Overview

Muziris is the most significant of names in the history of Kerala. Known to Romans and Greeks as Muziris, this port town is mentioned in Indian classics including the Sangham literature. Later the rulers, businessmen, religious groups and artistes added more strength and fame to Muziris. The major communities that are part of the history of Muziris are Adicheras, Perumakkal, Swarupas and various colonizers.

The Kerala State Government has launched a Muziris Heritage Project together with the Union Government and local-self-government bodies. This is a peoples’ movement. All Keralites have a role to play in this venture; especially those residing in the municipalities and panchayats in the project area of Muziris.

Project area

The historical studies and excavations reveal that Muziris, an old port town was situated in the present day region of Kodungalloor and Paravoor. 

The first phase of the Muziris Heritage Project covers two municipalities viz. Kodungalloor and Paravoor and eight panchayats viz. Chendamangalam, Chittattinkara, Vadakkekara, Pallippuram, S.N.Puram, Eriad and Methala. More areas will be included in the next phase.

Project aims

To invigorate the research studies and to enlarge the scope of knowledge about the cultural heritage of Muziris for the benefit of the people is the main objective of this heritage project. By continuing the scientific study on Muziris, both students and the common people will have an opportunity to know more about their cultural heritage. Since this is an era of globalization, such awareness about ones culture is essential for both the young and the aged. There would be ample opportunities for students and researchers; both native and foreign in the project area to carry out independent studies and to know more about the cultural heritage of Kerala, which in turn would make Muziris a zone for gaining and dissemination of knowledge. 

Muziris was a major financial centre and seaport according to historical records. Ancient papyrus records show that the Muziris trade dated around 2000 years back when black pepper and other aromatic spices were exported to Rome from Muziris via Egypt. In those times the world’s attention fell on Muziris when it excelled in business, farming, fishing, education and craftworks. The ongoing Muziris heritage project seeks to recreate this scenario. 

With the help of modern techniques, it is possible to recreate contemporarily the  various ancient jobs and resources. The barter systems of trade, festivals, craftworks, cuisine, abodes and even transport have Muziris models. To highlight the then socio-economic welfare models, those systems should be recreated and presented again.

The future plans for Muziris zone will be envisaged without any tampering of its rich bio-diversity, strong social structure and healthy ecosystem along with the cohesion of the present day society. This would be the novelty of this project. The devotional centers and the historical monuments around the Muziris zone should be preserved scientifically. They must be presented as a perfect example of the multifarious culture and religious harmony within the present state of Kerala.

The heritage of Kodungalloor Gurukulam and the progressive views of renaissance leaders like Sahodaran Ayyappan, Abdurahman Sahib and Kesari Balakrishna Pillai would be presented through the Muziris Heritage Project. The Muziris zone is famous for its classical and folk arts. Literature and music in this zone also has its own specialties. The cultural activities, which flourished by the re-creation of life should be preserved for the future. And this project would also present the cultural expression of various groups including women and other backward sections of society.

Project implementation

Waterways were once the main means of transportation in the project are of Muziris. There are records indicating various small boats, rice barges and huge merchant ships and warships that once plied the waterways of Muziris. Since these inland waterways are still navigable, they need to be preserved and used again to regain the elegance of Muziris. These waterways will be maintained in good condition for the travelers to reach places in Muziris. To reach various historical monuments, small roads are also needed.

Very old buildings in the project area will be preserved by renovating them with peoples’ participation. The project area will be transformed to a waste-free-zone. It is expected that a large chunk of the population will participate in this project to collect historical objects and unearth the interesting facts revealed by such artifacts.

What are the historical objects?
Anything which tells the story of our heritage is a historical object. These include household articles, farming equipments, weapons, plates, coins, toys, clothes, pictures and numerous other objects. With the help of scientific excavations the remains of heritage can be unearthed. The local lores, folk stories, myths and various folk arts tell us stories about the bygone era. The Muziris heritage project gives importance for such excavations. For the collection of such artifacts, around 100 dedicated volunteers have been working in the Muziris zone. We look forward to all of you to help them in collecting the artifacts.

The members will be meeting you ‘to know and to inform.’ The project authorities will receive the historical objects in the presence of municipal and panchayat authorities. Each artifact handed over would be provided with receipt. We hope the historically significant buildings bequeathed as the part of this project can be preserved as museums. We plan to set up around twenty-five museums in the project area. We are grateful to the building owners who are ready to provide to us historically significant buildings. And we do look forward to more such spaces.

Discussions and researches related to the conservation of the museums are going on with the participation of museum enthusiasts, historians, communication experts and cultural researchers. For the purpose, various expert committees have been organized to function in the Muziris heritage zone. The public is welcome to give suggestions and advice, if any, to the officials concerned or to the dedicated volunteers.  

We look forward to the co-operation and valuable suggestions from everyone interested.