The Festival of Aranmula Boat Race

Today we attended a boat race on the Pampa River. It was great fun. And, apparently, the entire population of Kerala agrees because I swear the entire population of Kerala was there. The bank of the river was a sea of colorful saris and black umbrellas. We were there all afternoon to watch the snake boats race down the river. (Check out the pictures.)

The boat races are a Hindu tradition, and there is a neat story behind them. It starts with the Aranmula Temple. This is a temple dedicated to Lord Krishna, the incarnation of Vindu, the great Hindu god of sustaining. (There are millions of Gods in Hindu mythology, but there is a supreme trinity of gods; Vishnu is one of them.)

Now, the Aranmula Temple had land properties in nearby villages; one of these was the village of Naranganam. Once, during paddy harvest season, the landlords of Naranganam were measuring the harvest in a paddy field. A poor, low caste woman waited to get some paddy as a tip. She waited until the evening but was completely ignored by the landlords. She had been starving for days.

That night, the poor woman lay down in a field, and, by the next morning, she was dead. Thereafter, misfortunes began to fall upon Aranmula and the landlords under the temple. It was revealed that it was the divine curse caused by the death of the poor woman. So, it was suggested that feasts should be given to the public – regardless of religion, caste, or financial status – every year. The provisions for the feast were transported in a procession of boats from a village called Kattoor to the Aranmula Temple. The procession became a colorful and artistic manifestation of a boat race, accompanied by the chanting of songs in special tunes and rhythms. The practice of giving a feast to the public is still practiced, but the boat races are now mainly for sport.
The boats (called snake boats for their shape) belong to the villages, and as many as 150 men may be rowing in one boat at a time. The songs that they sing as they row both give praise to Lord Krishna and help to keep all of these men rowing together and in time. There are boat races all over Kerala now, and the one on the Pampa River is one of the smaller ones, with about 40 boats. What a sight…really, check out the pictures!