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Theyyam ritual

The Theyyam ritual is one of the most important and oldest rituals in South India. Despite that, not many people know the story behind this unique tradition. That’s why today’s news item will show you the world of a Theyyam.

Prosperity or doomed
The Theyyam ritual is an annual ritual. It is a full season and lasts 5 to 6 months. The ritual takes place mainly on the countryside and in small villages in the state of Kerala, South India. During this ritual, a villager will become a Theyyam. This can be determined by his family or he gets chosen by the other villagers. The villagers see a Theyyam as an Indian God. He will decide if the village gets prosperity or if they will be doomed for the next year. Despite the fact that this tradition is several centuries old, the villagers still strongly believe in this tradition. That is the reason why a Theyyam is highly respected. Most of the villagers are afraid to be doomed for a year.

The guise of a God
The locals believe that a Theyyam becomes an Indian God during the ceremony. A God can appear in several guises. It is quite a long process to assume the guise of a Theyyam. It often takes several hours and each Theyyam has a different and separate way of becoming a God. Little by little, part of his guise appears until the villager finally becomes a Theyyam. Bright colours and a painted face are always part of the ceremony. In addition to that, the Theyyam always wears special clothing. His clothes are often decorated with little bells. These make a lot of noise during the traditional dances. This is also a very important part of the ritual.

Trance
During the ceremony, the Theyyam is in some kind of trance. This makes him completely unpredictable. No one knows in advance what the Theyyam will do or what he will decide. This makes this tradition very exciting for the locals. They also believe that the Theyyam has inhuman powers while he is in trance. That’s why they see him as a God. Each Theyyam has different rituals where he can show his powers. An example of this is running through large fires. The Theyyam will do this for about 20 to 30 minutes. In this way he proves that he really has inhuman powers.

To keep this traditions maintained, tourists aren’t allowed to visit the ceremony. That’s why it’s almost impossible to see this tradition by yourself. During the photography tour through South India it is possible to attend this ceremony. That’s because Travelmarks-Photography has managed to create access to these communities. In addition, the local population knows that their traditions will be shown in a beautiful way by photographers. This is something they really appreciate. It’s an absolute 'Once-in-a-lifetime' experience!

Photography trip South India

To discover these and many other traditions of South India, we are more than happy to take you to this beautiful destination during our photography tour.

Is a photography trip also on your bucket list? Then check out the package of photo trips and tours. Or read about the different destinations in one of the blogWould you rather photograph in the Netherlands? That is also possible! Feel free to check out the various   photography workshops

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