Aromal Chekavar

Aromal Chekavar was a warrior believed to have lived during the 16th century in the North Malabar region of present-day Kerala, India.[1][2] He was from the Thiyyar community[1][3][4] and a chief of the Puthooram family [1] and was thus also known as Puthooram Veettil Aromal Chekavar. He was the elder brother of Unniyarcha and uncle of Aromalunni, who were also skilled warriors.[3][1]

Chekavar's story is described in the Puthuram Pattukal, a group of songs in the genre of Vadakkan Pattukal, or Northern Ballads, composed in Malayalam during the 17th and 18th centuries.[3] The genre as a whole represents the sentiment of vira, or the heroic, through its depictions of "valour and sacrifice."[1]

Puthariyankam

Wedding at ‘Puthooram Veedu’. Painting by Thara Sudhish depicting informal childhood marriage ceremony between Unniyarcha and Chandu Chekavar.

Historian A Sreedhara Menon narrates the story of Aromal Chekavar according to the ballads.[3]

Chekavar was expert in ankam fighting, a feudal form of martial combat used to settle disputes, like his father Kannappan.[3] Unni Konar, who was in a property dispute against his brother Unni Chandrador for the estate of their uncle (the kaimal of Kurungadi), hired Aromal Chekavar to represent him in the ankam.[3] Unni Chandrador hired Aringotar, who conspired with Chandu Chekavar, the anti-hero of the story, also a practitioner of kalari and related martial arts,[5] so that Aromal Chekavar fought the battle with a faulty sword. [6] Chandu was Aromal Chekavar's cousin who resented Aromal Chekavar for opposing his marriage with Aromal's sister Unniyarcha.[3]

During the battle, Aromal Chekavar killed Aringotar but collapsed on the field from minor wounds. Chandu Chekavar killed Aromal Chekavar with the rod of his lamp (kuthuvilakku)[3] while Aromal rested with his head in Chandu's lap.[4] Before Aromal Chekavar died, he revealed Chandu's conspiracy to his family.[3] Chandu later married the daughter of Aringotar and inherited Aringotar's estate.[3]

Aromal Chekavar's death was avenged by his nephew Aromalunni Chekavar, who beheaded Chandu in an ankam.[3]

The story of Aromal Chekavar has influenced media:

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Nair, K. Ramachandran (1997). "Medieval Malayalam Literature". In Paniker, K. Ayyappa (ed.). Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and Selections. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. pp. 315–316. ISBN 9788126003655. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  2. ^ Nisha, P. R. (12 June 2020). Jumbos and Jumping Devils: A Social History of Indian Circus. ISBN 9780190992071.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Menon, A. Sreedhara (4 March 2011). Kerala History and its Makers. D C Books. pp. 82–86. ISBN 978-81-264-3782-5. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  4. ^ a b കാവാലം നാരായണ പണിക്കർ (1991). floklore of kerala-India. National books,kollam. p. 108. ISBN 9788123725932. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  5. ^ Zarrilli, Phillip B. (January 9, 1998). When the Body Becomes All Eyes: Paradigms, Discourses, and Practices of Power in Kalarippayattu, a South Indian Martial Art. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-563940-7 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Pushpa Kurup (2021). Power Women A journey into Hindu Mythology. Bloomsbury. p. 15. ISBN 9789354350764.
  7. ^ Chathoth, Vidya (October 17, 2016). Reel to Real: The mind, through the lens of Malayalam cinema. Notion Press. ISBN 9781946129529 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ McCarthy, Grace (July 27, 2021). Shakespearean Drama, Disability, and the Filmic Stare. Routledge. ISBN 9781000416824 – via Google Books.