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Music of the sea
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Theera Mahotsavam 2002, a festival of fisherfolk, held in Thiruvananthapuram recently, was a cocktail of tradition and modernity.
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The cultural performances at Theera Mahotsavam 2002, a festival of fisherfolk held in Thiruvananthapuram recently, were a cocktail of tradition and modernity, belief and practice.
Fisherfolk from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Sri Lanka participated in the South India Fisherfolk Festival, organised for the first time by the South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS) from September 14 to 16.
While many of the folk arts presented by the fisherfolk from Kerala had Arab and European influences, those from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were strongly ethnic.
Yet, some of them had elements of popular film culture and theatre too.
`Kola sambaharam', meaning festival of the oar, presented at the meet, is traditionally performed as a ritual by the fishermen of the Palle or Agnikula Kshatriya caste of the Godavari delta during the rainy season of `kattadi', in June and July. It is also conducted when there are no catches or only jellyfish is available.
Done to propitiate Lord Bhairav, the son of Vishnu and Siva, the songs of `Kola sambharam' are derived from the Ramayana.
Showing similarity to `Theyyam', `Bootha Kunitha', performed by fisherfolk from Mangalore, is a thanksgiving ritual carried out after a good catch.
They also staged a dramatic representation of a common myth prevalent among them. It was `Masti', the story of a young woman who had ended her life by drowning in the sea.
She is believed to wander at night as a `praetha gana', trying to entice fishermen into giving her a beeda (paan) or beedi. When they do, she lets it slip to the ground and then begs them to return it to her. When they bend to do so, she strikes them.
Dinkar Amin, representative of SIFFS in Mangalore, claims to have seen her.
There were a few presentations of folk music too.
They were `Amba pattu' (sung by fisherfolk from Rameswaram), `Gana' (consisting of impromptu songs and rudimentary or improvised instruments), rendered by fishermen in Chennai, and `Kambavala pattu' (from Kerala).
Many of these were a curious mixture of tunes lifted or adapted from movies and purely folk tunes.
Fisherfolk from Sri Lanka, who sang in Sinhalese, called for a single Sri Lankan race, with no distinction of Tamil or Sinhalese.
There was a display of `Silambam', a martial art of Tamil Nadu, not exclusive to the fishing community but widely practised by the fishermen of Kanyakumari district. Fishermen from Uvari in Tirunelveli district performed `Kalial', similar to `Kolkali' in Kerala.
This is one among the many folk forms that have been separated from daily living and made mere showpieces.
Fisherfolk from Kerala performed folk forms such as `Daf-muttu', `Oppana', `Chavittu-natakam', `Paricha muttu' and `Kolkali'.
PRAKASAM K. UNNI
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