Theory of Knowledge - Course Companion for Students Marija Uzunova Dang Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang

combines theatrical, religious and
Theyyam
culture in a performance that can
lived
space and the identity of the
transform
who is said to be possessed by gods
performer,
it happens, I always get very tense, even
Before
I have been doing this for 26 years now. It’s
though
that I am nervous of the god coming. It’s more the
not
that he might refuse to come. It’s the intensity
fear
your devotion that determines the intensity of the
of
If you lose your feeling of devotion, if it
possession.
once becomes routine or unthinking, the gods
even
stop coming … . When the drums are playing and
may
make-up is nished, they hand you a mirror and
your
look at your face transformed into that of a god.
you
it comes. It’s as if there is a sudden explosion of
Then
A vista of complete brilliance opens up—it blinds
light.
senses … . That light stays with you all the way
the
the performance. You become the deity. You lose
during
fear. Even your voice changes. The god comes alive
all
takes over. You are just the vehicle, the medium. In
and
trance, it is god who speaks, and all the acts are the
the
of the god—feeling, thinking, speaking. The dancer
acts
an ordinary man—but this being is divine. Only when
is
head-dress is removed does it end.
the
or rather the human performers who are
Theyyams,
are Dalits, or untouchables—designated
possessed,
so low a caste that higher-caste Hindus will not
as
them. But because of the perceived strength
touch
authenticity of their possession, theyyams
and
worshipped during the ritual season, from
are
to February, with even the highestcaste
December
Hindus seeking their blessings and touching
feet. How does this example speak to the
their
of artistic knowledge?
production
Das describes his experiences when he is
Hari
performing theyyam
not
nine months a year, I work as a manual labourer.
For
build wells during the week, then at the weekend I
I
in Tellicherry Central Jail. As a warder … . I need
work
make a living. I am poor enough to be ready to do
to
anything if someone pays me a daily wage.
virtually
not for pleasure—it’s very dangerous work … .
It’s
No one dares to mess with them … . I keep
backing.
head down. I never beat any prisoner, and just try
my
avoid being beaten up myself. We all just try to get
to
the day alive and intact.
through
his book Nine Lives (2009) William Dalrymple
In
Hari Das and describes theyyam
interviews
originating from a deeply casteist context
as
even in the 20th century “lower-caste
where,
were still regularly being murdered by
tenants
Nayar (high caste) landlords for failing to
their
Dalits are still expected to show deference
Today
respect, and to avoid physical contact or
and
proximity with higher castes. Dalrymple
close
this context clearly plays a role in the
suggests
inequalities are the fertile soil from which
These
grew, and the dance form has always been
Theyyam
conscious and ritualised inversion of the usual
a
of Keralan life: for it is not the pure and
structures
Brahmins into which the gods choose to
sanctied
but the shunned and insulted Dalits … .
incarnate,
Theyyams take place not in Brahminical temples,
The
small shrines in the holy places and sacred
but
these two examples—the Chola bronzes and
In
methods through which art is
theyyam—the
and the knowledge involved in the
produced,
does not seem typical for this AOK. We
process,
you to reflect on ideas about how art usually
invite
and the processes that produce it. Where
works,
these ideas come from, and how are they
do
Art can be, and often is, entangled
maintained?
the domains of culture and religion, and even
with
This entanglement influences the methods
science.
art, and it may be the case that religious,
of
or cultural knowledge is essential in the
scientific
does the artist sit in the midst of all this?
Where
the interview below, we speak to theatre artist
In
Dinesh about the practices that inform
Nandita
production of her work.
the
III. Methods and tools
III. Methods and tools
during the performance.
(Das quoted in Dalrymple 2009)
present sweets as tokens of their submission”.
theyyam art form.
(Das quoted in Dalrymple 2009)
groves of the countryside …
(Dalrymple 2009)
process of producing art.
The inmates rule the jail. Many have got political
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