Which is the highest caste in Nair?

Which is the highest caste in Nair?

The Kiryathil Nair is the highest class among Nairs. In the caste hierarchy, they were considered superior to Illathu Nairs, but inferior to Samanthan Nairs.

Are nairs Kshatriyas or Shudras?

Varmas, Samanthan Nairs etc, are Kshatriya-function Nairs, who were born via alliances with male brahmins and female Nairs.

What are the Subcastes of Nair?

Nair

• The Nair /ˈnaɪər/, also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as “not a unitary group but a named category of castes”.
• Historically, Nairs lived in large family units called tharavads that housed descendants of one common female ancestor.

Which is the highest caste in Kerala?

The Nambudiri Brahmins were at the top of the ritual caste hierarchy, outranking even the kings.

Are Menon nairs?

Menon is a surname of the Nair community of Kerala, India, and was an honorific hereditary title, often used as an affix to one’s name, bestowed by the various kings of Kerala (including the Zamorin) to the members Kiryathil subcaste of Nairs. Thus the children of such Maharajahs held the Menon title.

Which caste is Pillai?

Tamil inscriptions define the direct meaning of Pillai as “Child of King” (prince), denoting nobility. The title occur both as a single name or as a suffix to the name. This title has been in traditional use by the communities such as the Agamudayars, Isai Vellalars, Karaiyars, Nairs and the Vellalars.

Which caste is high in Kerala?

Is Nair a high caste?

Is Nair a low caste? – Quora. They are a low caste who became powerful by being loyal to brahmins. They are a low caste who became powerful by being loyal to brahmins.

Are varmas Nairs?

Varma (members of Royal families) are actually Nairs. There is no caste difference between a Nair and Varma.

Is Pillai Nair?

In Tamil Nadu, PILLAI/PILLAY is a caste name used by the upper caste Vellalar land lords and agriculture workers. In Kerala PILLAI/PILLAY is also a title carried by some upper caste Nair/Nayar families. Thus some of the Nairs/Nayars adopted the name PILLAI/PILLAY as a name and title.

Is Panicker a Nair?

The titles Panicker and Kurup are prevalent in several other communities in Kerala, e.g. Illathu or Kiriyathil Panicker who belong to the Nair community, and should not be confused with Kalari Panicker or Kalari Kurup.

Where did the Nairs of Kerala come from?

Information is not available. The Nairs of Kerala and Bunts of Karnataka claim descent from the naga Śeṣa; these regions include the Nagavanshi clans who migrated from North India associated with the events referred to as the Sarpasatram.

Which is higher the Samantan or the Nairs?

Kodoth has placed the Samantan caste below the Kshatriya rank but above the Nairs, but Gough considers that the Pushpagans and Chakyars, both of which were the highest ranked in the group of temple servants known as Ambalavasis, were ranked between the Brahmins and the Nairs, as were several other members of the Ambalavasi group.

What are the names of the Nair clans?

The Nairs were organized into various martial clans like Nambiar, Kiryathil Nair, Illathu Nair and Swaroopathil Nairs.

What kind of family structure did the Nairs have?

Nairs operated a matrilineal ( marumakkathayam) joint family structure called tharavad, whereby descendant families of one common ancestress lived under a single roof. Tharavads consisting of 50 to 80 members were not uncommon and some with membership as high as 200 have been reported.