People & Culture
The people are the human resource of the District. Their culture, religion, aptitude,habits, beliefs, talents etc have a bearing on how the district presents itself to others. Tamil and Malayalam are the main languages of this district. Hindus and Christians form a sizeable percentage of the population of the district and there are a number of Muslims dominated belts in the district.
The caste system in the Society has weakened to a great extent especially after independence because of growth of education and improvements in transport and communication. Some of the communities in the district are Nadars, Nanjil Nadu Vellalars, Paravas, Mukthavas, Vilakki Thalanayar, Kammalar or Asari, Chackarevars, Kerala Mudalis etc. Rice is the staple food of the rich and poor alike in the district. Some among the poorer section also use tapioca. Beverages like tea and coffee are widely spread even in to the rural area of the district.
Festivals & Folk Arts FESTIVALS are held in all the taluks in connection with various celebrations in the temples, mosques and churches. The car festival at Suchindram attracts large number of crowds in the month of January. The Kodai festival in the month of March in the Mondaicadu temple in the Kalkulam Taluk gets a large gathering. The Thirukalya Utsavam in the Kumaracoil temple in the Kalkulam taluk in the month of March - April is observed as an important festival. Pongal in January and Deepavali in November are also occasions for festivity and rejoicing among the Hindu Communities. The Malayalis celebrate Onam in August - September with feasts and sports. Muslims in all the taluks observe Muharram and Ramzan. Christmas is an important festival for the Christians. In the St.Xavier's Church at Kottar, as annual festival in the month of December is usually celebrated on a very grand scale and attracts Catholic people from all over South India.
FORK ARTS Many Folk arts and dances are popular in this district. They are played during the time of festivals in temples, celebrations in schools etc.
Bow Song (Villu Pattu) is an ancient form of musical - story - telling art of southern Tamil Nadu. This art is famous particularly in Southern Tamil Nadu.
Bow, the age -old weapon of warriors - paradoxically lends itself to be used as a primary musical instrument for the Villu Pattu artists. There are Udukku , Kudam, Thala - Kattai etc as supplementary instrument in their performances. Udukku mentioned in the ancient Tamil literature as Thudi, is a small drum with a slender middle portion which is held in the left hand and played by the fingers of the right hand . This may be seen in the pictures and statues of Lord Nataraja, - the cosmic Dancer, adoring his left hand. Sometimes the Villu Pattu team divides itself into two groups, each trying to prove opposite view points of a subject by conducting the programme by exchange of questions and answers. This is called Lavani Pattu. The songs used by the Villu-Pattu artists are mostly traditional folk-songs.
Thiruvathirai Kali occupies the pride of place among the folk dances. It resembles Kummi and is played especially during Onam festival. The players are young girls. The necessary number of girls is 8,10,12 or 16 for each dance. They move round and sing in chorus. Each girl strikes the stick (Kole) which she holds in each hand and the striking of the sticks and the steps , which she makes are rhythmical to the tune.
Kalial is a folk dance played by group of men or boys in the country side. A group leader sings songs and keeps time with cymbals. The players stand in a circle with sticks in their hand and dance round a lighted lamp repeating the songs sung by the leader. They turn, twist, lean forward and backward, squat and move round singing to the tune. At the beginning the steps are elaborate and at times, they are also very quick . When invited to perform in a function, the players generally begin the dance with an invocation for heavenly aid and conclude the dance with a torch - dance using lighted torches. This folk dance exhibits the artistic and recreative life of the country side.
Kathakali is a unique form of drama, which has its origin in Travancore. Kathakali (story-dance) is a relatively recent (fifteenth or sixteenth century) development of earlier dances, which, like dances every where, arose out of religious expression through symbolical action. In this art-form, the characters express their ideas not by words, but by significant gestures. The movements are adopted from the Bharatha Natya with suitable modifications. The conversations between the characters, as well as the narrative portion of the story, invariably in verse, are recited in a loud voice by the Bhagavathar to the accompaniment of musical instrument. The action is promoted by his words. The costume and make up of the actor are also important aspects in Kathakali. There are standard make up for the different types of actors, but red, yellow, green black and white are the colours used. The head dresses are made of light-weight wood and are decorated with pieces of mirror, spangles, and coloured stones. Usually, a Kathakali performance extends from eight to ten hours. With the advent of the cinema, the popularity of this art has declined. It is now played in the temples at Thiruvattar, Thirparappu, Ponmana, Kuzhithurai, Neyyoor and Munchira in the Kanyakumari District twice a year during the time of festivals.
Ottam Thullal is a form of story telling. It is a popular for of amusement, staged in the temple premises and Malayalam is the language commonly used. It combines dance, song and acting. the story – teller is aided by two musicians, one, who leads the song and plays on an instrument, and the other, who keeps time by beating cymbal. The actor wears a simple costume consisting of a skirt, some arm and chest decorations and an elaborate head dress. ‘Ottam Thullal’ is now played in the temples of Thiruvaattar, Thirparappu, Ponmana and Thirunanthikara in the district during the time of festivals.
Karagam Dance is a kind of dance common in the country side. It is played by both men and women during the time of festivals and marriages.
Kalari also known as Adimurai in Kanniyakumari district, is an ancient martial art, still preserved in the villages of this district and also in Kerala. A tradition believed to have been founded by Paraurama is known Vadakkan Kalari : and another credited to Agasthiar is called as which emphasis is on striking at vital points of the body and not on weapons, even through sword, knife, Urumi (rolling sword), Mankombu (horns of a deer), Kandakkodali, (a kind of axe), mazhu (a kind of axe) etc., are also used.