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Nair
The Nair (, ) also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom historically bore the name 'Nair'. Fuller (1975) p. 309 These people lived, and many continue to live, in the area which is now the Indian state of Kerala. Their internal caste behaviours and systems are markedly different between the people in the northern and southern sections of the area, although there is not very much reliable information on those inhabiting the north. Fuller (1975) p. 284 Historically, Nairs lived in large family units called '' tharavads'' that housed descendants of one common female ancestor. These family units along with their unusual marriage customs, which are no longer practiced, have been much studied. Although the detail varied from one region to the next, the main points of interest to researchers of Nair marr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nair Brigade
The Nair Brigade was the army of the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore in India. Nairs were a Kshatriya, warrior community of the region. The personal bodyguard of the king Marthanda Varma (1706–1758) was also called ''Thiruvithamkoor Nair Pattalam'' (Travancore Nair Army). The Travancore army was officially referred as the Travancore Nair Brigade in 1818. The headquarters of the brigade was in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum). Origin and history The Nair, Nairs are the major Nobility, aristocratic Kshatriya, martial caste of Kerala. Each region is governed or ruled by Jenmi, Nair landlords or leaders with titles such as Pillai (Kerala title), Pillai, Kurup of Travancore, Kurup, Kaimal, Kaimals, etc. The military setup of Nairs includes Nair soldiers who are encompassed under Nair landlords. There are hundreds of Nair lords in each Venad (kingdom), kingdom, and these Nair landlords unite in times of emergency or at the request of Raja, Rajas or King, kings. Sometimes, they have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Kingdom of Cochin, Cochin, Malabar District, Malabar, South Canara, and Travancore. Spread over , Kerala is the 14th List of states and union territories of India by area, smallest Indian state by area. It is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Laccadive Sea, Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33 million inhabitants as per the 2011 Census of India, 2011 census, Kerala is the List of states of India by population, 13th-largest Indian state by population. It is divided into 14 List of districts of Kerala, districts with the capital being Thiruvananthapuram. Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state. The Chera dynasty was the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 Languages with official status in India, scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was designated a "Classical Languages of India, Classical Language of India" in 2013. Malayalam has official language status in Kerala, Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé, Puducherry, Mahé), and is also the primary spoken language of Lakshadweep. Malayalam is spoken by 35.6 million people in India. Malayalam is also spoken by linguistic minorities in the neighbouring states; with a significant number of speakers in the Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka, and Kanyakumari district, Kanyakumari, Coimbatore district, Coimbatore and Nilgiris district, Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. It is also spoken by the Malayali diaspora, Malayali Diaspora wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Travancore
The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At its zenith, the kingdom covered most of the south of modern-day Kerala ( Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram districts, major portions of Ernakulam district, Puthenchira village of Thrissur district) and the southernmost part of modern-day Tamil Nadu ( Kanyakumari district and some parts of Tenkasi district) with the Thachudaya Kaimal's enclave of Irinjalakuda Koodalmanikyam temple in the neighbouring kingdom of Cochin. However Tangasseri area of Kollam city and Anchuthengu near Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram were parts of British India. Malabar District of Madras Presidency was to the north, the Madurai and Tirunelveli districts of Pandya Nadu region in Madras Presidency ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nambudiri
The Nambudiri (), also transliterated as Nampoothiri, Nambūdiri, Namboodiri, Namboothiri, Namboodri, Namboori, and Nampūtiri, are a Malayali Brahmin caste, native to what is now the state of Kerala, India, where they constituted part of the traditional feudal elite. Headed by the Azhvanchery Thamprakkal , Azhvanchery Thamprakkal Samrāṭ, the Nambudiris were the highest ranking caste in Kerala. They owned a large portion of the land in the region of Malabar District, and together with the Nair monarchs of Kerala, the Nambudiris formed the landed aristocracy known as the Jenmimar, until the Land reform in Kerala, Kerala Land Reforms starting in 1957. The Nambudiris have traditionally lived in Tharavad, ancestral homes known as Illams and have been described by anthropologist Joan Mencher as, "A wealthy, aristocratic landed caste of the highest ritual and secular rank." Venerated as the carriers of the Sanskrit language and ancient Vedas, Vedic culture, the Nambudiris held m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sambandam
Sambandam was the traditional marriage practiced by Nambudiris, Nairs, Samantha Kshatriya and Ambalavasis among their own communities as well as with each other, in Kerala, India. "Sambandham" was derived from the Sanskrit words "Sama" meaning "equal" and "Bandham" meaning "alliance." Practice Samanthan, Nairs and Ambalavasi Sambantham was one of the marriage traditions among the traditional matrilineal castes. Women of Samanthan, Nairs and Ambalavasi castes could marry men within their own community or from ritually higher ranked Brahmin (Nambudiri caste). This practice was prevalent among the wealthy royal families of Kerala. Nambuthiri Brahmins Nambuthiri Brahmins, in particular, followed specific marriage customs. Only the eldest son of a Nambuthiri Brahmin family could marry within his own community, while others could marry from the Kshatriya or equivalent. They are allowed to marry women only from royal families, the highest subcaste of Nair, and Ambalavasi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
9th Battalion, Madras Regiment
The 9th battalion of the Madras Regiment (Travancore) is the oldest extant unit in the Indian Army. It has been in service for over 300 years. History The battalion was raised in 1704 at Padmanabhapuram, the capital of the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore. Raised as personal bodyguards to the Maharaja of Travancore, the unit, though redesigned through the ages, continues to retain its individual identity with no history of disbandment or re-raising. The Travancore Army, known as the Nair Brigade, completely exterminated the superior and better equipped Dutch Forces which landed at Colachal in July 1741 during the reign of Anizham Thirunal Veer Bala Marthand Varma. In the Battle of Colachel, during the Travancore–Dutch War, Capt Eustachius De Lannoy, a Commander of the Dutch fleet, was captured and was asked later to train the Travancore Army. From 1741 to 1758, Capt De Lannoy remained in command of the Travancore Forces and was involved in annexation of small principalit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Army
The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of the Army Staff (India), Chief of the Army Staff (COAS). The British Indian Army, Indian Army was established on 1 April 1895 alongside the long established presidency armies of the East India Company, which too were absorbed into it in 1903. Some princely states maintained their own armies which formed the Imperial Service Troops which, along with the Indian Army formed the land component of the Armed Forces of the Crown of India, responsible for the defence of the Indian Empire. The Imperial Service Troops were merged into the Indian Army after Independence of India, independence. The units and regiments of the Indian Army have diverse histories and have participated in several battles and campaigns around the world, earnin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tharavad
Tharavad, also spelled as Tharavadu () (തറവാട്), is the Malayalam word for the ancestral home of aristocratic Nair families in Kerala, which usually served as the common residence for the matrilineal joint family under the Marumakkathayam system practiced in the state. German linguist Hermann Gundert, in his Malayalam—English dictionary published in 1872, defines a ''Tharavadu'' as, "An ancestral residence of land-owners and kings", and also as, "A house, chiefly of noblemen". It was classically the residence of Jenmimar, but contemporary usage of the word is now more generic to all social classes and religions in Kerala. By extension, the word refers not just to the family's house but also to the extended family that shares that house. Heads of tharavadus - usually the eldest living male - were known as ''Karnavars'', and junior members as ''Anandravans''. Architecture Inseparable from the traditional concept of a tharavad is, historically, Kerala's distin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malabar Region
The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regions of the subcontinent, which includes the southern tip of Goa, Kanara region of Karnataka, all of Kerala and Kanyakumari region of Tamil Nadu. Kuttanad, which is the point of the lowest altitude in India, lies on the Malabar Coast. Kuttanad, also known as ''The Rice Bowl of Kerala'', is among the few places in the world where cultivation takes place below sea level. The peak of Anamudi, which is also the point of highest altitude in India outside the Himalayas, lies parallel to the Malabar Coast on the Western Ghats. The region parallel to the Malabar Coast gently slopes from the eastern highland of Western Ghats ranges to the western coastal lowland. The moisture-laden winds of the Southwest monsoon, on reaching the southernmost point of the Indian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is near Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago., "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations averag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regions of the subcontinent, which includes the southern tip of Goa, Kanara region of Karnataka, all of Kerala and Kanyakumari region of Tamil Nadu. Kuttanad, which is the point of the List of extreme points of India#Altitudes, lowest altitude in India, lies on the Malabar Coast. Kuttanad, also known as ''The Rice Bowl of Kerala'', is among the few places in the world where cultivation takes place below sea level. The peak of Anamudi, which is also the point of highest altitude in India outside the Himalayas, lies parallel to the Malabar Coast on the Western Ghats. The region parallel to the Malabar Coast gently slopes from the eastern highland of Western Ghats ranges to the western coastal lowland. The moisture-laden winds of the Southwest m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
