BHOOTA KOLA: A FIERY ART FORM.

In the costal region of Mangalore (Dakshina Kannada district) which is also known as Tulu Nadu, has lots of cultural and historical value imbibed in its beliefs and rituals. One of the most famous folkal spiritual art form is "Bhoota kola". It is a ritualistic theatrical form that worships the demon and other spirits that are largely represented in the religious sentiments of Tulu Nadu. It has a very close resemblance with "Theyyam", a ritualistic form of worship common among Malayalis of the north malabar ( Kerala).

The festival or the ritual starts with ceremoniously given oil for a ritual bath to make his body physically purified and mental calm. The person who invokes the Bhuta or the spirit has to slowly prepared for self- hypnotism and for imposing the spirit on him, which includes complete dress costumes with a sword , bells and other accessories. The pastes which they use for make up is prepared from the plant and different colors are used for symbolically display the characteristics features of the spirit. The pandal are well decorated with various figures made from palm leaf, mango leaf and areca flower which looks more attractive for the audience. On the other side musicians accompanied with drums and wind instruments providing beats and varying tempo. There are different types of spirits which people call as 'Daivas' in Tulu Nadu an before starting they worship lord Shiva and goddess Shakthi

The Bhoota kola worship has different forms of spirits such as Bhuta, Preta, Daiva, Kule, Siri, Kulu, etc... Each spirit has a different story , background, physical representation, performance and music. All these creates a massive psychological effect among audience.

This ritual is performed only during midnight as their is a strong belief among the people that it is the right time for the spirits to be welcomed. And this is often held in the months of November and December every year. Till this date in spite of several advancement in entertainment & technology the aspects of Bhoota kola has not changed , instead it still remains as an intimate part of the life of the people in Tulu Nadu.