Ajay Kumar at 03:37, 30 August 2023

2023-08-30T03:37:19Z

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{{Short description|Traditional performing art form in Kerala, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox intangible heritage
| Image = Thoranayudham- Madras1.jpg
| Caption = Guru [[Mani Madhava Chakyar]] and his troupe performing ''Thoranayudham'' (part of [[Bhasa]]'s play ''Abhiṣeka Nataka'' based on the epic [[Ramayana]]) Koodiyattam (1962, Chennai)
| ICH = Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre
| State Party = Kerala, India
| Domains = Performing arts (dance)
| Criteria =
| ID = 10
| Region = APA
| Year = 2008
| Session = 3rd
| List = Representative
| Link = https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/kutiyattam-sanskrit-theatre-00010
| Below = [[File:UNESCO logo English.svg|150px]]
| Note =
}}

'''Koodiyattam''' ({{lang-ml| കൂടിയാട്ടം}}; [[IAST]]: kūṭiyāṭṭaṁ; {{literally|combined act}}) is a traditional performing art form in the state of [[Kerala, India]]. It is a combination of ancient [[Sanskrit theatre]] with elements of ''[[Koothu]]'', an ancient performing art from the [[Sangam era]]. It is officially recognised by [[UNESCO]] as a [[Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity|Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=UNESCO – Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre|url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/kutiyattam-sanskrit-theatre-00010|access-date=2022-02-21|website=ich.unesco.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>https://ich.unesco.org/doc/src/00264-EN.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>

==Origin==
[[Image:Koodiyattam Framed 001.jpg|thumb|alt=Koodiyattam Performance.|Koodiyattam]]
Koodiyattam, meaning "combined acting" in [[Malayalam]], combines Sanskrit theatre performance with elements of koothu. It is traditionally performed in temple theatres known as ''koothambalams''. It is the only surviving art form that uses drama from ancient Sanskrit theatre. It has a documented history of a thousand years in Kerala, but its origins are not known. Koodiyattam and [[Chakyar koothu]] were among the dramatized dance worship services in the temples of ancient India, particularly Kerala. Both koodiyattam and Chakyar koothu originated from the ancient art form [[koothu]], which is mentioned several times in Sangam literature, and the epigraphs of the subsequent Pallava, [[Pandyan Dynasty|Pandiyan]], Chera, and [[Chola]] periods. Inscriptions related to koothu can be seen in temples at [[Tanjore]], Tiruvidaimaruthur, Vedaranyam, [[Tiruvarur]], and Omampuliyur. They were treated as an integral part of worship services, alongside the singing of Tevaram and Prabandam hymns.{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}}

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 [[Kulasekhara Alvar|Kulasekhara Varma]], a medieval king of the Chera Perumal dynasty, reformed koodiyattam, introducing the local language for Vidusaka and structuring the presentation of the play into well-defined units. He himself wrote two plays, ''Subhadradhananjayam'' and ''Tapatisamvarana'' and made arrangements for their presentation on stage with the help of a [[Brahmin]] friend (''Thozhan''). These plays are still performed. Apart from these, the plays traditionally presented include ''Ascaryacudamani'' of Saktibhadra, ''Kalyanasaugandhika'' of Nilakantha, ''Bhagavadajjuka'' of [[Bodhayana]], ''Nagananda'' of Harsa, and many plays ascribed to [[Bhasa]], including ''Abhiseka'' and ''Pratima''.
[[File:Bharat-s-tiwari-photography-IMG 6635 June 11, 2017.jpg|thumb|Koodiyattam performer ''Kapila Venu'']]

== Instruments ==
[[Image:Mizhavu.jpg|Mizhavu kept in a ''mizhavana'' (a wooden box made especially to keep mizhavu)|thumb|left|200px]]
Traditionally, the main musical instruments used in koodiyattam are the [[mizhavu]], [[kuzhitalam]], [[edakka]], [[kurumkuzhal]], and [[Conch (instrument)|sankhu]]. The mizhavu, the most prominent of these, is a percussion instrument that is played by a person of the Ambalavas [[Nambiar (Ambalavasi)|Nambiar caste]], accompanied by Nangyaramma playing the kuzhithalam (a type of cymbal).

== Performance style ==
[[Image:Mani Madhava Chakyar as Ravana.jpg|Koodiyattam Guru [[Mani Madhava Chakyar]] as "Ravana"|thumb|right|150px]]
Traditionally, koodiyattam has been performed by [[Chakyar]]s (a [[Indian caste system|subcaste]] of Kerala [[Hindus]]) and by [[Nangyaramma]] (women of the [[Ambalavasi]] [[Nambiar (Ambalavasi/Mizhavu)|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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Shulman|first=David|title=Creating and Destroying the Universe in Twenty-Nine Nights|url=http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/nov/24/creating-and-destroying-universe-twenty-nine-night/|access-date=9 December 2012|newspaper=The New York Review of Books}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/arts/theatre/article3631143.ece|title= All at home |work=The Hindu|date=13 July 2012}}</ref>

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,<ref>* {{Citation
|last=Bhargavinilayam
|first=Das
|title=Mani Madhaveeyam
|url=http://www.kerala.gov.in/dept_culture/books.htm
|publisher=Department of Cultural Affairs, [[Government of Kerala]]
|year=1999
|isbn=81-86365-78-8
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215085741/http://www.kerala.gov.in/dept_culture/books.htm
|archive-date=15 February 2008
}}
</ref> for which he faced many problems from the hardline Chakyar community. In his own words:

{{blockquote|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.<ref>''Mani Madhava Chakkyar: The Master at Work'', K.N. Panikar, Sangeet Natak Akademi New Delhi, 1994</ref>}}

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.<ref>
{{Citation
| title=The Samskrita Ranga Annual
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a_MvAAAAIAAJ&q=mani+madhava+cakyar
| publisher=Samskrita Ranga, Madras
| year=1963
| page= 89}}
</ref><ref>
{{Citation
| author= Venkatarama Raghavan, A. L. Mudaliar
| title=Bibliography of the Books, Papers & Other Contributions of Dr. V. Raghavan
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7t8ZAAAAMAAJ&q=mani+madhava
| publisher=New Order Book Co., India
| year=1968
| page= 370}}</ref> They presented over three nights koodiyattam scenes from the plays ''Abhiṣeka'', ''Subhadrādhanañjaya'' and ''Nāgānda''.<ref>
{{Citation
| title=The Samskrita Ranga Annual
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vW2O6954zhsC&q=mani+madhava+chakyar
| publisher=Samskrita Ranga, Madras
| year=1967
| page= 77
}}
</ref>

[[Image:KoodiyattamFaceCostume.jpg|thumb|alt=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|date=February 2018}}

==Noted artists==
[[Image:Mani Madhava Chakyar-Sringara-new.jpg|The [[Rasa (aesthetics)|''rasa'']] (emotion) called [[Sringara|''Sringaram'']] (lust), performed by Guru [[Mani Madhava Chakyar]]|thumb|left|150px]]
[[Image:Mani Damodara Chakyar as Nayaka.jpg|thumb|right|150px| Nayaka (Hero) King Udayana in ''Swapnavasavadattam Kutiyattam'']]
[[File:Margi madhu in koodiyattam as ravanan.JPG|thumb|right|150px| [[Margi Madhu]] as Ravanan at Nepathya]]
*[[Mani Madhava Chakyar]]<ref>''Mani Madhava Chakkyar: The Master at Work'' (English film), [[Kavalam N. Panikar]], [[Sangeet Natak Akademi]], [[New Delhi]], 1994.</ref>
*[[Ammannur Madhava Chakyar]], who in the 1980s became one of the first koodiyattam performers to present this art to an international audience.
*[[Moozhikkulam Kochukuttan Chakyar]], who in 1981 became the first Residential Guru at Margi, an institution promoting traditional art forms of Kerala. He was a cousin of Ammannur Madhava Chakyar.
*[[Mani Damodara Chakyar]], who is Mani Madhava Chakkiar's disciple and nephew, is also a performer of traditional devotional koodiyattams.

== 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00011&RL=00010 |title= Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre}}</ref> [[UNESCO]] has called for the creation of a network of koodiyattam institutions and gurukalams to promote the transmission of the art form to future generations and for the development of new audiences besides fostering greater academic research in it. Natanakairali in [[Irinjalakuda]] is one of the most prominent institutions in the field of koodiyattam revival. The Margi Theatre Group in [[Thiruvananthapuram]] is another organisation dedicated to the revival of [[kathakali]] and koodiyattom in [[Kerala]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.margitheatre.org/ |title = Welcome to margitheatre}}</ref> Also, [[Nepathya(Koodiyattam)|Nepathya]] is an institution promoting koodiyattam and related art forms at Moozhikkulam.<ref>{{cite news| url = http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/koodiyattom-festival-begins-at-moozhikulam/article3702197.ece| title = Koodiyattom festival begins at Moozhikulam – The Hindu| newspaper = The Hindu| date = 30 July 2012}}</ref> The [[Sangeet Natak Akademi]], India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, has awarded the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]], the highest award for performing artists, to kutiyattam artists like [[Kalamandalam Sivan Namboodiri]] (2007), [[Painkulam Raman Chakyar]] (2010) and Painkulam Damodara Chakyar (2012).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sangeetnatak.gov.in/sna/awardeeslist.htm |title=SNA: List of Akademi Awardees |publisher=[[Sangeet Natak Akademi]] Official website |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331060603/http://www.sangeetnatak.gov.in/sna/awardeeslist.htm |archive-date=31 March 2016 }}</ref>

==See also==
[[Image:Mani damodara Chakyar-mattavilasa.jpg|thumb|right|[[Mattavilasa Prahasana|Mattavilasam]], the devotional ritualistic koodiyattam performed at temples in northern Kerala like [[Kottiyoor]]. The artist is [[Mani Damodara Chakyar]].]]
* [[Margi Sathi]]
* [[Arts of Kerala]]
* [[Mohiniyattam]]
* [[Thulall]]
* [[Parayan Thullal]]
* [[Moozhikkulam Kochukuttan Chakyar]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

* {{Citation
| last=Chakiar
| first=Mani Madhava
| title=[[Nātyakalpadrumam]]
| publisher=[[Sangeet Natak Akademi]], [[New Delhi]]
| year=1975
}}
* {{Citation
| last=Raja
| first=Kunjunni
| title=An Introduction to Kutiyattam
| publisher=[[Sangeet Natak Akademi]], [[New Delhi]]
| year=1964
}}
* {{Citation
| author=Kavalam N. Panikar
| author-link=Kavalam N. Panikar
| title=[[Mani Madhava Chakyar: The Master at Work (film)|Mani Madhava Chakyar: The Master at Work]]
| publisher=[[Sangeet Natak Akademi]], [[New Delhi]]
| year=1994
}}

==Further reading==
[[Image:Nātyakalpadrumam.jpg|''[[Nātyakalpadrumam]]'' the master treatise on all aspects of koodiyattam by Guru Mani Madhva Chakyar|thumb|right|150px]]
*''[[Natyakalpadruma]]'' (1975), a [[Kerala Sahitya Academy Award]]-winning book on Koodiyattam written by Guru [[Mani Madhava Chakyar]], considered authoritative by scholars.<ref>[[Ananda K. Coomaraswamy|Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy]] and Venkateswarier Subramaniam, "The Sacred and the Secular in India's Performing Arts: [[Ananda K. Coomaraswamy]] Centenary Essays"(1980), Ashish Publishers, p. 150.</ref>
*The ''[[Nātya Shāstra]]'', an ancient work of dramatic theory where [[Bharata Muni]] describes the [[Sanskrit theatre]] of the [[Gupta Empire]]; Koodiyattam is believed to preserve some aspects of the performance style of that period.
*''[[Abhinaya Darpana]]'' by [[Nandikeshvara]], another work of dramatic theory comparable to the ''Nātya Shāstra''.
* [[Farley Richmond]], ''Kutiyattam: Sanskrit Theater of India'' (University of Michigan Press, 2002). CD-ROM featuring videos and text.
* Rajendran C, "The Traditional Sanskrit Theatre of Kerala" (University of Calicut,1989)
*Virginie Johan, "Kuttu-Kutiyattam : théâtres classiques du Kerala". ''Revue d’histoire du théâtre'' 216, 2002-4: 365–382.
*Virginie Johan, "Pour un théâtre des yeux : l’exemple indien". ''Coulisses 33'', 2006 : 259–274.

==External links==

* [[q:Mani Madhava Chakyar|Wikiquote:Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar/Kutiyattam]]
* [http://kudiyattam.huji.ac.il/ Kudiyattam: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to the Living Sanskrit Theater of Kerala]
* {{citation|url=http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/nov/24/creating-and-destroying-universe-twenty-nine-night/
|title=Creating and Destroying the Universe in Twenty-Nine Nights|first=David |last=Shulman|date=24 November 2012|periodical=The New York Review of Books}}

{{Culture of Kerala}}
{{UNESCO Oral and Intangible music}}

[[Category:Koodiyattam| ]]
[[Category:Performing arts in India]]
[[Category:Dances of Kerala]]
[[Category:Theatre in India]]
[[Category:Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity]]
[[Category:Arts of Kerala]]
[[Category:Religious vernacular drama]]
[[Category:Cultural heritage of India]]

Koodiyattam - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 03:37, 30 August 2023