CHPTER VI

CONCLUSIONS
 Make-up, costume and ornament are used as a

device in theatre to manifest the text that is presented to the audience. They

form the visual component of theatre and pocessess semeotic value. Without

make-up, costume and ornament the theatre remains more verbal than visual

and hence becomes closer to telling a tale. However, this devoids theatre of

aesthetic presentation and therefore lesser than "art". The artistic expression of

the theatre remains much with the make-up, costume and ornament and

distinguishes theatre from other forms of artistic expressive genres. For this

reason both in realistic and non-realistic plays make-up, costume and ornament

forms as one of the indicators of stylistics.

Make-up, costume and ornament in folk theatre go further than indicating

stylistics and infact becomes the live nerve of the very art form. They not only

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manifest the text but also represent the very community, which performs the text.

In other words, it becomes the identity of the community on one hand and on the

other the very vehicle that communicate their woiidview. To demonstrate this

view point, in this thesis, the make-up, costume and ornament, of Cindu Madigas

of Andhra Pradesh is taken for study.

The Cindu Madiga is a sub sect of the madiga community, which is listed, in the

present day as scheduled caste. The community is so marginalised that it was

considered as untouchable community during the era of pre-independent India.

The community is so downtrodden that it was forced to live outside the village

settlement in a separate hamlet. The varna system considered this community

as panchama varna and used their services related to leather works and other

manial jobs. In the history of India the treatment meted out to the community

was so harsh that they even were not allowed to enter the temples of the caste

people and other public places in the village. Yet the community survived by

developing its own esthitics in the form of fine arts and performing arts and

entertained themselves with music, dance and theatre. They urge to perform is

so much that the community though marginalised support atleast five ministerial

communities such as Cindus, Mastis, Nalukachandias, Baindla and Dakkali. No

other jati (caste) in the varna system could support as many ministrals as this

community does. This itself shows that the Madiga is a community which loves

art and lives by art. The bard communities of the Madigas are well versed with

musical instruments such as Tappeta, Pamba, Jamedica, Kinnera and Kommu,

which are percussion, wind and string instruments. They not only use these

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instruments as exclusive right while performing their caste myths but also are

identified with them. Among the performances of all the bards of Madigas, the

Cindus are different from the others in a sense that their art form alone is a full-

fledged theatrical performance. The rest of the performances of the bards are

more narrative oriented than theatrical oriented. The reason for this is the

Cindus have a unique way of attiring themselves with make-up, costume and

ornament during performances. This finding is crucial and the very lead to this

thesis.

As enquiries made on the make-up, costume and ornament in the theatrical

practice through the times, it is found that the idea of make-up, costume and

ornament itself is derived from the observations made on the races, communities

and people. The theatre justly adopted by obsorbing people their way of

dressing, hair styles, make-up and ornament etc., to suit to the characters and

events played out in a theatrical performance. The non-realistic plays which vow

their origin to the philosophical concept of idealism adopted make-up, costume

and ornament from the fantacies and images of the people on their gods,

ancestors, spirits of evil and good etc. The realistic plays which stem out of the

idea of materialism adopted the real ways of dressing etc., of the people.

However, in folk theatre of India the make-up, costume and ornament, is

patterned by factors such as political, social, economic, religious and cultural.

This observation is crucial because the Indian history being one of the oldest and

un-interrupted despite natural calamities and invasions continued to adopt

different ways of dressing, ornamentation, and make-up by suiting itself to the

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changing conditions. One of the chief distinguishing character of the Indian

society is that it rs made up of Varna-Jathi divide therefore the western models

on make-up, costume and ornament do not give sufficient background to study

the make-up, costume and ornament of Indian people. All along in the discipline

of theatre the make-up, costume and ornament are depicted from the western

point of view. The text books therefore written on make-up, costume and

ornament speaks about Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Feudal, Renaissance, and

Modern periods. Industrialisation is considered one of the chief factors

responsible for the changing make-up, costume and ornament of the people and

communities. In theatre market economy is considered as the main factor for

changing the style of make-up, costume and ornaments. The business

households that produced colour pigments, pastes and oils undermine the

indegenous practises of make-up, costume and ornaments. This in fact to some

extent effeccted the aesthitic value of make-up, costume and ornaments. In the

sub-contient where folk theatre such as Cindu Bhagavatam has not thus for

faced much threat from the market economy in their make-up, costume and

ornaments. This observation is crucial because the market economy could not

influence this community to change their technique of application, though some

of the products of make-up, costume and ornaments are purchased from the

nearby shops. This finding is important because the make-up, costume and

ornament of Cindus are themselves form the integral part of their theatrical style

so as to identify them as Cindu community. Their images of the characters are

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drawn basically from the epic tradition, religious practises, historical factors,

political setups and sociological phenomenon.

Make-up, costume and ornament in a way represent both the realistic and non-

realistic perceptions. It is intact an admixture of both idealism and materialism in

creating characters through make-up, costume and ornament in their theatrical

presentations.

Another finding in the study is that the make-up, costume and ornament of Cindu

Madigas vows their origin to their myths and legends. As the community of

Cindus performs priestly duties to the Madigas to ward off evil and disease, they

naturally take up the roles of performers in the festives and celebrations. The

Basavi or Jogin tradition which is much prevalent in this community ordain some

of the women folk to perform the disguise of Yellamma or (Matangi) and bless

the community. It is their caste myth which gives them right to perform the Cindu

dance and therefore it is obligation to the Madigas to watch the performance.

The rights and obligations between the Madigas and Cindu Madigas are tied up

reciprocally according to which one sponcers the performance and the other

performs to satisfy the former. These reciprocity norms are known locally by the

term miracy. The performers are given shares in kind and cash as a

subsistence. The village at large also participate in giving shares/gifts for it is the

Cindus through ritual performances purify their lands and mark them to avoid the

spell of the spirits of evils manifesting in calamities, disease and famine etc. The

caste myths of the Madigas as performed by the Cindu Madigas are known as

Jambapuranam and Yellamma Vesham. According to the myth their ancestor

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Jambava Muni is a premodial being who witnessed the creation of earth and

heaven, Adhisakthi, Trimurthis and others celestial beings and he is considerd as

chief advisor to god at times of distress. According to the myth it is he who made

parafernelia to the wedding of Trimurtis and because of curse destain to be

madiga in Kaliyuga It is because of curse of his own son, the Dakkali he

became an untouchable in Kaliyuga and live by serving the caste people.

According to another version of myth Chennaiah who was created by Parvathi in

the wilderness gives the name of Madiga to Jamabavamuni. Because of

Chennaiah's tongue twister Jambavamuni became madiga. Jambavamuni had

two wives and the elder wife's sons became the ancestors of Madigas and the

second wife son became the ancestor of Cindus.

Thus the myth establishes kinship bondage between the Madigas and Cindu

Madrigals as cousin brothers. This observation is important because the myth

itself innately establishes the link between two communities and therefore

prompts for reciprosity norms to be followed by these communities. From this

view point the patron and client relationship is established between these two

communities.

The caste myth is being shared by both the communities and their being

intrinsically knitted with the myth, both respect and perpetuate the performance

of the caste myth. The Cindus take up the role of performers and the Madigas as

audience of the performance. Infact, the oral text that is afresh in their memory

culture transform the Cindus officiating priests and the Madigas to devotees. The

enactment of caste myth of Jambapuranam and Yellamma Vesam itself subvert

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the hierarchy's between the Madigas and Cindu Madigas. The former though

clients by virtue of holding the right to perform, become the manifestos of gods

and priests to the Madigas. The Madigas though being the patron community

subvert their position as devotees and respect the performance by parting with

some of their resources to the Cindu Madigas. Thus the performance of

Jambapuranam and Yellamma Vesham are internal to the community and

establishes relationship between them.

The caste myths are basically not presented in toto in verbal form; in other

words, the narrative component of these performances is half verbal and half

non-verbal. The non-verbal component is basically construed with the help of

make-up, costume and ornament. The make-up, costume and ornaments

therefore become a "Silent Text", in the sense that, it not only function as

referential but becomes an 'interpretant' by itself. This finding is crucial to the

thesis because the role of make-up, costume and ornaments as visual text in.the

mainstream theatre stretches itself beyond as 'silent text' in the folk theatre.

A visual text is a text built up through signs, which act as a referential to the

object. In theatrical parlance "make-up, costume and ornaments" is used as sign

to refer and to differentiate characters in the play. Therefore make-up, costume

and ornaments always perform referential function in modern theatre. In Ritual

theatre, especially in the case of Jambapuranam, make-up, costume and

ornaments of Gosangi goes beyond mere referential function and attain

'interpretant1 status.

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The make-up, costumes and ornaments of Jambapuranam act as an interpretant

in the sense that the community of bards are entitled to play the role, interpret

their cultural text of the puranam and symbolically substitute the textual

descriptions of the gifts received by their ancestors Jambavamuni and Cindu

Jivhamahamuni, from gods to play the pace maker role. In the process the

material objects are used as make-up, costume and ornaments, which do not

directly visually communicate what they mean, but in a subdued and silent

manner they remain as the text of the puranam which is owned and shared by

the community of Cindu Madigas and Madigas. Visual texts, quite often than not,

are interior to a sign system and therefore, they symbolically act as

representational to mean some thing to some one for something. Make-up,

costumes and ornaments when used as symbols so as to make as a visual text,

the characters became referential in a given play. Through make-up, costume

and ornaments the character achieves a shared plane with a given sign system

and therefore the audience identify the character in its proprietary. In the case of

"silent text" it is not simply the intention of make-up, costumes and ornaments to

make the character identifiable with a given proprietary but goes beyond a point

where the distinction between the character and the audience ceases to be as

gap between the actor and the audience but takes a life wherein the character

absorbs the audience as devotees and the audience do share such experience

as seeing his/her god face to face. The achievement of status of unison between

the actor and the audience as god and devotee is the chief feature of the "silent

text" and it is made possible through a shared made belief system in which the

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cultural text like Jambapuranam transforms itself into reality and forms the basis

of the world view of the community. Therefore make-up, costume and ornaments

of Jambapuranam is not simply a visual text and hence not a referential one, but

a "Silent Text" for it acts as an 'interpretant' so as to make the performance a

lived reality. The audience identifies the performers through make-up, costume

and ornaments to the intended characters of play production. What intended in

the play production is symbolically represented through make-up, costumes in

the development of characterisation. In that sense make-up, costume and

ornaments acts as referential to the audience in the play production. In other

words, a 'mono-optic' vision is created in the play production through make-up,

costume and ornaments to the audience. What the performer intended to project

through make-up, costume and ornaments is what the audience receives. A kind

of hierarchical status is created between the performer and the audience in

unfolding the play production (Text). Since the performer controls the "gaze", the

audience is not free to share the gaze, instead forced to receive it. In this sense

visual text remains more as a referential so as to identify the character and

always remain at that level only. In other words, make-up, costume and

ornaments as sign system become signifiers of a signified. The interaction

between the performer and the audience therefore remain in vertical positions so

as to make the play a didactic in communicating the meaning. Make-up,

costume and ornaments role in visual text becomes that of a master designer

who prompts the play to set in a particular tone. The make-up artist therefore

attains a role of invisible director. He is invisible because, only the textually

up, costumes and ornaments are also restricted to the desires of the director of

the play and hence, the make-up artist work is subdued and remains as a visual

text. In the case of ritual theatre especially, where sharing a common text enacts

the ritual performances, the mono-optic view of make-up, costumes and

ornaments are replaced by a 'pan-optic' vision of the community.

Since Jambapuranam stems out of a shared knowledge in the community of

performers and audience, make-up, costume and ornaments became not just as

referential but become interpretent wherein both the performer and the audience

view make-up, costume and ornaments as a shared text. In this sense make-up,

costume and ornaments are not verbalized in any way but 'interpretants' justify

the actions of the performer. For an outsider, since make-up, costume and

ornaments do not become referential, the action of performer became

meaningless and redundant. Only when the performer and the audience share

the panoptic view of the text, performance becomes meaningful and

authenticates the need of interaction between performer and audience. The

concept of 'pan-optical' view is used here in the sense that it refers to synoptic

visibility designed to facilitate a disciplinary over view shared both by the

performer and the audience. Both gaze at the text of Jambapuranam and draw

meanings in a multiple way so as to transform themselves as gods and devotees.

Make-up, costume and ornaments in this context not only transform the

performers into gods but also transform the audience into devotees. Since the

quality of transformation of make-up, costumes and ornaments is affecting both

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the ends (performer/audience), the Jambapuranam (play) becomes a product of

hetroglassia. The notion of hetroglassia is used in Bakthinian sense where in the

text is not an end product but always function as a point of discourse to create

conflictual and interrelated texts of the performer and audience. In this sense

make-up, costume and ornaments are conceived as a silent text because it is

beyond visual to prompt audience to transform themselves to devotees by

creating a conflectual realm of fear and foe on one hand and on the other

reverence and divine. For this reason the enactment of Jamapuranam becomes

a cyclical event there by attaining the authorial position through 'pan-optic' view

of the community and remain sacred. Violating the enactment of play

tantamounts to blinding the 'pan-optic' view of the community and therefore,

determental to the mutual existence of both Cindu Madigas and Madigas. Make-

up, costumes and ornaments therefore becomes the driving force of the "event"

and the make-up artists no other than the performer himself goes beyond the

directors role but becomes the creator of the performance itself. For this reason

no specialization between make-up artist, director or the performer is visible in

Jambapuranam.

The make-up, costume and ornament of Gosangi and Yellamma Vesham denote

the silent text of the caste myths of Madigas and therefore their make-up,

costume and ornament looks different and unique. Such make-up, costume and

ornament are not visible in any performance of any kind be it folk or mainstream

attest to the fact that it is a "silent text".

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An important observation in the study is that there are two basic types of

performances are being in vogue in the Cindu tradition. One is the caste myth

performances such as Jamba Puranam and Yellamma Vesam, which are meant

to the community alone, and informs through performance their roles in the social

system. These performances actually structure the relationship of the Cindu with

their patrons that are Madigas. These performances can be considered as

internal performances and meant to the community of Madigas to inform the kin

group relationship on one hand and on the other the rights and obligations that

exist between them. The regulatory factor in the internal performances is the

sacral belief that they attach to these performances. Therefore, they are

intrinsically inter woven with ritual component and suggest the onlooker that it is

a ritual theatre. The other type of performances can be called as external

performances because they are meant to the entire villagers and it is they that

identify the Cindu Madigas as performers. These performances are popularly

known as Cindu Bhagavatams or Cindu Yakshaganams.

The Cindu Bhagavatams are full-fledged theatrical performances having a clear

demarkation between the performer and the audience, having a marked

performance space and text meant for performance. Most of the texts, which are

performed as Cindu Bhagavatam, are from the oral epics such as Mahabarata

and Ramayana and Bhagavatha. In the analysis it is found that 6 1 % of the text

performed are from the epic tradition. It is also found that stories from epic

tradition are preferred by Cindu Madigas is due to the fact that they have the

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capacity to create spectacle through make-up, costume and ornament on stage

and can easily appease the audience.

It is also found from the analysis of the characters in the performances that the

gods and royal characters form the major component in the development of story

line and therefore consume more performance time than the other characters.

Make-up, costume and ornament being the main element in creating spectacle

on stage these characters reasonably support the play from a much realistic

point of view. The other finding in the thesis is that the characters, which appear

as common characters, also gain equal importance for the play production. It is

not because of the characters' involvement in narrative time but because of the

fact that they support the narrative time of the prime characters as chorus. For

sociological reason, the number of common characters is presented on the stage

is more than required number. Owing to the flexibility of the structure of

performance itself makes the common characters appearance feasible and

possible:

All the members of the family of Cindus grow in size, their involvement in the

performance balances inevitable for survival. As the performers are itinerary

they keep moving from one place to another by giving performances and make

livelihood. For this reason the bulging of characters is strategically played out

through common characters. Another important finding is that the Cindu

Bhagavatams did not give any scope for developing specialised make-up artist.

The reason for this is that the community itself is a community of performers and

their livelihood is basically on the performances. In order to avoid the

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dependency on a specialised make-up artist, which only make their performance

dependent, each performer himself/herself does the make-up, costume and

ornament.

Another important observation is that the make-up, costume and ornament which

forms the basis for the Bagavatams is devoid of differenciation among the

characters especially at the level of make-up. In other words all the faces

smeared with almost same colour. It is observed that colour being one of the

factors for social devoid in the Indian sub-continent, as evident from the system

of varna at its origins. The varna suggest social hierarchy. As far as the make-

up, costume and ornament of the Cindu are concerned the characters do not

have such distinctions. It is also a matter of fact that the Cindu Madigas do not

have a social hierarchy within themselves and they share as kin brothers the

resources of the Madigas. Since their endogamas group is devoid of any social

stratification, they are not conscious of such stratification even when they takeup

roles as characters. Therefore their make-up is same for all the characters.

Another important finding is that the Cindu Bhagavatams do not have stagecraft.

The performance space is not a prossenium kind and therefore the audience sits

on all sides. This caused for no usage of backdrops on the performance space

to compensate this the costumes are used in such away that they themselves

form the decorative backdrops on the stage. Since there is no exit, once the

characters enter the stage, all the characters remain on stage and fill the space.

Their costumes designed as vertical saree falls from shoulder to toes they form

the backdrops of the stage.

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Since there is no separate green room for make-up, costume and ornament, the

entry and exit do not occur during the performance. This style of performance

infact makes the play as a continuous one without any brakes in between since

there are no scenes and acts in between the play no empty space is created on

stage at any given point of time.

Another interesting feature in make-up, costume and ornament of the Cindu

Bhagavathm is that no stage properties are used in the play production. Only

some of the hand properties are used to distinguish certain characters. Even

these properties are not given much importance because of the fact that the

narrative itself acts as a sign system in communicating meanings to the

audience.

On the whole, the make-up, costume and ornament of Cindu Madigas have two

features one feature is reflected in their performances of caste myths and it is

discussed in the thesis as "Silent text". As silent text the make-up, costume and

ornament goes beyond the verbal narrative of the actual performance and

remains the cultural text such as myths to the audience. In this process it

transforms the audience into devotees and the performers into officiators of

rituals as well as gods. The make-up, costume and ornament in this regard

becomes the manifestation of the myths and therefore interpretable by audience

and performers.

The second feature in the make-up, costume and ornament is that it forms as

visual text. The Cindu Bhagavatams when performed with make-up, costume

and ornament the characters that appear on stage denote to which character

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they stand. This feature of visual text, which has the quality of indicator or

identifier of the character, is present in the Cindu Bhagavatams or Cindu

Yakshaganams. Therefore make-up, costume and ornament in these plays

become referrential.

These two-basic features of make-up, costume and ornament forms the basis for

the performance of Cindu Madrigas and they not only identify the community as

Chindollu but also identify the art form itself as an ethnic genre in folk theatre.

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