Varma Ati
Tamil term literally translated as “hitting the vital spots.” Also known as
ati murai(the law of hitting/attacking) and ati tata(hit/defend), as well as
chinna ati(Chinese hitting), varma ati is the martial system practiced in the
South Travancore region of Kerala and Kanyakumari District, southern
Tamil Nadu, India. Traditionally the art is practiced by some Sambavars
and, primarily, by Nadars who claim an ancient heritage as warriors; its
origins are ascribed to the sage Agasthya in antiquity. Practice typically
takes place in the open, or in unroofed enclosures made of palm leaves.
Masters are known as asans.As implied in its various names, practice and
fighting techniques emphasize empty-hand techniques from the first lesson,
and initial steps are immediately combined with attacks and defenses aimed
at the body’s vital spots (varmamin Tamil; marmamin Malayalam). Some
practitioners include fighting with sticks, especially long-staff. At some
point, practitioners also began to take up the use of a variety of weapons—
a privilege that at one time might have been the exclusive privilege of Na-
yars in at least some areas where varma ati was practiced. Asans also tra-
ditionally administer massage and physical therapies and set bones, as part
of the Dravidian Siddha medical system. Numerous old Tamil palm-leaf
manuscripts exist that identify the location, effects of injury, and treatment
of the vital spots.
Since the area where varma ati is practiced is one of the main border
regions where Tamil and Malayali cultures and languages overlap, it is
likely that the varma ati practiced by Nadars and Sambavars was closely
related to the styles of kalarippayattu practiced by Nayars in the old Tra-
vancore region. Although there are many differences in the systems, it is
likely that certain techniques and paradigms of practice were shared. Dur-
ing the past thirty years the mixing of styles and techniques between varma
ati and kalarippayattu has increased in direct proportion to mobility. With
the founding of the Kerala Kalarippayat (sic) Association in 1958, varma
ati came to be known as “southern style” kalarippayattu so that it could
647