Nedungadi
Encyclopedia
is a Samanthan
Samanthan
Samantan Nair or more commonly Samantan was a generic term applied to dignify a collection of Kshatriya sub-clans among the ruling elite and feudal estate owners of Kerala belonging to the Nayar race.-Historical background:Kerala was under the second Chera Empire approximately during 800...

 last name, coming from the 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...

n state of Kerala
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....

. They belong to Samanthan section of the Malabar ruling class.

Samanthans were the erstwhile rulers of small Nadus (Places) under the Chera Dynasty
Chera dynasty
Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...

. The name Nedungadi is believed to be derived from the word "Nedunganadu" and the word ""aadi", meaning "to rule". "Nedunganadu" used to be a small region that now includes Shornur, Ottappalam, Kothakursi, Pattambi
Pattambi
Pattambi is one of the major town in the Palakkad district of the state of Kerala, South India. The place got its name from Batta Nambi. Once under Nedunganad Samanthas of Chera Kings. Later on Zamoothiri Raja annexed this place to his country and kept under the control of Eralpad Raja, the second...

, Kootanad, Naduvattam
Naduvattam
Naduvattam is a Panchayat town in The Nilgiris district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.-Geography:Naduvattam is located at . It has an average elevation of 1953 metres .-Demographics:...

, Karalmanna Cherpulasserry, Karimpuza, Nellaya, Vallapuzha, Manjeri, Kannur are the old seats of Eralpad Raja, the second Sthani of Zamorin. The Zamorin obtained this place after defeating Nedungadies. The places ruled by the Nedungadies at an earlier time are mainly in Palghat District and also include Aliparamba, Thootha, Anamangad
Anamangad
Anamangad is a village in Malappuram district in the state of Kerala, India.-Demographics: India census, Anamangad had a population of 14,236 with 6,906 males and 7,330 females.Anamangad lies in between Amminikkadan Mala and Chelamala...

, Arakkuparamba, Eravimangalam, Nattukal, Valamkulam, Amminikkad Thachhanattukara in Malappuram District of Kerala. In all these places, there are still families with "Nedungadi" in their names.

In medieval times Nedunganadu was a small territorial unit within the Chera
Chera dynasty
Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...

 kingdom. The place was also known as Parambu Nadu in old writings.Parambu Nadu is seen as the territory ruled by Velir chief famous Vel Pari.Later on divided and ruled by Chola, Chera and Pandya Kings and other velir chiefs with their fighting heads.In Purananooru of Sangham texts, Tirukoilur, surrounding present Dharmapuri is mentioned as Nedunadu, the land lies between the esastern and western seas . The name for the place Cherpulassery came from Chera Pulla Cherry. The place were the sons of Cheras lived. The nearby place is Kotha Kursi. Kotha was the pet name for Cherans. The name Shornur is derived from the old name Cheran vanna oor (places ruled by Chera Kings) later on corrupted to Cheruvannor and to the present day Shornur. A place with a railway junction connecting railway lines to Trivandrum, Chennai, Mangalore and Nilambur. The original family name of the rulers is unknown, but the members of the royal families are referred to as "the Nedungadis" in the later documents of the Samutiris of Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...

 who conquered and ruled this territory.

Nedungadi is the term generally used to describe the men of the caste, and the women are known by name Kovilamma / kovilpad.

In addition, one of the authors of "Kundalatha
Kundalatha
Kundalatha is a novel by Appu Nedungadi, published in 1887. It is considered to be the first Malayalam novel.-External links:* *...

," one of the first Malayalam novels, was from this family: T.M. Appu Nedungadi
Appu Nedungadi
Appu Nedungadi is the name of Rao Bahadur T.M. Appu Nedungadi, author of Kundalatha, which was published in 1887, making it one of the earliest novels in Malayalam language, spoken in Kerala state, South India.....

.The first scholar who did research on the evolution of the Malayalam language was one Kovunni Nedungadi belonging to this community. The contribution made by Nedungadi for CV Raman's optics research is significant and worthwhile.

Nedungadi Bank
Nedungadi Bank
Rao Bahadur T.M. Appu Nedungadi established Nedungadi Bank in 1899 at Calicut in Kerala. It was first private sector commercial bank to be set up in South India...

 was also a famous bank in India until 2003, when it was bought by Punjab National Bank
Punjab National Bank
Punjab National Bank , was founded in 1894 and is currently the second largest state-owned commercial bank in India ahead of Bank of Baroda with about 5000 branches across 764 cities. It serves over 37 million customers. The bank has been ranked 248th biggest bank in the world by the Bankers...

.

See also

^ 1891 Censuses of Travancore, Malabar and Cochin

^ Castes and Tribes of Southern India, by Edgar Thurston and K Rangachari .

^ "Organised Struggles of Malabar Peasantry 1934-1940"

^ A general collection of ... voyages and travels, digested by J. Pinkerton - Page 736

^ Kareem, C.K. (1973). Kerala under Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan. Paico publishing house. pp. 136, 137. Retrieved 2007-12-18.

^ Miller, Eric J. 1954. Caste and Territory in Malabar. American Anthropologists 56(3):410-420

^ Miller, Eric J. 1955. Village Structure in North Kerala. In M.N. Srinivas ed. India’s Village. Bombay: Media Promoters & Publishers

^ Bhaskaran, K. Ooril pazhakiya oru achi kavinde katha, Sree oorpazhachi kshetra seva samiti, 1997.

^ A collection of treaties, engagements, and other papers of importance relating to British affairs in Malabar" also by William Logan.

^ E. Thurston . Castes and tribes of South India Volime 5

^ "Organised Struggles of Malabar Peasantry 1934-1940"

^ "Organised Struggles of Malabar Peasantry 1934-1940"

^ Mackenzie Manuscripts: Summaries of the Historical Manuscripts in the Mackenzie Collection, I (Madras: University of Madras, 1972), 287. T. V. Mahalingam (ed.)

^ Kudali Granthavari (Malayalam) K. K. N. Kurup by (Calicut: Calicut University, 1995).

^ Female Initiation Rites on the Malabar Coast, Gough, Kathleen 1955a, The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
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