Onam is the most important festival for all sections of people in Kerala. Onam is celebrated on a more impressive scale in Kumarakom than anywhere else in Kerala. The Onam, which was earlier a Hindu affair, has become almost a national festival of all Keralites, irrespective of caste or creed. It falls in the month of Chingam (August-September) and coincides with the beginning of the harvest.The traditional explanation given for the national festival of Kerala, the Onam throws light on the pattern of social life in pre-historic Kerala. It is as follows:
Onam Celebaration in Kumarakom
“Once upon a time, the whole earth was being ruled by Mahabali a benevolent mythical King. He was extremely solicitous for the welfare of his subjects. Peace, prosperity, equality and harmony reigned supreme in his land. There were no quarrels among the people; nor was there any inequality between one man and another. Everybody had as much of food, clothes, and houses and all other good things in life as he or she desired. So perfect was this time, that gods became jealous – threatened that human nature was becoming too close to godliness.
God Vishnu decided to terminate this development and appeared to Mahabali as a dwarf (Vamana). As in the case of every visitor, the emperor welcomed and asked the dwarf what he wanted. The dwarf requested three feet of land to sit and meditate. Mahabali, being a magnanimous monarch, granted wish. But Vishnu then assumed his full capacity – in the physical as well as the ethereal sense. With his first step he took the celestial world, with his second step the world of the demons.
Realising that his third step would take the earth and result in the destruction of his people, Mahabali pleaded with Vishnu to put his third step on his head and he surrendered and the emperor was sent down to the netherworld.
The gods were happy and Mahabali was granted a visit to his beloved people for one day each year. It was fixed that the emperor would come on the Thiruvonam day of the month Chingam (a day that falls sometime between August 15 and September 15). Onam festival commemorates the annual return of Mahabali. Some believe that he visits each family home. Elaborate celebrations mark the event.
Ten days before the Thiruvonam of Chingam, people would start making preparations to receive their beloved emperor. On the day of the emperor’s visit and for three days thereafter, they will once again live as they had lived during the emperor’s rule. They eat the best food, put on the best clothes, and entertain themselves with the most enjoyable dances, songs and games. Every member of the family who is away comes home for the annual family reunion. Nobody works on that day, even domestic servants are allowed to go home and enjoy themselves.
Thiruvathira
All this is, of course, nothing but a poetic way of explaining the annual harvest festival. It is exactly when the crops have already come in that the old emperor, the origin and source of all prosperity, comes back on his annual visit. It is however, significant that the few days of post-harvest prosperity at once reminds the Malayalee of the days when he had full prosperity for the whole year – the days which have been cut short by the will of the Almighty.
It is, of course, difficult to find out whether there was a historical figure by the name of Mahabali. Possibly there was, for there are some places whose names are still connected with his name. More probably still, this is a poetic combination of the Mahabharata story of Vaman (the fifth incarnation of Lord Vishnu) with the story of what happened to some tribal chieftain who was reigning at the time of the establishment of Chera sovereignty. It is to be noted in this connection that, though the traditional story speaks of Emperor Mahabali, the actual celebration of the festival is connected with the deity of a temple at Trikkakkara, a few miles from Muziris or present-day Cranganore, the seat of the Chera emperor.
The festival actually commences on the day of Atham astrism and reaches its climax on Thiruvonam day, ten days later. During the days it is a common spectacle to see children going around and collecting the choicest flowers to lay the flower bed (Athappookkalam) to decorate the front portion of the premises of their houses. The flowers are arranged in artistic designs and patterns, which vary from day to day. Like Christmas, Onam provides an occasion for family-get-together not only for the Malayalees living inside Kerala but also for those living in other parts of the country.
On the Thiruvonam day a grand feast is served in every Malayalee home. An important item in the feast is the fried banana chips. Field games and cultural festivals are also conducted locally in many places in the village.
Water Festival
The most important highlights of the public celebrations connected with Onam in Kumarakom are boat races or Vallam Kali.
Practising Boat Race
There are two boat races in Kumarakom during Onam, one held on the Second Onam day in Kavanar River and the other on the third Onam day. The latter, Sree Narayana Jayanthi Public Boat Race, held at Kottathodu in the central part of Kumarakom is the biggest crowd puller. The third Onam day the Chathayam is the birthday of Sree Narayana Guru. The majority community in Kumarakom, Hindu Ezhavas, is the followers of Sree Narayana Guru, the illustrious socio-spiritual reformer of Kerala. The Guru had visited this village two times. In 1903, the Guru consecrated the Sree Kumaramangalam Temple. The villagers received the Guru and took him to the venue of the temple at the head of a floating procession along the main waterway and the people of Kumarakom still continue to commemorate this holy event annually on the birthday of the Guru by conducting this boat race festival. About thousand oarsmen used to participate in the competition and all sections of people in and around Kumarakom enthusiastically gather together presenting the biggest gathering of villagers every year. All sections of people irrespective of caste or creed ardently participate in this water festival as oarsmen, organisers or spectators. This water festival has contributed greatly to the social harmony that prevails here.
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