The residents of Alleppey are close to nature and have a preference of a simple, healthy and peaceful lifestyle. Their traditional outfit of Alleppey is white Mundu and Neriathu; a plain white dhoti embroidered with golden silk lining for men and cream colored sari with golden border for women. The Alleppey cuisine can purely be classified under the typical Kerala food which mainly consists of rice and fish. The menu of these people lists Rice, Fish, Idli, Dosa, Vada, Sambhar, Uthapam, Appam, Kappa, Karimeen Pollichathu, other Sea Food, Kallu, etc. The economy of this region is mainly based on agriculture, back water fishing, shell collection, coir based industries, handlooms and handicrafts, and to top them all, tourism. Tourism is the most significant component of the economy of Alleppey. Tourists throng the Alleppey backwaters almost all round the year and the houseboats that cruise in the backwaters earn the boatmen substantial revenue.
Apart form the common Indian festivals Alleppey celebrates the traditional Kerala festivals, the most noteworthy amongst them being; Ugadi and Onam. Onam is Kerala’s biggest festival that falls in the month of Chingam according to Malayali Calendar and in the month of August or September according to the English Calendar. Onam commemorates the home coming of the legendary King Mahabali when along with the rest of the Kerala Alleppey hosts snake boat races which are ardently attended by a large number of residents as well as tourists. The Snake Boat Races of Kerala comprise the integrated part of the culture of Alleppey.
At the time of Onam, the backwaters of Alleppey are ignited by the vigorous boat races which is reckoned as the largest team sport in the world. Masses of elaborately carved long black wooden snake boats participate in these boat races. Besides the snake boats, other boats typically used for fishing or transportation such as Kettuvalam, Kochu-odi Vallam, Odi- Vallam, Irrutukuthi Vallam and Churulan or Chullam Vallam also participate in the boat races. By and large, a snake boat is ridden by 4 helmsmen, 25 singers and 100 to 125 oarsmen who row the boat to the rapid rhythms of the traditional boatmen song known as ‘Thevanchipattu’. Inestimable onlookers gather at the edges of the rivers or backwaters and cheer the boatmen as the enormous snake boats skillfully slice through the waters.
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