KUMMATTIKALI
Kummattikali is the famous colorful mask-dance Kerala,South Malabar in particular.
During the festival of Onam, Kummattikali performers move from house to
house collecting small gifts and entertaining people. Kummatti dances are
rampant in the Thirissur district during Onam. Pristine or original
form of Kummattikali can be seen in the Bhadrakali temple in Palghat district .
The dancers go dancing from house to house. The major
Kummatti character is Thalla or Witch while others represent the various
deities of the Vedic pantheon. Songs are basically devotional & are
normally accompanied by a bow like instrument called Ona-villu. Spectators
generally join in the performance as no training is required in this Art.
'Kummattikali' is one of the famous folk dances associated with temples. This
mask dance is associated with the Devi temples in Palghat district and is a
secular art form. Kummatti dancers wear brightly painted wooden masks and don a
costume made of leaves and grass. They go from house to house, singing and
dancing, during the Onam festival.The costumes are a most
interesting facet of KummattikaliThe dancers don a heavily painted colourful
wooden mask depicting faces of Krishna,Narada,Kiratha ,Darika or hunters.
These masks are usually made out of saprophyte, jack fruit tree, Alstonia
scholaris, Hog Plum tree or the Coral tree
The dancers wear skirts
woven out of plaited grass. Some cover their whole body with bunches of grass
for a more bushy appearance. The semblance is made more joyful with the 'talla'
attached externally to the mask giving the appearance of a toothless open mouth.
Dancers also hold and manipulate long sticks of residuary agricultural produce
called 'Kummattikali': it is from this that the dance derives its name. Their
dance is related to Shaivamyth. 'Thamma' (an old woman) walks in front
with the help of a stick. Thamma is symbolic of mother of every being and
everything. Kummatti dancers are a sight to watch as they move around from
house to house collecting jaggery, rice, or small amounts of cash. Onlookers,
specially children take great delight in their performance.
The rhythm for the dance
movements is provided by vibrating the string of a bow like instrument called
an Onavillu. Areca nut wood is
used to make the bow and the strings are beaten with a narrow bamboo stick.The
themes of Kummattikali are mostly taken from the stories of Ramayana, Darika
Vadham, the story of Shiva and folk tales
like Manjan Nayare Pattu. It may be noted that folk art of Kerala can be
classified into two broad categories - ritualistic and non-ritualistic.
Ritualistic can be further divided into - Devotional, performed to please a
particular god and goddess and Magical Art Forms. The Kummatti characters begin to dance in accordance with the
sound produced by the thin strains of ’villu’, which is a typical Kerala
instrument. The leader of the group is called ’Thallakkummatti’ and holds a
baton known as Kummattikkol in hand.
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