Pulikali - the tiger dance

A colourful folk art form and an integral part of Onam celebrations, ‘Pulikali’ meaning ‘tiger dance’ has trained artists dressing up as tigers and performing on the streets.  The artists dabble their whole body in paint to resemble a tiger and then dance bouncing their bellies and prance about making tiger like movements to the beats of the drum. The ‘pulis’ revelling, gamboling and dancing around in tiger costumes in the streets attracts travellers and the locals alike who cheer the ‘pulis’ on and join in the frenzy by matching their steps to the ‘pulis’. This year, 2016, saw women artists decking up as tigers and join in the pulikali- a first in the history of this art form. This is a video of the Pulikali held in Thrissur.

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