Kerala culture captures locals

TRADITIONAL: Hannah Jomis, 4, helps Rotorua's South Indian community celebrate its annual Onam harvest festival. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER

Rotorua's South Indian community has opened its doors to the wider community to celebrate the annual Onam harvest festival.

Food, dance and festivities abounded at the Gandhi Hall yesterday, as about 100 of Rotorua's South Indian residents celebrated one of their biggest festivals.

Waiariki Institute of Technology student Delti Jeeson said it was her first experience of the Onam festival in New Zealand.

"It is huge in India and we celebrate for 10 days, so this is a lot smaller, but it is good to get together with everyone and a good opportunity to show our culture."

She performed a traditional dance with seven other dancers.

Rotorua's Monu Cherian said he always looked forward to the event.

"We have been doing this in our country for decades and decades and doing it in the same systems. So it's just for people like us from the southern part of India, we feel like we are in our home here."

He said the event brought back memories.

"There is a lot of nostalgia for time spent with parents back in India and for other family members."

Dhanya Mathew had spent most of Thursday night preparing the 14 traditional vegetable curries for the feast.

Her husband, Tony Paul, said they had lived in Rotorua for four years, and enjoyed celebrating the festival here, albeit on a much smaller scale.

"It is something to do with our own people. We can wear our traditional moon dance shirt and get together from all groups, religions and different parts of the city and celebrate."

Onam is the biggest and most important festival of the state of Kerala. According to popular legend, the festival is celebrated to welcome King Mahabali, whose spirit is said to visit Kerala at the time of Onam.