Nair – A people of Malabar coast of India that are probably Dravidians with Aryan admixture.--- (Oxford Dictionary)
Nairs are the Malayalee warriors (Kshatriyas) of Kerala. They are the owners of this land. --- (Sabdatharavali)
Nairs are the savama Hindus who constituted the warriors, landed gentry and yeoman of Kerala. Nayars are the largest and most important section of the society of Kerala. They were the lords of the country and guardian of public weal. --- (Robin Jeffrri – The Decline of Nair Dominance)
The word ‘Nair’ means one who leads, a leader, a guardian, a teacher or a father. Nair is not a caste, but a society of the Dravidian culture. ---- (Nair Samudayathinte Ithihasm – Pattom G.Ramachandran Nair)
It is not easy to trace out the exact date of the origin of Nairs. They belonged to the Dravidian group, not the Aryan. It is believed that in the Aryan society the rulers were Kshatriyas. Chera rulers who ruled over Kerala from AD 130 to AD 1100 were not Kshatriyas. But they belonged to this place. So it can reasonably be presumed that they were Nairs. In his account of ancient India, Greek ambassador in the court of Chandra Gupta, Megasthenes refers in around 300 BC about the Nairs and the kingdom of Cheras, where there were female sovereigns. There is no evidence to prove the advent of Aryans to Kerala or their establishment of kingdoms here. But there are clear evidences for the involvement of Nairs in the rule of the country.
It can be assumed that as a result of the Aryan insurgency to the South the Non-Kshatiyas of Kerala were converted as Kshatriyas. Though the rules of Venad, Onat (Kayamkulam), Deshinganad, Ilayidathu Swaroopam, Thekkumkur, Vadakkumkur, Kochi, Kozhikode and Kolathumadu were known as Kshatriyas, they were actually Nairs. The profession of the Ksyathriyas was warfare. According to this interpretation, Nairs would seem to be more like Kshatriyas since they were a martial class as well. Similar to Kshatriyas, Nairs were second to the Brahmins (Namboothiris).
The word ‘Nair’ was first recorded in the 9th century Thirukodithana (Trikodisthanam) command of Vijayaragadeven. Mention to Nair was also seen in the Thirunelli Pattayam of Bhaskararavi Verma. There are inferences about ‘Padanairs’ (warriors) in two stone carvings of Nedumpuram Thali. In the stonewall of Suchindram Dwaraka Temple which belongs to AD 400, it was recorded that ‘Pallikkan Nair’ was the temple uralan. During the beginning of the 19th century Nair became a caste name in Venad. Before that, the word was used to mean ‘warrior’.
One finds mention of the Nairs during the reign of the King Rama Varma Kulashekhara (1020-1102) of second Chera dynasty, when the Cholas attacked the Chera Kingdom. The Nairs fought by forming suicide squads (Chavers) against the invading force.
There are differences of opinion about the origin of Nair community. One argument is that Nairs are descendent of Nagas. Nagas were the oldest and strongest group lived in India before the Aryan insurgency. They were in India even before the era of Ramayana.
After the Mahabharatha battle the Nagas became more powerful. It was Nagas who killed the King Parikshit. There is historical evidence to believe that Nagas inhabited in all suitable places even from time immemorial. There capital was Thakshasila. Their rule extended from Thakshasila to Assam on one side and from South India to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) on the other. The Nagas who came to Kerala became Nairs. Snake worship is a special feature of Nairs. There were Sarpakavus (snake parks) attached to almost all the Nair Tharavads. The Nair ladies and men had a habit of combing and tying their hair just like a serpen’t head. Nairs followed matrilineal (marumakkathayam) system. Before the advent of Namboodiris, an organized war-like group of people exercised supremacy over Kerala. Their origin was unknown. Owing to the worship of Naga (snake), this set of people came to be known as Nagas. They exercised control over Adivasis, put them to hard fieldwork and made them slaves. Kodungallur Kunhikuttan Thampuran in his book ‘Keralathil’ firmly ascertains that Nairs are same as Nagas.
Sri Vidyadhiraja Chattambi Swamikal has reproduced some old ballads calling Nairs and Nagas in his book ‘Pracheena Malayalam’. He in his work ‘Pracheena Malayalam’ has reproduced the following details about Nagas found in the old vattezhuthu records. “Nagas wearing caps made of areca nut and wooden shoes with long moustache and hair, with beams in forehead and sword in hand, and moving elegantly were treated with respect by all country men. The Nagas treated ‘dharma’ as all in all. To them it was their life, their organs, their Gods, their knowledge, their very existence and all in all”.
Sri Chattambi Swamikal also quoted some other information about Nagas. Wherever Nagas were mentioned special mention about their forehead was made. This shows that they were devoted shoats or worshippers of Lard Shiva. They believed in the gospel of Dharma. They were the followers of Shiavait movement. They became Nairs later. These shoats in course of time became the followers of brahmnical faith. Brahmins treated the Nairs as Sudras. Therefore, it is proved beyond doubts that Nairs were a group of people who recognized the supremacy of the Brahmins.
P. Damodaran Pillai says that Nagas were the group of people who moved southwards from North India during pre-historic times. They became the Nairs of today. It is difficult to trace the origin of the word ‘Nair’ which might have a connection with snake worshippers, known at one time as ‘Nagas’. Some are of the opinion that the ancestors of the Nairs were a sect of snake worshipping Scythians. They came to India through Northwest border and settled down in different parts of the country. According to K. P. Padmanabha Menon, Keralan or Cheralan who ruled Kerala centuries ago, brought Nagas and permitted to settle here and these Nagas were later were known as Nairs and Ambalavasis.
There is another version that Nairs belonged to Dravidian group of people, which stretched from Europe to Eastern end of Asia. Some believe that Nairs were transitioned Naeri people who inhabited on the banks of Euphrates and Tigris rivers during very ancient times. Agriculture was the main occupation of this group. By about BC 3000 Urathier Naeri of Hurien tribe attacked their country. The war lasted for a very long period. In the end Sargan-1 conquered the Naeri land completely by BC 2018 (as evidenced from the stone inscriptions of Sargan-I). Naeris fled to different parts in different groups. Those who reached India settled in the Indus Vally and various places like Lothal area, between Goa and Kannur, Thakshsila, Katmandu, North Bihar, Bengal and in some places near Madras (now Chennai). Those who reached Karnataka settled in Tulunadu and Kadathanadu. Another group crossed the Sahya Mountains and reached Kerala. These Naeri settlers later became Nairs.
The prime group of idolaters in Kozhikode was called s Brahmins and the next as Nairs. Varthema (AD 1502) recorded that Naeris were just like decent people among them. The Thekkumkur and Vedakkumkur rulers of Kerala were saluted as Naeris.
Whatever may be arguments on the origin of Nair community, it is an indisputable fact that Nairs were strong group of people having deep-rooted influence over Kerala. No other society had possessed their status or standard. They were deeply immersed with the history and culture of Kerala. Truly speaking, the history of Nairs is indeed the history of Kerala.
The Special meeting of Nair Bhrithyajana Sangham held at Mannathu Bhavan on Midhunam 27, 1090 (M.E.) decided to change the name as “Nair Service Society”. On Midhunam 17, 1100 the Nair Service Society was registered under the Travancore Company Act.The proclaimed aim of the Nair Service Society is the unification of all Hindus along with the active coordination of the Nair community so as to ensure harmony of all communities and thereby progress in all walks of life. This aim is in consonance with the famous gospel of the Hindu culture “Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu” (Let the whole world be happy for ever).
Kerala Nairs 18000 Years Old Nairs Gotra
A reader wanted me t know the Gotra details of the Nairs of Kerala.
This is a complex issue.
If one removes the Goggles of regionalism and linguistic chauvinism, one can understand Indian history in its splendor.
Though the people of Kerala formed a part of Tamil kingdom Chera, the Nairs of Kerala had a social system of their own.
Nair comes from the word Nayaka meaning chieftain or a leader.
They were the leaders of a group of army of the Cheras.
‘The Nambudiri Brahmins were at the top of the ritual caste hierarchy and in that system outranked even the kings. They regarded all Nairs as shudra. Below the Nambudiris came the Tamil Brahmins and other later immigrants of the Brahmin varna. Beyond this, the precise ranking is subject to some difference in opinion. Kodoth has placed the Samantan caste below the Kshatriya rank but above the Nairs, but Gough considers that the Pushpagans and Chakyars, both of which were the highest ranked in the group of temple servants known as Ambalavasis, were ranked between the Brahmins and the Nairs, as were several other members of the Ambalavasi group. She also believes that some Nairs adopted the title of Samantan in order to emphasise their superiority over others in their caste. The unwillingness of the higher varnas to engage in what they considered to be the polluting activities of industrial and commercial activity has been cited as a reason for the region’s relatively limited economic development’
‘A theory has been proposed for the origins of the caste system in the Kerala region based on the actions of the Aryan Jains introducing such distinctions prior to the 8th-century AD. This argues that the Jains needed protection when they arrived in the area and recruited sympathetic local people to provide it. These people were then distinguished from others in the local population by their occupation as protectors, with the others all being classed as out-caste. The cross-disciplinary historian Cyriac Pullapilly describes that this meant they “… were given kshatriya functions, but only shudra status. Thus originated the Nair
Taking into consideration the caste system of Sanatana Dharma was practiced by The Tamils , Cheras were Tamils,there was no discrimination in the Tamil land on the basis of caste , the views by western authors seem to be based on the Myth of Aryan dDravidian Theory which is now proved to be false and is a piece of disinformation to divide the people of India.
The fact that the Group who are currently called as Nairs were entrusted with Military duties , they were Kshatriyas.
The Nairs, Chera Period.
Some people think the name itself is derived from nayaka, an honorific meaning “leader of the people”, while others believe it stems from the community’s association with the Naga cult of serpent worship. Christopher Fuller, an anthropologist, has said that it is likely that the first reference to the Nair community was made by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, dating from 77 AD. That work describes what is probably the Malabar coast area wherein could be found the “Nareae, who are shut in by the Capitalis range, the highest of all the mountains in India”. Fuller believes it probable that the Nareae referred to the Nairs and the Capitalis range is the Western Ghats.’
Matrilineal Society.
Nairs operated a matrilineal (marumakkathayam) joint family structure called tharavad, whereby descendant families of one common ancestress lived under a single roof. Tharavads consisting of 50 to 80 members were not uncommon and some with membership as high as 200 have been reported. Only the women lived in the main house; men lived in separate rooms[clarification needed] and, on some occasions, lived in a separate house nearby. The families split on instances when they became unwieldy and during crisis among its members. When it split, the family property was separated along the female lines. The karnavan, the oldest male member in the tharavad, had the decision-making authority including the power to manage common property. Panikkar, a well-known writer from the Nair community, wrote in 1918 that,
Authority in the family is wielded by the eldest member, who is called karnavan. He has full control of the common property, and manages the income very much as he pleases. He arranges marriages (sambandhams) for the boys as well as the girls of the family. He had till lately full power (at least in practice) of alienating anything that belonged to them. His will was undisputed law. This is, perhaps, what is intended to be conveyed by the term Matri-potestas in communities of female descent. But it should be remembered that among the Nayars the autocrat of the family is not the mother, but the mother’s brother.
The husband visited the tharavad at night and left the following morning and he had no legal obligation to his children which lay entirely with the karnavan. In Nair families, young men and women about the same age were not allowed to talk to each other, unless the young man’s sister was considerably older than him. The wife of karnavan had an unusual relationship in his tharavad as she belonged to a different one and her interests lay there. Panikkar wrote that Karnavan loved his sister’s son more than his own and he believes it was due mainly to the instability of Nair marriages. Divorce rate was very high as both man and woman had equal right to terminate the marriage. Enangar was another family with which a tharavad remained closely related; a few such related families formed a social group whose members participated in all social activities. Nakane wrote in 1956 that tharavads as a functional unit had ceased to exist and large buildings that had once hosted large tharavads were occupied by just a few of its remnants.’
Being a matrilinear society, the Gotra system must have been following the Mother’s Gotra.
Information is not available.
People may contribute with authenric source
The Nairs of Kerala and Bunts of Karnataka claim descent from the naga Śeṣa; these regions include the Nagavanshi clans who migrated from North India associated with the events referred to as the Sarpasatram. The Nairs were organized into various martial clans like Nambiar, Kiryathil Nair, Illathu Nair and Swaroopathil Nairs. The Illathu, Swaroopathil and Kiryathil Nairs have been classified as Kshatriyas of the Nagavanshi lineage Also claims as Nagavamsam in North costal region of Andhra pradesh state, where central government referred them under serial number 81 in NCBC (National Commission for Backward classed)
However, Nairs believe them selves to Belong to Kasyapa Gotra.
‘Vansh/Dynasty : Nagavanshi
Gotra : Kashyapa
Caste : Kshatriya
The Nair Clans of Kerala and Bunts of tulu nadu are the indigenous descendants of Anantha also these regions include the Nagavanshi clans who migrated from North India associated with the events as Sarpasatram. The Nairs were organized into various martial clans like Nambiar and Kiryathil Nair. Currently, warrior Sections of the Nair (Malayala Kshatriya) caste and Bunts of Tulu nadu claim descent from the Nagvanshi dynasty. The Nagavanshi are the known as the Serpent Dynasty.
Nāgas originated from Kashyapa, father of Surya from whom clan of Suryawanshi kshatriyas evolved. The Nether World known as Pathala was the inhabitation of Nagas and Anantha as the Emperor of Naga, Sarpa, Uraga, and Pannaga. The Vedas do not mention Kshatriyas of either Suryavanshi, Chandravanshi, Nagavanshi, Agnivanshi or any such lineage. The Puranas constructed such genealogies. The Nāgvanshis acquired the status of Devas due to their excellent qualities, behavior and actions. Purānas mention Nāgas along with devas. Purānas mention of many Nāga Kingdoms. In ancient times Nāgas were the rulers of entire India. Mathura, Padmavati and Kantipur were capitals of Naga dynasty.
The worshipers of Nāga were supposedly known as Nāgā or Nāgil. Nair, Bunt and some Rajput and Jat clans claim to be of Nagvanshi origin.’
There are some interesting issues here.
1.People of north East India and some portions of central India belong to Nagavanshi.Now we find them in the deep south.
2.In ancient India, the landmass was different and the sea route from the North east of India to south of India was much shorter.
There are references that Ravana visited his In Laws place in central India frequently, his wife Mandodari was from India through this short route from Lanka.
So it needs some more research on this issue as to how the migration took place, whether the Nagavanshis, who were also credited with having been the people of Patala Loka,deep south moved to North during the Great flood, when Vaivaswatha Manu, ancestor of Rama moved to Ayodhya.
3.The issue of the location of the Chera Capital Vanchi.
Considering this and the fact that Lemuria was the location of the early Tamil Kingdoms, I feel that the present theory that Karur was the Capital of Chera needs a look into.My stand is that it might have been located some where down in the Indian Ocean.
3.The present date assigned to Nairs and Kerala needs revision.
Chera King Udiyan Cheralatha,n particpated in the Mahabharata war.
Poompuhar,Tamil Nadu which speaks of Chera Kingdom, the author of Cilapadikaram was the king’s brother, and Poompuhar is dated 20,000 years ago it is safe to postulate that the Nairs of Kerala, who were in the army of the Cheras date back to some 18000 years ago
Shall dig more and write.
References and citations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nair#Social_and_political_organisation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chera_dynasty#Archaeological_sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagavanshi
http://rajeshkvp.blogspot.in/2010/12/nair-gotra-lineage.html
Image credit.
http://historicalleys.blogspot.in/2009/08/on-origin-of-nairs.html
No comments:
Post a Comment