Ottan Thullal (or ''Ottamthullal'') is a recite-and-dance art-form 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 ...

. 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 Thullall, most of his works were written for use in Thullal per ...

, one of the Prachina Kavithrayam (three famous

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 ...

-language poets). The folksy performance, often laced with humour intended at criticism of society, is accompanied by a

mridangam The ''mridangam'' is an ancient percussion instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion in ...

(a barrel-shaped double-headed drum) and/or the handy

idakka The idakka (), also spelt edaykka/edakka, is an hourglass-shaped drum from Kerala in south India, very similar to the pan-Indian damaru. While the damaru is played by rattling knotted cords against the resonators, the idakka is played with a ...

besides a pair of

ilathalam Elathalam (or Ilathalam) is a musical instrument from Kerala in southern India. It is made completely of bronze and resembles a miniature pair of cymbals, played by holding one part in the left hand and banging the other cymbal against it. Althou ...

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 involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Pe ...

forms, Ottamthullal has its principles influenced by the

Natya Shastra The ''Nāṭya Shāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary b ...

(). 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 wa ...

. Legend has it that Nambiar, the poet, fell asleep while playing the mizhavu 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 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 In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...

Theme

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

Bhima Bhima (, ), also known as Bhimasena (, ), is a hero and one of the most prominent characters in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. As the second of the five Pandava brothers, Bhima was born to Kunti—the wife of King Pandu—fathered by Vayu, the ...

from the epic the ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

'' is portrayed as an oaf. Higher castes including

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

are not spared.

Language

Ottan thullal is performed in

, which pleases local audiences. Old sayings and elements of

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

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,rukmini swayamvaram, keechakavadham,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