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Nadan (Nadar Subcaste)
Nadans (also referred as Nelamaikkarar) are a small endogamous group of aristocratic Nadars from the regions south of the Thamirabarani River in the present-day state of Tamil Nadu, India. They were hereditary tax collectors during the Nayak and Pandyan dynasties and also served as petty lords under the poligars. The Nadans possessed vast tracts of land and were one of the few subcastes among the Nadars to have practiced aristocracy. The term ''Nadan'' means ''lords of the land''. History As hereditary tax collectors, the Nadans held civil authority over the lands in their control. The term ''Nadan'' means ''lords of the land''. The Nadar climbers were totally dependent on these powerful landlords and treated them with great respect. In the regions dominated by the Nadans, even the Vellalar accountant or the Brahmin priest would show deference to the position of the Nadan lords. They rode horses and would buy slaves to work in their houses to retain their proud customs. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endogamy
Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. Endogamy is common in many cultures and ethnic groups. Several religious and ethnic religious groups are traditionally more endogamous, although sometimes with the added dimension of requiring marital religious conversion. This permits an exogamous marriage, as the convert, by accepting the partner's religion, becomes accepted within the endogamous rules. Endogamy, as distinct from consanguinity, may result in transmission of genetic disorders, the so-called founder effect, within the relatively closed community. Adherence Endogamy can serve as a form of self-segregation; a community can use it to resist integrating and completely merging with surrounding populations. Minorities can use it to stay ethnically homogeneous over a long time as distinct communities withi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru or acharya). The other three varnas are the Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. The traditional occupation of Brahmins is that of priesthood at the Hindu temples or at socio-religious ceremonies, and rite of passage rituals such as solemnising a wedding with hymns and prayers.James Lochtefeld (2002), Brahmin, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing, , page 125 Traditionally, the Brahmins are accorded the highest ritual status of the four social classes. Their livelihood is prescribed to be one of strict austerity and voluntary poverty ("A Brahmin should acquire what just suffices for the time, what he earns he should spend all that the same day"). In practice, Indian texts suggest that some Brahmins historicall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borassus
''Borassus'' (palmyra palm) is a genus of five species of fan palms, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Papua New Guinea. Description These massive palms can grow up to high and have robust trunks with distinct leaf scars; in some species the trunk develops a distinct swelling just below the crown, though for unknown reasons. The leaves are fan-shaped, long and with spines along the petiole margins (no spines in ''B. heineanus''). The leaf sheath has a distinct cleft at its base, through which the inflorescences appear; old leaf sheaths are retained on the trunk, but fall away with time. All ''Borassus'' palms are dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants; male flowers are less than long and in semi-circular clusters, sandwiched between leathery bracts in pendulous catkins; female flowers are wide, globe-shaped and solitary, sitting directly on the surface of the inflorescence axis. The fruits are wide, roughly spherical and each contain 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Travancore
The Southern Division, or Padmanabhapuram Division till 1921 and Trivandrum Division from 1921 to 1949, was one of the administrative subdivisions of the princely state of Travancore. It covered the five taluks of Agastiswaram, Eraniel, Kalkulam, Thovalay and Vilavancode and was administered by a civil servant of rank Diwan Peishkar equivalent to a District Collector in British India. The Southern division was predominantly Tamil-speaking in contrast to the other three divisions where Malayalam was spoken. In 1920, the neighbouring Trivandrum was also merged with the Southern division. In 1949, the princely state of Travancore was dissolved and the Southern Division was included in the Travancore-Cochin state of India. In 1956, the Tamil-speaking taluks of Southern Division were transferred to the neighbouring Madras State as per the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 and forms the present-day Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. The Malayalam-speaking taluks of the erstwhile Tri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global population. Its adherents, known as Christians, are estimated to make up a majority of the population in 157 countries and territories, and believe that Jesus is the Son of God, whose coming as the messiah was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible (called the Old Testament in Christianity) and chronicled in the New Testament. Christianity began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the 1st century Hellenistic Judaism in the Roman province of Judea. Jesus' apostles and their followers spread around the Levant, Europe, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, the South Caucasus, Ancient Carthage, Egypt, and Ethiopia, despite significant initial persecution. It soon attracted gentile God-fearers, which led to a departure from Jewish customs, and, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thiruchendur
Tiruchendur is a municipality located in Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is home to the Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple, which is one of the Six Abodes of Murugan. Etymology Tiruchendur, a temple town like many towns in the state of Tamil Nadu, is named after the red soil nature of the town Senthoor. Geography Tiruchendur is located on the shoreline overlooking the Bay of Bengal in the south-eastern part of Tamil Nadu. The suburban villages surrounding the town contain arid, red soil forests that are densely planted with palm trees, cashew plantations, and other crops part of the region. Demographics As of the 2001 Census of India, Tiruchendur had a population of 33,970. Males constituted 50% of the population and females 50%. Tiruchendur had an average literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy was 82%, and female literacy 76%. 12% of Tiruchendur's population was under 6 years of age. Politics The Tiruchendur assembly co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. Shiva is known as "The Destroyer" within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity which also includes Brahma and Vishnu. In the Shaivite tradition, Shiva is the Supreme Lord who creates, protects and transforms the universe. In the goddess-oriented Shakta tradition, the Supreme Goddess ( Devi) is regarded as the energy and creative power (Shakti) and the equal complementary partner of Shiva. Shiva is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. Shiva has many aspects, benevolent as well as fearsome. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash as well as a householder with his wife Parvati and his three children, Ganesha, Kartikeya and A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surya
Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a means to realise Brahman. Other names of Surya in ancient Indian literature include Aditya, Arka, Bhanu, Savitr, Pushan, Ravi, Martanda, Mitra, Bhaskara, Prabhakara, Kathiravan, and Vivasvan. The iconography of Surya is often depicted riding a chariot harnessed by horses, often seven in number which represent the seven colours of visible light, and the seven days of the week. During the medieval period, Surya was worshipped in tandem with Brahma during the day, Shiva at noon, and Vishnu in the evening. In some ancient texts and art, Surya is presented syncretically with Indra, Ganesha, and others. Surya as a deity is also found in the arts and literature of Buddhism and Jainism. In the Mahabharata and Ramayana, Surya is represented as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palanquin
The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the elements. Larger litters, for example those of the Chinese emperors, may resemble small rooms upon a platform borne upon the shoulders of a dozen or more people. To most efficiently carry a litter, porters either place the carrying poles directly upon their shoulders or use a yoke to transfer the load from the carrying poles to the shoulders. Definitions A simple litter consists of a sling attached along its length to poles or stretched inside a frame. The poles or frame are carried by porters in front and behind. Such simple litters are common on battlefields and emergency situations, where terrain prohibits wheeled vehicles from carrying away the dead and wounded. Litters can also be created quickly by the lashing of poles to a chair. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vellalar
Vellalar is a generic Tamil term used primarily to refer to various castes who traditionally pursued agriculture as a profession 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, Chozhia Vellalar, Karkarthar, Karkarthar Vellalar, Kongu Vellalar, Thuluva Vellalar and Sri Lankan Vellalar. Etymology The earliest occurrence of the term ''Velaalar'' (வேளாளர்) in Sangam literature is in Paripatal, Paripadal where it is used in the sense of a landowner. The term Velaalar (வேளாளர்) can be derived from the word Vel (வேள்), Vel being a title that was borne by the Velir chieftains of Sangam age among other things. The word ''Vellalar'' (வெள்ளாளர் ) may come from the root ''Vellam'' for flood, which gave rise to various rights of land; and it is because of the acquisition of land rights that the Vellalar g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nadar (caste)
Nadar (also referred to as ''Nadan'', ''Shanar'' and ''Shanan'') is a Tamil caste of India. Nadars are predominant in the districts of Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar. The Nadar community was not a single caste, but developed from an assortment of related subcastes, which in course of time came under the single banner Nadar. Nadar climbers were the largest subsect of today's Nadar community. A few subsects of the Nadar community, such as the Nelamaikkarars, were traditionally wealthy landlords and money lenders. Historically, most Nadars were cultivators of palmyra trees and jaggery and a few were also involved in the toddy trade. Nadar climbers had faced discrimination from major upper castes in some regions. The martial art of Varma Kalai was historically practiced by the Nadars. The socio-economic development achieved by the Nadars in southern India has elicited academic interest. Nadars are classifi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nadar Climber
Nadar climbers (also known as Pannayeri Nadars or Pannayeri Shanars) were a sub- caste of today's Nadar community. They were regarded as the largest Nadar sub-caste. Their traditional occupation was climbing trees, gathering the sap of coconuts to make palm wine. Due to new economic opportunities, the majority of Nadar climbers have given up their traditional occupation. In the 19th century Nadar climbers of Southern Tirunelveli To the south of the Tambraparni, the Nadar climbers constituted the vast majority of the population in the palmyra forests of the Tiruchendur teris, during the 19th century. Majority of the Nadars today come from the south of Thamiraparani river. The Nadar climbers here secured a meager living from the palmyra forests of Teri. The trees and land were owned by the Nelamaikkarars , a Nadar sub-caste. Each climber, like their northern Tirunelveli counterparts, was ''bound to a tree'' traditionally. Unlike their Northern Tirunelveli counterparts, the Nadar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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