Martial Arts Of The World - Webs

Kalarippayattu
Kalarippayattu (Malayalam; kalari, place of training; payattu, exercise) is
a compound term first used in the twentieth century to identify the traditional
martial art of Kerala State, southwestern coastal India. Dating from
at least the twelfth century in the forms still practiced today, but with roots
in both the Tamil and Dhanur Vedic martial traditions, kalarippayattu was
practiced throughout the Malayalam-speaking southwestern coastal region
of India (Kerala State and contiguous parts of Coorg District, Karnataka),
where every village had its own kalari for the training of local fighters under
the guidance of the gurukkal (honorific, respectful plural of guru) or
asan (teacher). Martial masters also administer a variety of traditional
Ayurvedic physical/massage therapies for muscular problems and conditions
affecting the “wind humor,” and set broken bones. According to oral
and written tradition, the warrior-sage Parasurama, who was the founder
of Kerala, is also credited with the founding of the first kalari and subsequent
lineages of teaching families. Between the twelfth century and the beginning
of British rule in 1792, the practice of kalarippayattu was especially
associated with subgroups of Hindu Nayars whose duty it was to
serve as soldiers and physical therapists at the behest of the village head,
district ruler, or local raja, having vowed to serve him to death as part of
his retinue. Along with Nayars, some Cattar (or Yatra) Brahmans, one subgroup
of the Ilava caste given the special title of chekor, as well as some
Christians and Sufi Muslims, learned, taught, and practiced the martial art.
Among at least some Nayar and Ilava families, young girls also received
preliminary training until the onset of menses. We know from the local
“Northern Ballads” that at least a few women students of noted Nayar and
Ilava masters continued to practice and achieved a high degree of expertise.
Some Ilava practitioners served the special role of fighting duels
(ankam) to the death to resolve disputes and schisms among higher-caste
extended families.
There was an almost constant state of low-grade warfare among local
rulers from the twelfth century onward. Warfare erupted for a variety of
reasons, from caste differences to pure and simple aggression. One example
of interstate warfare that exemplifies the ideal bond between Nayar martial
artists and their rulers is the well-documented dispute between the Zamorin
of Calicut and the raja of Valluvanadu over which was to serve as convener
of the great Mamakam festival held every twelve years. This “great” festival
celebrated the descent of the goddess Ganga into the Bharatappuzha
River in Tirunavayi, in northern Malabar. Until the thirteenth century, when
the dispute probably arose, the ruler of Valluvanadu possessed the right of
inaugurating and conducting the festival. The Zamorin set out to usurp this
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