171-456: Nadar (also referred to as Nadan , Shanar and Shanan ) is a Tamil caste of India . Nadars are predominant in the districts of Kanyakumari , Thoothukudi , Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar . The Nadar community was not a single caste, but developed from an assortment of related subcastes, which in course of time came under the single banner Nadar. Nadar climbers were the largest subsect of today's Nadar community. A few subsects of
342-515: A silambam , a long staff of about 168 cm (66 in) in length, often made of wood such as bamboo. It was used for self-defense and to ward off animals and later evolved into a martial art and dance form. Adimurai (or Kuttu varisai) is a martial art specializing in empty-hand techniques and application on vital points of the body. Varma kalai is a Tamil traditional art of vital points which combines alternative medicine and martial arts, attributed to sage Agastiyar and might form part of
513-631: A Dhamila-vaniya (Tamil trader). Archaeological evidence points to the region being first inhabited by hominids more than 400 millennia ago. Artifacts recovered in Adichanallur by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) indicate megalithic urn burials, dating from back to 1500 BCE. , which are also described in later Tamil literature. Neolithic celts with the Indus script dated between 15th and 20th century BCE indicate
684-533: A book of Tamil grammar. Purananuru describes the public life and various unique cultural practices that existed during the period. The text talks about the Vedic Sacrifices performed by the kings as described in the Vedas and the rituals performed for the dead. Agriculture was an important occupation during the period, and there is evidence that networks of irrigation channels were built as early as
855-536: A crucial role in facilitating their upward mobility but religion was also perceived as a vehicle. Around 10 percent of the community converted to Christianity, both Catholic and Protestant . British rule in the southern districts introduced new opportunities for trade and commerce, of which the Nadars took advantage. They established sophisticated pettais (fortified compounds) and urvinmurais (local caste associations) to ensure safety for their goods. Members of
1026-661: A detailed analysis of this inscription equates the Valangai military forces and the Velaikkara troops of the Cholas with the Vellalas and notes that the contents of the above inscription confirm this identification. The Velaikkara troops were special units of armed forces drawn from the right-hand castes that were close to the king. The units were generally named after the king like Rajaraja-terinda-valangai-velaikkarar , that
1197-532: A form of ritual suicide. The Tamil film industry nicknamed as Kollywood and is one of the largest industries of film production in India. Independent Tamil film production have also originated outside India in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Canada, and western Europe. The concept of "Tent Cinema" was introduced in the early 1900s, in which a tent was erected on a stretch of open land close to a town or village to screen
1368-401: A garment that consists of a drape varying from 4.6 m (15 ft) to 8.2 m (27 ft) in length and 0.61 m (2 ft) to 1.2 m (4 ft) in breadth that is typically wrapped around the waist, with one end draped over the shoulder, baring the midriff. Women wear colourful silk sarees on traditional occasions. Young girls wear a long skirt called pavaadai along with
1539-472: A mystery. This belief, that the Nadars had been the kings of Tamil Nadu, became the dogma of the Nadar community in the 19th century. According to legendary accounts, some of the Nadars had migrated to Sri Lanka, but they had to return to India as they didn't receive proper treatment in Sri Lanka. In the early nineteenth century, the Nadars were a community mostly engaged in the palmyra industry, including
1710-615: A number of claimants. They are traditionally palmrya climbers. They are supposed to have migrated to the Pandyan country from the banks of the Cauvery River in Tanjore to serve the Pandyan kings as their flag bearers. The Kalla Shanars were considered as the lowest division of the Nadar community. They are also known as Servai. The term kalla means "false". They are believed originally to have been palanquin bearers for
1881-494: A period of fifteen years. A new Constitution enacted in the 1970s further discriminated against the Tamils and various state-sponsored schemes led Sinhalese settlers into Tamil populated areas. The 1977 anti-Tamil pogrom was followed by a crackdown against the Tamils, which curtailed their rights. Following the declaration of state of emergency in 1981, state-backed Sinhalese mobs turned on Tamils, which led many Tamils to leave
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#17327972936002052-519: A process now known as Sanskritisation . Many tried to disassociate themselves from their Nadar climber counterparts and the term Shanar (the term generally used to call a Tamil palmrya climber). They adopted the title of Nadan , previously used only by the Nelamaikkarars. To demonstrate their wealthy and powerful social position, the Nadars of Sivakasi hired Maravar palanquin bearers. The upward mobility and kshatriya pretensions of
2223-551: A queen of Vikramaditya Varaguna, an Ay king of 9th century who is referred to as Murugan Chenthi and as Aykula Mahadevi from inscriptions. Her father, an Ay chief called Chathan Murugan is described as a Vennir Vellala that is a Vellala by birth, in the Huzur plates of king Karunandakkan, the predecessor of Vikramaditya Varaguna. The Irunkovel or Irukkuvel chieftains were another ancient Velir clan who ruled from their capital Kodumbalur (near Pudukottai district). They were related to
2394-518: A separate entity under the Moors by the government. However, genealogical evidence suggests that most of the Sri Lankan Moor community are of Tamil ethnicity, and that the majority of their ancestors were also Tamils who had lived in the country for generations, and had converted to Islam from other faiths. Significant emigration from Indian subcontinent began in the late 18th century, when
2565-468: A shorter length sari called dhavani . The men wear a dhoti , a 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) long, white rectangular piece of non-stitched cloth often bordered in brightly coloured stripes which is usually wrapped around the waist and the legs and knotted at the waist. A colourful lungi with typical batik patterns is the most common form of male attire in the countryside. People in urban areas generally wear tailored clothing, and western dress
2736-611: A significant percentage of the members of the Indian National Army (INA), founded by Subhas Chandra Bose . After the Independence of India in 1947, the Madras Presidency became Madras state , comprising present-day Tamil Nadu and parts of Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka and Kerala . The state was further re-organised as a state for Tamils when the boundaries were redrawn linguistically in 1956 into
2907-493: A transition between the Indus Valley script and Tamil Brahmi script used later. The Sangam period lasted from 3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE with the main source of history during the period coming from the various Sangam literature . Ancient Tamilakam was ruled by a triumvirate of monarchical states, Cheras , Cholas and Pandyas . These kings are referred to as Vāṉpukaḻ Mūvar (Three glorified by heaven) in
3078-422: A unique flavor to the food, and is considered healthy. Food is usually eaten seated on the floor and the finger tips of the right hand is used to take the food to the mouth. There are regional sub-varieties namely Chettinadu, Kongunadu, Nanjilnadu, Pandiyanadu and Sri Lankan Tamil cuisines. There are both vegetarian and meat dishes with fish traditionally consumed across the coast and other meat preferred in
3249-431: A variety of religious rituals and ceremonies. These include procedures relating to birth, adulthood, marriage and death. Every Hindu Nadar belongs to a kuttam (assemblage) through patrilineal descent, and each kuttam has a common family deity. During migration, families would often take soil from their family temple and enshrine it at their new home. Traditionally, all the members of a kuttam would assemble at least once
3420-511: A wealthy Nadar of Porayar in Thanjavur district, a new association was formed. This resulted from Rattinasami Nadar inviting prominent community leaders to attend a plenary session in February 1910, with the intent of establishing an organization to represent the entire community. Rattinasami Nadar's uncle, V. Ponnusami Nadar, was elected to become the first president of the association, which
3591-428: A year at the family temple. With the birth of a child, the family would traditionally go to the family deity temple, where the hair of the child is shaved for the first time and offered to the deity. At the time of marriage the first invitation is presented to the family deity. The Hindu Nadars are almost entirely Saivite (only one kuttam is Vaishnavite ). Of the deities, Murugan has been widely popular among
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#17327972936003762-518: Is the known (terinda) forces of king Rajaraja Chola I . The Chola inscriptions state that the Velaikkara forces pledged under oath to commit suicide in case they failed to defend their king or in the event of his death. The Chalukya kings were also known by the title Velpularasar , that is kings of Vel country ( pulam means region or country in Tamil ) and as Velkulattarasar , that is kings of
3933-532: Is a Nadar leader in almost every political party. The community has influential Tamil media houses, such as Dina Thanthi . Crawford Young has said that: Today, the Nadars are recognized as an "advanced" community – a status reversal accomplished over the past century through caste horizontal mobilization of caste solidarity, challenge to servile traditional ascription through ritual transformations, effective utilization of modern opportunity through education and commerce, and skilful communal exploitation of
4104-544: Is a rock-cut monastery and temple attributed to Pandyas and Pallavas which consist of frescoes and murals from the 7th century CE, painted with vegetable and mineral dyes in over a thin wet surface of lime plaster. Similar murals are found in temple walls, the most notable examples are the murals on the Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam and the Brihadeeswarar temple at Thanjavur. One of
4275-515: Is an ancient form of musical story-telling method where narration is interspersed with music played from a string bow and accompanying instruments. Gaana , a combination of various folk musics is sung mainly in Chennai. There are many traditional instruments from the region dating back to the Sangam period such as parai , tharai , yazh , and murasu . Nadaswaram , a reed instrument that
4446-649: Is evidence of emissaries sent to the Roman Emperor Augustus by the Pandya kings. An anonymous Greek traveler's account from first century CE, Periplus Maris Erytraei , describes the ports of the Pandya and Chera kingdoms in Damirica and their commercial activity in detail. It also describes that the chief exports of the ancient Tamils were pepper , malabathrum , pearls , ivory , silk, spikenard , diamonds , sapphires , and tortoiseshell . From
4617-487: Is often accompanied by the thavil , a type of drum instrument are the major musical instruments used in temples and weddings. Melam is from a group of percussion instruments from the ancient Tamilakam which are played during events and functions. Bharatanatyam is a major genre of Indian classical dance that originated from the Tamils. It is one of the oldest classical dance forms of India. There are many folk dance forms that originated and are practiced in
4788-710: Is one of the longest-surviving classical languages , with over two thousand years of written history , dating back to the Sangam period (between 300 BCE and 300 CE). Tamils constitute about 5.7% of the Indian population and form the majority in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry . They also form significant proportion of the population in Sri Lanka (15.3%), Malaysia (7%) and Singapore (5%). Tamils have migrated world-wide since
4959-417: Is popular. Western-style school uniforms are worn by both boys and girls in schools, even in rural areas. The Tamil calendar is a sidereal solar calendar . The Tamil Panchangam is based on the same and is generally used in contemporary times to check auspicious times for cultural and religious events. The calendar follows a 60-year cycle. There are 12 months in a year starting with Chithirai when
5130-460: Is the distinct style of architecture of the Tamils. The large gopurams , which are monumental ornate towers at the entrance of the temples form a prominent feature of Hindu temples of the Dravidian style. They are topped by kalasams ( finials ) and function as gateways through the walls that surround the temple complex. There are a number of early rock-cut cave-temples established by
5301-406: Is the major religion followed by the Tamils and the religious practices include the veneration of various village deities and ancient Tamil gods . A smaller number are also Christians and Muslims , and a small percentage follow Jainism and Buddhism . Tamil cuisine consist of various vegetarian and meat items, usually spiced with locally available spices . Historian Michael Wood called
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5472-525: Is unknown whether the term Tamila and its equivalents in Prakrit such as Damela , Damila , or Tamira was first used as a self designation or a by outsiders. The Hathigumpha inscription from Udayagiri in Eastern India dated to the second century BCE, describes a T[r]amira samghata (Confederacy of Tamil rulers), which was in existence for the previous 113 years. Epigraphical evidence from
5643-479: The Velir chiefs and settlements headed by clan chiefs called Kizhar . The rulers of smaller territories were referred to as Kurunilamannar , with Purananuru mentioning the names of many such chieftains. The Sangam period rulers patronized multiple religions including vedic religion , Buddhism and Jainism and sponsored some of the earliest Tamil literature with the oldest surviving work being Tolkāppiyam ,
5814-775: The Yalpana Vaipava Malai and other historical texts of the Jaffna kingdom . They form half of the Sri Lankan Tamil population and are the major husbandmen , involved in tillage and cattle cultivation. Local Sri Lankan literature, such as the Kailiyai Malai , an account on Kalinga Magha , narrates the migration of Vellala Nattar chiefs from the Coromandel Coast to Sri Lanka. Their dominance rose under Dutch rule and they formed one of
5985-522: The 2011 Census , there were 69 million Tamil speakers, constituting about 5.7% of the Indian population. Tamils formed the majority in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu (63.8 million) and the union territory of Puducherry (1.1 million). There were also significant Tamil population in other states of India such as Karnataka (2.1 million), Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (0.7 million), Maharashtra (0.5 million), and Kerala (0.5 million). Tamils in Sri Lanka are classified into two ethnicities by
6156-644: The British influence later gave rise to a blend of Hindu , Islamic and Gothic revival styles, resulting in the distinct Indo-Saracenic architecture with several institutions during the British era following the style. By the early 20th century, the art deco made its entry upon in the urban landscape. In the later part of the century, the architecture witnessed a rise in the modern concrete buildings. Tamil sculpture ranges from stone sculptures in temples, to detailed bronze icons. The bronze statues of
6327-528: The Cheras , Cholas and Pandyas . Smaller Velir kings and chieftains ruled certain territories and maintained relationship with the larger kingdoms. Urbanisation and mercantile activity developed along the coasts during the later Sangam period with the Tamils influencing the regional trade in the Indian Ocean region. Artifacts obtained from excavations indicate the presence of early trade relations with
6498-755: The Cholas and the Pandya architecture , was later expanded by the Vijayanagara and the Nayaks and spread to other parts such as Sri Lanka. There are more than 34,000 temples in Tamil Nadu built across various periods some of which are several centuries old. The influence of Tamil culture had led to the construction of various temples outside India by the Tamil dispora. The Mugal influence in medieval times and
6669-499: The Human Development Index of the Tamils have consistently improved due to reform-oriented economic policies and in the 2000s, the region has become one of the most urbanized states in the country. There are various theories from scholars over the presence of Tamil people in Sri Lanka. Historian K. Indrapala states that Tamil replaced a previous language of an indigenous mesolithic population, who later became
6840-556: The Indian Independence Movement , many Tamil poets and writers sought to provoke national spirit, notably Bharathiar and Bharathidasan . According to Tamil literature, there are 64 art forms called aayakalaigal . The art is classified into two broad categories: kavin kalaigal (beautiful art forms) which include architecture, sculpture, painting and poetry and nun kalaigal (fine art forms) which include dance, music and drama. Dravidian architecture
7011-654: The Jaffna Kingdom on the Jaffna peninsula and in parts of northern Sri Lanka. In the fourteenth century CE, the Aryacakaravarthi expansion into the south of the island was halted by Alagakkonara , who belonged to a feudal family from Kanchipuram that migrated to Sri Lanka in the previous century and converted to Buddhism. He served as the chief minister of the Sinhalese king Parakramabahu V (1344–59 CE) and his descendant Vira Alakeshwara briefly became
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7182-704: The Periyapuranam . Sekkizhar was born in a Vellala family in Kundrathur in Thondaimandalam and had the title Uttama Chola Pallavaraiyan. Sekkilan Mahadevadigal Ramadeva was an elder contemporary of Kulothunga Chola II , the king who is said to have persecuted the Brahmin philosopher Ramanuja for his Vaishnavite preachings by forcing him to sign a document stating Shiva is the greatest god. The Vellalars of Sri Lanka have been chronicled in
7353-493: The Sri Lankan government , namely Sri Lankan Tamils , and Indian Origin Tamils who accounted for 11.2%, and 4.1% respectively of the country's population in 2011. The Sri Lankan Tamils (or Ceylon Tamils) are the descendants of the Tamils of the old Jaffna Kingdom and east coast chieftainships called Vannimais . The Indian Tamils (or Hill Country Tamils) are descendants of laborers who migrated from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka in
7524-514: The Sun enters the first Rāśi and the number of days in a month varies between 29 and 32. The new year starts following the March equinox in the middle of April. The days of week ( kiḻamai ) in the Tamil calendar relate to the celestial bodies in the solar system: Sun , Moon , Mars , Mercury , Jupiter , Venus , and Saturn , in that order. Hospitality is a major feature of Tamil culture. It
7695-607: The Vel clan ( kulam ), in epigraphs and in the old Tamil lexicon Divakaram. The Vellalar also contributed to the Bhakti movement in south India from the seventh century CE onwards and helped revive Hinduism. Many of the Nayanmars , the Shaiva saints, were Vellalar. In the 12th century CE, saint Sekkilan Mahadevadigal Ramadeva sang the glories of these Nayanmars in his magnum opus,
7866-542: The Velir chieftains of Sangam age among other things. The word Vellalar (வெள்ளாளர் ) may come from the root Vellam for flood, which gave rise to various rights of land; and it is because of the acquisition of land rights that the Vellalar got their name. The Vellalars have a long cultural history that goes back to over two millennia in southern India, where once they were the ruling and land-owning community. Though
8037-496: The cultural Indianisation of the region. Scripts brought by Tamil traders like the Grantha and Pallava scripts , induced the development of many Southeast Asian scripts. The Jaffna Kingdom later controlled the Tamil territory in the north of the Sri Lanka from 13th to 17th century CE. European colonization began in the 17th century CE, and continued for two centuries until the middle of the 20th century. Due to its long history,
8208-541: The uravinmurai , who were known as muraikkarars , would contribute a portion of their income to the association as mahimai (literally, to glorify oneself), in order to use the facilities of the pettais and to improve the common good. As the wealth of the Northern Nadars increased they began also to adopt the customs of the North Indian Kshatriyas in order to improve their social status, in
8379-749: The 16th century along the eastern coast. The Portuguese arrived in 1522 followed by the Dutch and the Danes . In 1639, the British East India Company obtained a grant for land from the Vijayanager emperor and the French established trading posts at Pondichéry in 1693. After several conflicts between the British and the French, the British established themselves as the major power in
8550-479: The 1920s and 1930s, Nadar Mahajan Sangam supported the non-Brahmin movement and Justice party . W. P. A. Soundrapandian Nadar as the president of Nadar Mahajana Sangam led the effort to ally the community with Periyar E. V. Ramasamy 's Self-respect movement . The Northern Nadars joined the Justice party in its attack against Brahmins on cultural and religious front. They also practiced self-respect marriages during
8721-583: The 1980s, as they sought to escape the ethnic conflict there. The largest concentration of Eelam Tamils outside Sri Lanka is found in Canada . Tamil people speak Tamil , which belongs to the Dravidian languages and is one of the oldest classical languages . According to epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan , the rudimentary Tamil Brahmi script originated in South India in the 3rd century BCE. Though
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#17327972936008892-664: The 19th century CE and a significant population exists in South Africa , Mauritius , Fiji , as well as other regions such as the Southeast Asia , Middle East , Caribbean and parts of the Western World . Archaeological evidence from Tamil Nadu indicates a continuous history of human occupation for more than 3,800 years. In the Sangam period, Tamilakam was ruled by the Three Crowned Kings of
9063-512: The 19th century to work on tea plantations. Most Sri Lankan Tamils live in the Northern and Eastern provinces and around Colombo , whereas most Indian Tamils live in the central highlands. Historically, both the Tamil ethnic groups have identified themselves as separate communities, although there has been a greater sense of unity since the 1980s. There also exists a significant Tamil Muslim population in Sri Lanka. However, they are listed as
9234-411: The 3rd century BCE. The Sangam literature describe fertile lands and people organised into various occupational groups. The governance of the land was through hereditary monarchies, although the sphere of the state's activities and the extent of the ruler's powers were limited through the adherence to an established order. The kingdoms had significant diplomatic and trade contacts with other kingdoms to
9405-475: The 3rd year of Kulottunga I (about 1072-1073 CE) describe how the great army of the right hand class ( perumpadai valangai mahasenai ) having arrived with great weapons of war from the 78-nadus of Chola-mandalam and the 48000-bhumi of Jayangonda-cholamandalam (the northern districts of Tamil Nadu that is Tondaimandalam ) conquered and colonized southern Karnataka ( Kolar district) by the grace of Rajendrachola (Kulottunga I). Historian Burton Stein who has done
9576-612: The 7th century CE has one of the earliest surviving examples of Indian music in notation. The Pallava inscriptions from the period describe the playing of string instrument veena as a form of exercise for the fingers and the practice of singing musical hymns ( Thirupadigam ) in temples. From the 9th century CE, Shaivite hymns Thevaram and Vaishnavite hymns ( Tiruvaymoli ) were sung along with playing of musical instruments. Carnatic music originated later which included rhythmic and structured music by composers such Thyagaraja , Muthuswami Dikshitar , and Shyama Shastri . Villu Paatu
9747-797: The Brahmins in some social and ritual contexts. They were more orthodox than the Brahmins in their religious practices. The Vellalar nobles had marriage alliances with Chola royal families. The Smarta Brahmins have always competed with the Tamil Shaivites for religious influence in the temples in the Kaveri delta region. The Smarta adopted the worship of Hindu deities and combined their Sanskritic background with Tamil Saiva and Vaishnava devotionalism and eventually identified themselves as Shaivites and started worshipping in Shiva temples. From
9918-399: The British government: "Two different nations from a very ancient period have divided between them the possession of the island. First the Sinhalese, inhabiting the interior in its Southern and Western parts, and secondly the Tamils who possess the Northern and Eastern districts. These two nations differ entirely in their religion, language, and manners." Irrespective of the ethnic differences,
10089-871: The British had conquered most of the region and established the Madras Presidency with Madras as the capital. On 10 July 1806, the Vellore mutiny , which was the first instance of a large-scale mutiny by Indian sepoys against the British East India Company, took place in Vellore Fort . After the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , the British Parliament passed the Government of India Act 1858 , which transferred
10260-420: The British imposed a unitary state structure in British Ceylon for better administration. During the British colonial rule, Tamils held higher positions in the government and were favoured by the British for their qualification in English education. In the northern highlands, the lands of the Sinhalese were seized by the British and Indian Tamils were settled there as plantation workers. Tamils who migrated in
10431-428: The Chola empire reached its zenith and stretched as far as Bengal in the north and across the Indian Ocean. He defeated the Eastern Chalukyas and the Chola navy invaded the Srivijaya Empire in South East Asia. The Cholas had trade links with the Chinese Song Dynasty and across Southeast Asia. The Cholas built many temples with the most notable being the Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur. The latter half of
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#173279729360010602-427: The Chola era and many of the cult's leaders were drawn from the ranks of the Vellalar. They were a prosperous community of farmers and landowners who had provided economic support to Shiva temples in the Tamil country. In the Tamil region, Vellalar like Mudaliyar and Pillai along with certain other non-brahmin groups enjoyed a status equal to that of the Brahmins. The Vellalar also had more authority, power and status than
10773-403: The Cholas are considered to be one of the greatest contributions of Tamil art. Models made of a special mixture of beeswax and sal tree resin were encased in clay and fired to melt the wax leaving a hollow mould, which would then be filled with molten metal and cooled to produce bronze statues. Tamil paintings are usually centered around natural, religious or aesthetic themes. Sittanavasal
10944-410: The Cholas by marriage. In an inscription of Rajadhiraja Chola an Irukkuvel feudatory who was a high-ranking military officer ( Dandanayaka ) of the king is described as a Velala. The Irungovels are considered to be of the same stock as the Hoysalas as in one of the Sangam poems, the ancestor of the Irungovel chieftain is said to have ruled the fortified city of Tuvarai. This city is identified with
11115-427: The Cholas, the Pandyas and other kingdoms of Chalukyas of Badami and the Rashtrakutas . The Pandyas were revived by Kadungon towards the end of the sixth century CE and with the Cholas in obscurity in Uraiyur , the Tamil country was divided between the Pallavas and the Pandyas. The area west of the Western Ghats became increasingly distinct from the eastern parts. A new language Malayalam evolved from Tamil in
11286-513: The Eelam Tamils and the cultural diffusion happened well before the arrival of Sinhalese people in Sri Lanka. Eelam Tamils consider themselves lineal descendants of the aboriginal Naga and Yaksha people of Sri Lanka. A cobra totem known as Nakam in the Tamil language is still part of the Tamil tradition in Sri Lanka. Remains of settlements and megalithic burial sites of people culturally similar to those of present-day Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu in modern India have been excavated at Pomparippu on
11457-431: The Europeans on the island in the sixteenth century CE. Portuguese traders reached Sri Lanka by 1505 CE and the Jaffna kingdom came to the attention of Portuguese due to its presence as a logistical and strategic base for accessing the interior ruled by the Kandyan kingdom . King Cankili I resisted contacts with the Portuguese and repelled Parava Catholics who were brought from India to the Mannar Island to take over
11628-405: The Hoysala capital Dwarasamudra by some historians. Also, the legend of the chief killing a tiger ( Pulikadimal ) has a striking resemblance to the origin legend of the Hoysalas where ‘'sala'’ kills the tiger to save a sage. As per historian Arokiaswami, the Hoysala title ‘'Ballala'’ is only a variant of the Tamil word ‘'Vellala'’. The Hoysala king Veera Ballala III is even now locally known as
11799-426: The Hoysalas later siding with the Pandyas, the Pandyas consolidated control over the region. The Pandya empire reached its zenith in the thirteenth century CE under Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I after he defeated the Hoysalas, the Kakatiyas and captured parts of Sri Lanka. The Pandyas ruled from their capital of Madurai and expanded trade links with other maritime empires. Venetian explorer Marco Polo mentioned
11970-435: The Jains assign this conversion to the period of the Bhakti movement in Tamil nadu others link it to a conflict with a ruler of the Vijayanagar empire in the 15th century. The villages and areas settled by the Saiva Velaalar even now have a small number of Jaina families and inscriptional evidence indicate that these were earlier Jaina settlements as is evident by the existence of old Jaina temples. Even though at present,
12141-415: The Meenakshi Temple in Madurai. In the 18th century, the Mughal empire administered the region through the Nawab of the Carnatic with his seat at Arcot , who defeated the Madurai Nayaks. The Marathas attacked several times and defeated the Nawab after the Siege of Trichinopoly (1751-1752) . This led to a short-lived Thanjavur Maratha kingdom . Europeans started to establish trade centres from
12312-520: The Nadan women of the region were exempted from this restriction. Discontented with their social status, a large number of Nadar climbers embraced Christianity and became upwardly mobile. Although they improved their status with the aid of Christian missionaries, the outcome of their conversion did not conform to the intent of those missionaries. Both the Christian and Hindu Nadar climber women wore
12483-529: The Nadar Mahajana Sangam from inception. In 1921, the Sangam began to provide scholarship loans to needy students, and by 1964 more than 3000 such loans were offered. Some students were given assistance for foreign studies. The Sangam also aided the establishment of village schools. Education formed the largest portion of expenditure by the Nadar Mahajana Sangam. The Nadar bank along with other cooperative societies gave 5 percent of their profit to
12654-420: The Nadar climbers were engaged in the production of jaggery, a significant number of Nadar climbers were also involved in the production of toddy. The Sangam urged the Nadar climbers to abandon their traditional occupation of toddy tapping and not to sell hard toddy. However many Nadar climbers were reluctant to give up their profitable occupation. The situation got out of hand when Nadar leaders tried to intimidate
12825-503: The Nadar community, such as the Nelamaikkarars , were traditionally wealthy landlords and money lenders. Historically, most Nadars were cultivators of palmyra trees and jaggery and a few were also involved in the toddy trade. Nadar climbers had faced discrimination from major upper castes in some regions. The martial art of Varma Kalai was historically practiced by the Nadars. The socio-economic development achieved by
12996-514: The Nadars have evoked academic interest. According to N.S.Ramnath, of Forbes, the Nadars are a close knit, powerful community. The Nadars, who were once predominantly not allowed to enter Hindu temples built by castes above them, now occupy respected positions as Trustees in many Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu. They are financially strong and are politically influential in the Southern districts of Tamil Nadu. A political observer points out that there
13167-491: The Nadars in southern India has elicited academic interest. Nadars are classified and listed as an Other Backward Class by the governments of both Tamil Nadu and India. The community was previously known as Shanar but legally changed their name to Nadar in 1921. The title Nadar is believed to be derived from the Nelamaikkarars, the aristocrats of the Shanar community who had previously used it exclusively. Nadars claim that
13338-529: The Nadars of Southern Travancore migrated there from Tirunelveli in the 16th century after the invasion of Tirunelveli by the Raja of Travancore. Like their Tirunelveli counterparts, the Nadars of Travancore were mostly palmyra climbers. However, a significant number of Nadars were subtenants to Nair or Vellalar landlords. These aristocratic Nadars called themselves Nadans and some of them had direct control over their lands. The Nadans enjoyed special privileges under
13509-600: The Nadars of the six towns of Ramanad caused resentment among both the Vellalar and the Maravar castes, who were ritually ranked above the Nadars. The outcome was a series of caste conflicts, including the Sivakasi riots of 1899 . However, the Sankritisation movement was a failure initially and the Nadar climbers, who lived as minorities, were still discriminated by the majority castes. However these confrontations aided
13680-539: The Nadars were considered lower than other middle castes, but relatively higher than the low castes, and were also prohibited to enter temples built by higher ranked castes. Although associated with toddy, the Nadars did not themselves consume it. The Nadars were schismatic about their position in the caste hierarchy and firmly claimed that they were wrongly placed in the caste system due to the Nayak invasion. They were also very caste conscious. Hardgrave conjectures that
13851-473: The Nadars. Goddess Bhadrakali is the tutelary deity of the Nadar community. The Nadars also claim that they are the descendants of Bhadrakali. A Bhadrakali temple is usually at the centre of almost every Nadar settlement. The Nadars, traditionally practised a Tamil martial art variously known as Adimurai , chinna adi and varma adi . In recent years, since 1958, these have been referred to as Southern-style Kalaripayattu, although they are distinct from
14022-702: The Nattathis are descendants born of the Pandyas and Cholas. The community was mostly Christian and remained an endogamous unit. The overlord of Nattathi was a retainer of the Kattabomma Nayaka . The Nattathi overlord was invested with Zamindari rights under the British. The last of the Nattathi zamindars, Tiruvarudi Vaihunda Nadan, died in 1892. The properties of the Zamindar were eventually divided among
14193-525: The Nelamaikkarars and the existence of the ruins beneath the Teri palmrya forests of Tiruchendur and the Pandyan capital city of Korkai , where the Nadar population is predominant, suggest they could very well be the heirs of the Early Pandyas . However, there is little evidence to support the community's claim to be descendants of the later Pandya rulers. The identity or caste of the Pandyan kings remains
14364-514: The Pandyan kings or menial slaves of the Nelamaikkarar family, having descended from illegal unions within the Nadar community. They are traditionally toddy tappers. The subsect culture is not present today among the Nadars north of Tirunelveli but it still exists among those of southern Tirunelveli. The Karkuppatayathars, the endogamaous Nelamaikkarars and the Nadar climbers beneath them, are today known as A group or Mara Nadar , and
14535-459: The Pandyans. It is the largest of the five subcastes and constitutes about 80 percent of the entire community, including the aristocratic Nelamaikkarars and the climbers beneath them. The Nelamaikarrars and the climbers are endogamous groups, forming sub-subcastes that each marry only among themselves. The term Mel-nattar comes from Mel-nadu (western country). Mel-nattars lived traditionally in
14706-635: The Pandyas as the richest empire in existence. The Pandyas also built a number of temples including the Meenakshi Amman Temple at Madurai. In the fourteenth century CE, the Pandyan empire was engulfed in a civil war and also faced repeated invasions by the Delhi Sultanate . In 1335, the Pandyan capital was conquered by Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan and the short-lived Madurai Sultanate was established. The Vijayanagara kingdom
14877-643: The Portuguese published a Tamil book in old Tamil script named Thambiraan Vanakkam , thus making Tamil the first Indian language to be printed and published. Tamil Lexicon , published by the University of Madras between 1924 and 1939, was amongst the first comprehensive dictionaries published in the language. The 19th century gave rise to Tamil Renaissance and writings and poems by authors such as Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai , U.V.Swaminatha Iyer , Damodaram Pillai , V. Kanakasabhai and others. During
15048-605: The Raja and claimed that they were superior to the climbers. The climbers of Travancore fared a little better than their Tirunelveli counterparts but suffered severe social disabilities not found in Tirunelveli due to Travancore's rigid caste hierarchy . As Swami Vivekananda stated, the Keralite hierarchy was a lunatic asylum of castes. One example of the social disabilities was that Nadar climber women were not allowed to cover their bosoms to punctuate their low status. However,
15219-654: The Romans . The major kingdoms to rule the region later were the Pallavas (3rd–9th century CE), and the Vijayanagara Empire (14th–17th century CE). The island of Sri Lanka often saw attacks from the Indian mainland with the Cholas establishing their influence across the island and across several areas in Southeast Asia in the 10th century CE. This led to the spread of Tamil influence and contributed to
15390-494: The Sangam literature. The Cheras controlled the western part of Tamilkam, the Pandyas controlled the south, and the Cholas had their base in the Kaveri delta. They are mentioned in the inscriptions from the Mauryan Empire dated to third century BCE. Kalinga inscriptions from the second century BCE refers to a confederacy of the Tamil kingdoms. The three kings called Vendhar ruled over several hill tribes headed by
15561-404: The Sangam to investigate the situation and determine the validity of any Nadar claims. Then, if necessary, the Sangam would request police intervention or support a claim in court. In situations where the matter went to court, the Sangam would not provide financial support for the Nadar claimant to contest the case, but would rather see that the claim is properly heard. After independence of India ,
15732-431: The Sangam took advantage of the constitutional provisions encouraging a caste-less society and also supported government attempts to promote this vision. The support included urging their own community members to allow use of their schools, tanks, temples and wells by other communities. The name of the Nadar bank was changed to Tamilnad Mercantile Bank . These activities earned the Nadar community respect and recognition. In
15903-558: The Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. However, subsequent generations might not speak the language as a mother tongue , but instead as a second or third language . There is a small Tamil community in Pakistan , notably settled since the partition in 1947. Since the 20th century, Tamils have migrated to other regions such as Middle East and the Western World for employment. A large emigration of Sri Lankan Tamils began in
16074-648: The Southern Travancore and Western Tirunelveli districts. They claim to be descendants of the Chera kings who settled in the area of the Western Ghats after the fall of their dynasty. At the time that Robert Hardgrave conducted his study, in the 1960s, the Nattathis were predominant in the village of Nattathi near Sawyerpuram , Tuticorin district. There they were traditionally cultivators, traders and money lenders. Legendary accounts claim that
16245-528: The Tamil culture has seen multiple influences over the years and have developed diversely. The Tamil visual art consists of a distinct style of architecture , scultpure and other art forms. Tamil sculpture ranges from stone sculptures in temples, to detailed bronze icons . The ancient Tamil country had its own system of music called Tamil Pannisai . Tamil performing arts include the theatre form Koothu , puppetry Bommalattam , classical dance Bharatanatyam , and various other traditional dance forms . Hindusim
16416-670: The Tamil settlements in the An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon published in 1681. The Dutch captured the island later and ruled for more than a century. Following the 1795 invasion of the British and the Kandyan Wars , the island came to the control of the British in the early nineteenth century CE. Upon arrival in June 1799, Hugh Cleghorn , the island's first British colonial secretary, wrote to
16587-439: The Tamils the last surviving classical civilization on Earth, because the Tamils have preserved substantial elements of their past regarding belief, culture, music, and literature despite the influence of globalization . Tamil is derived from the name of the language . The people are referred to as Tamiḻar in Tamil language, which is etymologically linked to the name of the language. The origin and precise etymology of
16758-715: The Tamils went as indentured labourers and established businesses in other territories under the control of the British empire such as Malaya , Burma , South Africa , Fiji , Mauritius , and the Caribbean . The descendants of these Tamils continued to live in these countries, and practice their original culture, tradition and language. They form significant proportion of the population in Malaysia (7%) and Singapore (5%). A significant population also exists in South Africa, Mauritius, Fiji, as well as other regions such as
16929-479: The Travancore authorities, British Christian Missionaries and Vaikunta Swamy , the depressed Nadar climber women won the right to wear their upper cloth in the manner of their Nadan counterparts. Some petty Nadar traders migrated from southern Tirunelveli to northern Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar. Over time they became commercially skilled and by the late 19th century were socially aspirant. Mercantilism played
17100-718: The Vellalar and equates king Achyuta Vikranta with Achyuta Kalappala the father of Meykandar . Buddhadatta , the Pali writer who stayed in the Chola kingdom and authored Buddhist manuals refers (in the Nigamanagātha of Vinayavinicchaya , verse 3179) to his patron Achyuta Vikranta who was then (fifth century CE) ruling the Chola kingdom as Kalamba-kula nandane meaning the favourite of the Kalamba family . In Pali language as in Tamil ,
17271-417: The Vellalar have generally been associated with the landed gentry and agriculture, they are not a homogenous group and various people from diverse backgrounds have identified themselves as a Vellalar in the course of history. The Vellalar are spoken of as a group of people right from the Sangam period and are mentioned in many of the classical works of Sangam literature . The Tolkappiyam does not contain
17442-584: The ancient martial art of Kalaripayattu itself that was historically the style found in Kerala. Tamil people The Tamils ( / ˈ t æ m ɪ l z , ˈ t ɑː -/ TAM -ilz, TAHM - ), also known as the Tamilar , are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent . The Tamil language
17613-416: The animals. Other traditional dance forms include the war dance Oyilattam and Paraiattam . Koothu is a form of street theater that consists of a play performance which consists of dance along with music, narration and singing. Bommalattam is a type of puppetry that uses various doll marionettes manipulated by rods and strings attached to them. Silambattam is a martial dance using
17784-485: The capital at Thanjavur . The Chola influence expanded subsequently with Rajaraja I conquering the entire Southern India and parts of present-day Sri Lanka and Maldives , and increased Chola influence across the Indian Ocean in the eleventh century CE. Rajaraja brought in administrative reforms including the reorganisation of Tamil country into individual administrative units. Under his son Rajendra Chola I ,
17955-401: The climbers, by using tenets of their cult, to give up their occupation as toddy tappers. To ease the situation the district magistrate issued a proclamation restricting the climbers to sell hard toddy only in specific regions, where toddy can be legally drawn. However the Sangam's campaign was effective for only about a year. The Sangam then in order to aid the climbers, sought to abolish
18126-544: The colonial political elites of the island. At present, most of the Tamil Jains are from the Vellalar social group. Also, the Saiva Velaalar sect are originally believed to have been Jainas before they embraced Hinduism . The Tamil Jains refer to the Saiva Velaalar as nīr-pūci-nayinārs or nīr-pūci-vellalars meaning the vellalars who left Jainism by smearing the sacred ash or (tiru)-nīru . While some of
18297-450: The community to protest for the required rights and privileges, with integrity, and also test how much other communities were willing to accept the Nadar claims of high status. The Northern Nadar leaders then sought to unite their community by encouraging intermarriages within the five major Nadar subcastes and also uplift the depressed palmrya Nadar climbers. They also sought to maintain amiable relationships with other communities. This led to
18468-562: The contemporary literature from other Indian languages and represents one of the oldest bodies of literature in South Asia. The earliest epigraphic records have been dated to around the 3rd century BCE. Early Tamil literature was composed in three successive poetic assemblies known as Tamil Sangams , the earliest of which destroyed by floods. The Sangam literature was broadly classified into three divisions: iyal (poetry), isai (music) and nadagam (drama). The early Tamil literature
18639-423: The country as refugees resulting in an exodus more than half a million to India and other countries. By the 1970s, initial non-violent political struggle for an independent Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka, developed into a violent secessionist insurgency. This led to the bloody Sri Lankan Civil War for more than three decades. The conflict resulted in the deaths of at least 100,000 Tamils in
18810-415: The current shape. On 14 January 1969, Madras state was renamed Tamil Nadu, meaning "Tamil country". In 1965, Tamils agitated against the imposition of Hindi and in support of continuing English as a medium of communication which eventually led to English being retained as an official language of India alongside Hindi. After experiencing fluctuations in the decades immediately after Indian independence,
18981-546: The eighteenth century CE. The British regained control of Madras in 1749 through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and resisted a French siege attempt in 1759. The British East India Company demanded tax collection rights, which led to constant conflicts with the local Palaiyakkarars and resulted in the Polygar Wars . Puli Thevar was one of the earliest opponents, joined later by Rani Velu Nachiyar and Kattabomman in
19152-469: The eleventh century saw the union of Chola and Vengi kingdoms under Kulottunga I . The Cholas repulsed attacks from the Western Chalukyas and maintained its influence over the various kingdoms of Southeast Asia. According to historian Nilakanta Sastri , Kulottunga avoided unnecessary wars and had a long and prosperous reign characterized by unparalleled success that laid the foundations of
19323-406: The empire for the next 150 years. The eventual decline of Chola power began towards the end of Kulottunga III 's reign in the thirteenth century CE. The Pandyas again reigned supreme under Maravarman Sundara I and defeated the Cholas under Rajaraja III . Though the Cholas were revived briefly with the aid of Hoysalas , civil war between Rajaraja and Rajendra III weakened them further. With
19494-535: The empire. The Vijayanagara empire was defeated in the Battle of Talikota in 1565 by a confederacy of Deccan sultanates . The Nayaks, who were the military governors in the Vijaynagara empire, took control of the region amongst whom the Nayaks of Madurai and Nayaks of Thanjavur were the most prominent. They introduced the palayakkararar system and re-constructed some of the temples in Tamil Nadu including
19665-402: The films. The first silent film in South India was produced in Tamil in 1916 and the first Tamil talkie film was Kalidas , which released on 31 October 1931, barely seven months after the release of India's first talking picture Alam Ara . Ancient literature and epigraphical records describe the various types of dresses worn by Tamil people. Tamil women traditionally wear a sari ,
19836-551: The first series of Polygar wars. The Maruthu brothers along with Oomaithurai , formed a coalition with Dheeran Chinnamalai and Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja , which fought the British in the Second Polygar War. In the later 18th century, the Mysore kingdom captured parts of the region and engaged in constant fighting with the British which culminated in the four Anglo-Mysore Wars . By the late eighteenth century CE,
20007-408: The formation of the Nadar Mahajana Sangam in 1910. Some Nadars emigrated from South India to Sri Lanka during the British colonial era. The separate Nadar associations of the six Ramanad towns were unable to support a community that was becoming more dispersed as many began to migrate to other parts of Madras Presidency . With the rise of the politically ambitious T. Rattinasami Nadar ,
20178-518: The fourth century CE, the region was ruled by the Kalabhras , warriors belonging to the Vellalar community, who were once feudatories of the three ancient Tamil kingdoms. The Kalabhra era is referred to as the "dark period" of Tamil history, and information about it is generally inferred from any mentions in the literature and inscriptions that are dated many centuries after their era ended. Around
20349-677: The governance of India from the East India Company to the British crown, forming the British Raj . Failure of the summer monsoons and administrative shortcomings of the Ryotwari system resulted in two severe famines in the Madras Presidency, the Great Famine of 1876–78 and the Indian famine of 1896–97 which killed millions and the migration of many Tamils as bonded laborers to other British countries eventually forming
20520-415: The independence. Under the rules of the act, the climbers could only tap between 4 am to 2pm and sell sweet toddy between 6am and 2pm. These procedures can also only be practiced by climbers who have license. The rigid government rules pressurized the depressed climbers. The two prominent Nadars Sangams constantly pressurized the government and eventually the enforcement of these regulations gradually eased. By
20691-496: The interiors. The Chettinadu cuisine is popular for its meat based dishes and generous usage of spices . The Kongunadu cuisine uses less spices and are generally cooked fresh. It uses coconut , sesame seeds , groundnut , and turmeric to go with various cereals and pulses grown in the region. Nanjilnadu cuisine is milder and is usually based on fish and vegetables. Sri Lankan Tamil cuisine uses gingelly oil and jaggery along with coconut and spices, which differentiates it from
20862-498: The island and led to the flight of over 800,000 refugees. The war ended after the Sri Lankan military offensive in 2009. Since the end of the civil war, the Sri Lankan state has been subject to much global criticism for violating human rights as a result of committing war crimes through bombing civilian targets, usage of heavy weaponry, the abduction and massacres of Sri Lankan Tamils and sexual violence . As per
21033-491: The island. These people moved further to the South of the island, and intermingled with the existent people. Black and red ware potsherds found in Sri Lanka from the early reign of Anuradhapura kingdom , indicate a similar cultural connection with the people of South India. The Tamil Brahmi inscriptions on them indicate Tamil clan names such as Parumakal , Ay , Vel , Utiyan , Ticaiyan , Cuda and Naka , which points to
21204-719: The king later before the Ming admiral Zheng He overthrew him in 1409 CE after which the influence of his family declined. The caste structure of the Sinhalese also accommodated Hindu immigrants from South India, which led to the emergence of new Sinhalese caste groups such as the Radala , the Salagama , the Durava and the Karava . The Aryachakaravarthi dynasty continued to rule over large parts of northeast Sri Lanka until arrival of
21375-403: The language is personified in the form of Tamil̲taay ("Tamil mother"). Various varieties of Tamil is spoken by the Tamils across regions such as Madras Bashai , Kongu Tamil , Madurai Tamil , Nellai Tamil , Kumari Tamil and various Sri Lankan Tamil dialects such as Batticaloa Tamil, Jaffna Tamil and Negombo Tamil in Sri Lanka. Tamil literature is of considerable antiquity compared to
21546-545: The language. The Tamils saw the act as linguistic, cultural and economic discrimination against them. Anti-Tamil pogroms in 1956 and 1958 resulted in deaths of many Tamils and further escalated the conflict. More than a million Indian Tamil plantation workers were made stateless after Sri Lanka refused citizenship to them. In 1964, the Sri Lankan and Indian governments entered into an agreement, based on which, about 300,000 would be granted Sri Lankan citizenship and about 975,000 Tamils would be repatriated to India over
21717-600: The late 19th century, some Nadar activists started claiming that the Nadars are the descendants of those who ruled the Pandyan kingdom and that when Nayak rulers captured the Pandya country, it was divided into several Palayams (divisions) for each of which Palaiyakkars were appointed as rulers. They also claimed that the Nayak rulers of Tamil Nadu imposed Deshaprashtam (ostracism) on the ancient Nadars to ensure that they would not rise. According to Hardgrave these claims were not completely baseless. The traditions followed by
21888-520: The lucrative pearl fisheries from the Jaffna kings. The wrested Mannar during the first invasion in 1560 and killed king Puvirasa Pandaram during the second expedition in 1591. After the conflicts, the Portuguese secured the kingdom in 1619 from the unpopular Cankili II , who was helped by the Thanjavur Nayaks. English sailor Robert Knox arrived in the island in 1669 and described
22059-546: The major forms of Tamil painting is Thanjavur painting , which originated in the 16th century CE where a base made of cloth and coated with zinc oxide is painted using dyes and then decorated with semi-precious stones, as well as silver or gold threads. The ancient Tamil country had its own system of music called Tamil Pannisai . Sangam literature such as the Silappatikaram from 2nd century CE describes music notes and instruments. A Pallava inscription dated to
22230-612: The majority of the Nadar population in the south of Thamirabarani river were poor, landless palmyra climbers , there also existed a small endogamous sub group of aristocratic Nadars , known as the Nelamaikarrars or Nadans, who owned vast tracts of land. These Nadans either held their position directly under Nayak rulers in the Tiruchendur area or as petty lords under the Palaiyakkarar. They commanded high respect among
22401-628: The mid-1950s, the government assigned cooperative societies to promote jaggery production. The Nadar community did not completely rely on the Backward Class Commission for educational advancement. In 1885, the Northern Nadars established the Kshatriya Vidhyasala High School in Virudhunagar by using the mahimai funds from the Nadar uravinmurai . Education was also the primary concern of
22572-501: The mid-1st millennium BCE in South India. Locals in Sri Lanka adopted the production methods of creating wootz steel from the Cheras and the later trade introduced it to other parts of the world. Since the early Sangam age, war was regarded as an honourable sacrifice and fallen heroes and kings were worshipped with hero stones and heroic martyrdom was glorified in ancient Tamil literature. Defeated kings committed Vatakkiruttal ,
22743-567: The ninteenth century CE to work on tea plantations were later termed as the Indian Tamils . Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948 and after the colonial rule ended, ethnic tension rose between the Sinhalese, who constituted a majority, and the Tamils. In 1956, the Sinhala Only Act designated Sinhala as the only official language of Sri Lanka, which forced many Tamils to resign as civil servants because they were not fluent in
22914-543: The ninth and tenth centuries CE, Pandya and Chola incursions started in the island which culminated with the Chola annexation of the island. The Chola influence lasted until the latter half of the eleventh century CE and the Chola decline was followed by the restoration of the Polonnaruwa monarchy . In 1215, following Pandya invasions, the Tamil-dominant Aryacakravarti dynasty established
23085-517: The non-Brahmin movement. However, in the late 1940s the Nadars' support shifted to Indian National Congress , in part because of the political success of K. Kamaraj , whose opinions had originally been disliked by his own community. After the end of Kamaraj's era, the Nadars' political support has become diffused across various parties and the Nadar Sangam has become less politicized. The social and economical development achieved by
23256-547: The north and with the Romans . Roman coins and other epigraphical evidence from South India and potsherds with Tamil writing found in excavations along the Red Sea indicate the presence of Roman commerce with the ancient Tamilakam. Much of the commerce from the Romans and Han China were facilitated via seaports including Muziris and Korkai with spices being the most prized goods along with pearls and silk . There
23427-460: The numerically strong Arunattu Vellalar , Chozhia Vellalar , Karkarthar Vellalar , Kongu Vellalar , Thuluva Vellalar and Sri Lankan Vellalar . The earliest occurrence of the term Velaalar (வேளாளர்) in Sangam literature is in Paripadal where it is used in the sense of a landowner. The term Velaalar (வேளாளர்) can be derived from the word Vel (வேள்), Vel being a title that was borne by
23598-406: The old Tamil preserved features of Proto-Dravidian language, modern-day spoken Tamil uses loanwords from other languages such as English . The existent Tamil grammar is largely based on the grammar book Naṉṉūl which incorporates facets from the old Tamil literary work Tolkāppiyam . Since the later part of the 19th century, Tamils made the language as a key part of the Tamil identity and
23769-475: The original name of the community was Shantror or Shandrar (noble one) which, in course of time, was corrupted to Shanar. Channar is a title used by the Ezhava community of Kerala . However, there is no evidence to support these claims. The origin of Nadars as a social group is uncertain. Hardgrave stated that the Teri palmyra forests around today's Tiruchendur must have been their original abode. In
23940-514: The other culinary traditions in the island. Biryani is a popular dish with several different versions prepared across various regions. Idli , and dosa are popular breakfast dishes and other dishes cooked by to the Tamil people include upma , idiappam , pongal , paniyaram , and parotta . Vellalar Vellalar is a group of castes in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu , Kerala and northeastern parts of Sri Lanka . The Vellalar are members of several endogamous castes such as
24111-507: The political arena. Nadars are classified and listed as a Backward Class by the governments of both Tamil Nadu and India. The legend of the origin of the Nadars tell of the birth of seven sons; with the death of two, the remaining five father the separate divisions of the community. There were five major divisions among the Nadars. The Nadar community was not a single caste, but developed from an assortment of related subcastes and classes of different origins, which in course of time, came under
24282-520: The population, including from groups such as the Nadar climbers, the minority Vellalars and the Brahmins . Nadan men rode horses and their women rode in covered palanquins . Nadar climbers were also to be found in other regions of Tamil Nadu where a few palmyra trees grew. In areas where the Nadar climber population consisted of only a few families in a village, they faced discrimination from major upper castes. Due to their association with toddy,
24453-498: The post Sangam era is the Tirukkural , a book on ethics, by Thiruvalluvar . In the beginning of the middle age , Vaishnava and Saiva literature became prominent following the Bhakti movement in 7th century CE with hymns composed by Alwars and Nayanmars . Notable work from the post-Bhakti period included Ramavataram by Kambar in 12th century CE and Tiruppugal by Arunagirinathar in 15th century CE. In 1578,
24624-627: The presence of Tamils in the region. Excavations in Poonakari in the north of the island have yielded several inscriptions including the mention of vela , a name related to velirs of the ancient Tamil country. Epigraphical evidence of people identified as Damelas (the Prakrit word for Tamil people) from the second century CE have been found in Anuradhapura , the capital city of the northern Rajarata region. Historical records mention that
24795-478: The present Tamil diaspora . The Indian Independence movement gathered momentum in the early 20th century with the formation of the Indian National Congress , which was based on an idea propagated by the members of the Theosophical Society movement after a Theosophical convention held in Madras in December 1884. Various Tamils were contributors to the Independence movement including V. O. Chidambaram Pillai , Subramaniya Siva and Bharatiyar . The Tamils formed
24966-486: The production of toddy. However, there were a few subsects comprising wealthy landlords and money lenders. At this time, the majority of Nadars lived south of the Thamirabarani River, and formed 80 – 90 per cent of the population between there and Cape Comorin . Although numerically dominant in the area, the Nadars had a minimal interaction with other communities and they were themselves divided by their various endogamous subcastes, and thus lacked communal cohesion. While
25137-412: The region and the socio-cultural transformation was altered further by the migration of Sanskrit -speaking Indo-Aryans from Northern India in the eighth century CE. The Cholas were revived in the ninth century CE by Vijayalaya Chola and the last Pallavas ruler Aparajitavarman was defeated by the Chola prince Aditya I . After the defeat of the Pallavas, the Cholas became the dominant kingdom with
25308-499: The region. Major folk dance forms include Karakattam and Kavadiattam which involve dancers balancing decorated pot(s) on their heads and arch shaped wooden sticks on their shoulders respectively while making dance movements with the body. Kolattam and Kummi are usually performed by women while singing songs. In dances like Mayilattam , Puravaiattam , and Puliyattam , dancers dress like peacocks , horses and tigers respectively and headdresses perform movements imitating
25479-576: The remaining four subcastes are known as B group . In 1680, the first congregation of Nadars was started at Vaddakankulam with the conversion of Nadar women and a church was built accordingly in 1685. A permanent mission was established in 1701. Some Nadars accepted Christianity through will and some accepted it due to their aversion to local beliefs. In 1970, Christian Nadars numbered 150,000 as opposed to 1.5 to 2 million Hindu Nadars in Madras state . Nadar Christians, like Hindus, marry within their caste. The Hindu Nadars, like other Hindus, have
25650-436: The scholarship fund. The Nadar Mahajana Sangam also established a college, Senthilkumara Nadar College, in 1947. In villages where there were few Nadar climbers, they were oppressed by those in the majority. The Nadar Mahajana Sangam acted in the interests of such climbers, using the strength and influence of the community at large. The climbers could ask the Sangam to intervene in inter-community issues, which would cause
25821-401: The second century BCE mentioning Damela or Dameda from ancient Sri Lanka have been found. In the Buddhist Jataka texts, there is a mention of a Damila-rattha (Tamil dynasty). Greek historian Strabo (first century BCE) mentions that the Roman Emperor Augustus received an ambassador from Pandyan of Dramira . An inscription from Amaravati dated to third century CE refers to
25992-411: The seventh century CE, the Kalabhras were overthrown by the Pandyas and Cholas. Though they existed previously, the period saw the rise of the Pallavas in the sixth century CE under Mahendravarman I , who ruled parts of South India with Kanchipuram as their capital. The Pallavas were noted for their patronage of architecture. Throughout their reign, the Pallavas remained in constant conflict with
26163-404: The single banner Nadar. Nadar climber was the largest subsect of today's Nadar community. Nadars are predominant in the south Indian districts of Tuticorin , Kaniyakumari , Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar . The Karukkupattaiyathar are supposed to be the original inhabitants of the country around Manadu. This sub-division was later known as Mara Nadar . They claim to be the descendants of
26334-405: The stigma attached to farming and manual labor. Similarly, the Vellala Chettis, a branch of the Chozhia Vellalars were traders and merchants. The Adi-saiva vellalar sect is a strictly vegetarian Saivite group that traditionally served as priests. The Vellalar were considered to be of high status and enjoyed a high rank during the Chola period. They helped promote and stabilize Shaivism during
26505-403: The tax levied on palmyra trees. After the establishment of the Prohibition (of toddy) act in the Northern districts of Madras Presidency, the Nadar Mahajana Sangam along with its sister association, Dakshina Mara Nadar Sangam of Tirunelveli, sought to remove it to aid the depressed climbers. The British advisor government in turn suspended the act. However, the prohibition act was reintroduced after
26676-471: The term Vellalar but refers to a group of people called Velaan Maanthar who apart from practising agriculture had the right to carry weapons and wear garlands when they were involved in affairs of the state. The term Vellalar itself occurs in the sense of a landowner in Paripadal . The poem Pattinappaalai lists the six virtues of Vellalar as abstention from killing, abstention from stealing, propagation of religion, hospitality, justice and honesty. In
26847-446: The term "Vellalar" is uncertain, a number of non-cultivating landholding castes like Kaarukaatha Velaalar and the Kondaikatti Velaalar who served ruling dynasties in various capacities also identify themselves as Vellalar. Likewise, the Kottai Pillaimar who were traditionally land-holders and lived inside forts, neither lease land for agriculture nor do they till their own fields. They also do not supervise cultivation directly due to
27018-527: The three Tamil kingdoms were involved in the island's affairs from second century BCE. Chola king Ellalan captured the Anuradhapura Kingdom from 205 BCE to 161 BCE. Tamil soldiers from Tamilakam came to Anuradhapura in large numbers in the seventh century CE with the local chiefs and kings relying on them. In the eighth century CE, various Tamil villages collectively known as Demel-kaballa (Tamil allotment), Demelat-valademin (Tamil villages), and Demel-gam-bim (Tamil villages and lands) were established. In
27189-673: The training of other martial arts such as silambattam, adimurai or kalari . Malyutham is the traditional form of combat-wrestling. Tamil martial arts uses various types of weapons such as valari (iron sickle), maduvu (deer horns), vaal (sword) and kedayam (shield), surul vaal (curling blade), itti or vel (spear), savuku (whip), kattari (fist blade), aruval (mchete), silambam (bamboo staff), kuttu katai (spiked knuckleduster), kathi (dagger), vil ambu (bow and arrow), tantayutam (mace), soolam (trident), valari (boomerang), chakaram (discus) and theepandam (flaming baton). Wootz steel used to make weapons, originated in
27360-462: The upper jacket in the manner of upper-class women, in order to improve their social status. In turn, upper-class men abused and discriminated against them. One Nadan family of Agastheeswaram , instead of supporting their depressed counterparts, supported the upper-class men and claimed that only their women had the right to wear an upper cloth. The situation became known as the Upper cloth controversy and became violent. Eventually, with assistance from
27531-403: The use of early Harappan language . Excavations at Keezhadi have revealed a large urban settlement, with the earliest artefact dated to 580 BCE, during the time of urbanization in the Indo-Gangetic plain . Further epigraphical inscriptions found at Adichanallur use Tamil Brahmi , a rudimentary script dated to 5th century BCE. Potsherds uncovered from Keeladi indicate a script which might be
27702-401: The various Tamil kingdoms. The Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram , built by the Pallavas in the 7th and 8th centuries has more than forty rock-cut temples, monoliths and rock reliefs . The Pallavas, who built the group of monuments in Mahabalipuram and Kanchipuram , were one of the earliest patronisers of the Dravidian architectural style. These gateways became regular features in
27873-422: The west coast and in Kathiraveli on the east coast of the island. These epigraphical evidence have been dated to a period between fifth century BCE and second century CE. Cultural similarities in burial practices in South India and Sri Lanka were dated by archeologists to the beginning of the Iron Age in the region around twelfth century BCE. There were specific migration routes that extended from South India to
28044-448: The word Kalamba or Kalambam (in Tamil) means the Kadamba tree , the sacred totemic symbol that is associated with Tamil god Murugan . The Velir were an ancient group of Tamil chieftains who claimed Yadava (Yadu) descent. The Ay Vels were one such Velir group that ruled the territory in and around Venad during the Sangam period. The word Venad is derived from Vel -nadu, that is the country ruled by Vel chieftains. We know of
28215-488: The word Tamil is unclear with multiple theories attested to it. Kamil Zvelebil suggests that the term tamiz might have been derived from tam meaning "self" and "-iz" having the connotation of "unfolding sound". Alternatively, he suggests a derivation of tamiz < tam-iz < *tav-iz < *tak-iz , meaning "the proper process (of speaking)". Franklin Southworth suggests that the name comes from tam-miz > tam-iz meaning "self-speak", or "our own speech". It
28386-405: The years that immediately followed the Sangam age (from third to sixth century CE), the Tamil lands were ruled by a dynasty called Kalabhras . Historians believe that the Kalabhras belonged to the Vellalar community of warriors who were possibly once the feudatories of the Cholas and the Pallavas . Scholar and historian M. Raghava Iyengar identifies the Kalabhras with the Kalappalar section of
28557-464: The ‘'Vellala Maharaja'’ in Thiruvannamalai , the town that served as their capital in 14th century. According to the anthropologist Kathleen Gough , "the Vellalars were the dominant secular aristocratic caste under the Chola kings, providing the courtiers, most of the army officers, the lower ranks of the kingdom's bureaucracy, and the upper layer of the peasantry". Two identical Tamil inscriptions from Avani and Uttanur in Mulbagal Taluk dated in
28728-424: Was called the Nadar Mahajana Sangam . The association was open to any Nadar male of any subcaste or religion, and had as its general purpose the upliftment of the community. The early Sangam conferences were dominated by the Northern Nadars. The campaign against toddy was one of the first steps taken by the Nadar Mahajana Sangam to enhance the social advancement of the entire Nadar community. Though majority of
28899-442: Was compiled and classified into two categories: Patinenmelkanakku ("Eighteen Greater Texts") consisting of the Ettuttokai ("Eight Anthologies") and the Pattuppattu ("Ten Idylls"), and the Patinenkilkanakku ("Eighteen Lesser Texts"). The Tamil literature that followed in the next 300 years after the Sangam period is generally called the "post-Sangam" literature which included the Five Great Epics . Another book of
29070-426: Was considered as a social obligation and offering food to guests was regarded as one of the highest virtues. Rice is the diet staple and is served with sambar , rasam , and poriyal as a part of a Tamil meal. Bananas find mention in the Sangam literature and the traditional way of eating a meal involves having the food served on a banana leaf , which is discarded after the meal. Eating on banana leaves imparts
29241-406: Was founded in 1336 CE . The Vijayanagara empire eventually conquered the entire Tamil country by c. 1370 and ruled for almost two centuries. In the sixteenth century, Vijaynagara king Krishnadeva Raya was forced to intervene in the conflict between their vassals, the Cholas and the Pandyas. The Nayak governor under Raya briefly took control of Madurai before it was restored to
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