IVARMADOM: Dying into a dance,
An agony of trance,
An agony of flame that cannot singe a sleeve
— W B Yeats, Byzantium
It was an unlikely setting for a theyyam performance. But the grim backdrop provided by the still-burning embers of funeral pyres set the stage for the ritual dance of Chudala Bhadrakali, the ferocious deity associated with death, and Pottan Theyyam, a manifestation of Shiva.
“The theyyam ritual is performed in the early hours of December 26 on the grounds of the crematorium where on average 25 to 30 bodies are consigned to the flames every day. We halted funeral activities for three days to prepare the space for the kaliyattam” said K Sasikumar, secretary of the Ivarmadom Heritage Preservation Committee, which organises the event.
“The venue is meant to banish the horror associated with crematoriums. Death is a natural phenomenon that needs to be accepted without fear. People often shudder at the thought of crematoriums, which they visit only to perform the last rites of those near and dear,” said Dr Sethumadhavan, president of the committee. “The fear of death is the root cause for many diseases and it is important to remove it from the mind,” added Sethumadhavan, an ayurveda physician.
He said that Thiruvilwamala, where Ivarmadom is situated, is associated with the legend of Naranathu Branthan, whose encounter with Chudala Bhadrakali at a crematorium is narrated in the folklore. “There is no place linked to their meeting, but the story lends a new dimension to the presence of Bhadrakali in the kaliyattam,” he said.
“There is no figure among the various theyyams of Malabar who exactly matches Chudala Bhadrakali, whose form is an adaptation of theyyams such as Rakthachamundi, Rakhthewari and Moovalamkuzhi Chamundi,” said A V Ajayakumar, secretary of the Kerala Folklore Academy, which is associated with the staging of the kaliyattam.
“Usually, theyyam is not performed at crematoriums because there is an observance called pula associated with death. But the kaliyattam at Ivarmadom is an ideal concept because here Chudala Bhadrakali is performing at a chudala (crematorium),” he said.
“The Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi used to oversee the kaliyattam. The duty was handed over to academy four years ago because we have been handling all aspects of theyyam. Anish Perumalayan, from Iritty in Kannur, has been performing as Chudala Bhadrakali for the past 11 years,” Ajayakumar said.
All electric lighting is switched off when Bhadrakali emerges from the manthra sala (the green room), with the initial performance lit exclusively by ola choottu (torches made from dry coconut fronds). “Next year will be the 12th staging of the kaliyattam and we are planning scale the event,” said Sasikumar, committee secretary.