A Theyyam Run

Preamble- Ramble

It is difficult to pinpoint  when Curiosity became Desire and when Desire turned into  Obsession . But, that it was brewing for  quite a while is true. 

Our Mysore being in close proximity to North Kerala ( Malabar -Wayanad), one  grew up with the "general knowledge" that  that part of God's Own Country  also had a lively , thriving culture of  its own Spirits, Shamans and Vamachara rituals ("black magic "type), all of  which went back to the Beginning  of Time. 

One also knew that they  called their Spirits "Theyyams" ( derived from  "Deivam" meaning Supernatural Being  or God ) who made an appearance between October and April to drive away diseases , ensure good crop and give other blessings. 

Sometime in late 1990s , the very early days of Web Logging, a blogpost  by an European lady had caught attention. She had documented everything about  a Theyyam ritual : selection of the candidate, his rigorous preparatory penance , making costumes , face-painting , communing with the Spirit , getting into trance and delivering the Oracular blessing. It was enthralling ! ....

And the wish - "Someday!" - took root.

Long Interval - on back burner. 

On a recent lazy day, some Deivam decided to poke me  to search the Net for a Theyyam Tour facilitator . And....

......by evening, all data was collected , all arrangements made and the calender marked in red.  

The Trip

Three days of  sheer sensory overload ! when timetables disappeared and we were hitting  the road at both holy and unholy hours , chasing Theyyams all around remote hamlets , Rubber plantations, Clan Houses and Marxist townships . Frequently passing by a town square where a giant cement Crow ,with a rake in its beak , stood preaching Swacchata .

The Cab Driver cum Guide  was often on phone , collecting latest info about event locations from his local network . Reminded of how Jungle Wardens combing different routes in  Kanha Wildlife Sanctuary  kept exchanging radio messages about Big-Cat movements to plot a grand  sighting !

 During January-February , considered Peak Season, dozens of Theyyams can happen around a single town or village .Tour Guides like to keep abreast of latest developments in order to be present at a particular place at a particular time so that the visitor gets to see a Theyyam at its spectacular best . 

To understand the above scheming , it is necessary to understand  a few basics about Theyyam :

1. Theyyam  is not  a "performance" by a person who dresses up as the Deivam  ( like Kathakali), but is the phenomenon of  the person  "Becoming" a Deivam. It is also called Kaliyattam or Thira .

2. The Performers do not get on a "Stage" in full regalia at the ring of a bell. There is no Stage . The ritual happens in open space ( kalam) a yard in front of a Shrine (ambalam) or a Clan House ( Tharavaad)or a Sacred Grove( Kaavu) . There is no spectator zone , no reserved spots/seats . No placeholders. People can and do move around freely all over, even as the Theyyam dances. 

3. The ritual unfolds step by step, the Theyyam looking different in  each segment . The most spectacular visual is of course towards the end.   

4. Each event is a long drawn out affair with no fixed timings . It is a religious ritual where the Spirit blesses everyone who lines up to receive Grace, as and when they come.

5. Posters announcing Theyyams can be seen all over and notices mentioning a time will also be distributed. But it is best to take that printed Time Schedule with a bag of salt . Unless and until the village is shaken by the big bang of a few "Vedi"s ( bomb-crackers), the show will not start . And Vedis dont sound unless and until the performers are ready. And performers are ready ...only when they are ! So forget the watch, find a place to sit back and wait. In a village, people only smile , never complain !

A typical Theyyam Ritual goes like this :

The Clan House or Temple that organises the Kaliyattam ie, the Theyyam, invites the chosen person formally by giving him Betel Leaf and nuts, specifying the date and place. This ritual of assigning the person ( or Kolakkaran) is called Adayalam Kodukkal. Having accepted the assignment, the Kolakkaran starts his penance : 9 , 17 or 21 days of strict abstinence and contemplation of the deity . 

Persons who undertake the Fire Theyyams undergo particularly rigorous schedules to totally identify with the Deivam, keeping to themselves in a secluded "aniyara" ( thatch shed where the paraphernalia is stored) for it is believed that even the slightest deviation from sense of purpose or identification can cause severe mishaps during the actual ritual. 

The Chosen Ones are expected to be conversant with all aspects of the Theyyam Ritual like narrating the story, playing the drums, preparing the make up and costumes, the various rituals, dancing the steps and uttering the Blessings/ Oracles.

On The Day of The Theyyam :

Thudangal ( the Start) consists of the Priest of the Shrine or the Head of The Clan House, handing over a lighted wick , placed in a wad of half folded banana leaves , which the performer takes around , waving to the four directions in propitiation. 

Then the Story ( of the particular Theyyam)  is chanted  in an archaic language to the melancholic beat of two drums. This part is called  Thottam. The Kolam ( "Form" ) is not in full costume or make up yet. The Kolakkaran   just wears a rudimentary head scarf, a red skirt and very little  paint on his face. After the story telling , he retires to the shade of a tree which serves  as The Green Room and starts dressing up. The face paint is home-made , using natural pigments . Base paint is self applied , while intricate designs in red , black and white are drawn over it by an assistant , using a stick ( rib of coconut frond) , not a brush . 

With a vivid orange colored face ,  heavy anklets ( Chilambu)  clanging ,  a pretty tiara-like headgear and sashes around the waist, the Theyyam comes to the Yard again,  looking into a hand mirror . The Head Gear ( Mudi ) is still not on . The ritual of gazing at self's reflection in mirror is called Nookodi - or Mukhadarsanam -and is said to help the costumed person metamorphose into the Deivam.  

Now the drums sound livelier . The Theyyam starts the preliminary dance, called Vellattam , shuffling, whirling and gliding gracefully,  repeating the designated dance steps  a certain  number of times. Then the Deivam consecrates some items like grains, coconuts , daggers / sickles etc placed in a sanctified spot. A sword and a small shield are mandatorily brandished for a while by all kolams , irrespective of the Story. 

Vellattam can be a brief prelude or can be a long performance - sometimes on the previous day too, if the Theyyam is a particularly powerful one. 

As that is happening , the assistants bring the larger , more flamboyant parts of the costume like the enormous Head gear, ear extensions, breast plate , shoulder pads etc and fix them on the Theyyam . Palm fronds, arecanut wood and bamboo splices are the light-weight raw materials  used for making those extravagant headgears - called "Mudi" - which, ideally,should not weigh more than 500grams each. 

(All Theyyams are male , except one single Theyyam called Devakkoothu of Thekkumbad Kulom that is performed by a woman.) 

When the Theyyam is all dressed and ready , men with  lit lamps or burning fire brands appear before it and start walking backwards , inviting the Theyyam to advance in their path in a slow swaying march . Thus positioned, they all circumambulate the little shrine , a given number of times. 

The full blown dancing follows , with frequent vigorous whirling , as Chendai , Tudi and other drums beat in crescendo. 

After a while , the Theyyam stops dancing and rests on a wooden seat  to sip some coconut water . People line up with offerings to get blessed . The  Blessing consists of a few words of comfort and a big pinch of Turmeric powder ( Manjakkuri) . Soon, the dancing resumes. Then, again,  a blessing interval. This alternating pattern is repeated till all devotees have been blessed and the Theyyam has been honoured by the family or temple committee  that organised it . So , time is elastic .

Beheading a rooster and offering its blood to the Theyyam is quite common. As is offering of Toddy. 

Renumeration for the Theyyam performer from the organiser : some money, cloth, grains and other produce . In addition,  the  money he gets as offerings  from seekers of his blessing . Still, it is tough life . In the non-Theyyam Season, he has to take up any work he can  get - from tilling fields to driving autorickshaws,

Most Theyyams are annual affairs , but some are conducted only once in 12 or 21 years and are called Perumkaliyattams which are mega festivals organised by the local government , with public contributions . Mass public feeding is also part of such festivals.

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Transient Art

The make up and costuming take a lot of time . Everything is hand made . The face designs are intricate and different for each character. Costumes ,fixed on armatures made of bamboo splices, are made of red fabric and metal embellishments. These are in the form of pieces which are fitted and sewn into place like jigsaw puzzles . Major portions are made of palm fronds , freshly fashioned just before performance . Small red flowers that grow wild in the woods, called Chekki Poo (Ixora ) are used  in great quantities, woven into thick fluffy braids and garlands. And particularly as ear coverings for the Fire Theyyams as it is believed the flowers provide protection from heat. 

Right after the end of performance, the tacks on the costume are cut and the de-inked  fabric parts bundled into a sheet . The beautiful palm leaf decorations are ripped and thrown away . They turn brown and wither within half an hour ! The performer by now would have wiped away all that meticulously drawn face paint with a casual rub of coconut oil . Intricate Artworks  gone in a jiffy ! 

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The Who  

Forces of Nature , Totemic Animals and Serpents, Ancestors and Clan Heros become Theyyams. Many are primordial Mother Goddesses , Bhagavathis. 

Kali/Chamundi , Vishnumoorthi ( as Narasimha) and Vettakkormakan ( Shiva's Son) are some deities from the "Mainstream" pantheon adopted into the Theyyam fold. And some Puranic stories are also enacted now .  But the brute majority are Grama Devatas, hyper-local Supernatural Beings. They are generally fearsome , demanding and do not care for nice codes of conduct (Pertinently , the word Deiva morphs into Deyya , meaning Ghoul , in Kannada !) 

The people who become Theyyams are all from  the classes labeled 'The Others' by those who, historically,  consider themselves High Born . But truth to tell , the so-called Others are the true salt of a land , they ARE that land , like its soil, its rocks and its springs. In Government records , they are  categorised as SC-ST . 

People who were wronged , especially Women who were dishonoured and caused to lose life ( by murder or suicide ) figure majorly as  Grama-Devatas in The South.  Paying homage to these Spirits with votives and offerings reflects that society's collective guilt , fear of retribution and desire to express remorse  and appeasement. In Malabar, such Grama Devatas become Theyyams .  During a Theyyam ritual , the High Born bows to receive blessings of  the Spirit that was once Othered ( and/or Oppressed), but now elevated to divine status  . A comeuppance of sorts. 

The most famous  Theyyam is Muchilottu Bhagavathi and her story is typical. She strove to gain knowledge in a society dominated by rabid patriarchy . Her  initiative in educating herself, her intelligence and courage threatened  male hegemony and,  in the name of testing her wisdom , the Chiefs and Pandits branded her Immoral , driving her to kill herself. But soon her Spirit manifested its power in different ways and she was made a Bhagavathi ! This kolam is one of the most gorgeous and elaborate of all Theyyams. 

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Fire Theyyams

These make for the most spectacular visuals and  take place before dawn or around midnight. During this , the Theyyam runs through a blazing bonfire or on glowing live embers . It is called Ottakolam , ie single performer . Not all Theyyams end in  Running through Fire, only those whose Stories warrant it . 

Only tremendous Faith can make a person undertake such rituals voluntarily. 

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Shades Of Grey :

Are the Deivams Benevolent or Malevolent ? Hard to categorise. They are this or that alternately or both or neither ....For instance:

Kandanar Kelan was a strongman who was asked to clear forests for creating agricultural land and while doing so , got killed in a forest fire. Though a Hero , he had strong shades of grey . He could do both good and harm as a person, so too as a Spirit ! 

Kutti Chattan is another  famous Theyyam with an ambiguous personality. He has extraordinary capabilities and can be , by some tantra, controlled to achieve impossible things.  Yet, one small slip or aberration can turn his powers on the controller himself. Using the said tantra is like walking on a blade under a hanging sword , they say, so it is best to just leave him alone and honour  him occasionally , than to meddle with him. The Manor of the Family  in which he was born , Kalakkattillam, is still around and hosts his Theyyams. 

So too , another mischievous sprite called Gulikan . 

One cannot help thinking of Kuttichattan or Gulikan as an allegory  for some  modern technological innovations that are starting to show more and more shades of grey . 

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Lost in mists of History 

There is no consensus on when exactly the tradition of Theyyams began in Kerala. Mythology of course attributes it to Parashurama, as most things are in Kerala !

Some researchers point out that Sangam Literature ( 3BCE -3CE) has references to shamans called Velans who were called in to exorcise demons that possessed young girls. Velan is one of the communities that still perform Theyyams. 

Historical evidences go back a few centuries to the reign of Kolathiris ( 16th - 17th Century) in  Kolathunad ( the region of Kannur and Kasargod  today).  One Manakkadan Gurukkal of Karivellur , an Occultist adept in Indrajalam and Mantrajalam, is said to have passed every difficult test he was put through by the Kolathiri to win for himself the title of Guru . Upon the King's suggestion, he is believed to have regularised, modified and codified the various disparate practices prevalent till then and gave a form to Theyyams, followed now. 

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The Folklore Akademi Museum at Chirakkal Palace premises has models of all important  Theyyams of Malabar , with good captions and info boards. The different Face markings, with technical names for each design, and costume accessories  are also exhibited. It was nice to see a photo gallery of Scholars who have contributed  much towards research in this field. Unfortunately , the museum does not sell any publication about Theyyams. 

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The one  last  thought : 

Nature too is like the Theyyams :  Benevolent , Malevolent , Both or Neither . It is Nirguna . But with Immense Potential . And the credo with which it responds to Man is : "Thank you, same to you" . 

It shall do unto you what you do unto it. 

Karma, plain and simple. 

It is entirely up to us humans, how we choose to treat and co-exist with that "Bhagawathi". 

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