Carnivalesque, Liminality and Social Drama
Characterising the Anti-Structural Potential of Theyyam
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9283161 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Raisun Mathew (0000-0003-3427-0941, Lovely Professional University, corresponding author), Digvijay Pandya (0000-0002-5985-9579, Lovely Professional University) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2021-10-25 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0975-2935 • E-ISSN: 0975-2935 |
| Publisher | AesthetixMS: Aesthetics Media Services (PUBLISHER • IN) |
| DOI | 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n3.28 |
| OpenAlex | W3214050322 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 17 |
The cultural and ritual performance of Theyyam in Northern Kerala, considered as a reflection of the war cry against the caste system and oppression, conducts subversion of the social hierarchy. The chosen deity by the performer for a transitory symbolisation expresses the collective outrage of the oppressed and exploited people. This research paper enquires about the anti-structural characteristics exhibited by the performance of Theyyam. In the context of Richard Schechner’s performance theory, it attempts to trace the characterisation of Mikhail Bakhtin’s carnivalesque, Victor Turner’s liminality and social drama in the transitional performance of Theyyam that mostly relies on interim separation and reintegration. The expression of antipathy to the hierarchy in Bakhtinian carnival, the anti-structural emphasis in Turnarian liminality, and the deconstructive-reconstructive stages in social drama elucidate the symbolic delineation of the performance of Theyyam. The analytical findings of the paper derived from the discussion of the three concepts reveal that the performance of Theyyam is rooted in its anti-structural characteristics. The performer is subject to continuous alteration in the identity that intermediates the idiosyncrasy between the deity and the human being. It symbolises the temporal transition from the oppressed to the equivalent status of the dominator that occurs as part of counter-culture, through status reversal and inversion
Aesthetics · Art · Carnivalesque · Caste · Drama · Epistemology · Liminality · Linguistics · Literature · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · History · Philosophy · South Asian Studies and Diaspora · Theatre and Performance Studies
The ritual process
Powers of Horror
The Forest of Symbols
Performance Studies
Does Faith Dismiss Performance? Observations on the Cult of Muthappan in Northern Kerala
Ritual, Community Preservation, and Environment in Theyyam Performance
Reflexive Historical Sociology
Caste-based Oppression, Trauma and Collective Victimhood in Erstwhile South India
Gods and the Oppressed
Between Local and Global. Teyyam Goes Cyber and Beyond
Bakhtin and Carnival
Formalised Possession Among the Tantris and Teyyams of Malabar
Ritual, Anti-Structure, and Religion
Diaspora, religion, and identity
Identity through Nature-Man Interaction
Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors
The Ritual Process
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2024 (2) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |