KERALA: THEYYAM

Theyyam' can be broken down to mean 'dance of God', and etymologically speaking, it
could come from 'daivam', meaning 'god' in Malayalam, and 'attam' meaning 'dance'.
Theyyam is a popular ritual form of dance worship in Kerala. Theyyam consisted of several
thousand-year-old traditions, rituals and customs. The performers of Theyyam belong to the
lower caste community in ancient caste structure formed by Namboothiri brahmins in Kerala, and
have an important position in Theyyam. The people of these districts consider Theyyam itself as
a channel to a God and they thus seek blessings from Theyyam. It is performed by mainly by
males, except the Devakoothu theyyam. The Devakoothu is the only Theyyam ritual performed
by women.

RITUAL PERFORMANCE:
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.
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. The first part of the performance is
usually known as Vellattam or Thottam. It is performed without proper make-up or any decorative
costume. Only a small, red headdress is worn on this occasion.
There are different patterns of face-painting. Some of these patterns are called vairadelam,
kattaram, kozhipuspam, kottumpurikam, and prakkezhuthu. Then the dancer comes in front of
the shrine and gradually "metamorphoses" into the particular deity of the shrine. He, after
observation of certain rituals places the head-dress on his head and starts dancing. In the
background, folk musical instruments like chenda, tudi, kuzhal and veekni are played in a certain
rhythm. All the dancers take a shield and kadthala (sword) in their hands as continuation of the
weapons. The Theyyam dance has different steps known as Kalaasams. Each Kalasam is
repeated systematically from the first to the eighth step of footwork. A performance is a
combination of playing of musical instruments, vocal recitations, dance, and peculiar makeup
(usually predominantly orange) and costumes. The Kathivanoor Veeran Theyyam is one of the
famous theyyam in Kerala.

TYPES OF THEYYAM:
1. Vishnumoorthy
It is the most popular Vaishnava Theyyam.This theyyam narrates and performs the story of
Hiranyakashipu's death by the Lord Vishnu in his avatar of Narasimham. It is because of this,
that Vishnumoorthi has another name, 'Narasimha Moorthi' [half man and half lion avtar of
Vishnu].

2.Shree Muthapan Theyyam

Muthapan Theyyam consists of two divine figures is considered as the personification of two
divine figures— the Thiruvappana or Valiya Muttapan(Vishnu) and the Vellatom or Cheriya
Muttapan(Shiva). It is different from other theyyams as it is performed all around the year.
Muthappan Anthithira is another theyyam dedicated to Muthapan. The uniqueness of it is that it is
performed only once in all the Muthapan temples.
3. Padikutti Amma The Padikuttiyamma is believed to be the mother of Muthapan. The
Padikutti Amma Theyyam is performed in the Palaprath Temple in Kodallur near Parassini
Kadavu in the Meenam(a Malayalam month).

4. Gulikan Gulikan represents Yama, the Hindu God of death, called Yama. The
Benkanakavu (Venganakavu) in Nileshwar is the most famous temple dedicated to Gulikan. 5.
Manakkott Amma Manakkott Amma Theyyam is performed in the Vairajathan
Temple in Nileshwar. The Manakott was a woman born in a Nair family. She opposed the caste
system that existed at that time. When she broke a caste rule, she was killed by the head of the
family. She was pregnant at that time. Her murder caused a lot of problems in their family and
was finally destroyed. Later she emerged as a Goddess.

6. Madayil Chamundi Chamundi is the same Kali who killed the Chandamundans and
got up and drank the blood of the Raktabijasura without falling to the ground. Chamundi is also
known as 'Rakta Chamundi' and 'Rakteshwari' because she is immersed in blood. It is said that
in the battle with the savages, Kali followed them to the underworld and fought. It is called
'Pathalamoorthy' and 'Madayil Chamundi' because he went to the underworld. [9]
Chamundi is a form of Durga Bhagavathy to slay the demons Chandan and Mundan. The same
goddess is also known as Raktachamundi as she kills the demon RakthaBijasura. [9]
Known as Kundora Chamundi, Kundadi Chamundi and Kundoor Chamundi, this goddess is the
image of Kali who killed Darikasura. This theyyam is built by Velanmar.