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(2016) Ecodocumentaries, Dordrecht, Springer.
The possibilities of a river and a ritual dance
an ecoethnographic analysis of Kuttan Aarangottu Vayali's Bhagavathy aattu
Swarnalatha Rangarajan
pp. 171-188
This chapter undertakes an analysis of the twin ecocultural matrices of the documentary film, Bhagavathy aattu directed by Kuttan Aarangottu Vayali, namely the Bhagavathy aattu, a less-known ritual dance practised by the dalit paraya community in North Malabar and the human-induced destruction of Nila, the longest river in Kerala, which has engendered the rich Nila nadi samskaram (the Nila river culture). The chapter seeks to show how the documentary performs the advocacy function of environmental protection during the contemporary times when the river and its culture have been shorn of their former glory and face the threat of a slow death. The chapter argues, via Vijaya Rettakudi Nagarajan, that the documentary is an example of "embedded ecologies' where the ritual dance becomes a way of ordering the cosmos by offering a deep renewal through its ritual enactment of human integration in the world of nature. The chapter will also explore how "kalam"―the unique ritual art of Kerala―is an example of embedded ecology which recognises the non-divisiveness between the phenomenal world and the perceiver by exploring how the documentary characterises the multiple ways in which culture enframes and reveals the complex relationship between nature and culture.
Publication details
DOI: 10.1057/978-1-137-56224-1_10
Full citation:
Rangarajan, S. (2016)., The possibilities of a river and a ritual dance: an ecoethnographic analysis of Kuttan Aarangottu Vayali's Bhagavathy aattu, in R. K. alex (ed.), Ecodocumentaries, Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 171-188.
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