Echoes of Hybridization: How Chavittunatakam Connected Two Worlds

Introduction

Literally meaning “the stamping drama,” Chavittunatakam is a unique Christian operatic theatre from Kerala. Born from the meeting of Portuguese missionaries and the coastal communities of Kerala, it is an unusual marriage between the western theatre and eastern dance traditions that attempts to ‘regionalize’ global epics to make them ‘universal.’  

 

A Field Ready to Sow 

The seemingly perpetual nature of Kerala’s tendency to accommodate is a feature worth discussing when it comes to the larger corpus of cultural hybridization the land witnessed. Historian M.G.S. Narayanan has described this phenomenon without losing any nuances. He called the amalgamation of various cultures in Kerala a ‘Symbiosis,’ not a Synthesis, or an Adoption. In other words, the different cultures that amalgamated into the collective cultural tapestry of Kerala never really lost their individual identities. Instead, they entered a conversation with each other, giving rise to an evolution rooted in the shared need for a negotiated co-existence. One of the most interesting products of these cross-cultural marriages was Chavittunatakam.  

 

 

 

History of Chavittunatakam 

Medieval Kerala was a very peculiar place. Not only was it an ‘Emporium of India’ as the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st century CE) described, it had also turned into one of the most favourable trade outposts for a lot of seafaring merchants of the early 15th century CE. This included the Arabs, the Chinese, and, as fate would have it, the Portuguese, who set foot in Kerala in 1498 and marked the first instance of a medieval European power to land in India via the sea to do so. However, the Portuguese were not mere traders. They were employed by the Crown to expand, capture, and convert. A part of their objectives was to fulfill their desire to spread the Christian (Catholic) faith. However, soon they found that people of Kerala, even the Christians (who had been a part of the land for at least a millennium at that point), remained deeply attached to their roots (this will later lead to an intra-communal schism), and the native arts, like Kathakali, were still popular across the wider demographic.  

 

 

What they also realized was the fact that art transcends religious and cultural boundaries, and that they must speak to the Malayalis in a language that touches their soul if they were to succeed. The Portuguese were no strangers to theatre. However, as mentioned earlier, cultures survived in Kerala through a process of Symbiosis. A natural Symbiosis, to be precise. The people of the soil had no need to replace their traditions with a European construct that neither spoke their language nor their history.  

So how exactly did these mutually unintelligible conversations evolve into Chavittunatakam? 

Legend has it that one Chinnathambi Pilla (Annavi), a Tamil scholar, was the progenitor of Chavittunatakam. When he was singing in the Mattancherry Church, the Koonan Kurishu (Bent Cross, also a symbol of the Anti-Latin protests in Kerala) bowed towards him in acknowledgement. Whether myth or history, what Annavi’s successors created was a remarkable amalgamation of two distinct cultural theatres. As the acrobatic footwork of Kerala’s own martial art, the Kalaripayattu, provided the perfect language for the battle scenes portrayed by European epics, the structure of European Opera was merged with the local theatrics that resemble the intricacies of arts like Kathakali. This new art form also drew from Greek theatre and other regional forms like Yakshagana and Therukoothu. 

 

 

The Core 

Stories presented in Chavittunatakam narrate tales of Christian kings, warriors, and saints from European history and the Bible. For example, Carleman Charitam (The Chronicle of Charlemagne the Great), is a reinterpretation of the 16th-century Castilian text La historia del emperador Carlomagno. Rarely has there been another instance in South Asia where a literal Holy Roman Emperor became the focus of a local tradition. Another interesting feature is the nature of the stories being told. Most of the time, the adversaries are referred to as “Turks,” reflecting the political anxieties of a Europe surrounded by the rising Ottoman Empire. Repurposing such anxieties in an Indian context wasn’t a product of mere convenience. It mimicked the Portuguese worries in India regarding the Mughals. Regardless, political interests weren’t the only aspect that defined a Chavittunatakam performance. Other popular plays include Daveedhum Goliyathum (David and Goliath), and Mahanaya Alexander (Alexander the Great), representing an array of stories important to Christians, regardless of their nationality. 

 

 

Motifs and Attire

The costumes are renowned for their “artistic excellence” and were a deliberate choice to visually transport the Malayali audience into a world of European imperial grandeur. The performance involves a dazzling spectacle of emperors and knights in rich silks, velvets, and brocades, complete with sparkling crowns and sceptres. Soldiers are clad in Greco-Roman uniforms with elaborate helmets and breastplates.

 

 

This visual language was as vital as the text, reinforcing the cultural and religious power of the stories being told. The fundamental attire in general has largely remained unchanged, but the regalia surely evolved, especially for female roles. Another interesting aspect is the unique makeup of Chavittunatakam. It aims to accurately represent the European perception of the characters being played, from fair complexions to noble features, allowing performers to fully embody the historical and biblical figures they portray. 

 

 

The soul of a Chavittunatakam, however, lies in its text, the Chuvadi. The original scripts were composed in either Middle Tamil or Old Malayalam, using the ancient vattezhutthu script. These texts are rich in musicality, featuring various traditional Tamil meters that align with the rhythm of the performance. 

 

The Performance 

Traditionally, Chavittunatakam was performed on a massive stage of wooden planks. This structure was designed to be a percussion instrument in itself, as its reverberation with every powerful stomp is the feature that differentiates Chavittunatakam from its contemporaries to this day. In other words, this march-like performance practically nullified the lack of a grand musical orchestra. This doesn’t mean that there are no instruments involved, but the musical accompaniment is tailored to the characters and their moods. Heroic and violent scenes featuring male roles are backed by hard percussion, while scenes with female characters emphasize grace (lasya) with softer instruments. 

 

 

Modern Relevance 

Chavittunatakam has evolved a lot over time. Its inception is undoubtedly rooted in Colonialism, but now it is a cherished cultural identity for the coastal communities of central Kerala. Because of an apparent lack of ritualistic associations, the secularization of Chavittunatakam was a natural occurrence. Nowadays, people from diverse religious and social backgrounds are at the forefront of preserving this unique heritage for new generations. For example, the art form now explores contemporary themes and narratives like Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and Sophocles’ Oedipus. There has even been an instance of a play titled Swamy Ayyappan (a Hindu deity) being performed, bringing the performance onto temple grounds. Other modern plays act as social commentaries. For example, Jayakkodi addressed the contemporary hardships faced by the people of Chellanam, a coastal village in Kerala. This versatility of Chavittunatakam, thus, has given it global attention too, as it was promoted as the “only existing maritime dance drama in the world” in the prestigious Kochi-Muziris Biennale. Furthermore, its inclusion as a competitive event in the Kerala State School Youth Festival, one of the largest youth festivals in the whole of Asia, has kept the interest alive across all generations.  

 

 

Conclusion 

Chavittunatakam is nowadays being promoted as a unicorn amongst the unicorns, and not for any reasons unfounded. While it is true that the dance has lost its original purpose, the changing socio-political reality in Kerala has refused to let the essence of artistry die out, even though the Colonial trauma has been done away with holistically. What’s left is the unique breed of a system that strings together two worlds that couldn’t be further apart, and churning out a beautiful cultural memory that has no parallels across the world. So survives Chavittunatakam in the land that absorbed it.

 

References

1. “Chavittu Natakam – The Dance of the Kings.” Kerala Tourism, Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala.
2. “Chavittunatakam: Maritime Dance Drama of Kerala.” Sahapedia, Sahapedia, 2024.
3. JANAL Team. “Chavittunatakam: A Synthesis of Cultures and Artforms.” JANAL Archive, Kerala Museum, 2023.
4. Prahesh, T.P. “Chavittu Natakam: A Traditional Christian Theatre Text and Its Analysis.” Dravidian University.
5. Puranam, Madhavi. “Chavittu Nadakam – The Ancient Operatic Theatre.” Attakkalam, 14 July 2017.
6. Wilson, Geetha K., and Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan. “Nummada Kaaralmaan (Oh, Our Charlemagne): An Introduction to the Representation of Charlemagne and (His) Paladins in ‘Chavittunatakam’ (The Stamping Drama) of Kerala, India.” Geschichte im Bistum Aachen, vol. 15, Verlag Ph. C. W. Schmidt, 2021, pp. 145-170
7. M.G.S Narayanan | Cultural Symbiosis in Kerala | Book
8. Manuscript Archives of the Virtual Hill Museum.