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| {{Short description|Warrior title of the Hindu Thiyya community}} | |||
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| {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} | ||
| {{Use Indian English|date=September 2019}} | {{Use Indian English|date=September 2019}} | ||
| {{About||the film|Chekavar (film)}} | {{About||the film|Chekavar (film)}} | ||
| [[File:Wedding at ‘Puthooram Veedu’.jpg|thumb|Painting depicting informal childhood marriage ceremony between | |||
| ⚫ | '''Chekavar''' (Also known as ''Chekon'' or ''Chevakar'', ''Cekavar'') were |
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| ] and ].]] | |||
| ⚫ | '''Chekavar''' (Also known as ''Chekon'' or ''Chevakar'', ''Cekavar'') were the ]s belonging to ] ] community in ] of ].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7yhHEAAAQBAJ&dq=chegon&pg=PT137|title=Mapping the History of Ayurveda : Culture, Hegemony and the Rhetoric of Diversity|last=P.|first=Girija, K|year=2021|isbn=978-1-000-48139-6}}</ref><ref name="kkkksg"/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tQ8oAAAAMAAJ&q=k.+k.+n+kurup+tiyya | title=History of the Tellicherry Factory, 1683-1794 | last1=Kurup | first1=K. K. N. | year=1985 }}</ref> Many ] families today trace their roots to this Chekavar lineage.<ref name="cheg">{{cite book|last=Ullekh.N.p|year=2018|title=Kannur:inside India's Bloodiest|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WR1eDwAAQBAJ&dq=chekavar+tiyya&pg=PT62|publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited, 2018|page=201|isbn=9789353051051}}</ref> | ||
| ==Warrior role== | |||
| ⚫ | Some of these heroes are remembered and worshipped even today through folk songs like ], |
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| Exceptionally talented ] practitioners of ] were known as title ''chekavar'' or ''chekon'', and each local ruler had his own militia of chekons. The chekons were lined up for combats and duels, representing the rulers in disputes. In short, they were warriors who fought and died for the empire in wars, protecting the country and it's people's life. Chekavar formed the army of the ].Some of the Chekavar families migrated from Malabar to Southern parts of ] at the invitation of kings, to train soldiers and lead war.<ref name="23ff">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=My8DEAAAQBAJ&q=Chekavan&pg=PT42|title = Jumbos and Jumping Devils: A Social History of Indian Circus|isbn = 9780190992071|last1 = Nisha|first1 = P. R.|date = 12 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/seventh-sense-night-shyamalan-is-from-africa/articleshow/11493926.cms | title=Seventh sense: Night Shyamalan is from Africa | Chennai News - Times of India | website=] | date=15 January 2012 }}</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | Some of these heroes are remembered and worshipped even today through folk songs like ]; for example, the 19th century ] who fought against the British is remembered through folk songs while the ] hero Akathooty Chekavar, ] of the Chera army, was adopted into ] forms and is worshipped as a war deity today.<ref name = "ezh38">Vishnumangalm Kumar, ''"Kuroolli Chekon: Charithram Thamaskaricha Kadathanadan Simham''" (Keralasabdam, 2007-9-2),Page 30-33, ISBN 96220924</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26155392-theyyaprapancham | title=Theyyaprapancham }}</ref> | ||
| ==Etymology== | ==Etymology== | ||
| ''Chekavar'' is derived from the Sanskrit words ''Sevakar'', ''Sevakan'' or ''Sevaka'', which |
''Chekavar'' is derived from the Sanskrit words ''Sevakar'', ''Sevakan'' or ''Sevaka'', which mean soldiers in service or ]s in royal service.<ref name="mathew">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1TuPeXFP0WgC&pg=PA30|title=Communal Road to a Secular Kerala |page=30|first=George |last=Mathew|year=1989 |publisher=Concept Pub.Co, 1989|isbn=81-7022-282-6}}</ref><ref name="smith">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xNAI9F8IBOgC&pg=PA27|title= Religion and Social Conflict in South Asia |page=27|first=Bardwell L. |last=Smith|publisher=BRILL |year=1976|isbn=90-04-04510-4}}</ref> | ||
| ==Origin== | ==Origin== | ||
| ]s found in |
]s found in Kerala depict Chekavar engaged in combat, often on behalf of a lord. On the stones, Chekavar are generally depicted by an image of an armed man along with a Shiva ].{{cn|date=May 2021}} | ||
| ⚫ | ==History== | ||
| The ] community was a warrior caste that immigrated from Sri Lanka. They had their own style of martial art, although it may have been infiuenced by the martial arts of the ].<ref>{{cite book|last=Dick Luuijendijk|year=2008|title=Kalarippayatt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hISikpYZ9hYC&dq=tiyya+cekor&pg=PA48|publisher=lulu|page=48|isbn=9781409226260}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Jenniffer G.Wollok|year=2011|title=Rethinking Chivalry and Courtly Love|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=orTn7RpmyZIC&dq=thiyyas+martial+arts&pg=PA250|publisher=ABC publishing|page=250|isbn=9780275984885}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Folk-Lore|title=Folk-Lore|year = 1975|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IMvjAAAAMAAJ&q=tiyya+cekavar|page=96}}</ref> Jacob Canter Visscher's Letters from Malabar says, 'They may be justly entitled born soldiers, as by virtue of their descent they must always bear arms.17 In spite of the fact that Thiyyas were also supreme practitioners of payatt and had an unavoidable presence in the militia of the ruler, they were allowed in the military services.<ref name="23ff"/><ref name="Nisha"/> In civil war or rebellion, the Chekavars were bound to take up arms for the Bovereign; and some princes employed them as soldiers, if they had not a sufficient force of Nairs.<ref name="Nisha"/> | |||
| ⚫ | ], governor of ] between 1669 and 1676, wrote about Chekavar in ] |
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| ⚫ | ==History== | ||
| ⚫ | According to Indudara Menon, "The songs of the Vatakkan pattu (northern ballads) are about a clan of martial Chekavars who were Thiyyas and masters of the martial arts".<ref>{{cite book|last=Indudhara Menon|year=2018|title=Hereditary Physicians of Kerala: Traditional Medicine and Ayurveda in Modern India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xouADwAAQBAJ&dq=chekavar+Tiyya&pg=PT77|publisher=Taylor & Francis, 2018|isbn=9780429663123}}</ref> |
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| The Malabar chekavars was a warriors.<ref name="warrior">{{cite book|last=James John|year=2020|title=The Portuguese and the Socio-Cultural Changes in Kerala: 1498-1663|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39HVDwAAQBAJ&dq=tiyyas+warrior&pg=PT130|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781000078718}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Binu John Mailaparambil|year=2011|title=Lords of the Sea: The Ali Rajas of Cannanore and the Political Economy of Malabar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J_p-Odiq4tsC&dq=tiyya+military&pg=PA36|publisher=Brill|page=36|isbn=9789004180215}}</ref> that inhabited present day Malabar and ].<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13569783.2014.895619?cookieSet=1 | doi=10.1080/13569783.2014.895619 | title=Folk performances: Reading the cultural history of the Thiyya community in Kerala | year=2014 | last1=Zahira | first1=M. | journal=Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance | volume=19 | issue=2 | pages=159–164 | s2cid=191468000 }}</ref> They had their own style of martial arts, although it was influenced by the martial arts of the Chera Empire.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jenniffer G.Wollok|year=2011|title=Rethinking Chivalry and Courtly Love|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=orTn7RpmyZIC&dq=thiyyas+martial+arts&pg=PA250|publisher=ABC publishing|page=250|isbn=9780275984885}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Folk-Lore|title=Folk-Lore|year = 1975|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IMvjAAAAMAAJ&q=tiyya+cekavar|page=96}}</ref> | |||
| Jacob Canter Visscher's Letters from Malabar says: 'They may be justly entitled soldiers, as by virtue of their descent they must always bear arms. In spite of the fact that ] were also practitioners of payatt and had a unavoidable presence in the militia of the ruler, they were allowed in the military services.'<ref name="23ff" /> | |||
| According to historian ]:{{quote|Northern songs are represented in Malabar where the ] and ]s of the Puthuram Veettil house are an important Thiyyar family known for their martial arts.<ref name="kkkksg"/> Golden Age of Martial Arts In the background of the social life and institutions described above, we may review the lives and achievements of some of the heroes and heroines celebrated in the folk songs.<ref name="kkkksg"/> Their age was indeed a golden age in the history of the martial arts and institutions of Kerala, for these personages were actuated in their military combats and actions by the loftiest spirit of idealism and sense of chivalry which serve as an inspiration to the youth even in the present day. The area of their activities comprised the medieval principalities of Kolathunad, Kadathanad and Kottayam.<ref name="kkkksg">{{Cite book|last=Menon|first=A. Sreedhara|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wnAjqjhc1VcC|title=Kerala History and its Makers|publisher=D C Books|date=4 March 2011|isbn=978-81-264-3782-5|pages=82–86|language=en|access-date=10 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KYLpvaKJIMEC&q=Tiya&pg=PA316|title = Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections|isbn = 9788126003655|last1 = Ayyappa Paniker|first1 = K.|year = 1997}}</ref><ref name="23ff">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=My8DEAAAQBAJ&q=Chekavan&pg=PT42|title = Jumbos and Jumping Devils: A Social History of Indian Circus|isbn = 9780190992071|last1 = Nisha|first1 = P. R.|date = 12 June 2020}}</ref>}} | |||
| ⚫ | ], governor of ] between 1669 and 1676, wrote about Chekavar in '']'': " are bound to war and arms. The Chekavars usually serve to teach nayros (]) in the fencing in ] school".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rIZHDwAAQBAJ&dq=The+silgos%28chegos%29usually+serve+to+teach+nayros+in+the+fencing+school&pg=RA1-PA8|title = Hendrik Adriaan van Reed Tot Drakestein 1636-1691 and Hortus, Malabaricus|isbn = 9781351441070|last1 = Heniger|first1 = J.|year = 2017}}</ref> | ||
| ⚫ | According to Indudara Menon, "The songs of the Vatakkan pattu (northern ballads) are about a clan of martial Chekavars who were ] and masters of the martial arts".<ref name="rjy">{{cite book|last=Indudhara Menon|year=2018|title=Hereditary Physicians of Kerala: Traditional Medicine and Ayurveda in Modern India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xouADwAAQBAJ&dq=chekavar+Tiyya&pg=PT77|publisher=Taylor & Francis, 2018|isbn=9780429663123}}</ref> According to David Levinson, "The Chekavar families played an important role in the practice of Kalaripayattu in the ]".<ref>{{cite book|last=David Levinson, Karen Christensen|year=1996|title=Encyclopedia of World sport:from Ancient times to the present vol.3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TMoUAQAAIAAJ&q=Tiyyas|publisher=ABC|page=615|isbn=9780874368192}}</ref> | ||
| According to historian ]:{{quote|Northern songs are represented in Malabar where the ] and ]s of the Puthuram Veettil house are an important ] family known for their martial arts. The area of their activities comprised the medieval principalities of Kolathunad, Kadathanad and Kottayam.<ref name="kkkksg">{{Cite book|last=Menon|first=A. Sreedhara|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wnAjqjhc1VcC|title=Kerala History and its Makers|publisher=D C Books|date=4 March 2011|isbn=978-81-264-3782-5|pages=82–86|language=en|access-date=10 October 2021}}</ref>}} | |||
| Later, during the British rule, British formed a separate regiment called the ] in the British Indian Army, with thousands of thiyyar soldiers, and officers raised among them , seeing their chivalric fighting skills which can be attributed to their Chekavar lineages..<ref>L.K.A.Iyer, ''''. Vol.III, A Mittal Publish. Page.279, Google Books</ref><ref> Nagendra k.r.singh '''' (2006) page.230, Google Books</ref> | |||
| == |
==Notable people== | ||
| *] | *] | ||
| *] | *] | ||
| *] | *] | ||
| *]<ref>{{cite book|last=K. k. N Kurup|year=1989|title=Samooham Charithram Samskaram|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tqVEAQAAIAAJ&q=%E0%B4%9A%E0%B5%87%E0%B4%95%E0%B4%B5%E0%B5%BB|publisher=Poorna Publication |page=73}}</ref> | |||
| *] | |||
| *]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eCF6AAAAMAAJ&q=karnaran+chekavar|title=Indian Dance: The Ultimate Metaphor|first=Shanta Serbjeet|last=Singh|date=August 23, 2000|publisher=Ravi Kumar|isbn=9781878529657 |via=Google Books|page=243}}</ref> | |||
| *] | *] | ||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Latest revision as of 01:03, 22 December 2024
Warrior title of the Hindu Thiyya communityFor the film, see Chekavar (film).
Chekavar (Also known as Chekon or Chevakar, Cekavar) were the warriors belonging to Hindu Thiyya community in Malabar of Kerala. Many Thiyya families today trace their roots to this Chekavar lineage.
Warrior role
Exceptionally talented Thiyya practitioners of Kalaripayattu were known as title chekavar or chekon, and each local ruler had his own militia of chekons. The chekons were lined up for combats and duels, representing the rulers in disputes. In short, they were warriors who fought and died for the empire in wars, protecting the country and it's people's life. Chekavar formed the army of the Chera Empire.Some of the Chekavar families migrated from Malabar to Southern parts of Kerala at the invitation of kings, to train soldiers and lead war.
Some of these heroes are remembered and worshipped even today through folk songs like Vadakkan Pattukal; for example, the 19th century Kuroolli Chekon who fought against the British is remembered through folk songs while the Sangam age hero Akathooty Chekavar, Commander-in-chief of the Chera army, was adopted into Theyyam forms and is worshipped as a war deity today.
Etymology
Chekavar is derived from the Sanskrit words Sevakar, Sevakan or Sevaka, which mean soldiers in service or soldiers in royal service.
Origin
Hero stones found in Kerala depict Chekavar engaged in combat, often on behalf of a lord. On the stones, Chekavar are generally depicted by an image of an armed man along with a Shiva Linga.
History
The Malabar chekavars was a warriors. that inhabited present day Malabar and Tulu Nadu. They had their own style of martial arts, although it was influenced by the martial arts of the Chera Empire.
Jacob Canter Visscher's Letters from Malabar says: 'They may be justly entitled soldiers, as by virtue of their descent they must always bear arms. In spite of the fact that Thiyyas were also practitioners of payatt and had a unavoidable presence in the militia of the ruler, they were allowed in the military services.'
Hendrik van Rheede, governor of Dutch Malabar between 1669 and 1676, wrote about Chekavar in Hortus Malabaricus: " are bound to war and arms. The Chekavars usually serve to teach nayros (nair) in the fencing in kalari school".
According to Indudara Menon, "The songs of the Vatakkan pattu (northern ballads) are about a clan of martial Chekavars who were Thiyyas and masters of the martial arts". According to David Levinson, "The Chekavar families played an important role in the practice of Kalaripayattu in the Malabar District".
According to historian A. Sreedhara Menon:
Northern songs are represented in Malabar where the Unniyarcha and Aromal Chekavars of the Puthuram Veettil house are an important Thiyyar family known for their martial arts. The area of their activities comprised the medieval principalities of Kolathunad, Kadathanad and Kottayam.
Notable people
- Aromal Chekavar
- Chandu Chekavar
- Kuroolli Chekon
- Kathivanoor Veeran
- Kottackkal Kanaran Gurukkal
- Arattupuzha Velayudha Panicker
References
- P., Girija, K (2021). Mapping the History of Ayurveda : Culture, Hegemony and the Rhetoric of Diversity. ISBN 978-1-000-48139-6.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Menon, A. Sreedhara (4 March 2011). Kerala History and its Makers. D C Books. pp. 82–86. ISBN 978-81-264-3782-5. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- Kurup, K. K. N. (1985). "History of the Tellicherry Factory, 1683-1794".
- Ullekh.N.p (2018). Kannur:inside India's Bloodiest. Penguin Random House India Private Limited, 2018. p. 201. ISBN 9789353051051.
- ^ Nisha, P. R. (12 June 2020). Jumbos and Jumping Devils: A Social History of Indian Circus. ISBN 9780190992071.
- "Seventh sense: Night Shyamalan is from Africa | Chennai News - Times of India". The Times of India. 15 January 2012.
- Vishnumangalm Kumar, "Kuroolli Chekon: Charithram Thamaskaricha Kadathanadan Simham" (Keralasabdam, 2007-9-2),Page 30-33, ISBN 96220924
- "Theyyaprapancham".
- Mathew, George (1989). Communal Road to a Secular Kerala. Concept Pub.Co, 1989. p. 30. ISBN 81-7022-282-6.
- Smith, Bardwell L. (1976). Religion and Social Conflict in South Asia. BRILL. p. 27. ISBN 90-04-04510-4.
- James John (2020). The Portuguese and the Socio-Cultural Changes in Kerala: 1498-1663. Routledge. ISBN 9781000078718.
- Binu John Mailaparambil (2011). Lords of the Sea: The Ali Rajas of Cannanore and the Political Economy of Malabar. Brill. p. 36. ISBN 9789004180215.
- Zahira, M. (2014). "Folk performances: Reading the cultural history of the Thiyya community in Kerala". Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance. 19 (2): 159–164. doi:10.1080/13569783.2014.895619. S2CID 191468000.
- Jenniffer G.Wollok (2011). Rethinking Chivalry and Courtly Love. ABC publishing. p. 250. ISBN 9780275984885.
- Folk-Lore (1975). Folk-Lore. p. 96.
- Heniger, J. (2017). Hendrik Adriaan van Reed Tot Drakestein 1636-1691 and Hortus, Malabaricus. ISBN 9781351441070.
- Indudhara Menon (2018). Hereditary Physicians of Kerala: Traditional Medicine and Ayurveda in Modern India. Taylor & Francis, 2018. ISBN 9780429663123.
- David Levinson, Karen Christensen (1996). Encyclopedia of World sport:from Ancient times to the present vol.3. ABC. p. 615. ISBN 9780874368192.
- K. k. N Kurup (1989). Samooham Charithram Samskaram. Poorna Publication. p. 73.
- Singh, Shanta Serbjeet (23 August 2000). Indian Dance: The Ultimate Metaphor. Ravi Kumar. p. 243. ISBN 9781878529657 – via Google Books.
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