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Kozhikode
Calicut, the most important city of Malabar region of Kerala, was a leading trading centre for spices on the West Coast of India during the medieval period. Ruled by the Zamorin dynasty, Calicut found a place in World History with the discovery of sea route to India in 1498 by the Portuguese navigator Vasco Da Gama.
The landing of Gama at Kapat near Calicut changed the political scanario of India, which ultimately ended with it's colonization by the British. Early History : Not much is known about the early history of Calicut. However a few prehistoric relics like rock cut caves were found in the district at many places.
During the sangam age, the district was part of the Chera Empire. It played a leading part in fostering trade relations between Kerala and outside world. Tondi, the present Kadalundi as per scholars, was one of the most flourishing seaports of Kerala that time. Again nothing is known in the post-sangam age which is considered to be the Dark Age in South India's history. In the 9th century, Calicut became a part of the Second Chera Empire.
The Chera's also known as Perumals, ruled the territory till 1122 AD. With the fall of Cheras, the kingdom was divided into many independent districts called 'Nadus' such as Ernad and Polanad. Originally Calicut area was under the Porlarthris, rulers of Poland. It became an important town in 13th century with the conquest of Polanad by the King of Ernad.
Formation of Calicut : The Udaiyavar of Ernad, whose headquarters was at Nediyiruppu wanted an outlet to the sea and after fighting with the Polatthiri King for 48 long years conquered the area around Ponniankara and build a fort at a place called Velapuram.
Thus the city of Calicut came into existence sometime in the 13th Century AD. With the accession of Calicut, the status of Nediyirippu increased and he come to known as Swami Nambiyathiri Thirumulpad, which gradually became Samuri or Samuthiri over the years. The Europeans called him Zamorin. The place surrounded by the fort was known as Koyil (palace) Kotta (fort) and hence the name of the place became Kozhikode.
Foreigners called it by different names, For Arabs it was Kalikat, for Chinese it was Kalifo while the city is known to outside world by its European name - Calicut. Calicut became a mighty seaport, where the Arabs and the Chinese met to exchange the products of west with the east and vise versa.
Religious tolerance, good administration, which gave security and impartiality to all and the friendly attitude of Zamorin to all traders, made Calicut the chief centre of trade in Malabar region. Zamorin gave special concession to Arabs (the Moors) to carry out trade. Islam was also propagated here.
By the end of the century, Zamorin was at the zenith of his powers with all princes and chieftains of Kerala north of Cochin acknowledging his suzerainty. The Arrival of Portuguese Vasco Da Gama arrived in 1498 and obtained permission to carry out trade from Calicut. The Arabs sensing the threat posed by Portuguese to their commercial supremacy, opposed the Europeans. Bitter fights started between Portuguese and Arabs.
The Portuguese went to Cochin for trade and the Raja of Cochin had an alliance with the Portuguese with aim of attaining sovereignty from Zamorin. The hostilities between the Zamorin and the Portuguese continued for many decades and the role played by the Kunjali Marakkar in these battles can not been forgotten. Kunjali Marakkar were the hereditary admirals of the zamorin and organized a powerful navy to fight the Portuguese. Kunajali II, the greatest of Zamorin's Admirals, fought bravely and captured the Portuguese ships and massacred the crew members. Kunjali III built a fort at Kottakkal and enjoyed all the privileges enjoyed by the Nair chiefs. They caused heavy damages to the Portuguese shipping and trade but with the defeats in 1528 and 1538 they lost their glory.
The Portuguese built a fort at Chaliyam at the mouth of the Baypore River in the middle of the Zamorin's territory. Due to the prolonged struggle, zamorin's strength deteriorated and entered into a treaty in 1540 and allowed the Portuguese to have monopoly over trade at Calicut port. The peace was temporary and war broke out again resulting in the demolition of Chaliyom Fort in the 1571 by the Zamorin.
The battles continued unabated till 1588 when the Portuguese were allowed to settle down at Calicut. However Kunjali opposed the move. Moreover the Kunjali IV declared himself as the 'King of the Moors' and disobeyed the Zamorin. Zamorin could not digest this and sided with Portuguese to destroy the powerful Kunjalis and in 1600, kunjalis surrendered and subsequently executed.
It was really ironical that Zamorins had to ally with Portuguese and to fight the Kunjalis, who saved the Calicut Kingdom for decades in its fight against Portuguese. In the meanwhile, the Dutch, English and the French arrived in Kerala. Zamorins allowed the Dutch to trade in Calicut and sought their help to drive out the Portuguese. The position of Portuguese weakened gradually due to international events and their position in Kerala deteriorated.
Dutch captured Cochin and Cannanore and established trade. However, by 1721, the Dutch formally withdrew from all interference in native wars. The arrival of English : In 1615 Captain Keeling arrived in Calicut. They agreed to assist the zamorins in expelling the Portuguese. They faced stiff opposition from French and Dutch. In 1664, English Company opened factory in Calicut. The English East India Company faced serious competition from the French in North Malabar as elsewhere in India.
In 1725, French captured Mayyazhi and the place was renamed as Mahe after the French Captain Bertrand Francois Mahe De Labourdonnais. The English who were at Tellichery wanted to capture Mahe but as per instructions from top bosses, they agreed for peaceful coexistence with the French.
Apparently this was done to keep the price of pepper down in 1728. In the middle of 18th Century, Zamorin attacked Cochin. This brought the Rajas of Cochin and Travancore together and forced Zamorin to conclude a treaty with Travancore. Zamorin himself went to Padmanabhapuram the Capital of Travancore, to sign the Treaty.Further in 1756-57, Zamorin captured Naduvattu, a part of Palghat taluk.
Raja of Palghat sought the protection of Mysore King changing the political situation of Malabar. Acting under the instructions of the King of Mysore, Hyder Ali, sent forces to stop zamorin. The Calicut forces had to treat and agreed to pay a war indemnity of 12 lacks but could not pay as zamorin's treasury was emptied by then. Hyder Ali invaded Calicut and he was assisted by the Raja of Cannanore and the local moplah population. Zamorin's troops could not restrict Haider. Unable to face the humiliation, the then zamorin committed suicide by blowing up his palace.
Leaving Calicut under Madanna, a civil Governor, Haider left for Coimbatore. IN 1776, rebellions broke out in Malabar and the Nair chieftains fought bravely forcing Haider to restore Calicut to the Zamorins in return for an annual tribute. Haider was not happy with the tribute and sent his troops under Srinivasa Rao and captured Calicut again.
Zamorin left calicut and took refuge in Travancore. During 1778-1782 the Nair chieftain fought the Mysore forces led by Tipu, son of Haider Ali. With the death of Haider in December 1782, Tipu returned to Mysore to consolidate his position. IN 1788, Tipu conquered Calicut again and built a fort at Faroke.
The Rajas of North Malabar continued struggle against Tipu with the support of English troops by the end of 1790 Tipu was forced to retreat from Malabar. The treaty of Srirangapatnam was signed in 1792 as a result of which, the Malabar district was ceded to the English East India company bringing the Mysore era in Malabar to an end. The Sultans of Mysore had been guilty of many atrocities, which had antagonized the native population. The Nairs kept up a resistance against Mysore rulers for a period of 25 years which is unparalleled in Indian History.
The English Rule : After 1792, the British Governer General decided to bring Malabar Under the direct rule of company and accordingly two commissioners were sent to Calicut for negotiations with Zamoris. The English entered into a agreement with Zamorin to rule Calicut in exchange for an annual allowance. Thus Malabar came under the direct rule of British.
In May 1800, Malabar district was transferred from Bombay province to the Madras province and the first Principle Collector, Major Macleod, took charge of the district. Revenue and judicial administration departments were set up. In the early 19th century, British faces rebellions against Malabar. Kerala Varma the Raja of Pazhassi, led a rebellion that shook the very foundation of British Rule during 1800-1805.
However , the rebellion was put down and the Pazassi Raja was killed.After a period of quite unrest in 1836, several Mappila outbreaks were reported till the end of the century, in which Mappila tenants killed the Hindu landlords. Strong measures were taken to suppress the Mappila unrest.
In 1855, four Mappilas killed H.V. Conolly, the District Magistrate of Malabar at Calicut. One of the grievances of Mappiilas was due to to the lack of sites for Mosques and burial grounds. William Logan was appointed as the special Commissioner to enquire into the land tenures and tenant rights in Malabar and highlighted the agrarian discontent and poverty among the Mappilas as the causes of the unrest. The Malabar compensation for Tenants Improvements Act was enacted in 1887.
During the freedom struggle, the Malabar rebellion in 1921 was an important landmark in the history of Kerala. The Khilafat issue further assumed importance due to the sizable population of Muslims in Malabar. Police tried to suppress the movement and this led to the Malabar rebellion, which lasted for about six months. In 1928, the All Kerala Provincial Congress met at Payyannur under the presidency of Pandit Nehru and generated great enthusiasm among the masses.
In 1930, Salt Satyagraha was held under the leadership of K. Kelappan. The satyagrahys marched from Calicut to Payyannur. IN 1935, The Kerala Provincial Congress Committee met at Calicut and demanded the formation of a United Kerala State In 1936 elections to the Madras Provincial Legislature, Malabar elected congress candidates and one of its leaders Kongattil Raman Menon joined the Rajagopalachari Ministry. People of Malabar took active part in the Quit India Movement. A secret journal called "Swatantra Bharatam" was published regularly.
After Independence, Kerala was formed in 1956 as a separate state for Malayalees and Calicut became an important city in the northern region. The district of Malabar was divided into Calicut, Palghat and Cannanore. In 1969, Malappuram district was curved out of Calicut and Palghat. In 1980, Wayanad district was formed combining some taluks of Cannanore and Calicut. Kasargode district became operational in the 90s.
Thus the earlier Malabar district has been divided into six districts at present. Calicut continues to be the most important place in the Malabar region. The name of the city has been restored to its original name - Kozhikode recently.
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Kozhikode district is situated on the south west coast of India. The district is bounded on the north by Kannur district, on the east by Wayanad district, on the south by Malapuram district and on the west by the Arabian sea. It is situated between North latitudes 11* 08'. Basking in the idyllic setting of the serene arabian sea on the west and the proud peaks of the Wayanad hills on the east, this district has all the elements that fascinate a visitor.
Topographically the district has three distinct regions - the sandy coastal belt, the rocky highlands formed by the hilly portion of the Western Ghats and lateritic midland. Of the total area of 2344sq. kms., the sandy coastal belt is 362.85 sq. kms., lateritic midlands 1343.50 sq. kms. and rocky highlands 637.65 s1 kms. All the three taluks are spread over the three regions. The district has a coastal length of about 80 kms. The highland region accounts for 26.80 per cent and the lowland region for 15.55 per cent of the total area of the district.
The district has a humid climate with a very hot season extending from March to May. The most important rainy season is during the South West Monsoon which sets in the first week of June and extends up to September. The North-East Monsoon extends form the second half of October through November. The average annual rainfall in 3266 m.m.
During December to March, practically no rain is received and from October onwards, the temperature gradually increases to reach the maximum in May, which is the hottest month of the year, The maximum temperature in the month of May come to 36*c during the month of March 1975 and the lowest temperature was 14*c recorded on 26th December 1975. Humidity is very high in the coastal region.
Religion and Customs Hindus constitute the majority of the population and next come the Muslim and the Christian communities respectively. The Hindu community is organised on the basis of caste and sub castes as elsewhere in the State. They worship all the major gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon as well as several minor deities.
Vishnu and Siva are the major gods worshipped. The temples here are in many respects different from those of the East Coast. Elaborate rules prescribed by the Sastras are followed in their construction. The Kavu dedicated to the Bhadrakali is a typical example. They have their own oracles called Velichappad.
There are also temples devoted to such deities as Ayyappan, Hanuman and Garuda. Serpent worship has been widely prevalent here. Ancestor worship is practiced by the Hindus. The Muslims of the district are knows as a Mappilas. a great majority of them are sunnis following the Shafi school of thought.
They are noted for their piety. Though Christianity is believed to have been introduced in Kerala in 52 A.d, not much progress was made by the Christians of this district before the advent of the Portuguese towards the close of the 15th century. Almost all different sections of Christians are represented here. Christians of Travancore and Cochin have migrated to the hilly regions and have settled there.
Kallai is one of the most important rivers in the entire State from the commercial point of view. Kallai, a main centre of timber trade, is situated on its banks. The Chaliyar, known in the lower reaches as the Beypore river, this is one of the major rivers of the State.
There is an abundance of wild and marine life here. Through wild elephants and bisons are occassionaly seen in the forests, tigers and leopards are very few and rare. Barking deer, Mouse deer, Monta lizards, Malabar squirrels, black and grey monkeys, hares and porcupines are found in the forests here.
The avions are well represented by horn bills, peacocks, jungle fowls, thrushes, pigeons, sunbirds, king fishers, wood peackers, paradise fly catchers, parrots, mynas, king crows, rachuet railed drangos etc. Snakes, poisonous and non poisonous, are seen in the forests in fairly large numbers. Pythons also are common.
The natural forests fall under three main categories; the southern tropical moist deciduous, western tropical wet ever green and semi evergreen.
Most of the important festivals in the district are held at Arakkal temple, Madappali, Vadakara (Pooram Festival, March/April), Lokanarkavu Bagavathi temple, Memunda, Vadakara.
Sreekanteswara temple festival
Kozhikode (Sivarathri Festival for seven days in February/March)
Thacholi Manikkoth Temple Festival (February)
Appavanibha Nercha at Idiyangara Sheik Kasjid.
Revathy Pattathanam, the famous intellectual debate for vedic scholars to win the coveted position of Pattathana takes place at Thali temple during the month of Thulam.
It is said that this unique intellectual gathering commenced during the fag end of 13th centurey. Many stories are attributed to the beginning of the Pattathanam. The seven-day debate starts on Revathi day and concludes on thiruvathira day of the Malayalam month of Thulam.
Malabar Mahotsavam,a cultural festival, it's objectives are to recapture and revive the traditional Malabar Cultural glory. The concept was evolved in the background of this cultural heritage which continues to flourish through the genius of Vaikkom Mohammad Basheer, M.T, Vasudevan Nair, K.T. Mohammed, Thikkodiyan, to name only a few.
The objectives of the Malabar Mahotsavam are many. First, to give a new lease of life to the traditional art forms like Theyyam, Kalarippayattu and encourage the local artists. Second, to give the local population an exposure to many art forms of India, both classical and folk and appreciate the rich cultural heritage that the country is proud of.
Third, a corollary of the first two, is to exploit the immense tourism potential of the region which is grossly untapped. It is also aimed to crate an atmosphere of communal harmony as Malabar is known for the peaceful co-existence of many religious faiths.
It is expected that the Festival will symbolize Unity in Diversity of India through art and culture by the involvement of so many artists and art lovers from all over the country. The most important feature of this Festival is that it accessible to common man as the entry is free of cost to all. The Festival is organized with the help of sponsorships.
The Festival is first of its kind in Kerala and its success has motivated other districts like Ernakulam to organize a similar festival in Cochin. The first edition of Malabar Mahotsavam was organized in 1993 under the guidance of shri Amitabh Kant I.A.S, the then dist Collector of
Calicut.
Since then it has become a tradition to organize this festival every year. The Festival is divided into many sections, namely, Classical Dance, Classical Music, Traditional and Folk arts, Drama, Literary, Ganamela, etc. The most popular of all events is the Ganamela which is held at Calicut Beach, where thousands of people gather to see their favorite artists on the stage. K.J.Jesudas, one of the best in South India has performed many times in Calicut.
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