Theeyaattam
Encyclopedia
Theeyaattam also known as Theeyaattu (Tīyāttu) is a traditional dance form performed by the peoples of Theeyaattunni
and Thiyaadi Nambiar
,a sub-caste of Ambalavasi
community in Kerala
of southwestern India
.
There were two types of Theeyaattam - Bhadrakali Theeyaattu and Ayyappan Theeyaattu. Bhadrakali Theeyattu is performed by Theeyaattunnis (a Brahmin community in Kerala) whereas Ayyappan Theeyaattu is performed by Tīyyādi Nambiars (Ambalavasi).
temples, mostly in the Pathanamthitta
, Alappuzha
, Kottayam
and Ernakulam
districts of south-central Kerala. Pallippurathu Kavu at Kottayam (family temple of Kottarathil Sankunni) and Vanarkavu at Madakkathanam, near Thodupuzha,Puthukulangara Devi Kshetram near Thiruvalla are some of the places where tiyyattu is performed during annual festivals. It is also performed as an offering at temples and houses.
The performance has many parts of which - preparation of the ritual art known as kalam (Kalamezhuthu), singing songs in praise of Bhadrakali and the performance of the dance are a few. Kalamezhuthu is done during the day using natural coloured powders on the floor. An elaborate picture of Bhadrakali is normally made. The singing of the songs take place after the Kalamezhuthu is finished in front of it and may last up to three hours. For the dance a male member dresses up as Bhadrakali
, a creation of Shiva. In the performance she is just back from killing Darika and is telling the events to Shiva who is symbolised by the lighted lamp. As she was affected by small pox and has pockmarks on her face she has her back to the lamp almost throughout the performance.
Shree Bhadra Kalasamajam, Kottayam made some efforts to revive and reform the art.As it is being as a ritualistic art form and has strict traditional rituals which are strictly followed even now,Theeyattu cannot be modified at one's will.
community living (basically) in three central Kerala districts of Thrissur
, Palakkad
and Malappuram
. The all-male art centres around the mythological story of the birth of Lord Ayyappa from the relationship of Lord Vishnu
in his ephemeral impersonation as Mohini
and Lord Shiva
.
The most common version of Thiyyattu involves four phases of presentation: a) Kalamezhuthu (sketching the kalam—picture—of Ayyappa using natural pigments), b) Kottum Pattum (rendition of invocatory songs of Ayyappa and a stylised narration of the story of his birth), c) Koothu esture-laden dance enacting the build-up story to the delivery of the lord) and d) Velichchappaadu (the slow-paced to frenzied dance of the oracle who eventually erases the kalam—the image of the lord sketched on the sanctified floor). It takes roughly a couple of hours for the kalam (image) of the lord to be completed, after which the rest of the three rituals would consume nearly three hours altogether.
The picture of Ayyappa is sketched and embellished in five natural colours—white (rice powder), yellow (turmeric powder), green (ground semi-dry leaves of the 'vaaka' or manchadi' tree, red (a mix of turmeric powder and slaked lime) and black (powdered charred rice husk). The lord invariably holds his weapons like the sword and the bow-and-arrow, and, in more elaborate versions is sketched mounted on the tiger or the horse.
The songs—accompanied by the beats of 'para', a smaller version of the chenda
, and the cymbals called ilathalam -- praising the lord bear a mix of quaint old Malayalam and Tamil
with a streak of endemic tunes, some of which can be traced to classical raga
s of the Sopanam
style of Kerala music besides that belonging to the Carnatic
idiom. The stylised rendition of the birth of Ayyappa, called Thottam, also sticks to the same mix of languages, but is devoid of music.
The Koothu is enacted with no make-up but a defined set of costumes. Facial emotions are nil, dance movements are minimal and hand gestures would look the less refined versions of Koodiyattam
and Kathakali
. The Koothu is usually performed to the accompaniment of chenda, ilathalam and 'para'.
The Velichchappadu (oracle), wielding a small sword, is bare-chested but for the garland and, canonically, with a flowy hair; the face either bearded or clean-shaven. Around the waist, he is draped in cloth pieces of white and red colours. The oracle begins with slow steps while circumambulating around the 'kalam', but the tempo gains with the circles he make—around 9 or 11 of them, overall. Then he leaps on to the image in a frenzy, but is calm when he later erases the image with both legs. The face of the lord alone is erased with the (right) hand. Out from the 'kalam', the oracle utters 'revelatory' sentences in (presumed) trance -- 'kalpana' as they are called. The devotees are distributed with the prasadam which is the mixed powder used in the 'kalam'.
The art is sometimes staged in bigger forms that last from dawn to late night when it is called Udayasthamaya Thiyyattu. In such cases, the Koothu would deal with twelve stories ahead of the birth of Ayyappa. Such performances usually feature the challenging 'Pantheeraayiram', which is when the oracle would take a (three- to four-hour-long) break from the circumambulations to break (dehusked and sufficiently polished) coconuts totalling 12,000 to the rhythmic beats of chenda-and-ilathalam concert that would gain speed towards the climax.
The Thiyyadi Nambiar families, despite their existence in central Kerala, enjoy the popularity of their art more in the upstate Malabar belt. Some experts/historians trace this pattern to the community's possible southward flee from their original north Malabar homes during the controversial temple destruction spree of the 18-century Mysore king Tippu Sultan.
One of the dominant Theeyattu families is Nedumprom Panavelil Madhom located at Thiruvalla in Pathanamthitta Dist.(Kerala).They have centuries old tradition in performing Theeyattu. Brahmashri V Subrahmania Sharma and Brahmashri S.K.Sharma are the chief performers from this age-old Brahmin family.
Family is well-known for Tantric and Mantric Poojas,Guruthi, Astrology etc.
Other performer is Brahmashri Sasidhara Sharma from Ullala along with his brother Brahmashri Narayana Sharma.
There are some other performers spread across other parts of Kerala too.
watch bhadrakali theeyattu on Youtube.
watch bhadrakali theeyattu on googlevideo
Unni
Unni is used as a first name in and Kerala, India. In Malayalam language, it is also used as an adjective meaning an infant boy. Thus, Unnikrishnan means Lord Krishna in the infant form and Unniyesu means Yesu in the infant form...
and Thiyaadi Nambiar
Nambiar
-Communities:The name Nambiar applies to several Hindu communities from South India:-Kerala:*Nambiar - the Royal families and the subdivision within the Nair caste from the North Malabar region of Kerala....
,a sub-caste of Ambalavasi
Ambalavasi
Ambalavasi is a generic name for a collection of castes among Hindus in Kerala who render temple services.-Etymology:The term Ambalavasi is derived from two Malayalam words, being Ambalam and Vasi...
community in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
of southwestern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
There were two types of Theeyaattam - Bhadrakali Theeyaattu and Ayyappan Theeyaattu. Bhadrakali Theeyattu is performed by Theeyaattunnis (a Brahmin community in Kerala) whereas Ayyappan Theeyaattu is performed by Tīyyādi Nambiars (Ambalavasi).
Bhadrakali Theeyattu
Bhadrakali Tiyyattu is a ritualistic dance usually performed in BhadrakaliBhadrakali
Bhadrakāli , is one of the forms of the Great Goddess mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam. In Sanskrit, the word Bhadra means "blessed", "auspicious", "fair", "beautiful", "good", "fortunate", "prosperous"....
temples, mostly in the Pathanamthitta
Pathanamthitta
Pathanamthitta is a large town and a municipality situated in the central Travancore region in the state of Kerala, south India, spread over an area of 23.50 km2. It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The city has a population of 38,000...
, Alappuzha
Alappuzha
Alappuzha , also known as Alleppey, is a town in Alappuzha District of Kerala state of southern India. As per 2001 census Alleppey is the sixth largest city in Kerala with an urban population of 177,029. Alleppey is situated to the south of Kochi and north of Trivandrum...
, Kottayam
Kottayam
Kottayam is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative capital of the Kottayam district. Kottayam Kottayam (Malayalam: കോട്ടയം) is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 55.40 km2. It is the administrative...
and Ernakulam
Ernakulam
Ernakulam refers to the downtown area or the western part of the mainland of Kochi city in Kerala, India. The city is the most urban part of Kochi and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Ernakulam is called the commercial capital of the state of Kerala and is a main nerve of business in...
districts of south-central Kerala. Pallippurathu Kavu at Kottayam (family temple of Kottarathil Sankunni) and Vanarkavu at Madakkathanam, near Thodupuzha,Puthukulangara Devi Kshetram near Thiruvalla are some of the places where tiyyattu is performed during annual festivals. It is also performed as an offering at temples and houses.
The performance has many parts of which - preparation of the ritual art known as kalam (Kalamezhuthu), singing songs in praise of Bhadrakali and the performance of the dance are a few. Kalamezhuthu is done during the day using natural coloured powders on the floor. An elaborate picture of Bhadrakali is normally made. The singing of the songs take place after the Kalamezhuthu is finished in front of it and may last up to three hours. For the dance a male member dresses up as Bhadrakali
Bhadrakali
Bhadrakāli , is one of the forms of the Great Goddess mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam. In Sanskrit, the word Bhadra means "blessed", "auspicious", "fair", "beautiful", "good", "fortunate", "prosperous"....
, a creation of Shiva. In the performance she is just back from killing Darika and is telling the events to Shiva who is symbolised by the lighted lamp. As she was affected by small pox and has pockmarks on her face she has her back to the lamp almost throughout the performance.
Shree Bhadra Kalasamajam, Kottayam made some efforts to revive and reform the art.As it is being as a ritualistic art form and has strict traditional rituals which are strictly followed even now,Theeyattu cannot be modified at one's will.
Ayyappan Thiyyaattu
Ayyappan Thiyyattu is a temple art performed by the Thiyyadi Nambiar community, a minuscule ambalavasiAmbalavasi
Ambalavasi is a generic name for a collection of castes among Hindus in Kerala who render temple services.-Etymology:The term Ambalavasi is derived from two Malayalam words, being Ambalam and Vasi...
community living (basically) in three central Kerala districts of Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
, Palakkad
Palakkad
Palakkad , formerly known as Palghat, is a municipality and a town in the state of Kerala in southern India, spread over an area of 26.60 km2.The city is situated about north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram. It is the administrative headquarters of Palakkad District...
and Malappuram
Malappuram
Malappuram is a municipality in the South Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 33.61 km2. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Malappuram district. As per the 2011 census Malappuram urban agglomeration is the fourth largest UA in kerala with a total population of...
. The all-male art centres around the mythological story of the birth of Lord Ayyappa from the relationship of Lord Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
in his ephemeral impersonation as Mohini
Mohini
Mohini , in Hindu mythology, is the name of the only female Avatar of the god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a femme fatale, an enchantress, who maddens lovers, sometimes leading them to their doom. Mohini is introduced into the Hindu mythos in the narrative epic of the Mahabharata...
and Lord Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
.
The most common version of Thiyyattu involves four phases of presentation: a) Kalamezhuthu (sketching the kalam—picture—of Ayyappa using natural pigments), b) Kottum Pattum (rendition of invocatory songs of Ayyappa and a stylised narration of the story of his birth), c) Koothu esture-laden dance enacting the build-up story to the delivery of the lord) and d) Velichchappaadu (the slow-paced to frenzied dance of the oracle who eventually erases the kalam—the image of the lord sketched on the sanctified floor). It takes roughly a couple of hours for the kalam (image) of the lord to be completed, after which the rest of the three rituals would consume nearly three hours altogether.
The picture of Ayyappa is sketched and embellished in five natural colours—white (rice powder), yellow (turmeric powder), green (ground semi-dry leaves of the 'vaaka' or manchadi' tree, red (a mix of turmeric powder and slaked lime) and black (powdered charred rice husk). The lord invariably holds his weapons like the sword and the bow-and-arrow, and, in more elaborate versions is sketched mounted on the tiger or the horse.
The songs—accompanied by the beats of 'para', a smaller version of the chenda
Chenda
The Chenda is a cylindrical percussion instrument used widely in the state of Kerala, and Tulu Nadu of Karnataka State in India. In Tulu Nadu it is known as Chande....
, and the cymbals called ilathalam -- praising the lord bear a mix of quaint old Malayalam and Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
with a streak of endemic tunes, some of which can be traced to classical raga
Raga
A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
s of the Sopanam
Sopanam
Sopana Sangeetham is a form of Indian classical music that developed in the temples of Kerala in south India in the wake of the increasing popularity of Jayadeva's Gita Govinda or Ashtapadis.-Etymology:...
style of Kerala music besides that belonging to the Carnatic
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
idiom. The stylised rendition of the birth of Ayyappa, called Thottam, also sticks to the same mix of languages, but is devoid of music.
The Koothu is enacted with no make-up but a defined set of costumes. Facial emotions are nil, dance movements are minimal and hand gestures would look the less refined versions of Koodiyattam
Koodiyattam
Koodiyattam or Kutiyattam is a form of Sanskrit theatre traditionally performed in the state of Kerala, India. Performed in the Sanskrit language in Hindu temples, it is believed to be 2,000 years old...
and Kathakali
Kathakali
Kathakali is a highly stylized classical Indian dance-drama noted for the attractive make-up of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music and complementary percussion...
. The Koothu is usually performed to the accompaniment of chenda, ilathalam and 'para'.
The Velichchappadu (oracle), wielding a small sword, is bare-chested but for the garland and, canonically, with a flowy hair; the face either bearded or clean-shaven. Around the waist, he is draped in cloth pieces of white and red colours. The oracle begins with slow steps while circumambulating around the 'kalam', but the tempo gains with the circles he make—around 9 or 11 of them, overall. Then he leaps on to the image in a frenzy, but is calm when he later erases the image with both legs. The face of the lord alone is erased with the (right) hand. Out from the 'kalam', the oracle utters 'revelatory' sentences in (presumed) trance -- 'kalpana' as they are called. The devotees are distributed with the prasadam which is the mixed powder used in the 'kalam'.
The art is sometimes staged in bigger forms that last from dawn to late night when it is called Udayasthamaya Thiyyattu. In such cases, the Koothu would deal with twelve stories ahead of the birth of Ayyappa. Such performances usually feature the challenging 'Pantheeraayiram', which is when the oracle would take a (three- to four-hour-long) break from the circumambulations to break (dehusked and sufficiently polished) coconuts totalling 12,000 to the rhythmic beats of chenda-and-ilathalam concert that would gain speed towards the climax.
The Thiyyadi Nambiar families, despite their existence in central Kerala, enjoy the popularity of their art more in the upstate Malabar belt. Some experts/historians trace this pattern to the community's possible southward flee from their original north Malabar homes during the controversial temple destruction spree of the 18-century Mysore king Tippu Sultan.
Performers
The performers of Bhadrakaali Theeyattu are located only at a few places across Kerala.One of the dominant Theeyattu families is Nedumprom Panavelil Madhom located at Thiruvalla in Pathanamthitta Dist.(Kerala).They have centuries old tradition in performing Theeyattu. Brahmashri V Subrahmania Sharma and Brahmashri S.K.Sharma are the chief performers from this age-old Brahmin family.
Family is well-known for Tantric and Mantric Poojas,Guruthi, Astrology etc.
Other performer is Brahmashri Sasidhara Sharma from Ullala along with his brother Brahmashri Narayana Sharma.
There are some other performers spread across other parts of Kerala too.
External links
watch bhadrakali theeyattu on Youtube.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXokdLGXk1Q
watch bhadrakali theeyattu on googlevideo
- http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=bhadrakali+theeyattu&sitesearch=#