Tharavad

Tharavad, also spelled as Tharavadu (pronunciationⓘ) (തറവാട്), is the Malayalam word for the ancestral home of aristocratic Nair families[1][2] in Kerala, which usually served as the common residence for the matrilineal joint family under the Marumakkathayam system practiced in the state.

[3][4] 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".

[5] It was classically the residence of Jenmimar, but contemporary usage of the word is now more generic to all social classes and religions in Kerala.

Heads of tharavadus - usually the eldest living male - were known as Karnavars, and junior members as Anandravans.

A classic Nalukettu tharavad would be built with four halls, each with a defined purpose, and collectively enclosing a Nadumuttam, or open-air courtyard.

An eight-halled ettukettu tharavad
A typical tharavadu reproduced from K. M. Panikkar 's article published in 1918. Capital and small letters represent females and males respectively. Supposing that the females A, B and C were dead and the oldest male member karnavar being d, if the male members t, k and others demanded partition, the property would be divided into three parts.
A traditional nadumuttam
1901 photograph of a tharavadu