Kadathanadu, also rendered Kadathanad, Katattanad, and, academically, Kaṭattanāṭǔ; alternately known as Vatakara or Badagara, was a kingdom in

North Malabar North Malabar refers to the geographic area of southwest India covering the state of Kerala State, Kerala's present day Kasaragod district, Kasaragod and Kannur district, Kannur districts, Mananthavady taluk of the Wayanad District, Wayanad distr ...

just north of the Korappuzha River, ruled by the

Porlathiri Polarthiri was a royal house which ruled part of Calicut before Zamorin around 1200s and later Kadathanadu in South India. Ruled by the Polarthiries, Kadathanadu garnered renown, particularly for its association with the martial art form of Kalari ...

dynasty after their dispossession from their native realm of

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

and Polanad. Its ruler was known as

Vazhunnavar The Mannanar dynasty () was a Thiyya dynasty in Malabar, near present-day Kannur and Kasaragod districts of Kerala. The ruins of Mannanar palace can still be seen at the foothills of the Ghats borders of Coorg. The ancient palace in Eruvesi to ...

, often rendered 'Boyanore', until 1750, whereupon their prior titulature of Raja was resumed. Kerala in the Late Middle Ages

The establishment of the kingdom dates to the flight of the Porlathiri, fleeing the Zamorin's conquest of Calicut, to seek asylum in

Kolathiri Kolathiri or Kolathiri Rājā () (King of KolathunāduA. Shreedhara Menon (2007), ''A brief History of Kerala'', DC Books, Kottayam or King of Cannanore in foreign accounts) was the title by which the senior-most male along the matrilineal lin ...

territory; where a chance lakeside encounter led to a Kolathiri prince of the Southern Regency scandalously espousing the Porlathiri heiress, who traditionally would only have hypergamously contracted

sambandham 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" mea ...

with a Nambudiripad Brahmin. The dynamics of the marriage led to significant carveouts from the Southern Regency, with the hereditary governance matrilineally vested in the line of the Porlathiri princess and her Kolathiri groom.

Geographical location

Geographically, Kadathanadu is situated to the south of

Thalassery Thalassery () (also called Tellicherry) is a city and municipality on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahe and Kozhikode. Thalassery municipality has a population of just under ...

and north of

Koyilandy Koyilandy (;A Survey of Kerala History, A. Shreedhara Menon)is a major town Nagar Palika, municipality and a Tehsil, taluk in Kozhikode district, Kerala on the Malabar Coast. The historical town is located right in the middle of the coast of Koz ...

on the Malabar coast, beside the historical Kottakkal river. The area roughly six kilometers from

Vatakara Vatakara, also known as Vadakara () (formerly Badagara, ), is a municipality, taluk and a major town in the Kozhikode district in Indian state of Kerala. The municipality of Vatakara covers an area of and is bordered by Mahé to the north and ...

is known as Kadathanadu. The place is now part of Puduppanam in Vatakara. Kadathanadu is also the site of the famous

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Lokanarkavu Lokanarkavu Temple is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Durga devi situated in Memunda, 4 km from Vatakara, in Kozhikode District, North Malabar region of Kerala state of south India. Lokanarkavu is a short form of ''Lokamalayark ...

temple.

History

The erstwhile princely state of Kadathanadu was ruled by Rajas of Kadathanadu, who were of

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 hi ...

origin and was feudatories to the

. Around 1750, the ruler of Kadathanadu had adopted the title of Raja, with the explicit consent of the Kolathiri. Harivihar is the 150-year-old residence of the Kadathanadu royal family. Legend has it that the sons of the Kadathanadu rulers were sent to

to be educated in institutions set up by the

Zamorin The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edi ...

of Calicut, and hence a city house was built for the young princes. During

Malayalam Era The Malayalam Calendar, or the Kollam Era (), is a sidereal solar calendar used in Kerala. The origin of the calendar has been dated to 825 CE, commemorating the establishment of Kollam. There are many theories regarding the origin of th ...

965, corresponding to 1789–90,

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...

crossed over to Malabar with his army. A small army of 2000 Kadathanadu Nairs resisted the invasion from a fortress in

Kuttipuram Kuttippuram is a town and a Kuttippuram Block Panchayat, block headquarters, which is situated in the Tirur Taluk, Malappuram district in the India, Indian state of Kerala. The town is located 32 kilometres south of Malappuram And 8 kilometers f ...

near

Nadapuram Nadapuram is a census town and a special grade panchayath located in Kozhikode District of Kerala, coming under Nadapuram Constituency#India, assembly constituency. It is in the North Malabar region of Kerala, India. History In the past, Nadapur ...

for a few weeks. This land, whose Sanskrit name is Ghatolkachakshiti, mainly included parts of the present Vadakara taluk. The king of Katthannad was addressed as Vazhunnor.

References

{{Malabar Feudal states of Kerala History of Kozhikode district