OppanaJeseri Malayalam and Arabic-Malayalam
Praise of the bride and of the marriage, sung by a lead voice with a clapping chorus of women.
कब गाया जाता है: Weddings, around the bride. Identical in form and function to the Mappila oppana of the Malabar coast.
Lava songsDhivehi
Refrains sung to drums while the men's rows move — praise, seafaring, and village rivalry, with each village keeping its own set.
कब गाया जाता है: Eid, weddings, village receptions at Minicoy.
Duff songs (Duffmuttu)Arabic-Malayalam
Praise of the Prophet and of local saints, sung over a frame drum by a seated line of men who move only from the waist.
कब गाया जाता है: Milad-un-Nabi and saints' commemorations.
Kolkali pattuJeseri Malayalam
Timing songs for the stick dance, whose lines set the tempo the batons have to hit.
कब गाया जाता है: Weddings and festivals.
Bandiya songsDhivehi
Sung by women who beat time on metal water pots while dancing. Shared directly with the Maldives, where the same form is performed under the same name.
कब गाया जाता है: Women's celebration at Minicoy.
Sailors' songsDhivehi and Jeseri Malayalam
Work and departure songs from the sailing-odam era, when the islands' men crewed trading vessels to Malabar, Sri Lanka and the Gulf. Very little of this repertoire has been recorded and much of it is gone.
कब गाया जाता है: Voyages and boat launching.