Culture of Kerala

Kerala is a mosaic of world religions.

Jesus’ disciple Thomas arrived at the Muziris post in 52AD. He established seven churches. Thus, it can be construed that Christianity reached Kerala even before Europe. Then when the Portuguese came to colonize, the Latin Catholic Church was introduced and resulted in different opinions; British control introduced even more differences and denominations.

St. Francis Church

Jews also came to India around 68 AD. They sought refuge from persecution and Kerala welcomed them with open arms. Chendamangalam Synagogue

Islam is the second largest practiced religion in Kerala. It is widely believed Islam reached Kerala through trade. Central Mahallu Jama’ath

Hinduism in Kerala is grounded in Vedas, the oldest body of religious texts. Ananthapura Lake Temple

Kerala has the standing of being a religiously diverse state. Kochi has the oldest European church and the oldest synagogue in India. Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity co-exist together, rather than simply tolerating one another. The Hindu Edappara Maladevar Nada Temple bears a shrine for Kayamkulam Kochunni, an Islamic “Robin Hood.”

This coexistence is baffling and enigmatic to the entire world but perhaps one of the reasons as to why can be attributed to Kerala’s ability to provide almost universal basic, public and social services. Kerala’s literacy rate of 94% is the same as richer countries like in Europe. In 2019, it became the first Indian state to attain 100% primary education attendance rate. It also has a 97% toilet coverage. India’s infant death rate is 40 per 1000 births while Kerala’s is only 12 per 1000 births. Kerala is one of two Indian states where there is a greater proportion of women to men and approximately equal female and male literacy. The renowned Kudumbashree Mission is the largest women-empowering network in India.

In places where basic necessities of life are denied, it can foster hatred toward populations deemed as “the other.” The despised population may serve as a scapegoat for real problems. There are many things that Kerala can improve but the state serves as an excellent model of how to maintain stability among various religious communities.

Onam Festival

Onam is the harvest festival of Kerala. It commences the New Year and is dedicated to King Mahabali, who ruled Kerala flourishingly. It is celebrated for 10 days during the month of Chingam (August 17th-September 16th). The major attractions of the celebration includes Pookkalam, Onasadya, Onakalikal, Vallamkali Boat Race and more.

Pookkalam is known as “floral carpet.” It is done on Attam, the first day of the festival and continues for the next nine days. It is made using flowers and one is laid out in each house.

Onasadya is a feast prepared on the last day of Onam. The people want to appear happy and wealthy for the spirit of King Mahabali, who is said to visit Kerala during Onam. It typically contains nine vegetarian meals and is served on banana leaves. There is strict positioning of each dish; for example, pappadum must be on the extreme left and on the right should be cabbage thoran.

Onakalikal are games played after Onasadya. The older ones may play chess, dice, cards while the younger ones play outdoors.

Vallamkali is a traditional boat race of many types of paddled longboats. The boats may contain 64 or 128 paddlers, thus it is also known as the snake boat race.

Dance

Known as God’s own country, Kerala is rich in culture and its dance forms are no exceptions; there are about fifty different types of dance but we will only discuss three.

Mohiniyattam is one of the eight classical dances of India. The dance form comes from the word “Mohini,” who is a mythical enchantress of the Hindu god Vishnu. It has its roots in the Natya Shastra, which is the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text about performance arts. It is typically a solo performance by women. The songs are in Manipravalam, which is a mix between Malayalam, the language spoken in Kerala, and Sanskrit.

Kathakali is considered to be one of the world’s oldest forms of theatre. When translated, it means “Story-play,” and combines drama, dance, music, and religion. It has been recognized worldwide for its distinctness.

Thiruvathirakali is performed during the Onam harvest festival. It is performed by women. They move in a circular motion.

Weddings of Kerala

Arranged marriages are quite prevalent in Kerala like any other community in India. A typical Kerala Wedding is a grand affair, where the two families come together to celebrate the function. Food is one of the main highlights of any wedding. There are pre-wedding and post-wedding ceremonies.

For Christian weddings, the main ceremony takes place at a church..

In Hindu marriages horoscope plays a prominent role in decision making.” Nakshatra Porutham’ the matching of stars as per the horoscopes of the boy and girl” is essential to a marriage

“Mehndi” ceremony is part of the pre-wedding ritual for a muslim wedding. Muslim marriage is called “Nikhah” which is a contract between the boy and the girl’s father.

Kearla Flm Indusrty

The Malayalam cinema industry contains a rich history. Kerala movies are known for its realistic portrayal of contemporary subjects; whereas Bollywood movies depend on star culture and increasingly high budgets.