South Malabar refers to a geographical area of the southwestern coast of India covering some parts of the present-day Kerala state.

[6] The historical regions of Nediyiruppu Swaroopam, Eranad, Valluvanad, Parappanad, Kavalappara, Vettathunadu, the Nilambur Kingdom, Nedungadis, and Palakkad, are all included in South Malabar.

[7] Earlier, the term Malabar had been used to also include Tulu Nadu and Kanyakumari, which lie contiguous to Kerala on the southwestern coast of India.

[16] Pliny the Elder (1st century CE) stated that the port of Tyndis was located at the northwestern border of Keprobotos (Chera dynasty).

[21][22] During the early Middle Ages, South Malabar was home to numerous political realms, including the kingdoms of Cochin, Parappanad, Vettathunadu (Tanur), Valluvanad, Nilambur, Nedungadi, and Palakkad.

[23] Three inscriptions written in Old Malayalam dating from 932 CE were found in Triprangode (near Tirunavaya), Kottakkal, and Chaliyar, and mention the name of Goda Ravi of the Chera dynasty.

The port at Kozhikode was the gateway to the South Indian coast for Arabs, who had a monopoly on foreign trade, and later the Portuguese, Dutch, and British.

Abdur Razzak (1442–43), Niccolò de' Conti (1445), Afanasy Nikitin (1468–74), Ludovico di Varthema (1503–1508), and Duarte Barbosa witnessed the city as one of the major international trading centres on the Indian subcontinent.

[39] In attempting to solve astronomical problems, the school independently created a number of important mathematics concepts, including series expansion for trigonometric functions.

[39][40] Azhvanchery Thamprakkal, the feudal lords of Athavanad who were considered the supreme head of Nambudiri Brahmins of Kerala during the Middle Ages, were also natives of South Malabar.

[41] Additionally, South Malabar was home to the prominent figures like Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, Poonthanam Nambudiri, Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, Kunchan Nambiar, and Zainuddin Makhdoom II.

In 1740, when an allied force[50] led by Dutchman Captain Hockert supporting the Deshinganadu King, attacked Venad, an army from Kilimanoor resisted and then defeated them.

Broad gauge lines connect Palakkad to the major cities of Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Coimbatore, Kozhikode, Tiruchirappalli, Salem, and Mangalore.

In attempting to solve astronomical problems, the school independently created a number of important mathematics concepts, including series expansion for trigonometric functions.

[119][better source needed] The Malayala Manorama, Mathrubhumi, Madhyamam, Chandrika, Deshabhimani, Suprabhaatham, and Siraj daily newspapers have printing centres in and around Malappuram City.

Despite lacking private FM stations, Malappuram, Ponnani, and Tirur are among the top ten towns with the highest radio listenership in India.

During the 17th century, His Highness Sri Samoothiri Manavedan Maharaja authored Krishnattam, a manipravala text describing the childhood of Lord Krishna in eight volumes.

The composer M. S. Baburaj, lyricist and screenwriter Gireesh Puthenchery, directors Ranjith, V. M. Vinu, A. Vincent, Shajoon Kariyal, Anjali Menon, and cinematographer P. S. Nivas also hail from Kozhikode.

[41] Additional renowned writers of Malayalam include Achyutha Pisharadi, Alamkode Leelakrishnan, Edasseri Govindan Nair, K. P. Ramanunni, Kuttikrishna Marar, Kuttippuram Kesavan Nair, Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, N. Damodaran, Nandanar, Poonthanam Nambudiri, Pulikkottil Hyder, Uroob, V. C. Balakrishna Panicker, Vallathol Gopala Menon, and Vallathol Narayana Menon, all of whom were natives of the district.

[41] Mappila Paattu poets such as the aforementioned Moyinkutty Vaidyar and Pulikkottil Hyder, as well as Kulangara Veettil Moidu Musliyar (popularly known as Chakkeeri Shujayi), Chakkeeri Moideenkutty, Manakkarakath Kunhikoya, Nallalam Beeran, K. K. Muhammad Abdul Kareem, Balakrishnan Vallikunnu, Punnayurkulam Bapu, and Veliyankode Umar Qasi, chose to work from Malappuram.

[130] Thunchath Ezhuthachchan and Vallathol Narayana Menon hail from Vettathunad, the latter of whom is considered the resurrector of modern Kathakali through the establishment of the Kerala Kalamandalam school.

The Ponnani region was the working platform of freedom fighters such as K. Kelappan (popularly known as "Kerala Gandhi"), A. V. Kuttimalu Amma, and Mohammed Abdur Rahiman.

The ashes of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Lal Bahadur Shastri, were deposited in Kerala at Tirunavaya, on the bank of the river Bharathappuzha.

[133] Parameshvara, Nilakantha Somayaji, Jyeṣṭhadeva, Achyutha Pisharadi, and Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, who were the main members of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics, hailed from the Tirur region.

Sukumaran—who is also the father of two notable actors and playback singers of Malayalam film industry, namely Prithviraj Sukumaran and Indrajith Sukumaran—also was a native of the district.

Other playback singers from the district include Krishnachandran, Parvathy Jayadevan, Shahabaz Aman, Sithara Krishnakumar, Sudeep Palanad, and Unni Menon.

The district has also produced some notable film producers, lyricists, cinematographers, and directors including Aryadan Shoukath, Deepu Pradeep, Hari Nair, Iqbal Kuttippuram, Mankada Ravi Varma, Muhammad Musthafa, Muhsin Parari, Rajeev Nair, Salam Bappu, Shanavas K Bavakutty, Shanavas Naranippuzha, T. A. Razzaq, T. A. Shahid, Vinay Govind, and Zakariya Mohammed.

[41] Social reformers from the district include Veliyankode Umar Khasi, Chalilakath Kunahmed Haji, E. Moidu Moulavi, and Sayyid Sanaullah Makti Tangal.

[144] Centuries of maritime trade has given South Malabar a cosmopolitan cuisine that combines traditional Kerala, Persian, Yemenese, and Arab food culture,[145] and offers a variety of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Snacks include unnakkaya (deep-fried, boiled ripe banana paste covering a mixture of cashew, raisins, and sugar),[148] pazham nirachathu (ripe banana filled with coconut grating, molasses, or sugar),[148] muttamala made of eggs,[145] chatti pathiri (a dessert made of flour, like a baked, layered chapati with rich filling), arikkadukka,[149] and more.