Thondaimandala Vellalar is a high-ranking subcaste of the Vellalar caste in the state of Tamil Nadu, India who tend, to adopt the title of Mudaliar[1] and they have been traditional "landlords, warriors, and officials of the state class" described by the anthropologist Kathleen Gough.[2]
Susan Neild notes the Kondaikatti Vellalar, Thondai Mandala Aadhi Saiva Vellalar and Thuluva Vellalars as being the "predominant" subcastes of the Thondamandala Vellala.[3][a]They practice endogamy and have a least two subgroups themselves, being the higher-status Melnadu and the lower-ranked Kilnadu.[5]
In her study concentrated on two villages in 1951-53, Kathleen Gough noted the Thondamandala Vellala subjects there to have been traditionally "landlords, warriors, and officials of the state class". She thought it likely that they had moved to their present area in Thanjavur around the 15th century when the Vijayanagaras were making incursions on their former heartland of Kanchipuram in the Pallava country. She noted those households studied as being the highest-ranked members of the village community after the Brahmins, and possibly to have in some cases increased their wealth and land by being appointed as revenue collectors for the Kingdom of Mysore when it took over the area in the period after 1780.[2]
References
Notes
^Susan Bayly has noted of the Vellalar communities generally that "they were never a tighly-knit community ... In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries Vellala affiliation was a vague and uncertain as that of most other south Indian caste groups. Vellala identity was certainly thought of as a source of prestige, but for that very reason there were any number of groups who sought to claim Vellala status for themselves".[4]
^Stein, Burton (1980). Peasant State and Society in Medieval South India. Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 319. ISBN978-0-19-563507-2.:”The Gangadikara peasantry of Gangavadi appears to have been more significantly linked to the Kongu peasantry to the south than to peasant peoples in the central and northern parts of medieval Karnataka. Similarly, the Marasu Vokkaligas of eastern Bangalore and central and southern Kolar districts appear to have been linked to Tondaimandalam”
Bibliography
Bayly, Susan (2004) [1989]. Saints, Goddesses and Kings: Muslims and Christians in South Indian Society, 1700-1900. Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-0-52189-103-5.
Neild, Susan M. (1979). "Colonial Urbanism: The Development of Madras City in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries". Modern Asian Studies. 13 (2): 217–246. doi:10.1017/S0026749X00008301. JSTOR 312124.
May 13, 2023
thondaimandala, vellalar, tamils, portalindia, portalhinduism, portal, high, ranking, subcaste, vellalar, caste, state, tamil, nadu, india, tend, adopt, title, mudaliar, they, have, been, traditional, landlords, warriors, officials, state, class, described, an. Tamils portalIndia portalHinduism portalThondaimandala Vellalar is a high ranking subcaste of the Vellalar caste in the state of Tamil Nadu India who tend to adopt the title of Mudaliar 1 and they have been traditional landlords warriors and officials of the state class described by the anthropologist Kathleen Gough 2 Susan Neild notes the Kondaikatti Vellalar Thondai Mandala Aadhi Saiva Vellalar and Thuluva Vellalars as being the predominant subcastes of the Thondamandala Vellala 3 a They practice endogamy and have a least two subgroups themselves being the higher status Melnadu and the lower ranked Kilnadu 5 According to Burton Stein the Thondaimandala Vellalar appeared to be linked to the Morasu Vokkaligas of Bangalore and Kolar 6 In her study concentrated on two villages in 1951 53 Kathleen Gough noted the Thondamandala Vellala subjects there to have been traditionally landlords warriors and officials of the state class She thought it likely that they had moved to their present area in Thanjavur around the 15th century when the Vijayanagaras were making incursions on their former heartland of Kanchipuram in the Pallava country She noted those households studied as being the highest ranked members of the village community after the Brahmins and possibly to have in some cases increased their wealth and land by being appointed as revenue collectors for the Kingdom of Mysore when it took over the area in the period after 1780 2 References EditNotes Susan Bayly has noted of the Vellalar communities generally that they were never a tighly knit community In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries Vellala affiliation was a vague and uncertain as that of most other south Indian caste groups Vellala identity was certainly thought of as a source of prestige but for that very reason there were any number of groups who sought to claim Vellala status for themselves 4 Citations Gough 1982 p 19 a b Gough 1982 pp vii 358 Neild 1979 Bayly 2004 p 411 Gough 1982 p 25 Stein Burton 1980 Peasant State and Society in Medieval South India Delhi Oxford University Press p 319 ISBN 978 0 19 563507 2 The Gangadikara peasantry of Gangavadi appears to have been more significantly linked to the Kongu peasantry to the south than to peasant peoples in the central and northern parts of medieval Karnataka Similarly the Marasu Vokkaligas of eastern Bangalore and central and southern Kolar districts appear to have been linked to Tondaimandalam Bibliography Bayly Susan 2004 1989 Saints Goddesses and Kings Muslims and Christians in South Indian Society 1700 1900 Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 52189 103 5 Gough Kathleen 1982 Rural Society in South East Asia Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 52104 019 8 Neild Susan M 1979 Colonial Urbanism The Development of Madras City in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries Modern Asian Studies 13 2 217 246 doi 10 1017 S0026749X00008301 JSTOR 312124 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thondaimandala Vellalar amp oldid 1125093490, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
