Keralolpaththi (केरलोल्पत्ति) which professes to be a history of ancient Kerala also contains significant reference to Shastrakas, the Brahmins of certain settlements (gramas) who received the gift of arms from their patron deity Lord Parashurama. The Sanskrit Kerala Mahathmyam, an Upapurana of Bhoogola Purana, calls Nairs the progeny of Namboothiri men with Deva, Rakshasa and Gandharva women. The Nairs formed a fierce warrior class pledged to protecting the rulers of the many kingdoms into which Kérala was divided.
In the sixteenth century, the warriors that the Kings of Kerala had were the Nairs and they were all noblemen. They were gallants and were all good with the King or the lord of the land. They were very smart, clean, honest and effective in their nobility. They all lived with the kings, and some of them with other lords, relations of the king, and lords of the country, and with the salaried governors; and with one another. They accompanied their lords day and night; little was given them for eating and sleeping, and for serving and doing their duty.
They had no other duty than to carry on war, and they continually carried their arms with them, which were swords, bows, arrows, bucklers, lances and shields, with which they used to fight. These Nairs, besides being all of noble descent, had to be armed as knights by the hand of the king or lord with whom they lived, and until they have been so equipped they cannot bear arms nor call themselves Nairs, but they enjoyed the freedom and exemption and advantages of the Nairs in many things. In the palace, when the king of Calicut was seated in his throne, a young Nair boy used to stand near the king, who used to hold a shield with border of gold and jewels and a boss in the center of a span's breath, and the rings inside of arms were of gold; also a short drawn sword of an ell's length (approximately 45 inches), round at the point, with a hilt of gold and jewellery with pendant pearls.
No one could be a Nair if he is not of good lineage. They never associated with any peasant, and neither ate nor drank except in the houses of other Nairs. But during the time that they are at war, they may touch any peasant, and eat and drink with them in their houses, without any penalty. And the king was obliged to maintain the mother and family of any Nair who may die in the war, and those persons are at once written down for their maintenance. And if these Nairs are wounded, the king has them cured at his expense, besides their pay, and has food given them all their lives, or until they are cured of their wounds. The Nairs, when roaming in the streets, used to order the unprincipled men to go out their way. If the they didn't do so they were killed by the Nairs. The Nairs were not allowed to kill a cow because they worshiped them.
The Nairs were not allowed to bear arms, or take part in the wars, until they had been made knights. At the age of seven, little Nair boys were sent to Kalaris to learn Kalarippayattu. In which they learned all manner of feats of agility and gymnastics for the use of their weapons. First they learned Meippayattu or body exercises. In Meippayattu, they were taught different stances, pivots, leaps, trots, blocks, cuts, kicks and forward, backward, sideways and circular movements employed in defending and attacking, and then to tumble, and for that purpose they render supple all their limbs from their childhood, so that they can bend them in any direction. And after they have exercised in this, they were taught Verumkai i. e. techniques of bare-handed defence and attack, and to manage the weapons which suited each one most. The weapons included bows, clubs, or lances; and most of them were taught to use the sword and buckler, which is of more common use among them. In Kalarippayattu, the courses in which use of weapons are taught are called Kolethaarippayattu (exercises with wooden weapons) and Angathaari (exercises with sharp weapons). Sometimes Nairs didn't eat more than once a day; and they had small expenses for they have little pay. Many of them contented themselves with about two hundred Maravedis each month for themselves and the servant that attended to them. Maravedi is a certain amount of rice. 150 to 200 Maravedis is equal to 40 kg of rice. When these Nairs went to the wars their pay was served out to them every day as long as the war lasts; it is four Tharas per day each man, which are worth five Maravedis each, with which they provide for themselves.
The martial art teachers of Nagavanshi Nairs belonged to their own caste and were graduates in Kalaripayattu and they were given the title Panicker by the kings. They were very strict among the Nairs. The word Panicker means master. In Kiriyathil and Illathu Nair communities, Panicker was a title given by the kings of Kerala to the Nair who was appointed as the head of the army. Similarly, Kurup was a title given to a Kiriyathil Nair or an Illathu Nair who was appointed as the teacher of Kalaripayattu. In those days, Kiriyathil and Illathu Nairs had their own schools and the teachers of the schools belonged to their own caste because they wanted to preserve their traditions. The titles Kurup and Panicker were also given to the people of some other Hindu sub-communities according to their profession. These sub-communities are not related to Kiriyathil and Illathu Nair communities in any way. When a Nair was ready to become a knight—that is, to enter upon active military service—he resorted to the king, attended by all his relations, and made him a present of sixty golden coins called Phanam.Then the king asked him if he wished to serve, and would do so faithfully; to which he replied, "Yes." The king thereupon ordered an officer to gird him with a sword, and, putting his right hand upon his head, uttered a short prayer, and then embraced the new knight.
When Nairs enlisted to live with the king, they bound themselves and promised to die for him; and they did likewise with any other lord from whom they received pay. This law was observed by some and not by others; but their obligation constrained them to die at the hands of anyone who should kill the king or their lord: and some of them so observed it; so that if in any battle their lord should be killed, they go and put themselves in the midst of the enemies who killed him, even should those be numerous, and he alone by himself died there: but before falling he did what he could against them; and after when one was dead another went to take his place, and then another: so that sometimes ten or twelve Nairs died for their lord. And even if they were not present with him when he was killed, they went and seeked the person who killed him, or the person who ordered him to be killed: and so one by one they all died. Those Nairs whom the king had received as his, he never dismissed however old the Nairs may be; on the contrary, the Nairs always received their pay and rations, and the king granted favours to whoever had served well.
If any lord was in apprehension of another man, he took some of the Nairs, as many as he pleased, into his pay; and the Nairs accompanied and guarded him; and on their account the lord went securely, since no one dared to molest him; because if he were molested they and all their lineage would take vengeance on him who had caused this molestation. These guards were called Janguada and there are some people who sometimes take so many of these Nairs, and of such quality, that on their account they no longer feared the king, who would not venture to command the execution of a man who was guarded by these, in order not to expose many Nairs to danger for it. And even if the Nairs were not in his company when the man they guard was killed, they would not any the less revenged his death.
The Nairs showed much respect to their mothers, and supported them with what they gained, because besides their allowances, most of them possessed houses and palm trees and estates, and some houses were let to peasants, which was granted by the king to them or to their uncles, and which remained their property. They also had much respect for their elder sisters, whom they treated as mothers. No Nair woman ever entered the towns under pain of death except once a year, when they were allowed go out with the men of their family. On that night more than twenty thousand Nair women entered Calicut to see the town, which was decorated with full of lamps in all the streets, which the inhabitants set there to do honour to the Nairs, and all the streets were hung with cloth.
When Vasco Da Gama had arrived in Calicut (Kozhikode), on the fourth day a large boat came to the chapel of St. Raphael, bringing a Nair, a messenger of Samuthiri (Zamorin) King. He carried a small round shield, some wooden slings, and a short naked sword with an iron hilt. His hair was matted close to his head. He was tall, well-proportioned, and very dark. He refused to go on board, but spoke to Vasco da Gama through an interpreter from his boat. His message from the Samuthiri was to ask who the strangers were, and what they wanted in Calicut.
Vasco Da Gama has described Nairs as follows, "in this region of Malabar the race of gentlemen is called Nairs, who are the people of war: they are people who are very refined in blood and customs, and separated from all other low people, and so much do they value themselves that no one of them ever turned Moor (Muslim); only the low people turned Moors, who worked in the bush and in the fields." Gasper Correa has mentioned in his book 'The three voyages of Vasco da Gama' that "there was no power in the world sufficiently great to take Calicut, in which there were two hundred thousand men available for war."
Reference: Kalarippayattu by Shri. Chirakkal T. Sreedharan Nair, A Description of Indian and Oriental Armour by Edgerton of Tastton, Earl Wilbraham Egerton Egerton, Archives of Asian Art by Asia Society, 2004, UGC-NET/JRF/SET Sociology (Paper-II) by Dr. K. Kautilya, Aspects of Aryanisation in Kerala, Kerala Historical Society, A Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar in the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century by Duarte Barbosa, The three voyages of Vasco da Gama by Gasper Correa, Martial Races of Undivided India by Vidya Prakash Tyagi.
Please don't hack this website and don't make changes in the posts.
In the sixteenth century, the warriors that the Kings of Kerala had were the Nairs and they were all noblemen. They were gallants and were all good with the King or the lord of the land. They were very smart, clean, honest and effective in their nobility. They all lived with the kings, and some of them with other lords, relations of the king, and lords of the country, and with the salaried governors; and with one another. They accompanied their lords day and night; little was given them for eating and sleeping, and for serving and doing their duty.
They had no other duty than to carry on war, and they continually carried their arms with them, which were swords, bows, arrows, bucklers, lances and shields, with which they used to fight. These Nairs, besides being all of noble descent, had to be armed as knights by the hand of the king or lord with whom they lived, and until they have been so equipped they cannot bear arms nor call themselves Nairs, but they enjoyed the freedom and exemption and advantages of the Nairs in many things. In the palace, when the king of Calicut was seated in his throne, a young Nair boy used to stand near the king, who used to hold a shield with border of gold and jewels and a boss in the center of a span's breath, and the rings inside of arms were of gold; also a short drawn sword of an ell's length (approximately 45 inches), round at the point, with a hilt of gold and jewellery with pendant pearls.
No one could be a Nair if he is not of good lineage. They never associated with any peasant, and neither ate nor drank except in the houses of other Nairs. But during the time that they are at war, they may touch any peasant, and eat and drink with them in their houses, without any penalty. And the king was obliged to maintain the mother and family of any Nair who may die in the war, and those persons are at once written down for their maintenance. And if these Nairs are wounded, the king has them cured at his expense, besides their pay, and has food given them all their lives, or until they are cured of their wounds. The Nairs, when roaming in the streets, used to order the unprincipled men to go out their way. If the they didn't do so they were killed by the Nairs. The Nairs were not allowed to kill a cow because they worshiped them.
The Nairs were not allowed to bear arms, or take part in the wars, until they had been made knights. At the age of seven, little Nair boys were sent to Kalaris to learn Kalarippayattu. In which they learned all manner of feats of agility and gymnastics for the use of their weapons. First they learned Meippayattu or body exercises. In Meippayattu, they were taught different stances, pivots, leaps, trots, blocks, cuts, kicks and forward, backward, sideways and circular movements employed in defending and attacking, and then to tumble, and for that purpose they render supple all their limbs from their childhood, so that they can bend them in any direction. And after they have exercised in this, they were taught Verumkai i. e. techniques of bare-handed defence and attack, and to manage the weapons which suited each one most. The weapons included bows, clubs, or lances; and most of them were taught to use the sword and buckler, which is of more common use among them. In Kalarippayattu, the courses in which use of weapons are taught are called Kolethaarippayattu (exercises with wooden weapons) and Angathaari (exercises with sharp weapons). Sometimes Nairs didn't eat more than once a day; and they had small expenses for they have little pay. Many of them contented themselves with about two hundred Maravedis each month for themselves and the servant that attended to them. Maravedi is a certain amount of rice. 150 to 200 Maravedis is equal to 40 kg of rice. When these Nairs went to the wars their pay was served out to them every day as long as the war lasts; it is four Tharas per day each man, which are worth five Maravedis each, with which they provide for themselves.
The martial art teachers of Nagavanshi Nairs belonged to their own caste and were graduates in Kalaripayattu and they were given the title Panicker by the kings. They were very strict among the Nairs. The word Panicker means master. In Kiriyathil and Illathu Nair communities, Panicker was a title given by the kings of Kerala to the Nair who was appointed as the head of the army. Similarly, Kurup was a title given to a Kiriyathil Nair or an Illathu Nair who was appointed as the teacher of Kalaripayattu. In those days, Kiriyathil and Illathu Nairs had their own schools and the teachers of the schools belonged to their own caste because they wanted to preserve their traditions. The titles Kurup and Panicker were also given to the people of some other Hindu sub-communities according to their profession. These sub-communities are not related to Kiriyathil and Illathu Nair communities in any way. When a Nair was ready to become a knight—that is, to enter upon active military service—he resorted to the king, attended by all his relations, and made him a present of sixty golden coins called Phanam.Then the king asked him if he wished to serve, and would do so faithfully; to which he replied, "Yes." The king thereupon ordered an officer to gird him with a sword, and, putting his right hand upon his head, uttered a short prayer, and then embraced the new knight.
When Nairs enlisted to live with the king, they bound themselves and promised to die for him; and they did likewise with any other lord from whom they received pay. This law was observed by some and not by others; but their obligation constrained them to die at the hands of anyone who should kill the king or their lord: and some of them so observed it; so that if in any battle their lord should be killed, they go and put themselves in the midst of the enemies who killed him, even should those be numerous, and he alone by himself died there: but before falling he did what he could against them; and after when one was dead another went to take his place, and then another: so that sometimes ten or twelve Nairs died for their lord. And even if they were not present with him when he was killed, they went and seeked the person who killed him, or the person who ordered him to be killed: and so one by one they all died. Those Nairs whom the king had received as his, he never dismissed however old the Nairs may be; on the contrary, the Nairs always received their pay and rations, and the king granted favours to whoever had served well.
If any lord was in apprehension of another man, he took some of the Nairs, as many as he pleased, into his pay; and the Nairs accompanied and guarded him; and on their account the lord went securely, since no one dared to molest him; because if he were molested they and all their lineage would take vengeance on him who had caused this molestation. These guards were called Janguada and there are some people who sometimes take so many of these Nairs, and of such quality, that on their account they no longer feared the king, who would not venture to command the execution of a man who was guarded by these, in order not to expose many Nairs to danger for it. And even if the Nairs were not in his company when the man they guard was killed, they would not any the less revenged his death.
The Nairs showed much respect to their mothers, and supported them with what they gained, because besides their allowances, most of them possessed houses and palm trees and estates, and some houses were let to peasants, which was granted by the king to them or to their uncles, and which remained their property. They also had much respect for their elder sisters, whom they treated as mothers. No Nair woman ever entered the towns under pain of death except once a year, when they were allowed go out with the men of their family. On that night more than twenty thousand Nair women entered Calicut to see the town, which was decorated with full of lamps in all the streets, which the inhabitants set there to do honour to the Nairs, and all the streets were hung with cloth.
When Vasco Da Gama had arrived in Calicut (Kozhikode), on the fourth day a large boat came to the chapel of St. Raphael, bringing a Nair, a messenger of Samuthiri (Zamorin) King. He carried a small round shield, some wooden slings, and a short naked sword with an iron hilt. His hair was matted close to his head. He was tall, well-proportioned, and very dark. He refused to go on board, but spoke to Vasco da Gama through an interpreter from his boat. His message from the Samuthiri was to ask who the strangers were, and what they wanted in Calicut.
Vasco Da Gama has described Nairs as follows, "in this region of Malabar the race of gentlemen is called Nairs, who are the people of war: they are people who are very refined in blood and customs, and separated from all other low people, and so much do they value themselves that no one of them ever turned Moor (Muslim); only the low people turned Moors, who worked in the bush and in the fields." Gasper Correa has mentioned in his book 'The three voyages of Vasco da Gama' that "there was no power in the world sufficiently great to take Calicut, in which there were two hundred thousand men available for war."
Reference: Kalarippayattu by Shri. Chirakkal T. Sreedharan Nair, A Description of Indian and Oriental Armour by Edgerton of Tastton, Earl Wilbraham Egerton Egerton, Archives of Asian Art by Asia Society, 2004, UGC-NET/JRF/SET Sociology (Paper-II) by Dr. K. Kautilya, Aspects of Aryanisation in Kerala, Kerala Historical Society, A Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar in the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century by Duarte Barbosa, The three voyages of Vasco da Gama by Gasper Correa, Martial Races of Undivided India by Vidya Prakash Tyagi.
Please don't hack this website and don't make changes in the posts.
