Important Facts For Prelims
Theyyam
- 07 Mar 2022
- 2 min read
Why in News?
Recently, Kerala Tourism department have started live streaming of an annual temple festival called Theyyam performances, to promote cultural tourism.
What is Theyyam?
- Theyyam is a popular ritual form of dance worship in Kerala and Karnataka, India.
- It consisted of thousand-year-old traditions, rituals and customs.
- The people consider Theyyam itself as a channel to a god and they thus seek blessings from Theyyam.
- Each Theyyam is a man or a woman who attained divine status by performing heroic deeds or by leading a virtuous life
- Most Theyyams are believed to be the incarnations of Shiva or Shakti (the consort of Shiva). Or they have strong associations with these principal deities of Hinduism.
- There are over 400 theyyams. Some of these are very important.
What are the major types of Theyyam?
- Vishnumoorthi:
- There are only two Vaishnava Theyyams – Daivatar and Vishnumoorthi.
- These Theyyams are believed to be the incarnations of Lord Vishnu.
- This Theyyam narrates the story of Palanthai Kannan who was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu.
- Gulikan
- Gulikan is believed to be an incarnation of Yama, the Hindu god of death and justice.
- According to Indian mythology, Gulikan was one of the most important warriors of Lord Shiva.
- Kuttichathan:
- It is the theyyam of Bhrahmin caste.
- Kuttichathan theyyam is considered to have originated for Lord Shiva in Vishnu Maaya.
Major Dances in India
PYQ
Q. Consider the following pairs: (2014)
- Garba : Gujarat
- Mohiniattam : Odisha
- Yakshagana : Karnataka
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly
matched?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Ans: (c)
