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Kalyātanḍa

Quick Facts

Number of members in the okka: 150, of whom two women reside in the ainmane; 50 (11 families) live nearby.
Location – village: Kunjila.
Age: 150 years.
Community: Kodava.
Date visited: 17/3/2004.
Location – village: Kunjila.
Type of ainmane:

Large othe pore with two roofs, a large stone-paved yard in front and a well                                                                                                                        near the entrance to the yard. A stone-paved lane from the road leads up to the yard of the ainmane, and stone steps from the yard lead up to the front verandah. There are two verandahs in the front (East) and large verandahs to the South and West of the house. (KātāỊa BoỊthu used to sit only in the outer verandah – see story). Part of the verandah on the West has been partitioned off, and is used as a kitchen. Hero Kalyātanḍa Ponnappa’s (Ajjappa’s) oi kathi, bow, than (staff) and decorated pariya (shield) with a metal centre are kept in the hall.

Direction facing: East.
Kall boti: No. There are no kall botis in Nālnāḍ because that is considered to be disrespectful to god Iggüthappa, whose temple is located in Nālnāḍ. Komb kott vālaga (band with horn, pipes and drums) is also not used in the vicinity of the Iggüthappa temple where the temple chang(conch) can be heard, so as not to drown the sound of the temple chang
Age: 150 years.
Original ainmane? No. The original one, dating from about 400 years ago, had two munds and a roof made of bamboo reapers thatched with rice straw. It burnt down and was rebuilt as a two-storied othe pore
Woodwork: There is a large aimara between the two verandahs in the front, a smaller aimara all around the outer verandahs and an aimara along the Eastern wall of the hall. There is a nēlé in the verandah that consists of four hanging wooden rods with rings at the bottom (called thatt) through which two poles are slid, on which the paraphernalia used for the annual Ajjappa there are kept. Lotuses are carved on the capitols on top of the three wooden pillars in the inner verandah, and there are carvings on the capitols of the pillars in the attic.
Electricity in the ainmane: No.
Telephone in the ainmane: No.
Kanni kamba:  First pillar to the left of the entrance to the inner verandah.
Kanni kombare: Room in the south-west corner of the house.
Floor: Only the front (inner and outer) verandahs were cemented eight years ago. All the other rooms have cowdung-washed mud floors.
Roof: Tiled about 100 years ago (after it was rebuilt), with money collected from all the members of the okka.
Number of rooms: 21 rooms in all, including upstairs and downstairs.
Attic: Large attic with a hall, eight rooms and an open balcony in front with two pillars. The hall has two partitions, one, a wooden trellis (aỊi kūtnad) and one with four pillars (with carved capitols) to support the ceiling - these partition the hall into three parts. There are thuỊiyas in some rooms.
Kaimada: The kaimada is known as Kalyātanḍa Ajjappa’s beerangotta (beera kōta, hero’s shrine). There is a silver image of Kalyātanḍa Ponnappa (Ajjappa) on horse-back (see photo) in the kaimada. This image, that was stolen around 1950, was replaced by K.W.Somayya. There are two pairs of horns of deer (relics of old hunts) fixed in front of the kaimada.  
Al rupa: Not a tradition in this okka.
Temples/shrines nearby: Iggüthappa. Povvadi/Bhagavathi. Pudiyōdi (in Ammangēri, near the Iggüthappa temple).
Festivals celebrated in the ainmane: Karana there is celebrated annually and is attended by all the members of the okka. Kaliya koḍpă is done in thebeerangotta whenever a vow is made to Kalyātajjappa
Number of members in the okka: 150, of whom two women reside in the ainmane; 50 (11 families) live nearby.
Book on the okka and Family tree: Lt.Col. K.B.Uthappa in Mysore is writing a book and has drafted a Family tree of the okka (in 2002) that goes back to six generations. (We have a copy of the Family tree).
Name of Karanava: Kuttappa (father of Kalyātanḍa Ponnappa).
Name of Aruva okka: Kòtéra (in Kunjila).
Thakkame rights of the okka:

thakka for Pāḍi nālknāḍ. They are also one of the thakkas of the Pāḍi Iggüthappa temple.

Pattedara:

Achamma (78 years old).

President of the okka: K.M. Poonacha (Principal, Napoklϋ Rāma Trust)
Mand nearby: Kunjila ūr mand nearby. Kenjarāṇe mand, where villagers of the meet to sing and dance for Puthari. KāỊimāni mand which is common for the four kēris of Kunjila (Kunjilakēri, Nālaḍi, Ammangēri and Pariyangēri) where these days only members of this okka meet to sing and dance. Dēva mand at the Iggüthappa temple.
Ambala nearby: At Kalyātanḍa òḍé (by the roadside, near the Shikshaṇa Kēndra).
Deva kaad nearby:  One at the back of the ainmane, sacred to Bhagavathi (about two acres); and one further away, sacred to Ayyappa (four to five acres)
Thutengala of the okka: Nearby. 
Year when last wedding held in the ainmane: 1964
There/Kola in the ainmane: Kalyātajjappa (Kalyātanḍa Ponnappa) and his companion BoỊthu’s theres are held in April/May along with many other theres. The theres take place over a period of a day and night and are performed by Maliyas (also known as Maleyas) and Pāleyas. All members of the okka, including their thāmané mūḍiya, come for this event. Villagers and devotees of Kalyātajjappa are welcome and attend the event in large numbers. Maliyas perform the theres of Thōtha, Kutti Chātha, Bhairava and Mandaṇa-mūrthi (these two come together), Nuchute, Guḷiga Rāja, Biddanna Ajjappa, Bopanna Ajjappa (these days they only sing his song with dudis), Kuttanjettira Kunjappa Ajjappa (Kalyātajjappa’s brother-in-law), Kalyātajjappa (the most important there, which starts in the ainmane and ends in the kaimada) and finally Kari Chounḍi there at the kaimada. Pāleya perform the theres of Mandaṇa-murthi, Bhairava, Potta and Korthi (these two come together), Rāhu Kuḷiya and Bhūmi Kuḷiya (who come together), BoỊthu (an important there which starts in the ainmane and ends in the kaimada), and finally Puli Chounḍi there at the kaimada.
Folksongs sung in the ainmane: Not now.
Singers of folk songs in the okka:

Only pattedara Achamma.

Paintings/drawings on walls: None now.
Kadanga nearby: Aramané kadanga between Kòtéra land and land belonging to this okka.
Stories related to okka name: Do not know any. Kalyāta is a very old name, probably pre-dating the Koḍagu Rājas, hence dating back to the 17th century, if not earlier.
Stories related to the okka:

[Sources for the stories: Elders in the okka and books of the okka: ‘Kalyātajjappanḍa Pāt’ (2004) and ‘Kalyātanḍa vakkaḍa Karana there’ (2008).]

  • The Kalyātanḍa okka is believed to have settled in Kunjila around the 12th century AD. read more >>
  • Kalyātanḍa Ajjappa’s story: One of the most famous legendary heroes of Koḍagu, Kalyātanḍa Ponnappa (son of karanava Kuttappa) was a warrior who attained god-like status and is worshipped all over Koḍagu as Kalyātanḍa Ajjappa. He lived during the time of the first king of the Pālēri dynasty, Veerarāja (1600 – 1608). Ponnappa, who learnt magic in Malabār, befriended BoỊthu of the KātāỊa tribe from BoỊỊūr in KēraỊa, who had left his home after an altercation with his father and came to Koḍagu. Ponnappa also decided to leave his home after a similar incident with his own father. The two friends set off to Thāvunāḍ where the Nāyaka, Karnem Bāhu, who was opposed to Veerarāja, tried to befriend Ponnappa. When Ponnappa spurned his offer of friendship, Karnem Bāhu tried to capture him. Ponnappa sought the help of Veerarāja, who sent him a troop of five hundred men under the command of Kutta Pālé Māyila. Meanwhile, Karnem Bāhu got the two friends drugged by an old woman. When they staggered in a stupor to Ponnappa’s mother-in-law’s Kuttanjettira house, they were surrounded by Karnem Bāhu’s soldiers. In the battle that followed, Ponnappa struck down all his enemies single-handedly, but succumbed to his wounds and died. Heart-broken by this, his friend BoỊthu killed himself. The spirits of the two friends caused body aches and pains to everyone they touched. The worried people of the got a thanthri to capture their spirits, but they were released by their friend Kutta Pālé Māyila. They then went to god Sārthāvu in Makki and asked for god-like status. Sārthāvu granted them their wish and gave them places to stay by his shrine. He also granted them the power to cure those suffering from aches and pains.

[Source: Naḍikērianḍa Chinnappa –“Pattōlé  PaỊamé” 1924, Song of Kalyātanḍa Ponnappa.]

  • Ponnappa is said to have been 30 years old when he died near the Kuttanjettira ainmane. He was cremated there and his tomb was built at the spot where he died.
  • The first ādi néléof Kalyātanḍa Ponnappa (Ajjappa) is in Kunjila, in the kaimada (Beera kōta) of the Kalyātanḍa okka. There is another Ajjappa nélénear the ambala in Nālaḍi. Ajjappa and BoỊthu have been established in many shrines in Koḍagu, the most famous onebeing the Makki Sārthāvu temple.

It is believed that besides these, Ajjappa has sthānas in each of the 12 kombϋs of Koḍagu. The ones that the okka knows of are in Bēth (where there is a veera kaimada to him), Kaḍiyathūr, Pālūr, Bettagēri, Nelji, Nāpoklϋ, Podd, Nemmalé (in the kaimada of the Māṇira okka), near the Nālnāḍ palace (where kāpaỊas perform BoỊthu’s kōla), Srimangala (near the Ajjamāḍa ainmane) and Kōthūr. Annual festivals are conducted in these shrines in Ponnappa’s honour, when a Maleya or Baṇṇa is possessed by Ponnappa’s spirit and acts as an oracle. These oracles are authorized by the chief oracle in the Makki Sārthāvu temple.

  • Ponnappa is also worshipped in many okkas where his there is conducted. The one possessed by Ponnappa at these theres limps when walking, because Ponnappa fell and hurt his leg during the battle with Karnem Bāhu’s soldiers.
  • Biddanna ajja and Bopanna ajja of this okka, who were probably contemporaries of Kalyātanḍa Ponnappa (Ajjappa), were brave warriors who served in the Rāja’s army. When an army from Kēraḷa attacked Koḍagu, the Rāja asked them to fight them at the Pāḍi Thora kanḍi (a mountain pass to Koḍagu from Kēraḷa). They defeated the enemy and drove them back. Biddanna cut off the head of an enemy soldier and brought it to the Rāja. Pleased with their success, the Rāja rewarded Biddanna and Bopanna with 1500 bhattis  of wetland and about 1000 acres of dry land - bāṇé and forest. Their current ainmane stands on this land. The okka has gifted 500 bhattis of the wetland and 50 acres of the bāṇé and forest land to the Iggüthappa temple. Padārthis (Mārāyas who beat chanḍé in the Iggüthappa temple) cultivate this land.
  • There were two Kalyātanḍa brothers in Kunjila, who were opposed to the Rāja. When the Rāja’s men came to capture them, they escaped to Kēraḷa. They bought land there, and one of the brothers married a Nambiyār girl and settled in Kēraḷa. His descendants are known there as the Kalyāta family. The other returned to Kunjila and set up house here. In the past there was contact between the families of the two brothers, with an occasional visit. The branch in Kēraḷa had sent invitations to the branch in Kunjila for functions and ceremonies there (such as there/theyyam performances). But there is hardly any contact these days.
  • Some members of the okka went to Kēraḷa some years ago, trying to establish contact with the Kalyāta branch there. They succeeded in tracing the branch to Vārkūr in Kēraḷa (near Baithūr) and visited two or three families there. They learnt that the Kalyāta branch there is responsible for many temples in the area, including the one in Vārkūr. They maintain elephants which are given to the temples for their use. When the first Kalyātanḍa ainmane in Kunjila burnt down, Kalyāta Yajamāna from the branch in Kēraḷa sent elephants to help bring wood, stones etc. for constructing the current ainmane. The area where the elephants were tied up then is known as “āne māni thoḍiya” - coffee is grown there now.
  • One of the Kalyāta houses in Vārkūr has two munds and carved windows, like the first Kalyātanḍa ainmane in Kunjila. The temple jewellery of god Baithūrappais kept in that house.
  • Another version of the story: Two Nair brothers from Kalyāt in Kēraḷa, belonging to a Nāyaka (chieftain/warlord) family that controlled parts of both Kēraḷa and Koḍagu, came to Koḍagu. One brother started the Naḍikērianḍa okka and the other started the Kalyātanḍa okka. [Source: Kunji Raman, Koḷakēri, Nāpoklϋ]. 
  • When a lady of the okka called Amma Thāyi died with no sons (she had five daughters), income from her land was used to help tile the roof of the current ainmane.
Since our visit:

The kaimada (beerangotta) was renovated in 2008.

  • Lt.Col.K.B.Uthappa has published two books, (1) ‘Kalyātajjappanḍa Pāt’ (the song of Kalyātanḍa Ponnappa, an expanded version of the original song, by pattedara Kalyātanḍa Achamma, that is currently sung in the Kalyātanḍa okka), published in August-September 2004, and (2) ‘Kalyātanḍa vakkaḍa Karana there’ published in 2008, that describes the karana there in the okka, based on information from pattedara Kalyātanḍa Achamma. (We have copies of both books).