For nearly 300 years, the family’s ancestral home in the southern Indian state of Kerala has been the stage for onyam, an ancient folk ritual.
Rooted in ancient tribal traditions, the Oniyam predates Hinduism while being woven into Hindu mythology. Each performance is both a theatrical spectacle and an act of piety that transforms the performer into a living embodiment of the divine.
The predominantly male performers in Kerala and parts of neighboring Karnataka impersonate the deities through elaborate costumes, face paint and trance-like dances, facial expressions and music.
Each year, around a thousand oniyam performances, traditionally performed by men from marginalized castes and tribal communities, take place in family estates and temples across Kerala.
It is often referred to as ritual theater for its electrifying drama, which showcases daring acts such as walking on fire, diving into burning coals, chanting occult poems and prophesying.
Historian K. K. Gopalakrishnan has honored his family’s legacy of onyam and the ritual’s vibrant tradition in a new book, Onyam: An Insider’s View.
It explores deep devotion, rich mythology and unexpected changes in the art, including the emergence of the onyam performed by Muslims in a tradition rooted in tribal and Hindu practices.
