Product Code Database
Ankam is a Malayalam word meaning combat or battle, typically fought with swords called 'Churika' in Malabar District of Kerala. The outcome of an Ankam was determined by one warrior killing the other. It can refer to either a duel or a larger-scale war.
-
/ref>
/ref>
/ref>
/ref>
In medieval Kerala, Ankam was practiced either as a fight between two warriors to prove who was better at Kalari, to settle ego clashes, to avenge the killing of an ancestor by engaging in a sword fight with the current generation of the tharavad—a practice known as settling Kudipaka (vengeance passed through generations)—or as a means of resolving disputes between districts and nobles. The duelists, known as Chekavar or Ankachekavar, were trained in Kalari to serve as militiamen under a lord, helping to prevent large-scale wars that could result in thousands of deaths.
A fight between two Kalari warriors could occur due to an ego clash or as a way to resolve a dispute, creating a war-like situation between the two.
- (1976). 9789004045101, BRILL publications ,1976. .
/ref>
/ref>
/ref>
- In case of dispute resolution, When a dispute arose between two local rulers, each side would engage warriors to fight for them in organised single combat at a fixed place and time. Each local ruler was represented by one Ankachekavar. The ankam were usually fought to the death, and the ruler represented by the surviving Ankachekavar was considered the winner.
|
|
