Bears are in town to mark Onam fest

‘Karadikali’, the ethnic performance art was once an integral part of Onam celebrations across the State along with ‘Pulikali’. The abandoned art form is still preserved by a group of young men from Arinalloor here, making it the only place in Kerala where the art form is performed during Onam. This season also, Karadikali will be the major celebration for the villagers of Arinalloor. The folk art is led by a veteran Raghavan Kalangara who has been on the field for the last 50 years.

In Karadikali, the performers dress up to give the appearance of a bear, likewise a tiger in Pulikali, to dance to the tune of ‘Karadippattu’. “The bear’s outfit includes a mask resembling a bear’s face, carved out from the wood of the ‘Pala’ tree. It is painted to make it more attractive with space for the artist to stick out his tongue and even enabling the jaws to open. The body of the bear will be in black colour and their necks and waist will be adorned with coconut palm leaves, after removing the splinters,” Raghavan Kalangara said.

The ‘Karadikali’ team would include 2-3 bears, a ‘Vedan’ or hunter with a mock gun to shoot the bears, and 10-20 people singing around them to the tune of ‘Ganjira’, a South Indian frame drum or ‘Ilathaalam’, a miniature pair of cymbals.

The entire performance is based on an artist pretending to be the hunter trapping a bear from the forest and making it dance in villages with the backdrop of songs that narrate the history of the village or even stories from mythology and finally he “shoots” the bear using a bow and arrow marking an end tothe performance. The traditional song of ‘Karadippattu’ is about the sights a bird sees, during its flight from Kayamkulam to Thiruvananthapuram. The bear visits all the houses in the locality and “dies” at every courtyard, after the hunter shoots it.

There are currently 20 members in the Karadikali Sangam which is recognised by the Folklore Academy of Kerala.