Socio-cultural Processes and Livelihood Patterns at Tirurangadi - CDS

also. Stories and memories of the Tharamal Thangal family were also popular, and the
story of the Cherur rising was made popular through a song called Cherur Chinth. These
stories and memories might have helped generate a very strong anti-British sentiment
among the people, and this sentiment had very strong cultural roots, assisted by the use of
print. The Makham at Mamburam continued to attract a large number of people, and
despite the disputes among the maliyakkal family, the people continued to take the anti-
British and possibly anti-landlord message of the Thangal tradition seriously
The traditional intellectuals had disappeared or became British supporters, as indicated
earlier, but a new generation of Ulema drawn from the local, ordinary people was
emerging. The most important among them was Ali Musaliar, a native of Nellikkuth in
Eranad, who became the Musaliar of Tirurangadi mosque in 1907. He was a descendant
of the Mukhdoom of Ponnani from the mother’s side, was educated at Ponnani, and had a
seven year’s stint at Mecca, before he took charge in Tirurangadi. From the perspective
of the Sunni traditions among the Mappilas, Ali Musaliar was eminently qualified to
become their spiritual leader. Moreover, he had lost his relatives in two earlier uprisings,
in 1894 and 1896. Another was Thayyil Mohammedkutty Moulavi, who became active in
the Khilafat movement. There were others, like K.M.Moulavi who became prominent
since the rebellion. Among them, Ali Musaliar earned widespread respect as a theologian,
who also maintained very close links with the local population. This meant that once
again a spiritual and social leadership emerged among the Mappilas.
We have already seen that the conditions of livelihood in the entire area were miserable.
We have seen that majority of the people were subsistence farmers and laborers. WE
have no direct indications regarding the condition of the people after the war, but there is
some evidence from the period since 1905 that the prices of some of the important
products of the area were declining. The relevant figures for Tirurangadi are given below: