Pāṭṭu singing in the contemporary Ayyappan Tiyyāṭṭu of the Tiyyāṭi Nambyar and Kaḷameḻuttu pāṭṭu of the Kallaṯṯakuṟuppu communities of central Kerala

Abstract

Pāṭṭu, songs supported by the sound of a drum (paṟa) or a string instrument (nantuṇi), are a typical feature of ritual performances of central Kerala, such as Ayyappan Tiyyāṭṭu and Kaḷameḻuttu pāṭṭu. These rituals consist of a similar sequence of actions revolving around the drawing of an image on the floor (kaḷam) and including singing, drumming, dancing, acting, and giving an oracle. This sequence is a cosmology, a step-by-step reenactment of the manifestation of the universe from the empty space to the material world represented as the body of the deity invoked to temporarily abide into it and, subsequently, into the body of an oracle (kōmaram).

Ayyappan Tiyyāṭṭu and Kaḷameḻuttu pāṭṭu are performed in private houses and Brahmanical temples by members of the Tiyyāṭi Nambyar and Kallaṯṯakuṟuppu communities respectively. These communities have been historically allowed to perform in such spaces because of their relatively high social status. These ritual performances, as many others in Kerala, show a high degree of permeability, that is the capability to include elements and practices of rituals of other groups belonging to both similar and contrasting contexts. In the case of these two specific rituals, permeability is shown by the fact that they share elements of both Bhadrakālī pāṭṭu and Nāgakkaḷam, which are rituals revolving around the drawing of a deity on the floor performed by members of communities having a very low social position, and Kūṭiyāṭṭam, a form ofSanskrit theatre performed in Brahmanical temples.  

In the paper, I investigate the role and function of the pāṭṭu in Ayyappan Tiyyāṭṭu and Kaḷameḻuttu pāṭṭu taking into account their connections with Bhadrakālī pāṭṭu, Nāgakkaḷam, and Kūṭiyāṭṭam.