The Dravidian (Tamil) influences were introduced to Kerala by hundreds of years of war between the Cera, Cola and Pandya dynasties, in which Varma Kalai was developed as the traditional school of warfare (Luijendijk 45). That said, over the years many traditional aspects of northern Kalarippayattu, such as training in pits, have made their way into some schools in the south, and a few masters of southern Kalarippayattu and Varma Kalai live and teach in the north (Zarrilli 1992: 38-39). In the north of Kerala, however, the distinction is very clear as the geographical separation was greater.
Due to the proximity of the regions, Kerala’s southern Kalarippayattu style is viewed as almost a mixture with Tamil Nadu’s Varma Kalai, and indeed the two provinces share a similar culture. Kalarippayattu, or Kalarippayat, is made up of two words, kalari (meaning place) and payattu (meaning practice) and is the name of the traditional Indian martial art originating from the Kerala province of south India (Zarrilli 1998: 25). This tradition of Tamil Nadu is very strong in its southernmost districts of Travancore and Kanyakumari (Zarrilli 1992: 37-39). For example, the varma of Varma Kalai refer to the body’s vital spots that can be exploited to harm or to heal, and even to revive those previously believed to be dead. Varma Kalai, however, is not simply a martial art form, but heavily focuses on medicine and anatomy.
It is said that a sage by the name of Agastya was taught the martial art by the son of Siva, Murugan, and upon returning to Tamil Nadu, this sage taught it to the rest of the siddhas (masters/teachers) (Luijendijk 60-61). The Varma Kalai tradition, sometimes also known as Varma Ati, of Tamil Nadu, a province in southern India, has a mixture of Aryan and Dravidian origins. A brief examination of the historical and mythological origins of these martial arts as well as their influence on each other and other Asian martial traditions will be given. In this article, two south Indian martial arts will be presented, with a particular emphasis on Kalarippayattu, which was heavily influenced by the second, Varma Kalai (Zarrilli 1998: 29-30).
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