Malabar Manual
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 1951 bookcover | |
| Author | William Logan |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | William Logan, British East India company |
Publication date | 1887 |
| Publication place | India |
| Pages | 760 |
| ISBN | 81-206-0446-6 re publication by Mathrubhumi |
The Malabar Manual was an 1887 publication by William Logan, a Scottish officer of the Madras Civil Service under the British Government, appointed the Collector of Malabar. The work was commissioned by the Government of Madras, and originally published in two volumes.[1] The book was originally named as Malabar later renamed as Malabar Manual by Kerala gazetters department. Logan spent about 20 years in Kerala as an acting resident collector and later judge under the English East India Company. The Malabar Manual is a collection of information and assumptions obtained from his travels and studies. Malabar Manual is a veritable book of accurate informations in relation to the geography, mountains and rivers, geology, climate and natural phenomena, flora and fauna, the people, their economy, ethnography, caste and occupations, manners and customs, religion, language, literature, the state of education and such other details.[2] As the administrative head of the district he had access to a vast resources and he also had a dedicated stream of resourceful natives working under him, whose contributions have also gone into the making of Malabar Manual. Revised editions and Malayalam translations are available today.[3]
In 1879 Logan had edited and published a book titled A Collection of Treaties, Engagements and Other Papers of Importance: Relating to British Affairs in Malabar which is a carefully edited collection of all the administrative orders, proceedings and other documents related to British Malabar.
This District Gazetteer was published in 1887 by the Government of Madras and in 1906 and 1951 and by the Gazetteers Department of the Government of Kerala in 2000. When the Gazetteers Department of the Government of Kerala brought out a reprint of the book in the year 2000, it was titled William Logan’s Malabar Manual in a marked deviation from the original title used by Logan. Malabar has also been published by private publishers such as the Asian Educational Services in Delhi. In the 880s, the Government of India launched a project to publish the India Gazetteer and district manuals on the history and culture of the respective districts. District Collector William Logan was entrusted with the responsibility of Malabar. The first volume of Manuel was published in 1887. He received 1000 rupees as a reward for this work.
Chapters
The book has four chapters and subsections.
- Chapter One - Province - Boundaries, Geographical Features, Mountains, Rivers, Backwaters and Streams
- Chapter Two - People - describes different castes, such as population, population density, social status, cities, villages, houses, language, literature, education, caste and occupation, customs and traditions.
- Chapter Three - History - Explains Traditional Archeology, Early History, Dutch, English and French Occupations, Occupation of Mysore and British Domination.
- Chapter Four - Land - in which sub-sections refer to land tax and revenue assessment.[4]