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Onam
is a festival of festive celebrations. New clothes
are bought on this day and people indulge themselves
in dances and sports. The number of days of the
festival range from four to ten days, depending on
the region. The children and the youth join in the
mirth of the season and set about collecting flowers
early morning to decorate the yards of their houses
for the ten days of the festival, starting from
Atham to Thiruvonam.
The
native flower carpet known as 'onapookalam' is the
highlight of these decorations and there are
specifications of the type of flowers to be used on
each day of the festival. Today the artistic and
skilful decoration of the traditional 'pookkalams'
is being lost into obscurity.
On
the day of Utradam, ninth day since the beginning of
the festival, houses are well cleaned and decorated
and gala feasts are arranged. Then the images of
deities and cones made up of sticky clay painted red
are placed there. They are known as 'Trikkakara
Appan'. These images are adorned with lines
tastefully drawn with rice flour mixed with water
and then they are worshipped. After the 'puja', the
male members raise loud rhythmic shouts of joy known
as 'Aarppu Vilikkukal'.
The
next day is the main day of Onam where new clothes
are given as presents followed by a grand feast. On
the ninth day, tenants of the family, dependants and
hangers-on present the fruits of their labour, such
as vegetables and coconut oil to 'Karanavar', the
eldest member of the Tarawad in a ritual called 'Onakazhcha'.
In return, they are treated with a sumptuous feast
on the main day of Onam.
It is
also customary for the village artisans to present
the Karanavar of each Tarawad, a specimen of his
handiwork in return of the presents of cloth or
rice. |