Omalloor Vayal Vanibham is a cattle and agrarian fair held in the Malayalam month Meenam (March – April) at Omallur in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala. The origin of Omalloor vayal vanibham is associated the Indilayappan temple at Valaya Vadakku – Kaipattoor Nariyapuram in Pathanamthitta. As per the story, the fair was held at the premises of Indilayappan temple.
The Vayal Vanibham used to be held at Padayanical vayal (paddy field) that belonged to the Indilayappan temple. During one of such fair a huge bull had gone berserk and it entered the Omalloor vayal. It is said that the bull was tied to a pala tree. The bull broke the pala tree branch to which it was tied and ran with it.
To the great astonishment of the onlookers, an old, muscular tall gentleman wearing traditional attire of farmers “a mundu and a thorthu “appeared from nowhere and subdued the ferocious bull in Omalloor Vayal. He then dug up pit and planted the tree branch and tied the bull to the same Pala branch.
He then declared that the deity of Rakthakanda Swamy worshipped at the Omalloor Sree Rakthakanda Swamy Temple wishes to relocate the Vayal Vanibham to the Omalloor paddy field.
The old man mysteriously disappeared after this incident. It is believed that the old man was Indilayappan who is lovingly called in the region as Appooppan.
The pala branch grew into a huge tree and it can be still seen at Omalloor Thekkevayal.
The annual fair begins on March 15 or 16 and is held for nearly a month. The main attraction of the Omallur fair is the trade of traditional farm produce, kitchen utensils and cattle. Fruit saplings, seeds, vegetable seedlings, trees, plants and garden implements are the other things mainly sold in the fair.