This is one of the anklets (Gaggara) worn during Bhuta Kola / Theyyam worship. (Note: Theyyam and Bhuta Kola are related and as someone put it ‘ they are the two sides of the same coin’. For this blog I will use Theyyam to mean Bhuta Kola and Theyyam). Bhuta Kola /Theyyam is a part of animistic worship and predates Vedic worship. It is a big topic and one of the best visual illustrations is through the Kannada movie Kantara. Google it and watch YouTube snippets and you will not be disappointed.

These anklets are worn by adult dancers performing Theyyam. These hollow oval-shaped anklets have some pebbles inside and they rattle as the performer dances.

The anklets are the last ornaments worn by the performer and are among the most sacred ornaments. The anklets are worn in the dance Sabha after obtaining permission from the deity, the Asta Dikpalas (Guardians of eight directions) and the sponsor. Please see the extracted portion from the book Folk Rituals (of the Tuluva region of Coastal Karnataka) by Dr U R Upadhyaya and Dr (Smt) Susheela Upadhyaya.

This anklet is a two-piece construction, the top portion with extensive decoration is attached to the plain bottom portion with studs. The top part has five layers of decorative motifs. What stands out is the four human faces.

Do they signify the spirits that come to reside in the performer?

The front portion, with the Makara head, has a little hole (photo below) and it is used to secure the anklets and keep them in place during the vigorous dance. The photo, on our right shows one of the methods used to secure the anklet.

The outer dimensions of this anklet are 21 cm by 13 cm. The inner surface is much smoother than the outer surface, indicating actual use. This anklet may be from the early part of the twentieth century. General practice is to melt the worn anklets and salvage the material and hence the antiques are rarer and fewer.