Abstract:

'Moadi yeduthu', a lost/last dance component of 'sadir' repertoire from Tamil Nadu Moadi Yeduthu, is one the lost dance drama pieces from the Sadir repertoire which was practiced as dance drama by the devadasi communities when they were allowed to practice in temples and festival spaces in Viralimalai, Pudukottai district, Tamil Nadu. This dance drama was (only) practiced by the devadasis as after the anti-devadasi law from the government in 1947, most of the people from the community were forced to stop performing Sadir and take up farming. Within these communities, very few people continued to practice sadir and became one of the last performers of the community. The Moadi Yeduthu is one of the performance pieces that survived by Muthukannamal, a sadir dancer, and this specific piece didn't get itself into the transfiguration of the cleaning process from the sadir to Bharatha natyam tradition. The piece Moadi Yeduthu was left with devadasis alone to be practiced because of the nature of the choreography. Muthukannamal, one of the last devadasis of Viralimalai has embodied this particular dance piece as her kinaesthetic knowledge through her regular practice in the temples where she was serving as a devadasi. This paper will explore the details of this lost/last art form by analyzing the documented dance drama performed by Muthukannammal. Her regular practice of this artistry, especially Moadi Yeduthu acts as one of the building blocks and the evidence of the lost art from striving to find its place in the current scenario of dance movement practices. The dance drama acts as one building block of the bridge which commemorates the traditional dance form and its current scenario. Muthukannammal's performed body continued to form layers of archival knowledge of the sadir dance form and the dance researcher explores the artistry of this specific dance drama traversing from different times and spaces and realizing that it has no place in the present society. The paper will also explore the nature of the dance drama by comparing it to other sadir dance pieces like the Viralimalai Kuravanji as well.