Theyyam Ankle Dance Rattle. Ethnic Tribal Object Bronze. Used in Popular Hindu Ritual Dance Worship, order India. Vintage Exact Age Unknown

Theyyam Ankle Dance Rattle. Ethnic Tribal Object Bronze. Used in Popular Ritual Dance Worship, India. Vintage Exact Age Unknown

Theyyam is a popular ritual form of worship which features dancers in elaborate costumes. We only have one, but normally a pair of ankle rattles are worn by the male dancers during Theyyam performances. It is made from cast bronze-brass metal with an intricately detailed texture. There are rattle balls inside the ridge, and there is a hole where cotton string would tie after attaching to the toe.
Please view the photos for the very best explanation regarding this unusual and scarce object.
Vintage: Exact Age Unknown
Estate Find / no further information regarding provenance.
MORE INFO at Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theyyam
"Different branches of mainstream Hindu religion such as Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Shaivism now dominate Theyyam. However, the forms of propitiation and other rituals are continuations of a very ancient tradition"

**PHOTO #2
Credit required for use:
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons order Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Author Nishachalingal
Link to photo license: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Theyyam19.jpg&redirect=no
Chilambu / ചിലമ്പ്
India.