| Mudiyettu | |
|---|---|
 Mudiyettu atKeezhoor shrine in 2013 | |
| Medium | Ritual theatre and folk dance |
| Originating culture | Kerala |
| Mudiyettu, ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala | |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Reference | 00345 |
| Region | Asia and the Pacific |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2010 (5th session) |
| List | Representative |
Mudiyettu is a traditional ritual theatre and folk dance drama fromKerala that enacts the mythological tale of a battle between the goddessKali and the demonDarika. The ritual is a part of thebhagavathi orbhadrakali cult. The dance is performed in bhadrakali temples, the temples of theMother Goddess, between February and May after the harvesting season.
In 2010 Mudiyettu was inscribed in theUNESCO’sRepresentative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, becoming the second art form from Kerala afterKoodiyattam.[1]
Darika was a demon who received a boon fromBrahma which granted that he would never be defeated by any man living in any of thefourteen worlds of Hindu mythology. This made Darika immensely powerful and arrogant. Armed with this boon, Darika went on to conquer the world defeating evenIndra, the king of the gods. As his atrocities became intolerable, the sageNarada requestedShiva to contain Darika. Shiva agreed, circumventing Brahma's boon by declaring that Darika would be killed by the goddess Kali, she being a woman and one not to be counted among men from fourteen worlds.
Mudiyett is a village ritual performed by members of theMarar and Kuruppu communities inThrissur,Ernakulam,Kottayam andIdukki districts of Kerala. However, the entire community contributes to and participates in it. Mudiyettu is performed annually in ‘Bhagavati Kavus’, the temples of the goddess, in different villages along the riversChalakkudy Puzha,Periyar andMoovattupuzha[2]
There is no rehearsal or preparation involved in playing Kali. The performance is a natural progression from Lord Shiva, Narada, demons Danavan and Darikan to Kali. A complete Mudiyettu performance requires a total of 16 persons— including percussionists, Kalamezhuthu artists, vocalists.[3] There are also evident regional differences in the attire and performance styles of Mudiyettu. Thus, in the Koratty style, Kali exhibits a bare torso, covered only by a breast-shaped plank while in the Kunnayckal,Keezhillam and the Pazhoor styles, she wears a full upper body dress. Similarly, in the Koratty style, Darika'smudi resembles theKathakali crown and his face paint theKathi Veshas of Kathakali. This points to how the two forms have become interlinked even though Mudiyettu predates Kathakali, withepigraphists tracing its evolution as an art to even the 9th or 10th century AD.[4]
Mudiyettu is a communal undertaking in which each caste of the village plays a specific role. The bamboo artefacts and leather hides for drums are provided by theParayan caste while theThandan caste brings theareca nut fronds that are required for the masks and headgears. TheGanakan community paints the masks while the Kuruvan community keeps the country torches burning. It is the Veluthedan (Patiyan) caste that washes the clothes used for making the deity’'s dress while the Maran caste readies the torches and keeps them supplied with oil.[citation needed]
Thus each caste in the village contributes to the festival according to its traditional caste role. Mutual cooperation and collective participation of each caste in the ritual instills and strengthens common identity and mutual bonding in the community.[5]
Being a community based art form it is the community that has traditionally encouraged and trained the next generation to preserve the art form. There is no school or institution to give training in this art form and its survival depends almost exclusively on direct transmission through the Guru-Shishya Parampara.[5]
