Tomgruise: As per wiki guidelines. In the rest parts of Tamil Nadu, Malayalis were listed in the open category. But they are tribal.

2023-04-01T08:14:45Z

As per wiki guidelines. In the rest parts of Tamil Nadu, Malayalis were listed in the open category. But they are tribal.

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:44, 1 April 2023
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	{{Distinguish\|Malayali}}		{{Distinguish\|Malayali}}
	{{more citations needed\|date=September 2020}}		{{more citations needed\|date=September 2020}}
	[[File:Photograph of two men and two women of the Malaiyali tribe in the Shevaroy Hills in Tamil Nadu - 1860.jpg\|thumb\|Photograph of two men and two women of the Malaiyali tribe in the Shevaroy Hills in Tamil Nadu - 1860]]		The '''Malayali''' is a tribal group found in the [[Eastern Ghats]] of northern [[Tamil Nadu]]. The name derives from ''malai''-''alam'' meaning "hill-place," denoting an inhabitant of the hills. They are divided in to three groups: the ''Periya Malayalis'' ("big" Malayalis) who live in the [[Shevaroy Hills\|Shevaroys]], the ''Nadu Malayalis'' ("middle" Malayalis) from the [[Pachaimalai Hills\|Pachaimalais]], and the ''Chinna Malayalis'' ("small" Malayalis) from the [[Kolli Hills\|Kollaimalais]].
	The '''Malayali''' is a tribal group found in the [[Eastern Ghats]] of northern [[Tamil Nadu]]. The name derives from ''malai''-''alam'' meaning "hill-place," denoting an inhabitant of the hills~~. They are the largest Scheduled Tribe in Tamil Nadu, with a population of around 358,000~~. They are divided in to three groups: the ''Periya Malayalis'' ("big" Malayalis) who live in the [[Shevaroy Hills\|Shevaroys]], the ''Nadu Malayalis'' ("middle" Malayalis) from the [[Pachaimalai Hills\|Pachaimalais]], and the ''Chinna Malayalis'' ("small" Malayalis) from the [[Kolli Hills\|Kollaimalais]].

	Edgar Thurston believed they were once Tamils from the plains who moved up into the hills and developed their own culture.<ref name=":0" />		Edgar Thurston believed they were once Tamils from the plains who moved up into the hills and developed their own culture.<ref name=":0" />

imported>Konguhead: Some important words modified

2021-05-09T13:30:15Z

Some important words modified

New page

{{Distinguish|Malayali}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2020}}
[[File:Photograph of two men and two women of the Malaiyali tribe in the Shevaroy Hills in Tamil Nadu - 1860.jpg|thumb|Photograph of two men and two women of the Malaiyali tribe in the Shevaroy Hills in Tamil Nadu - 1860]]
The '''Malayali''' is a tribal group found in the [[Eastern Ghats]] of northern [[Tamil Nadu]]. The name derives from ''malai''-''alam'' meaning "hill-place," denoting an inhabitant of the hills. They are the largest Scheduled Tribe in Tamil Nadu, with a population of around 358,000. They are divided in to three groups: the ''Periya Malayalis'' ("big" Malayalis) who live in the [[Shevaroy Hills|Shevaroys]], the ''Nadu Malayalis'' ("middle" Malayalis) from the [[Pachaimalai Hills|Pachaimalais]], and the ''Chinna Malayalis'' ("small" Malayalis) from the [[Kolli Hills|Kollaimalais]].

Edgar Thurston believed they were once Tamils from the plains who moved up into the hills and developed their own culture.<ref name=":0" />

Each group of Malayalis have their own tales about their origins. According to their traditions, the three groups were descendants of three brothers from [[Kanchipuram]] who settled at each of the three hill ranges. One story is this: A long time ago the Vedars (hunting community) of Kagundi, having been refused marriage with Vellalar girls, kidnapped them. To recover them, seven Vellalar men set out with dogs, telling their wives that if their dogs returned alone, they should assume they had perished. At the Palar river, the men were able to cross but the dogs returned home. After the men successfully rescued the girls, they returned home to find themselves presumed dead and their wives now considered widows. Therefore they married Vedar women and moved into the hills.<ref name=":0" />

The Malayalis are mainly hill farmers, who cultivate ''thinai'' and ''samai'' (types of millet). Each village is headed by a headman, who has an extra share of goods from the festivals. Under the headman was the ''kangani'', who did duties for the headman and received some grain in return. They have a system of stratification. The ''Gounder'' is the headman of the village and has the highest status. The ''moopan'' is an intermediary between the ''Gounder'' and the ''kudippadai'', the common people. These divisions are only present in social and religious rites.<ref name=":0" />

The Malayalis have several types of marriage: arranged marriage (known as ''sellakalyanam''), marriage by elopement (less common) are some. During the ''nitchayadhartham'', the engagement, a group of 10 men, including the groom's father (if alive) goes to the bride's house. The group must wear ''dhotis'' and ''thalaipagai'' (a turban) such that no hair on the head is seen. Although its original reasoning is unknown, some believe it wards off evil omens. The party is given mats to sit on, and are served water by the girl in order to observe her bearing and manners. If they need more time to observe, they ask for more water. They are then invited to stay for dinner: if the match is not OK, the invitation is decline, but if the match is approved, the invitation is accepted. To fix the bride price, or ''parisam'' in Tamill, the bride and groom's party meet on an auspicious day, without bad omens being present, and are offered milk (or starch water). Then follows a symbolic conversation about the quality of the milk, which ends with the groom proposing the bride price. This is then negotiated again twice, which is the final bride price. The bridegroom's family is obligated to give the largest ''parisam'' they can afford. The day of the marriage is fixed at the same time.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Roche|first=Paul|date=1980|title=The Marriage Ceremonies of the Malayalis of the Pachaimalais|journal=Asian Folklore Studies|volume=39|issue=2|pages=123–136|doi=10.2307/1178073|jstor=1178073|issn=0385-2342}}</ref>

They worship Siva and Vishnu, but mainly worship village goddesses also found in the lowlands such as [[Mariamman]] and [[Draupati Amman|Draupadiamman]]. They commonly took oaths holding camphor in front of the god and then extinguish it, symbolizing their desire for the deity to "snuff out" their life if they have told a lie.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|author=Rangachari, K.|author2=Thurston Edgar|title=Castes and Tribes of Southern India Vol. 7 of 7.|publisher=Project Gutenberg|oclc=1097031456}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Tribes]]
[[Category:Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Eastern Ghats]]
[[Category:Adivasi]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of Tamil Nadu]]

Malayali (tribe) - Revision history

Tomgruise: As per wiki guidelines. In the rest parts of Tamil Nadu, Malayalis were listed in the open category. But they are tribal.

imported>Konguhead: Some important words modified