SOCIETY

In Kerala, eating live poultry birds is a part of traditional art form

     Kasaragod (kerala): Many rituals, involving sacrificing animals and birds to propitiate Gods and Goddesses, have existed in various parts of India, citing age-old traditions as the reason. In one such ritual, practiced in a few villages of Kerala, eating live poultry birds is a part of a traditional dance form. In the northern region of Kerala, known as Malabar, the Theyyam artistes who perform "Panchurli Theyyam", a traditional dance form of Kerala, eat live cock before the gathered public. Theyyam dance artistes, regarded as demi-gods, relish the flesh of live poultry birds to seek divine blessings and it is considered the most ritualistic part of this dance. The scary act is performed publicly and watched by a good number of onlookers. But this unusual mode of propitiating the divine entities could be witnessed only in certain villages of Kannur (formerly Cannanore) and Kasaragod. Theyyam is a famous traditional Kerala dance form performed at the village temples or in the vicinity of the chapel in an ancestral home of the village elder. Aesthetically, it has a legacy of folk art with over 400 forms and according to its lore, there used to be a time when elephants, pigs, buffaloes, cocks and even humans were sacrificed as part of the ritual. However, according to Manu Pannikar, a senior Theyyam artiste, today, only poultry birds are sacrificed "There are hundreds of known varieties of Theyyam in Kerala many of them unknown to us. In some Theyyams even human and elephant offerings were made in the interior regions, like the one 'Kandakarnan Kayke' in which a human was offered by the villagers," said Manu Pannikar, a senior Theyyam dancer.

     There are 16 stages in Panchurli Theyyam that is to be performed overnight amidst jubilant villagers in front of the village's holy shrine and each stage requires a different costume essentially made of tender coconut palm reeds tailored into different attires. It is believed that the dancers require blood and flesh with arrack, toddy and rice at the conclusion of his performance. The performer bound by a holy spell can feed on the screaming creature with an ease says a performer N. Raman. "Rice, toddy and arrack are stuffed in the cut open stomach of the cock and is eaten by the performer who represents god and it is only possible to a performing artist to do so as it is done with the help of spirit other wise its difficult," N. Raman, another senior Theyyam performer. "Mudi" or, the face of the dancer is decorated with a red cloth and coloured papers. Though animal sacrifices in temples and during religious rituals have been banned in Tamil Nadu, many State Governments have hesitated to get involved in religious matters. As per the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' Act of 1960 and the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 there is no specific ban on sacrifices in Hindu temples and shrines. Although Kerala, with the highest rate of literacy, is considered to be a progressive State, it remains a disturbing reality as to how some conventional beliefs and rituals of yore like a live cock being eaten are prevalent even today.
-Feb 8, 2007    

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