Pilivēṣa in "Tiger

Masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A mas ...

" is a

folk dance A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, Ritual, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances. Ritual dances ...

unique in coastal

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, India. Pilivēṣa is performed during

Navratri Navaratri () is an annual Hindu festival observed in honor of the goddess Durga, an aspect of Adi Parashakti, the supreme goddess. It spans over nine nights, first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and aga ...

to honour the Goddess

Durga Durga (, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic ...

, whose favoured animal is the

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 ...

(''mārnemi'').

Mangalore Dasara The Mangaluru Dasara ( Tulu: Marnemi, Konkani: Mannami), is a festival in the Indian city of Mangaluru organized by Acharya Mutt, was started by B.R.Karkera. It is also referred as Navarathri Festival, Vijayadashami. The tiger dance, lion danc ...

is one of the festivals during which a large number of enthusiasts participate. It originated in

Udupi District Udupi district (also Udipi () in Kannada or Odipu () in Tulu language) is an administrative subdivision in the Karnataka state of India, with the district headquarters in the city of Udupi. It is situated in the Canara old north Malabar c ...

of Karnataka and was initially performed during the

Krishna Janmashtami Krishna Janmashtami (), also known simply as Krishnashtami, Janmashtami, or Gokulashtami, is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. In certain Hindu texts, such as the '' Gita Govinda ...

/ Mosarukudike and

Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

Chaturthi Chaturthi () refers to the fourth day of a lunar fortnight in the Hindu calendar. Festivals * Karak Chaturthi (''Karvā Chauth''): It is celebrated on ''Chaturthī'' of Krishna Paksha (waning lunar phase) of Kārtika Month as per the ''Purni ...

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

Udupi Udupi () also known as 'Odipu' () is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Udupi district, and one of the fastest-growing cities in Karnataka. Udupi is one of the top tourist attractions in Karnataka an ...

Moodabidri Moodubidire (''Mūḍubidire''; also called Mudbidri, Moodbidri and Bedra) is a town and taluk in Dakshina Kannada district. It lies 34 km northeast of the district headquarters, Mangalore, in Karnataka, India. Because of widely grown b ...

Kundapur Kundapra, officially Kundapura, is a town in the Udupi district of Karnataka state in India. This town was known as Coondapoor when it was part of the erstwhile South Canara district (1862–1947) of the Madras Presidency of British India. Pr ...

and many other places in

Tulu Nadu Tulu Nadu, or Tulunad, is a region and Proposed states and union territories of India, proposed state on the southwestern coast of India. The Tulu people, known as 'Tuluva' (pl. 'Tuluver') are speakers of Tulu language, Tulu, a Dravidian langu ...

Troupes

Typically, young males form troupes of five to ten members or more. Three to five males are painted and costumed to look like tigers, and accompanied by a band called ''thaase'' in Tulu with two or three

drummers A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer's eq ...

. This troupe is accompanied by the manager of the group. During Navratri, these troupes roam the streets, with accompanying drum beats of their bands. They stop at homes and businesses or on the roadsides to perform for about ten minutes after which they collect money from the people who have observed their performance. The troupes perform until the last day of Navratri, and almost all of them form part of the Sharada processions organized by temples such as

Mangaladevi The Mangaladevi Temple is a Hindu temple at Bolar (Location), Bolara in the city of Mangalore in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is situated about three kilometres southwest of the city centre. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu goddess Sha ...

, Gokarnanatheshwara and Venkatramana temple. After the procession is over, performances are stopped and the paint is removed.

Costumes

While ''Pili'' means "tiger" in Tulu, dancers also painted themselves with

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

motifs. The costumes vary depending on the place. Costumes in

differ from those in

Udupi district Udupi district (also Udipi () in Kannada or Odipu () in Tulu language) is an administrative subdivision in the Karnataka state of India, with the district headquarters in the city of Udupi. It is situated in the Canara old north Malabar c ...

. Each person wears just a knicker/shorts, which usually has a tiger-skin motif. The rest of his bare body and face is painted with designs that denote tigers, cheetahs, and leopards. A headgear or mask made of fake fur and sometimes a tail is worn to complete the ensemble. The paint causes a burning sensation on the skin. But this is endured as part of the celebrations and also to earn extra money in the holiday season. Originally performers did this as a part of a religious vow. The paint was kept on the body for a couple of days and repainted or retouched as needed.

Skills

Skill levels vary from person to person. The basic requirement is to know the tiger dance steps and to have enough stamina. Typical skills are

Fire breathing Fire breathing, fire-breathing, firebreathing, fire breather, or firebreather may refer to: * Fire-breathing monster, a mythological or fantastical monster able to breathe fire * Fire breathing (circus act) Fire breathing is the a ...

Hand walking Hand walking is an unusual form of human locomotion in which a person travels in a vertically inverted orientation with all body weight resting on the hands. It can be executed with legs fully extended or with variations such as stag, straddle or ...

Handstand A handstand is the act of supporting the body in a stable, inverted vertical position by balancing on the hands. In a basic handstand, the body is held straight with arms and legs fully extended, with hands spaced approximately shoulder-width apar ...

gymnastic Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sho ...

moves, picking money from mouth by bending backwards and lifting akkimudi (rice tied in straw, weighing 42 kg!) in their teeth and throwing it backwards etc.

Popular culture

The 2014

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

movie ''

Ulidavaru Kandanthe ''Ulidavaru Kandante'' ( As Seen by the Rest) is a 2014 Indian Kannada-language neo-noir gangster film written and directed by debutant Rakshit Shetty. Shetty appears in the lead role, along with Kishore, Tara, Achyuth Kumar, Rishab Shetty, ...

'' featured a tiger dance where one of the character (actor

Achyuth Kumar Achyuth Kumar is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Kannada cinema, alongside a few Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. He is known for his performances in the ''KGF'', '' Kantara'', '' Sidlingu'', and '' Lucia''. He is the recipient ...

) belonged to the Pilivesha troupe. A song titled "Pilivesha Beats" was dedicated to tiger dance. The 2021 movie ''

Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana ''Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana'' () is a 2021 Indian Kannada-language neo-noir gangster film written and directed by actor-director Raj B. Shetty. The film is produced by Ravi Rai Kalasa and Vachan Shetty, under the Lighter Buddha Films banner. ...

'' also had a brief history and featured Pili Vesha where the character of Shiva (actor Raj B. Shetty) performed the tiger dance, with the song "Sojugada sooju mallige".

Gallery

File:Hulivesha Barke (2).jpg, Pilivesa painting File:Hulivesha Barke (5).jpg, Pilivesa Painting Barke Friends File:Hulivesha Barke (8).jpg, Pilivesa Painting Barke Friends File:Hulivesha Barke (12).jpg, PilivesaPainting Appe pili File:Hulivesha Barke (17).jpg, Pilivesamask File:Hulivesha Barke (18).jpg, PilivesaPainting Barke Friends File:Hulivesha Barke (20).jpg, PilivesaPainting Barke Friends File:Hulivesha Barke (27).jpg, Pilivesa Painting for a kid File:Hulivesha Barke (24).jpg, Painting Barke For a kid

References