തെയ്യം · The living gods of North Malabar
What is Theyyam?
Theyyam (from daivam, god) is the ritual dance-worship of North Malabar, more than a thousand years old, in which a performer from a hereditary community becomes, for a few hours, the deity itself. After the invocation songs (thottam), the elaborate face-painting and the placing of the great headgear (mudi), the performer dances, speaks as the god, and blesses each devotee individually. Over four hundred Theyyams are recorded; Kannur district is their heartland, with a Kaliyattam somewhere almost every night from October to May.
Forms
The Theyyams
Filter by the nature of the deity.
Vaishnava
Sree Muthappan
ശ്രീ മുത്തപ്പൻ
The people's deity of North Malabar — a fusion of Vishnu and Shiva, worshipped with toddy and dried fish, performed every day at Parassinik…
Bhagavathi (Mother Goddess)
Muchilottu Bhagavathi
മുച്ചിലോട്ട് ഭഗവതി
The graceful mother goddess of the Vaniya community, with over a hundred Muchilottu kavus across North Malabar and the grandest Perumkaliya…
Veeran (Hero)
Kathivanoor Veeran
കതിവനൂർ വീരൻ
The hero-warrior Theyyam: a tragic love story from Mangad to Kudagu, performed with blazing swordplay in a kalari arena.
Vaishnava · Fire
Vishnumoorthi
വിഷ്ണുമൂർത്തി
Narasimha, the man-lion avatar of Vishnu, tearing Hiranyakashipu apart in a spectacular, athletic performance.
Bhagavathi (Mother Goddess)
Raktha Chamundi
രക്തചാമുണ്ഡി
The blood-red Chamundi who drank the blood of the demon Raktabija — fierce, brilliant and breathtaking in costume.
Guardian / Chathan
Gulikan
ഗുളികൻ
Born from the big toe of Shiva as the god of death and time; a comic yet fearsome guardian who ends many Kaliyattams.
Ancestor · Fire
Pottan Theyyam
പൊട്ടൻ തെയ്യം
The revolutionary Theyyam: a Pulaya man who challenges Adi Shankara on caste and lies on a bed of burning embers.
Bhagavathi (Mother Goddess) · Fire
Theechamundi
തീച്ചാമുണ്ഡി
The fire Chamundi: the performer leaps dozens of times into a blazing pyre of wood, a sight that leaves every visitor speechless.
Veeran (Hero) · Fire
Kandanar Kelan
കണ്ടനാർ കേളൻ
The hunter who died in a forest fire and was revived by Wayanadan Kulavan; a fire Theyyam performed with a burning stack of logs.
Nature & Animal
Wayanadan Kulavan
വയനാടൻ കുലവൻ
The hunter-god of the Wayanad forests, patron of the Thiyya community; toddy is his offering and the bow his weapon.
Bhagavathi (Mother Goddess) · Fire
Puthiya Bhagavathi
പുതിയ ഭഗവതി
A form of Bhadrakali born from Shiva's third eye who dances on a bed of fire; one of the most common Bhagavathi Theyyams of Kannur.
Guardian / Chathan
Kuttichathan
കുട്ടിച്ചാത്തൻ
The mischievous boy-god of the Kalakattu Illam, worshipped in 390 forms; at Koyyodan Korothu forty-one Kuttichathans dance together.
Shaiva
Bhairavan
ഭൈരവൻ
The terrifying form of Shiva, with a black beard and blazing eyes, worshipped in many Kannur family shrines.
Vaishnava
Bali
ബാലി
The monkey-king Vali of the Ramayana; the Bali–Sugriva combat at Andalur Kavu is one of the season's great spectacles.
Nature & Animal
Vettakkorumakan
വേട്ടയ്ക്കൊരുമകൻ
The hunter-son of Shiva and Parvati, performed with bow and arrow; a principal deity at Mamundiyadu and Arimbra Kottam.
Ancestor
Makkam Bhagavathi
മാക്കം ഭഗവതി
A wronged woman of Kadangodu, murdered with her two children by jealous relatives and worshipped ever since as a goddess.
Vaishnava
Daivathar
ദൈവത്താർ
Lord Rama as Theyyam at Andalur Kavu, Dharmadam — with Angakkaran (Lakshmana) and Bappuran (Hanuman) beside him.
Bhagavathi (Mother Goddess)
Karimchamundi
കരിഞ്ചാമുണ്ഡി
The black Chamundi with a fearsome wooden mask, worshipped at the Payyanur Karim Chamundi temple.
Bhagavathi (Mother Goddess)
Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathi
കളരിവാതുക്കൽ ഭഗവതി
Bhadrakali of the Chirakkal royal house, whose Theyyam in Edavam closes the season along with Madayi Kavu.
Bhagavathi (Mother Goddess)
Thiruvarkkadu Bhagavathi
തിരുവർക്കാട്ട് ഭഗവതി
The Bhadrakali of Madayi Kavu, the ancient royal shrine of the Kolathiris on Madayipara.
Bhagavathi (Mother Goddess)
Neeliyar Bhagavathi
നീലിയാർ ഭഗവതി
The goddess of Neeliyar Kottam, a shrine without walls — a sacred grove near Mayyil where nature itself is the temple.
Nature & Animal
Puliyoor Kali
പുലിയൂർ കാളി
The tiger deities of North Malabar — Puliyoor Kali, Puliyoor Kannan and Kalapuli — performed with tiger face paint.
Bhagavathi (Mother Goddess)
Bhagavathi (Kurumba / Chamundi forms)
ഭഗവതി
The many mother-goddess Theyyams — Sree Kurumba, Chamundi, Bhadrakali, Paradevatha — presiding over most kavus of Kannur.
Guardian / Chathan
Vairajathan
വൈരജാതൻ
Guardian deity of the Vishwakarma (artisan) community, worshipped at Kunnumbram and other artisan shrines.
Guardian / Chathan
Kshetrapalan
ക്ഷേത്രപാലൻ
The guardian of the temple, a Shaiva deity with one of the tallest headgears in Theyyam.