Kolathunadu - Constitution of The Kolathiri Family

Constitution of The Kolathiri Family

By the seventeenth century, the Kolaswarũpam had to share its political authority with two other lineages in north Kerala. The Nileswaram (Alladam) Swarũpam and the Arackal Swarũpam claimed independent political identity. Moreover, political power within the Kolaswarũpam was also disseminated into different kovilakams. In the Keralolpathi there are four kovilakams sharing the political authority of the Kolaswarupam namely: Talora Kovilakam; Arathil Kovilakam; Muttathil Kovilakam; and Karipathu Kovilakam. According to the Keralolpathi Kolathunādu tradition, the Karipathu Kovilakam claimed some sort of superiority over the others. However, it was the Palli Kovilakam and the Udayamangalam Kovilakam, as apparent from the Dutch records, which dominated the political scene of Kolathunadu Both these kovilakams had again branched into various kovilakams, thereby, creating a network of political houses within the Kolaswarupam.

The original kingdom of Kolathiri was partitioned along 5 matrilinial-divisions of the Kolathiri family and had rulers of the respective parts/ Kũr-Vāzhcha (part-dominions) namely Kolattiri, Tekkālankũr, Vadakkālankũr, Naalāmkũr, Anjāmkũr.

During the period of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan from 1766 to 1792 multiple military invasions, plunder and systematic forcible conversions were performed in North and South Malabar alike. Fearing forcible conversion, a significantly large section (Chieftains and Brahmins) of Malabar chose to take refuge in the erstwhile Kingdom of Travancore as Travancore had an alliance (Treaty of Mangalore) with the English Company according to which "an aggression against Travancore would be viewed as equivalent to declaration of war against the English". Thus at various time points between 1766 to 1792 all female members and many male members of Kolathiri family had taken refuge in southern kerala. On the restoration of peace in Malabar, while the family went back, three sisters stayed back in Travancore at Mavelikkara. Dissensions resulted in one of them moving to Ennakkad while another settled at Prayikkara. Thus three matrilinial branches of the Kolathiri family settled in Travancore and established the royal houses of Mavelikkara, Ennakkat and Prayikkara.