Thondaimandala Vellalar is a high-ranking

subcaste A caste is a fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (endogamy), foll ...

of the

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 the state of

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 who tend, to adopt the title of ''

Mudaliar Mudaliar (alternatively spelled: Muthaliar, Mudali, Muthali) is a Tamil title and surname. As title, it was historically given to high-ranking officers, administrators and their descendants during the rule of Imperial Cholas. The surname is most ...

'' and they were traditional "landlords and officials of the state class" described by the anthropologist

Kathleen Gough Eleanor Kathleen Gough Aberle (16 August 1925 – 8 September 1990) was a British anthropologist and feminist who was known for her work in South Asia and South-East Asia. As a part of her doctorate work, she did field research in Malabar di ...

. They are a closely knit community and follow the Vegetarian diet. Thondaimandalam Mudaliars / Vellalars are progressive and prosperous in the society and they are remarkably advanced in the matter of education

Background

Susan Neild notes the

Kondaikatti Vellalar Kondaikatti Velaalar or Thondaimandala Mudaliar is a Tamil high-ranking subcaste of the Vellalar caste in south India. Historically, they were a caste of non-cultivating land-holders and some of them were administrators under various south I ...

, Thondai Mandala Saiva Vellalar / Saiva Mudaliyar as being the "predominant" subcastes of the Thondamandala Vellala.They practice

endogamy Endogamy is the cultural practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting any from outside of the group or belief structure as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relatio ...

and have a least two subgroups themselves, being the higher-status Melnadu and the lower-ranked Kilnadu. According to Burton Stein, She noted a link between the Thondaimandala Vellalar and the Morasu Vokkaligas of Bangalore and

Kolar Kolar may refer to: Places India * Kolar, Karnataka, a city in India **Kolar Assembly constituency *Kolar district, in Karnataka, India *Kolar Gold Fields, former gold mines in Karnataka, India **KGF (disambiguation) **Kolar Gold Field Assembly co ...

based on geographical proximity although two communities are distinct.:”The Gangadikara peasantry of Gangavadi appears to have been more significantly linked to the Kongu peasantry to the south than to peasant peoples in the central and northern parts of medieval Karnataka. Similarly, the Marasu Vokkaligas of eastern Bangalore and central and southern Kolar districts appear to have been linked to Tondaimandalam” In her study concentrated on two villages in 1951-53,

noted the Thondamandala Vellala subjects there to have been traditionally "landlords, warriors, and officials of the state class". She thought it likely that they had moved to their present area in

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of southern Indian religion, art ...

around the 15th century when the Vijayanagaras were making incursions on their former heartland of

Kanchipuram Kanchipuram (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: '; ), also known as Kanjeevaram, is a stand alone city corporation, satellite nodal city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from ...

in the Pallava country. She noted those households studied as being the highest-ranked members of the village community after the

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

s, and possibly to have in some cases increased their wealth and land by being appointed as revenue collectors for the

Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted substantially ...

when it took over the area in the period after 1780.

References

Notes Citations Bibliography * * * {{Portal, Tamils, India, Hinduism Social groups of Tamil Nadu Vellalar clans