A mizhav or mizhavu (

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

: മിഴാവ്) is a big copper

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

played as an accompanying percussion instrument in the

Koodiyattam Koodiyattam ( ml, കൂടിയാട്ടം; IAST: kūṭiyāṭṭaṁ; ) is a traditional performing art form in the state of Kerala, India. It is a combination of ancient Sanskrit theatre with elements of ''Koothu'', an ancient perfor ...

and

Koothu Koothu or Therukoothu (jwalith) ( ta, கூத்து), is an ancient art, where artists play songs with dance and music in storytelling the epics, performed in Tamil; it is a folk art originated from the early Tamil country. More precisel ...

, performing arts of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. It is played by the

Ambalavasi Ambalavasi, more properly Ampalavasi, ( ml, അമ്പലവാസി; IAST: Ampalavāsi; ) is the generic name for a group of castes among Hindus in Kerala, India, who have traditionally rendered temple services. Castes The Ambalavasis are b ...

Nambiar Nambiar may refer to: *Nambiar (Ambalavasi caste), a Hindu caste in Kerala *Nambiar (Nair subcaste), an Indian caste from North Malabar People *A. C. N. Nambiar (1896–1986), Indian nationalist and first Indian ambassador to Germany *Aneil Namb ...

community. After 1965, when started a mizhavu repertory in kalamandalam mizhavu break the cast barrier and nowadays anyone can play mizhavu in koodiyattam, nangiar koothu, chakyar koothu, and mizhavu thayambaka. The drum is played only with hands. The

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

name of nambiar "Pānivāda" ('pāni' means ''hands'' and 'vāda' comes from the verb 'vādanam' meaning ''playing'', altogether meaning the one who plays with hands) comes from this reason. Mizhavu is treated as a " Brahmachaarya" and it is considered as sacred. It is used to accompany the holy ritualistic temple performance of Koodiyattam and Koothu. Only Ambalavasi Nambiar community members are allowed to play it inside temples or

Koothambalam Koothambalam or Kuttampalam meaning temple theatre is a closed hall for staging ''Koothu'', ''Nangiar koothu'' and ''Koodiyattam'', the ancient ritualistic art forms of Kerala, India. Koothambalams are said to be constructed according to the guid ...

s still.

See also

References

Further reading