The Onam Festival is one of the most popular festivals in India mainly celebrated in Kerala, and marks the harvesting season but a horrid video of Muslims refraining their girls from celebrating the Hindu festival has gone viral
The Onam festival is defined by the sights of intricately decorated elephants to the wild Pulikali dancers, and from the gigantic snake boats lined up at the shore to the gorgeous floral decorations.
Muslims Stop Girls From Celebrating Onam In Kerala Government School Calling It Haram, Video Goes Viral On Twitter
The joyous festival decorates the entire state in more colors than you can imagine. However, for scores of Muslims in Kerala, celebrating the festival by their community is considered a sin with Islamists forcing Muslim girls partaking in celebrations to leave the premises of a school.
Jihadis In Kasaragod, Kerala Kicked Out Girls Who Was Celebrating Onam Festival In Govt School By Saying Celebrating Onam Festival Is Haram. pic.twitter.com/3gmmnFgQq2
— JianObez (@Jian6602) September 4, 2022
A Full Guide To The Onam Festival Celebrations – Celebrating The Harvesting Season In Kerala
Atham Tomorrow
10th day of Atham is Onam festival pic.twitter.com/PgC4sr4rDe— Anu Satheesh 🇮🇳 (@AnuSatheesh5) August 29, 2022
Every Indian is proud of Kerala’s rich culture and heritage.
Blessed to be in this beautiful state on the auspicious festival of Onam. Attended a cultural programme in Thiruvananthapuram. Sharing some pictures. pic.twitter.com/hClitnIpx9
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) September 2, 2022
Onam is very much a Hindu festival!
It is celebrated to honor King Mahabali who visits his kingdom (Kerala) every year during Onam celebrations.
As per the Puranas, when Mahabali was performing a yagna, sri Vishnu arrived in the form of a young Vamana.
1/3 pic.twitter.com/mkTvFLpxC3
— Monidipa Bose – Dey (মণিদীপা) (@monidipadey) September 4, 2022
The Onam festival is not only celebrated in India but also across various parts of the world.
A Complete Guide To The Onam Festival
The Onam festival marks the end of the monsoons and welcomes the harvest season. It is a Hindu festival celebrated annually, all over India, originating from the state of Kerala.
Onam is one of the biggest festivals of the state. The celebrations go on for 10 days during the Malayalam month of Chingam. It brings people together and spreads joy as a part of the vibrant and cultural festival.
The festivities associated with Onam reflects the traditions and culture of Kerala in the most exclusive way.
History and Significance Of Onam Festival
The history of the Onam festival has its roots back in the Sangam period, when people celebrated Onam for a month.
According to the ancient legends, people celebrated the festival to commemorate the arrival of Asura King Mahabali’s annual visit from Patala (the world underneath).
The story revolves around the time when the demon king Mahabali (grandson of Prahlad) who was known for his generosity ruled Kerala. His growing popularity became a threat for the gods and they came to Lord Vishnu for seeking help.
Sensing their concern, Lord Vishnu disguised himself as a poor Brahmin called Vamana. When he arrived at the kingdom of the demon king, he asked Mahabali to grant him the land, which he can cover within three feet.
Being a kind hearted and charitable person, the king granted his wish and soon the Vamana started to grow in size and his first and second step covered the sky and earth. As the brahmin was about to take the third step, the demon king stepped up and asked him to keep his last step on his head which lead him to Patala.
However, for the good deeds of Mahabali, Lord Vishnu granted him a boon that he can annually visit his people, which eventually led to the celebration of the Onam festival in India.
Cultural Relevance Of Onam Festival
The Onam festival holds an important significance for the Hindus, but people from every religion enjoy the occasion in Kerala. The grand festivities and gala of this ancient festival eliminates all the religious disparities and propagates harmony in the society.
Apart from the hindu rituals, the Christians of Kerala also celebrate this annual festival with great zeal. Their rituals includes lighting of Nilavilakku which is followed by an arati and waving of flowers over the Bible which is called Pushparati.
Along with this, they also have a meal together with Hindus which signifies the communion of brothers and sisters irrespective of faith and beliefs.
The traditional dress of the Onam festival is the Kasavu dress and all married women can be seen wearing these exclusive sarees throughout the festival.
6 Major Events During Onam Festival
Given below are all the six major events that take place during the Onam festival in Kerala
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Tripunithura Athachamayam
The Tripunithura Athachamayam marks the first day of Onam, filled with colorful inauguration, which generally features a street parade. The parade includes a host of different Kerala art forms, musicians, dancers and carnival floats and decorated elephants which walks down the streets.
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Pookalam: The Floral Decorations & Arrangement
The Onam festival is popularly known as the festival of flowers. Pookalam is one of the forms of celebrating this grand festival.
Pookalam refers to the ritual where the people make designs on the floor and decorate that with various flowers. People usually decorate the door fronts and temples which looks like a flower mat.
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Pulikali: The Grand Tiger Dance
Pulikali literally translates to ‘the play of the tiger’, which began 200 years ago. The former king of Kochi took forward the legacy of tiger dance, which reflected manliness.
For the dance, hundreds of people get themselves painted and dressed up like a tiger and later perform dances on traditional music.
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Vallamkali: The Snake Boat Race
Another fascinating thing about Onam festival is the famous boat race, which takes place in Kerala. The Vallamkali or the snake boat race takes place on the Pampa river, in a grand procession.
It includes the Aranmula Uthrattathi boat race and Nehru Trophy Boat race.
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Onam Sadya: The Complete Meal
Food is an important part of every festival, and the Onam festival is no different. The Onam feast or the Onasadya is the highlight of this 10-day celebration.
It is a nine-course meal, which comprises of 11-13 traditional dishes served on a banana leaf. It is commemorated on the last two days, and is a form of worship, which starts at 10 am and ends by 5 pm.
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Folk Dances: Festivities At Its Peak
Any festival is unfinished without a dance performance, and Onam festival too has its own unique dance.
During the festival a lot of women can be seen performing folk dances. One of the most popular dance form is Kaikottikali which was highly praised during King Mahabali’s reign.
It is a type of clap dance form. Another dance form is the Thumbi Thualli, where the women dance in circles.
Major Events Post Onam Celebration
While the major part of the Onam festival celebration ends by the Thiruvonam it is followed by the another two days as the third and fourth Onam.
The third day is called the Avittom and it marks the celebration of King Mahabali’s abode to the heavens. During this celebration the most important ritual of the day is immersing the Onathappan statue which is place in the middle of every Pokallam. After 10 days, the Pokallam is cleaned and removed.
Other Customs On Onam Celebrations
Onam Rituals
Besides all the other festivities, another important ritual of the Onam festival is when people buy and wear new clothes and is called the Onakkodi.
During the Onam festival in Kerala, Keralite Hindus also install and worship the Thrikkakara Appan or Onathappan at their homes
The Hindu temples in Kerala are decorated with lamps and a Palmyra tree is erected in front of the temple. The lamps are enclosed by wooden balustrade and dry Palmyra leaves. They are later lit up to signify that King Mahabali went to Patala as a sacrifice.
In the rural areas, the swing is an integral part of the celebration where locals sing Onappaatt or other Onam songs and push each other on the swing.
Besides all these festive activities, the handloom fairs also add vigorous spirit to the Onam festival.
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