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| KERALA
Journal
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The Kerala Story:
by Dr. Zacharias Thundy, Northern Michigan University
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The Meaning and Origins of Onam and Other National Festivals Like every other culture, the Kerala culture also celebrates some important festivals. Since Kerala is composed of several ethnic and religious groups, the country has a wide variety of festivals. Some of these are not just special for Keralites, but common feasts, like Christmas and Easter, which are celebrated by Christians of all denominations all over Kerala, India, and the world. Like-wise, Muslims celebrate their festivals of Id and Bakrid all over India. The Hindus also celebrate certain festivals like Divali, Dasara, and Holi in most parts of India while certain regions have their own special feasts like Pongal in Tamil Nadu and Durga Puja in West Bengal. Keralites celebrate one festival as their national festival irrespective of caste and creed; Onam. There are a few other minor festivals that are dear to certain sections of Keralites like Thiruvathira, Vishu, Teyyam and Sabarlmalai Pilgrimage which will be briefly described below. It is impossible to describe all the other important local festivals; their name is legion; every temple and church have their own annual festivals. ONAM Thiru Onam (from Sravana?) is celebrated in the second half of August (the Chingam month of Kollam Era) when the August monsoon rains come to an end and the summer heat gives way to the pleasant warmth of the Kerala autumn. Anthropologists see in Onam a great fertility rite, the ceremony of Thanksgiving for a plentiful harvest. For Keralites Onam is the celebration of the return of Mahabali, their once and future king. This king once ruled over the Keralites during the Golden Age before caste existed, "when all men were equal, when no one was poor, when there was neither theft nor dread of thieves" (Maveli natu vanitum kalam/Manusharellam onnu pole ... ). The complete folk-song is given below in its English version: When Maveli, our King, rules the land,The celebration of the return of Mahabali takes four days for the Hindus. The house and yard are cleaned; a temporary mud stall is put up and washed with cow-dung solution for the royal visitor; flowers are strewn over it for the king to sit upon; pyramid-shaped images of the king called Trikkakarappan, made of wood or clay, are placed upon it as the onlookers applaud and cheer in sheer welcome. Pujas (worship service) are performed during the four days of Onam every morning; parents give children presents, especially dresses on the occasion. Large scale feasts are held at this family reunion -- increasingly Onam is becoming a holiday like Thanksgiving which is characterized by family reunion and feasting. Three foods used to be essential for the festival: split bananas, pappadam (wafer) and payasam (rice pudding). After the sumptuous midday dinner, all the family members dressed in fine clothes amuse themselves: adults and boys play hand-ball, chess, dice, and/or cards -- wrestling and display of swordsmanship are not common any more —; women and girls sing and dance. In the backwaters of Kerala, young men race the long snake-boats (chundan vallom) — a reminder of snake-worship (?). Onam celebrates the legendary King Bali. Only two versions are
told these days. According to the orthodox Brahminical version, Mahabali
was a wicked demon (asura) king who was yet "good" enough to become a yogi
by virtue of his austerities (tapas). He controlled earth
and heaven; the gods, of course, felt threatened by Bali. So they
sent Vishnu to get rid of this menace; Vishnu assumed the form of a holy
beggar, the comical dwarf Vamana, and asked for the gift of as much land
as he could cover in three paces. Vamana grew into cosmic size and
in three strides encompassed the whole earth and heaven and Bali was forced
to retire to the only space left,
In the Kerala version, Bali is Mahabali, the benevolent ruler who aroused the jealousy and envy of the gods. He gave up his kingdom not just because he was the victim of a trick but because he was too generous to refuse a request and too honorable not to fulfill a promise. He asked Vamana to place the third stride on his head; Vamana-Vishnu kicked him down into the nether world. Mahabali, however, was granted the wish, before he retired, that on a day each year he be allowed to return to his dear people, the Keralites, to see them and to be with them as father and friend. Obviously, these two versions of the Mahabali-legend represent the conquest of the non-Aryan Keralites by the Aryans on the battlefield and in the field of religion. The Aryans and their gods triumphed over the Keralite gods; instead of completely banishing their gods to the realm of non-being, the Brahmins demonized one god, Mahabali, and accepted Shiva, the God of Bali. Keralites, on the other hand, would not consider their god Bali a demon, but rather a vanquished god and popular ally. There is a third version of Bali retained by the Mundas of Central India, the cousins of the Keralites. This version is untouched by the theology of the Aryan Brahmins. The Cheras of the Chotanagpur region, the ancestors of Keralites, had a great king called Bali who governed the Dinajpur area; he was an Asur. He did not worship Vishnu, the Aryan God. He continued to worship the native Munda God, Lord Shiva. Bali introduced the severe mode of worship in which the votary is swung around, while suspended from a lever by iron hooks which are passed through the skin of the back. He spent a thousand years in this penance and obtained the favor from Lord Shiva that no god (Aryan) should ever have the power to kill him. While the king was reigning in great glory, Anirudha, the grandson of Krishna, the King of Brindaban and Mathura, came in disguise to his court and seduced his daughter Usha. The young man was arrested and thrown in prison. In order to liberate his grandson, Krishna came with a great army and defeated Bali; the young man was released and was allowed to marry Usha. King Bali's city was destroyed by Krishna's barbarian army later in an unprovoked battle. According to the Munda and Santal traditions, it was an Aryan Kharwar Chief by the name of Madhu Das who attacked them at night and drove them to the fortresses of Vanchi (Vindhya) Hills (the future name of Kerala) for their refusal to bestow the hand of one of their girls on the son of Madhu Das. These legends show that Mahabali, the Chera king of the Munda race and worshipper of Shiva, was defeated by Krishna, the Vishnu-worshipper. The Mahabali-story of the Keralites, in the Munda-Chera tradition, indicates the triumph of the Vaishnavite brand of Aryans over the Shiva-worshipping Munda-Cheras. King Bali is immortal and therefore a god; though he is defeated, he is still alive. It is this once-and-future king Bali whom Keralites commemorate in the Onam festival — Bali is also called Ban (is Onam named after Ban?). Further, Bali/Balia is a common personal name among the Mundas. The name appears later as Mahabali and Maveli in the South where the Cheras settled down. In the Tamil Sangam-work, Puram (234), Maveli appears as the Vellala chief of Milalaikurram who was very wealthy and generous: "The gates of the mansion were never closed and he never sat to meals except with a large company." He died of wounds received in battle fighting against the Pandyan King Nedumchelyan (Puram 233). Mahabali is remembered thus in another folk story in Tamil Nadu; in this story the enemies of Bali are Tamils. There are places bearing Bali's name in Tamil Nadu like Mahabalipuram and in Kerala like Mavelikkara. The purpose of this discussion on the legends of Onam has been to indicate a well-known folklore truth that there is a historical nucleus to most myths and legends and that they undergo many changes in the passage of time, during the migration of ethnic groups. My contention is that Mahabali was a great ancient Munda-Chera King, a Shiva-worshipper, who was defeated by the Vishnu-worshipping Aryans. Mahabali is still remembered fondly by the Keralites, the descendants of the Munda-Cheras, as the British remember the legendary King Arthur who fought against the invading Anglo-Saxons in the fifth century in Britain. Arthur is called rex quondam atque futurus ("the once and future king"). Mahabali is exactly that for the Keralites. For them he is also a Santa Claus or Father Christmas; someday, like King Arthur and Jesus Christ, Mahabali will return in glory, and the defeated Chera culture will rise in glory like the phoenix from its ashes. THIRUVATHIRA This is another national festival. It falls on the Thiruvathira day in Dhanu (December-January). This concerns the Nair women and is said to commemorate the death of Kama Deva, the Cupid of Indian mythology, who was destroyed by burning flames from the third eye of God Shiva, when Kama Deva tried to distract Shiva from his austerities by turning his affection to Uma Parvati. In the morning of Thiruvatira day, the young women bathe in the ponds and sing Thiruvathirapattu. These songs are accompanied by regular splashing of water, symbolical of breast-beating at the death of Kama Deva. After the bath, the women dress themselves in their best, worship in the temple, and make wishes for love and marriage. They return home to enjoy the uzhinjal or uunjal (a home-made swing of bamboo suspended on two ropes from a tree). The sumptuous family dinner is held at noon; fried bananas and sweets are passed around to complete the celebrations. VISHU Vishu falls on the first of Medam (March-April), which is the astronomical New Year's Day. One's good fortune during the year would depend on his seeing some good thing on Vishu morning. The heart of the festival is the preparation of the kani (the lucky sight or gift). The older custom of preparing the kani is described below. The women of the family 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 two burning lamps with a chair facing it. After these are set in the living room of the house, family members are taken one by one with their eyes blindfolded or closed shut. When they are in the living room, the blindfolds are removed so that they may view the vishu kani. The kani is then taken from the home to the homes of the poor for their benefit. The father (Karanavan) of the family gives gifts of money to children, servants, and tenants. During the rule of the rajas, state officials used to pay respects to the reigning king to wish him a Happy New Year, to offer gifts, and receive presents from him. The day is marked by a grand feast at home for all the members of the family and dependents. TEYYAM The Teyyam or Teyyattam (cult-dance) is not a national festival popular all over Kerala. It is found only in Malabar, but it is an integral part of the religion of the Malabar Tiyas (Ezhavas), and as such it deserves mention and further study; a closer study of the different aspects of this cult can enlighten us about the origin of the Ezhavas, of which ethnologists know very little. Teyyattam means the "dance of god," as Teyyam seems to be derived from daivam (god). It is a conscious religious rite aimed at becoming the god or goddess for a few hours. The dancer exhibits his achievement of the divine identity by the movements of his body and by the wearing of the divine mask. The theory behind this phenomenon is easy to understand. In a play an actor assumes the role of a character and becomes that character during the duration of the play and carries the audience with him into his new world. We have all experienced this feeling while watching a movie or play. Religious worship is also a play, a divine play, in which the worshipper enters briefly the divine world. Teyyam is a divine dance in which the dancer transforms himself into a god or goddess who blesses his/her faithful people who in turn worship him/ her. The dancer wears different types of headdresses of conic and circular shapes; the dancer also paints his face and body. The dance, on the one hand, is the worship of the deity; but, on the other hand, the dancer is also the deity who bestows blessings on the faithful. As a form of worship and entertainment, the worshippers sing songs regarding the origin of the shrine and the deity (Pattu-festival) and perform the dance (purakkali). A large number of Teyyam-gods and goddesses are worshipped in Malabar not only by the Tiyas but also by the Brahmins who have now taken over the religious cult of Teyyam by Aryanizing it. The Brahmins have their own Teyyam, like Rakteswari, Bhagavati, and Chamundi, who have been transformed into different Saktis or incarnations of Parvati. The priests of Teyyam, however, are still Tiya priests. Teyyam celebrates primarily the Mother Goddess, the Bhagavati, who is very popular in Malabar. There is probably not a single village in Malabar without a shrine or kavu (grove) dedicated to the Bhagavati. She is worshipped, as the Virgin Mary of the Catholics is honored in Lourdes, Fatima, Notre Dame, Velamkanni, and so on, in diverse forms and under different names. She is a kuladevata (family deity) for most ruling families of Kerala. Teyyattam or the dance is performed to propitiate these goddesses; important goddesses receive several hours of dance in their honor. Some of the goddesses are Patakkatti Bhagavati — she is worshipped as a hermaphrodite or as the ardhanari form of Shiva — Pumala, Aryakkara Bahgavati, Kuratti, Rekta Chamundi, Kundor Chamundi, Kollapuri Amma, Huskur Amma, Punnanur Amma, and Hosur Amnia. Many of these village goddess (gramadevatas) are now identified as Mahishasura-mardini of the Sakti-cult, under Brahminical influence. The Brahmins also have introduced Vishnu-cult in Teyyam. Vishnu is propitiated in all Teyyam cults today; Teyyattam-vishnu is Vishnumurti or the Narasimha (man-lion) avatara (incarnation) of the God. Teyyam celebrates not only Aryan gods, Dravidian Mother-Goddess, and ancient Munda gods and goddesses, but also Kutti Chattan. (a primitive god of black magic now unpopular among all Orthodox Hindus) and heroes like Tacholi Otenan, Mandappan, Muttappan, Pumarutan, and Pataviran. Spirits, animals, serpents, and trees also figure in Teyyam worship. Teyyam is an important, complex cultural institution of Malabar, which deserves careful study on the part of historians and anthropologists. Origins and Pilgrimage to Sabarimala: Next Page> |
