Vadakkan Pattukal
Vadakkan Pattukal is a collection of Malayalam Ballads of medieval origin. The songs present sagas of heroes such as Aromal Chekavar and Thacholi Othenan, and heroines like
Unniyarcha. They exemplify the heights of folk-poetry and are also sometimes associated with deities. Almost all these ballads show strong connections with Kalaripayattu. The oldest compositions do not date earlier than 16th century but their idiom and vocabulary seems older. The Malayalam used is devoid of Tamil and Sanskrit, and thus is probably closest to spoken idiom. 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.
