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]
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