Thachil is the name of an ancient lineage of families now centred in Ernakulam (district), Kerala State. The family originated from North Kuthiathode. Thachil Matthoo Tharakan was a significant figure in the history of the families and

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

State.

History

Oral tradition has it that St Thomas, the disciple of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

who came to India in 52 AD, landed in the port town of Kodungalloor in Kerala and established a Christian community there. Later a group of Syrian Christians led by

Thomas of Cana Thomas of Cana (Malayalam: Knāi Thoma or Tomman Kinān, Syriac: Knā'nāya Thoma) was a Syrian merchant magnate who arrived to the Chera Dynasties capital city of Kodungallur between 345 A.D. and 811 A.D. Thoma brought with him Jewish-Christ ...

landed in Kodungalloor between 4th and 9th centuries. Emperor

Cheraman Perumal Perumal (the 'Great One') is the name of a Hindu deity. It was also a medieval Indian royal title of: *Western Ganga dynasty Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala''. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 171. **Sripurusha **Rajamalla **Nitim ...

welcomed them and gave all help to the expatriates for settlement. They established and operated the famous Mahadevar Pattanam a market town. The

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

s were wealthy and through their successful business activities became prosperous. Thomas of Cana led a group of 72 families, as well as clergymen, when he arrived at the

Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing m ...

. There they encountered and supplemented the Saint Thomas Christians, previously evangelized by Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. Copper plates referring to this story exist, but are of a substantially later date. During the war, Mahadevar Pattanam was destroyed and many expatriate families moved down the coast to Travancore in the south. Thachil

Illam Illam (), also referred to as Mana, is the Malayalam word for the house of a Namboodiri Brahmin. In the traditional lineage system used for the classification and identification of homes based on the castes of Kerala, South India, an Illam ser ...

was one of the famous

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

Tharavad Tharavad () (തറവാട്), is the Malayalam word for the ancestral home of aristocratic families in Kerala, which usually served as the common house for the joint family system practiced in the state. The German linguist Hermann Gunder ...

in Kerala. Thachil Brahmins were chief priests in the Thirumoozhikkulam Temple. They were converted to Christianity and migrated to Kuthiathode. Some believe that they were converted to Christianity by

(Knai Thomman). Thachil Variyath is the patriarch of the family who migrated to Kuthiathode.

Branches

Thachil family branched into over 20 sub families, quite a few of them have migrated to different places like the Alangad Thachils who settled in Angamaly. Some of the sub Thachil families who have roots in North Kuthiathode are as follows: * Alangad Thachil (settled in Angamaly) * Chavedyil * Kanjirakkatu * Kolenchery * Kalapurakal * Kambolam Kandathil * Kovattu * Kizhakke Veetil * Kizhakke Ambattu * Manakkalakatuttu * Padinjare Ambattu * Puthenveettil * Vadakkeveetil Some of the other sub Thachil families are Kannai from Puthenchira, Kanjirakattu from N Paravur and Poochoodan from Angamali.

References

Thachil Family Official Website
* M.O. Joseph Nedumkunnam, Thachil Mathu Tharakan, (Malayalam) Kottayam, NBS, 1962 * M.O. Joseph Nedumkunnam, Thachil Kudumbam, (Malayalam) * Thachil Mathu Tharakan by C C Lonappan Ookken (1966) Surnames of Indian origin

History

Branches

See also

References