ADIKAL
Adikal
are the successors of Mezhathol Agnihothri. Adikal means slaves
or servants. They were originally Brahmins but de-graded as
Adikal for having performed Bhagavathy pooja in contrast to the instructed style. However, they consider themselves as Brahmins. Their traditional occupation is pooja performance. They are the trustees of the Bhagavathi temple at Kodungallur.
Adikal
are seen in Palakkad, Thrissur and Malappuram Districts of
Kerala. They are one of the forward communities of Hindu religion,
but very few in numbers. Adikal are divided into four major groups
viz., Kunnathu Madom, Melethu Madom, Thottappilli Madom and Neelathu Madom.
Adikal men marry from their own community or had Sambandham with Nair or Ambalavasi communities. Namboodiri men had Sambandham with Adikal women. Once they followed Marumakkathayam system of inheritance. They perform Seemantham,
a pre-delivery ritual, like Namboodiris. Post puberty pollution lasts
for 11 days. The child is named on the 12th day. Annaprasaanam (choroonu) is done in the sixth month and Upanayanam is celebrated for boys at the age of 11. Puberty rites are also
performed for girls. Marriage is taken place at the residence of the
bride and it is the father of the bride who ties the thali around the neck of bride. The dead body of Adikal is cremated. Death pollution lasts for 11 days.
AGASA
The
word ‘Agasa’ derived from ‘agasi’, which means a turban. Agasas
are also known as Rajakas (Washermen). In Kerala, they dwell in the
Kasargode District and categorized under ‘Other Backward
Classes’. They follow Hinduism. Their idol is Veerabhadra and
Sankaranaryana. The Agas are divided into four gothras known as Bangera, Salian, Kundar and Gujran. They speak Thulu and
Malayalam. They were mainly landless people, but now they have
some land. Their traditional occupation is washing the clothes of
other castes.
Once, they followed joint family system (a kind of Marumakkathayam), but now they maintain nuclear families. Mama (eldest uncle) was the loved person of the family. The marriage takes
place at bridegroom’s residence. The bridegroom ties thali around the bride’s neck. Agasa observed pre-delivery rituals.
They give the name of paternal grandfather’s name to eldest male child
and grandmother’s name to eldest female child. Puberty rites
are also observed. They cremate dead body. Death pollution
lasts for 11 days.
ANDHRA BRAHMIN
Andhra
Brahmins are seen in the Thrissur and Palakkad Districts. It is
believed that they are the descendants of Aryans who migrated to Kerala
from Andhra Pradesh. Their mother tongue is Telugu. They are pure
vegetarians. They live in agraharams, a colony type of
dwellings. Their traditional occupation is agriculture. They also
serve as priests on religious ceremonies. They belong to Hindu
religion.
They perform life cycle rituals almost according to Shodashacharam that are being followed by other Brahmins. They cremate their dead. Death pollution (pula) lasts for 11 days.
ANDIPANDARAM
Andi Pandaram is a Tamil speaking caste in Tamil nadu who are originally Archagars of Palani murugan temple,Madurai,Meenakshi temple,Ramanathapuram temple etc. They were evicted from the temple by Telugu king, Thirumalai Nayaka who ruled Tamil nadu.
Andi Pandaram has four main sub devisions.
Desikar - who is head or adheenam of math (mutt)
Odhuvaar - who sing dhevaram and thiruvasagam in temples
Thambiraan - who are managers of mutt
Meikaaval (vairavi) who are workers or supervisors of mutt.
In ealry days they were also responsible to maintain temple treasury . Tamil lexicon says “Pandaram meaning Treasury” .The Noble word Pandaram was intentionally degraded in TamiNandu from Nayak rule , as these people resited Nayak dyanasty and fought for thier rights.Now these people are priests in temples who are not under Hindu Welfare Board (HR&C) and involved in garland making.
Pandaram community falls under 5 categories on caste system
Pandaram (falls under Open competition/Forward community)
Andi-pandaram (OBC ) Tamil
Yogeeswarar (MBC)
Pulavar (BC)
Veerashaiva.
Pandaram community and Valluvar community are different , Valuvar community are people who involved astrology (jothiam) and they are sub sect of Sambava community.In some places they call themselves as pandaram as a title , not by caste. Pandaram is aso known as guru. they are not priests of temples.Jangam community is different and they are Telugu speaking community. They call themselves as Pandaram in some places they are temple poojaris.
ANTHRU NAIR
The
‘Anthru Nair’ is atitle, which is conferred on them by ‘Kiriyathil
Nair’. They are settled mainly in Kozhikode and Kannur Districts. They
are categorised under ‘Other Backward Classes’ in Kerala. Their
language is Malayalam. They follow Hinduism.
They consider themselves as a superior class. They followed
matrilineal system of inheritance but now they follow patriarchal
system. They are landless people.
They manufacture earthen pots and tiles. Anthru Nair observes puberty rites.
Marriages are taken place through negotiations and thali is the marriage symbol. Generally marriages take place in the bride’s residence. Pulikudy, a pre-delivery ritual, is also performed on the seventh month of
pregnancy of the woman. On the 28th day after birth of a child, first
feeding (Palukudy) and naming ceremony is held. They
celebrate Onam and Vishu festivals. After death, the dead body is
buried. Death pollution (Pula) ends on the 10th day.
ARAYA
The Arayas are fishing community. They are also known as ‘Kadal Arayan’.
Legend says that Arayan are the descendants of Veda Vyasa, who was
born to Parasara in Kali Arayathi and who wrote the great epic Mahabharatha.
They are residing in the coastal areas of Thrissur to
Thiruvananthapuram Districts. Arayan are experts in sailing.
Having understood their expertise, rulers of Kerala appointed Arayan
as coast guards and their leaders were conferred “arayasthanam”.
Purakkat Arayan, Kayamkulam Arayan, and Chembil Arayan are
some of honorific titles. Their language is Malayalam. They are
included in the “Other Eligible Community”category in Kerala.
They
celebrate Onam and Vishu festivals like other Hindus.
Kodungallur Bharani is one of their important temple festivals.
An Araya Tharavad of Kodungallur presents the rope for hoisting flag
in the Kodungallur temple festival. Similarly they have the
right to perform Kalampooja at the Sree Kurumbakkavu near Kodungallur It was stated that the famous Aravana Payasam (a very sweet pudding made of rice and jaggery distributed as
remnants of temple offering) of Sabarimala was made as a reward for the
Arayans who carried the palanquin of the Pandalam Rajah to the
Sabarimala temple.
The Arayan have four lineages known as Nalillakkar. They are Ponnillam, Chembillam, Kachillam and Karottillam. They have four distinct designations as Sankhan, Bharathan, Ammukkuvan and Mukkuvan. The headsman of the community is called Arajan, Arayan and Arasurajah. Marriages are arranged by negotiation. It usually takes place
at the bride’s residence. They observe pre-delivery rituals and
birth pollution. Naming and feeding ceremony are performed in
28th day and six months respectively. Arayan bury or cremate their
dead. Death pollution lasts to 16 days.
ARYAVATHY
The
Aryavathy is a barber community connected with Arayan and other
fishing communities. They are spotted in coastal areas of
central Kerala. They argue that they were teachers of the Arayan and
Valan communities. They also go for fishing in the sea along
with other fishing community. The population in the community is very
low. Their language is Malayalam. They are included in the Other
Eligible Community category by the Government of Kerala.
The
Aryavathy follow Hinduism and have reverence to all deities of the
Hindu pantheon. They celebrate almost all religious festivals of
Hindus.
Arayavathy have both nuclear and joint families. Elders through negotiations arrange marriages. Thali is the marriage symbol. Pre-delivery rituals and post-delivery
pollution are observed. Naming ceremony, feeding ceremony (choroonu)
and puberty rites are also observed. They used to bury the dead. Some
cremate and dip the bones into sea. They have special burial
places. Death pollution is also observed.
ASARI
The Asari are also known as Marasari or Marappanickan.
They believe that they are the successors of Maya, one of the five
sons of the Viswarkarma, the divine architect of Hindu legend. They
are seen throughout Kerala. Their mother tongue is Malayalam. . They
are nonvegetarians. Asari are grouped under Other Backward
Classes. Their traditional occupation is carpentry. They are experts
in designing the traditional nalukettu and ettukettu (Kerala Mansions) according to the vasthu principles.
They are also experts in making furniture and other wooden materials.
However, there are changes in traditional occupation as the members
of the community are engaged in other occupations including government
job.
They follow patrilineal (makkathayam) system. Once they observed pulikudy, but not now. They observe birth pollution for 15 days. On 28th day they perform irupathyettukettu. Choroonu is performed in sixth month. They celebrate therandukalyanam. Marriage takes place at the bride’s residence. The bridegroom ties thali around the neck of the bride and exchange garlands and rings. They
bury their dead and death pollution is observed for 15
days.
AYYANAVAR
The
Ayyanavar is a migrant community from Tamil Nadu. The word Ayyanavar
means the followers of Ayyan or the Lord Shiva. There is mention
about the community in Chilapathikaram, the famous Tamil
epic. They were courageous people and served as soldiers in the
Pandya kingdom. In Kerala, they inhabit in Neyyattinkara and
Nedumangad Taluks of Thiruvananthapuram District. They speak
Malayalam. A very few among the community own land and majority are
landless agricultural workers.
Ayyanavar
follow Hinduism and their main deity is Lord Shiva.
Bhadrakali and Madan are two other local deities.
Some of Hindu Ayyanavar was converted to Chritanity during
the British rule and such converts follow Christianity.
They nuclear type of family. Marriage proposals are initiated
from the bridegroom’s side and thali is the
symbol of married women. The function of marriage is simple.
When the bride receives a pudava or mundu (loin cloth) from the bridegroom she became his wife. Ayanavar
observes puberty rites, pre-delivery rituals and post delivery
pollutions. Naming ceremony and chardukettu (tying
waistband-irupathyettukettu) is celebrated on the
28th day after birth of a child. The dead body is either buried
or cremated. Death pollution continues for 16 days. |