Celebrating Onam and Onam Crafts

Onam Crafts

     Hi friends, today is a very important festival for us Malayalees[aka Keralites who are from the South Indian State of Kerala]! It's our Onam!

I love reading about festivals and traditions of different cultures and thought maybe you my crafty friends  would find it interesting too  so sharing a few titbits about Onam but from a personal point!
Here are 2 earlier blog-posts about Kerala and Onam
Kerala Diorama School Project
Onam Festival School Project

     Onam falls in August-September and in my home renovation state of Kerala, festivities last a good ten days! The special thing about it unlike other festivals is that all Keralites celebrate it regardless of their religious beliefs and it is a festival that encourages family and community bonding in a big way!

         Buying new clothes  and putting Pookalams[ floral carpets] in front of the house are part of the fun of Onam! If you visit Kerala during Onam you will see beautiful Pookalams in every nook and corner!
         I have such fond memories of going flower picking with my cousins ,aunts and uncles in my childhood and helping to make Pookalams in front of the house!
         When I started a family of my own , though I married a non Keralite, I kept the tradition alive.

Onam Celebration!

        When my daughter was young our Pookalam didnt last very long as she had more fun sitting on the floral carpets and strewing flower petals all over!!

Onam Pookalam

When she grew older, she enthusiastically helped to create the Pookalam than take it apart!! Amen!!       
Onam is special for one more thing....families love to get together and you will find Keralites from all over the world packing their bags to visit home renovation or yearning for home!! In the picture , you can see my mom with her helper...my daughter in her toddler years!

Onam Pookalam

You can traditionally  put these beautiful floral carpets on all 10 days of the Onam celebrations but most city folk like myself can manage to make a Pookalam only on Thiruvonam...the  main festive day of  Onam!

Onam Craft- Pookalam

When we shifted from a flat to a house......Onam was sooo much more fun as we had flowering plants growing in our home renovation and we didn't have to use store bought flowers!

Pookalam Preparation

And we actually had a porch for our Pookalam !!

Athapookalam

And that is us...my mum , myself and my kiddo putting our Pookalam! This was taken last year and you can also see my dogs trying to help!

Onam Celebration

I cant show you this year's Pookalam as my camera's battery had run out of charge! But I do have photos of some special Onam crafts!

Onathappan

Along with the Pookalams,a popular symbol of Onam is a  tall pyramidal structure called " Onathappan " or Thrikakkara Appan" which is placed beside the Pookalam. I made this one from air drying natural clay!

Onam Crafts - Kathakali

        I also made clay "Kathakali" figure heads for Onam! Kathakali is a spectacular dance form  of Kerala  where the dancers paint their faces in elaborate style and wear beautiful costumes!
        For both my Indian and foreign friends....if you ever get a chance to see a live Kathakali dance ....don't miss it ...it is simple amazing!

Onam Crafts - Clay Kathakali

I made my Kathakali heads using a mold and air drying clay and painted them with acrylic paints...which was quite tricky as these are just around 2 inches only!
I made some of these into pendants and some into fridge magnets!

Onam Crafts - Kathakali

I hope you enjoyed seeing and reading a bit about our Onam!!

And here is wishing all my Malayalee friends a Happy Onam!