Dance Sequences of the Kolam Plays

Dance Sequences of the Kolam Plays

The play usually begins at about nine o'clock at night and lasts till dawn. A special drum part is played by two Low-country drummers in order to notify the impending commencement of the performance to the villagers. This is similar to the kelikothtu, a special drum part that is played before the start of the traditional dance drama in Kera called Kathakali.

The subevidane, in other words, the narrator, enters the arena along with the singers, dancers and drummers. Usually, two drummers and a horana player provide the music for some of the songs sung by the narrator and his chorus. Each time the narrator sings a line of verse, the chorus repeats it. These invocatory stanzas written in highly sanskritised diction are sung so as to pay homage to the Buddha, Dhamma, Sanga ( the triple gem) and the gods. Next, the narrator describes how Kolam drama first originated.

With regard to the origin of the play, the conventional derivation of the art is traced to an ancient myth. The story is that King Mahasammatha's wife, once she became pregnant, had a longing to see a mask dance. Just as women may have various types of cravings while they are with child (which in Sinhala is called dola dukha) the queen's desire was one that had to be met. Despite not having this kind of dance form in his kingdom, the king commanded his ministers to organize such a performance. While the ministers were trying desperately to find some way of staging such a show, God Sakra intervened and with his supernatural powers he made masks appear from out of nowhere. Masked dancers followed and the queen's dola dukha was finally satiated.

Subsequent to the narration of this tale, two unmasked Sabapathi characters enter the scene. This is similar to the prologue found in modern plays. They sing an invocation to Lord Buddha and the gods and also welcome the patron of the show. Afterwards, there is a dialogue between Kariyakarawanarala (the narrator) and the sabapathi with regard to the rest of the proceedings of the show. The Kolam play officially begins after the departure of these characters.

The first group of characters to come on stage is police constables. This scene is known as the Police Kolama and it is performed by five players (as policeman including an Inspector Sergeant) They take necessary action to protect the place and exit.  Next appears the Vidane Arachchi (village headman) followed by his attendant who holds a big palm leaf over his head. Vidane Arachchi  gives  orders to his attendant to count the number of people gathered in the audience and to note it down on an ola leaf.

The next scene is the Andabera Kolam, the item of the village crier, Pannikkala. He plays the role of a drunkard who announces the impending arrival of the king and the queen to the audience.  The narrator sings the following verses to introduce Pannikkala  :