Samantan Nair or more commonly Samantan (meaning "equal to" or "deemed to be"), was a generic term applied to dignify a group of sub-clans among the ruling elites and feudal lords of the
Nair
The Nair , also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom histor ...
community in
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
. The Samantan Nairs are members of the
Kiryathil
Kiryathil Nair or Kiriyath Nair is a martial nobility caste belonging to the Kshatriya varṇa, which forms one of the highest-ranking subcastes of the Nair community along with the Samantha Kshatriyas with whom they share a close history. ...
,
Illathu and
Swaroopathil Nair communities whose ancestors performed various
Śrauta
Śrauta is a Sanskrit word that means "belonging to śruti", that is, anything based on the Vedas of Hinduism. It is an adjective and prefix for texts, ceremonies or person associated with śruti. The term, for example, refers to Brahmins who spec ...
rituals ''(
Hiranyagarbha
Hiraṇyagarbha (Sanskrit: हिरण्यगर्भः ; literally the 'golden womb', poetically translated as 'universal womb') is the source of the creation of universe or the manifested cosmos in Vedic philosophy. It finds mention in on ...
)'' to achieve a higher status that enabled them to rule over the
Brahmins
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 o ...
.
Robin Jeffrey
Robin Bannerman Jeffrey is a Canadian-born professor. His primary research interest is the modern history and politics of India, especially with reference the northern area of Punjab and Kerala in the south. He is also interested in Indian med ...
, an
anthropologist
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
, described the Samantans as, "A
matrilineal
Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's Lineage (anthropology), lineage – and which can in ...
caste
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
ranking between Nayars and
Kshatriyas
Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the conte ...
."
Dissent
Some Samantans have objected to their grouping with the Nairs, claiming that Samantans are a different caste from the Nairs. One of them, Nilambur Thachara Kovil Mana Vikrama (Elaya Thirumalpad), filed a complaint against the Collector of Malabar (
William Logan) on his refusal to enter the Samantan as a caste separate from the Nairs. Even after submitting evidence trying to prove that Samantans are a separate caste, the judge refused to act against Logan, stating that:
[Castes and Tribes of Southern India By Edgar Thurston p.283-284]
The judge ultimately ruled that all Samantan Nairs are merely extensions of the Kiryathil subcaste of the Nair community.
References
{{reflist
Social groups of India
Indian castes
Kerala society
Nair