COSTUME AND MAKE UP

Kathakali has a unique dress code. The nature of the dress and the make up the actors wear reflect the personality of the characters. There are five categories of characters in Kathakali. They represent the ‘devas’, ‘human’ and the ‘asuras’. Much care is taken in the costume. The faces of the main characters are painted with bright colours. Gods, Kings, and Heros have green faces.
In terms of the make up the characters are classified into five types. They are “Pacha’, ‘Kari’, ‘Katti’, ‘Thadi’, and ‘Minukku’
Pancha(Green): The divine and heroic characters have green faces. There will be black markings around their eyes. The forehead bears the sacred mark of God Vishnu. They also wear ‘chutti’ that consists of white paper and rice paste. They also wear ‘Kirita’ (crown) on their head. Krihna, Rama, Leva, Kusa, Lakshmana have this make up.
Kari (Black): The evil women characters have black faces. There will be red and white dots as well.
Katti (Knife): Evil and impudent characters have this make up. However, they are high born and to indicate this, their make up is basically green. They have a red knife like marking on the face. The white knobs on the nose and the forehead indicate that they are evil basically. Ravana, Duryodana, Keechaka belong to this category.
Thadi (Beard): There are three types of ‘Thadis’. ‘Chuvappu Thadi’, ‘Velutha Thadi’, and ‘Karutha Thadi’.
‘Chuvappu Thadi’: This indicates the vicious nature of the character. The upper half of their face is painted black and the lower half is painted red. They have very big mustache.
‘Vella Thadi’: This represents a particular type of being higher than human. He has white and black patterns on the face. The green colour on the nose indicates that he is pious. Hanuman is the important character with the White beard.
‘Karutha Thadi’: This indicates that the characters are hunters and the people living in the forest. Their faces are painted black and red. They have flowers on their noses. The evil ‘Kali’ of the ‘Nalacharitham’ is the only character with the black beard.
‘Minukku’: It indicates that the character is a gentle one. Their face is painted in yellow. Brahmins, sages and messengers belong to this category.
The people of Kerala know the stories on which Kathakali is based. And they can follow what is going on the stage without much difficulty. It does not mean that it is very difficult to appreciate Kathakali. The stories are not that complicated or difficult to find. Here we have included some of the most famous stories as an introduction.