‘The Fragments of Illusion’, an award-winning documentary on Chavithunadakam, captures the cross-cultural origins of the art form and its repertoire
On Gothuruth Island, 40 km from Kochi, as the shadows get longer, the tired legs intensify. Under harsh fluorescent lights, men and women transform into Emperor Charlemagne (the First Holy Roman Emperor), Oliver, Roland, Bethesda, knights, warriors and Turks, all characters from medieval Europe; The mainstay of Chavithunadakam, an indigenous form of theater popular among the coastal people of Kerala.
From North Kollam to Thrissur, the temporary stages come alive with Chavithunadakam (chavittu means step or stamp and drama work Meaning drama in Malayalam) turned actor mainly from Latin Catholic residents. Dressed in dazzling costumes and shoes, they speak in a mix of Tamil and Malayalam and sing songs about battles fought in distant lands to protect early Christians.
Enchanted by a play he witnessed, an engineer-turned-film director from Thiruvananthapuram, J. Bibin Joseph produced illusion pieces, A documentary on Chavithunadakam, which won the Kerala State Television Award for Best Director in the non-fiction category.
“Its businessmen are fishermen, weavers, sailors, masons etc. It is a legacy that they have preserved despite great odds,” he says.
Without the master voice-over, the actor-singer of Chavithunadakam in Gothuruth talks about the plays and stories in the documentary. The familiarity with which they speak of events that took place in medieval Europe is surreal.
A still from J Bibin Joseph’s award-winning documentary on Chavithunadakam, ‘The Fragments of Illusion’, which shows a scene from ‘Karlaman Charitham’. photo Credit: special arrangement
“Margamakali, a folk dance that bears a strong resemblance to Tiruvathirakali, and Chavithunadakam are two popular performing art forms unique to Christians in Kerala. Chavitanadakam is anchored in Christian mythology and crusades. Since it was originally cross- It is cultural, so actors wear footwear, which is a unique feature of Chavitanadakam. Other indigenous art forms in Kerala abstain from shoes during a performance,” says Arun Surendran, producer of the documentary.
Chavittunadakam is said to have been built by the Padrodo missionaries who arrived with the Portuguese in 1498 in search of God, gold and glory.
A still from J Bibin Joseph’s award-winning documentary on Chavithunadakam, ‘The Fragments of Illusion’, which shows a scene from ‘Karlaman Charitham’. photo Credit: special arrangement
Folklorist Gita P Wilson states that there are versions in all the regions where Pedro has preached. There are similar plays in South America, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Africa. Scholars such as Dutch ethnomusicologist Alfred A Beck (1899–1963) speculate that it is the 16th-century Jesuits who adapted the concept of these plays from early Christian legends or stories. Bible. Characters and names may vary. The most popular is the story of Charlemagne, written in . is referred to as Karlman Charitham in Kerala. In most places, the Jesuits blended it with the local art forms and culture,” she explains.
Chavithunadakam has elements of Western opera, Koodiyattam, Kathakali and kalaripayattu. Its dance segments are called Kalasamy, Name of pure dance sequences in Kathakali.
In the past, these plays were staged at night for church ceremonies. Some plays, such as the popular and oldest, Karlman Charitham, was staged over 15 nights.
The Gita explains that there is a lot of ambiguity about who wrote the early plays. Karlman Charitham. Some believe that the first composer, director and Posture: The (teacher) of the early Chavithunadakam plays was Chinnathambi Annavi, a Tamil who settled in Kerala. As of now, there are no written documents about the authorship of the plays.
Over time, Chavithunadakam lost its glory and was reduced to a handful of congregations in Alappuzha and Kochi. In some instances, when plays were staged, the church became uncomfortable with nightly fun.
Kerala Chavithunadaka Academy, Gothuruthu, performance of ‘Karalamana Charitham’. photo Credit: Basil Kakkato
Official work of essayist and writer Sabina Rafi Chavittu Nadakam – Oru character designee, (Chavitunadakam – A Historical Study), probably the first book on the art form, delves into the history and origins of theatre.
Roy George, and Posture: (teacher) and practitioner of Chavithunadakam, remembers his father and his contemporaries putting on the plays by borrowing money and working hard to find stages. The art got some exposure when Mammootty played a Chavitanadakam actor in Shaji N Karun’s film. Kutti Sarank (2009). Geeta recalls that she first saw the art form in a scene in the film.
In 2012, the Kerala government included Chavithunadakam in the Kerala State Schools Youth Festival, which came as a shot to the congregation. Since then, George kalari Chavithunadakam’s unique footwork, songs and dialogues are learned by students of all ages.
A scene from Chavithunadakam during the State School Youth Festival in Kozhikode. photo Credit: the ragesho
“I learned it from my father Georgkutty Asan at the age of 12. I played the role of young Gevarghese (St. George) in the play. gevarghese charitham. Since then I have been a regular in this kind of theater. In those days we used to sing, speak dialogues and perform. Now, we have an orchestra. The way the south side is practiced, there is a slight difference in the footwork and rendition of the music,” he says.
According to the Gita, traditional percussion instruments such as chenda And ela thalam Earlier it was played during singing. “Now, keyboard, tabla, rhythm keypad and ela thalam are played. There is no fixed number for the musicians to come up with the play. It could be different,” she says.
vigorous footwork
Traditionally, the footwork of Chavithunadakam consists of 12 distinct steps. Georgekutty Posture: Make two more. Footwork is vigorous and physically demanding. Gita explains that in the past, the stage was a wooden stage built over a wooden barrel: “The vigorous footwork of the performers would produce a loud sound as they pushed hard on the wooden stage.”
The plays have been shortened to three hours for modern audiences, although Geeta recalls seeing an act spread over a night for eight hours in 2018.
Roy says that efforts are being made to broaden the theme of the plays to make them relevant to the era we live in, and to expand the repertoire of Chavithunadakam. “Government encouragement has given us several steps; We have performed all over Kerala. The new plays are in Malayalam, as it will be difficult for the audience to understand the language of the old plays,” says Roy.
The Chuvadi festival, which was supposed to begin in Gothuruth from December 26 to 31, had to be postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But Roy is excited when he says that the play is reaching the cities and not confined to the coastal region, which was once the stamping ground of Chavithunadakam actors.
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