Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

The point is, this Kandiyan dance is not an original art form evolved in the hearts and mind of Sinhala people but they borrowed this dance form from Tamils and made some modification and called it as their own.

I am no expert in any sort of dancing. But i would like to know where you found evidance which says that Kandyan dancing is a by-product of Tamil dancing. Again, I am not challenging your post, I am merely inquiring for clarity purposes. Personally i have no problem in admitting any art, culture, word and religion coming from the Tamil culture.

When the roots, words and dance forms of Kandiyan dance runs strong and deep in the Tamil language and culture how did its Tamil connection get overshadowed?

Like all other ancient Tribal groups, the Sinhalese may or may not have different dance forms from the ancient days but let's look at the Tamil connection to the so-called Kanndiyan dance, the SO CALLED National Dance of Sinhalese.

Historical Background:

The major part of Kandiyan dance is Vannama (Vannam in Tamil) were created around the time of the Kandyan King Narendrasingha (1707-1737). He was married to a Tamil blooded, Tamil speaking Nayake dynasty princess from the ancient Tamil city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu which was the custom for many Sinhalese kings and he invited musicians and dancers from Tamil Nadu representing the South Indian court dance tradition (N rnberger 1998: 114).

According to Seneviratna (1984:42) it is said that, in cooperation with a Buddhist monk of the Malwatu Vihare in Kandy, one of those musicians, Ganithalankare, composed the songs (kavi ) for the eighteen vannamas. KAVI is a Tamil word for poem of four lines. Kavignan means a poet.

SINHALA MYTH MAKING:

According to the legend, the origins of the dance lie in an exorcism ritual known as the Kohomba Kankariya, which was originally performed by Indian shamans who came to the island. The Indian shamans came to the island upon the request of a king who was suffering from a mysterious illness. The king was said to be suffering from recurring dream in which a leopard directing its longue towards the king. Which is believed as a black magic of 'Kuweni' the first wife of the king 'Vijaya'. After the performance of the Kohomba Kankariya the illness vanished, and many natives adopted the dance.

According to Mahavamsa. the Queen of King Vijaya was a Tamil princess, so we can safely say the so-called INDIAN Shamans were Tamils and Mahavamsa clearly says the Tamil Pandiya king sent an entourage of Tamils to the island with the Tamil princess.

Sinhalese are well known for making up stories to connect everything to Vijaya and Mahavamsa stories and then they will show their own made up mythical stories as concrete facts to proof the ownership. They might even have a mythical story connecting the Portuguese BAILA dance to the Prince Vijaya and his 700 friends. :))

In Tamil Nadu also the particular castes were performing the traditional Tamil dances for centuries, in Sri Lanka only members of the two low castes of dancers (yakdesso)and drummers (berevadeyo)offered their performance services to kings, temples and villages. But with the end of colonization in the twentieth century, a new
generation of artists emerged. They were born high caste, grew up in Colombo, wereeducated with an orientation toward western civilization, and launched a renewal of the Sinhalese classical dance forms, performing them for a larger audience in large theater halls of the capital.

I think they are the one who systematically hid the Tamil connection to Kandiyan dance but still used the Tamil words and Tamil traditional dance methods as the major part of Kandiyan dance.

The KANDIYAN DANCERS are still using the Tamil words and dance tradition of Tamils such as VANNAM, SIRUMARUVU, ADAVU KAATHIRAM, MAATHIRAI ETC.

ADAVU:

It is a pure Tamil word. Although this word is used in traditional Tamil dance to describe the movement of feet, but Adavu is not a presentation limited to usage of the feet only. Every single limb of the body is coordinated in a certain style. The hands, legs, head etc constitute the major limbs. The simplest defenition of Adavu would be, basic unit of Tamil dance of Bharatanatyam involving the whole body.

It is pretty easy to say that there are about 65 Adavus (Tanjavur Tradition) involving a range of movements. This would only put off an eager leaner for he or she might feel that the adavus are too many in number to be grasped easily.

The final part of a vannama is called adauve. It is also a highlight, but it differs from the kastiram in the following ways: First of all, less common, onomatopoetic syllables and drumbeats are used. The beats are composed in a very elaborate and differentiated way. Because of its specific and eloquent composition, each adauve is unique.

In Tamil Traditional dance, the Singer recites the onomatopoetic syllables toward the drummer or the audience but in Kandiyan Dance, before dancing an adauve, the dancer recites its onomatopoetic syllables toward the drummer or the audience. Then the drummer transforms these syllables into drumming, and in the final version the dancer and the drummer perform together.

KASTIRAM (KASTIRAM OR KAATHIRAM in Tamil):

(Kaathiram in Tamil meaning strong or hard movements, please note a Sinhala word must end in 'ma' but the Sinhalese still use this as in Tamil Kastriram or Kaathiram )

The kastirams following the first and second matras (Maathirai in Tamil it means BASIC dance step or Drum beat) are simpler after the third and fourth matras the kastirams become more complex. Following the fourth matra, the longest kastiram is danced. Here the dancers even have the freedom to extend circling or jumping as long as they wish, while the drummers must watch them carefully to catch the changes of the movements and to accompany correctly. This part of a vannama often becomes an artistic highlight.

SIRUMARUVU:

You cannot get more Tamil than this word. Siru mean slow, Maruvu means movement. A sirumaruve is a slow and short part of a vannama, making a break especially afterthe spectacular and exhausting fourth kastiram (Tamil Kaathiram). It gives both dancer and drummer an opportunity recover. The audience can also experience some relief, following a musical and dance period of tension.

VANNAMa:

Vannamas were created around the time of the Kandyan King Narendrasingha(1707-1737).Vannama means description in Tamil and Sinhala language. It is a borrowed word but the Sinhala racists may argue they borrowed it from Sanskrit but the word VANNAMS' Tamil roots can be etymological proven. Vannam also, in the middle of a bharata natyam (classical dance form of Tamil Nadu/Southeast India) performance, there must be a main dance piece called varnam, with many describing elements rendered in the nritya style of pantomimic dance.

There are also eighteen vannamas found in the Karnatak music in Kerala(Seneviratna 1984: 42). Please note Kerala is an ancient Tamil Kingdom of Tamils.

The vannamas at the Kandyan court were initially created for singing. But fortunately, they also matched the structures of rhythm and time measurement (tith krimeje) of the Sinhalese dances very well. So the leading dance masters of the Kandyan court took dance movements, drumbeats, and structural elements from older ritual dances primarily the Kohomba Kankariya and set them to the verses of Tamil traditional vannama songs.

So although there were EVIDENTLY INFLUENCES by Indian(Tamil) artists, thedevelopment of the cultural tradition at the Kandyan court at that time can be considered unique and genuine.

OTHER TAMIL DANCE FORMS BORROWED FROM TAMILS BY THE SINHALESE:

Naiyandy:

It is a pure Tamil word and still there is an art form called Naiyandi Tradition and Naiyandi melam in Tamil Nadu. This used to be a religious dance, performed in worship of Lord Murugan, the second son of Siva. The dance is accompanied by Pambai and Naiyandi Melam. This is a graceful dance, also performed in Maha Visnu (Vishnu) and Kataragama Devales temples on ceremonial occasions.

UDDEKKI dance (UDUKKU in Tamil):

Udukku is a double ended small drum tapering in the middle to be held in the hand and played either by fingers or by a hanging string. The pitch is varied by tightening or loosening the rope that gives tension to the playing surface leather.

Believed to have been given to people by the gods. The two drumskins are believed to have been given by the god Iswara, and the sound by Visnu the instrument is said to have been constructed according to the instructions of Sakra and was played in the heavenly palace of the gods. It is a very difficult instruments to play. The dancer sings as he plays, tightening the strings to obtain variations of pitch.

The Tamils God Lord Nadarajah, the cosmic dancer at Chithambaram in Tamil Nadu is dancing with UDUKKU in his hand. This instrument and the dance belong to the Tamils and originated in Tamil Nadu.

PANTHERU(PANTHERI in Tamil)dance:

Tamil Pantheri dance is dedicated to the Tamil woman Goddess Kannaki, the story of Kannaki or Paththini, the SILAPATHIKARAM is the major Epic in Tamil and Silapathikaram clearly describes the Pantheri dance of Tamils. This dance form is not performed by the Tamils these days, but the Sinhalese ( the former Tamils) still continuing the tradition.

The Sinhala Buddhists made up another myth to this dance form as the dance is said to have originated in the days of Prince Siddhartha, who became Buddha. The gods were believed to use this instrument to celebrate victories in war, and Sinhala kings employed pantheru dancers to celebrate victories in the battlefield.

(THANKS TO: Vannama: A Classical Dance Form and its Musical Structure - Almut Jayaweera

Youtube - Hanuman Vannama)