Theyyam and other gods

 

Theyyam

Theyyattam is a colourful and vibrant religious ritual of northern Kerala. I just watched on my TV some of the Theyyams (the performers) landing from their boats to a warm reception by the people who were waiting anxiously. Northern Kerala has quite many such religious art forms. Apart from Theyyattam, there are thirayattam, kurathiyattam, garudanthookkam, kummaattikkali, kaliyattm, and so on. They are amazing art forms which are essentially religious rituals.

Originally, these were not Hindu religious rituals. They were pe-Hindu, indigenous Dravidian and tribal practices of the North Malabar region, today’s Kannur and Kasaragod districts. Over the centuries, through a process of cultural assimilation and syncretism, they were integrated into the broader fold of popular Hinduism.

Much, much before mainstream Puranic Hindu traditions became dominant in South India, the indigenous communities of North Malabar practised folk religion centred on:

·      Nature and Spirit Worship: Ritual were performed in sacred groves (kaavu) rather than stone temples, invoking spirits of forests, animals and natural forces.

·      Ancestor Worship: Deceased village heroes, warriors who died in battle or individuals who suffered unjust deaths were deified and commemorated.

·      Shamanic Possession: Rather than an officiating priest mediating between gods and worshippers, the ritual relied on an oracle-like agency like Theyyam or Kolam who went into a trance to directly embody the deity of spirit.

Historically, mainstream Hindu orthodoxy in Kerala was strictly defined by rigid caste hierarchies led by Namboothiri Brahmins and Nair landlords. In contrast, Theyyam and other such oracles were (and still are) a distinctly non-Brahmanical subaltern tradition.

Theyyam, for example, is exclusively performed by members of historically oppressed castes and tribes (such as the Malayan, Vannan, Pulayar, Velan, and Mavilan communities). I’m not mentioning too many examples since most of the readers of this blog are non-Indians who may not find such names of any use.

What is of particular interest here is that during these ritual performances, the performer who is a Dalit becomes the living manifestation of God (Daivam). Feudal lords and upper-caste members must bow down, seek counsel, and receive blessings from the lower-caste oracle.

Many of the songs sung on these occasions (thottam) tell stories of lower-caste men and women who were wronged, tortured, or killed by upper-caste lords, subsequently turning into ferocious deities to avenge their oppression.

Vishnumoorthy Theyyam

Let’s take an example. Vishnumoorthy Theyyam is based on the story of Kannan, an orphan who was unjustly killed by the landlord Karuvadan Kurup. The ritual performance is a reenactment of Kannan’s life and death, and it serves to appease his spirit and protect the community from his wrath.

According to the folktale, Kannan was beheaded by Kurup merely for plucking some mangoes from the latter’s grove. After Kannan’s death, Kurup’s family was plagued by misfortune. Cattle in his sheds went mad, and his niece was attacked by black serpents. Kanna’s spirit was pacified only when Kurup enshrined it in an auspicious spot and his Theyyam was honoured ritually.

Not Hindu Gods

These Theyyams and other such spirits are not at all Hindu gods in their original versions. They were Hinduised later.

As Brahmanical Hinduism expanded throughout Kerala, folk traditions like Theyyam underwent syncretism: the blending of indigenous beliefs with classical Hindu mythology. Thus Kannan became an incarnation of Vishnu, Pottan became incarnation of Shiva, and so on. Less than half a kilometre from my home in Kerala is a kaavu dedicated to Moozhikkal Bhagavathi, local goddess. Today she is worshipped as an incarnation of Durga or Kali.

What prompted me to write this post is not merely the news on my lunch TV about the beginning of Theyyam rituals in north Kerala, but the claim made by some Hindu militant two days back that the famous Christian pilgrimage centre in Velankanni, Tamil Nadu, was originally a Hindu temple. They’re making similar claims all over so much so I’m afraid one day they’ll say that the moon was a Hindu goddess called Saumya until Armstrong-Aldrin-Collins barged in and baptised her.

There was a time when people were not quite concerned about religions. Gods mattered. Whatever the religion, the gods must be benevolent.