SNAKE BOATS

Snake Boats in Kerala (Chundan Vallam)

Hi Friends, we have been boasting ourselves for being a Malayalee or a Keralite. We've been inviting our friends from abroad to come and experience the softness of this God's own country, for the last many years. But do you think that we know the minutest details of our culture and tradition...then definitely, you might know about the Snake boats in Kerala and the Snake boat races.

For those who are not aware about this phenomenal artistic invention let me give you a brief on that.

Snake Boat race in Kerala (Vallam Kali)
More than 100 experienced oarsmen in decorative garbs propel the boat to the beat of drums and songs. The unified action of sixteen feet long oars at the helm to rudder the boat, from a height of eight feet above the water, is decisive to win the race. The raising and dipping of the oars in unison, gives to the onlooker a thrilling sight of a bird in flight and that is a Snake boat.

The front portion of a snake boat is known as vetithadi. A windscreen known as kaattumara, is a place where wind can hardly enter. Snake boat has made use of this wind proof platform for the singers and instrumentalists to stand there.

The stern of a vessel, or the helm is called Amaram. The helmsman who steers the boat is the Amarakkaran. The curl at its stern (helm) represents the raised hood of a snake. The boat with a height from the water level at the rear, a width of six feet, a length of about 60-65 meters and the curl at the stern qualifies the boat to be called a snake boat, and its carrying capacity is hundred plus during the race time. The majestically caparisoned stern that is decorated with a flag and elaborate shining brass ornaments. The entire length of the boat is arrayed with silken multi-coloured ornate parasols. With 95 paddlers, 5 helmsmen and 10 nilakkar it resembles a snake, while on the move. The role of nilakkar is to enhance the vigour and enthusiasm of the paddlers

The boats in Kerala owe their name to their shapes, sizes or purposes. Prow is a nautical word that denotes the front part of a ship's hull, the bow. Owing to the curl at the stern, the boat earned its name chundan vallam. It is both a passenger boat as well as a kind of race boat.

Ornamental carvings in coils at the prow and stern of the country boats are known as churul. This curled or coiled carving at its prow and stern earned it the namechurulan vallam. Churulan, along with cheru chundan, parunthuvalan, odi vallam and chundan vallom, also belongs to the kaliyodam, kali vallom, kali vanchi category of race boats used for the vallom kali, one among the sports of the village folk in Kerala.

Tradition behind the Snake boats
The chundan vallams (Snake Boats) built for Onam boat race is taken to the water only during the Onam festival. A village owned the boats and kept them in special sheds. The villages compete with each other to own bigger and better boats, needed to win the race. The highly ornate tall stern like the Viking boats, that rises six to eight feet above the water, is gracefully carved and elaborately decorated with shining brass ornaments and silken multicolored tasseled umbrellas. There may be more than twenty boats taking part in the regatta. Of them, some boats will be more than 50 feet long and 6 feet wide. Chundan vallams, also called snake boats, were originally designed as a naval vessel and served as the traditional battle vessels of the Maharajas.

A tubular vessel in which the boatmen preserve condiments, spices etc is kumpam. Veppuvallam is valiya vallam. There is a boat by name veppu/ Vaippu vallam. Veppu pura is the place where cooking is done. Provision for cooking in this boat won it the name veppu vallam. Its passenger capacity is about 40-45 persons. Its one end is higher than the level of the other end. These boats were designed as catering vessels to accompany battle vessels in olden times.

Palliyodam
A snake boat, in the service of the temple is known as palliyodam, which means the boat that belongs to the Lord. In the beginning, on the main day of the festival, 48 palliyodam of the 48 karas, from Chennithala in the west to Ranni in the east, participated in the festival. Now this has been reduced to thirty-two snake boats representing 32 villages. Adorned elaborately with decorations, the boats are manoeuvered in such a way as to view the Parthasarathy temple, on the banks of the Pampa . The oarsmen, wearing white dhotis and covering heads with scarfs, row the boats in rhythm to the tunes of hymns composed for the purpose.

Boats are built with the liberal donation of the devotees, in accordance with the specifications laid down in ancient scripture on odam/ wooden boat building. It takes 650 man-days to build a single snake boat. The hull made out of wooden planks is 83 feet in length and six inches thick. This 150 feet long boat can hold 100 men. The head and tail are constructed in such a way as to project out five and three feet, respectively, above the water. The boat provides seating compartments on a raised platform for 64 oarsmen who represent 64 art forms. Four master oarsmen, who symbolize the four Vedas, control the direction of the boat with large oars. The platform in the middle of the boat facilitates eight people to stand. They represent the Ashtadikpalakas (devas), who guard the eight directions.

Snake Boat Races -Celebration in Kerala:
During Onam, boat races are held at Alleppy, Thrikkunnapuzha, Edathua, Payippadu, Champakulam, Karuvatta, Ernakulam, and Kottayam which are supposed to be the popular ones, eventhough, there are a lot of other small races happening in the kuttanad area of Alleppy district . Snake Boat races festivals are held in many venues in Kerala , India , but the races in Alappuzha held just before the Onam festival are the best known. Teams of rowers compete for the Nehru Trophy. The Snake Boats or Chundanvallams, can seat up to 100-110 people. The rowers pull with all their might, sitting two in row along the length of the Snake Boat. The boats float low in the water and have a long curving stern. The prow is pointed in shape or may have a decorative knob at the end. The prow rides low in the water with the length of the Snake Boat extending behind it. Apart from rowers, the Snake boat carries a cox, and leaders who maintain the rhythm of rowing through chants, songs and exclamations. You can see the amazing Snake Boats of Kerala on Kerala tours with Kerala Backwater.

The excitement of the Snake Boat Races has to be experienced to be appreciated. All around you can see people jumping into the water with excitement. The experienced commentators like Ayaparambu Sadashivan pillai's commentary could work like a catalyst to the excitement of the crowd. The commentators would even make loud noises through the microphone which could even make you feel the water getting electrified.

Vanchipattu
These highly rhythmic songs were created to keep up the spirits of the boatsmen . The rhythm of these songs blend perfectly with the movement of the oars and to keep up devotional, mythological or relating to rustic life styles. Every snake boat has about ten singers keeping time with traditional percussion instruments. These songs have devotional, mythological or rustic themes. Every snake boat has about twenty-five singers and the rhythm of their songs is perfectly blended with the movement of the oars. The mariner's song (kappal paattu) is a kind of philosophic song.

Vallasadya
This is a grant feast, being given to the oars men before the race. This feast will be served in one full banana leaf in the traditional style. This comprises of unpolished rice, lots of Non-veg curries like beef and a little Vegetarian curry. There are chances for the onlookers to participate in this feast with the oars men.

Snake boats in Kerala | Snake boats and Hindu Mythology | Nehru Trophy