Theyyam Of Kerala

Shagil Kannur

29 April 2024, 14:50

Classification
Photograph
Museum
Wikimedia Commons
Rights
CC BY-SA 3.0, as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Teens profiles and older: its museum says too little about what it shows to place it for younger viewers. How works are placed

View at the Wikimedia Commons

About this work

Theyyam is a ritual performance involving extended chanting of mantras and ceremonial preparations that typically span 8 to 10 hours. The ritual culminates with the placement of the mudi (sacred headgear) on the performer, a moment believed to mark the entry of the deity into the performer’s body. The people of the region consider Theyyam itself as a channel to a god and they thus seek blessings from Theyyam. There are about 456 types of Theyyams documented. Theyyam is mainly performed by males belong to indigenous people. The dance or invocation is generally performed in front of the village shrine. His make-up is done by specialists and other dancers.

This media has been taken in the country: India