The Theyyams of North Malabar
Hundreds of forms are recorded, each with its own story, face and song. Start here to meet some of them. Search by name, by what they stand for, or in Malayalam.
Gods and guardians
Deities of the Shaiva and Vaishnava traditions, village guardians and protective spirits.
Muthappan
മുത്തപ്പൻ · Gods and guardians
The approachable grandfather god of Kannur, worshipped by people of every background.
Vishnumoorthi
വിഷ്ണുമൂർത്തി · Gods and guardians
A powerful form of Vishnu, remembered through the story of the devotee Palanthai Kannan.
Pottan
പൊട്ടൻ · Gods and guardians
The god who answered a scholar’s pride with a question about equality.
Gulikan
ഗുളികൻ · Gods and guardians
A fierce guardian linked to time, fate and Yama.
Kuttichathan
കുട്ടിച്ചാത്തൻ · Gods and guardians
A fiery child guardian said to be the son of Shiva and Parvati.
Poomaruthan
പൂമരുതൻ · Gods and guardians
The brotherly guardian who travelled with the goddess Poomala.
Theechamundi
തീച്ചാമുണ്ഡി · Gods and guardians
A Theyyam of devotion and fire, remembered through the story of Narasimha and Prahlada.
Vayanattu Kulavan
വയനാട്ടുകുലവൻ · Gods and guardians
A blind hunter god, honoured as the chief deity of many Thiyya families.
Bhairavan
ഭൈരവൻ · Gods and guardians
The fierce wandering form of Shiva, who begs with a skull.
Puli Daivam
പുലി ദൈവങ്ങൾ · Gods and guardians
The tiger deities of North Malabar, born to Shiva and Parvati in tiger form.
Panjuruli
പഞ്ചുരുളി · Gods and guardians
The wild boar deity of the Tulu coast and Kasaragod, and the Theyyam closest to “Varaha”.
Angakkaran
അങ്കക്കാരൻ · Gods and guardians
The Theyyam that stands for Lakshmana in a set of Ramayana-based Theyyams.
Daivathar
ദൈവത്താർ · Gods and guardians
A Vaishnava Theyyam that stands for Rama, and one of the two major Vishnu-linked forms.
Bappuran
ബപ്പൂരൻ · Gods and guardians
The Theyyam that stands for Hanuman in the Ramayana-based group.
Pulikandan
പുലികണ്ടൻ · Gods and guardians
Shiva in tiger form, father of the tiger deities.
Puliyoor Kannan
പുലിയൂർ കണ്ണൻ · Gods and guardians
A tiger deity, brother of Puliyoor Kali.
Pulimaruthan
പുലിമരുതൻ · Gods and guardians
A tiger deity, described as a son of Shiva and Parvati in tiger form.
Marapuli
മരപ്പുലി · Gods and guardians
A tiger deity of the Puli Daivam family.
Goddesses
The Bhagavathis and other mother goddesses, from gentle and graceful to fierce.
Muchilot Bhagavathi
മുച്ചിലോട്ട് ഭഗവതി · Goddesses
A learned woman who became a goddess, and one of the most graceful of all Theyyams.
Uchitta Bhagavathy
ഉച്ചിട്ട · Goddesses
A beloved goddess whom women pray to for safe childbirth.
Vasoorimala
വസൂരിമാല · Goddesses
The goddess associated with epidemic disease, worshipped for healing.
Arya Poonkani
ആര്യപൂങ്കന്നി · Goddesses
A goddess who crossed the sea and found a friend in a Muslim sailor.
Chamundi
ചാമുണ്ഡി · Goddesses
A fierce warrior goddess, honoured in several forms across the region.
Karimchamundi
കരിം ചാമുണ്ഡി · Goddesses
A fierce, dark form of the warrior goddess Chamundi.
Kurathi Amma
കുറത്തി അമ്മ · Goddesses
A protective mother goddess, loved by the women of the household.
Puthiya Bhagavathi
പുതിയ ഭഗവതി · Goddesses
A goddess said to have risen from a sacrificial fire, and the main deity of many Kannur shrines.
Madayil Chamundi
മടയിൽ ചാമുണ്ഡി · Goddesses
The Chamundi who followed the demons into the underworld.
Kundora Chamundi
കുണ്ടോർ ചാമുണ്ഡി · Goddesses
The Chamundi who fought the demon Darika, and a guardian of village and home.
Padarkulangara Bhagavathy
പാടാർകുളങ്ങര ഭഗവതി · Goddesses
A goddess linked with Puthiya Bhagavathi, with an unusual story of a divine calf.
Puliyoor Kali
പുലിയൂർ കാളി · Goddesses
The tigress goddess, daughter of the tiger pair, and the best known of the tiger deities.
Pulikarinkali
പുള്ളിക്കരിങ്കാളി · Goddesses
The tigress mother of the tiger deities, known as Valiya Thamburatti.
Veerakali
വീരകാളി · Goddesses
A fierce goddess who receives Puthiya Bhagavathi and stays at her side.
Cheerumba Bhagavathi
ചീരുമ്പ ഭഗവതി · Goddesses
A goddess of disease and healing, regarded as the younger sister of Puthiya Bhagavathi.
Rakta Chamundi
രക്ത ചാമുണ്ഡി · Goddesses
The blood-red Chamundi who drank the blood of Raktabija.
Heroes and ancestors
Ordinary people, warriors and wronged women who are worshipped as divine after their death.
Kathivanoor Veeran
കതിവനൂർ വീരൻ · Heroes and ancestors
The warrior Mandappan Chekavar, remembered as a hero and honoured as a god.
Pulimaranja Thondachan
പുലിമറഞ്ഞ തൊണ്ടച്ചൻ · Heroes and ancestors
A gifted man who learned to become a leopard, and was wronged for it.
Kadangot Makkam
കടങ്കോട്ട് മാക്കം · Heroes and ancestors
A wronged sister and her children, who became deities after their death.
Kandanar Kelan
കണ്ടനാർ കേളൻ · Heroes and ancestors
A devoted farmer who was lost in a forest fire and restored to life as a deity.
Vishakandan
വിഷകണ്ഠൻ · Heroes and ancestors
A healer of snakebite, honoured after he was killed out of envy.
Police Theyyam
പോലീസ് തെയ്യം · Heroes and ancestors
A guardian in a khaki uniform who keeps order beside the goddess Karinchamundi.
Shared traditions
Forms that tell of Hindu and Muslim traditions meeting in North Malabar.
Bappiriyan
ബാപ്പിരിയൻ · Shared traditions
A sailor who is believed to have been a Muslim, honoured in a Hindu ritual.
Mappila Theyyam
മാപ്പിള തെയ്യം · Shared traditions
Theyyams that honour Muslim figures, kept by Hindu and Muslim communities together.
Ummachi
ഉമ്മച്ചി · Shared traditions
A Muslim woman honoured as a goddess, who wears a headscarf and is sung to in Mappila songs.
Aali Theyyam
ആലി തെയ്യം · Shared traditions
A Mappila Theyyam whose figure is Ali, brought before the goddess Chamundi.
Kalanthan Mukri
കലന്തൻ മുക്രി · Shared traditions
A mosque officer who became one with the goddess Karinchamundi.
Yogyar Akampadi
യോഗ്യർ അകമ്പടി · Shared traditions
The accompanying Theyyam that becomes Ummachi at the end of its ritual.
This list is growing. Ask us about a Theyyam you have heard of.
How we group them
This grouping is ours, to help readers. Scholars use other divisions, and many Theyyams fit more than one. Stories also differ from shrine to shrine and teller to teller. We do not publish dates or places, because Theyyam is worship kept by families and communities. See our etiquette guide before you go. Unsure of a word such as ottakolam or kaliyattam? See Theyyam words explained.