theeyattu: the fire dance

Theeyattu:the fire dance

Kerala the place which contributed Adishankara to the philosophical world and Kathakali to the world of culture is also a place of ritual arts. The culture and arts of Kerala has grown along with the kavu, temples, festivals etc.since the ancient times.Theeyattu is such a ritual art for the well being of devotees and considered to be the best to pacify the goddess Bhadrakali.Thrikkariyoor in Ernakulam district is the birth place of this art.This ritual is performed by a group of people called theeyattunnikal in every month on the thiruvathira day.Earlier the ritual was known as deepattom means dance with light and it later became theeyattom(the fire dance). It is performed mostly in Bhadrakali temples. Two types of theeyattu is performed-Ayyappan and Bhadrakali.The storyline of theeyattu is the killing of the demon Darika by goddess Bhadrakali.She tells it to lord Siva while holding the head of darika in her hand.

Kerala:under the States Recognition Act of 1956, Travancore-Cochin state and Malabar were united to form the State of Kerala on november1,1956.The first fully literate Muncipal town(Kottayam-1989) and district(Ernakulam-1990) in India are in Kerala. On december11,1995, Ernakulam also became India's first 'Bachat'(savings)district.In 1991,Kerala became the first fully literate state in India. Its capital is Trivandrum and Malayalam is the official language.Periyar Wildlife sanctuary Thekkady,Kumarakom resorts,Kovalam,Sabarimala, Guruvayoor are the famous places.Kalady in Ernakulam is the birth place of Sri Shankaracharya.

theeyattunnikal : they are the performers of theeyattu.the legend is, once to save his people from small pox, Thrikkariyoorappan(Lord Siva) himself lit a light from the shrine and blessed that this will ward off all diseases and dangers.he handed the light over to a unni(a Brahmin boy before upanayanom) and he took it by his left hand. Later others distanced themselves from him and anew generation called theeyattunnikal had borne. in central travancore they are known as Nambis.

Ayyappan: the hindu god who had an unnatural birth.his mother is lord vishnu and father is lord siva.vishnu in disguise of mohini(as a woman) attracted siva and gave birth to a boy from her thigh.he had been adopted by the king of Pandalam and called him ayyappan.he is a chronic bachelor and now worshipped at sabarimala in pathanamthitta district of Kerala.

Adishankara is the Hindu sage Shri. Shankaracharyar who became a sanyasin at a very young age. He advocated the 'one - god' philosophy or adwaita