Tag: in the land of kerala

The history of ancient Kerala was an integral part of Tamilakam till the 8th century CE. The period between the 8th and the 18th century is considered as the Medieval period of Kerala. Many political, social and economic changes took place during this period.

There were three broad types of land based on the ownership right during the Medieval period in Kerala. They were Cherikkal, Brahmaswam and Devaswam. The land under the control of the Brahmins was called Brahmaswam.

The most important source of information about the nadus of Kerala was the Vattezhuthu documents. It was a very popular alphabetic system in Kerala from 9th to 14th centuries. It was mostly inscribed on rocks or copper plates.

Of the available Malayalam scripts, Vattezhuthu is the most ancient script. Devoid of consonants, this script is transformed from Brahmi Script, the most ancient script of India. The Vattezhuthu script system was also known as 'Naanam Monam'.

Owners of devaswam land were called Ooralar . The rulers, Brahmins or the people of the temple did not directly cultivate in this land. They used to give the land for cultivation to middle men called, Karalar.

The Tarisappalli plate is written in the Vattezhuthu script which was prevalent in Kerala during the medieval period. From this document, we get the information about land donation to Tarisappali of Kollam town by the ruler of Venadu, Ayyanadikal Thiruvadikal during the fifth regnal year of Sthanu Ravi, the Perumal who controlled all Nadus of Kerala.

The positions of power that eventually developed in the Nadus after the Perumals were known as Naduvazhi Swaroopams. The Swaroopams were the ruling families with the right of self-rule and they followed matrilineal system of inheritance called Marumakkathayam.

In order to increase their power, the Nadus used to clash with one another and used to join forces against common enemies like the Portuguese and the Dutch. The Swaroopams had their own military. Arisippadijanam of Venadu, Padamalanayanmar of Kolathu Nadu and Lokaru of Nediyiruppu were such armies. By the second half of the 18th century the Sultans of Mysore, Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan marched towards Kerala and led military campaigns which created frenzy among the Naduvazhis of northern Kerala. Thus, fearing the attack from Mysore Sultans many Naduvazhis and Desavazhis fled to Venadu.

Many kudis constituted the Ur. The chief of Ur was called Uralar.

The southernmost Nadu in medieval Kerala was Venad. The Nadus were under the Perumals who ruled Kerala with their capital at Mahodayapuram. All the 14 nadus from Kolathunadu in the north to the Venad in the south accepted the rule of the Perumals.