Kalaripayattu: Kerala’s Ancient Martial Art and Marma Medicine Tradition

1.1 What is Kalaripayattu?

This art is also spelled Kalarippayattu. It mixes weapon skills, bare-hand fighting and a study of the body’s vital points.

1.2 How old is it?

Nobody knows for sure. The exact time of its origin cannot be fixed. Historians place its birth anywhere between 200 BCE and 600 CE. Recent research traces its roots to the Sangam period, 600 to 300 BCE.

1.2b Is it 3000 years old?

Some pages say it is more than 3000 years old. Treat that as a claim, not a proven date.

1.3 What does the legend say?

Legend credits Lord Parashurama. He is said to have built 108 kalaris and trained 21 gurus. Historians do not accept this story as history. It is a tradition, and exams may still ask about it.

1.4 When was it most popular?

Its popularity peaked between the 14th and 16th centuries. The late medieval period is called its golden era. The art was taught in almost every village, it seems.

2.1 What is a kalari?

A kalari is the training hall. The word also means a gymnasium. Kalaris stood near Devi temples. The master was called a Kuruppu or Gurukkal.

2.2 What does a kalari look like?

A typical kalari is a rectangular pit. It is 42 feet long and 21 feet broad. The pit is six feet deep. A thatched roof covers it. The pit keeps the body cool during hard exercise.

2.3 What is the poothara?

The poothara is a small seven-tiered altar. It stands at the south-western corner of the kalari. Goddess Bhadrakali, the patron deity, is worshipped there with flowers. Some kalaris have five or nine tiers.

3.1 How does training begin?

Training begins with an oil massage. Students are typically started at around the age of seven. They first learn steps, stances and techniques before they touch a weapon.

3.2 What are the four stages?

Training has four stages. These are Meythari, Kolthari, Ankathari and Verumkai. The easy way to remember them is body, wood, steel and bare hands.

Sources: Kerala Tourism (two pages).

3.3 Which comes first, weapons or bare hands?

Weapons come first. In Kerala Kalaripayattu, weapon training is taught before bare-hand fighting. This is a special feature of Kerala Kalaripayattu.

4.1 What are the two styles?

Kerala has two main styles. The Northern style is Vadakkan Kalari. The Southern style is Thekkan Kalari.

Sources: Kerala Tourism (two pages).

4.2 What about a middle style?

Some people say a mid-Kerala style also exists. The Kerala government’s art-form page calls Madhya Kalari a regional variation of the main styles. Another page lists three styles. So the safe answer is two main styles, with a disputed third.

4.3 Which weapons are used?

The first weapon is a wooden stick. Later come the long staff, short stick, curved stick, sword and shield, spear, dagger and mace. The urumi is a flexible sword.

5.1 What is a marma?

A marma is a vital point of the body. A hard blow there can harm a person badly. Students learn marmas so they can use them with care and treat the injury they cause.

5.2 Where does marma knowledge come from?

It belongs to Marmashastra, a part of Shalyatantra. That is one of the eight divisions of Ayurveda. The Kerala Tourism page says Sushruta and Sage Agastya wrote on it. Read about Sushruta for the old medical link.

5.3 How many marmas are there?

The southern tradition counts 108 marmas. The northern tradition counts 107. When an exam gives a number, check which tradition it names.

5.4 How are injuries treated?

The Kalari system has three kinds of massage. These are oil massage, massage with hands, and massage with feet. Marma lessons come late in training. They are taught after the student has learnt armed combat.

6.1 Why did the British ban it?

The British feared a revolt. The art was banned in the 19th century. One account says the ban followed the Kottayathu War. That was a rebellion led by Pazhassi Raja.

6.2 When was it banned?

Sources give different years. Al Jazeera says 1804. Open magazine says around 1805. The safe answer for an exam is the early 19th century. The art survived underground.

6.3 How did it come back?

It resurfaced in the 1920s in Thalassery, in Kannur district. It saw a major revival in the 1970s. Kerala Tourism names C.V. Narayanan Nair and Kottackal Kanaran among those who revived it.

6.4 What recognition does it have today?

By December 2015 the government had recognised the Indian Kalarippayattu Federation as a Regional Sports Federation. This is not the same as a National Sports Federation.

6.4b Is it in the Khelo India Games?

Yes. It was one of four indigenous games added to the Khelo India Youth Games 2021, held in Haryana. The others were Gatka, Thang-Ta and Mallakhamba.

6.5 How is it linked to dance?

Kathakali has adapted Kalaripayattu techniques and massages to train its actors. Read the Kathakali article for more.

7.1 What are the Vadakkan Pattukal?

These are the Northern Ballads of Kerala. They tell of battles and of feuds between families. The fights were fought with the help of experts in Kalaripayattu.

7.2 Which heroes do they praise?

Famous names are Thacholi Othenan, Aromal Chekavar and Unniyarcha. Unniyarcha is the celebrated woman warrior. She belonged to the Nair and Thiyya communities. Other sources also mention women warriors who matched men.

7.3 Is there a southern ballad tradition?

Yes. The Thekkan Pattukal are the ballads of South Kerala. They also tell of battles and feuds.

8.1 What traps repeat?

• Which state? Kerala. Other martial arts such as Gatka (Punjab) and Thang-Ta (Manipur) are often given as wrong options.
• Which stage? Know the order: Meythari, Kolthari, Ankathari, Verumkai. Steel weapons are Ankathari.
• Which federation? Kalaripayattu has Regional Sports Federation status, not National.
• Which year? Sources differ on the ban year. Expect “early 19th century” or the 1804/1805 range.

8.2 How should you remember it?

Link the place to the stages. Kerala has the kalari. The kalari has a poothara in the south-west. The student moves from body to wood to steel to bare hands.