<Previous Page> < Next Page>

Kai Silambu Aattam

This dance is performed in temples during Amman festivals or Navaratri festival.The dancers wear ankle-bells and hold anklets or silambu in their hands, which make noise when shaken. They perform various stepping styles and jumps. The dance is in praise of all the female deities, the most preferred being the powerful angry goddess - Kali or Durga.

Thappu is the name of a rhythmic beat instrument and Thappaattam is practiced among the suppressed classes of the people of Tamilnadu. The subtle form of dance accompanied by captivating music, is an ancient rural folk art which is even now popular in urban slum areas in villages.

This is an ancient folk dance form popular in Tiruchi, Salem, Dharmapuri, Coimbatore and Periyar Districts. No other musical instrument are used in this dance except the anklebells. This dance is performed by men only, during temple festivals. Stories and episodes centering around Murugan and Valli are depicted in the songs. As one of the rare folk art forms of ancient Tamilnadu, this is being practiced now by the Telugu speaking people of the northern districts.

Teak wooden pieces size of 7 * ¾ inch are held between the fingers which make the noise. Eight to ten dancers stand in a circle or parallel lines. The accompanying songs are generally about gods and goddesses.

Kazhai Koothu is a performance of gymnastics specialized by Aryas. This is very similar to modern day circus. They travel in a group from place to place, entertaining the local people and thus earning a living.

Normally conducted during village festivals, during the months of Panguni and Aadi. This is performed where three or four streets meets; in open air, the place being lit by gas lights. A wooden bench is set up to seat the singers and the musical troupe. Here, make-up and costumes are considered of prime importance. Only men take part; the female roles are also played by them. The performance consists of story-telling, dialogue- rendering, songs and dance , all performed b the artistes. Thus the artiste should have very good performing ability, being an all-rounder. The stories are taken from Puranas, epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata, and also local folklore. The play starts in the late evening and gets over only during the small hours of the nights. The performance is so captivating that the audience are spell-bound unaware of the long hours. Theru Koothu is more popular in the northern districts of Tamilnadu.

This dance is performed inside a temple, around a lamp. The purpose is to worship Lord Krishna, and celebrate his frolics with the Gopikas. This is performed during Rama Navami and Gokulashtami.

The Koothu can be categorized as Nattu Koothu, including Valli Koiothu, Kuravai Koothu etc., samaya Koothu dealing with religious topics, Pei Koothu including Thunangai Koothu and Porkala Koothu dealing with martial events.

This is the Dummy Horse Dance where the dance bears the dummy figure of a horse's body on his/her hips. This is made of light-weighted materials and the cloth at the sides swings to and fro covering the legs of the dancer. The dancer dons wooden legs which sound like the hooves of the horse. The dancer brandishes either a sword or a whip. This folk dance needs much training and skill. This dance is accompanied by Naiyandi melam or Band music. This is connected to the worship of Ayyanar, and prevails mainly around Tanjavur.

The legends state that in puranic times, there was terrible war between the demons and Durga, the Parasakthi. The demons let loose on earth many poisonous creatures like snakes, scorpions etc. Parasakthi, in order to destroy them, wore wooden legs, danced on the battlefield ferociously, killing the creatures and thus winning the war. This legend, it is said, is the forerunner of the dummy horse dance. In Tamilnadu, this dance was first introduced by Maratta artistes; later it spread all over the state.

<Previous Page> < Next Page>