Invocation ceremony. The high priest calls upon the goddess to bless the ritual dancer

Theyyam — Traditional martial dance form at Kerala, India

Theyyam is a martial ritual dance of Kerala that attributes great importance to the worship of heroes and ancestral spirits. Theyyam is believed to have derived from Parusurama, the sixth incarnation of one of the Hindu Gods called Vishnu.

The Theyyam festival usually held in from October to May every year. Every village in North Kerala was bound to perform it in connection with the local shrine (Kavu).

This story is from a Theyyam performance in March 2013 near Kannur.

ABOVE: The crowd waits for the performer to get ready

Theyyam is held around a temple courtyard. A large crowd waits in the sweltering heat for the deity to imbue the performer with divine powers. After the ritual invocation, the performer dances around the courtyard in a traditional martial format.

Getting ready for the performance

The performer gets ready in a small hut by the courtyard. The first step for the performer is to get his face painted with ritual symbols.

ABOVE: The lead performer gets ready with face paint

The performer then puts on an elaborate attire, helped by temple priests.

ABOVE: Getting dressed for the performance

ABOVE: The performer dons metal armbands

ABOVE: The performer puts on elaborate headgear

The performer takes close to an hour to get ready in the elaborate costume. He looks regal in the final outfit.

ABOVE: The fully decked performer is a sight to behold

The invocation process

The invocation of the diety is as elaborate as the costume. A lead priest is escorted from the nearby temple into the dressing chambers of the performer. With the temple courtyard cleared, a group of men run as part of a human chain leading the priest to the performer.

ABOVE: The chief priest is led to help invoke the deity into the performer

After the priest’s invocation, the lead performer is led around the courtyard, thrice, as part of the invocation, all to drumbeats of local drums.

ABOVE: The performer is led around the temple complex

The performance

After the invocation, the deity is believed to have infused the performer. The Theyyam artist then performs a magnificent dance around the courtyard, complete with musicians playing drums, pipes and cymbals. Agarbattis (essence) is lit and everyone stops to watch him perform.

The Theyyam performance around the courtyard.

I was dripping sweat in the 40 degree celsius temperature, and wondered how the performer could dance with such an elaborate getup.

Here’s a (very) short video of actual dance.