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Ancient
Sea-ports
The
early Sangam works also contain references to the voyages of the
people of Kerala to foreign countries. In A.D. 6 of Patittupattu
reign the poetess Kakkai Patiniyar refers to the Chera ships plying
the ocean to procure wealth from foreign countries. Kerala was, in
fact , in the forefront of the oceanic commerce of South India.
Paranar, another great poet of the Sangam Age, refers to the huge
ships of a chieftain by name Veliyan going abroad to fetch gold.
Another poet alludes to the unchallenged supremacy of the ships of
the Chera in the western seas when the ships of other powers could
not even think of peeping into those waters. Pliny refers to Indian
sailors who were cast ashore by storm on the German coast. In the
later period, that is, from the 9th to the 13th centuries there were
trade organisations like Achuvannam, Nanadesikal, and Manigramam
which engaged themselves in foreign trade. Thus though the foreign
nationalities played the predominant role in the commerce of Kerala,
the part played by the natives is by no means negligible
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Classical writers like Pliny, the anonymous author of the
Periplus and Ptolemy give detailed accounts of the sea ports
through which Kerala kept up her commercial and cultural
contacts with foreign countries in the early centuries of the
Christian era. The most important of these ports were Muziris,
Tyndis, Barace and Nelcynda. While Muziris has been identified
by all scholars with modern Cranganore, there has been no
unanimity in the matter of the identification of the other
places.
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Muziris
Among the ports of ancient Kerala mentioned above, Muziris had
undoubtedly the place of pride. It is referred to as
Murachipattanam in the Valmiki Ramayana, as Muchiri in Tamil works
and as Muyirikode in the Jewish Copper Plate of Bhaskara Ravi Varman
(1000 A.D) During the period of the Second Chera Empire ( 800 - 1102
A.d) and after it was known as Makotai, Mahodayapuram and
Mahodayapattanam. Muziris was the gate of ancient India and apart
from serving as an emporium of trade for the Phoenicians, the
Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans in turn, it also gave shelter
for the first time to the Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities
who have enriched the cultural heritage of Kerala. As already noted,
it was with the epoch-making discovery of the monsoon winds by
Hippalus that Muziris acquired importance as the emporium of Roman
trade.
The
works of classical geographers and Tamil poets refer in unequivocal
terms to the phenomenal prosperity of Muziris in the days of Roman
trade. Pliny refers to Muziris as the most important port of India
(Primum Emporium Indiae). He also says that foreign ships anchored
at a distance from the port and that the cargo was taken into it
from the shore in Vallams. Perhaps this is a reference to the fact
that the mouth of the harbour was not deep enough for the ships to
anchor. The harbour was crowded with ships of all kinds with large
warehouses and extensive bazars adjoining it and royal mansions and
places of worship in the interior. "Fish is bartered here for paddy
which is brought in baskets to the houses", says a Tamil poet. A
verse in the Agananuru (149) refers to the "thriving town of Muchiri
where the beautiful large ships of the Yavanas bringing gold come,
splashing the white foam in the waters of the Periyar which belongs
to the Chera and return laden with pepper". Paranar (in Puram 343)
also refers to the brisk trade in pepper at the port of Muziris,
"Sacks of pepper are brought from the houses to the market; the gold
received from ships in exchange for articles sold is brought on
shore in barges at Muchiri, where the music of the surging sea never
ceases and where Kuttuvan ( the Chera king) presents to visitors the
rare products of the seas and mountains. On the evidence of the
Peutingerian Tables it has been stated that there was even a temple
of Augustus near Muziris and that a force of 1,200 Roman soldiers
was stationed in the town for the protection of Roman commerce.
Even
if no regular Roman army had been stationed at Muziris, it may not
be wrong in assuming that Roman traders had stationed soldiers at
strategic points in the town to protect their trade from the
inroads of pirates.The imports into Muziris are given "as a great
quantity of coin, Topaz, thin clothing, linens, coral, crude
glass, copper, tin, lead, wheat and wine only by the sailors, for
this is not dealt in by the merchants there".
The
exports from the place are the "pepper coming from Kottanora (
Kuttanad in the interior), great quantities of fine pearls, ivory,
silk, cloth, transparent stones of all kinds, diamonds, sapphires
and tortoise-shells". Though Roman trade declined from the fifth
century A.D. Muziris continued to enjoy its old commercial
prosperity as it attracted the attention of other nationalities,
particularly the Chinese. Till the great floods in the Periyar
river in 1341 which choked the mouth of the harbour of Muziris and
brought the Cochin port into prominence as a rival, Muziris
continuued to be the foremost port of foreign trade on the Kerala
coast.
Tyndis
Next in importance to Muziris was Tyndis. The author of the
Periplus refers to it as " a large village close to the shore"
situated 500 stadia ( about 60 miles) north of Muziris. The place
figures in Tamil literature as Tondi and it has been praised in
several Tamil works of the Sangam age. "It was bounded", says, a
Tamil poet (Puram 17), "by groves of coconut trees bearing heavy
bunches of fruits, a wide expanse of rice fields, verdant hills,
bright sandy tracts and a salt river whose glassy waters are
covered with flowers of brilliant colours". It has been
identified by scholars alternatively with Kadalundi, Ponnani,
Pantalayani and Kollam. At the time when the author of the
Periplus wrote, Tyndis was a important coastal village, in course
of time it rose into prominence as a sea-port town. A branch of
the Chera royal family is also said to have established itself at
Tyndis.
Barace (Bacare) was a principal centre of trade situated to the
south of Muziris. Pliny gives several details of the place, It
was a port on the mouth of the river Baris which has been
identified by scholars with the Pampa river. During Pliny's time
Barace was a more convenient port for foreign ships to call as,
unlike Muziris, it was free from pirates. The author of the
Periplus refers to the fact that large quantities of pepper were
brought down to Barace from the interior which is called
Kottanora. Several writers are inclined to identify Barace with
Purakkad, south of Alleppey and Kottanora (Kuttanad) with the
fertile and extensive valley of the Pampa celebrated for its fine
pepper. Purakkad is also belived to be phonetically allied to
Barace, the place having been referred to as "Porca" and " Porcal"
by the Portuguese and Dutch writers repectively. By all accounts
Purakkad seems to have been a port of considerable importance and
till the rise of Alleppey (Alapuzha) in the late 18th century it
was the principal sea-port between Cochin and Quilon. Another port
to the south of Muziris mentioned by the early classical writers
is Nelcynda. It is said to have been 500 stadia ( about 60 miles)
south of Muziris. While some identify the place with Nindakara,
others identify it with Niranam. In view of the fact that far
reaching geographical changes have taken place on the Kerala coast
since the days when Pliny and Ptolemy wrote their accounts, it is
difficult to say anything conclusive on the identification of
Nelcynda.
Other Ports
Apart from the ports mentioned above, there were also several
other ports of commercial and maritime importance in ancient
Kerala which now remain in the realm of relative oblivion. Balita,
mentioned by the Periplus as the "harbour and village on the
shore" situated between Barace and Kanya Kumari (Cape Comorin) is
sometimes identified with Varkala. It has also been identified by
some scholars with Vizhinjam which was the capital of the later
kings. An important sea-port, Vizhinjam was one of the major
scenes of battle during the Chola-Chera war of the 11th century
A.D. King Rajendra Chola (1012 - 1044 A.D) captured the place and
named it Rajendrachola Pattanam. Another port referred to in
classical works is Naura which was situated north of Muziris. It
has sometimes been identified with Cannanore (Kannur). Yet another
ancient sea port which has since been forgotten and which figures
prominently in ancient Tamil works in Mantai. Next to Vanchi and
Tondi it was the most important town of ancient Kerala till the
8th century A.D. The Tamil works contain beautiful descriptions of
the place. It has not been possible to identify the place
correctly. Two other sea ports on the Malabar coast were Vakai and
Pantar. From the reference to the former as Vakai Perumturai in
several works it is clear that the place must have been a big
harbour in ancient days. The town of Pantar was also an equally
thriving sea port town famed for its pearl, as is evidenced by the
Patittupattu. The identification of Pantar has also been difficult
though some writers are inclined to identify it with Pantalayani
Kollam. Most of these ports of the ancient period are no longer
important, but they serve to evoke in our minds memories of
Kerala's glorious maritime past.
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