Thee Chamundi – ritual fire dance of Malabar
This variety of Theyyam, the ritual dance performance, is presented during the night.
An offering to Lord Vishnu’s incarnation- Narasimhavathra – part lion part man- this ritual dance is an awe inspiring one and it is believed that the performer of this gets possessed by the spirit of the god. Thee Chamundi Theyyam performance is based on the mythological story of Hiranyakashipu, Narasimha and his disciple Prahlada.
Hiranyakashipu (the king of Asuras), is a demon in Hindu myths. His younger brother, Hiranyaksha was killed by Vishnu, during his Varaha incarnation. Enraged at this, he decided to kill Vishnu by acquiring magical powers from Brahma by performing a penance for him. At last he succeeded in securing a boon from Brahma that he would not die on earth or in space, or in fire or water, not during the day or night, not inside or outside and not by the hand of a human, god, animal or any other animate or inanimate species.
Hiranyakashipu is the uncle of Prahlada (son of Hiranyaksha), who is an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu. The asura king, whose wish is to kill Lord Vishnu tries a number of times to burn Prahlada alive. Finally the Narashimha, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu with a lion head kills Hirayakashipu.
In theyyam, the number of times Prahlada is thrown to the fire resembles the number of times the theyyam enters the fire. This way mythology is related to performance. The rather scientific part of the same is that when chicken pox or the other sort of virus born diseases pervades in villages, it is believed that the germs are burnt and the villagers will be saved from the epidemic.
The body of the dancer is decorated with tender coconut leaves. With vigorous chanting, at the climax of the dance, the performer jumps on top of a huge bonfire. It is believed that because of the arduous spiritual observances the dancer has undergone he becomes resistant to burns.
