Table of Contents

Preface
1. Annapoorneswari's World
2. The Sacred Universe
3. Theyyam
4. Practitioners and Training
5. Costumes Master Version
6. Face Writing and Masks
7. Auxiliary Castes and Holy Weapons
8. Shrines and Their Roles
9. The Identity Of A Deity
10. Before The Kaliyattam
11. Puli Theyyams
12. Muchilottu Bhagavathi
13. Vishnumurthy
14. Ottakolam
15. Puthiya Bhagavathi
16. Cheermba
17. Nangalankara Bhagavathi
18. The Alambady Brahmins
19. The Gods of the Ten Houses
20. The Tulu Veeran
21. Out of Season
22. Ali Bhuta
23. Chamundi
24. Ukkummal Chamundi
25. Gulikan
26. Last Statement
Glossary

About the Author

Pepita Seth first visited India in 1970. After several years she became drawn to Kerala and eventually based herself in Thrissur, where she now lives. She has written and lectured extensively on Kerala’s traditions and had exhibitions of her photographs in India, Britain and the United States. In 1981 she received official permission to enter Kerala’s temples, and she has been photographing Theyyam since the early 1990s. Her book Heaven on Earth: the Universe of Kerala’s Guruvayur Temple was published in 2009. In 2012 the Indian Government awarded her the Padma Shri. She has also published two novels, The Spirit Land (1994) and The Edge of Another World (2015).