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Onam is not a Hindu festival. Onam is not a monolithic festival. It's a Malayali Harvest festival.
Onam belongs to everyone who was born or has links to Kerala. In the eyes of Asura King Maveli (Mahabali), all Keralites are same regardless of caste & religion.
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Onam belongs to everyone who was born or has links to Kerala. In the eyes of Asura King Maveli (Mahabali), all Keralites are same regardless of caste & religion.
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An overwhelming percentage of ‘Onapattukal’ or Onam songs were related to harvest and sung by the subaltern castes.
The 1810–1821 survey of Kerala by Ward and Conner notes that Onam was a time of rest and enjoyment for the otherwise backbroken Dalit & Ezhava communities.
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The 1810–1821 survey of Kerala by Ward and Conner notes that Onam was a time of rest and enjoyment for the otherwise backbroken Dalit & Ezhava communities.
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Every caste had it's own way of celebrating it. The only uniting factor was the story of the benevolent Asura king arriving every year.
For the Avarnas, Mahabali & Onam was a symbol of hope in the Land of Caste infected Lunatic Asylum.
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For the Avarnas, Mahabali & Onam was a symbol of hope in the Land of Caste infected Lunatic Asylum.
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Even the food (Sadya) served during Onam in Kerala is not strictly vegetarian.
While in Travancore-Cochin regions, majority stick to vegetarian sadya, in Malabar side, it's nearly mandatory for Dalit - Ezhava (Thiyya) to have Non-Veg(Fish) for Onam-Vishu Sadya.
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While in Travancore-Cochin regions, majority stick to vegetarian sadya, in Malabar side, it's nearly mandatory for Dalit - Ezhava (Thiyya) to have Non-Veg(Fish) for Onam-Vishu Sadya.
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Onam = Hindu festival is a pure myth, which started in last two decades.
The glorification of the Asura ruler Mahabali disrupts the attempt of Sangh parivar to imprison Kerala within the walls of a fictional Brahmin monolith.
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The glorification of the Asura ruler Mahabali disrupts the attempt of Sangh parivar to imprison Kerala within the walls of a fictional Brahmin monolith.
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The memory of Maveli was revived by Sahodaran Ayyappan in early 20th century as an act of cultural resistance through the poem “Onapaattu” or song of Onam where he urges all everyone,
“Throw away the Vamana ideology-Brahmanism and to bring back the governance of MahaBali.”
“Throw away the Vamana ideology-Brahmanism and to bring back the governance of MahaBali.”
Do read this excellent article. https://www.thehindu.com/books/welcome-home-mahabali-an-excerpt-from-antigods-own-country-a-short-history-of-brahminical-colonisation-of-kerala/article29298303.ece
Every Harvest festivals across South India were celebrated by people who toiled hard, people who worked hard on the land, especially the marginalized.
Later these festivals were Brahmanized or attempts are going on for Brahmanization of Harvest festivals.
Later these festivals were Brahmanized or attempts are going on for Brahmanization of Harvest festivals.
Onam imagines a socialist and egalitarian society and, secondly, it is about the undying spirit of the battle of the oppressed under the aegis of Mahabali, an Asura, against his Brahmanical oppressor, Vamana.
