Early India and Pakistan to Ashoka c9.17

c9.17

5. Umbrella-stones or hat-stones (topi-kal or kudai-kal) are alternative names given to a type of monument which is peculiar to Kerala and in particular to Cochin. It consists of a circular laterite capstone in the form of a low and solid dome resting on four inwardly leaning and tapering stones about four feet high, standing so that their base-lines constitute a square with a diagonal approaching the diameter of the capstone. These monuments have not been explored methodically but are known to cover pit-burials. Their similarity to umbrellas, which are both honorific and, in the monsoon-ridden climate of the Kerala coastland, particularly utile, may not be accidental.