Home > Kerala Villages > Malabar > The vishu festival of Malabar in Ancient Times

The vishu festival of Malabar in Ancient Times

Vishu, like the Onam and Thiruvathira festivals, is a remarkable event amongst us. Its duration is limited to one day. The first of Medom(some day in April)is the unchangeable day on which in its falls. Its origin is almost hopelessly obscured by time. It is practically the astronomical New Years Day and has many aspects in common with what is known as the Holie. This was one of the period when in olden days the subjects of ruling princes or authorities in Malabar under whom their lots were cast, were expected to bring their New Years offerings to such princes. Failure to comply with the said customary and time consecrated demands was visited with royal displeasure resulting in manifold varieties of oppression. The British Government finding this was a great burden pressing rather heavily upon the people, obtained as far back as 1790, a binding promise from those Native Princes that such exaction of presents from the people should be discontinued thereafter. Consequently it is now shorn of much of its ancient sanctity and splendour. But suggestive survivals of the same are still to be found in the presents which tenants and dependants bring to leading families on the day previous to the Vishu, called Sankramam, and in some place on the morning of the Vishu day. But such presents are no longer compulsory in nature, but only permissive with no enforceable penalty attaching to them.

Being thus the commencement of a New Year, native superstition surrounds it which a peculiar solemn importance. It is believed that a man’s whole prosperity in life depends upon the nature, auspicious or otherwise, of the first thing that he happens to fix his eyes upon on this particular morning. According to Nair and even general Hindu Mythology there are certain objects which process an inherent inauspicious character. For instance ashes, firewood, oil and a lot of similar objects are inauspicious ones which will render him who chances to notice them first fare badly in life for the whole year and their obnoxious effects will be removed only on his seeing holy things, such as reigning princes, oxen, cows, gold and such like ones on the morning of the next New Year. Whereas wholesome and favorable consequences can be produced by the sight of auspicious object like those just enumerated. The effect of the sight of these various materials are said to apply even to the attainment of object by a man starting in a special errand who happens for the first time to look at them after starting. However, with this view, almost every family religious takes are to prepare the most sight worthy object on the New Year morning. Therefore, on the previous night they prepare what is known, in native phraseology, as a Vishu Kani – small circular bell metal vessel is taken and some holy objects are systematically arranged inside it. A grandha or old book made of palmyra leaves, a gold ornament, a new – washed clothe, some “unprofitably gay” flowers of the Konna tree, a measure of rice, a so called looking glass made of bell metal, and a few other things, are all tastefully arranged in the vessel and placed in a prominent room inside the house. On either side of this vessel two brass or bell metal lamps filled with coconut oil “clear as diamond sparks” are kept intensely burning and a small plank of wood or some other seat is placed in front of it. At about 5 o’clock in the morning of the day some one who has got up first wakes up the inmates, both male and female, of the house and takes them blindfolded so that they may not gaze at anything else, to the seat near the Vishu Kani. The members are seated one after another in the seat and are then and not till then asked to open their eyes and carefully look at this Vishu Kani. Then each is made to look at some venerable, old grey haired member of the house or sometimes a stranger even. This over, the little playful urchins of the house begin to fire small crackers which they have bought and stored for the occasion. The Vishu Kani is then taken round the place from house to house for the benefit of the poor families which cannot afford to prepare such a costly adornment. With the close of the carelessly confused noise of the crackers the morning breaks and preparations are begun for the morning meal. This meal is in some parts confined to rice kanji with a grand appendage of other eatable substances and in others to ordinary rice and its accompaniments, but in either case on grand scales.

Immediately the day dawns the heads of the families give to almost all the junior members and servants of the household and to wives and children, money-presents varying from 4as. To a rupee or two. Children preserve these presents to serve as their pocket money. In the more numerically large families similar presents are also made by the heads of particular branches of the same family to their juniors, children, wives and servants. These presents are intended to be the forerunners of incomes to them more splendid all the year round.

But one other item connected with the Vishu festival deserves mention. On the evening of the previous day, about four or five o’ clock most well to do families distribute paddy or rice, as the case may be in varying quantities with some other accessories to the family workmen, whether they live on the family-estates or not. In return for this these labourers bring with them for presentation the fruits of their own labours such as vegetables of divers sorts, coconut oil, jaggery, plantains, pumpkins, cucumbers, brinjals etc in ways such as their respective circumstances might permit.

With the close of the noon meal the Vishu festival practically concludes and nothing remains of it for the next day or for the same evening, for that matter. In some families after the noon meals are over, dancing and games of various kinds are carried on, which contribute to the enhancement of the pleasantries incidental to the Vishu festival. As on other prominent occasions, card playing and other games are also resorted to. However, these enjoyments are only of an ephemeral character lasting for only a few hours or at most a day.