Here is a Slide Presentation about some Folk Dances of South India.

1. FOLK DANCES
OF SOUTH INDIA
Nivedita Krishnan
Art History, 2nd year

2. Content
 Introduction to Folk Dances
 Folk dances of South India
 Kolattam
 Karagattam
 Poikal kuthurai attam
 Kathakali

3. Introduction to
Folk Dances
• India is a rich land of art and culture and every single
state has its own unique forms of art.The dance forms
of India are plenty and are further divided into Folk
dance,Tribal dance and Classical dance.
• In this presentation, we are only going to focus on Folk
dances. Folk dances are regional and vary from state to
state.They are performed by people of a particular
sect, community or religion on special occasions like
harvest season, marriages, celebration of coming to
age, etc.

4. Folk
Dances in
South India
Much like the folk dances of North India, South
Indian folk dances too, have historical and cultural
significances. In fact, many of the dances practiced in the
Southern part of the country resemble folk dances that are
practiced in the North. For instance, ‘MayilAttam’ ofTamil
Nadu is similar to ‘Mayur Nritya’ of Uttar Pradesh, ‘Kolattam’
is similar to ‘Dandya’ of Gujarat and ‘Puliyattam’ is the
Southern equivalent of ‘Baagh Naach’ of Odisha. Having said
that, there are manydistinctive dance forms and those can
only be seen in South India.

5. Kolattam
• Practiced inTamil Nadu and Andra Pradesh
• The word Kolattam has derived from two separate words ‘Kol’ which
means a small stick and ‘Attam’ meaning play.
• The dancers strike the sticks as they move in circular motion with the
rhythm of music.The striking of sticks produces the main rhythm for the
dance movement and this unique feature sets Kolattam folk dance apart
from other dances.
• 'Basava' - the bull, the personification of Shiva is the centre of the
Kolattam festival, commencing every year on the new moon day of the
October-November and ending on the full moon day.

7. Karagattam
• TheTamil word "karakam ‘ means 'water pot’
• performed in praise of the rain goddess Mariamman.
• The offering of this dance is to the goddess to bless
rain.
• The performers balance a pot on their head.
• Two types : Aatta Karakam,Sakthi Karakam
• Karakattam is usually performed in a saree. However,
attire can vary as the main property is to have a
karakam (Pot) on the head of the dancer. Common
attire includes sarees or kurtha, colored towels and a
pot.

9. Poikal
Kuthurai
Attam
• A folk dance ofTamil Nadu
• Traditionally performed in the king’s court, Poikkal dancers
also preceded the local deity during temple processions. In
modern times, it is performed at weddings and official
functions.
• The dummy horse is made of jute, cardboard, paper, and
glass.
• This folk dance needs a lot of training and skill.The dummy
is made of lightweight materials and the cloth at the sides of
the dummy swings to and fro covering the legs of the
dancer.
• The dancer has to don wooden legs so that the legs look like
the hooves of the horse.
• While performing the dance, the dancer brandishes either a
sword or a whip.

11. Kathakali
• The term Kathakalī is derived from Katha which means
"story or a conversation, or a traditional tale", and Kalī
which means "performance and art".
• Practiced in Kerala
• ‘Kathakali’, an important genre in the Indian classical
dance form, is associated with storytelling form of this art.
• the story in ‘Kathakali’ is also communicated to audience
through excellent footwork and impressive gestures of
face and hands complimented with music and vocal
performance.
• vivid make-up, unique face masks and costumes worn by
dancers are what makes this dance form unique.
• The traditional themes of the Kathakalī are folk
mythologies, religious legends and spiritual ideas from
the Hindu epics and the Puranas.

13. Conclusion
• Many of these dance traditions are fading out
• Replaced by Classical andWestern dances
• Support given by NGOs and Indian Government