Tharavad, or Tharavadu () (തറവാട്), is the Malayalam term which was originally used for the ancestral home of aristocratic Nair[1][2] families in Kerala, and which usually served as the common residence for the matrilineal joint family under the Marumakkathayam system practiced in the state.[3][4] It was classically the residence of the Jenmimar, but modern usage of the word is now more generic to all social classes and religions in Kerala.[5] The German linguist Hermann Gundert, in his Malayalam—English dictionary published in 1872, defines a Tharavadu as, "An ancestral residence of land-owners and kings", and also as, "A house, chiefly of noblemen".[6] By extension, the word refers not just to the family's house but to the extended family that shares that house. Heads of tharavadus - usually the eldest living male - were known as Karnavars, and junior members as Anandravans.
Architecture
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Inseparable from the traditional concept of a tharavad is, historically, Kerala's distinctive Nālukettu architectural tradition. A classic Nalukettu tharavad would be built with four halls, each with a defined purpose, and collectively enclosing a Nadumuttam, or open-air courtyard. Wealthier and more prominent tharavads would construct mansions with multiple such atria, such as the eight-halled Ettukettu, with two nadumuttams, or Pathinarukettu, sixteen-halled with four nadumuttams, and the preserve of royal families and tharavads of similar rank. Rarely, twelve-halled Pathrandukettu were constructed. with three courtyards,[7] and there is a record of a 32-halled Muppathirandukettu being erected, although it was lost to a fire soon after construction.[8]
References
edit- ^ manoramanews, manoramaonline. "Christian Tharavadu".
- ^ The new indian express, Indian Express. "A house reminisces 400 years of its history".
- ^ Kakkat, Thulasi (18 August 2012). "Kerala's Nalukettus". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
- ^ Kunhikrishnan, K. (12 April 2003). "Fallen tharavads". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 December 2017.[dead link]
- ^ Pannikar, K.M. (1960). "A History of Kerala 1498 - 1801". Annamalai University Press.
- ^ Hermann Gundert (1872). A Malayalam and English Dictionary. C. Stolz. p. 434. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
- ^ Nayar, Devu (2022). "House as Ritual: Stories of Gender, Space, and Caste in Colonial Kerala". Masters of Environmental Design Theses. 6.
- ^ "Some Namboothiri Illams". www.namboothiri.com. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
