Article Written By EIH Researcher And Writer
Aswathy Moni
Muniyara is a small village in Adimaly block in Idukki District of Kerala State. What makes the Muniyara so special is the dolmens which are abundant here.
Dolmenoids are burial chambers made of four stones placed vertically up and covered by a large stone slab, also known as ‘cap stone’ from the top. Dolmens generally belong to the megalithic period or the great stone age period which occurred between 10,000 BCE and 500 CE. It is marked by special burial stones marked by megaliths-burial places made of large stones. The period is also marked by other types of megaliths such as cists (pitted chambers), menhirs (pointed marker stones), cairns (rock piles), and sarcophagi (stone coffins). Manimekhalai, one of the five epics of Tamil literature written around 500 CE, mentions the religious undertones in the complex funeral rites in South India-mentioning the burial spots such as stone chambers, pits, urns, and sacrophagi. According to anthropologists, the emergence of megaliths is the first definitive sign of humanity developing a belief in the afterlife. There are other explanations to the same that the cremation practice might have been used by that time since they seem to have been pragmatic and would have been a practice to avoid corpse-borne diseases.
The dolmens in Marayoor belong to pre-historic times. They are generally known as Muniyara ( rooms where the munis or sages meditate). They belong to the Neolithic age, these burial chambers are made of large stone slabs called “megaliths”. It is dated that the dolmen cists here belong to the Neolithic age of Kerala, between 3000 BC and 14000 BC. Some of them also belong to the Iron Age, which is proven by the existence of the iron tools here. The origin of the Maryoor dolmens is still not known. According to some researchers, the architects of the dolmens in Marayoor might have belonged to some pre-Dravidian tribes-the Malpatarams, the Paniyans, the Uraliis, the Kadars, the Muthuvans, etc. These structures are made of stone slabs that are laid vertically on the ground and are covered by one single stone on the top. Many of the dolmens are multi-chambered in Muniyara. They also vary in size it is believed that large dolmens are believed to have been used by people of high status. The pattern of Marayoor dolmens is of special mention. Four plates or stone slabs of granite make the walls, and the final plate known as the capstone makes up the roof. Many of the dolmens also have a hole on the sides of the walls, it is believed to allow the soul to flow back and forth between the body and the aether.
Today, even though the archaeological department had been so specific about the historical relevance of the megaliths of Marayoor, there are failures from part of the public that the megaliths now are on the verge of getting destroyed by carelessness and also by natural factors. They are lacking conservative measures.
REFERENCES
- Gazetteer of India Kerala State Gazetteer Volume 2
- keralaculture.org
