நகரத்தார் | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Total population | |
| c. 75,000-1,00,000[1][a] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| India:Chettinad region ofTamil Nadu,Chennai | |
| Languages | |
| Tamil | |
| Religion | |
| Saivam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tamil people |
Nagarathar (நகரத்தார்) is aTamil caste found native inTamil Nadu,India. The Nagarathar community was not originally a single caste, but developed from an assortment of related sub-castes, which over time became known under the umbrella term Nagarathar.
Notable castes that use the name Nagarathar include:Nattukottai Nagarathar,Aruviyur Nagarathar,[2][3][4]Uruthikottai Nagarathar,[5]Elur Chetty Nagarathar,Vallanattu Nagarathar Chettiar, Sundarapattina Nagarathar,[6] Muraiyur Nagarathar,[7] Attangudi Nagarathar, Palaaiyapatti Nagarathar, Dhanavanikar Nagarathar, Nattarasankottai Nagarathar, 96 Oor Nagarathar and Naana Desikal.
A few subsects of the Nagarathar community, such as the Nattukottai Nagarathar, were traditionally wealthy landlords and money lenders.[8]Nagarathars are amercantile community who are traditionally involved incommerce,banking andmoney lending.[9] They use the titleChettiar and are traditionally concentrated in modern regionChettinad.[10] They are prominent philanthropists who funded and built severalHindu temples,choultries,schools,colleges anduniversities.[11]
The termNagarathar literally means "town-dweller".[12]
Nattukottai Nagarathars are also known asNattukottai Chettiar.[13] The termNattukottai literally means "country-fort" in reference to their fort-likemansions.[12] Their title,Chettiar, is a generic term used by severalmercantile groups which is derived from the ancient Tamil termetti (bestowed onmerchants by the Tamil monarchs).[14]
Nattukottai Nagarathars were originally from the ancient land ofNaganadu, which is believed to be destroyed (either in an earthquake or floods) and this place was either north or northwest ofKanchipuram.
Nagarathars migrated and lived in the following places:
·Kanchipuram (Thondai Nadu) – From 2897 BC for about 2100 years
·Kaveripoompatinam (Poompuhar), the capital of the early (Chola Kingdom) – From 789 BC for about 1400 years.
·Karaikudi (Pandiya Kingdom) – From 707 AD onwards.
When they were in Naganadu these DhanaVaishyas had three different divisions:
1.Aaru (Six) Vazhiyar
2.Ezhu (Seven) Vazhiyar
3.Nangu (Four) Vazhiyar
All these three divisions were devoted toMaragathaVinayagar. Only after they migrated to thePandya Kingdom they were called as Ariyurar, Ilayatrangudiyar, and Sundrapattanathar. They celebrate Pillaiyar Nonbu in honor of Vinayagar based on the communal legend that their ancestors got lost at sea at Kaveripoompatinam and prayed for 21 days before reaching a shore.[15][16][17]
Nagarathars of Ilayatrangudiyar were later called as Nattukottai Nagarathar. Ariyurar (Aruviyur) Nagarathars further split into 3 divisions: Vadakku Valavu (North),[18] Therku Valavu (South) andElur Chetty. Sundrapattanathar Nagarathars migrated to Kollam district inKerala and their history is completely lost now since there was no record keeping.[6]
The Nattukkottai Nagarathars were originally salt traders and historically an itinerant community of merchants and claimChettinad as their traditional home.[19] How they reached that place, which at the time comprised adjacent parts of the ancient states ofPudukkottai,Ramnad andSivagangai, is uncertain, with various legends being recorded. There are various claims regarding how they arrived in that area.[20] Among those are a claim that they were driven there because of persecution by aChola king named Poovandhi Cholan whilst another states that they left due to Poombuhar's proximity to the sea when the city wasdestroyed.[21][22] There are also several legends about the decline in female population prior to moving to the Pandya kindgdom leading to many unmarried men, who were eventually allowed to marryVellalar women.[21][23] No more details are clear about this story and as to why the Nagarathar left the Chola kingdom and moved away from Kaveripoompattinam to the Pandya kingdom.
Another older one, recounted toEdgar Thurston, that they were encouraged to go there by aPandyan king who wanted to take advantage of their trading skills. The legends converge in saying that they obtained the use of nine temples, with each representing oneexogamous part of the community.[20]
The traditional base of the Nattukottai Nagarathars is theChettinad region of the present-day state of Tamil Nadu. It comprises a triangular area around northeastSivagangai, northwestRamnad and southPudukkottai.
They may have become maritime traders as far back as the 8th century CE. They were trading in salt and by the 17th century, European expansionism in South East Asia during the next century fostered conditions that enabled the community to expand its trading enterprises, including as moneylenders, thereafter.[9][20] By the late 18th century expanded them to inland and coastal trade in cotton and rice.[19]
In the 19th century, following thePermanent Settlement, some in the Nagarathar community wielded considerable influence in the affairs of thezamindar (landowners) elite. There had traditionally been a relationship between royalty and the community based on the premise that providing worthy service to royalty would result in the granting of high honours but this changed as the landowners increasingly needed to borrow money from the community in order to fight legal battles designed to retain their property and powers. Nagarathars provided that money as mortgaged loans but by the middle of the century they were becoming far less tolerant of any defaults and were insisting that failure to pay as arranged would result in the mortgaged properties being forfeited.[24] By the 19th century were their business activities developed into a sophisticated banking system, with their business expanding to parts of South andSoutheast Asian countries such asSri Lanka,Myanmar,Malaysia,Singapore,Indonesia, andVietnam.[25][23]
In the absence of a properchaturvarna (four-fold varna) system in South India, the Nattukottai Nagarathars (also known as Chettiars) have been classified as high-classVaishyas (merchant caste) due to their extensive involvement in trade, finance, and banking activities.[26] Their economic prominence and wealth elevated their social status, and they were often considered aboveBrahmins in certain contexts.[27]
In addition to their economic prominence, the Nattukottai Nagarathars have been renowned for their philanthropic contributions to religious and social causes. They donated generously to the construction, renovation, and maintenance of numerousShiva andVishnu temples across Tamil Nadu and other regions, leaving a lasting legacy in the religious and cultural heritage of South India.[28][29] This charitable tradition further elevated their social standing and cemented their role as patrons of South Indian religious institutions.
Furthermore, some Nattukottai Nagarathars ascended to kingship through their wealth and influence. Although kings are traditionally associated with theKshatriya varna in thechaturvarna system, the Nattukottai Nagarathars' rise to power was based on their economic achievements rather than hereditary lineage.[30]
The nine Hindu temples connected with the Nattukottai Nagarathar community that were built in the 8th century include:Ilayathangudi, Iluppaikudi, Iraniyur, Mathur, Nemam,Pillayarpatti,[31] Soorakudi,Vairavan, and Velangudi.[32][33] Each temple maintains a count of the number of families associated with it calledpulli. Marriage between members of the same temple (pangali) is not allowed.[34][23] Ilayathangudi and Mathur temples have divisions (pirivu), which allows people of different divisions of the same temple to get married.[35][36] Vairavan temple also has divisions but does not follow this rule.[35] Members of Iraniyur and Pillayarpatti cannot intermarry since they are considered family after a pair of brothers were split between the two temples during the 13th century.[33]
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