| Kalaripayattu | |
|---|---|
| Indian Name | |
| Malayalam | കളരിപ്പയറ്റ |
| Devanagari | कळरिप्पयट् |
| Details | |
| Origin | Kerala, South India |
| Styles | Northern, Southern and Central |
The northern style of kalaripayat places comparatively more emphasis on weapons than on empty hands.[1] Masters in this system are usually known as gurukkal (or occasionally as asan), and were often given honorific titles, especially Panikkar.[1]
Northern kalaripayat is distinguished by its meippayattu, physical training and use of full-body oil massage.[1] The system of treatment and massage, and the assumptions about practice are closely associated with ayurveda.[1] The purpose of medicinal oil massage is to increase practitioners' flexibility or to treat muscle injuries incurred during practice. The term for such massages is thirumal and the massage specifically for physical flexibility katcha thirumal.[2]
Lineages (sampradayam) in northern kalaripayat include the arappukai, pillatanni and vattantirippu styles.[1]
By oral and written tradition, Parasurama (sixth Avatar of Vishnu) is believed to be the northern style's founder.[1] This legend cannot be substanstiated but kalaripayat is generally believed to have originated in the north of Kerala. What eventually crystallized as northern kalaripayat combined indigenous Dravidian techniques like Silambam with the martial practices and ethos brought by migrations from Saurastra and Konkan down the west Indian coast into Karnataka and eventually Kerala.[1]. Phillip B. Zarrilli, a professor at the University of Exeter and one of the few western authorities on kalaripayat, estimates that the northern style dates back to at least the 12th century CE.[1] The historian Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai attributes the birth of northern kalaripayat to an extended period of warfare between the Cheras and the Cholas in the 11th century CE.[1]
From the 11th to 12th centuries the right and duty to practice martial arts in the service of a ruler was most associated with specific subgroups of Nairs and Ezhava/Thiyyas (called Chekavars). However, at least one sub caste of Brahmins as well as some Christians and Muslims were engaged in practicing kalaripayat.[1] In addition to this, Chekavars were engaged to fight in ankam, public duels to the death to solve disputes between his opposing rules called Vazhunnor.[1] Among some families of the above communities, some young girls also received preliminary training up until the onset of menses.[1] In vadakkan pattukal ballads, at least a few women warriors continued to practice and achieved a high degree of expertise.[1] Ankam were fought on an ankathattu (a temporary platform) four to six feet high, purpose-built for ankam. The earliest and most detailed account of this art is that of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa (c. 1518).[1]
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