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Part- 2: Myths And Legends
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Brahmin tradition says that Parasuraman planted sixty-four joint Brahmin families and gave them laws and institutions to govern themselves. But like modern Malayalis the Brahmins found it impossible to agree. So they invited rulers from
outside who came to be known as Perumals. They came from across the mountains and were Kshatriyas. Each ruler was appointed for a twelve year term.
There is credibility to the twelve year term in the traditions such as Mamankam by which the new king was selected.After the Arynization of Kerala religious dedication by the outgoing king became acceptable in lieu of ritual death. At least two Chera kings followed this route. One was Kulasekara Alwar
who ruled in the 8th century. He became a devotional Vaishnavite poet. A later king who abdicated his throne in 825 AD was Cheraman Perumal who apparently accepted Islam and went to Mecca.
Tamil poems from the 'sangham' period are the earliest reference to the Chera empire. Sangham period refers to the time when academies or sanghams flourished for the cultivation of poetic arts in various capitals of the Pandiyan kingdom. There were three of these Sanghams. The first two existed in
cities that were taken over by the sea. The third existed in Madura. The time period is probably the first three centuries of the Christian era. The three works attributed to Kerala poets during this epoch are shilappadikaram , patridupattu, Kalavali-harpathu. Of these the
first one gives a lot of information about political organization then. There were four or perhaps five divisions to the Chera kingdom. The northern most of these divisions was near Cannanore and the southern most near Thiruvananthapuram.
The Chera capital was Vanchi near Muzuris. The chief minister, the chief priest and the chief astrologer had great deal of influence with the ruler. There were at least five ports on the Malabar coast to which sailors came according to the Greek mariner who compiled periplus of the Erythraean sea.
The most important port was Muzuris which stood at the mouth of the Periyar river. The location was where Cranganore (Kodungallore) stands today. The other ports were likely Kottayam, Tripuithura, Pantalayani Kollam near Calicut.
From the third century to early 9th century there is very little reliable information. Trade with the west continued at least until the 6th century. Coins of Byzantine emperors up to Justin 1 have been discovered in Kerala. The last of the travellers that reached the Malabar coast was Cosmos
Indicopleustes. He must have arrived between AD520 and AD525.He was a Nestorian from Alexandria. He has recorded seeing Christian Church, and coconut palms and a flourishing trade in pepper and sandalwood.
Soon after the visit of Cosmos the Greek ships stopped arriving. It is speculated that a warrior race called Kalabras were causing havoc all over south India. They terrorized the region for several centuries until at the beginning of the seventh century when the Pandias defeated them. However by then
Moslem conquest of Egypt had occurred and direct contact with the Byzantium was interrupted.
By the 9th century Chera-Chola-Pandiya skirmishes and wars were influenced by the entry of Pallavas of remotely Iranian ancestry. They conquered most of the Chola empire. The Chera kings of that period are known by the family name Kulasekaras. Their capital was Mahodyapuram near Cranganore. They ruled
most of what is present Kerala except for the Vizinjam area which was ruled by Ay kings and Cape Comorin ruled by the Pandias. .
There were several divisions to this large Kulasekara empire. Most were ruled by naduvazis. Venadu , south of Cochin was an exception. It had a great deal of autonomy. Quilion was it's important port. It was visited by Arabs, Nestorian Christians and Chines. A new year was started in AD 825 called 'Kolla
varsham'.
Marumakkathayam and Sambandam :-
Marumakatayam was the unique Nair family system of inheritance. The Nair family unit consisted of a common ancestral female line. The eldest mail member of the family called karanavar administered the property. A man's children had no rights in the family as they belonged to the wife's family. When the
Nair boys reached the age of 7 they were sent to learn agility and gymnastics in the Kalaris.
Samandam:-
This was a Namputhiri practice .In Namputiri illams only the eldest male member was allowed to marry from his caste. He was allowed up to five wives. This lead many Namputhiri women to spinsterhood. As for the other males the caste laws were relaxed to allow sexual liaisons between Namputiri men and
Nair women of higher sub-castes. Often polyandry occurred and woman was shared by a Nair husband and a visiting Namputiri. All these arrangements were to prevent division of family assets. In effect the practice of Sambandam led to decline of numerical strength of namputhiris in relation to nairs.
There were skirmishes and wars and reconciliations amongst three Dravidian kings-The Cheras, The Cholas and the Pandias. Hinduism flourished. Brahmins were the dominant caste. Judaism, Christianity and Islam too existed side by side with Hinduism.
The Chera kings depended on the Nair caste for military manpower. Village gymnasiums called 'Kalaris' sprung up everywhere to train the boys in the art of war.Wars continued amongst the Cheras, The Cholas and The Pandias. By 1070 a Chera king, Bhaskara Ravi Varman 3 freed most the land lost to
foreigners.
Go to Part- 3
:Venad and Kulasekaras
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