The Trees Around The Temple

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The Stately Trees

Where does this multitude come from? And what draws them to the temple on these Bharani days?
The stately trees all around the temple, with their imposing high platforms around, provide a few pointers.

Into Full Grandeur

The trees indeed seem to come into their full grandeur during this time, performing their own roles in the rituals that unfold.

Numbered

The trees and the platforms are numbered

For Designated Groups

with each tree and platform assigned a designated group or locality;

All Over North Kerala

almost all of which (with one or two exceptions) are from locations from the districts of North Kerala - the erstwhile Malabar State, or 'district' as it was termed during the days of the British Raj.

Malabar

Malabar ('Mala' - mountain in Malayalam', 'bar' - could be from 'vaaram' - valley in Malayalam) was the name that was used to refer to the northern part of Kerala, by traders lured to the place by the timber of its lush thick forests. Malabar was one of the three 'princely states' of Kerala (the other two being Travancore and Cochin), ruled by the Samuthiri (Zamorins), when Vasco da Gama makes his landing near Calicut (Kozhikode), the seat of the Samuthiri, in 1498, opening up a direct sea route to the East from Europe. In the power tussles that follow, Malabar gradually comes under the control of the British, as does the rest of India, and becomes a district of the Madras Presidency during the British regime.

The Malabar Manual

William Logan, the Collector and Magistrate of the District when the British ruled over the region, has compiled and recorded meticulous data about the territory in his 'Malabar Manual'.
In the Malabar Manual, written by Logan in the 1880s, one finds specific mention of the Bharani festival, and of its popularity among the people of the Malabar region, as they proceed towards Kodungallur in large numbers - something seen even today, more than a hundred years later, as one looks at the 'aaltharaas' (the platforms around the trees) and their claimants during the Bharani days.

Malabar Manual Excerpt

William Logan writing about the Bharani in the 1880s, in the Malabar Manual.

Anchu Desham

This popularity of the Bharani in the Malabar region is well reflected in the platforms around the trees surrounding the shrine. This platform is for the 5 'deshams' of Rayirimangalam, Panangattur, Eranakara Nellur, Kaaraadu, and Punnookku - of the current Malappuram district of the erstwhile Malabar.

Deshams

'Deshams' and 'amshams' were administrative units, of the 'naadus' (provinces), in earlier times. These themselves were probably transformations of the still earlier 'tharakkoottams' - groups meeting on 'tharas' - platforms around the trees - where locality elders/leaders typically met..

Tharas, Deshams and Naadus

The 'tharas', 'deshams', 'amshams' and 'naadus' of yore - all find their place and mention on and around the trees of the temple.

From Malappuram

This plaque says it is for a group from Malappuram. (Mala - mountain, puram - outside, or better here, 'on top' as in 'aanappuram' - atop the elephant.). The Malappuram district lies to the north of Thrissur. This plaque does not mention any particular desham or naadu oher than the district. Most other plaques are more specific - going down to the desham, amsham, temple or family.

The Anchudesham

Such as this 'Anchudesham' one - the plaque says it is of ('vaka' could here be belonging to, or 'given by') the deshakkar (those from the) anchu (five) deshams of Raayirimangalam, Panangattur, Eranakaranellur, Karaadu and Punnookku.

Ozhur Anchudesham

For the Ozhur Anchudesham - the 5 'deshams' of Ozhur, Eranellur, Thalakkattur, Ayyaya, Omachappuzha

From Kondotty

A group from Kondotty, representing the pathinettara desham - 'eighteen and a half' deshams

Cheriyattu Poovil

Of/from the Cheriyaattu Poovil Bhagavathy Temple in Thottappaya, Malappuram.
A point of interest is the wording of the plaque that says the Bhagavathi temple as 'containing' the 18 and a half deshams - and not, as one might expect, the other way around.

Kozhikode Then

Kozhikode, ruled then by the Samuthiri, is where colonial traders make their entry into India from Europe through the seas, with Vasco da Gama arriving in 1498. Map of Kozhikode from a 1572 atlas - courtesy Wikipedia. Image of Calicut from Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg's atlas Civitates orbis terrarum, 1572

Group from Puthiyangadi

A group from Puthiyangadi in Kozhikode

From Puthiyara

From Puthiyara in Kozhikode

Bepur near Kozhikode

There are several groups from Bepur, a port town near Kozhikode.

Bepur Uru

Known for its wooden uru (dhow) - wooden ships that were(are) built here and used for trading and warfare in earlier times.
Picture from Wikipedia - courtesy By (WT-en) Rahulclt at English Wikivoyage - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23844870

The Bepur Arakkal Family

Families such as the Arakkal family that we saw earlier, prepare for the Bharani annually.

The Bepur Arakkal Family Thara

The aalthara for the Bepur Arakkal family at Kodungallur.

Group from Kadathanaadu

From Perumundassery in Kadathanadu

Perumundassery

Perumundassery was part of the erstwhile 'Kadathanaadu', made famous by the North Kerala ballads of yore.

From Chelavur

From the PilancheryThayyil Bhagavathi temple of Moozhikkal, Chelavur.

Mahe

From Valavil, Mahe, further north of Kozhikode - a union territory, that used to be under the French in the colonial period.