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Revision as of 11:29, 30 May 2011 editSitush (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Page movers, File movers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers260,192 edits →Population: remove copyvio of Fuller article← Previous edit Revision as of 11:31, 30 May 2011 edit undoSitush (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Page movers, File movers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers260,192 edits →Hierarchy: use Fuller's term (he does not call them kshatriya). NB: this list misrepresents Fuller in other ways - am thinking re: how to deal with itNext edit →
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==Hierarchy== ==Hierarchy==
The highest levels of the caste hierarchy among the Nairs have been described being:<ref name="Fuller1975"/> (ordered from the highest ranked subcaste to the lowest): The highest levels of the caste hierarchy among the Nairs have been described being:<ref name="Fuller1975"/> (ordered from the highest ranked subcaste to the lowest):
*Higher subcastes
*Kshatriya Subcastes
** ] ** ]
** ] ** ]

Revision as of 11:31, 30 May 2011

Nair (also known as Nayar), 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 many subdivisions.

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 highest levels of the caste hierarchy among the Nairs have been described being: (ordered from the highest ranked subcaste to the lowest):

Historical evidence

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.

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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