Theyam is a very important form of ritual in North Kerala. From Udupi in South Karnataka to Kannur, Kasaragod, Wayanad and Kozhikode districts in North Kerala and Kodagu in Karnataka are the areas where Theiya or related rituals exist. But Kannur and Kasaragod are the only places where the Theyas culturally, spiritually and in their fullness influence people in every sense.
Theyam is generally thought to be the northern vernacular form of the word god. Instead of worshiping an invisible power, theyas are concepts of God that we can directly see and speak to, convince us of our sorrows, and suggest solutions to them. Basically, the belief about all Theiyams is that the time the Theiyam artist ties the Theiyam, he becomes a god and then after the Theiyam is over, the theyyam artist become normal human beings again. However, there are those who see and enjoy Theiya as a very special ritualistic art without giving it any divine connotations. Theya and its associated ceremonies encompass various art forms like music, painting, sculpture, literature, dance and background beauty at its most beautiful.
There are about 400 Theiyams currently in existence as it is a form of ritual that emerged from the tribal culture, so people belonging to different communities have the right to perform different types of Theiyam. Vannan, Malayan, Anjootan, Munnootan, Chinkatan, Pulayar, Kopalan, Paravan, Nalikayavar, Velan, Mavilan etc. are the people of the community. Theyam artists who are proficient in the art of Theyam are given the customary name and silk ring. Various customary names are Panicker, Peru Malayan, Peru Vannan and Alappadampan.
Many Theya concepts stand as the deity of the oppressed and marginalized. There are various types of Theiyas, such as those who lost their lives due to the brutality of the ruling classes, living heroes, mythological characters, mother gods, maidens and snake gods. Ninety percent of them are female characters.
Theiyakalm begins with the Malayalam month of Thulam 10th, this date is known as Patham Udayam. Thulam Ten mostly falls in the English month of October. Then the Theyyam season, which lasts for about seven months, ends by the middle of the malayalam month Idavam , called as Idavappathi. Middle of Idavam month mostly falls in English montho of May or June.
The places where theyam perform are generally called Kavu. However, according to the characteristics of the place and the theyas, Kavu are known by many names like Ara, Mundya, Palliara, Kotam, Kazhakam, Kalari, Matilakam, Madam and Koolakam. Today, many people refer to Kavus as temples, but in reality Kavu and Temple are two very different concepts. There is no similarity between them in worship practices. If the idea is that the god resides as a deity in the temples, the idea is that the kolakaran calls the god while perform theyam in Kavu. In this purely Dravidian conception, God does not dwell anywhere, but pervades everywhere. That’s why there is usually no custom of devotees going to Kavu for praying when there are no ceremonies like Theyyam.
In the areas south of the Valapatnam river in North Malabar, the Theyyas are known as Thira. Apart from this, Theyyams are known as Deyom in Tulunadu. Tulunadu is the area south of Kalyanapuram river in Udupi which is part of present day Karnataka and north of Chandragiri river in Kasaragod which is part of Kerala. There are marked differences in the form and instruments of Theyyam in different regions. In Tulunadu, Kavus (The place where theyyam performed) are generally called Sano.
In most of the kavus, theyatam is held every year and the date of theya is fixed in the Malayalam months. In the kavus that perform theyatam every year, the same Malayalam month date remains the same. Not all kavas have to perform the yayatam year after year.
Each Kavu is known by the name of a Theyyam, but other Theyyams besides that Theiyam are often associated with that Kavu.
Most of the most important Theyyams are pefromed in three stages namely Thotam, Ilam Kolam or Vellatam and complete Kolam. Thotam is the singing of the story and descriptions of the Theiyam which is going to be peformed in the form of verse while wearing a red silk and turban. Ilam kolam or vellattam is the peformed of the youth of the theyyam and the final complete theyyam descends after the totam and vellattam.
