Welcome to Malabar Cultural Association

The idea of Malabar Cultural Association was mooted by a group of people who have come from different parts of Malabar and settled in cochin and the south of Ernakulam districts in search of employment.
Malabar Cultural Association was registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act in October 13, 2004.

It is a non-profit voluntary organization to promote the social, cultural, economic, educational and entrepreneurial progress of the society. Initially, the society was formed consisting of members who have originally migrated from Malabar area and settled at places like Cochin, Aleppey and Kottayam.

The mission of MCA is to spread awareness about the rich cultural heritage of Malabar and to create and to create a cultural understanding among all people and to strive for human welfare.

Administration

This association is run by an executive committee comprising of 30 members. This committee will decide the conduct of various activities in consultation with the patrons of the society. A team of youngsters have been co-opted in the committee to execute the decisions taken.

Finance

Finance for the activities will be raised from membership fee, subscription fee, monthly fee and donations from well wishers.

Malabar Demography

As a result of the vibrant trade, the Malabar region mingled with many ancient cultures and each of these cultures left their mark in the culture of the region. The area has a mix of native Hindus, native mapila Muslims, and native Jains and migrant Christian communities and is well known for their religious harmony.

Some peculiar practices among the people of this region set them apart from the surrounding regions. Among them, was the practice of Matriliniarity, where the man’s sister’s sons where the heir and not his own sons. This was practiced among Muslims, Nambudiris, Nayars and Thiyars. Women generally had greater status and importance in the family and society.

The main festival in this region is Vishu as opposed to Onam in other parts of Kerala. As this region mainly follows the Malayalam calendar, Vishu is celebrated as the New Year.

Malabar is very different from the rest of Kerala, Hindu natives of the region cook and eat non-vegetarian food during festivals of Vishu and Onam and even during marriages.

The style of preparation in the Malabar region is also different as there is extensive use of coconut paste in dishes such as sambar, fish curry etc. This region also offers a wide range of dishes like kalathappan, Kinnathappam, pathiri, chatty pathiti, Kozhikkodan Halwa, Mutta maala, Podutholu, Unnakkaya and other varities of pancakes and steam cakes.

The bakery was first introduced and became popular in the areas in and around Thalasseri. The natives of this region dominate in the bakery sector in the whole of south India.

The Malabar region is also a politically sensitive area due to the strong sense of socio-political aspirations of the people here.

Textile, Beedi, hand-weaving, plywood and coir represent important industries while cashew, Cinnamon and pepper are important cash crops.

The malabar has also been the longest serving gateway of the region in interacting with the diverse cultures of the world such as Portuguese, Dutch, French, British, Arab, Chinese, Persians, Greek, Chalukyas, Hoysalas, Tuluvas, Rashtrakutas, Kodavas, Tulus etc.

North Malabar is also home to many dialects (Such as Kasaragod Malayalam, Mappila dialect of Malayalam etc.) and loan words, apart from the large number of words from Sanskrit and Tamil; it also has origins from foreign languages due to the many years of trade relations with Arabia, Persia, Israel, China, South Canara , Mysore, Kodagu and European colonial powers.

Folk Arts

Malabar is rich and colorful in folk arts. The best known of them are:

Theyyam: is a ritual art performed since ancient days in North Malabar. In this form of art, a man will be fabricated as God’s symbol. In Kadathanadan Area, Theyyam is known as Thirra. The performance is conducted on a stage called Theyya-thara in this area. There are around 400 types of Theyyams. The weird head-hoods, colourful attires and body painting and dazing performances are amazing. Each type has a distinguishing headgear and costume made out of natural materials like coconut leaves and bark. Musical accompaniments are chenda, elathalam, and kuzhal. Thottam Pattu is vocal ballad sung just before performing Theyyam ritual. These are played in Theyyam temples before the commencement of Theyyam Art.

Vadakkan Pattukal : The Ballads of North Malabar or the Vadakkan Pattukal extol the adventures of brave men and women of North Malabar, set against a feudal and medieval background, the stories celebrate the valour and skills of the renowned characters. The Vadakkan Pattukal reflects the peak of Kerala folk-poetry and these ballads are associated with Kadathanadu of North Malabar.

Poorakkali: Poorakkali is a ritualistic folk art of North Malabar. This is a traditional art form performed by a group of people chanting the holy verses from 'Ramayana' or 'Bagavata'. This is a type of dance performed by exclusively male members of the society during the nine day Pooram festival in Bhagavathy temples. Payyannur, Trikaripur and nearby places like Vengara, Ramanthali, Karivellur, are very famous for this art form

Kolkali: Kolkali is an exclusive traditional art of North Malabar. This is the one and only Folk Art which is performed by two religions viz. Hindus and Muslims. This art is also performed and conducted by Men and Women. Muslim Kolkali is bit different from Hindu's Kolkali. Muslims perform this art as a form of entertainment during social gatherings and marriages. Whereas the Hindus perform this at the temple festivals. With its rapid limb movements and simultaneous chanting of folksongs, Kolkali draw the attention of one and all. The players moving in pairs, hit their batons (koles) to the opponent’s one in a methodical way in tune with folksongs sung in an enchanting manner. It is played according to Vaithari or Thalam by the Gurukkal (Teacher).

Malabar

The south western coast of India, sandwiched between the western ghats and the Arabian sea is broadly called the Malabar region. During the reign of the British East India Company, Malabar was part of its Madras Presidency. Later on it became the state of Malabar. This included the coastal areas of the southern part of the present day Karnataka and the northern parts of Kerala. Today, it refers largely to the northern part of the state of Kerala.

Northern Kerala region was ruled by the Chera dynasty till the 12th centuary. From the very early times, the Malabar region had intense trade relations with Europe, Arabia and indo-china. The area of present day Calicut and Baypore was the chief port and the trade capital of the region.