പുറത്തൂർ
ഗ്രാമ പഞ്ചായത്ത്

Social History

The long coastline, the Bharathapuzha river flowing through the southern regions and joining the estuary, and its tributary, the Tirur-Ponnani river, have influenced the rural culture here to some extent. This poor village, which was not part of anything, had no special interests, was not under anyone's control, and was not rich in resources, was therefore known as "a village outside". This expression was later changed to "Purathoor". The area comprising Kavilakad, Muttanur, Edakkanad, and Thrithallur was known as Marthumkad until recently. The olapuras were called Madams at that time. This area was known as Madamkad in the sense of a group of madams and later changed to Marthumkad. During the last period of the monarchy, there were local kings who administered the local government under the Zamorin. Patharur and eight other regions (eight countries) were under the rule of the Vettathu king. It is said that the Vettathu king was generally a good ruler. Shortly before his last days, he married his daughter to a young king of Keraladhishwarapuram, and the young king who was his daughter's husband ruled the Vettathu kingdom. Under the Madathum, which became the country roads of the Patharur region, Mooppil Nair also became the ruler of the Bhayankavu temple. Sthani Mooppil Nair took efforts to bring more upper castes, especially Nayans, to the Patharur region for the rituals related to the temple and to move administrative matters forward. Accordingly, some Nair families who were practitioners and warriors who were associated with the Kodungallur temple were brought to Patharur. They were brought to the temple premises by water transport. Known as the Kuruppans of Porkala, special facilities were made for them to reach and return to the Patatur temple premises. The wide canal built by Mooppil Nair was the current Nairthode, which was widened to accommodate this travel and the vast paddy cultivation area. It got its name because it was built by Nair. There were many people in this area who were attracted to the national movement and jumped into the freedom struggle. Chembra Choyunni and Pandaravalappil Choi were early Congressmen from here. The charioteers in the earlier political arenas of Patatur were a generation that embraced the ideas and ideals of the Indian national movement. Even after the temple entry proclamation, a section of Hindus in this area were kept away from the temple by declaring it untouchable and not allowing them to enter the temple. Hindus belonging to different castes were even denied the right to bathe in the temple pond. Protesting strongly against this, mobilizing the Hindus of the region to bathe in the Bhayankavu temple pond and to enter the temple for darshan, the local luminaries like M.C. Balakrishnanunni Nair, P. Velayudha Kurup, A.P. Kunjunni, T. Madhavan Vaidya, Kalatheth Ayyaputty, M.T. Kunjunni Nair etc. led the fight against untouchability. With the establishment of a few primary schools here in the 1930s, the modern educational history of the panchayat began. Schools like Pathaur Devi Vilasam LP School, Edakkanad GMUP School, Padinjarekkara GUP School, Muttanur GLP School, Puthuppally Sastra LP School were established during the above period and are still functioning. As part of the goal of making education vocational, handicrafts such as spinning were taught in some schools at that time.

Cultural History

The Bhayankavu temple, built seven hundred years ago during the reign of the Vettam kings, and the festivals held there three times a year have a special place in the cultural history of Pathaur. The festival here, known as “Vela”, is held on the first day of the month of Thulam and the first Tuesday of the month of Makara. Another festival is the Kooth, which lasts for at least seven days in the month of Kumbha. The story of the Ramayana is presented through the puppet show. In the early days, the population here was mostly Hindu. The Muslim population was small. Most of the Hindus themselves were of the Avarna caste. The oldest places of worship of Muslims are Kattilapally on the western bank and the Juma Masjid in Muttanur. It is assumed that Muttanur was the early capital of the Pathaur region. Patharoor has a history of Hindus and Muslims living in harmony. The Muslim community can be seen participating in the festivals of temples including Bhayankavu with great enthusiasm. About 12 km southwest of Tirur, which is blessed with the birth of Thunjath Acharya, the father of the Malayalam language, is the Mahakavi Vallathol.