The word Kalari means battle ground in Tamil. The traditional training of Kalarippayattu, a martial
art of Tamil Nadu & Kerala states in south
India, is always done inside the Kalari (literally, threshing floor or battlefield),
which is a specially constructed practice area. Payattu means 'exercise in arms or practice'.
Every Kalari has a Puttara (meaning "platform where flowers are kept" in the
Malayalam language). It's a seven tiered platform placed in the south-west corner of
every Kalari, housing the guardian deity of the Kalari. The seven tiers symbolise the seven abilities that each person must
possess: Vignesva (strength), Channiga (patience), Vishnu (power to command), Vadugashcha (the posture), Tadaguru (training),
Kali (the expression) and Vakasta - purushu (sound). Other deities, most of them incarnations of the Bhagavathi or Shiva, are
installed in the corners. Flowers, incense and water are offered to the deity every day. Before starting the day's practice, it
is the norm for practitioners to pray to the deity. Not only is the Kalari a temple of learning, but it is also a temple of
religious worship with a cult and ritual of its own.
There is also a Guruthara inside all kalaris. Guruttara means "the
place where a lamp is kept burning in reverence to all the gurus (masters) of
the kalari".
Construction of a Kalari
Traditionally the Kalari is constructed by digging a hollow in the ground forming a sunken area four feet in depth, forty-two
feet in length and twenty-one feet in breadth. This is usually called KuzhiKalari. Kuzhi means "portions formed by caving
in the earth" in the Malayalam language.
The entrance to the Kalari is in the east, to let in the morning sunlight, and leads into the forty-two foot leg running
East-West while the twenty-one foot leg runs North-South. Another consideration taken when constructing the kalari is that it is
built in the south-west side of the main plot, just like the puttara which is kept in the
South-West corner of the Kalari itself. The floor of the Kalari is leveled using mud.
AnkaKalari and Ankathattu
Ankathattu is a four to six feet high platform constructed temporarily for the
purpose of fighting duels. Ankam means war in the Malayalam
language. This platform is constructed as per tradition and is in the center of the ground from where people can watch the fight.
This place altogether is called AnkaKalari.
A few centuries back in Kerala, south India, quarrels
between local rulers were resolved by fixing an Ankam, a duel to the death, between two Ankachekavars, each ruler
being represented by one Ankachekavar. The ruler represented by the surviving Ankachekavar was considered the
winner.
Kalari in literary works
Information about Kalari is found in the literary work of Tamil language
named Purananuru'.'The word "kalari" appears in the Puram (verses 225, 237, 245, 356) and
Akam (verses 34, 231, 293) to describe to both a battlefield and combat arena. .It tells about the talents of
TamilKings of the following dynasties ,namely Cheras,Cholas & Pandyas in Kalari.This literary work in Tamil dates back the origin of Malayalamlanguage.Though Kalari was [[created]] by
Tamils the credit of preserving Kalari goes to the people of kerala ,todays
Malyalese ,who were once Tamils during the rule of Tamil emperors of Chera dynasty.
See also
http://www.tamilnation.org/heritage/martial.htm
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