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[[File:Dharumar @Therukkuthu.jpg|alt=Dharumar @Therukkuthu|thumb|Dharumar @Therukkuthu]]
'''Terukkuttu''' is a [[Tamil language|Tamil]] [[street theatre]] form practised in [[Tamil Nadu]] state of [[India]] and Tamil-speaking regions of [[Sri Lanka]].<ref>{{cite book
| last = Sarachchandra
| first = Ediriweera R.
| title = The Folk Drama of Ceylon
| publisher = Department of Cultural Affairs, Ceylon
| location = Colombo
| oclc = 63859810
| pages = 116
| year = 1966
}}</ref> Terukuttu is a form of entertainment, a ritual, and a medium of social instruction.<ref name="MLVardapande_history">{{cite book
| last = Varadpande
| first = Manohar Laxman
| title = History of Indian Theatre
| publisher = Abhinav Publications
| orig-year = 1987
| year = 1990
| isbn = 978-81-7017-278-9
| oclc = 18270064
| pages = 39–44
}}</ref> The terukkuttu plays various themes. One theme is from the Tamil language versions of the [[Hindu]] epic ''[[Mahabharata]]'', focusing on the character [[Draupadi]].<ref>{{cite book
| last = Srinivas
| first = Smriti
| title = Landscapes of Urban Memory
| publisher = Orient Longman
| orig-year = 2001
| year = 2004
| isbn = 81-250-2254-6
| oclc = 46353272
| pages = 23
}}</ref> The terms Terukkuttu and [[Kattaikkuttu]] are often used interchangeably in the modern times; however, historically the two terms appear to have distinguished, at least in certain villages, between two different kinds of performance: while ''Terukkuttu'' referred to mobile performances in a procession, Kattaikkuttu denotes overnight, narrative performances at a fixed performance space.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Bruin
| first = Hanne M de
| title = Kattaikkuttu: The flexibility of a south Indian theatre tradition
| publisher = E. Forsten
| year = 1999
| isbn = 978-90-6980-103-2
| oclc = 42312297
| pages = 85–99
}}</ref>

==History==
The term '''terukkuttu''' is derived from the Tamil words ''Teru'' ("street") and ''Kuttu'' ("theatre").<ref>{{cite book
| last = Barfoot
| first = C.C.
| title = Theatre Intercontinental: Forms, Functions, Correspondences
| publisher = Rodopi
| year = 1993
| isbn = 90-5183-575-2
| oclc = 29909259
| pages = 116
}}</ref> The word "[[Kattaikkuttu]]" is derived from the name of special ornaments known as ''kattai'' (or ''kattai camankal'').

The writer M. Shanmugam Pillai has compared terukkuttu to the Tamil epic [[Silappatikaram]], calling Silappatikaram a proto-form of terukkuttu. The Silappatikaram story is still performed by the terukkuttu actors, the terukkuttu drama commences and ends in a manner similar to the commencement and end of each canto in the epic, and the actors sing and converse in verse interspersed with prose, the prose coming after the verse as its explanation. Both Silappatikaram and terukkuttu are centered around the [[chastity]] and [[morality|moral]] power of women as cherished values.<ref name="MLVardapande_history"/>

However, historically, the terukkuttu is not more than two to three centuries old.<ref name="MLVardapande_history"/> The researcher Richard A. Frasca wrote that certain of his performer-informants believed that the terukkuttu originally emanated from the [[Gingee]] area.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Frasca
| first = Richard Armando
| title = The Terukkūttu : ritual theater of Tamilnadu (Ph.D. thesis)
| publisher = [[University of California, Berkeley]]
| year = 1984
| oclc = 13876271
| pages = 140
}}</ref> It spread from South India to Sri Lanka, and became popular in [[Jaffna]] and [[Batticaloa]]. The early [[Sri Lanka|Sinhala]] [[Theater in Sri Lanka|Nadagam]] (open-air drama) closely followed Terukuttu plays in presentation and in style.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/2003/12/24/feat/1.asp |title=Daily Mirror |author=W. T. A. Leslie Fernando |date=24 December 2003 |access-date=2007-11-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040323024055/http://www.dailymirror.lk/2003/12/24/feat/1.asp |archive-date=23 March 2004 }}</ref> The Jesuit priests in [[Jaffna]] also presented [[Catholic]] plays from the Portuguese tradition in Terukuttu style.<ref name="WTAVerghese_drama">{{cite web
| url = http://www.lankalibrary.com/rit/drama.htm
| title = Did Sinhala drama originate in Christmas?
| author = W. T. A. Leslie Fernando
| access-date = 2007-11-21
}}</ref>

Many scholars note the similarity between terukkuttu and other neighbouring regional drama forms, such as [[Yakshagana]] and [[Kathakali]].<ref name="AlfH_Draudpadi">{{cite book
| last = Hiltebeitel
| first = Alf
| author-link=Alf Hiltebeitel
| title = The Cult of Draupadi: Mythologies: From Gingee to Kuruksetra
| publisher = University Of Chicago Press
| year = 1988
| isbn = 978-0-226-34046-3
| oclc = 18739841
| pages = 146–149
}}</ref> However, unlike Kathakali, terukkuttu is less codified, and is generally considered a folk art rather than a classical art form.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Richmond
| first = Farley P.
|author2=Darius L. Swann |author3=Phillip B. Zarrilli
| title = Indian Theatre: Traditions of Performance
| publisher = [[Motilal Banarsidass]]
| orig-year = 1990
| year = 1993
| isbn = 978-0-8248-1322-2
| oclc = 20594132
| pages = 309
}}</ref> In recent times, some terukkuttu groups have also started operating as professional troupes.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.bowdoin.edu/news/archives/1bowdoincampus/000747.shtml
| title = From Street Theater to Kattaikuttu
| date = 4 November 1999
| access-date = 2007-11-21
}}</ref>

==Theme==

Many terukuttu performances center around the enactment of [[Mahabharata]] story, with emphasis on the role of [[Draupadi]]. Terukkuttu plays on [[Ramayana]] are performed at Mariyamman festivals, and some of the plays also involve local deities.<ref name="AlfH_Draudpadi"/>

The terukkuttu plays form part of ritual celebrations including the twenty-one day temple festival starting in ''Chittirai'', the first month of the [[Tamil calendar]].<ref name="MLVardapande_history"/> The terukkuttu performances begin in the middle of the festival, and continue till the morning of the penultimate day.

The core themes of the terukuttu plays include:
* ''Draupadi Kalyanam'' (The marriage of [[Draupadi]])
* ''Supattirai Kalyanam'' (The marriage of [[Subhadra]])
* ''Alli Arjunan'' (The Marriage of [[Arjuna]] with Alli)
* ''Pancal Capatam'' (The Vow of Draupadi)
* ''Arjunan Tapam'' (Arjuna's ''[[tapasya|tapas]]'')
* ''Krishnan Titu'' (The mission of [[Krishna]])
* ''Abhimanyu Cantai'' (The defeat of [[Abhimanyu]])
* ''Karna Mokshayam'' (The defeat of [[Karna]])
* ''Patinettam Por'' (The Battle of the Eighteenth Day)
* ''Aravan kalappali'' ("Sacrifice of [[Iravan|Aravan]] in the Battlefield")<ref name = "hindu">[https://web.archive.org/web/20121104064550/http://www.hindu.com/2001/08/17/stories/0917035f.htm] Symbol of sacrifice: Online edition of [[The Hindu]], 17 August 2001</ref>

==Style==
The terukkuttu plays are a combination of song, music, dance and drama along with "clever stage tricks".<ref name=nytimes>{{Cite news|title=Review: 'A Room in India' Overflows With Astonishing Visions|first=Jesse|last=Green|newspaper=The New York Times|date=6 December 2017|url=https://nyti.ms/2AYG8YH}}</ref> The actors wear colorful costumes. The musical instruments used by the terukkuttu musicians include [[Pump organ|harmonium]], [[drum]]s, a ''mukhavinai'' (an instrument similar to [[oboe]]), and [[cymbal]]s.

An acting arena is marked at courtyard of a temple, open ground or any other convenient site and people squat on the three sides of the rectangular arena. The chorus of singers and the musicians occupy the place on the rear side of the stage, and the actors use the front side. Two persons holding a curtain enter the arena, with an actor in the guise of [[Ganesha]], the elephant-headed Hindu god. The chorus begins an invocation to Ganesha, and prayers are also offered to many other deities. The actor playing Ganesha now moves out of the arena, and ''Kattiyakkaran'' (jester and ''sutradhara'' i.e. the narrator) appears on the stage. ''Kattiyakkaran'' relates the story of the play to be performed and introduces the characters. Sometimes, the characters introduce themselves. ''Kattiyakkaran'' links the scenes, provides context to the happenings on the stage and also jests in between the scenes. The actors sing themselves, supported by the chorus.

The text of a terukkuttu play is a series of songs related by a theme. Each song is rendered in a [[raga]], structured in form of a classical song. It is preceded by [[viruttam]], chanting of four-line verses in the same raga as the song.<ref>{{cite book
| title = [[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| chapter = Introduction to Indian Music: Folk Music
| isbn = 978-1-56159-174-9
| author = edited by Stanley Sadie.
| year = 1980
}}</ref> After the song, an actor delivers a speech based on it.

The French theater group, [[Théâtre du Soleil]], used elements of Terukuttu, including the two stories The Vow of Draupadi, and The defeat of Karna in their play, A Room in India.<ref name=nytimes/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book
| last = Frasca
| first = Richard Armando
| title = Theatre of the Mahabharata: terukkuttu Performances in South India
| publisher = University of Hawaii Press
| year = 1990
| isbn = 978-0-8248-1290-4
| oclc = 21147946
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Gentes
| first = Mary Josephine
| title = Hinduism through village dance drama : narrative image and ritual process in South India's terukkuttu and Yaksagana ritual theaters (Ph.D. thesis)
| publisher = University of Virginia
| year = 1987
| oclc = 20052719
}}
* {{cite journal
| last = Frasca
| first = Richard Armando
| year = 1998
| title = The Dice Game and the Disrobing (Pakatai Tuyil): A terukkuttu Performance
| journal = Asian Theatre Journal
| volume = 15
| issue = 1
| pages = 1–44
| doi = 10.2307/1124097
| jstor = 1124097
| publisher = University of Hawai'i Press
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Bruin
| first = Hanne M de
| title = Kattaikkuttu: The flexibility of a south Indian theatre tradition
| publisher = E. Forsten
| year = 1999
| isbn = 978-90-6980-103-2
| oclc = 42312297
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Shivaprakash
| first = H S
| title = Traditional theatres
| publisher = Wisdom Tree
| year = 2007
| isbn = 978-81-8328-075-4
| oclc = 85833550
| chapter = Regional theatres (ix. Terukuttu)
}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080905173916/http://www.kattaikkuttu.org/katinfo1.html Kattaikkuttu or terukkuttu]

== Wiki!!! ==

{{Works based on the Mahabharata}}

[[Category:Folk plays]]
[[Category:Tamil theatre]]
[[Category:Theatre in India]]
[[Category:Works based on the Mahabharata]]
[[Category:Street theatre]]

Terukkuttu - Revision history

2406:B400:D5:1BF:69C5:6E0A:A172:6F2D at 07:50, 13 July 2021