Velakali is a traditionalmartial dance ofNair community ofKerala, India that is performed duringtemple festivals. Brightly dressed dancers wielding swords and shields depict a fight sequence between thePandavas andKauravas during the course of the dance.[1]
There are several legends associated with the origin and history of Velakali. One such legend talks of thesage Narada witnessingLord Krishna and his friends staging a mock battle on the banks of theKalindi using the stalks and leaves of thewater lily as swords and shields. Narada then requested the sage Villumangalam to capture the martial vigour of the mock fight in a ritualistic performance for Krishna. Villumangalam in turn requested the ruler ofAmbalapuzha to teach young men to perform the dance and so the ruler asked his army chieftains Mathoor Panicker[2] and Velloor Kurup to ready a troupe of Velakali performers. Since the dancers were originally warriors, the dance bore a close resemblance to the martial art form ofKalarippayattu.[3]Velakali thus originated in the princely state of Chempakassery (modern Ambalappuzha). To this day it is a regular feature of thepooram at theAmbalapuzha Sri Krishnaswamy temple. Since the annexation of Ambalappuzha intoTravancore, Velakali has marked the commencement of the annual Painkuni festival atSri Padmanabha Swamy Temple,Trivandrum.[4][5]
During a Velakali performance huge effigies representing the Pandavas are put up during the festival at the eastern entrance of the Padmanabhaswamy temple. In Ambalapuzha, the dance is choreographed under the guidance of Mathur Panickar a hereditary Asan and minister of the Ambalapuzha royal family.[6] Velakali dancers represent the Kauravas and the dance represents the battle between the cousins. The dancers stop and beat a retreat once they reach the effigy ofYudhishthira. The performance represents the victory ofdharma overadharma and the victory ofBheema over the Kauravas during their exile to the forest.[7] The younger performers line up in the front and the elders make up the rear of the troupe with a group of flag bearers forming the rearmost line. The performers are also sometimes accompanied by replicas of animals like oxen that were used in warfare in the olden days.[6] According toAlf Hiltebeitel, Velakali performances incentral Travancore are reenactments of supposedly historical battles rather than theMahabharata war and are intertwined with rituals ofpatayani. It is at the Padmanabhaswamy temple that the performances are linked with the battle between the cousins of theMahabharata.[8]
Velakali is an all-male performance. The performers dress up in traditional clothes and colorful red headgear of the medieval Nair soldiers and wear cloth garlands of beads that cover their bare chests. They wield colorful shields and long canes or bear swords and dance to the beat of panchavadyam performers who accompany the performance and there are skilful displays of swordplay.[3][5][9]
Velakali is performed to the accompaniment ofpanchavadyam which uses themaddalam,thavil,ilathalam,kombu andkuzhal. The music involves no lyrics and the artists move to the rhythm of thepercussion instruments. Also, unlike most dance forms,bhava has no place in Velakali and the focus is solely ontala. Velakali involves several distinct movements such as thepidichakali,padakali and thevela ottam.[3][5]
Velakali requires of its performers considerable physical training and the knowledge of the use of arms.[10] Education and employment opportunities had gradually led to fewer youngsters taking up Velakali resulting in its gradual decline. It has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years due to the efforts of Mohanankunju Panicker. The dance was staged again at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Trivandrum in 2011 after a gap of almost 40 years.[3]
