Veluthedath Nair

Veluthedath Nair, also spelled as Veluthedathu Nair is a temple oriented Service Caste within Nair community in Kerala,[1][2][3][4][5] in India. They use 'Nair' surname. They are distributed in almost all districts of Kerala.[6] Their major role and hereditary duty was submitting Thiru Udayaada, a sacred cloth for adorning deities in temples which is even done today. The term "Veluthedath" means "purify" or "whiten" and it indicates their role in submission of clean sacred cloths in Temples and ritual purification in various occasions.[7] Veluthedath Nairs belonged to Non Military Nair Sub group as they were associated with Temple service.

Roles and Traditional Occupation

Veluthedath Nair is a temple oriented service caste and their major role was submitting a specific sacred cloth which is known as "Thiru Udayaada" or "Thiru Vasthra" to the deities.[8][9][10][11] It was also the duty of Veluthedath Nair to perform ritualistic purificatory ceremonies in various occasions.[12] They performed ceremonial purification, often using ash-water mixtures on clothing, which was considered necessary for ritual purity. Pothuven, A Sub sect of Veluthedath Nair caste in older Cochin state had role in performing purificatory ceremonies.[13] The sacred specialists from Veluthedath Nair caste performed birth rites among the Nair community.[14] When someone from the Nair community died, the death news was announced throughout the village by a Veluthedath Nair. Initially they belonged to Ambalavasis and later integrated into the wider Nair community due to some socio-economic reasons.

Common Legends

According to Kerala Mahathmyam, the first book discussing on the formation of labour based caste divisions in Kerala , it is believed that Veluthedath Nairs were brahmins who were outcasted from the community by lord parashurama and made to serve temples by submitting sacred clothes to gods.

Important Verdicts

The Kerala High court on Friday, 10 july 2015 in a judgement titled VM Sasi v/s Kishore held that the petitioner who belongs to the sub-sect of ‘Veluthedath Nair’, no doubt, a Nair for all practical purposes and therefore, he could not be treated as an ‘Avarna Hindu’.“When he belongs to a sub-sect of the Nair community, he squarely falls within the category of the fourth ‘Varna’ namely ‘Shudra’. Hence he is a Savarna Hindu,” the court held.

Reservation Policy

The Veluthedath Nair Caste is classified as an Other Backward Class (OBC) by the Government of Kerala, although some other sections of the Nair community are considered as forward caste(General).This categorization is for social upliftment to ensure these communities receive necessary educational and employment benefits[15].

See also

References

  1. ^ The Indian Law Reports: Containing Cases Determined by the High Court of Kerala. Kerala series. The Ohio State University: Government press 1963. 1963. p. 193.
  2. ^ Skaria Mathew, Kuzhippalli (1979). Society in Medieval Malabar , A Study Based on Vadakkaṅ Pāṭṭukaḷ. Kottayam, Kerala: Jaffe Books. p. 36.
  3. ^ Shaji, A (2017). Politicisation of Caste Relations in a Princely State , Communal Politics in Modern Travancore (1891-1947). Gurgaon, India: Zorba Books. p. 22. ISBN 9789387456006.
  4. ^ Unni, Govindan (1994). Kinship Systems in South and Southeast Asia,A Study. New Delhi, India: Vikas Publishing House. p. 177. ISBN 9780706976687.
  5. ^ Journal of Indian History. Vol. 91. the University of California. 2012. p. 64.
  6. ^ Singh, K.S (1998). India's Communities. Vol. 6. Oxford University Press, New Delhi: Anthropological Survey of India. p. 3650.
  7. ^ Pillai, A.K.B (1987). The Culture of Social Stratification/sexism The Economics, Politics, and Rituals of Marriage. Copley Publishing group. p. 83. ISBN 9780874110838.
  8. ^ T Madhava Menon, International School of Dravidian Linguistics (2000). A Handbook of Kerala. Vol. 2. International School of Dravidian Linguistics, 2000. p. 849. ISBN 9788185692319.
  9. ^ Mahakavi, Kodungallur Kunjikkuttan Thampuran (1959). KERALA (Ancient History of Kerala) (in Malayalam) (2nd ed.). Kodungallur: KERALA BOOK HOUSE, Kodungallur. p. 26.
  10. ^ Hermen Gundert (1850). Kerala Mahathmyam. Germany: Tübingen University Library. p. 22. According to Kerala Mahathmyam, The Oldest book on Caste divisions in Kerala ,Veluthedathu Nair (Veluthedan,Vannathan) is a caste assigned to submit sacred cloths for God in temples.This Sacred cloth is Known as Thiruvasthra or Thiru Udayaada
  11. ^ Advani, A.H (1991). The India Magazine of Her People and Culture. Vol. 12. Mumbai, India: A.H. Advani (published December 1991). p. 27.
  12. ^ Madhava Menon, T (2000). A Handbook of Kerala. Vol. 2. Thiruvananthapuram: International School of Dravidian Linguistics. p. 859. ISBN 9788185692319.
  13. ^ Singh, K.S (1996). Communities, Segments, Synonyms, Surnames and Titles. New Delhi: Anthropological Survey Of India. p. 1860. ISBN 9780195633573.
  14. ^ Singh, K.S (1998). India's Communities. Vol. 6. Oxford University Press, New Delhi: Anthropological Survey Of India. p. 2622. ISBN 978-0-19-563354-2.
  15. ^ Kumar Ghosh, Subir (1996). Reservation in Services , A Manual for Government and Public Sector. Akshar Publications. p. 18. ISBN 9788175290006.
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