The Magic Ritual of Ancient Kongu
The ancient cave painting at Kumittipathy |
Art is as old as
human history and it has coexisted with the lives of people being an outlet for
the release of their pains and pleasures. A lullaby to put a baby to sleep, a
song while planting seedlings on a paddy field
and an ‘Oppari’ ( A wail in the form of song) on the death of a person –
all are examples to prove that human life cannot exist without art.
While tracing the
pre-historic period of Kongunadu, it has been proved how various genres of art
like singing, dancing and painting were a great solace to the people. Since art
is also an element being inseparable from human labour, the aborigines of
ancient Kongunadu performed certain magic rituals, which included singing,
dancing and painting to signify their hopes in search of food. As hunting was
their prime source of food, they staged the ritual in the form of a group
dance, in course of which, a mock killing of a man was performed. The man, who
symbolized a wild animal and his mock killing by the dancers, signified their
hope of a successful hunt shortly inside the forest. The aborigines of
Kongunadu used to perform this ritual before they headed for hunting.
The aborigines, who
were called Vettuvars, had hunting as their prime occupation before the advent
of agriculture in the Kongu region.
The centuries-old
cave paintings discovered at various places like Anamalai, Marayur,
Marudhamalai, Vettaikaranmalai, Vellarukampalayam, Kumittipathy and Palamalai
depict the hunting rituals of Kongunadu. The paintings reveal human images
dancing with their weapons like javelins and bows and arrows surrounding a wild
animal.
Expressing his views
on the objects of such cave paintings, well-known historian D.
D. Kosambi says that
these art works are not just something to delight the viewers but they are
reflections of the magic rituals performed by the aborigines centuries ago.
Unlike the
superstitions of today like the performance of ‘weddings’ to donkeys or frogs
in order to seek rain in the drought-hit areas, the magic rituals of ancient
Kongunadu were meaningful with their symbols and they artistically revealed the
human mind. http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/1077457
Compiled by: B.
Meenakshi Sundaram
Sources: Kongunadu
– Volume I, V. Manickam,
Thenkongunadu – Durai
Angusamy.
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