A rare Indo- European art form, Chavittunadakam -stamping - music-drama flaunts the brilliant blend of cultures by incorporating Indian dance movements with western operatic style of presentation.It is a form of musical dance drama which originated in the16th century by the missionaries who reached here together with the Portuguese merchants from Europe. A peculiar feature of this drama art is the actors pounding (stamping or Chavittu) the dance floor producing resonant sounds to emphasize the dramatic situations. Hence literally Chavittunadakam means 'Stamping Drama'. The play is considered a success if at the end, the stage cave into the pressure of heavy stamping.

The actors themselves sing and act. Great stress laid on the step which goes in harmony with these songs, foot stamping dance. In this art form there is great importance for dance and act.

Royal dresses and ornamental costumes are necessary.It is noted for its attractive make-up of characters, their elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the rhythmic playback music and complementary percussion. This art form highly resembles European Opera. The language used is a colloquial blend of Tamil and Malayalam.

Popular in the state of Kerala. Chavittunadakam has an interesting history behind it. Its history begins with arrival of the Portuguese to the Malabar shores.. When the Portuguese came to Kerala, they felt emptiness in their cultural arena. They required a medium to spread the myths and the legends, which they held in reverence. They were impressed with Kathakali, but their infla ted feeling did not allow them to graft their legends on it. The solution was to create a distinctive dance drama of their own .Collaborating with Malayalee scholars they produced librettos which extorted the heroic exploits of legendary Christian warriors .Thus they created a distinctive dance drama of their own and named it as Chavittu Nadakam.