Ottan Thullal (or ''Ottamthullal'',

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

: ഓട്ടൻ തുള്ളൽ) is a recite-and-dance art-form of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It was introduced in the eighteenth century by

Kunchan Nambiar Kunchan Nambiar was a prominent Malayalam poet of the 18th century (1705-1770). Apart from being a prolific poet, Nambiar is also famous as the originator of the dance art form of Thullal, most of his works were written for use in Thullal perfo ...

, one of the Prachina Kavithrayam (three famous

-language poets). The folksy performance, often laced with humour intended at criticism of society, is accompanied by a mridangam (a barrel-shaped double-headed drum) and/or the handy idakka besides a pair of

ilathalam Elathalam, or Ilathalam, is a metallic musical instrument which resembles a miniature pair of cymbals. This instrument from Kerala in southern India is completely made out of bronze and has two pieces in it. Elathalam is played by keeping one pa ...

cymbals.

History

Like most Indian

performing art The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perfor ...

forms, Ottamthullal has its principles influenced by the Natya Shastra (). The word ''Thullal'' means "to jump" or "leap about" in the

Malayalam language Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was d ...

. Legend has it that Nambiar, the poet, fell asleep while playing the

mizhavu A mizhav or mizhavu (Malayalam: മിഴാവ്) is a big copper drum played as an accompanying percussion instrument in the Koodiyattam and Koothu, performing arts of Kerala. It is played by the Ambalavasi Nambiar community. After 1965, wh ...

drum for a

Chakyar Koothu Chakyar Koothu (pronounced ) is a performance art from Kerala, India. It is primarily a type of highly refined monologue where the performer narrates episodes from Hindu epics (such as the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata'') and stories from ...

performance, inviting ridicule from the chakyar. In response, Nambiar developed Ottamthullal, which raised prevalent sociopolitical questions and made a satire of human pedigrees and prejudices. The chakyar complained about Nambiar's production to the king of Chembakassery. The king banned performances of Ottamthullal from the

Ambalapuzha Ambalappuzha is a small town in the Alappuzha district of Kerala state, India. It is located south of Alappuzha which is the district headquarters. Ambalappuzha is divided into the two panchayats of Ambalapuzha North and Ambalapuzha South. ...

temple complex. Closely related art forms are Seethankan thullal and Parayan thullal. Mathur Panikkar popularized Ottamthullal for modern audiences. Ottamthullal competitions are held and the art form may be used to spread a social message.

Performers

In Ottamthullal, a solo performer, with green makeup and a colourful costume (decorated with a long red and white band and painted wooden ornaments), acts and dances while reciting dance ''(Thullal)'' (lyrics)."Ottan thullal".
Kerala's 64 Art Forms website. Accessed 27 February 2014. A chorus or one or more artists repeats each sentence as it is completed. More recently, Ottamthullal has been performed with a solo female actor and with an ensemble cast.

Theme

Nambiar parodies the ways of landlords and other prominent citizens, sometimes even the king. For example, the character of Bhima from the epic the ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

'' is portrayed as an oaf. Higher castes including

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

are not spared.

Language

Ottan thullal is performed in

, which pleases local audiences. Old sayings and elements of

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

are used.

Works

There may be 64 or more Ottamthullal works. Examples include: * ''Kallyana Sougandhikam'' (a rare flower), Bhima is searching for the flower and has a long conversation with his older brother, Hanuman. * ''Kiratham, Garudagarva bhangam, Santhanagopalam, Ghoshayathra etc...''

Related images

File:Chakyarkoothu-hareesh-nambiar-at-peechi-kfri-camp.jpg, Chakyar koothu File:Sheethankan Thullal.jpg, Sheethankan Thullal File:Oottan Thullal at Kerala School Kalothsavam 2017.jpg, Make-up

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=August 2019 Dances of Kerala