WIT AT THE BREAKFAST COUNTER

 

Let’s ring in the New Year with a joke. This one happened while I was doing my

nine-to-five grind with a govt-run R&D Institute (JNTBGRI) at Palode, T’puram. We had a hexagon shaped canteen, looking something like a pyramid which was open to all, including contract labourers. Everybody shared the same food, self-served and one could go to any place of the spacious area enjoying the beautiful view outside. The ambience too was good, mainly due to the absence of loud popular music.

One must go to the service-counter first, order one’s choice from the limited menu which will be served hot in a minute or two. The main players would be paraded before your eyes in an attractive way. For example, “puttu” (steam-cooked ground rice, layered with coconut shavings, cylindrical in shape) in a triangle-like formation with just one piece at the vertex.

I moved towards the plantain-leaf, show-casing puttu, but one of the ladies standing nearby interrupted.

Oh Sir, please move away from “puttu”. It might give way like a land-slip and you would be six feet under.

Hearing this the other one remarked,

Oh no! When your time is up, Sir, even a puttu-slide is enough.

I was flabbergasted. Those illiterate women doing manual labour on daily-wages had understood the “ungraspable phantom called life” in a much better way than me!

Perhaps education has got nothing to do with wit & wisdom, who knows!

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL ! 

THEYYAMS OF MALABAR – MY EXPERIENCES – 9

 

MUTHAPPAN – THE REBEL GOD

If you happen to visit relatives or friends in Kannur district, irrespective of their political leanings they feel insulted if you don’t pay a respectful appearance before Parassinikkadavu Muthappan, settled 16 km away from the city! Such is the organic bonding between the people and the Rebel God. 

This does not mean that the Muthappan deity is installed only at that place. The Hunter God is worshipped at several places in Kannur, Kozhikkode, Kasargod, Malappuram and even at Kudaku (Coorg), Karnataka. The far-end railway platform belonging to main stations of Malabar boast of the conspicuous presence of Railway Muthappan in its immediate vicinity.  However, Parassinikkadavu is the original abode of Sree Muthappan where the ritual of Theyyam is performed every day throughout the year. He selected the place on His own! The most astounding thing about Sree Muthappan is that He is the unified form of Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva!

He is the God of common people. Muthappan organised the poor and the downtrodden against the hegemony of the feudalistic rulers and tantriks.

Though the theyyam is performed by Vannan community as is customary, the puja is always carried out by the backward community Thiyyas (Ezhavas of Malabar) at Muthappan temples. They are not called temples but by a special name “Madappura”.

Anybody is welcome there, belonging to any caste, religion, creed or nationality.

There is no dress-code whatsoever.

I first visited Parassinikkadavu alongwith my family in January 1997. We were staying in a hotel but my wife and son missed the theyyam performance which would start at five every morning. I reached there in time. A large crowd had already gathered and there was no place to sit. The kuzhal players started playing and the percussion too was on a soft note. Normally the accompaniment of any other theyyam was likely to keep you on tenterhooks!

There were many dogs straying around in a disciplined way and nobody was getting annoyed!

There was a family belonging to the Thiyya community who was bestowed with managership of the temple and the Karanavar (eldest male member of the household) took the lead in rituals.

Thiruvappan (Vishnu) & Vellattam (Shiva) at madappura

I didn’t know a thing about the history of Sree Parassinikkadavu Muthappan but the

ambience of the place was ethereal. I only wished if the high-roof made of certain translucent material were absent.  It stood like a block between the early morning sky and the madappura.

The main Theyyam, short and fat and His sidekick, tall and lean. The main one was blindfolded prior to the performance. He was guided by his ‘assistant’ who would be slightly humourous at times. He had a bow and arrow and would gesture like piercing the ears of his ‘master’ (with the arrow) if He was not appreciative enough to the music. The musicians would play exclusively for Him and an encouraging nod was assured! I liked it immensely. At last, a Theyyam with an ear for music!

And they sipped fresh toddy at regular intervals in tiny tumblers with in-built stems !

Towards the end, the session with the devotees began as usual and everybody approached them with their personal woes! Of course, each grievance was taken care of.

Listening to everyone's woes.....

Soon after, I knew about the details of Sree Muthappan and realised how naïve I had been!

As said earlier, Sree Muthapan is the personification of Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. When performing, they are named Thiruvappan (the Vishnu part, the main, blind-folded one) and Vellattam (the Shiva part, the alter-ego).

The offerings to Sree Muthappan are toddy and burnt flesh-fish. There is a story behind this strange eating habit too.

The Naduvazhi (Ruler) of Eruvessi, Kannur was childless. Ayyankara Devan Namboodiri, that was his name and wife, Padikkutty Antarjanam. She made a sacrifice to Lord Shiva for a child. Next morning, on her way-back from river after bath, she saw a baby-boy lying on a rock. She took the child home and reared it as their own. However, he was not inclined to follow the rigid customs of a brahmin household! The boy went out and mingled with commoners. He also had a penchant for hunting. Dogs became his trusted lieutenants and the animals collected by the hunting boy were freely distributed among the poor.

Naturally, Devan Namboodiri got annoyed and admonished his foster son.

Instantly, a fire broke out at the compound wall which had the padippura as the main

entrance. Obviously, the young boy was angry. He slowly turned his head towards the Naduvazhi and his wife sensed trouble ahead. It was a matter of her husband’s life. Just to prevent his imminent death, she forced her hands over the boy’s eyes.

The Thiruvappan is blind-folded with silver eye-shields just to represent this incident.

He left the ‘mana’ in a moment’s notice like a true rebel. Is that a rebellion of sorts?

Not yet. Just listen to the rest of the story.

He reached at a very beautiful place called Kunnathoor and made it his temporary residence. He used to climb palm trees and had a fill of toddy whenever he felt like! The toddy actually belonged to toddy-tappers who put in a lot of hard work for its production. Enraged by the pilferage of toddy, Chandaan, an illiterate toddy-tapper decided to keep a vigil at night. He saw the guy on top merrily drinking away the toddy! Before getting time to react, he fell unconscious. Chandaan’s wife came searching and had a rough idea of the happenings seeing toddy-drinker and the tapper.

“Muthappan, have mercy on us”, she pleaded. (Needless to say, the name stuck.

In Malayalam “Muthappan” means grandpa.)

She presented  Muthappan with baked gram, slices of coconut, burnt fish and toddy as an offering.

The prasad of Sree Muthappan still have the same fare except for the fish and toddy.

(Nobody can deny that well-made tea is an excellent substitute. Moreover, Annadanam (hot and tasty lunch and dinner) is also provided to all devotees who come to the madappura.)

Muthappan decided to relocate from Kunnathoor and he set out an arrow skywards and it struck on a tree at Parassinikkadavu.

Meanwhile, He was rebelling against the ruling elite. The barn houses were raided and the hoarded grains were confiscated and freely distributed. He even crossed swords with the King of Aawa.

Interestingly, on His way to Parassinikkadavu, at a place called Puralimala, he met a young chap whom he fondly called “Cherukkan” (the young one). Cherukkan became his alter-ego, the Vellattam.

Parassinikadavu Madappura as of now.

On my first visit in 1997, I was more intrigued by the broken bridge across Valapattanam River prior to its inauguration whereas on my last in 2017 I was impressed by the waste-disposal system, general cleanliness and the wood-fired boiler at the kitchen.

However, my unique memory is of witnessing the pre-dawn performance of Thiruvappan and Vellattam in 1997 which I shall carry till the end.

 

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THEYYAMS OF MALABAR – MY EXPERIENCES -8

 

 

Puli Maranja Thondachan (Kari Gurikkal)

 

This is one of the most important Theyyams of North Malabar on two counts. First, it tells the story of Thondachan, i.e, the great grandfather who is a Master in his own right. Secondly, Thondachan is a Dalit. However, irrespective of the cast aspect, the story is universal and relevant in all times! Comparable to “Waiting for Godot” if you take out an example from theatre, though the themes are different.

Human history is replete with the lives of heroes who wanted to change the world for greater common good. Naturally, they have to face the ire of the ruling elite and get tortured or killed in most heinous ways. However, the rebels never say die. They are quite selfless and find a meaning to life by cultivating love. Courage is their password. The tragedy is that such lionhearted people, more often than not, emerge defeated. Their dreams come crushing!

Why?

The theyyam depicting the life of Kari Gurikkal provides a possible answer.

I have not seen a live performance to be frank, though I’m familiar with it’s theatre and movie versions. Even the clips of Kari Guikkal available in YouTube are far from satisfying. They are disappointing in many ways! The experience might be different if you ‘decipher’ the lengthy ‘thottam’ to get the first-hand grasp of the life and times of Kari Gurikkal.

Puli maranja Thondachan (Kari Gurikkal)

Well, here you go!

A landlord named Kunjambu of Chenicherry was on the look-out of farm-hands to take care of his fields and found the couple, Karimban & Virunthi at the temple-festival at Thiruvarkad. A deal was struck and they followed the landlord! A son, Kari was born to them in due course who was brilliant and a forerunner among children. He wanted to learn Martial Arts, but couldn’t secure admission to any Kalari, being a Dalit. His ‘owner’ cum mentor, Kunjambu advised him to change his identity including name and address and retry his luck. Needless to say, he got admitted to all the eighteen kalaries, each one specialising in one of the esoteric subjects. He got mastery over impersonation from Chotian Kalary. After undergoing studies in Madayi Kalary, he was bestowed the status of Gurikkal, the highest distinction of the Kalari system of learning. Normally the Kalaris don’t teach occult for obvious reasons of misuse. Only students with earnest intentions are taught the mysterious practices. Kari Gurikkal was the chosen one.

Kari Gurikkal turned a celebrity and there were summons even from far-away Alladam Nadu to treat the lunacy of the ruler. A special messenger was sent six times and Kunjambu denied permission in a row. At the seventh time an assurance was given by the Alladam Thampuran on a copper plate that half his wealth would be given away as fee for successful treatment. The offer was quite tempting as the ultimate beneficiary would be none other than Chenicherru Kunjambu. He gave the nod to Kari Gurikkal so that he set out to Alladam with his disciples. The occult-treatment started and the evil-spirits which had got into the ruler were asked to leave! Gurikkal prepared an intoxicating potion and gave it to the patient. He was cured!

When the ruler was back to normal, however, there was some wavering regarding the fee ! The word was not kept. The ruling elite felt that the disease could recur anytime in future and people in the palace were really tense. So, Gurikkal should bring leopard’s milk and its flock to ward off the two possibilities. The ruler was supposed to drink the leopard’s milk while his entire body was being brushed with the tuft.  It was a trap to eliminate the magic-healer. To their surprise, Kari Gurikkal agreed to bring both. It was not a big deal for him as he knew impersonation inside out. His wife, Vellachi was a virtuous woman. Gurikkal wanted to apprise his wife about the happenings and to give her detailed instructions what to do when he came back in the form of a leopard. She was supposed to throw gruel (water from cleaning rice) on his face and beat him with a broom dipped in liquid cow-dung! On his way home, he encountered so many other theyyams, Pottan, Kurathi, Gulikan etc. of which some were his

benefactors while some others were detractors. ( In fact this is a representation of Gurikkal's own mental state.)

Other theyyams blocking Gurikkal's way

Vellachi half-heartedly agreed to obey her husband’s instructions. Off went Kari Gurikkal to forest, taking the form of a leopard, entrapped another, got fresh milk and collected its flock. He returned to the countryside in the night itself and placed the items at the palace gate.

He was in a hurry to get back home before daybreak and he did reach there in time and called out for his wife. Sadly enough, Vellachi got immensely scared seeing the leopard and forgot everything that her husband had instructed.

She didn’t open the door.

Kari Gurikkal was stuck forever. Unless he regained his human-form, he was absolutely helpless and would become the butt of ridicule and injury. He disappeared into a fathomless abyss.

After some time, Alladam Thampuran suffered from yet another bout of lunacy and everybody knew the reason. Karma was settling its accounts.

Half the wealth as promised was immediately given away. A statue of Kari Gurikkal

in gold was installed and he was elevated to the theyyam status.

Puli Maranja Thondachan came into being.

The story of Kari Gurikkal ends at this point.

The theyyam starts working on you after the performance is over. We are too familiar with Gurikkal like characters in real life.

I just cite one example from cinema.

Think of the last scene of Andrzej Wajda’s polish film “Ashes and Diamonds” (1958).

The protagonist gets killed and his body lies in a garbage dump. The camera pans the sky. Birds flying unhindered. Too many of them.

“Experiencing freedom from one wingtip to another”.

 

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THEYYAMS OF MALABAR - MY EXPERIENCES # 7

 

Kathivannur Veeran

 

Years back, while travelling to Kannur I chanced to meet Rajesh who was a Theyyam artist himself. Though his clan didn't perform Kathivannur Veeran, he broke me the news that near to the hotel where I was to stay at the city-center, there would be a performance of Kathivannur Veeran at night. The first thing I did after checking into my hotel was to change into casuals and rush to a small temple where the Theyyam would make his appearance. As expected, the thottam (pattu) was going on. The place was illuminated by decorative lamps and a lot of arm-chairs were spread on the sides. Usually, I had seen people standing by the arena. There was a public-address system too.  It was a new experience for me. The audience was thin. I must say that I was a bit disappointed.

A part of thottam that belonged to Pottan Theyyam kept repeating in my mind,

“Ravu Karuthalum, Ravinteullilu

Surianundu;

Puthiyoru Surian”

Chemmarutti thara before performance

That was a great solace. It meant,

Agreed, the ongoing night is black,

Still, don’t get disheartened, friend

There is a new sun inside the dark

 I went back to the hotel, had food and made a quiet exit back to the Theyyam site.

The percussion ensemble of chenda players were at their high.

The style was a bit different. There was a reason for the crescendo. The theyyam was about a young acrobat with mustache and beard who knew sword-fighting as well as martial-art, kalari.

He did acrobatics performing rhythmically in kalarippayattu steps simultaneously swaying his miniature sword and shield. The dance was quite magical.

His antecedents were befitting to a warrior. He was born in Mangattu to Kumarappan

and Chakkilamma and was named Mandappan. (Mangatt was a place between Kannur and Thalipparamba). The guy was bit of a rebel and was always at loggerheads with his father. Mandappan joined the local kalary to learn martial-arts and he was an acrobat par excellence. His other interests were hunting and archery. Upto the age twelve, he had rigorous training but loitered around without a vocation. Naturally, the clash between father-son duo also increased manifold. Mandappan had become a drunkard too.

Feet of the Kathivannur Veeran

“Don’t give him ‘rice & milk’” ordered his father. However, Mandappan’s mother, like

any other mom, gave him food on the sly. And, Kumarappan found it out.

 So much so that Kumarappan broke the bow and arrows of his son and asked him to clear out from the house.

Luckily, the son had an idea in mind. Several of his friends were doing business at the Kudaku (now, Coorg) Hills and Mandappan joined them. Truly speaking, they were not exactly happy with their mercenary friend because Mandappan was not having an acumen for any kind of business. Just to avoid him, they gave him booze and by the time he was drunk the friends left him under a Strychnine tree at Mangatt itself! However, Mandappan was determined not to return. His uncle was staying at a distance, at Kathivannur. He was staying with his wife and son. Mandappan had a liking for them and started staying at his uncle’s place. He aunt gave him an idea to start oil business and uncle donated half his wealth towards the purpose. The business grew at a steady pace and Mandappan opened three branches including one in Veerarajendra Petta (modern-day Virajpet).

 

Meanwhile, he met a girl named Chemmaratti whom he liked. No idea whether they had fallen in love. Anyway, they got married and Mandappan relocated to her house.

Mandappan, however, was not a family man. He used to come late and Chemmarutti was getting suspicious. One of those nights, she didn’t open the main-door for him.

Hey, give me ‘milk and rice ‘, pleaded Mandappan.

Drink up your own blood and eat away your brain.

That was the retort from the wife!

Suddenly, a battle-cry raised-up in the air.

Okay, let me honour it, let your words come true.

Mandappan bowed to his weapons and donned the battle-gear. On his way to “Kudakumala”, Mandappan had to encounter so many ill-omens. The forebodings of  forthcoming disaster started showing.

Mandappan fought the war with bravado and won it. However, his wedding-ring along with the finger that worn it, had been lost in the sword fight. He was so high-spirited that he knew about it only on his way back home.

He returned immediately to the battle-field to recover the lost items.

The defeated ones were hiding there knowing that Mandappan would come back and using treachery, they killed him without a direct encounter.

Almost simultaneously, the ring and the chopped finger landed up at Chmmarutti’s place on a plantain leaf!

Chemmarutti was driven by grief and by the time Mandappan was cremated, Chemmarutti jumped into the funeral pyre and sacrificed her life.

The uncle and his son, Annukkan had a revelation soon after saying that Mandappan

had become a “Daivakkaru” (godhead) and hence should be elevated and celebrated as Theyyam.

Kathivannur Veeran came into being, then on.

Kathivannur Veeran at Chemmarutti thara

Chemmarutti had a special space during such performances.

64 kalams (squares having tantric significance) are made out of natural colours, plantain stems & tender coconut leaves and 32 torches made out of cloth are lighted up. Kathivannur Veeran’s movements are gravitated towards the kalam and burning fire.

Meanwhile, he honoured at least a dozen people by inviting each, sometimes grasping their hands and blessed.

I thought (by my previous experience with Bhagavati Theyyam) that I would also be called up for the honour. That was not to be. Somebody explained to me that the organisers were being facilitated by Kathivannur Veeran.

The final act was flabbergasting.

The Theyyam was beheading fully grown roosters, at least six of them, in a cruel way. He removed the feathers around its neck in a rugged style and there wasn’t any protest from the chicken. I didn’t know if they were drugged. Then he severed the heads with his tiny sword half-way and literally pulled it out in a most repulsive manner.

I couldn’t stand the sight much longer. While making an exit, I saw a bevy of beautiful girls sitting among the front rows watching the fiery scenes cool!

They were praying to get healthy, handsome and macho husbands and believed that

Kathivannur Veeran would take care of their wish.

 

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THEYYAMS OF MALABAR – MY EXPERIENCES # 6

 

Mappila Theyyams (Female)

Mappila or Mapla is derived from the Arabic word “mawla” means quite simply, a friend.

A non-Arabian friend, to be precise. There are fifteen Mappila Theyyams in total and we have

show-cased three in the last blog. We are presenting three prominent female Mappila Theyyams this time. In spite of the fact that the genre is female, none of these Mappila Theyyams has captivating attire or facial drawings! They are simple and down-to-earth. Just like their male counterparts.

Mappila Theyyams are a great unifier too. Political killings are quite common in south Malabar but they are unheard of, beyond north of Valappattanam River where Mappila Theyyams are clebrated.

Both Hindus and Muslims take part in these rituals with equal commitment and even the expense is more often shared between them!

 The demystification of God is a common characteristic of any Theyyam. The caste hierarchy is broken as all Theyyams whether they are Mappila or not, are enacted by Dalit men belonging to subaltern communities like Vannan, Peruvannan, Malayan and Mavilan. Theyyams are performed in otherwise socially inaccessible places like private temples, tharavadu (house of feudal land-lords) and kaavu (sacred groves). As the Bhagawati Theyyam said to me in one of my earlier encounters, “Nobody is an outsider!”

 In temples, you can’t touch the deity. One needs the intervention of a priest. The interesting point to note is that the Theyyam itself is God personified. Theyyam is the spoken form of “Daivam” which literally means God in Malayalam. One can reach out and touch one’s God. The interaction is direct in Theyyam. Some of the Mappila Theyyams perform Namaz too.

1.       Naithiyar of Ramanthali

 This female Mappila Theyyam is performed at a place called Ramanthali which is the gateway to Naval Academy, Ezhimala. Her mask is made of coconut leaves and the colour of

the theyyam is red. 

Naithiyar Mappila Theyyam

While blessing devotees belonging to Islam, she keeps repeating

“Ente Madayi nagare……”!

One must connect this reference to the arrival of Islam to India circa seventh century A.D.

The first mosque in Malabar was built at a place named Madayi, not very far from Ramanthali.

At the same time, Naithiyar goes one step further and blesses the Hindu devotees as

“Ente odappirannore / koodappirappe…..” (Ah, my own siblings….)

 

2.       Ummachchi Theyyam

This is the story of an impoverished Ummachchi (Muslim woman) approaching the famous Nileswaram  Kovilakam (the abode of the local ruler) in search of a job. She didn’t reveal her true identity and was assigned outside work as a helper. Untouchability was so predominant those days.

Ummachchi mappila theyyam

Once the Nambidi (Chief Manager) of the Kovilakam while taking rounds, found the Muslim woman de-husking rice in an ural (stone grinder) and eating away the bran while doing it.

The act was not unusual for ordinary domestic helps, but the Nambidi feared that the whole batch of processed rice got contaminated on account of the alien touching the rice prepared exclusively for the upper-caste ruler. He snatched the ulakka (the long wooden rod) from the hapless Muslim woman and hit her head with it, killing Ummachchi instantly. Everybody got convinced of the injustice involved and she was elevated to the status of the Theyyam.

The interesting thing about Ummachchi Theyyam is that the villain of the piece, Yogyar Nambidi also make an appearance during the performance. Towards the end of the act, Ummachi dons a purdah.

Ummahchi with rice offering. Ulakka is also seen

Such acts where more than one Theyyam make a simultaneous entry is called Kolathinmel Kolam.

Ummachchi Theyyam is celebrated mainly in Madikkai Kakkatt, Kasargod.

 

3.       Beevi Theyyam

 

Beevi means Ruler-Queen of the only Muslim raajavamsa (kingdom) of Kerala – the Arakkal.

The Arakkal Palace has a lineage of 800 years and still holds considerable influence among the public. Interestingly, the first Beevi of Arakkal was a Hindu princess named Sridevi Thamburatti and she belonged to Chirakkal Kovilakam. She was given in marriage to Arakkal palace with all her share of landed property, gold etc. After embracing Islam, she became the first Beevi of Arakkal Rajavamsam.

 

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THEYYAMS OF MALABAR – MY EXPERIENCES # 5

 

Mappila Theyyams

I think my brief account about the Theyyams of Malabar wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the Mappila Theyyams. Mappila is a synonym for Muslim. That is, the central character of the theyyam is a Muslim. I must also admit that I have not witnessed any of them. They are being performed mainly in Kasargod district and those theyyams are cited as 

yet another example of religious harmony in Malabar.

Hindus and Muslims both take part in the events and seek the blessings of Mappila theyyams.

Aali Theyyam at the Aarikkadi temple blessing a Muslim devotee

However, the non-Muslim, traditional performers like the Vannans, (always a Hindu) enact in these performances.

What’s more, some of these ‘Mappilas’ are housed in the temple premises itself as a sub-deity. 

Here, I’m show-casing six of them.

1.    Aali Theyyam.

The theyyam is exclusive to a Hindu tharavad (ancestral house) named Naduvilan in a small town called Kumble (or Kumbala) in Kasargod district, 40 km from Mangaluru. They had their own temple too devoted to Chamundeswari, a fearsome form of the Hindu Divine Mother Parvati who was closely associated with Kali, another fierce aspect of Parvati.

In this seemingly happy scenario, enters Aali who practices black-magic who used it for enticing young & beautiful women. He was licentious.

(All these happenings are said to have taken place 800 years ago!)

Naturally Chamundeswari got furious and decided to finish him off.

She took the form of a voluptuous virgin and went to the temple pond for taking bath.

Aali followed her and she invited the occultist to have a bath together.

It’s anybody’s guess now! 

Aali was killed but prior to his end, he turned remorseful. At the time of death, Aali expressed his desire to serve the Mother Goddess.

Thus, he was given the additional duty of protecting the people of Kumbala.

He was installed at a special abode at the temple premises itself.

The Chamundi with Aali

The Aali Theyyam is performed between 30^th March and 6^th April every year.

He has only the minimum make-up. Face is blackened with charcoal and there is a small headgear! That’s all.

People, both Hindus as well as Muslims approach Aali with chicken and jasmine flowers to get his blessings.

 

2.    Bappiriyan Theyyam

Originally Bappiriyan was said to be a Muslim belonging to a traditional business family.

Bappirian Theyyam

Impressed by his multi-tasking skills, the Princess (some say that she was a goddess) by name Aryappoonkanni invited him to be the Captain of her yacht. She was young and beautiful. The marriage was also being planned for her and she wanted to collect rare pearls and gems from the sea. She took his brothers also alongwith for the voyage but the sea-pirates pounded on the vessel on their way back.   With the excellent support from Bappiriyan, the pirates were overpowered.

Unfortunately, the weather turned rough and there was a cyclone at the sea. Sadly enough, the vessel was completely destroyed. Clinging onto the wooden logs, they had to hold on for days together. Bappirian managed to reach the shore somehow and he searched for the princess and her brothers. Luckily, Aryappoonkanni could save her life too without any damage! However, nothing was heard about her brothers.

The princess was convinced that her desire for more jewellery was the root-cause of the tragedy. She decided to shed her desires once and for all.

As a thanksgiving gesture, she elevated Bappirian to the status of a theyyam and installed him in a temple named Kaithakkil atop the hill Koorankunnu near Taliparamba.

Bappiriyan in action

As you can see from the pic, Bappiriyan theyyam climbs the coconut tree as if walking up. The relative ease is astounding! Only once, an accident occurred but the Theyyam artist, Rajesh miraculously escaped. He is back in action too. The villagers had immediately bought him an auto-rickshaw to make both ends meet! Nobody expected him to make a spectacular return!

 

3.    Koyi Mammad Theyyam

The hero of this folklore named Koi Mammad, was against tree-felling, more or less in the same mould as Amrita Devi Bishnoi. We are familiar with the incident which happened in a village Khejarli, near Jodhpur, Rajasthan around September 1730. The Maharaja of Marwar,

wanted to build a new palace and his Minister had an idea of felling trees from the village Khejarli, inhabited by Bishnois who were true environmentalists.  On arrival, the Minister and the soldiers found Amrita Devi and her three daughters shielding trees with their bodies. The Minister ordered to cut down the trees even at the cost of four lives! Soon after they found other Bishnois of the village, mostly elders rushing to the place and hugging the trees with renewed energy.  A total of 363 Bishnois were massacred.

 For Koyi Mammad too, trees were sacred.

He was smart, had a respectable job as Karyastan (Chief Manager) of an illustrious Nair tharavad and irresistible to woman on account of his persona.

It is also said that he was in love with a Nair girl which enraged the elders. The unanimous decision was to finish him off. So, they stabbed him with a knife, nothing happened!

The shot him with gun, again nothing happened!

So long as he wore a yantra (special purpose amulet) around his waist, nobody could harm him in a direct fight! Mammad had himself revealed the secret of his invincibility to his adversaries.

In a rare ploy avoiding a one-to-one confrontation, a big tree was cut off and Koyi Mammad came in rushing. The massive tree was felled upon him which crushed the nature-lover to death.

Koyi Mammad Theyyam blessing devotees

Subsequently, the elder men of the tharavad started showing signs of mental illness!

Hallucinations had begun and they saw Nair women of the tharavad moving around wearing purdahs!

The family-astrologers were summoned and as per their advice, Koyi Mammad was elevated to the status of a Theyyam.

Koyi Mammad was housed in a prime property at the Tharavad.

The companion-theyyam of the temple is none other than the Nair girl he loved, rechristened as Chamundi.

It is interesting to note that the Thottam Pattu for the Koyi Mammad Theyyam is always done by Muslims.

 

                                                                                    (contd. In the next part)

 

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THEYYAMS OF MALABAR – MY EXPERIENCES # 4

 

POTTAN THEYYAM

‘Pottan’ in Malayalam means an insignificant, timid fellow with almost no common sense. Of course, it’s a derogatory word and it’s an insult if you address anybody with the adjective.

Interestingly enough, the origin of ‘Pottan Theyyam’ dates back to 712 CE, when Adi Shankaracharya was just 12 years old. He was already a Sanyasi and living near to Kashi (Benares) Viswanatha Temple. As everybody knows, he is the propounder of the Adwaita Philosophy which said “All Is One”.

One morning he set out to take his bath at the river Ganges. On the way he saw a Chandala (untouchable who is out of the caste system, lesser than “shudra”) accompanied by four dogs coming against him. Even lower-caste people can’t afford to come inside of the view-area of the Brahmins!  The backward caste had to run for cover! However, this non-chalant Chandala walked straight towards the upper-caste Sanyasi.

“Go away, Pulapottan; keep distance”

Shankaracharya was quite furious.

“Whom are you asking to move away, Sir?” the Chandala retorted,

“ To this body of mine which constitutes of the same five elements as that of yours? It has the same functions as that of your Brahmin body, don’t you see?”

“Or are you asking my soul which is the same as that of your soul?

Both are, in fact, the one and the same Brahman itself”

Pottan Theyyam

Shankaracharya was stunned! He didn’t have an answer.

“You keep teaching about the undivided, non-dual Brahman, don’t you?

You emphasise that Universal Consciousness is the substratum of all Creation.

You also teach people that Consciousness is ever-pure and unpolluted.

However, you are not convinced yourself, Sir!”

“All I can see that you’re deprived of the Knowledge!”

The Chandala concluded.

At this stage, Sankaracharya did ‘sashtanga-namaskar (falling flat on someone’s feet, lying horizontally) and begged for forgiveness.

It was Lord Shiva in disguise, testing Shankara’s sincerity and Knowledge!

After blessing the Acharya, Lord Shiva disappeared.

Taking the cue, Shankaracharya wrote detailed treatise on the four Vedas & Upanishads and Brahmasutra (the gist of the Vedas).

 Now, we can draw the parallels.

Pottan Theyyam rests on burning embers

In the Pottan Theyyam episode also, Sankaracharya has got the pivotal role.

The Jagat-Guru was on the way to Thalakkaveri, in Karnataka to climb ‘Sarvajnapeedom’ (Throne of Knowledge). At a place named ‘Pulingom’ in Kannur he had a brief stopover at the Shankaranarayana Temple where he gave a lecture to the bhaktas assembled. The subject, no doubt, was Adwaita Philosophy. A Dalit youth named Alankaran overheard the entire discourse sitting at the slop of the nearby hillock. (Of course, he was not allowed to enter the temple). The next morning when Shankaracharya resumed his journey to Thalakkaveri, Alankaran accosted him piss-drunk!

An angry Shankaran yelled,

“Thiri thiri thiri thiri Pulaya

Thiri thiri thiri thiri

Vazhi thari Pulaya”

meaning “Get out of my way, you wretched”!

The Dalit youth was in no mood to do that. He argued,

“Engale kothiyalum chorayalle Chovvare,

Neegale kothiyalum chorelle Chovvare

Pinnenthu theendikkondu kulam pisakkunnu?”

If I bleed your goodself, you have blood oozing out and if I bleed myself I have

the very same blood flowing out, which are one and the same!

Then, why this discrimination?

If you have discrimination in mind, you should not use the flowers that we grow at our front-yard, you should not use the plantain that we grow at our backyard for your Pooja!

Please see that you’re well-fed just because we toil at your fields.

This dialogue was an eye-opener for Adi Shankaracharya.

Convinced that he was not walking the talk, Shankara bowed before Alankaran.

The real meaning of Adwaita dawned on him thanks to the Dalit youth!

A friendly Pottan Theyyam among admirers

I happened to witness Pottan Theyyam at a village near Payyannur under the aegis of Folklore Academy. An Associate Professor of Kannur University arranged for the Theyyam performance at his Mana (house) and there was a seminar too, at the nearby Government LP School. Dr.K.K.N. Kurup (former Vice Chancellor, Calicut University) introduced the subject and moderated the sessions! It was the most unassuming seminar I’ve ever attended!

We were given a free, simple but tasty vegetarian supper at the Mana, served hot and beds were provided immediately after. We were supposed to wake up at three in the morning!

At four, the Pottan Theyyam appeared on the scene. Two bonfires called “Meleri” were active, out of tamarind tree logs. One had flames emanating from it in full swing.

Pottan Theyyam does not have the elaborate facial make-up. He wears only a mask and applies rice paste all-over! His crown and skirt are made of tender coconut leaves. Simple and inexpensive.

Pottan is a jovial theyyam. I was a bit surprised to see that the local people joked with him and he took everything easy and cool!  I myself was over-awed to go closer to any Theyyam but Pottan was quite approachable in a friendly way.

The organisers had decided to do away with the beheading of roosters which was a big relief to me. But the act that followed was intimidating enough! Pottan theyyam played with the fire, lied on it with his back on the embers, for extended moments. At times he lied on his fire-bed, cross-legged and answered your humorous questions with his matching wit! His two aides had to intervene to pull him out of the burning logs.

I can’t say whether I enjoyed the Pottan Theyyam episode.

In any case, I would rather advise the people of North Malabar to be more serious with him. He is not a joker, afterall! He is the one who taught Jagatguru Adishankaracharya a lesson or two in humility.

He is Lord Shiva himself, in disguise!

 

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