About Theyyam:

• Theyyam is a popular ritual form of dance worship in Kerala and Karnataka. It consists of thousand-year-old traditions, rituals and customs.
• The people consider Theyyam itself as a channel to a god, and they thus seek blessings from Theyyam.
• There are about 456 types of Theyyam.
• Theyyam is performed by males, except the Devakoothu theyyam which is the only Theyyam ritual performed by women. It is performed only in the Thekkumbad Kulum temple (Kerala).
• The dance or invocation is generally performed in front of the village shrine. It is also performed in the houses as ancestor worship with elaborate rites and rituals.

Some popular Theyyams

• Vishnumoorthi: It is the most popular Vaishnava Theyyam. This theyyam narrates and performs the story of Hiranyakashipu’s death by Lord Vishnu in his avatar of Narasimham.
• Sree Muthappan Theyyam: It is considered as the personification of two divine figures— the Thiruvappana or Valiya Muttapan (Vishnu) and the Vellatom or Cheriya Muttapan (Shiva).
• Gulikan: Gulikan represents Yama, the Hindu god of death. The Benkanakavu in Nileshwar is the most famous temple dedicated to Gulikan.

Source: EPIC March 2022