![HuliveshaImage174](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/HuliveshaImage174.jpg)
Pili Vesha in (''
Tulu'': ಪಿಲಿ ಏಸ) "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 masq ...
" is a
folk dance unique in coastal
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
. Pilivēṣa is performed during
Navratri
Navaratri is an annual Hindu festival observed in the honour of the goddess Durga. It spans over nine nights (and ten days), first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and again in the month of Sharada. It is o ...
to honour the Goddess
Durga
Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) 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 c ...
whose favoured animal is the
tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ...
. Which is called mārnemi.
Mangalore Dasara
The Mangalore Dasara ( Tulu: Marnemi, Konkani: Mannami), is a festival in the Indian city of Mangalore organized by Acharya Mutt. It is also referred as Navarathri Festival, Vijayadashami. The tiger dance, lion dance and bear dance are the mai ...
is one of the festivals during which large number of enthusiasts participate in this ritual. It was originated in Udupi District of Karnataka and initially performed during the
Krishna Janmashtami/
Mosarukudike and
Ganesha
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), 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 Ganapatya sect. His image is ...
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 ...
at
Mangalore
Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ke ...
,
Udupi
Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road.
...
,
Moodabidri
Moodabidri ( kn, ಮೂಡುಬಿದಿರೆ ''Mūḍubidire''; also called Mudbidri, Moodbidre and Bedra), is a town and taluk in Dakshina Kannada district. It lies 34 km northeast of the district headquarters, Mangalore, in Karna ...
,
Kundapur
Kundapur, also called Kundapura, is a coastal town situated in the Udupi district of the state of Karnataka, India. This town was known as Coondapoor while it was part of the erstwhile South Canara district (1862–1947) of the Madras Pre ...
and many other places in
Tulu Nadu
Tulunad or Tulu Nadu, also called Bermere sristi or Parashurama Srishti, is a region and a proposed state on the southwestern coast of India. The Tulu people, known as 'Tuluva' (plural 'Tuluver'), speakers of Tulu, a Dravidian language, ar ...
.
Typically, young males form troops of five to ten members or more, which will have three to five males painted and costumed to look like tigers, and a band called ''thaase'' in
Tulu with two or three drummers. This troop is accompanied by the manager of the group. During Navratri, these troops will be roaming the streets of their towns, with the 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 some money from the people who have observed their performance.
The troops perform until the last day of Navratri, and almost all of them form part of the Sharada processions organized by various temples such as
Mangaladevi
The Mangaladevi Temple is a Hindu temple at 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 Shakti in the form o ...
,
Gokarnanatheshwara and Venkatramana temple. After the procession is over, performances are stopped and the paint is removed.
Costumes
![ಪಿಲಿತ ವೇಷ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/%E0%B2%AA%E0%B2%BF%E0%B2%B2%E0%B2%BF%E0%B2%A4_%E0%B2%B5%E0%B3%87%E0%B2%B7.jpg)
While ''Pili'' means "tiger" in
Tulu, dancers also painted themselves with
leopard or
cheetah
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...
motifs. The costumes may vary depending on the place, costumes used in
Mangalore
Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ke ...
is different compared to
Udupi district
Udupi district (also Udipi 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 coastal region, there are seven talu ...
. Each person will be wearing just a knicker/shorts, which usually has a tiger-skin motif. The rest of his bare body and face is painted with various 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 by the persons to be part of the celebrations and also to earn some extra money in the holiday season. Originally people used to do this as a part of a religious vow. The paint is kept on the body for a couple of days and repainted or retouched as desired.
Skills
The skills may vary from person to person and the basic skill required is to know the tiger dance steps which requires one to have enough
stamina. Usual skills performed by the artists 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 ac ...
,
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
__NOTOC__
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- ...
s,
gymnastic
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...
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.
In popular culture
The 2014
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
movie
Ulidavaru Kandanthe featured Tiger dance where one of the character (actor
Achyuth Kumar
Achyuth Kumar is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Kannada cinema. Born in the town of Belur, in the district of Hassan and brought up in Tiptur. He graduated in bachelor of commerce from the Kalpatharu First Grade College, which was ...
) belongs to the Pilivesha troop. Also, there is a song titled "Pilivesha Beats" completely dedicated to tiger dance.
The 2021 movie
Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana also had a brief history and featured Pili Vesha where the character of Shiva (actor
Raj B. Shetty
Raj B. Shetty is an Indian actor, Film Director, director, and screenwriter who works in Kannada film industry. He gained recognition through his directorial debut, ''Ondu Motteya Kathe'' (2017), which was a huge commercial success. He furthe ...
) danced, 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
See also
*
Puli Kali
Puli kali (Meaning: Leopard Dance) is a recreational folk art from the state of Kerala, India. It is performed by trained artists to entertain people on the occasion of Onam, an annual harvest festival, celebrated mainly in the Indian state ...
, a similar dance form in neighbouring
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
*
Tulunadu Culture
*
Mangalore Dasara
The Mangalore Dasara ( Tulu: Marnemi, Konkani: Mannami), is a festival in the Indian city of Mangalore organized by Acharya Mutt. It is also referred as Navarathri Festival, Vijayadashami. The tiger dance, lion dance and bear dance are the mai ...
*
Aati kalenja
Aati Kalenja is an ancient traditional folk art form practiced by Tulu people from the region of Tulu Nadu, India which is believed to bring prosperity during Aati which is one of the months in Tulu calendar. It normally comes in the months of Ju ...
*
Bhuta Kola
Būta Kōlā,/buːt̪ʌ/ is the local pronunciation while the standardised Kannada pronunciation is /bʱuːt̪ʌ koːlɑː/ also referred to as daiva kōlā or nēmā, is a ritual dance performance prevalent among the Hindus of Tulu Nadu an ...
References
{{Dance in India
Hindu festivals
Festivals in Karnataka
Hinduism in Karnataka
Dakshina Kannada district
Udupi district
Religious festivals in India
Dance festivals in India
Culture of Tulu Nadu
Culture of Mangalore