Oyilattam

Understand

Where Oyilattam comes from

Oyilattam (literally 'graceful dance') is a folk dance of southern Tamil Nadu with its origins in the Madurai, Tirunelveli and Tiruchirapalli districts. The dance was traditionally performed after harvest to protect the grains from birds, the rhythmic movements and the waving of kerchiefs being used to scare the birds off. Over the last few decades women have also begun performing the dance, although it was originally a men's tradition. The dance was identified by the Tamil university as a folk art to mainstream, and is performed at village festivals in southern Tamil Nadu.

How it's practiced

Oyilattam is performed by dancers standing in a row, each holding colourful handkerchiefs tied to their fingers, performing rhythmic steps in time to the thavil drum and the song. The dancers wave the handkerchiefs in synchronised patterns while stepping and turning, the handkerchiefs becoming the focus of the choreography. The dance wear includes ankle bells, and the handkerchiefs of multiple colours give the dance a vibrant visual quality. The performers sometimes number as many as several dozen, particularly when staged as community celebrations at village festivals and temple melas.