Cultural Heritage

Kerala has served as a melting pot of cultures from the orient and the occident. People from the world over have converged on her beaches giving birth to the most myriad of colour and flavours to the life of the people here.

The Major Dances of Kerala are

Koodiayatam:

The dance form is over three thousand years old and has been recognised as a heritage art by the UNESCO.

Kathakali:

The native mime drama narrates the stories from the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Mohiniyattam:

The dance of the temptress, the Lasya elements of life are brought out by the dancer in all its magnificent glory

Theyyam:

A religious tribal performing art, its origins are also hidden in the mystery of time.

Krishnanatam:

Similar to Kathakali, it is based on the life of Krishna, the great Hindu God.

Chavitu nadakam:

An ancient Christian art form – the origins are again unknown. The songs are in Chenthamil and narrate the story of King David.

Oppana:

An Islamic dance form performed by the women in marriage-related festivities

Margam kali:

A Christian devotional dance form.

Thiruvathira kali:

Group dance performed by girls to appease lordess Parvathi to have the best husband of their dreams.

Mural Paintings
Kerala's murals are on par with those at Sittanavasal, Badami, Lepakshi, Tanjavur, and Vijayanagar. In fact, there are similarities between the styles of Kerala and the murals of Sittanavasan and Lepakshi. Kerala's mural tradition reached its apogee between the 16th and 19th Centuries. Though there is not much documentary evidence, experts have classified the murals into three phases, just as they have classified its temple architecture — early (800-1000 A.D.), middle (1001-1301), and late (1301-1800). In the last phase, with the incorporation of wood carvings and paintings on temple walls, a balance was forged between architecture and decorative art.

The traditional mural paintings were done only in five colours — yellow, red, green, black, and white. White was the base itself and the remaining were pigments derived from stones and leaves. The walls themselves underwent an elaborate preparatory process and there are instances of murals still glowing after 1,500 years.
The paintings, usually on the walls of the sanctum sanctorum, depicted deities from the Hindu pantheon. While the human figures were highly stylised, animals and birds were painted in more naturalistic postures. Such stylised facial expression and gestures trace their origin to the theatrical elements in the performing arts of Koodiyattam and Kathakali. Wide-open, round eyes, elongated painted lips, exaggerated eyebrows, dramatic body postures, and over-ornamentation are typical of the mural paintings.

Handicrafts
An old time industrial art is bell metal casting. One famous product is the Aranmula polished metalmirror, made of an alloy of copper and tin. Aranmula a small village in KERALA is renowned for making a wonderful type of Metal Mirror called 'Aranmula Kannadi'. This unique metal mirror of Aranmula, reflects a rich cultural as well as metallurgical heritage of a golden past in the history of Kerala. The British Museum in London keeps an eighteen inch tall Aranmula Metal Mirror, which speaks of its uniqueness. The origin of the metal mirrors of Aranmula is closely laced with the Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple.The legend has it that eight families of experts in temple arts and crafts were brought by the royal chief to Aranmula from Tirunelveli district in connection with certain works in the Parthasarathy temple centuries ago. There are only a few families in the world who practice the art of making Metal Mirrors. Some undisclosed metals are alloyed with copper and tin to cast the Metal Mirror. The polishing can go on for one to two days so as to achieve highly reflective surfaces.
In woodcraft, apart from the temple art tradition, kathakali models and accessories, weaving of mats, baskets, coir matting figure among it's handicrafts. Since the ban on ivory trade, Kerala's ivory carvings, especially that of the snake boat are now made of buffalo horn.
Kerala is also known for it's jewellery. Designs range from the elaborate and exquisite to the simple and functional. The Nagapadam or serpent-hood pendant was originally used by Nair women. Namboodiri women wore the cherutali necklace and Tamil Brahmin women, the oddiyanam waist-chain. Christian women wore the Mekka Mothiram. Though relegated to history, contemporary goldsmiths still draw inspiration from them for their designs.

Food and eating habits

Tapioca, rice and seafood forms part of the staple diet of the people. The lore of seafood has carried the name of this ancient civilisation across the globe. The traditional Kerala meal is served on a plaintain leaf and it consists of nine curries and 21 spices.

Festivals
All major religious festivals are celebrated in Kerala like the Christmas and the Id. Many festivals are celebrated by Keralites irrespective of their religions. Major festivals among them are Onam and Vishu. They are mostly concerned with the harvest cycles and legends.

Martial Art

The ‘Kalaripayattu’ is the most ancient martial art form in the world. It is the source of the Kunfu and the Karate and all the other oriental form of martial arts.

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