A story of a village which
safeguard the traditional art-form
Introduction
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| Myself with Mr. Thambi Payyapilly |
Gothuruth- an Island of Festival
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| Map of Kerala |
Gothuruth
is a village in the state of Kerala, India, is located in the Ernakulam district, Paravur Taluk. Kochi city is situated 19.2 km away and International Airport situated nearly 24 km away from this island. It is also said that, the Gothuruthu was cattle grazing land, owned by Paliath Achan, who was the hereditary prime ministers to the Rajah of Kingdom of Cochin (Kochi).
Scientific studies state that this island was
created due to a flood in the early 14th century. It is located where the
ancient Roman port city Muziris was once situated. This is the
birthplace of the traditional art form Chavittu Nadakam . Each year a lot of celebrations and cultural
programmes took place and so the island is now known as the 'Island of
Festivals'. Majority of the population are highly literate and strictly
religious.
This place was ruled by one
and the only Christian royal family in India, called Villarvattom, which means
the rulers of the land protected by a bow(villu) shaped
river(aaru).Villarvattam was a vassal kingdom under Kochi, at the time of Raja
Thoma Villarvattam. This area was ceded to the Kingdom of Kochi, as the
Villarvattam family did not have male children, and the female who inherited
the throne was married to Paliam royal family. 13 Nasrani families under the
leadership of Outha Kalathil paid a huge amount of money to Kochi rulers and
retained their rights on the land.
Chavittu Nadakam – “Stamping Drama”
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| Thambi Payyapilly & Team perform Chavittu Nadakam |
Gothuruth
is famous for the art form "Chavittu Nadakam". Portraying Christian
history, it is a blend of traditional Portuguese art form brought by Portuguese
missionaries to this coastal area and local art forms. In this new hybrid art
form, the performers stamp their feet hard into the wooden stage to make a loud
noise, which gave the form its name: 'Chavittu Nadakam', literally 'stamping
drama'. In a typical show, there would be 150-200 people on stage. Now the
performers are down to 75 and the duration of a show is shortened to 2-3 hours.
The Chavittu Nadakam performers now perform on Gothuruthu Island, where the
Kerala Chavittu Nataka Academy has been established.
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| Chavittu Nadakam |
Chavittu Nadakam (Malayalam:ചവിട്ടുനാടകം) is
a highly colorful Latin Christian classical art form originated in Cochin, Kerala state in India.
Commonly believed that Gothuruth is the birth place of Chavittu Nadakam. This art
form highly resembles European Opera.
Chavittu Nadakam is believed to be originated during the 16th century AD. This
form of play is prevalent among the Latin Christian community in the districts
of Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur of Kerala, India.
Chavittunadakam has an
interesting history behind it. Its history begins with arrival of the Portuguese
to the Malabar shores. When the Portuguese came to Kerala, they felt emptiness
in their cultural arena. They required a medium to spread the myths and the
legends, which they held in reverence. They were impressed with Kathakali, but
their inflated feeling did not allow them to graft their legends on it. The
solution was to create a distinctive dance drama of their own. Collaborating
with Malayalee scholars they produced librettos which extorted the heroic
exploits of legendary Christian warriors. Thus they created a distinctive dance
drama of their own and named it as Chavittu Nadakam.
Characteristics of Chavittu Nadakam
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| A significant step in the drama |
Chavittu Nadakam is
usually performed on open stages. Sometimes the interior of a church is also a
location. In Chavittu Nadakam there are large numbers of characters all in
glittering medieval dress. The actors
sing their lines loudly with exaggerated sign and they stamp their feet with
great force on the wooden stage. The language used is a colloquial blend of
Tamil and Malayalam.
A peculiar feature of
this drama art is the actors pounding (stamping or Chavittu) the dance floor
producing resonant sounds to emphasize the dramatic situations. Hence literally
Chavittu Nadakam means 'Stamping Drama'. The play is considered a success if at
the end, the stage cave into the pressure of heavy stamping. It is the form of
traditional musical dance drama, which symbolizes the martial tradition of
Keralites. Dance and instrumental music are combined in these art forms.
In these art forms
there is a great importance for dance and art. Foot stamping dance, fighting
and Kalaripayatu are the essential part of Chavittunadakam. Royal dresses and
ornamental costumes are necessary. Training is obtained from the Guru Kula form
of education. Historical incidents, the life and adventure of heroes like
Charlemagne; stories of Napolean were the themes of Chavittunadakam in the 16th
century. In the 18th century, spiritual themes like "Allesu-Natakam",
"Cathareena Natakam",the victory of the Isaac etc were the themes. In
19th century moral themes like
"Sathyapalan";"Njanasundhari","Komala Chandrika"were
handled.
Kerala Chavittu Nataka Academy
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| Costume of Performer |
Kerala Chavittu Nadaka Academy is an institution exclusively
for the promotion of this theatre form. Established in 2005 Chavittu Nataka
Academy came into being with a view to revive, sustain and strengthen the
centuries-old art form. The prime vision and mission of the Academy is to
document the cultural legacy of Chavittu Natakam and to promote it as one of
the unique theatre art forms of Kerala.
The
Academy has staged around 1000 performances since its launch and
today, Chavittu Natakam is performed at all places, both public and private, religious and non-religious. The art form
has generously incorporated elements of Kalarippayattu, opera, Tamil folklore
music and biblical themes to derive a distinctive style of its own. Among the
contemporaries who worked selflessly to promote Chavittu Natakam, the name of
Sebina Rafi, the wife of writer Ponjhikkara Rafi needs a special mention. She
extensively researched the costumes and took great pains to get a play staged
in Delhi before Jawaharlal Nehru and other dignitaries. She also wrote a book
titled Chavittu
Natakam in 1964. Today, there
are masters like A.N. Anirudhan who passionately impart lessons.
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| Crown and shoes used in the performance |
In
2012, the Academy hit headlines with its protest against the Government's
decision not to include the art form as a competitive item in State School
Youth Festival competitions. They staged a performance on the streets as the
inaugural procession was passing by. Today, it’s a much preferred item in the
Youth Festival and the response is overwhelming. The Academy which has the
recognition of Kerala Folklore Academy has also received a grant from Kendra
Sangeeta Nataka Academy to train children for three years with a stipend.
Promotion of Chavittu Nadakam
Thambi
Payyapilly is the chief
exponent of this art form and one who has excelled in it for around 33 years on
and off the chavittu natakam stage. His
efforts have been assisted many schools in Kerala to achieve higher laurels in Chavittu
Nadakam Competion in the Kerala School Youth Festivals.
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| Thambi Payyapilly's performance as King |
“I have been training school students for more than 10 years. They are
mostly children from the fifth standard to the Higher Secondary level of
Gothuruthu St. Sebastian School. Chavittu natakam has to be taught and learnt
as any other art form, meticulously, so that it can be passed on to the next
generation. There are so many who pursue the learning even after completing
school. We need such people to promote it further, across India and abroad,”
says Thambi Payyapilly who has lots of hopes pinned on him.
If you ask someone in Gothuruthu how many
times they have watched a chavittu natakam performance, they are likely to say
they have lost count. And they would say that, “We belong to Gothuruthu and have seen the art from a very young age.
Our parents and teachers are associated with it. We found our friends learning
and enjoying it, and soon we too were a part of it.” Thambi Aashan teaches
this art-form with many reasons - to learn a unique art form, to win various
competitions, to enjoy ourselves, to entertain others, to help maintain the land’s
cultural legacy.
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| Thambi Payyapilly narrates his experience on the stage |
Entertainment is an intrinsic part of the
performance. Technically great stress is laid on the rhythmic stamping with the
foot but that itself does not make a successful performance. An element of
‘acting’ to go in harmony with the songs, story, training for the feet combined
with a range of expressions and gestures makes the art form. The performance
has verity of well-defined body movements. The finest display of the art-form
is ‘mangalam’, the session at the very end, where all characters appear in a
scene. It makes a colorful impact. As per the performer the ‘aaram chuvadu’ is difficult
to learn, but once learnt it becomes exceptionally impressive for the artist
and viewer.
Thambi attests that his experience with students
is more heartening than anything else because, it authenticates the existence
of Chavittu Natakam. The routine practice sessions are held in the courtyard of
a house, where the little ones hone their craft to levels beyond those of an
amateur capability. A year and a half of strenuous effort is required to learn
the basic ‘chuvadu’, the songs that accompany the theme of the ‘natakam’,and
then to present the ‘chuvadu’ in tandem with the music to using the ‘kai mudra'
unique to chavittu natakam.
Statue of Chinnathambi Annavi
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| Statue of Chinnathambi Annavi |
The
statue of Chinnathambi Annavi, the 16th century founder of Central Kerala’s
dance drama Chavittur Nadakam, initiated as part of the maiden Kochi-Muziris
Biennale was unveiled at Gothuruthu Island. Union Minister of State for Food
and Consumer Affairs K. V. Thomas unveiled the statue.
Conclusion
Though Chavittu Natakam is believed to have originated in
areas near Fort Kochi, it was resurrected, and is flourishing, in areas like
Gothuruthu, thanks to the efforts of the art loving commoners of this
nondescript village. There are a lot of people hard lovers of Chavittu
Nadakam and who spend the maximum time for the promotion of this traditional art-form.
The Kerala Chavittu Nadaka Academy is doing a remarkable job by training the students
from various schools all throughout Kerala. Thus it created a keen interest and
love in the younger generation towards this colorful traditional art-from. I
herewith conclude this article and trust the future of “Chavittu Nadakam” is secure
in the hands of Gothruruth – a village which has witnessed the origin of this
traditional art form.
http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/theatre/kerala-chavittu-nataka-academy-for-chavittu-natakam/article6360606.ece
http://www.vpachan.com/cultural.htm
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