Avinissery
Grama Panchayat

Avinissery is a region with a history spanning thousands of years. The name is associated with the term “cheri” (settlement), and several local place names such as Vallukunnathussery, Perinchery, Cheruvathery, Palissery, and Avinissery have retained the suffix “cheri” since the period when Jainism flourished in the region.

The influence of Jainism is evident in local landmarks such as Anakkallu (Elephant Rock), associated with the elephant, a sacred symbol in Jain worship, and Pallippuram, now part of Paralam Panchayat. These sites indicate the historical presence and influence of Jainism in the area.

The Panchayat is home to 11 temples and 2 churches, which serve as its major places of worship. Numerous ritual arts and traditional customs are associated with these temples. While some continue to thrive, others are gradually declining. Important ritual art forms include Parayan Thullal, Nanthuni Pattu, and Poothamkuli of Cherusserykavu.

Other traditional performing arts that are fading away include:

• Nanthuni Pattu performed by the Perumannan community,
• Kurinjippattu sung by the Panar (Bharatha Kuravar) community during the Malayalam month of Mithunam,
• Thukilunarthu Pattu performed during Karkidakam,
• Onappattu during Chingam,
• Kalamezhuthu Pattu performed by the Pulluvan community.

Many local temple rituals continue to be observed, including:

• Pothottam at Cherusserykavu on the last day of the Malayalam month of Kanni,
• Thottam Pattu in prominent ancestral households,
• Kalamezhuthu Pattu,
• Mudiyettu,
• Aivarkali, Kalakkali, and Darikan Thullal at the Pallissery Temple.

The Nankulam Sastha Temple and Cheruvathery Mele Thrikkovil Temple are more than a thousand years old.

Ayurveda and Traditional Learning

Avinissery was once renowned for its Ayurvedic practitioners. In earlier times, Ayurveda was the primary healthcare system relied upon by the local population. Notable physicians such as Parekkattu Shanku Vaidyar and Cherussery Shankunni Vaidyar, now remembered only in history, were said to have been contemporaries of the eminent Ayurvedic scholar E.T. Neelakandan Mooss.

Before formal schools were established, traditional Nilathezuthu centres (floor-writing schools) served as the main educational institutions.

Freedom Movement and Khadi Activities

From the 1930s onwards, the influence of the Indian national movement and the freedom struggle reached Avinissery. Efforts were made to promote swadeshi products, khadi, and related activities.

In 1937, khadi activities began under the name Cochin Village Industries Association. Training was provided in:

• Spinning yarn using the Kisan Charkha,
• Handmade paper production,
• Khadi weaving,
• Rice processing using traditional wooden and stone mills,
• Matchbox manufacturing.

The centre was designed to accommodate approximately 150 girls working simultaneously.

P.S. Shankunni Vaidyar, who was imprisoned during the freedom movement in the 1930s, is recognized as the first freedom fighter from the region to undergo imprisonment.

Formation of Local Administration

In 1941, when local self-government institutions were first established, the villages of Palissery and Avinissery were merged to form Kodannur Panchayat. The first President was freedom fighter V.R. Krishnan Ezhuthachan.

The Avinissery Village consists of the regions of Avinissery, Vallissery, and Perinchery, while Palissery Village includes Palissery and Cheruvathery.

Except for Perinchery, most of these areas were under the ownership of various Namboothiri landlord families. Perinchery alone was under the control of the Perumanam Devaswom, which belonged to the Kingdom of Travancore.

Following the Land Reform Acts implemented after 1957, the feudal landlord system was abolished, and ownership of land was transferred to tenants and farmers.

Agriculture

Rice cultivation has traditionally been the backbone of the local economy. The principal cultivation seasons included:

• Virippu
• Mundakan
• Puncha
• Themali

An intensive cultivation programme known as Kadumkrishi was also practiced in the Kole wetlands in addition to Puncha cultivation.

Traditional feudal practices such as tribute and customary payments to landlords gradually disappeared with social and agrarian reforms.

Industrial Development

Avinissery Panchayat today occupies a prominent place in the industrial sector. Apart from a few traditional occupational enterprises, there were no significant industries in earlier times.

The first major employment centre established in the area was the Khadi Production Unit, where spinning and weaving activities had begun even before India attained independence. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s Khadi Movement, the initiative reached Avinissery through the efforts of V.R. Krishnan Ezhuthachan and others.

People spun yarn from their homes or at the khadi centre, and dhotis were woven on looms installed there. For many families, this became a significant source of livelihood.

Later, tile factories and packing-case factories were established. Workers in these industries organized themselves to secure better wages and service conditions.

Major labour struggles included:

• The 1958 Tile Factory Workers’ Strike demanding minimum wages.
• The 1978 Packing Case Workers’ Strike, which lasted for more than a month and sought employee benefits.

Many residents of Avinissery also participated in the 1955 coir workers’ strike at Manalur, during which several workers were subjected to police repression.

Education

Formal education in Avinissery began through government and aided schools established as part of educational initiatives undertaken during the Travancore–Cochin period.

Among these institutions, the Perinchery A.L.P. School has a history spanning more than eighty years, making it one of the oldest educational institutions in the Panchayat.