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Home , Athirampuzha, Elappunkal, Kottayam, Kottayam district, Muvattupuzha, Muziris

Hinterland Trade in Medieval Period: Significance of Chumadutangi Stones in ,

Cyriac Jose1

1. Department of History, St. Thomas College, Pala, Kottayam, Kerala, (Email: [email protected])

Received: 07 August 2015; Accepted: 13 September 2015; Revised: 22 October 2015 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 3 (2015): 551‐561

Abstract: ‘Chumadutangi’ is creation of hinterland trade system and is a solid archaeological evidence of the trade activities of the medieval Kerala. The district Kottayam of south‐central Kerala and its inner regions were one of the major production centers of pepper and other commodities during the time of the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English. Traders used both the rivers and the land routes to carry their commodities from the interiors to the major towns and vice versa. Present article is based on the field survey conducted by the author in the district of Kottayam to record surviving ‘chumadutangi’ stones. The article looks into the location, architecture and inscription on the stone structures and assesses the significance of them in the reconstruction of internal trade routes from the interior to the coastal towns and vice versa in the district during medieval period.

Keywords: Chumadutangi, Hinterland, Trade, Medieval Period, Kottayam, Architecture, Inscription

Introduction Chumadutangi literally means stones on which the passengers who carry loads on their heads, place them and take relief while travelling long distance. It is usually found on the roadside often seven or eight for every mile (Nagamaiya 1902: 195). There are plenty of such stone structures in different parts of Kerala and the field survey in the district revealed eighteen chumadutangi stones in the district. Out of eighteen, eight of them are well preserved, eight are almost collapsed and two are completely ruined. Most of them are seen along the present day roads and in between local towns. The stone structure has different names in different regions of the district such as Athani, Elappu as well as Chumadutangi. Even today, we can see various localities in the district using any of these or associated terms, which suggests that once such a stone structure has existed in that region. The Chumadutangi stones (hereafter ‐ CS) were meant for the traders who carry commodities for long distance and are usually constructed only for regions where bullock carts could not be used. According to the local tradition, there were a number of such stone benches in different parts of the district but a large number of them have been demolished due to construction activities. ISSN 2347 – 5463 Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 3: 2015

The Region of Kerala situated between the on the east and Lake on the west. Positioned a little south to central Kerala, the region is bordered on the north by district, on the east by and on the south by and districts (fig. 1). It lies between the latitudes 9°15ʹ and 10° 21ʹ and the longitudes 76° 22ʹ and 77° 25ʹ. The , the and the are the rivers, which flow through the northern, central and southern parts of the district respectively.

Figure 1: Location of Kottayam district

Historical Background The Kottayam district was the part of the Kulasekhara Empire from AD 800 to 1102. Later two small kingdoms were emerged by about AD 1100 – Thekkumkur and Vadakumkur, and continued their power until 1750. In addition to these, two principalities namely Punjar and Meenachil had also come into existence in the northeastern part of the district. By the end of the fifteenth century, when the Portuguese landed in Kerala in 1498, the kingdoms of Tekkumkur and had began to play their political role in central Kerala as allies of Cochin rulers. The regions of both the Thekkumkur and Vadakkumkur kingdom were the major hinterland regions of Cochin, where pepper and other commodities produced. Later of annexed these two kingdoms in 1749 and 1751 respectively. Marthanda Varma also annexed the Punjar and Meenachil principalities. Since then the district was the part of Travancore Kingdom (Menon 1975: 5).

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Architecture and Location The stone structure consists of a horizontal stone placed over two stone pillars in such a way that, from the ground this stone alignment looks like a bench. Generally, the massive structure of a CS measures up to 1 meter in height from the ground and the horizontal stone ranges from 2 to 2.5 meter long, 30 to 40 cm width and 28 to 32 cm thickness. Granite, which is abundant in this region, is used for the construction.

Based on the pillars, the CS can be classified into two categories; (I) CS with two pillars on which a horizontal stone block is placed (Fig. 2) (II) CS with three pillars on which two horizontal stones are placed (Fig. 3). In the area of study, five CS come under category one, eleven under two and the nature of the remaining two cannot be determined as they are ruined beyond recognition.

Figure 2: Chumadutangi ‐ Category I

The horizontal stone block is generally well finished than that of the pillar stone. The pillar stones, at many sites do not have a proper shape. The horizontal stones are well finished at three sides, but the bottom remains unfinished. These are huge stone blocks with visible curves at each end of it. These fit snugly into the knobs on the top of the pillars. In some stone structures, a number of holes (Fig. 4) are noticed on both the pillars as well as the horizontal stone, probably to tie animals. Chumadutangi stones are found in various locations in the district of Kottayam (Fig. 5 and Table 1).

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Figure 3: Chumadutangi ‐ Category II

Figure 4: Holes on Chumadutangi

Figure 5: Location of Chumadutangi Structures in Kottayam (Courtesy: Google earth)

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Elappunkal It is located (N 09°42’ 02. 0” E 76° 47’ 09. 7”) in Thalappuram Panchayath in Meenachil taluk. The stone structure found few meter away from the river Meenachil belongs to category II with three pillars and two horizontal stones and bear an inscription.

Manjappallikunnu The CS is located (N 09° 33’01.2” E 76° 45’44.6”) in the Chirakkadvu Panchayath in the taluk. The stone structure has been ruined completely.

Elappu It is (N 09° 35’11.3” E 76° 40’57.1”) located in the Plallickathodu panchayath in Kottaym taluk. The structure belongs to category II with three pillars and two horizontal stones.

Parappallikunnu It is (N 09° 35’44.8” E 76° 40’30.0”) situated in the Pallickathodu panchayath of Kottayam taluk. It is a well‐preserved CS and belongs to category II with three pillars and two horizontal stones.

Kongandoor The CS is located (N 09° 38’ 50.0” E 76° 36’47.0”) in Panchayath of Kottayam taluk. The stone structure is completely ruined.

Manarcadu It is (N 09° 36’00.5” E 76° 35’23.4”) sited in the Manarcadu panchayath of Kottayam taluk. It belongs to category I with two pillars and a horizontal stone. The horizontal stone is the longest one in the district and measures 2.96 meter.

Kalathippadi It is located (N 09° 35’11.7” E 76° 33’04.7”) in the Manarcadu panchayath of Kottayam taluk. The structure has two pillars and a horizontal stone and is in the side of NH 220.

Athirumpuzha This structure is sited (N 09° 40’09.0” E 76° 32’44.0”) in the Athirumpuzha panchayath of Kottayam taluk. Athirumpuzha was a major market centre since the Portuguese period. This well‐preserved CS belongs to category II with three pillars and two horizontal stone blocks, which also bear an inscription.

Pattithanam It is a partially collapsed structure located (N 09° 41’28.9” E 76° 33’39.3”) in the Kanakkari panchayth of Meenachil Taluk. It has three pillars and two horizontal stones bearing inscription.

Alingalthakidi It is located (N 09° 37’20.7” E 76° 41’49.6”) in panchayath of Kottayam district. The stone structure has two pillars and a horizontal stone.

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Onamthuruthu It is (N 09°40’26.2” E 76°31’25.8”) located in the Ettumannor panchayath of Kottaym taluk. The structure belongs to category II with three pillars and two horizontal stones, which also bear an inscription.

Vadayattu It is located in the panchayath (N 09°46’26.2” E 76°25’53.1”).The structure is completely collapsed and only the pillar stone remains.

Pulinchuvadu It is located (N 09° 45’24.3” E 76° 24’11.1”) along the road between Thalayolapparambu and . It is completely collapsed except for a pillar.

Chalaparambu This is sited (N 09°45’18.2” E 76°24’33.9”) and belongs to category II and only two pillars remain today.

Udayanapuram It is located (N 09° 46’16.4” E 76°23’46.7”) along the road between Vaikom and Poothotta. This structure belongs to category II and everything is lost except for the pillars.

Kulasekharapuram It is located (N 09° 48’11.2” E 76° 23’53.8”) along the road between Vaikom and Pothatta. It belongs to the category II with two pillars and a horizontal stone block. The horizontal stone block also bears an inscription.

Thazhathuvadakara It is situated (N 09°28’05.1” E 76°42’52.4”) very close to river Manimala. The structure belongs to category II with two horizontal stones and three pillars.

Kadaplamattom It is situated (N 09° 43’13.5 E76° 36’32.0) along the road between and Marangatupally. It belongs to category II with three pillars and two horizontal blocks, which bear an inscription.

Inscription In Kerala especially in Travancore state, many of the inscriptions are related to gifts that are given to several temples or charitable purposes in the form of land and other valuables. The charitable purposes included the construction of wells, rest houses, water shed and chumadutangi stones (Nagamaiya 1902 195). There are seven stone structures having inscriptions and they are found at , Onamthuruthu, , Kadaplamattom, Thazhathuvadakara, Kulasekharapuram and Ellapunkal. The inscription is written in Grantha script and the year used is year

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(Kollam Era started in AD 825, therefore, to calculate the date of the establishment of CS in Christian era, 825 to be added with the year given in the inscription).

In all places, inscriptions are engraved on the horizontal stone blocks. The inscriptions on CS speak about the date, month and year of construction and give the details of the donor. Most of the inscriptions that appear in the CS follow a common writing pattern; year of construction followed by the month, date, house name and the name of the donor. The inscription on the CS at Onamthuruthu (Figure 6) states that it belongs to Koyikal kandan on fifth Chingam of Kollam year 923 (AD 1748). The inscription found at Athirumpuzha (Figure 7) states that it belongs to Naduviledathu Raman Krishnan on 23rd Makara of Kollam year 976 (AD 1801). Inscription at near (Figure 8) tells that it belongs to Pandanoor on seventh Dhanu of Kollam year 1094 (AD 1919). The CS found at Pattithanam is of Kollam year 1060 (AD 1885), Kadaplamattom of Kollam year 1097(A D 1922) and Thazhathuvadakara of Kollam year 1121 (AD 1946).

Figure 6: Inscription on Chumadutangi found at Onamthuruthu

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Figure 7: Inscription found on Chumadutangi at Athirumpuzha

Figure 8: Inscription found on Chumadutangi at Elappunkal near Erattupetta

The Hinterland Trade Network The Europeans entered Kerala at the time when its principal maritime exchange centers like Cannanore, Calicut, Cochin and Quilon were involved in the process of emerging as the new power centers by making gains from their vibrant maritime trade (Malekandathil 2010: 82). Ever since the Portuguese supremacy in trade in Kerala, Cochin was the major port town of central Kerala and there were several interior regions, which produced pepper and other commodities. The district of Kottayam and its inner regions were one of the major production centers of pepper and other commodities during the time of the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English. The commodities produced in the hinterland were brought to the local markets like Kanjirappally, Erattupetta, , Cirakkadavu, , Pala, and Athirumpuzha and eventually to the port at Cochin (Malekandathil 2002: 29). The local merchants went from place to place, collected the necessary commodities, and brought them to the factory in Cochin. The network of rivers facilitated the movement of commodities from interior parts to the port (Mathew 1983: 141).

The rivers in the district such as the Meenachil, the Muvattupuzha and the Manimala originated from the western slope of the Ghats, flowed through different parts of the district, and end in Vembanad Lake. These rivers facilitated the transport of the goods of the local merchants by making it easier for them to carry their loads through Vembanad Lake and eventually to Cochin. The local markets like Kanjirappally and Cirakkadvu mentioned in the Portuguese documents are situated near the river

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Manimala and towns like Erattupetta, Ettumanoor, Pala, and Athirumpuzha are located on the basin of the river Meenachil.

A survey of Travancore state carried out by Lieutenant Ward and Conner as part of the British survey was started in 1816 and completed in 1820. First published in 1863, it provides first hand information about the geography and socio economic life of the people of these regions. The survey records that bazaars of Travancore state were situated along the banks of the rivers and borders of the lakes. Their survey coincides with a number of bazaars in the present study area. These are Caujirappally (Kanjirappally), Erattupetta, Paullye (Pala), Keedangoor (Kidangoor), Purranangaunam (), Kotiam (Kottayam), Yaithumanoor (Ettumannoor), Corraywallingaad (Kuravilangadu), Vyekkum (Vaikam) and Wuddiaar ( ). In Travancore state the construction of roads was started in Kollam year 926 (AD 1751) under the supervision of Rama Iyen Dalwa. Several roads were constructed from Cape Comorin to by connecting the old markets. Therefore, a gradual growth of the trade routes and roads can be traced.

Discussion Hinterland is an organized and developed land space which connects with ports by means of transport lines, and which receive or send goods through that port (Malekandathil 2002: 29). Several parts of the concerned district were hinterland region of Cochin for a long time since the Portuguese time. The local markets were the focal point of the interior trade in the medieval period. The markets are developed into large or medium towns and are well connected by roads. It is notable that the surviving CS in the district situated along the banks of rivers, roads and towns.

There are two categories of CS ‐ two pillars with a horizontal stone and three pillars with two horizontal stones. The latter has more space to accommodate more commodities. The regions where the second category occurs undoubtedly suggest that it was constructed on the active trade routes to accommodate the busy traffic of the commodities at that time. Eleven CS belongs to second category have been located in the district. The holes of the CS point out, cattle were also trade goods along with the pepper, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, arecnut etc in the region. A number of scholars have already studied the hinterland trade system of the Portuguese period (Mathew 1983; Malekandathil 2002]. Their work was, primarily based on records of the Portuguese account, other colonial records as well as Indian records. They explained that the local merchants went from place to place and collected the necessary commodities from interior parts and brought them to the factory in Cochin during the time of the Portuguese. The network of the rivers facilitated easy movement of commodities to the port.

The surviving Chumadutangi Stones hold a prominent position as the primary source of information to reconstruct the movement of the trade and validate the hinterland trade network of the district since the Portuguese period. When the Portuguese power came

560 Jose 2015: 551‐561 into an end, the local markets and the internal trade routes might have remained the same and continued their role during the time of the Dutch and the English. These towns are linked later by the Travancore state when they took initiative to construct new roads across their country. The CS have originally been constructed on the long distance trade routes of five to ten miles. In the archaeological point of view, CS are the solid archaeological remains to reconstruct the hinterland trade mechanism of the district since sixteenth century how commodities are brought to local markets and how it is moved from local markets to major ports.

Acknowledgements The author wishes to thank Dr. Sam N., Retired Professor of , Oriental Research Institute and Manuscript Library, University of Kerala for translating the inscription. Heartfelt gratitude is also extended to Dr. Nihildas, Assistant Archaeologist, and Dr. Midhun C. Sekhar, Museum Manager, Heritage Project for their support in the field survey. Special thanks to Mr. Sunny K.J. for accompanying me to various sites and to Ms. Ani Mathew for the necessary support for the publication of the data.

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