Kalaripayattu
Indian Name
Malayalam	കളരിപ്പയറ്റ
Devanagari Devanagari Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...	कळरिप्पयट्
Details
Origin	Kerala Kerala or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions.... , South India South India South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
Styles	Northern, Southern and Central Central Kalaripayattu The Madhya Kalari of kalaripayat is practiced mainly in northern part of kerala although it is not to be mistaken with vadakkan kalari. It is not a composite of the northern and southern forms as in popular beliefs and has its own distinctive techniques, which are performed within floor paths known...

The northern style of kalaripayat places comparatively more emphasis on weapons than on empty hands. Masters in this system are usually known as gurukkal

Gurukkal, Kalarippayattu

Gurukkal is a term used in the Malayalam language which means guru or teacher. Masters or teachers of yoga and kalaripayat are usually referred to as Gurukkal. In kalaripayat the master is also called a "Kalari Gurukkal"...

(or occasionally as asan), and were often given honorific titles, especially Panikkar.

Northern kalaripayat is distinguished by its meippayattu, physical training and use of full-body oil massage. The system of treatment and massage, and the assumptions about practice are closely associated with ayurveda

Ayurveda

Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words , meaning "longevity", and , meaning "knowledge" or "science". The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,...

. The purpose of medicinal oil massage is to increase practitioners' flexibility or to treat muscle injuries incurred during practice. The term for such massages is thirumal and the massage specifically for physical flexibility katcha thirumal.

Lineages (sampradayam) in northern kalaripayat include the arappukai, pillatanni and vattantirippu styles.

History

By oral and written tradition, Parasurama (sixth Avatar

Avatar

In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....

 of Vishnu

Vishnu

Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

) is believed to be the northern style's founder. This legend cannot be substanstiated but kalaripayat is generally believed to have originated in the north of Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

. What eventually crystallized as northern kalaripayat combined indigenous Dravidian techniques like chilambam with the martial practices and ethos brought by migrations from Saurastra and Konkan

Konkan

The Konkan also called the Konkan Coast or Karavali is a rugged section of the western coastline of India from Raigad to Mangalore...

 down the west India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n coast into Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

 and eventually Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

.. Phillip B. Zarrilli, a professor at the University of Exeter and one of the few western authorities on kalaripayat, estimates that the northern style dates back to at least the 12th century CE. The historian Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai attributes the birth of northern kalaripayat to an extended period of warfare between the Cheras

Chera dynasty

Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...

 and the Cholas in the 11th century CE.

From the 11th to 12th centuries the right and duty to practice martial arts

Martial arts

Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

 in the service of a ruler was most associated with specific subgroups of Nair

Nair

Nair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...

s and Ezhava

Ezhava

The Ezhavas are a community with origins in the region presently known as Kerala. They are also known as Ilhava, Irava, Izhava and Erava in the south of the region; as Chovas, Chokons and Chogons in Central Travancore; and as Tiyyas, Thiyas and Theeyas in Malabar...

/Thiyyas (called Chekavar

Chekavar

The Chekavar are a caste with origins in southern India, including Sri Lanka, Kerala and some parts of Tamil Nadu...

s). However, at least one sub caste of Brahmin

Brahmin

Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

s as well as some Christians and Muslims were engaged in practicing kalaripayat. In addition to this, Chekavar

Chekavar

The Chekavar are a caste with origins in southern India, including Sri Lanka, Kerala and some parts of Tamil Nadu...

s were engaged to fight in ankam

Ankam

Ankam means "combat" in the Malayalam language.* Organised single combat between two Ankachekavars. Centuries ago in Kerala, south India, quarrels between local rulers were resolved by fixing an Ankam, or duel, between two Ankachekavars, each ruler being represented by one Ankachekavar...

, public duels to the death to solve disputes between his opposing rules called Vazhunnor. Among some families of the above communities, some young girls also received preliminary training up until the onset of menses. In vadakkan pattukal ballads, at least a few women warriors continued to practice and achieved a high degree of expertise. Ankam

Ankam

Ankam means "combat" in the Malayalam language.* Organised single combat between two Ankachekavars. Centuries ago in Kerala, south India, quarrels between local rulers were resolved by fixing an Ankam, or duel, between two Ankachekavars, each ruler being represented by one Ankachekavar...

 were fought on an ankathattu

Ankathattu

Ankathattu is a Malayalam word identifying a platform constructed temporarily for the purpose of fighting duels. It is a four to six feet high platform constructed in Kerala, South India. Ankam means war in Malayalam language. This platform will be constructed as per the tradition and will be in...

 (a temporary platform) four to six feet high, purpose-built for ankam. The earliest and most detailed account of this art is that of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa

Duarte Barbosa

Duarte Barbosa was a Portuguese writer and Portuguese India officer between 1500 and 1516–17, with the post of scrivener in Cannanore factory and sometimes interpreter of the local language...

(c. 1518).