Old Malayalam & The Toponyms of Malabar

The old name of present day Kerala was Malayalam, meaning the land between of hills and sea. This name was originated out of the perspective of people from the top of the hills. In their perspective, the land was at the bottom of the hill lying between the hills and the sea.

Aalam (ആലം) is an archaic word meaning sea or ocean as per page No. 289 of Malayalam lexicon named

 ശബ്ദതാരാവലി compiled by Sreekanteswaram G Padmanabha Pilla. The etymology of the word is not known. There is another word അളം which also gives the meaning "sea" or Ocean. This word also is archaic. Many of the toponyms of Malabar have "al" or "alam" as their prefix. Example: alamkod (ആലം കോട്), Aluva, (ആലുവ), Alathur (ആലത്തൂർ ), Ala (ആല) Most of these places are not far away from the coast. As per the lexicon "ലളയൊരഭേദം", both the syllable are acceptable or are used interchangeably. There are more than seventy toponyms on the coast of Malayalam with the prefix "aala" or "aalam" . Some forty plus toponyms are having this "aala" and "aalam" as prefix in Tamil Nadu. We will take individually each of these toponyms in the Second part of this article.

Here we see the evolution of the name gradually. The syllable 'la' ('ല') and 'ള' are used interchangeably and eventually 'ള' came to occupy permanently in "Malayalam." But "la" remained as such in most cases. In the case of Malayalapuzha (മലയാലപ്പുഴ), east of Pathanamthitta, Irinjalakuda (ഇരിഞ്ഞാലക്കുട) east of Moonupeedika, and Koottalida (കൂട്ടാലിട) north-east of Koyilandi "aala" appears in the middle.

How early maritime world perceived this small strip of land between Mountain and Ocean.

A Dynamic Dual Boundary: 

The interpretation, "hills adjoining sea" is the perception of the neighbour at the top of the hill, as well as the navigator sailing towards this strip of land. It is dynamic because it changes depending on coastal erosion and coastal formation or the recession of the sea. The name Akalapuzha (അകലാപ്പുഴ) is a corruption of akam (അകം) + "ala" (ആല) + puzha (പുഴ). Akam ala is a lake; water trapped in land (കര). Linguistically akam is kara and puram is sea. Korapuzha joins the lake and then flows to meet Kuttiyadi river.

The Eastern border represents the towering wall of Western ghats, and the western boarder represents vast expanse of Arabian sea. As the land grows from east to west carrying with it the sediments washed ashore by the rivers, the number of which stabilized at 41(forty one) in the recent history. 

Malayalam and Malabar are twin historical terms that share the same root and used interchangeably by different groups to describe the same geographical areas. Revenue documents of the erstwhile local rulers named Malabar as thekke malayalam (തെക്കെ മലയാളം). There was no concept of state, and Malabar, as an administrative unit first came under Bombay Presidency of British Raj. Later Malabar was transferred to Madras Presidency.

The legend of Parasuram reflects the recession of sea backwards because of geological developments; and this recession was there on both the coasts of Indian subcontinent. It is a natural formation aided by Monsoon, and this is not unique. Mark Twain in the Life of Mississippi, writes,"the belief of scientific people is that the mouth used to be at Baton Rouge, where the hills cease, and that the two hundred miles of land between there and the Gulf was built by the river." 

In chapter 1 The River and its History of Life on The Mississippi the author relies on the geological theories of his era to discuss the river's delta formation power.  According to him the mouth used to be at Baton Rouge and that river deposit gradually formed the two hundred miles of land between there and the Gulf of Mexico. While the direct aerial line between Baton Rouge to the modern coast is only about 53 miles to 75 miles, the actual flowing distance of the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge down to the Head of Passes, where it empties into the Gulf is roughly 234 miles.  Mark Twain was likely thinking in terms of river miles rather than a straight bird's-eye view.

Now, when we come to the western coast of India, the aerial distance between the Western Ghats to Arabian Sea is roughly 31 to 40 miles.  The Western Ghats runs parallel to India's western coastline, but is narrower than the Gulf of Mexico coastline.  However, Konkan Coast in parts of Maharashtra and Goa is the narrowest of the Western Coastal Plains.  Here the mountains edge incredibly close to the sea, pinching distance down to 6 to 15 miles.

We get the maximum aerial distance from Arabian Sea to the base Western Ghats in the central-northern region, specifically spanning parts of the Malappuram, Palakkad, and Thrissur districts.  In this specific geographic zone, Malabar reaches its maximum width of 75 to 78 miles.

The Palakkad Gap is a massive mountain break, in the otherwise continuous 1000 miles wall of Western Ghats.  Sitting at an elevation of 140 metres above the sea level this low-lying mountain pass functions as a geological funnel that completely reshapes both the terrain and the climate of the region.

The terrain inside the gap is a broad flat plains ecosystem nestled between two towering mountain blocks, Nilgiri Hills to the north (rising above 2200 metres) and the Anaimalai Hills to the south (above around 2695 metres)  It transitions the landscape from the humid, lush tropical greenery of the Malabar coast into the drier rain shadow plain of Coimbatore.

The climate impact of Palakkad Gap is profound. The Summer Monsoon, also called South-west Monsoon from June to September brings moisture-laden wind from Arabian Sea to slam into the Western Ghats dumping torrential rain on the Kerala side.  The wind that enters Palakkad gap rush straight to Coimbatore carrying the rain.  The Winter Monsoon from October to December brings wind from Bay of Bengal cross Coimbatore, and enters Malabar through Palakkad gap.  It is a two-way conduit of Monsoon winds.

The author of Periplus Maris Erythraea never mentiones Malabar or Malayalam in his document.  For him the mainland of Malabar on his way from Laccadives begins with Naura meaning light.

To be Continued