Textiles and Dress

Culture of Kerala

The culture of Kerala has developed over the past millennia, with influences from other parts of India and abroad. It is defined by its antiquity and the organic continuity sustained by the Malayali people. Modern Kerala society took shape owing to migrations from different parts of India and abroad throughout Classical Antiquity. Kerala traces its non-prehistoric cultural genesis to its membership (around the AD 3rd century) in a vaguely defined historical region known as Thamizhagom – a land defined by a common Tamil culture and encompassing the Chera, Chola, and Pandya kingdoms. At that time, the music, dance, language (first Dravida Bhasha – "Dravidian language (possibly Proto-Tamil)" – then Tamil), and Sangam (a vast corpus of Tamil literature composed between 1,500–2,000 years ago) found in Kerala were all similar to that found in the rest of Thamizhagom (today's Tamil Nadu). The culture of Kerala evolved through the Sanskritization of Dravidian ethos, revivalism of religious movements and reform movements against caste discrimination. Strong communitarian values, wit, and an appreciation for social progressivism are commonly associated with Malayali culture.

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See also

• ▸Coronation of James I and Anne
• ▸Heavy-footed moa
• ▸Betty Ford

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