Tharavadu Theyyam

Tharavadu Theyyam- Intro

The first time I actually got to see a live Theyyam performance was when I had gone to my ancestral house or Tharavadu this year. Just like marriages, Theyyam is another occasion for the family to come down from different parts of the globes, assemble under one roof, eat together , sleep together, and most importantly know each other.

The theyyam is typically performed by people of the lower caste  Each theyyam typically denotes a deity and has its own peculiar trait. The family gathers the previous night at the tharavadu or ancestral house, and everyone assembles till mid afternoon when all the theyyam is over.

The theyyams wear colorful headgear and paint their faces. Their attire is also symbolic of the deity / theyyam they are representing . The gear for the theyyam such as the sword , the metal plate etc. are kept for puja at the tharavadu temple . 

Before the person dons the attire of theyyam , is the ceremony called Thottam. The Theyyam artist seeks permission from God to wear Theyyam. A person in full Theyyam regalia is considered akin to God, and is worshipped as God. People seeks his / her blessings . Theyyam is performed only by male artists, although the Theyyam itself has female forms namely the various manifestations of Bhagavathy. 

An artist doing the thottam before the performance. The troupe of musicians with the chenda and cymbals, also follow the theyyam artist.

Curiously , they have their own speak too – a dialect of Malayalam, which is part speak and part song . Theyyam is exclusive to North Kerala.

The gleam of the full moon , the silhouette of the coconut trees, and the arecanut trees, the glow from the lamps provided the perfect aura for the theyyam performance. The chill wind was blowing giving me goosebumps and  all of us were huddled together.

Most of the accessories , the garlands, the headgear etc, are made by the troupe themselves the night before. The artists sand their troupe normally erect a tent at a small distance away. That’s where they dress the theyyam and keep all the other stuff required for the dance ready.

The theyyams after their performance in the open space come to the tharavadu to give blessings to the ladies of the house. My older aunt tells me that in olden times, ladies normally confine themselves to the tharavadu and don’t mingle around much in the gathering of men. The men used to see the theyyam from outside the tharavadu and the women inside the tharavadu.