CHAPTER FOUR Pointers to New Social Order Introduction This
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CHAPTER FOUR Pointers to New Social Order Introduction This chapter tries to look into the changes that had occurred in the social structure of Malabar during the eighteenth century. An attempt is made to understand the social structure of the period and to see how the changes that were mentioned in the previous two chapters led to the changes in the social structure. Every society has its own social hierarchy that is moulded according to the economic base. In the previous chapters we have seen how new social groups had come into land and also the subsequent changes in the political structure. In this chapter, an attempt is made to see if these changes led to corresponding change in the social hierarchy of Malabar. 1. Tracing the Social Formations of Malabar: Historical Antecedents 1.1. The Society of Cera Period With the coming of Brahmins into Karaka one can see the reorganization of the social structure into the mould of the varnasramadharma. At the apex of the society were the Brahmins, followed by antarala jatis, the Sudras, the Ezhavas and the host of untouchable castes who stood outside the pale of the caste system. There were a handful of the Kshatriya castes in Kerala. Most of them followed the matrilineal system and the women had sambandham relationship with the Brahmins. Similarly, the Vaysya caste too was not present and the functions of the caste were done by the Christians, the Muslims and also the Jews. As in other regions of Kerala, the Malabar society was also the temple oriented one in Cera period; the hoards of temple inscriptions, Tamil and Sanskrit literature are the testimonial to this fact. They acted as a force of socio-economic and cultural life of the Brahmana settlements during this period.748 Most of the inscriptions of the Ceras of Mahodayapuram (A.D. c. 800-1124), which were associated with the brahmana settlements, recorded the transactions that were related to the organization and administration of the settlements. They explained the functioning of various councils 748 M.G.S. Narayanan, Op.cit., p. 345. 238 such as ur or sabhai (managing council), parisad (executive committee of managing council); kaccam (rules), devasvam (properties of the deity). Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai and T.V. Mahalingam has expressed their views on the character of these councils as democratic popular assemblies; in response to it, M.G.S. Narayanan has mentioned that, these councils were neither popular nor democratic, but at best, oligarchic caste corporations with a feudal character.749 As the repository of valuable assets and land holdings, the temples had a greater control over the society. The pooling of wealth in the temples and its redistribution among the functionaries of temple led to the formation new groups among the brahmana which constituted the agamic specialist as well as the Vedic priests. However the rich agamic specialists gradually emerged as separate groups called tantrikal who enjoyed high socio-ritual status.750 Potuval and Variyar are two other important functionaries of non-Brahmin category. Their functions became hereditary since the reward was in the form of service tenure, called as virutti. Kottikal or Marar, Cakkiyar, Nankaimar, were other groups associated with temples and were the professionals like drummer, male dancer and dancing girls respectively. These castes are generally called as antarala- jati, the caste between the Brahmins and other non-Brahmins.751 The karalar who formed another important group in the temple oriented agrarian society. it was from these castes that the samanta chieftains emerged. The artisan and craft groups were also formed a part of the temple society and at the base of the temple society was the servile group called as Atiyanmar.752 Whenever Brahmin house hold economy needed permanent functionaries, it led to the formation of the hereditary occupation groups and they gave rise to the occupation -labeled group, who in course of time turned into endogamous castes.753 749 M.G.S. Narayanan, Op. cit., p. 158. Cited in Kesavan Veluthat, Brahman Settlements in Kerala Historical Studies, Cosmo Books, Thrissur, 1978, reprint 2013, p. 29. 750 Rajan Gurukkal, Social Formations of Early South India, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2010, p. 312. 751 Ibid., pp. 312-313. 752 Ibid., pp. 312-314. 753Ibid., pp. 312-315. 239 1.2. The Society of post- Cera Period The temples played an important role in the society and so, it was a temple centered one. The brahminical order was prevalent in the society during this period. They possessed large acres of land and the income from it was utilized for temple purposes. Apart from this, the rent from certain lands and fine from defaulters, which were payable in the form of gold, royal dues made over to the temple etc., were the other source of revenue for the temples. The post Cera period had witnessed two important developments, which were related to the settlement of the society. One was the affiliation of various subsidiary settlements to the traditional brahmana settlements and the second was the emergence and the growth of few other new settlements. The Nalu Tali – the four leading settlements of Irinjalkuda, Paravur, Muzhikkulam and Airanikkulam754 had lost their prominence and in their place, two other settlements namely; Sukapuram and Panniyur came into existence. The Copper Plate of Viraraghava Chakravartin dated in 1225 A.D. acknowledges the importance of Sukapuram and Panniyur settlements as the members of the royal court; at the same time, there is only a nominal reference on the four talis, which constituted the kings council at the time of the Ceras.755 The feud between the two blocks namely; Sukapuram and Panniyur fraction under Aluvanceri Tamprakkal and Kaippanceri respectively paved the way for the formation of the Brahmana in Kerala into two blocks. The medieval Manipravalam champu, Unniccirutevicaritam, Kokasandesa, and the Sandesakavya of the same period refer to this feud.756 There existed a system of giving land grants to the brahmanas and; such lands were called brahmasvam. Strict rules were framed for the proper functioning of the system. As per the rules, the brahmasvam were not to be sold, mortgaged, donated or transacted and punishments were setup for the persons 754 Nalu Tali was the king’s council consisting of the managers of four temples was the seats of the four brahamin settlements around the capital city of the cheras of Mahodayapuram. See M.G.S. Narayanan , Perumals of Kerala Brahmin Oligarchy and Ritual Monarchy, Cosmo Books, Thrissur, 2014, pp. 161-163. 755 Kesavan Veluthat, Brahman Settlements in Kerala Historical Studies, Cosmo Books, Thrissur, 1978, reprint (2013), p.91. 756 Chathnath Achuthan Unny and M.R. Raghava Varier, Kokasandesam, verses 26, 27, Vallathol Vidyapeetham, Sukapuram, 2007. pp. 47-49. 240 who violated the rules and regulations.757 As a result, certain changes had taken place in the internal organizations of the old settlements. Another important feature of the new settlements that emerged during this period was that the temples were the centers of local chieftains. In course of time, these temples developed. In short, the post-Cera period witnessed the growth of some old brahmana settlements within a wide range of activities in socio-economic and political spheres of the society. They were patronized by the local chieftains and it ultimately led to the elevation of the power and prestige of the settlements compared to the earlier period. The temples acted as a medium of communication between the local chieftain and the common people of the locality through a well organized and systematic group of brahmanas. Thus, the period marked the domination of brahmana settlements in Kerala and which led Veluthat to call the emergence and development of brahmandom in Kerala during the post –Cera period.758 In medieval Kerala, sanketam was the land of Brahmin power within the nadus, owing its allegiance to the Rajas in the neighbouring area, at the same time managing their own affairs and enjoying political power within a limited scale. It had its own janam (members of governing council) along with a samudayam (secretary of the governing council) and it functioned by carrying on regular meeting of the council sabhayogam, which was shortened into the word yogam, in due course. 759 During the sixteenth century, in different regions of Kerala, the autonomous jurisdiction of the sanketam was more coordinate and respected by the society. In order to ensure the protection of the temple lands, the kaval system was introduced. The system of Changatam, where temples were protected by the militia recruited from landlords, became wide spread.760 757 T.A.S., Vol. IV, No.7, pp. 248-250. The document dated 1188 A.D. shed light on this fact. 758 Kesavan Veluthat, Op.cit., pp. 98-99. 759M.G.S.Narayanan (ed.),Vanjeri Grandhavari, Introduction, pp. xviii -xix. 760 P.J. Cherian (ed.), Perspectives on Kerala History, Kerala Gazetteer Department, Thiruvananthapuram, 1999, p.161. Sanketam was a protected area under temple. Kaval were normally by the major landlords of the area and they also managed the collection of dues. Changatam was a militia attached to a ruler or a chieftain. 241 The sanketams were technically self governing units, but in practice, they were much subservient to the local chiefs like any feudal vassal. Even though, the ritual superiority of the namboothiris gave them an opportunity to get away with high pretentions and to play one local chief against another by misusing their pride and pettiness. So, they were partly autonomous at the same time dependent on the chiefs of the locality. Thus, the nature of sanketam was highly complex as that of any other institutions of the feudal age.761 The janam of Trikkandiyur Shiva temple in Vettatunadu, it constituted five nambutiri chiefs namely Edamana, Kongad, Vanjicceri, Mangalacceri and Kadiyakovil, with a secretary of the council namely nambutiri of Mundakkottukuricci.