Click to play videoThrissur, Kerala Onam is just round the corner in Kerala and Malayalees have some of the strangest ways of celebrating the festival. Onathallu is an unique tradition of an Onam brawl and a tiger hunt which is carried out during the Onam festivities.
Onathallu is a dying tradition thats found revival at Kunnamkulam in Thrissur district.
"We are celebrating Onathallu, After a gap of 20 years. Earlier it was of utmost importance during Onam and famous combatants took part in it," says organiser, E K Anthony.
The objective of the ritual is simple. Villagers gather in large numbers and try to beat each other and the ones who get the biggest blows lose.
The origin of this tradition is from Kerala's own martial arts Kalari.
"I had a Kalari in front of my house. We used to watch the masters perform there. Soon we developed interest in this art and started performing it by ourselves," says Onathallu performer Murukesan.
However, not just anyone can be a part of this ritual. Onathallu tests the stamina, the skills and physical prowess of the combatants. Its a skill handed down through generations. But the waning interest in martial arts and the dying joint family system has been a big blow to this tradition.
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