Mappila songs


Mappila songs are a folklore Muslim song genre rendered to lyrics, within a melodic framework, in Arabi Malayalam by the Mappilas of the Malabar region in Kerala, India. Mappila songs have a distinct cultural identity, while at the same time remaining closely linked to the cultural practices of Kerala.
The songs often use words from Persian, Hindustani, and Tamil, apart from Arabic and Malayalam, but the grammatical syntax is always based in Malayalam. They deal with themes such as religion, love, satire, and heroism, and are often sung at marriages, get-togethers and family functions. Mappila Paattu form an integral part of the heritage of Malayalam literature today and is regarded by some as the most popular branch of Malayalam literature, enjoyed by all Malayali communities in Kerala and Beary-speaking communities of Karnataka.

History

Mappila songs have been in circulation for over seven centuries, with the first dated work Muhyidheen Mala attributed to Qadi Muhammad in 1607 AD. Thereafter a large number of literary materials were produced in this medium; one authority has calculated that of these more than 1600 items, complete or fragmentary, were known by 1976. Over the centuries, various types of Mappila Pattu were composed, in accordance with the religious and political surroundings in the lives of the Mappilas of Malabar. The early centuries were primarily based on devotional works, while the colonial era was marked by the battle song genre called Padappattu. Various other categories also grew during the centuries with subjects ranging from romantic ballads and marriage songs to philosophical ideas, sea journeys and even flood ordeals.

Early works

The earliest known dated works in Mappilappattu are from the 17th century and primarily belonged to the Mala genre.

Malappattu

The Mala genre of Mappila songs, generally written in Arabi-Malayalam script are praises of pious personalities of Islam who were supposed to have gained high spiritual status. Generally, most such works were themed on the lives of Sufi saints. Most of these songs narrate "superhuman" deeds of these saints. The songs became popular in an era when Sufism gained a strong foothold amongst the Mappilas. Each Mala often corresponded to the leader of a Sufi order called Thareeqath, who was abundantly showered praises in the poetry, for qualities often well-exceeding the limits of human capabilities. Popular among these are the Muhyidheen Mala, the Rifa'i mala, the Shaduli Mala, the Ajmeer Mala, and the Nafeesath mala. Each of these corresponded to their respective Sufi orders while the last is about Nafeesathul Misriyya, a woman Sufi saint of Egypt more commonly known as Sayyida Nafeesa.
The 17th century also witnessed the composition of other popular works in the Malappattu genre, namely the Rifai Mala by Ahammadul Kabeer, Uswath Mala and Valiya Naseehath Mala by Manantakath Kunhikoya Thangal.

18th century

Songs of the 18th century were primarily of the Kissa genre, narrating stories of the prophets of Islam or Sufi saints. Examples of such songs include the Ibrahim Nabi Qissa and the Ibrahim Ibn Adham Kissa. Songs like the Kappappattu and Safalamaala by Shujayi Moidu Musaliyar conveyed ideological messages to the community in the era of post-Portuguese years when the identity and existence of the Mappilas were in a shattered state.
;Kunhayan Musaliyar
Kunhayan Musaliyar lived in the early 18th century. He authored the popular works titled Nool Mad'h , Nool Mala and Kappappattu. Nool Mad'h was a devotional work on Prophet Muhammed with 666 lines composed in 16 different Ishalukal. Kappapattu consisted of 600 lines composed in a single Ishal, narrating with wit and humour, the voyage of the human body through the journey of life, portrayed here as a vessel in the ocean voyaging through the seas. The Kappappattu remained hugely popular for centuries, next only to the Muhyiddeen Mala.
;Umar Qadi
Veliyankode Umar Qadi, was a scholar, poet and freedom fighter from Veliyankode, near Ponnani, well known for his tax non-cooperation movement against the British rule in the Malabar. He composed songs of various subjects, ranging from the Cheraman Perumal to Arabic grammar. Other poems of his criticized the wrongdoings of members of his own community. He also wrote many poems in Arabic.

19th century and early 20th century

The dawn of the 19th century saw the advent of British rule in the Malabar. The songs of this era are marked by the rising anti-British feelings in the Mappila society in the backdrop of the agrarian tenancy discontent against the British backed Jenmi landlords. Most of the songs of the era fall under the Padappattu genre.

Padappattu

The first dated work in this genre was the Zaqqoom Padappattu dated 1836. This song was actually an Arabi-Malayalam translation of the Tamil work Zakkoon Padayppor composed by Varishay Mukiyudheen Poolavar of Madurai in 1686. Alim Umar Labba, a Mappila religious scholar from Kayalpattanam translated it into Arabi-Malayalam. Many of the tunes of Zakoon Padayppor have been largely utilized by famous Arabi Malayalam poet, Moin Kutty Vaidyar, especially in his master piece work, Badre Padappattu.
The songs of the Padapattu genre can be classified into four different types:
  • Islamic folk tales : These songs have no relation to actual historic events but either from a folk tale, a legend or simply an imaginary story related to Islamic traditions. Songs of this category include the Zaqqum Padappattu and the Jinn Padappattu. The former is a story about an imaginary confrontation of King Zaqqum of Iraq and Prophet Muhammed of Arabia while the latter is story about the Jinns, the other creation parallel to human beings as taught by the Qur'an.
  • Islamic history : These songs narrated events from the early years of Islam, and in particular the early battles of Islam. The Badar padappattu, the Hunayn Padappattu and the Karbala padappattu are characteristic of this category.
  • Mappila history : Songs of this type typically narrated the heroic deeds of the Muslims of Kerala and eulogize the martyrs among them, especially in their battles against the Portuguese and British colonial powers and local Jenmi landlords. Typical among these are the Kotturpalli Mala, Moyinkutty Vaidyar's Malappuram Padappattu etc. and the Cherur Padappattu. The first depicts the heroism of Veliyankode Kunhi Marakkar, a warrior who saves a 17-year-old Mappila girl from the hands of Portuguese kidnappers but is martyred at the end of the battle. The eulogy here is enhanced with the simultaneity of the character's death with his hour of marriage. The other two narrate stories of Mappila attacks on the British and the Jenmi landlords during the 19th century. The Cherur Padappattu, composed by two poets named Mammad Kutti and Muhyidheen in 1841, refers to a battle between Mappila rebels and the army of the East India Company. The rebels had assassinated Kaprat Krishna Panikkar, the adhikari of Tirurangadi and sought refuge in a deserted house. The soldiers later surround them and in the ensuing battle, seven Mappilas and 20 of the Company army lost their lives. The Cherur Padappattu narrates this story praising the "martyrs" amongst the Mappillas in this battle.
  • Fictional songs: These songs were about purely imaginary subjects. The elippada which narrates a 3-day imaginary battle between rats and cats based on a Panchatantra story falls under this category.
The common feature of all these songs were their pattern of narration of the bravery of the heroes depicted.
While the battle songs roused the feelings of the community against the authorities, this era also witnessed the popularization of romantic ballads like Moyinkutty Vaidyar's Badarul Muneer Husnul Jamal and Chettuvayi Pareekkutty's Soubhagya Sundari. One of the notable aspects of both these works were the age of the authors at the time of the composition; Vaidyar was said to have been 17 or 20 at the time and so was Pareekkutty.

Moyinkutty Vaidyar

, often referred to as Mahakavi is historically considered one of the most renowned and authentic Mappila poets. Born into an Ayurvedic family in 1857 at Kondotti in Malappuram district, he was well versed in Sanskrit and Arabic. At a very young age of seventeen, he composed the romantic epic Badarul Munir - Husnul Jamal .
His later works were on totally different themes that were essentially war songs in nature. The Badar Padappattu and Malappuram Padappatt are the most popular songs of this genre. Shabvathul Badarul Kubra, more popularly known as the Badar Padappattu is considered one of the finest compositions of Mappilappattu. It narrates the tale of the Battle of Badr by Prophet Muhammed and his companions. The Malappuram Padappattu, also known as the Madhinidhi Mala describes the undercurrents of peasant life and struggles in Malappuram in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The songs of Moyinkutty Vaidyar are distinguished by their depth of imagination, the beauty of the metaphors used, the creativity comparisons involved and the variety of their ishals.

Pulikkottil Hyder

Pulikkottil Hyder, born in 1879 at Wandoor was a popular poet who composed short songs in Arabi-Malayalam on topics of common interest, often attacking social evils. His simple lyrics on ordinary life of the Mappilas defied the traditional patterns of Mappilappattu thus giving him the name " The Kunchan Nambiar of Mappilappattu". In Vellappokka Maala, he describes a heavy flood that affected all throughout the Malabar, Mysore and Travancore. The sufferings of common men in the flood are depicted beautifully using only ordinary Malayalam vocabulary.
The Pulikkotil Hyder Smaraka Puraskaram, instituted by the Mahakavi Moyinkutty Vaidyar Smaraka Committee and given to personalities who have contributed to the art of Mappilappattu is named after him. The foundation for a memorial for the poet was laid in his hometown Wandoor by former Chief Minister of Kerala C.H. Mohammed Koya in April 1979, but the work has remained incomplete ever since. In 1979, the Mappila Kala Sahithya Vedi published a compilation of his works titled "Pulikkottil Krithikal".