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Alummoottil is an aristocratic Ezhava family (Tharavad) in Karthikapally Thaluk of Alappuzha district in Kerala. The family mansion (Meda) and the courtyard (Naalukettu) are within the Muttom post office (Pin code 690511) delivery limits. The Naalukettu is over four hundred twenty-five (425) years old and is one of the oldest such structures in Kerala. The Alummoottil Meda is hundred twenty-five (125) years old and is one of the largest manas in Travancore.
The family's history has inspired the screenplays for many movies such as Manichitrathazhu, Chandramukhi, Bhool Bhulaya, Rajmohol, and Apthamitra - it has also been depicted as the Brahmana-mana in the Mohanlal / Suresh Gopi starrer Rakthasakshikal Zindabad.
The family was the highest taxpaying entity within the Travancore kingdom's treasury. Alummoottil chieftains were trusted military and economic advisors of the Kingdoms of Travancore and Kayamkulam. Historical sources suggest that spices traded with Europeans and the Arabs were mainly processed, stored, and transported through the Alummoottil Tharavad's supply chain machinery.
Alummootil Tharavad was also well-known for its expertise in Kalaripayattu, a traditional martial art of Kerala. At its peak, Alumoottil used to administer 64 Kalaris (Training Centers), annually supplying 1000 infantrymen and 250 mounted-soldiers to the kingdom. Chieftains were not just the entrepreneurs running the Kalaris but also the Gurukkals (instructors) with deep expertise in armed and unarmed hand-to-hand combat techniques. All three forms, Vadakkan kalari, Thekkan kalari, and Tulunadan kalari tactics, were instilled on the trainee cadets and cavalrymen.
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