Kaniyan Koothu, which has a great performance value in music, drums and dancing, is a ritual art form practised during temple festivals in the Tirunelveli dist of Tamilnadu. It can be traced back to the 17th century and found references in a Tamil poem Mukkodarpallu in the Nayak period. Initially, this art form was practised in Sudalaimadasamy temples in the worship of Sudalai Madan, a form of Shiva and deity of the graveyard. Since the last 80 yrs, due to the influence of Tamil drama, the art has taken the shape of the stage performance. But due to its religious significance, the performance is not played in weddings, deaths and functions. The performance, like an orchestra, has one main singer (Annavi), two artists playing magudam, two men dancers dressed in women’s attire.

The performers will not go through any formal training. The songs, and stories, which are of Tamil language only, are passed to their children by their fathers. The stories refer to epics like Mahabharatha, Ramayana and puranic stories like Markandeya Puranam and Harishchandra puranam. The stories and their narration are central to this art form. Kaniyan koothu, like South Asian performing traditions, where you find only narration, the dance place is like a relief. In fact, the dance is the electrifying part of Kaniyan koothu. The two dancers hold hands and spin very fast, their saris flaring, the sinews on their forearms popping, and ankle-bell ringing is the best part of the dance. But at the same time the performance is physically challenging as it takes hours for a single performance.