Pulikali tiger dance tradition marks Onam celebrations in Kerala

Pulikali, a 200-year-old tiger dance tradition in Kerala, remains a central spectacle during the Onam festivities. The folk art involves performers applying multiple layers of black and yellow body paint to transform into tigers and leopards, a process that can take up to seven hours. These performers dance to traditional percussion rhythms, including instruments such as the chenda, thakil, and udukku.

While traditionally a male-dominated practice, the tradition is seeing shifts in participation. Nimisha Bijo, a Malayalam television actress and model, has spent the last four years performing as a ‘Penpuli’ or female tiger. As a member of a 51-person troupe in Thrissur, she represents a growing presence of women in the historically male-centric folk dance.