Culture and Its Importance?
2 Minutes
Traditional Tamil folk arts and entertainment for kids, covering Iyal, Isai, Nadagam, and folk dances like Karagattam. An English culture lesson.
- Three forms of entertainment—Iyal, Isai, and Nadagam—and lullabies
- Karagattam with pots, Kummiattam clapping dance, and Oyilattam
- Poikkal Kuthirai horse dance and Silambattam stick martial art
What this lesson teaches
Traditional Tamil entertainment developed around three primary divisions of creative expression: literature, music, and drama. Alongside these branches, communities created distinctive folk arts for celebratory dances, daily routines, and physical defense.
The three branches of Tamil entertainment
Historically, people in Tamil Nadu engaged with three main forms of entertainment known as Iyal, Isai, and Nadagam. Literature (Iyal) includes classic written texts and books such as the Thirukkural. Music (Isai) encompasses the melodies people listen to, including soothing lullabies (Thalattu) like "Aararo Aari Raro" that mothers sing to help crying infants fall asleep. Drama (Nadagam) represents stage performances and theatrical storytelling, which served the same role that cinema and animated cartoons provide today.
Traditional community folk dances
Folk arts provided community entertainment during celebrations and changing seasons across Tamil Nadu. In Karagattam, performers place a beautifully decorated pot on top of their head and dance without allowing the pot to fall. Kummiattam is a dance performed during village festivals and harvest times, where groups of boys or girls dance in a circle while clapping their hands in unison. Oyilattam is performed by dancers wearing matching outfits of the same color, who move a kerchief up and down while stepping to the rhythm. Another performance is Poikkal Kuthirai, where dancers wear a horse costume and move so that it looks just like a horse dancing.
Folk martial arts for self-defense
Traditional folk arts were not created solely for entertainment, as some also served as functional martial arts for self-defense. Silambattam, also known as the stick spinning game, is a practice where a person takes a long stick and spins it around rapidly. Rotating the stick at high speeds creates a defense that allows the practitioner to protect themselves against anyone attempting an attack.