This dance….
is called: Pili Nalike - Tigerdance
Pili Nalike or tiger dance — is a folk dance form of Dakshina Kannada in coastal Karnataka. It is offered as a ‘seva’ to the Devi during Navaratri.
Societal relevance
Here is a glimpse into what it takes to be a two-limbed tiger:
Watching a human transform into a tiger sounds surreal. But as Sharad ritu sets in and marks the arrival of the goddess, every street in Mangaluru, the land of devi temples, witnesses tigers on two feet roaring and prancing around to celebrate the arrival of the devi in all her glory.
Each year during the annual festival in honour of the devi, the town turns into a den of tigers; tigers who roar, flip, blow fire from their mouths, and offer their ‘nalike’ (dance) and themselves to the mother in all humility, abandoning all sense of identity in reverence.
Painted mainly in stripes of yellow and black as the tiger or a few as black tigers or panthers, these two-legged tigers dance ceaselessly lifting the legs high in the air to have their toes touch their raised hands yet landing on the feet just like the tiger on its soft yet mighty paws.
The tigers paint themselves, worship the headgear and other props, bow down to the deity at the shrine and seek her blessings before they can begin their tour of the town, visiting other shrines and households. They go down all four limbs with the specially made head gear embellished with the mane of sheep wool.
The stamina required is unfathomable as one is required to dance for hours on end, walking barefoot all around the city (although organisers now try to book buses). The skin cannot breathe as the only garment on the body is the underwear in either tiger print or velvet.
The stunts they perform from flipping various props, lifting a 30-40 kilogram traditional ‘mudi’ of rice and flinging it backward with just one’s teeth, but the adrenaline rush that happens with the beat simply makes it all seem like a child’s play.
Traditionally, children sport the appearance of the tiger to mark the completion of a vow in return for receiving devi’s grace in a time of distress. This is based on the local folklore where the mother of a young child who couldn’t walk had vowed to Mangaladevi that if her child were to find strength in his limbs she would have him painted like a tiger and dance at the shrine like her vahana (vehicle). And to this day, each year, one finds ‘tiger cubs’ as tiny as six years old practise the dance steps, in absolute surrender, turning into tigers on the day of Ayudha Puja.
The tigers who dance through the devi's procession are then honoured after their final mega performance as she is seated in front of the temple just before day break, with a shawl and prasada. Their journey ends along with the devi’s as she is immersed into the temple tank. The water that now bears her is sprinkled on the children before the 'cubs’ can get the paint off them and take a bath and return home. Until then, they stay as a troupe, eating only vegetarian food, observing a vratha, staying away home, sleeping only on a mat woven with leaves, so that the paint wouldn’t go off, and adhering to the disciplines required of them.
The Master
Kumar, or ‘pili master’ as he is addressed fondly by all the troupes of pilis in the town, is someone whose houses all the troupes once they have performed at the temple. For he has nurtured and guided all the pilis, from the youngest to the oldest, corrected their moves, taught them new flips and perfected their jumps and honoured all of them with each year with medals.
Costume
The transformation to a tiger isn’t easy. The entire body has to be first shaved, after which they are required to bathe in gram flour. Following this, they pour a bucket of charcoal water on themselves. And on the eve of Ayudha Puja begins the process of transformation. While traditionally they used charcoal, mud tiles and lime for colours, the shift to paint happened.
One can watch them stand with their feet apart and their arms stretched on two staves for over 12 hours, as the painting artists first coat them with white and then the yellow and black stripes, painstakingly waiting for each layer to dry, is a lesson in plain devotion that is beyond all physical and mental limitations.
The tigers are ritualistically part of devi’s journey. The morning after the performance as Devi heads for her ‘jalaka’ the tigers accompany her, and it’s the water sanctified by her bathing ritual that is taken by the tigers as the one that completes the vow and transforms them from tigers to humans once again.
Music
The ‘taase’ the drum that is played too is a unique one made by the players themselves traditionally, so are the beats.
[1] Talks with Akshata Ramesh (Dancer from India)
[2] Swarajyamag.com, Letzter Zugriff: 24.02.2022, https://swarajyamag.com/amp/story/culture%2Fpili-nalike-when-humans-transform-into-tigers-to-please-the-goddess
is called: Pili Nalike - Tigerdance
Pili Nalike or tiger dance — is a folk dance form of Dakshina Kannada in coastal Karnataka. It is offered as a ‘seva’ to the Devi during Navaratri.
Societal relevance
Here is a glimpse into what it takes to be a two-limbed tiger:
Watching a human transform into a tiger sounds surreal. But as Sharad ritu sets in and marks the arrival of the goddess, every street in Mangaluru, the land of devi temples, witnesses tigers on two feet roaring and prancing around to celebrate the arrival of the devi in all her glory.
Each year during the annual festival in honour of the devi, the town turns into a den of tigers; tigers who roar, flip, blow fire from their mouths, and offer their ‘nalike’ (dance) and themselves to the mother in all humility, abandoning all sense of identity in reverence.
Painted mainly in stripes of yellow and black as the tiger or a few as black tigers or panthers, these two-legged tigers dance ceaselessly lifting the legs high in the air to have their toes touch their raised hands yet landing on the feet just like the tiger on its soft yet mighty paws.
The tigers paint themselves, worship the headgear and other props, bow down to the deity at the shrine and seek her blessings before they can begin their tour of the town, visiting other shrines and households. They go down all four limbs with the specially made head gear embellished with the mane of sheep wool.
The stamina required is unfathomable as one is required to dance for hours on end, walking barefoot all around the city (although organisers now try to book buses). The skin cannot breathe as the only garment on the body is the underwear in either tiger print or velvet.
The stunts they perform from flipping various props, lifting a 30-40 kilogram traditional ‘mudi’ of rice and flinging it backward with just one’s teeth, but the adrenaline rush that happens with the beat simply makes it all seem like a child’s play.
Traditionally, children sport the appearance of the tiger to mark the completion of a vow in return for receiving devi’s grace in a time of distress. This is based on the local folklore where the mother of a young child who couldn’t walk had vowed to Mangaladevi that if her child were to find strength in his limbs she would have him painted like a tiger and dance at the shrine like her vahana (vehicle). And to this day, each year, one finds ‘tiger cubs’ as tiny as six years old practise the dance steps, in absolute surrender, turning into tigers on the day of Ayudha Puja.
The tigers who dance through the devi's procession are then honoured after their final mega performance as she is seated in front of the temple just before day break, with a shawl and prasada. Their journey ends along with the devi’s as she is immersed into the temple tank. The water that now bears her is sprinkled on the children before the 'cubs’ can get the paint off them and take a bath and return home. Until then, they stay as a troupe, eating only vegetarian food, observing a vratha, staying away home, sleeping only on a mat woven with leaves, so that the paint wouldn’t go off, and adhering to the disciplines required of them.
The Master
Kumar, or ‘pili master’ as he is addressed fondly by all the troupes of pilis in the town, is someone whose houses all the troupes once they have performed at the temple. For he has nurtured and guided all the pilis, from the youngest to the oldest, corrected their moves, taught them new flips and perfected their jumps and honoured all of them with each year with medals.
Costume
The transformation to a tiger isn’t easy. The entire body has to be first shaved, after which they are required to bathe in gram flour. Following this, they pour a bucket of charcoal water on themselves. And on the eve of Ayudha Puja begins the process of transformation. While traditionally they used charcoal, mud tiles and lime for colours, the shift to paint happened.
One can watch them stand with their feet apart and their arms stretched on two staves for over 12 hours, as the painting artists first coat them with white and then the yellow and black stripes, painstakingly waiting for each layer to dry, is a lesson in plain devotion that is beyond all physical and mental limitations.
The tigers are ritualistically part of devi’s journey. The morning after the performance as Devi heads for her ‘jalaka’ the tigers accompany her, and it’s the water sanctified by her bathing ritual that is taken by the tigers as the one that completes the vow and transforms them from tigers to humans once again.
Music
The ‘taase’ the drum that is played too is a unique one made by the players themselves traditionally, so are the beats.
[1] Talks with Akshata Ramesh (Dancer from India)
[2] Swarajyamag.com, Letzter Zugriff: 24.02.2022, https://swarajyamag.com/amp/story/culture%2Fpili-nalike-when-humans-transform-into-tigers-to-please-the-goddess