Pinnal Kolattam
Pinnal Kolattam is different from virtually all other ribbon dances because in most performances the ribbons are suspended from a high point rather than attached to the top of a pole. The dancers hold short sticks in their hands and clash these together as they dance.
What does the name mean?
Pinnal (plait) Kolattam (Kol – stick, aattam – dance)
Where does Pinnal Kolattam come from?
Tamil Nadu in India
When was it performed?
Historically, it would have been performed during the harvest season, for ten days, starting with the new moon night after Diwali.
History
The following quote is from @Upasanaarts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nE0Ln9Ovkk
It is very common amongst young girls to dance this in the past decades as my mom and many others in that generation have danced as part of a community or school group although they are all not trained dancers. I however am a trained dancer and this is a choreography from Kalakshetra which is meant only for trained dancers. Although I have danced it many times as part of my dance class when we used to perform a variety compilation of dances from India, for the first time, I was fascinated to see the Maypole dance on May 1 in a park in Manchester in 2006 and that is when I started to link the two. The very next year in 2008, I had taught this to my students in Manchester and since then we have performed it in Manchester at The Lowry, Waterside etc. This is a performance if I remember in 2009 at Waterside Arts centre.
I just checked with Dr. S. Raghuraman about the antiquity of Pinnal (plait) Kolattam (Kol stick, aattam dance) This style of dance dates back 2000 years ago is mentioned in Silapathikaram a 2AD old Tamil text wherein they used to dance in teams of 2,4 6 or wherein while plaiting, one team asks questions, riddles, and while removing the plait, the other team answers from the first questions in order. Hence this was not just a challenge in deciphering the riddles but also in memory. Most of the games of those days was a life -skill training exercise and had a purpose beyond fun.
I’m linking to an excellent video of Pinnal Kollattam rather than copying it here, as the makers of the video do not wish it to be uploaded elsewhere. The performance is amazing!
“Kolattam is an ancient folk dance performed by women in a group during the harvesting season. The prop used in this dance are sticks that are held in each hand and struck on the sticks of other girls in the group. The rhythmic sound produced by the striking of the sticks is the beat on which the dance is performed. The Tamil traditional dance Pinnal Kolattam is similar in genre to the Kolattam and is also performed by women in a group during the harvesting season. The props used in Pinnal Kolattam is the rope and sticks as in Kolattam.”
This performance – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snb6UnbHX5c gives a really clear view of some of the moves.
Ribbons
A fascinating variation with enormous coloured sheets of fabric. Sadly I have no video, so don’t know how it worked in the actual dance.
This performance below used more conventional ribbons, but it’s possible to see how they are supported. They are attached to a wooden disc hanging from the ceiling, which has a hole for each ribbon to fasten to. (The only other place I’ve seen this particular move was in a Hungarian context)