Kummi attam – the clapping dance- – is a folk skip that is performed on any occasion, particularly during the festivals of Amman temples, by folk women to reflect their happy mood and to reverence the deities. A group of women gathered in a circle, bends towards front side by clapping their hands and comes to an erect posture while they return. The women sing a song of their interest while dancing; there is no music at all to accompany the dance. In general ballads about old sayings, folk tales, children’s ballads, Ammaanai songs, religious songs, and songs of peoples’ jobs are included in Kummi. Old people sing pajans about the Lord Vishnu or Shiva or Parvathi while they perform Kummi on the premises of temples.

In yet another type of Kummi called Muzhappaari, the performers do a clapping dance around the baskets of sprouting seedlings of various kinds on the premises of Amman temples, particularly in Brahmasakthi amman temple at Sundapattivilai and Azhagamman temple at Vadiveeswaram during the festival but it is unusual in other temples. Namboodiris, Nairs, Vellalas, Ezhavas, and Kammalars had performed Kummi during New Year, Diwali, Thirukarthigai, Pongal, and temple festivals, but it was hardly seen in the low castes. Kummi seems to be a modified version of Kumbeedu koothu that was recited in the early 15th century and it had occupied an important place in the cultural and religious festivals up to the 1975s when songs broadcast from radio stations and cinema had attained pristine height in the heart of people.

In the churches of the Kanyakumari district, people performed clapping dance by singing biblical stories in songs, Devasahayam Pillai ballads, and some prayer songs were sung during X-mass and other festivals, but such a tendency was almost discarded around 1975s because of the conviction that Kummi is, on the whole, a Hindu’s art mimicked from native people after many Hindus embraced Christianity in the 18th century and that there is no need to follow the same trend today. Anthony Muthu had authored Devasahayam Punniavan Elela Kummi, in which each phrase Elelo follows a clapping, and Thommaiya Pillai had written Devasigamani Malai for Kummi.

Western education and the advent of entertainment media had crafted the people to think that Kummi is an old culture of mediocre quality, and hence many people do not like to execute Kummi even during temple festivals. However, in churches clapping performance is a component of daily prayers in churches and houses to bring up a spiritual mood of people.