“The Onakkodi, which is a yellow cloth traditionally given to the young by elders during Onam, has been suggested to be a pointer to the yellow robes given to new converts to Buddhism. The coincidence of Onam to the Sri Lanka Buddhist new year, the vegetarian nature of the festival and the use of the Onathappan, the round flower carpet symbolising the Dhamma Chakra (The Wheel of Law) have all been considered part of Buddhist influences,” says Binny.
In medieval Kerala, on Uthradom day (the day before the main festival day of Thiruvonam), peasants were expected to present dryland cultivation before their landlord Brahmins, who, in return, would gift them new clothes (Onakkodi) and throw them a feast. “However, frictions developed over time as landlords demanded more produce, leading to a silent revolt among the peasants. So by around the 14th century, they started to view the Onam myth differently and project the Asura king Mahabali as their hero instead of the Brahmin boy Vamana,” says Sasibhooshan.
Historian M G S Narayanan, in a way, concurs with Sasibhooshan in how he sees Mahabali becoming the centrepiece of Onam in Kerala. In his book Kerala Charithrathile 10 Kalla Kathakal, he says that Vaishnavite tradition entered Kerala temples in the 9th century and with it came Vamana worship. Onam became a harvest festival, spring festival and later, through peasants’ protests, became Mahabali worship, Narayanan writes. Narayanan, however, takes strong exception to the story of Mahabali ruling Kerala. No mythological texts ever mentioned it, and it was all the fantasy of imaginative storytellers to portray an egalitarian society, he suggests in his book.
Sasibhooshan, nevertheless, says such sacred lores are essential for a festival to exist for centuries. “Just like you need the story of Rama killing Ravana for Dussehra, you need the story of Mahabali being sent to Pathala and being allowed to return once a year to see his subjects for Onam.”
“In fact, according to Hindu mythology, the Asura king Mahabali was not sent to Pathala but to a place called Suthala. Mahavishnu blessed Mahabali by promising him protection from all ailments in Sutala and told him he would become Indra during Savarni Manu’s era. So, the story of Mahabali ruling Kerala and his return every year is the folk version of the myth that developed over time,” says Sasibhooshan.
Some others have tried to explain the connection between Mahabali and Kerala differently. Since Bali has been a figure worshipped in the Deccan and parts of north India during Diwali, people who migrated from these areas to south India might have brought the story with them, and it might have got assimilated with the local folklore over time.
The Bali myth, Binny says, has been prevalent on the western coast of India from Maharashtra to Kerala as an alternative republic ruled by an honest ruler. “Mahatma (Jyotirao) Phule has written about Balirajya or Balisthan. (Sociologist) Gail Omvedt has also mentioned the Bali tradition as a counter-narrative in Maharashtra.”
“In all probability, the Mahabali legend is an archetypal myth that resonates with later legends such as that of Cheraman Perumal, who embraced Islam or left for pilgrimage. The idea of a righteous or ideal ruler cast out to be replaced by an unjust structure and one day returning to reinstate a welfare state is seen as a trope in most ancient cultures. In the case of Onam, the myth has been beautifully preserved and celebrated.”
Even though Mahabali was projected as a symbol of the downtrodden, the upper castes in Kerala also traditionally came to accept him as the primary symbolic representation of Onam. They went about rituals surrounding Vamana, or Lord Vishnu, either in temples or at houses, as well as social celebrations, such as vallam kali (boat race), puli kali (leopard dance) and public feasts, without second guessing.
