Onam: How Kerala celebrates The Return of Their King

Author's note - Consider this your fun 'General knowledge about Onam' class.

For a Keralite, there really is no festival as joyous as Onam. Religion, caste and bank balance all take a back seat during this period as everyone gets together to celebrate 'The Return of the King'

Which King am I talking about?

Well, this is where the fun begins for those who are not familiar with the story. It also gives a very telling insight into the Malayalee mindset. You see, we are celebrating a demon king / asuran called Mahabali (Maaveli). Yup, he's our king and we love him loads.

Why celebrate a Demon King?

According to religion/legend/mythology, King Mahabali was a demon/ asuran but was renowned for being righteous and generous. He did however cross the Gods the wrong way by defeating them and taking their land (you know, that small thing called Heaven.)

Thus entered Lord Vishnu into the game, taking on the incarnation of a dwarf Vaamana who asks Mahabali for 3 feet of land. It must be pointed out here that Mahabali ignores his Guru Shukracharya's warning that this is a trap (this is the equivalent of the 'Terms and Conditions' that you ignore today when downloading apps, by the way).

When Mahabali agrees, Vaamana grows in epic proportions (think Donald Trump's ego, but bigger). With his first step, he covers the Earth and with his second, the Heavens.

He then asks Mahabali (who by now has figured out this is a special Vishnu con job, but is actually cool with it since he - like his Grandpa Prahlad - is a big fan of the Lord) where to place his foot next for his 'third feet of land'.

King Mahabali dutifully bows and asks him to place his feet upon the King's head. Vishnu is impressed and grants him the one request he makes - to be allowed to visit his people once every year.

Unlike in a Bollywood film, there was no Nirupa Roy wala mother to come forward and tell the Lord to forgive Mahabali so then Vishnu grows through with the deal and places his feet on Mahabali's head, pushing him down to Hell.

He comes up to visit Kerala though, as promised. And we, his loyal peeps, dutifully await his return every year.

What are the 10 Days of Onam?

Via Onam, we welcome our pure and pious Mahabali in a festival that lasts a grand total of 10 days, each day having specific rituals and practices.

Day 1 - Atham

• Temple Run - yup, there will be temple visits.
• Pookalam - houses, offices and institutes all decorate their entrance with small flower carpets.
• Attachamayam - A colourful procession from Thrippunithara, considered to be the place where Mahabali left Earth from. 

Attachamayam

This also marks the day Mahabali starts his journey from 'down south'. Ironic that the Demon King is heading to God's Own Country, eh?

Day 2 - Chithira

• Start cleaning your homes. Did you not hear the news? Our king is coming! 
• The Pookalam (flower carpets) grow bigger.

Day 3 - Chodhi

• Time to buy gifts. 'New traditional' wear and gold are often gifted, called Onakodi. So expect packed marketplaces. 
• Yes, the flower carpet once more grows bigger.

Day 4 - Vishakam

• Everyone in the family helps in making the magical feast filled with over 20+ items, called Onam Sadya. Vishakam is considered one of the most auspicious days of the 10.

(Since it is about a huge feast, rest assured, I will not stop at a single line description. There is a whole article I have dedicated to it. You can read about the Onam Sadya here.)

Day 5 - Anizham

• Vallamkali snake boat races begin from Aranmula and takes place on the river Pampa. You have to see it to believe it. 

Each boat has 100 men rowing and helmsmen too. We have teams and all!

Day 6 - Thriketa

• Time to start giving each other those gifts.

Day 7 - Moolam

• Puli Kali - artists with some major body paint skills will now grace your view, painted as tigers and hunters, synchronizing their dances to the beats of the local percussionists. No mean feat this. 

• While the men flaunt their tiger bellies in the Puli Kali, the women are all about grace with the Thiruvathira Kali, dancing in synchronicity around a lamp or flower carpet.

Thiruvathira kali performed in a dance show.

• Onam Sadyas will be available from here on in most hotels and even temples.

Day 8 - Pooradam

• Onathappan - Statues of Mahabali and Vaamana are placed in the flower carpet (Did I mention that this carpet has been growing every day from Day 1!?) 
• This is our invitation to the King to enter our house for lunch.

Day 9 - Uthradam

The penultimate day is all about making D-Day perfect so expect to find everyone in the markets buying fresh everythings!

Day 10 - Thiruvonam

Everything at its peak. This is the day our King arrives, after all. So, we have the best clothes, best flower carpet, best processions, best fireworks... and oh yes, best Onam Sadya, of course.

And somewhere, the Demon King we did all of this for is grateful that his subjects still remember him and showers this crazy bunch of his with blessings to last till the next year he arrives.

Happy Onam, everyone. 

Now, I know you really want to go check out the page I made detailing all the 28 items that go into making the delicious Onam sadya feast.

Authors note:

I am taking my blog to the next level with Blogchatter’s #MyFriendAlexa.