Kaavu theendal and Bharanipattu: A Sacred Manifestation of Drama Therapy

Abstract

Kodungalloor Sree Kurumba Bhagavathy Temple is world-renowned for its annual Meena Bharani festival. It traditionally involves multiple rituals like Kozhikallu moodal (sacrifice of roosters), Kaavu Theendal (frenzied dance of oracles), Revathi Vilakku, Bharanipattu (singing of libellous ballads) and Chandanapottu Charthal. Because of its aesthetic vibrancy, cultural significance, and symbolic prominence, this festival has always grabbed the attention of academia. There exist numerous legends and stories associated with the chief deity, Bhadrakali or Kannagi, and the rituals of Meenabharani. Placing a lesser-known myth of Nalachan as a pivot point of understanding, the paper attempts to read the ritual performance of Kaavu theendal and Bharanipattu through the lens of a modern theatre approach called Drama therapy. With the use of therapeutic empathy, role-playing, dramatic projection and embodiment of intangible emotion, the devotees achieve a catharsis very similar to the one achieved in Drama therapy. Drawing from existing literature and discourse analysis, the study examines how these traditional performative practices, essentially used to appease the deity, also function as a form of therapeutic release for the participants. The study aims to identify the ritual performance of Kaavu theendal and Bharanipattu as a sacred and traditional guise of modern drama therapy.