The historical significance of Kalari

Kalari

Kalari is a martial art form that originated in Kerala, the southern part of India. Kalari and Kalaripayattu are closely connected to Kerala history, considered the oldest Indian martial arts, spanning over 3000 years. Kalari and Kalaripayattu is an indigenous martial art practice that contains rituals and philosophies inspired by Hinduism and bases medical treatments upon concepts found in the ancient Indian medical text, the Ayurveda and the rule of Yoga. Kalarippayattu, the guru (teacher), not only teaches you to hurt but heal. The fantastic combination of hurt and healing is essential to the Kalarippayattu directly connected to Ayurveda.

In Vadakkan Pattukal, a collection of ballads written about Chekavar of the Malabar region of Kerala, Kalarippayattu is mentioned as a rigorous practice to protect poor people and the self. The martial training led someone to develop physical stability and psychological harmony, reaching eternal spiritual life. Kalari (means “battlefield”) is designed for the antique battlefield with weapons and aggressive techniques uniquely available in Kerala. Kalari is the practice taught in the system of Guru-Shishya style, an ancient Indian teaching system.

With the elements of dance and Yoga, Kalarippayattu treats it as performing art incorporated with contemporary dance and theatre.

Scholars give different accounts of Kalari related to the mythical story of Parashurama. Parashurama learned this art form from Lord Shiva, and teaching it to the original settlers of Kerala is the most prominent one. Parashurama established 108 Kalari throughout Kerala and the 21 Kalari Gurus (teachers). Based on Puranic myth, the land of Kerala emerged from waters with the help of Parashurama, and he taught the martial art to the people of this land for self-protection and the security of the land.

The earliest history of Kalari, founded in Dhanurveda, is a Upaveda. According to A Sreedharan Menon, a historian of Kerala, Kalarippayattu was the most critical aspect of feudalism in Kerala in the medieval period. In medieval Kerala, every village had its Kalari and the Bhagavathy; after the regular academic studies in local schools, they would join the Kalari for military training. British authors mentioned Kalari as a distinguished martial art form, and many well-known trained warriors revolted against British rule in the 18th-19th century. Raja of Pazhassi is the most crucial figure of this revolt; he is a member of the Kottayam royal family who openly challenged British authority in 1795. After the rebellion of Pazhassi Raja, the British rule banned Kalari in 1804, which led to the close of most of the Kalari schools in Kerala.

But the famous school preserved and taught students secretly, and after the 1920s resurgence of public interest in Kalaripayattu gave a new mode of popularity. The wave of rediscovery of the traditional arts throughout the Indian sub-continent continued through the 1970s and reached a global interest in martial arts.