Tharavad, also spelled asTharavadu (pronunciationⓘ) (തറവാട്), is theMalayalam word for theancestral home of aristocratic Nair families[1][2] inKerala, which usually served as the common residence for thematrilinealjoint family under theMarumakkathayam system practiced in the state.[3][4] German linguistHermann Gundert, in his Malayalam—English dictionary published in 1872, defines aTharavadu as, "An ancestral residence of land-owners and kings", and also as, "A house, chiefly of noblemen".[5] It was classically the residence ofJenmimar, but contemporary usage of the word is now more generic to all social classes and religions in Kerala.[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 asKarnavars, and junior members asAnandravans.
Inseparable from the traditional concept of a tharavad is, historically, Kerala's distinctiveNālukettu architectural tradition. A classic Nalukettu tharavad would be built with four halls, each with a defined purpose, and collectively enclosing aNadumuttam, or open-air courtyard. Wealthier and more prominent tharavads would construct mansions with multiple such atria, such as the eight-halledEttukettu, with two nadumuttams, orPathinarukettu, sixteen-halled with four nadumuttams, and the preserve of royal families and tharavads of similar rank. Rarely, twelve-halledPathrandukettu were constructed. with three courtyards,[7] and there is a record of a 32-halledMuppathirandukettu being erected, although it was lost to a fire soon after construction.[8]
