Velakkathala Nayar

The Velakkathala Nayar (or Vilakkithala Nair, Vilakkithallvan) are a caste of barbers found in Kerala state, India, who traditionally barbered the Nambuthiris and Nair castes. They were historically not allowed to marry higher subdivisions of the Nair community,[1] and Christopher Fuller noted in 1975 that they were "not regarded as being 'real' Nairs at all, and they are ranked by most people - Nairs as well as non-Nairs - considerably below 'real' Nairs, being accorded a status approximately equal to the artisan castes."[2]

References

  1. ^ Singh, Kumar Suresh; Menon, T. Madhava; Tyagi, D.; Kulirani, B. Francis (2002). People of India: Kerala. 27, Part 1. Anthropological Survey of India. New Delhi: Anthropological Survey of India. p. 129. ISBN 9788185938998. http://books.google.com/books?id=fRQwAQAAIAAJ. Retrieved 28 August 2011.  - No marriage between an upper caste Nayar and a Velakkathala Nayar (barber) or a Veluthedan (washerman) normally takes place
  2. ^ Fuller, C. J. (Winter 1975). "The Internal Structure of the Nayar Caste". Journal of Anthropological Research 31 (4): 304. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3629883. Retrieved 2011-06-09. (subscription required)