Amboori
|
Amboori അമ്പൂരി |
|
|---|---|
| town | |
| Location in Kerala, India | |
| Coordinates: 8°28′N 77°11′E / 8.47°N 77.19°ECoordinates: 8°28′N 77°11′E / 8.47°N 77.19°E | |
| Country |
 India
|
| State | Kerala |
| District | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Talukas | Neyyattinkara |
| Area | |
| • Total | 47.5893 km2 (18.3743 sq mi) |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 9,839 |
| • Density | 210/km2 (540/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Malayalam, English |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 695505 |
| Telephone code | 35567443 |
| Sex ratio | 45 ♂/♀ |
Amboori or Amboory is a village in the south east of Thiruvananthapuram district in the state of Kerala in India. Amboori is inhabited by the Kanikar tribe. Amboori is a grama Panchayat with a population (as of 2001) of 9,839. An important ethnic group in the area is the Kanikar tribe, about 800 members of this tribe live in the area. They use the title Kanikar Kani.
Amboori is 40 km (25 mi) from the Agastiya mountain peak where Sage Agastiya, the founder of Ayurveda, is believed to have built his hermitage.
Amboori is situated in the southern tip of western ghats, surrounded by hills and is near to kattakkada. South east of Amboori is the state of Tamil Nadu. It is surrounded by the grama panchayaths of Vellarada, Aryancode and Kallikkadu in the south, south-west and west respectively. The eastern part is covered by densely forested Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary. Amboori is well known for its high-yielding rubber plantations, however, the area also cultivates coconut, pepper, herbs, and medicinal plants. Amboori contains a plantation of holy Rudraksha (Eleocarpus Spaericus) trees. Adjoining Amboori is the Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary that is separated from the populated area by the catchment area of Neyyar Reservoir.
In the western hills of Amboori there is a large boulder called the Dravyappara (the treasure rock). It is believed that Raja of Venad, later Thiruvithamcore or Travancore, on his exile, spent his days on the top of this rock. There are 72 steps carved on the side of the boulder allowing one to ascend to the top. The height of the Dravyappara is approximately 700 ft from its base and approximately 1500 ft above sea level. There is cave temple in the top of Dravayappara.
Amboori has witnessed a large landslide in 2001 which claimed the life of 39 people. The tragedy occurred when a hill collapsed on to a house where there was a family gathering.
Amboori was inhabited by members of the Kanikar tribe since time immemorial. After the Second World War, the princely state of Travancore experienced severe famine, so the Raja of Travancore allowed Saint Thomas Christians of Kottayam region such as Pala and Meenachil to settle in uncultivated Western Ghats ranges. That resulted large scale migration to tribal areas and alineation of tribal land.(history has it that marthandavarma maharaja has given 48000 hectors of land to kanikkars in chembu pattayam, totally exempting from land tax,this area mostly falls under neyyatinkara and nedumangadu taluks, amboori too falls under that stretch of land.) An early settlement of Christians was in Pantha, located north of Amboori, near Mayam. The St. Mary's Church of Mayam was the first Roman Catholic church in the area. St.Mary's School, Mayam was the first primary School in the area. Later during the construction of Neyyar Reservoir, the people of Pantha, mostly Syrian Christians, Pulayas and Parayas were forced to resettle. Most of them resettled in Amboori. In 1947 twenty-five families of the Central Travencore Syrian Christians made their way into the hills of what was to be called Amboori. The people found their way to the hill on which Amboory resides by carrying their possessions almost 12 km beyond Panachamoodu, the last point then served by public transportation.
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