The forest hunters and gatherers of the Nallamala hills, the guides and guards of the Srisailam pilgrim road, in Telugu story the in-laws of the god Narasimha (Chenchulakshmi).
They hold the hills the Kakatiya, Velanati and Hoysala claims all touch. Their word on the road is worth more than a king's order.
Who holds it
- Title
- Chenchu clan chiefs; no names known
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Confidence
- low
The Chenchu act as guides and guards on the Srisailam road.
Overlord
Kakatiya claim
How things stand that morning
Self-governing, on a Kakatiya claim. The Nallamala runs on south into the Kadapa country, which is sit's ground (Chola clients).
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: No source we read gives the political life of this people in 1200; this is general knowledge, flagged thin. The Project's rule is that powers who ruled without castles are real powers, so the people is carried.
Sources and studies
- General knowledge of the medieval Deccan (Bhandarkar, Altekar, Sastri, B. R. Gopal, Suryanath Kamath): from memory, not re-read
- Wikipedia: Srisailam (read this session)
- OMNIA board notes for this place (a lead only, checked against the sources above)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.