From Tradition to Reformulation: A Journey through Participatory
Action Research.
Kooththu is the Traditional Theatre of the Tamils of Sri Lanka. Parai Araivon (Herald) is one of the "interesting" characters in the Kooththu performance. The arrival of the Parai Araivon on to the Kalari (round stage) kindles the spectators and gets them into laughter.
The role of Parai Araivon in Kooththu is to convey the official message (pirasitham) of the court. Basically, Parai Araivon is also a servant of the King and also the citizen of the Kingdom like the Kaddiyankkaran, a dignified character which narrates the arrival of the King to the Court.
But the portrayal of the Parai Araivon is different in treatment from all the other characters of the Kooththu. He is portrayed as a comic element in a negative manner. It's a reflection of caste oppression among the Tamils of Sri Lanka.
It also paved way for conflicts and clashes among the castes of Tamils in Sri Lanka Vies a vie Parior versus other castes who perform Kooththu which contains the element of the traditional portrayal of the Parai Araivon.
The character was reformulated with the participation of Annaviyars and Parai Melam Players as a positive one and developed as a facilitator to run a forum theatre followed by the Kooththu performance.
