The Narrative Structure of Kerala's Kannagi Story Ballads: A Structuralist Study

Abstract

Kerala is home to a wide variety of folk traditions and oral cultural practices, among which story ballads constitute an important form. These ballads are predominantly associated with religious worship and are performed in temples during festival occasions. Within the ritual contexts in which these story-ballad traditions are performed, various historical events and cultural memories are embedded. An examination of these narratives reveals that the stories are often connected, in one way or another, with the temples in which they are performed. Although these ballads may function as forms of popular entertainment, a closer examination reveals that significant historical events and cultural experiences are embedded within them. In this context, story ballads such as Thorram Pattu, Nallamma Pattu, Kovilan Charithram, Kovilan–Kannagi Kathai, Bhadrakali Pattu, and Kovilan Kathai are performed in the Bhagavati Kavus of Kerala. This article examines the narrative structures of these ballads by posing the central question of whether their underlying stories share a common narrative foundation or whether they differ fundamentally from one another. Adopting structuralist theory as its analytical framework, the study investigates the underlying narrative structures of these story ballads and identifies the structural patterns that organize and connect their respective narratives.