Koodiyattam , the 'ritualistic' Sanskrit theatre of Kerala - An Introduction

Koodiyattam (['kutiyattam'], ['kutiyattom'], ['koodiyattom'] ), the one still living , more than 1000 years old ancient form of classical dramatic dance theatre in India, is recognized by the UNESCO as one of the masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity.
The Koodiyattam tradition of enacting classical Sanskrit dramas, is closely tied to Kerala's Hindu temples. It is a comprehensive theatre form that has existed since before the tenth century AD and is India's oldest theatre to have been continuously performed.

Koodiyattam has the same delight in nuance and hidden shades of meaning in metaphors and delicate implications which is the hallmark of so much of Sanskrit literature.

There is clear evidence of efforts to reform Koodiyattam by one king, Kulashekhara Varman, by the 9th to the 10th century A.D.
As such reforms give rise to the supposition of a long-standing tradition, literary sources assume that Koodiyattam has a continuous history of at least 1000 years.

This makes Koodiyattam the oldest surviving form of Sanskrit theatre.

 

The Performance

The performances of a drama usually last several days and the enacting in the original form of a single act may even take up to 41 days.It will begin at 9 p.m. after theclose of rituals in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, and continue till midnight, sometimes till 3 a.m. before the commencement of the morning rituals.

 

The first day may have the form of a sacrificial offering to the deity with initial invocatory rituals followed by preliminaries like certain abstract cadence of movement performed behind a curtain and without the audience seeing any acting at all.

 

 

In the next phase the character introduces himself by presenting his personal history including perhaps his past life. The Chakyar actor has almost full freedom to choose which legends associated with the character he wishes to emphasize and thus becomes an important interpreter of his role

 

The complete performance of the drama - from beginning to end - is performed on the last day.The performance take place in a Koothambalam, the temple of dance-drama, a structure built within the compound walls of a temple according to the rules of Natyashastra.

 

Art Form and Social Background

Koodiyattom is a peculiar combination of the Sanskrit concept of theatre operating within strict religious and ritualistic boundaries and an independent interpretation of the text. Here we find also the meeting of the two world views: the patriarchal and matrilineal.
The Chakyars are the male actorsand chief custodians of the art and they share the stage with the Nangyars,womenof matrilineal households and their men folk, the Nambiar drummers.
The Chakyars are said to be of Aryan origin and therefore probably carriers of Sanskrit learning, the Nangyars are local and their inclusion represents thus a harmonious fusion between two distinct cultures.

While Koodiyattam's Vedic/Sanskrit origins have been preserved and regarded as a sacrilege, the actor's independent interpretation of the text has simultaneously adapted to regional tastes until Koodiyattam has been assimilated as a supremely art of Kerala.
The vigor of the folk art roots of Koodiyattam and Koothu may explains to a large extent that this art form is still alive.

 

 

Padmasree Ammanur Madhava Chakyar
May 13 ^th, 1917 to July 1^st, 2008

Padmasree Ammanur Madhava Chakyar was the last of the outstanding Koodiyattam 'guru's like Parameshwar Chakyar and Mani Madhava Chakyar .

He opened in 1982 the now famous Ammanur Chachu Chakyar Smaraka Gurukulam, Irinjalakuda,Thrissur District, a training centre for Koodiyattam, named after his guru and uncle
It was given up to allow exclusively Chakyars and Nambiars to take up the art form and the training was opened to members of other families also.

 

The Training

To be successful in this the actor must be well-versed in what the Natyashastra, the great treatise on dramaturgy in Sanskrit by Saga Bharata, written sometime between 2nd century B.C. and 2nd A.D. , describes as the four main Abhinayas (abhinayam = the art of dramatic expression through words, facial expressions or gestures)

All these techniques help to explore each character's inner complexities.

 

angika = dramatic expression with the body (hand gestures or mudras, facial movements)

satvika = actors' inner identification with the character that may be marked by involuntary physical reaction like tears, perspiration and fainting

vachika = ritualistic teh use of voice

aharya = makeup (symbolic use of colour) and costume

 

The Actors

Traditionally, the actors have been members of the Chakyar caste, themselves belonging to the Ambalavasi or temple dweller caste, the elite among the templeservants. The dedication of this community ofartists, considering their profession as 'kuladharma' (family duty) is responsible for the preservation of Koodiyattam through the centuries.
The Nambiars, a sub-caste of drummers, have been associated with this theatre as players of the 'mizhavu', a pot-shaped, large drum and unique to Koodiyattam.
It is the women of the Nambiar community, the Nangiars that act the female characterizations and play the 'kuzhitalam' (a kind of bell-metal cymbals).

While most of the about 18 Chakyar families and an equal number of Nambiar families have given up the traditional profession in the course of the past 50 years, the Ammanur family alone continues to maintain the inherited profession.

Performance Elements

Acting in Koodiyattam is based on a highly evolved mime language. Stylized facial and eye expressions, a language of mudras (hand gestures), a unique style of chanting together with elaborate headdresses and the symbolic use of color through the makeup constitute the drama. Contained movements and intense emotions mark this temple theater style.
Unlike in Kathakali, women traditionally perform the female characters.

 

 

Music Elements

The accompaniment is chiefly by the use of mizhavu drums played by the Nambiars who sit at the rear of the stage. These huge drums have great symbolic significance; they set the mood for the play and heighten its drama. They also keep the talam, the rhythmic pattern.
To the left of the stage a Nangyar may sing the main verses of the drama and accompany the Chakyar with small cymbals.

Further accompaniments may be the itakka (an hour-glass shaped drum), the kuzhal (an oboe-like wind instrument) and the shankha (conch shell).

 

 

 

Glossary

Koodiyattom - Koodiyattam - Kutiyattam / Koothu - Kuttu

abhinaya kalari	acting laboratory
Abhishekanatakam	Sanskrit drama by Bhasa (A.D.200)
akkita	verses in praise of gods recited by a Nangiar during nityakriya
angikabhinayam	dramatic and complex form of communication with body postures, facial expressions and hand gestures
anguliyankam	the sixth ankam of Ashcharyachudamani
ankam	act of a drama or play
anukramam	nirvahanam performed in reverse order
arangettam	the first appearance of an actor or dancer on the stage after a rigorous training of several years
arangu tali	sprinkling of water in the stage by a Nambiar drummer. markins the end of purva rangam
Ashcharyachudamani	Sanskrit drama by Shaktibhadra (A.D. 800) based on the Ramayana, performance lasting twelve days
ashokavanikankam	the fifth ankam of Ashcharyachudamani
attaprakaram	a work giving detailed directions for enacting a drama
balivadham	first ankam of Abhishekanatakam
bhavatrayam	expressing emotions of helplesness, sorrow and anger by facial expressions and mudras
Kalyanasaugandhikam	Sanskrit drama by Nilakandha Kavi, 16th century
kuladharma	family duty
kuthambalam	a theatre hall specially built for the performance of Koodiyattom and Koothu within the temple compund of the important temples of Kerala of which 16 are still extant
Malayalam	colloquial (regional) language of Kerala
mantrankam	third ankam of Pratijna-Yaugandharayanam, performance lasting forty-one days
Mattavilasam kuttu	three-day-performance by one character, also offered as vazhivatu
Mizhavocchapettuka	the preliminary drumming in Eka talam on the mizhavu beforte a Koodiyattom performance
mudra	the descriptive and symbolic movement of hands and fingers (hand gestures) to signify an object or action
Nambiar	member of the community which traditionally plays mizhavu, the main accompaniment of a kutiyattam performance
Nagandam	Sanskrit drama by Sri Harsha, 7th century A.D.
Nangiar	female member of the Nambiar community
Natyasastra	the great treatise on dramaturgy in Sanskrit by Saga Bharata, written between 2nd century B.C. and 2nd century A.D.
netrabhinaya	eye expressions
nilavilakku	oil lamp
nirvahanam	narration in mudrabhinayam of past events leading to the present situation
nityakriya	steps and gestures of a character in stage-entry
poorna chandra	full moon
prabhandas	literary works in Sanskrit for dance-drama

glossary continued: next button

Content 6

glossary continued

Pratijna-Yaugandharayanam	Sanskrit drama by Bhasa (A.S. 200)
shurppanakhankam	the second ankam of Ashcharyachudamani, a 15 days lasting performance
Subhadra-Dhanajayam	Sanskrit drama by Kulashekhara Varma (A.D. 900), based on the story from the Mahabharata
purva rangam	introduction of a play
shloka	four line verse
swapnankam	the fifth ankam of Swapnavasavadatta, performance lasting only one day
Swapnavasavadatta	Sanskrit play by Bhasa (A.D. 200)
Tapati Samvaranam	Sanskrit drama by Kulashekhara Varma (A.D. 900), based on Mahabharata, performane lasting eight days
toranayuddham	the third ankam of Abishekanatakam, enacted in 6 days
Udbhandanam	Second akanam of Nagandam, lasting fifteen days
vaak	word or sound like to be found in the 'vedas'
vazhivatu	offering to the deity of a temple to obtain a special favour
vidushaka	comic character, clown
vizhakku	lamp

The Training Centres

	Ammanur Chachu Chakyar Smaraka Gurukulam, Irinjalakuda, Thrissur (Trichur) District
	NatanaKairali, Irinjalakuda, Thrissur (Trichur) District, a research and performing centre for traditional arts located about 20 km south of Trichur, the cultural capital of Kerala; has been playing a significant role in the conservation and popularization of Koodiyattom for more than two decades. Natana Kairali with it's dynamic founder-director Gopal Venu, commonly known as 'Venuji', himself an actor and trained in Koodiyattam from guru Ammannur Madhava Chakyar and Ammannur Paremeswara Chakyar, is also involved in propagating the art form outside the country by organizing workshops and staging the Sanskrit theatre in various countries.
	Kerala Kalamandalam, Cheruthuruthy, Thrissur (Trichur) District, a distinguished Centre for Indian Performing Arts and Culture and now deemed university, located about 30 km north-east of Trichur, the cultural capital of Kerala; founded in 1930 by the late poet Vallathol Narayana Menon and his associate Manakkulam Mukunda Raja, this State Academy of Arts spearheaded the movement of cultural renaissance in Kerala. It has been invariably considered to be the best institution in India imparting training in and conducting performance of Kathakali, Koodiyattam, Mohiniyattam, Panchavadyam and Thullal.
	Kerala Kalamandalam, Cheruthuruthy, Thrissur (Trichur) District, a distinguished Centre for Indian Performing Arts and Culture and now deemed university, located about 30 km north-east of Trichur, the cultural capital of Kerala; founded in 1930 by the late poet Vallathol Narayana Menon and his associate Manakkulam Mukunda Raja, this State Academy of Arts spearheaded the movement of cultural renaissance in Kerala. It has been invariably considered to be the best institution in India imparting training in and conducting performance of Kathakali, Koodiyattam, Mohiniyattam, Panchavadyam and Thullal.
	Kerala Kalamandalam, Cheruthuruthy, Thrissur (Trichur) District, a distinguished Centre for Indian Performing Arts and Culture and now deemed university, located about 30 km north-east of Trichur, the cultural capital of Kerala; founded in 1930 by the late poet Vallathol Narayana Menon and his associate Manakkulam Mukunda Raja, this State Academy of Arts spearheaded the movement of cultural renaissance in Kerala. It has been invariably considered to be the best institution in India imparting training in and conducting performance of Kathakali, Koodiyattam, Mohiniyattam, Panchavadyam and Thullal.
	Margi, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) an organization dedicated to the revival and rejuvenation of Kerala's Classical Arts, such as Koodiattom and Kathakali. The name ‘Margi’ in Sanskrit means pursuit of aesthetic values which are universal and everlasting
	International Centre for Kutiyattam,Tripunithura, Ernakulam district

Kuttu, Koothu

Koothu is a mono act in which a single actor represents the role of all the characters. He expounds puranic stories, drawing parallels from contemporary life in order to emphasis a point or relate a moral from the stories he is narrating.

Nangiar Koothu

Nangiar Koothu is an offshoot of Koodiyattam that has captured the imagination of people in recent times. It is performed solo by a woman actress. The stories she enacts are taken from the the text Sree Krishna Charitam, depicting the life of Lord Krishna.

Usha Nangiar, a disciple of Ammanur Madhava Chakyarm has already become synonymous with this art form. Kunjipaalykutty Nangiaramma is another well known contemporary actress of Nangiar Koothu.

Chakyar (Prabandham) Kuttu

Chakyar or Prabhandam Kuttu, a solo performance, is another offshoot of Koodiyattam.

The character represents the vidushaka (fool, clown, comic character), poking fun at Kerala society, using the colloquial language Malayalam. The name of the art form refers to the community of the actor respectively to the use of the prabhandas, literary works in Sanskrit for dance-drama. as a basis for his narration.