Mudiyettu
Mudiyettu is ritualistic dance drama performed after the harvest of summer crops in 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....

.In 2010, Mudiyettu included in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. It is in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

The Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage are established by UNESCO aiming to ensure the better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance...

 of UNESCO

Background

Mudiyettu is a ritual dance drama from 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....

 based on the mythological tale of a battle between the goddess Kali and the demon 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...

. It is a community ritual in which the entire village participates. After the summer crops have been harvested, the villagers reach the temple in the early morning on an appointed day. Mudiyettu performers purify themselves through fasting and prayer, then draw a huge image of goddess Kali, called as kalam, on the temple floor with coloured powders, wherein the spirit of the goddess is invoked. This prepares the ground for the lively enactment to follow, in which the divine sage 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...

 importunes Shiva to contain the demon Darika, who is immune to defeat by mortals. Shiva instead commands that Darika will die at the hand of the goddess Kali. Mudiyettu is performed annually in ‘Bhagavati Kavus’, the temples of the goddess, in different villages along the rivers Chalakkudy Puzha, Periyar

Periyar

Periyar may refer to*Periyar , a major river in Kerala*Periyar district, the erstwhile name for Erode district in Tamil Nadu*Periyar National Park*Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, a Tamil social reformer...

 and Moovattupuzha. The dance is performed by members of the Ezhavathy

Ezhavathy

Ezhavathy are a sub-caste in Kerala. They are traditionally barbers to the Ezhava caste, and would not work for any other class, even the Nampootiri Brahmins, and are ranked along with the Velakkathala Nayar and Nassuvan. The caste also serves as priests to the Iluvar caste ....

 community, who were once priests of many temples in Kerala. Mutual cooperation and collective participation of each caste in the ritual instills and strengthens common identity and mutual bonding in the community. Responsibility for its transmission lies with the elders and senior performers, who engage the younger generation as apprentices during the course of the performance. Mudiyettu serves as an important cultural site for transmission of traditional values, ethics, moral codes and aesthetic norms of the community to the next generation, thereby ensuring its continuity and relevance in present times.

It is a form of bhagavathi

Bhagavathi

Bhagavathi or Bhagavati is the general way people refer to the Hindu goddesses in Kerala, Goa and Maharashtra states of India. It can be used to refer any of the Hindu goddesses like Durga, Kannaki, Parvati, Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Kali...

 or 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"....

 cult.The dance is performed by a set of people known as Kuruppanmar, mainly in Bhadrakali temple.Chenda

Chenda

The Chenda is a cylindrical percussion instrument used widely in the state of Kerala, and Tulu Nadu of Karnataka State in India. In Tulu Nadu it is known as Chande....

 and elathalam

Elathalam

Elathalam, or Ilathalam, is a metallic musical instrument which resembles a miniature pair of cymbals. This instrument from Kerala in southern India is completely made out of bronze and has two pieces in it....

are the instruments used.

Kalampattu

This is traditionally a temple art known as Bhagavathyppattu or Bhadrakalippattu. It is also like 'Mudiyettu'.The figure of Devi is developed with the judicious combination of various colors made from roots and leaves and grains. Usually a particular sect brahmin called Kuruppanmar has inherent devotional skill in this art.