Nattukottai Nagarathar

Nattukottai Nagarathar
Regions with significant populations
India: Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu, Chennai
Languages
Tamil

The Nattukottai Nagarathars (also known as Nattukottai Chettiar) is a community within the Chettiar caste of Tamil Nadu, India. They are categorized as Forward Community in India.

Origins

The traditional base of the Nattukottai Nagarathars is the Chettinad region of the present-day state of Tamil Nadu. It comprises a triangular area around north-east Sivagangai, north-west Ramnad and south Pudukkottai. There are various claims regarding how they arrived in that area.[1]

It is possible that the community had been involved in trade since the 8th century CE and certainly by the early 17th century they were established salt merchants. Later, in the 19th century, their trading activities had expanded into southeast Asia.[1]

Religious influence

It is found that Kannagi and Kovalan, the prime personalities of the epic Silappatikaram were born in Nagarathar community. The religious figures Karaikkal Ammaiyar and Pattinathar were also from the community.[2]

Temples

The nine temples connected with the Nagarathar community include: Ilayathakudi, Iluppaikkudi, Iraniyur, Mathur, Nemam, Pillayarpatti, Soorakudi, Vairavan, and Velangudi.

The temple at the foot of the Palani hill is called Thiru Avinankudi (Kulandai Velayudhaswami Thirukkoil). It was renovated between 1898 and 1910, with a rajagopuram that can be seen from the hill temple being added in 1968.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Price, Pamela G. (1996). Kingship and Political Practice in Colonial India. Cambridge University Press. p. 13. ISBN 9780521552479.
  2. ↑ "Nagarathar children trace their roots". The Hindu. 2016-08-16. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  3. ↑ Cōmale. Palani: The Hill Temple of Muruga. Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, 1975. p. 23.

Resources

  • Rajeswary Brown. (1993). Chettiar capital and Southeast Asian credit networks in the inter-war period. In G. Austin and K. Sugihara, eds. Local Suppliers of Credit in the Third World, 1750-1960. New York: St. Martin's Press.
  • David Rudner. (1989). "Banker's Trust and the culture of banking among the Nattukottai Chettiars of colonial South India". Modern Asian Studies 23(3), 417-458.
  • David West Rudner. (1994). "Caste and Capitalism in Colonial India: The Nattukottai Chettiars". University of California Press.
  • Heiko Schrader. (1996). "Chettiar finance in Colonial Asia". Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie 121, 101-126.
  • Nishimura, Yuko Gender. (1998). Kinship and Property Rights: Nagarathar Womanhood in South India. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-564273-2.
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