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

semi-contact Contact sports are sports that emphasize or require physical contact between players. Some sports, such as mixed martial arts, are scored on impacting an opponent, while others, including rugby football, gridiron football and Australian rules foot ...

combat sport A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive 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 oppon ...

performed in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

during the festival of

Onam Onam ( ) is an annual Indian harvest festival celebrated predominantly by the Hindus of Kerala. A major annual event for Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events. Onam commemorates Vamana ...

. In some places, it takes the form of a choreographed sparring, while in some other places, it is a combat sport with actual sparring.

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 in modern-day Kerala, a state on the southwestern coast of India. Kalaripayattu is known for its long-standing history within Indian martial arts, and is ...

. It is said to have evolved in

Pallassena Pallassena or Pallassana is a village and gram panchayat in the Palakkad District, state of Kerala, India. It is close to Kollengode Town and Koduvayur and beside the river Gayatri, one of the tributaries of Bharatapuza. It is primarily not ...

, a hamlet in present-day

Palakkad district Palakkad District () is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It was carved out from the southeastern region of the former Malabar District on 1 January 1957. It is located at the centre of Kerala. It is the largest district i ...

. 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 Edited by ...

(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 histor ...

of the region in commemoration of the numerous

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

s they led and fought as part of the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

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 Realm, kingdoms on the Malabar Coast during the arrival of the Portuguese India Armadas, Portugues ...

. 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 has a major part in arousing the martial spirit of the competitors. This duel exists in

Kunnamkulam Kunnamkulam is a municipal town situated in the Thrissur District of Kerala in India, spread over an area of 34.18 km2. It is an old commercial town, with an ancient history, famous for its printing and book binding industry. In the past, t ...

in Thrissur district and

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of including the surrounding suburban areas. The first municipality in the district formed in 1970, Malappuram serves as the administrative headquarter ...

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

External links

Pookalam Design
Hindu festivals in Kerala Festivals in Palakkad district