Nair

Nair or Nayar (Malayalam: നായ൪) is the name of a martial nobility in the Southern Indian state of Kerala. Nairs are an integral part of Kerala's culture and have a long and illustrious history. Nairs are a warrior class (a martial nobility). In this regard, they are similar to the samurai of Japan - often associated and compared following a code similar to bushido. Nairs are known to have formed 'Chaver'(suicide) squads during the first Chola-Chera war. This war lasted for over a 100 years and the Chaver pada were instrumental in keeping the Chola expansion at bay. Cholas never defeated the Nairs.

Historically speaking, they are a group of people priding courage, excellence, and honor on the battlefield. The word Nair is either derived from the Sanskrit word Nayaka (leader) or Naga (snakes, which the Nairs worshipped). The Nair class name also encompasses Menon, Panicker, Kurup, Pillai, Unni, Unnithan, Kartha, Thampan, Kaimal, Nayanar, Thampi, Nambiar, and Mannadiar. Of these the Unnithans and Nambiars are of the Nagavanshi dynasty of Kshatriyas. Whether the other Nairs are Nagavanshis is not clear. But considering their custom of serpent worship it is believed they are also Nagavanshis.

Origins and history

According to Chattambi Swamigal, who interpreted ancient Tamil texts, Nairs were a Dravidian nobility called the "Naka Lords" (Nagas). Ancient South Indian history refers to the Nairs as a martial nobility, eminent historians, and foreign travelers.

The origin of the Nair caste is uncertain. Some anthropologists are of the view that the Nairs are not indigenous to Kerala, as many customs and traditions distinguished them from other Keralites. Some examples are their own form of inheritance (Marumakkathaayam), warfare (Kalarippayattu), Gods and Goddesses (Nagas or serpents, and Bhadhrakali), and numerous sub-castes and surnames.

One theory is that Nairs are the descendants of the Newars of Nepal, who migrated to Kerala. There are two major facts to support this view. The first is the lighter complexion, and sharper features of Nairs. The second is the distinct pagoda-like architectural style of Nair Tharavaadus and Temples. Finally, there is the Marumakkathaayam system of inheritance. This system is a matrilineal system which is also practiced by the Newars of Nepal. Certain anthropologists and historians contest the first fact by saying that Nairs were originally a Dravidian people, but gained the lighter complexion and sharper features due to the marriages with the Namboothiris. This however does not describe why Nairs have different practices, and also why many Nairs are just as fair, if not fairer than many Namboothiris.

One finds mention of the Nairs during the reign of the King Rama Varma Kulashekhara (1020-1102) of second Chera dynasty, when the Chera Kingdom was attacked by the Cholas. The Nairs fought by forming suicide squads (Chavers) against the invading force. It is not clear whether the Cheras themselves were Nairs, or if the Cheras employed the Nairs as a warrior class.

The Nairs gradually lost their supremacy over the land after the collapse of the second Chera kingdom. By this time, the Namboothiris replaced the Nairs as the seniormost class in the social hierarchy of Kerala.

The surname Nair is also seen in other parts of the world - although no direct linkages with Nairs in Kerala has been established.

Classification controversy

There is considerable controversy regarding the actual place of Nairs in the caste system, in determining whether they are Kshatriyas or not. One of the main reasons is that the caste system in Kerala is very different from the caste system elsewhere in India. According to the caste system followed in the rest of India, only the lowest class, the Sudras, were considered to be "untouchables". However, in the case of Kerala, anyone who was not a Namboodiri, was treated by the Namboodiris as an untouchable. This includes Brahmins too, like Kokanastha, Saraswat, Iyer etc. The Namboodiris had different rules regarding the degrees of pollution for the different classes. A Namboothiri could be "polluted" only by the touch of a Nair, whereas the other classes had different distances after which they could be considered polluting. For example, if an Ezhava got within 24 feet of a Namboothiri, the Namboothiri was considered to be polluted.

In the rest of India warfare was the profession of the Kshatriyas. According to this interpretation, Nairs would seem to be more like Kshatriyas since they were a martial class as well. Similar to Kshatriyas, they were only second to the Brahmins (Namboodiris). Furthermore, many Nair families were aristocratic. They owned large feudal estates. Besides all the Rajahs of Kerala are indeed Nairs themselves.

Nair customs and traditions

Tharavadu

Main Article: Nair Tharavadus

File:Inside a tharavadu.jpg

Inside a Nair Tharavadu

Tharavadu - is a system of joint families practiced by Nairs in Kerala. Each Tharavdu has a unique name - family name. As joint families grew and established independent settlements, the Sakhas (branches) modified the names in a such way that the main Tharavadu names are identifiable, yet sakha (or Thavazhy, in Malayalam) had a disctinct name. In the early days - there were 600 Tharavadu's in Kerala. Each Tharavadu - was the protector and ruler of the Desom (place) that they were in and a reporting relationship emerged over a period to a King of a Nadu (collection of Desoms). Since the tharavadu had a brand of its own, it had vested upon the members a sense of responsibility to conduct themselves in manner befitting the traditions. Each tharavadu also had a clan deity which was revered by those in that particular tharavadu. Temples were also built to honour these deities. A Kalaridevan or deity presiding over the practice of Kalaripayattu was also honoured.

File:Tharavadu.jpg

A small Tharavadu

Tharavadu house - has a unique Kerala style architecture with a courtyard or many courtyards - enclosed within the several large buildings built in the traditional Nair style, including wells. House with one courtyard is a Nalukettu, one with two is an Ettukettu, and one with a four courtyards is Pathinarukettu. There were specific location for prayer place, kitchen, storage for grains, living place for women, men - both married and unmaried etc. Many Tharavadu houses were grand and unique in style and architecture, and many tharavadus owned temples, schools, other buildings and vast expanses of land.

File:Tharavadu2.jpg

• List of Nair Tharavadus

Marumakkathayam

Main Article: Marumakkathayam

Nairs have customs that are different from the rest of Kerala. The first of these is the Marumakkathayam system of inheritance. This system is a matrilineal system of inheritance. It is exceptional in the sense that it was one of the few traditional systems that gave women liberty, and right to property. Under this system, women enjoyed respect, prestige and power. An exception is the community of Mannadiars of Palakkad, because they follow patrilineal system. Some historians believe that the Marumakkathayam system started after the Chera-Chola wars during the second Chera empire, as Nairs lost most of their men during the war.

In the Marumakkathayam system, the family lived together in a tharavadu which comprised of a mother, her brothers and younger sisters, and her children. The oldest brother was known as the karanavar and was the head of the household and managed the family estate. Lineage was traced through the mother, and the children "belonged" to the mother's family. All family property was jointly owned. In the event of a partition, the shares of the children were clubbed with that of the mother.The karnavar's property was inherited by his nephews & not his sons.

The Marumakkathayam system is not very common in Kerala these days for many reasons. Kerala society has become much more cosmopolitan and modern. Nair men seek jobs away from their hometown and take their wives and children along with them. In this scenario, a joint-family system is not viable. However, there are still a few tharavads that pay homage to this system. In some Nair families, the children carry the last name of their mother instead of the father, and are considered part of the mother's family, and not the father's. Nairs connect to and trace their lineage to a tharavadu - not to a member of the family. Tharavadu names are quite an important element of social reckoning - though decreasing in importance these days.The kerala rulers also followed the 'Marumakkathayam' system. (See List of Nair Tharavadus)

Kalaripayattu

Main Article: Kalaripayattu

File:Kalari.jpg File:Kalari2.jpg The martial art known as Kalaripayattu, created by the Nairs, is thought to be the oldest form of martial arts in the world. Those who hold this point of view think that all other forms of martial arts descended from it. They reason that this is because Kerala had intense contacts with Buddhist monks, and Kung Fu, popularized by monks of the Shaolin Temple, traces its ancestry to Bodhidharma - a legendary Chinese Buddhist monk. In some versions of his legend, he came from Kerala, but in the earliest known written version of the legend he was said to have come from Central Asia. Nair men and even women learned the art of Kalaripayattu at an early age and used their skills in wars and combats.

Marriage customs

Marriage among the Nairs used to mean either the formal ceremony of tying a Thaali round the neck of a girl, accompanied by festive celebrations, known as the Thaalikettu or Kettukalyaanam, or the ceremony of actual alliance as husband and wife known as the Sambandham or Pudavakoda. Now marriage is only the ceremony of alliance as husband and wife.

The bridegroom who ties the Thaali can only be selected from certain well recognised families in the village called Machchampikkars. Those were the members of the earliest Nair families appointed for this purpose by Royal writs. This ritual is not employed these days. A day was fixed for arranging the preliminaries of the wedding. When all the relatives and men of the village were invited as also the astrologer Jyothista, who forthwith fixed the most auspicious day for the celebration of the ceremony and noting it down in what was called a chaarthu or cadjan-writ, handed it over to the uncle or Kaaranavar of the family who then offered him presents. The chaarthu stated that a boy should be selected as bridegroom whose natal star agreed with the girl’s and also decided what star would be agreeable and fixes a muhurtham for the ceremony as well as for fixing the main pillar of the marriage pandal.

A few days before the commencement of the building of the pandal, invitations were sent round to all the relatives, friends and villagers.The main pillar of the pandal is generally made out of the jack or Mukampala tree which is cut for the purpose that same day and raised at the south west corner of the pandal,which itself has to be built on the eastern side of the house. A Kathir Mandapam, a raised floor with a grounded roof beautifully decorated with pictures, mirrors and glass globes,was erected inside the pandal, and it was here that the actual wedding took place.The first item in the celebration was what is called the Ayani oonu, a sumptous banquet given by the bride’s people to the selected bridegroom or manavaalan as he was called. On the morning of the first day of the marriage the girl was taken to the bathing tank in regular procession headed by one of the machampi women (sisters-in-law) well dressed and decked with costly ornaments and holding a plate containing the girl’s wearing apparel to be used after bath, a mirror and other toilet articles in her left hand and a metal hand-lamp called Changalavatta in her right. After bath the girl was taken back to the house and seated in a separate room, and then the assembled guests were served with a rich feast. Then came the rite called kaappukettu or tying prathisarabandham (a piece of string ) round the wrist of the girl. This is done by a Maaran, the Brahmani or sometimes the brother of the girl, accompanied by a song called Subhadra Veli (the account of the famous marriage of Subhadra by Arjuna) by the Brahmanis, a class of Ambalavaasis, who were accomodated inside the house and placing a garland around his neck formally invited him to start for the marriage pandal.

A procession was then formed at an auspicious hour from the bridegroom’s house, the bridegroom mounted on an elephant or walking on foot and holding in his hand a sword covered with a palmyra leaf or sword case. He was received at the gate of the pandal by a few female members with the Ashtamangalyam in their hands and was then conducted to a seat of honour in the centre of the pandal where his feet are washed by the brother or maternal uncle of the girl. The girl was then brought by her brother, covered up like a ghosha woman holding in her hand an arrow and a looking glass and seated either next to him on the left side both facing the east. At the auspicious hour fixed by the astrologer who was in ready attendance, the bridegroom received Thaali (wedding jewel) and placed it round the neck of the bride, whereupon the groom’s sister tied it round the neck of the girl. Then the bridegroom’s own men, a machchampi, took the girl into the Manavara, a decorated apartment in the inner part of the house, where both the bridegroom and the bride were required to remain under a sort of pollution for three days. Then followed a sumptous meal in which the women were served first.

Earlier marriage was celebrated for four days with various sports and amusements for the delectation of the visitors. On the fourth day a ritual called mannu-neer-korikondu varika (bringing of water from a neighbouring tank or well) was conducted with songs, music, and much pomp. On this night the females closely related to the girl make presents of sweetmeats. That same night the Maaran removes the kaappu or string tied on the first day from the hands of the bridegroom and bride and performed certain purificatory rites, after which the couple go to the neighbouring tank to bathe. This part of the ceremony is also attended with some pomp. The water brought during the evening will now be utilised to purify the bride and bridegroom. Then the bridegroom was dismissed with presents of rings,ear-rings, money, fine clothes, etc. by the father and uncle of the bride. This concludes the marriage ceremony.

Nairs in the present

Presently, Nairs can be found in a variety of careers and lifestyles. They are still aware of their cultural traditions and history and still form an integral and active part of Kerala society. The Nair Service Society (NSS) champions the interests of the Nair community in Kerala. The NSS has chapters all around the world and helps Nairs stay in touch with their traditions and culture, and with each other.

Some more interesting info

NAGA/NAICK (source)

Most of the Scythic gods mentioned by Herodotus around 500 BCE have excellent Ural-Altaic, rather than Iranian explanations. The origin of many religious & mythological terms were investigated by Herodotus, including their Ural-Altaic sources. Similarities in languages and myths allow cultural historians to trace interactions between ancient cultures. Some of the related language families of Asia are Finn-Ugor (Uralic), Altaic (Turkic,Mongol,..) and Dravidian (in India). In the past most of Iran and the near east also spoke such languages, like Sumerian, Elamite, Hurri, Urartuan, Hatti, Guti, Lulubi, Kassite. Their effect on Semitic languages therefore is also evident. These ancient Mesopotamian agglutinative languages in fact shared a lot of common vocabulary with the current language families, even though there were naturally some differences in pronunciation and some changes in the meaning of the root words.

A half serpent (mermaid like) being has been claimed as the legendary ancestor of the Scythians. There similar stories among other Ural-Altaic legends. The serpent like mother of the Scythians, was called Naga who in India, by the local Scythian incomers. To a lesser extent the root word is part of most Ural-Altaic and Sumerian languages. Several of the local Scythian tribes use this word for chief/ruler "Naick". Similarly the Ugrians Nay=queen, Nayer=king. Hungarian Nyek tribe. (Scythian NAICK-erde tribe next to the Aral Sea.)

here's the website address

http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/System/8870/memory/india.html

Famous Nairs

The List of Famous Nairs gives the names of several Nairs, born in India and abroad, who have become renowned figures in their lifetimes.

External links

• Nairs.Org