Onam
Next: September 12, 2027
Flowers at the door for a king.
The story
Where it comes from
Onam is the harvest festival of Kerala, held in the Malayalam month of Chingam, in August or September, and known as the state's own national festival. It welcomes home Mahabali, a generous king whose rule was a golden age. The legend says Vishnu came to him as Vamana, a dwarf, and asked for three steps of land. Vamana grew until two steps covered all the worlds, and Mahabali offered his own head for the third. He was sent to the netherworld, but blessed with a visit to his people once a year.
How it's celebrated
The festival runs for ten days, from Atham to Thiruvonam, the main day. Each day families lay a pookalam, a carpet of flowers, in the front yard to welcome Mahabali, making it larger as the days pass. Homes are cleaned, gifts bought and relatives visited. Snake-boat races (vallam kali) are held on the backwaters, and on Thiruvonam the family sits down to the sadya, a vegetarian feast served on a banana leaf.
Did you know
- A sadya brings 11 to 13 vegetarian dishes, such as avial, sambar and payasam, to the leaf, and they are eaten in a set order.
- The first pookalam, on Atham, is traditionally a simple one of thumba flowers, and the largest is laid on Uthradam, the day before Thiruvonam.
- In Pulikali, the tiger play, performers painted as tigers dance to the beat of traditional music.
The greeting
Happy Onam · ഓണാശംസകൾ
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