structure of family names - inflibnetshodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/6372/7/08_chapter...
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(.lhapter 2
STRUCTURE OF FAMILY NAMES
ilnalysis of family names of a particular place is helpful in
reconstructing various aspects of history of that place. The residence of
service groups who are related to agriculture and industries, can be
located with the help of familyihouse names. House names and family
names of the mainland and the Lakshadweep islands share certain
features but at the same time there are differences also between these
two categories. In the first place, the village systems and settlement
patterns in the islands and on the main land are different. Therefore the
information obtained from house names and family names may be
different. For example, on the mainland each desam settlement had
its own artisan and ser\,ice groilps and the presence of those groups are
indicated b! toponyms, which are also housenames or
coml'o~~nd/residence names. I hus, each desam area has Kollarnkirndi.
I ttrtt~rnkandi, musc~rikandi etc. This system of social ordering is absent
in the islands and so the family or house names of the islands would not
yield such infornlation. Secondly, a large number of names based on
flora are intended to communicate ideas pertaining to the availability of
water, nature of soil. elevation of the ground and so on. The character
of land and vegetation in the islands are different with the result that the
naming of houses and families in the islands had to follow a different
system. The information expected from them are also different.
.4t the same tinie there is a practice on the mainland of naming a
house or compound after a personal name as in the case of
~ssc~n~antakkattu.' lhis i s lbund on the island also. In order to
comprehend the naming system and the meaning and social significance
of the system a careful classif~cation of the names is necessary. What
follow5 is a classification o t li~.)use names and family names obtained
from the two islands o t tlndrotr and Kalpeni.
--- ~
I \ .111ci M.R Kaghava. [>I \ ~llagi. cot-iinunlttcs in pre-colonial Kcrala. Oelhi. 1904
I t is interesting to note that some names are repeating on the
different islands but at the same time the repetition of a name on the
same island is highly rare. A curious system of adopting or
appropriating a prestigious name was and is prevalent on the islands.
This practice can be exemplified by the case of Purakkad. Originally in
Androth this name was given to the family of a Mali, mariner. The
family became extinct and the name was appropriated by a melacheri
family having, according to tradition, an inferior Social status.
Similarly, in Kavarathi Arantrkkad was and is originally a Koya or
thangal's family but now the riame is adopted by a melacheri family.
Evidently, this system of adopting and appropriating others' family-
names is related to the idea of' social status. The system prevalent on
the mainland is entirely different. There, the landed property including
residential compounds, houses etc. were owned and the ownership of
land was to be legetimised b] fixing the boundaries, naming the plot
etc. I n the 1,akshadweep islands, where land was not owned by
individuals, the question of the ownership rights and the allied problems
did not arise.
Ihe peculiarit~eh of the house names of Kalepni and Androth
islands which were analysed to1 studies are as follows:
I ) The narnes which repeat
2 ) Geographical peculiarity
3 ) Migration of names.
4 ) A family name d e ~ ived from personal name.
5 ) New narnes forn1r.d by adding prefixlsuffix along with the
family rialme.
t ) Names elated to professions.
A scientific analysis of house names indicates that most of the
names are composed of two components. This method can be traced
back to the earlier epochs of history of the Dravidian folk. The generics
of house name are the basic. fhe individual's name or toponyms are
used before the generic. Among Dravidians the names of nature are
added before the generic. I r l the Islands the generics like Aada, Oda.
Puro, I 'eedu are common in thrlning a house name or family name.
Analysis
I h e same name\ are >een repeated in different families of the
Islands. Sometimes hey must have come from the same place or they
may be having the same paternal background. I'his may be due to loss
of hereditary ownersliil>. C)r ~l 'iotiieone buys other's house or when the
house 1s given or sold out to a rlew person. The new inhabitants accept
the existing family names. [his IS the reason why we see that
Melacheries and KO) as have the same house names though they stay in
different places.
Eg. <rccummuta
('heriyannell<~i /it? Kci,i,t~c.~~i)
( 'eriyannal (it VLA
Kutapparatho ilicrm
Kandamkalutr~
h'unnamkuloril
,Ilontumpalli I K L PI
.Ilonturtrpalli 1.4 .Z:D/
.Ilusunkakkau(itr I :I .YDi
.Wusokukkadti iA'l,Pj
These names indicate the locality of the house, the flora, the
prcseuce of water bodies, d~rection, geographical conditions of the
place etc.
Eg ('hakkekil
( 'hekk~kulanr
tiaithat
KakkavuNi
cakk;i
cekkr
Ka~tha
Creepers
Kann~
Kara
Creepers
mulla
tai
tai
Arnong these the Kakkavalli is interesting since it denotes a
rnelacheri fanuly, kakkn belnj: a title used to connote that group.
Further. they are migrants from Kavarathi.
Presence crf water bodies
trzllikkirhi rrn ,i/tli
L I ~ ~ I ~ / I I / / I I ~ I . ( J Li r i i~ l l
chekkik~iiirrn h~11'1rn - pond
chrttlrl~p~ira :h,:r.u rnud
kadapj~uratha~llam - beach
kz4njtrli - dli
paftrnrlndu - padanna
kichel~rrn
Kiluppriva
Kuntrduttumkara
Location
East
South (AND) East (KLP)
Eastern side
South (AND) East (KLP)
West
West
West
West
North (AND) West (KAL)
West
Cornei (east)
Center
Weht
Geoerylhical Position
Kunnumpura 1 kunnel / kunn~namel
chettuppura
kattuppura
kattu,i)urum
kunturtalam
munnc.1
- on the hillock
- cheru
kad
- on the top of hill
- on the sand
pakktirh
Pallath
Poriatn
Not only the names ot places, but the house names too are found
migrating from other areas 4 large number of names have been
introduced from the area between Korapuzha in the South to
Chrrwtiragzrtpzczha in the north on the coast of Malabar.
eg: ~~layukktrl, ktrtltlcfh, hc~li~kktit, kakkethi, ktrttu,t~urun~, kakkuvalli,
Xunnnmknlam, ktinn~itn;lrircr, kodakkat, komulam, chamcz~vam,
< i7erlr. <.herikk~/l. ftrclre,, : thotfrrthukkurcr, tuikkan~i, pirt/i.~~purc~
r l l i ~ t i t ~ , I I I ~~l i t i ,v t~t t l~ , putiy(111t1e, putl:)~edum,
r i a n t a r t t r p r i i / / m plithivupurcr, ,t~zrthet7rnudam.
~ u f h e n ~ u r a , i~z~rhalum. puradam, puthiyam, poilam, perumpallj,
makkuni, muthil, rnu/~iuit, nalakam, srambikkcrl.
rhere is a lot of' house names which are derived from personal
names and they were graduall! changed into family names. The names
derived from persons are separated from the maternal background. The
names of women are dominating among this. Some of the names are
derived fiom the position or nick names of individuals which later
changed into firnil:, names,
Eg. ac,hammuda
u~,hatu
ali,yathammadii
tr~~vammuda
hi\:yamnitrda
hi i,vadu
c,irtzrathr~,oda
rrirkkakkaria
~~~,r~mrntr t /u
k~ikkachi~trpz~~.: I
ktit~narhitnrnrr~l~i
kc ~r~all~rl~)ctru
klih+odti
konjankrrkkadri
acha umma
acha
aliyatha
Havba
bryyn urnmu
bl
churrrthr
ali kakka
/?:va rtmmtr
krrkktlcc~i
kannatti
kaval (police)
kicci
konjan (prattle)
k rtnnusuda
kunnippuvakkir~l;i
klinniyada
klittiyachudu
tr~irlmikkokadr~
r~luyanki~kkadtr
tn 1,isankakkadri
wtrngammuda
/ ~ ~ ~ t h a d a
pcithummuda
110 kkarachiyapurzr
p( J kkarappada
/ I / ~ciampuppar~
/~uiankakkada
pri vinodo
strikkintrveed
si-'titipuppuda
thirngaluttzra
trrilichamtnadti
ri~~/mamrntrda
kunnusa
k u n ~ ~ p p u v
kunni
kztttrvucc~u
nialnii kakka
mayan
nlusa
ncrngema
pclttrr
pizttumma
pokkiiracci
pokker
1I14d~t7
pltdan
/Ill\'
shaik
senti
thangal
tithiu~nlna
~itnmcrmn
l hough separated from ,I single family the old names are not
chariscii while occup?ing ; I ilt:\\ house. This is a clearly knowing
reasorl lor repeating III:ILISC. niilr~es as falllily names. I'here are no
c o n l ~ g ~ ~ l relation alnorlg rhrw lamllies since they belong to the same
family. They enjoy rights 01 property. Properties are divided among
Tavazhi, maternal timilies
Eg. komalaln
tiomalam puradam
Komalam may pura
kunnamkalani
kunnamkalatt ceriyatam
kunnamkalatt putiyannal
C'hamayath idayakkal
('hamayath nalakam
C'hamayath ceriyannal
c hett i
chediyil palllkkuttiyath
-2zhikakam barnmatha tliyapura
azikkakath baliyapura
azikkakath n-lakkiyapi11.a
azikkakath manatt iyapurri
azikkakatt patt i>ammt.r;i
Patannada
Patannada kandeth tiashim Bungalow
Pentamveli
Pentamvel~pur'i
putiyapentt:~ni\ eli
putiyapura
putiyapura padippura
putiyapura puthiyaveed
putiyapura putiyavitt ti tticcammadappura
Indicating owner's J o b i p r o t k ~
Kattap ura Sound bricks 'Mankatta' this were sold out for building purpose
Chakkarakada house of a person who makes Jaggery
Mal~~~ikkakada Valrni (Capitan of Odam)
M ~ ~ k r i k hakada /)c~ltirnukri (a man who calls from mosque for prayer five times)
Thattanlpuvahada I hattan (Goldsmith)
tllnony thcse the ~ianie kattappura is interesting. I'he family was
originali\ statioiled at 1 :~h ima la or1 [he Malabar Coast. 'They migrated
some [ L L O centuries bt-iot.~ prebelli. l'hey introduced the burnt bricks to
the rsland. Sinci. clay \va, not ava~lable on the island they used the
'olagu' soil which %as ,a\,trlable for making br~cks. They produced
bricks in large q~inntrties ' I I I ~ sold them to the local people. Hence the
narnr kattappuni, illearring. the house where katta, bricks were
a~a i lab le .
Most of the house nantes are composed of two components. By
separating the generic name, which are stem of those names, we can
find some peculiarities. I ht: generics that are seen among the house
names are (Generic:suffixj s 4 t r i ~ . Oda, Veedu, Aettu, Illam, Palli, Akam,
Purtr. Kadu, Kal, A i ~ l , .Me/ ('hetta, Alum, Kalam, Idam, Thotturn, Kara,
Nadu ,411, Mrldam, Pel i . Krtklm, Valappu. Keel, Kandi, Ayan~. Besides
the above mentioned generlch there is a lot of independents names in
use
Ge~icctc adcr this rlrciicate:, the ownership of a particular person. This
word i s the col-supt i o r n i of ' n \ i ~ e ' meaning a specific place.
kunniyapi~a~/(r. ~~r/hammada, chettathada, thattampokkada,
tithij~apatdr, chertt~ppokkada, santippappada, thureemmada,
nangumrntirltr. puppadu, pathummappada, puvada,
pudarnkakkizrfi.1, pudcltnpappada, pokkarappada, pokkarmakkada,
b ijytimrnudt~, birr l '~~mmadu, malmikakkada, musakkada,
rnusampa/htrrkr m~c~okakkada, muthakkudu, mukrikakkada,
rekkummadritr, sekkrr~~urnmatla, salkkammada, haj~ummada,
ra):appada.
Thc list would show that the personal component belongs to both
masculine and feminine groups. 'This would show that the ownership
was enioyed both by men as well as women. This is particularly
interesting with context of tht: matrilineal inheritance pattern prevalent
of the islands.
It is noteworthy that this generic is joining with women's names
only All these houses belong to the melacher1 group.
Generic - 'r:eed'
Putiyaveed. tuikiwte11ee.d morppalveed, moulanaveed.
tienerlc - 'ett'
bfakkrtt, pap/w/l, pullr\v*tt. In all probabilities the generic portion
'ett' is a corrupt form of Chetta, a hut or shed.
Gener~c - 'Illam'
Kakkazllam, ,~~olntl/unr, kadappuratha illam, Puthiya illurn, mela
lllam
Generic - 'puili'
,/l nthrrm~~czlli, kodi/~alii L l7emmanampalli, tharclmpalli, meppalli,
nlr)nthumpalli. tni~17th~i~~i1j1i~Ili. umerpulli, perz~mpalli.
llris generic, which i s \c~dely distributed all over the peniku~ular %/
India [nay be taken I?! ~nistahi to mean a mosque especially in a
niusli~n context like that i.)f 1 ahstladweep. Interestingly the places with
" 2 , +/. " +,,/ a pr1111 generic have no mosilues at all excepting t h e ~ . h d q n p h l l ~
Androth. Antampal11 also ha5 yielded Buddhist relics and therefore the
name must have been olclt~ than the mosque, which was in all
probability a later c.on\tructloll
Generic - Akam
Azikakam, put~yaazhikdkam, pokkilakam, pazhayakam
Generic - Pura
clzikakumpurc~, alrrnc~ppura, alathuppura, achadappura,
Riyupura, I i y ~ r a , rnanatiyupuru, rnakkiyapuru,
Umrnarhab~vtipura, urst~yvupura, Uluvalppura, kandalattuppura,
kattuppura, ktrt~nip/~urtr, kalp~~ura, kurappura, kattuppura,
kakkucliiyurrr, klmnzltn/!urcr, ktrdumpattz~cer~~apura, mayupura,
c,hettuppuru, a h ~ l j ~ r t i , pukkiricliiyapura, pallippura,
pantalppura pur7ikitiruppura, padippura, pulatd~lppura,
/)athumtnappic~.ii. ~ ~ h i u i r a , puthij~iilntha~~purcr, puthenpurtr,
U ~ I I I U , i 1 ,r~zirtrtl~up/~~trcr, hit/7~t/7ahivtz~ur(r,
hibi.vuplira, I rncrthnrupput.tr. rnelara, kclttippurc~,
t h i ~ i r a , I iitr/imtrppzrrci.
The name 'F'ura' when linked with an individual's name, suits
only with the names of women. Beside this the names of materials,
nalnes of places are also used along with the generic 'Pura'. Women
were the house owners when the matrilineal system was fbllowed in the
Islands. This is the reason that we see 'Pzlrci' along with names of
wolllell.
I'hree name\ are aga~nst this. Aliyatharu, Kuttlyathara and
Monri,r)wa. 'Thara' means basement or hut. But 'Kutti' is a male
name The specific kutti and 'tnon' are qualifiers here.
( j e~ ie r~c - 'kad'
k'odakkut, koltkknt ,~c~r-cikkat, kalllkkat tnulakkut, bldurnkat,
crssunkut, ko~thirt, ko/rll crfhut, kunt~~vakktrr
.Among this the 'Melacheri' house are not seen, because, it is
seen that they n e \ u owned ;I land in early ages. Besides this, some
holrses use their old house name indicating their presence in the land
( k i ~ t l u ) area.
Eg Azhikkakamka~ kattupuramkat, komalamkat, padippurakkat,
puthiyaveetukat, p u ~ a d ~ ~ k k a t , puthiya~ikakam kat.
Some times 'kad' comes as specific
Eg: kattupuram, kattuppura.
Some of the names raise the doubt that whether they are the alision of
' kud1
Eg.. kudatt, koyirir, irttaicrcl maplut, kancharkkat, kakkarchikkata,
halukut. kantcl/rrtt, chrnimankath etc.
Generic - 'al'
Eg: blaral, cheriytrnnellni. puchanal, kakkannal, cheriyannal.
/~uthi~vunnal. t~icirhilkr~ti~rnnellal, nellal, kavallul.
Gene1 ~c - 'mrl'
Kunnrntrmei. ~vrtrt~rmc~/ k~~~~nkkzinnel , kunnel, mutharammel.
Genc~nc - ' ~ ~ i i ~ ~ r t u '
I'his generic cier~oteb a shed or h ~ ~ t ol' poor people in Andrott
whrreas in other islands t h ~ s i s joined with personal names to form a
house name or ihmlly name without indicating any status as in the case
of Androth.
The generic 'C'hetta' dre not seen among Koya's and Mali's
housc names.
Ge~icrrc - 'Ath '
Eg: kunttath, chakkuih, munt~ih,
h'andeth, clroili~th, neelath, thailath, poilath, puthiyath,
kondalc~rh, chc~mc~yuth, hilutheth, peechi.vc~th, , ~ ~ a l l ~ t h , pnkknth,
tii.dij~arh. banwth , pooi/il'tlt/l.
tiencric 'alani'
1:g: k1~.17e/c111/ ~ Z ~ I I I L , / < I I ~ , p(~~./~,r/crrn, j~onne/c~tt~
(iener-ic kalarn (corrept for111 ,,I' Mangalam) Kl1tlt1irnikrrlcrr17, ktrt?ttrln
kcrltrr~i
'The Generic - 'idan~'
4Welachedam, chi~riytrticrm, puthiyedam
Gener~c - 'thottarn'
athanam thottan~, chcrutiiottam, taithottam
Genenc - 'kara'
mekkaru, kunrrd~~tumkaru, thottathukara, akkara
Genenc - 'nadu'
Kuinadzc, bitl-rr~trdu
Generic - 'thalam'
h'zmtuthalani, /~urhulirtn
Some other single to rn i s found in house names are, ,411. Cherr, madhcml,
k u l ~ m ~~alappu, aurli korl. Xorltr, vel~ etc.
Eg: hritljali, h i prrtl~c~timrrdam, chekkikkultrm, kodivalt~ppri,
kiikkethi, c.hakkc,kX(:,el, trrikkrmti, pentttrmveli.
. I he house names tarnunchiyam, pantaram, pali, rnathil, makkani
muntcrrum, sru'i, pntrrnnadcr, nltmchiyanam, kuntari also seen in these
two islands. Now a days a nev, trend is Visible in naming the houses, ie.
ArabicIPersian generics like 'mansil' is included
Eg. Kahmathmansil, tahiramanzil, Rasiyamansil, daulathmansil etc.
the generic like ' \ ~ l l a and 'bungalow' are also come into
existence.
Eg: Uahmath villa, hasim bungalow.
Kegard~ng the larawads, their names are not found after an
lndl\ dual's name but when arl offshoot of the family branches off and
est,lbllshes a new residence. cry often the new residence is named after
a \t)nal name.
Yirnilar-ly, \\hen a t'trr~lly represents a group of houses, the
01 I L ~ I I I ' I I home IS c;iiled 'Ac<~tl~u:A~athla ' .
Eg: Kolikkadu Aacathla. Puthiyapura Avathla, Puthiyazhikkakam,
Avathla, Thache ri A~a th la , Mathil Avathu
V As the population increases the number of houses also increases.
The new houses are built for female off springs and not for males. The
separated Tavazhis. maternal families form new branches with new
house names. The initial of the names generally used in Lakshadweep
Islands doesn't indicate the father's name. They refer to house name or
the family name. There are instances of retaining the original even after
building new houses.
Eg: 1 . Saidu Ko) a, P.K.H. (Padarlada I Kandeth 1 Hashim Bunglow)
1 - Muthuko), ;i P I' 1 (Puthi?;ap~~ra ! Puthiyaveedu I Thithichannimadapura)
I'he present Iiol~ses ot above mentioned persons are Hashim
Bungalow, '1-hithichanl~nad>ip~~~-a, Pallikuttiyath respectively. Though a
division of pad an ail;^ Iiirnil> suyed in Kandeth house, a wonien built 21
house named Hashini X3ungali)w. In this case the new house name is
attached to the old ones the maternal back ground, is continued. There
are names obtained fiom two separate families.
Eg: Chamayath C'heriyannal
Chembattinirndda Pal I
Kunnamangalam C her( yadam
MathiI Poolhial
VI Generally when div~ded from a single family the generics like
Puru Akam, Avathu etc. arc followed.
Kolikattu Avattiu
Kolikattu Naduvilakam
Kolikkattu pura
(The above-mentioned tamilies do not show this in documents)
A woman mho s u r v i ~ e s the maternal family, every new house or
famil) name is known by adding the name of the owner of the house +
the fatnily name.
I . Kolikattu
tiolikattu A \ . \;atla .
Kolikattu Bi! ytitia
Kolikattu Iyammada
Kolikattu Kunniyada
Kolikattu Ummammada
2. Aliyathamnta
Aliyathammada Beeb~?dpura
Aaliyathammada Beethathabiya pura
4aliyathamrnada ish? apura
3. Aazhikkakarn
Aazhikkakathu Makkiya Pura
Aazhikkakathu Manatti! a Pura
Azzhikkakathu Haleeq I > ya Pura
It has to be noted that the full forms of these names are found
generally in records. l 'he original house name is dropped in day-to-day
common usages.
['his system .,)I' naming IS closely connected with the pattern of
inheritance oi' matriling Therefore we can observe in this connection
that the famil) natnes in the I.aksIiad\veep in general and Androt and
Kalpcll~ in par~iculat ii)llo\v thc principle of'matrilineal inheritance. 'I'he
islanders' wol.ld-vii.\v is l e d in the socio-cultural context of'
matrilineal social organizatron. Now, there is a trend in the island
conlmunities to shift to the patrilineal system of inheritance and the
naming principle on the basis of that social organization. However this
has not gathered mon~entunl, thanks to the strength of the old system.