Consider the geopolitical significance of the Mamankam festival held during the medieval period: 1. It was a grand decennial trade and ritual assembly organized on the banks of the Bharathappuzha at Tirunavaya under the nominal presiding authority of the Zamorin of Calicut. 2. The festival witnessed the traditional ceremony where suicide squads known as Chaverukal, deputed by the Valluvanad chieftain, attempted to assassinate the Zamorin to avenge lost sovereignty. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

💡 Solution & Explanation

Both statements 1 and 2 are correct. Mamankam was the premier political and commercial conclave of medieval Malabar where international merchants gathered and the Zamorin asserted his hegemony over the river valley. The displaced rulers of Valluvanad sent dedicated warriors (Chaverukal) to fight their way through the Zamorin's security cordon in a symbolic bid to reclaim the right to preside over the festival. This ritual combat symbolized the contested nature of political authority in medieval Malabar.