Keli is a ritualistic south Indian percussion concert involving two Kerala drums called the chenda and the maddalam besides the ethnic cymbal known as ilathalam and chengila (gong), which typically lasts for some 20 minutes got a pyramid structure. It is usually staged in the night in temple precincts ahead of bigger rhythmic ensembles like panchari melam and pandi melam. It is also performed ahead of a Kathakali show, effectively as an announcement.
This involves no chenda, but a set of maddalam drums as the main instrument, with support from a row of ilathalam. If a Keli has five maddalam artistes, it is called Panchamaddalakeli; while if it is ten it is called Dashamaddalakeli. It sticks mainly to the eight-beat rhythmic cycle called Chembada (or adi talam in Carnatic music). It has also a segment called 'Kooru', where rhythmic cycles can be the six-beat panchari (pancharikkooru), the 14-beat adantha (adantha-kkooru) and the ten-beat chamba (chambakkooru). Scholars say the ensemble of thayambaka developed from maddala keli.