Jenmi in the context of "Tharavad"

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⭐ Core Definition: Jenmi

Jenmi or Janmi (Malayalam: [dʒenmi, dʒɐnmi]), plural Jenmimar, is the Malayalam term used to refer to the landed aristocracy of Kerala, India, who traditionally held their lands as absolute and allodial owners, with such lands known as Jenmom or Janmam. They formed the landowning nobility as well as the landed gentry of the region in colonial times, and the majority of the estates and feudal properties were owned by this community. They predominantly belonged to the Nair (Kshatriya) and Nambudiri (Brahmin priest) castes.

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👉 Jenmi in the context of Tharavad

Tharavad, also spelled as Tharavadu (pronunciation) (തറവാട്), is the Malayalam word for the ancestral home of aristocratic Nair families in Kerala, which usually served as the common residence for the matrilineal joint family under the Marumakkathayam system practiced in the state. German linguist Hermann Gundert, in his Malayalam—English dictionary published in 1872, defines a Tharavadu as, "An ancestral residence of land-owners and kings", and also as, "A house, chiefly of noblemen". It was classically the residence of Jenmimar, but contemporary usage of the word is now more generic to all social classes and religions in Kerala. By extension, the word refers not just to the family's house but also to the extended family that shares that house. Heads of tharavadus - usually the eldest living male - were known as Karnavars, and junior members as Anandravans.

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Jenmi in the context of Nambudiri

The Nambudiri (Malayalam: [n̪ɐmbuːd̪iɾi, n̪ɐmbuːɾi]), also transliterated as Nampoothiri, Nambūdiri, Namboodiri, Namboothiri, Namboodri, Namboori, and Nampūtiri, are a Malayali Brahmin caste, native to what is now the state of Kerala, India, where they constituted part of the traditional feudal elite. Headed by the Azhvanchery Thamprakkal Samrāṭ, the Nambudiris were the highest ranking caste in Kerala. They owned a large portion of the land in Malabar District, and together with the Nair monarchs of Kerala, the Nambudiris formed the landed aristocracy known as the Jenmimar, until the Kerala Land Reforms starting in 1957.

The Nambudiris have traditionally lived in ancestral homes known as Illams and have been described by anthropologist Joan Mencher as, "A wealthy, aristocratic landed caste of the highest ritual and secular rank." Venerated as the carriers of the Sanskrit language and ancient Vedic culture, the Nambudiris held more power and authority than the kings and were "above and outside the political systems of the kingdoms."

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Jenmi in the context of Variyankunnath Kunjahammad Haji

Variyankunnath Kunjahammad Haji sometimes called Variyamkunnan (1875–1877 – 20 January 1922) was a prominent leader during the war in Malabar against the British, during the Malabar rebellion, and the founder of a parallel government. He was an Indian freedom fighter, opposer of the Jenmi system, and an ordinary member of the Khilafat movement.

According to R. H. Hitchcock, who took part in the fight against the rebellion, "Khilafat to him (Variyankunnath Kunjahammad Haji) was a Turkish matter, not Indian." Variyankunnath Kunjahammad Haji was just a member of the Khilafat Movement. He established a parallel government in the Malabar District of Madras Presidency in open defiance of the British Raj, which lasted for a short period of six months. With his long-term mentor, Ali Musliyar, Kunjahammed Haji seized large areas of the then Eranad and Valluvanad taluks, now part of Kerala state in India, from British control. He said he was fighting for the independence of India.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Nambudiri ← Tharavad ← Variyankunnath Kunjahammad Haji
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Malayalam → Aristocracy → Kerala → Allodial → Nobility → Landed gentry → Nair → Kshatriya → Nambudiri → Brahmin →