Kovilakam
Encyclopedia
Kovilakam is a term that denotes to the principal manor/estate/palace of a princely lineages of Kerala
, India
. This is the residence, where all who have not succeeded to get Raja
ship remain under the management of the eldest resident male or female member of that particular branch of the family. In North Malabar
region, this is pronounced as Kolom .
A chief princely lineage of Kerala conists of several Kovilakams representing different matrilineal branches of the same family from which the individual members could ascend to the status of Raja in accordance to their seniority in age within the lineage. The Kovilakam-residences are usually large beautiful manors or palaces with extensive wood work and mural paintings in the traditional medieval Kerala architecture style. A Kovilakam was usually endowed with estates and properties (crown lands) sufficient to the maintenance of its constituent members. At the very moment when a member ascends to any dignity/station (stanam), he/she looses his residence in the Kovilakam and is usually brought up and lived apart on the property set apart for his dignity/station (stanam). However there are instances when such members on ascending to a station have preferred to stay back in their Kovilakams of birth. It was not uncommon where in due to internal squabbles and manoeuvres within different Kovilakams of a ruling princely family, a certain Kovilakam(s) may usurp and centralize the sole right to inherit the Rajaship and deprive the other Kovilakams within the princely lineage of its inheritance to the station of Raja.
Royal Princely State lineage of North Malabar
had three branches; viz.:
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. This is the residence, where all who have not succeeded to get Raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
ship remain under the management of the eldest resident male or female member of that particular branch of the family. In North Malabar
North Malabar
North Malabar , is a historic as well as geographic distinction in India used to refer the area covering; present Kasaragod and Kannur Districts, Mananthavady taluk of Wayanad District and Koyilandy & Vatakara taluks of Kozhikode District in modern Kerala and the entire Mahé sub-Division of...
region, this is pronounced as Kolom .
A chief princely lineage of Kerala conists of several Kovilakams representing different matrilineal branches of the same family from which the individual members could ascend to the status of Raja in accordance to their seniority in age within the lineage. The Kovilakam-residences are usually large beautiful manors or palaces with extensive wood work and mural paintings in the traditional medieval Kerala architecture style. A Kovilakam was usually endowed with estates and properties (crown lands) sufficient to the maintenance of its constituent members. At the very moment when a member ascends to any dignity/station (stanam), he/she looses his residence in the Kovilakam and is usually brought up and lived apart on the property set apart for his dignity/station (stanam). However there are instances when such members on ascending to a station have preferred to stay back in their Kovilakams of birth. It was not uncommon where in due to internal squabbles and manoeuvres within different Kovilakams of a ruling princely family, a certain Kovilakam(s) may usurp and centralize the sole right to inherit the Rajaship and deprive the other Kovilakams within the princely lineage of its inheritance to the station of Raja.
Examples
The KottayamKottayam (Malabar)
Kottayam is a former Hindu vassal feudal city-state in the erstwhile province of Malabar in present day Kerala, in the Indian subcontinent. Kottayam is famed for Pazhassi Raja , one of principle leaders of Wynaad Insurrection .-Geography:The Kingdom of Kottayam covered what is today Talassery...
Royal Princely State lineage of North Malabar
North Malabar
North Malabar , is a historic as well as geographic distinction in India used to refer the area covering; present Kasaragod and Kannur Districts, Mananthavady taluk of Wayanad District and Koyilandy & Vatakara taluks of Kozhikode District in modern Kerala and the entire Mahé sub-Division of...
had three branches; viz.:
- Kizhakke Kovilakam (Eastern Palace)
- Thekke Kovilakam (Southern Palace)
- Patinjare Kovilakam (Western Palace)