Ankam is a

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

word meaning combat or battle. It may refer either to a duel or a larger scale war. In medieval

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, ankam served as a way to settle disputes between districts and nobles. The duellists, called

Chekavar Chekavar (Also known as ''Chekon'' or ''Chevakar'', ''Cekavar'') were a warrior surname in Malabar of Kerala. The Chekavar are a common title of the Hindu Thiyya community. Many Thiyya families today trace their roots to this Chekavar lineage. ...

or Ankachekavar, were trained in the

kalari A kalari is a gymnasium or training space primarily associated with the martial art of Kalaripayattu. The word ''kalari'' comes from Malayalam. In the past, village schools in Kerala, typically run by the traditional astrologer families, were k ...

to fight as militiamen in service of a lord. When a dispute arose between two local rulers, each side would engage warriors to fight for them in organised single combat at a fixed place and time. Each local ruler was represented by one Ankachekavar. The ankam were usually fought to the death, and the ruler represented by the surviving Ankachekavar was considered the winner.

References

Dueling Trials by combat {{vocab-stub