Malabar Coast | |
---|---|
Region | |
Nickname(s): | |
Coordinates: 12°01′00″N75°17′00″E / 12.0167°N 75.2833°E | |
Country | India |
State | Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu |
• Density | 816/km2 (2,110/sq mi) |
Languages | |
• Official | Malayalam, Tulu, Kannada, English, Tamil |
Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
ISO 3166 code | IN-KL, IN-TN and IN-KA |
No. of districts | 18 (4 in Kerala, 3 in Karnataka, and 1 in Tamil Nadu) |
Climate | Tropical (Köppen) |
The Malabar Coast is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regions of the subcontinent, which includes the Kanara region of Karnataka and all of Kerala. [3]
Kuttanad, which is the point of the lowest altitude in India, lies on the Malabar Coast. Kuttanad, also known as The Rice Bowl of Kerala, is among the few places in the world where cultivation takes place below sea level. [4] [5] The peak of Anamudi, which is also the point of highest altitude in India outside the Himalayas, lies parallel to the Malabar Coast on the Western Ghats.
The region parallel to the Malabar Coast gently slopes from the eastern highland of Western Ghats ranges to the western coastal lowland. The moisture-laden winds of the Southwest monsoon, on reaching the southernmost point of the Indian subcontinent, because of its topography, divide into two branches; the "Arabian Sea Branch" and the "Bay of Bengal Branch". [6] The "Arabian Sea Branch" of the Southwest monsoon first hits the Western Ghats, [7] making Kerala the first state in India to receive rain from the Southwest monsoon. [8] [9] The Malabar Coast is a source of biodiversity in India.
Until the arrival of the British, the term Malabar was used in foreign trade circles as a general name for Kerala. [1] Earlier, the term Malabar had also been used to denote Tulu Nadu and Kanyakumari which lie contiguous to Kerala in the southwestern coast of India, in addition to the modern state of Kerala. [10] [11] The people of Malabar were known as Malabars . The term Malabar is often used to denote the entire southwestern coast of India.
Additionally, European traders and scholars referred to all Tamils of South India and Sri Lanka as Malabars. In the 18th century, J. P. Fabricius described his Tamil-English Dictionary as the "Dictionary of Malabar and English". [12]
From the time of Cosmas Indicopleustes (6th century CE) itself, the Arab sailors used to call Kerala Male. The first element of the name, however, is attested already in the Topography written by Cosmas Indicopleustes. This mentions a pepper emporium called Male, which clearly gave its name to Malabar ('the country of Male'). The name Male is thought to come from the Tamil word Malai ('mountain'). [13] [14] The second part of the name is thought by scholars to be the Arabic word barr ('continent') or its Persian relative bar ('country').
Al-Biruni (AD 973 - 1048) must have been the first writer to call this state Malabar. [1] Authors such as Ibn Khordadbeh and Al-Baladhuri mention Malabar ports in their works. [15] The Arab writers had called this place Malibar, Manibar, Mulibar, and Munibar. Malabar is reminiscent of the word Malanad which means the land of mountains.
According to William Logan, the word Malabar comes from a combination of the Dravidian word Mala (mountain) and the Persian/Arabic word Barr (country/continent). [1] [16]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(February 2023) |
The term Malabar Coast, in historical contexts, refers to India's southwestern coast, which lies on the narrow coastal plain of Karnataka and Kerala between the Western Ghats range and the Arabian Sea. [17] The coast runs from south of Goa to Kanyakumari on India's southern tip. India's southeastern coast is called the Coromandel Coast. [18]
In ancient times the term Malabar was used to denote the entire south-western coast of the Indian peninsula. The region formed part of the ancient kingdom of Chera until the early 12th century. Following the breakup of the Chera Kingdom, the chieftains of the region proclaimed their independence. Notable among these were the Zamorins of Kozhikode, Kolathunadu, Perumbadappu Swaroopam, Venad, Kingdom of Valluvanad of Kingdom of Valluvanad.[ citation needed ]
The name Malabar Coast is sometimes used as an all-encompassing term for the entire Indian coast from Konkan to the tip of the subcontinent at Kanyakumari. [17] This coast is over 845 km (525 mi) long and stretches from the coast of southwestern Maharashtra, along the region of Goa, through the entire western coast of Karnataka and Kerala, and up to Kanyakumari. It is flanked by the Arabian Sea on the west and the Western Ghats on the east. The southern part of this narrow coast is referred to as the South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests.[ citation needed ]
Malabar is also used by ecologists to refer to the Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests of southwestern India (present-day Kerala).[ citation needed ]
Geographically, the Malabar Coast can be divided into three climatically distinct regions: the eastern highlands; rugged and cool mountainous terrain, the central mid-lands; rolling hills, and the western lowlands; coastal plains. [19]
The Western Ghats mountain range lie parallel to the coast on the eastern highland and separate the plains from the Deccan Plateau. These mountains recognised as one of the world's eight "hottest hotspots" of biological diversity and is listed among UNESCO World Heritage Sites. [20] The peak of Anamudi in Kerala is the highest peak in India outside the Himalayas, is at an elevation of 2,695 m (8,842 ft). [21] The chain's forests are considered to be older than the Himalaya mountains. [20]
Malabar's western coastal belt is relatively flat compared to the eastern region, [19] : 33 and is criss-crossed by a network of interconnected brackish canals, lakes, estuaries, [22] and rivers known as the Kerala Backwaters. [23] The Kuttanad region, also known as The Rice Bowl of Kerala, has the lowest altitude in India. [4] [24] The country's longest lake Vembanad, dominates the backwaters; it lies between Alappuzha and Kochi and is about 200 km2 (77 sq mi) in area. [25] Around eight percent of India's waterways are found in Kerala. [26]
The term Malabar Coast is sometimes used as an all-encompassing term for the entire Indian coast from the western coast of Konkan to the tip of the subcontinent at Cape Comorin. It is over 525 miles or 845 kilometers long. It spans from the south-western coast of Maharashtra and goes along the coastal region of Goa, through the entire western coast of Karnataka and Kerala and reaches till Kanyakumari. It is flanked by the Arabian Sea on the west and the Western Ghats on the east. The Southern part of this narrow coast is the South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests. Climate-wise, the Malabar Coast, especially on its westward-facing mountain slopes, comprises the wettest region of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden Southwest monsoon rains.
The Malabar rainforests include these ecoregions recognized by biogeographers:
The Monsooned Malabar coffee bean comes from this area.
The Malabar Coast featured (and in some instances still does) several historic port cities. Notable among these were/are Naura, Vizhinjam, Muziris, Nelcynda, Beypore and Thundi (near Ponnani or Kadalundi) during ancient times, and Kozhikode (Calicut), Kollam, Ponnani, Kannur (Cannanore), and Cochin in the medieval period, and have served as centers of the Indian Ocean trade for millennia.
Because of their orientation to the sea and to maritime commerce, the Malabar coast cities feel very cosmopolitan, and have been home to some of the first groups of Jews (known today as Cochin Jews), Syrian Christians (known as Saint Thomas Christians), Muslims (presently known as Mappilas), and Anglo-Indians in India. [27] [28]
A substantial portion of the Malabar Coast including the western coastal lowlands and the plains of the midland may have been under the sea in ancient times. Marine fossils have been found in an area near Changanassery, thus supporting the hypothesis. [29] Pre-historical archaeological findings include dolmens of the Neolithic era in the Marayur area of the Idukki district, which lie on the eastern highland made by Western Ghats. Rock engravings in the Edakkal Caves, in Wayanad date back to the Neolithic era around 6000 BCE. [30] [31]
The Malabar Coast has been a major spice exporter since 3000 BCE, according to Sumerian records and it is still referred to as the "Garden of Spices" or as the "Spice Garden of India". [32] [19] : 79 Kerala's spices attracted ancient Arabs, Babylonians, Assyrians and Egyptians to the Malabar Coast in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE. Phoenicians established trade with Malabar during this period. [33] Arabs and Phoenicians were the first to enter the Malabar Coast to trade Spices. [33] The Arabs on the coasts of Yemen, Oman, and the Persian Gulf, must have made the first long voyage to Malabar and other eastern countries. [33] They must have brought the Cinnamon of Malabar to the Middle East. [33] The Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BCE) records that in his time the cinnamon spice industry was monopolized by the Egyptians and the Phoenicians. [33]
According to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea , a region known as Limyrike began at Naura and Tyndis . However, the Ptolemy mentions only Tyndis as the Limyrike's starting point. The region probably ended at Kanyakumari; it thus roughly corresponds to the present-day Malabar Coast. The value of Rome's annual trade with the region was estimated at 50,000,000 sesterces. [34] Pliny the Elder mentioned that Limyrike was prone by pirates. [35] The Cosmas Indicopleustes mentioned that the Limyrike was a source of Malabar peppers. [36] [37] In the last centuries BCE the coast became important to the Greeks and Romans for its spices, especially Malabar pepper. The Cheras had trading links with China, West Asia, Egypt, Greece, and the Roman Empire. [38] In foreign-trade circles the region was known as Male or Malabar. [39] Muziris, Tyndis, Naura (near Kannur), and Nelcynda were among the principal ports at that time. [40] Contemporary Sangam literature describes Roman ships coming to Muziris in Kerala, laden with gold to exchange for Malabar pepper. One of the earliest western traders to use the monsoon winds to reach Kerala was Eudoxus of Cyzicus, around 118 or 166 BCE, under the patronage of Ptolemy VIII, king of the Hellenistic Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. Roman establishments in the port cities of the region, such as a temple of Augustus and barracks for garrisoned Roman soldiers, are marked in the Tabula Peutingeriana, the only surviving map of the Roman cursus publicus . [41] [42]
The term Kerala was first epigraphically recorded as Ketalaputo (Cheras) in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription by emperor Ashoka of Magadha. [43] It was mentioned as one of four independent kingdoms in southern India during Ashoka's time, the others being the Cholas, Pandyas and Satyaputras. [44] The Cheras transformed Kerala into an international trade centre by establishing trade relations across the Arabian Sea with all major Mediterranean and Red Sea ports as well those of the Far East. The dominion of Cheras was located in one of the key routes of the ancient Indian Ocean trade. The early Cheras collapsed after repeated attacks from the neighboring Cholas and Rashtrakutas.
During the early Middle Ages, Namboodiri Brahmin immigrants arrived in Kerala and shaped the society on the lines of the caste system. In the 8th century, Adi Shankara was born at Kalady in central Kerala. He travelled extensively across the Indian subcontinent founding institutions of the widely influential philosophy of Advaita Vedanta. The Cheras regained control over Kerala in the 9th century until the kingdom was dissolved in the 12th century, after which small autonomous chiefdoms, most notably the Kingdom of Kozhikode, arose. The 13th century Venetian explorer, Marco Polo, would visit and write of his stay in the province. [45] The port at Kozhikode acted as the gateway to medieval South Indian coast for the Chinese, the Arabs, the Portuguese, the Dutch, and finally the British. [1]
In 1498, Vasco Da Gama established a sea route to Kozhikode during the Age of Discovery, which was also the first modern sea route from Europe to South Asia, and raised Portuguese settlements, which marked the beginning of the colonial era of India. European trading interests of the Dutch, French and the British East India companies took centre stage during the colonial wars in India. Travancore became the most dominant state in Kerala by defeating the powerful Zamorin of Kozhikode in the battle of Purakkad in 1755. [46] Paliath Achan of Cochin and Travancore united to expel the Zamorin of Calicut from Kochi territories. Under Martanda Pillai's leadership, Travancore's Nair forces, with General de Lannoy's guidance, successfully captured Thrissur in the Battle of Thrissur in 1763. Despite fierce resistance, the Zamorin's troops retreated, leading to their eventual evacuation from Cochin Territory. In pursuit of peace, the Zamorin agreed to indemnify Travancore for war expenses and vowed perpetual friendship, marking a triumph of strategy and valor led by Pillai. [47] [48] After the Dutch were defeated by Travancore king Marthanda Varma, the British crown gained control over Kerala through the creation of the Malabar District in northern Kerala and by allying with the newly created princely state of Travancore in the southern part of the state until India was declared independent in 1947. The state of Kerala was created in 1956 from the former state of Travancore-Cochin, the Malabar district and the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara District of Madras state. [49]
After the Anglo-Mysore wars, the parts of the Malabar Coast, those became British colonies, were organized into a district of British India. The British district included the present-day districts of Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, much of Palakkad (Excluding Chittur taluk), some parts of Thrissur (Chavakkad Taluk), and the Fort Kochi region of Ernakulam district, besides the isolated islands of Lakshadweep. The administrative headquarters was at Kozhikode.
Malabar District, a part of the ancient Malabar (or Malabar Coast) was a part of the British East India Company-controlled state. It included the northern half of the state of Kerala and the islands of Lakshadweep. [50] Kozhikode is considered as the capital of Malabar. The area was divided into two categories as North and South. North Malabar comprises present Kasaragod and Kannur Districts, Mananthavady Taluk of Wayanad District and Vatakara and Koyilandy Taluks of Kozhikode District. The left-over area is South Malabar aka Kozhikode it's included present kozhikode and thamarassery taluk, south wayanad it's included present kalpetta and sulthan battery places, Eranad Taluk which comes under present Malappuram District, Palakkad District and Chavakkad taluk of Thrissur district.
During the British rule, the Malabar's chief importance laid in producing pepper, tiles, and Coconut. [51] In the old administrative records of the Madras Presidency, it is recorded that the most remarkable plantation owned by Government in the erstwhile Madras Presidency was the Teak plantation at Nilambur planted in 1844. [52] The District of Malabar and the ports at Beypore and Fort Kochi had some sort of importance in the erstwhile Madras Presidency as it was one of the two districts of the Presidency that lies on the Western Malabar Coast, thus accessing the marine route through Arabian Sea. The first railway line of Kerala from Tirur to Beypore in 1861 was laid for it.
With India's independence, Madras presidency became Madras State, which was divided along linguistic lines on 1 November 1956, whereupon Kasaragod region was merged with the Malabar immediately to the north and the state of Travancore-Cochin to the south to form the state of Kerala. Before that, Kasaragod was a part of South Canara district of Madras Presidency. Lakshadweep Islands were separated to form a new union territory.
Wayanad is a district in the north-east of the Indian state of Kerala, with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern portion of Deccan Plateau which links the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. It is set high in the Western Ghats with altitudes ranging from 700 to 2,100 meters. Vellari Mala, a 2,240 m (7,349 ft) high peak situated on the trijunction of Wayanad, Malappuram, and Kozhikode districts, is the highest point in Wayanad district. The district was formed on 1 November 1980 as the 12th district in Kerala, by carving out areas from Kozhikode and Kannur districts. An area of 885.92 km2 in the district is forested. Wayanad has three municipal towns—Kalpetta, Mananthavady and Sulthan Bathery. There are many indigenous tribes in this area. The Kabini River, a tributary of Kaveri River, originates at Wayanad. Wayanad district, along with the Chaliyar valley in the neighbouring Nilambur in Malappuram district, is known for natural gold fields, which are also seen in other parts of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Chaliyar river, which is the fourth longest river of Kerala, originates on the Wayanad plateau. The historically important Edakkal Caves are located in Wayanad district.
The history of southern India covers a span of over four thousand years during which the region saw the rise and fall of a number of dynasties and empires.
Idukki is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala in the southwest of the country. It is the largest district in Kerala and lies amid the Cardamom Hills of Western Ghats in Kerala. Idukki district contains two municipal towns - Kattappana and Thodupuzha, and five taluks.
The Kingdom of Cochin, also known as the Kingdom of Kochi or later as Cochin State, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was an Indian Hindu kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until its accession to the Dominion of India in 1949.
Venad was a medieval kingdom lying between the Western Ghat mountains and the Arabian Sea on the south-western tip of India with its headquarters at the port city of Kollam/Quilon. It was one of the major principalities of Kerala, along with kingdoms of Kannur (Kolathunadu), Kozhikode (Nediyiruppu), and Kochi (Perumpadappu) in medieval and early modern period.
Kolattunādu (Kola Swarupam, as Kingdom of Cannanore in foreign accounts, Chirakkal (Chericul) in later times) was one of the four most powerful kingdoms on the Malabar Coast during the arrival of the Portuguese Armadas in India, along with Zamorin, the Kingdom of Cochin and Quilon. Kolattunādu had its capital at Ezhimala and was ruled by the Kolattiri royal family and roughly comprised the North Malabar region of Kerala state in India. Traditionally, Kolattunādu is described as the land lying between the Chandragiri river in the north and the Korappuzha river in the south. The Kolathunadu (Kannur) Kingdom at the peak of its power, reportedly extended from the Netravati River (Mangalore) in the north to Korapuzha (Kozhikode) in the south with the Arabian Sea on the west and Kodagu hills on the eastern boundary, also including the isolated islands of Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea.
Malabar District, also known as Malayalam District, was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792–1800), Madras Presidency (1800–1937), Madras Province (1937–1950) and finally, Madras State (1950–1956) in India. It was the most populous and the third-largest district in the erstwhile Madras State. The historic town of Calicut was the admisnitrative headquarters of this district.
The term Kerala was first epigraphically recorded as' (Keralaputra) in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka of Magadha. It was mentioned as one of four independent kingdoms in southern India during Ashoka's time, the others being the Cholas, Pandyas and Satyaputras. The Cheras transformed Kerala into an international trade centre by establishing trade relations across the Arabian Sea with all major Mediterranean and Red Sea ports as well those of Eastern Africa and the Far East. The dominion of Cheras was located in one of the key routes of the ancient Indian Ocean trade. The early Cheras collapsed after repeated attacks from the neighboring Cholas and Rashtrakutas.
Koyilandy is a major town municipality and a taluk in Kozhikode district, Kerala on the Malabar Coast. The historical town is located right in the middle of the coast of Kozhikode district, between Kozhikode (Calicut) and Kannur, on National Highway 66.
Tanur is a coastal town, a municipality, and a block located in Tirur Taluk, Malappuram district, Kerala, India. It is located on the Malabar Coast, 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north of Tirur and 9 kilometres south of Parappanangadi. It is the 17th-most populated municipality in the state, the fourth-most populated municipality in the district, and the second-most densely populated municipality in Malappuram district, having about 3,568 residents per square kilometre as of the year 2011.
Parappanangadi is a major town and a municipality in Tirurangadi taluk of Malappuram district, Kerala, India. It is a coastal town located close to the Arabian sea.
North Malabar refers to the geographic area of southwest India covering the state of Kerala's present day Kasaragod, Kannur, and Wayanad districts, and the taluks of Vatakara and Koyilandy in the Kozhikode District of Kerala and the entire Mahé Sub-Division of the Union Territory of Puducherry. Traditionally North Malabar has been defined as the northern portion of the erstwhile Malabar District which lies between Chandragiri River and Korapuzha River. The region between Netravathi River and Chandragiri River, which included the portions between Mangalore and Kasaragod, are also often included in the term North Malabar, as the Kumbla dynasty in the southernmost region of Tulu Nadu, had a mixed lineage of Malayali Nairs and Tuluva Brahmins.
Eranad also known as Ernad refers to the erstwhile province in the midland area of Malabar, consisting of Malappuram and nearby regions such as Anakkayam, Manjeri, Kondotty, Nilambur, etc. Currently Eranad Taluk is a Taluk in Malappuram district. Eranad was ruled by a Samanthan Nair clan known as Eradis, similar to the Vellodis of neighbouring Valluvanad and Nedungadis of Nedunganad. The rulers of Eranad were known by the title Eralppad/Eradi. They also used the title Thirumulpad.
Parappanad was a former feudal city-state in Malabar, India. The headquarters of Parappanad Royal family was at the town Parappanangadi in present-day Malappuram district. In 1425, the country divided into Northern Parappanad and Southern Parappanad. Southern Parappanad included parts of Tirurangadi Taluk and the town Parappanangadi. Northern Parappanad included Panniyankara, Beypore, and Cheruvannur of Kozhikkode Taluk. Parappanad royal family is a cousin dynasty of the Travancore royal family.
The Kingdom of Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, was the kingdom of the Zamorin of Calicut, in the present-day Indian state of Kerala. Present-day Kozhikode is the second largest city in Kerala, as well as the headquarters of Kozhikode district.
Chaliyam is a village situated at the estuary of Chaliyar in Kozhikode district of Kerala, India. Chaliyam forms an island, bounded by the Chaliyar in the north, and River Kadalundi in south, and the Conolly Canal in the east. It is located just opposite to Beypore port. Chaliyam was the former terminus of the South-West Line of the Madras Railway. Chaliyam is also famous for the Guinness World Records holder Muhammed Adil, a P.M who covered around seven km in the Chaliyar River with his hand and legs tied with ropes.
Kannur, formerly known in English as Cannanore, Arabic as Kannanur, and Portuguese as Cananor, is a city and a Municipal Corporation in North Malabar region, state of Kerala, India. It is the largest city in North Malabar, which is the northernmost region of Kerala. It is sometimes identified Kolathunadu, which was ruled by the Kolathiris. In the 12th and 13th centuries there was trade with Persia and Arabia.
Malappuram is one of the 14 districts in the South Indian state of Kerala. The district has a unique and eventful history starting from pre-historic times. During the early medieval period, the district was the home to two of the four major kingdoms that ruled Kerala. Perumpadappu was the original hometown of the Kingdom of Cochin, which is also known as Perumbadappu Swaroopam, and Nediyiruppu was the original hometown of the Zamorin of Calicut, which is also known as Nediyiruppu Swaroopam. Besides, the original headquarters of the Palakkad Rajas were also at Athavanad in the district.
Kozhikode Corporation is the municipal corporation that administers the city of Kozhikode (Calicut), Kerala. Established in 1962, it is in the Kozhikode parliamentary constituency. The first mayor was H. Manjunatha Rao. Its four assembly constituencies are Kozhikode North, Kozhikode South, Beypore and Elathur. The Corporation is headed by a Mayor and council, and manages 118.58 km2 of the city of Kozhikode, with a population of about 609,224 within that area. Kozhikode Municipal Corporation has been formed with functions to improve the infrastructure of town.
South Malabar refers to a geographical area of the southwestern coast of India covering some parts of the present-day Kerala state. South Malabar covers the regions included in present-day Kozhikode taluk of Kozhikode district, the whole area of Malappuram district, Chavakkad taluk of Thrissur district, and Palakkad district, excluding parts of Chittur taluk. The Fort Kochi region of Kochi city also historically belongs to South Malabar. The term South Malabar refers to the region of the erstwhile Malabar District south to the river Korapuzha, and bears a high cultural similarity to both the Cochin and the North Malabar regions.