''Karakaattam'' ( ta, கரகாட்டம் or "''karakam'' ( 'water pot') dance") is an ancient folk dance of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

performed in praise of the rain goddess

Mariamman Mariamman, often abbreviated to Amman, is a Hindu goddess of rain, predominantly venerated in the rural areas of South India. Her festivals are held during the late summer/early autumn season of Ādi throughout Tamil Nadu and the Deccan region, ...

. The ancient

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

epic says that this type of dance derived from

Bharatham ''Bharatham'' is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language musical drama film written by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil. It stars Mohanlal, Urvashi, Nedumudi Venu, Lakshmi, and Murali. The film was produced by Mohanlal through his produc ...

and a mixture of multiple forms of Tamil dance forms like ''Bharatanatyam'' postures and ''

mudras A mudra (; sa, मुद्रा, , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ,) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. As wel ...

''. The offering of this dance is to the goddess to bless rain. The dance accompanies songs like folk Carnatic (''Amrithavarshini''). The performers balance a pot on their head. Traditionally, this dance is categorized into two types: ''Aatta Karakam'' symbolizes joy and happiness. It is mainly performed as entertainment. ''Sakthi Karakam'' is performed only in temples as a spiritual offering. ''Karakkatam'' invokes rain through a classical Tamil dance. The most common song employs ''Amrithavarshini Ragam'' (''Ragamalika''). Tamils believed that mother nature gives bountiful rain and protects the harvest.

Attire

''Karakattam'' is traditionally performed in a ''saree.'' However, attire can vary as the main property is to have a ''karakam'' (Pot) on the head of the dancer. Common attire includes sarees or kurtha, colored towels and a pot. The current ''karakattam'' fashion appears to have been corrupted, probably due to lack of support with Bharatanatyam purists dismissing the art as non-traditional and low class, as it has been reduced to more of a night glamour art, with young girls in skimpy clothing preferred as the performers and the audience having drunkards who come only to ogle and tease them. The Madras High Court issued a directive to disallow alcohol consumption when attending ''karakattam'' performances and to not do performances which are "obscene and vulgar".

In popular culture

In 1989, the Tamil movie

Karagattakaran ''Karakattakkaran'' () is a 1989 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy dance film written and directed by Gangai Amaran. The film stars Ramarajan and debutant Kanaka, while Santhana Bharathi, Chandrasekhar, Goundamani, Senthil, Shanmugasunda ...

featured its lead actors

Ramarajan Ramarajan (born 18 October, 1960) is an Indian actor, writer, director and politician who specialised in acting and directing films on village-based subjects. He is also known as ''Makkal Nayagan'' in Tamil cinema. Career Ramarajan started his ...

, Kanaka and

Kovai Sarala Kovai Sarala is an Indian actress and comedian, who prominently plays supporting roles in Tamil and Telugu films. She has won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Comedian three times, for her performances in '' Sathi Leelavathi'' (1995), '' ...

as performers of ''karakattam''. The movie went on to become very popular and an advertisement for the dance form, especially because of the music by Ilaiyaraja and the song, "Maanguyilae Poonguyile" with its ''karakattam'' choreography. Apart from this, the devotional film Padai Veetu Amman released in 2001 had the lead actress

Meena Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the sta ...

briefly performing ''karakattam'' dance in a festival song. Also, the 2002 Tamil film

Sri Bannari Amman ''Sri Bannari Amman'' is a 2002 Tamil-language devotional film written and directed by Bharathi Kannan. The film featured Vijayashanti in the title role being her 175th project alongside Karan and Laya, while Vadivelu plays a supporting role. ...

showed the central female devotee as a hereditary ''karakattam'' dancer. A song in the film featured ''karakattam'' dance.

References

External links

Real Karagam performersA foreigner trying to dance KaragamKaragam dance in Sri Lanka by Children
{{Dance in India Tamil dance styles Articles containing video clips