Subject: chaver elite warrior

Culture: Malayali / Malabar

Setting: Malabar Coast 16-18thc

Evolution:

Context (Event Photos, Primary Sources, Secondary Sources, Field Notes)

* Luijendijk 2005 p103

"chaver: member of a class of kalari-warriors who pledged to die in the service of their overlord"

Loincloth

* Luijendijk 2005 pvii

"Kalarippayat does not have a hierarchical system, as in the Japanese and other Oriental martial arts. Teachers and students alike have always dressed only in a loincloth, covering the rest of their bodies with oil. This dress code is necessitated in part by the use of weapons. A fully dressed practitioner can easily catch his clothing on a knife or sword, which can be dangerous, especially when the student is not entirely familiar with the weapon he is using. There is also an ideological reason for the dress code: in kalarippayat there is no distinction between students; nor is there any distinction between student and teacher. This has a lot to do with the fact that a kalarippayat gym is regarded by the people of Kerala as a temple, a place where God is present. In the eyes of God, as the Keralan people say, everyone is equal."