Book Title: Development of Hinduism
Author(s): M M Ninan
Publisher: M M Ninan

Previous | Next

Page 341
________________ 14. THE CONCEPT OF AVATARS ONAM "Thiru Onam (from Sravana?) is celebrated in the second half of August (the Chingam month of Kollam Era) when the August monsoon rains come to an end and the summer heat gives way to the pleasant warmth of the Kerala autumn. Anthropologists see in Onam a great fertility rite, the ceremony of Thanksgiving for a plentiful harvest. For Keralites Onam is the celebration of the return of Mahabali, their once and future king. This king once ruled over the Keralites during the Golden Age before caste existed, "when all men were equal, when no one was poor, when there was neither theft nor dread of theives" (Maveli natu vanitum kalam/ manusharellam onnu pole ...). As the folk song suggests, the great king Mahabali ruled before the caste system was introduced in the Chera society even before the Cheras' arrival in Kerala in the eighth century. The complete folk-song is given below in its English version: When Maveli, our King, rules the land, All the peoples form one casteless race. And people live joyful and merry; They are free from all harms. There is neither theft nor deceit, And no one is false in speech either. Measures and weights are right; No one cheats or wrongs the neighbor. When Maveli, our King, rules the land, All the peoples form one casteless race. The celebration of the return of Mahabali takes four days for the Keralites. The house and yard are cleaned; a temporary mud stall is put up and washed with the purifying cow-dung solution for the royal visitor. Flowers are strewn over it for the king to sit upon; pyramid-shaped images of the king called Trikkakarayappan, made of wood or clay, are placed upon it as the onlookers applaud and cheer in sheer welcome. Pujas (worship service) are performed during the four days of Onam every morning; parents give children presents, especially dresses on the occasion. Large-scale feasts are held at this family reunion -increasingly Onam is a holiday, like the American Thanksgiving Holiday, which is characterized by family reunion and feasting. Three foods used to be essential for the 337

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582