Stories of birth and death in Villupattu of Tamil Nadu
Author :Mariappan, A.
Keywords :Ethnomusicology
Bow-song
Issue Date :1997
Publisher :Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi
Description :Villuppattu or bow-song is an oral performance-art in the Tamil folk tradition, surviving today mainly in the districts of Tirunelvili and Kanniya Kumari, the southernmost region of Tamil Nadu. The songs are sung at temple festivals and narrate histories connected with local gods and goddesses. Bow-song singers divide their stories into two categories: birth stories and death stories. The birth stories narrate the mythic origins of gods and goddesses and are grouped under the category of teyva piravi (divine birth - the term used by the singers). The stories of the folk-deities Kaliamman, Muttaramman, and Sasta, etc. belong to this category. Death stories are referred to as stories of irantupatta viitai or vettupatta viitai (horror of violent death). The stories of Palavecam Cervaikkaran, Kurukkuliifici, Muttupattan, Pulankontal, and Cinnattambi, etc., belong to this category. This article presents some stories from both categories and analyses their narrative patterns.
Source :Sangeet Natak Akademi
Type :Article
Received From :Sangeet Natak Akademi
DC Field
Value
dc.contributor.author
Mariappan, A.
dc.coverage.spatial
Tamil Nadu
dc.date.accessioned
2017-07-10T00:58:30Z
dc.date.available
2017-07-10T00:58:30Z
dc.date.issued
1997
dc.description.abstract
Villuppattu or bow-song is an oral performance-art in the Tamil folk tradition, surviving today mainly in the districts of Tirunelvili and Kanniya Kumari, the southernmost region of Tamil Nadu. The songs are sung at temple festivals and narrate histories connected with local gods and goddesses. Bow-song singers divide their stories into two categories: birth stories and death stories. The birth stories narrate the mythic origins of gods and goddesses and are grouped under the category of teyva piravi (divine birth - the term used by the singers). The stories of the folk-deities Kaliamman, Muttaramman, and Sasta, etc. belong to this category. Death stories are referred to as stories of irantupatta viitai or vettupatta viitai (horror of violent death). The stories of Palavecam Cervaikkaran, Kurukkuliifici, Muttupattan, Pulankontal, and Cinnattambi, etc., belong to this category. This article presents some stories from both categories and analyses their narrative patterns.
Government of India
