Kummattikali or Kummatti Kali is the famous colorful mask-dance of

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 ...

, prevalent in Thrissur District, Palakkad District and parts of South Malabar. During the festival of

Onam Onam ( ) is an annual Indian harvest festival celebrated predominantly by the Hindus of Kerala. A major annual event for Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events. Onam commemorates Vamana ...

, Kummattikali performers move from house to house collecting small gifts and entertaining people. Kummatti dances are rampant in the Thrissur district during Onam. Pristine or original form of Kummattikali can be seen in the

Bhadrakali Bhadrakali (IAST: Bhadrakālī; ), also known as Mahakali and Kali, is a Hindu goddess. According to Shaktism, she is one of the fierce forms of the Supreme Goddess Shakti, or Adi Parashakti, mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam. In Vaishnavi ...

temple in Palakkad district. Kerala

Costumes

The costumes are a most interesting fact of Kummattikali. The dancers don a heavily painted colourful wooden mask depicting faces of

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

Narada Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He ...

, Kiratha,

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 gra ...

, or hunters. These masks are usually made out of saprophyte,

jack fruit The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh, Sri ...

tree, Alstonia scholaris, Hog Plum tree or the Coral tree. The dancers wear skirts woven out of plaited grass. Some cover their whole body with bunches of grass for a more bushy appearance. The semblance is made more joyful with the 'talla' attached externally to the mask giving the appearance of a toothless open mouth. Dancers also hold and manipulate long sticks of residuary agricultural produce called 'Kummattikali': it is from this that the dance derives its name. Their dance is related to Shaiva myth. 'Thamma' (an old woman) walks in front with the help of a stick. Thamma is symbolic of mother of every being and everything. Kummatti dancers are a sight to watch as they move around from house to house collecting jaggery, rice, or small amounts of cash. Onlookers, specially children take great delight in their performance.

Performance

The rhythm for the dance movements is provided by vibrating the string of a bow like instrument called an

Onavillu An onavillu is a simple, short, bow-shaped musical instrument. Its name may come from ''Onam'', a festival in Kerala where the instrument is used in dances, and ''villu'', which means 'bow' in Malayalam (and several other South Indian languages). ...

Areca nut ''Areca'' is a genus of 51 species of palms in the family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from the islands of the Philippines, Malaysia and India, across Southeast Asia to Melanesia. The generic name ''Areca'' is derived from a name ...

wood is used to make the bow and the strings are beaten with a narrow bamboo stick.India Travel Times: Kummattikali, the Kerala folk dance by Juhan Samuel
/ref> The themes of Kummattikali are mostly taken from the stories of

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

, Darika Vadham, the story of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

and folk tales like Manjan Nayare Pattu. It may be noted that folk art of Kerala can be classified into two broad categories - ritualistic and non-ritualistic. Ritualistic can be further divided into - Devotional, performed to please a particular god and goddess and Magical Art Forms.

Theyyam Theyyam (/ t̪eːjjəm/; romanised: ''teyyam'') are Hindu ritualistic dance forms practiced in northern Kerala and some parts of Karnataka. Theyyam is also known as Kaḷiyāṭṭaṁ or Tiṟa. Theyyam consists of traditions, rituals and c ...

, Thirra, Poothamthira,

Kannyar Kali Kanniyar Kali (Malayalam: കണ്യാർകളി) is a folk dance ritual performed in Temples of villages in Alathur and Chittur Taluk of Palakkad district of Kerala. The event is usually a part of Vishu celebrations of the village and ...

, Kummattikali, etc. are some of devotional art forms.

In popular culture

In the 2020 Malayalam action film '' Ayyappanum Koshiyum'', the character Ayyappan's past as a vigilante assassin disguised as a Kummatti performer is a central plot point. Ayyappan's mastery of Kalari martial arts skills enabled him to kill 13 assassins in Kummatti disguise sent by evil landlords to eliminate worker's union members.

References

{{Culture of Kerala Dances of Kerala Arts of Kerala