Anthropos: Anthropos, 10/11.1915/16

Anthropos, 10/11.1915/16

Bibliographic Data

Journal

Structure Type:: Journal

Works URN (URL):: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-714789

URN:: urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-714789

Persistent identifier:: BV041701500

Title:: Anthropos

Other Titles:: Anthropos

Place of Publication:: Fribourg

Publisher:: Ed. St. Paul, Anthropos-Institut

Year of Publication:: 1906

Collection:: Journals and Newspapers > Journals of Ethnology

Domain:: Social and cultural anthropology > General overview

Journal Volume

Structure Type:: Journal Volume

Works URN (URL):: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-709455

URN:: urn:nbn:de:kobv:11-709455

Persistent identifier:: DE-11-001852172

Title:: Anthropos, 10/11.1915/16

Year of Publication:: 1915

Call Number:: LA 1118-10/11

Collection:: Journals and Newspapers > Journals of Ethnology

Journal Issue

Structure Type:: Journal Issue

Collection:: Journals and Newspapers > Journals of Ethnology

Journal Article

Structure Type:: Journal Article

Title:: The Vellalas of Nanjanad, Travancore State, India

Other person:: Hayavadana, C.

Collection:: Journals and Newspapers > Journals of Ethnology

512 C. Hayavadana Rao Ba. Bt., V The Vellalas of Nanjanad, Travancore State, India. By C. Hayavadana Rao Ba. Bt., Madras, India. So little is known of the Vellalas of Nanjanad in the Travancore State of South India 1 , that Anthropologists interested in the study of the results of the contact of races and tribes in different grades of civilization should wel come any material addition to it. These Vellalas are all Tamils by birth, and have long been settled in what is now Travancore state. They have retained many of their Tamil customs and habits but the force of example has led to the adoption of many Malayalam customs by them. Thus their present customs form a curious combination of ideas borrowed from the patriarchal and matriarchal modes of thought and living. Some of their customs, more especially those regarding the rights of a son to a share of his father’s pro perty and of the widow for an allotment from her husband’s estate to meet her maintenance charges and the questions of divorce, partition, and the ne cessity to lay some checks on the Karanavan’s powers over the tarawad (family) property were referred to a Committee by the Governement of Tra vancore and the Report issued by it was published for general information in the “Travancore Government Gazette” of 19 th September 1911, from which some interesting particulars about this community may be gleaned. “1. Tradition has it that the tract of country now known as Nanjanad was originally colonised by people from the Coromandal Coast. Several fa milies from Pandy migrated to this land, cleared the jungles by degrees, and settled there. The term Nanjanad means the land environed by Nanja lands or one fortified by natural barriers. The names of the present villages of Azhagiapandipuram, Kulasekaranputhur and Cholapuram are supposed to indicate the supremacy of the Pandyan, Cheran and Cholan kings at one time over these lands. It is believed that a Kuravan by name Nanjikuravan subsequently conquered these lands and ruled them. The last Kuravan ruler insisting upon his marriage with a girl of the Mudaliar’s family, the Mudaliar and the people (Nattars) became indignant at the Kuravan’s audacious pro posal and, in order to revenge themselves upon him, feigned to agree to the alliance and got a huge y vandal erected with-granite stone with mechanism for its sudden collapse at a given signal. When the Kuravan and all his people entered the pandal, the signal was given and the whole thing collapsed, crushing and burying the Kuravan and his family with all his adherents. The remnants of the granite structure are extant to this day at the village of Kurathyara. Nanjanad thus became free and was declared the commonwealth of the people. “2. While the Government of the commonwealth was being conducted by the people themselves, negotiations were opened between the ruler of Travancore and the Nanjanadians, which were concluded with the result that the Nanjanadians agreed to place themselves under the Travancore Government 1 [Conf. E. Thurston, Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Madras, Government Press, 1909, vol. VII, p. 361—389.]

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