Nair: The Warrior Clan of Kerala
Updated: Sep 19
Most of you reading this article would have heard the word "NAIR" at some point of time in your life, whether you have ever been to Kerala or come across Malayalis. Ever thought about what that word means, what it symbolises, and what the history behind that four-lettered word is?
Even though there are multiple theories, the predominant theory is that the word “Nair” originated from the Sanskrit word “Nayaka”, which mainly means leader.
Nair families were predominantly an integral part of the social fabric of Kerala.
So, what are the Nairs known for, and what was their role in the past? That was one of the most intriguing questions that came to my mind.
Nairs were the warrior class of people; they can be mainly put under the bucket of Kshatriyas, whose main duty was to protect the people of their land from any harm, whether internal or external.
They mainly served the local rulers, providing military support. They had established Kalari (Arena), where they practiced and taught KalariPayattu one of the ancient forms of martial arts, which is also called the mother of all martial arts. If we break down the word KalariPayattu, it mainly consists of two words: The first one is Kalari, meaning arena, and the other one is Payattu, meaning fighting. So, it was mainly a structured martial arts training program that was practiced in their dedicated arenas.
All of you would have heard about Special Forces deployed by armies across the world, who are mostly sent for impossible tasks; the bravados going for the mission know that they will not return most of the time but still go ahead to fulfill the pledge taken for their land. Kerala also had a similar faction in its military cadre, maybe one of the oldest special forces whose sole aim was to complete the mission at hand; they were called the “Chaver Pada”. “Chaver” mainly means a person who is prepared to die, and “Pada” means Squad. Elite warriors from Nair families mainly constituted the chaver squad, pledging their allegiance to the King for the protection of their motherland, taking the oath to die for their people. Europeans were fascinated by these ruthless warriors and recorded them by calling them Amok/Running Amok in different citations they made.
In Travancore, the Nair military was formalised by the kings, mainly known as Thiruvithamkoor Nair Pattalam / Nair Brigade (Pattalam means army). During the era of HH Marthanda Varma, the Travancore army saw many changes. Under the leadership of Maharaja Marthanda Varma, the Travancore Army won against the Dutch in the Battle of Colachel in 1741. This marked one of the early wins for our nation against foreign powers.
By 1809, the Nair Brigade expanded, with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd battalions serving Travancore.
Palayam (A place in Trivandrum) served as the headquarters for Nair Pattalam; The building is currently used as the Kerala Legislative Assembly Golden Jubilee Museum of Kerala.
Image of Nair Pattalam Headquarters
In 1934, the Nair Brigade was merged into Travancore State forces and was trained by Indian officers.
On the formation of the Indian Union post-independence, the Nair Brigade was amalgamated into the Indian Army's Madras Regiment into the 9th and 16th battalions. Trivandrum continues to have a huge Military presence to date, with the Indian Army having its Base Camp at Pangode.
Hello Appu…
I loved reading your article. Very informative!