Ponnani
Ponnani is a municipality in Ponnani Taluk, Malappuram District, in the state of Kerala, India. It serves as the administrative center of the Taluk and Block Panchayat of the same name. It is situated at the estuary of Bharatappuzha, on its southern bank, and is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the west and a series of brackish lagoons in the south.
It is the seventh-most populated municipality in the state, the second-most populated municipality in the district, and the most densely populated municipality in Malappuram district, having about 3,646 residents per square kilometre as of the year 2011. As of the 2011 Census, the municipality forms a part of Malappuram metropolitan area. National Highway 66, from to Panvel to Kanyakumari, passes through Ponnani Municipality.
The Palakkad-Ponnani State Highway which connects National Highway 66 with National Highway 544 is another important road.
The River Tirur joins River Ponnani at its mouth at Patinjarekkara Beach from the north bank, opposite to Ponnani. The Colonial-era Cannoly Canal bisects Ponnani town. Ponnani is located 68 km south to Kozhikode city, 48 km southwest to Malappuram city, 91 km northwest to Palakkad city, and 50 km northwest to Thrissur city. Ponnani is located right in the middle of the Kerala coast.
In the Middle Ages, under the ambitious Hindu chiefs of Kozhikode, Ponnani developed as one of the most important centers of Muslim trade - both overseas and domestic - on the Arabian Sea. The port also served as the military headquarters of the Kozhikode rulers. With the arrival of the Portuguese explorers in the late - 15th century, the city witnessed several battles between the Admirals of Kozhikode and the Portuguese for the monopoly in the Spice Trade. Whenever a formal war was broke out between the Portuguese and the Kozhikode rulers, the Portuguese attacked and plundered, as the opportunity offered, the port of Ponnani. The relentless battles lead to the eventual decline of the settlement, with the exodus of Middle Eastern merchants, and the rulers who protected it. Presently, Ponnani is one of the major fishing centers in Kerala.
The original headquarters of the Perumbadappu Swaroopam, who later became the Kingdom of Cochin, was at Chithrakoodam in Vanneri, Perumpadappu, which is located 10 km south to Puthuponnani, in Ponnani taluk. When Perumpadappu came under the kingdom of the Zamorin of Calicut, the rulers of Perumpadappu fled to Kodungallur, and later they moved to Kochi, where they established the Kingdom of Cochin.
The city of Ponnani also provided ideological support for the battles against the Estado da Índia. It was the home of the revered Makhdum family. Prominent members of this Yemeni family of Islamic theologians included Zain-ud-Din Makhdum I and his grandson Zain-ud-Din Makhdum II. Makhdum II is known for his formidable historical chronicle Tuhfat al-Mujahidin, first printed and published in Lisbon. A copy of this edition has been preserved in the library of Al-Azhar University, Cairo.
The Ponnani Jum'ah Masjid, also known as Valiya Jum'ah Palli/Makhdum Mosque, was built in the 16th century AD. Ponnani, once known as the "Little Mecca of Malabar" and the "Jami'at al-Azhar of Malabar", was a prominent center of Islamic learning. It is known that students from as far as Sumatra, Java and Sri Lanka traveled to Ponnani for their spiritual education. The town was described in many sources as "the Land of 23½ Mosques". It currently has around 50 mosques, spread around the town.
During the months of February and March, large number of migratory birds flock at Ponnani. Arabi Malayalam script, a script used to write Malayalam, was originated at Ponnani. The script was also known as "the Ponnani Script". Bharathappuzha, also known as the Ponnani River, has contributed much to the Malayalam literature.
Names
Ponnani is described by different authors, all the way from Europe to Arabia to China, in different names. Some of the names are given below.- Ponani/Paniyani: British/East India Company
- Ponam: the Chinese Sailors
- Funan: the Arab merchants
- Pananee/Pananie/Pananx: the Portuguese and Spanish Writers and Sailors
- Panane/Panany: the Dutch East India Company
- Pagnany/Pagniany: the French Sailors
Etymology
History
Pre-historical and Early Historical nature of this settlement is shrouded in mystery. It is one of the oldest ports in South India and can be identified with the port of Tyndis, which was a satellite feeding port to Muziris, according to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. Tyndis was a major center of trade, next only to Muziris, between the Cheras and the Roman Empire. The River Bharathappuzha had importance since Sangam period, due to the presence of Palakkad Gap which connected the Malabar coast with Coromandel coast through inland. Ponnani's location at estuary of the Bharatappuzha amidst the fertile plains suitable for rice cultivation might have attracted early settlers. It is known that the river mouth - situated opposite to the plains of Coimbatore across the Ghat mountains - was accessed by the rulers of central Tamil Nadu through the Palghat Gap. It is generally assumed that the archaic Tamil chiefs came into contact with Greco-Roman navigators at the mouth of the Bharatappuzha.File:Edappal malappuram kerala infia.jpg|thumbnail|Ponnani Kole Wetlands at Edappal
Even in the latter times, Ponnani served as the major rice supplier to the Portuguese outposts in India. Throughout the Colonial rule, the Ponnani rice cargoes were shipped across the West Coast. Tobacco was the other major commodity exported from Ponnani to Goa.
Pliny the Elder states that the port of Tyndis was located at the northwestern border of Keprobotos. The North Malabar region, which lies north of the port at Tyndis, was ruled by the kingdom of Ezhimala during Sangam period. According to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a region known as Limyrike began at Naura and Tyndis. However the Ptolemy mentions only Tyndis as the Limyrike's starting point. The region probably ended at Kanyakumari; it thus roughly corresponds to the present-day Malabar Coast. The value of Rome's annual trade with the region was estimated at around 50,000,000 sesterces. Pliny the Elder mentioned that Limyrike was prone by pirates. The Cosmas Indicopleustes mentioned that the Limyrike was a source of peppers.
An inscription which dates back to 932 CE, found from Triprangode, mentions Goda Ravi of Chera dynasty and Thavanur. Several inscriptions written in Old Malayalam those date back to the 10th century CE, have found from Sukapuram near Ponnani, which was one of the 64 old Nambudiri villages of Kerala.
Pre-Portuguese era: centre of Muslim trade
Ponnani used to be under the control of the Brahmins of "Tirumanasseri Natu", with protection from the Vellattiri chief, in medieval times. Later the Tirumanasseri Namputiri handed over the port Ponnani to the Samutiri of Kozhikode. An arrangement was reached between the Brahmin and the Samutiri, as a result of which, the former was obliged to protect the interests of the latter against the neighboring chiefs of Valluvanatu and Perumpatappu.As Kozhikode's political authority extended to South Malabar and Cochin, the Samutiri came to reside more and more at Ponnani. The port town gradually became the second home of the Kozhikotu chiefs. By the 15th century, we know that Ponnani served as the military capital of the Samutiris of Kozhikode. The city also hosted the largest arsenal of the Kozhikotu rulers. The port at Ponnani was defended by fortifications on either bank of the river.
- At the time of the arrival of Vasco da Gama and his Portuguese fleet at Kozhikode, the Samutiri of Kozhikode was residing at Ponnani.
- When the Samutiri Kovilakam at Kozhikode was besieged by the Mysore Sultan Haidar 'Ali, the Samutiri sent his family members to safe heavens at Ponnani.
- It is believed that Malik ibn Dinar, the first Islamic missionary to Kerala, visited Ponnani and established a mosque.
Portuguese era
As per some historians, the ancestral home of the Kunhali Marakkar family was at Ponnani. In course of time they spread to Tanur and other settlements of the west coast. It seems that the Kunhalis shifted their base to Putupattanam when Fransico de Almedia attacked Ponnani. There is another view about the origin of Kunhali Marakkars. As per this tradition, they were descended from a Muslim merchant by name Muhammad who traded in Cochin. Muhammad and his brother were forced to leave Cochin and settle at Ponnani in the wake of the Portuguese occupation of the place which had resulted in the destruction of his ships and warehouses. The Marakkars later moved his base to Kozhikode and when Ponnani was sacked by de Menezes, he offered help to the Samutiri in his fight against the Portuguese. Kutti Pokkar, a Captain in the fleet of Pattu Marakkar, was a native of Ponnani.
Ponnani is usually considered as the military capital of the Samutiris of Kozhikode. For an assault on Cochin in 1500 AD, the Samutiri seems to have assembled a huge army of 50,000 Nairs at Ponnani. It is widely written that the Muslims were ready to defend their bastion of Ponnani with their life.
It is known that large number of men and vessels from Ponnani took part in a battle against the Portuguese off the coast of Kannur on 16 March 1506. In addition to the native Muslims, the Kozhikode Fleet of around two hundred large vessels carried large number of "red-coated" Turkish soldiers. Lorenzo Almeida was able to defeat this combined forces, and near 3,000 Muslims were killed the battle. The Portuguese loss was very trifling.