Socio-cultural Processes and Livelihood Patterns at Tirurangadi - CDS

Some of the mosques in the field area are relatively old. Probably the most famous
among them is the Mamburam mosque. The mosque itself is located in Mamburam in
Abdurahman nagar Panchayat, on the northern side of Kadalundi River. The residence of
Taramal Thangal, the famous religious leader of 19 th century, is also located in the same
panchayat. The river flows through a small creek in this area, and takes a winding path,
and there is a bridge that connects the mosque with Tirurangadi Panchayat. The part of
Mamburam in Tirurangadi is a thickly populated housing area. The mosque itself is a
traditional structure in the kerala style without any outside ornamentation. The most
important feature of Mamburam is the makham where hundreds of people from all
communities present their grievances and obtain advice, and in some cases, medicinal
and magical treatment. The makham is another example of the religious syncretism and is
attended by people, particularly from the downtrodden communities. The other mosques
in Tirurangadi are the famous kizhakke palli and another mosque, called naduvile palli.
Kizhakkepalli is an imposing traditional structure with a large compound, located in the
middle of a large and dense housing area, bounded by the pallippadi-kakkad road on the
one side and the river on the other. Naduvilpalli is smaller than kizhakkepalli. The
houses around kizhakkeppalli are also of traditional architecture and have an ‘agrahara’
form with their doors leading to the street, showing their antiquity, but they are now
being restructured. Proximity of these mosques to the river is an obvious method to
resolve the problem of water supply.
Other old mosques include kunduchenappalli or Valiya jumaat palli, now in palakkal,
Muttichirappalli, on the road from Thalappara to parakkadavu, Kundoor palli in Kundoor
in Nannambra, and Jumaaat palli in Kodinji. There is another old mosque in alungal
beach and another mosque, not far away from the present one, is believed to have been
washed away by the sea. The mosques in kunduchena, Muttichira and Kodinji were built