Theyyam Dancers of North Kerala - Spirit possession & Caste role-reversal | Theodore Kaye

A theyyam performance of Muchilottu Bhagavati, the Mother Goddess, near Cheruvathur, Kerala, India. Theyyam” (a rendering of the Sanskrit word for “God”) is a North Kerala rite or art form that dates back thousands of years.

A close-up of Bhagavathi, the Mother Goddess.

Offerings are placed near the entrance of a village shrine in Cheruvathur

On the first of a 3-night performance, a theyyam performer enters the shrine, flanked by hordes of devotees.

On the first of a 3-night performance, a theyyam performer enters the shrine, flanked by hordes of devotees.

Vishnumurthy theyyam in Cheruvathur

After staging an impromptu sit-down strike demanding a larger ritual fire, better salaries and housing conditions, the Vishnumurthi theyyam offers his blessings after the local organizers promise to meet his terms the following year.

Devotees donate their weight in material goods, such as coconuts, oil, rice and sometimes even in hard currency. This new mother is thanking Bhagavathi, the mother goddess, for helping cure her infertility.

A performer gets his make-up done using natural dyes and ingredients, preparing for his role as Vishnumurthy, an avatar of Vishnu.

Left, the 'moment' the spirit enters a Theyyam performer can often be seen when, after completing the make-up, he ceremonially sits in front of the village shrine and looks at himself in a mirror. Right, costumes, make-up and music from Theyyam have all influenced Kathakali, one of India's classical forms of dance.

A Kathakali theatrical performance in Kerala.

Left, Bhagavathi Theyyam throws handfuls of rice and turmeric in the air, markers of good luck and wealth. Right, theyyam performances sometimes take on cumbersome and fantastical outfits, such as this with 3-storey high headpiece. The costuming and make-up can take from 10-30 hours to prepare from scratch, using coconut and palm leaves, dyes and natural inks, twigs, string, mirrors and embroidery.

Guligan, the god of death, blesses devotees and wards off evil in the community.

Theyyam” (a rendering of the Sanskrit word for “God”) is a North Kerala rite or art form that dates back thousands of years. There are over 400 Gods — Hindu and animist – in the Theyyam pantheon. Theyyam performers don’t just portray the Gods; they actually become them, via spirit possession. The performers all come from the lowest castes – waiters, butchers, laborers and such – yet, every winter and spring, they are transformed into vehicles for deities ‘visiting’ this world. The often weeks-long rites are sponsored by local top-tier brahmins, who reverently submit to the commands of the visiting Gods, often interlarded with screeds against caste injustice. Such a power-shift is nothing short of revolutionary in this historically caste-ridden corner of Kerala, where “untouchability” still prevails.

Photo feature shot for Rhythms Monthly in April, 2010.

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Theodore Kaye

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