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Local people of Kerala performing rituals before Theyyam dance starts. Theyyam or Theyyaattam is a pattern of hero worship performed in Kolathunaad, a territory comprising the present Cannanore District and Badagara Taluk of Kerala State. It is a ritual and a folk-dance form supported by a vast literature of folk songs. Theyyam is a corruption for Deyvam ‘God’. 'Aattam' means dance. Thus 'Theyyaattam' means the God’s Dance. The person who plays and personifies the deity is generally called ‘Kolam’. The word Kolam means figure or shape or make-up in Tamil and Malayalam. In Tulunad, north of Kolathunaad, the custom of Kolam dance is widely prevalent as a form of worship of the Bhootas or spirits. There, the dance was conducted before the sthaanams, where the Bhoothas or the spirits used to r
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