Arts and Culture

Kathakali
Kathakali is the classical dance-drama of Kerala, South India, which dates from the 16th century and is rooted in Hindu mythology. Kathakali has a unique combination of literature, music, painting, acting and dance. Kathakali is a group presentation, in which dancers take various roles in performances traditionally based on themes from Hindu mythology, especially the two epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

History
Kathakali originated from a precursor dance-drama form called Ramanattam and owes it share of techniques also to Krishnanattam. The word "attam" means enactment. In short, these two forerunning forms to Kathakali dealt with presentation of the stories of Hindu Gods Rama and Krishna. It was Kottarakara Thampuran who composed several plays on the Ramayana, which led to the evolution of Kathakali. Today, Ramanattam is extinct, but its story plays continue to be a part of Kathakali.

Theyyam
The Theyyam is a popular ritual dance of northern Kerala, India, particularly presented in the Kolathunadu. As a living cult with several thousand year old traditions, ritual and custom, it embraces almost all castes and classes of Hindu religion in this region. The term Theyyam is a corrupt form of daivam or God. People of these districts consider Theyyam as a God and they seek blessings from Theyyam.

History
According to the legendary Keralolpathi, Parasurama sanctioned the festivals like Kaliyattam, Puravela and Deivattam or Theyyattam to the people of Kerala. He assigned the responsibility of Theyyam dance tothe indigenous communities like Panan, Malayar, Velan and Vannan. These traditions explain how the indigenous cults likeTheyyam were incorporated and metamorphosed under the religious supremacy of the Brahmanism. In the long historical process a social system evolved in Kerala in which the little culture like Theyyam belonged to the depressed castes and classes where as the temple oriented culture belonged to the dominant castes and classes. There were no violent confrontations between these two cultures as there was no total destruction of the indigenous culture.It is performed by people of the lower castes such as shudras, vaishyas etc. The lower castes were denied entry to temples or even to come close to persons of the brahmin and kshatriya castes. This led to the lower castes creating their own temples in afforested areas known as kavu.

Koodiyattam
Koodiyattam, the Sanskrit theatre tradition of Kerala, India has been declared as among the 'Masterpiece of the Oral and ethereal Heritage of Humanity' by UNESCO.It is for the first time that UNESCO has chosen art forms from across the world to bestow recognition as part of its effort to safeguard expressions of oral heritage and traditional culture.

Koodiyattam was selected from among 32 entries from all over the world. Dating back to 2,100 years, `Koodiyattam' is a matchless theatre tradition which survived in Kerala from an ancient past. It deals with the plays of famous Sanskrit dramatists such as Maendravikrama, Bhasa, Kalidasa, Harsha and Saktibhadra. While following the per formative principles of the larger Indian artistic tradition, `Koodiyattam' has its own distinctive characteristics that are firmly rooted in the culture of Kerala.

Mohiniyattam
Mohiniyattam is one of the most lyrical classical dance traditions, originating from Kerala, the land of palm trees, backwaters, caparisoned elephants, Kathakali and Koodiyattam, and innumerable folk arts and festivals; that is God's own land. Its movements are soft and graceful and soaked in feminine grace. They have been likened to the sway of palm leaves in the gentle breeze. Mohini means enchantress and attam means dance; Mohiniattam is the dance of the enchantress traditionally performed by women.The tradition of Mohiniyattam can be traced back to the 16th-17th century, a period generally considered as the golden era of arts and literature in the history of Kerala. A few scholars consider Balaramabharatam authored by Karthika Thirunal Balarama Varma of the Swathithirunal family, which in fact is an elaboration of the 6th to 10th chapters of the Natyashastra, as an authentic treatise on Mohiniyattam. The murals and sculptures of the 18th century in some temples and palaces too depict the concept of Mohini.

Culture
Literature, music and dance, architecture, painting and other forms of artistic expressions, Kerala has significant achievements to its credit.
Malayalam is the regional language, The women mostly subscribe ‘sari’, its six metlers of silk, cotton cloths, called ‘sari’. The more convenient dresses like ‘churidar’. The men mostly subscribe to, ‘mundu’, ‘trousers’ and ‘shirts’ in the rural areas, ‘mundu’ is the more popular from of dressing. The hindu Community For nearly 60% of the population. The rest of the 40% is almost equally divided between the ‘Christians’ and the ‘Muslims’