Hidden Texts: The Commentary Tradition of the South Indian Sanskrit Theatre Kūṭiyāṭṭam

Kooperation

Asien-Orient-Institut – Indologie und UFSP Asien und Europa

Ort

RAF-E-011, UFSP Asien und Europa, Rämistrasse 66, 8001 Zürich

Beschreibung

Kūṭiyāṭṭam is the only form of Sanskrit theatre in the entire region of South Asia with an unbroken tradition (> 1000 years). Part of its complex structure are stage manuals including elaborate commentaries of various kind. Developed by and for an educated audience, Kūṭiyāṭṭam plays with several languages (Sanskrit, Prakrits, Malayalam, Manipravalam) and brings the Indian commentary tradition to life on stage by translating the texts involved word by word into hand gestures and stylized mime.