Chundan Vallam : one of the icons of Kerala culture
WildFilmsIndia
2013-07-27
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Chundan Vallam (Beaked Boat), known to the outside world as Kerala snake boats, are one of the icons of Kerala culture used in the Vallamkali (boat race.)
Constructed according to specifications taken from the Sthapathya Veda, an ancient treatise for the building of wooden boats, these boats vary from 100 to 138 ft in length. With the rear portion towering to a height of about 20 ft., and a long tapering front portion, it resembles a snake with its hood raised. Its hull is built of planks precisely 83 feet in length and six inches wide. Its a marvelous example of ancient Indians' prowess in Naval Architecture.
Traditionally each boat belongs to a village, and the villagers worship that boat like a deity. Only men are allowed to touch the boat, and to show respect they should be barefooted. To make the boat slippery while in the water and to reduce absorption of water and thereby reduce the resistance of the hull, it is oiled with a mixture of fish oil, coconut shell carbon and eggs. Repair work is done annually by the village carpenter.
Traditionally it will be commanded by a Kaarnavan / Karanaadhan village leader) with First Adanayampu and under him there will be three main oarsmen who control the movement of the boat with a 12-foot-long (3.7 m) main rudder-oar (Adanayampu). Sitting two to a row along the length of the boat, there will be 64 oarsmen, representing 64 art forms (or on occasion 128 oarsmen.) They row in rhythm of the vanchipattu (boatman's song.) There will be around 25 singers in a row at the middle between the oarsmen. In the middle of the second half of the boat is a platform for eight people to stand from where the main singer will lead the song. They represent the Ashtadikpalakas (the Devas or Gods who guard the eight directions.) A colourful and decorated umbrella also will be there.
Source: Wikipedia
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of HD imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of tens of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at wfi @ vsnl.com and [email protected].
Constructed according to specifications taken from the Sthapathya Veda, an ancient treatise for the building of wooden boats, these boats vary from 100 to 138 ft in length. With the rear portion towering to a height of about 20 ft., and a long tapering front portion, it resembles a snake with its hood raised. Its hull is built of planks precisely 83 feet in length and six inches wide. Its a marvelous example of ancient Indians' prowess in Naval Architecture.
Traditionally each boat belongs to a village, and the villagers worship that boat like a deity. Only men are allowed to touch the boat, and to show respect they should be barefooted. To make the boat slippery while in the water and to reduce absorption of water and thereby reduce the resistance of the hull, it is oiled with a mixture of fish oil, coconut shell carbon and eggs. Repair work is done annually by the village carpenter.
Traditionally it will be commanded by a Kaarnavan / Karanaadhan village leader) with First Adanayampu and under him there will be three main oarsmen who control the movement of the boat with a 12-foot-long (3.7 m) main rudder-oar (Adanayampu). Sitting two to a row along the length of the boat, there will be 64 oarsmen, representing 64 art forms (or on occasion 128 oarsmen.) They row in rhythm of the vanchipattu (boatman's song.) There will be around 25 singers in a row at the middle between the oarsmen. In the middle of the second half of the boat is a platform for eight people to stand from where the main singer will lead the song. They represent the Ashtadikpalakas (the Devas or Gods who guard the eight directions.) A colourful and decorated umbrella also will be there.
Source: Wikipedia
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of HD imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of tens of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at wfi @ vsnl.com and [email protected].
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