South Indian culture
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South Indian culture refers to the culture of the four southern most states of India, namely Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. South Indian culture though with its visible differences forms an important part of the Indian culture. The South Indian Culture is essentially the celebration of the eternal universe through the celebration of the beauty of the body and motherhood. It is exemplified through its dance, clothing, and sculptures.[1]
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[edit] Traditional clothing
South Indian women traditionally wear the sari while the men wear a type of sarong, which could be either a white dhoti or a colourful lungi with typical batik patterns. The sari, being an unstitched drape, enhances the shape of the wearer while only partially covering the midriff. In Indian philosophy, the navel of the Supreme Being is considered as the source of life and creativity.[1] Hence by tradition, the stomach and the navel is to be left unconcealed, though the philosophy behind the costume has largely been forgotten [1]. This makes the realization of sharira-mandala, where in Angikam bhuvanam yasya (the body as the world) unites with the sharira-mandala (the whole universe), as expressed in the Natyashastra.[1] These principles of the sari, also hold for other forms of drapes, like the lungi or mundu worn by men.[2]
[edit] Cuisine
Rice is the staple diet, with fish being an integral component of coastal South Indian meals. Coconut is an important ingredient in Kerala of South India, whereas the cuisine in Andhra Pradesh is characterized by the delicious pickles, spicy aromatic curries and the generous use of chilli powder. Dosa, Idli, Uttapam etc are popular throughout the region. Coastal areas like the state of Kerala and the city of Mangalore are known for their seafood. South Indian coffee is generally quite robust, and coffee is a preferred drink throughout the Malabar region.
[edit] Music
The sophisticated Indian Classical Music of South India is known as Carnatic music (after Carnatic, the name by which south India was known in the earlier colonial days). It includes sensuous rhythmic and structured music by composers such as Purandara Dasa, Tyagaraja, Dikshathar, Shyama Sasthri, and Swati Tirunal.The contemporary singer Dr. K. J. Yesudas is an cultural ambassador of Carnatic music.
[edit] Dance
The South Indian culture is celebrated in the elaborate dance forms of South India - Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Theyyam, Ottamthullal, Oppana, Kerala Natanam and Mohiniaattam which literally translates as ‘the dance of the enchantress’and Yakshagana. The Bharatanatyam expresses the celebration of beauty and the universe, through its tenets of having a perfectly erect posture, a straight and pout curving stomach, a well rounded and proportionate body mass- to the body structure, very long hair and curvaceous hips. [3] These tenets bring to life the philosophy of Natyashastra (the treatise on Dance by the sage Bharata), ‘Angikam bhuvanam yasya’ ((whose) body is the world).[1] This is elaborated in the araimandi posture, wherein the performer assumes a half sitting position with the knees turned sideways, with a very erect posture. In this fundamental posture of the Bharatanatyam dance, the distance between the head and the navel becomes equal to that between the earth and the navel. In a similar way the distance between the outstretched right arm to the outstretched left arm becomes equal to the distance between the head and the feet, thus representing the "Natyapurusha", the embodiment of life and creation.[1]
[edit] Architecture and paintings
South India boasts of having two enchanting styles of rock architecture, the pure dravida style of Tamil Nadu and the Vesara style (also called Karnata dravida style) present in Karnataka. The inspirational temple sculptures of Hampi, Badami, Pattadakal, Aihole, Belur, Halebidu, Lakkundi, Shravanabelagola, Mahabalipuram, Tanjore, Madhuri and the mural paintings of Travancore and Lepakshi temples, also stand as a testament to South Indian culture. The paintings of Raja Ravi Varma are considered classic renditions of many a scenes of South Indian life and mythology. There are several examples of Dravidian mural paintings in the Mattancherry palace and the Shiva kshetram in Ettamanoor. South India is home, as of April 2006, to 5 of the 26 World Heritage listed sites in India.[4].
[edit] Sculptures and figurine
Sculptures became one of the finest medium of South Indian expression after the human form of dance. In this medium it was possible to etch the three dimensional form in time. The traditional South Indian sculptor starts his sculpture of the divinities from the navel which is always represented unclothed by the sari. A koshta or grid of the sculpture would show the navel to be right at the centre of the sculpture, representing the source of the union of the finite body and the infinite universe. Sculptures adorn many of the temples around the complexes and also inside them. They are also depiction of dance steps of various stylizations and have served to preserve dance forms and revive it.[5]
[edit] Literature and philosophy
South India has a literary tradition going back over 2000 years. The first known literature of South India are the poetic Sangams, which were written in Tamil from 2000 to 1500 years ago. The 850 CE Kannada classic Kavirajamarga written by King Amoghavarsha I makes references to Kannada literature of King Durvinita in early 6th century CE. Tamil Buddhist commentators of the 10th century CE, Nemrinatham makes references to Kannada literature of 4th century CE Distinct Malayalam and Telugu literary traditions developed in the following centuries. The artistic expressions of the South Indian people shows their admiration of the magnificence of nature and its rhythms, as in the epic Silappadhikaram by Ilango Adigal, also called as the Cilappatikaram. Other works include the "Tholkappiam" written by Tholkappiar, and Thiruvalluvar’s Thirukural. In South Indian literature and philosophy, women are considered very powerful. A married woman is regarded as auspicious, her shakti or mother-feminine power, protects and empowers her husband and their children.
[edit] Motion Pictures
Movie making has emerged as an important platform in South India. Over the years movies have served to portray the cultural changes, trends, aspirations and developments experienced by the people. Some motion picture classics like Nammukku paarkkaan munthiri thoppukal (1986) by Padmarajan, Adi Shankara (1984) by director G V Iyer, and Perumthachan (1990) by Ajayan have gained worldwide acclaim for their masterful depiction of the worldview of the South Indian people.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Beck, Brenda. 1976; Bharata, 1967; Dehejia, Vidya, Richard H. Davis, R. Nagaswamy, Karen Pechilis Prentiss, 2002; Wadley, Susan, ed. 1980
- ^ Boulanger, Chantal; 1997
- ^ Kallarasa Virachita Janavasya Ed: G.G. Manjunathan. Kannada Adhyayana Samsthe, University of Mysore, Mysore 1974.
- ^ World Heritage Listed Sites in India. URl accessed on April 12, 2006.
- ^ Dehejia, Vidya, Richard H. Davis, R. Nagaswamy, Karen Pechilis Prentiss; 2002
[edit] References and bibliography
- Beck, Brenda. 1976. “The Symbolic Merger of Body, Space, and Cosmos in Hindu Tamil Nadu." Contributions to Indian Sociology 10(2): 213-43.
- Bharata (1967). The Natyashastra [Dramaturgy], 2 vols., 2nd. ed. Trans. by Manomohan Ghosh. Calcutta: Manisha Granthalaya.
- Boulanger, Chantal; (1997) Saris: An Illustrated Guide to the Indian Art of Draping, Shakti Press International, New York. ISBN 0-9661496-1-0
- Craddock, Norma. 1994. Anthills, Split Mothers, and Sacrifice: Conceptions of Female Power in the Mariyamman Tradition. Dissertation, U. of California, Berkeley.
- Danielou, Alain, trans. 1965. Shilappadikaram (The Ankle Bracelet) By Prince Ilango Adigal. New York: New Directions. ISBN 0-8112-0001-9
- Dehejia, Vidya, Richard H. Davis, R. Nagaswamy, Karen Pechilis Prentiss (2002) The Sensuous and the Sacred: Chola Bronzes from South India. ISBN 0-295-98284-5
- Hart, George, ed. and trans. 1979. Poets of the Tamil Anthologies: Ancient Poems of Love and War. Princeton: Princeton U. Press
- Kallarasa Virachita Janavasya Ed: G.G. Manjunathan. Kannada Adhyayana Samsthe, University of Mysore, Mysore 1974.
- Gover, Charles. 1983 (1871). Folk-songs of Southern India. Madras: The South India Saiva Siddhanta Works Publishing Society.
- Nagaraju, S. 1990. “Prehistory of South India.” In South Indian Studies, H. M. Nayak and B. R. Gopal, eds., Mysore: Geetha Book House, pp. 35-52.
- Trawick, Margaret. 1990a. Notes on Love in a Tamil Family. Berkeley: U. of California Press.
- Wadley, Susan, ed. 1980. The Powers of Tamil Women. Syracuse: Syracuse U. Press.
- Zvelebil, Kamil. 1975. Tamil Literature. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 90-04-04190-7
- Caldwell, R (1998) "A comparative grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian family of languages" 3rd ed. rev. and edited by J.L. Wyatt, T. Ramakrishna Pillai. New Delhi : Asian Educational Services. ISBN 81-206-0117-3
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| Languages | Kannada - Kodava Takk - Malayalam - Tamil - Telugu - Tulu | ||
| Script | Kannada script - Malayalam script - Tamil script - Telugu script - Tulu script | ||
| Literature | Kannada literature - Malayalam literature - Tamil literature - Telugu literature - Tulu literature | ||
| People | Kannada people - Kodava people - Malayali people - Tamil people - Telugu people - Tulu people | ||
| Music | Carnatic Music - Ancient Tamil music | ||
| States | Andhra Pradesh - Karnataka - Kerala - Tamil Nadu | ||
| Related | South India - South Indian culture - Self-respect movement | ||
