Tharavad, or Tharavadu () (തറവാട്), is the Malayalam term which was originally used for the ancestral home of aristocratic Nair[1][2] families in Kerala, and which usually served as the common residence for the matrilineal joint family under the Marumakkathayam system practiced in the state.[3][4] It was classically the residence of the Jenmimar, but modern usage of the word is now more generic to all social classes and religions in Kerala.[5] The German linguist Hermann Gundert, in his Malayalam—English dictionary published in 1872, defines a Tharavadu as, "An ancestral residence of land-owners and kings", and also as, "A house, chiefly of noblemen".[6] By extension, the word refers not just to the family's house but to the extended family that shares that house. Heads of tharavadus - usually the eldest living male - were known as Karnavars, and junior members as Anandravans.
- ^ manoramanews, manoramaonline. "Christian Tharavadu".
- ^ The new indian express, Indian Express. "A house reminisces 400 years of its history".
- ^ Kakkat, Thulasi (18 August 2012). "Kerala's Nalukettus". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
- ^ Kunhikrishnan, K. (12 April 2003). "Fallen tharavads". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 December 2017.[dead link]
- ^ Pannikar, K.M. (1960). "A History of Kerala 1498 - 1801". Annamalai University Press.
- ^ Hermann Gundert (1872). A Malayalam and English Dictionary. C. Stolz. p. 434. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
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