Vellalar - Revision history

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	{{Short description\|Indian caste}}		{{Short description\|Indian caste}}
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	{{Infobox caste		{{Infobox caste

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2401:4900:232B:48D:885A:2FBB:92E7:B16F: /* Etymology */

2023-04-01T08:24:29Z

Etymology

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	==Etymology==		==Etymology==
	The word ''Vellalar'' may come from the root ''Vellam'' for flood, which gave rise to various rights of land; and it is because of the acquisition of land rights that the Vellalar got their name.<ref name="tkv">{{cite book \| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SWeBAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA64\| title= Societas to Civitas: evolution of political society in South India: pre-Pallavan Tamil̤akam \| publisher= Kalinga Publications \|year= 1993 \|first= T. K. \|last=Venkatasubramanian \| page=64\| isbn= 9788185163420 }}</ref>		The word ''Vellalar'' may come from the root ''Vellam'' for flood, which gave rise to various rights of land; and it is because of the acquisition of land rights that the Vellalar got their name.<ref name="tkv">{{cite book \| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SWeBAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA64\| title= Societas to Civitas: evolution of political society in South India: pre-Pallavan Tamil̤akam \| publisher= Kalinga Publications \|year= 1993 \|first= T. K. \|last=Venkatasubramanian \| page=64\| isbn= 9788185163420 }}</ref>

	The earliest reference to the name is attested in the [[Tolkāppiyam]], which divided the society in four classes ''Arasar'', ''Andanar'', ''Vanigar'' and ''Vellalar''.<ref>{{Cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6U5XAAAAMAAJ&q=vellalar\|title=Ahananuru in Its Historical Setting\|last=Ramachandran\|first=C. E.\|date=1974\|publisher=University of Madras\|pages=58\|language=en}}</ref>

	==History==		==History==

2401:4900:232B:48D:885A:2FBB:92E7:B16F: /* Varna Classification */

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Varna Classification

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	}}		}}

	'''Vellalar''' is a group of aristocratic castes in the [[India]]n states of [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Kerala]] and northeastern parts of [[Sri Lanka]].{{Efn\|1=The term(Vellalar) extends beyond notions of caste and seems rather to be a generic term for farming groups dispersed over space.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Historical Dictionary of the Tamils\|author=Vijaya Ramaswamy\|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers\|year=2017\|page=303}}</ref>}} The Vellalar are members of several endogamous{{Efn\|1=Coming to the Vellalas, Andre Beteille, an authority on caste in South India writes: The term 'Vellala' is rather confusing because of its comprehensive use. Even the Vellalas proper, those who are of Vellala origin-are not a homogeneous unit but are subdivided into small sections. These sub-groups are always segmented and are endogamous.<ref name="mathur"/>}}{{Efn\|1=Without going into detail, it must suffice to say that in Sripuram the Vellalas proper are segmented into three endogamous units: Chozhia Vellala, Karaikathu Vellala, and Kodikkal Vellala.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Caste, Class and Power: Changing Patterns of Stratification in a Tanjore Village\|author=André Béteille\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|year=2012\|page=86}}</ref>}}{{Efn\|1=The Kongu Vellalar is an engogamous group. They use 'gounder' as a title and hence they are also known as Kongu Vellala Gounders.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Nutritional Status of Indian Population: Southern region \|editor=D. Tyagi \|editor2=K. K. Bhattacharya \|editor3=S. S. Datta Chaudhuri \|editor4=D. Xaviour\|publisher=Anthropological Survey of India, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Department of Culture, Government of India\|year=2012\|page=243}}</ref>}} castes such as the numerically strong [[Arunattu Vellalar]], [[Chozhia Vellalar]], [[Karkarthar\|Karkarthar Vellalar]], [[Kongu Vellalar]], [[Thuluva Vellalar]] and [[Sri Lankan Vellalar]].<ref name="derges">{{Cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aMWGiJLptNoC\|title=Ritual and Recovery in Post-Conflict Sri Lanka\|last=Derges\|first=Jane\|publisher=Routledge\|year=2013\|isbn=978-1136214882\|page=77\|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALUvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA268\|title=Historical Dictionary of the Tamils\|last=Ramaswamy\|first=Vijaya\|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield \|year=2017 \|isbn=978-1-53810-686-0\|page=390}}</ref>		'''Vellalar,''' also known as Vellala, a group of aristocratic castes in the [[India]]n states of [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Kerala]] and northeastern parts of [[Sri Lanka]].{{Efn\|1=The term(Vellalar) extends beyond notions of caste and seems rather to be a generic term for farming groups dispersed over space.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Historical Dictionary of the Tamils\|author=Vijaya Ramaswamy\|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers\|year=2017\|page=303}}</ref>}} The Vellalar are members of several endogamous{{Efn\|1=Coming to the Vellalas, Andre Beteille, an authority on caste in South India writes: The term 'Vellala' is rather confusing because of its comprehensive use. Even the Vellalas proper, those who are of Vellala origin-are not a homogeneous unit but are subdivided into small sections. These sub-groups are always segmented and are endogamous.<ref name="mathur"/>}}{{Efn\|1=Without going into detail, it must suffice to say that in Sripuram the Vellalas proper are segmented into three endogamous units: Chozhia Vellala, Karaikathu Vellala, and Kodikkal Vellala.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Caste, Class and Power: Changing Patterns of Stratification in a Tanjore Village\|author=André Béteille\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|year=2012\|page=86}}</ref>}}{{Efn\|1=The Kongu Vellalar is an engogamous group. They use 'gounder' as a title and hence they are also known as Kongu Vellala Gounders.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Nutritional Status of Indian Population: Southern region \|editor=D. Tyagi \|editor2=K. K. Bhattacharya \|editor3=S. S. Datta Chaudhuri \|editor4=D. Xaviour\|publisher=Anthropological Survey of India, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Department of Culture, Government of India\|year=2012\|page=243}}</ref>}} castes such as the numerically strong [[Arunattu Vellalar]], [[Chozhia Vellalar]], [[Karkarthar\|Karkarthar Vellalar]], [[Kongu Vellalar]], [[Thuluva Vellalar]] and [[Sri Lankan Vellalar]].<ref name="derges">{{Cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aMWGiJLptNoC\|title=Ritual and Recovery in Post-Conflict Sri Lanka\|last=Derges\|first=Jane\|publisher=Routledge\|year=2013\|isbn=978-1136214882\|page=77\|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALUvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA268\|title=Historical Dictionary of the Tamils\|last=Ramaswamy\|first=Vijaya\|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield \|year=2017 \|isbn=978-1-53810-686-0\|page=390}}</ref>

	,They were dominant communities in Tamil agrarian societies for 600 years until the decline of the [[Chola empire]] in the 13th century, with their chieftains able to practise state-level political authority after winning the support and legitimisation of [[Brahmin]]s and other higher-ranked communities with grants of land and honours.<ref>{{Cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L4t9BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA37\|title=An Untouchable Community in South India: Structure and Consensus\|last=Moffatt\|first=Michael\|publisher=Princeton University Press \|year=2015 \|isbn=978-1-40087-036-3 \|page=37}}</ref>		,They were dominant communities in Tamil agrarian societies for 600 years until the decline of the [[Chola empire]] in the 13th century, with their chieftains able to practise state-level political authority after winning the support and legitimisation of [[Brahmin]]s and other higher-ranked communities with grants of land and honours.<ref>{{Cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L4t9BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA37\|title=An Untouchable Community in South India: Structure and Consensus\|last=Moffatt\|first=Michael\|publisher=Princeton University Press \|year=2015 \|isbn=978-1-40087-036-3 \|page=37}}</ref>
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	==In Jainism==		==In Jainism==
	At present, most of the [[Tamil Jain]]s are from the Vellalar social group.<ref name=Umamaheshwari/> Also, the Saiva Velaalar sect are originally believed to have been Jainas before they embraced [[Hinduism]].{{Efn\|1=It is also widely believed that the Saiva Vellalas of Madras State who are stricter vegetarians than even Tamil Brahmins, were Jainas.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Religion and Politics in Medieval South India. Papers of a Seminar Held by the Institute of Asian Studies and Andhra University\|author=Andhra University\|publisher=Institute of Asian Studies\|page=15\|year=1972}}</ref>}} The Tamil Jains refer to the Saiva Velaalar as ''nīr-pūci-nayinārs'' or ''nīr-pūci-vellalars'' meaning the vellalars who left Jainism by smearing the sacred ash or ''(tiru)-nīru''.{{Efn\|1=All of those who feared for their lives converted to Saivism (and not any other religious sect) adorning the sacred ash, 'throwing away their sacred threads', they assumed the identity of Saiva (nir-puci) vellalars or ''nir-puci-nayinars'' (the Jainas who smeared sacred ash).<ref name=umamaheshwari222>{{cite book\|title=Reading History with the Tamil Jainas. A Study on Identity, Memory and Marginalisation. Volume 22 of Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures\|author=R. Umamaheshwari\|publisher=Springer\|year=2018\|page=222}}</ref>}} While some of the Jains assign this conversion to the period of the Bhakti movement in [[Tamil nadu]] others link it to a conflict with a ruler of the [[Vijayanagar empire]] in the 15th century.<ref name=umamaheshwari222/> The villages and areas settled by the Saiva Velaalar even now have a small number of Jaina families and inscriptional evidence indicate that these were earlier Jaina settlements as is evident by the existence of old Jaina temples.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Reading History with the Tamil Jainas. A Study on Identity, Memory and Marginalisation. Volume 22 of Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures\|author=R. Umamaheshwari\|publisher=Springer\|year=2018\|page=223}}</ref>		At present, most of the [[Tamil Jain]]s are from the Vellalar social group.<ref name=Umamaheshwari/> Also, the Saiva Velaalar sect are originally believed to have been Jainas before they embraced [[Hinduism]].{{Efn\|1=It is also widely believed that the Saiva Vellalas of Madras State who are stricter vegetarians than even Tamil Brahmins, were Jainas.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Religion and Politics in Medieval South India. Papers of a Seminar Held by the Institute of Asian Studies and Andhra University\|author=Andhra University\|publisher=Institute of Asian Studies\|page=15\|year=1972}}</ref>}} The Tamil Jains refer to the Saiva Velaalar as ''nīr-pūci-nayinārs'' or ''nīr-pūci-vellalars'' meaning the vellalars who left Jainism by smearing the sacred ash or ''(tiru)-nīru''.{{Efn\|1=All of those who feared for their lives converted to Saivism (and not any other religious sect) adorning the sacred ash, 'throwing away their sacred threads', they assumed the identity of Saiva (nir-puci) vellalars or ''nir-puci-nayinars'' (the Jainas who smeared sacred ash).<ref name=umamaheshwari222>{{cite book\|title=Reading History with the Tamil Jainas. A Study on Identity, Memory and Marginalisation. Volume 22 of Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures\|author=R. Umamaheshwari\|publisher=Springer\|year=2018\|page=222}}</ref>}} While some of the Jains assign this conversion to the period of the Bhakti movement in [[Tamil nadu]] others link it to a conflict with a ruler of the [[Vijayanagar empire]] in the 15th century.<ref name=umamaheshwari222/> The villages and areas settled by the Saiva Velaalar even now have a small number of Jaina families and inscriptional evidence indicate that these were earlier Jaina settlements as is evident by the existence of old Jaina temples.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Reading History with the Tamil Jainas. A Study on Identity, Memory and Marginalisation. Volume 22 of Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures\|author=R. Umamaheshwari\|publisher=Springer\|year=2018\|page=223}}</ref>
			==Social status==
			The Vellalar were considered to be of high status and enjoyed a high rank during the Chola period. They helped promote and stabilize [[Shaivism]] during the Chola era and many of the cult's leaders were drawn from the ranks of the Vellalar. Vellalar like Mudaliyar and Pillai along with certain other non-brahmin groups enjoyed a status equal to that of the Brahmins. The Vellalar also had more authority, power and status than the Brahmins in some social and ritual contexts.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Poems to Siva The Hymns of the Tamil Saints\|author=Indira Viswanathan Peterson\|publisher=Princeton University Press\|page=45,54\|year=2014}}</ref> They were more orthodox than the Brahmins in their religious practices.<ref name="Madras (India : State). Record Office 1957 p.128">{{citation \| author=Madras (India : State). Record Office \| title=Tanjore District Handbook \| publisher=Superintendent Government Press \| year=1957 \| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wNsBAAAAMAAJ&q=vellala+orthodox \| language=sl \| access-date=2023-01-04 \| page=128}}</ref><ref name="Rajaraman 1988 p.">{{citation \| last=Rajaraman \| first=P. \| title=The Justice Party: A Historical Perspective, 1916-37 \| publisher=Poompozhil Publishers \| year=1988 \| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GGMmAAAAMAAJ&q=vellalar%20orthodox \| access-date=2023-01-04 \| page=17}}</ref> The Vellalar nobles had marriage alliances with Chola royal families.<ref name="Gough 1978 p.10">{{citation \| last=Gough \| first=K. \| title=Dravidian Kinship and Modes of Production \| publisher=Indian Council of Social Science Research \| series=Publication (Indian Council of Social Science Research) \| year=1978 \| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qnYsAAAAMAAJ&q=chola+married+vellala+nobility \| access-date=2023-01-04 \| page=10}}</ref><ref name="University of Travancore University of Kerala 1948 p.274">{{citation \| author=University of Travancore \| author2=University of Kerala \| title=Journal of Indian History \| issue=v. 25 \| year=1948 \| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9xK2AAAAIAAJ&q=vellala \| access-date=2023-01-04 \| page=274}}</ref>
	==Varna Classification==		==Varna Classification==
	The Government of Madras recognising that the 4-fold division (four varnas) did not describe the South Indian, or Dravidian, society adequately.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Kingship and political practice in colonial India \|author=Pamela G. Price \|page=61 \|quote=...when government census officers placed Vellalar in the Sat-Sudra or Good Sudra category in its 1901 census, Vellalar castemen petitioned this designation, protesting this designation.. \|date=3 December 2007 \|isbn=9780521052290 \|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] \|url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Kingship_and_Political_Practice_in_Colon/k4JzPwAACAAJ?hl=en}}</ref> Following the arrival of Dutch missionaries in the early 18th century, some Vellalar converted to Christianity.<ref>{{cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Br1v53OmBl8C&pg=PA112\|title=Missions and Empire\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|year=2005\|isbn=978-0-19153-106-4\|editor-last=Etherington\|editor-first=Norman\|page=112}}</ref>		The Government of Madras recognising that the 4-fold division (four varnas) did not describe the South Indian, or Dravidian, society adequately.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Kingship and political practice in colonial India \|author=Pamela G. Price \|page=61 \|quote=...when government census officers placed Vellalar in the Sat-Sudra or Good Sudra category in its 1901 census, Vellalar castemen petitioned this designation, protesting this designation.. \|date=3 December 2007 \|isbn=9780521052290 \|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] \|url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Kingship_and_Political_Practice_in_Colon/k4JzPwAACAAJ?hl=en}}</ref> Following the arrival of Dutch missionaries in the early 18th century, some Vellalar converted to Christianity.<ref>{{cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Br1v53OmBl8C&pg=PA112\|title=Missions and Empire\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|year=2005\|isbn=978-0-19153-106-4\|editor-last=Etherington\|editor-first=Norman\|page=112}}</ref>

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2023-04-01T08:19:58Z

Current usage

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	===Current usage===		===Current usage===
	Even though at present, the term Vellalar has come to mean a ~~farmer or agricultural people~~, a number of non-cultivating landholding castes like [[Karkarthar\|Kaarukaatha Velaalar]] and the [[Kondaikatti Vellalar\|Kondaikatti Velaalar]] who served ruling dynasties in various capacities also identify themselves as Vellalar.{{Efn\|1=Among the Tamil castes, both Karkattar Vellalas (Arunachalam, 1975) and Kondaikatti Vellalas (Barnett, 1970) have much the same profile as the KP (Kottai Pillaimar): both are non-cultivating land-holders, with a history of service to ruling dynasties.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Gender and the Household Domain. Social and Cultural Dimensions\|editor= Karuna Chanana, Maithreyi Krishna Raj\|publisher=Sage Publications\|year=1989\|page=92}}</ref>}} Likewise, the Kottai Pillaimar who were traditionally land-holders and lived inside forts, neither lease land for agriculture nor do they till their own fields. They also do not supervise cultivation directly due to the stigma attached to farming and manual labor.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Boundary Walls. Caste and Women in a Tamil Community\|author=Kamala Ganesh\|publisher=Hindustan Publishing Corporation\|year=1993\|page=27}}</ref> Similarly, the Vellala Chettis, a branch of the Chozhia Vellalars were traders and merchants.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Caste and Race in India\|author=Govind Sadashiv Ghurye\|publisher=Popular Prakashan\|page=209\|year=1969}}</ref> The Adi-saiva vellalar sect is a strictly vegetarian [[Saivite]] group that traditionally served as priests.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Population and Social Change in an Indian Village. Quarter Century of Development in Managadu [i.e. Mangadu] Village, Tamil Nadu\|author=A. Aiyappan, K. Mahadevan\|publisher=Mittal Publications\|year=1988\|page=42}}</ref>		Even though at present, the term Vellalar has come to mean a landlord, a number of non-cultivating landholding castes like [[Karkarthar\|Kaarukaatha Velaalar]] and the [[Kondaikatti Vellalar\|Kondaikatti Velaalar]] who served ruling dynasties in various capacities also identify themselves as Vellalar.{{Efn\|1=Among the Tamil castes, both Karkattar Vellalas (Arunachalam, 1975) and Kondaikatti Vellalas (Barnett, 1970) have much the same profile as the KP (Kottai Pillaimar): both are non-cultivating land-holders, with a history of service to ruling dynasties.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Gender and the Household Domain. Social and Cultural Dimensions\|editor= Karuna Chanana, Maithreyi Krishna Raj\|publisher=Sage Publications\|year=1989\|page=92}}</ref>}} Likewise, the Kottai Pillaimar who were traditionally land-holders and lived inside forts, neither lease land for agriculture nor do they till their own fields. They also do not supervise cultivation directly due to the stigma attached to farming and manual labor.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Boundary Walls. Caste and Women in a Tamil Community\|author=Kamala Ganesh\|publisher=Hindustan Publishing Corporation\|year=1993\|page=27}}</ref> Similarly, the Vellala Chettis, a branch of the Chozhia Vellalars were traders and merchants.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Caste and Race in India\|author=Govind Sadashiv Ghurye\|publisher=Popular Prakashan\|page=209\|year=1969}}</ref> The Adi-saiva vellalar sect is a strictly vegetarian [[Saivite]] group that traditionally served as priests.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Population and Social Change in an Indian Village. Quarter Century of Development in Managadu [i.e. Mangadu] Village, Tamil Nadu\|author=A. Aiyappan, K. Mahadevan\|publisher=Mittal Publications\|year=1988\|page=42}}</ref>

	==Sri Lanka==		==Sri Lanka==

Tomgruise: Kathleen gough says

2023-04-01T08:18:53Z

Kathleen gough says

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	}}		}}

	'''Vellalar''' is a ~~generic [[Tamil language\|Tamil]] term used primarily to refer to various [[Caste system in India\|~~castes~~]] who traditionally pursued agriculture as a profession~~ in the [[India]]n states of [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Kerala]] and northeastern parts of [[Sri Lanka]].{{Efn\|1=The term(Vellalar) extends beyond notions of caste and seems rather to be a generic term for farming groups dispersed over space.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Historical Dictionary of the Tamils\|author=Vijaya Ramaswamy\|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers\|year=2017\|page=303}}</ref>}} The Vellalar are members of several endogamous{{Efn\|1=Coming to the Vellalas, Andre Beteille, an authority on caste in South India writes: The term 'Vellala' is rather confusing because of its comprehensive use. Even the Vellalas proper, those who are of Vellala origin-are not a homogeneous unit but are subdivided into small sections. These sub-groups are always segmented and are endogamous.<ref name="mathur"/>}}{{Efn\|1=Without going into detail, it must suffice to say that in Sripuram the Vellalas proper are segmented into three endogamous units: Chozhia Vellala, Karaikathu Vellala, and Kodikkal Vellala.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Caste, Class and Power: Changing Patterns of Stratification in a Tanjore Village\|author=André Béteille\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|year=2012\|page=86}}</ref>}}{{Efn\|1=The Kongu Vellalar is an engogamous group. They use 'gounder' as a title and hence they are also known as Kongu Vellala Gounders.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Nutritional Status of Indian Population: Southern region \|editor=D. Tyagi \|editor2=K. K. Bhattacharya \|editor3=S. S. Datta Chaudhuri \|editor4=D. Xaviour\|publisher=Anthropological Survey of India, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Department of Culture, Government of India\|year=2012\|page=243}}</ref>}} castes such as the numerically strong [[Arunattu Vellalar]], [[Chozhia Vellalar]], [[Karkarthar\|Karkarthar Vellalar]], [[Kongu Vellalar]], [[Thuluva Vellalar]] and [[Sri Lankan Vellalar]].<ref name="derges">{{Cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aMWGiJLptNoC\|title=Ritual and Recovery in Post-Conflict Sri Lanka\|last=Derges\|first=Jane\|publisher=Routledge\|year=2013\|isbn=978-1136214882\|page=77\|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALUvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA268\|title=Historical Dictionary of the Tamils\|last=Ramaswamy\|first=Vijaya\|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield \|year=2017 \|isbn=978-1-53810-686-0\|page=390}}</ref>		'''Vellalar''' is a group of aristocratic castes in the [[India]]n states of [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Kerala]] and northeastern parts of [[Sri Lanka]].{{Efn\|1=The term(Vellalar) extends beyond notions of caste and seems rather to be a generic term for farming groups dispersed over space.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Historical Dictionary of the Tamils\|author=Vijaya Ramaswamy\|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers\|year=2017\|page=303}}</ref>}} The Vellalar are members of several endogamous{{Efn\|1=Coming to the Vellalas, Andre Beteille, an authority on caste in South India writes: The term 'Vellala' is rather confusing because of its comprehensive use. Even the Vellalas proper, those who are of Vellala origin-are not a homogeneous unit but are subdivided into small sections. These sub-groups are always segmented and are endogamous.<ref name="mathur"/>}}{{Efn\|1=Without going into detail, it must suffice to say that in Sripuram the Vellalas proper are segmented into three endogamous units: Chozhia Vellala, Karaikathu Vellala, and Kodikkal Vellala.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Caste, Class and Power: Changing Patterns of Stratification in a Tanjore Village\|author=André Béteille\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|year=2012\|page=86}}</ref>}}{{Efn\|1=The Kongu Vellalar is an engogamous group. They use 'gounder' as a title and hence they are also known as Kongu Vellala Gounders.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Nutritional Status of Indian Population: Southern region \|editor=D. Tyagi \|editor2=K. K. Bhattacharya \|editor3=S. S. Datta Chaudhuri \|editor4=D. Xaviour\|publisher=Anthropological Survey of India, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Department of Culture, Government of India\|year=2012\|page=243}}</ref>}} castes such as the numerically strong [[Arunattu Vellalar]], [[Chozhia Vellalar]], [[Karkarthar\|Karkarthar Vellalar]], [[Kongu Vellalar]], [[Thuluva Vellalar]] and [[Sri Lankan Vellalar]].<ref name="derges">{{Cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aMWGiJLptNoC\|title=Ritual and Recovery in Post-Conflict Sri Lanka\|last=Derges\|first=Jane\|publisher=Routledge\|year=2013\|isbn=978-1136214882\|page=77\|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALUvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA268\|title=Historical Dictionary of the Tamils\|last=Ramaswamy\|first=Vijaya\|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield \|year=2017 \|isbn=978-1-53810-686-0\|page=390}}</ref>

	~~{{POV section\|date=April 2022}}~~		,They were dominant communities in Tamil agrarian societies for 600 years until the decline of the [[Chola empire]] in the 13th century, with their chieftains able to practise state-level political authority after winning the support and legitimisation of [[Brahmin]]s and other higher-ranked communities with grants of land and honours.<ref>{{Cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L4t9BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA37\|title=An Untouchable Community in South India: Structure and Consensus\|last=Moffatt\|first=Michael\|publisher=Princeton University Press \|year=2015 \|isbn=978-1-40087-036-3 \|page=37}}</ref>
	~~Despite being a relatively lowly group~~, ~~they~~ were dominant communities in Tamil agrarian societies for 600 years until the decline of the [[Chola empire]] in the 13th century, with their chieftains able to practise state-level political authority after winning the support and legitimisation of [[Brahmin]]s and other higher-ranked communities with grants of land and honours.<ref>{{Cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L4t9BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA37\|title=An Untouchable Community in South India: Structure and Consensus\|last=Moffatt\|first=Michael\|publisher=Princeton University Press \|year=2015 \|isbn=978-1-40087-036-3 \|page=37}}</ref>

	==Etymology==		==Etymology==
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	==Varna Classification==		==Varna Classification==
	~~During the British colonial period, the Vellalars who were land owners and tillers of the soil and held offices pertaining to land, were ranked as Sat-[[Shudra\|Sudra]] in the 1901 census; with the~~ Government of Madras recognising that the 4-fold division (four varnas) did not describe the South Indian, or Dravidian, society adequately.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Kingship and political practice in colonial India \|author=Pamela G. Price \|page=61 \|quote=...when government census officers placed Vellalar in the Sat-Sudra or Good Sudra category in its 1901 census, Vellalar castemen petitioned this designation, protesting this designation.. \|date=3 December 2007 \|isbn=9780521052290 \|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] \|url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Kingship_and_Political_Practice_in_Colon/k4JzPwAACAAJ?hl=en}}</ref> Following the arrival of Dutch missionaries in the early 18th century, some Vellalar converted to Christianity.<ref>{{cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Br1v53OmBl8C&pg=PA112\|title=Missions and Empire\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|year=2005\|isbn=978-0-19153-106-4\|editor-last=Etherington\|editor-first=Norman\|page=112}}</ref>		The Government of Madras recognising that the 4-fold division (four varnas) did not describe the South Indian, or Dravidian, society adequately.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Kingship and political practice in colonial India \|author=Pamela G. Price \|page=61 \|quote=...when government census officers placed Vellalar in the Sat-Sudra or Good Sudra category in its 1901 census, Vellalar castemen petitioned this designation, protesting this designation.. \|date=3 December 2007 \|isbn=9780521052290 \|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] \|url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Kingship_and_Political_Practice_in_Colon/k4JzPwAACAAJ?hl=en}}</ref> Following the arrival of Dutch missionaries in the early 18th century, some Vellalar converted to Christianity.<ref>{{cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Br1v53OmBl8C&pg=PA112\|title=Missions and Empire\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|year=2005\|isbn=978-0-19153-106-4\|editor-last=Etherington\|editor-first=Norman\|page=112}}</ref>

	==See also==		==See also==

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← Older revision		Revision as of 19:43, 11 June 2022
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	Even today, the Vellalas of northern [[Tamil nadu]] vividly trace their legendary migration to the northern Tamil coast with their royal [[Chola]] ancestor after conquering the [[Kuruba\|Kurumbas]], a pastoral tribe of Karnataka.{{Efn\|1=Vellala gentry in the northern Tamil coast trace their origins to a royal Chola ancestor who migrated north with 48000 Vellala families, conquering Kurumba hunters<ref>{{cite book\|title=An Agrarian History of South Asia, Part 4, Volume 4\|author=David Ludden\|publisher= Cambridge University Press\|page=100\|year=1999}}</ref>}} Two identical [[Tamil language\|Tamil]] inscriptions from Avani and Uttanur in [[Mulbagal]] Taluk dated in the 3rd year of [[Kulottunga I]] (about 1072-1073 AD) speak of one such event. They describe how the great army of the right hand class (''perumpadai valangai mahasenai'') having arrived with great weapons of war from the 78-nadus of Chola-mandalam and the 48000-bhumi of Jayangonda-cholamandalam (the northern districts of Tamil Nadu that is [[Tondaimandalam]]) conquered and colonized southern Karnataka ([[Kolar]] district) by the grace of Rajendrachola (Kulottunga I).<ref>{{cite book\|title=Essays on Indian History and Culture. Felicitation Volume in Honour of Professor B. Sheik Ali\|author=B. Sheikh Ali\|editor=H. V. Sreenivasa Murthy\|publisher=Mittal Publications\|pages=105–107\|year=1990}}</ref>		Even today, the Vellalas of northern [[Tamil nadu]] vividly trace their legendary migration to the northern Tamil coast with their royal [[Chola]] ancestor after conquering the [[Kuruba\|Kurumbas]], a pastoral tribe of Karnataka.{{Efn\|1=Vellala gentry in the northern Tamil coast trace their origins to a royal Chola ancestor who migrated north with 48000 Vellala families, conquering Kurumba hunters<ref>{{cite book\|title=An Agrarian History of South Asia, Part 4, Volume 4\|author=David Ludden\|publisher= Cambridge University Press\|page=100\|year=1999}}</ref>}} Two identical [[Tamil language\|Tamil]] inscriptions from Avani and Uttanur in [[Mulbagal]] Taluk dated in the 3rd year of [[Kulottunga I]] (about 1072-1073 AD) speak of one such event. They describe how the great army of the right hand class (''perumpadai valangai mahasenai'') having arrived with great weapons of war from the 78-nadus of Chola-mandalam and the 48000-bhumi of Jayangonda-cholamandalam (the northern districts of Tamil Nadu that is [[Tondaimandalam]]) conquered and colonized southern Karnataka ([[Kolar]] district) by the grace of Rajendrachola (Kulottunga I).<ref>{{cite book\|title=Essays on Indian History and Culture. Felicitation Volume in Honour of Professor B. Sheik Ali\|author=B. Sheikh Ali\|editor=H. V. Sreenivasa Murthy\|publisher=Mittal Publications\|pages=105–107\|year=1990}}</ref>

	Historian [[Burton Stein]] who has done a detailed analysis of this inscription equates the ''Valangai'' military forces and the ''Velaikkara'' troops of the Cholas with the Vellalas and notes that the contents of the above inscription confirm this identification.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Peasant State and Society in Medieval South India\|author=Burton Stein\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|year=1994\|pages=190–191}}</ref> The ''Velaikkara'' troops were special units of armed forces drawn from the right-hand castes that were close to the king. The units were generally named after the king like ''Rajaraja-terinda-valangai-velaikkarar'', that is ''the known (terinda) forces of king [[Rajaraja Chola I]]''.<ref>{{cite book\|title=A Military History of Medieval India\|author=Gurcharn Singh Sandhu\|publisher=Vision Books\|year=2003\|page=208}}</ref> The Chola inscriptions state that the Velaikkara forces pledged under oath to commit suicide in case they failed to defend their king or in the event of his death.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Contributions to Indian Sociology Volumes 29-30 of Contributions to Indian Sociology: Occasional Studies\|author=École pratique des hautes études (France). Section des sciences économiques et sociales, University of Oxford. Institute of Social Anthropology, Research Centre on Social and Economic Development in Asia\|publisher=Mouton\|year=1995\|page=265}}</ref>		Historian [[Burton Stein]] who has done a detailed analysis of this inscription equates the ''Valangai'' military forces and the ''Velaikkara'' troops of the Cholas with the Vellalas and notes that the contents of the above inscription confirm this identification.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Peasant State and Society in Medieval South India\|author=Burton Stein\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|year=1994\|pages=190–191}}</ref> The ''Velaikkara'' troops were special units of armed forces drawn from the right-hand castes that were close to the king. The units were generally named after the king like ''Rajaraja-terinda-valangai-velaikkarar'', that is ''the known (terinda) forces of king [[Rajaraja Chola I]]''.<ref>{{cite book\|title=A Military History of Medieval India\|author=Gurcharn Singh Sandhu\|publisher=Vision Books\|year=2003\|page=208}}</ref> The Chola inscriptions state that the Velaikkara forces pledged under oath to commit suicide in case they failed to defend their king or in the event of his death.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Contributions to Indian Sociology Volumes 29-30 of Contributions to Indian Sociology: Occasional Studies\|author=École pratique des hautes études (France). Section des sciences économiques et sociales, University of Oxford. Institute of Social Anthropology, Research Centre on Social and Economic Development in Asia\|publisher=Mouton\|year=1995\|page=265}}</ref> The Chalukya kings were also known by the title ''Velpularasar'', that is kings of ''Vel'' country (''pulam'' means region or country in [[Tamil language\|Tamil]]) and as ''Velkulattarasar'', that is kings of the ''Vel'' clan (''kulam''), in epigraphs and in the old Tamil lexicon Divakaram.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Encyclopaedia of Untouchables Ancient, Medieval and Modern\|author=Raj Kumar\|publisher=Gyan Publishing House\|year=2008\|page=179}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|title=The Colas\|author=K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, M.A., Professor of Indian History and Archaeology University of Madras\|publisher=Thompson & Co., Ltd., Printers, Madras\|year=1937\|page=11}}</ref>

			The Vellalar also contributed to the [[Bhakti movement]] in south India from the seventh century CE onwards and helped revive Hinduism. Many of the [[Nayanmar]]s, the [[Shaiva]] saints, were Vellalar.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Religion and Public Culture: Encounters and Identities in Modern South India\|author=Keith E. Yandell Keith E. Yandell, John J. Paul\|publisher=Routledge\|year=2013\|page=249}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|title=A History of India\|author=Professor of Asian History Hermann Kulke, Dietmar Rothermund\|publisher=Psychology Press\|year=2004\|page=143}}</ref> In the 12th century CE, saint [[Sekkizhar\|Sekkilan Mahadevadigal Ramadeva]] sang the glories of these Nayanmars in his magnus opus, the [[Periyapuranam]].<ref>{{cite book\|title=A Survey of the Sources for the History of Tamil Literature\|author=Muthusamy Govindasamy\|publisher=Annamalai University\|year=1977\|page=135}}</ref> Sekkizhar was born as Arulmozhithevar in a Vellala family in [[Kundrathur]] in [[Thondaimandalam]] and had the title Uttama Chola Pallavaraiyan.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Temples of Tamilnadu Kancheepuram District, Volume 1\|author=C. Chandramouli\|publisher=Controller of Publications\|year=2003\|page=54}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|title=Tillai and Nataraja\|author=Balasubrahmanyam Venkataraman\|publisher=Mudgala Trust\|year=1994\|page=65}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|title=The City of the Cosmic Dance: Chidambaram\|author=B. Natarajan\|publisher=Orient Longman\|year=1974\|page=32}}</ref> Sekkilan Mahadevadigal Ramadeva was an elder contemporary of [[Kulothunga Chola II]], the king who is said to have persecuted the [[Brahmin]] philosopher [[Ramanuja]] for his [[Vaishnavite]] preachings by forcing him to sign a document stating [[Shiva]] is the greatest god.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Chidambaram Golden Temple\|author=Caṇmukam Meyyappan̲\|publisher=Manivasagar Pathippagam\|year=1992\|page=13}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|title=Sri Ramanuja. Makers of Indian literature.\|author=Madabhushini Narasimhacharya\|publisher=Sahitya Akademi\|year=2004\|page=25}}</ref>

	===Current usage===		===Current usage===

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{{Other uses}}
{{pp-semi|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox caste
| caste_name = Vellalar
| caste_name_in_local =
| subdivisions = {{unbulleted list

| [[Mudaliar]] ‡ — [[Tondaimandalam|Thondai Nadu]]
| [[Gounder]] ‡  — [[Kongu Nadu]]
| [[Pillai (surname)|Pillai]] ‡  — [[Chola Nadu]], [[Pandya Nadu]]
| [[Vellalar of Sri Lanka|Sri Lankan Vellalar]] ‡  — [[Jaffna Peninsula|Yazhpana Kudanaadu]], [[Vannimai|Vanni Nadu]]
}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/vellala |title=Vellala | Encyclopedia.com |website=encyclopedia.com}}</ref>
| languages = [[Tamil language|Tamil]]
| religions = [[Hinduism]], [[Jainism]]<ref name=Umamaheshwari>{{cite book|title=Reading History with the Tamil Jainas. A Study on Identity, Memory and Marginalisation. Volume 22 of Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures|author=R. Umamaheshwari|publisher=Springer|year=2018|page=250}}</ref>
| related = [[Tamil people]]
| footnotes =
}}

'''Vellalar''' is a generic [[Tamil language|Tamil]] term used primarily to refer to various [[Caste system in India|castes]] who traditionally pursued agriculture as a profession in the [[India]]n states of [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Kerala]] and northeastern parts of [[Sri Lanka]].{{Efn|1=The term(Vellalar) extends beyond notions of caste and seems rather to be a generic term for farming groups dispersed over space.<ref>{{cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of the Tamils|author=Vijaya Ramaswamy|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2017|page=303}}</ref>}} The Vellalar are members of several endogamous{{Efn|1=Coming to the Vellalas, Andre Beteille, an authority on caste in South India writes: The term 'Vellala' is rather confusing because of its comprehensive use. Even the Vellalas proper, those who are of Vellala origin-are not a homogeneous unit but are subdivided into small sections. These sub-groups are always segmented and are endogamous.<ref name="mathur"/>}}{{Efn|1=Without going into detail, it must suffice to say that in Sripuram the Vellalas proper are segmented into three endogamous units: Chozhia Vellala, Karaikathu Vellala, and Kodikkal Vellala.<ref>{{cite book|title=Caste, Class and Power: Changing Patterns of Stratification in a Tanjore Village|author=André Béteille|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2012|page=86}}</ref>}}{{Efn|1=The Kongu Vellalar is an engogamous group. They use 'gounder' as a title and hence they are also known as Kongu Vellala Gounders.<ref>{{cite book|title=Nutritional Status of Indian Population: Southern region |editor=D. Tyagi |editor2=K. K. Bhattacharya |editor3=S. S. Datta Chaudhuri |editor4=D. Xaviour|publisher=Anthropological Survey of India, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Department of Culture, Government of India|year=2012|page=243}}</ref>}} castes such as the numerically strong [[Arunattu Vellalar]], [[Chozhia Vellalar]], [[Karkarthar|Karkarthar Vellalar]], [[Kongu Vellalar]], [[Thuluva Vellalar]] and [[Sri Lankan Vellalar]].<ref name="derges">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aMWGiJLptNoC|title=Ritual and Recovery in Post-Conflict Sri Lanka|last=Derges|first=Jane|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=978-1136214882|page=77|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALUvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA268|title=Historical Dictionary of the Tamils|last=Ramaswamy|first=Vijaya|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-53810-686-0|page=390}}</ref>

{{POV section|date=April 2022}}
Despite being a relatively lowly group, they were dominant communities in Tamil agrarian societies for 600 years until the decline of the [[Chola empire]] in the 13th century, with their chieftains able to practise state-level political authority after winning the support and legitimisation of [[Brahmin]]s and other higher-ranked communities with grants of land and honours.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L4t9BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA37|title=An Untouchable Community in South India: Structure and Consensus|last=Moffatt|first=Michael|publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-40087-036-3 |page=37}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The word ''Vellalar'' may come from the root ''Vellam'' for flood, which gave rise to various rights of land; and it is because of the acquisition of land rights that the Vellalar got their name.<ref name="tkv">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SWeBAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA64| title= Societas to Civitas: evolution of political society in South India: pre-Pallavan Tamil̤akam | publisher= Kalinga Publications |year= 1993 |first= T. K. |last=Venkatasubramanian | page=64| isbn= 9788185163420 }}</ref>

The earliest reference to the name is attested in the [[Tolkāppiyam]], which divided the society in four classes ''Arasar'', ''Andanar'', ''Vanigar'' and ''Vellalar''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6U5XAAAAMAAJ&q=vellalar|title=Ahananuru in Its Historical Setting|last=Ramachandran|first=C. E.|date=1974|publisher=University of Madras|pages=58|language=en}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Vellālas worshipping lingam, snake-stones and Ganēsa..jpg|thumb|Vellālars worshipping lingam, snake-stones and Ganēsa from ''[[Castes and Tribes of Southern India]]'' (1909).]]
The Vellalars have a long cultural history that goes back to over two millennia in southern India,<ref name="Meluhha and Agastya : Alpha and Omega of the Indus Script By Iravatham Mahadevan">{{cite web |url=http://www.harappa.com/arrow/meluhha_and_agastya_2009.pdf |title=Meluhha and Agastya: Alpha and Omega of the Indus Script |author=Iravatham Mahadevan |page=16 |quote=The Ventar-Velir-Velalar groups constituted the ruling and land-owning classes in the Tamil country since the beginning of recorded history |access-date=2011-06-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607212814/http://www.harappa.com/arrow/meluhha_and_agastya_2009.pdf |archive-date=7 June 2011 }}</ref> where once they were the ruling and land-owning community.<ref name="Al-Hind: Early medieval India and the expansion of Islam, 7th-11th centuries By André Wink">{{cite book |title=Al-Hind: Early medieval India and the expansion of Islam, 7th-11th centuries |author=André Wink |year=2002 |page=321 |quote=Not only were the Vellalas the landowning communities of South India,... |publisher=[[Brill Academic Publishers]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&pg=PA321 |isbn=9004092498}}</ref><ref name="gough"/> Though the Vellalar have generally been associated with the landed gentry and agriculture, they are not a homogenous group and various people from diverse backgrounds have identified themselves as a Vellalar in the course of history.<ref name=mathur>{{cite book|title=Applied Anthropology and Challenges of Development in India|author=P. R. G. Mathur|publisher=Punthi-Pustak|year=1994|page=152}}</ref>

===The Velir===
The [[Velir]] were an ancient group of Tamil chieftains who claimed Yadava (Yadu) descent.<ref>{{cite book|title=Mathurā.The Settlement Pattern and Cultural Profile of an Early Historical City|author=Vijaya Laxmi Singh|publisher=Sundeep Prakashan|year=2005|page=121}}</ref> The [[Ay dynasty|Ay Vels]] were one such Velir group that ruled the territory in and around [[Venad]] during the Sangam period. The word Venad is derived from ''Vel'' -nadu, that is the country ruled by ''Vel'' chieftains.<ref>{{cite book|title=History of Kerala|author=R. Leela Devi|publisher=Vidyarthi Mithram Press & Book Depot|page=117}}</ref> We know of a queen of Vikramaditya Varaguna, an Ay king of 9th century who is referred to as Murugan Chenthi and as Aykula Mahadevi from inscriptions. Her father, an Ay chief called Chathan Murugan is described as a Vennir Vellala that is a Vellala by birth,<ref>{{cite book|title=Peasant State and Society in Medieval South India|author=Burton Stein|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=350|year=1994}}</ref> in the Huzur plates of king Karunandakkan, the predecessor of Vikramaditya Varaguna.<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopaedia of Untouchables Ancient, Medieval and Modern|author=Raj Kumar|publisher=Kalpaz Publications|year=2008|page=181}}</ref>

The [[Irunkovel]] or Irukkuvel chieftains were another ancient Velir clan who ruled from their capital [[Kodumbalur]] (near Pudukottai district). They were related to the Cholas by marriage.<ref>{{cite book|title=The City in Indian History. Urban Demography, Society, and Politics|editor=Indu Banga|publisher=South Asia Publications|year=1991|page=61}}</ref> In an inscription of [[Rajadhiraja Chola]] an Irukkuvel feudatory who was a high-ranking military officer (''Dandanayaka'') of the king is described as a Velala.{{Efn|1=Records in his third year gift of 90 sheep for a lamp by Velala Madurantakam alias Tandanayakan Rajadhiraja Ilangovelan of Nadar, a village in Tiraimur-nadu which was a sub-division of Uyyakondan-valanadu in Solamandalam.<ref>{{cite book|title=South Indian Shrines|author=P. V. Jagadisa Ayyar|year=1993|page=53|publisher=Asian Educational Services}}</ref>}}

The Irungovels are considered to be of the same stock as the [[Hoysala]]s as in one of the Sangam poems, the ancestor of the Irungovel chieftain is said to have ruled the fortified city of Tuvarai. This city is identified with the Hoysala capital [[Dwarasamudra]] by some historians.<ref>{{cite book|title= The Tamilian Antiquary Volume 1, Issue 5|author= T.A. Society (Tiruchchirāppalli, India)|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1986|page=28}}</ref> Also, the legend of the chief killing a tiger (''Pulikadimal'') has a striking resemblance to the origin legend of the Hoysalas where ‘'sala'’ kills the tiger to save a sage.<ref>{{cite book|title= The Early History of the Vellar Basin, with Special Reference to the Irukkuvels of Kodumbalur. A Study in Vellala Origin and Early History|author= M. Arokiaswami|publisher= Amudha Nilayam|page=28}}</ref> As per historian Arokiaswami, the Hoysala title ‘'Ballala'’ is only a variant of the Tamil word ‘'Vellala'’.<ref>{{cite book|title= The Early History of the Vellar Basin, with Special Reference to the Irukkuvels of Kodumbalur. A Study in Vellala Origin and Early History|author= M. Arokiaswami|publisher= Amudha Nilayam|page=29}}</ref> The Hoysala king [[Veera Ballala III]] is even now locally known as the ‘'Vellala Maharaja'’ in [[Thiruvannamalai]], the town that served as their capital in 14th century.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Gopuras of Thiruvannamalai|author= F. H. Gravely|publisher=Commissioner of Museums, Government of Tamil Nadu|year=2002|page=2}}</ref>

===The Chola period===
According to the anthropologist [[Kathleen Gough]], "the Vellalars were the dominant secular aristocratic caste under the Chola kings, providing the courtiers, most of the army officers, the lower ranks of the kingdom's bureaucracy, and the upper layer of the peasantry".<ref name="gough">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GZwD7EqLcAUC|title=Rural Society in Southeast India|last=Gough|first=Kathleen|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2008|isbn=9780521040198|page=29|language=en}}</ref>

Even today, the Vellalas of northern [[Tamil nadu]] vividly trace their legendary migration to the northern Tamil coast with their royal [[Chola]] ancestor after conquering the [[Kuruba|Kurumbas]], a pastoral tribe of Karnataka.{{Efn|1=Vellala gentry in the northern Tamil coast trace their origins to a royal Chola ancestor who migrated north with 48000 Vellala families, conquering Kurumba hunters<ref>{{cite book|title=An Agrarian History of South Asia, Part 4, Volume 4|author=David Ludden|publisher= Cambridge University Press|page=100|year=1999}}</ref>}} Two identical [[Tamil language|Tamil]] inscriptions from Avani and Uttanur in [[Mulbagal]] Taluk dated in the 3rd year of [[Kulottunga I]] (about 1072-1073 AD) speak of one such event. They describe how the great army of the right hand class (''perumpadai valangai mahasenai'') having arrived with great weapons of war from the 78-nadus of Chola-mandalam and the 48000-bhumi of Jayangonda-cholamandalam (the northern districts of Tamil Nadu that is [[Tondaimandalam]]) conquered and colonized southern Karnataka ([[Kolar]] district) by the grace of Rajendrachola (Kulottunga I).<ref>{{cite book|title=Essays on Indian History and Culture. Felicitation Volume in Honour of Professor B. Sheik Ali|author=B. Sheikh Ali|editor=H. V. Sreenivasa Murthy|publisher=Mittal Publications|pages=105–107|year=1990}}</ref>

Historian [[Burton Stein]] who has done a detailed analysis of this inscription equates the ''Valangai'' military forces and the ''Velaikkara'' troops of the Cholas with the Vellalas and notes that the contents of the above inscription confirm this identification.<ref>{{cite book|title=Peasant State and Society in Medieval South India|author=Burton Stein|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1994|pages=190–191}}</ref> The ''Velaikkara'' troops were special units of armed forces drawn from the right-hand castes that were close to the king. The units were generally named after the king like ''Rajaraja-terinda-valangai-velaikkarar'', that is ''the known (terinda) forces of king [[Rajaraja Chola I]]''.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Military History of Medieval India|author=Gurcharn Singh Sandhu|publisher=Vision Books|year=2003|page=208}}</ref> The Chola inscriptions state that the Velaikkara forces pledged under oath to commit suicide in case they failed to defend their king or in the event of his death.<ref>{{cite book|title=Contributions to Indian Sociology Volumes 29-30 of Contributions to Indian Sociology: Occasional Studies|author=École pratique des hautes études (France). Section des sciences économiques et sociales, University of Oxford. Institute of Social Anthropology, Research Centre on Social and Economic Development in Asia|publisher=Mouton|year=1995|page=265}}</ref>

===Current usage===
Even though at present, the term Vellalar has come to mean a farmer or agricultural people, a number of non-cultivating landholding castes like [[Karkarthar|Kaarukaatha Velaalar]] and the [[Kondaikatti Vellalar|Kondaikatti Velaalar]] who served ruling dynasties in various capacities also identify themselves as Vellalar.{{Efn|1=Among the Tamil castes, both Karkattar Vellalas (Arunachalam, 1975) and Kondaikatti Vellalas (Barnett, 1970) have much the same profile as the KP (Kottai Pillaimar): both are non-cultivating land-holders, with a history of service to ruling dynasties.<ref>{{cite book|title=Gender and the Household Domain. Social and Cultural Dimensions|editor= Karuna Chanana, Maithreyi Krishna Raj|publisher=Sage Publications|year=1989|page=92}}</ref>}} Likewise, the Kottai Pillaimar who were traditionally land-holders and lived inside forts, neither lease land for agriculture nor do they till their own fields. They also do not supervise cultivation directly due to the stigma attached to farming and manual labor.<ref>{{cite book|title=Boundary Walls. Caste and Women in a Tamil Community|author=Kamala Ganesh|publisher=Hindustan Publishing Corporation|year=1993|page=27}}</ref> Similarly, the Vellala Chettis, a branch of the Chozhia Vellalars were traders and merchants.<ref>{{cite book|title=Caste and Race in India|author=Govind Sadashiv Ghurye|publisher=Popular Prakashan|page=209|year=1969}}</ref> The Adi-saiva vellalar sect is a strictly vegetarian [[Saivite]] group that traditionally served as priests.<ref>{{cite book|title=Population and Social Change in an Indian Village. Quarter Century of Development in Managadu [i.e. Mangadu] Village, Tamil Nadu|author=A. Aiyappan, K. Mahadevan|publisher=Mittal Publications|year=1988|page=42}}</ref>

==Sri Lanka==
{{Main|Sri Lankan Vellalar}}
The Vellalars of Sri Lanka have been chronicled in the ''[[Yalpana Vaipava Malai]]'' and other historical texts of the [[Jaffna kingdom]]. They form half of the [[Sri Lankan Tamils|Sri Lankan Tamil]] population and are the major [[Husbandman|husbandmen]], involved in tillage and cattle cultivation.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fernando|first=A. Denis N.|date=1987|title=PENINSULAR JAFFNA FROM ANCIENT TO MEDIEVAL TIMES: Its Significant Historical and Settlement Aspects|journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka|volume=32|page=84|jstor=23731055}}</ref><ref name="derges"/> Local Sri Lankan literature, such as the ''Kailiyai Malai'', an account on [[Kalinga Magha]], narrates the migration of Vellala Nattar chiefs from the [[Coromandel Coast]] to Sri Lanka.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kj_aWm4DeFEC|title=The Sri Lanka Reader: History, Culture, Politics|last=Holt|first=John|publisher=Duke University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-0822349822|page=84|language=en}}</ref>

Their dominance rose under [[Dutch Ceylon|Dutch rule]] and they formed one of the colonial political elites of the island.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xj9FAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT73|title=The Politics of Reconstruction and Development in Sri Lanka: Transnational Commitments to Social Change|last=Gerharz|first=Eva|date=3 April 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317692799|page=73|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aob8AgAAQBAJ|title=The Rise of Tamil Separatism in Sri Lanka: From Communalism to Secession|last1=Welhengama|first1=Gnanapala|last2=Pillay|first2=Nirmala|publisher=Routledge|year=2014|isbn=9781135119713|page=168|language=en}}</ref>

==In Jainism==
At present, most of the [[Tamil Jain]]s are from the Vellalar social group.<ref name=Umamaheshwari/> Also, the Saiva Velaalar sect are originally believed to have been Jainas before they embraced [[Hinduism]].{{Efn|1=It is also widely believed that the Saiva Vellalas of Madras State who are stricter vegetarians than even Tamil Brahmins, were Jainas.<ref>{{cite book|title=Religion and Politics in Medieval South India. Papers of a Seminar Held by the Institute of Asian Studies and Andhra University|author=Andhra University|publisher=Institute of Asian Studies|page=15|year=1972}}</ref>}} The Tamil Jains refer to the Saiva Velaalar as ''nīr-pūci-nayinārs'' or ''nīr-pūci-vellalars'' meaning the vellalars who left Jainism by smearing the sacred ash or ''(tiru)-nīru''.{{Efn|1=All of those who feared for their lives converted to Saivism (and not any other religious sect) adorning the sacred ash, 'throwing away their sacred threads', they assumed the identity of Saiva (nir-puci) vellalars or ''nir-puci-nayinars'' (the Jainas who smeared sacred ash).<ref name=umamaheshwari222>{{cite book|title=Reading History with the Tamil Jainas. A Study on Identity, Memory and Marginalisation. Volume 22 of Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures|author=R. Umamaheshwari|publisher=Springer|year=2018|page=222}}</ref>}} While some of the Jains assign this conversion to the period of the Bhakti movement in [[Tamil nadu]] others link it to a conflict with a ruler of the [[Vijayanagar empire]] in the 15th century.<ref name=umamaheshwari222/> The villages and areas settled by the Saiva Velaalar even now have a small number of Jaina families and inscriptional evidence indicate that these were earlier Jaina settlements as is evident by the existence of old Jaina temples.<ref>{{cite book|title=Reading History with the Tamil Jainas. A Study on Identity, Memory and Marginalisation. Volume 22 of Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures|author=R. Umamaheshwari|publisher=Springer|year=2018|page=223}}</ref>

==Varna Classification==
During the British colonial period, the Vellalars who were land owners and tillers of the soil and held offices pertaining to land, were ranked as Sat-[[Shudra|Sudra]] in the 1901 census; with the Government of Madras recognising that the 4-fold division (four varnas) did not describe the South Indian, or Dravidian, society adequately.<ref>{{cite book |title=Kingship and political practice in colonial India |author=Pamela G. Price |page=61 |quote=...when government census officers placed Vellalar in the Sat-Sudra or Good Sudra category in its 1901 census, Vellalar castemen petitioned this designation, protesting this designation.. |date=3 December 2007 |isbn=9780521052290 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Kingship_and_Political_Practice_in_Colon/k4JzPwAACAAJ?hl=en}}</ref> Following the arrival of Dutch missionaries in the early 18th century, some Vellalar converted to Christianity.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Br1v53OmBl8C&pg=PA112|title=Missions and Empire|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-19153-106-4|editor-last=Etherington|editor-first=Norman|page=112}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of Vellalars]]
*[[List of Vellalar sub castes]]
*[[Ponnambalam-Coomaraswamy family]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |title=Globalising Migration History: The Eurasian Experience |first1=Jan |last1=Lucassen |first2=Leo |last2=Lucassen |publisher=BRILL |year=2014 |isbn=978-9-00427-136-4}}

[[Category:Vellalar| ]]
[[Category:Social groups of Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Indian castes]]