Malabar Gods, Nation-Building and World Culture: On Perceptions of the Local and the Global

Tarabout, Gilles

doi:10.7135/upo9781843313823.009

Cited by 12 publications

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“…Le Teyyam fut ainsi adapté et présenté lors d'événements culturels, touristiques, ou même politiques, résultant en des versions modifiées où la possession n'était pas toujours présente, ce qui donna lieu aussià deś episodes de protestation et de résistance. Ce type d'adaptation pouvait se justifier notamment en référence au travail de folkloristes du Kerala (Tarabout, 2005a) qui ont oeuvréà définir le Teyyam avant tout comme une manifestation artistique et culturelle digne d'être considérée comme un héritage de l'humanité. On serait tenté de voir dans de telles phases les effets d'une modernisation de cette tradition, ouvrant la porteà des innovations, et pouvant expliquer une modification de la pratique pour accommoder par exemple de jeunes performeurs voulant faire les choses autrement.…”

Section: Authenticité Et Respect Des Règles Rituellesunclassified

Perspectives sur l’authenticité et conditions d’efficacité rituelle : Nécessité de convaincre et enjeux de transmission dans le rituel du Teyyam

Brillant-Giroux

2020

Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses

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À partir d’une recherche menée sur les rituels de possession du Teyyam, au Kerala, Inde du Sud, nous examinons en quoi les questions d’authenticité formulées du point de vue des acteurs, et des processus qui s’y rattachent, ont un rôle à jouer pour générer une confiance en l’efficacité du rituel à réaliser les attentes des fidèles à son endroit. Alors que les performeurs de la nouvelle génération essaient de concilier l’exigence de cette pratique avec une amélioration de leurs conditions de vie, des performeurs plus âgés, qui valorisent l’idée d’un sacrifice de soi pour la communauté, alimentent un débat au sujet de leur compétence. Au cœur de ce débat, il y a des enjeux interreliés se rapportant à la notion d’authenticité donnant lieu à des interprétations, ancrées à la fois dans l’imaginaire mythique et contestataire du Teyyam de même que dans la réalité de l’Inde actuelle, qui orientent les conceptions de part et d’autre, et rappellent l’importance de répondre à la nécessité de convaincre que les dieux pourront toujours continuer à intervenir en faveur des fidèles. Que passe-t-il lorsque des critères pour confirmer la présence d’une divinité lors d’un rituel sont réinterprétés ? À quoi doivent-ils satisfaire pour assurer un consensus ?

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Section: Authenticité Et Respect Des Règles Rituellesunclassified

Perspectives sur l’authenticité et conditions d’efficacité rituelle : Nécessité de convaincre et enjeux de transmission dans le rituel du Teyyam

Brillant-Giroux

2020

Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses

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“…He approaches the political use of the teyyam performance in different contexts, in its use by the communist activists, the Republic Day parade, theater plays, and other occasions, and therefore he is fully aware of the question arising here; at a point, he refers to this as "commoditization" (1993). The French anthropologist Giles Tarabout (2005), in a book chapter from 2005, affirms that those elite Indians who had been in contact with Western culture and society viewed the teyyam as an art and sought the promotion of Kerala culture, as well as the progress of the socio-economic conditions of the performers. Mayuri Koga, a Japanese anthropologist, in 2003 approached the "strategic separation between art and ritual and classification of the teyyam as ritual or art."…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

A post-colonial instance in globalized North Malabar: is teyyam an “art form”?

Pereira

Ziganshina

2020

Asian Anthropology

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The ritual of the teyyams, in north Kerala, has been referred to as "art form," "folk art," "ritual art," and such, not only by tourist guides and leaflets, but also by academic works and, more and more, in the everyday speech of local communities. 1 In this article we intend to question the adequacy of such categorizations, in light of plausible definitions of art and folklore, and investigate the motivations for such classifications, considering the correlations of social and political power in post-colonial circumstances. We defend a need for an integrated, informed and careful address to the cult of the teyyams (like any other post-colonial reality) and argue that the post-colonial discourse, despite its advantages over colonial rhetoric, can still be improved upon. It can be improved upon by acknowledging, besides the obvious consequences of the colonialist cultural and political heritage, the traces of the local, more ancient or discrete influences, interlaced with the later colonial heritage, and can provide clues for understanding of the present in its complexity. The example of the teyyams is not a random choice but rather a specific example in which the history of the relations of power, which continues from pre-colonial times, is visible on the one hand in local political discussions, and on the other hand has been fully inscribed, as tension and transgression, into the ritual in a metaphorical way.

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“…This kind of worship has been done with various forms of rituals and performances using images, idols, etc., and the theyyam of North Malabar in South India have a special significance in this regard. In the ritual ceremony of kaliyattam , the deities are worshipped as theyyam (Ashley 1979; Miller 1954; Tarabout 2005). The word theyyam is a corrupt form for the term ‘ daivam ’, which means god in Malayalam.…”

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confidence: 99%

Representing Feminine Divinity: A Visual Ethnography of Kaliyattam in North Malabar

Gopi

2020

Society and Culture in South Asia

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Worship of female deities has a history going back to the overall practice of religious worship in human society. This kind of worship has been done with various forms of rituals and performances using images, idols, etc., and the theyyam of North Malabar in South India have a special significance in this regard. In the ritual ceremony of kaliyattam, the deities are worshipped as theyyam (Ashley 1979; Miller 1954; Tarabout 2005). The word theyyam is a corrupt form for the term 'daivam', which means god in Malayalam. Specialised performers belonging to specific caste groups wear symbolic attire with elaborate costumes, make-up and properties and get transformed into gods and goddesses. To complete this physical and visual transformation, they also hope to be possessed by the divine power through a series of rituals in traditional shrines. The theyyam then performs a series of acts and demonstrates the myths, legendary tales and portray godly characters before the audience. The key part of the ceremony is the dance of the deity that takes place towards the end of the main rituals. After the dance, the theyyam-the god incarnate-blesses the devotees. There are hundreds of different theyyams in the pantheon, and a majority of them are female goddesses. The emic view of the community suggests that the whole ritual itself is connected to the worship of Kalithe ferocious Shivite goddess, and not surprisingly, most theyyams have myths related to Kali, the manifestation of Lord Shiva's power through feminine form. Another group in the pantheon, which is related to Photo Essay

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Malabar Gods, Nation-Building and World Culture: On Perceptions of the Local and the Global

Cited by 12 publications

References 0 publications

Perspectives sur l’authenticité et conditions d’efficacité rituelle : Nécessité de convaincre et enjeux de transmission dans le rituel du Teyyam

Perspectives sur l’authenticité et conditions d’efficacité rituelle : Nécessité de convaincre et enjeux de transmission dans le rituel du Teyyam

A post-colonial instance in globalized North Malabar: is teyyam an “art form”?

Representing Feminine Divinity: A Visual Ethnography of Kaliyattam in North Malabar

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