Puli kali (Meaning:

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

Dance) is a recreational folk art from the state of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

, India. It is performed by trained artists to entertain people on the occasion of

Onam Onam () is an annual harvest and Hindus, Hindu cultural festival celebrated mostly by the people of Kerala. A major annual event for Malayalis, Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events. H ...

, an annual

harvest festival A harvest festival is an annual Festival, celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different ...

, celebrated mainly in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state of

. On the fourth day of

celebrations (Naalaam Onam or chathayam), performers painted like tigers and leopards in bright yellow, red, and black shake their bellies and dance to the beats of instruments like Chenda and Chengila. The literal meaning of Pulikkali is 'The tiger dance' hence the performance revolves around the theme of tiger hunting. Folk art is mainly practiced in the

Thrissur district Thrissur (), anglicised as Trichur, is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is situated in the central region of the state. Spanning an area of about , th ...

. The best place to watch the show is at

Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...

on the fourth day of

, where Pulikkali troupes from all over the district assemble to display their skills. The festival attracts thousands of people to the

city. Pulikkali is also performed during various other festive seasons.

History

The origin of Pulikkali dates back over 200 years, when the Maharaja Rama Varma

Sakthan Thampuran Rama Varma Kunji Pillai Thampuran (1751–1805), or Rama Varma IX, popularly known as Sakthan Thampuran (''Sakthan'' meaning powerful), was the ruler of the Kingdom of Cochin. The current southern Indian city of Kochi was part of the erstwhile ...

, the then Maharaja of

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

, is said to have introduced the folk art. They used to perform the art form decked as tigers with peculiar steps resembling the tiger, then known as 'Pulikkettikali' which was immensely enjoyed by the locals. Pulikkali in

is held in memory of this event.

Modern

Over the years, there have been changes in the adornment of Pulikali dancers. In the early days, masks were not used and participants would have themselves painted all over, on their faces as well. But now, ready-made masks, cosmetic teeth, tongues, beards, and mustaches are used by the participants along with the paint on their bodies. The tigers also wear a broad belt with jingles around their waist. The festival in

has now become an all peoples event with a huge response from people, especially youths who come forward to participate in the festival, and also from sponsors. The event is organized by the Pulikkali Co-ordination Committee, a unified council of Pulikkali groups formed in 2004 in

to preserve and propagate the art in all its true hues and tones. The Thrissur Municipal Corporation gives a grant of Rs 30,000($400) for each Pulikkali troupe. Usually, men and children perform this art form. For the first time, 3 women among a 51-member team participated in the Pulikali at Thrissur in 2016. Due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and

lockdown A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...

restrictions, many Onam celebrations were put off. Under the initiative of Ayyanthole Desham Pulikkali Samithy, Pulikali was live-streamed on their

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page. About 17 people took part in the dance virtually from various locations.

Preparations

A striking feature of this folk art is the colorful appearance of the performers. A particular combination of

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. ''Tempera'' also refers to the paintings done in ...

powder and varnish or enamel is used to make the paint. First of all, the dancers remove the hair from the body, and then, the base coat of paint is applied to them. It takes two to three hours for the coating to dry. After that, the second coat of paint is applied with an enhanced design. This entire procedure takes at least five to seven hours. A large number of artists gather to apply paint on the tigers. It is a meticulous process and often starts in the wee hours of the morning. By afternoon the Pulikkali groups or 'sangams' as they are called, from all four corners of

move in a procession, dancing, bouncing and shaking their bellies to the beat of the drums through the streets to the Swaraj Round, Thrissur situated in the heart of the city through Palace Road, Karunakaran Nambiar Road, Shornur Road, A R Menon Road, and MG Road. Scenes such as the tiger preying on an animal, and a tiger being hunted by a game-hunter are enacted beautifully in between. Thousands of spectators line the streets enjoying the dance, cheering the dancers some of them even trying to join in. The groups assemble at Naduvilal in the Swaraj Round, Thrissur in front of the Vadakkunnathan Temple and offer a coconut each to the deity of the Ganapati shrine (Naduvilal Ganapati Kovil) here, before going on a procession around the ground. The procession also includes floats from each village. The different troupes vie with each other to make the best floats as well as the best-dressed tigers.

Gallery

File:Body Painting Puli Kali Artist.jpg, Puli Kali Artist File:പുലി കലാകാരൻ.JPG, Artist painting tiger stripes on the back File:Pulikkali 2010.jpg, Pulikkali 2010 File:Photowalk during pulikali at Thrissur 2024 (75).jpg, Photowalk during pulikali at Thrissur 2024

References

External links