Past to Present: A Journey of 300 Years, Early History of Nackolakal Family
Founded in AD 1725, Nackolakal family, a branch of Kallada Malayil Muthalaly family, is one of the earliest Christian families in the erstwhile Kayamkulam, a medieval feudal kingdom in Kerala, India
It was a summer day in AD 1725. In Cheriyanad, a village in the erstwhile Kayamkulam/Odanad, a feudal state in medieval Kerala, a horse-drawn carriage moved along the dusty road. The coachman pulled the carriage up at Padanilam, situated right in the heart of the village. Kochummumen, a high-ranking military official of the king of Kayamkulam — also a member of Kallada Malayil Muthalaly family — alighted and greeted the dignitaries who had come to receive him. For a while he observed the sword-fighting skills of the king’s army practicing there. He felt in his pocket for the royal decree issued by the king, and was doubly sure why he was there.
Kochummumen’s travel to Cheriyanad reminds one of Marwan Sapir Eso - whose descendants are known as Kallada Malayil Muthalalyees - who travelled all the way from Persia to Kerala years ago.
Marwan Sapir Eso’s Journey to Kerala
According to Syrian Malabar Christian tradition, at the start of the 9th century (in the year AD 825, to be precise), Marwan Sapir Eso, an Aramean Christian who was an affluent merchant from Baghdad, Mesopotamia, came to Kurakkeni Kollam, the old Kollam port, a flourishing seaport and the capital of the medieval kingdom of Venad on the Malabar Coast in South India. Accompanied by two Chaldean Assyrian bishops — Mar Sabor and Mar Afroth — representing the Persian church, and some prominent Persian Christian families, he came with the intention of doing the lucrative spice trading. The king of Venad, Ayyanadikal Thiruvadikal of the Ay dynasty, warmly welcomed them and treated them with respect and granted them several social and economic privileges.
The king bestowed him with land to construct a church, and entrusted him with the task of developing Kollam as a commercial town. The Tharisapalli Copper Plates issued by Ayyanadikal Thiruvadikal in the fifth year (AD 849) of the Kulasekhara king Sthanu Ravi Perumal’s reign document this royal decree.
As per that, Marwan Sapir Eso built a Syrian Christian church known as Tharisapalli in Kollam. He also developed Kollam into a thriving port town. Many historians believe that to acknowledge the contributions of Marwan Sapir Eso to the development of his kingdom, Chera king, by a royal decree, started Kollavarsham (Malayalam calendar) from the year Marwan Sapir Eso landed in his kingdom. However, the exact reasons behind instituting the Malayalam calendar is a matter of scholarly debate.
Marwan Sapir Eso prospered with his fame and fortune growing multifold. He carved a niche for himself in the socio-economic landscape of the medieval Kollam. His spice trade thrived and his trade links with other countries through maritime routes brought him spectacular opulence, and the port city flourished. A person of great repute, the royalty and masses honored him and he was celebrated as a merchant par excellence.
By their tireless efforts, the descendants of Marwan Sapir Eso prospered. They controlled the pepper market in the Malabar coast, amassed immense wealth and gained social status. His descendants living in Kollam were known as Muthalalyees (Marwan Sapir Eso was also called Bar Jesu Muthalaly). They married native Christians (Saint Thomas Christians) and raised their families in and around Kollam. Muthalalyees from Kallada Malayil family consider Marwan Sapir Eso as their Godfather.
In his book Malayala Sahithyavum Kristhianikalum (Malayalam Literature and Christians), the renowned economist, Dr P. J. Thomas has noted that Marwan Sapir Eso and the people from Baghdad who migrated to Kollam in AD 825 were princely, successful and well- educated.
The descendants of Marwan Sapir Eso were brave and adept at military tactics. Because of this, the monarchies used to enlist them to ensure victory in battles. It is said that in those days, a king’s dignity and status were measured in terms of the number of skilled warriors of the Nasrani (Syrian Christians) stock in his army. It’s believed that because of their illustrious fighting skills, the king of Venad and the king of Kayamkulam appointed Syrian Christians to the most esteemed positions in their army.
Origins of Nackolakal Family
In the absence of written records, oral traditions are relied mostly on for capturing the history of the family. Its history traces back to AD 1725, when the king of the erstwhile Kayamkulam sent Kochummumen, his high-ranking military official belonging to Kallada Malayil Muthalaly family to Cheriyanad (presently, a village in Chengannur taluk in Alappuzha District in the state of Kerala, India) to strengthen his army based in Cheriyanad Padanilam (pada in Malayalam means battle, and nilam means land - a place where battles were fought). An ancient maritime trading center, prominent and powerful as it was, Kayamkulam at that period composed of present-day Karunagappally taluk in Kollam district, and Karthikappally and parts of Mavelikkara and Chengannur taluks in Alappuzha district.
The king granted Kochummumen a vast expanse of land in Cheriyanad and power and privilege befitting a king’s emissary. At that time, the temple in Cheriyanad - Sree Balasubrahmanya Swami Temple, believed to be built in the 16th century, was governed by five prominent families of Cheriyanad, namely, Ariyunni Panicker, Mozhantharayil Karnavar, Maamballil Kurup, Kuzhuvelil Nair, and Malayil Pilla. Kochummumen was also assigned responsibility to govern the temple, making his family the sixth family having this right. However, being a Christian, his family was given the right of half family. Thus, he became part of the league of five-and-a-half-family temple administrators. Later, Nackolakal family got this as a hereditary right. Some of the old-timers in Cheriyanad used to say that the patriarch of the family was referred to as ‘Nackolakal Mappila, of the half-family among the five-and-a-half-families’. It is said that a copper plate with the names of these five-and-a-half-families, and their rights and powers is kept in the temple.
It’s significant to mention here that because of his valor and virtue leaning on the Christian values imparted by his ancestors, Kochummumen came to occupy a position of pre-eminent importance in Cheriyanad, influencing his generation and the generations to come.
Kochummumen, the patriarch of Nackolakal family married Mariamma from Kuriannoor, Thiruvalla. Mariamma was a smart and efficient lady who brought widespread fame to the family. She was a humanitarian who used to prepare a feast daily and feed the pilgrims and travelers who used to rest at the kalithattu (a type of wayside rest house for public use) in Padanilam. Padanilam which was along the arterial road that connected Chengannur and Mavelikkara had a lot of pedestrians and other travelers. Her house served as a haven for the poor and needy of the land. Her caring disposition created a legacy that brought honorable fame and goodwill to the family.
Origin of the Family Name
The land which the king gifted Kochummumen where he built his house was near Padanilam. It stood on the south-west corner where the north-south (the present Kerala State Highway 10: Chengannur-Mavelikkara road) and east-west (Ala-Thonackad road) roads intersected. The local populace called the place (where Kochummumen’s house stood) Nalkavalakal — Naal in Malayalam means four and kavalakal means at the intersection of — which means ‘the house that stood at the intersection of four roads’. Over the years, Nalkavalakal morphed into Nackolakal, and has become a brand worth reckoning with in Central Travancore.
This is the known history of Nackolakal family - a family that can heartily and gratefully pride itself on a lineage of 300 years in Cheriyanad after it branched out from Kallada Malayil Muthalaly family. In essence, it’s a bloodline that extends up to the 9th century Baghdad. The family has umpteen branches, with the 10th generation gracing the land.
Time travel through Nackolakal family’s three-century-old history underscores the enduring truth that it’s the unfailing mercy and faithfulness of the everlasting God of our fathers that brought us this far. Moses’ prayer, “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God” (Psalms 90:1–4 NIV) resonates well with us.
Source:
1. Kollam Kallada Malayil Muthalaly family website Kollam Kallada Malayil — Muthalalys Family
2. Thritegtha, Nackolakal Kudumbayogam Smaranika (Malayalam), published by Nackolakal Kudumbayogam, in September 2001
