Terukkuttu

Terukkuttu is a Tamil street theatre form practised in Tamil Nadu (India) and Tamil-speaking regions of Sri Lanka. Terukuttu is a form of Koothu, an entertainment, a ritual, and a medium of social instruction, originated from the early Tamilakam. The terukkuttu plays various themes. One theme is from the Tamil language versions of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, focusing on the character Draupadi. The terms Terukkuttu and Kattaikkuttu are often used interchangeably in the modern times; however, historically the two terms appear to have distinguished, at least in certain villages, between two different kinds of performance: while Terukkuttu referred to mobile performances in a procession, Kattaikkuttu denotes overnight, narrative performances at a fixed performance space.

==History== thumb|Koothu Performer's mask of Narashima character, circa 1700–1750 The term terukkuttu is derived from the Tamil words Teru ("street") and Kuttu ("theatre"). The word "Kattaikkuttu" is derived from the name of special ornaments known as kattai (or kattai camankal).