मामाङ्कम्

{ māmāṅkam }

Puranic Encyclopaedia

MĀMĀṄKAM   Māmāṅkam was a very important national festival of Kerala. This festival used to be conducted on the sandy beach of Tirunāvāya. It represented the crowning ceremony of the sovereign of Kerala. There used to be a grand assembly of all the artistes of Kerala. There was an exhibition of the arts, trade and commerce of the land attracting a huge crowd of people from different parts of Bhārata. Scholars believe that the word Māmāṅkam is derived from the Sanskrit word “Mahā- maghā”. Some say that it was so called because it was conducted on the day of Maghā in the month of Māgha. The festival was conducted under the auspices of the supreme power in Malabar. For a long period Perumāls were in power in Malabar and so Māmāṅkam was conducted under the control of the Perumāls. The last of the line of Perumāls handed over the right to the then mighty chief, the King of Valluvanāḍ and for several years Māmāṅkam was conducted under his auspices. The foreign traders who came to Malabar, the Mohammadans and the Portuguese, persuaded Sāmūtiri (zamorin) to take control of this festival and with the help of the foreigners Sāmūtiri wrested from the King of Valluvanāḍ the right of conducting the Māmāṅkam. After some time the King. of Valluvanāḍ made an attempt to get back the right from Sāmūtiri. This enraged Sāmūtiri and there ensued a fight between them resulting in much shedding of blood. An agreement was reached that after twelve years each would relinquish the right in favour of the other. So after twelve years Sāmūtiri was compelled to relinquish his right but by resorting to many sly tactics he retained the right. The strength of Sāmūtiri increased and he became a great power in Malabar. He was bold enough to send away the Portuguese from the coast and Sāmūtiri maintained his position till the advent of Tippu Sultan to Malabar in the year 1788 A.D. Every twelve years Sāmūtiri had to show his might to retain the right of the Māmāṅkam and those days of exhibiting strength were ghastly. The place of this Māmāṅkam was at Tirunāvāya in Tirūr taluk. A Śiva temple of historic fame stands on the shores of the river Bhārata flowing through Tirūr taluk. There was an expansive sand beach on its shores, become famous by being the scene of many socio-political events there. It was the venue of the mighty Nambūdiris of Malabar to discuss matters of sociopolitical importance. Every year on the full-moon day in the month of Māgha all the ruling chiefs of Kerala would assemble there and on a special dais there Sāmūtiri would sit with royal robes and a sword in his right hand presiding over the assembly. The sword was given to the Sāmūtiris by Ceramān Perumāl and was considered the symbol of undisputed sovereignty of Kerala. It was also a sanction to conduct the Māmāṅkam. The Sāmūtiris came prepared to give a fight if their authority was challenged by anybody. The ruling Sāmūtiri would send an invitation to all chiefs of Kerala. On either side of Sāmūtiri would sit the relatives and friends of Sāmūtiri. There would be an army of Nairs and Tiyyas ready outside and only after defeating them could anybody approach the dais of Sāmūtiri. The dais was called Nilapāṭṭutara. The whole atmosphere would resound with drummings and shots from pop-guns. Majestic elephants adorned with golden headdresses would be arrayed there. The conference of the chiefs would last for twelve days and the festival for twentyfour days. The Māmāṅkam attracted a huge crowd from far and wide because there were then many items of interest and information. The Māmāṅkam commenced on a fixed day at an auspicious hour in the morning when the caparisoned elephants started moving to the accompaniment of drums and pipes. The last Māmāṅkam was in 1755 A.D. By the time of Mārttaṇḍa Varmā the centre of power shifted from Malabar to the south. Even today the memories of the same are brightening spots in the history of Malabar.