Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Maps
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The Kaikkoolars of Tamilnadu
- 3 The Kaikkoolars and the iDangkai (left-hand) and valangkai (right-hand) castes
- 4 Kaikkoolar beliefs and the order of their social world
- 5 The naaDu system
- 6 The caste association: the Senguntha Mahaajana Sangam
- 7 Caste, politics, and the handloom weavers' cooperative movement: 1935–1971
- 8 Interpreting the Kaikkoolars today: models of caste, weaving, and the state
- References
- Glossary
- Index
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Maps
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The Kaikkoolars of Tamilnadu
- 3 The Kaikkoolars and the iDangkai (left-hand) and valangkai (right-hand) castes
- 4 Kaikkoolar beliefs and the order of their social world
- 5 The naaDu system
- 6 The caste association: the Senguntha Mahaajana Sangam
- 7 Caste, politics, and the handloom weavers' cooperative movement: 1935–1971
- 8 Interpreting the Kaikkoolars today: models of caste, weaving, and the state
- References
- Glossary
- Index
Summary
… those who have the lion flag, tiger flag, cow flag, cock flag and anna [a mythical bird] flag; those who received [as honors] pilittaNDai and lavaNDai [ankle ornaments worn by women], those who received [as honors] viiraseekaNDi, viirataaLam, and viiratundipi [warriors' victory gong, cymbal, and kettle drum], those who have an umbrella the color of the cloud … those who are courageous army men; Hear yea brave Sengunthar Mudaliyars, people vested with great strength, the great Seela NaaDu MeeLuur, Seela NaaDu KiiRuur [councils of the Salem Kaikkoolars], Periyathaanakaarar, Kaariyakkaarar [officers of the council]; and other community members; and to others, what Seela NaaDu makes known.
(Translated from the Kaikkoolars' Seela NaaDu letterhead, dating from the 1940s)A striking contrast between historical northern and southern India is the absence of Kshatriya institutions in the south. “The normal political condition in Northern India during ancient and medieval times was its division into a great number of small territories under kin-linked warrior families of high status. Such was the nature of Kshatriya raj” (Stein 1980:48). Morris E. Opler and others have found that the organization of this old order is still apparent in the social geography of north Indian villages. For example, the village of Senapur in Uttar Pradesh is part of a larger territory that was divided into village areas by the descendants of the original Kshatriya chief who conquered and settled the region. Most of the village's panchayat (village council) and jajmani (traditional intercaste redistributive system) ties are confined to this territory, known as the “Dhobi Area.”
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Warrior MerchantsTextiles, Trade and Territory in South India, pp. 73 - 98Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1985