10:35 PM
Praveen
This is interesting article on celebration of Onam in Malaysia, from the Star. I thought Onam was a festival steeped in religion, but looks like its celebrated by Malayalees of different faith as well. Learnt something new today.
Kerala in southern India celebrates the Onam festival this week. The harvest festival is celebrated by all Keralites regardless of race, religion and creed for over 10 days. This year, in conjunction with the holy month of Ramadan, StarMetro takes a look at the celebrations by the Malayalee Muslims.
MUSLIMS from all over the world are immersed in Ramadan, but for the Muslims of Kerala the added joy of the Onam festival makes celebrating fasting month sweeter.
Onam, is the most celebrated event in Kerala that lasts 10 days and is filled with activities including boat races, floral carpet designs called Pookalam and ends with the Thiruonam day on Aug 23.
The story behind the cultural festival revolves around King Mahabali who once ruled Kerala. The revered king visits Kerala every year during Onam and his subjects organise the celebrations to welcome Mahabali home.
For the Muslim community, the day starts with special prayers in the mosque known as Palli in Malayalam. In Malaysia, there are several Malabar mosques including Kuala Lumpur’s very own Surau Hidhayatul Islam in Selayang Baru. Special prayers for buka puasa are also held in poor homes in the spirit of Onam.
“Since it is the fasting month, there would be no elaborate celebrations. After the night Terawih prayers, a family gathering would be organised without a feast,” said N. R. Nambiar, the honorary general secretary of the All Malaysia Malayalee Association (Amma).
On Thiruonam day, the most important part of the celebrations is the Onasadhya, a complete banana leaf meal with vegetarian dishes.
Malayalee Muslims or better known as Moplahs serve several dishes, including the traditional Pathiri with Chicken Curry or Dum briyani after their Terawih prayers.
Pathiri is a bread similar to naan while Dum Briyani — the briyani rice is wedged between coal fire on the top of the pot and fire at the bottom.
Traditional: A model wearing the costume worn by Muslim women called the Mundu.
Across Kerala, Malayalees all share the “Mundu” a traditional costume of white cloth with broad gold borders but the draping style differs according to the religious background.
The Muslim women wear the “Mundu” with coloured border, blouses with long sleeves called “kuppayam” and a head gear called “thattam”.
REad more on (original post )on:http://poobalan.com/blog/religion/2010/08/23/onam-wishes-2/
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