is it to be or not to be...: Onam Celebrations in Kerala-day01

Legend is that once up on a time there was a demon king called Mahabali who used to rule the land now known as Kerala. Mahabali was a just king and under him the land prospered and his fame reached everywhere. The Gods (being Gods) became jealous of his fame and asked Lord Vishnu to step in. Now anyone going to the court of Mahabali with a reasonable request has never ever been turned back. So Vishnu took up the guise of a humble human being called Vamana and went to Mahabali's court. He asked for three steps of land for him to live in and Mahabali granted him his wish. Upon this Vamana took the form of a giant so huge that he was able to cover the entire space from Earth to Heaven and from Earth to the underworld in two steps. To keep his word Mahabali offered his head for the third step and Vamana sent him to the underworld by stepping on his head. However Vishnu was pleased by the righteousness of Mahabali and before sending him to underworld, offered him the boon of returning to earth once every year to see his beloved people. So till this day the people of Kerala (Malayalis') mark the return of their king every year by celebrating Onam.

Onam is the biggest festival for the people of Kerala (Malayalis’). Unlike many other festivals in India Onam is a secular festival celebrated by all even though the legend is based on a Hindu mythology. It is celebrated over 10 days with Thiru Onam being the main day. Every day floral arrangements are made in front of the houses or main squares and traditional meals are served. It is also the most important shopping season for Kerala (think about Christmas shopping in the west and you get the idea).

Onam is a good time to travel in Kerala and to see and understand the rich cultural history of Kerala. The festival is marked by many performances of traditional music and dance forms and also by the famous snake boat racing (Vallamkali). The last time I saw the celebrations was almost nine years ago and I was lucky to be in Kerala for the festival in 2011. It is very difficult to capture all the aspects of the festival so I will limit myself to cultural aspect of it especially the dance forms. The advantage of travelling in Kerala during Onam is that you can at least catch a glimpse of the various folk and ritual dance forms which tend to be regional and happens only during specific months of the calendar. So Onam is a good opportunity to see them all in a few days’ time based in one city like Trivandrum. This post and the following ones are based on what I saw in Trivandrum and Alleppy. This year the cultural programs organised by the State Tourism Board started on September 7 and lasted for a week culminating with the pageantry on September 13th. The celebrations kicked off with the cultural program in the Chandra Shekaran Nair Stadium in Trivandrum.

The event kicked off with the traditional Kerala percussion concert known as Pandi Melam conducted by Peruvanam Kuttan Marar accompanied by about hundred musicians. The other famous forms of Melams are Pandi Mela, Panchavadyam, Panchari Melam and Thayambaka). Chenda is the main percussion instrument in Pandi Mela is accompanied by one percussion instrument called Ilathalam and two wind instruments called Kuzal and Kombu. The performance that I saw had the percussion players lined up at one side facing the wind players on the other side.

Chenda is the main percussion instrument for the temple festivals and ritual dancing. It is made out of a cylindrical wooden drum with both ends covered with animal's skin. It is bloody loud :-)

(above) Chenda players in a Pandi Melam performance with Peruvanam Kuttan Marar second from right

Kombu literally translates to ‘horn’ in Malayalam language. It looks like a long horn and sounds like a trumpet :-)

(above)Kombu players in a Pandi Melam performance

Kuzal translates to pipe in Malayalam. It is a double reed wind instrument producing a shrill tone.

Ilathalam consists of a pair of tiny cymbals with the player banging each of them to produce the music.

Pandi Melam is usually performed during temple festivals and can go on hour hours. The performance that I saw lasted for an hour. This kind of concert will work for temple festivals but becomes a bit of a drag for occasions like these. The trouble is the rhythmic cycles can be very long and the pitch appears to be the same throughout. This is quite the opposite kind of percussion to lets say an African, Caribbean or South America one :-)

Once the drumming was done and the official inauguration (which traditional consists of quite a lot of local politicians hogging the lime light) we to the bit that we were all waiting for. A taste of different dance forms of Kerala. The dance forms of Kerala is a funny old mix. You get dance forms like Kathakali which is very structured, classical dance forms in the shape of Mohiniyattam, then you have ritul dance forms like Theyyam and dance forms related to different religious groups like Margamkali (Christian) and Oppana (Muslim).

First up was a dance form which is closely associated with Onam and Malayalis'Thiruvathira. Thiruvathira dancing is a very feminine and graceful dance in which group of women dance in a circle.

(left) Women dancing Thriuvathira
(next page) Oppana

Oppana is traditional performed for Muslim weddings in Northern parts of Kerala.

Of all I know, Margam Kali could very well be the the Christian version of Thiruvathira dancing. This is also performed by group of women in a circle.(I am kind of seeing a pattern so far, looks like men in Kerala don't get to dance much)

This page and next: Margam Kali

Mohiniyattam is a classical dance form which originated from Kerala. Traditionally this is a solo dance but the performance on stage was a group one.

This page and below: Mohiniyattam

This page and above: Mohiniyattam

Kathakali is another classical dance form of Kerala. It is more of a dance-drama with elaborate costumes and make-up.

Theyyam is a ritual dance form practiced mainly in the northern part of Kerala. Theyyam season starts from mid October or Novemberand lasts till mid May or June. I really hope one day I will be able to see a proper Theyyam performed in a temple or village. Kerala used to have a very rigid caste system with the lower caste very much having no rights and bound to labor for life. Theyyam is the probably the only dance form which was performed by the lower caste. It is quite significant as you are considered as a God when you are performing a Theyyam.

(above) Theyyam

Kakkarissi Natakom is a ritual ceremony performed in the Bhagavathi temples of North Kerala. The main character in this ceremony is the Velichappadu who acts as a medium between the Deity and the devotees.
(above)Kakkarissi Natakom
(left) Theyyam