Kondaikatti Vellalar
Kondaikatti Vellalar is a Tamil caste found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. They are traditionally peasants and are part of the larger Saiva Vellalar social group. They were originally settled in Tondaimandalam but spread to other areas in south India over time.[1] Since they historically used the Mudaliar title, they are sometimes referred to as Thondaimandala Vellala Mudaliars[2] or simply Thondaimandala Mudali.[3] However, Kathleen Gough considers them to be a separate subcaste of the Thondaimandala Mudali,[4] as does Susan Neild.[5]
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Tamil Nadu, India | |
| Languages | |
| Tamil | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tamil people |
Etymology
The word Vellalar may come from the root Vellam for flood. The word Kondaikatti was used to denote someone who bound his hair up in a tuft on top of the head.[6]
Caste structure
The caste is divided into a number of unranked patrilineal exogamous clans called gotras.[7] In addition, the caste is composed of four hierarchically ranked endogamous units called Vakaiyaras (varieties or kindreds). The members belonging to the higher Vakaiyaras will not interdine, intermarry or accept food or water from the lower Vakaiyaras. The vakaiyaras comprise of the same gotras and span across multiple village clusters. In the late 1920s, the more progressive members advocated the abrogation of the Vakaiyara system and after much deliberation, the caste passed a resolution to drop it.[8]
Notable people
- Sekkizhar[1], the author of the Periyapuranam. A few believe that Kulothunga Chola II turned into a staunch Saivite after studying the Periyapuranam of Sekkizhar Ramadeva and then persecuted the Vaishnavite philosopher Ramanuja.
- C. N. Muthuranga Mudaliar,[9] former politician and Independence activist.
- M. Bhakthavatsalam,[9] politician and former Chief Minister of Madras state.
- Sir P. T. Rajan[10], politician and former Chief Minister of Madras Presidency.
References
Citations
- KK Pillay & ps, pp. 23-24.
- Donald B. Rosenthal. The City in Indian politics. Thomson Press (India), 1976. p. 104.
- Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Farmers of India, Band 2. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, 1961. p. 120.
- Gough, Kathleen (1982). Rural Society in South East Asia. Cambridge University Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-52104-019-8.
- Neild, Susan M. (1979). "Colonial Urbanism: The Development of Madras City in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries". Modern Asian Studies. 13 (2): 217–246. JSTOR 312124.
- Raghavan (1971), p. 133
- Anthony Good, p. 180
- Barnett (1973), pp. 130-141
- Eugene F. Irschick. Tamil revivalism in the 1930s. Cre-A, 1986. p. 152.
- Christopher John Baker, D. A. Washbrook. South India. Springer, 1976. p. 174.
Bibliography
- Kolappa Pillay Kanakasabhapathi Pillay (1977). The Caste System in Tamil Nadu. University of Madras, 1977.
- M. D. Raghavan. Tamil Culture in Ceylon: A General Introduction. Kalai Nilayam, 1971.
- Barnett, Steve (1973). Urban Is As Urban Does: Two Incidents On One Street In Madras City, South India. Urban Anthropology, vol. 2, no. 2, 1973, pp. 129–160.
- Anthony Good, Lecturer Department of Social Anthropology Anthony Good (1991). The Female Bridegroom: A Comparative Study of Life-crisis Rituals in South India and Sri Lanka. Clarendon, 1991.