Mappila dance forms like Oppana, Kolkali, Duffmuttu, and Aravana muttu are popular in the district.
Moyinkutty Vaidyar, the most renowned Mappila paattu poet was born at Kondotty in the district.
He is one of the Mahakavis (a title for 'great poet') of Mappila songs.
The currently adopted Malayalam alphabet was first accepted by Thunchath Ezhuthachan, who was born in Tirur and is known as the father of modern Malayalam language.

Besides Moyinkutty Vaidyar and Thunchath Ezhuthachan, it is also the birthplace of many renowned writers of Malayalam including Edasseri Govindan Nair, K. P. Ramanunni, Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, Nandanar, Poonthanam Nambudiri, Pulikkottil Hyder, Uroob, and Vallathol Narayana Menon.
The district has also given its own deposits to Kathakali, the classical art form of Kerala, and Ayurveda.
Kottakkal Chandrasekharan, Kottakkal Sivaraman, and Kottakkal Madhu were famous Kathakali artists hailed from Kottakkal Natya Sangam established by Vaidyaratnam P. S. Warrier in Kottakkal.

During the medieval period, the district was a centre of Vedic as well as Islamic studies.
The ancient Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics, though mainly centred in Thrissur, also had scholars coming from Malappuram.
The Parameshvara, the Nilakantha Somayaji, the Jyeṣṭhadeva, the Achyutha Pisharadi, and the Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, who were the main members of the Kerala School of Astronomy and Mathematics hailed from the Tirur region.
The Arabi Malayalam script, otherwise known as the Ponnani script, took its birth during the late medieval period.
The script was widely used in the district in the late 19th and early 20th century CE.
Mappila dance forms like Oppana, Kolkali, Duffmuttu, and Aravana muttu are popular in the district. Moyinkutty Vaidyar, the most renowned Mappila paattu poet was born at Kondotty in the district. He is one of the Mahakavis (a title for 'great poet') of Mappila songs. The currently adopted Malayalam alphabet was first accepted by Thunchath Ezhuthachan, who was born in Tirur and is known as the father of modern Malayalam language.
Besides Moyinkutty Vaidyar and Thunchath Ezhuthachan, it is also the birthplace of many renowned writers of Malayalam including Edasseri Govindan Nair, K. P. Ramanunni, Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, Nandanar, Poonthanam Nambudiri, Pulikkottil Hyder, Uroob, and Vallathol Narayana Menon. The district has also given its own deposits to Kathakali, the classical art form of Kerala, and Ayurveda. Kottakkal Chandrasekharan, Kottakkal Sivaraman, and Kottakkal Madhu were famous Kathakali artists hailed from Kottakkal Natya Sangam established by Vaidyaratnam P. S. Warrier in Kottakkal.
During the medieval period, the district was a centre of Vedic as well as Islamic studies. The ancient Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics, though mainly centred in Thrissur, also had scholars coming from Malappuram. The Parameshvara, the Nilakantha Somayaji, the Jyeṣṭhadeva, the Achyutha Pisharadi, and the Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, who were the main members of the Kerala School of Astronomy and Mathematics hailed from the Tirur region. The Arabi Malayalam script, otherwise known as the Ponnani script, took its birth during the late medieval period. The script was widely used in the district in the late 19th and early 20th century CE.
Malappuram district