This month of Chingom, as we all know is the first month in the Malayalam Calendar (August/September as per the Gregorian Calendar) After the rain-drenched month of Karkidakam, with its privations, Chingam is a welcome month for people in the state of Kerala. The joy is celebrated by the Malayalees all over the world through a festival which is the harbinger of spring. This festival, as we all know and call, is ONAM.
Onam, for a long time was believed to be a Malayalee Hindu festival. But, recent practices, well supported by historical researches prove that Onam is not an exclusive festival. Today, Onam, signaling the start of the harvest season, epitomizes the newfound vigour and enthusiasm of the season, and is celebrated with traditional fervour. The celebrations begin within a fortnight of the Malayalam New Year and go on for ten days. The last day called the Thiruvonam is the most important. All over the state, rituals along with new clothes, traditional cuisine, dance, and music mark this harvest festival. The swing is another integral part of Onam, especially in the rural areas. Young men and women, decked in their best, sing Onappattu or Onam songs, and rock one another on swings slung from high branches.
It is in fact not only the harvest festival of Kerala also a popular cultural festival among the traditional repertoire of Malayalees Onam marks the homecoming of legendary King Mahabali, under whose rule there was justice, love and peace every where. One of the common Onam chants is :-
When Maveli, our King, ruled the land,
All the people had equality.
And people were joyful and merry;
They were all free from harm.
There was neither anxiety nor sickness,
Death of the children was never even heard of,
There were no lies,
There was neither theft nor deceit,
And no one was false in speech either.
Measures and weights were right;
No one cheated or wronged his neighbor.
When Maveli, our King, ruled the land,
All the people formed one casteless race.
This reminds us of the Kingdom values referred in the Holy Bible. The Onam mythology states that there was a time in this earth where the values of justice, love and peace were practiced. When we as Christians participate in this celebration, it should become a time for us to remember the Kingdom values which we are called to imbibe as well as a time to commit ourselves towards the fostering of the same. For this, our ardent prayer should be that God’s image manifest in us, so that we shall be all-suffering, caring, sharing and creative. As children belonging to the one family of God, it is high time that we join our hands together to create a responsible co-operative society wherein there will be reverence of life.
Let God who is beyond us, within us and among us help our cultures to be the foci of goodness. Let our cultures encourage us to stand for love and Shalom. Let through our cultures, we learn not to compromise with all that is false, corrupt and all that which do not prompt peace, understanding and communal harmony. Let this time of Onam become an occasion for each and every one of us to recollect the glorious days of King Mahabali’s rule and recommit ourselves towards the extension of God’s Kingdom, where justice, love and peace shall reign for ever.
