thumb|[[Kathivanoor Veeran]]Theyyam also known as Kaliyattam, is an Indian ritual practiced in the North Malabar Region of Kerala and some parts of neighbouring Karnataka.
It involves extended singing of ritual songs related to the performing Theyyam and ceremonial preparations that typically span 8 to 10 hours. The ritual culminates with the placement of the mudi (sacred headgear) on the performer, a moment believed to mark the entry of the deity into the performer's body. As part of the process, the performer consumes madhyam (toddy), which is believed to suppress personal consciousness, allowing the divine consciousness of the devatha to manifest. This practice aligns with philosophical concepts found in Hindu texts such as the Yoga Vasistha, which describe how divine entities (devatas) can enter the human body, parakāya praveśanam at a Paramanu level.
Theyyam consists of traditions, rituals and customs associated with temples and sacred groves of Malabar. The people of the region consider Theyyam itself as a channel to a god and they thus seek blessings from Theyyam. In Kerala, Theyyam is performed predominantly in the North Malabar region (consisting of present-day Kasargod, Kannur districts, Mananthavady Taluk Of Wayanad And Vadakara And Koyilandy taluks of Kozhikode). A similar custom known as Bhuta Kola is followed in the Tulunadu area of the neighbouring Karnataka.
Theyyam rituals are performed by people of various castes, including the Thiyyar, who are responsible for the Kalasham submission, and the Malayar and Vannan communities, who perform the Theyyam. The Thiyyars traditionally hold the right to cancel any Theyyam performance if needed. Castes that adopted Brahmanical customs and acquired revenue titles have historically had no role in Theyyam, as they relinquished their kulam (lineage) and kulacharam (ritual practices) upon integrating into the Brahmanical fold, often in service of Vedic Brahmins. Female members of these castes are traditionally not permitted to enter the sacred space through the front entrance (thirumuttam) and must instead use the rear entrance.
Theyyam season starts on the tenth day of the Malayalam month of Thulam (usually during October in the Gregorian calendar, and is known as paththaam-udayam) and lasts up to seven months until the middle of Edavam month (typically late May and June). The last Kaliyaattam for the season is performed at Madayi Kavu and Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathy Temple, both being the family shrines of Kolathiri royal family. Devakoothu is performed only in the Thekkumbad Kulom temple.
Theyyam is typically performed by people from castes and tribes like Pulayar, Vannan, Malayan, Anhoottan, Munnoottan, Mavilan, Koppalan, Velan, Chingathan, Kalanaadi, Paravan, and Nalikeyavar. Of these, Kalanaadi people perform only in Wayanad district, while Parava, Pambada, Paanaara and Nalikeyavar perform in places north of Kerala, Mangalapuram (Mangalore) and Udupi districts.
The political customs surrounding Theyyam have changed in modern times. During the period of Brahminical dominance, the Theyyams of their warriors who fought against that power were traditionally performed in the very ancestral households (tharavads) that had betrayed and killed those heroes, later becoming mixed-caste lineages. The ritual involved the Theyyam walking for kilometers until it reached those families and blessing their members, instead of those families coming to seek blessings from the Theyyam, a practice that the younger generation of Thiyyar has now discontinued. As they reason, "If Bhagat Singh were similarly dressed up and made to dance before today's British people, Indians might forgive it, but Sikhs never would". For this reason, Theyyams such as Kathivanoor Veeran and Koodan Gurunathan have now ended this practice. Some other castes have made it clear to those who claim to be "self-superior" and label others as "mlecchas", if they call others "sewage cleaners", they are ready to accept it, and are even ready to give them paper and a pen to write it down, and sign beneath it if needed. However, they add one condition: those who mock them should refrain from worshipping their kulapurvikar (ancestral deities, such as Vayanattu Kulavan) and aadhi daivam (primordial family deities) in their households. They further stated that such people should worship their own gods, if they have any, instead of mocking them while still worshipping their deities.
There are approximately 400 types of Theyyam, including Kathivanoor Veeran, Vishnumoorthy Theyyam, Vettakkorumakan and Sree Muthappan. and made it a deep-rooted folk religion of millions. For instance, Bhagavathi, the mother goddesses had and still has an important place in Theyyam. Besides this, practices like spirit worship, ancestor worship, hero-worship, masathi-worship, tree worship, animal worship, serpent worship, the worship of the goddesses of disease and the worship of Gramadevata (Village-Deity) are included in the mainstream of the Theyyam. Along with these gods and goddesses there exist innumerable folk gods and goddesses. Most of these goddesses are known as Bhagavathy.
Different branches of mainstream Hindu religion such as Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Shaivism now dominate Theyyam. However, the forms of propitiation and other rituals are continuations of a very ancient tradition. In several cult-centres, blood offering is seen, which is forbidden in Buddhism and Jainism. In such centres, separate places outside the precincts of the shrine are selected for blood offerings and for the preparation of the traditional Kalam (square made for this sacrifice occasion) known as . The Theyyam deities propitiated through cock-sacrifice will not enter such shrines. This religious cockfight over blood sacrifice, which does also include the cockfight as a blood sacrifice, is a prime example of "cultural synthesis of 'little' and 'great' cultures".
On account of the late revival of the Vaishnavism movement in Kerala, it does not have a deep impact on Theyyam. Only a few deities are available under this category. Two major Theyyam deities of Vaishnavism are Vishnumoorthi and Daivathar. Vaishnavism was very popular in the Tuluva region in the 13th century when it came under the rule of Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysala dynasty. He was a great champion of Vaishnavism. Most probably he was initially deified as Vishnumoorthi and incorporated into the Bhoota cult of the Tuluvas and then further incorporated as a prominent folk deity into the Theyyam as well. To some, the legend of Vishnumoorthi is symbolizes the god's migration from Mangalore to Kolathunadu.
All other categories of Theyyam deities can be classified under Shaivism or Shaktism. Even spirits, ancestors, heroes, and animals are deified and included in those categories. Briefly, Theyyam provides a good example for the religious evolution of, and the subsequent different stages in modern Hinduism, with the overall understanding that within Hindu syncretism lay propitiation as ancient practices and rituals of ancient worship intended for the blessings of the supernatural not unlike, "in Indus Valley and other ancient civilizations, mother goddess had been invoked for fertility and prosperity".
Patronage
Out of devotion, ruling clans established their own shrines and Kavus for Theyyam deities where non-sattvic rituals and customs are observed. The goddesses like Rakteshwari, Chamundi, Someshwari, Kurathi, and the gods like Vishnumoorthi are propitiated in these household shrines. There, the Theyyam dancers appear during the annual festivals of gods and goddesses. The rituals in such shrines are different from those of the Brahmanical temples. This fusion in the later stage is an indication of the gradual introduction of civilization into Southern India with increasing Aryan influence and assimilation of local cultures into the large Vedic religion.
thumb|Chief Minister of [[Kerala, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan, presenting a Bhairavan Theyyam memento to Prime Minister Narendra Modi]]
Ritual performance
thumb|Face art of Theyyam is one of the best examples of folk painting in Kerala.
thumb|Puliyoor Kali Theyyam
The dance or invocation is generally performed in front of the village shrine. It is also performed in the houses as ancestor-worship with elaborate rites and rituals.
There is no stage or curtain or other such arrangements for the performance. The devotees would be standing or some of them would be sitting on a sacred tree in front of the shrine. In short, it is an open theatre. Performance of a particular deity according to its significance and hierarchy in the shrine continues for 12 to 24 hours with intervals. The chief dancer who propitiates the central deity of the shrine has to reside in the rituals. Further, after the sun sets, this particular dancer would not eat anything for the remainder of that day. His make-up is done by specialists and other dancers. The first part of the performance is usually known as Vellattam or Thottam. It is performed without proper make-up or any decorative costume. Only a small, red headdress is worn on this occasion.
The dancer along with the drummers recites the particular ritual song, which describes the myths and legends, of the deity of the shrine or the folk deity to be propitiated. This is accompanied by the playing of folk musical instruments. After finishing this primary ritualistic part of the invocation, the dancer returns to the green room. Again after a short interval, he appears with proper make-up and costumes. There are different patterns of face painting. Some of these patterns are called vairadelam, kattaram, kozhipuspam, kottumpurikam, and prakkezhuthu. Mostly primary and secondary colours are applied with contrast for face painting. It helps in effecting certain stylization in the dances. Then the dancer comes in front of the shrine and gradually "metamorphoses" into the particular deity of the shrine. The performance signifies the transitional inversion, reversal, and elevation of status denoting the anti-structural homogeneity of Theyyam. He, after observation of certain rituals places the head-dress on his head and starts dancing. In the background, folk musical instruments like chenda, tudi, kuzhal and veekni are played in a certain rhythm. All the dancers take a shield and kadthala (sword) in their hands as continuation of the weapons. Then the dancer circumambulates the shrine, runs in the courtyard and continues dancing there. The Theyyam dance has different steps known as Kalaasams. Each Kalaasam is repeated systematically from the first to the eighth step of footwork. A performance is a combination of playing of musical instruments, vocal recitations, dance, and peculiar makeup (usually predominantly orange) and costumes.
Types of Theyyam
There are more than 400 types of Theyyam, 112 of which are famous. Some of the famous Theyyams Are:
Kathivanoor Veeran
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The Kathivanoor Veeran theyyam is performed in the memory of the great Thiyya community warrior Mandhappan Chekavar. and elevated to the status of a deity. According to a holy manuscript (Pattola), Muchilot Bhagavathi is the Kali Yuga avatar of the goddesses Sita of the Treta Yuga, Maya of the Dvapara Yuga, and Gayatri, who appeared before Sage Vishvamitra. While travelling on Earth, she is believed to have rested at the home of Muchilot Pada Nair, who was a soldier belonging to the Muchilot clan among vāṇiyas.
Muthappan
thumb|Thiruvappana or Valiya Muttapan ([[Vishnu) on left and the Vellatom or Cheriya Muttapan (Shiva) on right|235x235px]]
Muthappan theyyam consists of two divine figures and is considered as the personification of two divine figures – the Thiruvappana or Valiya Muttapan (Vishnu) and the Vellatom or Cheriya Muttapan (Shiva). Muthappan Theyyam is different from other theyyams as it is performed all around the year. Muthappan Anthithira is another theyyam dedicated to Muthapan. The uniqueness of it is that it is performed only once in all the Muthapan temples.
Gulikan
thumb|Gulikan Theyyam
Gulikan represents Yama, the Hindu god of death. The Benkanakavu (Venganakavu) in Nileshwar is the most famous temple dedicated to Gulikan.