Maramadi

Onam is the harvest festival of Kerala. It heralds the New Year, Kolavarsham and Onam celebration go on from four to ten days. Dances and festivities are maintained amidst general gaiety. Women perform Kaikotaikalli and men indulge in games and other manly pursuits.

The session in which many games are played and martial arts displayed is called Onakalikal. A game of archery such as Ambeyyal is a favorite sport and so is the stick fight.

Combat forms such as Kayyankali and Attakalam are areas where the men display their superior physical stamina and combat skills. 'Onathallu' and 'Thalappandukali' are favorite combat- games among both the audience and the combatants.

Onathallu especially is performed only during the Onam festivities. It is a bare handed fight where the combatants face each other without any weapons. The men are dressed in dhotis or plain white cloth worn high like tight shorts around their waists in a sort of bandage around their legs. This proves extremely comfortable while wrestling. The bodies of the wrestlers need to be supple and flexible to win a fight.

Onathallu tests the stamina, the skills and physical prowess of the combatants. Onathallu is a social skill and is handed down by the male members of the family to a new initiate. Fathers teach their sons, maternal uncles initiate nephews etc.

A good Onathallu combatant is respected among his peers due to his display during the Onam festivities. These festivities are family get-together occasions and periods of social interaction. Hence the word spreads fast if a person is well versed in the art of Onathallu. Kurumbranattu and Kunnamkulam are famous centers of Onathallu practice.

A spectacular and highly competitive display of Onathallu may be seen in the Onam celebrations held in regions such as Central Travancore and the northern regions of Kunnamkulam, Kavassery and Palakkad.