Vadakkan Pattukal

Vadakkan Pattukal (Ballads of North Malabar or Songs of the North) 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. The stories centre round the fortunes of two families, Puthooram family and Thacholi manikkoth family. Though two families belong to two different communities, Thiyyar and Nair respectively, they share in common the martial traditional. The chief among the Thiyyar chieftains of puthooram was Aromal chekavar, a veteran in the art of the dual. His sister Attumanamel unniyarcha, is equally adapt in the use of arms. The exploits of the Nair chieftain Thacholi Otenan belonging to the Thacholi family form the theme of several ballads. Thacholi chandu, palattu komappan, putumada kelu, karumparambil kannan are some of the other warriors who figure in the ballads. 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. 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.