A Look at The State of Kerala’s Rural Heritage

In 1989, the term ‘God’s Own Country’ was coined for the Tourism Department of the Indian state of Kerala, as an attempt to bolster the state’s appeal to domestic and international visitors. Referencing the region’s heritage composed of rich cultural diversity, verdant hills, backwaters, coastlines, and wildlife, it is no surprise then that the slogan proved to be so effective. Kerala has since become one of India’s—and the world’s—most popular tourist destinations.

Leading to the rapid emergence of small-scale cottage industries and resorts, employment prospects for disadvantaged Malayalis, and a market with an appetite for all things traditional, it appears that awareness, education, and information about heritage has become most accessible through tourism initiatives. However, the face of Kerala’s heritage inevitably becomes a curated one when responding to the burgeoning demands of a growing tourism industry.

There is limited research on what encompasses ‘heritage’ to Kerala’s various demographics. There is even less information on the state of heritage in post-2000s Kerala. This Lab is part of a multimedia project that responds to gaps within the documentation of various aspects of Kerala’s rural heritage, which is often portrayed in the tourism sector as synonymous with the ‘traditional’.

According to census data from 1961 to 2011, the rate of urbanization in Kerala has been increasing exponentially [1]. While urbanization has contributed significantly to the socio-economic development of the state, it has also been criticized for leading to the decline of rural living [2]. Rural customs and knowledge—which have been passed down and refined through hundreds of generations—now face obsolescence.

Generational practices disappear without financial incentives or public awareness; traditions face off against the effects of climate change, economic exploitation and modern forces; and sacred practices undergo commodification under political or market pressures. The outcome, as presented by tourism, is an incomplete and fragmented reflection of Kerala’s heritage and the reality of its rural roots.

This project serves as a digital record of photographs, soundscapes, and video footage that documents heritage as communities define it. The stories presented provide intricate details and origins of many Malayali traditions and popularised material culture, the enduring significance of traditional practices and their production, and the challenges communities face in sustaining them.

Research for this project presently focuses on ‘Central Kerala’, comprised of the districts of Thrissur and Palakkad.

Areas of Interest

The stories presented in this Lab cover the following areas of interest



Rituals and performances are deeply intertwined with rural Kerala’s religious and social fabric. Occurring during specific events observed in the Hindu lunisolar calendar, performances such as Poothan and Thira travel from temples to houses, bringing communities together with a sensory experience of drums, trance, and dance. For performers, participation is both a rite of passage and a means of earning remuneration. Despite being hundreds of years old, many ritualistic performances remain largely unchanged. However, climatic conditions, such as Kerala’s stronger monsoons, and divisive politics strain the resources and support necessary to sustain these practices.


Craftsmanship is a popular means of livelihood in rural and semi-rural Kerala. Artisans are renowned for the intricacy of their work which encompasses coir weaving, pottery, metalwork, masonry, jewellery, handicrafts, and more. Their traditional knowledge is consulted for eco-friendly methods of production, which include minimum waste and reliance on natural resources. The work of rural artisans is a result of generational knowledge. Crafts go to homes, temples, festivals, and cultural centres. Their styles may reference religious motifs. Older artisans are considered as reliable sources of folktakes and history, and often transmit them orally to trainees during work.


Traditional architecture includes houses, temples, and cultural and religious institutes. Traditional building styles in Kerala, like that of the pictured tharavad or ancestral homes of the Nair community, are distinct. They often have pillars, timber carvings, laterite walls, and sloping clay roofs, constructed in consultation with local cosmology. Religious structures, such as temples, showcase woodwork, murals, and stone carvings—some older than 1,000 years—each containing with it mythological or cultural information about its region. Many of these structures crumble under urban pressures, migration, and technological developments. Some, however, find new lives as they are repurposed.


Prehistoric and medieval Kerala can be witnessed by those with a keen eye for ancient relics and artifacts. The pastoral landscape is dotted with dolmens, menhirs, petroglyphs, pictographs, herostones, and former cave-dwellings, that blend into backyards and forests. Many of these sites lie in a state of precarity. They are vandalised with political messages, appropriated into contemporary religious practices, or integrated into family histories. While they serve new purposes to modern communities, they often risk enduring permanent damage. Some rural practices, though, can offer them protection against destruction.

[1] Economic Review. “Population Profile of the State“, State Planning Board (Thiruvananthapuram). Government of Kerala. 2017.

[2] Vadakepat Menon and MV. Surviving the aftermaths of natural disasters: the earthen vessels of Kerala, India. Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development. Emerald Publishing Ltd. 2022.