Theyyam

Understand

Where Theyyam comes from

Theyyam (also known as Kaliyattam) is a ritual form of worship practised in the North Malabar region of Kerala (the present-day Kasaragod and Kannur districts, the Mananthavady taluk of Wayanad, and the Vadakara and Koyilandy taluks of Kozhikode), and in parts of neighbouring Karnataka. The form is documented as a vehicle for divine descent (parakāya praveśanam) — the deity enters the body of the performer through the placement of the sacred mudi (headgear), and the performer thereafter speaks, dances and gives oracles as the deity. Theyyam is performed by the Thiyyar, Malayar and Vannan communities, while castes that have adopted Brahmanical customs historically take no part in the performance. The Theyyam season runs from the tenth day of the Malayalam month of Thulam (October-November) through the next ten months.

How it's practiced

A Theyyam performance is an 8-to-10-hour ritual that begins with extended singing of ritual songs, the sacred preparation of the costume and headgear, and the consumption of madhyam (toddy) understood as suppressing personal consciousness. The culminating moment is the placement of the mudi (a vast, sculpted headgear several feet tall and elaborately painted) on the performer, when the deity is believed to enter his body. The performer then dances in a state of possession, gives oracles to devotees and is understood to be the deity itself. Performances take place at family shrines (kavu) and at temples across the region, accompanied by percussion ensembles (chenda, kuzhal and kombu).