Jenmi

Jenmi or Janmi, plural Jenmimar, is the Malayalam term used to refer to the landed aristocracy of Kerala who traditionally held their lands as absolute and allodial owners, with such lands known as Jenmom or Janmam.[1] They formed the landowning nobility as well as the landed gentry of the region in colonial times,[2] and the majority of the estates and feudal properties were owned by this community. They predominantly belonged to the Nambudiri (Brahmin priests) and Nair castes.[3]

Although many smallholders existed within the Janmi system, Janmam lands were heavily concentrated into a few dozen families, most of them of Nair or Nambudiri Brahmin rank.[4]

  1. ^ Panikkar, Kavalam Madhava (July–December 1918). "Some Aspects of Nayar Life". Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 48: 257–258.
  2. ^ Shaji, A. (December 2017). Politicization of Caste Relations in a Princely State (Communal Politics in Modern Travancore 1891-1947). Zorba Books. ISBN 9789387456006.
  3. ^ Karat, Prakash (1977). "Organized Struggles of Malabar Peasantry, 1934-1940". Social Scientist. 5 (8): 3–17. doi:10.2307/3516560. JSTOR 3516560.
  4. ^ Nair, Adoor K.K. Ramachandran (January 1986). "Slavery in Kerala". Mittal Publications, New Delhi.