Kummi

Understand

Where Kummi comes from

Kummi is an ancient Tamil folk dance performed by women in Tamil Nadu and the Tamil communities of Kerala and Sri Lanka. The word kummi derives from the Tamil kommai meaning 'circle', referring to a dance-with-hand-clapping that predates the use of musical instruments. The Kummi song tradition is a defining part of the Tamil women's folk-song repertoire and is regularly performed at weddings, Pongal and the Karthikai and Tiruvonam festivals. The dance and its songs have inspired many literary traditions and are a key reference for Tamil cultural identity across the diaspora.

How it's practiced

Kummi is performed by women in a circle, hand-in-hand or in a shoulder-link, clapping in coordinated patterns while singing Kummi songs. One woman begins the song and the ensemble responds in the next line, with the rhythm set by the claps themselves rather than by any instrument. The dance has regional variants — some places imitate the gestures of harvesting and winnowing grain; others add a simple swaying or stepping rhythm. Men, when they join, form the outer circle. Costume is the colourful traditional Tamil pavadai-sattai (half-sari) or churidar-kurta with jasmine flowers in the hair, and the dance is performed at weddings, temple festivals and at Tamil Nadu's state cultural events.