Edakkal Caves Wayanad

Come to Kerala God’s Own Country and visit the paradise in this part of the Indian subcontinent. As you travel down the pristine surroundings of this southern state in India, make it a point to visit the lovely picturesque region of Wayanad in Kerala. A perfect haven for all nature lovers, there is something really naturally beautiful here.

Come to the Edakkal Caves in Wayanad and find yourself in the virgin surroundings of ancient rock etchings and prehistoric caves. The caves have attracted the attention of the archaeologists and historians across the globe and have made a great mark in the history of this place.

Fascinating sights greet you as you enter the place the sheer thrill of having been here captivates you. Edakkal means “a stone in between” in Malayalam language. This cave has been formed out of a heavy boulder that has caused a fissure in the rock resulting in the formation of the cave.

The cave has two levels: a lower chamber and an upper chamber. The lower chamber is 18 feet long 12 feet broad and around 10 feet in height. There is a small opening measuring 5 feet by 4 feet which makes up the entrance to the cave. Then you have a passage which lies just in front of the entrance leading to the upper portion. There is a small opening here which leads you upwards. This is the second storey of the cave. The second storey is around 96 feet long, 22 feet broad and 18 feet high. On the right side, there is a small gap which allows light to come into the cave. Here the boulder does not touch the adjoining wall thus allowing light to seep in.

Legend has it that these caves were formed by the arrows that were aimed by the Indian God Lord Rama’s sons Luv and Kush. Today many people still believe that it is here that Lord Rama killed Surpanakha the Lanka King Ravana’s sister. It is said that in the narrow fissure, the battle ensued between them and Shoorpanaka got killed.

There is also another legend that is popular locally which links the place with a little devil of the Malabar Coast – the Kutti Chatan. It is said that this little devil and the Goddess Mudiampilli are linked and so many people undertake an annual pilgrimage here to go to the mountain and perform a puja for the Goddess and also to ward away the kutti chatan.

It was in the year 1890, that the superintendent of Police in the district of Malabar, chanced upon this beautiful Eden on one of his hunting trips. He saw a Neolithic Celt which is an axe or chisel, lying here. He brought it from the coffee estate belonging to Colin Mackenzie. Fred Fawcett this Superintendent was very enthusiastic about natural history and prehistoric materials. So he explored more and found the rock shelter Edakkal Caves. This lay on the western side of the Edakkamala. He found that this place was inhabited during the Neolithic times and called it their habitat. This Neolithic Age was from 4000BC to 1700 BC. The engravings on the cave appeared as engravings of the Neolithic period for him. This discovery kindled the excitement of Fawcett and he discovered the ruins of this place in this manner.

Fawcett associated the works that were found here as works of the Kurumbars who were the local tribe in the region. He observed that the Kurumbars were not very interested to go to the cave and the Paniyas and Hindus revered it a lot so he concluded that the work on the caves belonged to the Kurumbars of a bygone time zone. Fawcett believed that the Kurumbars were a mild lot, so they wouldn’t want to go to the cave and distort anything that is featured there. This is Fawcett’s assumption.

The Ambukutty Mala on top of which lies the cave was earlier a great trade route which connected the Malabar ports to the Mysore Mountains.

The Edakkal caves are not actually a cave but a cleft which is around 96 long and 22 feet broad with a height of around 30 feet. The main cause of the formation of these caves could be a huge piece of rock splitting away from the main rock. When I went there, I saw lovely carvings of animal and human forms, and many tools of the past along with the encrypts of animal and human figures. In fact the petrogylphs in the caves are as old as around 8000 years. Showcasing the best works of the ear between 5000 BC and 1000 BC, there has been a recent finding of another younger set of paintings which draws a great link to the Indus Valley civilization. A motif depicting a man with a jar cup is the most significant one here. The symbols here are very similar to those from the Harappan Civilization which links the Harappan culture to a Dravidian background.

The trip to the Edakkal caves was very enlightening and intriguing. Make it a point to visit these caves if you are in this part of India.