Kannur
Glimpse the Tantric traditions of the theyyam festival
Traveling through the sleepy town of Kannur in north Kerala, one can’t quite imagine its colourful history; with some Neolithic ruins indicating a civilization since Man’s stone-carving days, to a 12th CE capital with trade links to Persia, then a 15th CE port that saw the arrival of Marco Polo, to being conquered by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British as a trade outpost. Kannur or Cannanore, as it was then called, finds mentions in many travellers’ diaries: Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, Faxian, Tangiers, and the famous ships of Solomon anchored along this coast to collect timber for the Temple of the Lord. While there is little of this history left in stone or memory, travellers flock to Kannur today to witness the incredible theyyam performances – masked dance-dramas in over 400 styles that have an esoteric Tantric significance.