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Kerala-God’s own country

KERALA-GOD’S OWN COUNTRY

 SANJAI VELAYUDHAN

Introduction:

 

Kerala seems to be the latest fad of the world. It has been voted as the best destination by some of the best travellers including media. Many documentaries have been made on it and its way of life. Recently branded as ‘Gods own Country”, its greenery, beautiful, clean backwaters etc indeed justify the epithet. Increased publicity and improved tourist arrivals have brought to prominence its dormant arts like Kathakali, Kaliyattom etc along with “Ayurveda”- the science of life. Ayurveda had almost has almost become synonymous with it.

 

Like the saying goes “one can’t love something one doesn’t know”. This article is for those who are madly in love Kerala or who are ready to fall in love with it. Most people know it as a state however, its transformation as a politico- geographical entity was as recent as November 1, 1956. Kerala’s history goes a long way in the past. Let’s try to unravel it.

 

The geographical backdrop:

 

Kerala State lies between 8°18’ and 12° 48’ North latitude and between 74° 24’ East longitude. It has a total area of 15,002 sq. miles (38,855 sq. kms) and a coast line which is nearly 360 miles long. It occupies a narrow strip of land, not more than 380 miles (555 km. ) long and 80 miles (120 km. ) wide. On the west it is washed by the Arabian Sea, in the East hedged in by the Western Ghat mountains, in the north bordered by the state of Karnataka and in the South joined by the state of Tamil Nadu. The Western Ghats that range along the highland are called Sahyadris which rise in elevation between 3000 ft and 8000 ft above sea level. Its highest point is the Anamudi peek located in Idukki district that rises to a height of 8841 ft. The land of Kerala comprises the narrow coastal strip bounded by the Western Ghats on the East and the Arabian Sea on the west in the southern part of the Indian peninsula. Its unique geographical position and peculiar physical features have invested Kerala with a distinct individuality.

 

A short history

 

The Kerala region, like the Indian sub-continent, can claim to have a history that runs into the dim recesses of antiquity. The pre-history of Kerala is shrouded in obscurity. The Paleolithic man seems to have avoided Kerala mostly due to its presence of thick forests for which he was unprepared with his crude stone implements. There is evidence that the state must have become the abode of man in the Neolithic age. It may be mentioned that microliths regarded by some scholars as belonging to some Mesolithic state of culture between the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages have been excavated from various parts of the state. The evidence turned into flood with Megalithic monuments that may be seen all over the state. The term Megalith means great stone. Monuments during this period were erected out of large blocks of stone as funerary edifices, either sepulchral or commemorative.   The Megaliths of Kerala belong to the Megalithic complex common to south India and are associated with the cult of the dead.

 

The Aitareya Aranyaka is the earliest Sanskrit work which specifically mentions Kerala. The great Epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, show awareness of Kerala on the part of their authors. Katyayana (4th century B. C. ) and Patanjali (2nd century B. C) show their acquaintance with the geography of Kerala. Kautilya’s Arthasashtra mentions the river Churni where pearls abound. The Puranas also mention Kerala. It is clear from the beautiful description of Kerala in Kalidasa’s Raghuvamsa that the land had become familiar to the writers Of North India by the 4th century A. D. The earliest inscriptional evidence about the existence of ‘Kerala’ is in the 2nd edict of Asoka, circa 273-36 BC, where it refers as ‘Kerala puthra’. The elegant verses of Sangam Poets depict the glorified pictures of ‘Vanchi’ the capital of Cheras and the Yavana (Greek) ships laden with gold waiting for pepper in the ancient ports of Muziris and Thindis. The ancient travelers and historians like Plini , 1st Century Roman historian , Ptolemy , 2nd century geographer and the unknown author of ‘Periplus’ had given detailed accounts about ‘Kerabothras’. The ‘Aioi’ of Ptolemy refers to the ‘Ays’ of southern Kerala and Mount-de-eli about the Nannas of Ezhimalai in the north. Kerala looms large in the accounts of the classical writers of Greece and Rome. The Chera kingdom is mentioned by the Greek ambassador, Megasthenes, in his Indica, Pliny (1st century A. D. ) , the anonymous author of the Periplus (1st century A. D. ) and Ptolemy (2nd century A. D. ) are the most outstanding classical writers who give information about Kerala.

 

Ancient Kerala, famous for her spices and it was her fame as the land of spices that brought foreign peoples and cultures to her shores even from the 3rd Millennium B. C, if not earlier. Till about 800 A. D. Kerala was a part of Tamilakam (the region of the Tamils) and the language of the region was predominantly Tamil. Language plays a vital role in the formation of identity. Thus slow crystallization of a distinctive geographical entity was hastened by the development of Malayalam. The Origin of Malayalam as a distinct language may be traced to the 9th century A. D. In fact, Malayalam was the last of the four Dravidian languages to take distinct shape, the other three being Tamil, Kannada and Telugu. It seems that while the other three south Indian regions namely Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka share high levels of overlapping similarities, Kerala has evolved its own distinctive culture and psyche.

 

Kerala’s Geographical Insulators:

Mountains and Hills

 

The mountains and hills of Kerala have played their part in history. The Western Ghats have formed an unbroken wall guarding the Eastern frontier and helped the people of Kerala to lead a sheltered life of their own through the centuries. The Ghats range from 3000 ft to more than 8000 ft above the sea level. Some of the tallest hills are the Anamudi peek in Idukki district (8841 ft), Agasthyakudam the southern most peek in the Ghats (6132 ft) , Brahmagiri peek (5276 ft) , Sabarimala in Peerumade taluk (3790 ft) and the Malayatoor Hill (1500 ft).   The Western Ghats have prevented large scale incursions into Kerala by aggressive powers from beyond and have thus acted as a natural wall of protection. The continuity of the Sahyadri hills (Western Ghat) is interrupted by the presence of several gaps that have prevented the total isolation of Kerala from the other regions of India. One such major gap is called the Palghat gap which is about 20 miles wide.

 

The Earliest inhabitants of the lands were those who are now represented by the hill tribes living a sheltered existence in the jungles of the state as well as by some schedule castes living in the planes. Thus, It may be appropriate in this context to deal with the religious practices of the Hill Tribes who form an important section of the population in certain parts of Kerala. They worship mainly some forest deities in addition to some of the minor deities of Hinduism whose worship is popular. They worship deities like Kali, Mari Amman, Chaplamma, Karinkutty, Chakki, Ayya, Malakari, Kariappan etc. Devil worship also is very popular among them. Apart from this, some of the Hill Tribes have their own special deities. The Kurichiyas of Wayanad have Muthappan (Hunting God) as their chief deity. The Karimbalans worship Kamadeva, the God of Love and his wife Rathi. The Paniyas worship Kadu Bhagavathi (Jungle Goddess) in her malignant form. There are Hill Tribes who practice the Odi Cult (black magic) which, it is believed, enables them to become invisible to others and do mischief to enemies. Some of them are professional Odiyans and are engaged by others to wreak vengeance on their enemies. Thus the religion of the Hill Tribes is a strange mixture of animism, totemism, black magic and crude polytheism.

 

The gradual introduction and spread of religions like Christianity, Judaism and Islam into Kerala from outside at a very early period of its history had also helped in the inverted spiritual outlook and the evolution of a broad and eclectic outlook among the people of Kerala. Yet, the hold of primitive beliefs does continue and they co-exist with more eclectic beliefs.

 

It has been the meeting place of various cultures from times immemorial. Kerala is a great melting pot of diverse cultural traditions. The integrative traditions which she has evolved over the centuries can, besides contributing a fine chapter to the general history of unifying humanism. It has taken its form by the synthesis of southern and northern, Buddha and Jaina, Dravidian and Aryan cultures, the integrative processes which counteracted and divisive forces that unfortunately emerged in Hindu society: the evolution of Christian community to a responsive and integrative equilibrium between their own specific religious identity and larger cultural surroundings; and the similar evolution of the Muslim community.

 

Sea, river and other water bodies:

 

The sea has been a permanent and decisive factor in the history of Kerala. It has invested the state with a maritime tradition of its own. The Kerala coast has attracted foreign traders from Europe and Asia from very early days. Kerala had contacts with the countries of the outside world even from time immemorial. The Arabs, The Assyrians, The Babylonians, The Phoenicians, The Israelites, The Greeks, Romans and Chinese were among the foreign peoples who had contacts with the Kerala coast in the ancient period. These early contacts were mainly commercial in nature but they all led at a very early period to the introduction of religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam into the land and helped to mould the culture of Kerala into a composite and cosmopolitan one.

 

At least in its earlier days, the Arabian Sea protected Kerala from invasion and intrusion. The extensive shore area in its western and northern limits had provided ample scope for successive inroads from other continents by sea routes. The abundant natural boons had paved the way for keeping continuous maritime trade relations with Rome, Egypt, Persia, Arabia and other East Asian countries from very early times of recorded history. The accounts of various travelers, geographers and traders prove that Kerala had been keeping a high state of civilization from pre-Christian era itself. The maritime trade relations with Kerala were almost monopolized by the Arabs in this period. This political and social situation continued till the 2nd half of the 15th century.

 

Ironically if the seas brought in prosperity through trade, it also brought in the onslaughts of the maritime powers of Europe like the Portuguese ,  the Dutch , the French and the English ever since the landing of Vasco De Gama in Calicut in 1498. The reminiscence of the European forts may be seen at Anjengo, Thankasseri, Pallipuram, Thalassery, and Kannur on the Kerala coast proclaiming the stories of foreign invasions. It is also significant that such religions as Judaism, Christianity and Islam came to Kerala by the sea.

 

Kerala has abundant sources of water supply. There are 41 rivers in the state that flow west and 3 rivers that are tributaries of river Kaveri and flow east. Only four of these rivers including Bharatapuzha, Periyar, Pampa and the Chaliyar are in excess of 100 miles.

 

Origin Myth

 

Like most places, Kerala has its origin myth too. According to it, Parashurama an avatar of Lord Vishnu created the land by throwing his Parashu (battle axe) into the sea. He has been depicted as the protector of the Brahmana (the highest in the hierarchy of India’s despicable caste system) possibly the descendants of the early Aryans who had earlier migrated to the northern parts of Kerala. According to Brahmana legends, this act of Parashurama was to create special land to relocate them and to protect the Brahmins from their enemies. When he threw his battle axe (Parashu) from Gokarnam and the weapon fell in Kanyakumari. All the sea between Kanyakumari and Gokarnam became dry land which the hero handed over to the Brahmins. The tract of territory so thrown up said to have constituted the land of Kerala, otherwise called Barghavakshetram or Parashuramakshetram. The story obviously suited their contemporary needs. The legend seems to have been concocted at a certain stage by interested parties with a view to popularizing the theory of Brahmin predominance.

 

The rational view though points to a different direction. Geological evidence points to the continuing growth of the land within proto-historic or even historic times. There were at least two phases of upward movement of land from the sea. The first is represented by erosion surfaces on the laterite of the midland region at about 250 & 600 ft. The second stage of some 8 mile wide shore –creation is reflected in the legend of Parashurama and the literature of place names. The first land rise probably was the result of volcanic operations or seismological factors. The second land creation was most likely accomplished by the numerous rivers which brought along large quantities of silt and mud from the mountains while ocean currents deposited quantities of sand on the shore.  

 

Anthropology

 

It seems man came late to Kerala. The Stone Age people deliberately avoided the forests of Kerala infested by wild animals. No relic of the Stone Age or a Neolithic implement has been discovered in any parts of Kerala. Mankind appeared on Kerala soil as an Iron Age builder of megalithics. Most of the early settlers of Kerala seem to have been tribal’s who were forest-dwellers and food gatherers.

 

Kerala literally is an ethnological museum and an anthropologist delight. Eminent anthropologists and ethnologists agree with the point that the first settlers of Kerala were of Negretoid stock. But there were waves of migration to the land of Kerala from times immemorial. The Australoid stock considered to have been migrated to this region had enriched the then existing culture by supplying the techniques of fire making and pottery making. The techniques of agriculture and navigation were the contributions of Mediterranean stock mingled with Armenoid stock. But it does not mean that the migrant culture had completely abandoned the exiting cultures. There was a long and continuous process of cultural assimilation supplementing each other. Possible the agrarian society of Dravidian stock of Indian peninsula, the originators of the great Sangam period may be the successors of the admixture of these stocks. The Negrito element is pointed out as the earliest racial strain in the population of Kerala as of south India in general . The Kadar, Kanikkar, Malapandaram, Mutuvans represent this tribe. Curly hair, black skin, broad nose, round head is some of their distinct features. The proto- australoids with their long head, flat nose and dark skin seem to have replaced negritos. Some of the tribes like Malavedan, Irulans, and Kurichiyas etc belong to this race. The main element of the Dravidian population seems to constitute the Mediterranean race. Then, the Aryans came from the north India. The Pulayas, Parayas and Kuravas constitute the Dravidian race. The Namboodhiri Brahmins represent the Aryan race.

 

All human races have evolved and involved a certain level of race mixing and race blending. Human races cross easily and produce normal and healthy progeny with generally improved physical and mental qualities. It basically seems that there were three types of races that constitute the current Kerala stock- the Mundas belonging to the Australoids race, Dravidians and the Aryans.

 

Kerala has been through the ages an integral part of the Indian sub-continent.   Its history is part of the general history of India and its culture is one of the major streams that have enriched the composite culture of the country. At the same time Kerala has had the distinction of being an independent geographical and political entity from very early days. It may be said that though the geographical position of Kerala as the narrow strip of land hemmed in between the Arabian sea on the one side and the Western Ghats on the other has enabled it through the ages to develop a personality of its own and build up its distinctive way of life and institutions, it cannot be said that the personality of Kerala had grown to its present stature in an atmosphere of splendid isolation. Paradoxical as it might seem, this geographical position has helped to ensure, to some extent, its political and cultural isolation from rest of the country and also facilitated its extensive and active contact with the countries of the outside world. The state has from the dawn of history enjoyed a kind of insularity which has given it welcome immunity from the political convulsions which shook northern India.  Kerala seldom felt the impact of the many foreign invasions that took place in the northern part of India from across the border. Ironically its nemesis in the form of the Dutch, Portuguese, and French etc came from the sea directly. While being safe from invasions from North India Kerala has always come within the scheme of conquests of the various powers that held sway in the neighboring Tamil and Kannada areas. The Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas, the Pandyas and the Cholas invaded Kerala in the ancient period while in the later period the rulers of Vijayanagara and Mysore carried out aggressive raids into its territory. The Bednore or Ikkere Nayakas of South Canara exercised their sway over the Hosdurg- Kasaragode area of North Kerala for sometime in the 17th and 18th century. Some of the historic forts at Hosdurg, Bekel, Kalnad, and Kumbla stand even today as memorials to their role.  

 

Conclusion:

 

Not many people know that Kerala has a colorful and turbulent history.  To understand Kerala and enjoy the natural luxuries it offers, it is imperative that one understand it. Let knowledge liberate you. Amen!

© Sanjai velayudhan

If you need to say something about this article, write to me at Sanjai. velayudhan@gmail. com.