Vadakkan Pattukal
Vadakkan Pattukal are a collection of Malayalam ballads from the medieval period. The genre as a whole represents the sentiment of vira, or the heroic, through its depictions of "valour and sacrifice."Contents
The songs present stories of heroes such as Aromal Chekavar and Thacholi Othenan, and heroines like Unniyarcha. The stories centre around the fortunes of two families, Puthooram family and Thacholi Manikkoth family. Though the two families belong to two different castes or communities, Thiyyar and Nair respectively, they have a shared martial traditional. The chief among the Thiyyar chieftains of Puthooram was Aromal Chekavar, who had been killed by his cousin Chanthu Chekavar in his first duel by deceit. His sister, Attumanamel Unniyarcha, is equally adept in the use of arms. The exploits of the Nair chieftain, Thacholi Othenan, belonging to the Thacholi family, form the theme of several ballads. The last duel Othenan fought was with his own guru, called Mathiloor Gurukkal, who was from the Ganaka caste. Thandasseri Chappan, who was the best friend and all time companion of Othenan, was from Thiyyar caste. They always travel together and fight together. Vadakkan Patt also talks about other strong women like Poomathayi Ponnamma. They exemplify the heights of folk-poetry and are also sometimes associated with deities. Almost all these ballads show strong connections to Kalaripayattu. The oldest compositions do not date earlier than 16th century but their idiom and vocabulary seem older. However, like any other oral cultural forms that are sung by communities even today, these songs show great flexibility and a repetitive pattern in their lexicon that is typical of the simplicity of folksongs in general.