Chirakkal Raja
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Chirakkal Raja is the senior Raja of the Chirakkal branch of the palli division of the Kolathiri family of the erstwhile princely state of KolathuNadu (Kingdom of Eli) in north Malabar, Kerala, India. They belonged to the Mushika dynasty (Mushika Vamsham) .
Contents |
[edit] Etymological background
The invasion of the domains of Kolathiri family by Raja of Bednur / Ikkeri and subsequent settlement between Kolathiri and the invader in 1736-37 led to considerable change in the family of Kolathiris and to the virtual supersession of the ancient title of Kolathiri Raja to the Chirakkal Raja. The title of Kolathiri has thus fallen in to abeyance. The Chirakkal Raja is entitled to one half of the Malikhan of the Kolathiri family after the cessation of his territory to the East India Company in 1792.
They were alternatively also known as the Kulyas , Kolis and Kolwas, the Velirs, and the Nannans.
[edit] Erstwhile dominion (KolathuNadu)
[edit] Capital
The initial settlement of members of this dynasty was at Karippat in Kurumattur amsom. Their initial capital was at perinchelloor (Taliparamba) and in circa 850 A.D they shifted their capital to Chirakkal.
[edit] Territory and administration
KolathuNadu proper extended from Korapuzha river in the south to Nethravathi river in the north and Arabian Sea in the east to Kudagu Mala in the west . Although the domain of Kolathiri had at various periods roughly covered present-day Kasaragod and Kannur districts in Kerala, South India, along with some adjoining areas of Northern Kerala and Tulunadu, and in some periods parts of Tamil Nadu, Kodagu and Mysore.The original kingdom of Kolathiri was partitioned along 5 matrilinial-divisions of the Kolathiri family and had rulers of the respective parts/ Koor-Vaazhcha (part-dominions) namely Kolattiri, Tekkaalankoor, Vadakkalankoor, Naalamkoor, Anjamkoor. The Kingdom of Kolathiri was not consolidated well and lacked a degree of political centralization as opposed to other Kingdoms of Kerala. Consistent with this lack of political centralization high-class Nayars in north Malabar were not divided to classes based on administrative and occupational functions. High-class Nayars formed dispersed exogamous clans and the bulk of Nayars of north Malabar as well as their local chieftains (Desa-Vaazhis) in KolathuNaadu and Kottayam Kingdoms of north Malabar, predominantly belonged to the Nambiar caste. The Desa-Vaazhis were directly appointed by the Raja and had administrative powers in their respective villages. As a further consequence of the lack of political centralization in KolathuNadu, Naadu-Vaazhis and Desa-Vaazhis often fought one another and within themselves and frequently allied themselves with different royal houses as suited their needs of the moment.
[edit] Kolathiri Family
The matrilinial divisions of the Kolathiri family
I. Udayamangalam
II. Palli
A. Chirakkal
B. Chenga
-Prayikkara at Mavelikkara
-Ennakkat (Further divided into Ennakkat and Mavelikkara)
C. Tevanam Kotta
D. Padinjare
E. Kavinishery
The eldest male members were accustomed to executive powers according to the Koor vazhcha scheme of administration with their own dominions. The eldest female of all of the branches were accustomed to some distinction of station/dignity (sthanam). Several sub-branches had also broken off from the parent stem, but these had all become extinct as on 1886.
A Sanskrit text known as Mushikavamsa (a poem composed by the poet and court historian Atula, during the reign of King Srikanta)documents records of the rule of some 118 kings of this dynasty till King Srikanta, at the start of the 11th Century CE .
[edit] Travancore Royal family
In A.D 1300s the Tamil Venad kings accepted matriarchy and ceded their authority to two matriarchal princesses from the house of Kolathiris thereby giving rise to the Travancore Royal Family and hence the latter are alternately also referred to as the Southern Kolathiris.
[edit] Arakkal Royal family
In A.D 1600s , one of the generals of Kolathiri, Arayankulangara Nair, converted to Islam. His wife was the daughter of Kolathiri, and they later came to be known as Arakkal. As per another legend the daughter of Chirakkal Raja began to drown while bathing in the Chirakkal kulam (pond). Her friends cried and shouted but were unable to rescue her. A passing Muslim boy heard the shouting and came to find out what was wrong. He recognized the girl drowning in the pond as the princess, but was hesitant about saving her because untouchability and if a lower-caste person touched an upper-caste person it was considered a sin, possibly punishable by death. However, the boy rescued her and gave her his mundu to cover herself. When the news reached the Chirakkal Raja, he called his daughter and the Muslim boy to him. At that time, if a man gave a "pudava" (a long cloth used for covering the body) to an unmarried woman, they were considered married. The scholars of the court told the Raja that since his daughter was touched by a Muslim, she was no longer allowed to enter the palace. However, the boy had given her his pudava so she was married to him as well. As per the custom the Raja had no other choice but to give his daughter to the Muslim boy. The Raja was unhappy to give his daughter to a poor family, so he made the boy ruler of a part of his dominion. The area given to the boy was known as Arakkal and his family was called the Arakkal family. The ruler's daughter was known as Arakkal Beevi. Around this time, many Muslim merchant families became financially influential in the Malabar region. The Arakkal family later also took control of Lakshadweep islands.
[edit] Origin and History
As per legend, the last Perumal who ruled Kerala divided his kingdom between his nephews ,his sons, relatives and nobles converted to Islam and travelled to Mecca on a hajj. The Keralolpathi recounts the above narrative in the following fashion:
The last and the famous Perumal king Cheraman Perumal ruled Kerala for 36 years. He left for Mecca by ship with some Muslims who arrived at Kodungallur (Cranganore) port and converted to Islam. Before leaving for Mecca, he divided his kingdom between his nephews and sons.
Cheraman Perumal divided the land in half, 17 amsha north of Neelaeswaram and 17 amsha south, totaling 34 amsha, and gave his powers to nephews and sons. Thirty-four rajyas between Kanyakumari [now in Tamil Nadu] and Gokarna [now in Karnataka] were given to the Thampuran who was the daughter of the last niece of Cheraman Perumal. Keralolpathi recorded the division of his kingdom in A.D. 345, Perumpadapu Grandavari in 385, Loghan (a historian) in 825. There are no written records on these earlier divisions of Kerala, but according to historian Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai, a division might have occurred during the Second Chera Kingdom, at the beginning of 12th century. The Keralolpathi says that on the request of the Namboothiris of Perinchellur (Taliparamba) the last Cheraman Perumal was a Banapperumal or Vanipperumal and was sent by an Aryan King of Aryapura Krishnarayar (Krishna III)(939 – 967 C.E.) with a large Nair army 3 lakh 50 thousand strong led by General Pada Mala Nair. Keralolpathi also states that the Banapperumal was the brother of Kavirasasingha the King of Tulunad. Keralolpathi´s Cheraman Perumal was not a Tamil Chera king belonging to Chera Dynasty but a Rashtrakuta invader who established his authority over the northern most parts of Kerala at Ezhimala. This Banapperumal was a Buddhist who later converted to Islam by a preacher called Veda Aliar and went to mecca according to Keralolpathi.The establishment of Nair and Namboothiri power in Kerala may correspond to this invasion of Banapperumal from Karnataka. This Banapperumal revolted against Krishnarayar and declared himself Cheraman Vadakkan Perumal. Keralolpathi says that the Kolathiri were the descendents of this Banapperumal.
Historically, Kerala was under the second Chera Empire approximately during 800 to 1102 A.D during which the Kolla varsham (Malayalam calendar system) was initiated (825 A.D). The second Chera Empire received the socio-political support of the Namboothiri Brahmins and vice versa. Marco Polo in 1300s describes the Kingdom of Eli in Malabar (northern Kolathiris) whose initial settlement was at Karippat in Kurumattur amsom. The Namboothiri Brahmin family (Kurumathur Mana) was the designated Thampraakkal (Lord) of Perinchellur graamam (one of the 64 initial Brahmin settlements) in the Namboothiri scheme of administration of Kerala. After the decline of second Chera Empire, Kerala was fragmented into numerous Naadus with their own cheiftans. Paradoxically, although socio-political authority was fragmented among Namboothiri Brahmins and various non-Brahmin cheiftans, their socio-political authority often overlapped. Kolathiri was the ruler of the dominion of KolathuNaadu in north Malabar (north Malabar is defined as lands north of the Kora river and comprising the old kingdoms of Kolathritiri, Kurumbrathiri and KadathaNaadu). In 1617 the Kolathiri Raja Udayavarman had a conflict with the Namboothiri community because the latter had refused to perform hiranyagarbham to make him a Kshatriya. The Kolathiri appropriated this through 237 Tulu Brahmins (Embranthiris) sent by King Mahendravarman of Gokarnam. The head of Kurumathur mana styled as Naikkarappan was till then the Thampraakkal of Perinchellur graamam but the powers of the position were taken away by the Kolathiri after his conflict with the Namboothiri community and extensive donations were made to the Embranthiris. In the struggle between the Kolathiri and the Namboothiris of Perinchelloor gramam, the Kottayam Rajas supported the latter, making political alliances of and affinities fluidic in north Malabar.
[edit] Portuguese in Kolathunadu
St. Angelo Fort in Kannur was constructed in 1505 by Don Francisco De Almeida, a Portuguese admiral. The fort was under the Portuguese until the Dutch captured the it in 1663. The Dutch then sold the fort to the king Ali Raja of the Arakkal Kingdom.
[edit] Kolathiris and British
In June 1741 the Randuthara Achanmar (Karnavars of Kandoth,Palliyath,Ayilliath and Arayath) and 500 Nayars in the presence of Kolathiri and the English Company agreed to chastise any person that violates the Kolathiri and the English company and defend them both. The English company thus interposed their authority with Kolathiri over his suzeranity over these chiefs. After this agreement, although these Chiefs of PoyaNaadu and the 500 Nayars were technically part of KolathuNaadu, they were being treated as a separate area under the protection of the British at Thalassery. Subsequently, In January 1788, Tippu Sultan invaded Malabar with a large army and founded a new capital at Feroke for his Malabar province. Almost all female members and many male members of different royal families such as Chirakkal, Parappanad, and Kozhikode, and Namboothiri Brahmins and Brahmin /non-Brahamin chieftains' families like Punnathoor, Nilamboor, Kavalapara, Azhvancherry Thamprakkal etc., fled to Travancore to escape the brutalities of Tippu's army and temporarily settled down in different parts of Travancore. After the defeat of Tippu Sultan by the English company, and as per the treaties of Srirangapatanam, signed on February and March, 1792, Malabar was formally ceded to the British. The British entered into agreements with the Rajas of Chirakkal,Kottayam and Kadathanand and all of them acknowledged the full sovereignty of the Company over their respective territories. The British Government divided the province of Malabar into two administrative divisions - the Northern and Southern, presided over by a superintendent each at Thalassery and Cherpulasseri, under the general control of the supervisor and chief magistrate of the province of Malabar who had his headquarters at Kozhikode.
[edit] Kolathiris and Zamorins
The Kolathiris were political and commercial rivals of the Zamorins of Kozhikode, especially from the 16th Century onwards when the European colonial powers like the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the English vied with each other for hegemony in trade with the Indian Subcontinent.The Portuguese followed a policy of religious persecution and forcible conversion. They therefore clashed with most of the native princes and chieftains.[citation needed] The Zamorin was able to convince the Kolathiri of the real motives of the Portuguese in India and the perils inherent in his policy of befriending them. By providing support to the Kunjali Marrikkars of Kozhikode, in 1558 AD the Kolathiris came openly into the field against the Portuguese. In 1564 AD the Kolathiri and the Zamorin together fought a war against the Portuguese and they besieged St. Angelo Fort at Kannur. The Portuguese continued to maintain a precarious foothold at Kannur till 1663.
[edit] Kolathiris and Temples
Swaroopa devatha (family deity) of Kolathiri was Kali, her deities at maataayikkaavu (maatu + vaay - port near hillocks) and Kalarivatukkal near the port of Valapattanam are important places of worship to date in the erstwhile Kolathiri dominion
[edit] See also
[edit] References
1. Malabar Manual by William Logan
2. A Collection Of Treaties, Engagements And Other Papers Of Importance Relating To British Affairs In Malabar by William Logan
[edit] External links
 |
This biography of a member of an Indian royal house is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
