[mpksuhas]

Theyyam?

Theyyam is an artform of Kerala limited to few northern districts, mainly Kannur & Kasaragod.

Unlike Kathakali, another artform from Kerala, Theyyam is not that popular outside of the geographical area where its performed. Maybe its since Kathakali is more of a story telling medium and is performed nowadays in many tourist locations, while Theyyam is more of a ritual held at village temples or at houses .
Also, many of the characters each Theyyam artist enacts are linked to the locality and many of them has roots in the caste lines which existed in the society earlier.

Those interested to understand about the art form in detail, can go through the Kerala Tourism link.

But a quote from that page will give an idea on the art form -

The medieval heroes like Kathivannur veeran, and Thacholi Othenan were deified and worshipped for their heroism. The goddess Puthiya Bhagavathy (new) and Makkam were heroines of tragic stories. Makkam was considered to be an immoral woman by her beloved brothers. The jealousy of their wives made her a victim of their suspicion. The brothers dropped her and children in a deep well. Later she was elevated as a goddess and was worshipped as a chaste woman. This episode has become the theme for a Theyyam goddess. Similarly Puthiya bhagavathi is also a local girl elevated by the local people to the status of a goddess.

Theyyam Calendar

Theyyam is not conducted year around, instead it is held at certain months of Malayalam Calendar which roughly translates to Mid October to Mid May.

Kerala Tourism website has a Theyyam calendar which can be used for reference.


Where to watch?
This is one of the biggest stumbling block, since most of the temples listed in the calendar, though small, gets crowded. Hence if you are planning on visiting just for understanding the artform (and not for religious purpose) it becomes difficult since you will be jostling for space.

The next best option is to visit any of the houses which conducts Theyyam. However, its mostly an event where family & known members from neighborhood attend. Landing there randomly may be infringing on privacy of the organizers.

Also, many of the performances happen early morning / past midnight, hence one has to plan the leaves / stay and visit based on that.

[mpksuhas]

Plan takes shape

During past random discussions with friends, lot many had expressed their wish to experience Theyyam performance. However, it was always an issue of where and when. Meanwhile I was discussing this to a colleague of mine, he mentions that there is Theyyam planned over weekend at his dads maternal house.

We double checks if his extended family is okay with us visiting, they reply its not an issue.

Of the earlier planned, few of the friends were not able to make out due to personal commitments on that weekend.

On final count, it was 6 of us. Apart from myself & wife, a friend of us and 3 other TBHPians / fellow XUV owners group members - Sandeep ( @sandegov) Ajay (@ajayclicks) & Shreyas (@shrk_18)

Final plan

• Six of us will drive down in two cars on Saturday morning to Taliparamb.
• Check-in at hotel there, have lunch, take rest. Evening head to a Kavu (sacred forest) where there is a Theyyam conducted every evening.
• Get back to room, have dinner, catch some sleep.
• Head to house where Theyyam is happening past midnight.
• Watch Theyyam till sunbreak, head back to room.
• Have breakfast, checkout and drive back to Bangalore.

[mpksuhas]

01 - Mar - 2025

We start around 5.15 AM from NICE - Mysore road junction. Our first stop was for breakfast at Ashirvaad Grand just before Hunsur, after an hours break we start around 8.30 AM from here.

Route

Bangalore to Taliparamb route is much discussed in routes thread (Bangalore - Kannur : Route Queries), hence wont go in to detail of the same. However, the road is overall in good condition apart from few KMs near KL - KA border and also at start of the ghats. However, at locations where its bad, its really bad and one has to be careful if in low GC vehicles.

Bad road section starts




Past KL border, we take the GMap suggested SH 59. This is slightly circular in direction, however it by-pass town of Iritty and also traffic on this road is almost non existent. This road is part of the much talked about hill highway (Malayora highway) being redone around KL.




Place of Stay


We had booked our stay at a homestay in outskirts of Taliparambu. Lakshmi Taravadu Homestay





This is an old house which is now redone as homestay. Surrounded by greenery and frequented by lot many birds, it was an interesting place to stay. However, the place does not have AC and also, apart from two rooms, rest of the rooms felt bit like an afterthought based on size and ceiling height.
Summer has already arrived at KL and it was not a pleasant experience for Shreyas & Ajay who were sharing the smaller room.

Would suggest the homestay if you are a group of maximum 4 members (So that you use only the 2 proper bedrooms) and visiting in months of June - Nov, else do avoid.

Fun fact: Those familiar with KL politics, zoom in to the portrait in the last pic. The house is currently run by that persons daughter & grandson.

Check-in was done around 11.30 AM, after a small session of banter, we decide to head for lunch to nearby restaurant.

MRA Restaurant & Bakery - Had heard about this place earlier, but this was the first time I visited here. Food was good, though bit expensive as per KL standards.

Past lunch we head back to home stay and decide to take rest.

[mpksuhas]

Neeliyar Kottam

Location

This is a Kaavu (Sacred forest area) near to the place of stay. There is a short Theyyam ritual every evening here. I guess the timing changes based on the season, a friend who visited in month of Feb mentioned the ritual starting at around 5.15 PM. Based on this, we reached there around 5.00 PM, however that day it started around 6.00 PM only.

Details of the Neeliyar Kottam - Link

According to the lore, a wise and beautiful woman, Neeli, turned in to a bloodthirsty demon after a local king betrayed and murdered her. But ever since a man took her for a compassionate mother, she turned into a motherly form.

Parking space is limited, however one can park next to the road since its not that crowded around there.

From there, one has to walk around 100 meters through the small entrance



Route to main area



Once inside, there is clearing where the event takes place. When we reached there was very little to no crowd. However, soon it becomes surprisingly crowded.



However the Theyyam artist is inside this small building where the makeup is in progress. Its not allowed to take pictures of the makeup.

[mpksuhas]

Neeliyar Kottam .. ctd

Around 5.45 PM, the Theyyam artist comes out and starts getting the remaining attire done from outside.



The headgear is a 20 feet bamboo and cloth cap. It takes effort of multiple people to get the same in place.



Theyyam walking to the main area



By then, people have arrived at the location.




The ceremony goes on for around 15 minutes.





Past this, we head back to the homestay, have an early dinner and catch some sleep.

[mpksuhas]

02-Mar-2025

My colleague had informed previous night that the events at his family home is delayed a bit and instead of the earlier planned start around midnight, it may commence around 2.30 AM only.

Hence we reach there around that time. The house had a deserted look, with only handful of people present there. Those present were deep asleep in the corridors.

While in the area surrounding the house, there were 3 Theyyam artists getting their makeup done.

Today there was to be 3 different Theyyam artists. Two of them will be portraying one Theyyam each. While the third artist will be portraying 4 theyyams in quick succession.





Just as the first Theyyam makeup was getting done, one of the person in the group goes and makes a declaration while playing this drum (Chenda).

All those who were half asleep around the house is wide awake by now.




There is a small makeshift praying area made next to the entrance of the house. The Theyyam goes there, prays for a while and then start the performance.

[mpksuhas]

02-Mar-2025 Ctd..

The first artist is done with 3 of his acts in quick succession. The last one of his is more elaborate and takes time for the makeup.





Once done, the act is very intense and goes on for around 20 minutes atleast.







Once its done, the Theyyam goes around giving blessings to those around.

[mpksuhas]

By now its day break, and the second Theyyam artist is ready by now.





Past that he comes towards the earlier mentioned makeshift prayer area and then start the performance.




He starts off by kicking off amber





Past that he gets a head gear installed

[mpksuhas]

This Theyyam is enacting the family deity of this household. We can make out that the enactment is of a hunting trip where he goes in to forest with a bow and arrow and comes back with some kill which is shown as being distributed amongst family. All these are shown by way of elaborate actions which usually is not part of the other Theyyams.



By now there is good number of people in the house.







Interesting fact, the artist who is dressed as this Theyyam is also the Panchayat President of this locality.


By now its close to 8.00 AM, we decide to head back to homestay by skipping the last Theyyam which is about to start at 8.30 AM and go on till around 10.00 AM. The idea was to have breakfast and start soon so that we reach Bangalore by late afternoon after a stop at Mysore Sapa for lunch.

The family keeps insisting us to wait for the next Theyyam and also for having breakfast with them. However, we had to decline the same since all of us were awake from around 2.30 AM, we wanted to reach Bangalore before we starts to feel sleepy again. Though in both the cars we have two people who can drive taking turns, we didn't want to stretch it without sleep.

[mpksuhas]

Return trip

It was mostly uneventful, we start around 9.30 AM from Taliparamba, reach Mysore around 2.15 PM, head to Sapa to find it crowded like anything. Was expected, but the tables were not getting free, hence after waiting for some 20 minutes, we decide to head to a nearby place which Shreyas suggested - Brioche Doree - Location.

Food was good, though service was slow. Their party trick was the restroom, with wall to ceiling floral decorations, it looked like Pratap Bose did their interiors while on vacation.

Past lunch, typical Mysore - Bangalore highway traffic and we were at Bangalore before dark.


Epilogue

• Though there is no specific dress code, its better to dress moderately while visiting Theyyam.
• Pictures captured using Nikon Zf & Nikon Z8 body with 50mm & 35mm (Fx with Z adaptor) 1.8 lens.
• One set of lens and body was rented from Tapprs. Couple of instances of rental from them by me and my friend who rents more regularly from them has been extremely smooth. Would recommend if you in Bangalore and planning on renting.
• NH66 widening work is in progress across length of KL, there is a thread on the same in routes section. Once its done, mostly by end of 2025 around these side of KL, one can combine Bekal fort /Kavvayi Island/ Parashini Kadavu temple / Chala Bagavati / Muzhappilangad beach along with a weekend visit for Theyyam from Bangalore.
• Two laned roads in KL has speed limit of 80kmph hence don't let the smooth curvy road entice you.
  

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Sandegov]

Thank you Suhas for this detailed writeup and some great pics, it was a lifetime experience for me and a great insight into the rich culture of Kerala.

Your colleague and their family were extremely gracious to let us into their private family ritual/custom and allowing us to witness Theyyam in its purest form. Surreal!

[tasty911]

Thank you. The details are much appreciated.
Excellent pictures BTW.

[capnemo]

Great photographs, and crisp narrative.

I have relatives from the Kannur belt, but never witnessed a Theyyam in person. Maybe some day ...

[ranjitnair77]

Thank you for this post Suhas. Wonderful pictures and crisp narration.

For those who are interested, I highly recommend reading Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India by William Dalrymple. The second story describes a Theyyam dancer and the metaphysics behind the performance.