Costa Malabar and the Theyyam Ceremony

After the hilly Kodagu region we descended to the coast of Kerala. We headed to Kannur for it's beaches.


We also came for the Theyyam ceremony which is a living spiritual tradition here. Theyyam actually means "god" and it is a nocturnal ritual in which one participant is a medium through which a pre-Hindu god can express itself.


The ritual begins with elaborate face painting and costuming and is followed with recitation of traditional verses. The god then arrives through the medium. The climax of the ritual comes when, in a frenzy of drumming, a trance-like state overcomes the participants. Or at least this is what it seemed like to us. There were no plaques describing what we were seeing. Many people came, mostly locals and very few tourists. It happens almost every evening during the November-May Theyyam season, and it has gone on like this for thousands of years. It was a fantastic experience.

The video clip (link, 4.1 MB) may be a little hard to understand. The drummers are on the left, the medium is the one dressed in the large red costume, and the dancer holding the fire became consumed with a sort of rapture, causing the fire to fall on the ground.

Here is a close-up of the main performer/devotee who channels the god. He is talking with members of the community.