Kunhimangalam, the neighboring village of Payyanur is known as the land of craftsmen.   These craftsmen are famous for their work in making of the idols, traditional lamps and other handicrafts.  

The idols made of 'panchaloha' by the Kunhimangalam craftsmen can be seen in many temples of Kerala and the areas like Kudagu, Kundapuram, and Mangalore of Karnataka.   The moosaris (the traditional name of the Craftsmen community) of Kunhimangalam don't consider this work as a mere business.  For them this is a sacred job exchanged through the generations and hence doesn't think about the profit and loss from this.

Lakshmi Vilaku

Apart from the idols, the lamps (Nilavilakku) crafted here are known all over India.  The Lakshmi Vilakku  is a traditional oil lamp, which is used as a sacred one. It is believed that the Lakshmi Lamp brings harmony and prosperity to the houses.  These lamps are also viewed as a sign of dignity. The Lakshmi lamps are very beautiful and attractive. "The goddess Mahalakshmi, sitting in a full blown lotus is being anointed by two female elephants" is beautifully depicted in this lamp. This is also called as "Gajalakshmi " lamp.   The other famous lamps being crafted here are "Krishna" lamp and "Dasavatara" lamp, which depicts the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu.

The main attraction of the crafting method of the Moosaris of Payyanur is that each work is unique.  They use no machines or moulds in their work but each and every piece is crafted uniquely in the traditional style.  There are more than a hundred moosari families here who are engaged in this divine creative work.  The "padinjattakkaran" family is the most prominent among them. It is believed that a member of this family had gone to Padmanabhapuram Palace of Travancore on foot and did the carvings and other craftwork of the palace by him.

Payyanur is famous for its craftworks in bronze (bell metal or gunmetal) popularly known as Odu. They include the different traditional articles and vessels like ‘kindi’ (water container of a particular shape with a sprouting nozzle), ‘uruli’ (wide shallow cooking vessel), "vattalam"(also called as "vaarpu”, a large, shallow, flat vessel with handles on either side), and other such bronze pooja articles used in various Hindu religious functions and rituals. 

There is an institution, which provides training to the new generation in the bronze works and similar crafts. Apart from Kunhimangalam there are expert moosaris (craftsmen) in other parts of Payyanur like Padoli, Kokkanisseri etc. They take the order from the customers directly and deliver the item without involving any other persons.

Moosari Kovil- In an artist's view...