THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As curtains came down on the district school arts festival in the capital on Friday, what caught the attention of onlookers and participants was the inclusion of five events that showcased the state’s rich tribal culture.
For the first time in the history of the festival, said to be the biggest such fete for students in Asia, five tribal dance forms — Mangalam Kali, Paniya Nritham, Malapulaya Attam, Irula Nritham, and Paliya Nritham — has been included as competition items.
The inclusion of the tribal art forms (gothrakala) is part of the state’s efforts to preserve and promote heritage. Earlier, a government directive had ensured that the arts festival manual be duly revised to include the art forms.
The tribal dance competitions were open to high school and higher secondary students, with the events organised as group performances. They were held on Thursday across two stages.
“As a new category, tribal art forms garnered significant attention. Initially, it was planned to conduct the competitions on a single stage from morning to evening. However, we felt the event would extend up to 18 hours, and hence the decision was made to hold it on two stages,” says Sijov Sathyan, programme committee convenor.
The judges were chosen from the respective communities across north Kerala, along with experts in folklore. “Despite challenges, we were able to find people who are well-versed in the art forms,” Sijov adds.
Each tribal art form had a maximum duration of 15 minutes per performance. Mangalam Kali had 12 groups participating, Paniya Nritham had 11, Irula Nritham eight, Paliya Nritham seven, and Malapulaya Attam had 10 groups in the fray.
The organisers had expected a low turnout for the items since they were new inclusions. However, they were surprised to find competitors from every sub-district for these events.
“Seems like the art forms have struck a chord with people. They are now being seen as categories with the potential to reach the state level,” Sijov says.