Enclosed between the mountain chains and the Oman Sea, protected from invasions thanks to an impenetrable jungle, the Kerala was rapidly opened to the sea. The Keralites, a people of seamen, got in touch with Babylon, Assyria, China, etc.The Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and then the British one after the other left their marks in this region with multiple influences.
The Kalaripayat techniques are described in very ancient non-dated manuscripts engraved on palm tree leaves and coated with black silk.
In the Dhanurveda, the treaty on martial sciences, there is a description of positions and sequences of sword and shield movements that are similar to those of Kalaripayat. In the Sukranithi, there is also a description of all the fighting techniques used in Kalaripayat. According to those sources, the existence of Kalaripayat is said to date from 1500 BC.
Several kalari temples were built at the peak of the Dravidian empires Cola and Cera in the 10th Century AD in the South of India.
Most of the Vaddakan Pattukal, traditional Mayali songs which go back to the 17th and 18th Centuries AD relate the stories the big families of Kalari warriors and their high feats of arms such as Tacolikuruppamar, Aromalcekevar, etc.
Kalaripayat is deeply linked to the customs and religions of India. It is a land of storytellers and its history was orally transmitted from generation to generation.Kalaripayat can also be spelt Kalaripayatt, Kalaripayit, Kalaripayattu or Kalaripayatum.
Great contemporary masters all agree to say that the thick jungle covering the Kerala from the mountains to the sea combined with the presence of several animals were the original sources of inspiration of Kalaripayat.
Kalaripayat is a martial art close to Kathakali, a type of classical dance, of danced theatre originating from Kerala. It is a spectacular combination of drama, dance, music and rituals. The work of Kathakali actors is physically demanding and can be mastered through the very same methods of energy concentration that are used in Kalaripayat training.
Kalaripayat was the training of warriors of the royal armies of Kerala. It was forbidden under the British colonisation but transmitted secretly and its teaching took place hidden in huts which were half buried in the ground with well defined proportions and orientation. Some of the “fighters for freedom” also used it in their struggle for the departure of the British. Nowadays, a certain number of schools scattered around the South of India (C.V. Narayanan Kalari, Vallapata Kalari…) take the name of the masters of the different styles which were developed. The masters teach their knowledge to children, teenagers and adults. Women have access to it as much as men but they rarely continue to practise after their weddings.