily developed in Hindu temples and monastic schools.[2][6]
The traditional themes of the Kathakali are folk mythologies, religious legends and spiritual ideas from the Hindu epics and the Puranas.The vocal performance has traditionally been performed in Sanskritised Malayalam.In modern compositions, Indian Kathakali troupes have included women artists, as well as adapted Western stories and plays such as those by Shakespeare and from Christianity.
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| KATHAKALI |
CHAKYAR KOOTHU
Chakyar Koothu is a performance art from Kerala, South India. It is primarily a type of highly refined monologue where the performer narrates episodes from Hindu epics (such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata) and stories from the Puranas.Sometimes, however, it is also a traditional equivalent of the modern stand-up comedy act, incorporating commentary on current socio-political events (and personal comments directed at the members of the audience).
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| CHAKYAR KOOTHU |
NANGIAR KOOTHU
Nangyar Koothu is an allied traditional art of Kutiyattam, an age-old Sanskrit drama tradition of India. It is performed traditionally by the women of the Ambalavasi Nambiar community of Kerala, known as Nangyaramma, but since the second half of the 20th century it's no longer the case.
Nangiarkoothu, an offshoot of Kutiyattam, is a solo performance with an antiquity of 1500 years. It is the sole domain of female artistes. The stories for the performance are taken from the text Sree Krishna Charitam, depicting the life of Lord Krishna. During the performance the actress presents the long-winded stories of Lord Krishna through hand gestures, facial expressions, and body movements to the accompaniment of the resonant pot drum mizhavu.
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| NANGIAR KOOTHU |
MOHINIYATTAM
Mohiniyattam, is one of two classical dances of India that developed and remain popular in the state of Kerala. The other classical dance form from Kerala is Kathakali.Mohiniyattam dance gets its name from the word Mohini – a mythical enchantress avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, who helps the good prevail over evil by deploying her feminine powers.
Mohiniyattam's roots, like all classical Indian dances, are in the Natya Shastra – the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text on performance arts.However, it follows the Lasya style described in Natya Shastra, that is a dance which is delicate, eros-filled and feminine. It is traditionally a solo dance performed by women after extensive training. The repertoire of Mohiniyattam includes music in the Carnatic style, singing and acting a play through the dance, where the recitation may be either by a separate vocalist or the dancer herself. The song is typically in Malayalam-Sanskrit hybrid called Manipravala.
The earliest mention of the word is found in the 16th-century legal text Vyavaharamala, but the likely roots of the dance are older. The dance was systematized in the 18th century, was ridiculed as a Devadasi prostitution system during the colonial British Raj, banned by a series of laws from 1931 through 1938, a ban that was protested and partially repealed in 1940. The socio-political conflict ultimately led to renewed interest, revival and reconstruction of Mohiniyattam by the people of Kerala, particularly the poet Vallathol Narayana Menon.
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| MOHINIYATTAM |
THIRUVATHIRA
Thiruvathirai or Thiruvathira or Arudhra Darisanam (Malayalam: à´¤ിà´°ുà´µാà´¤ിà´°) is a Hindu festival celebrated in the South Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.Thiruvathirai(Arudhra) in Tamil means "sacred big wave", using which this universe was created by Lord Shiva about 132 trillion years ago. Chidambaramin Tamil Nadu, the Sri Natarajar temple's annual Festival, is celebrated on this date. In the month of Makaram Thiruvathira Star is celebrated in Mathira Peedika Devi Temple, owned by Thiruvithamcore Devaswom Board, near Kadakkal in Kollam District of Kerala state.
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| THIRUVATHIRA |
KOODIYATTAM
Koodiyattam also transliterated as Kutiyattam, is a form of Sanskrit theatre traditionally performed in the state of Kerala, India. It is officially recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Koodiyattam [kutiyattam], meaning "combined acting," signifies Sanskrit drama presented in the traditional style in temple theatres of Kerala. It is the only surviving specimen of the ancient Sanskrit theatre. It has an attested history of a thousand years in Kerala, but its origin and evolution are shrouded in mystery. Koodiyattam and chakyar koothu were among the dramatized dance worship services in temples of ancient India, particularly Kerala. Both koodiyattam and chakyar koothu find several mentions in ancient sangam literature of south and also in the epigraphs belonging to subsequent Pallava, Chera, Chola periods. Inscriptions related to the dramatized dance worship services like koodiyattam and chakyar koothu are available in temples at Tanjore, Tiruvidaimaruthur, Vedaranyam, Tiruvarur, and Omampuliyur. They were treated as an integral part of worship services alongside the singing of tevaram and prabandam hymns. There are mentions in epigraphs those forms of dramatized dance worship services that are called aariyam that mostly had Sanskrit scripts for plays.
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| KOODIYATTAM |
PANCHAVADYAM
Panchavadyam literally meaning an orchestra of five instruments, is basically a temple art form that has evolved in Kerala. Of the five instruments, four — timila, maddalam, ilathalam and idakka — belong to the percussion category, while the fifth, kombu, is a wind instrument.
Much like any chenda melam, panchavadyam is characterised by a pyramid-like rhythmic structure with a constantly increasing tempo coupled with a proportional decrease in the number of beats in cycles. However, in contrast to a chenda melam, panchavadyam uses different instruments (though ilathalam and kompu are common to both), is not related very closely to any temple ritual and, most importantly, permits a lot of personal improvisation while filling up the rhythmic beats on the timila, maddalam and idakka.
Panchavadyam bases itself on the 7-beat thripuda (also spelt thripuda) thaalam (taal) but amusingly sticks to the pattern of the eight-beat chempata thaalam — at least until its last parts. Its pendulum beats in the first stage (pathikaalam) total 896, and halves itself with each stage, making it 448 in the second, 224 in the third, 112 in the fourth and 56 in the fifth. After this, panchavadyam has a relatively loose second half with as many stages, the pendulum beats of which would now scale down to 28, 14, 7, 3.5(three-and-a-half) and 1.
Whether panchavadyam is originally a feudal art is still a matter of debate among scholars, but its elaborate form in vogue today came into existence in the 1930s. It was primarily the brainchild of late maddalam artistes Venkichan Swami (Thiruvillwamala Venkateswara Iyer) and his disciple Madhava Warrier in association with late timila masters Annamanada Achutha Marar and Chengamanad Sekhara Kurup. Subsequently it was promoted the late idakka master Pattirath Sankara Marar. They dug space for a stronger foundation (the Pathikaalam), thus making pachavadyam a five-stage (kaalam) concert with an intelligent mixture of composed and improvised parts. Spanning about two hours, it has several phrases where each set of the instruments complement the others more like harmony in the Western orchestra than the concept of melody in India. Much like in Panchari and other kinds of chenda melam, panchavadyam, too, has its artistes lined up in two oval-shaped halves, facing each other. However, unlike any classical chenda melam, panchavadyam seemingly gains pace in the early stages itself, thereby tending to sound more casual and breezy right from its start, beginning after three lengthy, stylised blows on the conch (shankhu).
A panchavadyam is anchored and led by the timila artist at the centre of his band of instrumentalists, behind whom line up the ilathalam players. Opposite them stand the maddalam players in a row, and behind them are the kompu players. Idakka players, usually two, stand on both sides of the aisle separating the timila and maddalam line-up. A major panchavadyam will have 60 artistes.
Panchavadyam is still largely a temple art, but it has come out of its precincts to be seen performed during non-religious occasions like cultural pagentry and according welcome to VIPs.
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| PANCHAVADYAM |
OTTAMTHULLAL
Ottan Thullal is a dance and poetic performance form of Kerala, India. It was introduced in the 18th century by Kunchan Nambiar, one of the Prachina Kavithrayam (three famous Malayalam language poets). It is accompanied by a mridangam (a barrel shaped double headed drum) or an idakka (drum and cymbal).
Ottamthullal has its origins in the classical principles of Natya Shastra, a treatise on art originating in the 2nd century B.C. The word Thullalmeans to jump or leap about in the Tamil language. Tradition has it that Nambiar, the poet, fell asleep while playing the mizhavu for a Chakyar Koothu performance, inviting ridicule from the chakyar. In response, Nambiar developed Ottamthullal, which parodied prevalent sociopolitical questions and regional prejudices. The chakyar complained about Nambiar's production to the king of Chembakassery. The king banned performances of Ottamthullal from the Ambalapuzha temple complex. Closely related art forms are Seethankan thullal and Parayan thullal. Mathur Panikkar popularized Ottamthullal for modern audiences. Ottamthullal competitions are held and the art form may be used to spread a social message.
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| OTTAMTHULLAL |
KERALA MUSLIM ARTS
- Oppana
- Kolkali
- Duff Muttu
Oppana is a popular form of social entertainment among the Mappila (Kerala Muslims) community of Kerala, South India, prevalent all over Kerala, especially in Malappuram.The Malayalam word 'Oppana Pattu' is the derivation of the Tamil word 'Oppanai Pattu'. In Tamil, 'Oppanai' means make up. Oppana was originated on the occasion of make of Muslim brides. Oppana is extinct in Tamil Nadu. But in Kerala, this art form has been revived with much popularity on the performing stages of the Youth Festivals of the student community.
Oppana is generally presented by females, numbering about fifteen, including musicians, on a wedding day. The bride dressed in all finery, covered with gold ornaments and her palms and feet adorned with an intricately woven pattern of mylanchi (henna), sits amidst the circle of dancers. She is the chief spectator sitting on a peetam (chair), around which the singing and dancing take place. While they sing, they clap their hands rhythmically and move around, the bride using simple steps. Two or three girls begin the songs and the rest join in chorus.
Sometime Oppana is also presented by males to entertain the bridegroom. It usually takes place just before the bridegroom leaves for the bride's residence where the Nikah (marriage) takes place or at the time he enters the Maniyara.
Harmonium, tabla, ganjira and elathaalam are the musical instruments employed for this performance. Only the Mappilapaattu will be sung on the occasion.
The word Oppana may have been derived from an Arabic form, Afna. There are two types of Oppana, one is Oppana chayal and another is Oppana murukkam. When Oppana chayal is performed, they do not clap their hands. If it begins with Chayal it would also end with Chayalonly.
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| OPPANA |
Kolkali is a folk art performed in North Malabar region of Kerala State in south India. The dance performers move in a circle, striking small sticks and keeping rhythm with special steps. The circle expands and contracts as the dance progress. The accompanying music gradually rises in pitch and the dance reaches its climax. Kolkali is now a popular event in Kerala School Kalolsavam, which is considered as the biggest cultural event of Asia.
Many of the traditional performing art forms of Kerala like Kathakali, Velakali, Poorakkali and Thacholikali; Kolkali, also have drawn elements from Kalarippayatt during their stages of evolution. Kathakali has borrowed much from Kalarippayattu in its basic body preparative training of the actor not only in terms of technique in practice but also from the body massage for the trainee. Many of the body postures, choreography and foot work of the Kolkali characters are taken directly from Kalarippayattu.
The origin of the art can be traced back to ancient days when Kalarippayattu, a martial art of Kerala, was in vogue.
The art has found a revival among the Syrian Christian communities of Kerala in the last few years, and the performance by trained artists is encouraged in the Christian feasts and celebrations.
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| KOLKALI |
DUFF MUTTU
Duffmuttu is an art form prevalent in the Malabar region of the state of Kerala in south India. It derives its name from the duff, a percussion instrument made of wood and ox skin. The word duff is of Arabic origin and is also called a thappitta.
Duffmuttu is performed as social entertainment and to commemorate festivals, uroos (festivals connected with mosques) and weddings. Duffmuttu can be performed at any time of the day. A duffmuttu performance usually consists of six members who stand or sit facing each other singing songs and swaying their bodies to the tempo of the song which is set by the rhythmic beats of the duff.
Duffmuttu songs are a tribute to Islamic heroes and martyrs. The lead player also leads the troupe in song while the others provide the chorus. The dancers drum the duff with their fingers or palms and while moving rhythmically often toss them over their heads. A closely related art form is the Aravana Muttu or Arabana Muttu that uses a drum called arabana that is similar to the duff.
KERALA CHRISTIAN ARTS
- Margam Kali
- Chavittu Nadakam
- Parichamuttukali
There are several opinions on the origin of Margamkali. They are:
- It is traced back to Jewish wedding songs and dance from the diaspora. Scholars have found common origin among Malabar Jewish dance and songs and the Saint Thomas Christian dance form of Margamkali.
- It is derived from Sangam kali, a performance dance form of Brahmins.
- It is derived from the Yathra Kali, a performance art of Nambuthiri Brahmins in Kerala.
"Margam" means path or way or solution in Malayalam, but in the religious context it is known as the path to attain salvation. The process of conversion to Christianity was known as "Margam Koodal" until recently in Kerala.Much of this folk art is woven around the mission of St. Thomas, the Apostle. The original Margam Kali describes the arrival of St. Thomas in Malabar, the miracles he performed, the friendship as well as the hostility of the people among whom he worked, the persecution he suffered, the churches and crosses he put up in various places, etc. These details are incorporated in the various stanzas of the Margam Kali songs. Kerala's Margam Kali is an important element in the age-old and hallowed tradition of St Thomas among the Syrian Christians of Malabar Coast.
The disparity between the present condition of this form and the early days leads one to assume three important phases in the history of Margamkali. The first phase was the pre-colonization one in which this semi-theatrical form was performed by the Saint Thomas Christians during special occasions. Parichamuttukali (The sword and shield dance) was also a part of it. Later Synod of Diampercurbed and suppressed this native form. During the seventeenth century, due to the efforts of a Southist priest Itti Thomman Kathanar, the textual part of this form got certain upliftment and care. The Margamkali might have been edited and refashioned into the present fourteen stanza structure during this period. However, till the fag end of the nineteenth century the art form was not very much in practice even though it did exist here and there. But at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, the form became popular once again, and some structural changes took place then. Masters such as Kalarikal Unni ashan, Indumoottil Kocheppu ashan, Indumoottil Kutto ashan were some of them who were responsible for this change and upheaval. By this time puttan Purikkal Uthuppu Lukose compiled and published Margamkali Pattukal in 1910. Then again it had a set-back and during the 1950s to 1970s it was on the verge of becoming extinct. But in the late 1970s once again the Saint Thomas Christians took the initiative to revive and popularize this form.
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| MARGAM KALI |
CHAVITTU NADAKAM
Chavittu Nadakam is a highly colorful Latin Christian classical art form originated in Ernakulam district, Kerala state in India. Commonly believed that Gothuruth is the birthplace of Chavittu Nadakam. It is noted for its attractive make-up of characters, their elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the rhythmic playback music and complementary percussion. This art form highly resembles European Opera. Chavittu Nadakam is believed to be originated during the 16th century AD. This form of play is prevalent among the Latin Christian community in the districts of Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur of Kerala. This cultural heritage had been vanished out due to the lack of responsible patronage. So in 1991 Kreupasanam Pauranika Rangakalapeedom has been started in Aleppey in order to document, upkeep, rejuvenate and represent all the dying coastal traditional art forms of Kerala coast. Kreupasanam has so many training centers in different districts in Kerala for giving training to young generation especially the school students. Research students also are welcome for residential studies in this institution.
The most sensual blend of cultural influences can be seen in this Latin Christian dance-drama.
In Chavittu Nadakam there are large number of characters all in glittering medieval dress. It is the form of traditional musical dance drama, which symbolizes the martial tradition of Kerala Latin Christians.
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| CHAVITTU NADAKAM |
PARICHAMUTTUKALI
Parichamuttukali is a martial dance form of Kerala practiced by Saint Thomas Christians (also known as Syrian Christians or Nasrani) who trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle among Jews and natives in the 1st century.It is performed by men bearing swords and shields and follows the movements and steps of Kalarippayattu.
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| PARICHAMUTTUKALI |
IT IS GOOD
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