Kanniyar Kali is a folk dance ritual performed in Temples of villages in Alathur and Chittur Taluk of

Palakkad Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

district 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 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 ...

. The event is usually a part of

Vishu Vishu (Malayalam: വിഷു) is a Hindu festival celebrating the Malayali New Year in Kerala, Tulu Nadu, and Mahe of India. Vishu falls on the first day of the month of ''Medam'', the first month of the Solar calendar used in Malabar of ...

celebrations of the village and usually succeeds the Vela (Village Fair) and is usually performed during the months of April and May. It is an agricultural festival dance of

Nair The Nair (, ) also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom hi ...

community. Kanniyar Kali, despite the name of the Virgin, does not have anything to do with the

Kannaki Kannagi (), sometimes spelled Kannaki, is a legendary Tamil woman who forms the central character of the Tamil epic '' Cilappatikāram''. Kannagi is described as a chaste woman who stays with her husband despite his adultery, their attempt to r ...

cult.

Kanniyar Kali is in no way connected with the

Kaniyar Kaniyar is a caste from the Indian state of Kerala. There are regional variations in the name used to define them. They are listed under the Other Backward Communities (OBC) by the Kerala Government. Traditions of origin Kathleen Gough has r ...

community, a community of authentic astrologers of Kerala.

The Dance

The dance is performed at night and ends at dawn, and is conducted for four consecutive nights. In certain villages it is conducted only for three consecutive nights. The dances start every night with the men of the community gathering in the temples and performing a rhythmic circular dance called vattakali (vattakali literally means a circular dance). The vattakali is followed by several 'puraattu', which literally means farce. The purattu does not have a standard format and each purattu lasts for an hour approximately. The purattu depicts the life and social customs of various castes and tribes of medieval Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Since the purattu depict various heterogeneous castes and tribes, the various purattus have different costumes, style of dancing and songs with different tempos. Certain purattu which depict fierce tribes or warrior tribes have performances resembling stick fights and martial movements whereas certain other purattus have slow and rhythmic movements. Certain purattus are laced with humor and depict a scenario wherein a long lost husband and wife have a reunion. It is performed in a specially made square stage called a

pandal A pandal is a fabricated structure, either temporary or permanent, that is used at many places such as either outside a building or in an open area such as along a public road or in front of a house in India and other neighbouring countries. This c ...

. The pandal is located in front of the temple or its premises. It consists of a lighted lamp in the centre and consists of a roof supported by nine pillars. The singers occupy the central position of the stage and the dancers dance along the periphery of the pandal in a circular manner. The songs are mostly in

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 ...

and certain purattus have songs in which there is a heavy influence of Tamil. The accompanying instruments are the Elatalam,

Chenda The Chenda (, ) is a cylindrical percussion instrument originating in the state of Kerala and widely used in Tulu Nadu of Karnataka in India. In Tulu Nadu (Coastal Karnataka), it is known as ''chende''. The instrument is strongly associat ...

and the chengalam. Maddalam is an accompaniment in vattakali. The participants are solely men and women are represented by

cross-dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

men who imitate the body language and way of speaking of women. In the last decade, women have made their debut Kanyarkali performance in a Desappanthal at Kakkayur.

References

External links

Old (1966) KanyarKali Announcement2012 Tattamangalam Kanyarkali photos1992 Tattamangalam Kanyar Kali

Girijavallabhan Blog on KanyarkaliKanniyaar Kali at TattamangalamPurattu acts in Kanniyaar KaliIntroducing PorrattuImages of Porratu dances performed at Sreekurumba Temple, Tattamangalam, Palakkad
li Photos] {{Tourism in Kerala Hindu festivals in Kerala Arts of Kerala Folk festivals in India Dance festivals in India Festivals in Palakkad district April observances May observances