The Mannan[1] are a community in Kerala, India. They are one of the Adivasi who live in Idukki District. The Mannan follow a matrilineal system of descent, and their ruler, the Raja Mannan, is elected by community headmen from among those eligible by heredity. It is the only existing tribal kingdom in South India which falls under the Kanchiyar grama panchayath of Idukki tehsil (previously Udumbanchola tehsil).[2][3] The Kingdom consists of namely four divisions such as 'Thekkottu Kattu Rajyam', 'Nadukkuda Kattu Rajyam', 'Athal Orupuram' and 'Chenkanattu Mala'. Goddess Madhura Minakshi of famed Madura Temple in Tamil Nadu is their Kuladevatha (tutelary deity).[4]
See also
edit- Kozhimala the Mannan settlement that is the community's "headquarters"
- The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006
References
edit- ^ Rethinking Development: Kerala's Development Experience. Concept Publishing Company. 1999. p. 124. ISBN 978-81-7022-764-9.
- ^ ""Tribal king" Aryan Raja Manna passes away in Kerala | NetIndian". netindian.in. 28 December 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
- ^ "Dakshin Routes". www.dakshinroutes.com. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
- ^ "Idukki District of Kerala - An official website". idukki.nic.in. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
Further reading
edit- NIE Staff Writers (16 May 2012). "The king who graduated from Maharaja's College". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- Suresh, Lavanya; Suchitra, M. (2021). Suicidal resistance: Understanding the opposition against the Western Ghats conservation in Karunapuram, Idukki, Kerala (PDF). CDS Monograph Series: Ecological Challenges and Local Self-Government Response (First ed.). Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India: Centre for Development Studies Prasanth Naga. pp. 35–44. ISBN 978-81-948195-4-7. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- Sebastian, Lijo; Peter, Jenee. Living on the Edge: Impact of Peasant Migration on the Mannan Tribe of Kerala (Report). Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- Surendranath, Nidhi (5 May 2013). "The King takes up the cause of the commoner". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- Harikumar, A. (7 January 2012). "No kingdom, but kingship continues after 60 years of democracy". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- Shahina KK (13 January 2012). "The King Who Was Not: The tragic life and death of a tribal monarch in Kerala". The Open Magazine.
- Saju, Sajin (29 April 2017). "A king and his tribe: How the Mannans of Kerala are struggling to preserve age-old tradition". The Indian Express. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- Better India photographer; Better India Writer (13 April 2017). "In Photos: The Fascinating Story of Kerala's Forest King & His Tribe's 700-Year-Old Legacy". The Better India.