By Rajiv Theodore

Kozhikode, Dec 16, 2019: Just a couple of kilometers away from the restless Arabian Sea and an hour’s drive north of Kozhikode is the sleepy hamlet of Memunda. At first glance there is nothing unusual about this coconut tree arcaded dwelling that makes up most of Kerala’s landscape.

But at village Puduppanam where the hamlet is situated has a unique shrine complex called Lokanarkavu Devi with Bhagwati as the main deity. It has always been one of the key attractions of the area and a must visit for those who have interest in Kerala’s living art forms like Kalaripayattu and Theyyam.

Also, it was at this Kadathanad area that the martial traditions of northern Kerala had once reverberated with war cries coming from the throats of Kerala’s Samurais as they fought their almost never ending angams or duels flinging at each other in the balmy and spice scented air of north Malabar.

And the legacy of this martial arts culture of the Kadathanad region revolves around the Lokanarkavu Devi Temple, a kind of Shaolin for Kalari with Bhagwati or Durga as the deity. Kadathanad was situated in the present Vadakara taluk in Kozhikode district lying sandwiched between Korapuzha in the south and Mahe in north.

Its eastern and western boundaries are the hill ranges of Kuttiadi mountains and Arabian sea respectively. The area was ruled by the Polarthiries who popularized and made it the nucleus of Kalaripayattu as the martial art radiated elsewhere from here. Even today the region of Kadathanad is alive and kicking as far as martial traditions go. Kalari exponents could be seen seeking the blessings and venerating at Lokanarkavu Devi before stepping into the combat arena of their Kalari.

It is a well-known fact that Thacholi Othenan, the brave heart used to frequent the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) of the temple complex (Lokanarkavu Devi), seeking blessings and protection especially before plunging into his duels of which this Malayalee knight fought 64 of them spanning his relatively short life of 32 years.

He was born in 1584 as Thacholi Mepayil Kunhi Othenan to a chieftain Vazhuvannar in present day Vadakara, according to Professor A. Sreedhar Menon. According to the northern ballads, even the Zamorin ruler and his naval commander Kunjali Marakkar held Othenan in awe and respect. In fact, Marakkar and Othenan were close buddies, the ballads point out.

A personality cult had developed around the name of Othenan and even supernatural powers were ascribed to him. Even a form of Theyyam (ritual dance) is performed in the name of their hero. The festival—Thacholikkali (attributed to Thacholi Othenan) and Poorakkali (a variant of Kalaripayattu) comes alive in this temple during November-December.

Speaking to Matters India, Madhavan Nair the key persona and chairman of the temple said the Kalari culture started with Othenan, before that there was the Vishnu shrine here, which was brought by Brahmins from Karnataka. The Lokambika Devi was built adjacent to the Vishnu temple that had pre-existed there about 3000 to 4000 years back, says Madhavan who belongs to a part of few ancient families who have been looking after the temple.

The Lokanarkavu Devī Temple itself has an interesting origin which dates back at least 1500 years. According to local historians Vijaya Raghavan and K C Jayasree the temple was constructed by a migrant mercantile community from the north called the Lohana from where the temple gets its name from as it was once called Lohanarkavu to become Lokanarkavu over the ages.

Initially the Nagariks or urban dwellers as they were categorized (‘Nagarakkar’) the Lohanas, performed all the temple rituals. The management of the temple changed hands after couple of centuries which was given to Nellikode Moosad, a high ranking Brahmin who ran the shrine complex. The aging Moosad in a course of a few years further handed over the mantle to a governor of Zamorin’s kingdom who was stationed in the Kadathanad area where the temple is situated and which was a province of the kingdom.

Even when the shrine was set up by the Lohanas, these builders from the north did not have much choice but to open up the temple complex to all the dominant communities that existed around that time. These eponymous founders of Lokanarkavu who had migrated presumably from the Sindh region are supposed to have brought the Durga devī goddess faith and legacy to the place where the temple stands and had slowly adapted to the customs of Nair community of this region.

The Lohanas gradually assimilated into matrimonial alliances especially with the local Nairs consequently blurring their original identity. Madhavan Nair who is among the few remaining families looking after the wellbeing of the temple explains in depth about the Lohanas.

According to him, the Lohanas who came from the Gujarat region were looking for viable trading enclaves and this led at least 200 families to move southwards and they first ended up in Quilon. These trading communities then moved to Kodungallur where the first Lokanarkavu Devi temple was established. From there they moved northwards to Kollam in Kozhikode and finally settled in Vadakara at Puduppanam.

This area was the most feasible for their trade as it was a natural port where they could continue their trade in spices with mainland China. From China, the Lohanas’ imported gold, gems and silk.

According to him, the devī had followed the particular Lohana families right from the north and it was only when they finally settled at the Vadakara area that the Devi was satisfied and her energy got attached to an ordinary tree, of which the log along with the roots is today varnished each year in precious condiments of sandalwood paste and other rare products collected from the forests.

This temple frequently finds mention in the martial ballads of north Kerala the– Vadakkan Pattukal, which is one of the historical sources for the region’s past. The temple, which is a complex of three deities, Durga, Siva, and Vishnu is evident in the murals and sculptures surrounding the area.

A unique spectacle of a fusion of three trees, a banyan, jackfruit and mango in the courtyard is still visible. Not very far from the temple complex is the ancestral house of Othenan and his brothers Kelukkurup and Komakurup where the yard or kavu today doubles up as a football field for the neighbourhood. The Thacholi Manikoth tharawad ( extended family) had patronised the Lokanarkavu Temple and even today the deity Bhagavathy devī is worshipped at the tharawad.

In a chat with Matters India, Gopalan K who is part of the four trustees of the temple said the central government has promised about 1.05 billion rupees to make it a tourist spot. The state government of Kerala plans to set up a museum at Lokanarkavu to depict the history and tradition of north Kerala.

A tourist lodge is also planned to be built. There is also a huge mansion of the erstwhile Kadathanad rulers which would be renovated as part of the redevelopment project. ‘’Within a year this refurbished area would be ready,’’ Gopalan said.