The history of Kathakali is intrinsically mingled with the culture of Kerala. This dance form has become one of the most popular Indian dance forms.

The history of Kathakali is rich, pregnant with its copious tradition. It can be said that the dance form has certainly not emerged in one day but is a result of continuous effort, an account of changing tradition. The indigenous Dravidians of Kerala were worshippers of Bhagvati, the Earth-Mother goddess, and also worshipped the snakes. Later, after the Nambudris` supremacy had been established, the custom of each household actually setting apart a small grove in the compound for the habitation of snakes became universal. These snake groves are common even today and are said to protect the household. This adoration of snakes resulted in one of the oldest dance-forms of Kerala - the Pampin Tullal or the dance of the snakes. An important center for the worship of snakes is Mannarsala, where special snake-dance festivals are held. These dances are of Dravidian origin. All these were early influences, which helped towards creating the climate for the composite art of Kathakali. The Kathakali dance uses fantastic costumes, masks or make-up that are the representation of super-human beings to be associated with an extravagant appearance.

The history of Kathakali unveils the fact that the dance form is indeed the result of fusion between the pre-Aryan Dravidian dances and the later ones introduced by the Brahmins. It combines the consciousness, the religious practices and the techniques of these two cultural streams in perfect harmony and balance. The Dravidians were gentle and peaceful people. They are worshippers of nature and devoted to Bhagvati, the benevolent Mother Goddess of the earth, who provided them with all their needs, spiritual and material. Dance for them, was truly an integral part of their life. Their deities being extremely important to them, they worshipped these deities through dance. One of these religious dances, the Bhagvati Pattu is performed in honour of the triumph of Bhagvati over Daruka, the king of the demons. The chenda or a cylindrical drum, which is held upright and struck with two slender sticks, accompanies all these dances. This instrument is now an important part of the orchestra, which accompanies Kathakali.

The history of Kathakali dance is the saga of an ever changing tradition. The coming of the Brahmins resulted in the inevitable changes in the Kathakali dance, which always occur with the arrival of unfamiliar elements. Eventually, they combined with the culture of the Dravidians, the sophistication of the Aryans, whose approach to everything was methodical and academic and who defined their laws, creative, social or religious, by particular attention to every possible detail. The Nayars then migrated to Kerala and exerted their influence on the traditional skill and training techniques of Kathakali. Even today the exponents of Kathakali are mostly Nayars. They retain the name Kalari for the practice is performed with most of the exercises and methods of massage they used as warriors. The basic stance of a Kathakali dancer is a logical extension of the natural position adopted for any form of hand-to-hand combat. The loosened knees help to absorb the shock of landing and the wider apart they are held, the greater the freedom of movement in any direction is attained. The one curious thing of Kathakali is that the weight of the body is taken by the outer edges of the feet. There are said to be two reasons for this, to reduce further the shock to the spinal column and to make dancing for long periods less tiring to the feet.

The rich history of Kathakali also points out the fact that the external influences had an impact in the development of the Kathakali dance form. The Aryan influences on Kathakali introduced art forms codified and embodied in the Sanskrit shastras of the Brahmins. They propagated and kept alive the wisdom of the Gods and were in the form of stories and legends. These sacred texts were recited in the temples, which were prohibited to the lower castes. This form of recitation was known as Chakkiyar-kuttu, because the orator belonged to the Chakkiyar caste. The Chakkiyars declare their descent from the Sutas of the Mahabharata.

With the development of this dance form, abhinaya became an integral part of this dance form. The history of Kathakali shows that abhinaya indeed played an important role which later aided in Kathakali in attaining today`s chic contour. It is with this changing tradition, in Kathakali Nritta or pure dance is ideally gelled with lasya and rasa to delineate the art form