Kavalappara Swaroopam
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The Kavalappara is an aristocratic
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
Nair The Nair , also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom histor ...
family. In
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
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 ...
, they served as part of the landed nobility and were sworn to the service of the
raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
s of the area, first that of Palghat and then later that of Cochin. Based at Kavalappara Desam in Karakkat, Valluvanada, their holdings extended to areas such as Kailiad and Panayur.


Early history

The Kavalappara Moopil Nayar, also known as the ''Karakkattu Kumaran Raman'', were one of the four chiefly dynasties or ''perumpata nayar'' of ancient Nedunganad. They became independent from the chieftainship of Nedungethiri in the 15th century, soon after the arrival of the
Zamorin The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited by ...
of Calicut to Nedunganad. Based at Eruppe Desam near Karakkat, Nedunganad, their holdings included some ninety-six villages.


Nedunganad

Nedunganad, one of the seventeen districts during the Chera regime of
Kodungallur Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thr ...
, was situated between Kalladikkodan hills to the seashore villages of
Ponnani Ponnani () is a municipality in Ponnani Taluk, Malappuram District, in the state of Kerala, India. It serves as the administrative center of the Taluk and Block Panchayat of the same name. It is situated at the estuary of Bharatappuzha (Riv ...
-Purang. The chieftain of Nedunganad, known as Nedungethirippad, was an inefficient ruler. Kavalappara Nayar with other three (Thrikkateeri Nayar, Vattakkavil and Veettikkad nayars) became more powerful than Nedungethiri. Nedungethiri asked the help of the
Zamorin The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited by ...
of
Calicut Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...
. The procession of the Eralppad was known as ''kottichezhunnallathu''. The Zamorin built a palace at Karimpuzha. This was happened soon after 1487. It was the same Zamorin who, later, in 1498, met with
Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...
. When the Zamorin's procession reached Karimpuzha, the three Nayar chiefs of Nedunganad, came and received him. Kavalappara refused to attend the meeting of the Eralppad at Karimpuzha. He declared independence and asked the help of Cochin. He was so fortunate, because his land was situated on the banks of River Nila, adjacent to the boundary of the King of Cochin.


Mythology and medieval history

The family are
Moopil Nair Moopil Nair is a subgroup of the Nair caste. They were naduvazhis and Desavazhis of tiny feudal kingdoms on the Malabar Coast, present-day Kerala state, South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consis ...
s and claim to be descendants of Karakalamma, a child of Vararuchi, a
Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
, and a Pulayar woman. Through this association, they also share kinship with the Kadambur Brahmins and the two communities recognise their shared ancient heritage in occasional rituals. The Kavalapparas also claim to have been independent chieftains from the later stages of the Chera dynasty until the arrival of the
Zamorin of Calicut The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited by ...
in 1748, although this is not historically accurate.
K. K. N. Kurup K. K. N. Kurup (born 1939) is an historian of India and a former vice-chancellor of the University of Calicut. He has specialised in the history of the Malabar region of South India. Kurup obtained a B.A. from the University of Delhi and then s ...
, a historian of the
Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...
region, notes that absence of their name from highly detailed documents of the period indicates that they were no more than "dependent landed aristocracy", variously of the rajas of Palghat and of
Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
. They were ''
naduvazhi Naduvazhi ( IAST:''nātuvāḻi''; ) refers to feudal elites, ruling chieftains and descendants of royal kingdoms in various regions that are now administrative parts of Kerala, India. They constituted the aristocratic class within the Hindu cast ...
'' of the raja of Palghat, meaning that they were a form of feudatory governor who inherited their role, which included some political powers, but were subservient to him. During the period when clashes between the Zamorin of Calicut and the king of Cochin were common, which coincided with the arrival of Europeans in the area, the Kavalapparas were able to exploit the uncertainty and unrest to their advantage. They successfully fought in an alliance with forces from the kingdom of Travancore against the Zamorin and by around 1760 they had reached a deal with the kingdom whereby they gained independence from interference in return for ceding to it a monopoly of the
pepper Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...
growing on family properties. Unhampered by the objections previously raised by the Zamorin and by the raja of Cochin, they constructed a ''
kottaram Kottaram is a village located in Kanyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Kottaram the word origin from Malayalam meaning Palace. So Kottaram means not only a village but also a Palace because 18th & the beginning of the 19th ce ...
'' as a physical symbol of their independence. This residence took a form common to the royal family of Travancore and thus different from the ''
kovilakam In India, Kovilakam () is the principal manor, estate or palace of a princely Kshatriya (Thampuran,Thampan,Thirumulpad Kshatriya) lineages of Kerala, India. This is the residence, where all who have not succeeded to get Rajaship remain under the m ...
'' palaces that traditionally belied the status of Malabar rulers. Thereafter, the Kavalapparas and the royal house of Travancore retained close ties and it was to Travancore that the family fled when the Mysorean occupation of Malabar dispossessed them of their properties. The Kavalappara joined with
Kesava Pillai Kunnathur Kesavan Raman Pillai, also known as Raja Kesavadas (1745-1799; Sanskrit ') was the Dewan of Travancore during the reign of Dharma Raja Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma. He is well known for his military tactics and administrative acumen ...
and forces of the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
(EIC) in the
Third Anglo-Mysore War The Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792) was a conflict in South India between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company, the Kingdom of Travancore, the Maratha Empire, and the Nizam of Hyderabad. It was the third of four Anglo- ...
, supplying both soldiers and grain. In recognition of this, Pillai, who was Diwan of Travancore and acting for the
Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...
, reinstated their position as chieftains. A dispute arose because this arrangement contradicted one made around the same time between the king of Cochin and the
Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...
, which allowed for the king to have control of the Kavalappara territories. In 1792, the Kavalappara chieftain — who was seeking reinstatement in Kavalappara itself and in Edatara,
Kongad Kongad may refer to: Kongad is a town and state assembly constituency in Palakkad district, state of Kerala, India. It is a local government organisation that serves the villages of Kongad-I and Kongad-II. * Kongad-I, a village in Palakkad distr ...
and Mannur — was given a one-year reinstatement in a subordinate role by a Joint Commission instituted by the EIC in the Bombay Presidency. This was challenged by the king of Cochin, who said that the Kavalappars were his "acknowledged dependent and paid
tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...
to him, but the arrangement was continued with some financial amendments in 1793. The traditional system of land tenancies and land ownership in Malabar, known as ''
janmi Jenmi is the term used to refer to the landed aristocracy of Kerala. They formed the landowning nobility as well as the landed gentry of the region during Medieval times, and the majority of the estates and feudal properties were owned by thi ...
'', had resulted in a small number of families owning most of the land. The EIC had determined to use a slightly modified form of the existing ''janmi'' administrative processes to collect revenue. Under this modified system, the ''janmis'' were granted leases on land and were responsible for collecting revenue — almost entirely based on a proportion of agricultural produce — on behalf of the EIC. The ''janmis'', such as the Kavalapparas, sublet to tenants known as ''kanakkarans'', who had some
security of tenure Security of tenure is a term used in political science to describe a constitutional or legal guarantee that a political office-holder cannot be removed from office except in exceptional and specified circumstances. Without security of tenure, an ...
, and both could sublet to ''verumpattakkars'', who were
tenants-at-will A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a l ...
. Thus, in 1794, the EIC granted the Kavalappara family a quinquennial lease on lands but it also disbarred from the feudal privileges of collecting death taxes from the Mappilas and some festival offerings from the ''
ryot Ryot (alternatives: raiyat, rait or ravat) was a general economic term used throughout India for peasant cultivators but with variations in different provinces. While zamindars were landlords, raiyats were tenants and cultivators, and served as hi ...
s''. All revenue collecting responsibilities were lost in 1796 when they were transferred to direct control of the EIC, although the EIC did return a portion of the funds collected by the system of ''malikhana'' that recognised the loyalty of certain ruling families. In common with many of his peers, the Kavalappara chieftain had amassed considerable arrears in revenue monies that he was supposed to hand over and as a result of the transfer of revenue collection he now became nothing more than a landed aristocrat without political influence. Some feudal rights were retained, notably of control over some temples, but by the end of the nineteenth century the family estates were being administered by the Court of Wards and remained so until 1910.


See also

*
History of Kerala The term ''Kerala'' was first epigraphically recorded as ''Keralaputra'' ( Cheras) in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka of Magadha. It was mentioned as one of four independent kingdoms in southern India during Ashoka ...


References

Notes Citations Bibliography * * *


Further reading

* * * {{Malabar History of the Nair Feudal states of Kerala