Harsh Vardhan
Independent Researcher
India
Abstract
The present study interrogates the multifaceted role of Mappila songs—locally termed Mappilappattu—as potent vehicles of resistance literature under British colonial hegemony in Kerala’s North Malabar region. Situated at the intersection of oral tradition studies and postcolonial theory, this research foregrounds how the Muslim fisherfolk community harnessed the performative, mnemonic, and rhetorical dimensions of these folk songs to articulate anti-imperial critiques, preserve indigenous epistemologies, and mobilize collective action. Spanning the period from the late eighteenth-century consolidation of British power following Tipu Sultan’s defeat (c. 1792) to India’s independence in 1947, the study employs a mixed-methods approach. First, a corpus of fifty Mappila song texts was systematically coded for thematic content—anti-colonial rhetoric, religious invocation, communal solidarity narratives, and explicit calls to action—and mapped to specific historical flashpoints such as the Malabar Rebellion of 1921. Second, a structured survey administered to 200 self-identified Mappila community members across five coastal villages gauges contemporary awareness, interpretive frameworks, and the enduring cultural resonance of these songs. Quantitative analyses (descriptive statistics, chi-square tests) and qualitative thematic coding reveal that over 90% of the corpus directly engages colonial taxation, land dispossession, and communal violence, while survey respondents demonstrate high levels of historical literacy embedded in oral practice. Moreover, performance contexts—religious gatherings, weddings, and informal assemblies—functioned as sites of political instruction and solidarity formation. Generational divergences emerge: elders emphasize the songs’ didactic potency for incitement, whereas younger cohorts valorize them primarily as symbols of heritage. The findings underscore the songs’ dual role as repositories of subaltern memory and catalysts for grassroots resistance, contributing to oral literature scholarship by integrating textual exegesis with community-centered empirical validation. The study concludes by reflecting on modern efforts to digitize and revitalize Mappila songs, situating them within broader debates on cultural preservation and neo-colonial memory politics.
Keywords
Mappila Songs, Resistance Literature, British Raj, Oral Tradition, Kerala
References
- Abdul Latif, K. (2001). Maritime livelihoods and cultural expressions. Maritime Studies, 10(1), 55–74.
- Assmann, J. (2011). Canon and archive. In A. Erll & A. Nünning (Eds.), Medieval memory: Theory and practice (pp. 97–113). De Gruyter.
- Bold, C. (2012). Using narrative in research. Sage.
- Chakrabarty, D. (2000). Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial thought and historical difference. Princeton University Press.
- Devika, J. (2009). Subaltern voices in Kerala’s folk traditions. Postcolonial Text, 5(4), 1–14.
- Hussain, A. (1992). Colonial taxation and Mappila responses: A case study. Journal of Kerala Studies, 18(2), 45–62.
- Kunju, M. K. (2005). The devotional roots of Mappila songs. South Indian Folk Review, 7(1), 12–28.
- Logan, W. (1887). Malabar manual (Vol. 1). Government Press.
- Menon, A. G. (2006). Language contact in Mappila Malayalam. Journal of South Asian Languages, 2(2), 189–208.
- Mohammad, S. (2003). Peasant revolts and Mappilappattu in nineteenth-century Malabar. Indian Historical Quarterly, 79(3), 615–638.
- Nair, B. (1994). Malabar under British administration. Kerala Historical Review, 12(3), 301–320.
- Nizar, T. (2010). Resistance and rhythm: Mappila songs under colonial surveillance. Folk Music Journal, 11(4), 101–123.
- Panicker, R. (2012). Genre taxonomy in Mappila songs. Kerala Folklore Journal, 5(2), 77–99.
- Rahima, L. (2018). Women’s voices in Mappila oral traditions. Gender & Society in South Asia, 2(1), 33–50.
- Rahman, N. (2011). “Minnal Pattu” as anti-imperial discourse. Malayalam Literature Studies, 3(3), 215–236.
- Rahim, S. (2013). Modernity and folklore in Kerala. Cultural Dynamics, 9(3), 285–302.
- Richman, P. (1998). Many Ramayanas: The diversity of a narrative tradition in South Asia. University of California Press.
- Tharakan, P. (2015). Cultural memory and Mappilappattu. Journal of Oral History, 6(1), 89–105.
- Thiong’o, N. (1986). Decolonising the mind: The politics of language in African literature. James Currey.
- Varghese, T. (2008). Musical structures in Mappila folk songs. Musicology Today, 4(2), 150–168.