Madampi or Madambi ''(equivalent to

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

in English),'' plural Madampimār, is the

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 ...

term used to refer to the landed

aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...

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 ...

, used by the uppermost subdivisions of Nairs in Kerala. Pillai is the main title used by a Madampi. They were mostly found in the kingdoms of Jaisimhanadu and

Venad Venad was a medieval kingdom between the Western Ghat mountains of India with its capital at city of Quilon.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 143 ...

( Travancore Kingdom). Madampis served as '' Jenmis'' or landlords and had their own Nair armies during the pre-independence era. The Madambis held authority within their respective regions and had the right to adjudicate provincial disputes, often exercising greater judicial power than the kings themselves. Their power was severely reduced after the

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

government passed the Land Reforms Ordinance. The title Madampi was also used in Cochin, to denote the Nair and Nambudiri chiefs who ruled under the Maharajah of Cochin. A few

Nambuthiri 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 th ...

landlord families, most notable of whom being those in Vanjipuzha and Makilanjeri, were also given the Madampi title. In Cochin, the Madampis had their own armies, but seldom numbered more than 100. Their power was only a little bit higher than that of the ''Desavazhis''. Madampis supplied chieftains along with soldiers in times of war to the King.Madampimars the members of the family hold a unique position of healthy influence amongst the Nair Madampis.The madres states and mysore directory p.321 Other titles used by the Nairs include Kurup, Pillai, Valiathan, Kaimal, Thampi, Chempakaraman, Unnithan, Nambiar, Panicker, Nayanar, Kartha and Menon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madampi (Nair Title) Nair Mad

See also

References