Cheerappanchira is an ancient noble

Ezhava The Ezhavas, () also known as ''Thiyya'' or ''Tiyyar'' () in the Malabar region, and Chovar () in the south, are a community with origins in the region of India presently known as Kerala, where in the 2010s they constituted about 23% of the po ...

family renowned for its

Kalari A kalari is a gymnasium or training space primarily associated with the martial art of Kalaripayattu. The word ''kalari'' comes from Tamil. In the past, village schools in Tamilnadu, typically run by the traditional astrologer families, were k ...

Muhamma Muhamma is a census town in the Cherthala Taluk in the Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is home to Cheerappanchira kalari, where Lord Ayyappa of Sabarimala had his training in the martial arts. Cheerappanchira is an Ezha ...

Alappuzha District Alappuzha district (), is one of the 14 Districts of Kerala, districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It was formed as Alleppey district on 17 August 1957, the name of the district being changed to ''Alapp ...

. According to legend, Lord Ayyappan came here to learn Kalaripayattu. A. K. Gopalan married

Susheela Gopalan Susheela Gopalan (29 December 1929, at Muhamma, in Alappuzha, Kerala – 19 December 2001, at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala) was an Indian Communist leader and one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Life She w ...

from the cheerappanchira tharawad.

C. K. Chandrappan Cheerapanchira Kuntirishery Chandrappan (10 November 1935 – 22 March 2012) was a politician from Kerala, India. He was associated with Communist Party of India (CPI). He was a member of the Lok Sabha of India representing the Thalassery (Lok ...

also hails from this tharawad.

Cheerappanchira family

The Cheerappanchira family, according to their family history, originates from

Kadathanadu Kadathanadu, also rendered Kadathanad, Katattanad, and, academically, Kaṭattanāṭǔ; alternately known as Vatakara or Badagara, was a kingdom in North Malabar just north of the Korappuzha River, ruled by the Porlathiri dynasty after their d ...

and were known for their proficiency in

Kalaripayattu Kalaripayattu (), also known simply as Kalari, is an Indian martial art that originated on the southwestern coast of India, in what is now Kerala, during the 3rd century BCE. Etymology Kalaripayattu is a martial art which developed out of co ...

. The headman of the family holds the title 'Panicker' and known as in the name of 'Cheerappanchira Panicker'.

Lord Ayyappan

According to legend, Lord Ayyappan came to

to learn Kalaripayattu. He was introduced by a person named 'Vellutha' as his close relative because the Cheerappanchira Panickers were less willing to train someone from outside their country. They were focused on training soldiers from their own kingdom. Ayyappan started his martial arts training in Cheerappanchira Kalari hiding his true identity as the Prince of Pandalam.

Maalikapurathamma Maalikapurathamma () is a Hindu goddess enshrined in a small temple at Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple. The Maalikapurathamma Temple is visited after the main Ayyappa Temple. Malikapurathamma Temple is in front of ''Manimandapam'' in the temple compl ...

was the daughter of Cheerappanchira Panikkar, who taught

to Lord Ayyappa. Her real name was Lalithambika, also known as Poongodi. She used to train Ayyappan in Kalari when her father was not available. Eventually, Ayyappan and Pongodi both fell in love with each other, but they could not unite due to reasons that remain historically unclear, apart from legend and belief stories Ayyappan, before going to an imminent war with a bandit visited Cheerappanchira Kalari in order to gather enough soldiers from the Cheerappanchira Kalari, and to seek blessings from his Guru, Cheerappanchira Pancicker. At that time, Cheerappanchira Pancicker had gone to his 'moola-tharwad' (family origin) at

Vadakara 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 ...

. Upon hearing this, Ayyappan left his body armor at Cheerappanchira as a message for him upon his return. This body armor of Lord Ayyappa is still preserved in Cheerappanchira.

Sabarimala and Mukkal Vettom temples

There is also a Mukkalvetti Ayyappa temple at Muhamma, devoted to Lord Ayyappa and rest in Sabarimala. Mukkal Vettom Ayyappa Temple was built by the Cheerappanchira in the tharavadu because the elders of the family were not able to go for pilgrimage to Sabarimala. The importance of the relation of these two ancient temples is evidenced by the ''Thirupattaya Charthu'' (the royal decree) of the

Pandalam Pandalam is a municipality in Pathanamthitta district Kerala, India. Pandalam is known for its connection with Ayyappan and Sabarimala. It recognised ''as the cultural capital of Travancore'', Pandalam hosts educational institutions rang ...

King, by which the right to conduct the fireworks offerings at Sabarimala was given to Cheerappanchira family. Till this date, people of old age and women who can't undertake a pilgrimage to Sabarimala come to this temple to offer their prayers on the belief that, by the darshan at Mukkal vettom, Ayyappan will shower the same blessings as the darsan at Sabarimala. In 2001, as instructed by the ''Ashtamangala Deva Prasnam'', (the astrological findings) held at Sabarimala, Sabarimala temple authorities conducted special poojas and offerings as penance at this temple.

Swamy Muttom or Mutt

The Kudil (Hermitage) where Ayyappan lived during the period of his martial art training has been preserved in its original form by successive generations of the Cheerappanchira family.

Sree Narayana Guru Sree Narayana Guru () (20 August 1856 – 20 September 1928) was a philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer in India. He led a reform movement against the injustice in the caste-ridden society of Kerala in order to promote spirit ...

, during his visit to this family, used this Kudil. Hence it has got the name Swamy Muttom.

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