Visualizing the Teyyam Ritual
Last December, a video produced by the Leiden University Department of Visual Ethnography won an award for excellence from the Society for Visual Anthropology (American Anthropological Association). This was not a surprise to those who had seen the video at previous exhibitions, e.g. Film South Asia 97 (25-28 October 1997, Kathmandu, Nepal) and Film South Asia at the ICAS (25-28 June 1998, Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands), as almost everyone has been very impressed by the film.By Erik de Maaker and Netty Bonouvrié
Made by Erik de Maaker, the film Teyyam: the annual visit of the god Vishnumurti provides a 57-minute account of a Teyyam, a North Kerala Hindu ritual of possession. The video film exposes the structure of the ritual, while attempting to provide some sort of understanding of the Teyyam performers' and devotees' personal involvement in the ritual. The jury of the Society for Visual Anthropology wrote: 'In the course of this documentation of a village ritual, we are informed on many levels. The Teyyam performers are seen first as lower caste individuals, conscientiously preparing their costumes and make-up; then transformed by their role into the god himself. The anthropologist/cameraman clearly knew when and where to film to communicate this complex event.'The most Teyyam rituals are performed as part of annual festivals held at small village shrines. All major communities with the exception of brahmins maintain such temples. The shrines are dedicated to violent deities, often demanding offerings like sacrificed chickens and palm wine. As the priests of the Teyyam temples always come from the community of the temple owners, brahmins are not involved in the puja which is held. Each temple festival involves performances of a number of Teyyam rituals, every single one dedicated to a specific god. Using props, costumes and make-up, a ritual specialist, a Teyyam performer, dresses up as the deity concerned and is possessed by him or her. Then, by making offerings, devotees are able to consult the deity about their concerns in everyday life. The deity is incarnated by a performer belonging to a scheduled caste, who thus acquires a position superior to that of the devotees during the ritual. As these devotees consist of people from higher as well as lower castes, the rituals to some extent include a reversal of social statuses.
In the 1970-s, authors like the Kerala historian K.K.N. Kurup (1977, 1986) lamented that the days of Teyyam numbered, describing it as a 'vanishing cult'. At that time, in the wake of relatively far-reaching land reforms, previously existing sponsorship for the rituals' performances was waning. With many temples short of funds, annual festivals were scaled down or even discontinued. However, throughout the 1980-s and 1990-s, important transformations have taken place with respect to temple management and funding. Once temples were managed and sponsored primarily by landed families, now multi-caste temple boards have taken over responsibility. Dominated by the most prosperous communities, these have often been highly successful in attracting donations from a wide range of devotees (including Christians and Muslims).
Establishing contact
The performance of Teyyam rituals is primarily the work of ritual specialists, Teyyam performers. They work in groups consisting of male kinsman. Throughout North Kerala, there are dozens of such groups. Some two months preceding the recording of the video, De Maaker, at that time an anthropology student, became acquainted with the Pallai. Consisting of 20-odd members, the group performed Teyyams at shrines spread out over a large area. They informed him about forthcoming temple festivals, among them the festival held at the temple at Nattakal, where Teyyam: the annual visit of the god Vishnumurti was recorded. Vishnumurti is worshipped at numerous temples throughout North Kerala, and is one of the most prominent Teyyam gods. Before rcording the film, De Maaker observed several performances of the Vishnumurti Teyyam.
On two occasions, video recordings were made which covered the rituals full length. When logging these recordings and later discussing them with the Teyyam performers, he attempted to understand which parts were crucial to the structure of the ritual. As the rituals follow a set protocol quite strictly, this analysis served to formulate a list of sequences that ought to be included in the film, as well as concomitant camera positions. Days before the festival, De Maaker went with C.K. Rajen (field assistant, interpreter) to see Mr Damoderen, the then chairman of the Nattakal temple board, and asked his permission to make video recordings at the festival. Having consulted other members of the temple committee permission was granted, on condition that no hindrance would be caused to the conduct of the ritual.
The committee members' concern was obvious, as in their efforts to achieve aesthetically satisfactory results, previous filmmakers covering Teyyam had generally intervened drastically. Often large camera platforms were built, floodlights installed, and performers as well as devotees directed. De Maaker assured them that he did not intend to make such intrusions, as he wanted to record the ritual as much as possible as it happened. The only additional lighting which would be used was a high-pressure paraffin lamp, of a type very common in the region. A few shots were taken standing on a chair, but for the rest no aids were used.
All recordings were made with one camera, operated by De Maaker. The sound recording was done by Lisa van Hamel, while C.K. Rajen acted as lighting and production assistant.
Part of the crowd?
Like most Teyyam performers, the Pallai are becoming increasingly aware of the artistic skills they possess. Making the film was a confirmation of this for them. Earlier, they had been shown video recordings we had made and had been offered a look through the camera's viewfinder. Apparently, this familiarized them to a certain extent with the idea of film-making. The film team's relationship with the devotees present at the festival was naturally quite different. In advance of the festival, De Maaker and C.K. Rajen had paid only a brief visit to the village, and people were thus unacquainted with the team. However, as the team took up residence at the temple in the hut built for the Pallai and kept its equipment in their custody, it somehow came to be thought of as an extension of their group. As a result, people accepted the film-making. What probably helped is that the Nattakal Teyyam festival is very much an effort of the larger village community. The rituals are not held in seclusion, but are meant to be seen, to be exposed. Film-making does not conflict with this attitude. In fact, it fits in rather well.
The ultimate test
As part of research conducted in 1997, the finished film was screened for the Teyyam performers, temple committee members, and devotees in general. They were all quite aware of the fact that the film would be seen in other parts of India, and even abroad. Thus, although the film was appreciated as a whole, they were keen to point out mistakes they considered had been made in the performance of the ritual, and examined the construction of the film critically. Young members of the temple committee observed changes which had taken place in the conduct of the ritual in the decade that had passed since the film was recorded and when it was edited. Some even said seeing the ritual shown in the film was an example, a blueprint maybe, of how the ritual ought to be performed in Nattakal. The outcome of the research will be published in an ethnographic film monograph and study guide (Teyyam: the annual visit of the god Vishnumurti reviewed - forthcoming), which as such will complement the video film.
Teyyam: the annual visit of the god Vishnumurti is distributed by Documentary Educational Resources, 101 Morse Street, Watertown, Massachusetts 02472-2554, USA. Web catalogue: http://der.org/docued.
Research carried out preceding the making of Teyyam: the annual visit of the god Vishnumurti and after, was made possible thanks to grants from the University of Amsterdam (1988) and the Leiden University Research School CNWS (1997). A grant was awarded by the J. Gonda-Fund (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences - KNAW), which enabled us to edit the film.
Erik de Maaker works as a research fellow of the Dutch National Science Foundation on lifecycle rituals and social structure among the Garo in Meghalaya (India). Netty Bonouvrié is South Asia editor, IIAS Newsletter. E-mails: maaker@rulfsw.leidenuniv.nl and bonouvrie@let.leidenuniv.nl.