Kaimal

Kaimal is a title of the Indian nobility. The term is derived from Kai which in the Malayalam language means hand, signifying power. Earlier Kaimals were either recognised chieftains, including the Kaimal of Vaikattillam, Kaimal of Karancheril, Kaimal of Niranampetti, the Anchu or five Kaimals of Cochin and Thachudaya Kaimal of Irinjalakuda Temple. Others were in charge of the treasury, which according to custom could not be seen even by the kings except in their presence. The counsel of the Kaimals was sought in all matters by their king or rajah.

Historian K. P. Padmanabha Menon suggests that the term is derived from a Malayalam word, noting: "Perhaps from Kai = hand meaning power; cf. Kai, Kan, and Kalpana = 'the hand', 'the eye' and 'the order' said to be the distinguishing prerogatives of the Nair caste according to the 17th century Keralolpathi, a work dealing with the origins of the land of Kerala. Another definition is koima +alu Koima(Dominant) Alu(Person) 'The person who dominates'. They were the feudal chiefs of the Malabar Kings and are often mentioned by Portuguese writers such as Barbosa, Castenheda and others. These writers mention that between the death of the Zamorin of Calicut and the swearing in of his successor, the government of the country was conducted by Kaimals. It was at one time their prerogative that one of them should always be in exclusive charge of the treasuries of the Malabar Rajas, the Rajas themselves having no power over them except through the Kaimal in charge. "Neither could they" says Barbosa "take anything out it [the treasury] without a great necessity and by the council of this person." Linguist Captain Alexander Hamilton also speaks of the same effect applying to the Chirakkal Rajas. The Kaimals were feudatories that had independent governments of their own, and were obliged only to follow the Rajas into the field of battle with an allotted number of fighting men. Some of them were Village kings /Naduvazhis ex: Angi kaimal, Vakkayil kaimal, Korattyil kaimal, Ranniyil kaimal, etc.

The wives of Kaimals used the honorific title Kunjamma, indicative of their greater status among the Nair community, where ladies unanimously used the title of Amma. The title Kunjamma is an honorific used commonly by all the royal families of Kerala. The Gazetteer of India's entry on Eranakulam for 1965 in discussing an adoption of the Koratty Kaimal refers to the sister of the Koratty as princess and the male member of the Murianattu Nambiar (a noble) as prince. As a result, Kunjamma can be translated as princess. The Kaimals in history books are referred to as "fifth Kaimal of Kodasseri, or the third Kaimal of Panamukkat."

...
Wikipedia