Tharavad

Not to be confused with Theravada.

An eight-halled ettukettu tharavad
A typical tharavadu reproduced from K. M. Panikkar's article published in 1918. Capital and small letters represent females and males respectively. Supposing that the females A, B and C were dead and the oldest male member karnavar being d, if the male members t, k and others demanded partition, the property would be divided into three parts.

Tharavad, also spelled as Tharavadu (pronunciationⓘ) (തറവാട്), is the Malayalam word for the ancestral home of aristocratic families[1][2] in Kerala, it is common among Nair Hindus[3], which usually served as the common residence for the matrilineal joint family under the Marumakkathayam system practiced in the state.[4][5] German linguist Hermann Gundert, in his Malayalam—English dictionary published in 1872, defines a Tharavadu as, "An ancestral residence of land-owners and kings", and also as, "A house, chiefly of noblemen".[6] It was classically the residence of Jenmimar, but contemporary usage of the word is now more generic to all social classes and religions in Kerala.[7] By extension, the word refers not just to the family's house but to the extended family that shares that house. Heads of tharavadus - usually the eldest living male - were known as Karnavars, and junior members as Anandravans.

  1. ^ manoramanews, manoramaonline. "Christian Tharavadu".
  2. ^ The new indian express, Indian Express. "A house reminisces 400 years of its history".
  3. ^ Mohamed Koya, S.M, MATRILINY AND MALABAR MUSLIMS, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 40 (1979), pp. 419-431 (13 pages)
  4. ^ Kakkat, Thulasi (18 August 2012). "Kerala's Nalukettus". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  5. ^ Kunhikrishnan, K. (12 April 2003). "Fallen tharavads". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 December 2017.[dead link‍]
  6. ^ Hermann Gundert (1872). A Malayalam and English Dictionary. C. Stolz. p. 434. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  7. ^ Pannikar, K.M. (1960). "A History of Kerala 1498 - 1801". Annamalai University Press.