Onam
ഓണം
OH-num
Ten-day harvest festival of Kerala welcoming the mythical king Mahabali.
Meaning & usage
Onam is Kerala's defining festival, blending harvest celebration with the legend of King Mahabali, whose annual visit to his former kingdom is the festival's soul. The ten days build to Thiruvonam, when families lay floral carpets (pookalam) at their doorsteps, wear traditional kasavu clothes and share the multi-course onasadya feast served on a banana leaf. Snake-boat races and kaikottikali dances add public spectacle.
In a sentence
The onasadya at her grandmother's house ran to twenty-six dishes.
Common spelling variants
- Onum
Onam is the canonical English spelling used in MG Mini puzzles.