#malayalam:culture

[guillemelgat]

GUILLEMELGAT’S CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD | കേരളം (Kerala)

A traditional Kerala church is lit up with Christmas lights (source). It’s typical for churches in Kerala to be strung with festive lights during the Christmas season. Around one-fifth of Malayalis are Christian, belonging to a variety of denominations; Christianity has had a presence in Kerala since the 1st century AD.

The altar of a church in Kottayum, Kerala (source). As with many Christian traditions, the most important part of Christmas is the midnight mass. Syrian Christians also often abstain from meat and fish during the Advent period.

A crib, or Nativity scene, set up by local residents for a competition in Peringammala (source). It’s common to set up elaborate Nativity dioramas, called a പുൽക്കൂട് or crib, in front of the house.

A meat curry, one of the foods often eaten for Christmas dinner (source). There is usually a large meal on Christmas, especially if people were abstaining from meat and fish or fasting beforehand. The dishes are usually meat curries, biryanis, or any traditional holiday food similar to what is served at an Onam sadya.

A traditional Syrian Christian snack food which is eaten on Christmas and other holidays (source). Called അച്ചപ്പം, the snack is made from a simple batter that is placed in an elaborate mold and fried.

A Christmas plum cake (source). Another traditional Christmas food is plum cake or fruit cake, which made and shared with friends and neighbors.

Lit-up Christmas stars hanging from a vendor’s stall (source). One of the most emblematic symbols of Christmas for Malayalis are the Christmas stars. Made from paper that has been cut and decorated, and lit up from inside, they are hung all over churches, homes, and towns at Christmas time. The star is meant to be a representation of the star that directed the Three Kings to Jesus in the original Nativity story.

A child holds a sparkler during a celebration in Kerala (source). Like other festivals in Kerala, fireworks and firecrackers are an important part of the Christmas revelry.

Children sing Christmas carols at Pallippurum Church in Ernakulu (source). It’s common from groups of performers to go around the neighborhood singing carols at people’s doors at Christmas time. In fact, the tradition, while largely Christian, is not limited by religion, and members of other religious groups sometimes go caroling as well— Christmas joy is open to all.

(Thanks to this post for being a very helpful jumping off point)

[guillemelgat]

So here’s the gist of the family vocab included in the book, I’m not going to super explain stuff/go into dialectal variation atm because I was planning to do that for a separate post. If you’re confused then survival Malayalam you need to know the words for mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, child, older brother, and older sister – these are ones that I hear a lot (well, at least the variants that my family uses which I’m not going to put here). Other Malayalees, please share what you use/distinctions you make, (especially if you’re not Nayars since that’s what my family is).

കുടുംബം /kuṭumbam/ - family

തറവാട് /taṟavātŭ/ - family house*

അമ്മ /amma/ - mother

അച്ഛൻ /acchan/ - father

മുത്തച്ഛൻ /muttacchan/ - grandfather

മുത്തശ്ശി /muttaśśi/ - grandmother

ചിറ്റപ്പൻ /ciṟṟappan/ - father's younger brother

ഭാര്യ /bhārya/ - wife

ഭര്ത്താവ് /bhartāvŭ/ - husband

കുട്ടി /kuṭṭi/ - child

ആണ്കുട്ടി /ānkuṭṭi/ - boy (lit. male child)

പെണ്കുട്ടി /peṇkuṭṭi/ - girl (lit. female child)

മകൻ /makan/ - son

മകൾ /makaḷ/ - daughter

ചേട്ടൻ /cēṭṭan/ - older brother

അനിയൻ /aniyan/ - younger brother

ചേച്ചി, ചേടത്തി /cēcci, cēṭatti/ - older sister

ചേടത്തി അമ്മ /cēṭatti amma/ - wife of oldest brother**

അമ്മാവൻ, അമ്മാമൻ /ammāvan, ammāman/ - uncle

അമ്മാവി, അമ്മായി /ammāvi, ammāyi/ - aunt

മരുമകൻ /marumakan/ - nephew or son-in-law

അളിയൻ /aḷiyan/ - brother-in-law

* - Here's Wikipedia's explanation of what this is

** - the wife of the head of the Tharavad/family house, since Nayars are matriarchal she's very important

[guillemelgat]

വിഷൂ ആശംസകള് / Happy Vishu!

Vishu (വിഷൂ /viṣū/) is the Malayali new year! It’s the first day of മെടം (meṭam), and always falls on April 14 or 15 of the Gregorian calendar. On Vishu, it’s traditional to make a കണി /kaṇi/, which is sort of like an offering tray. Actually, though, കണി comes from the verb “to see” and that’s because it’s the first thing that you’re supposed to see in the new year – and the first thing you see decides how your year is going to go, so you have to make sure to put out good things! One important component is a golden flower called കണിക്കൊന്ന /kaṇikonna/, which according to my dad signifies gold or prosperity. In the US we don’t have kani konna so we usually use forsythia instead. In the picture above I’ve used a photo I took of some forsythia in my neighborhood a few days ago, and that’s one of the reasons why forsythia is so great – it starts blooming right around when Vishu happens. Another important item on the tray is a mirror, so that you are the first person you see, and therefore (according to my dad) you can’t blame what happens to you on anyone else. Besides that, food, clothes, and money are commonly put there as well. Other Vishu traditions include getting new clothes, eating a big meal called a സദ്യ (sadya), and setting off firecrackers – basically, just typical new years’ stuff. It’s a really nice holiday though, and I wish all my Malayali followers a very happy Vishu <3

[guillemelgat]

Image credit: Vaikom Temple Sreekovil Murals, Sivavkm on Wikimedia

For the tl90days challenge this week, I’m learning about Kerala mural paintings, which are a form of frescoes painted on the walls of South Indian (primarily Kerala) temples depicting scenes from Hindu mythology. Here is some vocabulary related to them, please let me know if you catch mistakes!

കേരളത്തിലെ ചുമർ ചിത്രങ്ങൾ /kēraḷattile cumar citraṅṅaḷ/ - Kerala mural painting

കരിങ്കല്ല് /kariṅkallŭ/ - granite

ചെങ്കല്ല് /ceṅkallŭ/ - laterite

നിർമ്മാണം /nirmmāṇam/ - construction

നിറക്കൂട്ട്‌ /niṛakkūṭṭŭ/ - coloring

ചുവപ്പ്‌ /cuvappŭ/ - red

മഞ്ഞ /mañña/ - yellow

നീല /nīla/ - blue

പച്ച /pacca/ - green

കറുപ്പ്‌ /karuppŭ/ - black

വെള്ള /veḷḷa/ - white

ഹിന്ദുമതം /hindumatam/ - Hinduism

ക്ഷേത്രം /kṣētram/ - temple

കൊട്ടാരം /koṭṭāram/ - palace

[guillemelgat]

ഓണാശംസകൾ! / HAPPY ONAM!

Onam or ഓണം (ōṇam) is a holiday celebrated in Kerala in late August/early September (the date in the Gregorian calendar tends to vary). It’s a harvest festival, and while the mythology surrounding it is Hindu, it’s generally celebrated as a secular holiday across the state. One of the traditions for Onam is making flower mandalas, called pookkalam or പൂക്കളം (pūkkaḷam), like the one in this drawing! Pookkalam can be very creative (I’ve made one in the shape of a turtle before) or more traditional, and can be made every day leading up to Onam; it’s one of the few traditions I’ve participated in, so it’s very close to my heart. Other Onam festivities include the sadhya or സാധ്യ (sādhya), a lunchtime feast served on a traditional banana leaf, and lots of parades/dancing/boat races/etc etc. All in all, it’s definitely the most important holidays in Kerala, and one all Malayalam learners should know about :)

[guillemelgat]

This isn’t a translation per-se, but my dad showed me this song and tried to translate it a bit (he said he only understood about 60% so idk). It’s about Kozhikode/Calicut, which is a city in Kerala (and apparently a center for Mappila Muslims, the Muslim community in Kerala).

കോഴിക്കോട് /kōḻikkōd/ is the usual pronunciation of the city but she pronounces it /kōyikkōdŭ/.

മുത്ത് /muttŭ/ - pearl, കടൽ /kaṭal/ - sea; she’s saying that Kozhikode is the pearl of the sea

Okay for some of these I’m going with the Latin-script lyrics so can’t give the spelling in Malayalam:

chengaye - this is Kozhikode dialect and means something like buddy/pal/bro/comrade/etc

vayaru nirachu kayichoo - eating plantain chips, she turns all the “ഴ”s into a /y/ sound, so it would be വഴ and കഴിചു

She also talks about eating biryani in the next couple of lines, and that you’ll eat well in Kozhikode

The next verse is about narrow streets or something?? And then about beaches....aaaand I think that’s about where we stopped

Anyway this was probably not very helpful but it was interesting to sort of get some new words, and the song is cute and wholesome ^-^