Vanniyar

For other uses, see Vanniar (Chieftain).

Vanniyar
Languages Tamil
Region Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry
Subdivisions Padayatchi, Gounder, Naicker, Kandar[1]
Related groups Thigala

The Vanniyar, who were once known as the Palli, are a community or jāti found in Southern India.

Etymology

Several etymologyies for Vanniyar have been suggested, including the Sanskrit vahni ("fire"),[2] the Dravidian val ("strength"),[3] or the Sanskrit or Pali vana ("forest").[4]

Historical status

Researcher Lloyd I. Rudolph notes that as early as 1833, the Vanniyar filed a claim in Pondicherry to prove they were high caste, and in preparation for the 1871 Indian census they petitioned to be recognised as being of the Kshatriya (warrior) varna of Hindu society. By 1931, due to their successful politicking, the term Palli was removed from the Madras census, with the term Vanniya Kula Kshatriya appearing instead.[5]

The Vanniyar formed a number of caste organisations, with the Vanniyakula Kshatriya Maha Sangam appearing in Chennai in 1888.[6]

Present

Traditionally most Vanniyars are agricultural labourers. Increasingly however, they are benefiting from political influence and organization and they now own 50% of the lands of the traditional landowners. The Vanniyars who previously were of the Backward Class Category, were now designated as the Most Backward Caste after successful agitations in the 1980s by Vanniyar Groups. The reason for the agitation and subsequent re-classification was to avail more government benefits for the community.[7] Vanniyars are the single largest community in Tamil Nadu.[8]

Vannimai (Sri Lanka)

The Vannimai ruling class arose from a multi-ethnic and multi-caste background. But primary sources such as the Yalpana Vaipava Malai, states that some were descended from Vanniyar caste immigrants from modern Tamil Nadu[9][10][11][12] Some Sri Lankan historians derive the title Vannimai from the Tamil word vanam, meaning "forest", with Vannia or Wannia meaning "person from the forest", and Vannimais being large tracts of forested land.[12]

Malayaman

Many castes today claim descent from Malayaman. Dennis B. McGilvray states "Malayaman is a section of the Udaiyar caste in South Arcot today, but Burton Stein also finds the title in a thirteenth-century inscription identifying Vanniyar subcastes of South Arcot in the left-right caste classification typical of the Chola empire."[13]

Notables

See also

References

  1. ↑ Paul Younger. New Homelands : Hindu Communities in Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad, South Africa, Fiji, and East Africa.
  2. ↑ Lorna Srimathie Dewaraja (1972). A study of the political, administrative, and social structure of the Kandyan Kingdom of Ceylon, 1707-1760. Lake House Investments. p. 189. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  3. ↑ Hiltebeitel, Alf (1 January 1991). The Cult of Draupadī: Mythologies : from Gingee to Kurukserta. Motilal Banarsidass Publishe. pp. 38–. ISBN 978-81-208-1000-6. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  4. ↑ Subramanian Gopalakrishnan (1988). The Nayaks of Sri Lanka, 1739-1815: political relations with the British in South India. New Era Publications. p. 134. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  5. ↑ Rudolph, Lloyd I. (1984). The Modernity of Tradition: Political Development in India. University of Chicago Press. pp. 51–52. ISBN 978-0-226-73137-7.
  6. ↑ Chockalingam, Joe Arun (2007). Constructing Dalit Identity. Rawat Publications. p. 43. ISBN 978-81-316-0081-8.
  7. ↑ http://www.india-seminar.com/2012/633/633_hugo_gorringe.htm
  8. ↑ Hugo Gorringe. Untouchable Citizens: Dalit Movements and Democratization in Tamil Nadu. p. 60.
  9. ↑ Indrapala K (1970). "The Origin of the Tamil Vanni Chieftancies of the Ceylon.". Ceylon Journal of the Humanities (University of Sri Lanka) 1: 111–140. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  10. ↑ Sivaratnam, C (1968). "Tamils in early Ceylon". OCLC 248358279. As for cultivators he got fifty one tribes of Vanniyars, a caste of agriculture experts from the Pandyan coasts... on the invitation of Kulakoddan in c 493 for the noble purpose of cultivating the land at Tambalakamam.
  11. ↑ McGilvray (1982). Mukkuvar Vannimai: Tamil Caste and Matriclan Ideology in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, (Caste Ideology and Interaction). p. 34-97.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Karthigesu (1995). Sri Lankan Tamil Society and Politics. p. 7-9. ISBN 81-234-0395-X.
  13. ↑ Dennis B. McGilvray (16 April 2008). Crucible of Conflict: Tamil and Muslim Society on the East Coast of Sri Lanka. Duke University Press. pp. 372–. ISBN 978-0-8223-8918-7. Retrieved 10 July 2013.

Further reading