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Ritual Arts > Teyyam

Teyyam is a ritualistic dance with its rare and grotesque make-up and costume, lively foot work, gymnastic fervour and ritualistic vitality. Teyyam represents a glorious period of folk life in Kerala and the souls of the dead heroes of the land and the gods and goddesses are supposed to come in our midst through the medium of the possessed dancers and converse with us on matters of even contemporary significance. It is the worship of spirits by invoking them to the mortal body of the dancer who impersonates them and gives blessing to the believers. Teyyam evolves from Kaliyattam practiced by aboriginal tribes of northern regions of the state. Kaliyattam is an annual festival attached to the shrines known by the names like muchilod, kavu, palliyara, mundya, tanam, madhapura all in the districts of Cannanore.

The performer belongs to Mannan, Velan and Malayan communities.  The landlords and chieftains encouraged these artists and introduced many improvements by initiating new themes into its fold and classified them to appropriate communities for their propagation. Titles like Peruvanaan, Perumalayan were the best among them. These spirits continue to be propitiated through generations. They belong to different categories based on their appearance and character. 

During epidemics, the whole community join hands in making the offering of the ritual to the presiding spirit of such calamities and appease them. There are several presiding goddesses like Kali, Chamundi, Bhagavati all manifestations of Shakti or supreme power and gods like Bhairavan, Gulikan, Vishnumurthy, Pottan representing the Shaivite and Vaishnavate concepts and animal spirits form another class comprising Bali, Hanuman, Puli. Teyyam dance is done as an offering for begetting children, winning of law suits, warding of evils, getting rid of epidemics and for similar successful culmination of individual and social desires.

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Teyyam is essentially a human creation. It has absolute relationship with man in giving vent to his strong feelings against injustice and wickedness and his desire to maintain the well-being of society. It shows how the primitive man transforms his life experience into metaphysical thoughts through rites and rituals and identifies his abstract visions in a concrete design, attributing multiple forms to them.

The headgear or the mask made of materials from nature and painted with natural colours in Teyyam assumes a grotesque and archetypal image with the blending of highly artistic and emotive display. Man willingly offers himself to be subdued by his mystic attainments. It is his own re-creation of the abstract experiences handed down to him by generations, the secular side gives him the rationale based on practice and observations. 

A socially known theme of love, like one depicted in the famous Teyyam 'Katiranur Viran' gives a very concrete picture of an extremely abstract emotional content. The theme is recreated with its mythical and ritualistic imagination and the dancer went to the moods through his body postures, movements and articulation. The performer becomes possessed in this act of impersonation of the dead hero or the godly spirit, it does not leave him in totally unconscious state, on the contrary he would meticulously cling on to the rhythm a technique of mechanical perfection even when he is out of his normal mood.

The dancer in Teyyam while passing through the metaphysical experience and getting himself possessed traverses through three stages, the first being one of impersonation which is the negation of his own self  and affirmation of something that will help him to affront the supra-sensible vision. The grotesque mask gives him a new personality which is far away from the reality. The second stage helps him to evolve a mental state of flight to mystic heights before which the dancer takes a look at the mirror, which is a meaningful ritual indicating that he get conceived about the identity of deity (Teyyam) which he impersonates. The last stage of impersonation signifies the possessed state which is energised fully by the rhythmic accompaniment. The whole physique and the psyche of the performer get possessed by the mood of the character which he impersonates. His demeanor is not only adjusted to a special rhythm, but also his utterances attuned to a totally non-realistic beyond the consciousness level.

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The dancer has to prepare his mind and body to entertain the Teyyam within himself. During  the period of austerity, which is prerequisite for any ritualistic art, the dancer concentrates on his favourite deity with extreme devotion. The process of transformation from man to God is an experience which the practitioner of the ritual shares with the congregation around.

In the worship of certain Teyyams, intoxicant liquor as an offering is not forbidden. Kuttichattan, Khantakarnam are among the deities of the tamasic (dark group) for whom liquor is an inevitable item. The practitioners of such Teyyams belongs to the Saktiyas for whom liquor forms an  important ingredient of worship in their routine religious practices. To other god heads like 'Daivattar', liquor is strictly prohibited and the artists who impersonate such powers also regard liquor as taboo in their lives.

Teyyam Songs

The full throated singing of tottam songs in the open air, the subdued articulation of the tottam (revelations) and the inaudible chanting of the mantras form different variations of using the inner energy that gushes out while the Teyyam dancer is in a possessed state. The folk singer while he sings out in a loud voice, accompanying the dancing or along with his own dancing steps, uses simple but effective language and straight but thought provoking images. The images reflect his own surroundings charged with an organic strength. Most of these songs are not recorded. They belong to the oral tradition maintaining their own unique characteristics and keep away from the general trend of standardized literature. The major chunk of the Teyyam songs remains well above literary denomination and creates the proper atmosphere with its archaic usages, nuances and rhythmic patterns conveying the subtle emotions of the character impersonated. Teyyam songs belong to a literary tradition of the farthest past which had not evolved through any conscious process of sophistication, but served as life-giving vehicle of the feelings of the village communities.

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