Boyar (caste)

Boyar
Classification	O B C
Religions	Hinduism
Languages	Regional Languages
Country	India

The Boyar are a caste with origins in India.

Etymology of the word "Boyar"

Max Vasmer believed that the Indian word boyar is etymologically related to the Turkic word Boyar and that it was also adopted in a number of Slavic languages. He thought it to be composed of the roots bai ("noble", distinguished) and ar ("man");. It also has the Turkic form as a title boila ("noble"), attested in Danube Bulgar inscriptions and language, and rendered as boilades or boliades in Greek or Byzantine documents.

History

The Chithradurga Palaegar (Polygar) family was of the Beda, or Boya, caste and belonged to one of the hunting hill tribes. According to one tradition, three Boya families emigrated from Jadikal-durga, in the neighbourhood of Tirupati, and settled at Nirutadi, near Bramhasagara, at about 1475 AD. They are said to have belonged to the Kamageti family. The son and the grandson of one of these was named Hire Hanummappa Nayaka and Timmanna Nayaka, respectively. There were many battles in the reign of this Nayaka between Chitradurga, Harapanahalli, Rayadurga, and Bijapur, in all of which the Nayaka had splendid success. Rayadurg and Kalyandurg are two important forts which were ruled by Boya Palaegars. The name Kalyandurg came from Boya Kalyanappa, who was a Palaegar in the 16th century. Rayadurg was originally a stronghold of Boya Palaegar, which was very turbulent during the Vijayanagar rule. Kalyandurg was under the rule of Sri Krishnadevaraya and was a part of Vijayanagar Empire.^{[citation needed]}

In about 1517, Chitradurga Fort was given by Vijayanagar ruler to a Boya chief. It became a tributary to Bijapur after fall of Vijayanagar. There were portraits of ‘A Boya of Rank’, a member of the royal caste (related to royal family) of Chitradurga Nayaks who was documented by Colin Mackenzie.

Chitradurga Fort

Other references

Boya Temples

1. ' Vijayeshwara Swami ' Temple - The Vijayeshwara temple is set on the Indrakiladri hill near Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. The installation of Vijayeshwara is said to have been done by Arjuna to commemorate his victory with Lord Shiva in the form of 'Kirata' (hunter).

Boyas often appear in kakatiya-period inscriptions as the people who are entrusted with livestock endowed to temples, donating perpetual lamp Nanda deepa and as military chieftains. The meaning of Boya has changed considerably with the passage of time.

During the 7th century, various inscriptions from Southern India mention Boya-Brahmans in the Kondanaaru grant of Vishnuvardhana-II, dated 673 AD. The boyas organized themselves into a massive social entity by sanskritising themselves and calling a few members boya-brahmans. This is indicative of not only the attempt of the boyas to organise into a sociological and political unit but also attempting to extend further into the plains and come into contact with neighbouring groups. As result of this interaction they claimed some of the Brahmanical values in neighbouring society to have superimposed in their community.

Present day

Boya / Boyar caste comes under OBC in Central List. In Tamil Nadu & Kerala as BC, Andhra Pradesh as BC ( Group 'A') and Karnataka as BC ( Category I ).

Further reading

• Castes And Tribes of Southern India By Edgar Thruston
• Castes And Tribes of Nizam Dominions By Syed Siraj Ul Hassan
• Caste & Class Articulation of Andhra Pradesh
• Gazetteer of Mysore By B. L. Rice
• Encyclopedia of Indian Tribes By Shyam Singh Shashi
• Precolonial India in Practice By Cynthia Talbot
• Kiratas in Ancient India By G. P Singh
• Vol.XXXVIII, Part IV V " 1986 Journal of the Andhra Historical Research Society By Dr. N. Venkataramanayya