Mappila Paattu or Mappila Song is a folklore Muslim song genre rendered to lyrics in colloquial Mappila dialect of Malayalam laced with Arabic, by the Mappilas of Malabar.[1] Mappila songs have a distinct cultural identity, while at the same time, remain closely linked to the cultural practices of Kerala. The songs often used words from Persian, Urdu, Tamil, Hindi apart from Arabic and Malayalam, but the grammatical syntax was always based on Malayalam.[2][3] They deal with themes such as religion, love, satire and heroism, and are often sung at occasions of birth, marriage and death. Mappila Paattu form an integral part of the heritage of Malayalam literature today and is regarded by some as the most popular branch of Malayalam literature, enjoyed by all communities in Kerala.
The music of Kerala has a long and rich history. It is not the same as Malayalam poetry although most of it is poetry driven. Kerala has a rich tradition in Carnatic music. Songs formed a major part of early Malayalam literature, which traces its origin to the 9th century CE.[1] The significance of music in the culture of Kerala can be established just by the fact that in Malayalam language, musical poetry was developed long before prose. With the development of music in the region, different branches were formed out of it. The most basic branches are classical music which is primarily Carnatic music oriented, and popular music which includes film songs and album songs.