--on the Hulivesha (Tiger dance) ......a unique form of folk dance in Dakshina Kannada, that fascinates the young and the old alike. In Hindu mythology, the tiger is considered as the favoured vehicle (carrier) of Goddess Sharada (...the deity in whose honour Dusshera is celebrated). Probably one of the reasons why this dance is performed during the Dusshera celebration. It is also performed during other festivals like Krishna Janmasthami.
This article in a yet to be refined form hopes to be part of my new book on our childhood in Mangalore - so friends, if you guys have an anecdote or interesting tid-bit of two to add here, request kindly do so.
Thanks
Maxie
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Tiger Dance…..By Maxwell Pereira
I had occasion to pass through Mangalore the other day, and remember nostalgically some of the interesting aspects of an intriguing childhood spent there. Of the time when a class of people painted themselves or got into costumes to visit from house to house and perform their act like during Madri Gras or as they do in Brazil during the Carnival. Only, here it was in small groups or an individual venture, done more for the purpose of keeping up a folk art tradition, and earn those few extra bucks to supplement their meagre means.
Associated with the period just before Dusshera or Gowri puja, these were nothing short of a large scale public indulgence in fancy dress coupled with skilled street art - not necessarily a competition, but enacted for the sheer excitement of the period in time and the commercial prospects of it. Ingenuity and innovation, being the key factor to attract and sustain the interest of the viewer public. We children looked forward to this year after year, and made no bones about breaking rules and family taboos just to watch or get a glimpse of this form of popular entertainment. Whether they were welcome or not, these performers deigned to visit each house, to do their act of song, dance or recital to enthrall especially us kids, took what was given, and passed on to the next house that welcomed them.
We called them Vesha - meaning costume theatre in local parlance. And there were a variety of them in the season. When performers took to all forms, from being demon dancers - their ash covered bodies painted in frightening black and red, to impersonating tradesmen like postman, carpenter, pujaris, priests, mandarins and mendicants. There were 'bandar-madaris' with their trained monkeys and the tiny one-handed shrill drum of stretched leather with affixed knot-ended strings that beat with a tremendous din, by the mere twist of the wrist. The 'karadi' dancers with muzzle trapped bhalus (mostly black bears, - at times rare white ones too) with warning boards for kids to keep safe distance, who cruelly made the animal dance to their command. The koraga adivasi dancers were there in their grass skirts and caps made of areca spathes who played their own flute and performed a stationary dance with a peculiar foot movement to revolve at the same spot. Not to forget the kudmis of Koddel, and kunnbis with the traditional kol-ata typical to their tribe. And there were some, probably eunachs, who came and chanted 'siddhi-aur-siddhi' - what it meant to this day I don't know, - but did their inexplicable act and expected baksheesh for it all the same. We children listed the different veshas that dropped in at each of our homes, to boast and compare notes later, with friends and neighbours.
The highlight of the Veshas of course, had to be the Tiger Dance. Not everyone's cup of tea - from the performers' angle I mean. But there were traditional families whose members subjected their bodies year after year to be painted as tigers, beautiful Bengal tigers with perfectly real-life stripes and colours, headgear with ears and whiskers, not forgetting the fangs and nails too. I have seen tiger dances elsewhere in later life too, including in Pondicherry and neighbouring Tamil country, and can safely vouchsafe that no one can match the standards we witnessed in our childhood in Mangalore. And the typical drum beat of "….da dand-dara …tatt-tara, …" that accompanied the 'tiger' troupe announcing its presence in an area, used to send a chill up our spine. I remember my petrified kid brother once taking shelter by climbing into a large rice-storage pot in the kitchen. There was total panic then when a servant who couldn't find him suspected possible kidnapping by someone in the tiger dance crowd. Even so, each time the sound of drum beckoned us, in excitement and anticipation we would wait, watching the 'tigers' inside a circle of crowd take positions of attack and defence, while growling and snarling effectively at bystanders. We were fascinated also by the fanfare that invariably preceded the group, with their banners and trophies carried aloft on cross frames in the style of kings of yore and chieftains stepping out to war.
On the penultimate day before the final ritual bath to clean the colours off at the tanks of Mangalore's Mangaladevi temple, the biggest of them all would step out. Nicknamed Pili-Mutthappa, - the doyen among all tiger dancers, he made his appearance on the streets of our town to strike terror in our hearts, when we kids who held him in great awe were told to behave or else…. Far and wide had spread the fame of this one, and people from miles around flocked to see this folk hero who was legend. On this day were special treats like tigers going through fiery rings, acrobatics, and other feats to enthrall. To tickle our fantasies were tiger cubs too, permitted to accompany on this last day alone.
Not many of the youngsters I spoke to in Mangalore, had seen a tiger dance. Like everything else, even this folk art I believe had degenerated into over indulgence in alcohol and extortion, warranting the authorities to clamp down in an effort to control and regulate. Sad. Will it ever be possible for us to find ways and means to preserve and cherish what we ourselves once enjoyed when young, and pass them on to our progeny to also enjoy!?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- September 24, 1998
brings back memories !! yup, those were the days. i recall ... there was also a karadi vesha ..... and also a korgarachen naach, right??
hv a nice weekend maxie ...... leo
On Fri, Sep 14, 2012 at 10:21 PM, Maxwell Pereira <maxpk44@gmail.com> wrote:I am sure all my classmates would love this one.....
What nostalgia .....of those wonderful and wondrous carefree childhood days
Oh, the number of stories one can narrate of those times.. !
Maxie
