Association For Asian Performance (AAP) of The Association For Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), University of Hawai'i Press Asian Theatre Journal

Ritual Liminality and Frame: What Did Barbosa See When He Saw the "Theyyam"?
Author(s): Filipe Pereira

Source: Asian Theatre Journal, Vol. 34, No. 2 (FALL 2017), pp. 373-396
Published by: University of Hawai'i Press on behalf of Association for Asian Performance
(AAP) of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE)
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Plate 3. Kandenar Kelan Theyyam walking over the fire with two assistants at Dermal Thara-
vadu, Pilathara, Kannur District, January 2015. (Photo: Filipe Pereira)
Plate 4. Kannangat Bhagavathi at Muchilot Kavu, Valapattanam, Kannur District, January
2015. (Photo: Filipe Pereira)
Ritual Liminality and Frame:
What Did Barbosa See When He Saw
the Theyyam?
Filipe Pereira
An anecdotal account of a ritual from the south of India by a Portuguese adventurer

from the early sixteenth century serves as pretext for a brief description of the cult of the
theyyams from north Kerala in southwest India and raises questions on how we look
at ritual performances. Liminality and frame, and associated notions, including flow
and experience, as used by Victor Turner, provide clues for understanding an uanthropol-
ogy of performance, " but Turner did not give operative tools for implementation of his
manifesto.
Could some practical notions proposed by Grotowski be useful to the ethnography of
the performance? Growtowskťs concepts are applied to observations made during field
research on theyyam. Findings are more outlined than concluded, but point toward
some outcomes.
Filipe Pereira is a performer and director who studied with ferzy Grotowski at his
Workcenter in Pontedera, Italy, from 1990 to 1992. He graduated with an MA in artis-
tic studies from the University of Coimbra, Portugal, with a dissertation on performance
as ritual.
I first came across this excerpt from Duarte Barbosa's 1516

account of his travels while doing a study on the ritual of theyyam in
north Kerala (Southwest India) in 2015.
There is another sect even lower of these people, called paneu,1 who
are great practisers of witchcraft, and they do not gain their living
by anything else than charms. They visibly speak with devils who put
themselves within them, and make them do awful things.
Asian Theatre Journal, vol. 34, no. 2 (Fall 2017). © 2017 by University of Hawai'i Press. All rights reserved.
376 Perdra
[. . .] They s
themselves.
crowns of pa
with plenty o
and kettledru
this manner
in their han
the court of
go on this w
pushing one a
tired; and so
to do the sam
noise. And th
always perfo
of red ochre
of various co
the devil, fo
(Barbosa [15
My interest
search for c
1995), linked
was done du
nies, establish
acquire an er
to understan
text and I w
useful histor
sage. I could
theyyams, a k
if I was awar
in recent de
ent from the
gists such as
What is the
that makes m
tion its nam
nies that cou
Duarte Barb
in 1501, just
route around
alam languag
official scrivener and translator in the cities of Cochin and Kannur. He
might have returned to Portugal, where he finished his manuscript, in
Ritual Liminality and Frame 377
1516. In 1519 he was in Spain and joined

dition led by his brother-in-law Ferdina
Charles V. They both would perish in Ce
(Machado 1946: 7-12). This "official" bio
contemporary authors, who point out th
been satisfactorily verified (Sousa 1996:
Barbosa's book was first acknowledge
the compilation of travel reports by Gio
320-357). A greater interest in the book
1812, of a Castilian manuscript transl
detailed, was less credible, since some
added later. Nevertheless, the short pass
controversy: the different versions coin
they are in different languages, and the
firsthand observation.
What does Barbosa describe? He dedicates a chapter to depict-
ing the different castes,2 or sects, as he calls them, on the coast of Mala-
bar. There he talks about the Paneu, most probably referring to the
Pannan, or Paner, a name currently used in the south of Kerala to refer
to the caste known as Malayan in the north. The Malayan are one of the
lower or scheduled castes, have a patriarchal lineage, were traditionally
connected with witchcraft, and are one of the main performing groups
practicing the tradition of theyyam. Barbosa describes what we can see
in a present-day kaliyattam: the Malayan arrive at a yard, a kavu (sacred
grove),3 and set up a tent ( aniara ) with palm leaves and colored cloths,
where they will dress and paint their bodies and faces. From there they
will come out, in a defined ritual sequence, and, at the sound of drums
and horns, perform the assigned theyyams, wielding ceremonial swords,
walking over burning coals and bonfires, and shouting curses, oracles,
and blessings.
The word theyyam is a corrupted form of the Sanskrit daivan
(divinity) and refers to a deity - whether it be a mythologized ances-
tor, a legendary hero, a Hindu or local god or goddess, an animal, or
a force of nature - that assumes a living form through a ritual perfor-
mance. The main characteristic of this cult is that the performer is sup-
posed to be transformed into the divinity; it is not merely a represen-
tation but a living god or goddess that is present to the believers, and
everybody behaves according to that assumption.
The cult of the theyyams is exclusive to the region defined by the
present-day districts of Kannur and Kasaragod, in the north of Kerala,
which approximately corresponds to the Kolatunadu of the classical
and medieval eras of Kerala history. It is fully integrated into Hindu-
ism, if we consider it to be an "indigenous religious synthesis across
378 Perdra
the whole of
(including a
the hegemo
man 1991: 9
It is impos
performed as
although ma
the name, in
fits; even so
worshiped e
population.
The performers belong to the lower castes or tribes of the tra-
ditional social stratification system. Authors do not seem to reach an
agreement as to the number of castes and tribes that perform theyyams ,4
and in my field study I did not have the opportunity to clarify this issue,
but Malayan and Vannan are, by far, the castes with more theyyams
attributed and the most expected to perform.
The performers take over the right to perform from their older
living male relatives: from their father and his brothers, in the case of
the Malayan and a few other patrilineal castes or tribes, or from the
brothers of their mother, in the case of the Vannan and other matri-
lineal groups. It is also within the family that the skills are transmit-
ted, and learned by imitation and copying. The boys from performing
castes start attending the rituals from a very early age, assisting their
fathers and uncles in the ceremonial tasks.
Barbosa describes the participation of women as shouting and
singing "with a great noise." These days, I noticed the participation
of older women, as assistants to the performers, exclusively among
the Malayan and only in a restricted area in the south of the Kannur
district. For the others, the performance and all activities around the
ritual of the theyyams are exclusively male matters. Even if many of the
deities, probably the majority of those performed nowadays, are god-
desses, they are, nevertheless, performed by men. The notable excep-
tion is that of the goddess Devakkutti, worshiped every two years at the
temple placed on the small island of Thekkumbad, which is performed
by an elder woman from a specific Malayan family (Anju 2014).
The main type of ceremony with the participation of theyyams is
the kaliyattam, a festival organized annually in each kavu held by a joint
family, a village commission or a caste community, on a fixed date of
the Kollam calendar5 for each temple. There are also large festivals,
called perumkaliyattam ( peruma,u great" ), which are held at longer time
intervals, such as every five, fifteen, or even twenty-five years, and there
are extraordinary celebrations, called nerchakaliyattam ( nere ha, "offer-
ing"), whenever someone decides to

the temple. Any family can also reques
the inauguration of a new house or to
or some distress.
The cult of Muthappan (Fig. 1), a theyyam that in the last few
decades has obtained exceptional popularity and reputation, also hap-
pens daily at the Parassinikadavu Muthappan Temple and weekly, on
Fridays, at the Railway Station Muthappan Temple in Kannur. It is also
the only theyyam that can rightfully break the geographical boundaries
and travel elsewhere: Muthappan ceremonies are often performed in
other Indian cities outside Kerala and even in Dubai, for instance, for
the benefit of Keralite emigrants.6
The kawš, where the theyyams are commonly performed, are
sacred groves, and they hold a major importance all over India, mostly
for being alternative places of worship for the lower castes. In North
Malabar, at least the ones I visited, the kawš do not have much of a
grove, they are more like a yard, called arangu, adjoining a family house.
It is rectangular and surrounded by a low wall, the ground paved with
dried cow manure, which is easy to keep clean and prevents any dust
from rising. In a central place will be erected the shrine of the main
divinity, surrounded by the shrines of the other deities present at the
kaw. The shrine buildings vary from a simple hut made from coconut
matting to solid laterite brick constructions with elaborated roof deco-
rations (v yala or kimpurusan). Some shrines are just a small compart-
ment in the adjoining family house, with an entrance from the side of
the yard. In specific places of the arangu there will be altars ( kalasha -
tharas ), stones to break coconuts ( thenga kallu), and other structures,
according to the specific ritual needs of each kaw. In the yard, or very
close to it, is a water hole. In most of the kawš I visited there were sacred
trees, related to the resident divinities. Entities like Gullikan, Kurthy,
or Manhalama, for example, are associated with certain types of trees,
and they can only be present in a kaw if there is such a tree. In some
cases the tree may be in an enclosure slightly apart from the arangu, if
the caste or tribe that performs this theyyam has a lower position in the
caste hierarchy to the Malayan and Vannan, who will most commonly
perform in the main shrine. The kavu is, as mentioned above, most
usually adjacent to a joint family house, a tharavadu ? Even if the kavu
belongs not to a family but to a community and is administrated by an
elected commission, there will be a tharavaduWke house to host the
administrative functions, store ritual tools, functional instruments, and
so on. Most of the kawš I visited had been built or rebuilt in the last
three decades, thus showing the vitality of the tradition.
The kaliyattam is, therefore, a family or community celebration
Figure 1. Muthappan and Thiruvappan Theyyam. Parayil Madappuram,
Payyanur, Kannur District, February 2015. (Photo: Filipe Pereira)
that requires the participation of

it also involves most of the other c
with specific functions assigned,
rendering of services, jajmani (D
jātis in charge of collecting wood
oil for the lamps, another will p
clothes for the performers and
that are Muslim heroes or ances
be called upon to participate in t
As a family or community trad
is unique. It has its own theyyam
and these may have particular w
slightly different attire from th
ritual sequence has distinctive fe
vary from three or four to twenty
and a day to four or five consecu
not, be required that a Brahmin pr
hole, for example, or bring a lam
light the lamps at the shrines; it m
rites of passage specific to those
Yet there are two general ch
kaliyattam. First, it will involve
ditional social stratification syst
tribes taking on the performa
divine status, and the whole ritu
of the society, thus adjusting to
ond, the whole of the performa
of transformation, accumulation
sakti, which is not restrained by
may bring out aspects of trans
largely justify the study of they
gists, historians, and other huma
The dynamics of the ritual
changes operating in Indian soci
tute an extraordinary display for
and tensions at play. For exampl
performing troupes and other p
system of mutual rendering of s
social and economic structure, w
being refused by the customary
comers. Also, the cult of the theyy
Dravidic and Brahminical elemen
382 Pereira
turai identit
cult is visib
resistance t
Therefore,
focus on soc
work genera
times with
versus the ar
or appropri
tion of Sans
the weight
cult are ex
political poin
These situ
the ritual t
would refer
activity wh
ing' ascribe
elements w
Figure 2. Pu
Kannur Distr
Frames are of extreme importance

and to its context, and so it is comp
been given to the study of the frame
not identify the ritual as performed.
From the point of view of perfo
of the theyyam bring only a partia
tidimensional; any given perform
poured into it as much as by its con
riences make the structures 'glow'
the experiences" (p. 56).
But how do we study experienc
stand, and describe practices that d
bal logic? Surely we cannot rely on
myth that goes along with the perfor
the explanatory discourse and the
pressure of the mainstream Brahm
tion and appropriation, the form h
able versions. When we look at the
it to the myth that is supposed to su
gressive denial of the narrative that f
Returning to Barbosa's descript
stand the ritual; his prejudices, naï
of the framing elements of the cerem
hending. But, despite this, he descr
actions that I can recognize as the e
Barbosa expounds the "performanc
mation about the framing elements
performance is very similar to his ac
standing of the framing aspects of
from the social (political, economic
what is there to be understood from
The Objectivity of Ritual

"For years, I have dreamed of a
Turner (1987: 54) in his posthumous
pology of Performance. Turner draws
mans, who "reveals himself to himsel
mance, comes to know himself better
of knowing themselves better, "bas
for most purposes, we humans ma
Them, or Ego and Alter, We and T
Alter mirror each other pretty well -
tells Ego what both are!" (p. 81). Th
384 Pereira
it is so releva
understandin
Turner star
methodologi
introduced t
and he kept
notion of so
that calls up
74). In the w
situations -
matic becaus
what they ar
audience' asp
as units of t
conflict sit
of usual and
which there
action, whic
the conflict,
tegration of
zation of irr
1985: 37-41 )
was using th
would use it
With time, a
mance and
speech begin
value to the
The Anthro
1987: 72-98),
ment with b
denounces th
nality of the
jects of stud
consisting of
mance, move
tion, and th
(p. 80).
Performance is experience, "A journey, a test (of self, of sup-
positions about others), a ritual passage, an exposure to peril, and an
exposure to fear" (Turner 1985: 226). And, "in the sense that man is
a self-performing animal - his performances are, in a way, reflexive, in
performing he reveals himself to himself" (Turner 1987: 81). Even if
"the apprehension of meaning of life

perpetual change" (Turner 1987: 98)
experience that meaning is achievab
importance of performance study.
But, again, how do we study expe
correlated notions that help us to be
process: liminality and flow. Liminal
between the position assigned and ar
and ceremonial" (Turner 1969: 95). I
nature is to escape definition. It is t
tion, transgression, and trance. Flow
from the psychologist Mihaly Csiks
in which action follows action accor
apparent need for intervention on our
of ego, the 'self' that normally acts
becomes irrelevant" (Turner 1987: 5
Turner calls upon the biogenetic
d'Aquili, Charles D. Laughlin, and
vide a neurophysiologic explanation
and flow: in summary, these states
pic system, responsible for speech,
processing of sequential informatio
hemisphere of the brain, or the troph
and tonal perception, patterns, emo
generally situated in the right side of
"driving behaviors," resulting in a "
"In particular, they postulate that the
by sonic, visual, photic, and other kin
simultaneous maximal stimulation o
ticipants to experience what the auth
(Turner 1987: 165).
It is here that I link Turner's obs
performing arts, and particularly to t
these driving behaviors, these action
and allow the flow in the ritual perfor
operate in a similar way both in ritu
performers have specific skills to quar
flow and understand the flow induc
Richard Schechner states: "Turne
his life closely paralleled Grotowski's w
tive' elements - tempo, iconography
research is not historical, not how th
(a transliteration of the Hebrew 'Aw
386 Pereira
ur-mantra;
sure is a se
brain struct
a Grotowsk
its source c
responses, b
Jerzy Gro
theatre of t
Theatre," t
that concer
a short accou
started a sm
renamed Te
national rel
stant Princ
States. His p
tecture, ch
the spectato
extreme ph
theatre of t
and Joseph
and student
about his m
cess attaine
Grotowski
was abandon
the consequ
wanted to a
forming th
required. Th
In the word
experiment
by a group
and an atte
beings. [. .
contain the
1997: 210).
Para-theatre was not really an abandonment of theatre, but an
expansion of its frontiers. It was closely related to the historical and cul-
tural context of the 1970s and to the notion of "active culture," which
can be understood as creativity, an action "which gives a sense of ful-
fillment of life, an extending of its dimensions, is needed by many, and
yet remains the domain of very few" (Grotowski 1976; Kumiega 1985:
201). Participation was thus a democrati

ing the spectator to substitute him with
But Grotowski did not take into consideration the lack of tech-
nical preparation of the participants: "In the first years, when a small
group worked thoroughly on this for months and months, and was
later joined only by a few new participants from the outside, things
happened which were on the border of a miracle. However afterwards,
when, in light of this experience, we made other versions, with a view to
include more participants - or when the base group had not passed first
through a long period of intrepid work - certain fragments functioned
well, but the whole descended to some extent into an emotive soup
between the people, or rather into a kind of animation" (Grotowski
1995: 120).
The main lesson to take from the para-theatrical phase was the
impracticality of dilettantism: "It is not goodwill which will save the
work, but it is mastery. Obviously when mastery is here, appears the
question of heart. Heart without mastery is shit. When mastery is here,
we should cope with the heart and with the spirit" (Grotowski 1997:
261). In 1976 Teatr-Laboratorium launched the project Theatre of
Sources. As a result of his journeys, Grotowski had contacts with several
individuals and collectives that worked on performative practices that
touched the "essential." The new assignment employed these contacts
to establish a systematic study not of the performative genres, not of
the techniques, but of the "essential" itself: "What we search for in this
Project are the sources of the technique of sources, and these sources
must be extremely unsophisticated. Everything else developed after-
wards, and differentiated itself according to social, cultural or religious
contexts. But the primary thing should be something extremely simple
and it should be something given to the human being" (p. 261).
Transnational participants, with a high level of involvement in
their traditional practices, individually or integrating their collectives,
took part in working "meetings" lasting a few weeks. The events took
place in several places in Poland and Italy, but also in Haiti, in the
Huichols reservation in Mexico, in Ife and Oshogbo in the Yoruba ter-
ritory in Nigeria, in Bengal, and elsewhere (p. 267). A substantial break
with the strategy used in para-theatre was the individuality of the work:
"In the Theatre of Sources one is 'alone with others.' Even though
people work alongside one another in it, they are in solitude" (Grimes
1997: 271).
Theatre of Sources had an unpredicted ending in 1982, when
Grotowski fled from Poland to avoid martial law and dictatorship. He
started a new project in 1983 in an environment that was unfamiliar
to him: at the University of California, Irvine he launched "objective
388 Pereira
drama" rese
tive drama is concerned with those elements of ancient rituals of vari-
ous world cultures which have a precise and therefore objective impact
on participants, quite apart from solely theological or symbolic signifi-
cance" (Wolford 1996: 9).
The matter of "objectivity" in Grotowski is rather complex.
According to Osiński (1997: 385-386), there were two sources for the
concept: first Gurdjieff, to whom an "objective art" would have an extra
and supra-individual quality and could reveal the laws of the destiny of
mankind; second, Juliusz Osterwa, director of Reduta,11 who discussed
the objectivity of art and the possibility of it affecting all the people in
a way that they could not even perceive. The questions formulated now
were: which elements, structures, or tools have an objective impact over
the performer? Are there techniques, places, movements, bodily or
vocal vibrations that influence the performer and transform his energy,
allowing him to enter a state of flow of impulses?
Grotowski did not remain involved for long in this program.12
But the questions formulated, which were already coming from the
previous phases of his work, transited to the next and definitive chapter
of his research. In 1986 he established his Workcenter in Pontedera,
Italy, within the structure of the Centro per la Sperimentazione e la
Ricerca Teatrale (Center for Experimentation and Theatre Research),
to conduct a practical study on art as vehicle.
The designation "art as vehicle" was coined by Peter Brook,
referring to the work of Grotowski, and it is used to label this final stage
of his research. Grotowski also refers to it as "objectivity of ritual" or
"ritual arts." "Ritual" must be understood here not as a ceremony nor a
celebration nor an improvisation. The reference to ritual concerns the
objectivity of its elements, conceived as tools to operate the body, the
heart, and the mind of the "doer" (Grotowski 1995: 122).
The first feature of this demarche is of a performance with no
spectators. If so, it would not differ from a theatre rehearsal, but there
is an important distinction: the montage is made from the perspective
of the performer. Montage has been a central subject to the method-
ological questioning of Grotowski during the "phase of productions":
it is the task of the theatre director to create a path for the interest of
the spectator, allowing him an individual reading of the performance
and, at the same time, creating a veil over the intimate partition of the
performer. In art as vehicle there are no spectators but, still, it "looks
to create the montage not in the perception of the spectators, but in the
artists who do" (p. 120), by building an "organic" score that responds to
(and challenges) the vital impulses of the "doer."
Grotowski uses the metaphor of the elevator: "The performance
is like a big elevator of which the

are in this elevator, the performanc
event to another. If this elevator
that the montage is well done. A
elevator: it's some kind of basket
lifts himself toward a more subtl
instinctual body. This is the objectiv
Art as vehicle is therefore a model for the construction of indi-
vidual performative rituals. Employing Turner's terminology, it seeks

to establish and maintain a liminal condition through the achievement
of a state of flow and, by the reflexive nature of the performer, reveal
him/herself to him/herself. It is also important to be aware that, while
the rituals of the traditions are transmitted and learned by means of
imitation and copy, in art as vehicle the performance is built individu-
ally by and for professional performers, who put a great emphasis on
the technical aspects of the execution, thus augmenting the reflexive
aspect of the process.
To conclude this brief presentation of art as vehicle, allow me
just to outline that, to Grotowski, there is no gradient on performance:
an action is total or it is not an action, but a mere activity. A total action
requires individuality: an individual is hie et nunc, the one that cannot
be divided, the head, the heart, and the body is a whole. The action
is, thus, physical and can be perceived by the physical impulses that
flow through the body, starting from its center and streaming toward
its periphery. These impulses correspond to a motivation, which is a
reaction to a previous action, to the environment, or to others. There
is no action without a motivation, and a total and extraordinary action
requires an equally total and extraordinary motivation. It is the motiva-
tion that determines the dynamic qualities of the action, like direction,
tempo-rhythm, intensity, vocal resonance and volume, and so on.
Applying Turner and Grotowki's notions to the ritual of the y-
yams, the first result is that not all of the ritual is performance: a great
deal of the events developed during the ceremony consist of activity.
Lighting a bonfire, preparing the altars, organizing the ritual objects in
their proper order, reciting the adequate prayers, doing the required
poojas (offerings), and preparing and serving a meal for the commu-
nity are integral parts of the ritual. Yet, in light of Grotowski's pur-
poses, they do not qualify as performance: they do not require a total
and extraordinary motivation, they cannot be perceived as physical
impulses, and they have no need for the kind of presence and aware-
ness from a "here and now" holistic individual. The ritual referred to
as a kaliyattam should then be understood as a combination of several
framing activities with a definitive performative sequence of dancing,
390 Perdra
singing, an
designates
From my
theyyam, I
It is throug
and duratio
former acq
that vritha
To obtain it
ing about th
of the mant
tha is "to b
vehemently
On the day
of transform
used the te
and it is a
The recitat
painting of
a designed
body "writ
theyyam pr
The perfo
friendship
asserts that
collected f
between th
was throug
of those act
of the sakti
kalasa (scor
of the they
maintains the state of transformation.
As for the transformation, one question seemed relevant to me:
if the theyyam occupy the body and mind of the performer, where does
his self go? An elderly Panikkar13 gave me a vehement reply: "If ekacin-
tha means that I only think about the theyyam, I don't think about 'I,'
there is no 'L'" Subjectivity, the self, is a product of the mind; if the
mind is focused on die performance, there is no self.
Equipped with these notions, which very closely relate to
Grotowski's ideas, I could now look at the performance of a kaliyat-
tam with different eyes. First of all, I would dismiss from my attention
anything that was not strictu sensu kaliyattam, to dance a story. Of course
there was a meal, blessings, all ki

my framework, this was not per
agree with me; they would proba
locals, the different aspects of th
liminal, are so strongly interlaced
Next, I could observe the perf
would allow me to evaluate: Did th
tha, did he have a "presence" and
he was "here and now," undivided
not see his motivations, but I cou
through his body. And I could ev
actions, the tension lines drawn
rhythm and intensity of his danc
see if his body was glowing with en
performance he had attained a sta
To my surprise, a great num
achieve flow. It took me some time to realize that the ceremonies that
better suited my purposes were mostly in small kavus held by families

in rural areas and to make acquaintance and create ties with a number
of village performers with whom I could talk about the subjects that
concerned me. But on many occasions I saw theyyams just going about
their ceremonial activities and not engaged in the level I (following
Grotowski and Turner) designate as performing: dancers were some-
times bored and often displaying their ego without any objections from
the organizers or participants in the ritual, which surprised me the
most. A conversation I had with a local informant may provide some
light. I was disappointed that, in the previous days, I had seen "men
disguised as theyyams but no real theyyams." My friend could not under-
stand my statement, and it took some effort to clarify our mutual points
of view. I was complaining about the lack of flow in the performance;
the performers were doing the stipulated activities, but there was no
motivation, no energy. For me there was no theyyam because I could
not see the transformation, accumulation, and transmission of sakti
For my informant, as a believer, any man having the hereditary right to
perform a theyyam, appropriately dressed and painted, and performing
the prescribed ritual procedures, is a theyyam and should be worshiped
as such. The occurrence of sakti is a demonstration of the divine pres-
ence, but faith dismisses the need of confirmation.
On another occasion I attended the daily cult of Muthappan
at the Parassinikadavu temple. There were about 120 people attend-
ing the brief performance, and, when they lined up to receive bless-
ings from the theyyams, I considered waiting to see how the performers
would conclude the ceremony. To my surprise, the line of believers kept
392 Perdra
growing, an
for the next four or five hours. The believers did not care about the
performance; they were after the ritual to receive the blessings of the
gods. I cannot recognize any process of transformation, accumulation,
and transmission of energy, sacred or otherwise, in this practice, but,
to the believers, these blessings were as good as any blessing that could
be received from a living god.
My field research on the theyyam was just a short preliminary
study. I would need more time to approach the "objective" elements
of the process. Learning a mantra and its technique of recitation,
studying the choreography and the steps of a few dances, evaluating
its technique of imbalance, understanding the notion of kalasa and
what are its constituents for a few theyyams, grasping the practical cir-
cumstances of the achievement of ekacintha - these are a few relevant
aspects for an ethnography of the performance of the theyyams. Not
an easy task if we consider that these are sacral functions that are
transmitted as a heritage within some closed family groups, but still
possible.
My next task would be, by a hermeneutic operation, to be able
to somehow describe a process that is nonverbal and nonlogical. I am
not so certain this is feasible, but it is surely worth trying.
Returning to my original question - what did Barbosa see when
he saw the theyyam? - it seems that, in his naïveté and with all his preju-
dices, he saw (and described) an extraordinary liminal performance,
led by flow and generative of presence - awareness and energy. And
that is what, five centuries later, we can still see in theyyam, if we look at
it from the perspective of performance.
NOTES
1. Panera in Ramusio, Panceni in the Portuguese version from 18

Pancens in the Portuguese version from 1946.
2. 1 use the terms "caste" and "tribe" with reluctance and because th
are unavoidable. The term jāti would be better appropriated instead of ca
and adivasi in the place of tribe.
3. The temple for the lower castes that, until recently, were exclud
from the Brahminical temples. For a better understanding of the kavu an
role in Kerala, see, for instance, Uchiyamada (1995), Induchoodan (19
and Maniyath (2006).
4. To M. P. Damodaran they are Malayan, Vannan, Velan, Pulayan,
Anjutan, Munnutan, Mavilan, Chingathan, Kopalan, and Karimpalan (Da
daram 2008: 284). Theodore Gabriel adds to this list the Chiravar, Paniy
Adiyans, and Kalanatis (Gabriel 2010: 17) . To Jayarąjan, they are Malayan, Van
nan, Velan, Koppalan, Mavilan, Pula

than (Jayarajan 2008: 84). John Fre
M. V. Visnu Nambutiri, had told him
forming castes (Freeman 1991: 174)
5. One of the many calendars in
official calendar in Kerala. It has tw
those being used in the center and s
the north, in the same two districts w
6. For a better understanding of
Muthappan cult, see Gabriel (2010)
7. The institution of the tharavadu
gated by Gough (1954) and Menon (
not find any reference to the insti
jātis, although all the individuals
tharavadu , with the exception of the
lies as illlams (patrilineal houses) . T
that a family may possess a house
structure (marumakkathayam) . The w
the tharavadu had a role in the feud
by the Nair. With little further inf
apart from the Nair, my hypothesi
and advantageous economic conditio
established tharavadus , copying the
integration.
8. An illustration or diagram made on the ground with colored pow-
der or spices, much like other Hindu yantras or Buddhist mandalas.
9. Mayuri Koga (2003) gives a good account of the political controver-
sies within the theyyam, describing the changing situation since independence.
The problem closely relates to strategic separation between art and ritual and
classification of the theyyam as ritual or art.
10. Chandran (2006) gives the example of Pottan Theyyam: the name
of this deity means deaf-and-dumb, and its performance, having no systematic
pattern, is a pottan kali , a fool's play. According to the myth, he was a low-caste
untouchable Pulaya, walking along a narrow path and carrying a pot filled
with palm wine. As a Brahmin approached from the opposite direction, he
was supposed to step aside to make way for the upper caste, respecting the
polluting distance. But, instead, the Pulaya began questioning untouchability
and the caste system in the most pertinent way: "If I cut myself, will I not bleed,
just the same as you do?" So far, this is a subversive legend but, T. V. Chandran
argues, the interpolation of a Hindu story turns Pottan into an avatar of Shiva
and the upper caste into a great Indian philosopher. The myth gains a new
dimension: Lord Shiva came into the path of the philosopher to enlighten
him through his questioning, and when the Brahmin realized he was in the
presence of the God, Shiva blesses him. In this revised version of the legend,
the questions put forth by Pottan remain unanswered but the caste system is
blessed and confirmed.
394 Perdra
ll.A Polish
1919 to 1939
consisted in
12. In the
Grotowski (1
of the Object
cism he addr
13. Panikkar
king to an o
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Ritual Liminality and Frame: What Did Barbosa See When He Saw the "Theyyam"?

Author(s): Filipe Pereira

An anecdotal account of a ritual from the south of India by a Portuguese adventurer

I first came across this excerpt from Duarte Barbosa's 1516

1516. In 1519 he was in Spain and joined

ing"), whenever someone decides to

that requires the participation of

Frames are of extreme importance

The Objectivity of Ritual

"the apprehension of meaning of life

201). Participation was thus a democrati

is like a big elevator of which the

vidual performative rituals. Employing Turner's terminology, it seeks

there was a meal, blessings, all ki

better suited my purposes were mostly in small kavus held by families

1. Panera in Ramusio, Panceni in the Portuguese version from 18

nan, Velan, Koppalan, Mavilan, Pula

Gabriel, Theodore. 2010.

"From the Theatre C

The Future of Ritual

The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. New York: Aldine De

On the Edge of the Bus

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