INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH CULTURE SOCIETY ISSN: 2456-6683 Volume - 1, Issue - 6, Aug - 2017 CONDITION OF WOMEN IN PRE-MODERN TRAVANCORE Keerthana Santhosh Guest Faculty, Department of History, S N College, Chathannoor, India E mail –
[email protected] Abstract: Travancore was the southernmost native state of British India and comprised the present day lands of the southern part of Kerala and Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. It was a land of superstitions, untouchability, unseeability and unapproachability. Pragmatism and atheism were completely unknown there and people were extremely conservatives. It was a caste ridden society with Brahmanical dominance. Naturally, the condition of people belonging to the other castes, particularly lower castes was highly deplorable. But most pathetic was the condition of women. Not even a single section of women occupied a favorable position then. Even their existence was neglected. They were confined to the four walls of their own home. The study aims at the revealing of the condition of women in pre-modern Travancore. Key words: Travancore, Women, Sambandham, Smarthavicharam, Mannappedi, Pulappedi, Parappedi, Akathamma, Devadasi, Ezhuthupalli, Kalari, Kallumala. 1. INTRODUCTION: Women studies were a neglected field in the past. Only men were given importance. The word history itself seems to say his story and not her or their story. Most of the ancient books reveal the fact that they are the stories of men. We have Ramante Ayanam- Ramayanam as an example. As the title shows, it is just the journey of Rama – the protagonist and female characters are subsided. The ancient branch of knowledge, astrology also illustrates the point.