Chakkala Nair

Last updated

Chakkala Nair
Regions with significant populations
Kerala
Languages
Malayalam
Religion
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Nairs

Chakkala Nair, also known as Vattakkat Nair, [1] and Vaniya Nair [2] is one of the intermediate subcastes [3] [4] [5] of the Nair community. They are distributed throughout Kerala. In Travancore, they are known as Chakkala, while in Cochin and Malabar they are Vattakattu [6] and In the extreme north of Malabar they are called Vaniya [7] [8]

Vattakattu Nairs [9] are now indistinguishable from other Nair subcastes through alliances with other Nair communities and is treated as part of the mainstream Nair community by the government of Kerala [10] [11]

It was the duty of Peru Vaniyan Nambiars; a section among Vaniya nairs in Kurumbranad to present the Kurumbranad Raja with oil on the occasion of his formal installation [12]

Muchilot Bhagavthi is the patron deity of the Vaniya Nair community, with more than 108 Muchilot temples spread across North Malabar from Tulu Nadu to Kozhikode. It is believed that Bhagavthi first manifested herself to Muchilot PadaNair, a chieftain of Mushika dynasty from the Vaniya nair sect [13] [14] .

According to eminent scholars Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan was born in a Chakkala Nair family of Thrikkandiyoor Amsam in Vettathunadu [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nair</span> Caste group in India

The Nair also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom historically bore the name 'Nair'. These people lived, and continue to live, in the area which is now the Indian state of Kerala. Their internal caste behaviours and systems are markedly different between the people in the northern and southern sections of the area, although there is not very much reliable information on those inhabiting the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pazhassi Raja</span> Kerala Varma, Raja of Kingdom of Kottayam, Kerala Simham, Chandrakula Vira, Shaktan Rajah

Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, also known as Cotiote Rajah and Pychy Rajah, was the de facto head of the Kottayam Kingdom in the Malabar region of Kerala between 1774 and 1805. His struggles with the British East India Company is known as the Cotiote War. Pazhassi's rebellion against the British is often touted as one of the earliest acts of freedom fight in India. He earned the epithet "Kerala Simham" on account of his martial exploits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan</span> Malayalam devotional poet

Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan was a Malayalam devotional poet, translator and linguist. He was one of the prāchīna kavithrayam of Malayalam literature, the other two being Kunchan Nambiar and Cherusseri. He has been called the "Father of Modern Malayalam", the "Father of Modern Malayalam Literature", and the "Primal Poet in Malayalam". He was one of the pioneers of a major shift in Kerala's literary culture. His work is published and read far more than that of any of his contemporaries or predecessors in Kerala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theyyam</span> Ritual form of worship from Kerala, India

Theyyam is a Hindu religious ritual practiced in northern Kerala and some parts of Karnataka. Theyyam is also known as Kaḷiyāṭṭaṁ or Tiṟa. Theyyam consists of traditions, rituals and customs associated with temples and sacred groves of Malabar. The people of the region consider Theyyam itself as a channel to a god and they thus seek blessings from Theyyam.

The caste system in Kerala differed from that found in the rest of India. While the Indian caste system generally divided the four-fold Varna division of the society into Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras, in Kerala, there existed only two varnas: Brahmins and Shudras, out of these four, while others were classified as Avarna. The Malayali Brahmins formed the priestly class. Brahmins labeled all other castes as "Sat-sudra", "Shudra" and "Avarna" based on their origin and ritual rank. The exception to this were Kings in Kerala like of Travancore and Cochin, who were ritually promoted to the status of Kshatriya by means of the Hiranyagarbha ceremony.

Kaimal is an aristocratic title or position granted by various Rajas to powerful Nair families in Kerala.

Jenmi or Janmi, plural Jenmimar, is the Malayalam term used to refer to the landed aristocracy of Kerala who traditionally held their lands as absolute and allodial owners, with such lands known as Jenmom or Janmam. They formed the landowning nobility as well as the landed gentry of the region in colonial times, and the majority of the estates and feudal properties were owned by this community. They predominantly belonged to the Nambudiri and Nair castes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nambudiri</span> Malayali Brahmin caste from Kerala, India

The Nambudiri, also transliterated as Nampoothiri, Nambūdiri, Namboodiri, Namboothiri and Nampūtiri, are a Malayali Brahmin caste, native to what is now the state of Kerala, India, where they constituted part of the traditional feudal elite. Headed by the Azhvanchery Thamprakkal Samrāṭ, the Nambudiris were the highest ranking caste in Kerala. They owned a large portion of the land in the region of Malabar, and together with the Nair monarchs, the Nambudiris formed the landed aristocracy known as the Jenmimar, until the Kerala Land Reforms starting in 1957. Naturalized Tulu Brahmins who took up Nambudiri customary ways are known as Embranthiri Brahmins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naduvazhi</span>

Naduvazhi were feudatory princes who ruled over microstates that are now administrative parts of Kerala, India. They constituted the aristocratic class within the Hindu caste system and were either kings themselves or nobility in the service of the kings of Kerala.

Eshmanan is a term used in Kerala to refer to a feudal Nair landlord. The term means "lord" in Old Malayalam and referred to Chembazhi nambi or Nambiars, Samanthan Nair and Kiriyathil Nair caste members who occupied the position of rulers and chieftains. Some of the Nambiar landlords, such as Chengazhi Nambiar, Kalliat Eshmanan and Koodali Eshmanan were among the largest landowners in pre-independence Kerala. Other terms for a Nayar feudal landlord, included Nayanar.

Nambiār, also known as Nambiyār, is a sub-group of the Indian Nair caste. Many were jenmi landlords in the Malabar region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ezhava</span> Hindu community of Kerala, India

The Ezhavas are a community with origins in the region of India presently known as Kerala, where in the 2010s they constituted about 23% of the population and were reported to be the largest Hindu community. The Malabar Ezhava group have claimed a higher ranking in the Hindu caste system than do the others, although from the perspective of the colonial and subsequent administrations they were treated as being of similar rank.

Nayanar is an honorific title used by sub-castes of the Nair community from North Malabar, India. The word Nayanar is believed to have originated from the word "Nayanmar" (Nairs), which is a title of nobility. The Nayanar title is mostly given to prominent Nambiar families by the Chirakkal Raja. Their position lies between Samantha Nairs and Kiriyathil Nairs. They sometimes have interchangeable surnames like Nambiar, Kurup, and Nair. Nayanar families are mostly seen north of the river Korapuzha. Like other North Malabar Nairs, Nayanars earlier claimed a higher status to Nairs of South Malabar. Samantha Nairs of South Malabar, Kaimals of Cochin, and Pillais of Travancore are considered similar castes to Nayanars.

There are numerous ceremonies and customs adopted by the Nair caste, which is prominent in the South Indian state of Kerala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiryathil Nair</span> Sub-caste

Kiryathil Nair or Kiriyath Nair is a Kshatriya subdivison of Nair caste, of martial nobility, having performed the functions of Kshatriyas in Kerala, India. They also did business, industry, medicine and accounting. But as they were Kshatriya sub-division their main occupation was martial nobility.

Swaroopathil Nairs were one of the high ranking subcastes belonging to the Nair community in Kerala. This subcaste is found only in Travancore, where they are mostly warriors, major military castes of kerala, also involved in administrative duties in the Travancore Kingdom. They are mostly warriors of the Illam Nair landlords of Travancore.

The total population of the Nair community is disputed, since there has been no caste-based census since 1931. The administrators of the British Raj had an abiding interest in ethnography but in post-independence India the policy has been generally to ignore it in censuses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerala reformation movement</span> Socio-cultural movement in Kerala

The reformation movement in Kerala refers to a socio-cultural shift that began in the late 19th century, resulting in significant transformations in the social fabric of the southern Indian state of Kerala.

The Maniyani Nair is a nair sub-caste and Malayalam speaking Yadava community, native to Kerala state of South India. They are mainly distributed in Kozhikode, Palakkad, Kannur, Kasaragod and Wayanad districts. Their traditional occupation is tending cattle and cultivation. They keep the Nair surname.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koothali Nair</span>

The KoothaliMoopil Nair or Moothavar, most commonly known as the Koothali Nair and styled Vallabhan Chathan, additionally known as the Koothali Payyormala Nayar and as Vazhunnavar, historically held and controlled an eponymous principality and sthanam of North Malabar, with his hereditary seat in Koothali. Towns and lands subject to the Koothali Moothavar's rule traditionally included Perambra, Changaroth, Cheruvannur, Kuttiady, and adjacent regions, including Kottathara. The Koothali Nair was traditionally one of Malabar's most prominent Naduvazhis, a Moopil Nair and Vazhunnavar, as well as a major Jenmimar, and held the Nair caste rank of Nambiar or Samanta, and the family style of swaroopam.

References

  1. Menon, Krishnat P. Padmanabha (1984). History of Kerala: A History of Kerala Written in the Form of Notes on Visscher's Letters from Malabar. Asian Educational Services. p. 194. ISBN   978-81-206-0167-3.
  2. Singh, Kumar Suresh (2002). People of India: Kerala (3 pts.). Anthropological Survey of India. p. 299. ISBN   978-81-85938-99-8.
  3. Pallichan and Vattakad were treated as an intermediate class of Shudras because there was neither inter-dining nor inter-marriage between the members of these subdivisions and the high caste Shudras-Census of India, 1961 - Volume 7. p. 19.
  4. Coomar, Palash Chandra (1987). Polyandry in India: Demographic, Economic, Social, Religious, and Psychological Concomitants of Plural Marriages in Women. Gian Publishing House. ISBN   978-81-212-0105-6.
  5. Institutions, Kerala (India) Commission for Reservation of Seats in Educational (1966). Report of the Commission for Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions, Kerala, 1965. p. 141.
  6. Fuller, Christopher J. (1975). "The Internal Structure of the Nayar Caste". Journal of Anthropological Research. 31 (4): 283–312. doi:10.1086/jar.31.4.3629883. JSTOR   3629883. S2CID   163592798.
  7. "ANTHROPOLOGY NAYARS OF MALABAR (WITH ELEVEN PLATES)" (PDF). MADRAS GOVERNMENT MUSEUM Bulletin. 11 (3): 203.
  8. Singh, Kumar Suresh (2002). People of India: Kerala (3 pts.). Anthropological Survey of India. p. 299. ISBN   978-81-85938-99-8.
  9. Institutions, Kerala (India) Commission for Reservation of Seats in Educational (1966). Report of the Commission for Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions, Kerala, 1965. p. 141.
  10. Kerala government gazette official forward caste list www.collegeguru.in/doc/fc-list-kerala.pdf
  11. Institutions, Kerala (India) Commission for Reservation of Seats in Educational (1966). Report of the Commission for Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions, Kerala, 1965. p. 141.
  12. Thurston, Edgar; Rangachari, K. (1909). Castes and tribes of southern India. University of California Libraries. Madras : Government Press. p. 306.
  13. Folklorist, Jothish Thekkedath (1 December 2023). "MUCHILOTTU BHAGAVATHY -Why Not Women: A Selective study about representation and role of Goddess (Female Deities) in Theyyam" (PDF). Journal of Cultural Research Studies: 111–112 via Journal of Cultural Research Studies.
  14. "Muchilottu Bhagavathy: Fell into a trap but turned into a goddess". www.onmanorama.com. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  15. Tarakan, Ke Eṃ (1990). A Brief Survey of Malayalam Literature: History of Literature. K.M. Tharakan. p. 26.