Welcome to

kerala
Culture of kerala
•When we hear someone say 'Kerala', so many beautiful sights cross
our mind. Famed as God's Own Country, Kerala is indeed an ideal
vacation spot and has also been called as one of the paradises of the
world. Kerala is well known for its scenic locations, the Kerala
architecture which is used to design its majestic temples, festivals like
Onam, its variety of food and also its vast and rich Malayalam
literature.

Here are some of the elements of Kerala Culture:

Food of Kerala
•Clothing and Traditional Dresses of Kerala
•Architecture of Kerala
•Folk Dance and Music
•Literature of Kerala
•Art and Craft in Kerala
•Festivals of Kerala
•Religion in Kerala
•Occupation of Kerala
•Rituals of Kerala
•Importance of Elephants
•Modern society
•Tourism in Kerala
Cuisine - Food of Kerala
The food of Kerala consists of a wide variety of vegetarian and
non-vegetarian food. The food consists of fish, meat, poultry and rice
preparations. Kerala food is loaded with many spices as well. Kerala Sadya is a
banquet meal prepared during functions and festivals. Coconut is grown in
abundance in Kerala. Hence they use coconut oil and milk in thickening flavours.
Kerala food consists of many rice preparations like idli, dosa, etc. which are
made from a batter prepared from rice. Chillies, curry leaves, mustard seeds,
turmeric powder and asafoetida, are all frequently used.
Clothing and Traditional
Dresses of Kerala
Women of Kerala wear sarees and blouse. During festivals, they wear set sarees
called Kasavu. Men wear 'mundu' which is a long piece of a garment wrapped around their
waist in a certain manner. Mundu, an integral part of Kerala Culture is similar to a lungi and a
dhoti. Younger generations mostly wear western clothing. However, lungis are still very
common for casual occasions whereas sarees are worn for formal occasions.
Architecture of Kerala
The architecture of Kerala is unique and quite a contrast to the Dravidian style of
architecture commonly found in other parts of the south. Kerala architecture is heavily
based and influenced from architectural sciences like Vastu Shastra, and the temples are
built on the basis of two construction thesis, Thantra-Samuchayam, and Sliparatnam which
allow positive energy to flow inside the temple and does not retain any negative energy. The
structure of any residential or religious centre usually consists of a rectangular or
cylindrical structure at the bottom with downward sloping roofs at the top.
Folk Dance and Music
The folk dance of Kerala consists of the Kaikotti Kali dance, Kuthiyottam dance, Tiruvathira
Dance, Thirayattam dance, Kakkarissi Kali, etc. Kanniyar Kali (also known as Desathukali) is a
dance done in front of Goddess Bhagvaty. It is one of the oldest folk dances. It is a fast-moving
dance to the rhythmic devotional folk tune. Kaikotti Kali folk dance (also known, as
Thiruvathirakali) is performed by women of Kerala by dancing in symmetric circles. It is often
performed during festive seasons like Thiruvathira and Onam.
Women sing Thiruvathira songs, which are full of literary wealth. The women dance gracefully
and move in clockwise and anti-clockwise circles while clapping their hands. Kuthiyottam
Dance is popular in the district of Thiruvananthapuram and is performed in temples in front of
deities. There are 4 participants in the dance. The songs are sung during the dance are
Padapattu and Kalaripattu. Thirayattom dance is performed during the festival of kavus. The
dance includes the use of torches. The Kuravas folk from the Thiruvananthapuram district
perform the Kakkarissi Kali. This dance involves a lot of enthusiasm from its participants.
Drums are also played during the dance. Dappu Kali is a dance that uses an instrument called
dappu. The dancers are even in number and form two rows and keep switching sides. Kolkali
dance is a group dance form of the farming community, which men and women move in circles
with sticks in their hand and clash the sticks together. Kalaripayattu is a type of swordplay in
which men use swords and move around gracefully as if defending and hitting each other.
Kathakali dance involves 'story play' in which the dancers put on heavy costume and makeup
and tell a story through their dances. There are other dances as well like Parichamuttu Kali,
Ayyappan vilakku, Sarpam thullal and Poorakkali.
Music: Music forms a major part of the Malayalam literature. Kerala is known for Sopana
Sangeetham and Carnatic music. Sopana (meaning 'holy steps') Sangeetham is a form of
classical music that involved folks singing invocatory songs inside the temples. Kerala is
also known for its Kathakali music.
Literature of Kerala
The literature of Kerala can be traced back to the 13th century. The Malayalam literature
initially consisted majorly of poems and songs (pattu). Manipravalam poetry, which is a
mixture of Sanskrit and Malayalam language, also flourished in the state. Many prose and
poetry also emerged like the champus and sandeshakavyas. Ezhuthachan who is given the
title of the father of Malayalam language made great contributions in the 16th century.
Art and Craft in Kerala
Kerala is famous for its Art. Some of the arts revolve around Chinese ceramics, brass-inlay,
caskets, teapots, tin candle stands, bells and lamps, etc. Keralite jewellery is also unique in
its design and mostly made up of gold. The necklace of the women is long and consists of a
thick base chain to which elongated series of gold pieces are attached. The gold pieces
attached may be petal-like or mango shaped or any other shape. People also purchase Mundus
from Kerala.
 Festivals of Kerala
Onam is a 10-day harvest festival celebrated in Kerala in the month of August - September.
The festival is celebrated with grandeur. There are fairs and contests for people to indulge
in. The floors are decorated with flower designs; there are dances for celebration and a
snake boat race (Aranmula Boat Race) contest called Vallamkali is also carried out. The
tenth or the last day of Onam is said to be most important and is one of the most popular
manifestations of Culture of Kerala.

Vishu is the New Year for the Keralites. The first month is called Medam, which usually
comes around April. Vishukani are the various offerings made to Lord Krishna on this
day.'Vishu Pulari' is a ritual of waking up early in the morning and seeing God's face first.
On this day, the elders give their children some form of a gift.

Thrissur Pooram is celebrated in the month of Medam. It is a festival of the temples in

which two traditional groups called Thiruvambai and Paramekkavu compete against each
other and showcase their best in the contest by clothing their elephants in beautiful
garments and having different huge umbrellas.
Religion in Kerala
Hinduism and Islam are the two major religions of Kerala. More than 50% of people in Kerala
follow Hinduism, and more than 25% follow Islam. Around 20% are Christians, and others
follow Buddhism, Jainism, Judaism and other religions. The cultural diversity of Kerala is
well known.
Occupation of Kerala
Originally, people of Kerala were involved in agricultural activities. Apart from that, some
were also into fishing and animal husbandry. Over the years, Keralites have received a good
education and are doing jobs in the cities. However, most of the skilled workers and
college graduates leave Kerala and go abroad, especially in the middle east. This had
caused a short of skilled supply in Kerala and resulted in inflation.
Rituals of Kerala
The people of Kerala have many rituals for different
occasions. Most of the rituals are temple rituals. Poothanu
Mathirayum is a ritual for Goddess Kali in which dancers
dress up as Kaali Ma and dance at all shrines in the village to
remove and destroy the evil demon Daarikan.

Patayani is a week-long dance ritual for Goddess Kali. It is

carried out on the banks of river Pamba. The dancers tell the
story of how evil is destroyed by taking up various character
roles. Midiyettu and Koothu are other such similar rituals.

Kanniyar Kali is a dance done as an offering to Goddess

Bhagwati. There are many rituals performed during Onam as
well. Onapottan is a folk character that appears during the
first day of Onam. Athachamayam is an elephant march that
signifies the beginning of the Onam festival. Pookkalam is the
flower arrangement done during Onam. It is similar to
Rangoli, but instead of powder, flowers are used. Pookalam is
circular in shape, and people make them from the Atham day
of Onam. The size of the flower arrangement is increased
progressively each day till the 10th day.
Importance of Elephants
The state animal of Kerala is the Elephant. Elephants form an integral part of
the culture of Kerala. Elephants are found during all religious festivals outside the
temples. Elephants are known as 'sons of Shaya' and are also found on the emblem
of the Government of Kerala.