Ayyappan Thiyattu: Kerala's ancient temple dance

          Thiruvananthapuram: Students of the Wisconsin university on a visit to Kerala were mesmerized watching the dance form known as Ayyappan Thiyattu. The University and the Thuchan Smaraka Samithi, a cultural organisation, jointly organized the event. The Ayyappan Thiyattu is an age-old art performed in temples dedicated to Lord Ayyappan, which tells the saga of the Ayyappa's life through a combination of song and dance. A prominent feature of the Ayyappan Thiyattu is the five-coloured drawing of Lord Ayyappan called 'kalam' which is created using rice, turmeric and leaves of the coral seeds. The dancer in costumes resembling that of the deity dance around the 'Kalam' enacting mythological stories to the accompaniment of traditional percussion instruments such as the Ilathalam, Veekkan Chenda and the Chenda. "This is one of the oldest temple art forms, maybe 1500 to 2000 years old, practiced by a particular caste Theeyadi Nambiars. The theme is always on the life and valiant actions of Lord Ayyappan. It is a combination of song, drama and even paintings," said Raman Thiyydi, a dancer. The duration of the dance is anywhere from six to eight hours and sometimes stretches through the day. It ends with the dancer going into a trance, erasing the 'kalam' before them and make oracle-like pronouncements.

             Today, the Ayyappan Thiyattu is said to be a dying art. In Kerala there are only eight families of Thiyyadi Nambiars who practice and propagate this ancient art form and out of them only four members are actively performing the art. However, VR Prabodhchandran Nair, chairman of Kerala Kalamandalam and visiting professor in Wisconsin university, is of the opinion that despite the art form lacking popular appeal it (Ayyappan Thiyattu) is not a dying art. "It is not dying in the sense that the places where it is now being invited and asked to be presented that is on the increase. Earlier it was restricted to a few villages in the Trichur and Palghat districts. Now it is not so, it has come to Trivandrum and it goes to different places. It is not dying but it does not have a lot of popular appeal," said Nair. Today Ayyappan Thiyattu, which in earlier times was confined to the premises of Sastha (Ayyappan) temples, is now being staged as an event in halls as part of festivals in and around Kerala. The eternal boy-god, Ayyappan, sits atop the hill of Sabarimalai, Kerala, protecting the forests from demons and wild malevolent spirits. He was born when Vishnu, in the form of the enchantress Mohini, united with Shiva. This divine child was raised by a childless king. Soon after his arrival into the royal household, the queen gave birth to a son. As the years passed, the queen feared that the foundling - who had grown up to be a wise, strong and handsome youth - would usurp her own son's claim to the throne. Feigning illness, she claimed that only the milk of a tigress fetched by a virgin warrior would cure her. Ayyappa immediately set out for the forest. The queen's plot to kill Ayyappa backfired. In the forest, he fulfilled his destiny and returned a god. After he had milked the leopards, he was attacked by a ferocious demoness called Mahishi. Ayyappa killed Mahishi and rode into his father's kingdom on a tiger covered with the battle scars. The people cheered his return and begged him to be King. But Ayyappa renounced his claim to the throne and retired to the peak of Sabarimalai. Every year, thousands of devotees make a perilous journey across forests and over hills to take refuge in the grace of this brave and magnanimous vira.
- June 23, 2005

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