On October 10, 2025, by 10:00 am, will be held the doctoral examinations in Artistic Studies – Art and Mediation of Master José Filipe da Silva Lopes Pereira, who will defend his dissertation titled The Performative Flow, and Ethnography of Performance of the Teyyams from North Malabar, supervised by Paulo Filipe Monteiro
Ph.D Committee:
- Prof. Dr Margarida Brito Alves, President of the Committee (IHA, NOVA FCSH)
- Prof. Dr Maria José Fazenda (CRIA and ESD-IPL)
- Prof. Dr João de Pina Cabral (ICS, ULisboa)
- Prof. Dr Fernando Matos Oliveira (CEIS20, U. Coimbra)
- Prof. Dr Sílvia Pinto Coelho (IC.NOVA, NOVA FCSH)
- Prof. Dr Paulo Filipe Monteiro, Supervisor (IC.NOVA, NOVA FCSH)
The Performative Flow, and Ethnography of Performance of the Teyyams from North Malabar
Ritual performance has been described using the notion of liminality (van Gennep
1909; Turner 1969). Flow, a concept proposed by Csikszentmihalyi (1975) and
appropriated by Turner (1979), may describe the same state, with the advantage that
it focuses on the process. I have observed that the attainment of flow (or liminality),
although desirable for some artistic disciplines, is not easily achieved by performers in
contemporary aesthetical genres.
What causes ritual liminality and flow? Are there procedures that can induce a state of
flow (or a liminal condition)? If so, are these elements effective for any individual? And
can they be applied to the contemporary performing arts?
In this thesis I attempt to answer these questions, with recourse to the ethnographic
study of a ritual tradition, the teyyams from North Malabar, southwest India. To this
end, I begin by framing the study within Performance Studies and by proposing a strict
concept of performance, through a hermeneutic and critical analysis. Combining this
idea of performance with that of flow, I extract the notion of performative flow, which
will be operationalized in the ethnographic study. I also outline a methodological
framework for the ethnography of performance, with which the study of the ritual
tradition will proceed. In addition to seeking to answer the questions listed, of a more
general and abstract nature, the thesis also seeks to be an exhaustive and innovative
investigation of the teyyam ritual, from the perspective of Performance Studies.
Keywords: Flow; Performance; Ritual; Teyyam.