KARAVALLIL NAIR FAMILY WEBSITE

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About Karavallil

Karavallil family members belong to Kakkanad Nair Tharavad near Kayamkulam, Central Travancore ,Kerala. Like all Nair Tharavads, Kakkanad Nair Tharavad has two Sarppa kavu , Kalari, and Bhagavathi temples. Nairs worship Snake God Nagarajan and his consorts. Their family deity is Goddess Durga, or Bhagavathi.

Kakkanad Tharavad is an oldest Aristocratic Nair Tharavad in Central Travancore. History of this Tharavad spans from around 300 years. There are no written documents available to know the history of the Tharavad . What is said by senior members of the Tharavad throws some light on the history of Tharavad. Earlier the Tharavad Karnavars were Chieftians of Kayamkulam Raja.

After the defeat of Kayamkulam Raja,by Rammayyan, the army chief of Travancore Maharaja Marthanda Varma,Kayamkulam was merged with Travancore.Several other small kingdoms were also merged with Venad and later Venad became Travancore.

The great Maharaja Marthanada Varma did not punish any of the Kayamkulam Raja's chieftians. Instead the family of the Chieftians in several Nair taravads in Travancore, were respected with family 'titles' like Pillai, Kurup, Panicker etc.These titles are used by the Nair community. The term Pillai in Tamil (and hence in old Malayalam) meant "child" or "son", and conferring this title on an individual was indicative of his closeness with the local kings.

The formal investiture of the title among the noble class is associated with a ceremony known as Thirumukom Pidikukka, which confers special privileges. Thirumukom meant " high self " which was an honorific title conferred by the kings of Kerala. Thirumukom was one step below Thirupad which was the title used by the kings of Kerala. Karnavars of Kakkanad Tharavad gave full loyality to the Maharaja Marthanda Varma,and as a gester to thier loyality the Maharaja gave the titles of 'Pillai' to the family members.

At present there are around one thousand members in the Kakkanad family.This Tharavad have a rich tradition in socio-economical, political and educational field in Travancore. Karavallil Family belongs to Kakkanad Tharavad. A branch of Family Members shifted and settled in Karavallil,Karipuzha, Mavelikkara in 19th centuary.

This is a sincere effort on me, K.R.Viswanathan Pillai, the eldest member of the family to ensure that our generation and the succeding generations of the family stay connected and be proud of their heritage. I request contribution from everyone, so that we can make this website a living entity and updated with every succeding generation.