Unravelling the Hidden Facets: A Carnivalesque Approach to Theyyam

Myth and variant beliefs have been an important thread that bind the fabric of Indian culture. Even though our country has forgone into the modern era, certain beliefs and art forms still persist with its singleness. Among the Indian states, Kerala has got a unique way of exhibiting its myth and heroes through classical and folk arts, Malabar bearing the crown of folk tradition. As we dive deep into this world of colours, the grandeur of Theyyam embrace us with all its glory. Rather than being a folk art, Theyyam can be seen as a blend of divinity, belief and sadhana of the human mind. The present paper attempts to decode the ideology of Caste and Gender that is inherent in this art form. Carnivalesque mode of approach to Theyyam substantiates the mechanism of power reversal in the social order. The artist’s body that evokes the deity is placed on a higher pedestal irrespective of his position in the caste hierarchy. When the artists adorn the magnificence of this art, they are elevated to a divine status despite their so-called ‘devalued’ stratum in the society. This can be seen as an epitome of the Carnivalesque mode of the subversion of the social order. This subversion is not just confined to caste but the concept of gender stereotype is also reversed. Theyyam is an art form that is embellished by mythical heroines who are worshipped as the ‘deities’ of the land. Kadangottu Maakkam, Muchilottu Bhagavati, Bhadrakali, etc. being few among them who carries the variant emotions of female mind. The remarkable moment that seizes our attention is that the divinity of these mythical heroines is being evoked into the male body. And this blurs the distinction of gender. Apart from the visual brilliance it creates, Theyyam, as an art of liberation echoes an egalitarian culture that is deliberately left unheard.

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The art form of a place talks a lot about the culture, history and the prevalent myths. Malabar has got a unique way of exhibiting its local myths and culture; Theyyam being a text that explores the socio-cultural belief system. Art can be classified as classical, folk, pop etc. when life of the common people unifies with art, we call it ‘folk art’. Once art reflected the class of people, allowing only the educated elite to decipher things, but on the contrary folk arts invited the liberal mind to invoke in them the feeling of liberty and equality, where things fall into every mind irrespective of caste, creed and gender they belong to. Mostly they talk about the emotions of human mind. Anxiety, anger, happiness, suppression form the core of these arts, which make it visible to the common mind. The vibrating dance steps of Theyyam shows liberation of suppressed feelings.

Theyyam is a ritual art form of worship of the north Malabar especially in the Kolathunadu consisting of Kannur and Kasargod districts. It exists as a living cult with rituals customs and tradition that succeeded the test of time and dates back to several thousand years. For the people of North Malabar Theyyam is a quasi-divine figure and for the lovers of heritage and folk arts it is undoubtedly the most enthralling blend of chamayakootu and ancient legends. Historians claim that Theyyam dates back to the Neolithic ages. It is accompanied by musical instruments like chenda, elathaalam, veekkuchenda and kurumkuzhal. There are more than four hundred Theyyams with their own style, music and choreography. Performances are held in village shrines and ancestral worship with proper rites and rituals beginning with vellattam or thottam.

Theyyam rather than being a folk art carries with it the very notion of belief, dedication and divinity. They are considered as the deities of the land. What makes Theyyam different from other art forms is its way of presentation; the artists who present it, the myth it holds and the message it bears. They are performed in open air where the performer interacts with the audience as deities. It is performed by people who are categorized as lower castes. Once they were considered as untouchables, but through folk arts like Theyyam they got privilege and respect as a human even if it was for a day. Most of them are performed by Malaya and Vannan communities. And all the mythical heroes they represent bear with them the plight of oppression, treachery and discrimination. As divine forms they spread the message of fraternity and equality. Unlike classical art forms, folk art does not have a prescribed text or rule to follow. They are passed on visually and verbally from one generation to the next. And alterations and customary changes were done according to the up-gradation of society. Since they are not bound by any rules and goes beyond the structured patterns of art, Theyyam liberates itself from the shackles of conventions. Moreover, it is not constrained by spatial elements. Move beyond the structures is what it ruminates. One of the major turns that Theyyam makes as an art form is that the 90% of the rituals are controlled and carried out by Marxist Believers who neglects the existence of this world beyond the materialistic world. It’s because, as Marxism believes in the liberationof proletariat, Theyyam in Kerala as an art form serves this purpose.

This paper analyses the caste and gender ideology that is prevalent in this art form; the sense of altered caste and gender order is what makes Theyyam an art of liberation and subversion. And these subversion and liberation are explained in this paper through some of the Theyyam forms like Karanavar, Pottan Theyyam, Muchilot Bhagavathi and Kadangot Maakkam. Theyyam in a way shows the blurring of caste and gender distinction in a language that can be understood by common people.

Caste discrimination is still a burning issue in modern India. In such a scenario art forms like Theyyam speaks for the suppressed mind. Here we can see people mingling with each other irrespective of the caste they belong to. All the Theyyam forms that are performed in sacred places were once the people from lower castes were not allowed to step in, but once they attain the attire of these divine forms they are adorned and respected irrespective of the caste they belong to. And the subverted caste ideology and the irrelevance of caste in a society can be seen through this. Peripherally we see the invocation of divine power into a human body but actually it connotes the idea that every human body is equally enriched with a divinity which is called the ‘humanity’. It teaches the lesson to respect each other as humans. The invoked divine powers are mostly ordinary people who were subjugated by the dominant caste.

The myth of Pottan Theyyam and Karanavar substantiate this concept. The word Karanavar represents the senior most member of a family. And this theyya kolam invokes the deceased ancestors of a family. The mightiness of these ancestors is sung through thottam paattu and it is performed by Malaya community. When they wear the attire of Karanavar they are seated in the courtyard of the house, where once their touch was seen as a kind of pollution. The myth of Pottan Theyyam explains the irrelevance in following the caste order and relevance of integrity of human mind. The notion of ‘integrity creates divinity’ is better explained by this folk art. The myth of Pottan Theyyam is associated with Sree Sankaracharya; on his way to climb Sarvagnapeedam Lord Shiva came to him as Pulaya Pottan seeing an untouchable on his way, he asked him to move out of his way as he believed that even the sight of a lower caste pollutes his divine journey. Hearing Sankara’s words Lord Shiva opened an argument asking Sree Sankaracharya what is the difference between them as it is only red coloured blood that comes of their body if a cut is made’. And Lord Shiva explains Sankara that education seems complete only if a person can hold the notion of equality and compassion to his fellow beings irrespective of the caste and gender, he/she belongs to. Later this myth of Pulaya Pottan was adapted as a Theyyam form in an urge to spread the message of irrelevance of caste order in society. In between the performance of Pottan Theyyan, the performer chants all the teachings and arguments in the form of Thottam Pattu.

Oppression and dominance were not just on the basis of caste and community. Double standards of society towards female and patriarchal dominance were also few among the issues. Theyyam in a way is a platform where depressed and oppressed female minds are liberated through a male body. The patriarchy that oppressed them invoked in their male body these mythical heroines who were the victims of their oppression. The Theyya Kolams of Kadangot Maakkam and Muchilot Bhagavathi are considered as mythical tragic heroines who got incarnated into Bhagavathi Kolam. Muchilot Bhagavathi is mainly the goddess of Vaniya community. She was originally a Brahmin woman and was intelligent and talented. Since during her days it was generally believed that women did not have the capability of being intelligent, she faced many oppositions and hurdles from various sides. People of her community did not allow her to nurture her wisdom and through foul play she was expelled from the community. Disheartened, she asked a person from the Vaniya community to bring her oil and pouring the oil into the pyre she committed suicide and turned into a divine figure. The plight of Kadangot Maakkam is also no less tragic. Being the only sister for her twelve brothers, she was spited by her sister in laws. Through false means they made their husbands believe that she committed adultery with a person from a lower caste and without looking for any explanations she and her children were brutally killed and the bards say that her family became the victim of her divine wrath. All the female characters in Theyyam show the liberation of their emotions which were once restricted. The female mannerisms are adorned in a male body which when appear in real are often seen as a derogatory happening. Here we see a subversion of gender ideology were a male invokes in him the ‘feminity’. There exist many critical commentaries on Theyyam that it is an art form where the physical presence of women is absent, Devakooth being the only Theyyam form done by females which in effect is seen as a blend of classical dance which appropriates to the constructed mannerisms of women. But when we think deeply on this issue, instead of blindly criticizing Theyyam as a patriarchal representation we should see it as a form which justifies the existence of man in women and women in man. ‘Othering’ is a common tendency in society. The thoughts of humans are also programmed according to the socially constructed gender ideology, shifting away from it makes him/her the other. Even the walk, gestures, expression, postures are categorized as feminine and masculine and people are expected to conform to either of these attributes. The existence of such conditions rules out through Theyyam where the invoked divinity becomes feminine. Here the socially constructed notion of gender ceases to exist and uplifts the ideology of ‘being human’.

Great stories of Kerala are often told through art. It is here that our legends come to light. The lives of those who were oppressed and mercilessly expelled from society are perceived in a new way. Through Theyyam their divinity is now worshipped and respected. The unheard cries and voice of these subjugated folks found a place among the higher pedestal of Gods and Goddesses and we worship them when they come alive through Theyyam and we listen to what they say with awe and respect. Their legends are spread throughout the land that once condemned them and their suppressed voices are now heard by millions of people through this magnificent art form Theyyam.