Urali’s, one of the earliest tribes in Kerala, are mostly found in the Idukki hills. Also known as Urli, Uraly and Oorali, agriculture is the main occupation and is also experts in creating household utensils using cane. Besides this they are considered to be the expertise in the tradition of collecting honey from trees. Some of the main festivals of Urali’s are Onam, Vishu and Puthari (related to harvesting) and for all festivals they have dance and songs.
One of the popular art forms of Urali tribes is the Malankoothu, which they will perform as part of ritual and also of festivals.
Performed by both women and men, in this circular dance the senior member of the community will lead the performance by singing the song and handling the musical instruments. Dancers along with singing have to move their body by bending it into forward and backwards. Musical instruments used for Malankoothu are Udukku, Kuzhal and Para. And dancing will be lasted till in the dawn.
