Mudaliar

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Mudaliar
Regions with significant populations
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Sri Lanka
Languages
Tamil

Mudaliar (alternatively spelled: Muthaliar, Mudali, Muthali, Moodley or Mudliar ) is a Tamil title and surname.[1] As title, it was historically given to high-ranking officers / Administrators (in some cases) and their descendants during the various South Indian dynasties including the Chola empire rule.[2][3] The surname is most prevalent among Tamils from Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. Descendants of Tamil colonial migrants also bears variants of the name in countries such as South Africa, and elsewhere in the Tamil diaspora.[4]

The title was primarily used by the communities like the Kondaikatti Vellalar, Thondaimandala Vellalar, Agamudayar (in Northern Tamil nadu), Sengunthar. [5][6][7][8] Other communities adopted it as means to present themselves as superior to the social status which they actually held.[5]

Etymology[edit]

The title is derived from the Tamil word muthal or "muthar" meaning first with the suffix yaar denoting people.[9] The title is used in the same sense as simply meaning headman.[10]


Kondaikatti Vellalar[edit]

Kondaikatti Vellalar and Thondaimandala Vellalar [a] are Tamil[b] caste in south India. Historically, they were a caste of non-cultivating land-holders and some of them were administrators under various south Indian dynasties particularly Chola dynasty.[c][d][e] Their original homeland was Thondaimandalam and from there they spread to other areas in south India and northeastern parts of Sri Lanka.[f][15] Since they historically used the Mudaliar title, they are sometimes referred to as Thondaimandala Mudaliar.[11]

Agamudayar[edit]

Agamudayar (otherwise Agamudaiyar, Akamudayar, Agamudayan) are a Tamil community found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.[17] In Southern parts of Tamil Nadu, they are considered as one of the three castes which make up the Thevar or Mukkulathor community. According to the anthropologist Zoe E Headley, the three communities (Agamudayar, Kallar and Maravar) are the "numerically dominant rural backward castes of the southern districts of Tamil Nadu".[18] Agamudayars are listed in the national commission of backward caste lists for Tamil Nadu.[19]. Thuluva Vellalar / Arcot Mudaliyar is a sub-division of the Agamudayar Community.

Senguntha Kaikola Mudaliar[edit]

Senguntha Kaikola Mudaliar is a caste commonly found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and the neighboring country Sri Lanka. In Andhra Pradesh, they are called as Kaikala or Karikala Bhaktulu, who consider the Chola emperor Karikala Chola as their hero.[20] They were traditional weavers by occupation and warriors by ancient heritage.[21] They were part of the Chola army as Kaikola regiment and were dominant during the rule of Imperial Cholas, holding commander and minister positions in the court.[22] In the olden days in India, the Sengunthars were warriors and were given the title Mudaliar for their bravery.[23] In early thirteenth century, after the fall of Chola empire large number of Kaikolars migrated to Kongu Nadu from Tondaimandalam and started doing weaving as their full time profession as they sworn to be soldiers only for Chola emperors.[24] At present, most of the textile businesses in Tamil Nadu are owned by Senguntha Mudaliars.



See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Some of the important endogamous sub-divisions among the Vellalas are: Aranbukatti, Arunattu, Cholapuram Chetti, Choliya, Dakshinattan, Kaniyalan, Karaikatta or Pandya, Kodikkal, Kongu, Kottai, Malaikanda, Nainan, Mangudi, Pandaram or Gurukal, Panjukara Chetti, Ponneri Mudali, Pundamalli Mudali, Sittak kattu Chetti, Tondamandalam Mudali or Kondaikatti, Tuluva, Uttunattu, and Yelur. The Tondaimandalam, Ponneri and Pundamalli Vellalas use the title Mudaliar;[11]
  2. ^ Most of the Dubashes in the late eighteenth-century Madras were Telugu brahmans or Telugu perikavārs, Tamil kannakapillais, Tamil yādhavas, or Tamil Kondaikatti vellalas. [12]
  3. ^ Among Tamil castes, both Karkattar Vellalas (Arunachalam, 1975) and Kondaikatti Vellalas (Barnett, 1970) have much the same profile as the KP: both are non-cultivating land-holders, with a history of service to ruling dynasties. Both are of high status, laying great stress on ritual purity. [13]
  4. ^ Like the Kondaikatti Velalar described by Barnett(1970), they have allied themselves with south Indian dynasties as administrators, and have built up a position in the religious sphere in being employers of Brahmans and builders of temples for "high" gods like Siva, Ganesh and Vishnu.[14]
  5. ^ The original stronghold of the Kondaikatti Vellalas was Tondaimandalam. Later they spread from there throughout Tamil Nadu. Some of them were employed in the king's court and others as military leaders during expansionist times.[15]
  6. ^ The original home of the Kondaikatti Vellalar is Tondaimandalam and subsequently they are found throughout Tamil nadu.[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Barnett, Marguerite Ross (2015). The Politics of Cultural Nationalism in South India. Princeton University Press. p. 236. ISBN 9781400867189.
  2. ^ Silva, Chandra Richard De (2009). Portuguese Encounters with Sri Lanka and the Maldives: Translated Texts from the Age of Discoveries. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 225. ISBN 9780754601869.
  3. ^ Vidyodaya Journal of Arts, Science, and Letters: Vidyodaya Vidyā Kalā Bhāsāśāstrīya Sangrahaya. Vidyodaya Campus, University of Sri Lanka. 1970. p. 117.
  4. ^ Younger, Paul (2010). New Homelands: Hindu Communities in Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad, South Africa, Fiji, and East Africa. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-19-539164-0.
  5. ^ a b Ramaswamy, Vijaya (2017). Historical Dictionary of the Tamils. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 229. ISBN 978-1-53810-686-0.
  6. ^ Pandian, Jacob (1987). Caste, Nationalism and Ethnicity: An Interpretation of Tamil Cultural History and Social Order. Popular Prakashan. p. 109, 114. ISBN 978-0-86132-136-0.
  7. ^ "Mudaliar title usage" (PDF).
  8. ^ M, S, A, Vijaya, Kanthimathi, Ramesh (2 August 2008). "Genetic study of scheduled caste populations of Tamil Nadu". Journal of Genetics. 87 (2): 171–4. doi:10.1007/s12041-008-0026-2. PMID 18776647. S2CID 32841661 – via Indian Academy of Sciences.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Barnett, Marguerite Ross (2015). The Politics of Cultural Nationalism in South India. Princeton University Press. p. 236. ISBN 9781400867189.
  10. ^ Katz, Nathan (2000). Who Are the Jews of India?. University of California Press. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-0-52021-323-4.
  11. ^ a b Indian Council of Agricultural Research, p. 120.
  12. ^ Irschick (1994), p. 34.
  13. ^ Chanana & Krishna Raj (1989), p. 92.
  14. ^ Mariola Offredi (1992), p. 284.
  15. ^ a b Pillay & Pillay (1977), pp. 23–24.
  16. ^ Venkatasubramanian (1993), p. 105.
  17. ^ Das, Biswajit; Majhi, Debendra Prasad (2021). Caste, Communication and Power. SAGE Publishing India. p. 157. ISBN 978-93-91370-90-9.
  18. ^ Headley, Zoe E. (2011). "Caste and Collective Memory in South Asia". In Clark-Decès, Isabelle (ed.). A Companion to the Anthropology of India. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 1982, 1985. ISBN 978-1-44439-058-2.
  19. ^ "National Commission for Backward Classes". www.ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  20. ^ "National Commission for Backward Classes". www.ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  21. ^ Mines 1984, p. 11.
  22. ^ Martial races of undivided India by Vidya Prakash Tyagi 2009 Page 278 https://www.google.com/books?id=vRwS6FmS2g0C
  23. ^ David, Kenneth (1977). The New Wind: Changing Identities in South Asia (World Anthropology). De Gruyter Mouton; Reprint 2011 edition (1 December 1977). p. 188. ISBN 9027979596.
  24. ^ Ramaswamy, Vijaya (2017). Migrations in Medieval and Early Colonial India. Routledge. pp. 172–174. ISBN 9781351558259.

Sources[edit]

  • Chanana, Karuna; Krishna Raj, Maithreyi, eds. (1989). Gender and the Household Domain Social and Cultural Dimensions. Sage Publications.
  • Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Farmers of India, Band 2. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, 1961.
  • Irschick, Eugene F. (1994). Dialogue and History: Constructing South India, 1795-1895. University of California Press.
  • Mariola Offredi, ed. (1992). Literature, Language, and the Media in India: Proceedings of the 11th European Conference on South Asian Studies, Amsterdam, 1990, Panel 13. Manohar Publications, 1992.
  • Mines, Mattison (1984). The Warrior Merchants: Textiles, Trade and Territory in South India. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521267144.
  • Pillay, Kolappa; Pillay, Kanakasabhapathi (1977). The Caste System in Tamil Nadu. University of Madras.
  • Venkatasubramanian, T. K. (1993). Societas to Civitas Evolution of Political Society in South India : Pre-Pallavan Tamilakam. Kalinga Publications.
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