Kummattikali or Kummatti Kali is the famous colorful mask-dance of Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

, South Malabar in particular. During the festival of Onam

Onam

Onam is a Hindu festival celebrated by the people of Kerala, India. The festival commemorates the Vamana avatar of Vishnu and the subsequent homecoming of the legendary Emperor Mahabali. It falls during the month of Chingam and lasts for ten days...

, Kummattikali performers move from house to house collecting small gifts and entertaining people. Kummatti dances are rampant in the Thrissur district

Thrissur district

Thrissur is a revenue district of Kerala situated in the central part of that state. Spanning an area of about 3,032 km2, Thrissur district is home to over 10% of Kerala’s population. Thrissur district was formed on July 1, 1949, with the headquarters at Thrissur City. Thrissur is known as...

 during Onam. Pristine or original form of Kummattikali can be seen in the Bhadrakali

Bhadrakali

Bhadrakāli , is one of the forms of the Great Goddess mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam. In Sanskrit, the word Bhadra means "blessed", "auspicious", "fair", "beautiful", "good", "fortunate", "prosperous"....

 temple in Palghat district.

Costumes

The costumes are a most interesting facet of Kummattikali. The dancers don a heavily painted colourful wooden mask depicting faces of Krishna

Krishna

Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

, Narada

Narada

Narada or Narada Muni is a divine sage from the Vaisnava tradition, who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Ramayana...

, Kiratha, Darika

Darika

Darika is a character in Mudiyettu, a ritualistic dance from the Bhagavathi or Bhadrakali cult, usually performed only in the Kali temples of Kerala...

, or hunters. These masks are usually made out of saprophyte, jack fruit tree, Alstonia scholaris

Alstonia scholaris

Alstonia scholaris Alstonia scholaris Alstonia scholaris (Apocynaceae, commonly called Blackboard tree, Indian devil tree, Ditabark, Milkwood pine, White cheesewood and Pulai; syn. Echites scholaris L. Mant., Pala scholaris L...

, Hog Plum tree

Spondias mombin

Spondias mombin is a tree, a species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to the tropical Americas, including the West Indies. The tree has been naturalized in parts of Africa, India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. It is rarely cultivated.The mature fruit has a leathery skin and a...

 or the Coral tree.

The dancers wear skirts woven out of plaited grass. Some cover their whole body with bunches of grass for a more bushy appearance. The semblance is made more joyful with the 'talla' attached externally to the mask giving the appearance of a toothless open mouth. Dancers also hold and manipulate long sticks of residuary agricultural produce called 'Kummattikali': it is from this that the dance derives its name. Their dance is related to Shaiva myth

Shaivism

Shaivism is one of the four major sects of Hinduism, the others being Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism. Followers of Shaivism, called "Shaivas," and also "Saivas" or "Saivites," revere Shiva as the Supreme Being. Shaivas believe that Shiva is All and in all, the creator, preserver, destroyer,...

. 'Thamma' (an old woman) walks in front with the help of a stick. Thamma is symbolic of mother of every being and everything.

Kummatti dancers are a sight to watch as they move around from house to house collecting jaggery, rice, or small amounts of cash. Onlookers, specially children take great delight in their performance.

Performance

The rhythm for the dance movements is provided by vibrating the string of a bow like instrument called an Onavillu

Onavillu

The Onavillu is a simple, short bow-shaped musical instrument. Its name may come from "Onam" and "Villu", since it is used in dances in Kerala during the Onam festival, and Villu means bow...

. Areca nut wood is used to make the bow and the strings are beaten with a narrow bamboo stick.

The themes of Kummattikali are mostly taken from the stories of Ramayana

Ramayana

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...

, Darika Vadham, the story of Shiva

Shiva

Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

 and folk tales like Manjan Nayare Pattu.

It may be noted that folk art of Kerala can be classified into two broad categories - ritualistic and non-ritualistic. Ritualistic can be further divided into - Devotional, performed to please a particular god and goddess and Magical Art Forms. Theyyam

Theyyam

Theyyam or Theyyattam or Thira is a popular Hindu ritual form of worship of North Malabar in Kerala state, India, predominant in the Kolathunadu area Theyyam or Theyyattam or Thira is a popular Hindu ritual form of worship of North Malabar in Kerala state, India, predominant in the Kolathunadu...

, Thira, Poothamthira, Kannyar Kali, Kummattikali, etc. are some of devotional art forms..