KOCHI: Long, long ago, during the times when paddy fields were aplenty and feudals lorded over them, the Paniya tribes of Wayanad found themselves working relentlessly to the beats of the thudi and the peppy songs. The rhythmic moves that the songs urged in them made their work easy and swift, and highly productive. The Kambala Natti was thus a true dance of the soil.
Back home in their settlements, the Paniyas would again break out into the Vatta Kali, another dance form. They would gather around their courtyards, celebrating occasions, mourning losses or even to rejoice. This too, bore the fragrance of the soil.
Combining these two art forms, the Paniya Nritham was constituted and has been included as one of the five tribal art forms (gothra kalakal) in the State School Kalolsavam this year. The other events are Paliya Nrittam (of Paliya community in Idukki), Mangalamkali (from the Mavila tribes of Kasaragod), Irula Nrittam (of Attapadi), and Malapulayattam (Malayapulayas in Idukki).
As the renditions of these categories were staged at the various venues on-stage, discussions began brewing among those proponents and advocates of these art forms. The efficacy of the inclusion as well as the ups and downs, the debates covered all the bases.
One of them is about the selection of judges, which was said to be a task on its own. Many within the community suggest this particular area needs some focus and work. The issue peaked during lower-level kalolsavam when teams with tribal students received lower points compared to other teams, even if their performances were too distant from the original art form.
“Not all the judges are from the respective communities. There were also folk dance artists and teachers as well as people who claimed to know about the dances. A few from the communities registered their names at The Kerala Institute for Research Training and Development Studies of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (KIRTADS).
"I was told by a Malapulayattam artist that three people had registred their names from Marayur also. However, none of them were selected as judges,” says Aneesh E B, from the Paniya community, who has deep links with Paniya Nritham and its practitioners. At the sub-district level, the issue was reported in many media, too, he says.
His wife Radha E, also a project assistant at The M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in Wayanad, was a judge for the Paniya Nrittam event.
“The two other judges were also from the community. We had registred at KIRTADS and were chosen from there. But in several gothra kala categories, there were judges from folk backgrounds. The issue is that we do not know whether they know or understand much about the art form,” she says.
According to her, the staging of the events added new elements breaking away from the roots. For the competition, 12 participants make up a group. However, ritually and culturally, there is no specific number of performers. Though there were some traditional elements during the staging, plenty of folk elements were also part of the presentation.
“Paniya Nritham is closer to the Vatta Kali, our ritualistic dance, than Kambala Nritham, the paddy field dance. But probably due to the peppiness of the latter, the performances had more elements of it,” she says.
Mangalamkali, another popular tribal art form, had 17 teams contesting at the Kalolsavam, of which all except three groups won an A grade. “Some performances were exemplary,” says Udayan Kundamkuzhi, a tribal researcher who trained three teams from Malappuram, Kasaragod, and Thrissur.
“One of the reasons is the art form itself. Unlike the other dance forms, Mangalamkali is more about hardships faced by the tribespeople and their connection with the forest. It is performed, as its name suggests, during weddings,” he says.
There are four ‘mangalam’ or weddings among the Mavilans, one at the time of birth, then when the girl comes of age, then her marriage with a man of her choice, and finally during childbirth.
“Because of its deep relationship with life, it has become popular. The teams, especially from the south whether at the district level or state level, performed it with precision,” he says.
This is what is needed, Udayan smiles. “We need the art form to be accepted across the state rather than remain within its confines,” he says.
However, a government official who wishes to remain anonymous raised an argument. “The Kalolsavam should have tapped more into the tribal schools and allowed more entries from students in the community,” he asserts.
That too is needed, agrees Udayan. “But we are only happier when it gets a pan-state appeal,” he says.
Udayan, however, is disappointed at the judging. “It could have been better organised with the involvement of community people and experts rather than folk dance teachers. Some of those who judged at the lower levels did not even know the basics,” he says. But during the state-level kalolsavam, things improved slightly, he says.
Quality check
The training also requires some sprucing up if the art forms areto be preserved in its essence and culture, says Aneesh.
“Some trainers were prolific in the art form and have performed across the country. And some were those who learnt it exclusively ahead of the kalolsavam. However, we also know people who logged onto YouTube videos for training.
Then, some folk dance teachers took it upon themselves and trained several students, a reason why some performances had a folk touch. All these could be avoided if we had certified teams at the grassroots. They can train students, perform during events and it would also be a source of income for them,” he says.
The inclusion of the art form itself is a step forward in popularising indigenous cultures, says Ramadas M K, a media person and a tribal rights activist. He was one of the persons who demanded the presence of gothra kala in the kalolsavam.
“Items such as Margamkali and Yakshagana which are hardly practised are already part of the kalolsavam kitty. Then, why shouldn’t there be a Paniya Nrittam which is performed by the community with over a lakh of population in Wayanad? Why not other tribal art forms that are widely practised in the state?” he asks.
But he feels the patronage that the art forms get from the students in the mainstream schools, who perform for grades and grace marks, makes it difficult for students from the tribal community to reach the stage.
“They need the resources and the training to match the other students. This economic disparity might sideline them further. So a special focus should be given to including more students from respective communities or the schools run for them in the festival events. This will help maintain a balance,” he says.
Radha is not feeling low due to these issues that have cropped up. The festival is indeed a great forum for the art forms that have so far remained cocooned in the communities, she feels.
“It is just the first year.
Whatever the flaws, they can be corrected in the upcoming editions. Tribal art forms are mediums to connect with ecology and nature, and hence promoting them will have the benefit of awareness for the rights of the forests too. Such ventures will surely help all that,” she signs off, on a positive note.