Studies in Kūṭiyāṭṭam : The Living Sanskrit Theatre of Kerala
From the vast literature of classical and medieval Sanskrit drama, only one tradition of live performance has survived—the intricate, elaborate, and refined art form known as Kūṭiyāṭṭam, still performed by a handful of families in central and southern Kerala on the south-west coast of India. To be p...
| Published in: | Annuaire |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | French |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sorbonne
2015
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| In: |
Annuaire
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| Further subjects: | B
Religions de l’Inde : études shivaïtes
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | From the vast literature of classical and medieval Sanskrit drama, only one tradition of live performance has survived—the intricate, elaborate, and refined art form known as Kūṭiyāṭṭam, still performed by a handful of families in central and southern Kerala on the south-west coast of India. To be precise : performances of Kūṭiyāṭṭam now tend to be truncated, reduced to two or three hours in a single night, as opposed to the full-length performances that would normally range from twelve hours to over 150 hours spread out over many days or nights. Since the older economic basis of the tradition in temple endowments has been lost, this art now competes in the open market with all other, modern forms, including contemporary cinema. Nonetheless, in recent years, under the aegis of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, full-length Kuṭiyāṭṭam productions by the Nepathya team of Mūḻikkuḷam have been re-introduced, and major parts of the classical repertoire are now once again amenable to viewing and study. An analytical study of the tradition must address a series of primary questions : Why have the performances, always limited to a single act of one of the classical texts, taken the strange shape we find today, with its central structural feature of imaginative retrospection (nirvahaṇam) ? What is the nature of the expressivity embodied in these complex performances ? Are there thematic unities at work ? How are we to understand the radical personalization of the character as presented to us over many hours on stage ? Can we define the peculiar, contrasting temporalities at work in these performances ? How is the Sanskrit text related to the immense expansion and exegesis that the actors generate ? What is the effect —cognitive, affective, aesthetic, sensual— upon the spectator of a performance that runs for 130 hours ? What is the aim of the actor as ritualist ? |
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| ISSN: | 1969-6329 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: École pratique des hautes études. Section des sciences religieuses, Annuaire
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.4000/asr.1321 |