The growth of bhakti movement in Tamilakam during seventh and eighth centuries, resulted in the absorption of a number of popular cult forms by the growing temple complexes. Among them probably were the forms of ritual dancing to propitiate deities, and women whose function was to do ritual services to the temple through dancing emerged. This was the beginning of tevaradiyal system. The popular dance forms were formalized and refined to convey specific meanings to each enactment. Similarly, the dance-dramas were also absorbed into the temple premises with the koothans narrating stories related to puranic or itihasic legends, or singing songs composed by the saivite or vaishnavite saints, spreading the concept of bhakti.

In Kerala, koothu took a somewhat different form. By seventh and eighth centuries, agrarian settlements had developed on the banks of major rivers in Kerala. Temples were developing as the new ideological centres of the agrarian settlements under the control of the Brahmanas. Political power providing legitimacy to Brahmanical control emerged in Mahodayapuram. The new ruling elite consisting of Brahmanas and the political power also began to develop new cultural forms. However, impact of the bhakti movement of Tamilakam was marginal, and hence the dance-dramas took a different form. Although located in the temple premises, they became forms of entertainment for the ruling elite, with little or no element of bhakti. Instead of the devotional aspect, the formal stylization of performance and technical skill of the performer took the upper hand.

This was the background of the emergence of koothu and koodiyattom. Information on koothu and koodiyattom shows that they were in vogue in all major temples from ninth century, with the formal aspects fully developed before fifteenth century. Attaprakarams and kramadipikas were composed which were to provide technical basis of the performance. In selecting the theme for koothu, puranas and itihasas were not depended upon, all the plays of Bhasa, plays like Tapati samvaranam, Subhadradhananjayam, and Ascharya choodamani purported to have been composed in Kerala itself, were commonly used in koothu.

Among them Pratijna- Yaugandharayanam and Swapnavasavadattam by Bhasa and Ascharya choodamani by Shaktibhadra were regularly performed. The whole play was never selected for koothu. Only one act or a part of the act in the play was chosen. Mantrankam in pratijna, anguliyankam and ashokavanikankam in Ascharya choodamani were popularly selected for koothu. Mattavilasam of Mahendra Varman was selected for koodiyattom. Koothu performed in temples were of three types, prabandhakoothu, nangiar koothu and koodiyattom. Koothu was conducted by chakkiyar, where the story is enacted by vachika abhinaya i.e., verbal acting. Nangiar koothu, which used to be in vogue in earlier centuries, were performed by women, who sang the songs and acted, with considerable emphasis on acting.

Koodiyattom used to be combined dance drama conducted by chakkiyar and nangiar in which more participants were possible, Separate nangiar koothu apparently disappeared in later centuries with nangiar becoming an accessory to chakkiyar, singing crucial songs or hymns and using the instrument, kuzhithalam. The appeal of koothu among the ruling elite was not only its method of expanding a story through verbal acting and miming. There were a number of opportunities for the performer to digress from the main story and embark upon a social satire, and make fun of the life style of Namboodiri Brahmans and rulers.

An essential ingredient of all koothu performance was purushartha koothu, purportedly done by the vidooshaka (jester) in the story, in which contemporaneous events are described and satirised, which is done by elaborate exposition of the four noble ideals asanam (eating), rajaseva (propitiating the royal patron), vinodam (sex) and vanchanam (cheating others). Although this part was done for pure entertainment, it gave opportunities for the chakkiyar to present his critical remarks on the society in a form acceptable to the ruling elite.

The performance of koothu was in koothambalam specially constructed for the purpose in temple premises. Koothambalam was a stage usually 15.60 meters long, 11.60 meters broad with a 4.26 meters square platform supported by pillars in the centre. The koothambalams in the Vadakkunnatha temple at Trissoor and Irinjalakkuda temple are famous where koothu is being conducted to this day. The performance of koothu in the classical form was a prolonged affair taking upto forty days, with the chakkiyar not proceeding beyond one sloka or a sequence in a day, and where the chakkiyar held the attention of the audience with pure skill in verbal expression, acting and miming.

Koodiyattom follows at the end of the koothu. In koodiyattom miming, facial and bodily expressions and dancing takes the precedence. Koothu and koodiyattom, like other pre-modern art forms was slowly disappearing by the beginning of the twentieth century. During the first half of twentieth century, the late Painkulam Rama Chakkiyar took initiative in taking koodiyattom outside the temple precincts, in order to rescue it from degeneration.

However, compared to other traditional art forms, koothu, and koodiyattom have not been a resurgent trend. In 1965, koodiyattom was included by Kerala Kalamandalam in its curriculum. Traditionally, only chakkiyar, nangiars, and Nambiars (who played the mizhavu, the accompanying instrument for the koothu) were allowed to learn and perform these arts. However, Kalamandalam is admitting students of all groups desirous of learning this art.