Editing Malayalam literature (section)

==Old Malayalam==
{{main|Old Malayalam}}

===Folk Songs===
Folk songs are the oldest literary form in Malayalam.<ref name="clt"/> They were just oral songs.<ref name="clt"/> Many of them were related to agricultural activities, including ''Pulayar Pattu'', ''Pulluvan Pattu'', ''Njattu Pattu'', ''Koythu Pattu'', etc.<ref name="clt"/> Other [[Ballad]]s of Folk Song period include the ''[[Vadakkan Pattukal]]'' (Northern songs) in [[North Malabar]] region and the ''Thekkan Pattukal'' (Southern songs) in [[Southern Division (Travancore)|Southern Travancore]].<ref name="clt"/> Some of the earliest [[Mappila song]]s (Muslim songs) were also folk songs.<ref name="clt"/>
For the first 600 years of the [[Malayalam calendar]], Malayalam literature remained in a preliminary stage. During this time, Malayalam literature consisted mainly of various genres of songs (''Pattu''). Prominent were songs praising the goddesses of the land, ballads of brave warriors, songs related to the work of a particular caste and songs intended just for entertainment. ''Bhadrakali pattu, thottam pattu, Mappila pattu, mavaratham pattu, sasthanga pattu, nizhalkoothu pattu, sarpa pattu, sastham pattu, thiyyattu pattu, pulluvar pattu, mannar pattu, panar pattu, krishi pattu, thamburan pattu, pada pattu, villadichan pattu, onappattu, kummi'' and lullaby were some of the major subgenres. These names were not used historically, but are used in modern times to describe the song genres of that time.<ref name="Panicker">Dr. K. Ayyappa Paniker (1977). ''A Short History of Malayalam Literature''.</ref>

===''Ramacharitham''===
''Ramacharitham'' is a collection of poems written at the end of the preliminary stage. It is the oldest Malayalam book available, with a possible exception of ''Thirunizhalmala''. The collection has 1,814 poems in it. ''Ramacharitham'' mainly consists of stories from the Yuddha Kanda of the ''Ramayana''. It was written by a poet with the pen name ''Cheeramakavi'' who, according to poet Ulloor S Parameswara Iyer, was Sree Veerarama Varman, a king of southern Kerala from AD 1195 to 1208.<ref>{{ Citation| last=S. Parameshwara Aiyer| first=Ulloor| title=Kerala Sahithya Chrithram (History of literature of Kerala)| publisher=University of Kerala| place=Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala|year=1990}}</ref> However the claim that it was written in Southern Kerala is expired on the basis of new discoveries.<ref name="kasaragod">http://sdeuoc.ac.in/sites/default/files/sde_videos/SLM-MA-Mal-Aadyakala%20Malayala%20kavitha%20%281%29.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608091936/http://sdeuoc.ac.in/sites/default/files/sde_videos/SLM-MA-Mal-Aadyakala%20Malayala%20kavitha%20%281%29.pdf |date=8 June 2021 }} {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref> Other experts, like Chirakkal T Balakrishnan Nair, Dr. K.M. George, M. M. Purushothaman Nair, and P.V. Krishnan Nair, state that the origin of the book is in [[Kasaragod district]] in [[North Malabar]] region.<ref name="kasaragod"/> They cite the use of certain words in the book and also the fact that the manuscript of the book was recovered from [[Nileshwaram]] in [[North Malabar]].<ref>{{Citation| last=Leelavathi| first=Dr. M.| title=Malayala Kavitha Sahithya Chrithram (History of Malayalam poetry)}}</ref> The influence of ''[[Ramacharitam]]'' is mostly seen in the contemporary literary works of Northern Kerala.<ref name="kasaragod"/> The words used in ''Ramacharitam'' such as ''Nade'' (''Mumbe''), ''Innum'' (''Iniyum''), ''Ninna'' (''Ninne''), Chaaduka (''Eriyuka'') are special features of the dialect spoken in [[North Malabar]] ([[Kasaragod]]-[[Kannur]] region).<ref name="kasaragod"/> Furthermore, the [[Thiruvananthapuram]] mentioned in ''Ramacharitham'' is not the Thiruvananthapuram in Southern Kerala.<ref name="kasaragod"/> But it is [[Ananthapura Lake Temple]] of [[Kumbla]] in the northernmost [[Kasaragod district]] of Kerala.<ref name="kasaragod"/> The word ''Thiru'' is used just by the meaning ''Honoured''.<ref name="kasaragod"/> Today it is widely accepted that ''Ramacharitham'' was written somewhere in [[North Malabar]] (most likely near [[Kasaragod]]).<ref name="kasaragod"/> ''Ramacharitham'' is considered a book written during the formative years of Malayalam. According to Rev. Dr. [[Hermann Gundert]], who compiled the first dictionary of the Malayalam language, ''Ramacharitham'' shows the ancient style of the Malayalam language.<ref>{{ Citation| last=Gundert| first=Rev. Dr. Hermann| title=Malayalabhasha Vyakaranam (Grammar of Malayalam language|year=1865}}</ref>