- kunkichiramuseumwayanad@gmail.com
- Kunhome, Thondernad, Wayanad
Edakkal and Thovari Rock Arts
Edakkal Caves, the earliest prehistoric monument in Wayanad, is situated on Ambukuthi Hill of Ambalawayal.
Edakkal rock paintings are believed to have been inscribed in the 3rd century BC. These include depictions of strange headdresses, feather made-like ornaments, human figures dressed in magical rites, men and women engaged in magical rituals, sun symbols, animal figures, and magical symbols. Also found here is the inscription ‘Palpulithanandakari’, which means the Malabar District Superintendent of Police, brought the Edakkal cave paintings to the worlds attention, which shed light on the history of South India itself.
It is scientifically accepted that the Thovari rock paintings were inscribed after the Edakkal. Here, the depictions are done with stones that are finer and sharper than those used to carve Edakkal images. It features magic squares and symbols.Megalithic Culture
There are hundreds of megalithic monuments in Wayanad at Kuppakolli and Ayiramkolli in the valley of Ambukuthi Hill, Mangalam Karp between Tovarimala and Chulliyod, Chembra Valley and on the slopes of Pathiripara in Meenangadi.
A number of burial monuments bearing traces of the Stone Age have already been found here, including black & red vares, grey pottery, pipes, cups and decorated pottery.
Wayanad in Sangam Period
Wayanad was under EzhimalaNannan during the Sangam period
There are numerous references to Nannan of Ezhimala in Sangham literatures believed to have been written between the 1st and 6th centuries BC. Wayand was a major trading centre for spices and utensils and had trade relations with foreign countries. Cardamom, ivory, various kinds of pearls and pepper were exported from here. The traveller Al Idrisi writes about the Indian subcontinent between 900 and 1500 AD. “Many species of trees grow here (in the Wayanad Hills). Cardamom grows here in abundance. They are transported from here in abundance”.
Thirunelli
Thirunelli in Wayanad was one of the numbered towns of South India even before the 14th century, according to the description in UnniyechiCharitham, a medieval Manipravala literature. It is an undisputed fact Thirunelli was an important town and pilgrim centre in the middle of inaccessible jungled valley surrounded on four sides by mountains. Rock edicts from Thazhekavu near Veliyamp in Wayanad and the copper edicts from Thirunelli Temple illustrate the ancient connection of Wayanad with Tamil and that it was an urban hub in South India at least from 10th century onwards.
Puraikkizhanad
Puraikizhanad, which includes Wayanad, was under the Chera kings who ruled Kerala from the 9th to the 12th centuries AD with their headquarters at Mahodayapuram. Bhaskara Ravi Varma’sThirunelli edict mentions Puraikizhanadu.
Hero Stones and Worshipping Idols of Medieval Period
A hero stone is a memorial commemorating the honorable death of a hero in battle. Erected between the second half of the first millennium BCE and the century CE, hero stones are found all over India. All over Wayanad there are votive images such as Ammanattukari and Bhairava Murthy who are all-powerful, and the male idol sitting on Padmasana. It is believed that the sacrificial idols of the heroes worshiped by the ancient societies were placed in the forests for the protection of the cattle and the herdsmen and vaniks passing through the forests.
Jain Cultural Imprints
Jainism and their culture flowed into Wayanad from the population concentrated in South Kanara. In each place of their settlement, they renovated the existing practices in the fields of agriculture, commerce and religious practices and left imprints of Jain culture.
The KidanganadBasti with Vijayanagara style of carvings at Sultan Batheri, the Janardana Temple at Puthanangadi and Vishnugudi near Meenangadi are temples that embody the cultural elements of Jainism. The Bathery Jain Temple, datingback to the 13th century, is said to have been built in the prevalent architectural style of the then reigning Vijayanagar Dynasty.
A well-established system of agriculture in harmony with nature was propagated in Wayanad by the Jains. At that time, the ponds, dams and canals built by them for irrigation of the Wayanad fields are still standing as cultural landmarks.
