Udayar (caste)

Last updated

Udayar
Religions Hinduism, Christianity
Languages Tamil
CountryIndia
Populated states Tamil Nadu
Related groups Tamil people

The Udayar is a title used by multiple caste in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. [1]

Contents

Present status

According to Selva Raj, the Udayar are "socially humbler" than the Vellalar community [2] but, together with the Pallar and Kallar, form the Marava castes, who are quite dominant in the region variously known as Ramnad and the Maravar country. [3]

Religion

In Ramnad and the nearby areas of Pudukottai, Madurai, Salem, Namakkal, Tanjore and Trichy, they and their two fellow Maravar caste groups are prominent in their cult worship of the shrine at Oriyur that commemorates John de Britto, a 17th-century Portuguese Jesuit missionary and martyr. Raj says, "A notable feature of the Britto cult is that it is centered around caste identities rather than religious affiliation", and thus members of the caste-group, irrespective of their religious affiliation regard Britto as their clan-deity. [4]

Some Udayars are Roman Catholic Christians. [5] [4]

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References

  1. "List of Backward Classes Approved".
  2. Raj, Selva J. (2010). "Serious Levity at the Shrine of St. Anne in South India". In Raj, Selva J.; Dempsey, Corinne G. (eds.). Sacred Play: Ritual Levity and Humor in South Asian Religions. SUNY Press. p. 87. ISBN   9781438429793 . Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  3. Raj, Selva J. (2002). "Transgressing Boundaries, Transcending Turner: The Pilgrimage Tradition at the Shrine of St. John de Britto". In Raj, Selva J.; Dempsey, Corinne G. (eds.). Popular Christianity in India: Riting Between the Lines. SUNY Press. p. 86. ISBN   9780791455197 . Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  4. 1 2 Raj, Selva J. (2002). "Transgressing Boundaries, Transcending Turner: The Pilgrimage Tradition at the Shrine of St. John de Britto". In Raj, Selva J.; Dempsey, Corinne G. (eds.). Popular Christianity in India: Riting Between the Lines. SUNY Press. p. 87. ISBN   978-0-79145-519-7.
  5. Palanithurai, Ganapathy; Ragupathy, Varadarajan (2008). Communities Panchayats and Governance at Grassroots. Concept Publishing Company. p. 138. ISBN   9788180695636 . Retrieved 1 May 2012.

Further reading