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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Hinduism}}
'''Onnu Kure Ayiram Yogam''' ([[Malayalam script|Malayalam]]: ഒന്നു കുറെ ആയിരം യോഗം), abbreviated as '''O. K. A. Y.''', is an association of members of the [[Nair]] community in the [[Kodungallur]], [[Thrissur district]], [[Kerala|Kerala State]], in southern India.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Veluthat |first=Kesavan |url=https://publications.efeo.fr/en/livres/628_south-indian-horizons-felicitation-volume-for-francois-gros-on-the-occasion-of-his-70th-birthday |title=South Indian Horizon: Felicitation Volume for François Gros |publisher=École Française D'Extrême-Orient |year=2004 |pages=471–85 |chapter=Mahodayapuram-Kotunnallur: a Capital City as a Sacred Centre}}</ref> The title "Onnu Kure Ayiram Yogam" translates as "the Association of a Thousand Minus One".<ref name=":02" /> The yogam or association was an organization of Nairs of the [[Kodungallur]] region and various sub-castes of the Nair community had representations in the association.{{Fact|date=May 2024|reason=who says it was Nairs/ according to Gopinatha Rao, It was there before chera perumals.}}

The members of the association were the administrators of the [[Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple]] (now with the Cochin Devaswom Board).<ref name=":02" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Narayanan |first=M. G. S. |date=1983 |title=The Hundrd Groups and the Rise of Nayar Militia in Kerala |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44139827?read-now=1&seq=7#page_scan_tab_contents |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=44 |pages=113–119 |issn=2249-1937}}</ref> The meetings of the association used to be held on the first day of every month in front of the Kodungallur Bhagavathy temple (and considered "all matters" pertaining to the subjects who are within their jurisdiction and took appropriate decisions).

Today, the organization is usually referred to by its acronym, "O. K. A. Y" or "O. K. Yogam".<ref name=":3" /> It is currently a registered Society headed by a President and a Secretary.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=2024 |title=Onnam Thalappoli Onnu Kure Ayiram Yogam Vaka |url=https://keralakaumudi.com/news/news.php?id=1228503&u=local-news-thrissur |work=Kerala Kaumudi |location=Kodungallur}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014 |title=Onnukure Ayiram Yogam Kodungallur vs Cochin Devaswom Board |url=https://indiankanoon.org/doc/170605828/ |website=Indian Kanoon}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Early medieval period ===
The Ayiram Yogam ("the Thousand") was once an armed contingent under the medieval Chera rulers of [[Kerala|Kerala State]] (who had their capital at [[Kodungallur]]). It was composed of a thousand Nair warriors serving the Chera king (the Perumal). The body exclusively acted as the personal bodyguards or "Companions of Honour" of the Chera ruler.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Narayanan |first=M. G. S. |date=1971 |title=The Institution of 'Companions of Honour' with Special Reference to South India |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44145312?read-now=1&seq=5#page_scan_tab_contents |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=33 |pages=74–83 |issn=2249-1937}}</ref> The chief of the Ayiram body is also recorded as participating in royal assemblies with the Chera ruler.<ref name=":1" /> Corresponding armed personal guards of some local chiefs (under the Chera rule) were called the Nizhal or "the Shadow".<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Ganesh |first=K. N. |date=2009 |title=Historical Geography of Natu in South India with Special Reference to Kerala |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/037698360903600102 |journal=Indian Historical Review |language= |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=3–21 |doi= |issn=0376-9836}}</ref> In this context, the body "Ayiram" might also be called a "Nizhal".<ref name=":0" /> The Ayiram Yogam also managed and protected the [[Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple]] at [[Kodungallur]] in this period.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Karashima |first=Noburu |url=https://india.oup.com/product/a-concise-history-of-south-india-9780198099772 |title=A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |pages=146–47 |chapter=States in the Deccan and Kerala}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> It had a significant role in the famous Bharani festival of the [[Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple|Kodungallur Temple]].<ref name=":02" />

The military organization of a chieftaincy under the Chera rule was called the "Nuttuvar" (the Hundred).<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":2" /> In some chieftaincies, the body Nuttuvar can be identified with the Nizhal. However, in some other regions, Nuttuvar appears to be an independent entity (irrespective of the identity of the chief or his Nizhal).<ref name=":0" /> It is also been suggested that the Nizhal and the Nuttuvar were the recipients of the protection dues ("the rakshabhogam") from temples.<ref name=":0" /> It is also recorded that the formidable chieftain of Kolathunadu also maintained an "Ayiram".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Veluthat |first=Kesavan |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-early-medieval-in-south-india-9780198069140 |title=The Early Medieval in South India |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Delhi |pages=324}}</ref>

Kerala traditions give accounts of the removal and execution of the leader of the Chera king's personal guards during reign of the last Chera sovereign (the Thousand thus becoming a Thousand Minus One).<ref name=":1" />

=== After the Chera state ===
Even after the dissolution of Chera state in the early 12th century, the organization continued to exist; but they decided not to fill the absence of their leader. Hence the number shrank to nine hundred and ninety nine and the association became known by its present name ("the Association of a Thousand Minus One").<ref name=":1" /> After the end of the Chera state, the body switched its role from with military and police functions to managing the affairs of the temple (with rights and privileges during the Bharani Festival).<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":1" />

After the end of the medieval Chera state, when the Kodungallur Royal Family took over the administration in of the city of [[Kodungallur]], the association and the Kodungallur kings used to meet and take joint decisions on the administration of the [[Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple]] on the first day of every month of the [[Malayalam Calendar|Kollam Calendar.]]

The Association also performed a ritual called "Nizhalirikkal" (the Meeting of the Nizhal), after "Pantheeradi Puja", at the eastern gate of the Kodungallur temple in continuation of the monthly meeting. Nizhalirikkal was a committee on administration of the temple which had a [[quorum]] of 32 members. Pantheeradi ("twelve feet") [[Puja (Hinduism)|Puja]] ("worship") is one of the daily worship rituals performed in [[Temples of Kerala|Kerala temples]] when the shadow of the Sun reaches 12 feet of length.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.namboothiri.com/articles/temples-rituals.htm | title=Temples and Temple Rituals of Kerala | publisher=Namboothiri | accessdate=25 August 2019 }}</ref>

== Present-day operations ==

The Onnu Kure Ayiram Yogam continues to have considerable rights and privileges in the [[Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple]].<ref name=":02" />

Today the Onnu Kure Ayiram Yogam directly administers the functions of the [[Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple]] on important dates. For example, it funds and administers the functions on the first day of the Thalappoli Festival or the Onnam Thalappoli Festival (the Thalappoli Festival is a four-day festival being held in January each year).<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite news |date=2024 |title=Kodungallur Shri Kurumba Bhagavathi Kshethram; Savisheshamayi Rathri Thalappoli Ezhunnallippu |url=https://www.manoramaonline.com/district-news/thrissur/2024/01/17/thrissur-kodungallur-srikurumba-bhagavathy-temple-thaalappoli.html |work=Malayala Manorama |location=Kodungallur}}</ref> The thalams are carried by women from the member families of the Onnu Kure Ayiram Yogam association.<ref name=":4" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Thrissur district}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onnu Kure Ayiram Yogam}}
[[Category:Nair]]
[[Category:History of Thrissur district]]

Onnu Kure Ayiram Yogam - Revision history

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