Bhuta Kola

Būta Kōlā (Tulu: Bhūta Kōla), also referred to as Bhūta Kolam, Daiva Kōlā or Daiva Nēmā, is a Hindu folk dance performance practised, believed and protected by the Tuluvas of Tulu Nadu and parts of Malenadu of Karnataka and Kasargod in northern Kerala, India. The dance is highly stylised and performed as part of "Bhootaradhane" or "Daivaaradhane" or worship of the local deities of the Tulu-speaking population in South India. It has influenced Yakshagana folk theatre. Būta kōlā is closely related to Theyyam of North Malabar region and some parts of Karnataka. Theyyam is an evolved form of Būta Kōla. Theyyam, in turn, shares similarities with a similar Hindu folk dance called Thirayattam. It involves extended chanting of Tulu Ballards and ceremonial preparations that typically span 8 to 10 hours. The ritual culminates with the placement of the mudi (sacred headgear) on the performer, a moment believed to mark the entry of the deity into the performer's body. As part of the process, the performer consumes madhyam or Kali (toddy), which is believed to suppress the person's consciousness, allowing the divine consciousness of the daiva to manifest. This practice aligns with philosophical concepts found in Hindu texts such as the Yoga Vasistha, which describe how divine entities (devatas) can enter the human body, parakāya praveśanam at a Paramanu level.¶

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Buta Kola”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence.¶

Bhuta Kola is Ritual folk dance from India, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition.¹¶

The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation.¹¶