Mappila Paattu

Art

Mappila Paattu was passed down through generation through an oral tradition and its origin can be traced back 700 years. The first written work was Muhyidheen Mala dedicated to Qadi Muhammad has been in circulation since the 17th century and over the years the themes changed from religious and political surroundings to romantic ballads and marriage songs.

History of Mappila Paattu

Mappila Paattu is folklore song of the Mappilas of Malabar sung in colloquial Mappila dialect with a mixture of Arabic. The song deals with themes of religion, satire, love and heroism and have now become an integral part of the heritage of Malayalam literature. Even though Mappila Paattu has a different cultural entity it remains closely related to the cultural practices of Kerala.

How to perform

Mappila Paattu uses words taken from other languages like Arabic, Urdu, Persian, Hindi, Tamil, Sanskrit and Kannada but the basic theme is sung in a colloquial Arabic Malayalam language. In some of the songs a single sentence will contain words from three or four languages. Mappila Paattu was the sole property of the Muslims for centuries but now it has become an integral part of all Musical concerts in the state.