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Zonkerala Articles ->
Kathakali - Origin, History, Fine Art Elements and Plays
- Kathakali is an ancient and
traditional dance form of Kerala. The word Kathakali literally means
"Story-Play". Kathakali uses elaborate make-ups, costumes and
background. Kathakali was originated in the 17th century and has its
roots in Hindu mythology. Kathakali has a unique combination of
literature, music, painting, acting and dance. Kathakali is based on
religious themes. They play is mostly based on the two epics 'Ramayana'
and 'Mahabharata'.
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- Origin and History of
Kathakali
- Popular belief is that Kathakali is
emerged from "Krishananattam", the dance drama on the life and
activities of Lord Krishna created by the Zamorin of Calicut. Once
Kottarakkara Thampuran, the Raja of Kottarakkara who was attracted by
Krishnanaattam requested the Zamorin for the loan of a troupe of
performers. Due to the political rivalry between the two, Zamorin did
not allow this. So Kottarakkara Thampuran created another art form
called Ramanattam which was later transformed into Aattakatha.
Krishnanaattam was written in Sanskrit, and Raamanaattam was in
Malayalam. By the end of 17th century, Attakatha was presented to the
world with the title 'Kathakali'.
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- Elements of Fine Art
- Kathakali is a combination of five
forms of fine art like :
- 1. Natyam (Acting or Expressions)
- 2. Nritham (Dance)
- 3. Nrithyam (Enactment)
- 4. Sangeetham (Music)
- 5. Vadyam (Instrument
accompaniment)
- Even though the lyrics/literature
would qualify as another independent element called "Sahithyam", it is
considered as a component of Geetha, as it plays only a supplementary
role to Nritham, Nrithyam and Natyam.
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- Kathakali Plays
- There are about 101 Kathakali stories.
The stories were composed for the whole night in the old times. But due
to the increasing demand for the concised versions, now the plays are
composed for 2-4 hours instead of the whole night. It is good for one
who watches Kathakali to have an idea of the story being played. Success
or failure of amateur Kathakali artistes is often decided by their
sensibility to successfully personalize characters.
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- Important stories enacted in Kathakali
are 'Nala Charitham' (Story from Mahabharatham about King Nala and his
wife Damayanthi), 'Duryodhana Vadham' (Another story from Mahabharata
about the killing of Duryodhana by the Pandava brother Bhima in
Kurukshetra), 'Kalyanasowgandhikam' (Bheema's encounter with Hanuman
when the former set out in search for the flower Kalyanasaugandhikam for
his wife Draupadi), 'Keechaka Vadham'(Story of the killing of Keechaka
by Bhima when the Panadavas were in disguise), 'Kiratham' (Story of
Arjuna and Lord Shiva's fight), and 'Karna Shapadham' (story of Karna
from Mahabharata).
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-> Kathakali Costumes, Make-up, Major centres in Kerala
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