PULI KALI!! See Why Indians Paint Themselves As Tigers Or Leopards During The Onam Festival!

Pulikkali could be a recreational genre from the state of Kerala. it’s performed by trained artists to entertain people on the occasion of Onam, an annual harvest festival, celebrated mainly within the Indian state of Kerala.

The literal meaning of Pulikkali is that the ‘play of the tigers’ hence the performance revolves around the theme of tiger hunting. The people’s art is principally practiced in Thrissur district of Kerala. The festival attracts thousands of individuals to Thrissur city. Pulikkali is additionally performed during various other festive seasons.

The origin of Pulikkali dates back to over 200 years, when the Maharaja Rama Varma Sakthan Thampuran, the then Maharaja of Cochin, is alleged to possess introduced the folk art, who wanted to celebrate Onam with a dance that reflected the wild and macho spirit of the force. Later, Konar of (Pattalam Road) accustomed to celebrating with great fervor.

They popularised the folk’s genre with steps and visual communication peculiar to a tiger being stalked by a hunter, enacting a play of constellation and therefore the beast. together with the celebrations, they want to perform the kind decked as tigers with peculiar steps resembling the tiger, then called ‘Pulikkettikali’ the locals immensely enjoyed which.

They hold Pulikkali in Thrissur in memory of this event. A striking feature of this genre is that the colorful appearance of the performers. They use a specific combination of tempera powder and polish or enamel to form the paint. First, the dancers remove the hair from the body, and then the bottom coat of paint applies to them. It takes two to 3 hours for the coating to dry.

After that, they apply the second coat of paint with an enhanced design. this whole procedure takes a minimum of five to seven hours. an outsized number of artists gather to use paint on the tigers. it’s a meticulous process and infrequently starts from the wee hours of the morning.