How Onam became the harvest festival as we know it

 We Keralites are notorious for politicizing even the most mundane of things, may it be films, dress, customs or even festivals. The left and the right are almost always are divided, coming up with their own interpretations and ideological brandings,  when it comes to sensitive matters pertaining to the above said fields and more. Onam too hasn't been spared by both, while the left proclaim it to be a harvest festival the right wing are adamant that it is purely a religious festival for commemorating Lord Vamana. Many of us choose to believe one or the other version but can it be possible that both these narratives hold parts of the truth.

 Recently I came across an interesting version of the many Onam narratives by the prominent historian Vellanad Ramachandran which gave me some enlightening insights on the topic. Here I present before you some of the points raised by him on why he believes Onam is not a harvest festival as it is popularly known.

There are around eight myths surrounding the origins of Onam, from the one relating the festival to Lord Parashuram, to the more popular Vamana and Mahabali tales, which too have multiple versions. There is a Muslim version arguing that the festival is related to the eponymous Cheraman Perumal who converted to Islam and went to Mecca. Infact some even believe that Mahabali was probably Iranian, connecting 'Asura' to the Zoroastrian god 'Ahura Mazda'. 

Similarly there are Buddhist and Shiivite versions of it as well. Before discussing the origins of the festival we must first know of the origin of the word Onam. Mr. Ramachandran opines that the word has its etymological origins from 'Shravanam' the fifth month of our own Shakha Varsha calendar. In the course of time Shravanam became Aavanam which in turn became Onam. So the name of the festival probably has its roots in Sanskrit. 

Was Onam celebrations exclusively limited to Kerala?

Malayalis seem to have got exclusive patent rights over Onam and we are quite proud about it since it is a celebration which brings people of all faith together. But in reality was onam actually borrowed?

 It is an understatement to say that the people of Kerala like to borrow, or rather should I say be 'inspired' by what we find as good in other cultures and civilizations. That is a big reason why Malayalis are so successful and adaptive no matter wherever we go. Being a hotpot of multiple religions, cultures and ethnicities, it seems that inculturation is perhaps ingrained in us. So it shouldn't be a surprise if onam too was such a loan festival. 

The Sangam literature written around 1500-2000 years ago mentions about a poem 'Patha pattu'. The Maduraikanchi chapter of this poem narrates about onam celebrations including rituals like 'Onapporu', similar to the famous Onathallu of kerala, in Tamil Nadu. 

Surprisingly Onam is celebrated to this day in Andhra as well, although in the local name of 'Brahmotsava', exactly on the day of Thiruvonam. But this celebration is limited to the vicinities of the Thirumala Thirupathi temple. Onam is also celebrated in the Sreekrishna temple of Udupi, Karnataka(again on the day of Thiruvonam). 

So these might be pointers to the fact that onam celebrations were once prevelent at least all over South India, but later died out in many places, only to leave a strong presence in Kerala. One reason cited by Mr. Ramachandran is the Chola-Pandya yudha over Vaishnavism and Shiivism. The Viishnavite Pandyas might have brought their onam to Kerala.

 In the 7th century the Pandyas suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Cholas, who now had control over the whole of Tamil Desam. According to records, the first thing they did after occupying the high seat was to ban all Vishnaviite festivals. That was probably how Onam celebrations disappeared in Tamil Nadu overnight like the Saraswati river (Tamil poet Kulavanigan Chathanar's "Manimeghala" mentions how the the Chola city of Poomuhar was engulfed by the sea due to the wrath of the gods for banning Onam festivities in the Tamil land).

Lord Vamana is also knowm as 'Thrivikraman' and this is so because he vanquished the great asura king Mahabali with just three steps. But there could possibly be a North Indian connection to this name as well. The reason to say so is because there was a royal dynasty which worshipped Thrivikrama as their family god in Central India including the regions of MP, north of Andhra, parts of Maharashtra and parts of Northern Karnataka till around 220 A.D(evidence from several rock edicts and 'Gadhasapthasati').

 They were called 'Shatavahanas' and it is believed to have been established by some local rulers and chieftains after demise of Emperor Ashoka. After the fall of the Shatavahanas many chieftains migrated further south and by 6th century AD Tamil heartland was under attack by the Pallavas. 

The provincial heads of the Pallava kingdom were called 'Mavelivanadhirajas', who attacked and captured vast extents of Central Kerala by the middle ages (that is why we have temples like the Madhurameenakshi temple in Kanjirappally and other regions of central Travancore). There is a stone edict attested by a 'Mavelivanadhiraja' in the Madhurameenakshi temple. 

We probably might have inherited Onam from these rajas during the midddle ages. So Mr. Ramachandran opines that Onam is an Aryan festival that might have reached Kerala via Tamil Pandyas.

An Oddly Timed Harvest Festival

An important question which begs an answer is if there is at least one main crop of Kerala cultivated in the month of Chingam?(Except of course rubber and tapioca which are much later additions to our plates nonetheless our traditional crops). Lets go through the harvest seasons of some our main crops one by one. 

What crop is more important to us than Paddy, but none of our rice growing areas like Kutanad, Palakkad, Thrissure, Wayanad etc.  harvest paddy in Chingam. We only have 'Kanni Koith', which is also the title of a poem by Vailoppilly. Moreover we raise an endemic rice variety called 'Onottan or Onavattan' in some areas of Kuttanad, which is ready for harvest by the time of onam so that our ancestors could enjoy a through onam sadhya due to the absence of any other type of rice which would be ready for harvest by this time. 

The next big crop of Kerala, perhaps the trademark symbol of the state as well as the source of its name, is Coconut. But people with coconut trees know that 'nalleed' or good yield from coconut trees is only upto the month of Mithunam, after which is 'chilleed' or period of low yield aka Karkkidaka Koori in some places because the coconuts of this period are smaller in size. So, there in no coconut harvest in Kerala during the months of Chingam, Kanni and Thulam.

 Infact onam time is also when the price of coconuts sky rocket, and this it seems is not a demand pulled price hike but one caused by supply shortage as well. It would be by Vrishchikam or Karthika that the coconut trees start producing tender coconuts which gave birth to the saying' Karthikakku karikku thinnu vaa pilarkkanam' literally meaning it was a time to gorge yourself with the delicious meat of tender coconuts.

The next main crop is tubers or 'Kizhangu' as they are known in the state. However they too are not harvested in Chingam, but in Vrishchikam and Dhanu. Incidentally this is also the time when black pepper, another produce iconic to the state, is harvested in Kerala. 

Basically none of our traditional seasonal crops are ready for harvest at the time of Onam. The only thing that one can claim to produce yield during this time are horticulture crops which can be grown in any time of the year. 

So there is no sensible reason to claim that onam is our harvest season when we look at the facts.

Onam the Spring Festival

Another thing to be debunked is the claim that onam is a festival celebrating the joy of the spring season when the field are adorned by beautiful blossoms and even nature is in a celebration mood. Perhaps the source of this widespread belief might be associated with the floral carpets which is an unavoidable aspect of onam. 

Though now we insult tradition by using "imported" flowers to make the floral carpet, a few decades ago it was actually a long and laborious process where children went around collecting local flowers and building one layer after another on within the period of ten days. There was also an order in which different flowers had to be laid on different days : Thumba, Arippoovu, Mukkutty, Chembaruthy, Kolambi and so on, one flower each day. 

However all the flowers traditionally used in a floral carpet blossom throught the year and not exclusively in spring alone. Our actual spring falls after Thulam or the Monsoons and before winter sets in. It is not a clearly distinct season in Kerala, unlike the Spring season in the Western countries. 

Infact people in earlier days used make floral carpets during this this time of the year as well using 'Karthikapoovu', which blossomed only during this period and thus the name. Interestingly this is also practiced in Thailand where it is called 'Krathong'. 

So laying of floral carpets is not exclusive to onam and neither is it the true spring time of Kerala.

What is The Speciality of Onam?

No matter whatever we say Onam is a period of great joy and vigor for the people  of Kerala. What is the reason behind this? The reason might be the monsoons which last from Edavapathy to Karkittakam. Though we all love a good drizzle and sweet petrichor, an entire month of heavy outpour is a completely different ordeal, especially for the daily wage bread winner. 

We yean for the dark clouds to fill the skies in summer and by the time the monsoon starts to bid adieu we would have smothered it with swear words. But the sky clears once again by Karkkidakam much to the relief of the people. 

So the gloom associated with the monsoon time might be the reason behind the joy felt by everyone during Chingam or onam time which is also reflected in the saying "Atham karuthal onam velukkum". It is a period of renewed hope, especially for the ordinary folk.

So what is to be concluded from all these, well nothing special if you as me as I just see it as one among the many plausible explanations behind the origins of onam. Even if onam is a loan festival, it is undeniable that we have made it our own and it is intermingled with or local customs and traditions. All people have the right to celebrate onam in whichever manner they prefer, like the people of Kannur who like to have seafood delicacies in their version of Onasadhya.

 I believe that no matter in what all different ways people decide to approach the festival, it will continue to be the special that of the year when all Malayalis get together keeping their religious, cultural, political and ideological differences  aside to welcome King Mahabali. Cheers to the spirit of Onam!