INDIA, June 29, 2023 (BBC by Tim Bird): With nearly 1.5 billion people and 330 million Hindu Deities, India has no shortage of religious festivals and performances. Yet one of the most ancient and mesmerizing is theyyam, which takes place in the southern state of Kerala and parts of neighboring Karnataka. Meaning “God” or the “incarnation of God”, theyyam is an ancient folk ritual combining theater, mime and worship that predates Hinduism but incorporates Hindu mythology. It harks back to a time when tribal animism reigned supreme and culminates when performers (kolams) adorned with brightly colored paste and elaborate headdresses dance themselves into a trance-like state as they seek to become the Gods they portray.

Today, there are more than 400 different types of theyyams across northern Kerala and Karnataka. These performances are held most nights between dusk and dawn from October to April, with their timing determined in consultation with astrologers who identify auspicious dates using the local Malayalam calendar. While each event is free and open to the public, theyyams aren’t tourist spectacles but sacred and deeply felt shows of history and faith. Before each theyyam performer’s passage to entrancement, they engage in a period of abstinence, fasting, prayer and solitary meditation. Their aim isn’t just to transform into the Deity portrayed by their character, but also to bring spectators close to their Gods by virtue of their impersonation, blurring the lines between humanity and divinity.

More at source.
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20230628-theyyam-the-indian-trance-where-men-become-gods

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