Kalyātanḍa |
Quick Facts |
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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) oḍi kathi, bow, thanḍ (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: | Nāḍ 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 nāḍ mand, where villagers of the nāḍ 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).]
[Source: Naḍikērianḍa Chinnappa –“Pattōlé PaỊamé” 1924, Song of Kalyātanḍa Ponnappa.]
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.
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Since our visit: | The kaimada (beerangotta) was renovated in 2008.
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