Folklore Museum
The rich and ancient South Indian cultural heritage was the inspiration for the Kerala Folklore Museum, which has emerged as one of the popular icons of the city of Cochin. George and Annie Thaliyath extended their love for antiques and came up with the idea of establishing a unique museum featuring items collected from different regions and dating to different centuries.
Specialty Of Folklore Museum
The three-story building houses architectural objects that include everything from pillars, temple steps, and slabs to animal figures, utensils, and doors. These items represent a variety of architectural styles, ranging from Arabic and Islamic to Vijayanagar architecture and European styles. Another interesting section is that of musical instruments like the veena, violin, sitar, mridangam, chengila, and thampuru.
The museum exhibits an exciting section of lamps made of materials like stone, silver, brass, and bronze. Masks, ranging from human masks and fantasy masks to ritual masks, performance masks, and animal masks, are truly worthwhile to explore at the museum. Equally mesmerizing is the variety of headgear used in different classical performances.
In the museum, you can explore many other fascinating collectibles that include mural paintings, sculptures, jewellery items, costumes, inscriptions, ornaments, bells, and objects obtained through excavations. There are fabulous items representing the folklore of the long history of Kerala. You can obtain assistance from the museum staff members to learn more about each and every item put on display.
The building also accommodates theatres that act as venues for classical Indian performances. Kanjadalam, one of the two theatres, hosts world-famous and mesmerizing dance performances like Kathakali, Bharathanatyam, Mohiniyattam, and many more.
The martial arts performances based on Kalaripayattu are also showcased in the theatre. The second theatre called Kalithattu hosts ritual and folklore art performances like Theyyam, Mudiyettu, puppet shows, and Oppana. The theatres are admired for their superlative sound and lighting arrangements.