Established in 2014, when there were just a few Malayalee families in Taranaki, the New Plymouth Malayalee Association (NPMA) aims to preserve and celebrate Malayalee heritage and culture and connect with the wider community through events.
“Malayalee refers to people who speak Malayalam, one of India’s 22 official languages. We come from a state called Kerala, which has a population of 35 million.
“Our people love to travel, and we have a long history of nursing in India and around the world, including New Zealand. Here in Taranaki, we now have around 220 Malayalee families,” said Manoj Chakko, NPMA President.
One of Kerala’s biggest cultural events is Onam, a month-long harvest festival celebrating the homecoming of the mythical King Mahabali. It includes sports such as cricket, soccer, badminton and chess, and culminates in a day of dance, music and feasting.
In the past, Taranaki’s Onam celebrations ran on a shoestring. But in 2025, a Toi Foundation grant allowed NPMA to hold a much larger event to reflect the community’s growth.
“We did a lot of things differently. We hired a professional sound system and engineer and had fantastic lighting, with spotlights and coloured lights for the dance programmes,” said Manoj.
“In previous years we managed everything ourselves, but that meant our people often missed seeing the events. This year, the grant meant we could hire external volunteers, so more of our members could join in.”
Manoj says the 30 August celebration was “fantastic – beyond our expectations” – with more than 550 people attending.
“It began with the Chenda (drums) followed by traditional dance and musical performances across different age groups, and a feast we had to run over three sittings to accommodate everyone. After the prize-giving we finished with a tug of war, another Onam tradition.
“Thanks to Toi, we weren’t stressed – even though we were putting on such a big event – because we knew we had enough funds to manage.”
