Cultural Heritage of Kerala

Art forms, literature, sculpture, architecture

LITERATURE

Important landmarks in the evolution of Malayalam language:

 The Sangam literature can be considered as the ancient predecessor of Malayalam.

 The origin of Malayalam calendar dates back to year 825 CE.
 It is generally agreed that the Quilon Syrian copper plates (‘Kollam Tharisappalli
Shasanam’), or "Kottayam cheppedukal" Kottayam Copper Plates as it is kept at
Syrian Church in Kottayam, or Tabula Quilonensis [Ta-boo-la kwi-lo-en-sees] of
849/850 CE is the available oldest inscription written in Old Malayalam.
 The inscription document Venad ruler Ayyanadikal Thiruvadikal's donation of a
region and its administration to Tharisapalli church in Kollam established by Mar
Sapir Isho. Venad Adikal was a ruler under the Kulasekhara king Sthanu Ravi Perumal
and the donation was in the fifth year (AD 849) of the latter's reign

 The earliest known literary works in Malayalam are Ramacharitam (late 12th or early
13th century) and Thirunizhalmala, two epic poems written in Old Malayalam.
 Thirunizhalmala is the first religious work in the Malayalam language. It is generally
considered as a work associated with the Vaishnavite bhakti movement in south
India. Central topic of the poem is the description of the ritual life of Aranmula
Temple in Pathanamthitta.

Poetry

 Its origins likely took shape as folk songs which were sung by ordinary people as an
accompaniment to their daily toils and household chores
 Folk songs were passed down for many generations in the oral tradition
 Historians mainly rely on two sources to understand the origin of Malayalam poetry:
‘pattu’ and ‘manipravalam’ (Chambu kavyungal and Sandesha kavyungal).

Pattu

Manipravala

 is a hybrid language, typically written in the Grantha script, which

combines Sanskrit lexicon and Dravidian morpho-syntax