Kutiyattam or Koodiyattam (meaning “acting together”) is a 2000 years old Sanskrit theatrical art form of Kerala. It has been accepted as one of the 'Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity' by UNESCO.
Kutiyattam finds its roots in an ancient South Indian art form Koothu - it is a Sanskrit art form that has been mentioned several times in the epigraphs belonging to Pallava, Chera, Chola periods. King of the Chera Dynasty, Kulasekhara Varman, who lived around 900 A.D., had written two dramas, the Tapatisamvarana and Subhadradhananjaya. He, along with his friends made arrangements to enact these two dramas. It played a huge role in reviving and reforming this Sanskrit art form of Kerala.
Several local writers after him wrote plays for Kutiyattam. They include large-scale heroic plays as well as shorter ones. Many of them were episodes from the great literature - the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
Till the first half of the 20th century, this art form was usually performed by the members of the Chakiar and Nambyar castes in temple theatres known as Koothambalam (or Kuttambalam). Only the men belonging to the Chakiar caste presented the dance, and the men belonging to the Nambiar caste played the music. The female roles of the drama were being enacted by the female members of the Nambiar families while the female members of the Chakiar caste were not allowed to take part in this performance.
Most of the Koothambalam or the temple theatres, where Kutiyattam is performed, follow the instructions mentioned in the Natyashastra. Their ground plan is mostly rectangular and they are rather intimate in size, thus allowing the audience to enjoy the actor’s hand gestures and complex facial expressions, which form the highlight of the whole art form. An oil lamp is customarily placed on the stage during the performance to ensure the same, it also symbolizes the divine presence. The various temples with Koothambalams (temple theatres) for Kutiyattam performance in Kerala include Thirumandhamkunnu, Thiruvaarppu, Thiruvaalathur (Kodumba), Guruvayoor, Arppokkara, Kidangoor, Peruvanam, Thiruvegappuram, Moozhikkulam, Thirunakkara, Harippadu, Chengannur, Iringalakkuda and Vadakkumnatha, Thrissur. The construction of the Koothambalam has spiritual significance too.
The assembly of a Koothambalam is related to the theory of Vastupurusamandala, which is a combination of three words: Vastu, Purusa, and Mandala. The Koothambalam is a symbol of the “Divine Cosmic Essence" (Purusa, being the supreme power). The performance is observed as sacrifices. The Mandala is a ritual diagram or plan which defines the exterior of a holy place. This careful and meaningful construction of the Koothambalam exhibit the spirituality involved in the Kutiyattam tradition.
It was only in the latter part of the 20th century that Kutiyattam emerged from only being performed in Koothambalam to being added to the curriculum of the state theatre school Kalamandalam, and, later, private Kutiyattam associations started to research it and also promote it internationally, which includes Natana Kairali institution led by Sri G. Venu, better known as Venuji.
An emblematic Kutiyattam performance involves elaborate and lengthy acting sequences using hand gestures and distinctive modes of acting like Ilakiyaattom, Pakarnnaatttom, and Irunnaattom. However, only a part of an Ankam (meaning Chapter) of the play is enacted like Vichinnabhishekam, Mayaseethankom, and Shoorppanakhaankom (Surpanakhankam). Today, the presentation of a single ‘Ankam’ from one of these plays takes up to eight days whereas in the earlier days it took up to 41 days to complete a single chapter.
A combination of music, from multiple instruments, along with Vedic ragas and chants create a divine and primitive ambiance. The entire Sanskrit act is explained in Malayalam by a jester who is called the Vidushaka. He even adds humor to it to make sure that he has the audience’s attention.
The Mizhavu, placed in its wooden enclosure at the rear of the stage is the main instrument used as accompaniment in a Kutiyattam performance. Others include Idakka, Shankhu, Kurumkuzhal, and Kuzhithaalam. Now and then the actors utter their lines in the slowest and stylized manner.
Kutiyattam is an indigenous form of art when it comes to costuming and make-up. The actors’ wear wide skirt-like lower garments. They are believed to have developed from archaic dance costumes made of leaves and other natural materials. A specialty of the Kutiyattam garment is that its cotton and the back forms a kind of huge, intricate rosette constructed of tight draperies. The upper body and arms are covered with a long-sleeved jacket.
Heavy ornaments and headgear, mostly made of gilded wood, add to the Kutiyattam’s exaggerated aesthetics, which bear clear, stylistic similarities to the 15th–17th-century murals as seen in the famous Mattancherry Palace in Kochi, in Central Kerala.
The make-up is usually non-naturalistic and brightly colored. Some make-up types are characterized by a white frame-like ridge, made of thick rice paste (chutti). Although make-up varies according to each specific role.
Dancers go through almost ten to fifteen years of meticulous training and practice to become full-fledged performers or pundits. They are taught to master the controlling of breath in a dignified way and make extremely fine muscle shifts of the face and body. It takes several days and weeks of practice to even get a particular step right and master a single act as the entire act is oriented to minute details. Kutiyattam is a sacred, spiritual dance form and has powerful bonds with the idea of sacrifice and religion. It is believed that a Kutiyattam actor loses his individuality and transcends to the personality of the character he is enacting.
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