Devaatparambu ( Deevatti Parambh )

Importance

During the times of Gods

There is a popular belief that During the time of the gods, thousands of years ago the gods and sages would come for retreat to the bhramagiri Hills and do penance. During these times the gods and sages were accompanied by the devakanyas and other celestial bodies as support to their rituals. These semi gods would occupy the grounds of Devaataparamb which in Kodava language translates to deevada aat kaamba paramb( ground).

It is told that this area was exclusive occupied by these semi gods and the caretakers of the Kodagu land.

During the times of  the Kodavas

Later in the period prior to the time of the kings this land became a point of Center for the Kodavas as their head quarters. It is said that the naad Thakkas and the Oor thakkas from different part of Kodagu would meet every year here to discuss the issues of their respective lands and sort it out in this Location called Devaataparamb. As the gods were the witness to every activity there it was considered as a most sacred place for any meetings and also a main place of Justice to Kodavas

Purpose

Several activities in this annual event a few of which is as follow

As Entertainment

Every village would demonstrate their skills in their respective mandh and collectively move to Devaataparamb and conclude the skill exhibition annually. Puthari kool would be one of the major attraction during this season.

As Social Hub

Due to some reasons if any okkas were on the verge of getting extinct ( Kuthi Nasha ), the thakkas of that Naad/Oor would mention about the requirement of a fellow male kodava  to such Okka. The message would spread to other parts of Kodagu and during the whole year young energetic efficient Kodava boys could go to such Naad ( villages ) and express their interest by exhibiting their skills to avoid kuthi Nasha of that okka and accept makka Parije or Okka parije depending on the understanding and requirements of that family. The thakkas of that Nad, discussing with the okka members would decide on the boy who is eligible to save the okka from its extinct.

As inclusiveness

This type of hierarchy is said to be in practice in Kodagu till the arrival of the king. One of the main reason for this was also to maintain the unity and retain the exclusiveness of the kodava culture by making all the Okkas inclusive in the society.

During the times of  the Kings

Due to many reasons unknown or probably the king under the fear of losing his importance, this practice did not continue. the discussions of kuthi naasha and Atrocities of the kings were probably discussed there and hence the ban of the meetings could have occured. the okkas which were eliminated by the kings are recorded in the Intermarriages between the Okkas 

Devati Parambu Memorial

Incident

Devati Parambu Memorial at Ayyangeri in Kodagu was built in memory of the martyrs who were allegedly massacred by Tipu Sultan. Devati Parambu is a site that witnessed the massacre of thousands of Kodavas in 1785.

About the massacre

Tipu and his father Hyder Ali made several attempts to capture Kodagu and all their attempts failed because Kodavas were the master of  guerrilla warfare hence they succeeded every time in ambushing Tippu.

The humiliation forced Tippu to seek revenge on Kodava so he sent a message to naal naad Kodavas inviting them for a negotiation stating his main enemies were Marathas and British hence he would want to end the war with Kodava and head back to Srirangapatana. Learning about the invite Kodavas from naal naad gathered with their family on 12^th of December 1785 at Devatiparambu located on banks of the river Cauvery to negotiate an end the decade-long war. As Sun set behind the mountains of Kodagu, Kodava came to Devatiparambu unarmed meanwhile half of Tippu’s army was deployed inside the forest waiting for Kodavas to gather as a part of his cowardly plan, once Tippu was sure he had unarmed men trapped he ordered his army to massacre all Kodava present at Devatiparambu, troops hiding behind the bushes pounded on unarmed men, women and kids slaughtering more than 70,000 and capturing about 90,000 Kodavas and were deported to Srirangapatna.

Kodava Martyrs Day

In The Year 2020 almost every kodava living across the world marked the 12th of December as Kodava Balidaan diwas / Kodava Martyrs day and lit a lamp in their houses to pay respect to thousands of kodavas who laid their life for the present generations to live.