Introduction:
The tradition of decorating the front yards of a Tamil household with Kolam has been in practice for several centuries now. In an average household of Tamil Nadu, the women of the house start their day by sprinkling water on the threshold of their homes early in the morning and adorning it with beautiful kolams made out of finely ground rice powder. These beautiful designs that act as a marker between the inner and outer world are filled with symmetry and mathematics, with a tinge of culture and history written all over them. Kolam, apart from being an everyday ritual everyday ritual is also a concept of mindfulness, balance and self-expression. With every curve, loop and pattern drawn is a story hidden underneath it, ready to come out of the entangled mess.
Origin:
According to historical sources, the origins of kolam remain ambiguous; however, we get strong evidence of this art from the Sangam literature. As mentioned in the scripts of the Sangam literature, the kolam is drawn during the dawn [Brahma Muhurtham], generally believed to be the hour when the gods ascended to the earth and visit the households. This was considered a sign of welcoming the gods into their households. Initially practised and restricted to the upper echelons of society, over the years it has spread down to the other parts of the Tamil community and now has become an important symbol of their culture.
The kolams are divided into different varieties and categorised into multiple sections, namely Pulli kolam, Chikku kolam, Neli kolam, etc. Some of the common motifs found in the kolam are the Swastika, footprint, and animal motifs. Many kolams begin with a grid of dots that is then eventually joined by loops, arrays, and lines. Every dotted design ends exactly where it began, and behind these well-executed patterns lie the beliefs of the community surrounding fertility, birth, and death. Not every design drawn traces back to the Sangam era or the ancient Tamil society. Some of the popular designs are just a few hundred years old. A few designs are traced back to the Jain temples of South Kanara, and some belong to Mahayana Buddhism. From the evidence gathered in Tamil literature, the use of the word Kolam for drawing patterns on the floor is first available in a Kuravanji called Madurai Meenatchiammai Kuram and in Kutrala Kuravanji. These works belong to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
A Woman’s Niche:
Kolam is a deeply gendered art that is predominantly known as a women’s enclave. The societal norms dictate that the art form must be confined to the womenfolk of the household alone. The narratives that surround the kolams are also naturally feminine and revolve around the worship of goddesses. Kolam drawn in the threshold is ideally viewed as a gesture of paying respects to the land goddess [Bhuma Devi], then to the goddess of fortune and wealth Lakshmi, and the goddess of basil leaves Tulsi Devi. Another famous narrative around kolams is that it’s primarily drawn to ward off the evil eye from the house and keep the god of misfortune away from their homes.
The Math:
One of the most important aspects of the kolam drawn in Tamil Nadu that differentiates it from the rest of the country is the mathematics that is involved in the making of the art. According to scholars, kolam epitomises geometrical properties of symmetry, periodicity, repetition, recursion, and rhythm. The patterns used in kolams are customarily based on calculus and applied mathematics. These patterns around the early 21st century started to attract the eyes of engineers and scientists who were interested in examining the symmetry and the description of pictures, through which they started tracing a perpetual picture language and thereby paving the way for the growth of a formal language theory. They have indulged in identifying the intricate value and theory of the kolams and the definite set of rules that are followed for the implementation of the whole design.
Kolam and Its Types:
Kolams drawn using a single continuous line or multiple intertwining lines that loop around dots are known as Sikku Kolam or Chikku Kolam. Pulli kolam, on the other hand, involves drawing a line looped around a collection of dots placed on a plane such that three mandatory rules are followed: all line orbits should be closed, all dots are encircled, and most important of all, two lines cannot overlap over a finite length. Kambi kolam is another type of kolam which is similar to Sikku Kolam; however, the major difference is that instead of drawing loops, this pattern focuses more on creating a design using a string of lines creating a wire- and thread-like pattern. Another type of kolam is called the Semman kolam or the red sand kolam. This is drawn in the front yards by mixing both the rice flour and the natural red soil. The soil is used in the borders to give a solid outline and create a contrasting effect, which makes the kolam stand out and gives it a unique space. There is also an intriguing narrative behind this particular kolam. In a particular episode of Ramayana, Ravan comes in disguise and abducts Ram and his brothers and takes them as prisoners to offer them as a sacrifice to the goddess Kali. Hanuman, however, rescues Ram and his brothers and defeats Ravan. And as per the oral history, to commemorate this event, the red kolam is drawn on the thresholds of Tamil Nadu.
Conclusion:
The whole process of drawing a kolam at every sunrise is an act of muscle memory for the women of the households. Made out of rice flour, these beautiful patterns act as food for the birds and ants who feed on them. It is meant to be erasable. A strong gust of wind, an accidental stomp, or a moving vehicle is all it takes for the kolam to disappear. Kolam, as seen, is a way of inviting auspiciousness inside the house, a way of keeping misfortune away, and a simple act of daily routine. It is an important aspect in keeping a daily cycle alive and working. It is a revival of memory and a statement of witness to all the oral histories, narratives, myths, and meanings. It is also a symbol of a constructed society that draws definite markers on assigned roles. Just like how a line doesn’t overlap or cross paths with the other lines, the domain of kolam is also largely segmented and remains the work of women till today.
References
Biju Chacko Kunnumpurath & John Sekar. “Narratives Behind The Kolam Practice In Tamil Nadu.” Think India Journal, Vol 22 No 3 (July 2019), pp. 1770–1780.