The divine Dancing God of India

On this day he is not a human , he is a God. The word Theyyam denotes the divine. A unique aspect of this ritualistic dance form is the performers’ metamorphosis into the deity. This one here is called Kandanar Kelan. The story behind the origin of Kandanar Kelan goes like this. A person called Kelan came to a hilly area in search of his livelyhood through farming. One day under the influence of alcohol, he set fire to shrubs in order to clean up the place. Unexpectedly, the fire spread so badly . Inorder to escape Kelan climbed a tree as a last resort. Alas, there was a snake on the tree. Kelan and snake fell into the burning fire. Kelan met with death along the snake. In the story God reaches here on his way to hunting, on seeing the burnt body of Kandanar Kelan, touched his body with his bow. Kelan got his life back immediately. He is then reincarnated as a human God.