Kozhikode Calico Malabar Spice Trade Zamorin Heritage

Kozhikode (Calicut) on the Malabar coast is where Vasco da Gama landed in 1498 to establish direct European spice trade with India — the city that gave "calico" (cotton fabric) its English name, and whose Zamorin court's pepper, ginger, and cardamom trade connected the subcontinent to medieval Arab, Chinese, and Roman markets. Kozhikode's Kuthampully cotton saree — a traditional handloom cotton sari woven in Thrissur district but marketed from Kozhikode's textile heritage — and the district's halwa (a unique Malabar jaggery-rice flour confection different from other Indian halwas) are food and craft markers of the district's Mapilla (Malabar Muslim) culture. Kozhikode's Mapilla songs (Mappila Pattu) — a rich oral tradition of devotional and romantic songs in Malayalam-Arabic-Tamil mixing — is a UNESCO-recognised Intangible Cultural Heritage performed at weddings and festivals.