There is no agreement among scholars about the origins of the Nairs as a distinct community. Some believe that Nairs are not native to Kerala, because of their traditions and mindset which are different from the other Dravidian communities of south India. Their worship of the snake (many Nair houses still have their sacred ‘sarpa kavus’ on their grounds) has given rise to a widely accepted theory that the Nairs are Nagas. a totemic clan of yore and they belong to the Nagavamsham kshatriya lineage who fought in the Mahabaratha war. Nair men and women tied their hair into a ‘kudumi, resembling a serpent’s head.
The 'sarpakavu' in my father's 'tharavad'.
The story goes on that the Nagas/Nairs spread out to many regions of southern India and Sri Lanka. When they reached Kerala, they fought the Namboodiris and later removed their sacred Kshatriya thread to escape the rampage of Parasurama who was on a kshatriya-killing spree. Chatambi Swamigal, one of the pioneering Hindu sages of the last century, said in his work ‘Pracheena Malayalam’ that the Nairs were Nakas (Snake Lords) who lived in the land of the Cheras (Chera is a snake in Kerala). It is likely that the Chera rulers were also Nairs. Modern day historians say the Nairs are related to the Bunts of Coorg and the Naidus of Andhra Pradesh and the Nayakes of Sri Lanka, communities that exercised political and military authority and upheld the law in their lands.
There are few written records available on Kerala history from the 11th to the 13th centuries. It was only after the 15th century and the coming of the Portuguesse that we get a detailed history of Malabar society. Several travellers wrote about the structural elements of the Nair community and their noble descent. Duarate Barbosa, a Portuguese who spent several years in Calicut was the first to explain the military reasons behind the marumakkatayam and sambadham systems.
A traditional Nair sword
" In this region of Malabar," wrote Gaspar Correa, writing on the three voyages of Vasco da Gama, "the race of Gentlemen is called Nairs who are people of war. They are people who are very refined in blood and customs and separated from all other people.. The Nayros must [in all places] where they go or stand wear such arms as are appointed for them and always be ready at the King's commandement.
As these Nayros go about in the streets they cry po! po!”. Gaspar desribes how three Nair nobleman from the Zamorin’s court came aboard Gama’s ship. They had gold ear-rings, gold bracelets above the elbow, they were bare-chested and carried a sword and shield.
Another type of Nair sword
In Nair families, young boys began military training at the age of seven in the several kalaris that dotted the land. Italian Jesuit Giovanni Maffei talked about the Nairs in his Historiarum in 1588: "Young Nairs ....they are expert wrestlers but still more proficient in the use of weapons...At one time, their weapons were the spear, arrows, the sword and the shield....now they emply all cannons and fireams with consummate skill; ...naked, with only their private parts covered, do they go into battle, wearing neither breastplates nor helmets." The ‘kalari’ teachers were noted for ‘marma adi’ an advanced way to disable a person temporarily for a short period or permanently or even to kill an opponent by placing a finger on specific nerve points or accupuncture points and these were imparted to selected students.
A Nair soldier goes to battle - stone inscription. circa 10th-12th centuries
Maffei also gives a glimps of the Nair's inclination for guerilla warfare."Their greatest protection is flight...but they flee and reappear in a flash and they hurl their javelins ...and if there is hand to hand combat they do most of the killing."
The Nair always showed a fascination for weapons. Dutch Rear-Admiral John Splinter Stavorinus wrote about this aspect in 1798: “Amongst the Malabars, the Nairs are the nobles and warriors of the land; they are known by the scimitar which they always wear whenever they stir abroad, and in the management of which, I was told they are very dexterous, particularly against a flying enemy. They have many privileges above the common people.”
Dr. Claudius Buchanan, a Scottish theologian, in his Christian Researchers in Asia (1811) said: “Their childlike delight is in parading up and down fully armed. Each man has a firelock, and at least one sword; but all those who wish to be thought men of extraordianry courage carry two sabres and they are more inclined to use them for assassination or surprise, than in the open field.”
Tomé Pires, a Portuguese apothecary *1515) gives gives us the same image: "...they are fighters with sword and buckler and arches. They are men who adorn their king and if by chance the king dies in battle they are obliged to die ... The Nairs are loyal and not traitors ... No Nair when he is fit to take up arms can go outside his house unarmed even if he be a 100 years old, and when he is dying he always has his sword and buckler by him so close that if necessary he can take hold of them. They always
make a deep reverence to the masters who teach them".
But this carrying of arms also led to the Nairs being involved in endless violent altercations, especially when they were practicing the system of Changatham. Here, a Nair served as a bodyguard to travellers in a land where banditry was rather common and Diderot's Encyclopaedia (France - 1700s) said that "these Nairs are so loyal thay they kill themselves, should he whom they were protecting is killed on the road.” The Changathams were also suicide squads and their remuneration was called ‘kaval panam’ of ‘Rakshabogam’.
The shields that the Nairs used were made of wood covered with leather, usually coloured bright red. A British official F. Fawcett described it as :“Within were some hard seeds, or metal balls loose in a small space, so that there is a jingling sound like that of the small bells on the ankles of the dancer, when the shield is oscillated or shaken in the hand. The swords are those which were used ordinarily for fighting. There are also swords of many patterns for processional and other purposes, more or less ornamented about the handle and half way up the blade.”
Go to Part III
The story goes on that the Nagas/Nairs spread out to many regions of southern India and Sri Lanka. When they reached Kerala, they fought the Namboodiris and later removed their sacred Kshatriya thread to escape the rampage of Parasurama who was on a kshatriya-killing spree. Chatambi Swamigal, one of the pioneering Hindu sages of the last century, said in his work ‘Pracheena Malayalam’ that the Nairs were Nakas (Snake Lords) who lived in the land of the Cheras (Chera is a snake in Kerala). It is likely that the Chera rulers were also Nairs. Modern day historians say the Nairs are related to the Bunts of Coorg and the Naidus of Andhra Pradesh and the Nayakes of Sri Lanka, communities that exercised political and military authority and upheld the law in their lands.
There are few written records available on Kerala history from the 11th to the 13th centuries. It was only after the 15th century and the coming of the Portuguesse that we get a detailed history of Malabar society. Several travellers wrote about the structural elements of the Nair community and their noble descent. Duarate Barbosa, a Portuguese who spent several years in Calicut was the first to explain the military reasons behind the marumakkatayam and sambadham systems.
" In this region of Malabar," wrote Gaspar Correa, writing on the three voyages of Vasco da Gama, "the race of Gentlemen is called Nairs who are people of war. They are people who are very refined in blood and customs and separated from all other people.. The Nayros must [in all places] where they go or stand wear such arms as are appointed for them and always be ready at the King's commandement.
As these Nayros go about in the streets they cry po! po!”. Gaspar desribes how three Nair nobleman from the Zamorin’s court came aboard Gama’s ship. They had gold ear-rings, gold bracelets above the elbow, they were bare-chested and carried a sword and shield.
In Nair families, young boys began military training at the age of seven in the several kalaris that dotted the land. Italian Jesuit Giovanni Maffei talked about the Nairs in his Historiarum in 1588: "Young Nairs ....they are expert wrestlers but still more proficient in the use of weapons...At one time, their weapons were the spear, arrows, the sword and the shield....now they emply all cannons and fireams with consummate skill; ...naked, with only their private parts covered, do they go into battle, wearing neither breastplates nor helmets." The ‘kalari’ teachers were noted for ‘marma adi’ an advanced way to disable a person temporarily for a short period or permanently or even to kill an opponent by placing a finger on specific nerve points or accupuncture points and these were imparted to selected students.
Maffei also gives a glimps of the Nair's inclination for guerilla warfare."Their greatest protection is flight...but they flee and reappear in a flash and they hurl their javelins ...and if there is hand to hand combat they do most of the killing."
The Nair always showed a fascination for weapons. Dutch Rear-Admiral John Splinter Stavorinus wrote about this aspect in 1798: “Amongst the Malabars, the Nairs are the nobles and warriors of the land; they are known by the scimitar which they always wear whenever they stir abroad, and in the management of which, I was told they are very dexterous, particularly against a flying enemy. They have many privileges above the common people.”
Dr. Claudius Buchanan, a Scottish theologian, in his Christian Researchers in Asia (1811) said: “Their childlike delight is in parading up and down fully armed. Each man has a firelock, and at least one sword; but all those who wish to be thought men of extraordianry courage carry two sabres and they are more inclined to use them for assassination or surprise, than in the open field.”
Tomé Pires, a Portuguese apothecary *1515) gives gives us the same image: "...they are fighters with sword and buckler and arches. They are men who adorn their king and if by chance the king dies in battle they are obliged to die ... The Nairs are loyal and not traitors ... No Nair when he is fit to take up arms can go outside his house unarmed even if he be a 100 years old, and when he is dying he always has his sword and buckler by him so close that if necessary he can take hold of them. They always
make a deep reverence to the masters who teach them".
But this carrying of arms also led to the Nairs being involved in endless violent altercations, especially when they were practicing the system of Changatham. Here, a Nair served as a bodyguard to travellers in a land where banditry was rather common and Diderot's Encyclopaedia (France - 1700s) said that "these Nairs are so loyal thay they kill themselves, should he whom they were protecting is killed on the road.” The Changathams were also suicide squads and their remuneration was called ‘kaval panam’ of ‘Rakshabogam’.
The shields that the Nairs used were made of wood covered with leather, usually coloured bright red. A British official F. Fawcett described it as :“Within were some hard seeds, or metal balls loose in a small space, so that there is a jingling sound like that of the small bells on the ankles of the dancer, when the shield is oscillated or shaken in the hand. The swords are those which were used ordinarily for fighting. There are also swords of many patterns for processional and other purposes, more or less ornamented about the handle and half way up the blade.”
Go to Part III
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