id: 10325066
Theyyam – A festival where a man turns into God for a short duration!
Theyyam is an ancient ritual celebration that happens across the villages of North Kerala. The performer propitiates the deity by entering into trance and dancing feverishly in the premises of a temple. The costume and make-up is very vivid and sometimes frightening. The performances are in an open theatre and are often accompanied by various musical instruments and vocal recitations. Some Theyyams are very intense and may often involve jumping across fire or dancing with lamps on the body. There are a variety of Theyyams celebrated (some say upto 400 different ones). Each is different from the next and they are celebrated across North Kerala in many places until the monsoon begins.
Theyyam is typically performed by people from castes and tribes like Pulayar, Vannan, Malayan, Anhoottan, Munnoottan, Mavilan, Koppalan, Velan, Chingathan, Kalanaadi, Paravan, Nalikeyavar, etc. Of these, Kalanaadi people perform only in Wayanad district, while Parava, Pambada, Paanaara and Nalikeyavar perform in places north of Kerala, Mangalapuram(Mangalore) and Udupi districts.
The dance or invocation is generally performed in front of the village shrine. It is also performed in the houses as ancestor-worship with elaborate rites and rituals.
There is no stage or curtain or other such arrangements for the performance. The devotees would be standing or some of them would be sitting on a sacred tree in front of the shrine. In short, it is an open theatre. Performance of a particular deity according to its significance and hierarchy in the shrine continues for 12 to 24 hours with intervals. The chief dancer who propitiates the central deity of the shrine has to reside in the rituals. Further, after the sun sets, this particular dancer would not eat anything for the remainder of that day. His make-up is done by specialists and other dancers.
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