View source for Kummattikali

{{Short description|Type of dance}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2019}}
[[File:Kummattikali.JPG|thumb|right|Kummattikalli performers moving house to house in [[Thrissur]].]]
'''Kummattikali''' or Kummatti Kali is the famous colorful mask-dance of [[Kerala]], prevalent in [[Thrissur District]], [[Palakkad District]] and parts of South [[Malabar (Northern Kerala)|Malabar]]. During the festival of [[Onam]], Kummattikali performers move from house to house collecting small gifts and entertaining people. Kummatti dances are rampant in the [[Thrissur district]] during Onam. Pristine or original form of Kummattikali can be seen in the [[Bhadrakali]] temple in [[Palakkad district]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://holidays.vgreets.com/onam/Kummattikali/ |title=Onam Festival: Kummattikali |access-date=17 October 2008 |archive-date=9 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209072505/http://holidays.vgreets.com/onam/Kummattikali/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Costumes==
[[File:കുമ്മാട്ടി Kummattikali 2011 DSC 2771.JPG|Kummatty masks used in the performance|thumb|right]]
The costumes are a most interesting fact of Kummattikali.<ref>[http://www.indiavideo.org/kerala/arts/folk-art-kummatti-1216.php Kummattikali Video]</ref> The dancers don a heavily painted colourful wooden mask depicting faces of [[Krishna]], [[Narada]], Kiratha, [[Darika]], or hunters. These masks are usually made out of [[saprophyte]], [[jack fruit]] tree, [[Alstonia scholaris]], [[Spondias mombin|Hog Plum tree]] or the Coral tree.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.theinfosage.com/news/325/ARTICLE/8473/2007-08-31.html |title=News Article: Kummattikali dancers add shimmer to Onam festivities |access-date=17 October 2008 |archive-date=30 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930034204/http://www.theinfosage.com/news/325/ARTICLE/8473/2007-08-31.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> 

The dancers wear skirts woven out of plaited grass. Some cover their whole body with bunches of grass for a bushier 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 [[Shaivism|Shaiva myth]]. '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, especially 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]]. [[Areca nut]] wood is used to make the bow and the strings are beaten with a narrow bamboo stick.<ref>[http://www.indiatraveltimes.com/festivals/festivals2007/festivals0742.html India Travel Times: Kummattikali, the Kerala folk dance by Juhan Samuel]</ref>

The themes of Kummattikali are mostly taken from the stories of [[Ramayana]], Darika Vadham, the story of [[Shiva]] and folk tales like Manjan Nayare Pattu.

[[File:Kummattikali - കുമ്മാട്ടിക്കളി - Wiki Loves Onam 2024.webm|thumb|Kummattikali - കുമ്മാട്ടിക്കളി - Wiki Loves Onam 2024]]

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]], [[Thirra]], [[Poothan and Thira|Poothamthira]], [[Kannyar Kali]], Kummattikali, etc. are some of devotional art forms. 

==In popular culture==

In the 2020 Malayalam action film ''[[Ayyappanum Koshiyum]]'', the character Ayyappan's past as a vigilante assassin disguised as a Kummatti performer is a central plot point. Ayyappan's mastery of Kalari martial arts skills enabled him to kill 13 assassins in Kummatti disguise sent by evil landlords to eliminate worker's union members.

==References==
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{{Culture of Kerala}}
[[Category:Dances of Kerala]]
[[Category:Onam]]