At 8 p.m. on Wednesday night, when the ‘Theechamundi’ Theyyam performance was scheduled to take place at the Malabar Christian College grounds in Kozhikode, there were only a handful of people, besides members of the performing team.
The pyre had just started to burn, and the artistes were still preparing for the performance. But as the fire burnt down to embers and the performance was about to begin two hours later, hundreds had assembled to watch the performer being dragged into the heap of embers more than a hundred times.
The performance was part of the KoCo Folk Fest being organised by the Kozhikode Corporation with the support of the Calicut University School of Folklore Studies, Thunchathezhuthachan Malayalam University, and the Kerala Folklore Academy. The festival hit the target right from day one with the ‘Theechamundi’ being the highlight.
But KoCo Fest is not just about the performance. Instead, it provided a comprehensive insight into the world of folklore and an abundant amount of experience for students who took part in most sessions.
Around 30 students, some from Calicut University and a few researchers from Malayalam University had attended all the sessions of the fest, which enriched their practical knowledge in folklore. “We got to meet some experts in the field of folklore who curated the whole festival. Interactions with them are sure to help us in our studies and dissertations,” said Sona Mohan, a second year student of folklore at Calicut University.
M. Dasan, Dean, Central University of Kerala; Jisha C.K., head of the Department of Folklore Studies, Calicut University; E.K. Govindavarma Raja, former head of the School of Folklore Studies; K.M. Bharathan, Director of the School of Cultural Heritage Studies, Malayalam University, are the brains behind the fest.
The festival features seminars and discussions on a variety of topics such as Vadakkan Pattu, Mappila art forms, Thottam Pattu, Thekkan Pattu, heritage and its connection with literature, feminism in folk arts, Kalaripayattu, the present scenario of folk culture, and evolution of some of them.
“We could experience performance by award winning artistes, all under one roof, without losing their traditional essence. Watching experienced artistes perform is quite a different experience,” Ms. Mohan said.
The KoCo Fest concludes on Sunday with a workshop on ‘Mukhathezhuthu’ (facial drawing) of Theyyam, performances by folk band Thudithalam, and Women’s Thayambaka at the Kozhikode Town Hall, followed by Thirayattam and Choottukali at the Malabar Christian College grounds.
