Dr. Marc Lambert (Ethnoscenologist)

Some fourty years ago, in the 1970’s, the poet Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan brought in front of the scene, together with the musicologist Kadammanitta Vasudevan Pillai, one of the most traditional icons of Kerala culture: Padayani. This highly codified cult often presented as a “folk art” is performed in a specific area, which originates its denomination, “the Pamba River culture”. It includes not only magnificent songs and masks; it is also a complex dance art form distinct from the classical Indian heritage. But, one wonders how can people claim the survival of such an elaborated genre whether Dravidian or “Pre-Dravidian (which represents at least a period over 3 000 or 4 000 years), long before the actual brahmanisation of the South Indian region, without any trace or any written canon comparable to the Natya Shastra.

 The question will probably stay an enigma or a myth in the collective psyche as long as the actual scenology of any given performing art form will not be thoroughly studied, understood and integrated into its sociological context. Today, in the field of anthropology, one can no longer get satisfied with an ethnocentrism, which pretends that the Indian classical art forms represent a musical achievement or a progress compared to the folk “gross forms”.

The ethnoscenologic survey of Padayani brings forward the entity of a “folk” traditional rhythmical knowledge, where vaitharis – the sound from the mouth, allow the rooting of body practices inside the universe of the Goddess Mother, the Mother Nature. In the religious practices of Padayani, the notion of nature is fully embodied and perceived within the senses; there is no body without the mind, the body is the mind. Performance is a bodily as well as a cognitive, emotional and spiritual act. In fact, this remark could stand for any other Keralite folk-art form. The whole aesthetic construction reflects rhythmically the religious attitude.

Nowadays, in the context of an accelerating univocal world culture, things have changed along with the economical attraction of the Gulf countries, which causes the actual human desertification of Kerala villages. Another danger would be then to diminish the traditional folk-art forms, into elegant ways of refreshing memories, and reduce this extraordinary human patrimony to mere exoticisms, affordable enough for a growing population of tourists and visitors.

 In fact, concerning Padayani, a very few ashan-s already in their late forties, are still active in transmitting the vital dancing keys. What will happen for the next generation? Will villagers still find the extra-time necessary at the end of a full working day, commuting from the cities, to devote themselves to the transmission of this difficult exercise, knowing that the actual learning of the dance process in Padayani is extremely strenuous? However we can assert that every year the rite festivities attract modern choreographers and researchers from all over the world; it looks like there is something more than just “simple dance steps” to Padayani. “It looks simple because the form is achieved, but not easy to do” says ashan, Reghukumar

Dancer-choreographer and the author of this article, Dr Marc Lambert studied choreographic composition with the Post-modern school (Steve Paxton, Trisha Brown) in Bennington College, United States. A French national, he immersed himself in the study of the rural art form of Padayani, among the rich oral tradition of Kerala warriors. He has practiced for more than a decade under the supervision of his friend and guru Kadammanitta Reghukumar, documentingPadayani and analyzing the context of the world famous breeding-ground for dance and theater genres of Kerala. He is the first dancer from the West who ever entered and performed officially in a rural dance kalari: the Kadammanitta Gothra Kala Kalari (1998). Dr Lambert is currently a member of the Ethnoscenology Laboratory Paris VIII University, directed by Jean-Marie Pradier, and la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme Paris-Nord, owner of a post-doc grant for video and photo documentation, 2007-2008.

He took part recently in the workshop “Understanding religious practices, going beyond the philosophy of religions”, Philosophy department, University of Sanskrit, Kalady.