THEYYAM: A PERFORMER’S JOURNEY OF TRANSFORMATION FROM MAN TO GOD

Reshma V.R.; S. Angelin Sheeja

doi:10.29121/shodhkosh.v4.i2.2023.541

Authors

Reshma V.R. Research Scholar, Department of English, Nesamony Memorial Christian College, Marthandam, (Manonmaniam Sundaranar University), Abhishekapatti, Thirunelveli- 627012, Tamil Nadu, India
Dr. S. Angelin Sheeja Assistant Professor of English, Nesamony Memorial Christian College, Marthandam, (Manonmaniam Sundaranar University), Abhishekapatti, Thirunelveli- 627012, Tamil Nadu, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v4.i2.2023.541

Keywords:

Theyyam, Ritual, Performer, Transformation, Thottam, God, Myth

Abstract [English]

Theyyam or Theyyattam is a performer’s artistic journey of transformation from mortal man to immortal Gods and Goddesses. It is a resplendent melange of religious and artistic facets which elevates the aesthesia of both performers and spectators to greater depths. Though Theyyam is fashioned on the essence of a tribal culture, it embraced many elements of ancient Hindu mythology. The entire Theyyam ritual is a metaphysical means, which is thought to have the power to summon the Theyyam deities, causing them to emerge with all exuberance. ’Thottam’ songs, the ritual songs of the Theyyam, render the story of the deity propitiated in this ceremonial performance. The performer himself sing the Thottam songs, so that he can get in the exact frame of mind and the necessary spirit of the persona he is presumed to embody. The aficionados observe the rites very closely as the performer performs before and along the shrine. The musical instruments are played in time to the performer’s movements making the performance pious. Gradually, the performer becomes completely absorbed, evolved and transcended into the realm of intangible powers of nature, impersonating the Gods and Goddesses through artistic acts and manifesting his supreme power by strange demeanor. The article examines the practices, traditions, impersonation, myths, and legends of Theyyam and some of its most popular forms and how this ritualistic art form has established a legacy across tribal and non-tribal cultures creating an identity for itself.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Alexander, B. C. (1991). Turner’s Definition of Ritual Reconsidered : Grotowski’s Experimental Theatre as Secular Rituals of “Spiritual” Healing. Method & Theory in the Study of Religion, 3(1), 62–83. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/157006891X00085

Alexander, J. C. (2004). Cultural Pragmatics : Social Performance between Ritual and Strategy. Sociological Theory, 22(4), 527–573. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0735-2751.2004.00233.x

Ashley, W. (1979). The Theyyam Kettu of Northern Kerala. The Drama Review, 23(2), 99–112. https://doi.org/10.2307/1145219. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1145219

Boddy, J. (1994). Spirit Possession Revisited : Beyond Instrumentality. Annual Review of Anthropology, 23, 407–434. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.an.23.100194.002203

Bourguignon, E. (2004). Suffering and Healing, Subordination and Power : Women and Possession Trance. Ethos, 32(4), 559. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/eth.2004.32.4.557

Brown, G. (2003). Theorizing Ritual as Performance : Explorations of Ritual Indeterminacy. Journal of Ritual Studies, 17(1), 3–18.

Chandran, S. M. (2016). ‘Myth as a Symbolic Narrative : A Study of the Selected Myths of Malabar Theyyam Cult’. Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL), 4(4).

Chandran, T.V. (2006). Ritual as Ideology : Text and Context in Theyyam. New Delhi : IGNCACV, 75.

Damodaran, M. P. (1998). The Malayalam of North Malabar and their Teyyam. Kerala : Kannur University Press.

Fogelin, L. (2007). The Archaeology of Religious Ritual. Annual Review of Anthropology, 36, 55–71. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.36.081406.094425

Gardner, J., and Maier, J. R. (1996). Masked Performance : The Play of Self and Other in Ritual and Theatre. Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press.

Geetha, E. (2022). ‘The Theyyams of North Kerala : The Little Gods of Little Kingdom’ Quest Journals Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science, 10(2), 16-20.

Gruzinski, S. (1989). Man-Gods in the Mexican Highlands. California : Stanford University Press, 22-23.

Harner, M. J. (1973). Hallucinogens and Shamanism. New York : Oxford U. Press.

Mohanan, A. (2021). 'Sounds from a Silenced Divinity : the Interaction of Caste with Music in the Theyyam Rituals of Kerala.' The SOAS Journal of Postgraduate Research, 13 (2019/2020), 55-77. https://doi.org/10.25501/SOAS.00035317.

Moser, C., & Knust, J. (2017). Ritual Matters : An Introduction. Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, 13, 1–10. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44898615.

Nambiar, A. K. (1997). “The Process of Deification and the Role of Masks in Theyyam.” Malayalam Literary Survey, 19(1), 71-74.

Nambiar, S. K. (1996). The Ritual Art of Teyyam and Bhutaradhane, New Delhi : Navrang.

Namboodiri, V. M. V. (2012). Folklore : Identity of Culture. Kerala : Department of Information and Public Relations, 47.

Panikkar, K. N. (2012). Folklore of Kerala. India : National Book Trust, 26 -31.

Penner, H. H. (1985). Language, Ritual and Meaning. Numen, 32(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.2307/3269960. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/156852785X00139

Quack, J., & Sax, W. S. (2010). Introduction : The Efficacy of Rituals. Journal of Ritual Studies, 24(1), 5–12.

Raisun, M., & Pandya, D. (2021). Carnivalesque, Liminality and Social Drama : Characterising the Anti-Structural Potential of Theyyam. Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 13(3), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v13n3.28. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v13n3.28

Turner, V. (1979). Dramatic Ritual/Ritual Drama : Performative and Reflexive Anthropology. The Kenyon Review, 1(3), 80–93.

Turner, V. (1979). Frame, Flow and Reflection : Ritual and Drama as Public Liminality. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 6(4), 465–499. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18874/jjrs.6.4.1979.465-499

Turner, V. (1985). On the Edge of the Bush : Anthropology as Experience. Tucson : University of Arizona Press, 226.