The men troop in wearing horns and dhotis. The women closely follow, sporting feathers and saris. They enact a wedding scene, where the men challenge the women. Towards the end, they show a man amidst them falling into a trance and the rest of the villages rushing to treat him. Even though the performance is at DakshinaChitra, the entire spectacle has a primal feel. Sounds of tribal percussion add to the vibe.
The kommu koyu dance, from Andhra Pradesh, transports viewers to another time and era. This project was started as an initiative between DakshinaChitra and an art-oriented organisation called 4swithin, which was founded in 2008, to promote folk arts in urban spaces, and is funded by Murugappa Group and Chola Finance. They tied up with a dancer of Kalakshetra, and students from Madras University and Sankara Vidyashram.
The other groups who have completed this one-year workshop with 4swithin at Dakshin Chitra are the Sidhdhi Damaami tribe and Somana Kunitha dancers from Karnataka. “We are looking to collaborate with more tribal groups. We have documented these performances in the form of vidoes and written materials so that we can pitch them to schools. This way, the students can learn more about these folk art forms, and approach the artistes. This will also be another source of employment for them.”
They zeroed down on this group because, they were looking out for folk artistes whose dance forms were becoming extinct. The artistes stay at DakshinaChitra intermittently, over a period of a year. During this tenure, they interact with 4swithin facilitators who observe their art, work on a deeper understanding of their culture and encourage them to unearth stories in performances. Deborah Thiagarajan, founder of DakshinaChitra, says she was very clear from the outset that the aim of these workshops is not to teach the folk artists anything new or to change their existing form, “but to jog their memory through activities and to inspire them to revisit their past.” The 4swithin facilitators created an environment to tap into these stories, and build them into their existing performance. The artistes underwent sessions in yoga, storytelling, voice techniques, movement and rhythm.
Hemalatha Swaminathan, founder of 4swithin, says around 15 resource people worked on this project that blended storytelling with theatre. “Our idea was to pick groups that represented their culture at large. There were three phases to the programme: one was getting to know the groups, then we aimed to bring out more of their performative elements and finally to teach the craft to younger generations in the urban space.”
Relaxing after the performance, Papparao, one of the artistes says, “We have learnt this art from fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers. It has been around for many years. We have lost count how many. We perform this at the footsteps of the deities.” Nature is a constant presence in their songs, and the wild horns are a representation of the masculinity, says Papparao. They perform to mark festive occasions, especially during that of a village deity’s birthday. “We also dance whenever we sow seeds, when it rains, or when there is a wedding.”
There are also the bidaai pieces where people send the married bride to the other house. “They ask the girl how is she going to live, with no forests, trees and rivers. She replies how she does not want to get married because her earrings, anklets and nose rings hurt her.” Their weddings last five days, and they dance on all the days, says Krishnamma, another performer.
There is a newfound interest in tribal art forms across India. Thanks to this, the artistes have been invited to multiple places like Karnataka, New Delhi, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, says Papparao. “We are accepted outside Andhra Pradesh more than in the State. We have acted in films such as Bahubali and Encounter.The Telugu film industry has acknowledged us better than the art critics in Andhra. ”
Yet, kommu koyu is still relatively untouched by urbanisation or cultural adulteration. And many of the songs are still improvised. “We learn from our elders. These are not written down. These are passed down to us,” says Papparao. “We watch and learn the dance. Nothing is taught to us. When we sit around just for leisure, we unwind by singing songs. That’s how we learn.”