The Genesis

The word Alunkal, spelled ‘aalunkal’, signifies the place by aal or banyan tree. Aal is a sacred tree associated with temples and ancient tharavads of Namboodiri families in Kerala. The tree, with its rich canopy, offers protection and solace to those who seek its ambience.

The recorded history of Alunkal Family starts from the second half of 18^th century. The family hails from the port settlement at Kodungalloor in central Kerala. Kodungalloor, historically known as Mussiris, was a world famous business hub in the Malabar Coast, trading of spices, teak wood, ivory, coconut oil, etc. Mussiris was a frequented locale for both foreign and native merchants. There are several historical manuscripts linking the port with foreign traders from Rome, Constantinople, Portugal, middle-east countries, etc. Some of the latest archeological excavations bear evidence to the trade contacts of Mussiris during the Parthian period (around BC 300) in ancient Mesopotamia (Iran, Iraq), even before the arrival of Romans. Some historians, however, refer to trade contacts between West Asian countries and Malabar dating back to BC 3000). It is only natural that the Christian community, especially the Syrian Christians from Middle East came to the place, in due course. The ancestors of the Alunkal Family, who resided here, were the Syrian Christian converts from the local Kshethrias (Namboodiri), the princely caste among the natives.

It is believed that St. Thomas, the disciple of Jesus Christ, visited Malabar in 52 AD. The Apostle took the sea-route from west Asia and landed in Mussiris. The local people were attracted by the teachings and divine miracles of the Apostle and many of them got converted to Christianity. The ancestors of Alunkal family at Kodungalloor are also believed to have embraced Christianity during the time of the Apostle.

The arrival of Kana Thoma (Khnayithoma)

Notable among the Christian merchants, who visited Kodungalloor, was Kana Thoma who came with an entourage of about 400 Syrian Christians from the Middle East, in 345 AD.  This large group came with a specific purpose of domicile trading on a sustained basis. There was a Syrian Episcope (Bishop), by name Joseph from the city of Jerusalem, in this group. It was the period when Cheraman Perumal, the Chera king, ruled over the area. The king welcomed the Syrian merchants and gave them all local facilities to carry out their trade. The Syrian settlers established immediate rapport with the local Christians, resulting in social and cultural mixing of the communities. Thus, Kodungalloor became a fusion point of the native and migrant Syrian Christians.  For the native Christians it was a God sent opportunity to continue their historic liaison with the Apostolic Syrian Christian Church of the East.

The Exodus

The aggressive invasions by dictatorial rulers Hyder Ali and his son Tippu Sultan, from the neighboring state of Mysore, during the period AD 1766-1791, upset the life and lively-hood of the people at Mussiris. Many in the Malabar region fell pray to the invading army.  People fled from their homes fearing the sword of Tippu. History reveals that those belonging to the upper class were severely affected by the invasions. There was mass exodus of local rulers, land lords and people from the higher echelons in the society fearing coercion, looting and religious conversion. Among them were members of the Alunkal family. They took the backwater route to reach Udayamperoor, an inland port and trade center 40 km south of Kodungalloor. Since Kandanad was the nearby Syrian Christian settlement, hosting the famous St. Mary’s Syrian Church, the family chose it as their permanent habitat. The family bought a small piece of land, 300 m west of the Church lane. The location was known as thazhathangadi, in local parlance meaning ‘market at the lower (western) side’, the point of reference being the Church lane. The family stayed in an L- shape house, typical of such house-cum- shop in busy market lanes. This house, named as Thazhathu formed the nucleus of the Alunkal family, in and around Kandanad.

Kandanad was a thriving trade center during that period due to the proximity of Udayamperoor port, connected by inland water ways. A sizable trading population, consisting mainly of Syrian Christians, was already settled in the area. The migrant family, therefore, had no difficulty in integrating with the local environment and people.

No details are available regarding the entourage of the first Alunkal family, which migrated from Kodungalloor and settled at Kandanad. AD 1780 is the most probable year when they reached Kandanad. The family was led by Mathai, father of Itteerah, who was born after the family established a proper foot-hold at Kandanad. Being the youngest son Itteerah inherited the parental house Thazhathu. His two elder brothers moved out to nearby houses by the side of the same Church lane. The names of those houses were typically Naduvil and Karottu. In the absence of male progenies, those houses ceased to be identified with the mainstream family, subsequently. (We consider this as extremely frustrating aspect as it has made the search on our ancestral links very difficult) We are, therefore, constrained to describe only about Itteerah and his progeny in this space. Those who read this Family History on our web site are earnestly requested to share whatever information they have on the above two branches as also any details/corrections/clarifications on the features presented here.

The following points are considered important and require answers:

• Who were all there with the migrant family (relatives, neighbors, others?

• The ancestral lineage of Itteerah?

• What is the link between the Alunkal family at Kandanad and those families bearing the same surname, which include some Namboodiri families? (We contacted some members of the Alunkal Mana at Udayamperoor and came to know that some of their ancestral properties were linked to families from Kodungalloor (Mussiris). The present generation is not able to provide any further clues in this matter)

• Did everybody in the team settle at Kandanad; if not, where did others go?

There are families at Pambakkuda, Ezhakkaranad, etc bearing the same surname. However, it has not been possible, so far, to link them with the family at Kandanad. We have also received some enquiries from Manarcad on this subject.

There is immense scope to undertake further search into the past. Also, details of the family, which thrived in Kodungalloor before the migration, major and minor branches, etc leave lot of virgin soil for further exploratory work.

History, like any branches of modern science, is a constantly evolving knowledge discipline. One cannot indefinitely wait for all answers to be obtained, with material proofs, before undertaking the journey through this information highway. It is also a fact that the written history has been greatly influenced by caste, class, religion, politics and a host of prejudices and interests that existed and still exist in the society. Therefore, a lot will depend upon bridging the knowledge gap with a reasonable degree of logic, as definitive material proofs will be hard to come by. Of late, there is an increased interest in the heritage studies at the erstwhile site of Mussiris, which hopefully may reveal more details of the place of our origin. In this context, it is considered relevant to provide some background information on Kandanad, considered to be the hearth of the present day Alunkal clan.

The legacy of Kandanad:

Kandanad has a dedicated history associated with Syrian Christians in Kerala. It is believed that a Syrian church, precursor to the present St. Mary’s Cathedral, existed at Kandanad since AD 775. This church was built by the local Syrian Christian merchants with the active collaboration of the Syrian merchants from Edessa (Uraha). This church was located at the place now known as Pallimala, connected to the Kandanad River by a small canal, known as Pallithode. The church became an important center for the Syrian Christian trading community at Kandanad and Pallithode was used for bringing cargo from hinterland. This community was later strengthened by the Syrian Christians from Kodungalloor, in AD 1371, the year in which there was an unprecedented flood in Periyar River, partially destroying the Kodungalloor trade port.

As per recorded history, the arrival of Portuguese at Cochin in AD 1500 brought hardship to the local Christians. There were concerted efforts to introduce Latin in the Syrian liturgy by the Portuguese officials and clergy.  Since the foreign traders had the backing of the local administrators ordinary people were put to severe test during this period. The Pallimala church (then called the small Udayamperoor church) was also under the scanner of the Portuguese. After the Udayamperoor synod in 1599 the foreigners entered the Pallimala church with the escort of the local police and destroyed several Syrian books and records kept there. The persecution of the faithful continued unabated. The atrocities reached a climax, during 1660-63, when a trade embargo was imposed in Pallithode, affecting the livelihood of the people. Even the Holy Qurbana could not be conducted in the Church. The imbroglio continued till 1666 when it was decided by the Church hierarchy, headed by St. Abdul Jaleel Bava and Marthoma 1 that the Church is relocated one km away, towards south, at Kandanad proper.

The church was re-established at the location, known as Nadukkuriz (middle cross) in 1672. People also shifted the market to this location as it was more secure and easy to transport the materials through the River to the backwaters and then to the port.  A busy market developed downside the church lane where trading picked up rapidly. The advent of Dutch, ousting the Portuguese (in 1663), catalyzed the trading activities and the revenue earnings from the market went up. This period can be termed as the golden era of Kandanad and also the church, which lasted for about a century. It was during this period that St. Sacralla Bava visited the church (AD 1751). His visit and stay at Kandanad brought more fame to the church. The Marthoma metropolitans (Marthoma 1V and V) also made Kandanad their administrative residence and controlled the affairs of the Malankara Church.

The age-old rivalry between the Maharajas of Travancore (Venad) and Cochin adversely impacted Kandanad. Marthandavarma, the Travancore Raja, conquered all the settlements north of Kandanad and established his sway over the region. The Raja insisted on the share of the proceeds from the trading in the Kandanad market from Cochin, which the latter refused. This resulted in invasion of the region by the Travancore army under the command of Ramayyan Dalava, who looted the market and the Church, subsequently setting fire to the place (January, 1756).  People fled from the area and Kandanad was temporarily deserted. Since restoring the trading activity was in the interest of Travancore the state administration immediately came forward to assist the locals in re-building the market and the Church. Thus the market was rejuvenated and the Church was relocated and built at its present location in the same year. A market lane was carved out from the church towards the River and the merchants were settled on either side of this lane, by providing them with 3 cents of land each. About 365 merchant families, from different locations such as Angamali, Parur, Kayamkulam, etc were settled in this manner. The East India Company also helped in this huge resettlement activity and Kandanad was developed as the largest market in central Kerala. This fact is borne out by the state records on revenue remittance from the market during 1758.

The invasions by Tippu sultan at Kodungalloor during the latter half the 18^th century also impacted Kandanad as it led to fresh migrations, which included members of Alunkal family, as described earlier.

The first Alunkal Family at Kandanad

The immediate task of the family was to rebuild the lost fortunes. They admirably carried out this mission, from scratch, with hard work and dedication. The family business in coconut oil was re-established. Slowly, building-up their assets and establishing a stronger foot-hold at Kandanad, the family ventured into agriculture. They blended themselves admirably with the locals. It was due their extreme adjustability that the family enjoyed full rapport with their neighbors. They also played a prominent role the Church, which brought fame to the family, not only at Kandanad but also at identical Syrian Christian settlements elsewhere. The fame and excellence that the family earned in Kandanad were due to the nobility of character that was the hall-mark of the ancestors.