Administration in Medieval Kerala

Administration in Medieval Kerala

Administration in Medieval Kerala was very organized. The administration was supervised in each level by the Brahmins, Naduvalis, Dasavalis and the Pramanis.

Administration in Medieval Keralahad the King as its head. When the government was headed by the early perumals the Travancore kingdom was divided into four:

* The Tulu kingdom that extended from Gokarnam to Perumpula.
* The Kupa kingdom that extended from Perumpula to Putupattanarn
* The Kerala kingdom that extended from PutuPattanam to Kannetti
* The Mushika kingdom that extended from Kannetti to Cape Comorin.

The relative position of the ruler, the nobles and the religious class indicates that the Government was based on the principles that resembled of the feudal system of medieval Europe. The land was divided into nadus and desams. The nadus and desams consisted of many Nairs such as the "Five Hundred" of Kodakaranad, the "Four Hundred" of the Annamanad and the "Three Hundred" of Chengalinad. This non-nucleated character of the village was a unique feature of the Malabar administration

Every division and subdivision of the state had its own head. A Nair village or tara consisted of several houses lying detached in the midst of gardens. The village had its own organisations for civil and administrative purposes. The Karanavans or the eldest members of the households looked after the local affairs of the Nair village. They also supervised the cultivation of the lands of their chief. In return for this each Karanavar received a share of the agricultural produce. He was also expected to render military service to his chief whenever required.

The village headman was called Gramadhipatis or Janmivalis. They were also known as Desavalis in some places. The difference between the two is slightly different. They are the sole proprietors of the lands in their respective villages and also enjoy special privileges like: Ambalappati - the direction of the ceremonies of village pagoda, the management of the pagoda lands, Asaima or control of all the ceremonies in the houses of his village and the Desadhipatyam or the supervision of the village. A village headman who did not have the first two privileges was known as Janmivali.

The Nairs formed the military class. Most of them were retainers of chiefs or kings of Kerala. They served their chief in war in order to protect his dominions. They had to be in the fields of battle so most of them held their estate in fief from their chief.

Every village was self-governing and had its own headman, Pramanis, the hereditary village servants, panchayats, kuttams, police (kaval) and watchmen (kavalkar). The functions of each of these were well-defined.

Judicial administration was also headed by the king. There were no written laws. Customs were the unwritten laws. Justice was free in medieval Kerala.

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