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The history of Alapatt Palathingal Family is one that stands the test of time itself. Born from religious conversion and wartime migration. The name Alapatt Palathingal will be remembered for the values and faith it has established in its members throughout history. Today, these faith and value systems have allowed the children of this family, to rise up the ranks of society, to become influential figures to shape and design the future of our community.
Let us explore our story and learn in-depth our history and discuss how it all began, starting with the efforts and lengths went by members of our family to trace our history. This also gives a peek into the origin of the name Alapatt Palathingal. Although this brief summary may not do justice to eleven generations of effort, we hope it gives you a glance into what makes us, what we are today.
In the governing period of “Kulashekara” and “Perumbadappu Swaroopam” some Christian families including Alapatt family migrated to new places to do agriculture and business. In the later years of 1600s attack from the “Marikkars”, military heads of Samuthiry, was another reason for the settlement in other places. One of the sub divisions of Alapatt Family settled in Parappukara in Thrissur District of Kerala. They chose to live in the northern side of the Bridge over Kurumali River in Parappukara. In the early 1700s that particular branch of Alapatt family was called Palathingal. From Parappukara a “Karanavar”(family head) named Varu of Alapatt family migrated to Kattoor in 1730. He settled in Edathiruthy near Kattoor. There are evidences showing that he shifted to Kattoor with his family (which was part of erstwhile Cochin State) in 1736. In 1746 he built a “Tharavattu Pura” (a traditional Nalukettu house) near the bridge in Parayankadavu, Kattoor. Varu had four sons namely Vareed, Anthony, Chummar and Poulose. The successors of Varu are the Alapatt Palathingal Family members. Like all traditional Christian families Alapatt Palathingal Family looked after the religious, moral, economic and educational betterment of the family members. All these years the family has stood by its cherished values and thrived on the traditional cultural influence.
It is believed that one of the disciples of Jesus Christ, St. Thomas came to Kerala in 52 AD. He attracted some Brahmin families to the path of Christ and they adopted Christianity. According to traditional belief St. Thomas created seven Christian communities here. One of the thirty two important Brahmin villages in Kerala in that period was Moolikulam (now Moozhikulam). A “Mana”( Brahmin House) named Alapatt Mana in Moozhikulam is the origin of Alapatt family. It is traditionally believed that different branches of Alapatt Family spread all over the world with different sub names originated from Alapatt Mana. Alapatt Palathingal Family is one of the main subdivisions of Alapatt Family.
Established in 1989, Alapatt Palathingal tharavattuyogam brought together all the extended members of the family. This became the impetus behind the first publication of the book on Alapatt Palathingal Tharavattuyogam in 2001, titled ‘Alapatt Palathingal Tharavattu Charithram’, Part 1. It has precise descriptions of important personalities, family connections and other relevant facts. Earlier we had published a Family Directory showing addresses, telephone numbers and other details of family members. The detailed history of Alapatt Palathingal family, namely ‘Alapatt Palathingal Tharavattu Charithram’, Part 2 (Thalamurakalilude) was published in 2003.
By going through the above mentioned history books published by the Alapatt Palathingal Tharavattuyogam, one can see that Alapatt Palathingal Family has given birth to plenty of important personalities who served the society, Syro-Malabar Catholic Church as well as the State. Bishop Mar Dr. George Alapatt, Msgr.Ephrem Palathingal, Rev.Fr.Vincent CMI, Mother Marium Magdalena CMC, several other priests and nuns. Mothers of two Catholic Bishops are from Alapatt Palathingal Family. Some of our family members have served the nation by working in IAS, IPS, IFS and IES cadre. There are others who are professionals like Scientists, Doctors, Engineers, Chartered Accountants, Advocates, Teachers, Businessmen and Industrialists.
History of Alapatt Palathingal Family is traced down to twelve generations spread over a period of more than three centuries. Alapatt Palathingal Family starts from a “Karanavar”(family head) named Varu who lived in the early 1700s.Varu had four sons namely Vareed, Anthony, Chummar and Poulose. The descendants of Vareed, Anthony & Chummar are the Alapatt Palathingal Family members. Like all traditional Christian families Alapatt Palathingal Family paid close attention to the religious, moral, economic and educational betterment of the family members. All these years the family has stood by its cherished values and thrived on its rich tradition.
It was the selfless and concentrated effort led by Rev. Fr. Issac Alapatt CMI, that led to the creation of a detailed Family Tree (genealogy).
This effort to trace the history of Alapatt Palathingal Family had started long before the formation of Alapatt Palathingal Tharavattuyogam. Now, our Family Tree is spread over a period of three hundred years and it shows twelve generations of family history.
As the history of a community is closely related to the geography of a place and cultural influence of the concerned religion, we made a detailed study of Kerala History (including history of Kochi State), History of Kattoor and History of the Christian Church. As part of the research related to history, we went through plenty of land documents, birth records in various churches and write -ups by our forefathers. Historical Records of Kottakavu(Parur), Parappukkara, Enammavu, Pazhuvil and Edathiruthy Churches were scrutinized. Moreover we collected relevant historical information from Alapatt Mana in Parakkadvau, Kalathymekkatt Mana in Moozhikkulam, Mazhuvanchery Mana, some of the Namboothiri houses in Pazhuvil and Lakshmana Temple in Moozhikkulam. These efforts would not have been complete had our forefathers did not keep proper records in earlier times. There is no doubt that their accounts of the historical facts helped a lot in our effort to write the history, the family tree in particular.