Antiquity and Structuralism in the Tradition of Villuppaattu (Musical Storytelling)

Abstract

The art form of villupattu is one of the oldest forms of folk liturgy and is known to have originated from the times when it lived as a hunting community. It can be seen that Villuppaattu was also significant among the art forms performed in the characteristics of cultural life. It should be noted that Villuppaattu later took the initiative of social reform beyond the nature of entertainment. In the run-up to the completion of the worship at the temple festivsals, the artists begin the villuppaattu performance. This art is performed not by a single person but by a small group of organized individuals with a variety of musical instruments. This art form is executed in such a way that at the height of the story, their leadership excellence prevails by narrating the life events of the protagonist or the heroine, such as the preservation, the recitation of the meaning of the word, the singing of the guru, modesty on the public stage, the resources of the country, or the scene of Kailash, the life of the male protagonist or the female protagonist. In this system, the system of the continuation of the story is also used. That is to say, the narrative of continuing the story refers to the tendency to continue the story of the first day's event into the event the next day. In particular, the narratives of Villuppaattu sing not only the deity but also the specialties of their own country. Such a singing category is called "Swadeshi Stories." It is noteworthy that it is these Swadeshi stories that direct the audience to a cultured state. The singing of minor deities also plays an important role in the structuralism of the Villuppaattu in the manuscripts sung through copies of the same. Not only this, but there is also the tradition of singing the stories that are loved. On the basis of this, the independent nature of this art form is known. The concluding part of the structuralism of Villupattu is to thank God for the excellent completion of the Villuppattu. Not only this, but one of the peculiarities of this art is that the tradition of thanking all those who have contributed to this event is also situated in Mangalam (Conclusion), which is not different from this art form, but is a part of this art form. This study shows that the existence and development of this art form of Villuppaattu are due to the assimilation of changes in content and form from time to time.