well,Onam is the Harvest festival of Kerala, which is celebrated by all the people of Kerala without the barriers of religion or caste. Onam comes in the Malayalam month Chingam (August-September) and Celebrations last for ten days, starting from Atham to Thiruvonam. After three months of heavy rains, the sky becomes a clear blue and the forests a deep green and flowers are in full bloom.
King Mahabali
There is a beautiful mythical story behind the festival of Onam. People in Kerala were extremely happy and prosperous during the reign of King Mahabali. So much so, that the gods began to fear his growing powers. Presuming that he might become over-powerful, Aditi, the mother of Devas pleaded with Lord Vishnu to curtail Mahabali's powers. Lord Vishnu transformed himself into a Brahmin dwarf Vamana, asked the King for three steps of land, which he readily granted. Vishnu in the guise of Vamana then increased his stature and covered the earth and heaven in two steps. For the third, King Mahabali offered his head. However, before putting his foot on Mahabali’s head, Lord Vishnu granted the King’s last wish, that he be able to visit his kingdom once every year. It is to welcome Mahabali back to his kingdom that Onam is celebrated with such joy.
Celebrations
Celebrat ions start with Atha-poo or Pookalam which is a floral carpet made in the front courtyard of the house starting from Atham day for ten days. Kids gather flowers from all over the place and make Pookalam, which is usually round in shape and each day increasing in diameter and in the variety of flowers. Earthen idols of Mahabali and Vishnu are placed in the center of the pookalam and worshiped. Everybody in the house gets Ona-kodi, which means new clothe. The tenants bring Ona-Kazhcha (fresh vegetables, bananas and grains) and the landlord distributes Ona-kodi among them.
Ona-Sadya (The traditional feast)
The traditional feast includes delicacies such as Kalan, Olan, Avial, Erissery and so on, cooked with plantain, yams, pumpkin etc. which are available in plenty during the harvest time. The sadya is served on Banana leaves and is accompanied with Plantains, banana chips and one or more varieties of payasam (dessert). Look for some traditional Kerala recipes in the Onam Recipes page.After the sadya women engage themselves in Kaikottikali (a traditional dance form of Kerala which involves very light movements). Kids play with Onappanthu (a ball made with Coconut leafs) and swings made in the courtyards.
Tourism week
In the recent years, the tourism department of Kerala celebrates tourism week, during Onam. All major buildings and shopping centers will be illuminated in Trivandrum, the capital district and other major cities. Cultural festivals, which include traditional dance forms such as Kathakali and Mohiniyattam, are performed on various stages during this week. Large number of tourists would always visit Kerala around this period just to catch all the action and joyous celebrations of Onam.
Another attractive event during Onam is the famous 'Vallamkali' or the Boat race. The most important among them is the Aranmula Vallamkali. Aranmula Uthrattathi Vallamkali is conducted in the Pamba River in front of Sri Parthasarathi Temple. Though, large snake boats take part in this festival they do not race with each other. Instead, they row in union, to the accompaniment of songs and reach their destination together because Lord Krishna is believed to be present in each boat. Nehru Trophy Boat Race is the most famous of the boat races of Kerala and is considered as the biggest snake boat race in the world. This is conducted in the Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha. The spectacular races features magnificent snake boats or 'Chundans'. (Snake boats and 'Chundan Vallom's are 2 different kinds of boats which features unique craftsmanship in wood.)
Answered by
Debashis
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6:02 PM on September 10, 2008