Form of shadow puppetry practiced in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, India
Tholpavakoothu
(
Malayalam
:???????????? ,
Tamil
:????????????????) is a form of
shadow puppetry
that is practiced in
Kerala
and
Tamil Nadu
,
India
. It is performed using leather puppets and is performed in temples or in villages in specially built theatres. This form of art is especially popular in the
Madurai
and nearby districts of Madurai in
Tamil Nadu
and also in
Palakkad
,
Thrissur
and
Malappuram districts
of Kerala.
[1]
History
[
edit
]
Tholpavaikoothu is a
compound word
of three
Tamil
terms: ???? (
t?l
) meaning leather, ???? (
p?vai
) meaning doll and ?????? (
k?ttu
) meaning the play or drama. It is one of the two traditional Pavai Koothu that happened in southern India. The other one is "marappavaikoothu" also called
bommalattam
. The only variation is Bommalattam uses wooden dolls, while tholpavaikoothu uses Leather dolls. The earliest known mention of Pavaikoothu (both bommalattam and tholpavaikoothu) is in Thirukkural an ancient tamil text of 300CE. The 1020th Kural mentions this. The performance language uses
Tamil
,
Sanskrit
and
Malayalam
words. Like
Mudiyettu
and
Patayani
, Tholpavakoothu is also an art form that is dedicated to Bhadrakali in Kerala. According to legend, Tholpavakoothu was performed at the request of Bhadrakali who could not witness
Ravana's
killing as she was fighting the demon
Darika
. Thus when it is performed in temples, an idol of the Goddess is usually placed on a pedestal in front of the arena where it is staged.
[2]
[3]
Performances
[
edit
]
A
koothumadam
is a separate 42-foot-long stage on which Tholpavakoothu is performed. The stage has a screen, a piece of white cloth, behind which the puppets are held. The lighting is provided by 21 lamps lit in
coconut
halves or earthen lamps placed behind the puppets, causing their shadows to fall on the screen. The lamps are a placed equidistantly on a specially constructed wooden beam called a
vilakku madam
. The performance is accompanied by the recitation of
slokas
and the performers are required to learn over 3000 of these before they perform. The recitation is accompanied by instruments such as
chenda
,
maddalam
,
ezhupara
,
ilathalam
,
conch
and
cherukuzhal
.
[4]
[5]
[6]
A full Tholpavakoothu performance, staging all the episodes of the Kamba Ramayana, takes 21 days to complete with nine-hour performances every day, and requires 180 to 200 puppets. A full performance needs up to 40 artistes. The lead
puppeteer
is called a
pulavar
. Traditionally, performances begin at night and go on till dawn. The show begins with a
kelikottu
and an invocation called
kalarichinthu
.
[3]
Performances are done from January through May and during
poorams
. A Tholpavakoothu performance can last 7, 14, 21, 41 or 71 days depending on the tradition at the temple where it is performed. It continues to be performed in over a hundred temples across Kerala.
[7]
Puppets
[
edit
]
The puppets used in Tholpavakoothu used to be made out of
deerskin
but are now typically made from
goatskin
. The puppets are painted in
vegetable dyes
, as these dyes last long. Some puppets can be as tall as four feet. The puppets are controlled using two sticks; the puppeteer holds the puppet in one hand while its limbs are manipulated using a thinner stick held in the puppeteer's other hand.
[1]
[6]
Puppeteers
[
edit
]
The lead puppeteer is usually a
pulavar
which is an honorific given to a puppeteer who is also a scholar. Pulavars undergo intensive training in puppetry and have a deep knowledge of Malayalam, Tamil and Sanskrit. Puppeteers have to study the Kamba Ramayana and be well read in the
vedas
and
puranas
,
Ayurveda
, and be trained in classical music. However, some puppeteers forgo
classical music
as it entails several years of study to master. It can take anywhere from 6 to 10 years of rigorous training for a puppeteer to fully master this art and be able to perform it.
[2]
[4]
K. K. Ramachandra Pulavar
was the leading puppeteer in Kerala. He was born into a traditional family with a rich historical background; he had studied Tholpavakoothu by his great guru/father from the age of six.
Threats and new trends
[
edit
]
Tholpavakoothu, like many traditional art forms, has been facing the threat of extinction due to the arrival of alternate platforms of entertainment such as television and cinema and due to changing cultural values. The younger generation have increasingly failed to take up this art form as it is highly demanding and does not pay much. The audience for these shows have dwindled even in rural Kerala. To cope up with these social changes, the duration of many performances have been drastically reduced. Thematically, puppeteers have begun to introduce contemporary and secular themes to appeal to the youth. Themes such as
ragging
, communal amity and stories from
India's freedom struggle
have been featured in recent years. Performances are no longer confined only to temples but are also held in secular venues such as colleges and at the
International Film Festival of Kerala
.
[5]
[8]
[9]
[10]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Arts Promotion Bodies
| |
---|
Performing arts
| |
---|
Music
| |
---|
Folk arts
| |
---|
Fine arts
| |
---|
Festivals
| |
---|
Martial arts
| |
---|
Musical instruments
| |
---|
Society
| |
---|
|