I haven’t done any photography in God’s Own Country, Kerala. My friend and mentor Manish Lakhani has been visiting Kerala for the Theyyam (also spelt / known as Teyyam, Theyam, Theyyattam) festival for about five to 6 times. Why would someone keep going to the same place / event again and again ? This intrigued me and to find an answer I decided to join him.
Travel Dates : 19th March ’19 to 24th March ‘19
Company : Travel Kannur (travelkannur.com) led by Manish Lakhani and Nandakumar Narasimhan
Theyyam is a popular ritual form of worship that happens in the northern part of Kerala and predominantly in Kasargod and Kannur. The ritual brings out the mythological, divine, ancestral, animal, serpent or heroic characters with each one having a distinct physical shape and story of origin. The Theyyam artists or specialists become the vehicle for the manifestation of deities or spirits, deities predominantly being some avatar of Vishnu, Shiva or Parvathy. It is believed that this ritual will bring about a wellbeing for the society, community & the family and also remove social evils. This popular ritual is attended by many irrespective of caste, creed or community.
Theyyams are performed in Tharavadu (ancestral home), Kavu (village temples) and public temples. The ritual usually starts with a tottam pattu (vocal ballad song). It is a belief that by performing this, the performer will be possessed with the divine spirits. The tottam pattu is accompanied by Chenda and Thudi (percussion instruments). People see and adore Theyyam as God and hence Theyyam is also known as “Dance of Gods”. It is said there are 400+ forms of Theyyams.
Fire is a significant and integral element of Theyyam. This usually known as Fire Theyyam, doesn’t happen in every Theyyam. It depends on the event that has happened in the Tharavadu or Kavu or a public temple. For instance in one of the Tharavudu where I went, I was told that the warrior God (a form of Shiva) when out hunting in the forest, a fire was set around the forest and the warrior could not escape. He tried to escape the flames by using two snakes to climb a tree but all fell into the fire and perished. Hence one can see that the body of the Theyyam painted with two snakes. In this case the fire ceremony is to show the anger of the warrior God. Wood is used to light the fire and the Theyyam happens only after the fire is fully converted to ashes. During the Fire Theyyam, the lights are completely switched off and bunches of dried coconut tree branches / branch sticks are used as torches. The Theyyam moves from one end to the other and over the fire with unbelievable anger and vigour and one has to be very careful if sitting in front of the fire to photograph the Theyyam as there is a very high possibility that the Theyyam may walk over you.
Performers get their bodies painted with bright colours in varying designs and patterns from top to toe. The Theyyam performer is dressed according to the role they represent – the faces decorated with very intrinsic painting, various styles of headdress, attractive masks and extremely colourful dresses. In some forms of Theyyam, the costume is made of coconut leaves for the lower part of the body, while the upper part of the body remains bare and painted. In some other forms of Theyyam, performers smear the body with a paste of rice and turmeric. Headdress is the heaviest and largest part of the costume. Headdresses are made of different materials including bamboo sticks, wooden boards, peacock feathers, coconut leaves, palm leaves and flowers. A few Theyyam forms require performers to wear bamboo crowns as high as 50–60 feet, which are supported by other people from behind. Either a piece of colourful cloth is used or coconut leaves are weaved together to cover the crowns. A silver replica of serpent embellished with red flowerers is seen around the necks of some performers. Those representing goddesses or female mythical figures wear wooden breasts adorned with ornaments and studded with gems. Such ornamental make-up and costumes help performers personify the grandeur of mythological figures including gods, goddesses, spirits and demons.
The performer looks at his reflection in a small hand-mirror. This is one of the performers most crucial and intimate moments as what he sees in the mirror is not his own image, but of a powerful divine being which he represents. The performer with the striking costumes and head gears, circles the shrine, dances, runs and walks through the shrine compound to the tune of Chenda (percussion instruments) and towards the end of the performance he blesses devotees, receives offerings and speaks in a dialect alien from the general parlance creating a divine atmosphere around.
The Gods and their forms, worshipped within Theyyam can be broadly classified as follows :
Shakti (mother Goddess) – Bhagavati, Kari Chamundi (or Kali), Raktha Chamundi and Kurathi. This is the most prominent of all the deities that are worshipped.
Shiva (the destroyer or transformer) – Pottan, Gulikan, Mutiappan and Bairavan. Here too a considerable degree of mixture is evident, with ghosts, spirits and local heroes being performed as manifestations of Shiva
Vishnu (the maintainer or preserver) – Vaishnva Theyyams and this is neither that popular nor important.
The Theyyam rituals happens from October/November till May/June every year. There are hundreds of locations where the Theyyam happens and one may need a few years to see all of them. Typically, the Theyyam starts around 7 PM and goes on till 8 AM next day. The fire Theyyams usually happens past midnight / early hours. It is quite exhaustive but once the Theyyam starts, one will get completely involved with the dances, the rhythmic Chenda performance, courageous fire performances, rituals etc, and one will get mesmerised. It is also believed that the mortal bodies of performers become one with immortal spirits and mythical figures to perform ritual dances and caste a trance over onlookers.
My album consists of the Theyyam performed in the following places :
Srikakkanam Kottam Devi Temple, Kannur
Thundivallappil Tharavadu, Irinave, Kannur
Ponniyath Devasthanam, Chirackal
Illipuram Puthia Bhhhavathi Temple, Irinave, Kannapuram
Kanam Minnadan Tharavad Devasthanam, Payyannur
To conclude – It is good to see that the traditions / rituals are being followed for many many years. But the questions that I kept asking myself - How safe is this ? Is adequate medical care / protection take care of ? Is adequate protection being taken against fire risks and hazards ? What impact this has on the Theyyam performers - physically and mentally ? Honestly I do not know the answer for these but I guess only time will tell.
Source : Wikipedia, public internet domains and research papers.
To view the album --> https://gvgops6.wixsite.com/theyyam--mar-19
your questions on the Theyyam performers very true. Having lived fro some time in Kerala and through the opportunities I had to hear on this subject, I understand that the artist and his family are taken care by the village folks (because they believe that he removes all the evils). So mostly they are well fed and most basic needs met. The artist for most part suffer the habit of drinking.They get moderate treatment from the local vaidyar(aurveda). The search and find of the artist to perform the Theyyam is more interesting and sometimes with lot of politics. In you next venture you may research on that.
A very in depth study by you and the pics are lively/love