Etymology

The word Thampan is a contraction of the term Thampuran which is a corrupt version of the Sanskrit term Samrat and stands for Your Lordship. The title of Varma is some times affixed to the name of a Thampan. In Travancore

Travancore

Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...

, Thampans, along with the Thampi

Thampi

The Thampis are the sons of the Samanthan Nair Maharajahs of Travancore and their morganatic wives belonging to Illathu Nair or other similar Kshatriya castes...

s and Thirumulpad

Thirumulpad

Tirumalpād or Thirumalpād is a Hindu Kshatriya title used in North and Central Kerala, India . The title is used independently by certain sections of Samanthan Nairs and Samanta Kshatriya as well as by some Namboothiri clans. Sāmantha Thirumalpād is investituted with a sacred thread and observes...

s form a part of the third tier of Royalty

Royal family

A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...

, after the Koil Thampurans who form the first tier and the Thampurans who form the second tier. In North Malabar, most prominent of the Thampans are the sons of the Nileshwaram Rajahs, who form a part of the Kiryathil Nair

Kiryathil Nair

Kiryathil Nair or Kiriyathil Nair is a subcaste of the Nair community who traditionally lived in the region now known as Kerala, India. The 17th century Keralolpathi states them to be descendants of warrior Nāga tribes who came to Kerala from the north along the western coast...

 caste.

Occupation

The Thampans were once ruling classes but by the 17th century they became vassals to other kings - mainly the three large kingdoms of Travancore, Kochi and Kozhikode.

General customs

The customs of the Thampans are same like the Rajahs of Kerala. They are invested with the sacred thread at the age of sixteen and are allowed to recite the Gayatri

Gayatri

Gayatri is the feminine form of , a Sanskrit word for a song or a hymn. Gayatri is a consort of Brahma and the goddess of learning. Brahma married her when there was a need for a companion during a yajna. Brahma had to start the yajna along with his wife...

 incantation ten times, thrice a day. Birth and Death pollutions are observed for eleven days. Namboodiri Brahmins are the priests of the Thampans. The Thali Kettu Kalyanam

Kettu Kalyanam

Kettu Kalyanam, also known as Thali Kettu was the name of an elaborate marriage ceremony of the Malayala Kshatriyas, Samanthans, Nairs, Maaran, and Ambalavasis communities of the Indian state of Kerala...

 ceremony for girls, which is the actual marriage ceremony, takes place between the ages of seven and fourteen and Brahmins of a class called Aryapattar tie the Thali while Vedic hymns are chanted by the Namboodiri Brahmins. The girl may have a Sambandham

Sambandham

Sambandham was a form of marital system primarily followed by the Nairs in what is the present-day Indian state of Kerala. This system of marriage was followed by the matriarchal castes of Kerala, though today the custom has ceased to exist...

 (actual marriage) later with a Namboodiri Brahmin. Males have Sambandham with other Nair

Nair

Nair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...

ladies.