History
History of Kunnummal Grama Panchayat
The present-day Kunnummal Grama Panchayat comprises parts of Kadathanad, where feuds were fought out on the ankathattus (traditional duelling arenas) and the ethics of physical strength were tested in the kalaris (traditional martial arts training centres), as well as areas that formed part of the kingdom of Kottayam ruled by the legendary Kerala warrior Pazhassi Raja, who held his head high in patriotism even in the final moments of his life. It is said that the Kadathanadan stone fort situated between Mokeri and Vattoli once marked the boundary between Kadathanad and Kottayam.
When we look back into the history of Kerala, we can see the rise and fall of the feudal system, the expansion and decline of landlordism, the heroic memories of the freedom struggle, the movements against untouchability and superstitions, the formation and activities of farmers’ organisations, and the struggles for the rights over their own land. All these developments took place in these regions during their respective periods, with determination and under strong leadership.
It is against this historical background that we need to understand the deeper dimensions of the spiritual and material development of this region. Looking back today, we must recognise that the progress we see in our region is the result of the tireless and self-sacrificing efforts of numerous brave patriots and social reformers. Therefore, we should also understand that the history of our region is, in many ways, the life history of people who devoted their lives, without selfish motives, to bringing about fundamental social transformation.
Like many other parts of Kerala, this region was also part of the various small kingdoms that were frequently engaged in conflicts with one another. The administration of this region was mainly controlled by feudal rulers belonging to six prominent tharavads (ancestral households), under the authority of Kuttippuram Kovilakam and Nidumanoor Kovilakam.
They were:
- Akkalidam
- Kurungattidam
- Kuzhikkilidam
- Kuniyilidam
- Komathidam
- Vadakkambilavidam
It is said that, in addition to complete control over the land, these rulers also possessed the authority to impose punishments, including the right over life and death. These landlords allotted their lands by determining various dues and obligations such as varam, pattam and purappadu. Such lands were generally assigned to dependants who had earned the favour of the landlords.
With the decline of the feudal system, these lands gradually came entirely into the hands of such tenants. They, in turn, leased the land to poor farmers who became their subordinate tenants for cultivation. These dependants eventually evolved into the landlord class of the region, while the poor farmers who worked on the land became tenants.
As in other parts of Kerala, the region also witnessed all the oppressive practices associated with the landlord system. Tenants were not permitted to wear white mundus (traditional garments). They were not allowed to wear gold ornaments. When they encountered a person belonging to a higher caste or a landlord, they had to remove the cloth from their head, place it over their shoulder, and stand respectfully with their head bowed. On special occasions, they had to offer kaazhcha (tributes or offerings). Women were not permitted to cover their upper bodies, and breastfeeding mothers were required to pay a tax known as mulakkaram. These were some of the practices that existed at the time.
A lasting solution to such conditions emerged later through the growth of political and class consciousness and the farmers’ movements that arose as a result.
The Freedom Movement and Social Reform
The freedom movement that swept across India soon reached the Kunnummal region and took shape here with considerable strength. However, even before the freedom movement reached the Kunnummal area, the ideas of Sree Narayana Guru, Swami Sivananda, who worked mainly from Vadakara, and Vagbhatananda, another prominent advocate of the social reform movement in Kerala, had already reached this region.
Vagbhatananda, known as Kunjikannan Gurukkal and originally from near Koothuparamba, came to the Kunnummal region and sowed the seeds of his revolutionary and progressive ideas. He stayed at the Puthalath Tharavad in Narippatta and worked in this region for approximately four years.
It was Sri O. K. Ananthan Vaidyar who propagated Vagbhatananda’s ideals in the Kunnummal region. Along with him, Kelu Vaidyar, Thayyilpoyil Chathu, Thundiyil Kudungon, Paratti Achuthan Vaidyar, and Mannarandi Kanan also played important roles.
Vagbhatananda’s activities were mainly focused on reforming the customs and practices followed by the Thiyyas, who constituted the majority of the population in this region. The visit of Sree Narayana Guru to Pathirippatta had also attracted many progressive-minded people in the region at an earlier stage.
Vagbhatananda strongly opposed practices such as Enna Manthram, Pula Kuli, Theendal, Tholuzhika, and Thirattu Kalyanam. As a result of his strong criticism, these practices gradually began to disappear from social life.
Vagbhatananda’s philosophy was primarily based on monotheism. Those who followed him and violated established customs were subjected to social ostracism by the traditionalists. Such ostracism included refusing to invite them to marriages and refusing to cut their hair.
At the same time, Vagbhatananda encouraged people to maintain cleanliness and organise themselves. His followers brought scissors from Thalassery and taught people to maintain personal cleanliness by cutting their hair. A dedicated hair-cutting centre of this kind was also established near Changaramkulam.
Social Reform and the Kottiyoor Festival
During that period, it was customary for people from most families to attend the Kottiyoor festival. For this purpose, numerous kanjipuras (temporary food and accommodation centres) were established at Mokeri and Pathirippatta, which were part of Kottayam beyond Kadathanad.
However, during the 1920s, a group of progressive-minded people from Mokeri, under the leadership of M. C. Krishnan, made an image of the Kottiyoor Perumal, dressed it in a shirt and mundu, and set it on fire. They then floated the ashes down the stream at Muyyottuchal, in a symbolic act directed at the prevailing religious practices associated with the Kottiyoor pilgrimage.
In this manner, the activities of Vagbhatananda brought about a new way of looking at the social customs and practices that had existed in these areas until then.
