Ettuveetil Pillamar
The Ettuveetil Pillamar was a group of nobles from Eight noble Houses. These Nair Lords with the style of Pillai were the people who prior to 1730 controlled the kingdom of Venad. In Kerala as the per the traditional system of inheritance of theNairs and Rajahs the king was succeeded by his sister's son and not his own. This was called Marumakkathayam.
In 1706 Marthanda Varma the heir to the Rajah, his uncle, as per the Marumakkathayam system was born. Since his childhood itself the Ettuveetil Pillais were constantly trying to assassinate him. Their aim was to end the Marumakathayam and bring in the Makathayam system where the throne would go from Father to son. They thus supported the Rajah's sons, Padmanabhan Thampi and Raman Thampi.
The Ettuveetil Pillais were Kazhakoothathu Pillai, Ramanamadhom Pillai, Chempazhanty Pillai, Kudamon Pillai, Venganur Pillai, Marthandam Pillai, Palichal Pillai and Kolathur Pillai. Pillai was the title they held. Their first names are not known and so they were addressed as per the name of their fiefdom.
Marthanda Varma defeated these powers in 1729 and killed the Thampi brothers and Nagercoil Palace with the help of Mankoyikal Kurup and other supporters like Thirumukhathu Pillai.
The aim of the Ettuveetil Pillai's along with Padmanabha and Raman Thampi, sons of the Rajah and his wife Shrimati Avirama, a Bengali Lady, was to end the Marumakathayam and make it Makathayam whereby the crown would pass from father to son instead of uncle to nephew.
These Pillai's were also responsible for the poisoning of Rajah Aditya Varma and the drowning of Rani Umayamma's five sons at Kalipankulam. They wanted to end the royal lineage in totality however, thanks to Marthanda Varma, they didnot succeed. Marthanda Varma killed all of them while their wives and children were banished or sold as slaves. However the descendants of their sisters are still settled in various parts of Kerala. For example, descendants of Pallichal Pillai's sister are located at Parasseri, Thalavur.