Amboori

Geography

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.

History

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 Nasranis 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.

The first three years was rife with hardship for Amboorians as they fought malaria and wild animals. Many lost their lives but could not be cared for or buried properly. In 1950 another fifty more families from Palai, Kanjirapally, Changanachery, Thodupuzha, and Chengannorr ventured to Amboory to make their homes there.

Educational institutions

St. Thomas Higher Secondary School, both English and Malayalam medium. St. Joseph's primary school St. Mary's Upper Primary School, Mayam. Tribal Primary School, Puravimalai. Kovilloor LPS Kannannoor is one of the first LP schools in Amboory area. Govt. LP School, Kuttamalai UP School, St.Mary's LP School, Thekkupara, S.H. Nursery school Thekkuppara, Industrial Training Centre for Scheduled Tribes, Kuttamala. Gopalan Memorial Library and research institute situated in Koottappu

Legends

Legend has it that the poor citizens of Amboory used to get small loans from an unnamed Goddess (spirit) of the Dravyappara. A request for money was to be said aloud standing next to a large granite door on the northeastern side of the rock. On approval of the loan by the devata, a granite bucket on the southeastern side of the door would be filled with the requested amount. The citizen was expected to remit the same amount in a reasonable time frame by dropping the money in the bucket and pronouncing aloud that the money was deposited.

It was an unspoken rule that no one should look inside the door, however, one day a young man, while returning the loan of his father, waited to see who the lender was. Eventually he saw a beautiful nude woman come out, take the money, and turn to go inside. However, as the story goes, she sees the young man and, instantaneously, the door of the Dravyappara closed forever with large thunderclap.

There are villagers who believe that one day the door will open again, and they perform pujas (worship rituals) regularly on the southeastern side of the Dravyappara where there are three narrow entrances.

The Kani Tribe of Amboory have another legend in which one of the oldest devotees of the Dravyappara received a divine vision of a Devi (goddess) while performing his puja. She reportedly told him, "I will open the door for you provided you can sow and reap the rice in a single day" from a certain paddy field. However, the tribe has no conclusion to the story.