Theyyam in Tellicherry

Theyyam is a religious ritualistic ceremony performed in the Northern region of Kerala. I was lucky enough to see a performance.

Getting into costume Dressings Putting on costume takes hours Up the night before doing Theyyam performance Artist working on costume Only the men perform and help get into costume Starting to get fully decked out Little ones like to watch the behind the scenes Getting into diety character Intensely moving Ready To rumble Paul, the white guy, is working on documentary of Theyyam Tabla drummers drum for 7 consecutive hours Channeling diety Blessings from diety Major community event Performance entails music, dancing, blessings Banging on the drums for hours All men (heterosexual) are affectionate towards each other The beat goes on And on Starting to tire Offerings Fellow guest at homestay in India to study Theyyam Women look on from a far Pooped