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Festivals
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Onam
Onam
Festival
Onam
is a time for sports, festivities, and ritual celebrations in Kerala.
The Keralites celebrate this festival in memory of the golden era of
King Mahabali whose spirit is said to visit the state at the time of
Onam. Colorful aquatic festivals are organized along the sacred rive
Pampa as part of the celebrations.
After three months of heavy rains, the sky becomes a clear blue and
the forests a deep green. The brooks and streams come alive,
spouting a gentle white foam, the lakes and rivers overflow and
lotuses and lilies are in full bloom as if to welcome the spirit of
the King. It is time to reap the harvest, to celebrate and to
rejoice.
When
Onam is Celebrated?
Depending
on the positioning of the stars and the moon, the festival is held
at the end of August or beginning of September, less than a
fortnight after the Malayalam New Year, Chingam begins. This is the
biggest festival of the southern Indian state of Kerala. Onam also
marks the time when one should visit Kerala. The color, enthusiasm,
and celebrations associated with Onam are enough to make you return
again.
Onam
Celebrations
The
celebrations begin within a fortnight of the Malayalam New Year and
go on for ten days. The last day called the Thiruonam is the most
important. All over the state, rituals along with new clothes,
traditional cuisine, dance, and music mark this harvest festival.
In Trichur, a vibrant procession with resplendently caparisoned
elephants is taken out while at Cheruthuruthy, people gather to
watch Kathakali performers enact scenes from epics and folk tales.
Pulikali, also known as Kaduvakali is a common sight during Onam
season. Performers painted like tigers in bright yellow, red and
black, dance to the beats of instruments like udukku and thakil.
At Aranmulla, where there is a temple
dedicated to Lord Krishna and Arjuna, thousands of people gather on
the banks of the river Pampa to witness the exciting snake boat
races. Nearly 30 chundan vallams or snake boats participate in the
festival. Singing traditional boat songs, the oarsmen, in white
dhotis and turbans, splash their oars into the water to guide their
boats to cruise along like a fish on the move. The golden lace at
the head of the boat, the flag and the ornamental umbrella at the
center make it a spectacular show of pageantry too.
Each snake boat belongs to a village
along the banks of the river Pampa and is worshipped like a deity.
Every year the boat is oiled mainly with fish oil, coconut shell,
and carbon, mixed with eggs to keep the wood strong and the boat
slippery in the water. The village carpenter carries out annual
repairs lovingly and people take pride in their boat, which
represents their village and is named after it.
The swing is another integral part of
Onam, especially in the rural areas. Young men and women, decked in
their best, sing Onappaattu, or Onam songs, and rock one another on
swings slung from high branches.
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