Art and culture create a true memoir of fiction when we embrace the art of representing demi-gods and cosmic lands through culturally rooted expressions. People define culture as the shared values and beliefs of a community. When we blend a drop of art with culture, we capture the perfect essence to embed these fictions into our minds for far longer than we might imagine.
The moment you hear the word Theyyam, the first thing that comes to your mind is the bright red makeup with sharp, edgy lines that complement the colour. The flashy red outline, with sharp black and occasional green colour, which completes the makeup, is always photo-worthy. Colour is one of the biggest elements that grabs viewers’ attention towards the subject, and red is one of the dominant colours that has the power to convey the message just by the colour itself.
Wherever it may be, between the rush of devotees the bright red seems impossible to resist. Artists specifically choose these colours for Theyyam because they represent the fire within and the blood, which in turn symbolize life and energy. Theyyam is one of the art that use red as the dominant colour which clearly states that it’s the art of representing life.
“Culture find its way into the art that follows the history and tradition alike. The art will tend to evolve and beautify”
Organic Divinity: The Sacred Makeup Rituals of Theyyam
One of the most amazing facts about Theyyam is that artists use completely organic makeup, as they consider the performers a bridge between gods and mortals. They avoid using even artificial brushes in the process.
Makeup plays a huge role in Theyyam as already mentioned the colour red plays a dominant role in conveying the power of Gods. Also the makeup for male actors different from female. Emotions are often conveyed by expressions but color plays a vital role in delivering those emotions to audience
Color serves as a powerful catalyst to convey specific messages. Theyyam, a cultural form that originated from the land of red, embodies the same boldness as its people and the revolution it represents.
Another fact about Theyyam is that devotees consider the people portraying the characters as Gods. When an art form intensifies and combines with the most powerful colour, it transforms into nothing less than perfection. The ultimate symbol of creation and destruction in Hindu mythology leans towards black colour.
Black colour marks the beginning and the end. Even a scientist visualises infinity and beyond with this colour. Hindu culture metaphorically represents the meaning of black as the two ends of a coin, where one end signifies the positive aspect of life and the other signifies the negative aspect, with birth and death being the key elements.
Hindu culture metaphorically represents black as a coin, where one end signifies the positive aspect of life and the other end signifies the negative aspect, with birth and death as the defining elements.
The Power of Colour in Theyyam
Black relates to this topic primarily because red is the only colour that gives black its deserving strength when combined. In fact, artists widely use black in Theyyam makeup to mark the borders and provide a strong finishing touch. Additionally, they paint sharp lines in black to give the character an edgy and defined look. As a result, viewers can witness the true essence of Theyyam mostly at night, when red flashes vividly and black silently flows through the makeup, enhancing the overall visual impact.
Artists can aesthetically describe black as a shadow that holds the unique quality of hiding what’s unnecessary. This is one of the reason why Theyyam at night time has wider audience as everyone’s focus will be on what’s important and the actor can portray the character perfectly with out any flows.
When fire is introduced, darkness is excellent for expressing art. Hindu mythology reveres fire. Fire is worshipped because it burns filth. The colour red represents fire. Red represents courage, fury, anger, and leadership. Theyyam introduces red to establish attributes. In dance performances of mythical tales and dramas, colour, makeup, and costume help convey spirituality and evoke a divine environment. A bold colour like red can convey fury to the audience. Whatever the art, colour and expression complete it. Each performance has depth and meaning because colour, makeup, and clothing tell the story. As art enthusiasts overlook colour and, more significantly, how it reflects a community’s identity, real culture is fading. When money rolls in, these forms become suspect. Questionable traditions should be accepted. A train represents a community’s generations.
Amongst the mighty gods : Dressing as the eternal gods and living among them
When Gods Communicate: The bridge between mortals and Gods.
The ritual that pleases the Gods : One path to acheive the attention of gods
Copyrights: All the photos and text in this post are the copyright of Rahul Rao and Creative Hut Institute of Photography and film. Their reproduction, full or part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.