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Taiyam

Author: Khokar, Mohan

Keywords: Theyyam (Dance)
India--Kerala

Issue Date: 1989

Publisher: Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi

Description: The mother Goddess holds precedence in the religious affiliations of the people of Kerala and though the Goddess is recognized by several names, it is as Bhagavati that she gets star billing in Kerala. Temples and shrines dedicated to Bhagavati abound all over the region especially north Malabar carry an import all their own. From February to April each year these abodes of worship quit their normal, humdrum routine and, overnight, rouse themselves to provide the backdrop for a dance spectacle of overpowering ritualistic grandeur. Both the event and the characters who adorn it are known as Taiyam, a corruption of the word daivam or divinity. The main features of the Taiyam celebration are the appearance in appropriate disguise of a series of performers impersonating gods and demons the masquerade and dance of these characters before those assembled to witness the same and the acceptance of offerings from the congregation followed by the bestowing of blessings upon all. Taiyam tradition is centuries old.The dancers are drawn exclusively from the lower castes not ably the Pulaya, Panan, Vannan and Tiyan, who, by profession, are farmers, weavers, basket makers, washer men, toddy-tappers. Taiyam today essentially belongs to the simple Village folk.

Source: Sangeet Natak Akademi

Type: Article

Received From: Sangeet Natak Akademi


DC Field Value
dc.contributor.author Khokar, Mohan
dc.coverage.spatial Kerala
dc.date.accessioned 2017-07-04T22:29:47Z
dc.date.available 2017-07-04T22:29:47Z
dc.date.issued 1989
dc.description.abstract The mother Goddess holds precedence in the religious affiliations of the people of Kerala and though the Goddess is recognized by several names, it is as Bhagavati that she gets star billing in Kerala. Temples and shrines dedicated to Bhagavati abound all over the region especially north Malabar carry an import all their own. From February to April each year these abodes of worship quit their normal, humdrum routine and, overnight, rouse themselves to provide the backdrop for a dance spectacle of overpowering ritualistic grandeur. Both the event and the characters who adorn it are known as Taiyam, a corruption of the word daivam or divinity. The main features of the Taiyam celebration are the appearance in appropriate disguise of a series of performers impersonating gods and demons the masquerade and dance of these characters before those assembled to witness the same and the acceptance of offerings from the congregation followed by the bestowing of blessings upon all. Taiyam tradition is centuries old.The dancers are drawn exclusively from the lower castes not ably the Pulaya, Panan, Vannan and Tiyan, who, by profession, are farmers, weavers, basket makers, washer men, toddy-tappers. Taiyam today essentially belongs to the simple Village folk.
dc.source Sangeet Natak Akademi
dc.format.extent 26-32 p.
dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
dc.language.iso en
dc.publisher Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi
dc.subject Theyyam (Dance)
India--Kerala
dc.type Article
dc.identifier.issuenumber 94
dc.format.medium text
DC Field Value
dc.contributor.author Khokar, Mohan
dc.coverage.spatial Kerala
dc.date.accessioned 2017-07-04T22:29:47Z
dc.date.available 2017-07-04T22:29:47Z
dc.date.issued 1989
dc.description.abstract The mother Goddess holds precedence in the religious affiliations of the people of Kerala and though the Goddess is recognized by several names, it is as Bhagavati that she gets star billing in Kerala. Temples and shrines dedicated to Bhagavati abound all over the region especially north Malabar carry an import all their own. From February to April each year these abodes of worship quit their normal, humdrum routine and, overnight, rouse themselves to provide the backdrop for a dance spectacle of overpowering ritualistic grandeur. Both the event and the characters who adorn it are known as Taiyam, a corruption of the word daivam or divinity. The main features of the Taiyam celebration are the appearance in appropriate disguise of a series of performers impersonating gods and demons the masquerade and dance of these characters before those assembled to witness the same and the acceptance of offerings from the congregation followed by the bestowing of blessings upon all. Taiyam tradition is centuries old.The dancers are drawn exclusively from the lower castes not ably the Pulaya, Panan, Vannan and Tiyan, who, by profession, are farmers, weavers, basket makers, washer men, toddy-tappers. Taiyam today essentially belongs to the simple Village folk.
dc.source Sangeet Natak Akademi
dc.format.extent 26-32 p.
dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
dc.language.iso en
dc.publisher Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi
dc.subject Theyyam (Dance)
India--Kerala
dc.type Article
dc.identifier.issuenumber 94
dc.format.medium text