Theyyam: Annual Temple Festival
Kerala Tourism department have started live streaming of an annual temple festival called Theyyam performances, to promote cultural tourism.
- 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.
