Kothammuriyattam

The tradition & historical record

Theyyam also known as Kaliyattam, is an Indian ritual practiced in the North Malabar Region of Kerala and some parts of neighbouring Karnataka. It involves extended singing of ritual songs related to the performing Theyyam 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 (toddy), which is believed to suppress personal consciousness, allowing the divine consciousness of the devatha 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. Theyyam consists of traditions, rituals and customs associated with temples and sacred groves of Malabar. The people of the region consider Theyyam itself as a channel to a god and they thus seek blessings from Theyyam. In Kerala, Theyyam is performed predominantly in the North Malabar region (consisting of present-day Kasargod, Kannur districts, Mananthavady Taluk Of Wayanad And Vadakara And Koyilandy taluks of Kozhikode). ¹

There are about 456 types of Theyyams documented. Theyyam is mainly performed by males, except the Devakkoothu theyyam which is performed by women. Devakoothu is performed only in the Thekkumbad Kulom temple. Theyyam is typically performed by people from castes and tribes like Pulayar, Vannan, Malayan, Anhoottan, Munnoottan, Mavilan, Koppalan, Velan, Chingathan, Kalanaadi, Paravan, and Nalikeyavar. Of these, Kalanaadi people perform only in Wayanad district, while Parava, Pambada, Paanaara and Nalikeyavar perform in places north of Kerala, Mangalapuram (Mangalore) and Udupi districts. ¹

Theyyam has a long history. "There can be no doubt," say Bridget and Raymond Alchin, "that a very large part of this modern folk religion is extremely ancient and contains traits which originated during the earliest periods of Neolithic, Chalcolithic settlement and expression." There are approximately 400 types of Theyyam, including Kathivanoor Veeran, Vishnumoorthy Theyyam, Vettakkorumakan and Sree Muthappan. Theyyam may have its origins in ancestor worship. It has been observed that a vast majority of the Theyyam deities have their origin in Thiyya castes. The ancestor worship ritual was evolved into the elaborate dance ritual, that is seen nowadays, by incorporating many other local beliefs. ¹

According to K. K. N. Kurup, it can be said that all the prominent characteristics of primitive, tribal, religious worship had widened the stream of Theyyam, where "even the followers of Islam are associated with the cult in its functional aspect" and made it a deep-rooted folk religion of millions. For instance, Bhagavathi, the mother goddesses had and still has an important place in Theyyam. Besides this, practices like spirit worship, ancestor worship, hero-worship, masathi-worship, tree worship, animal worship, serpent worship, the worship of the goddesses of disease and the worship of Gramadevata (Village-Deity) are included in the mainstream of the Theyyam. Along with these gods and goddesses there exist innumerable folk gods and goddesses. Most of these goddesses are known as Bhagavathy. Different branches of mainstream Hindu religion such as Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Shaivism now dominate Theyyam. However, the forms of propitiation and other rituals are continuations of a very ancient tradition. In several cult-centres, blood offering is seen, which is forbidden in Buddhism and Jainism. In such centres, separate places outside the precincts of the shrine are selected for blood offerings and for the preparation of the traditional Kalam (square made for this sacrifice occasion) known as Vadakkan Vathil. The Theyyam deities propitiated through cock-sacrifice will not enter such shrines. This religious cockfight over blood sacrifice, which does also include the cockfight as a blood sacrifice, is a prime example of "cultural synthesis of 'little' and 'great' cultures". On account of the late revival of the Vaishnavism movement in Kerala, it does not have a deep impact on Theyyam. Only a few deities are available under this category. ¹

Out of devotion, ruling clans established their own shrines and Kavus for Theyyam deities where non-sattvic rituals and customs are observed. The goddesses like Rakteshwari, Chamundi, Someshwari, Kurathi, and the gods like Vishnumoorthi are propitiated in these household shrines. There, the Theyyam dancers appear during the annual festivals of gods and goddesses. The rituals in such shrines are different from those of the Brahmanical temples. This fusion in the later stage is an indication of the gradual introduction of civilization into Southern India with increasing Aryan influence and assimilation of local cultures into the large Vedic religion. ¹

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. Performance of a particular deity according to its significance and hierarchy in the shrine continues for 12 to 24 hours with intervals. 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. The dancer along with the drummers recites the particular ritual song, which describes the myths and legends, of the deity of the shrine or the folk deity to be propitiated. This is accompanied by the playing of folk musical instruments. After finishing this primary ritualistic part of the invocation, the dancer returns to the green room. Again after a short interval, he appears with proper make-up and costumes. There are different patterns of face painting. Some of these patterns are called vairadelam, kattaram, kozhipuspam, kottumpurikam, and prakkezhuthu. Mostly primary and secondary colours are applied with contrast for face painting. It helps in effecting certain stylization in the dances. Then the dancer comes in front of the shrine and gradually "metamorphoses" into the particular deity of the shrine. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Theyyam”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Kothammuriyattam is type of dance, 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. ²

The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. ²