8 Generations of Maternal History

𝐌𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲. 𝐌𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 (𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠) with her parents, sisters, brother, brothers-in-law, and nieces.

8 generations of my maternal family history 
through photographs. 

I am the 7th generation. So, listing all the generations before me and their history here with photographs/paintings. 

Much work has gone into compiling all this information. Hope you enjoy this valuable part of history that I like to share. 

In the west the trend to find your ancestry started around 20 years ago when President Clinton decided to do it and went to Ireland to visit the places of his ancestors. 

People in the United States pay thousands of dollars to trace their lineage which got me thinking… what kind of legacy am I leaving my children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren? So decided to document it. I am one of the more fortunate ones I guess who could trace my ancestry to seven generations prior. Karanavars (patriarchs) in my family diligently documented the history and thanks to them, I am able to find records and photographs/paintings easily. My pranams to them and their efforts.

𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐊𝐮𝐧𝐣𝐢𝐤𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐊𝐮𝐧𝐣𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐲𝐢 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐚
We belong to a matrilineal lineage. (In the matrilineal system or marumakkathayam system, the family lived together in a tharavadu which was composed of a mother, her brothers and younger sisters, and her children. The oldest male member was known as the karanavar and was the head of the household, managing the family estate. Lineage was traced through the mother, and the children belonged to the mother's family. Surnames/last names would be of the maternal side. All family property was jointly owned. In the event of a partition, the shares of the children were clubbed with that of the mother. The karanavar's property was inherited by his sisters' sons/daughters rather than his own children).  

My maternal family in the late 1790s did not have any female progenies to carry the line hence two girls were adopted from another family to continue the lineage. Their names were Thayi and Kunjithayi.

Why were there no girls of childbearing age in the family? The reasons are unknown.

It was soon after Tipu Sultan’s invasion of Malabar. For those who do not know Malabar History, Tipu Sultan the king of Mysore was a very cruel and ambitious king whose aim was to not only conquer Kerala but also convert every being in Kerala to Islam. Convert or die was his policy. Many women were raped and thus forcefully converted or murdered. 

What happened to the women in our family? History is little known. They took refuge at Zamorin’s palace and were saved is the family history, the rest is untold.

As the family did not have any female progenies, two girls (twins) were adopted from another family in Vazhayoor near Ramananttukkara near Kozhikode in Kerala.
Parappil Raru Menon was the Karnavar (head) then and since it was a matrilineal system officially it was his sister who acted like their mother. Thus Raru Menon became their Uncle.
Uncles had a very important role to play in the lives of their sisters and their children, as the girls continue to stay in their own house even after their weddings and are entitled to inherit their mother’s property.

𝑵𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒚𝒊 𝒐𝒓 𝑲𝒖𝒏𝒋𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒚𝒊

𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐢 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐚. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐝.

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐢 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐚. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐝.

This is a painting, not a photograph. (Photographs did not exist in the early to mid-1800s). Her mother was adopted into the family. Amongst Thayi and Kunjithayi, only Kunjithayi had a girl whom they named Narayani. She had 4 daughters and thus started the branches (thavazhis) of a huge family that now spans 10 generations.
Narayani Amma was married to Mullasseri Velappa Menon (her cousin) who was the son of Parappil Raru Menon (the gentleman who adopted the twins into the Parappil family). Marrying your Uncle's children were quite common those days.
She had 2 sons and 4 daughters who continued the Parappil lineage.

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥 𝐋𝐚𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐢 𝐊𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐚

Amongst Narayani Amma's 4 daughters.....
𝐄𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐊𝐮𝐧𝐣𝐢𝐤𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐚, married to Kottakkal Kizhakke Kovilakam (Kingdom of Zamorin’s family) thus forming the Kottakkal Thavazhi. There are no photographs that exist of Kunjikutty Amma, unfortunately.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐊𝐮𝐧𝐣𝐢𝐤𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐲'𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐚𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐢 𝐊𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐊𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐤𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐳𝐡𝐢.
She is the great grandmother of Sivasankara Menon (National security advisor and Foreign Secretary of India) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shivshankar_Menon 

𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐞: Fourth 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥 𝐈𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐤𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐚 

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥 𝐈𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐤𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐚 

My great great grandmother. She had ten children. A painting.

She was married to the first Indian lawyer at the Palghat Bar ( Karumathil Pullara Achutha Menon). She was an avid collector of bell metal (vellodu, an alloy of copper and tin) vessels. Even designed some on her own and got the vessel maker to make them for her. I have a few of those unique pieces with me still. 

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥 𝐈𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐤𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲

The photo above is one of the earliest photographs in history taken in the late 1800s. Ithukutty Amma with 5 of her 10 children. My great-grandmother Narayani (Ithukutty's daughter, 4th generation) is the little girl standing between her parents. My grandmother Rukmini was born in 1903 so looking at my great-grandmother and how young she is, it was probably taken 5 - 10 years earlier.  The boy sitting on the floor is Parappil Madhava Menon who was a famous and eminent lawyer in Ottappalam (my great grand uncle).

𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐈𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐤𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐚’𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐢 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐚, 𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐢 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐚 (𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡, 𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔) 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 (𝑚𝑦 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑚𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡)

She was probably born around 1885 and was married to Ambalakkat Achutha Menon an eminent lawyer in Ooty. She had 1 daughter and two sons. Her daughter Rukmini is my grandmother. Unfortunately, she was a victim of the Marumakkathayam system. While enjoying a luxurious life in Ooty with her caring, loving husband, she had to give it all up when he died suddenly and was sent back to Kerala with her children to her mother’s house with just the clothes on her back. Marumakkathayam (matrilineal) system was responsible for it. The system was created for noble purposes, for the protection of women during a war, etc and as ancestral properties were passed on from one generation of mothers to another However when men started earning on their own in the late 1800s there were no set rules as to what would happen to their wealth. So as per the existing traditions, any possessions that the men owned had to be passed on to his sisters and her children. Things changed after people started writing their wills and passing the wealth to their wives and children (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marumakkathayam) 

Narayani Amma is the elderly lady sitting on extreme right in the photograph below (With her daughter Rukmini (5th generation, sitting second from the left with her immediate family).
(My mother is standing second from right. 4 generations are represented here)

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐢 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧

𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐢 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐚'𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥 𝐑𝐮𝐤𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐚. 𝐌𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. 

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥 𝐑𝐮𝐤𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐚

She was born in 1903. She was married to Ullatil Karunakara Menon (Tirur Ullattil). He worked for the British Government and retired as the Director of Fisheries in the early 1940s.
She was fortunate to be one of the first Indian students in Nazareth the British convent in Ooty. Thus unlike girls from her generation, she was well educated, well-read, and could read, write and speak English, Malayalam, and Tamil fluently.
She was only 15 when she married my grandfather who was 20 years her senior in 1918. Yet they had a bliss-filled married life and were together for 54 years. 

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥 𝐑𝐮𝐤𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧

Rukmini Amma with her family. My mother Susheela (born in 1930) and the youngest sitting (extreme left).
My grandmother Rukmini is my favorite person ever.
Here is a blog I wrote about her: https://ammusmusings.blogspot.com/2020/06/my-hero.html 

𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐑𝐮𝐤𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢’𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐚, 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐚 𝐀𝐦𝐦𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢 𝐍𝐚𝐢𝐫

My mother was born in 1930. Again thanks to her broadminded father, my mother Susheela was one of the lucky women who had the privilege of going to school (St. Joseph’s Calicut) and college (St. Agnes, Mangalore) in the 1940s and got a masters degree in Hindi in 1952.

My father worked with the Ordinance factories for 35 years and together, they were amazing parents and a great team.

My mother was very broadminded and way beyond her years and we remained friends till the day she passed in 2014.

Both my parents were well-educated, well-read, sincere, honest individuals who inculcated great values in my siblings and me.
Extremely proud of them and am lucky to have parents like them. 

𝐌𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬

My parents with their children (above). Me in the middle. They made sure the family pet was in the picture too!
All the sweaters you see here were knitted by my mother. She was so talented and intelligent that she created her own patterns and was an expert in knitting, smocking, crochet, brocading, embroidery, baking, writing-directing plays, writing stories and poems to name a few... 

𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐌𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐚

in my father's beautiful garden in Aruvankadu, Nilgiris. 

𝐌𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈

𝟖𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐌𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚. 

𝐌𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚

May the continuing generation honor the folks who came before them.
Comments welcome  

𝐌𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲

Thank you!