Onam: Kerala's Harvest Festival
Onam, the great festival of Kerala: the legend of King Mahabali and Vamana, pookalam flower carpets, the Onasadya feast and the snake boat races.
Onam is the biggest festival of Kerala, in south-west India. It celebrates the annual homecoming of the legendary King Mahabali, whose reign is remembered as a golden age, and the rice harvest. Lasting ten days in the Malayalam month of Chingam (August–September), Onam is celebrated with flower carpets, a great vegetarian feast, boat races, dances and games. It is the official state festival of Kerala and is enjoyed by people of all religions.
The legend of Mahabali
Mahabali was a king of the asuras (demons), the grandson of the devotee Prahlada, whose story is told at Holi. Though an asura, he was a just and generous ruler. Under his reign, the people of Kerala were happy and equal: there was no poverty, theft or deceit.
Mahabali's growing power alarmed the gods. Vishnu took the form of Vamana, a dwarf Brahmin boy, and came to Mahabali's great sacrifice. Mahabali, famous for his generosity, offered him anything he wanted. Vamana asked only for as much land as he could cover in three steps. As soon as the king agreed, Vamana grew to cosmic size. With one step he covered the earth, with the second the heavens, and there was nowhere left for the third. Mahabali offered his own head, and Vamana pushed him down into the underworld.
Moved by his devotion, Vishnu granted Mahabali a wish: to visit his people once a year. Onam celebrates that visit, and Keralites prepare their homes to show their beloved king that his people are still prosperous and happy.
How Onam is celebrated
Pookalam
From the first day, called Atham, families create a pookalam, a circular carpet of flower petals, in front of their homes. It grows larger and more elaborate each day until the main day, Thiruvonam. Pookalam competitions are held in schools, offices and towns.
Onasadya
The highlight of Thiruvonam is the Onasadya, a vegetarian feast served on a banana leaf. It traditionally includes more than twenty dishes, such as rice, sambar, avial (mixed vegetables in coconut), thoran, pickles, banana chips, pappadam and several kinds of sweet payasam, eaten by hand in a particular order.
Boat races
Onam season is famous for the vallam kali, races between long, narrow snake boats (chundan vallam), each rowed by around a hundred oarsmen to the rhythm of boat songs. The Aranmula boat race is linked to the local Krishna temple, and the Nehru Trophy race on Punnamada Lake, near Alappuzha, draws huge crowds, though it is often held a little before Onam.
Dances and games
Women perform thiruvathirakali (or kaikottikali), a graceful circular clapping dance. In Thrissur, men painted as tigers dance through the streets in pulikali. People buy new clothes, called onakodi, and play traditional games.
Temple worship
The Thrikkakara temple near Kochi, dedicated to Vamana, is closely associated with Onam and is believed by many to have been the capital of Mahabali. Many families install clay pyramids representing Mahabali and Vamana, called Thrikkakarappan, in their courtyards.
Onam in the UK
Malayali communities in Britain celebrate Onam with community feasts, cultural programmes, pookalam competitions and even boat races on British rivers and lakes.
Sources and further reading
- Christopher Fuller, The Camphor Flame, revised edn (Princeton University Press, 2004).
- The Bhagavata Purana, Book 8, chapters 15–23 (the story of Vamana and Bali).