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Chettiar (also spelt as Chetti and Chetty)is a title used by many traders,
Chettiar (also spelt as Chetti and Chetty)is a title used by many traders, weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudin ...
, agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...
and land-owning castes in South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...
, especially in the states
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* '' State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our ...
of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil languag ...
, Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...
and Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...
.
They are a subgroup of the Tamil community who originated from Chettinad in Tamil Nadu, India. Traditionally, the Chettiars were involved in the trade of precious stones, but later became private bankers and moneylenders.
Etymology
Chettiar/Chetty is derived from theSanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...
word (Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...
: श्रेष्ठ) or (Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...
: श्रेष्ठीन्) meaning superior, Prakrit
The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...
ised as (Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...
: सेठी), and then (Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...
: शेट) or (Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...
: शेटी) in modern Indo-Aryan dialects.
See also
*Vallanattu Chettiar
Vallanattu Chettiar are a community who have been classified in the state of Tamil Nadu as an Other Backward Class under India's system of positive discrimination. They live in a small village of Vallanadu, near to Thiruvarankulam in Pudukk ...
* Twenty four Manai Telugu Chettiars
The 24 Manai Telugu Chettiars (24MTC) is a South Indian caste. They can speak Tamil and Telugu and are found predominantly in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka in India, as well as Gujarat and Sri Lanka.
Etymology a ...
* Devanga Chettiar
* Pattanavar
Pattanavar (also spelled ''Pattinavar'') is a Tamil caste found in Tamil Nadu, India.
They are a maritime community dominating Chennai, Kanchipuram, Cuddalore, Villuppuram, Thanjavur and Nagapattinam districts of the Coromandel Coast, who h ...
* Chitty
The Chitty, also known as the Chetty or Chetti Melaka, are a distinctive group of Tamil people found mainly and originally in Melaka, Malaysia, and in Singapore where they migrated to in the 18th and 19th centuries from Melaka, who are also kn ...
* Kandangi sari
* Pattusali
References
Further reading
* Christine Dobson, ''Asian Entrepreneurial Minorities,'' Curzon Press UK, 1996. (A chapter in the book is devoted to the Chettiars who set up businesses in Burma.) * Rajeswary Brown (1993) "Chettiar capital and Southeast Asian credit networks in the inter-war period". In G. Austin and K. Sugihara, eds. ''Local Suppliers of Credit in the Third World, 1750-1960''. (New York: St. Martin's Press). *{{cite book , chapter=Marwari and Chettiar Merchants. 1850s-1950s: Comparative Trajectories , first=Medha M. , last=Kudaisya , title=Chinese and Indian Business: Historical Antecedents , editor1-first=Medha M. , editor1-last=Kudaisya , editor2-first=Chin-Keong , editor2-last=Ng , publisher=BRILL , location=Leiden , year=2009 , isbn=9789004172791 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQJfjnWly5wC&pg=PA85 * David Rudner (1989) ''Banker's Trust and the Culture of Banking among the Nattukottai Chettiars of Colonial South India''. ''Modern Asian Studies'' 23 (3), 417-458. * Heiko Schrader (1996) ''Chettiar Finance in Colonial Asia''. ''Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie'' 121, 101-126. Social groups of Kerala Indian surnames Sri Lankan Tamil society Social groups of Tamil Nadu Indian castes Merchant castes Agricultural castes Bania communities