Theyyam, The Dancing Gods

Authors

  • Filipe Pereira

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15845/jaf.v2i1.1369

Keywords:

Teyyam, Ritual, Performance, India

Abstract

The cult of the Theyyams is exclusive to the north of Kerala, southwest India, and consists of a deity assuming a living form through a ritual performance. The main characteristic of this cult is that the performer is supposed to be transformed into the divinity, it is not merely a representation but a living god or goddess that is present to the believers, and everybody behaves according to that assumption.

The main type of ceremony with the participation of Theyyams is the kaliyattam, a “danced story”, which happens during a festival organized annually in a village or family temple. The performers belong to the lower castes or tribes of the traditional social stratification system.

The documentary follows Rajesh Peruvannan, a Theyyam performer, in the process of transformation into the condition of a living god. 

Author Biography

Filipe Pereira

Performer, theater director, researcher on ethnography of performance. At present Filipe Pereira is an independent researcher and does a PhD on Theater and Performance Studies, focusing on ritual performance and especially on the performance of the cult of the Teyyams from North Kerala, India.

"Theyyam, The Dancing Gods" is his first documentary film, an introduction to the field of studies.

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Published

2018-05-24

How to Cite

Pereira, F. (2018). Theyyam, The Dancing Gods. Journal of Anthropological Films, 2(1), e1369. https://doi.org/10.15845/jaf.v2i1.1369

Issue

Section

Films