FESTIVALS are held in
all the taluks in connection with various celebrations
in the temples, mosques and churches. The car festival
at Suchindram attracts large number of crowds in the
month of January. The Kodai festival in the month of
March in the Mondaicadu temple in the Kalkulam Taluk
gets a large gathering. The Thirukalya Utsavam in the
Kumaracoil temple in the Kalkulam taluk in the month of
March - April is observed as an important festival.
Pongal in January and Deepavali in November are also
occasions for festivity and rejoicing among the Hindu
Communities. The Malayalis celebrate Onam in August -
September with feasts and sports. Muslims in all the
taluks observe Muharram and Ramzan. Christmas is an
important festival for the Christians. In the
St.Xavier's Church at Kottar, as annual festival in the
month of December is usually celebrated on a very grand
scale and attracts Catholic people from all over South
India.
FORK ARTS Many Folk
arts and dances are popular in this district. They are
played during the time of festivals in temples,
celebrations in schools etc.
Bow Song (Villu Pattu)
is an ancient form of musical - story - telling art of
southern Tamil Nadu. This art is famous particularly in
Southern Tamil Nadu.
Bow, the age -old weapon of warriors - paradoxically
lends itself to be used as a primary musical instrument
for the Villu Pattu artists. There are Udukku , Kudam,
Thala - Kattai etc as supplementary instrument in their
performances. Udukku mentioned in the ancient Tamil
literature as Thudi, is a small drum with a slender
middle portion which is held in the left hand and played
by the fingers of the right hand . This may be seen in
the pictures and statues of Lord Nataraja, - the cosmic
Dancer, adoring his left hand. Sometimes the Villu Pattu
team divides itself into two groups, each trying to
prove opposite view points of a subject by conducting
the programme by exchange of questions and answers. This
is called Lavani Pattu. The songs used by the
Villu-Pattu artists are mostly traditional folk-songs.
Thiruvathirai Kali
occupies the pride of place among the folk dances. It
resembles Kummi and is played especially during Onam
festival. The players are young girls. The necessary
number of girls is 8,10,12 or 16 for each dance. They
move round and sing in chorus. Each girl strikes the
stick (Kole) which she holds in each hand and the
striking of the sticks and the steps , which she makes
are rhythmical to the tune.
Kalial is a folk dance
played by group of men or boys in the country side. A
group leader sings songs and keeps time with cymbals.
The players stand in a circle with sticks in their hand
and dance round a lighted lamp repeating the songs sung
by the leader. They turn, twist, lean forward and
backward, squat and move round singing to the tune. At
the beginning the steps are elaborate and at times, they
are also very quick . When invited to perform in a
function, the players generally begin the dance with an
invocation for heavenly aid and conclude the dance with
a torch - dance using lighted torches. This folk
dance exhibits the artistic and recreative life of the
country side.
Kathakali is a unique
form of drama, which has its origin in Travancore.
Kathakali (story-dance) is a relatively recent
(fifteenth or sixteenth century) development of earlier
dances, which, like dances every where, arose out of
religious expression through symbolical action. In this
art-form, the characters express their ideas not by
words, but by significant gestures. The movements are
adopted from the Bharatha Natya with suitable
modifications. The conversations between the
characters, as well as the narrative portion of the
story, invariably in verse, are recited in a loud voice
by the Bhagavathar to the accompaniment of musical
instrument. The action is promoted by his words. The
costume and make up of the actor are also important
aspects in Kathakali. There are standard make up for
the different types of actors, but red, yellow, green
black and white are the colours used. The head dresses
are made of light-weight wood and are decorated with
pieces of mirror, spangles, and coloured stones.
Usually, a Kathakali performance extends from eight to
ten hours. With the advent of the cinema, the
popularity of this art has declined. It is now played
in the temples at Thiruvattar, Thirparappu, Ponmana,
Kuzhithurai, Neyyoor and Munchira in the Kanyakumari
District twice a year during the time of festivals.
Ottam Thullal is a form
of story telling. It is a popular for of amusement,
staged in the temple premises and Malayalam is the
language commonly used. It combines dance, song and
acting. the story – teller is aided by two musicians,
one, who leads the song and plays on an instrument,
and the other, who keeps time by beating cymbal. The
actor wears a simple costume consisting of a skirt,
some arm and chest decorations and an elaborate head
dress. ‘Ottam Thullal’ is now played in the temples of
Thiruvaattar, Thirparappu, Ponmana and Thirunanthikara
in the district during the time of festivals.
Karagam Dance is a kind
of dance common in the country side. It is played by
both men and women during the time of festivals and
marriages.
Kalari also known as
Adimurai in Kanniyakumari district, is an ancient
martial art, still preserved in the villages of this
district and also in Kerala. A tradition believed to
have been founded by Paraurama is known Vadakkan
Kalari : and another credited to Agasthiar is
called as which emphasis is on striking at vital points
of the body and not on weapons, even through sword,
knife, Urumi (rolling sword), Mankombu
(horns of a deer), Kandakkodali, (a kind of axe),
mazhu (a kind of axe) etc., are also used.
