Close to four hundred forms and two chief performing communities: Theyyam in North Malabar

Background

Theyyam is the ritual art of North Malabar, performed in Kannur, in parts of Kasargod and Wayanad, in the northern reaches of Kozhikode and in some areas of Karnataka. The performer is held to embody the divine energy, and while the ritual lasts the Theyyam is venerated by people of every caste. Kerala Tourism counts nearly four hundred different Theyyams, grouped as major and minor ones, among them goddesses and gods, tree gods and mountain gods, warriors and hunting deities. Muchilottu Bhagavathy, Kathivannur Veeran and Muthappan are among the major forms, while Bappiriyan Theyyam and Ummachi Theyyam carry Muslim characters, which is how the art form crosses religious lines. The chief performers come from the Malayan and the Vannan communities, both of which are categorised as Scheduled Castes. A performer prepares through Vrutham, a strict observance of fasting, prayer, meditation and daily ritual. Its season opens on the tenth of the Malayalam month Thulaam, around mid-October, and closes in the middle of Edavam. The season is under way: Kerala Tourism lists it among this month's journeys in the State, with drums sounding in the village shrines of Kannur and Kasaragod.