Kerala, which is also often known as God’s own country is one of the most visited tourist places in India. It is home to some of nature’s best gifts and that makes it one of the most special places. It has even won the hearts of many tourists who come from abroad.
And while the beaches and the backwaters are some of the most important and popular tourist places to visit, the cultures of this state are just as fascinating. There are many dances and songs and art forms that are part of the Malayali community in general.
And while some of them are celebrated by everyone in unison without paying much heed to who belongs to what religion, there are some festivals that are religion specific.
Some of them are more than just mere dances and songs. They are part of the cultural ethos of Kerala.
Oppana is one such dance form that is also an important component of entertainment in Kerala. It is mostly prevalent, however, in the district of Malappuram which lies toward the north of the state.
Some people say that the origins of this dance and art form can be traced to Tamil Nadu which is a close by state in South India. Although it pretty much phased out in Tamil Nadu, it has grown by leaps and bounds in Kerala. It is especially an important entity to the Muslim community in Kerala.
In several of the collegiate and school cultural shows, this is an important dance form. During this dance, a girl is dressed as a bride with the finest of gold jewelry and other ornaments and also she is made to wear the prettiest dress. She is made to sit among the group of female dancers.
The girls start to tease her and then they move on to the dancing and the singing. While the singing and the dancing is going on, the girls also clap their hands in order to create more rhythm. One of the communities with which this is also a popular dance step is the Mappila community.
While this dance centers mostly on the bride, on some occasions this is also a dance form that is presented to the men for entertainment. Usually for men it is performed before the bridegroom leaves on the wedding day to his bride. There are mainly two varieties of Oppana.
The first is the Oppana Chayal which means that they do not clap their hands. In the Oppana Murukkam, however, they do clap their hands. If a Chayal is started then they need to complete the dance with the Chayal. But if the dance starts with a Murukkam then they need to end it with a Murukkam.
This is a dance form that is considered sacred to the Muslims because it is performed on the day of the wedding. And because this is a dance that is bride centric it is to be performed with much care and grace else, the belief is, it would cause bad omen to the bride in some ways.
