Kannur district

The earliest evidence of human habitation in the district are rock-cut caves and megalithic burial sites of the Neolithic age. The Taliparamba-Kannur-Thalassery area abounds in rock-cut caves, dolmens, burial stone circles and menhirs, all of megalith. Kannur was the seat of powerful kingdom based at Ezhimala in the Sangam period (1st–5th century CE). The ancient port of Naura, which is mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea as a port somewhere north of Muziris is identified with Kannur.[11]

The kingdom of Ezhimala had jurisdiction over two Nadus - The coastal Poozhinadu and the hilly eastern Karkanadu. According to the works of Sangam literature, Poozhinadu consisted much of the coastal belt between Mangalore and Kozhikode.[12] Karkanadu consisted of Wayanad-Gudalur hilly region with parts of Kodagu (Coorg).[13] It is said that Nannan, the most renowned ruler of Ezhimala dynasty, took refuge at Wayanad hills in the 5th century CE when he was lost to Cheras, just before his execution in a battle, according to the Sangam works.[13]

Ezhimala kingdom was succeeded by Mushika dynasty in the early medieval period, most possibly due to the migration of Tuluva Brahmins from Tulu Nadu. The Mushika-vamsha Mahakavya, written by Athula in the 11th century, throws light on the recorded past of the Mushika Royal Family up until that point.[14] The Indian anthropologist Ayinapalli Aiyappan states that a powerful and warlike clan of the Bunt community of Tulu Nadu was called Kola Bari and the Kolathiri Raja of Kolathunadu was a descendant of this clan.[15] The Kolathunadu (Kannur) Kingdom at the peak of its power, reportedly extended from Netravati River (Mangalore) in the north to Korapuzha (Kozhikode) in the south with Arabian Sea on the west and Kodagu hills on the eastern boundary, also including the isolated islands of Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea.[14]

An Old Malayalam inscription (Ramanthali inscriptions), dated to 1075 CE, mentioning king Kunda Alupa, the ruler of Alupa dynasty of Mangalore, can be found at Ezhimala (the former headquarters of Mushika dynasty) near Cannanore, Kerala.[16] The Arabic inscription on a copper slab within the Madayi Mosque in Kannur records its foundation year as 1124 CE.[17] In his book on travels (Il Milione), Marco Polo recounts his visit to the area in the mid 1290s. Other visitors included Faxian, the Buddhist pilgrim and Ibn Batuta, writer and historian of Tangiers.

An old map of India in 1804. Note that only Thalassery, Kozhikode, and Kochi, are marked as cities within the present-day state of Kerala

Until the 16th century CE, the Kasargod town was known by the name Kanhirakode (may be by the meaning, 'The land of Kanhira Trees') in Malayalam.[18] The Kumbla dynasty, who swayed over the land of southern Tulu Nadu wedged between Chandragiri River and Netravati River (including present-day Taluks of Manjeshwar and Kasaragod) from Maipady Palace at Kumbla, had also been vassals to the Kolathunadu, before the Carnatic conquests of Vijayanagara Empire.[19] The Kumbla dynasty had a mixed lineage of Malayali Nairs and Tuluva Brahmins.[20] They also claimed their origin from Cheraman Perumals of Kerala.[20] Francis Buchanan-Hamilton states that the customs of Kumbla dynasty were similar to those of the contemporary Malayali kings, though Kumbla was considered as the southernmost region of Tulu Nadu.[20] Just like other contemporary kings of Kerala in the medieval period, The powerful Kolathu Raja also came under the influence of Zamorin later. The Kolathunadu in the late medieval period emerged into independent 10 principalities i.e., Kadathanadu (Vadakara), Randathara or Poyanad (Dharmadom), Kottayam (Thalassery), Nileshwaram, Iruvazhinadu (Panoor, Kurumbranad etc., under separate royal chieftains due to the outcome of internal dissensions.[21] The Nileshwaram dynasty on the northernmost part of Kolathiri dominion, were relatives to both Kolathunadu as well as the Zamorin of Calicut, in the early medieval period.[22]

Kolattiri Raja's minister Kuruppu's Arabic letter to Vasco da Gama (1524)

Kannur was an important trading center in the 12th century with active business connections with Persia and Arabia. The port at Kozhikode held the superior economic and political position in medieval Kerala coast, while Kannur, Kollam, and Kochi, were commercially important secondary ports, where the traders from various parts of the world would gather.[23] Kannur served as the British military headquarters on India's west coast until 1887. In conjunction with her sister city, Tellicherry, it was the third-largest city on the western coast of British India in the 18th century after Bombay and Karachi. The Arakkal kingdom had right over the city of Kannur and Laccadive Islands in the late medieval period.[24]

The Portuguese arrived at Kappad Kozhikode in 1498 during the Age of Discovery, thus opening a direct sea route from Europe to India.[25] The St. Angelo Fort at Kannur was built in 1505 by Dom Francisco de Almeida, the first Portuguese Viceroy of India. The Dutch captured the fort from the Portuguese in 1663. They modernized the fort and built the bastions Hollandia, Zeelandia, and Frieslandia that are the major features of the present structure. The original Portuguese fort was pulled down later. A painting of this fort and the fishing ferry behind it can be seen in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. The Dutch sold the fort to the king Ali Raja of Arakkal in 1772. The British conquered it in 1790 and used it as one of their major military stations on the Malabar Coast.

During the 17th century, Kannur was the capital city of the only Muslim Sultanate in the Malabar region – Arakkal – who also ruled the Laccadive Islands in addition to the city of Kannur.[26] Arakkal Kingdom and Chirakkal kingdom were two vassal kingdoms based in the city of Kannur. The island of Dharmadom near Kannur, along with Thalassery, was ceded to the East India Company as early as 1734, which were claimed by all of the Kolattu Rajas, Kottayam Rajas, Mannanar[27] and Arakkal Bibi in the late medieval period, where the British initiated a factory and English settlement following the cession.[28][21] In 1761, the British captured Mahé, and the settlement was handed over to the ruler of Kadathanadu.[29] The British restored Mahé to the French as a part of the 1763 Treaty of Paris.[29] In 1779, the Anglo-French war broke out, resulting in the French loss of Mahé.[29] In 1783, the British agreed to restore to the French their settlements in India, and Mahé was handed over to the French in 1785.[29]

During the British Raj, Kannur was part of the Madras province in the Malabar District. Initially the British had to suffer local resistance against their rule under the leadership of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, who had popular support in Thalassery-Wayanad region.[11] The municipalities of Kannur and Thalassery were formed on 1 November 1866 according to the Madras Act 10 of 1865 (Amendment of the Improvements in Towns act 1850)[30][31][32][33] of the British Indian Empire, along with the municipalities of Kozhikode, Palakkad, and Fort Kochi, making them the first modern municipalities in the modern state of Kerala.

Parassinikkadavu Muthappan Temple

A Masjid at Payyanur

Hinduism is the majority religion of Kannur district. Muslims and Christians form a significant minority.[45]

Most of the Christians in Kannur district are descendants of Christians who migrated to Malabar in the 20th century.[46]

Theyyam of Kerala

Puliyoor Kali Theyyam at Mathamangalam

Theyyam is a popular ritual form of dance worship in North Malabar region of Kerala. Theyyam consisted of several thousand-year-old traditions, rituals, and customs. The performers of Theyyam belong to the lower caste community in ancient caste structure formed by Namboothiri brahmins in Kerala, and have an important position in Theyyam.[51] It is performed mainly by males, except the Devakoothu theyyam. The Devakoothu is the only Theyyam ritual performed by women. It is performed only on the Thekkumbad Kulom temple.[52]

There are 456 types of Theyyam, including Vettakkorumakan, Vishnumoorthy Theyyam, Muchilot Bhagavathi and Sree Muthappan.[53]

A Theyyam museum is planned to be built at Chanthappura in Kalliasseri of Kannur district in 2019.[54]