Talk:Caste system in Kerala/Archives/2010/May

Cheras were Tamils not Nairs

Chera dynasty was ruled by the Tamil Villavar rulers while the flag carried the Bow and Arrow insignia.Chera dynasty along with the Pandyan dynasty and Chola empire formed the tripartite Tamil kingdoms from time immemorial.A Pandya kingdom ruled by the Villavar rulers is mentioned in Mahabharat whose rulers were called Sarangadwaja (Bow flagged) Kulashekhara Varman the founder the Kulasekhara dynasty describes himself in Perumal Thirumozhi as Villavar Kon and King of Malayar and Vanavar people. Kadamba king Mayuravarma invited Brahmins from Ahichatra in Uttarpradesh to Banavasi his capital in 345 AD.Nagas from Ahichatra and may be related to the Newars of Nepal who live at the Gandaki river in Nepal.The Nagas accompanied their Brahmin masters as servants and slaves hence they were called Sudras by the Nambuthiris.Keralolpathi written in the 17th century calls Nairs as Sudras too.These Nags came to south as heriditary slaves, Bonded hence called Bunta or Banta.The Bunt (community) of Tulunadu, Karnataka could be the parent community of Nairs and are ethnically different from Tamils of Chera dynasty.Various Nair surnames such as Samanta Kshatriya, Nayara, Menava and Kuruba were subcastes of the Bunt (community).Tulunadu records kept by Tulu Brahmins such as Grama Paddhati clearly state that Nayara a subcaste of Bunt (community) existed at Karnataka earlier. None of the Tamil Sangam Literature mention Nairs or Namboothiris. The first records about them appear only in the 9th century during the rule of Kulasekhara dynasty.http://www.thrikodithanam.org/mural.htm# Thrikodithanam inscription of Chankangcherry by Kothaverma Marthandam of Venadu, mentions a THENCHERIL CHENNAN NAIR (who joined a southern house), a supervisor of percussion instruments (Chenda, Thimila, Chekandi and Kahalam) in the Thrikodithanam Temple.Thrikodithanam temple also records the grands of Chera king Chera King Bhaskara Ravi Verma Thiruvatti granding 2 Padi(about 5 litres) of Oil every month.gift for enabling feeding of 12 brahmins also mentioned.

Nairs practised Matriarchy while Chera dynasty or any Tamil dynasty ever practised it. Nairs practised Polyandry while Chera kings cherished Chastitiy. Nairs are mentioned only during the rule of Kulasekhara dynasty founded by king Kulashekhara Varman in 800 AD. although the Tulu people the Nairs and Namboothiris were present in the Chera kingdom in a minimal number the Chera kingdom was still ruled by Tamils and the inscriptions of Chera dynasty was in Vatteluttu an ancient form of Tamil. Tulu people used Tulu Script while Tamils used Vatteluttu.However after the Naga ascendency in the fourteenth century Grantha script#Tulu-Malayalam script The Mooshaka or Ezhimalai was the northernmost portion Kerala was the first to be captured by the Nagas after the following the fall of Kulasekhara dynasty in 1102 AD. Poet Athulan who was the court poet of Mooshaka king Jeyamani in the 12th century, records taht the Mooshaka dynasty converted to Matriarchy similsr to Aliasantana of Bunt (community) However all the Tamil ruling dynasties of Kerala were replaced by dynasties which practised Matriarchy Polyandry and Naga Worship after the invasion of Malik Kafur general of Allauddin Khilji of Delhi Sultanate in 1310.Kolathiri hiterto a minor king suddenly became the omnipotent ruler of Kerala who could place Matriarchal princesses in all Keralas dynasties.Veera Udaya Marthanda Varma son of Ravivarma Kulasekhara was the lost Patriarchal Tamil King. Attingal Rani and Kunnumel Rani two princesses sent by theKolathiri from Kannur replaced his dynasty with a Matriarchal Naga dynasty.The Madurai Sultanate or Mabar Kingdom was the most powerful kingdom in south india between 1335 and 1378. At about 1340 the Samuthiri founded his kingdom which practisedMatriarchy.

Thus the rulers of Kerala upto the invasion of Malik Kafur in 1310 were ethnic Tamils who practised Patriarchy (Father to Son). After the invasion of Malik Kafur the Kings of Kerala were related to Bunt (community) of Karnataka who practiced Matriarchy and may have roots in Ahichatra and Nepal and might be related to Newar people.

Vilmeenkodi (talk) 17:32, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

Incidentally Buddhism and Jainism were anti aryan....i had a sociology student tell me that buddha and mahavir were actually the revolutionaries who attacked hinduism when it was at the peak of its power manu

Both were anti-Vedic(but not always) and not anti-Aryan because "Arya" existed meaning only "noble" in those religions. Buddhism and Jainism used Prakrit and Sanskrit and both are Indo-Aryan languages. This is the reason you can find a lot of "tatbhava" words(Prakrit forms) in Kannada and Telugu. The initial literature in these languages was the works mainly of Jains(not yet heard of Buddhist works). At least in Karnataka, Brahmins started writing in the native languages only after 11-12th century. I think in Kerala it was a much later phenomenon as they were strongly against "little tradition".

I must say, the period between 7-12th century in South India is not much understood. We have to understand that even Buddhists considered the term Brahmin has a very noble meaning though they might have opposed the hereditary Brahmins. Again, Tantrik Buddhism and Saivite Vedikism had a lot in common. Also, Jainism and Vaishnavism did not have turbulent history and in fact many Jains in Karnataka converted to Vaishanvism. In my native place, Mangalore, a curious cult called "Natha Pantha" emerged from Tantrik Buddhism which later had Saivite look. We need to know how much Buddhist Tantriks in Kerala merged with these Saivite sect. There is a legend that a woman ruler "Mangale" from Malayala region became disciple of a "Natha Pantha" guru and moved to the region of Tulu Nadu, ultimately meeting a tragic death and also giving the name Mangala Ooru(Mangalore) to the place.

Our history is more complex than simple Aryan/Dravidian model.

Manjunatha (14 Sept 2006)