Kolattam

Understand

Where Kolattam comes from

Kolattam (kol + attam, 'stick dance') is an ancient folk dance of the Tamil people, traditionally performed by women of all ages. The dance is performed during Karthigai month of the Tamil calendar and during Pongal, weddings and village festivities, and is dedicated to various Hindu deities. Variants of Kolattam exist in Andhra Pradesh (as Kolannalu), Karnataka (as Kolata) and Kerala, with the common heritage of the South Indian stick-dance tradition. Today Kolattam is practised across the Tamil diaspora, including Sri Lanka and Malaysia, and is one of the most performed social dances of Tamil Nadu.

How it's practiced

Kolattam is performed by groups of women holding two short lacquered wooden sticks (kollu, about 1.5 feet long), one in each hand. The dancers stand in a circular formation (often two concentric circles) and crisscross their sticks against their own or against partners' sticks in specific rhythmic patterns while singing folk songs. Dancers also change pairs by moving across the circles to create larger interlocking rhythmic patterns. Variations include pinnal kolattam (using ropes instead of sticks), chakke kolattam, and the related Kummiattam (which uses hand-claps instead of sticks). Costume is the colourful Tamil half-sari (pavadai-davanam) or sari for women and the dhoti for men — recent practice has seen men and children joining the dance at school festivals.