Pulikali or kaduvakali : An important art form of kerala

Posted Date: 05-Mar-2011	Category: Arts of Kerala	Rating:
Author: Asha Kurian	Member Level: Gold	Points: 10 (Rs 5)

This article is related to pulikali or kaduvakali which is an important art form of kerala. The theme, instruments & costumes used in pulikali are also discussed in this article.

An introduction to pulikali

Pulikali or kaduvakali is an important art form of Kerala state situated in India.The interesting point regarding pulikali is that this is performed during onam seasons.Remember that onam is a harvest festival of Kerala.Another important point is that usually pulikali is performed by trained artists on the fourth onam day in the month of chingam.In Kerala, the Thrissur district is famous for pulikali.It should be noted that pulikali is also known as tiger dance. Do you know the theme & instruments used in pulikali? If not,check the below points.

Theme & instruments used in pulikali

The instruments used in pulikali include thakil & udukku. Actually thakil is a barrel shaped instrument & udukku is a musical instrument which is also known as country drums. As the name indicates pulikali denotes the play of tigers. The theme of pulikali includes the scenes of tiger hunting its prey & the tiger being hunted by a person who acts as the hunter.Actually this is an entertainment art form for all people.

Costumes used in pulikali

Kerala people are always familiar with pulikali.Remember that in pulikali, the performers paint their body like tigers & hunters in black, yellow & red colors. Remember that there were no masks in the past for performing pulikali. But now ready made items are available. The ready made items include cosmetic teeth, masks,beards, tongues etc. Also note that it takes several hours for the participants to paint their whole body. That means extreme patience is needed for the participants to perform pulikali or kaduvakali. Anyway pulikali is an important art which is enjoyed by both children as well as adults.

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