3.) Temple Performance


Devadasi temple repertoire is embedded in a larger matrix of ritual performance that forms the basis of South Indian Hindu cosmology and religio-cultural worldviews. The traditions of nagasvaram and tavil (ritual oboe-like reed instrument and double-faced drum) are vital components of South Indian temple culture. Like the ritual repertoire of the devadasis, the basic function of the music is to generate auspiciousness, and thus it is also known as mangala-isai, or mangala-vadyam. The nagasvaram ensemble of Tamil temples was often called periyamelam ('big troupe') as opposed to the chinnamelam ('small troupe') that consisted of the devadasi and her accompanists. Communities of nagasvaram and tavil artists were closely related to devadasi and nattuvanar communities, and as a result of their close interactions, much of the devadasi dance repertoire was preserved as ritual music played on the nagasvaram. Many eighteenth and nineteenth-century compositions, such as the varnams of Ramasvami Dikshitar (1735-1817), for example, only survive today as tunes that are played on the nagasvaram.


During the daily ritual of many Shaiva temples in Tamilnadu, ritual specialists known as otuvars recite the Tamil hymns called Tevaram, authored by the Shaiva bhakti saints (nayanars) in the medieval period. Tamil devotion and Sanskrit ritual thus merge in a seamless manner in temple ritual. Similarly, in South Indian Vaishnava temples, the hymns of the Vaishnava bhakti saints (alvars) are recited by a community of Brahmin performers called araiyars. In addition to reciting the hymns, in three temples (those of Alvar Tirunagari, Srivilliputur and Srirangam), the araiyars also represent the core symbols of the verses through gestural interpretation (abhinaya). This tradition of singing the hymns and enacting them is known as araiyar cevai.


Devadasi dance in temples was performed alongside these other aesthetic practices. In terms of daily worship, devadasis participated largely in the evening rituals (called sayarakshai sevai and palliyarai sevai), and during festivals, would perform either during the processions of the images of the deity around the temple, or in the evenings on makeshift stages as entertainment for those who attended the festival. During the evening ritual devadasi would sing songs such as lullabies (lalis) and praise poems called heccharika, and would dance simple phrases of movement in the context of food offerings (balabhoga) or flower offerings (pushpanjali). In some temple context, they also performed dance to propitiate the minor deities who protect the cardinal directions and this was known as baliharana or navasandhi puja. During festivals, special “group” dances such as the kuravanji “fortune-teller” plays or narratives about the god of desire, Kama (known as kaman kuttu) would sometimes be performed on a makeshift stage or in the temple pavilion (mandapa). Usually, the concert dance repertoire (padams, varnams etc.) would also be presented here.

Readings:

Kersenboom, Saskia. 1991. “The Traditional Repertoire of the Tiruttani Temple Dancers.” In Roles and Rituals for Hindu Women, ed. Julia Leslie. Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.

 

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