In the website of Kerala Kalari Kurup Kalari Panicker Sagham it is written in the charity section that it was them who taught Kalarippayattu to Nairs. There is no proof for it. There is not even a single text in which it is written that Kaniyars practiced this martial art which is highly respected in Kerala. Kaniyar/Kaniyan community is not related to Malayali Nair community in any way. For Keralites, Kaniyan or Kaniyar means astrologer but there are some other facts which are not known to the people of Kerala. Now I am going to share some of those including two rituals which are jaw-dropping.
Kaniyar/Kaniyan is a community of astrologers. The word Kaniyar/Kaniyan means 'the one who calculates'. They are also known as Kaniyan, Kanisu, Ganaka, Kanisan, Kamnan, and Kani. In the census report of 1881, Kaniyar has been reported as a Tamil caste. I have visited the houses of some Kaniyars. All of them had installed Lord Kuttichathan in their prayer room. In Kerala, Lord Kuttichathan is a local deity worshipped in witchcraft. It is believed that Kaniyars can never predict about their own future and the future of their family members. Kaniyars do not have Gotras and Vanshas/Vamshas. They are out of Varna system.
Canion
Kaniyars(Kaniyans) are mentioned as Canion in 'A Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar in the Beginning of the sixteenth century by Duarte Barbosa'. It is written is the book that "There is another lower set of Gentiles(non Jews) called Canion. Their business is to make shields and shades or hats: they learn letters and astronomy, and some of them great astrologers and they foretell many future things, and form very accurate judgements upon births of men. They are great diviners, and pay great attention to times and places of good and bad luck, which they cause to be observed by these kings and great men, and by merchants also."
Rashi Panikkar
The Kaniyar community claim that the another name of their caste is Kalari Kurup/Kalari Panicker. In From Kerala -Volume 1 by Suresh Kumar Singh, T.Madhavan Menon, D.Tyagi it is givven that "the Kaniyan are known by different names in different regions of Kerala, such as the Kaniyan or Balleyyaya in northern areas, the Panikar in Central Malabar, the Ganaks or Ganika in Cochin area, the Kani or Kanian or Kanisan in Travancore area. But irrespective of their local reference, they are now generally called the Kaniyar or Kaniyan. In central Malabar, they are referred to as Rashi Panikar, which means the Panikar who deal in rashi, i.e. horoscope."
These people now have started to add the word Kalarickal with their house names. The most funny thing is that they call the martial art as Kalari and not Kalarippayattu. They say "we taught Kalari to Nairs." The word Kalari actually means instituion. So, the another name of their caste is Rashi Panikkar and not Kalari Panicker.
Kaniyan Attam/Kaniyan Koothu
Kaniyan Attam is dance form that is practiced by the Kaniyan or Kaniyar community of Tamil Nadu. In Kaniyan Koothu, two men perform on the musical drum Makudam.
Kaniyan Kaivettu
Kaniyan Kaivettu or blood sacrificing by the shaman(a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of good and evil spirits) is ritual done by an elderly person who has retired from Kaniyan Koothu performance. In this ritual shaman puts bananas, betel leaves, a coconut, incense sticks and a mask made of clay or fibre representing the evil spirit into a tray and offers it all to the deities. He walks three tiimes around a stone mortar used to make flour, finally stepping onto and standing upon the stone for a time while wearing the mask on his face. He rubs his left hand, the one he is going to cut, with coconut and circles it three times with coconut. Then he ties his left arm tightly with a cord and cuts the upper part of his wrist with a small sharp knife until blood begins to flow. He clenches his hand tightly and pours the blood on some plantain leaves, which spread out in front of Komarathadigal. Shaman often sprinkles water on the wound to keep the blood from clotting. The blood sacrified by shaman is mixed with bananas and eaten by Komarathadigal.
Kaniyan Naakkuvettu
In this ritual, shaman bites his tongue tightly, then looks into a mirror held in his left hand while cutting his tongue with a sharp knife until blood begins to flow. Then he pours his blood on the plantain leaves and has it eaten by the komarathadigal.
Some information were collected from "Images of the Body in India: South Asian and European Perspectives on rituals and perfomativity edited by Axel Michaels, Christoph Wulf"
The Kaniyar community claim that the another name of their caste is Kalari Kurup/Kalari Panicker. In From Kerala -Volume 1 by Suresh Kumar Singh, T.Madhavan Menon, D.Tyagi it is givven that "the Kaniyan are known by different names in different regions of Kerala, such as the Kaniyan or Balleyyaya in northern areas, the Panikar in Central Malabar, the Ganaks or Ganika in Cochin area, the Kani or Kanian or Kanisan in Travancore area. But irrespective of their local reference, they are now generally called the Kaniyar or Kaniyan. In central Malabar, they are referred to as Rashi Panikar, which means the Panikar who deal in rashi, i.e. horoscope."
These people now have started to add the word Kalarickal with their house names. The most funny thing is that they call the martial art as Kalari and not Kalarippayattu. They say "we taught Kalari to Nairs." The word Kalari actually means instituion. So, the another name of their caste is Rashi Panikkar and not Kalari Panicker.
Kaniyan Attam/Kaniyan Koothu
This drum is a small circular one-headed drum hung from the left shoulder and tapped with fingers of both the hands. The drum is made of Poovarasu or neem wood. Boards of the wood are bent into circular shape and the skin of the young buffalo is attached to one side of the frame using glue prepared from Tamarind seeds. Based on the sound of drum or more specially it's pitch two types of Makudam are distinguished: the Vucha Makudam(high pitch drum) and the Mantha Makudam(low pitch drum). Both drums are used in Kaniyan koothu. Finally, to complete Kaniyan Koothu team, two male dancers are costumed as women. Generally, these performers grow their hair down to their shoulders and curls it using hairclips. When they have finished putting on their costumes they look so much like females that it is difficult to recognize them as males. These performers dance to accompainment of song and music. Only the Kaniyan community performs this Koothu.
Kaniyan Kaivettu or blood sacrificing by the shaman(a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of good and evil spirits) is ritual done by an elderly person who has retired from Kaniyan Koothu performance. In this ritual shaman puts bananas, betel leaves, a coconut, incense sticks and a mask made of clay or fibre representing the evil spirit into a tray and offers it all to the deities. He walks three tiimes around a stone mortar used to make flour, finally stepping onto and standing upon the stone for a time while wearing the mask on his face. He rubs his left hand, the one he is going to cut, with coconut and circles it three times with coconut. Then he ties his left arm tightly with a cord and cuts the upper part of his wrist with a small sharp knife until blood begins to flow. He clenches his hand tightly and pours the blood on some plantain leaves, which spread out in front of Komarathadigal. Shaman often sprinkles water on the wound to keep the blood from clotting. The blood sacrified by shaman is mixed with bananas and eaten by Komarathadigal.
Kaniyan Naakkuvettu
In this ritual, shaman bites his tongue tightly, then looks into a mirror held in his left hand while cutting his tongue with a sharp knife until blood begins to flow. Then he pours his blood on the plantain leaves and has it eaten by the komarathadigal.
Some information were collected from "Images of the Body in India: South Asian and European Perspectives on rituals and perfomativity edited by Axel Michaels, Christoph Wulf"
