Nankudi Vellalar, also known as Nangudi Vellalar or Sivakalai Pillaimar, is a sub-caste of

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, Chozhi ...

caste in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, India. This group of people are considered to be believers and followers of

Shaivism Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...

, a religion that preaches Lord Shiva as the Supreme God. They also claim descent from the

Velir 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. Med ...

hereditary of Irungovel Pandyas 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 Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port city, port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the di ...

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...

Korkai Korkai is a small village in the Srivaikuntam taluk of Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu, India. It was called Pandya-Kavada in the Kapatapuram in Kalithogai. It is situated about 3 km north of the Thamirabarani River and about 6 k ...

Ambasamudram Ambasamudram is the principal town of the Ambasamudram taluk in Tirunelveli district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The entire taluk had a population of 392,226 as of 2001, with 42.5% classified as rural. The town of Ambasamudram had a popul ...

, etc. Some of them migrated to

Srivaikuntam Srivaikuntam, also referred to as Thiruvaikuntam, is a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the river Thamirabarani. Thiruvaikuntam has a temple dedicated to Vishnu, known as S ...

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

, 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

(farmers), so they were essentially a good community of farmers.

Caste structure

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

Caste-based Reservation Status

The Nankudi Vellalar do not avail any benefits under the reservation quota for Backward castes.

References

Citations Bibliography * * * Social groups of Tamil Nadu Indian castes Vellalar clans South Indian communities ● The history of Nankudi Vellalar was described in a tamil book named நற்குடி வேளாளர் வரலாறு (நூல்) {{Portal, Tamils, India, Hinduism