Christianity and Kathakali: Dance - drama of Kerala

Abstract

Kathakali and Christianity have long been associated with the state of Kerala. Both have had their own independent identity. Since Kathakali was not an art form that portrayed the Biblical stories and it was confined within the temple compound, in the early years an intermingling of them was a question out of context. Though Christians in Kerala are known to have co-existed with native culture of Kerala, the arrival of Portugese and strict rules imposed by the Christian orthodox authority saw the community taking less to the native culture. This resulted in the formulation of new art forms exclusively belonging to the Christians of Kerala like Margamkali and Chavitunadakkom. Moreover, the mythological stories that are part and parcel of Kathakali performance where considered to be chiefly belonging to Hindus. There were rites and rituals before, during and after the performance of Kathakali that led people from non-Hindu community to make unfriendly them from the art form. It was not until the 1960s that the ruling of the second Vatican council and the efforts of people to make Kathakali represent Kerala rather than a particular division, those stories from Bible made their way into the literatures of this dance form. This development is recent comparing with the time these two entities have been existing in Kerala. There is the need for familiarizing the masses about this as the growth of this segment of Kathakali is oblivious to a lot of people. I intend to meet this end through this project.