Mappila Paatt, the traditional folk Muslim songs

Presented here is a video of Mappila Paatt or Mappila song, the traditional folk songs popular among the Muslim community in the Malabar region of Kerala. Mappila Songs use a colloquial blend of Malayalam and Arabic languages. Sometimes languages like Tamil, Persian, Kannada and Hindi also find their place in these songs.

Their themes are diverse- devotion, love, satire, heroism etc. are some among them. Traditionally, they were transferred from one generation to another orally.

The rhythm of these songs is a perfect blend of Arabic and Malayalam folk tunes. Their metre is denoted by the term Isal. Khasi Mohammed, Kunjayan Musaliyar and Moyinkutti Vaidyar are regarded to be the pioneers of t his unique musical branch.