Day 50, Kannur [Tuesday 22nd January 2008]
Previous day: Day 49, Tholpetty Wildlife Sanctuary [Monday 21st January 2008]
Next day: Day 51, KK Heritage, Aadikadalai, Kerala [Wednesday 23rd January 2008]
Photo by SanjuAfter a creaky night in the treehouse, which also has an exploding water pipe which explodes when you flush the toilet, the radio alarm wakes us up with a crackle at 6am. It's time to go for a morning trek into the park.
We have some much needed tea and coffee then pile into a jeep. The forest looks even denser and more alluring than yesterday — looming stands of bamboo surround silent lakes, and everything permeated by a thick mist.
We peer eagerly from the jeep, earnestly searching the landscape for the tiniest details which might reveal an animal on the loose. I begin to see elephants in everything - the grey trunk of a tree, a slab of rock. Unfortunately we don't see a single live elephant. But we do see lots of spotted deer and some peacocks, lemur monkeys and bison. We also see a swooping, slipping, white tailed bird called a Paradise Flycatcher. It ducks between trees and bushes, its bright, pendulous tail bouncing and flicking behind it like a streamer.
The guide tells us that bamboo is the largest member of the grass family. It flowers just once, and that might take 100 years, after which it produces seeds which can be harvested as bamboo rice. Then it dies.
Back at Pachyderm Palace we have masala omelettes and grape juice for breakfast. We hitch a lift in the Estonian's taxi, then get a bus on to Kannur. We ring Costa Malabari, a guesthouse with an owner apparently very knowledgeable about theyyams, a local form of religious practice. But he's full. So we eventually find the Mascot Beach Resort, right by the sea, and check in there instead. It's a fairly upmarket but anonymous place.
We go into Kannur for lunch, and get a pretty good, and very hot, Kerala fish curry at Sagar Garden Restaurant. The waiter asks us if we're here to see some Kathak dance, then proceeds to write, on a napkin, extensive details of a temple we should visit, which bus to get there, how much the bus fare will be and what time to go! He's a cheerful, helpful chap, and we leave him a tip. Kate was a bit upset about the Pachyderm Palace being expensive, and having an exploding water pipe, and getting ripped off to trek into the park, and this bloke cheered her up immensely.
We walk down to Payamballam Beach, and meet a couple of backpackers who ask us where we're staying. In turn they tell us about another homestay very near Costa Malabari, which is just as useful for getting to see a theyyam. The beach is full of schoolchildren, standing on the beach in their uniforms.
We get the bus, as suggested, about 20km to Parissini Kadavu temple. It is located on the bank of a river, at the bottom of a very steep, very long flight of steps. As you approach the temple the density of souvenir stalls increases, until finally you feel as if you are walking through a shiny, spangly, multicoloured, multifaceted tunnel.
As we arrive they have just started the theyyam. A theyyam is an ancient ritual in which a person of significantly low caste becomes the incarnation of a god. It is the product of an animistic religion, and many of the gods resemble creatures or natural entities like trees. We remove our shoes and go through into the main space. Crowds line either side of the room, with a multitude of priests in the centre, all focused on one in particular. At one end of the room is a large, ornate wooden building, about 12 feet across.
This theyyam is a muthappan, with the god in the form of Vellatam - the god of hunters. Vellatam likes a drink of toddy. Then he runs around with a bow and arrow, shooting things. The crowd are given gifts from the theyyam, such as leaves stripped from a branch. The dance he performs is highly ritualised and symbolic. Drums and bells clatter and ring insistently throughout and build to an extended crescendo. Afterwards the crowd gather around to be blessed by the theyyam, all waiting semi-patiently for the attention of the deity.
Although we didn't witness a giddy transformation that I was expecting, there is enough here to convince of the animalistic power of the ancient ritual. A ritual that predates even the misty beginnings of Hinduism.
Next day: Day 51, KK Heritage, Aadikadalai, Kerala [Wednesday 23rd January 2008]
Previous day: Day 49, Tholpetty Wildlife Sanctuary [Monday 21st January 2008]