THEYYAM

Karanavar means head of the family, As the head of the joint family the karanavar had many forms of power and a series of responsibilities, it is believed that  tharavat karanavr brings loard siva from kottiyoor

The Divine Mother of the Hindu culture. she is known as the protector of the womb

Once upon a time a demon called Hayagriva with the face of a horse stole all the Vedas and sasthras from Brahma the creator when there was the deluge.He took all those and hid them deep in the sea. When Vishnu learnt about this he took the Matsya avathar - incarnation as a fish which in time grew in size. When the deluge ended Vishnu in the form of a huge fish like a whale killed Hayagriva and retrieved the scriptures and returned them to Brahma.

Naga Kanyaka - Daughter of a Naga (Serpents). they appeared before handsome guys in the form of beautiful women and lured them to naga loka. After reaching Naga loka these men were never allowed to come back to human-world. But they enjoyed life very well. Those tried to cheat naga kanya were killed by the nagas.

Guligan is believed to have taken birth from the left thumb finger of Lord Shiva. To protect Maarkandeyan, Shiva killed the lord of death. This no one in earth had death since then and thus in order to cope up with the situation, Lord Shiva created Guiligan. Guligan theyyam is a real frightening one. As high as high, As wide as earth, Round fiery eyes like coconut, teeth resembling chisel, hands as tough as aracnut tree, Legs as strong as coconut tree trunk. These depicts the shape and size of Guligan. As it was created for bringing about death on earth, Guligan is entertained through Guruthi OR Kuruthi and by offering blood of hen. Tender coconut leaves are integral part in the costumes of Guligan theyyam, Tender coconut leaves are worn around the waiste and the head gear made of bamboo decorated with tender leaves. A typical mask which is unique in its own way is another characteristics in Guigan theyyam.

Story of Muthappan The Naduvazhi (landlord) Ayyankara Illath Vazhunnavar (a Nambudiri Brahmin) was unhappy, as he had no child. His wife Padikutty Antharjanam was a devotee of Lord Shiva. She made a sacrifice to Shiva for children. One day in her dream she saw the Lord. The very next day, while she was returning after a bath from a near by river, she saw a pretty child lying on a flower bed. She took the child home and she and her husband brought Him up as their own son. The boy used to visit the jungle near their house (mana) for hunting with His bow and arrows. He would then take food to the poor and to the backward communities with Him. As these acts were against the Namboothiri way of life, His parents earnestly requested Him to stop this practice, but the boy turned a deaf ear to their warnings. Ayyankara Vazhunavar became very disappointed. One day the boy revealed His divine form (Visvaroopam or Viswaroopa or Cosmic All-Pervading form) to His parents. They then realized that the...

Lord Narasimha is fourth incarnation of Lord Maha Vishnu. Narasimha is in the form of Half Man and Half Lion, and is considered as the most ugra form of Vishnu's form. This form is having a human-like torso and a lower body, but with a lion-like face and claws with ugra form. He is believed as protector of devotees all the time. Lord Narasimha took birth on earth to demolish Hiranyakashipu, the cruel asura who was considered Lord Vishnu as his moral enemy. He was brother of Hiranyaksha, the asura who was killed by Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu, thus challenging Vishnu and decided to kill vishnu's followers. He was torturing all of devas and his own villagers those are worshipping vishnu. He was forcing all of them to worship him, instead of Vishnu. His son, Prahlada was one of the devotees of Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu started challenging lord vishnu and threatening the world by his evil acts. Since he found his son himself with Vishnu's side, he decided to kill his son. Whenever he t...