Publication

Abstract : The focus of the current chapter is on the port city of Muziris, which stands as a complex site of cultural assortments and an excellent model of cosmopolitanism. Muchiripatnam or Muziris (present-day Malabar) has been the subject of theoretical deliberations since the discovery of the relics of Pattanam on the Southwest coast. In this chapter, attention has been drawn to the transformation of cultural practices, gender relations, and food patterns in the port city of Muziris as a result of its maritime trade. The focus is on the dialectical relationship as well as the continuity shared by the erstwhile port city of Muziris and the present-day Muziris. Through various textual instances, the chapter substantiates the key argument that, despite all the surface tensions and cultural variations, there remained a deep sense of oceanic consciousness and a fabric of inclusivity that pervaded the relationship between the traders and the people of the littoral.