Kolam Thullal is a ritual dance form prevalent in south
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 ...
, southern India. It is customary in houses and
temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
s of
Bhagavathy
Bhagavatī (Devanagari: भगवती, IAST: Bhagavatī), is an Indian epithet of Sanskrit origin, used as an honorific title for goddesses in Hinduism and Buddhism. In Hinduism, it is primarily used to address the goddesses Sarasvati, Laks ...
, a female deity. It is performed at temple festivals and to drive away evil spirits from the "possessed" bodies. Its origins lie with the ''Tinta'' group of 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 ...
caste. The ritual is similar to the Tovil and Kolam rituals of the
Sinhalese people in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
See also
*
Kerala Folklore Akademi
*
Kathakali
''Kathakali'' (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: Kathakaḷi ) is a traditional form of Indian Classical Dance, and one of the most complex forms of Theatre of India, Indian theatre. It is a play of verses. These vers ...
References
Dances of Kerala
{{India-dance-stub