Nattar
The institution of the ''nattar'' was well-defined. It was in charge of all matters pertaining to a village, including water-management. It was noted that: "If ruling class is taken to mean those with the power and authority to manage community resources, then the ''nattar'' was this class in Tamil country". Kallar sub-division was accorded the title of nattar. Description Ceremonial establishments of brahmin villages in the ''nadus'' to pursue dharmic ends were important in effecting links beyond the nadu. The ''brahmadeyas'' of different nadus created a network of ritual specialists and in doing so fortified the standing of the nattar upon whose patronage this depended. Nattar as a political body was recognized by the Pallavas and Pandyas. The Pallava and Pandya copper plates regarding grants of land had nattars mentioned in them. See also *Ancient Tamil country * Parvatha rajakulam *Velirs *Vellalar Vellalar is a group of Caste system in India, castes in the Ind ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vellalar
Vellalar is a group of Caste system in India, 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 the numerically strong Arunattu Vellalar, Chozhia Vellalar, Karkarthar, Karkarthar Vellalar, Kongu Vellalar, Thuluva Vellalar and Sri Lankan Vellalar. Etymology The earliest occurrence of the term ''Velaalar'' (வேளாளர்) in Sangam literature is in Paripatal, 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 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. History The Vellalars have a long cultural history that go ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Parvatha Rajakulam
Sembadavar or Parvatha Rajakulam is a traditional fisherman community found mainly on the Coromandel coast of the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. They also take the title Nattar. Sembadavar are a maritime community who are occupied primarily as inland and river fishermen and primarily fish with fishing nets. Some Sembadavars migrated to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to form a caste called Sambuni Reddi. There are many theories as to their origins but they have since ancient times been recorded in the area of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Sri Lanka. Etymology The name ''Sembadavar'' is mythologically connected to the principal Hindu god Shiva. The name is derived from the Tamil words ''Sambu,'' a name of Shiva and ''Padavar'' meaning boatmen thus literally meaning "Shiva's boatmen". History Mythological origin According to one legend, Shiva was fond of one of their chief deity ''Ankalamman''. Out of the union was ''Parvatha Rajan'' (king of the Parvata Kingdom) ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kallar (caste)
Kallar (or Kallan, formerly spelled as Colleries) is one of the three related castes of South India, southern India which constitute the Mukkulathor confederacy. The Kallar, along with the Maravar and Agamudayar, constitute a united social caste on the basis of parallel professions, though their locations and heritages are wholly separate from one another. Etymology ''Kallar'' is a Tamil word meaning ''thief''. Their history has included periods of banditry. Kallars themselves use titles such as "landlord", Other proposed etymological origins include "black skinned", "hero", and "Palm wine, toddy-tappers". The anthropologist Susan Bayly notes that the name Kallar, as with that of Maravar, was a title bestowed by Tamil Polygar, ''palaiyakkarars'' (warrior-chiefs) on pastoral peasants who acted as their armed retainers. The majority of those poligars, who during the late 17th and 18th centuries controlled much of the Telugu people, Telugu region as well as the Tamil area, had t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pallava
The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of South India, the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The Pallavas played a crucial role in shaping in particular southern Indian history and heritage. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahanas, Satavahana Empire, whom they had formerly served as feudatories. The Pallavas became a major South India, southern Indian power during the reign of Mahendravarman I (600–630 CE) and Narasimhavarman I (630–668 CE), and dominated the southern Andhra Pradesh, Telugu region and the northern parts of the Ancient Tamil country, Tamil region for about 600 years, until the end of the 9th century. Throughout their reign, they remained in constant conflict with both the Chalukyas of Badami, Vatapi to the north, and the Tamil kingdoms of Chola Dynasty, Chola and Pandyas to their south. The Pallavas were finally defeated by the Chola ruler Aditya I in the 9th century CE. The Pallav ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pandya
The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing since at least the 4th to 3rd centuries BCE, the dynasty passed through two periods of imperial dominance, the 6th to 10th centuries CE, and under the 'Later Pandyas' (13th to 14th centuries CE). Under Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I and Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I, the Pandyas ruled extensive territories including regions of present-day South India and northern Sri Lanka through vassal states subject to Madurai. The Pandya dynasty is the longest ruling dynasty in the world. The rulers of the three Tamil dynasties were referred to as the " three crowned rulers (the mu-ventar) of the Tamil Region" in the southern part of India. The origin and the timeline of the Pandya dynasty are difficult to establish. The early Pandya chieftains ruled ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ancient Tamil Country
Tamilakam () also known as ancient Tamil country as was the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Lakshadweep and southern parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Traditional accounts and the ''Tolkāppiyam'' referred to these territories as a single cultural area, where Tamil was the natural language and permeated the culture of all its inhabitants. The ancient Tamil country was divided into kingdoms. The best known among them were the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyans and Pallavas. During the Sangam period, Tamil culture began to spread outside Tamilakam. Ancient Tamil settlements were also established in Sri Lanka (Sri Lankan Tamils) and the Maldives ( Giravarus). During the Prehistorical, Classical, Middle and Early Modern ages, the entire region of Tamilakam mostly remained unconquered by the Northern Indo-Aryan dynasties, ranging from t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Velirs
The Velir were a royal house of minor dynastic kings and aristocratic chieftains in Tamilakam in the early historic period of South India. They had close relations with Chera, Chola and Pandya rulers through ruling and coronation rights. Medieval inscriptions and Sangam literature claim that they belong to the Yadu dynasty. Velir may refer to master of land. Origin The Purananuru, one of the Eight Anthologies of Sangam literature, praises King Irunkōvēl, a 49th generation descendant of the Vēlir clan whose ancestors appeared from the pitcher (தடவு) of a Northern sage (Agastya), and said to have ruled Thuvarai (Dvārakā) with a fort containing tall huge walls made of bronze. According to a commentary on '' Tholkappiyam'', the earliest long work of Tamil literature, eighteen clans of the Velirs came from the city of '' Tuvarapati'' under the leadership of the sage Agastya.Pivot politics: changing cultural identities in early state formation processes By M. van ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |