Download Kathakali Presentation

Kathakali Presentation
Hi everyone. Today I will be presenting to you the
wonderfully stylized south Indian dance drama, Kathakali,
focusing not only on the performance as a whole, but on
Mudras (the hand movements). I chose Kathakali because
i’ve, firstly, never been able to research or experience many
Asian theatre traditions while doing theatre in my school
life. Asian theatre is not discussed in many schools, because
the basis of theatre is depicted as Shakespeare and more
English based plays. Secondly, Kathakali was interesting
because it incorporates dance, as well as intricate hand
movements, detailed makeup and depicts a culture and
history filled story that conveys the culture of India, more
specifically Kerala and the religious movements of that time
period. I chose to focus on the hand movements or Mudras,
because you can understand most or the entire story
through the small and intricate hand movements which tell
you words, phrases or entire meanings.
For centuries, Kathakali has been linked to different forms of
art as a whole, such as ballet, opera, dance, pantomime and
so on. But as said by David Boland, it is none of these.
Kathakali is different from the many other art and dance
forms of India. Kathakali combines the story of Hindu
epics with a stylized theatrical presentation in the form
of dance. As said by Thulaseedhara Kurup, Kathakali creates
a world of illusion unmatched by any other form of theater.
With its captivating dramatics, its independently stylish
grandeur and its transformational theatrics, Kathakali
dominates the theatre. Using both primary and secondary
sources, I hope to share the magnificence of this Asian
Theatre aspect.
Kathakali hails from the South Indian State of Kerala
and is said to have originated and developed from the 17th
century. Kathakali, the true meaning of the word being
“story play”, is used to describe and explain stories from the
Ramayana, one of the two Hindu epic poems. David Bolland
stated that Kathakali did not crystalize until the Rajah of
Kottarakkara, a small municipality in Travancore, began
writing plays and interpreting the Hindu epics of the
Ramayana. Kathakali was given a name by those who had
high status in the caste system, which is reflected in the epic
and puranic languages enacted in Kathakali, as stated by
Zarilli. These were written in the local language, Sanskrit
Malayalam, so the ordinary locals could understand the
plays. From there on, it was seen that Kathakali was the
people’s theatre. Kathakali was performed not only in
temples, but also in the villages and people’s homes, as said
by Bolland. Kathakali slowly began to take a prominent role
in society, and more plays were written based on the
colorful epic, the Mahabharata. It’s development played a
prominent role in how it has modernized.
Kathakali taking on the form of a dance comes from the
combination of “the pre-Aryan Dravidian dances (languages
of south asia, primarily in india) and the Brahmins (a caste
itself, large spiritual and religious influence) ”. The fusions of
these dances that are made up of religious and cultural
practices are what bring the dance of Kathakali together in
harmony. While the Dravidian dance brought culture, the
Brahmins brought stylized sophistication, as well as a
religious component and resulted in the ever-evolving dance
of Kathakali. Kathakali takes on the form of older forms of
drama that also developed in Kerala, such Chakyar Kuttu, a
form of art very similar to Kathkali, and play part to the
evolving nature of Kathakali. Other early influences include
the worship of snakes within Kerala. The ancient Dravidians
of Kerala were large worshippers of snakes and, even in
modern times, snakes in the Keralan region are said to be
protectors of the household. Rather this respect for the
snakes evolved into a dance, a dance derived of the
Dravidians. All of these components were early influences of
not only Kathakali, but the Keralan culture. The adoration of
super-human qualities and animalistic qualities are what
helped developed the stories surrounding the Ramayana, as
well as the Mahabharata.
The aim of Kathakali is to transcend the mundane and
enter the world of gods, heroes and demons as stated by
Victoria Woodard. But by the end of the eighteenth century,
the performance techniques, as well as the conventions of
Kathakali had evolved. “On a bare outdoor stage cleared of
underbrush and defined only by a temporary canopy of four
poles with cloth hung overhead, using only a few stools and
properties, three groups of performers would collectively
create performances” (Zarilli)
Kathakali characters all represent the entire story being
told, symbolic personalities and beings. The representation
of the characters is divided into three worlds:
1. The Devas – the gods
2. The Humans
3. The Asuras – the demons
The use of epic and puranic players in the form of “demons,
demonesses and demon kinds to epic heroes and heroines,
priests and Brahmins and even the gods themselves” came
from earlier dances, specifically Krishnattam. This early
dance restricted itself to eight episodes of the life and birth
of Krishna, a deity. When Kathakali started developing, it
drew from Krishnattam to develop it’s traditional stage and
over the top characters. All of these characters are in
embellished costumes, makeup and head-dresses as “they
enact cosmic scripts”. The nature of such “cosmic scripts”
again draws from cultural influences. The use of cosmic
scripts is to show the “dramatic aspect of Kathakali”. Kings
in the 17th century conveyed the dominant metaphor of
battle, as it conceptualized relations between spiritual,
religious and the social-political power. This metaphor of
battle., as well as warfare is depicted in the epic heroes of
Kathakali. The “heroic state” is marked by dramatic
sacrificial acts, usually done by killing an anti-hero like a
demon or it’s king. The epic heroes represent the civilians of
the time, as having to “uphold the kingdom”. The dramatic
aspect of Kathakali is reflective of the time it developed,
when warfare and battle were a common aspect of the 17th
century, as well as the ones before that. The kathakali
performance was a congenial form of education of the
meaning behind the stories or the epic poems. As said by
Wendy O’Flaherty, the stories are not about gods and/or
demons, nor are written by them. They are simply foils for
human situations, and the gods and demons stand for the
super-human, cosmic state of the epics.
The acting mode of Kathakali in its totality can be better
understood in terms of four-fold scheme of historic
representation given in Natyasastra, the oldest surviving
text on stagecraft in the world. They are
 Angika — pertaining to the body and its limbs.
 Vachika — relating to the vocal including proper
pronunciation, modulation of voice accents and
percussion
 Satvika — representation of psychic condition
 Ahraya — costume, make-up, stage props etc
Traditionally, the acting was done through an all male
company of actors and dancers that performed Kathakali.
Each having years of training and taking on a complete
physical state to take on the character, they are all easily
distinguished as they each have their repertory of makeup,
dance and stage movement, as well as varied hand
movements or Mudras. The actor-dancers have been
trained since the tender age of seven/eight through
abhinaya and nritta, meaning acting and dancing. s Through
a systematic process of practice and training, an actor gains
full control of the facial muscles, which enables him to
express the emotions. Through an internal discipline an
actor develops his ability in mastering this action technique.
This will help the actor to go deeper into the
characterization of the role in proper situation in the play.
Performances were sponsored by royal households and
eventually become one of the most popular forms of
entertainment. It was not only performed in the local
language but was accessible to large groups of people, unlike
earlier dance dramas. It was accessible to those low in the
caste system and as mentioned before, was performed out of
the temples, in people’s homes and villages. Although in
modern times, kathakali has suffered due to the changing
socio-political structure that was brought in during British
rule in the 19th and 20th century. Originally Kathakali plays
were performed all night, but have changed into three hour
“cameos”. Also characters have been added to reflect
everyday life than “most roles in the repertory” than were
originally from the epic and puranic sources. (Zarilli)
Mudras are the “mainstay of communication in Kathakali”.
They convey interpretations, poetic meanings, as well as
dramatic aspects. They replace the voice as actors do not
speak or sing. There are 24 mudras within Kathakali, which
express the nine rasas or emotions. In the times when
Kathakali was developing, they had a larger symbolic
meaning, but today there is a larger emphasis on gestures
that present realism. The nine rasas are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Serenity
Wonder
Kindness
Love
Valour
Fear
Contempt
Loathing
Anger
These are used in conjuction with the mudras, and the two
together are what depict the emotions.
The use of the fingers are what are seen as most important
in perfecting the mudras. The fingers are seen as “electrical
circuits”, where energy is directed to the discharge points of
the fingertips. When the mudras are used to focus back into
the body with intention, It is believed that this is what
creates harmony and balance. Each finger represents an
element, with the thumb representing fire, the index finger
representing air, the middle finger representing aether, the
ring finger representing earth and the little finger, water.
This can be seen in the play Nalacharitham, written by
Unnayi Warrier. Now, since the use of mudras in a Hindi play
would not be able to be demonstrated well without good
proper context of a play, I instead looked at the play and
analyzed the mudras and their meaning. The characters
used all of the mudras in conjunction with certain facial
expressions and after watching one part of the play, I came
to a slight conclusion on what the play would be without
looking at a proper synopsis first. I came to the conclusion
that it regarded man in conjuction with the downfall of
animalistic qualities and of course love. I saw this as in the
play, number 8 is used a lot, as is 15 and of course all of them
but my conclusions were based purely off the mudras
themselves. This also conveys how the mudras don’t need to
be understood in the context of the play but rather their own
context and the symbols behind them.
Within each Mudra, there are single and/or double hand
gestures. With that being said and each mudra having a
different number of phrases or words attachd to it, there are
a total of 470 symbols that are depicted through mudras.
There are two types of Mudras, the first being Samaana
Mudras or Same Mudras, where the same hand gesture is
used to show two different symbols. “For example the
Mudra “Karthareemukham (5)” is used to show both the
symbols ‘Time’ and ‘Near’”. The second type of Mudras is
Misra Mudras or Mixed Mudras, where some symbols are
shown using two different mudras in both hands, for
example, to show the indra symbol, mushti is used in one
hand while, sikharam is used in the other. Each mudras has
different symbols attached to it, and they are random.
Through the use of mudras, the audience is able to better
understand the meaning behind the dance as well as the
story, as no singing or talking is done. The mudras are also
done in conjuction with music
To conclude, Kathakali draws influences from not only the
Keralan region, but also the Asian region as a whole. It’s
inclusion of different forms of art, including the use of
literature, music, theatre and dance to create an educational
but also entertaining presentation is what has kept it alive in
the Indian culture.
Researching Kathakali has also brought me new revelations
as, I didn’t realize how much context there would be
surrounding this tradition. That’s why I also wanted to focus
heavily on the roots of Kathakali because to me, Kathakali
has built itself up by incorporating different forms of art and
cultural practices from the 17th century onwards. The basis
of kathakali is it’s origin, the hindu literature. I thought it
was extremely interesting to research the context of
production, and how that has influenced it’s reception in
modern times.
"Kathakali." Mudra Cultural Centre Kumily. MUDRA
CULTURAL CENTRE, 2002. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
<http://mudraculturalcentre.com/kathakali/>.
Bolland, David. A Guide to Kathakali, with the Stories of 36
Plays. New Delhi: National Book Trust, India, 1980. Print.
Kurup, Thulaseedhara. "Indian ETD Repository @
INFLIBNET: Acting Styles of Kathakali and Kabuki A
Comparative Study." Indian ETD Repository @ INFLIBNET:
Acting Styles of Kathakali and Kabuki A Comparative Study.
Pondicherry University, 1 June 2014. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.
"History of Kathakali." History of Kathakali. Jupiter
Infomedia, 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.
Sreedhar, Sajeevan. Understanding Kathakali. Kerala:
Nishamol Sajeevan, 2012. Kindle Ebook File.
Zarrilli, Phillip B. Kathakali Dance-Drama: Where Gods and
Demons Come to Play. London; New York: Routledge, 1999.
Print
Woodard, Victoria. Keralan Culture. London: 2015. Kindle
Ebook file
Menon, K.P.S. A Dictionary of Kathakali. Telangana: Orient
Blackswan Private Limited, 2012. Kindle Ebook Ffile