Doddavva of Alamanda House

In the 17th century, there was a woman called Dodda Avva who lived at Alamanda house, in the village of Armeri, which belongs to Beppu-nad. She was the mistress of the Alamanda property, being the only child of rich parents. She was a woman of extraordinary size and strength of body. Nor was she less distinguished by qualities of mind and character. Throughout the country, she was known as the wisest, the richest, the strongest of Coorg women. Independent owner of a Coorg estate, she was at liberty to choose a husband for herself. Her choice fell upon a man of the same clan - Uthappa, a son of the Machanda house. He was a good sort of a husband, but much inferior every way to his great wife. Perhaps she had chosen him for this very reason. His place in the house was rather that of head-servant, than of husband and master.

Every year the people of Armeri used to send a caravan to Irkur, in the low country, near Cannanore, to fetch salt. At other times caravans, carrying rice to the coast, would start from Armeri during the dry season. On such occasions Dodda Avva would herself attend to every thing, put the cattle in readiness, prepare provisions, and at last accompany her husband and his oxen to the place of meeting appointed for the whole train from the village. On parting, she would recommend her husband and his beasts to the kind offices of the best men in the caravan, and return home to her great house and her large business. Often, when husband or servants appeared too slow in loading the oxen, she would bid them step aside, and quietly taking up the double sacks with both hands, lay them softly and evenly upon the backs of the cattle — such was her strength.

She was equally famed for wisdom and honesty. On this account Muddu Raja, who ruled Coorg in her time, greatly respected and reverenced her, and often, on coming to Beppu-nad, stopped to have a talk with Dodda Avva of Alamanda house. In course of time Dodda Avva became the mother of four daughters, but to her great grief no son was granted her to succeed to the Almanda property. When the daughters came of age, she gave them in marriage to sons of neighbouring landholders. The eldest became the wife of a member of the Palekanda family, the second married into the Pulanda house, the third was given to the Amnichanda family. The youngest, by a general agreement of the chiefs, was also given to the Palekanda house, but, as heiress of the Almanda property, she was to give her sons, if she bore any, to her mother. This daughter, the youngest, bore four sons in succession. Of these, the two eldest were brought up by their grandmother Dodda Avva at Almanda. The name of one was Thimmaiah, that of the other Machaiah. Machaiah had a son Ayappa, whose son was Bollu, the father of Stephanas, formerly Somayya, the first Coorg Christian.

Source: Mysore and Coorg, Vol. III by Lewis Rice