Tholppavakkoothu Hindu Ritual Art Kerala

Tholppavakkoothu Hindu Ritual Art Kerala

Tholppavakkoothu, literally meaning 'leather puppet play', is a ritual art performed during the annual festivals in the Kaali temples of Palakkad district. The theme of the play is based on the Kamba Ramayana, narrated in a diction that is a mixture of Malayalam and Tamil dialectical variations. The play covers the whole gamut of events from Lord Sree Rama's birth to his coronation as the King of Ayodhya. The shadow play is presented in the 'Koothumadam', a specially constructed oblong play house on the temple premises. The puppets are fashioned out of the hides of buffaloes and deer, the former for evil characters and latter for noble ones. Each puppet is of an average height of 80 cms and is cut out in different postures. The puppets are arranged behind a long white curtain stretched across the Koothumadom. Behind this, on a split bamboo pole, is placed a row of wick lamps burning inside coconut halves. The light from these lamps cast the silhouettes of the puppets on the curtain. The chief puppeteer is known as 'Pulavan'. At present this ritual art is confined to Ottapalam and Kavalappara in Palakkad district. One of the most important rituals in several well known temples of Kerala, the ancient ritual art of Tholppavakkoothu is basically a form of puppet dancing, a trait that can be gathered from the literal translation of its name which means, “leather puppet play”. Performed during the annual festivals in the Kaali temples of Palakkad district, the theme of Tholppavakkoothu revolves around the life of Lord Rama, the legendary hero of the Ramayana, one of the most sacred Indian epics. Tholppavakkoothu describes the event which began with the birth of Lord Rama till his coronation as the king of Ayodhya. Generally performed in the “Koothumadam”, or specially constructed play houses in the premises of the various temples in Kerala, Tholppavakkoothu is a shadow play in which the puppets are moved to depict the various scenes of the drama. The puppets which are generally carved out of hides of buffaloes and deer, a trait, which too holds significance as the buffalo hides are used to depict evil characters while the deer hides represent noble characters in the drama. Each puppet is of an average height of 80 cms and is cut out in different postures. The puppets are arranged behind a long white curtain stretched across the Koothumadom. Behind this, on a split bamboo pole, is placed a row of wick lamps burning inside coconut halves. The light from these lamps cast the silhouettes of the puppets on the curtain. The chief puppeteer is known as 'Pulavan'. At present this ritual art is confined to Ottapalam and Kavalappara in Palakkad district. Also known as Pavakoothu and Nizhalkoothu.Specially performs in Palakkadu and Ponnani Taluks. This is handled traditionally by Pulavanmars. "pava" means puppet and "koothu" means play. The puppets are made by deer skin and they represent characters of Ramayana epic. In the play the puppets are placed behind a curtain, behind which oil wick lamps are placed. After that a singer sings songs from Ramayana and the puppets are made to move and dance according to the music.

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