Kannur is described as well known emporia in the spice trade by the explorer Marco Polo. It is synonymous as Cannanore which is a picturesque and an awesome city situated in northern Kerala. It is well known for temple festivals. It is the seat of administration of Kannur. It is also famous as the Land of Looms and Lores. In the times of the British rule, the city was well known by its Portuguese name of Cannanore.Other administrative cities include Tellicherry, Thaliparamba, Payyannur, Mattannur, Koothuparamba, Chakarakkal and Iritty.
The native language is Malayalam whereas English, Hindi and Tamil are the other languages. It covers an area of 2996 sq kms.
Kannur is rightly described as “The land of Looms and Lores”. Kannur is well known for its handlooms. It is one of the major exporter handlooms in India. The handloom cloths of Kannur have won international reputation. The industry was confined to the production of coarse varieties of dhoties and like, in the past. Production of quality and exportable varieties of handloom fabric was started when the Basal Evengelical Mission entered the field. The handloom industry, which was once the monopoly of private enterprise, has since been organised on co-operative lines. It provides employment to hundreds of thousands of people directly and indirectly.
Kannur is rich in traditional art and culture. Kannur is the home of Kerala folklore academy. The gift of Kannur in the field of art and culture is its folk arts. A large number of folk plays and dances are prevalent among the scheduled caster and tribes. Each tribe has its own glorious collection of folk plays and dances which are performed during festivals. Theyyam or Theyattam is an ancient and still popular ritual dance. It’s a unique combination of dance, music and also reflects the main features of a tribal culture. Theyyam is generally performed in front of the village shrines. There are a large number of temples in Kannur where Theyyam is performed.
