Kannur Handloom Cotton Theyyam Ritual North Malabar Kerala

Kannur district in north Kerala is Kerala's most important handloom weaving district, producing the "Kannur handloom" cotton fabrics — bed sheets, pillow covers, table linen, and sarees — on over 10,000 handlooms operated by Ezhava and Muslim Chaliyar weaver families whose cooperative movement (formed 1952) made Kannur a model of cooperative handloom production. Theyyam — the north Malabar ritualistic performing art where the performer becomes the deity through trance, body paint, and elaborate headdress — is Kannur's most extraordinary cultural tradition, with over 400 varieties of theyyam performed by hereditary Malayan and Vannan caste performers at village shrines (kavus) between November and May. Kannur's cashew processing industry employs tens of thousands of women in peeling, grading, and packaging units.