Poothan and Thira is a

ritual A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

istic folk

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

performed mainly in the Valluvanad region (present-day Palakkad district) of central

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 ...

, in which people dance in costumes representing Poothan is the lieutenant of Kali, and Thira, the goddess

Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...

, to the accompaniment of

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

mers. Thudi a small drum using for poothan, and heavy drum para accompanying thira.

Overview

Poothan and Thira is a

istic folk

performed mainly in the Valluvanad region of central Kerala] in India. It is a traditional art performed by the Perumannan and Vannan communities on the occasion of

Devi ''Devī'' (; ) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is Deva (Hinduism), ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The concept ...

temple festivals. It is usually performed once a year in villages in conjunction with the Kali temple festivals mainly in the coastal areas and River Nila- especially in the ''

Pooram Pooram pronounced is an annual festival, which is celebrated in temples dedicated to goddesses Durga or Kali, held especially in the old Valluvanad area, and to a lesser extent in other places, covering Kerala State's present-day Palakkad, ...

'' festival season between December and May,

Thalappoli Thalappoli is a ritual ceremony performed as a vow in Hindu temples in Kerala, India. It is also performed to usher the bride and groom to the wedding hall and the special guests to public events. Ritual Thalappoli is a ritual ceremony perform ...

festival and ''Vela'' festival. In Valluvanad region, Poothan and Thira is performed in thousands of

kavu Kavu is the traditional name given for sacred groves across the Malabar Coast in Kerala, South India. Kavus are notable for ''Theyyam'', the centuries-old ritual dance. Snake Groves A Sarpa Kavu (meaning ''Abode of Snakes'') is a traditiona ...

Myth

There are various myths are populat inconnection with Poothan and Thira. The story of

Kannagi 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 re ...

is popular in some regions. It is believed that it was the Poothan that stood as a watchman to prevent the goldsmith from cheating while making the

silambu Silambu (; /cil’əmpɨ̆/), or Gaggara ( Tulu: ಗಗ್ಗರ), is an anklet worn and used in a variety of contexts on the Indian subcontinent. Etymology According to Jeyaraj, the word 'silambu' is derived from the verb 'silambal', meanin ...

for Kannagi. However, along with the golden silambu, he also made a brass silambu and hid it in the roadside ditch. On the way to handing over the silambu to Kannaki, the goldsmith skillfully replaces the gold silambu with the brass one which he had thrown into the stream by pretending to have tripped and fallen into the stream. He handed over the replaced silambu to Kannaki and returned with the rewards. Kannaki realized that she had been tricked when she picked up the silambu to wear it. The Pootham guarding the work bit his tongue and opened his eyes in anger. The ritual in which Pootham travel from house to house in search of the goldsmith who has committed fraud. Associated with this belief is the appearance of a Pootham with its eyes wide open and tongue out. There is another belief that Pootham goes from house to house in search of the real golden silambu. Elsewhere popular is the myth related to killing of

Darika Darika is a character in Mudiyettu, a ritualistic dance from the Bhagavathi or Bhadrakali worship, usually performed only in the Kali temples of Kerala. The story is also known as "Darika vadham", or "killing of Darika". In the story, Brahma gran ...

. It is believed that

Bhadrakali Bhadrakali (IAST: Bhadrakālī; ) is an important goddess, mainly worshiped by Hindus, and is a form of Kali. She is considered to be the auspicious and fortunate form of Adi Shakti or Durga, the supreme mother who protects the good, known ...

, the daughter of Shiva, after slaying Darika, danced in joy accompanied by the demons of Shiva. Thudi came as a percussion instrument because it was the dance of Lord Shiva's demons.

Instruments used

Traditional small percussion instrument called Thudi is used for Poothan, while a heavy drum called Para is used for thira.

Costume

The Mudi (headgear) of the Poothan is semi-circular. Mudi is also sometimes called 'thira'. The Mudi of the thira are made of thin wood. A face covering with the tongue sticking out is worn. Various types of dyes sare used for decorating Mudi. A lot traditional ornaments named as karivala (black bangle), kaivala (hand bangle), tholvala (wrist ornament), marthali (chest ornament) and aratali (waist ornament) are worn by the Poothan. There will be colorful dresses. Pootham's style of dress is similar to

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 ...

. The eyes are smeared

kohl Kohl may refer to: *Kohl (cosmetics), an ancient eye cosmetic *Kohl (surname), including a list of people with the surname *Kohl's Kohl's Corporation (Kohl's is stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain store, chain. ...

, the face and body are painted with water mixed rice flour and turmeric and flower garlands are also worn.

Ritual

There is a custom of going to houses dressed as Putham to inform the locals about the Thira festival at the temple. This ritual known as ''Kavettam'' or ''Kavil kayaral'' (entering the

Kavu Kavu is the traditional name given for sacred groves across the Malabar Coast in Kerala, South India. Kavus are notable for ''Theyyam'', the centuries-old ritual dance. Snake Groves A Sarpa Kavu (meaning ''Abode of Snakes'') is a traditiona ...

) is an important part of this ritual. After the performance in houses, rice, paddy and money will be given to the performers from the homes. A typical Poothan and Thira performance includes shouts and wild gestures and may include percussion and horns as well as drums. The dancers wear large fan-shaped head-dresses and imposing masks, often with sticking-out tongues and bulging eyes. The dancer playing Poothan usually wears a bright coloured tightly woven costume, often including bright red elements and embellished with gold-coloured

trinket A trinket may refer to: * A small showy piece of jewellery, such as a jewel or a ring. * Trinket Island, an island of the Nicobar Islands ** Trinket Bay, a village on the island * Trinket snake, common name for '' Elaphe helena'', a species of co ...

s that rattle when the dancer moves. The dancer playing Thira wears a semicircular black crown with symbols of the

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

embossed on it.

In popular culture

The epic

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 ...

poem ''Poothappattu'' by

Edasseri Govindan Nair Edasseri Govindan Nair (23 December 1906 – 16 October 1974) was an Indian poet and playwright of Malayalam literature. Known as one of the major poets of Malayalam, Edasseri was a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Kerala Sahitya ...

is based on the Poothan and Thira tradition.

References

External links

Kerala Tourism

Kerala Festivals
{{Culture of Kerala Hindu rituals Ritual dances Dances of Kerala Kerala folklore