Book: Playing God
Chapter: Spirit possession and ritual praxis in North Malabar – the Teyyam
Blurb:
The Teyyam, we have seen, is the ritual par excellence in northern Kerala for the untouchable and tribal sections of society, which also attracts considerable attention from other caste groups and even from followers of other religions. The popularity of the ritual resides in its obvious charismatic, ecstatic and awe-inspiring nature and the fact that the devotees can have a visual and easily accessible revelation of god in this ritual.