North Africa To North Malabar: AN ANCESTRAL JOURNEY

caste.

Introduction

India is a country with a multitude of people, cultures, religions, castes, and customs. Class warfare is evident in every aspect of the lives of Indian people. Each community behaves as a separate unit, confined to itself with limited external interference.

I want to know the origin of Thiyyas from the great human migration. I did scientific research and studies to learn about our ancestry.

More than 75% of the people of North Malabar, Kerala, are Hindu Thiyyas. It is the dominant community, equal to or even better than any other society in Kerala. Our community leaders played a pivotal role in the freedom struggle in pre-independent India and took part in the central government administration in post-independent India.

I was born in Mahe, North Malabar, Kerala. During my early childhood in Malaya, my father was managing a rubber estate under the British Dunlop Company. He was a popular and respected leader among Indians and local people. In 1942 and 1943, Indian leaders, including my father, provided refuge to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and took part in the rise of the INA (Indian National Army) in Malaya. I had the honor of saluting Nethaji in a march past.

After my dad’s death, we returned to Mahe, India in 1946. During the Indian independence period, Thiyya leaders in North Malabar hosted and entertained our national leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Moulana Azad, and others. I met many national leaders while accompanying my uncles to public meetings. I was lucky to meet Mahatma Gandhi, and I had the great opportunity to meet our Prime Minster Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders in close proximity.The association with national leaders was possible due to the influence, leadership, and prominence of Thiyyas of North Malabar.

The role of Thiyya leaders in the liberation of Mahe from French occupation is vivid in the memory of Mahe natives, including myself.

Indians do not have a good history written by Indians. In the past, before India’s independence, European historians documented most of India’s historical accounts. This historical evidence is variable and some of it is without foundation. Accounts from diverse sources are usually incorrect since they state false facts in order to please the readers. One man’s memory is another man’s fiction. Sometimes the same person narrates the information in a different context and changes the facts in due course of time. The common names and caste names among Indians make the facts more confusing. Thus, hearsay and verbal communication cannot be trusted. For good historical documentation, one needs physical evidence like coins, stone edicts, utensils, weapons, and ancient manuscripts.

Many books, articles, and theses written in the past 100 years about Thiyyas are questionable, but a few have valid points. Early explorers recorded events daily in logbooks. History is written from information in these logbooks. Scientific findings are indisputable. More such evidence is likely to be discovered in the future.

I am writing this book for the benefit of present and future Indian generations to clarify facts regarding my community and its relation with other Malayalee communities. I want to find the identity, heritage, and culture of the Thiyya community and perhaps even inspire Malayalees to make a better Kerala. I hope this book encourages other fellow Indians to trace their origins, discover the great Indian people, and realize how close we are. Such understanding perhaps may lead to a caring, compassionate, united, and peaceful nation.

For the past many decades, archaeologists, anthropo-logists, and genealogists have discovered valuable evidences that trace human migration and evolution. Some of these scientists spent their entire lives looking to find such physical and scientific evidences. It is amazing to learn how our ancestors survived against the tremendous odds of natural calamities, extreme weather, famine, diseases, wild animals, and savages, so that we could enjoy this wonderful earth. Archaeologists and anthropologists are to be thanked for the volumes of scientific details regarding human origin and survival that they have produced. Now there are many noted scientists working on human migration and evolution in India and abroad.

There are four books written by Malayalees about the origin of Thiyyas. Perhaps many more are in the offing. The authors are certain about the unique and exclusive characteristics of Thiyyas, but they are unsure of their origin. The following is an assessment of the research each has produced.

1. Kerala Charithra Nirupanam, by K.T. Anandan Master, Kannur, 1935.

Master witnessed and experienced the glamour and glory of Thiyyas, and he discusses the superior status of Thiyyas in North Malabar. He adds that Thiyyas were equal or even superior to Namboodiris. The status and customs were similar to other so-called superior communities.

He writes that Thiyyas were not migrants, a conclusion mainly based on his assessment of the Thiyya community as a forward class and his observation of the respect they enjoyed in the region among Hindus and non-Hindus. However, his claim regarding Thiyyas’ non-migrant status is not true. Since the book’s publication in 1935, significant scientific advances on the origin and migration of humans, as well as discoveries by archaeologists and anthropologists, have revealed specific human groups who migrated to different parts of the world, including Thiyyas.

Foreign rulers in North Malabar like the French and British kept close contact with Thiyya leaders because they respected our people and could communicate well in both French and English.

2. Influx-Crete to Kerala, by M. M. Anand Ram, 1999.

Ram’s findings are just theory and not facts. After a volcanic eruption on the island of Crete south of Greece, islanders fled and landed on the coastal regions of Kerala. The word Thiyya came from Thirayyar, or rower, which was more assumption than truth because all islanders are good Thirayyars/rowers. Even though the word is Malayalam, it is questionable to justify how the word Thiyya came about. So it can be assumed people from islands all over the Indian Ocean close to India, especially those close to Kerala, are Thiyyas, including those in Lakshadweep and Maldives. However, we know this is not true. From genealogy, we know that islanders belong to totally different haplogroup.

The resemblance of Minoans to Thiyyas is not correct. The resemblance is like native Dravidians, who came from different islands through coastal migration. The present Adivasikal in India resemble the Minoans: short, dark, and bare upper body.

Credit should be given for his research and possible theory. However, since 1999, genetic testing has proven his theory wrong. A. Evans, the British archaeologist who examined the bones in the island, found no human bones except animal bones. So the assumption that humans went to Malabar, Kerala is highly questionable.

3. Lanka Parvam, by T. Damu, 2004

This book, only 48 pages in total, is more like a traveler’s guide than a history book. Damu writes mainly as a tourist, highlighting various Buddhist monuments and tourist attractions in Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

In two pages he briefly mentions the origin of Nairs and Ezhuvas, both from Ceylon. This fact is correct: Nairs are from the Newar community and Ezhavas are from the local inhabitants, the Dravidians. The Newar community came to Ceylon from Nepal. Naga king belongs to this group. There was admixture with local inhabitants. A group from the Newar community migrated to Kerala, India, and thus the Nair community came in existence. The similarity in customs and the style of buildings in Kerala have a close resemblance to Nepalese. Like many authors, he states that the Thiyya and the Ezhava are two different communities, which is true.

Without reference, he mentions historians who stated that Thiyyas came from the Thiyyasa Valley in Kyrgyzstan. He was right about the Thiyyasa Valley and the migration through Punjab and Rajastan.

His reference about Edda, a textbook from Finland, needs further research. The book mentions the Thiyya group. Perhaps the people in central Asia migrated to Finland, even though Thiyya group came to India.

The reference to Cheraman Perumal and Thiyyas need further clarification. In Tamil literature there is reference to Chereman Perumal as Uthiyyan Cherelathan.

When the last King Perumal went to Arabia, Prophet Nabi addressed him as the great Thiyya King. This statement needs clarification. He published the book in 2004, and some of the facts are correct even though no reference was made. Perhaps his intention was to write about Ceylon, a great tourist center. He briefly mentioned possible origin of Nairs, Thiyyas, and Ezhuvas.

Damu deserves credit.

4. Hundred Years of Excellence, by Govindh K. Bharathan, 2003.

This book is primarily a family history and memoir written by children and family members about their father, Onden Bharathan. A good account of the great Onden family in Kannur is documented. It is interesting to note the details in the book and the review of the Thiyyas’ origin. In regard to this, there is mention of the two books noted above, Lanka Parvam and Influx-Crete to Kerala.

The details of Thiyya customs and worship are informative. The description of North Malabar especially of Kannur, evokes nostalgia. The family photographs and family tree inspired me. I came to know how close I was to the Bharathan family through my great-grandmother in Mahe. I met R. K. Bhrathan and his family in Chennai and his brother, Govindh (Goyo), the author of the book, and his wife in Kochi. Both of them were very gracious and permitted me to use information from the book.

The book has valuable details about the family members and, above all, about the Thiyya community, as well as old photographs of Thiyya leaders. The list of prominent Thiyyas in the book and the acknowledgment of the influence of many Thiyya leaders on national politics are commendable. The details of Parassinikadavu Muthappan Temple and Theyyam dance are noteworthy.

5. PERSONAL FILES, MEMOIRS, AND COLLECTION OF IMAGES

Many of the images and details in the following chapters are from my personal files and memoirs, beginning with my high school life in Mahe, North Malabar, Kerala, in the late 1940s and extending to my medical studies and practice in the 1960s, supplemented by family members and references from reputed historians, genealogists, archaeologists, and anthropologists.

The following chapters illustrate the origin, migration, and evolution of humans in general and Indian groups including Thiyyas in particular, highlighting the exclusive features, tradition, and status of my community. It contains synopses of places, people, and milestones in Indian history.

All readers may not agree with me, but universal historical facts and scientific evidences are indisputable.

Chapter 1

Picturesque North Malabar

Thiyya settlers of North Malabar are confined to the region north of Karapuzha River, extending north and east with Karnataka and Western Ghats. In the west, the Arabian Sea splashes along the coastal line, laced with sandy beaches and rocky boulders in between, stretching north about ninety four miles (150 km) up to Kasaragod.

North Malabar Shore Lines

The waves relentlessly come in succession, stroking the beach as baby crabs try to emerge out of the sand, only to be washed away by the frothy, bubbling, retreating water. The waves caress the beach when calm, splash occasionally when elated, and lash the rocks and sidewalls when angry, causing thunderous noise that resonate far inland. Seagulls welcome beach goers, hovering above as they make high-pitched, squeaky cries, and land close to socialize and share