Aikaranad
Grama Panchayat

History of Aikaranad Grama Panchayat

It is said that once upon a time, a clever foreigner along with his servant defeated the ruler of the prosperous and happy Kunnathunad in a fraudulent game of dice and took control of the land. In Tamil, "Ayya" means master and "Ezhi" means poor person (servant). "Ayya" and "Ezhi" divided the land of Kunnathunad acquired through the cheating game. The half-land (aranad) received by Ayya was named "Ayyaykaranad". Over time, through colloquial language, "Ayyaykaranad" became Aikaranad. Today, there is no place named Aikaranad. One might suspect whether the pond known as Aykanara (Aykanachira), located in Peringole (Ward 3 of this panchayat), was formed by the abbreviation of Ayak(kara) na(du) chira. If this assumption is correct, the place called Ayakkaranad must have been somewhere near this pond.

Before the military campaigns of Marthanda Varma, the areas up to Peruvanmuzhi belonged to the Cochin Royal Family. During the festival season at the Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple in Tripunithura, which belonged to the royal family, a para (traditional offering collection) procession used to travel as far as Peruvanmuzhi. Because of the long distance involved, the King or his representative accompanying the procession from Tripunithura would stay at the Vadayampady Palace for a day. The place where their retinue stayed is known today as "Pariyaram".

For the procession team's food and rest, the kolam (deity's idol/thidambu) was lowered from the elephant's back at noon to perform rituals. A land where one rests (elaykkunna) is referred to as Elanad or Ela-ooru. Ela-ooru eventually transformed into "Eloor". In those days, when practices of untouchability prevailed, bathing was of great importance. The pond where the procession team bathed and purified themselves is Elamkulam.

This region is blessed in terms of places of worship. The historically famous Kadamattam Church, Pazhanthottam Church, Valamboor Church, and Pankode Church are major Christian places of worship. The temples and sacred groves (kaavu) in Kadamattam, Thonnikka, Kadayiruppu, Mangattoor, Ezipram, and Pankode serve as places of worship for Hindus.

Many celebrations and art forms that existed for centuries among Christians and various Hindu communities have disappeared today. Art forms like Margamkali, Chavittu Nadakam, Kolkali, Parichamuttukali, and Thappum Thudiyum need to be revived. Performing ancestral rituals (Pithru Tharpanam) at the Aluva Sivarathri Manappuram, ascending Sabarimala after observing the Mandalam fast, climbing the Malayattoor hill of Ponnin Kurishu Muthappan, and pilgrimages to places like Kothamangalam and Manjanikkara have been carried out uninterruptedly by the locals for years. Most wards of the panchayat have active cultural, social, arts, and sports clubs as well as libraries.

History of Place Names:

Kadamattam, the first ward of Aikaranad Panchayat, rests safely in the lap of the Muvattupuzha River and the Peruvanmuzhi canal. To its east lies the Vittoor forest area, meaning a forest left away from the village/land (naad and ooru). Vittoor gradually became Veettoor. Elevated agricultural land compared to paddy fields is called a mattam. The famous church here is believed to be over 1,600 years old.

Thonnikka Thevar and Poomattam are major centers of worship in this panchayat. The place where the Thonnikka Mahadeva Temple stands and its surroundings originally belonged to a Chakkyar in ancient times. A small portion of Kolenchery is also included in this panchayat, where the famous and expansive hospital of the Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church is located.

Muzhis are centers of strong water flow. Peruvanmuzhi in this panchayat is a place that transforms into a large flow (van-muzhi) during the rainy season when water rises. The famous Mangattoor must have either belonged to the Mangattu family or been connected to the historically recorded Mangattu Achan. Due to variations in speech style, Mangattoor became Maangattoor.

The vast rural area of Pankode spans across wards 5, 6, and 7 of Aikaranad Grama Panchayat. Most of its area consists of muddy paddy fields. In Sanskrit, mud is called pankam, and kode means part or region.

The area called Pazhanthottam here was a place where fruits were cultivated in abundance in olden times. The name Ezipram (Ezipuram) was given to the area as it is an elevated surface (ezhunna puram). The famous Vettikkal Devi Temple is located here.

Ambu means water. Valamboor is the village encircled (valamvaykkunna) by water (ambu). Only a part of Valamboor falls within this panchayat, where there is a Christian church that is approximately 100 years old.

In the Vettikkathodu area of the Ezipram and Mangattoor wards, screwpine (kaitha) grows in abundance, offering great potential for traditional industries like mat and leaf-weave crafting (panambu neythu and paai neythu).