Kathakali :- History

KATHAKALI DANCE :- HISTORY 

Kathakali has its origins almost 1500 years ago in the early ritual folk dances and dance dramas of Kerala, in southern India, such as the dances associated with the cult of Bhagavathy (Thiyyattom, Mudiyettu, and Theyyam), that were performed at religious festivals by actors wearing elaborate masks, colorful costumes and headdresses, and intricately painted faces; and socio-religious and material dances such as the Sastrakali and Ezhamattukali. Ashtapadiyattom, a dance drama based on the Gita Govinda of the twelfth-century poet Jayadeva, told the story of Krishna embodied as a humble cowherd, his consort Radha, and three cow girls. In 1655, Manavedan, the Zamorin Raja of Calicut, wrote Krishnagiti, a dance drama to be performed as Krishnattom (Krishnan; attom (enactment)) on eight consecutive nights, incorporating elements of Ashtapadiyattom and Koodiyattam, another form of Sanskrit ritual dance drama. The performance of Krishnattam was strictly restricted to the Guruvayur Temple, palaces of the members of the Zamorin's family, and temples and houses of Namboodiri Brahmins within the jurisdiction of the Zamorin's empire. Krishnattam told the story of Krishna, using dance and mime, while the narrative was sung by musicians.Around the seventeenth century, acting became separated from singing, leaving the actors free to concentrate on dramatic expression. Towards the end of the seventeenth century, Prince Kottayam wrote four plays based on the Mahabharata, liberating Kathakali from adherence to any particular Hindu epic and distinguishing it from Ramanattom. Emotion expressed in the face became central to performances, and he introduced a white frame around the face, and red features on a green background, to emphasize movements of the facial features.In the eighteenth century, Kapplingattu Nampoothiri (b. 1740) introduced a number of innovations that shaped Kathakali as it is performed today. He improved the percussion accompaniment, and standardized the use of alarrca, the inarticulate cries made by demons and animals. He further borrowed mudras from Koodiyattam, and harmonized their use with body movements. He clarified and defined the five types of character and strengthened the use of three-dimensional makeup. He also developed the “kathi,” (knife) character type, which combined noble features with evil qualities, as the central role in Kathakali plays.

Kathakali was traditionally performed during religious festivals. Several Hindu ethnic groups participated in the performance of Kathakali. In its early days, the Nair community dominated because they were often well-versed in the martial art, Kalarippayattu, which is used in Kathakali training and, in a mild form, on the stage.

Kathakali, as it is performed today, is just more than four centuries old. It is no longer restricted to temples, palaces and religious festivals, but is often presented in theaters and at special events as entertainment, and is performed far more frequently than the older forms of dance drama to which it is related.Author Phillip Zarrilli mentions that the basic components and distinct features of this form of classical dance can be traced back to ancient Sanskrit Hindu text called ‘Natya Shastra’, a text on the performing arts written by the sage Bharata Muni, an Indian theatrologist and musicologist. Although the full version of the text is conjectured to be completed between 200 BCE to 200 CE, such time span also hover around 500 BCE to 500 CE. Various chapters of this text consist of thousands of verses. Dance is categorised in two specific forms in ‘Natya Shastra’ - ‘nrita’ and nritya’. While the former is pure dance that concentrates on hand movements and gestures, the latter is solo expressive dance that showcases brilliance of expressions. Natalia Lidova, a Russian scholar mentions that the text throws light upon different theories of Indian classical dances that includes theories of Tandava dance, standing postures, basic steps, bhava, rasa, methods of acting and gestures. Traditionally the name of this dance form was deduced by joining two words, ‘Katha’ and ‘Kali’ where ‘Katha’ in Sanskrit means a traditional tale or story and ‘Kali’ derived from ‘Kala’ refers to art and performance.Views and opinions regarding the roots of ‘Kathakali’ vary due to its somewhat ambiguous background. While Jones and Ryan mention that this genre of performing art dates back to over 500 years, according to Mahinder Singh its roots are way more ancient dating back to around 1500 years. Zarrilli states that the 16th and 17th centuries witnessed development of Kathakali as a unique form of classical dance in the coastal belt of southern India which have Malayalam speaking populace.

Zarrilli also opines that presumably the dance-drama art form called ‘Krishnanattam’ that illustrates legends from the life of Lord Krishna is a precursor of ‘Kathakali’.  ‘Krishnanattam’ dance form developed under the auspices of the Zamorin ruler of Calicut, Sri Manavedan Raja ((1585-1658 AD). As fame of ‘Krishnanattam’ spread across Kerala, Vira Kerala Varma also known as Kottarakkara Thampuran, the Raja of Kottarakkara (AD 1653-1694) made a request to the Zamorin to lend a troupe of ‘Krishnanattam’ performers for a certain festival. His request was not only denied but was also responded with humiliation and indignity. Thampuran then went on and created a new form of temple art based on ‘Krishnanattam’ and named it ‘Ramanattam’. He wrote a story for the dance drama based on the great Indian epic, the ‘Ramayana’, which was divided into a series of eight poetic sections so that each of the eight sections can be performed on a single day. ‘Ramanattam’ differed from ‘Krishnanattam’ of Sri Manavedan Raja as the former was written in local Malayalam language while the latter was in Sanskrit. It is broadly considered that ‘Ramanattam’ that developed under the auspices of Thampuran was the genesis of ‘Kathakali’ and that Thampuran refined the former to give shape to ‘Kathakali’ which has over the centuries emerged as a famous classical dance of Kerala.

Scholars like Farley Richmond mention that many elements of ‘Kathakali’ are similar to ‘Kutiyattam’, a form of Sanskrit drama traditionally performed in Kerala. It is believed that ‘Kathakali’ has evolved from folk arts and other ancient classical dance forms of Kerala manifested from the various components and aspects it included from different folk arts like ‘Porattunatakam’ and age-old and ritualistic art forms such as ‘Padayani’, ‘Teyyam’ and ‘Mudiyettu’. Reflections of ‘Kalaripayattu’, an ancient style of martial art that originated in Kerala is palpable from various movements of the dancers. Although ‘Kathakali’ incorporates and reflects several elements of different Hindu temple art forms, its uniqueness lies in its performance where the actor-dancers concentrate exclusively on emoting the scene through acting and dancing while the voice artist delivers the lines very much contrary to the ancient forms where vocal part was also delivered by the actor-dancers. Traditionally the themes of ‘Kathakali’ were based on religious sagas, legends, mythologies, folklores and spiritual concepts taken from the ‘Puranas’ and the Hindu epics. Apart from such themes, the modern day ‘Kathalaki’ troupes of India have also adapted themes based on legends on Christianity as also Western plays and stories of renowned authors like William Shakespeare. Another development of present day ‘Kathakali’ is inclusion of women in the troupe which traditionally had been an all-men ensemble. The voice part as per tradition continues to be Sanskritised Malayalam.

Kathakali, is an efflorescent art form of Kerala. It has been described as a true representation of the artistic traditions of India and one of the most magnificent theatres of the imagination.

Kathakali dancers are the talented artists who have made Kathakali, a popular art form all across the globe. Kathakali is probably the oldest theatre forms in the world. It originated in the state of Kerala and the Kathakali dancers perform a group presentation, in which they act upon various roles which are traditionally based on themes from sacred Hindu mythology, especially the two epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The actor in Kathakali never speaks expect with his hands. The text of the drama is sung for him and is the baseline for his interpretation. It is in histrionics or interpretive dancing that the Kathakali artist excels, the spectator's experience enhanced by the thrilling drum beats.