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==Royal subdivisions==
According to Fuller, most unbiased observers have concluded that the ] and ] subdivisions should be treated merely as supereminent Nair subdivisions. The Samanta Kshatriyas were divided into two principal subdivisions: ]s (or Tampurans) and ]s. Included among the former are the Cochin royal family and the Cranganore chiefly family. In Travancore, the division was different. Thampurans were divided into three categories of which only the highest ranking grouping made up of ten chiefly families and known as Koil Tampurans were regarded as Samanta Kshatriyas. The second division, known as ]s, comprised nine chiefly families (including the ] royal family) who were Samanthans, like the third grouping of ordinary Thampurans. In ], there were seven major ] subdivisions: ], ], Vellodi, Unniathiri, Adiyodi, ], and ]. Eradi is the subdivision to which the ] of ] belongs. The Raja of ] was a member of Vallodi. The Raja of ] was an Unniathiri.<ref>Census 1891c:229-231)</ref>


==Historical evidence== ==Historical evidence==

Revision as of 17:30, 27 May 2011

Nair (Also known as Nayar or Malayala Kshatriya), is the name of a Hindu forward caste from the Southern Indian state of Kerala. The Nair community as of 19th century was divided in to close to 200 subcastes.

The 1891 Census of India listed a total of 128 Nair subdivisions in the Malabar region and 55 in the Cochin region, as well as a further 10 in the Madras area but outside Malabar. There were 44 listed in Travancore in the census of 1901.

Hierarchy

The caste hierarchy within the 20 major divisions among the Nairs has been described being: (ordered from the highest ranked subcaste to the lowest):

Population

Race Social Grouping Caste Travancore Pop(1901) Cochin Pop (1891) Malabar Pop (1891)
Nair All Nair All Nair 537,430 102,768 396,492
Malayala Kshatriya Total Malayala Kshatriya 478,940 82,994 318,789
Samanta Kshatriya 1,575 803 1,500
Samanthan Nair 436 274 1,225
Kiryathil Nair 25,164 23,017 115,125
Illathu Nair 326,208 23,279 42,429
Swaroopathil Nair 104,639 28 0
Purathu Charna Nair 0 9,096 109,396
Akathu Charna Nair 0 0 32,446
Padamangalam Nair 6,175 0 0
Tamil Padam Nair 258 0 0
Pallichan 2,277 18,568 16,668
Nair (Unspecified) 12,208 7,929 NA
Nair Inferior Total Nair Inferior 38,117 13,008 44,669
Itasseri Nair 22,944 0 0
Chakkala 15,168 3 0
Vattakkatan 5 8,452 30,980
Asthikkuracchi 0 4,553 13,689
Unknown / Other Total Others 20,373 6,797 33,034

Historical evidence

It may be noted that the earlier Keralamahatmayam, an Upa Purana of the Bhoogola Hindu Purana, does not make mention of any subcastes among the Nairs but only states them to be the military caste of Kerala. But the 17th century Keralolpathi which is a work purported to be written with the ulterior motive of promoting Brahminical supremacy mentions different subdivisions of Nair caste. While Kiriyathil Nayars were considered prominent in Malabar and Cochin, Illathu Nairs were prominent in the hierarchy in the Travancore. In fact, Kiriyathil Nayars are confined mainly to the northern and central part of Kerala.

Considering the unnecessary rancour created by the different subdivisions among the Nairs, social reform movements such as Nair Service Society (NSS) campaigned strongly against such divisiveness. Eventually, stratification among the different Nair subcastes has become non-existent in the present day, with individuals and families usually identifying themselves simply as "Nairs".

See also

References

  1. ^ Fuller, C. J. (Winter, 1975). "The Internal Structure of the Nayar Caste". Journal of Anthropological Research. 31 (4): 283–312. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)(subscription required)
  2. Dr. Hermann Gundert, Keralolpathiyum Mattum, (Band 4, Hermann Gundert Series, Eight works published during 1843-1904) (Kottayam: Current Books, 1992), p 185
  3. L.K. Anantha Krishna Iyer (1912). The tribes and castes of Cochin Volume II. London: Luzac and Co. pp. 15–16.
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