User:Athul Madhavan

= THEYYAM =

INTRODUCTION
Theyyam is the popular ritual art form of Northern Kerala,especially in the districts of Kannur and Kasargod. The Theyyam dance is performed in front of the village shrine, groves(kavu), and in the houses as ancestor worship. The theyyam period is from the 10th of Malayalam month Thulam (October/November) and comes to a close by the end of June.

ABOUT THE ART
Man assumes the form of God and performs in front of the crowd.People come to see the performance and seek blessing from the God.People believes the Gods assure prosperity and peace to society. The performers of Theyyam belong to communities like Vannan, Malayan, Mavilan, Pulayar and others.

Theyyam performance follows many rituals. Initially, the performer is given an intimation and later that the date of performance is fixed and the performer (Kolakaran) is informed. The first part of the Theyyam performance is known as Vellattam or Thottam. Also known as Thottampattu, it is performed in a light manner without any elaborate costume and the performer narrates the origin and characteristics of different Theyyams. The Kolakaran along with his assistants participate in it. The main instruments used for thottampattu are Chenda, Veekan Chenda and Kuzhal. For performing Vellattam, the performer’s face of the performer is painted and he has a tuft of hair on his head. All the Theyyams will not have Vellattam instead they will have the function of receiving Podiyila.After the ritual song (thottam) is over, the Kolakaran appears on stage with proper make- up and costumes. There are different patterns of facial makeup.

The colours used for the same is extracted from Nature like Chayilyam, Karimazhi, Aripodi(rice powder) and Maniyola. Depends on the nature of the Theyyam they will have different facial make-up, costumes and ornaments. Some Theyyams even bear fire on their hair like Theechamundi. Theyyams are performed in sacred groves and other places usually once in a year and is known as Kaliyattam. That which is performed after many years is known as Perumkaliyattam.

TYPES OF THEYYAM
There are 456 theyyakkolams. Among this 112 are very important and famous. Some of them are listed below.
 * 1) THEYYam.jpgVishnumoorthi -The performance of Vishnumoorthi Theyyam includes complicated rites and rituals. It is the most popular part of the Vaishnava Theyyam. This fascinating piece narrates the story of Palanthai Kannan, a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. The Vishnumoorthi Theyyam in ottakkolam (only one kolam) enters the pyre.
 * 2) MUTHAPPAN.jpgSree Muthappan Theyyam-Muthappan Theyyam is unique in that it is performed around the year whereas the other Theyyams are performed seasonally. Muthappan temples are present in hundreds of places in North Malabar.Among the Muthappan temples, Kunnathur Padi and Parassini Kadavu have attained the most fame.
 * 3) Gulikan- is a local form of the Hindu god of death, called Yama. Gulikan in Hindu scriptures are credited as the most important warrior of lord Shiva. The intricate and fascinating dance steps of Gulikan stands apart from that of the other Theyyams.
 * 4) Theyyam artist.jpgPuthiya Bhagavathy-Puthiya Bhagavathi is the main deity of many shrines in Kannur including Thalikavu situated in Kannur. She appeared from the homakunda (the sacrificial fire) when the Rishis (saints) started a homa in order to cure the smallpox of Lord Shiva. In the performance Puthiya Bhagavathi is accompanied by Padakulangara Veeran and Veerakali.
 * 5) Kathivanur Veeran-Mandhappan was a great warrior in whose memory KathivannurVeeran is performed. He was born to a Thiyya family in Mangad near Thaliparamba. The couples Kumarachan of Methalliyillam and his wife Chakkiyamma had no children. They made offerings to Chuzhali goddess and Mandhappan was born even in his youth Mandhappan refused to steer clear of his silly games. One day Kumarachan broke Mandhan's bow and arrow and threw them out. Mandhappan became very angry and left his native village and went to Coorg, where his uncle was residing. There he got a warm welcome and uncle gave half of his properties to Mandhan. There he married a girl named Chemmarathi. At that time kutakas started a war against malayalans. Mandhan and his friends participated in that war and defeated kutakas. But unfortunately he lost one of his fingers with a ring on it, Mandhan returned to the battle field to get back his ring, enemies saw him coming alone and killed him. Chemmarathi killed herself by jumping into mandhappan's funeral pyre.

DIFFICULTIES
As mentioned before the Theyyam is performed only during a particular period in a year,rest of the year the performers are jobless. The society is also not bothered to think about the life of these performers. This situation had a very bad effect on the very existence of the performance, as most of the young people do not turn up in taking the responsibility of performing Theyyam,due to lack of job security. Also some of the Theyyams like theechamundi, where the Theyyam performs in fire are way too dangerous and many accidents have taken place due to lack of care. The performers who met with such accidents are never remembered by the society neither by the authorities. The people who performs as God and bless everyone has to lead a very difficult life later.

Theyyam is the integral part of the culture of northern Kerala. Now it is struggling for its existence. It requires immediate action from the authorities to keep this tradition alive for the coming generations to see and learn.