Murickassery

Murickassery is a major market and educational centre in the Idukki district of Kerala state, South India. This small village of migrant farmers and native Adivasi communities has been developing as an important centre of Idukki. Various spice products provide the life blood for this village and market. Murickassery is situated in Vathikkudy Grama Panchayath.HistoryThe history of Murickassery can be divided into the pre peasant migratory period and the post peasant migratory periods. The landmass now known as Murickassery and its surrounding regions were once thickly inhabited by the indigenous populace called the Mannans. The term Murickassery is itself derived from the Mannan dialect. There are two contradictory views regarding how the place got the name Murickassery. In the opinion of the first group the name Murickassery is derived from the term Muikkencheri or the Chery or the residential place of the Mannan Kani or headman of the region named Murikken. On the other hand it has been said that, there was a large Kattu Mulmurikku or a thorny plant in Murickassery. The Mannans of the region named the Chery or the place or region where the Kattu Mulmurikku grew as Murickkin Chery and in the course of time it became Murickassery. The non-existence of a Mannan kudi in Murickassery and the non-usage of Chery as the suffix of their kudis by the Mannan (instead, the Mannan used the term kudi to specify their settlements, as in Thopramkudy, Vathikkudy, Maniyarenkudy) shows that the second argument may probably be more convincing.