'Theyyam' steals the show in Mangalore

7 teams showcase tradition, culture, as folk dance contest concludes

Greatest showman of Bollywood, Raj Kapoor, said ‘Show must go on’. The Kerala team at the folk dance competition at TMA Pai convention Centre on Sunday literally lived by this.

The team, which staged some of the prominent folk dances of Kerala, did not get bogged down even when three team members fainted and collapsed while one fell unconscious after a fall.

The team performed the entire dance piece without even a sign of worry on the faces.

The team staged a primitive tribal dance of a tribe named ‘Kuruchia’ which is prominently found in Northern Kerala, coupled with demi-god worship cult called ‘Theyyam’.

The dance of the Kuruchias expressed the joy of the farmers during the harvest season while Theyyam is the possession cult practiced to impersonate Goddess Durga and Chamundi.

The live percussion had the traditional ‘Tudi,’ ‘Chenda’ and the ‘Chilambu’ along with which two singers sang the folk songs. Dressed in red and white costumes, the team successfully pulled off the first part of the dance using several props effectively.
As many as six props were used by the team including ‘Kolata’ sticks, bamboo logs etc. The team did stage some beautiful formations during the dance including human pyramid.

The crisis hit the team when the girls on one side formed a human pyramid and the girl climbing the top of the pyramid lost balance and fell on the floor. She lay unconscious for some time. She was however pulled back stage later.

The team soon started the highlight of their performance-Theyyam. Here they had brought the concept of fire beautifully, perfectly recreating the aura of a real Theyyam. The deity and the impersonators along with possessed devotees were seen gyrating around a fire pit. The women banging their heads with loose hair brought in air of piousness and fear together. When the programme ended three more girls had collapsed.

The victims were attended by medical professionals immediately. Some sources said that since ‘Theyyam’ is a highly revered and feared belief of the Kerala population, teams trying to replicate it on stage too observe a fast before performance. This might have been a reason for the team members falling sick.

This was followed by a dance from Andaman and Nicobar island. Performed by the Chota Nagpur tribe, ‘Karampuja’ is danced in honour of gods, by unmarried girls and boys seeking good life partner.

‘Nabanna,’ a tribal dance of the farming community of Tripura was staged by the participants. This dance shows the joy of the farmers celebrating the harvest season. The team, without any prop showed the day to day life of the farmers and their joy when paddy is harvested and brought home.

Participants from Gujarat, dressed in vibrant and colorful costumes staged their traditional dance form ‘Garba’ while Rajasthan too took the audience by storm with its traditional dance form.

Daman and Diu team staged its dance form similar to ‘dandiya’, which is performed by them during the ‘Sharathpurnima’ celebration. Team from Chandigarh staged the dance similar to that of ‘Bangra’.

The ‘balle balle’ from the team struck the right chord with the audience which danced and cheer for this team throughout the performance.  Seven teams performed on Sunday.