Nambiar (Kshatriya)
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- For other Nambiar sects see Nambiar
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| Caste: | Kshatriya | |
| Dynasty: | Nagavanshi | |
| Location: | Malabar | |
| Language: | Malayalam | |
| Religion: | Hinduism | |
Nambiar (Nambiyar,Nambier) is a title of a Kshatriya caste from the Malabar in North Kerala and are the second highest Kshatriya sub-caste, second to the Varma (King) like the Unnithans of South Kerala or Travancore.
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[edit] Origins
Nambiars are of Indo-Aryan origin, having migrated to Kerala with the Namboothiris from outside India (See Aryan Invasion Theory) from a period between the 2nd to the 13th century AD. Nambiars have distinctly different customs and traditions from indigenous Keralites, which are in fact strikingly similar to North Indian and even Indo-Aryan customs and traditions.
The origins of the name "Nambiar" is thought to be a variation of "Namboothiri" (the brahmins whom the Nambiars accompanied from outside Kerala, and who are thought to have a common background).
[edit] Dynasties
Many Nambiars are of the Nagavanshi (Serpent Dynasty) since they engage primarily in Serpent worship.
[edit] Position in society
Nambiars are regarded as being Arya ("noblemen"-mahākula kulīnārya ) and many incorporate this title into their names. They are addressed as Thirumukom (literally: "High face") and are referred to as Eshmanan ("Lord").
They share the same occupation (that of a warrior and ruler) as Nayars and thus they are classed as Nayars, although they are of a different race to the them, who many consider to be of Dravidian in origin. However often the Nayars, who were a martial nobility, would take part in menial tasks during time of peace, and thus they have been considered to be both Kshatriyas and Shudras.
Nambiars considered the Nayars to be subordinate to them in social status and thus practiced Aitheetom, or untouchability. Hence the Nambiars played a major role in upholding the rigid caste system along with the Namboothiri Brahmins, which in the past, involved the oppression of lower castes.
Nambiars received a formal education, an opportunity that was not available to commoners at the time, and thus they played a great role in the development of astronomy, mathematics (particularly algebra and geometry) and other sciences.
Along with the Namboothiris, Nambiars helped to integrate Sanskrit (their previous native mother tongue) with Tamil dialects to form Malayalam.
The Nambiar were among the largest landlords in Malabar before the Muslim Uprising. As a learned and powerful caste, Nambiars were extremely influential in the past, and although much of their power was significantly reduced during the British Colonial Rule and Muslim invasions by sultans, they still retain a sense of nobility today.
[edit] Customs
Many practices of the Nambiars are now outdated. These include the system of matrilineal inheritance and cousin marriage. Caste and discrimination has ceased in the past century, and so Nambiars no longer play a role in oppressing lower castes.Common practices such as first cousin marriage, have now ceased almost completely, mainly due to health reasons. Even just three generations ago, however, cousin marriage was widespread. It was a cunning method of retaining estates and princely possessions within the family.
- Jathakarmam : Performed just after birth.
- Naamakaranam : Christening.
- Choroonu : The first ceremonial intake of rice by the child.
- Choulam : The first hair-cut ceremony of the boy/ girl.
- Upanayanam : (Only for boys)- uncommon amongst Nambiars, but practiced by a few.
- Mahaanamneevrutham (Aanduvrutham)
- Mahaavrutham
- Upanishadvrutham
- Godaanam : Rites as part of thanks-giving to the Aacharyan (priest or teacher).
- Samaavarthanam : A long ritual for the completion of the above said Vedic education.
- Marriage
- Death rites
[edit] Historical reference
( Jervoise Athelstane Baines , ( 1893 ), General report on the Census of India, 1891 , London , Her Majesty's Stationery Office , p. 184)
"On the west coast there are a few curious distinctions that indicate, apparently, difference in racial origin. The first of these instances is that of the Nayar, the military caste of Malabar [Nambiar]. Their traditions point to the north as their native land; they are light in colour, in very great contrast to the rest of the castes of the tract [i.e. Nairs from the South], have retained the customs....with a good deal of serpent worship. It appears that they advanced upon their present tract by way of the coast higher up, but how they got there does not appear. As with the Arya, they found a dark race in possession and enslaved them on their estates, where they labour to the present day. In the same tract, too, there is a class of Bráhmans, the Nambudiri, of remarkable fairness of complexion, and noted for their rigid ceremonial puritanism...."
