Onathallu, also known as Kayyāmkali or Avittathallu is an Indian martial dance and a

semi-contact A contact sport is any sport where physical contact between competitors, or their environment, is an integral part of the game. For example, gridiron football. Contact may come about as the result of intentional or incidental actions by the playe ...

combat sport A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knock ...

performed in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

during the festival of

Onam Onam () is an annual harvest and Hindus, Hindu cultural festival celebrated mostly by the people of Kerala. A major annual event for Malayalis, Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events. H ...

. In some places, it takes the form of non-stop fighting, while in some other places, it is a combat sport with actual fight.

History

It is believed to have descended from the martial art

Kalaripayattu Kalaripayattu (), also known simply as Kalari, is an Indian martial art that originated on the southwestern coast of India, in what is now Kerala, during the 3rd century BCE. Etymology Kalaripayattu is a martial art which developed out of co ...

. It is said to have evolved in Pallassena, a hamlet in present-day Palakkad district. According to legend, it is performed in memory of a battle waged by villagers of Pallassena against chieftain Kuthiravattathu Nair for killing their chieftain Pallasena Kuroor Nampidi by treachery. Both the chieftains were the subservient of the

Zamorin of Calicut The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edi ...

(Kozhikode Samoothiri). The battle ended after Samoothiri's intervention. The festival is a tradition followed by the

Nairs The Nair (, ) also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom hi ...

of the region in commemoration of the numerous

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

s they led and fought as part of the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

of the

Kolathiris Kolattunādu () (Kola Swarupam, as Kingdom of Cannanore in foreign accounts, Chirakkal (Chericul) in later times) was one of the four most powerful kingdoms on the Malabar Coast during the arrival of the Portuguese Armadas in India, along w ...

. The name Pallassana refers to the fact that the group historically constituted the Pallava Sena or the Pallava Army, which eventually morphed into Pallassana or Pallasena, as it is known today.

Fighting

In the game, it is played in two teams inside a circle of 14 metre diameter drawn in ground, known as Attakalam. Each opponent enters the Attakalam and challenges someone from the other team. Stepping outside the circle while fighting is counted as loss. The tradition involves an enactment or warlike performances by men of the Nair community at the Vettakaruman Dewaswom temple premises. The key component of the performance involves men pairing up and, under the guidance and supervision of elders in the community, enacting physical combat, war cries and battle-like behaviour. This is seen as a vazhivaadu by the men involved, and is a highly revered and attended festival during the Avittam nakshatra of

. In certain places, actual sparring takes place, with the left elbow serving as a shield and the right arm as a weapon. Spectators have a major part in arousing the martial spirit of the competitors. This duel exists in

Kunnamkulam Kunnamkulam is a municipal town located in the Thrissur District of Kerala, India, with historical origins tracing back to the Paleolithic age. Renowned for its deep-rooted cultural heritage, vibrant printing industry, and religious diversity, ...

Thrissur district Thrissur (), anglicised as Trichur, is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is situated in the central region of the state. Spanning an area of about , th ...

and

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a municipality and town in Kerala and the headquarters of the Malappuram district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Kerala, 4th largest urban agglomeration in Kerala and ...

and some other parts of northern Kerala. It is played by adults with a background on

, who forms two teams consisting ten to twenty people. Two from each team walk ahead and spar until one is overpowered. This is performed until the last pair.

References

{{Tourism in Kerala Hindu festivals in Kerala Festivals in Palakkad district Onam