Onam is an annual Indian harvest festival celebrated predominantly by the Hindus of Kerala.
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Literary and epigraphical evidence suggests that Onam has a long religious context and history in Kerala and neighboring parts of South India:.
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An alternate tale behind Onam relates to Parashurama, an incarnation of Vishnu who is credited in Hinduism to have created the Western Ghats from the southern tip of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and up to Maharashtra.
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The Onam festival, according to this legend, celebrates Parashurama's creation of Kerala by marking those days as the new year.
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Onam is a "popular major Hindu festival in Kerala", states Christine Frost, but one that is celebrated by other communities with "much zest alongside Hindus".
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However some Muslims observe Onam anyway, considering its celebrations and rituals as a cultural practice.
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Onam falls in the month of Chingam, which is the first month according to the Malayalam Calendar.
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Onam sadya is another indispensable part of Onam, and almost every Keralite either makes or attends one.
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Just before Onam, they go for a community hunt and the games bagged during the hunt are distributed among participants and consumed in family feasts.
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The third Onam, called Avvittom marks the preparations for King Mahabali's return ascension to heavens.
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