Nankudi Vellalar

Nankudi Vellalar/ Sivagalai Pillaimar

Yajamanar , Mudhalali, Nachiyar
Regions with significant populations
Tamil Nadu: Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Ambasamudram, Korkai, Srivaikuntam
Languages
Tamil
Religion
Shaivism
Related ethnic groups
Tamil people

Nankudi Vellalar, also known as Nangudi Vellalar or Sivakalai Pillaimar, is a Tamil sub-caste in Tamil Nadu, India. This group of people are considered to be believers and followers of Shaivism, a religion that preaches Lord Shiva as the Supreme God. They also claim descent from the Velir hereditary of Irungovel Pandyas [1] The hereditary headman of the caste was always invested with the title Irungovel. Their origination is from Melaselvanur in the Ramanathapuram District. As they immigrated to Sivagalai, they were highly involved in agriculture activities. Their original stronghold seems to have been southern districts of Tamil Nadu, viz. Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Korkai, Ambasamudram, etc. Some of them migrated to Srivaikuntam during the course of time and came to be known as Kottai Vellalar, or "Kottai Pillaimar,” as they built and lived in forts.

H.R. Pate (b. 1917), the former district collector of Tirunelveli, describes them as great rulers, administrators, agriculturists, merchants, and traders, and as a remarkably prosperous and energetic community.

Etymology

Nankudi Vellalar is derived from the words Nar(good), Kudi (community) and Vellalar (farmers), so they were essentially a good community of farmers.^[citation needed]

Caste structure

The caste is made of a number of matrilineal exogamous clans called Kilais or branches descending from the female line.[2][3]

References

Citations

1. Ramanathan (1969), p. 341
2. Ramanathan (1969), p. 338
3. Goody & Tambiah (1973), p. 136

Bibliography

• Ramanathan, P. (1969), Iruṅkoveḷ and the Koṭṭai Veḷāḷar--The Possible Origins of a Closed Community.Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 32(2), 323-343.
• Sinnakani, R., Tamil Nadu State: Thoothukudi District, Band 1, Government of Tamil Nadu, Commissioner of Archives and Historical Research, 2007
• Goody, Jack; Tambiah, S.J. (1973), Bridewealth and Dowry, CUP Archive, 1973

● The history of Nankudi Vellalar was described in a tamil book named நற்குடி வேளாளர் வரலாறு (நூல்)