Northern Kalaripayattu
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| Kalaripayattu | |
|---|---|
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| Indian Name | |
| Malayalam | കളരിപ്പയറ്റ |
| Devanagari | कळरिप्पयट् |
| Details | |
| Origin | Kerala, South India |
| Styles | Northern, Southern and Central |
Kalarippayattu (Malayalam: കളരിപ്പയറ്റ്) is an Indian martial art practised in Kerala and contiguous parts of neighboring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.[1] It incorporates strikes, kicks, grappling, and weaponry, as well as healing techniques.[2] Some of its choreographed sparring can be applied to dance.[3]
Northern kalarippayattu places comparatively more emphasis on weapons than on empty hands.[4]
Masters in this system are usually known as gurukkal (and only occasionally as asan), and were often given honorific titles, especially Panikkar.[5]
By oral and written tradition, Parasurama is believed to be the founder of the art.[6]
Northern kalarippayattu is distinguished by its meippayattu physical training and use of full-body oil massage.[7] The system of treatment and massage, and the assumptions about practice are closely associated with Ayurveda.[8] The purpose of medicinal oil massage is to increase practitioners' flexibility or to treat muscle injuries incurred during practice. The term for such massages is thirumal and the massage specifically for physical flexibility katcha thirumal.
Sampradayam, or lineages, or northern kalarippayattu include the arappukai, pillatanni and vattantirippu styles.[9]
[edit] History
What eventually crystallized as northern kalarippayattu combined indigenous Dravidian techniques with the martial practices and ethos brought by Brahmin migrations from Saurastra and Konkan down the west Indian coast into Karnataka and eventually Kerala.[10]
Phillip B. Zarrilli, a professor at the University of Exeter and one of the few Western authorities on kalaripayattu, estimates that northern kalarippayattu dates back to at least the 12th century CE.[11] The historian Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai attributes the birth of northern kalarippayattu to an extended period of warfare between the Cheras and the Cholas in the 11th century CE.[12]
From the eleventh or twelfth century the right and duty to practice the martial art in the service of a ruler was most associated with specific subgroups of Nairs; however, at least one subcaste of Brahmins, as well as some Christians and Muslims were given this right and duty.[13]
In addition, a special subcaste of Tiyyas called chekors were engaged to fight in ankam, public duels to the death to solve disputes between higher caste opposing parties.[14] Among at least some Nair and Tiyya families, young girls also received preliminary training up until the onset of menses.[15] We also know from the vadakkan pattukal ballads that at least a few women of noted Nair and Tiyya masters continued to practise and achieved a high degree of expertise.[16] Ankam were fought on an ankathattu, a temporary platform, four to six feet high, purpose-built for ankam.
The earliest and most detailed account of this art is that of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa (c. 1518).[17]
Kalarippayattu underwent a period of decline after the introduction of firearms and especially after the full establishment of British colonial rule in the 19th century.[18]
The resurgence of public interest in kalarippayattu began in the 1920s in Tellicherry as part of a wave of rediscovery of the traditional arts throughout South India[19] and continued through the 1970s surge of general worldwide interest in martial arts.[20]
[edit] See also
- Luijendijk, D.H. (2005) Kalarippayat: India's Ancient Martial Art, Paladin Press, ISBN 1-58160-480-7
| History | Origin, Revival, |
|---|---|
| Styles | Northern style, Central style, Southern style |
| Techniques | Adavu, Chuvadu, Vadivu |
| Weapons | Weapons of Kalarippayattu |
| Kalarippayattu and performing arts | Arts of Kerala, Indian martial arts, Dravidian martial arts, Kathakali, Kolkali, Velakali |
| Films | Films on Kalarippayattu |
| Other topics | Marmam, Gurukkal, Guruttara, Kalari, Mamankam festival, Ankathattu, Ankam, AnkaKalari, Ankachekavar, Yoga, Ayurveda, Kerala |
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| Part of a series on Indian martial arts |
|---|
| Various Indian martial arts |
| Pehlwani - Kalarippayattu - Malla-yuddha - Vajra Mushti / Vajra Mukti - Chakram - Kabaddi - Silambam Nillaikalakki - Gatka and other arts |
| Notable Practitioners |
| The Great Gama - Phillip Zarrilli - Jasmine Simhalan - Jyesthimallas - Gobar Goho - Imam Baksh Pahalwan - Paul Whitrod - Gulam - Guru Har Gobind - John Will |
| Related articles |
| Kshatriya - Yoga - Indian mêlée weapons - Dravidian martial arts - Ayurveda - Sri Lankan martial arts - Indian martial arts in popular culture - Foreign influence on Chinese martial arts |
