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Onam
Festivals in Kerala are an integral part of the social and cultural structure of the state and festival time is the best time to plan your travel to Kerala. In Kerala, every community, every religion has something to celebrate about all through out the year. But one festival that is celebrated irrespective of caste and creed all over Kerala is the Onam festival.
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After three months of monsoon, the sky becomes a clear and the forests became 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 season. It is time to reap the harvest, to celebrate and to rejoice. |
Onam is a celebration of Ten days. It comes in the month of "Chingam" according to Malayalam calender. People put flower mats in front of their houses, to welcome the King. There will be competition for the laying of flower mats; Keralites all over the world will be celebrating this ten days will pomp and gaiety. They will wear new dresses, will be visiting almost all temples which they can, they will be performing lot of dances like Thiruvathira kali Thumbi Tullal etc. to name a few and the most important thing is the grant lunch they will be having on the Thiuruvonam day. Which is also called the Fourth Onam. Whatever may happen they will not miss the Grant lunch. There is a saying in Malayalam that "Kanam Vittu Onam Unnanam" which means "We should have the Thiruonam lunch even if we have to sell all our properties". They give that much importance to the lunch on the Thiruonam day.
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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 River Pampa as part of the celebrations.
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.
Tourists on vacation in Kerala this season can also see the famous snake boat races of Kerala. 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. In 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.
Boat Festivals
The boat festivals of Kerala are one of the chief and popular festivals of Kerala that tourist must experience during their Kerala visit. Kerala boat races are an event that is as much part of the land's ethos and is a sport that signifies the excellent team spirit, integration and amity of the people.
The vibrant fiestas that bring alive the tranquil Kerala backwaters, when fierce Vallom Kallies (boat races) and water carnivals erupt every year in a dramatic spectacle and hold tens of thousands of people spell-bound, cheering the action, laying bets, goading the boatmen to row faster.
Vishu
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Vishu is one of the most popular festivals of Kerala. Vishu falls on the first of Medam (March-April), which is the Malayalam New Year's Day. Since it is considered propitious to view good things on this day for year round good fortune, Vishu morning is an important time. The heart of this |
festival of Kerala is the preparation of the kani (the lucky sight or gift).
The custom of preparing the kani has been followed for generations. The women take a large dish made of bell-metal (uruli), arrange in it a grantha (palm-leaf manuscript), a gold ornament, a new cloth, some flowers from the Konna Tree (Cassia fistula), some coins in a silver cup, a split coconut, a cucumber, some mangoes and a jack-fruit. On either side of the dish are placed two burning lamps with a chair facing it. Family members are taken blindfolded and then their blindfolds are removed and they view the Vishu Kani. As in other Indian festivals, a great feast at home is the high point of celebrating Vishu in Kerala.
Trissure Puram
Thrissur Pooram is the most spectacular festival of Kerala that tourist must experience during their holidays in Kerala. Introduced by the Maharaja of erstwhile Kochi state, Sakthan Thampuran, Thrissur Pooram is celebrated in Medom (April-May). The Thrissur Pooram in Kerala parades the fulgent faces of Kerala culture. With every passing year Thrissur Pooram, the temple festival, attracts large masses of devotees and spectators to Kerala.
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The groups displaying their artistic prowess in the Pooram, the prominent are Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi. When Paremekkavu and Thiruvambadi vie each other for their best performance, the connoisseurs of festivals are blessed with the rare chance to enjoy the art and culture of Kerala. |
These temples organise impressive, awe-inspiring processions starting from Krishna Temple and Devi Temple. On the day before the closing of the pooram the groups enter the Vadakumnatha Temple through the western gate and come out through the southern gate to parade, face to face. Caparisoned elephants and the exchange of parasols are the other virtual feasts to eyes.
The hours-long dazzling fire works submerge the Thrissur city of Kerala in an ocean of colour. The consummate pyrotechnics exhibited by the two-temple groups paint the Thrissur sky with flamboyant pictures. What unfurls in the dark sky will be a rich tapestry. The marvelous as well as magical effect of the Panchavadyam, a combination of five percussion and wind instruments, is a sight that tourist on vacations in Kerala will cherish for a lifetime. Although this grand festival is known as Thrissur Pooram, it is in fact the conclusion of the eight-day Utsavam of nine temples.
The commissioning of elephants and parasols is done in the utmost secrecy by each party to excel the other. Commencing in the early hours of the morning, the celebrations last till the break of dawn, the next day.
Attukal Pongala
Attukal Pongala is an extremely popular, essentially women's festival celebrated in ancient Bhagavathy temple (Mudippura) at Attukal in the Kaladi ward of the Thiruvananthapuram district. It is a ten-day-long event which commences from the Bharani day (Karthika star) of the Malayalam month of Makaram-Kumbham (February-March) and comes to an end with the sacrificial offering known as Kuruthitharpanam at night. Festivities begin Thottampattu (a song about Bhagavathi). These religious songs continue for nine days of the festival. Ninth day is the biggest day of the festival when the famous Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam takes place. A large number of women of all castes and creed from Kerala and also from the state of Tamil Nadu make offerings for the Goddess by cooking pongala in the vicinity of the temple.
Significance of the Festival
Goddess Attukalamma is believed to be incarnation of 'Kannaki', the heroine of 'Silappathikaram' written by Tamil poet Illango in 2nd century A.D. Attukal is the place where Kannaki took rest on her northward journey from Madurai to Kodungallur. |
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'Pongala' means to boil over. It refers to the customary offering of things which please the deity. It consists of porridge of rice, sweet brown molasses, coconut gratings, nuts and raisins.
Later, the idol of Devi is carried to Manacaud Sastha Temple in a colorful procession comprising of Thalapoli, Kuthiyottom, Annam, Vahanam, caparisoned elephants etc. Musical ensembles by famous artistes add to the festivities. En route onlookers greet the procession with Nirapara (a measure filled with paddy and decorated with flowers). The procession reaches back, the next morning, marking the end of the festival.
Christmas
The towns and villages dress up for the yuletide spirit. Shops get ready to do brisk business and offer mega discounts and sales. Markets are packed with huge crowds. People buy new clothes, gifts (exchanging gifts is an age-old Christmas practice and people choose gifts for their loved ones with great thought and affection), a variety of things to cook, Christmas decorations, amongst other things.
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Nearly a week before Christmas, the church, club and school choirs start doing the rounds of their neighbourhood and are greeted by people with cakes and other eatables. Christmas carols are sung in various local languages all over the country. |
Folks send Christmas greetings to their friends and families in faraway places. People decorate their homes to the hilt with Christmas trees (or the various substitutes available in the markets), wreathes with bright red decorative baubles, festoons, bells and other small trinkets. People hang beautiful star-shaped paper lamps of various colours and sizes outside their homes. The star lamps of Kerala are however more elaborate with some patterns or cutwork designs on them.
Special Prayers
Churches hold a special Midnight Mass, attended by most people of the community. People especially look forward to this Mass, as this is not only a sacred prayer ceremony but an important social event as well. Men and women wear new clothes and come for the Mass looking and smelling their absolute best. The Mass goes on for over a couple of hours and people fondly remember the Saviour who gave up his life so that they may live.
The Festive Celebration
After the mass, people head off home on this hallowed night, and children gambol on their way back, burning sparklers and bursting loads of crackers. Everyone sleeps with a peaceful easy feeling, as the next morning brings with it, the Big Day! On Christmas Day, people get ready for the biggest feast. Relatives and friends visit and wish each other a ‘Happy Christmas’ or a ‘Merry Christmas’ and eat the ‘haute cuisine’ especially prepared for the occasion. Many towns hold special carnivals and circus shows on the 25th and the entire community gets together to have a jolly good time. Young people organise excursions, go out to watch films and shows and generally live it up. The day draws to a close and people send up a prayer for the Son of God who brings peace and joy to them. Thus, all to soon, Christmas comes to an end but each year, it leaves the people with more memories to cherish.
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