Every year on the second Saturday in August, the town of Allapuzha (or Allepey), Kerala — the “Venice of the East” — hosts the Nehru Trophy Boat Race. 
The boats used in the comptetition are traditional “snake boats” or “Chundan Vallam”. The boats have as many as 120 oarsmen, and have a large hood in the rear that rises twenty feet in the air, which resembles a cobra’s head. I’m not quite sure what the function of this hood is from a “boat science” perspective, but these boat races are both ancient and highly ritualized, and I get the feeling no one is thinking about a fiberglass redesign. Anyway, the snake boats look pretty cool; see more snake boat images.
For the first time this year, a team of 10 foreign women of various nationalities came from Dubai to participate in the women’s race. The foreign team was led by a British woman named Julie Amer, who describes herself as an “adventure tourist.” The team from Dubai worked together with 25 local Allapuzha women — and their boat came in first in the women’s race.
Two thoughts: 1) It’s cool that the women race in Saris (or are they Mundus?). 2) I love the umbrella; I wonder if it’s only for the women’s boats?
The winner in the men’s competition, for the third year in a row, was the “Payippad Boat Club.” Threepeat! The “Jesus Boat Club” came in second in its first appearance, according to the Hindu.
About 300,000 people went to Allapuzha to watch the race this year. Among them were about 5000 foreigners.
go women 🙂
also would love to watch this…the rickshaw races… they mentioned it in this month’s DELTA airlines in flight magazine 🙂
I was in Alappuzha the week before the race and the fact that these women were going to participate seemed to be the talk of the town…
VallamKalli shoutout W00t!!!
My dad used to row for our village’s boat until just a few years ago. The “hood” at the rear of the boat is where the large oars (which serve as rudders) are situated. The middle of the boat is where the bulk of the rowers sit. I’m not sure what wood is used to make the boats (I’m guessing palm) but I know that before the races, they are slicked with fish oil and ash. I’ve been on the boats although I’ve never rowed – my overly protective father refused to expose his kids to the real danger of being rammed by another boat in the race.
On the origins of the races – my father tells me that in the old days (when the rivers were the main mode of transportation) pilgrims going to the ancient temple at Shabarimala were often attacked and robbed. Snake boats initially provided security for the pilgrims – one from each village – before they began to organize races for their own amusement. Even today, the VallamKalli (boat games) begins with a trip to the temple at Shabarimala. The rivalries between the different villages are sometimes bitter and even occasionally violent.
One of the best things about the races are the songs which are chanted (by all of the oarsmen) to provide – from what I remember they are a mixture of the epic and local stories that are passed down orally – I’ve never heard them being sung outside the context of the races. I remember the night our village won the Aramulla VallamKalli (the biggest of the three traditional races) and the rowers brought the trophy and cake to my grandfather’s house at night with (fire)torches, chanting the songs. It was amazing!
Those are traditional umbrellas; have seen them in temples, at weddings, and at other celebratory events. I assume they’d be on every boat.
nice post
While they row, from my experience of watching the Bangladeshi version of boat racing, it’s an amazing show of concerted movements of a hundred hands, pretty much an art form itself. Magnificent vigour! Why don’t you try adding some action shots?
Kuttanadan Punchayilee… tthi.. tthai.. thaka..tthai thom!! Kochu Pennne… Kuyiralee..tthi.. tthai.. thaka..tthai thom Kottu venam..kural venam.. kurava venam…!! O’… tthi.. tthi..tthara…tthi.. tthi..tthara..tthi.. tthai.. thaka..tthai thom!!
Chundan Vallam rules.
Peace.
Tasneem, I would love to add some snake boat racing action shots, if I could find some good ones. I get the feeling there isn’t a special, photographers’ boat on the lake with the racing boats — most of the images are of the boats on shore before the race starts.
And Badmash, thanks for adding your first-hand knowledge! (Somehow I always thought you were Punjabi…)
ahh..brings back memories of when i was young..my grandparents house is on the river..so we always had front row seats to the race. Maybe next year we can get some white guys in saris too..
Snakes on a plane, snakes on a boat…
Cliff – don’t make me come over there and throw an oar at you. 🙂
Everyone knows that Koipuarm Vallam rocks – Thi.. Thai.. Thaka..Thai Thai.. Thom!!!
Everyone knows that Koipuarm Vallam rocks
Rock on bro’……whatever rocks your boat ;-). Makes no difference to me….I thought all “vallams” were “Chundan” for some reason( grew up in Central India).
Sorry if this strays from the article’s tone, but I was curious about the number of Buddhists in India, is it growing/declining? Also, I know India is seen as a great opportunity for Evangelical Christians to “witness” their faith(the white ladies stewarding the jesus boat can attest to that assertion), especially towards the marginalized Dalit community, but what efforts are Buddhism and other Vedic religions(Jainism, Sikhism, Hinduism, etc.) taking to proselytize their faiths?
You’re absolutely right — the big ones are called Chundan Vallams. During the races, there are always a few drunk badmaashes in kochuchu (small one-man) vallams putzing around on the river — part of the amusement is watching these guys avoiding the patrolling police boats. They’re kinda like unofficial rodeo clowns. Interestingly enough, when two boats ram each other, these kochchu vallams play a key role in rescuing the rowers.
Wikipedia article on the vallams here
Badmash, doesn’t “vallum” mean water? And “vanji” boat?
vellum -> water vallum -> boat
how fast do theses vallums go?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fs_poetry/sets/72157594240340884/ Here you go, Amardeep…go crazy! 🙂
http://www.flickr.com/photos/toreajade/sets/756643/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/farhiz/sets/742294/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/bijesh/sets/622445/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/ezee123/sets/72057594090761846/?page=3 http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonik/sets/904304/
and the best balcony seat of all! http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonik/41196718/in/set-904304/
Thanks Manoj! For future, reference, you can make those links easier for people to click on by reading this (scroll down to “How do I hyperlink something?”)
Still, great pictures.
I’ve posted links before on SM; this time I was lazy. 🙂 Glad you liked the pictures.
Robert, I believe Buddhists have been declining in numbers in India over the past 1000 yrs (haven’t researhed any numbers, just my intuition from living there). Huh? Was the white ladies boat the ‘jesus boat’??? That seems wrong somehow if proselytization is the motive. Hinduism doesn’t proselytize. Buddhism does, but it was never so highly stressed upon as its with the Evengelical Christians, and its become more Hindu-ised in its approach. Its proselytization efforts were never so organized, or background-researched as its with Evangelical Christians. Jains don’t proselytize. At least the modern ones identify with Hindus to a great extant even though ‘classic’ Jainism is unlike Hinduism in some ways. Sikhs don’t either as far as I’ve experienced. Hindus identify or discriminate with them (Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs) much like they do between castes within Hinduism.
Seeker, the foreign women (Alappuzha Boat Club) had nothing to do with the Jesus Boat Club which is a male team. It’s in the Hindu article that amardeep linked to. Anyway, you don’t successfully proselytize by showing up from another country, naming your boat Jesus and winning over the local Gods’ boats. That’s only likely to get resentment.
I was on the phone with my mom in Kerala last night and she said the word on the street is “Jayippichu”. i.e. the victory of the team that included the foreigners was “arranged” to give tourism a boost. It could be true, but it could also be a Mallu/Desi quest for an easy explanation to “How could we get our ass whupped by these newbies?” 😀
note: For everyone, including my mom, “foreigner” = “white” 😀
Politically Incorrect Statement Warning:
Is anyone surprised a team with foreigners won? I’m sure those white women had more upper body strength than Indian women.
Bears highlighting the fact that the winning team wasnt a phoren team; heck, as Amardeep himself pointed out, only 10 out of a total team of 35 women were “adventure tourists”. That’s just 28% of the team; a bigger percentage than the 5% quota NRI’s get in educational institutions, but that simply doesn’t make this a ooooh-here-come-those-powerful-non-desi-women-beating-our-sorry-ass scenario. Rather, I’d read it more as an internationalization of local culture; a bit like NOLA’s Mardi Gras getting tourists from Japan, or a desi tango-ing in Buenos Aires’ streets [1]. No big deal, all are welcome, we are one big happy vasudaika kutumbam yada yada.
You may now re-commence your racio-religious flame wars.
— [1]- C’est moi. After I save enough for a trip, that is.
Come now, that wasn’t necessary!
Robert Essex,
Sikhism is not a Vedic religion in the strict sense of the term.
Not enough, I would say. Although the concept’s a little different in Sikhism — the basic humanitarian principles are meant to be proselytised, not the formal religion itself.
Amitabh,
I’m sure the average desi auntie with “hefty” arms and an intimidatingly-raised rolling pin would strongly disagree with you 😉
Navratan, Note I said if that was the motive. So if boating was part of the proselytization plan, that would be wrong as it would be trojan-horsing an unsuspecting event. But apparantly all of that was untrue so this is inconsequential anyway.
I believe Buddhists have been declining in numbers in India over the past 1000 yrs (haven’t researhed any numbers, just my intuition from living there)
Nah uh. There are ~ 7 million Buddhists in India as per the last census (too lazy to give you a link). The vast majority Ambedkarite Dalits, but also a community of Tibetans.
Well, maybe I should say buddhists have progressively becoming a smaller percentage of India’s population over the past 1000 yrs. And 7million in a population of 1bn+, I’d say that’s all but non-existant.
Well, maybe I should say buddhists have progressively becoming a smaller percentage of India’s population over the past 1000 yrs. And 7million in a population of 1bn+, I’d say that’s all but non-existant.
Yes, until Ambedkar’s conversion. From then on, it has become the fastest growing religion in India, though the momentum is slowing.