In my previous article, I wrote about the aristocratic title kartha of Kerala. In this article, I touch on another title: കുറുപ്പ് kurupp. Kurup is a last name among the Nayar community of Kerala, derived from a professional title awarded in ancient times to two distinct professions: (1) chieftains of regional provinces, and (2) teachers in martial arts schools.¹ The former were aristocratic nobility with the power to rule; the latter were highly respected members of the community without any ruling power. How did these two entirely different types of jobs get the same title? To answer that, we go back in time and space to another ancient society: pharaonic Egypt, in which a strikingly similar title, kherep, was used for two entirely different professions: (1) chieftains, and (2) directors of teams. The former were aristocratic rulers; the latter were middle managers in pharaonic Egypt’s complicated bureaucratic hierarchy.
In ancient Egyptian, the word kherep meant to govern, control, administer.² It was the title of powerful leaders, such as the “kherep of Sais”, “kherep of both lands,” “kherep of the greatest of the tens of Upper Egypt.”³ It was also used to describe much less powerful men, such as directors of military recruits, carpenters, and stone masons.⁴ These titles were used throughout pharaonic Egyptian history, from the Early Dynastic Period (ca. 3150 BCE -2600 BCE) through the Late Period (660 BCE — 300 BCE).⁵ One hypothesis for the wide variety of kherep titleholders is that as the administrative bureaucracy increased in size, the number of individuals holding the title of kherep also proportionally increased, and the range of their responsibilities varied likewise.⁶ Thus, while the kherep title was wielded by powerful regional rulers in early times, the title was held by much less powerful men as well in later times.
Interestingly, the kurupp titleholders of Kerala do not show such wide variations of professions as in ancient Egypt. Indeed, in Kerala, the title is exclusively restricted to either the powerful chieftain or the director of the martial arts school. If this title migrated from ancient Egypt, what happened to the kurupp of other professions in Kerala, such as the director of workers, stonemasons, and artisans?⁷ Perhaps Kerala’s administrative bureaucracy was simpler than the one in Egypt, and there was no need of so many midlevel managers. Or perhaps, over time, Kerala’s administrators learnt to make do with fewer bureaucrats, run a leaner team, as they say in modern management speak. Who knows and who can say? The past is buried in the sands and soil of Egypt and Kerala. When can we uncover the secrets they hold?
Notes
[1] Padmanabha Menon, 1924–37, A History of Kerala written in the form of Notes on Visscher’s Letters from Malabar, 4 vols., rev. ed. 2013, 3:190 (New Delhi: Asian Educational Services); Anantha Iyer, 1909–12, The Tribes and Castes of Cochin, 2 vols., repr. 1981, 19 (New Delhi: Cosmo Publications).
[2] 𓐍𓂋𓊪𓂥 https://thesaurus-linguae-aegyptiae.de/lemma/120150. The specific ruling power associated with the word kherep was symbolized by a scepter of the same name, typically shown with the powerful leaders. 𓐍𓂋𓊪𓌂 https://thesaurus-linguae-aegyptiae.de/lemma/120140. During the Old and Middle Kingdoms, the kherep scepter was shown in the hands of high officials; during the New Kingdom, it was also shown in consecration offerings by the pharaoh. Heba Mahran, 2020, “What are you holding? Scenes from the New Kingdom Private Tombs at Saqqara,” Athens Journal of Mediterranean Studies, vol. 6(4): 247–78.
[3] https://thesaurus-linguae-aegyptiae.de/lemma/855078; https://thesaurus-linguae-aegyptiae.de/lemma/859717; https://thesaurus-linguae-aegyptiae.de/lemma/886211; https://thesaurus-linguae-aegyptiae.de/lemma/853681.
[4] “kherep of military recruits,” https://thesaurus-linguae-aegyptiae.de/lemma/885701; “kherep of works,” https://thesaurus-linguae-aegyptiae.de/lemma/401031; “kherep of laborer crew,” https://thesaurus-linguae-aegyptiae.de/lemma/450426; “kherep of archivists,” https://thesaurus-linguae-aegyptiae.de/lemma/450576; “kherep of stone masons,” https://thesaurus-linguae-aegyptiae.de/lemma/881876; etc.
[5] Matthew W. B. George, 2014, “Those Administrative Documents are Sealed,” Master of Research Thesis, Macquarie University; Mahran, “What are you holding? 247–78; Neal Spencer, 2010, “Sustaining Egyptian culture? Non-royal initiatives in Late Period temple building,” in Egypt in Transition: Social and Religious Development of Egypt in the First Millennium BCE, eds. Ladislav Bareš, Filip Coppens, Květa Smoláriková, 441–90 (Prague: Czech Institute of Egyptology).
[6] See, e.g., George, “Those Administrative Documents are Sealed,” 63 (“the increase of controllers during [the Early Dynastic Period] could be indicative of increased regulation from the central administrative authority over those people who were in charge of the day-to-day operating of domains, as well as indicating a change in the structure of the administration, as the new titles that denote control over other
offices indicate that a hierarchy is now present.”); also Spencer, “Sustaining Egyptian culture,” 449–50 (by the time of the 26th dynasty during the Late Period, there are references to non-aristocratic individuals such as “kherep of works,” “kherep of mansions,” as well as aristocratic administrators “kherep of Ihnasya” involved in temple building activities).
[7] Intriguingly, the Tamil Kammalar community includes people having last names that include the term kurupp, such as vadikurupp, kollakurupp, etc., related to crafting corresponding weapons. The term kammalar derives from Sangam literature word kammiyar meaning “artisan.” കമ്മാളര് kammalar means “artisan” in Malayalam too. The corresponding Egyptian word for “artisan” was hami, and the director of these artisans had the title kherep-hami. https://thesaurus-linguae-aegyptiae.de/lemma/883550. The initial Egyptian sound [h] had a pronunciation similar to [k] in some words, so that hami may have actually been pronounced kami, which may be the root of Sangam kammiyar and Malayalam kammalar. Perhaps, there could have been the kherep of kammalar also in Kerala and Tamil Nadu once upon a time, similar to their Egyptian counterpart, but the job may have become obsolete in Kerala over many centuries, while continuing in Tamil Nadu.
