Koodiyattam

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Koodiyattam
Sangam era
Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre
CountryIndia
DomainsPerforming arts
Reference00010
RegionAsia and the Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription2008 (3rd session)
ListRepresentative

Koodiyattam (

Sangam era. It is officially recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.[1]

Origin

Koodiyattam Performance.
Koodiyattam

Koodiyattam, meaning "combined acting" in

Tiruvarur, and Omampuliyur. They were treated as an integral part of worship services, alongside the singing of Tevaram and Prabandam hymns.[citation needed
]

Ancient kings are among those listed as authors of works for these services. There is evidence of these across the ancient subcontinent during the Chola and Pallava periods. A Pallava king called Rajasimha has been credited with authoring the play Kailasodharanam in Tamil, which has the topic of Ravana becoming subject to Siva's anger and being subdued mercilessly for this.

It is believed that

Bhasa
, including Abhiseka and Pratima.

Koodiyattam performer Kapila Venu

Instruments

Mizhavu kept in a mizhavana (a wooden box made especially to keep mizhavu)

Traditionally, the main musical instruments used in koodiyattam are the

Nambiar caste
, accompanied by Nangyaramma playing the kuzhithalam (a type of cymbal).

Performance style

Koodiyattam Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar as "Ravana"

Traditionally, koodiyattam has been performed by

Nambiar caste). The name "koodiyattam", meaning playing or performing together, is thought to refer to the presence of multiple actors on stage who act in rhythm with the beats of the mizhavu drummers. Alternatively, it may also be a reference to a common practice in Sanskrit drama where a single actor who has performed solo for several nights is joined by another.[2]

The main actor is a Chakyar who performs the ritualistic koothu and koodiyattam inside the temple or in the koothambalam. Chakyar women,

Illotammas, are not allowed to participate. Instead, the female roles are played by Nangyaramma. Koodiyattam performances are often lengthy and elaborate, ranging from 12 to 150 hours spread across several nights. A complete Koodiyattam performance consists of three parts. The first of these is the purappadu where an actor performs a verse along with the nritta aspect of dance. Following this is the nirvahanam where the actor, using abhinaya, presents the mood of the main character of the play. Then there is the nirvahanam, a retrospective, which takes the audience up to the point where the actual play begins. The final part of the performance is the koodiyattam, which is the play itself. While the first two parts are solo acts, koodiyattam can have as many characters as are required to perform on the stage.[3]

The elders of the Chakyar community traditionally taught the artform to their youngsters. It was performed only by Chakyars until the 1950s. In 1955, Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar performed Kutiyattam outside the temple for the first time,[4] for which he faced many problems from the hardline Chakyar community. In his own words:

My own people condemned my action (performing Koothu and Kutiyattam outside the precincts of the temples), Once, after I had given performances at Vaikkom, they even thought about excommunicating me. I desired that this art should survive the test of time. That was precisely why I ventured outside the temple.[5]

In 1962, under the leadership of art and Sanskrit scholar V. Raghavan, Sanskrit Ranga of Madras invited Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar to perform koodiyattam in Chennai. Thus for the first time in history koodiyattam was performed outside Kerala.[6][7] They presented over three nights koodiyattam scenes from the plays Abhiṣeka, Subhadrādhanañjaya and Nāgānda.[8]

Koodiyattam Performance.
Koodiyattam face makeup

In early 1960s Maria Christoffer Byrski, a Polish student doing research in Indian theatres at Banaras Hindu University, studied koodiyattam with Mani Madhava Chakyar and became the first non-Chakyar/nambiar to learn the art form. He stayed in Guru's home at Killikkurussimangalam and studied in the traditional Gurukula way.[citation needed]

Noted artists

The rasa (emotion) called Sringaram (lust), performed by Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar
Nayaka (Hero) King Udayana in Swapnavasavadattam Kutiyattam
Margi Madhu as Ravanan at Nepathya

Decline

Koodiyattam traditionally was an exclusive art form performed in special venues called koothambalams in Hindu temples and access to these performances was restricted to only caste Hindus. Also, performances can take up to forty days to complete. The collapse of the feudal order in the nineteenth century in Kerala curtailed the patronage of koodiyattam artists, and they faced serious financial difficulties. Following a revival in the early twentieth century, Koodiyattam is once again facing a lack of funding, leading to a crisis in the profession.

Painkulam Raman Chakyar (2010) and Painkulam Damodara Chakyar (2012).[13]

See also

Mattavilasam, the devotional ritualistic koodiyattam performed at temples in northern Kerala like Kottiyoor. The artist is Mani Damodara Chakyar.

References

  1. ^ "UNESCO – Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre". ich.unesco.org. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  2. ^ Shulman, David. "Creating and Destroying the Universe in Twenty-Nine Nights". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  3. ^ "All at home". The Hindu. 13 July 2012.
  4. ISBN 81-86365-78-8, archived from the original
    on 15 February 2008
  5. ^ Mani Madhava Chakkyar: The Master at Work, K.N. Panikar, Sangeet Natak Akademi New Delhi, 1994
  6. ^ The Samskrita Ranga Annual, Samskrita Ranga, Madras, 1963, p. 89
  7. ^ Venkatarama Raghavan, A. L. Mudaliar (1968), Bibliography of the Books, Papers & Other Contributions of Dr. V. Raghavan, New Order Book Co., India, p. 370
  8. ^ The Samskrita Ranga Annual, Samskrita Ranga, Madras, 1967, p. 77
  9. Kavalam N. Panikar, Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi
    , 1994.
  10. ^ "Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre".
  11. ^ "Welcome to margitheatre".
  12. ^ "Koodiyattom festival begins at Moozhikulam – The Hindu". The Hindu. 30 July 2012.
  13. ^ "SNA: List of Akademi Awardees". Sangeet Natak Akademi Official website. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016.

Further reading

Nātyakalpadrumam the master treatise on all aspects of koodiyattam by Guru Mani Madhva Chakyar

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Koodiyattam.
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