Dr. Svetlana Ryzhakova
leading research fellow in Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology,
Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russia
Trance and dance. Spirit-possession, performance and ritual in kola of Tulunadu
Indian artistic culture (music, dance, ritualistic performances, dance-drama, storytelling etc.), while constantly changing and absorbing various influences, still retains many traditional features, one of them is the existence of hereditary artistic communities and groups with performance as the only or major job and source of incomes. Apart from enacting stories, artistic traditions appeared as a peculiar social practice of joint efforts, an institution for inter-caste communication etc., with a strong aesthetic idea. Dance, music and drama play the role of an instrument of socialization, as a form of conservation and enactment of local historical memory and many more.
In this lecture the author will unfold the main aspects of mythology, ritual and social reality of the complex phenomenon of kola of Tulunadu, still conducted by the hereditary communities of paravas, nalkes, pambadas and pannaras. Both ritualistic and social reality the artists live in and face in day-to-day life will be under investigation.