Art as Devotion: Theyyam Dancers

This article relates to Nine Lives

The subjects of Dalrymple's Nine Lives seek transcendence and divine communion in different ways. Some embrace aceticsm, while for others like the wandering Baul minstrel, the reciter of holy epics, or the maker of bronze deities, "art and religion are one."

The most vivid practitioner of art as devotion is Hari Das, the dalit  (untouchable) theyyam dancer. In an article for the London Times, Dalrymple explains, "Theyyam dance is a spectacular form of possession dance from northern Kerala, in the southwest of India, remarkable for its vibrant music and its astonishingly powerful and elaborate makeup and masks. The word theyyam derives from daivam, the Sanskrit for god. During the season, the theyyam dancers bring stories of the gods to life, and overturn the caste barriers in Hindu society."

Here is Hari Das as the transformation from man to god begins:

"He pauses as the makeup boy continues applying face paint from the pigment he is mixing on the strip of banana leaf in his left hand. Hari Das opens his mouth, and the makeup boy carefully applies some rouge to his lips,

'It's like a blinding light,' he says eventually, 'When the drums are playing and your makeup is finished, they hand you a mirror and you look at your face, transformed into that of a god. Then it comes. It's as if there is a sudden explosion of light. A vista of complete brilliance opens up—it blinds the senses...'"

• Watch the makeup being applied and costume being assumed (also in video below)
• A theyyam dancer at an event hosted by Dalrymple for the British Council
• A dancer in northern Kerala
• A photo of Hari Das (scroll to the bottom of the page)
• An interview with William Dalrymple on NPR
  

Filed under Music and the Arts

This "beyond the book article" relates to Nine Lives. It originally ran in July 2010 and has been updated for the June 2011 paperback edition. Go to magazine.

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