Edakkad is village in kannur city in

Kannur District Kannur () is one of the 14 Districts of Kerala, districts along the west coast in the state of Kerala, India. The city of Kannur is the district headquarters and gives the district its name. The old name, Cannanore, is the anglicized form of th ...

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 ...

state, in India.

History

Edakkad grama panchayat of Kannur in ancient times was referred to as Madhya-adavi (in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

'' Madhya'' means middle and ''Adavi'' means forest). Similarly ''Eda'' means middle and ''kadu'' means forest. Thus the Malayalam derivative "Edakkad" is an adaptation of its original Sanskrit name. Edakkad also was historically referred to as Prashnamargapuram (town of ''Prashnamargam'' treatise in horary astrology) . This honorary name evolved due to the seminal horary astrological treatise called ''Prashna Margam'' being written by Panakkattu Namboodiri (1624-1694 A.D.) around 1649 A.D. at the Lord ''Narasimha'' temple (''Edakkadappan'' temple) in this panchayat. The author's first disciple, according to tradition, was a poet known as
Kukaniyal
', his real name was Sankaran kaniyar who belonged to the ''Kaniyar'' community who lived in his family house (''Kaniyan Kandiyil'') also situated in Edakkad. ''Kukaniyal'' of Edakkad is accredited to have later written another astrological treatise ''Prashna-Ritti''.

''Sree Oorpazhachi Kavu''

A prominent temple in the Edakkad grama panchayat is the ''Sree Oorpazhachi Kavu'' (Ooril Pazhakiya Eachil Kavu or Ooril Pazhakiya Achi Kavu) situated at Nadal. The name of this temple renders itself to two etymological interpretations. The former meaning pazhakiya (ancient) kavu (grove) surrounded by Eachil (a herb) and the latter meaning pazhakiya (ancient) achi (mother goddess) kavu (grove). Irrespective of the interpretation of ''Oorpazachi Kavu'', it is the presence of this temple at Edakkad that imparts historical significance to the area. One finds reference to this famous temple in the Malabar Manual by William Logan, the British collector of Malabar. The main deity at Oorpazhachikavu is Oorpazhachi Dhaivam locally known as 'dhaivathareeswaran' who was the deified feudal Nair warrior 'Meloor Dayarappan'. North Malabar Folklore has in its collection of traditional songs described the ferocity of Meloor Dayarappan as the 'veeran' erowho had killed sixty four within the age of thirtysix including his teacher who beat him during teaching even when Meloor Dayarappan was a boy. The lengthy lore known as 'Oorpazhachi Thottam' further narrates that Meloor Dayarappan with his dearest friend Vettakorumakan and twelve thousand friends resided at Oorpazhachi Kaav where Meloor Dayarappan ruled as a kshathriya king for twelve years over a territory extending from ancient Kannur to Wayanad.Meloor dayarappan, Khshethrapalan, Veerabhadran, and Vettakorumakan were deified nair warriors who were friends. They occupy place among the thirty five important 'Theyyams' known collectively as 'Muppathaivar' he thirtyfivein the Theyyam FolkLore of northernmost Malabar. The Folklore scholars C M S Chanthera, Professor Vishnu namboothiri, the famous Theyyam performer Manakkadan Gurikkal has written about this Deity and on the lengthy and extensive 'OorpazhachiThottam'. according to Professor K.K.N. Kurupp Vice-Chancellor Calicut university 'Oorpazhachi Dhaivam' presided over 18000 sthanams eatsin Kolathunaad alone. Dr.Sanjeevan Azhikode son of C M S Chanthera also has done extensive study of caste connotations in the Theyyam ambit and states that the title as 'The ruling warrior' was conferred on Meloor Dayarappan by the rulers of 'Nediyirippu swaroopam'known later as the Zamorins of calicut area.

''Ooralar''

In the pre-British era and to some extent through the British era local political and judicial administrations were performed through hereditary village assemblies and temple committees called ''Ooralar''. The term ''Oor'' means village and ''Ooraalan'' (''Ooraalar'', if joint partnership) means master (masters) or proprietor in these villages. The ''Sree Oorpazachi Kavu'' temple was the seat of such a socio-political body that enjoyed partial autonomy and administered the region. Nine prominent Nambiar families were ''Ooraalar'' and constituted the village and temple assembly that arbitrated local administration. They belonged to a further endogamous denomination among Nambiars called ''Randu Illam Vargam'' (As they derive their ancestry from Mullapalli Illom and Velloor Illom). After the Land Reforms Ordinance was enacted by Kerala State Government and the breaking of ''Janmi- kudiyan'' (feudal tenancy relationship) system ''Sree Oorpazhachi Kavu'' and the Ooralar families do not have any socio-political influence in the area. However the eldest-male from these matrilineal families still perform their role as ''de facto Ooralar'' in the ''Sree Oorpazhachi Kavu'' temple administration during ceremonial events. Like most villages in Malabar, Edakkad has also suffered extensively during the invasion of

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 ...

''Edakkad Bathakka''

Traditionally the Edakkad area was famous for its local variety / landrace of

watermelon The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is plant breeding ...

(''Citrullus lanatus'', Family

Cucurbitaceae The Cucurbitaceae (), also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family (biology), family consisting of about 965 species in 101 genera.

) referred to as ''Edakkad Bathakka''.