#malayalam:culture
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Photo
GUILLEMELGAT’S CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD | കേരളം (Kerala)
A traditional Kerala church is lit up with Christmas lights (source). It’s typical for churches in Kerala to be strung with festive lights during the Christmas season. Around one-fifth of Malayalis are Christian, belonging to a variety of denominations; Christianity has had a presence in Kerala since the 1st century AD.
The altar of a church in Kottayum, Kerala (source). As with many Christian traditions, the most important part of Christmas is the midnight mass. Syrian Christians also often abstain from meat and fish during the Advent period.
A crib, or Nativity scene, set up by local residents for a competition in Peringammala (source). It’s common to set up elaborate Nativity dioramas, called a പുൽക്കൂട് or crib, in front of the house.
A meat curry, one of the foods often eaten for Christmas dinner (source). There is usually a large meal on Christmas, especially if people were abstaining from meat and fish or fasting beforehand. The dishes are usually meat curries, biryanis, or any traditional holiday food similar to what is served at an Onam sadya.
A traditional Syrian Christian snack food which is eaten on Christmas and other holidays (source). Called അച്ചപ്പം, the snack is made from a simple batter that is placed in an elaborate mold and fried.
A Christmas plum cake (source). Another traditional Christmas food is plum cake or fruit cake, which made and shared with friends and neighbors.
Lit-up Christmas stars hanging from a vendor’s stall (source). One of the most emblematic symbols of Christmas for Malayalis are the Christmas stars. Made from paper that has been cut and decorated, and lit up from inside, they are hung all over churches, homes, and towns at Christmas time. The star is meant to be a representation of the star that directed the Three Kings to Jesus in the original Nativity story.
A child holds a sparkler during a celebration in Kerala (source). Like other festivals in Kerala, fireworks and firecrackers are an important part of the Christmas revelry.
Children sing Christmas carols at Pallippurum Church in Ernakulu (source). It’s common from groups of performers to go around the neighborhood singing carols at people’s doors at Christmas time. In fact, the tradition, while largely Christian, is not limited by religion, and members of other religious groups sometimes go caroling as well— Christmas joy is open to all.
(Thanks to this post for being a very helpful jumping off point)
#the indian english is getting to me with that last sentence ;;-;;#no but i say that about caroling because my malayali family is hindu but a lot of them went caroling when they were younger#and have very fond memories of it <3#also the cribs and the christmas stars#if i have any christian malayali followers please feel free to send in corrections! i'm always glad to learn new things ^-^#(also don't @ me i know the sparkler website is for vishu but it was a good picture and there were none for christmas)#malayalam:general#malayalam:culture#malayalam:reference#general:culture#general:reference#guillemelgat's christmas around the world#la vida sense queue
27 notes
·
View notes
Text
So here’s the gist of the family vocab included in the book, I’m not going to super explain stuff/go into dialectal variation atm because I was planning to do that for a separate post. If you’re confused then survival Malayalam you need to know the words for mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, child, older brother, and older sister – these are ones that I hear a lot (well, at least the variants that my family uses which I’m not going to put here). Other Malayalees, please share what you use/distinctions you make, (especially if you’re not Nayars since that’s what my family is).
കുടുംബം /kuṭumbam/ - family
തറവാട് /taṟavātŭ/ - family house*
അമ്മ /amma/ - mother
അച്ഛൻ /acchan/ - father
മുത്തച്ഛൻ /muttacchan/ - grandfather
മുത്തശ്ശി /muttaśśi/ - grandmother
ചിറ്റപ്പൻ /ciṟṟappan/ - father's younger brother
ഭാര്യ /bhārya/ - wife
ഭര്ത്താവ് /bhartāvŭ/ - husband
കുട്ടി /kuṭṭi/ - child
ആണ്കുട്ടി /ānkuṭṭi/ - boy (lit. male child)
പെണ്കുട്ടി /peṇkuṭṭi/ - girl (lit. female child)
മകൻ /makan/ - son
മകൾ /makaḷ/ - daughter
ചേട്ടൻ /cēṭṭan/ - older brother
അനിയൻ /aniyan/ - younger brother
ചേച്ചി, ചേടത്തി /cēcci, cēṭatti/ - older sister
ചേടത്തി അമ്മ /cēṭatti amma/ - wife of oldest brother**
അമ്മാവൻ, അമ്മാമൻ /ammāvan, ammāman/ - uncle
അമ്മാവി, അമ്മായി /ammāvi, ammāyi/ - aunt
മരുമകൻ /marumakan/ - nephew or son-in-law
അളിയൻ /aḷiyan/ - brother-in-law
* - Here's Wikipedia's explanation of what this is
** - the wife of the head of the Tharavad/family house, since Nayars are matriarchal she's very important
#literally had absolutely no idea how to spell half of these#i was today years old when i learn that it wasn't mama and mai it's actually ammaama and ammayi :')#literally ammayi broke me i spent like 10 minutes watching my world suddenly fall into place#also learned like 3 days ago that THAT'S how you spell edathi#this is the closest i will ever get to a heritage speaker experience and it's truly mind-boggling#also i have never heard half of these but apparently my family is lazy and just calls everyone ettan and edathi#malayalam:general#malayalam:vocab#malayalam:reference#general:vocab#general:reference#malayalam:culture#(ish)#learn malayalam in 30 days
21 notes
·
View notes
Text
വിഷൂ ആശംസകള് / Happy Vishu!
Vishu (വിഷൂ /viṣū/) is the Malayali new year! It’s the first day of മെടം (meṭam), and always falls on April 14 or 15 of the Gregorian calendar. On Vishu, it’s traditional to make a കണി /kaṇi/, which is sort of like an offering tray. Actually, though, കണി comes from the verb “to see” and that’s because it’s the first thing that you’re supposed to see in the new year – and the first thing you see decides how your year is going to go, so you have to make sure to put out good things! One important component is a golden flower called കണിക്കൊന്ന /kaṇikonna/, which according to my dad signifies gold or prosperity. In the US we don’t have kani konna so we usually use forsythia instead. In the picture above I’ve used a photo I took of some forsythia in my neighborhood a few days ago, and that’s one of the reasons why forsythia is so great – it starts blooming right around when Vishu happens. Another important item on the tray is a mirror, so that you are the first person you see, and therefore (according to my dad) you can’t blame what happens to you on anyone else. Besides that, food, clothes, and money are commonly put there as well. Other Vishu traditions include getting new clothes, eating a big meal called a സദ്യ (sadya), and setting off firecrackers – basically, just typical new years’ stuff. It’s a really nice holiday though, and I wish all my Malayali followers a very happy Vishu <3
#my dad is actually doing stuff because he's at my aunt's house and she's a lot more involved in celebrating malayali stuff#he's sending me pictures and i'm making him explain everything#we do usually have the forsythia though#that's generally about it#maybe sambar for dinner sometimes#if people remember#we are terrible malayalis but yeah 😔#i'd like to celebrate it more though#general:culture#malayalam:culture#malayalam:general
9 notes
·
View notes
Photo
Image credit: Vaikom Temple Sreekovil Murals, Sivavkm on Wikimedia
For the tl90days challenge this week, I’m learning about Kerala mural paintings, which are a form of frescoes painted on the walls of South Indian (primarily Kerala) temples depicting scenes from Hindu mythology. Here is some vocabulary related to them, please let me know if you catch mistakes!
കേരളത്തിലെ ചുമർ ചിത്രങ്ങൾ /kēraḷattile cumar citraṅṅaḷ/ - Kerala mural painting
കരിങ്കല്ല് /kariṅkallŭ/ - granite
ചെങ്കല്ല് /ceṅkallŭ/ - laterite
നിർമ്മാണം /nirmmāṇam/ - construction
നിറക്കൂട്ട് /niṛakkūṭṭŭ/ - coloring
ചുവപ്പ് /cuvappŭ/ - red
മഞ്ഞ /mañña/ - yellow
നീല /nīla/ - blue
പച്ച /pacca/ - green
കറുപ്പ് /karuppŭ/ - black
വെള്ള /veḷḷa/ - white
ഹിന്ദുമതം /hindumatam/ - Hinduism
ക്ഷേത്രം /kṣētram/ - temple
കൊട്ടാരം /koṭṭāram/ - palace
#tl90days#this is not a very good list but i was pressed for time#anyways please correct because i didn't super check these!#malayalam#vocab lists#language month#(?)#malayalam:general#malayalam:culture#malayalam:vocab#malayalam:challenge#malayalam:reference#general:culture#general:vocab#general:reference#general:challenge
21 notes
·
View notes
Photo
ഓണാശംസകൾ! / HAPPY ONAM!
Onam or ഓണം (ōṇam) is a holiday celebrated in Kerala in late August/early September (the date in the Gregorian calendar tends to vary). It’s a harvest festival, and while the mythology surrounding it is Hindu, it’s generally celebrated as a secular holiday across the state. One of the traditions for Onam is making flower mandalas, called pookkalam or പൂക്കളം (pūkkaḷam), like the one in this drawing! Pookkalam can be very creative (I’ve made one in the shape of a turtle before) or more traditional, and can be made every day leading up to Onam; it’s one of the few traditions I’ve participated in, so it’s very close to my heart. Other Onam festivities include the sadhya or സാധ്യ (sādhya), a lunchtime feast served on a traditional banana leaf, and lots of parades/dancing/boat races/etc etc. All in all, it’s definitely the most important holidays in Kerala, and one all Malayalam learners should know about :)
#don't really know what this post was i just wanted to make onam content#it's one of the few traditions i participated in as a kid#especially because we'd always go to india around that time of year#so i've actually been in kerala for it! which is very cool and i would absolutely recommend#i just miss making pookkalam :'(#also apparently onam was yesterday idk i thought it was today#sorry if i'm a day off#malayalam#art#random stuff#malayalam:general#malayalam:culture#malayalam:vocab#general:culture
12 notes
·
View notes
Video
youtube
This isn’t a translation per-se, but my dad showed me this song and tried to translate it a bit (he said he only understood about 60% so idk). It’s about Kozhikode/Calicut, which is a city in Kerala (and apparently a center for Mappila Muslims, the Muslim community in Kerala).
കോഴിക്കോട് /kōḻikkōd/ is the usual pronunciation of the city but she pronounces it /kōyikkōdŭ/.
മുത്ത് /muttŭ/ - pearl, കടൽ /kaṭal/ - sea; she’s saying that Kozhikode is the pearl of the sea
Okay for some of these I’m going with the Latin-script lyrics so can’t give the spelling in Malayalam:
chengaye - this is Kozhikode dialect and means something like buddy/pal/bro/comrade/etc
vayaru nirachu kayichoo - eating plantain chips, she turns all the “ഴ”s into a /y/ sound, so it would be വഴ and കഴിചു
She also talks about eating biryani in the next couple of lines, and that you’ll eat well in Kozhikode
The next verse is about narrow streets or something?? And then about beaches....aaaand I think that’s about where we stopped
Anyway this was probably not very helpful but it was interesting to sort of get some new words, and the song is cute and wholesome ^-^
#tl90days#both me and my mom thought she was saying chennai when she says chengaye#i can sort of hear it now but i'm still not convinced#that's a good word though i like knowing dumb dialectal filler words#especially so i can call people bro in malayalam ;)))#also story time my aunt sent this to my dad#which is why we were watching it#and then my dad sent it to his american friend who's learning malayalam#and he was like I WAS LOOKING FOR THIS#and apparently it was in a food show and also some other tv show that he watches in malayalam#anyways tldr is this what i sound like to catalan people#i'm having an out of body experience rn#malayalam#music#malayalam:general#malayalam:music#malayalam:culture#malayalam:challenge#malayalam:vocab#general:music#general:culture#general:challenge#general:vocab
5 notes
·
View notes