Incredible South India
- Kerala Travel Guide
Kerala History
Kerala is truly the undiscovered India. It is God's own country and an enchantingly
beautiful, emerald-green sliver of land. It is a tropical paradise far from
the tourist trial at the southwestern peninsular tip, sandwiched between
the tall mountains and the deep sea.
Kerala is a long stretch of enchanting greenery. The tall exotic coconut
palm dominates the landscape. There is a persistent legend which says
that Parasuram, the 6th incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the preserver of the
Hindu Trinity, stood on a high place in the mountains, threw an axe far
in to the sea, and commanded the sea to retreat. And the land that emerged
all from the waters became Kerala, the land of plenty and prosperity.
Kerala is a 560-km long narrow stretch of land. At the widest, Kerala
is a mere 120-km from the sea to the mountains. Gracing one side of Kerala,
are the lofty mountains ranging high to kiss the sky. And on the other
side the land is washed by the blue Arabian Sea waters.
The land is covered with dense tropical forest, fertile plains, beautiful
beaches, cliffs, rocky coasts, an intricate maze of backwaters, still
bays and an astounding 44 glimmering rivers. Kerala's exotic spices have
lured foreigners to her coast from time immemorial. Earlier, Kerala was
made up of three distinct areas.
Malabar as far up the coast as Tellicherry, Cannanore and Kasargode with
the tiny pocket-handkerchief French possession of Mahe nearby (it was
returned to India in the early 1950 's and is now administratively part
of Pondicherry). This area belonged to what was once called the Madras
Presidency under the British. The middle section is formed by the princely
State of Cochin; the third comprises Travancore, another princely State.
Early Inhabitants of Kerala
Archaeologists believe that the first citizens of Kerala were the hunter-gatherers,
the ting Negrito people. These people still inhabit the mountains of southern
India today, consequently, they had a good knowledge of herbal medicine
and were skilled in interpreting natural phenomena.
The next race of people in Kerala were believed to be the Austriches.
The Austric people of Kerala are of the same stock as the present-day
Australian Aborigines. They were the people who laid the foundation of
Indian civilizations and introduced the cultivation of rice and vegetables,
which are still part of Kerala scene. They also introduced snake-worship
in Kerala. Traces of such worship and ancient rites have been found among
the Aboriginal tribes of Australia.
Austric features can still be seen fairly and clearly among the people
of Kerala today. Then came the Dravidians (The Mediterranean people).
Dravidian absorbed many of the beliefs of the Negrito and Austric people,
but they were strongly inclined to the worship of the Mother Goddess in
all her myriad forms: Protector, Avenger, Bestower of wealth, wisdom and
arts.
The Dravidians migrated to the southwards, carrying their civilization
with them, though leaving their considerable cultural input on their successors,
the Aryans (Indo - Iranians). But Kerala is still strongly influenced
by the Dravidian culture: urbane, cash-crop and trade oriented, and with
strong maternalistic biases. The Aryans have made a deep impression on
Kerala in late proto-historic times.
Jewish and Arabs trade's were the first to come to Kerala sailing in
the ships to set up trading stations. The Apostle of Christ, St. Thomas
is believed to have come to Muziris in AD 52 and established the first
church in Kerala . Portuguese discovered the sea route to India from Europe
when Vasco da gama landed with his ship near Kappad in Calicut in AD 1498.
Slowly the Kerala society became a mix of people belonging to various
sects of Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. The arrival of Portuguese was
followed by the Dutch, the French and finally the British.The State of
Kerala was created on the 1st of November 1956. The Keralites celebrate
this day as 'Kerala piravi' meaning the 'Birth of Kerala'.
Kerala History, Kerala Travel Guide - Reservation Form
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