Pulikali also known as Kaduvakali is the popular recreational folk art of Trissure- the cultural capital of Kerala. The word Pulikalikali/ Kaduvakali(The play of Tigers) is derived from two Malayalam words such as ‘Puli’/ ‘Kaduva’(Leopard/Tiger) and ‘kali’ ( Dance).
The origin of Pulikali dates back to over 200 years,
when the Maharaja Rama Varma Sakthan Thampuran(Maharaja of Cochin), is said to have
introduced the folk art, who wanted to celebrate Onam with a dance that reflected the wild and macho spirit
of the force. Later, Muslim soldiers of the British Army stationed in Thrissur in the army cantonment area (Pattalam Road) used to
celebrate with great fervor; and popularized the folk genre with active steps
and body language peculiar to a tiger being stalked by a hunter, enacting a
play of the hunter and the beast. Along with the celebrations, they used to
perform the art form decked as tigers with peculiar steps resembling the tiger,
then known as 'Pulikkettikali'.
Pulikali is generally
performed by trained artists to entertain people on the occasion of Onam(Forth
day of the Onam celebration that is Naalaam Onam). A particular combination of tempera powder and varnish or enamel is used to make the paints
in different colours such as yellow, red, white, black etc,. First of all, the
dancers remove the hair from the body, and then, the base coat of paint is
applied on them. It takes two to three hours for the coating to dry. After
that, the second coat of paint is applied with enhanced design. Earlier
period performers used to paint their body like tigers and
hunters in and dance according to the beats of the traditional musical
instruments known as Udukku and Thakil, but nowadays ready-made masks,
cosmetic teeth, tongues, beards and mustaches are used by the participants
along with the paint on their bodies. This entire procedure takes at least five
to seven hours.
A large number of artists gather to apply paint on the tigers. It is a meticulous process and often starts from the wee hours in the morning. By afternoon the Pulikali groups 'Sangham'(s) in local parlance, from all four corners of Thrissur move in a procession, dancing, pouncing and shaking their bellies to the beat of the drums through the streets. Thousands of spectators line the streets enjoying the dance, cheering the dancers some of them even trying to join in.
A large number of artists gather to apply paint on the tigers. It is a meticulous process and often starts from the wee hours in the morning. By afternoon the Pulikali groups 'Sangham'(s) in local parlance, from all four corners of Thrissur move in a procession, dancing, pouncing and shaking their bellies to the beat of the drums through the streets. Thousands of spectators line the streets enjoying the dance, cheering the dancers some of them even trying to join in.
Bibliography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puli_Kali
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