In India, Navneet Jayakumar Documents the Ancient, Elaborate Custom of Theyyam

"In the Malabar region of Kerala, India, an ancient Hindu ritual known as Theyyam exists in a continuum of ceremonial customs that date back hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The practice carries on today through elaborate costumes and dances during which a performer wears sacred garments and invites a deity to enter their body as a way to seek blessings. Theyyam season, which typically runs from October to May, sees hundreds of performances around the region, with many concentrated in November and December."

"Jayakumar grew up in Malabar, and Theyyam was a memorable part of his childhood. For the first time in 12 years, he returned to Kerala during the ceremonial season and was struck by its intensity and time-honored connection to the region's cultural heritage. "Witnessing the ritual reignited my curiosity about the broader spiritual and historical context of my culture, the role Theyyam once played in it, and the ways in which colonial narratives had distorted my perception of both," he says in a statement."

"Jayakumar's series Beyond the Colonial Gaze documents the ancient custom through an ethnographic lens, aiming to highlight an event that's little understood outside of the region, primarily due to its oral traditions, which make it challenging to research. "With a lack of traceable records exacerbated further by centuries of colonial intervention, I discovered there was very little information available about the ritual's broader spiritual context," he says."

Theyyam is an ancient Hindu ritual in Malabar characterized by performers wearing sacred garments and inviting deities into their bodies to bestow blessings. The ceremonial season runs from October to May, with many performances in November and December. Navneet Jayakumar, raised in Malabar and now based in London, returned after 12 years and photographed the ritual's intensity and cultural resonance. The photographic series Beyond the Colonial Gaze uses an ethnographic approach to counter limited external understanding caused by oral traditions and centuries of colonial intervention. Photography is used to recover, document, and assert Theyyam's Indigenous spiritual and historical context.

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