Padayani

Understand

Where Padayani comes from

Padayani (also Padeni) is a traditional folk dance and ritual art from the central portion of Kerala — Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts, with extensions into Kollam and Alappuzha. The earliest inscription mentioning Padayani is the Talakkad inscription of 1024 CE, recording a tax collected by a village temple council and the Chera king Rajasimha from Christian traders for conducting the Padayani festival. Padayani is similar in spirit to the Theyyam ritual of northern Kerala, and the form is interpreted as preserving elements of older regional worship traditions that later became part of broader Hindu practice. Padayani is staged in Bhadrakaali temples from mid-December to mid-May, with each temple's Padayani having its own character — Elanthoor, Kottangal, Kadammanitta, Kurampala, Kallooppara, Kadalimangalam and Kunnamthanam are the most celebrated.

How it's practiced

Padayani is performed by groups of men wearing enormous, brightly-painted masks (kolams) made of areca-palm sheaths, bamboo and cloth, depicting characters of the Bhadrakali mythological cycle — Bhairavi, Yakshi, Gandharva, Darika and other demons and deities. The performance is part worship and part theatre, with dance, satirical dialogue, songs and recitation of the Padayani thappu (a percussion instrument), accompanied by chenda, para and kumbham. The famous Bhairavi kolam of the Kadammanitta temple uses 1001 areca-palm bark pieces and is performed on the closing day of the festival. The form opens with the dramatic lighting of the kolams in the temple courtyard at nightfall.