Senapathy
Grama Panchayat

Senapathy is a beautiful agricultural village located on the eastern border of Kerala, at the foothills of the Western Ghats. Cardamom hills, paddy fields, coffee, pepper and vegetable crops indicate the prosperity of this area. Natural beauties like Swargammedu, Katoothimedu, Kuthungal waterfall and hilltop ponds are tourist attractions. The name “Senapathy” is derived from legends related to the Poonjar royal family. It was an ancient settlement of tribal communities and was later settled by migrant farmers from Travancore and Kochi. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood here; pepper, cardamom, rice and coffee are the main crops. The rain-fed farming system and the agricultural lands on the hillsides are the specialty of Senapathy. Education and cultural progress have grown over time. The people here are a community of people who maintain religious harmony and social unity. Senapathy is a notable village for its natural beauty, historical heritage and agricultural prosperity.

This is ‘Senapathy’, a beautiful agricultural settlement village perched high on the eastern border of Kerala at the foothills of the Western Ghats. The lush green cardamom forests, paddy fields, and farmlands growing coffee, pepper, and vegetables all bear the hallmark of prosperity. The green paddy fields, which are covered with greenery in the gentle breeze of the east, the Katoothimedu, guarded by the seven beauties, the pond on the hilltop, and the Kuthungal waterfall that flows in full flow during the monsoon, all combine to create a beautiful canvas of nature.

History

It is said that the king of the Poonjar royal family, the vassal of the Travancore royal family, lived in Rajakad, the princess in Rajakumari, and the commander in chief in Senapathy, while the king lived in the forest. The place where the commander lived is also known as Senapathy, and the place where the princess lived is also known as Rajakad. Like the panchayats of Rajakumari and Rajakad, which border the Senapathy panchayat to the north and west, the Udumbanchola and Shanthanpara panchayats bordering the south and east are panchayats with a historical background. It is said that during the reign of the Tamil dynasties of the Chola kings and the Tirumala Nayaks, they used to travel through these areas to collect forest resources even during the invasions of other dynasties. Ancient tribal groups dominated various parts of the panchayat in various colonies. For example, the physical remains of centuries-old temples and places of worship exist in various parts of this panchayat. In order to control the infiltration of Tamils, the Pattom Thanupillai cabinet gave permission for immigration. Accordingly, most of the residents of this panchayat are immigrants from different parts of the state. Churches and temples function based on various customs and rituals. The people here are the owners of a high culture where different caste and religious groups live together and there are no superstitions. The main income of the agricultural laborers working in the agricultural sector and the Tamils ​​and tribal groups working in the cardamom plantation area comes from the agricultural sector. The high hilly areas, steep slopes, and rocky areas are barren lands. Pepper and cardamom are mainly cultivated on such slopes. Paddy is also cultivated in the fields between the hills. Generally speaking, the slopes of the mountains lying east and west and the plains between them are the main land suitable for cultivation. Therefore, most of the agricultural lands are sloping towards the south or north. Cardamom is also cultivated on a relatively small percentage of the land that is flat. Generally, the agricultural land slopes towards the west. Agriculture is mainly dependent on rain. Pepper, cardamom and rice are the main crops in the panchayat. Coffee, coconut, cocoa, banana, cloves, ginger, turmeric, tuber crops, kamuk, vegetables, castor, ginger grass and fodder grass are also cultivated on a small scale. About 40% of the land suitable for cultivation is pepper. The main source of income for the majority of the farmers in the panchayat is from pepper cultivation. In the early days, paddy was cultivated as a spread crop in the fields and dry lands. Cardamom was the main crop in the forests and kappa, ginger and ginger grass in other places. The decline in soil fertility and changes in the climate led to the decline in yields. Later, ginger and kappa were cultivated on this land. The main sources of income in the early days were grass oil and ginger, while food requirements were met through rice and kappa. The 70s and 80s were a time of great progress in pepper cultivation. The lands that were cultivated with cardamom, kappa, ginger and ginger grass were converted into pepper plantations. In the early 80s, the high price of pepper, the scarcity of firewood and facilities for processing ginger grass, and the last remaining grass cultivation led to the conversion of pepper plantations.

Cultural History

In the 1950s, the children of the residents here did not even have primary education facilities. There were no modern-style kindergartens or old-style Asan Kalaris back then. The constant rains and extreme cold created a terrible situation where children could not be allowed to go out of their homes. The first educational institution in this panchayat was started by Gov. Tribal Arivilamchal. But the children had to travel many kilometers up and down hills and mountains through cardamom plantations to reach the school. Since there were no transportation facilities, teachers from the countryside were not willing to come and work in this place, so in the early days, there were few teachers in this school. The cultural level of Senapathy Panchayat, where a section of farmers migrated to Idukki district in search of a daily meal and a piece of land as a result of the extreme hunger and poverty experienced throughout the country in the aftermath of World War II, is not far behind any other culture that has emerged in Kerala. The unity among the migrants to escape from hunger, wild animal attacks and natural disasters experienced during the early stages of migration was a milestone in the cultural history of the panchayat. The people of this panchayat, who migrated from various countries with the shocking experiences of royal rule, British imperial rule and feudal dictatorship, have made many contributions to maintaining the high culture of secularism and community harmony. The reading room started as Malanad Library was transformed into the panchayat library.

In this land where the stories of human settlement stretching back to the Great Stone Age lie, the sage stones of Swargam Mett, the plains of Otathi Mala, the pond and pond of the Saptakanyakas of Katoothi ​​Mett, and the statue and pond of Karuppu Swami all open up endless possibilities for tourism. Most of the population of the panchayat are descendants of people who migrated from Thiruvithangur and Kochi to recover from the food shortage that arose due to the ravages of World War II. Historical records indicate that primitive tribal groups lived in various areas of Senapathy Panchayat centuries before the human migration to the high range. The name of the panchayat itself is associated with myths and legends. This also strengthens the fact that there was human settlement here before prehistoric times. During the migration period, people who climbed the mountains using only their courage cleared the undergrowth and turned the Senapathy hills into a beautiful land where gold grows. The land of this panchayat is full of bald hills, small plains, rocky hills, small streams, and streams. This area, which was full of swamps and meadows, was a haven for wild animals. Senapathy panchayat is an island-like land surrounded by water on three sides of the panchayat. The climate here, which is bordered by the Panniyar river and the Chemmannar stream, is suitable for cardamom cultivation. Therefore, the life of the people has been related to cardamom cultivation since ancient times. With the arrival of migrant farmers, crops like pepper, coffee, cassava, banana, and coconut also started being cultivated here.