THEYYAM-
A RITUAL DANCE OF KERALA
Dr. KKN Kurup
Future of Theyyam
The most important question on this art from is related to its future. Nartakaratnam Kodakkad Kannan Peruvannan is an eminent artist of the last generation of this art. He is an authority on every branch of this art form.
A brief account of his career as an artist highlights certain important aspects of this art. He has performed over 250 performance of Kathivannur Veeran in his life time, a rare honour and achievement of a Theyyam artist. In 1975 he won an award of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy for Theyyam. He was first to take the art form to different parts of Kerala and outside without ritual formalities as a theatrical performance. He had occasions to enthrall his scholarly audience in the Universities like Calicut, Mangalore and Karnataka and the national centre for performing arts at Bombay. International authorities on music and dance like Dr. VK Narayana Menon and Smt Mrinalini Sarabhai had highest appreciation of his here dance, a perfect beauty of masculine vigor and strength.
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With all his experience and expertise in this field he is unhappy that he could not transmit his expertise to the future generation for want of talented young artists. His sons and nephews are engaged in other paying jobs. They had broken the continuity of tradition of Theyyam atleast in one family. This is the same situation in several families of the artists. That is why it is felt that the Theyyam dance is a vanishing world of dance and colour. In an interview. Kannan Peruvannan, once expressed his vies.
“There is no future for Theyyam art and artists. It is dying and in a moribund state. The existing society would spend Rs. Ten thousand for a festival, but Rs. Ten only for an artist. The social changes and the modernity had adversely affected the art and cult. However as an art form it is to be preserved and encouraged.”
As
a permanent official and teacher of the Theyyam Institute of Kodakkad he had
encouraged the Theyyam studies by the foreign students. He finds that their
involvement in this field had given encouragement to some native scholars to
study and analyze this dying art. An artist economically depressed and
socially suppressed would escape from his bonded ness in search of more
opportunities. For centuries the Theyyam artist was in bonded system and
victim of the social relations. However he carried the message of this art
through the blood, sweat and tears. Now if he wants to liberate himself, he
could not be blamed that the art has lost its charm for him on account of
several social and economic factors. Only patronage and social respect could
save this art form from its present situation. It is the duty of the
government to implement special projects on this vanishing art. It is worthy
of preservation and documentation as original sources for anthropological,
sociological, historical and histrionic studies with an emphasis to the
evolution of religion from primitivism to modernity. The cult of Theyyam is
a real cultural heritage of Kerala to the world of art.
Courtesy:
Theyyam – A Ritual Dance of Kerala by Dr. KKN Kurup.
Published by Director of Public Relations, Govt of Kerala,
Thiruvananthapuram in March 1986
Read more on next pages ....
Historical Background
Classification of Sub
Cults
Patronage
By Brahmins
A
Note On Performance
Meaning and Social Content
Dancers and Their Training
Training of the Artist
Caste and Agrarian Relations
Local History
Future of Theyyam
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