Sengunthar

Sengunthar or Kaikolan or Kaikolar are a large group of Tamil in southern India. Sengunthar is a distinguished caste from Tamilnadu. Sengunthar are also known as Kaikolar. This dual name of Senguntar or Kaikolar was used for over 1200 years based on literary evidence. Sengunthars live throughout India and around the world. Sengunthars form a significant proportion of population in various districts of Tamilnadu esp. in Arcot, Kanchipuram, Chingleput, Salem, Erode, Coimbatore, Dharmapuri. Sengunthars use the title of Mudaliar after their name ^[1]. In this page we will discuss about the history of sengunthars, their culture and customs.

Origin

The Kaikolars also called as Sengunthar, are a large Tamil people. Their name comes from a mythical hero and from the words "kai" (hand) and "kol" (shuttle used in looming or spear). They consider the different parts of the loom to represent various gods and sages. In Andhra Pradesh they were also called as Kaikola/Kaikolan

They were in the army of Chola dynasty. http://www.tamilnation.org/literature/kalki/unicode/mp169v2p2.htm#1 They are also known as Sengundhar, which means a red dagger.

In the anthology collection of songs from various period about Sengunthar, called Senguntha Prabhanda Thirattu, it is claimed that Sengunthas were serving the army of Early Cholas even about 2000 years ago.

Further even before the rise of medieval Cholas, inscriptionary evidence exists about Kaikkola in Jain temples of Tamilnadu.

Brief History of Sengunthars in South India

The earliest historically accurate evidence for Sengunthars, as per Chola inscriptions ( Thelintha Kaikola Padai ) indicate that they belong to the warrior class.

They took up weaving silk and transformed to land owners and business men.

Later, during 17th and 18th century history indicate that Sengunthars were predominantly involved in weaving. This is indicated in various sources. At the same time, weaving was not the only occupation involved. Agriculture and business were also secondary occupations of Sengunthars.

Since Sengunthars were not Vellalars and belonged to the Idangai (Left-hand) caste group as per old British documents of the 18th century they did not feel bound to the land. They also migrated across Tamilnadu from their origin to spread Tamil literature.

They form a significant population in Kancheepuram and Tirupur-Salem. They started using Mudaliar surname even though there is no established date on when they started using the title.

It should be noted that Sengunthars do not tend to intermarry with other Mudaliars even though they may reside in the same area as other Mudaliars.

Literary Evidence about Sengunthar

The following literature mention about Sengunthar as early as 9th century AD.

Tivakaram - tamil lexicon

The earliest literary evidence about Sengunthar occurs in Tivakaram, a Tamil lexicon (dictionary) from the 9th century AD. This dictionary refers to Cenkuntarpatai - an army of Sengunthars. ^[2] This proves that the dual name of Sengunthar or Kaikolar was existing for over 1000 years.

Ittiyelupathu - Seventy Spears - By OttaKuttar

The major book about Sengunthar was written by Ottakuttar in 9th century AD. This book called Ittiyelupathu refers to the historical and mythological account of origin of Sengunthar and their relationship with the Chola monarchs. ^[2]

Senguntha Prabanda Thiratu - Editor Sabapathi Mudaliar

The book Senguntha Prabanda Thiratu was published by editor Sabapathi Mudaliar. This is a collection of songs collected from old manuscripts. These are songs mainly about Sengunthar and their tradition.^[3]

Kaikkolars using Mudali title from the Diary of Ananda Ranga Pillai

It is customary for Kaikkolars to use Mudali title after their personal name. In Pondicherry there were many weaver families in the 18th century. Since each caste was represented by two head-men known as nattars, the weavers also were required to select two head-men. Since there was dispute in selecting these two-headmen, the chief dubash of that time Ananda Ranga Pillai was requested by the Governer of Pondicherry to select the two head-men.

The two head-men selected were Muttu Mudali and Ana Nayakka Mudali both from Kaikkolar caste. From this we understand that Mudali surname was used by Sengunthars as early as 1750AD.

^[4]

Cenkuntar pillaittamil by Ñanappirakacacuvamikal, Tiricirapuram Kovinta Pillai, Ilatcumanacuvami

Cenkuntar pillaittamil was a book published in later 19th century. This is also a collection of songs from palm-leaf manuscripts about Sengunthars. It was published by Ñanappirakacacuvamikal, Tiricirapuram Kovinta Pillai, Ilatcumanacuvami

History and Historical Evidence

During chola rule kaikolars served as soldiers and called as "Thelintha kaikolar padai"

Sengunthars were considered as descendents of lord Muruga having a kol{Vel}. There is another story indicating that Sengunthars are descendants of VeeraBahu the general of Lord Muruga.

The link below indicates that Sengunthars were prominent members of Tamil society even during the 10th century AD during chola rule.

http://www.whatisindia.com/inscriptions/south_indian_inscriptions/volume_19/inscription_of_parakesarivarman_no_85.html

http://www.hinduonnet.com/2002/03/25/stories/2002032503000500.htm

Sengunthars as Agriculturalists

According to Science and Empire: Essays in Indian Context, by Deepak Kumar, the Sengunthar weavers very often figure in the capacity of kudi, i.e. tenant-cultivators and also holders of kaniyachi, that is hereditary possession over the land.^[5]^[6]. During the period of Sadasiva raya, the sthanathar of the Brahmapuriswara temple made an agreement that they would cultivate certain lands of the Kaikkola regiment.^[7]^[8]. Here is a reference that Sengunthars are involved in agriculture and how they used Mudaliar title Cylon ^[9]

Sengunthars Military Exploits

In Journal of the Bombay Historical Society, ^[10]the authors state that in the Army of Later Cholas from 900-1200 AD, many commanders and captains were drawn from the ranks of Sengunthar. Further records of exploits of Sengunthar in Ceylon, Bengal, Burma and Indonesia are recorded in temple inscriptions.^[11]^[12]

According to Carla M. Sinopoli in the book The Political Economy of Craft Production: Crafting Empire in South India, ^[13] evidence for Kaikkola armies appear from the Chola period.^[14] They describe that Sengunthars were both weavers and merchants and maintained armies to guard their regional trading ventures. Throughout the chola period, trading and military activities of Sengunthar are predominant. Sengunthar were members of the Ayyavole 500 regional trading corporation.^[15] Sengunthar armies are mentioned in several 12th century inscriptions and individual Sengunthar are frequently referred to as members of the Chola emperor's royal bodyguard.^[16]^[17] Sengunthar origin stories also emphasize their military heritage. A twelft-century epic poiem by the legendary Tamil poet Ottakuttan lauds the bravery and prowess of Sengunthar soldiers and traces their roots to the armies of the gods and original chola kingdoms of the early historic period.^[18]^[19]^[20]

Sengunthars Temple Trustees

According to India Before Europe by Catherine Ella Blanshard Asher, Cynthia Talbot, Sengunthas attained positions of responsibility at the two major Vaishnavite temples of Srirangam and Tirupati. In Tirupati, they were in charge of distributing the consecrated food offerings to the worshippers. ^[21]

In the book The Political Economy of Commerce: Southern India, 1500-1650, author Sanjay Subrahmanyam states that many Senguntha families were rich enough to contribute both land and gold to temples. ^[22]^[23]^[24]

According to Ruth Barnes in Textiles in Indian Ocean Societies, in AD 1418 in Tiruvannamalai, Sengunthars were given the right to blow the conch, ride palanquins and elephants and wave the temple fly whisk. ^[25] ^[26]

Sengunthars as Export and Transportation Specialists

As part of their association with the merchant group Ayyavole 500, Sengunthars were responsible for transporting goods manufactured from one area to another in ancient India. Like other merchant groups this led to their settling down in various areas all the way north from the Vindhya mountains i.e. Godavari district to the south in Sri Lanka. Similarly they settled in all the major ports such as Cochin, Mangalore and Malabar areas. This is shown by the fact that Sengunthars were noted for their handling of export goods in Malabar, according to A Sourcebook of Indian Civilization By Niharranjan Ray and Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya (Pg. 458).

Sengunthars becoming weavers

Only during the 13th century Sengunthas have become associated with weaving completely. ^[27] Further during this time as the Chola empire weakened, the role as soldiers decreases and their role as weavers increases.^[28]^[29]

Diverse Culture and Customs of multiple sections of Sengunthars

The Culture and Customs of the Sengunthars is similar to most tamilians. However there are differences in customs between the various kootams of Sengunthar. The significant difference being that some Sengunthars are more kootam conservative than other Sengunthar groups when it comes to marriage partners.

Marriage Culture and Marriage Customs

Sengunthar are a very diverse group even though they are classified under the same group by the government of India. So there is a very diverse culture and custom among Sengunthar. Sengunthar follow the local custom and culture of the region where they live.

Some Sengunthar follow the kootam culture, gothram culture and sometimes without either.

Sengunthar who live in the same area could belong to different cultures and so they may not be endogamous nor be relatives.

This is very different from other groups which are concentrated in one area. So lots of confusion happen when discussing about culture and customs.

For instance, Sengunthars who live in Tanjore may follow some customs of Kallars, while Sengunthars who live in Madurai may follow some customs of Maravas. However not all customs are followed strictly. Sengunthars in Kerala follow some customs of Keralite Hindus which may not be followed by Sengunthars of Madras or Tiruvannamalai.

So it can be said that though the various Sengunthar groups are called by a single name, they are neither homogenous nor endogamous. This is a legacy of the federal system of the Sengunthar nadus and desams.

Community Legends and festivals

The Sura Samhara festival is a ritual tradition practised a long time ago by the Sengunthars.^[30]. According to the mythology of weaver community, the Sengunthars weavers were born out of nine gems that were scattered from Parvati's anklet. At the Sura Samhara festival, they dress up as the nine warriors of Virabahu, the lieutenant of Lord Karthikeya and enact the killing of the demon Narakasura^[30].

Self Sacrifice of Senguntha Soldiers

Along with Agamudayars, Maravars, Kallars, Sengunthas also served in the army of Chola Empire. Similar to them, Senguntha soldiers seemed to have practiced the tradition of NavaKandam. This act involves cutting any of the nine parts of the human body such as arms, legs and even the neck.

This is usually done after taking an oath to death in service of a chieftain.

Gods/Goddesses

Sengunthars are predominantly Shaivites. They possess a Clan God as most of the castes in Tamil Nadu. Mostly, it is some form of Amman i.e Parvati or Murugan. Since Sengunthas are considered to be descended from the armies of Lord Muruga, Murugan is their chief god. Sengunthas are historically associated with Shiva Temples in Andhra Pradesh temples like Srisailam, Srikalahasti, Kotappa Konda ..etc

Kootam/kulam

Kootam defines birth from a single male ancestor. Kootam is transferred patrilineally i.e., via the father of a person. Hence people belonging to the same kootam are considered brothers and sisters. So marriage between a male and female belonging to the same kootam is prohibited however distantly they may be related.

Historically there were many kootams in Sengunthar in the 72 nadus of ancient past. Each kootam had a leader. The head leader in Kanchipuram was the head for all these leaders. This was used to manage disputes within the community.

Nowadays, the kootams have merged into one another and there is no well defined leader for each kootam. It is used only for setting up marriage alliances.

A list of Kootam has been removed from this section awaiting authentication by accurate reference material.

Warrior Clans

During Chola rule Sengunthars served as soldiers and were called "Terinja kaikolar padai". (Terinja means "known" in Tamil and Padai means "regiment"), so "terinja-kaikolar padai" were the personal bodygurads. Sengunthars who were initially weavers were militarised during the Chola empire and formed a major part of the Chola army from 8th century to 13th century. There were no Sengunthar army before or after the Chola empire.

They formed many regiments in the Chola army. Some of those regiments are:

Singalantaka-terinda-Kaikkolar (a regiment named after Singalantaka i.e. Parntaka I)

Virasola-terinja-Kaikkolar

Kodandarama-terinja-Kaikkolar

Danatonga-terinja-Kaikkolar

Parantaka-terinia-Kaikkolar

Muttavalperra-Kaikkolar - (meaning the "recipient of the pearl ornamented sword" in Tamil)

Samarakesarit-terinja-Kaikkolar

Vikramasingat-terinja-Kaikkolar

Adityapanma-terinda-Kaikkolar

Karikala-Chola-terinja-Kaikkolar

Arumolideva-terinja Kaikkolar

Parttivasekarat-terinja-Kaikkolar

Gangadaditta-terinja-Kaikkola

Madurantaka-terinja-Kaikkolar

Pirantaka-terinja-Kaikkolar

The link below indicates that Sengunthars were prominent members of Tamil society even during the 10th century AD during Chola rule.

^[31] Smarakesarit-terinja-Kaikkolar and Vikramasingat-terinja-Kaikkolar derived their names from possible titles of Parantaka^[32] ^[33] ^[34] ^[35] Udaiyar-Gandaradittatterinja-Kaikkolar[8] must have been the name of a regiment called after king Gandaraditya, the father of Uttama-Chola. ^[36] ^[37] Singalantaka-terinda-Kaikkolar (a regiment named after Singalantaka i.e. Parntaka I) ^[38] ^[39] Danatonga-terinja-Kaikkola (regiment or group). The early writing of the record and the surname Danatunga of Paranataka I suggests its assignment to his reign. ^[40] ^[41] ^[42] Muttavalperra seems to indicate some special honour or rank conferred on the regiment by the king. ^[43] ^[44] ^[45] ^[46] ^[47] ^[48] ^[49]

http://www.whatisindia.com/inscriptions/south_indian_inscriptions/volume_19/inscription_of_parakesarivarman_no_85.html

Weaving Clans

The end of Chola rule brought the end to Sengunthars role in the army. Reasons are unknown, but Sengunthars took up weaving on a mass scale or continued their weaving business exclusively for pretty much the next six to seven centuries. Even though there may have been a few rich Sengunthars doing various businesses including agriculture, the vast majority of Sengunthars were involved in weaving which was not a profitable business due to the industrial revolution.

There were 4 desai nadus, 16 peria nadus and 72 nadus in the Sengunthar. All these have now disappeared as Sengunthar have embraced the modern growth of India.

Modern Clans

While the 4 desai nadus, 16 peria nadus and 72 nadus in the Sengunthar have now disappeared as Sengunthar have embraced the modern growth of India, there is still a lot of diversity among Sengunthars.

Certain regions of Sengunthars are still very much separated both by distance, culture and marriage relations. They are

a. Kanchipuram (more than 2 major subgroups)

b. Tiruvannamalai

c. Salem, Erode (more than 10 subgroups)

d. Coimbatore

e. Madurai and southern districts (multiple subgroups)

f. Tanjore, Tiruchi(multiple subgroups)

g. Kerala (Cochin, Trivandrum)

h. Andhrapradesh (Chittoor, Nellore, Prakasam, Hyderabad, etc)

i. Karnataka (Kolar, Bangalore, Mangalore, etc)

Even within these geographical regions many exogamous (no intermarriage) subgroups exist.

These are a legacy of the old classification of Sengunthars.

Historical Personalities

Ottakoothar^[50] was a court poet of three Chola kings namely Vikrama Chola. Kulotunga-II and Rajaraja II. He wrote poems in praise of these three kings namely Vikrama Cholan Ula, Kulothunga Cholan Ula and Rajarajan Ula. Ottakoothar had also written Kulothungan Pillai Tamil in praise of Chola king Kulothunga II and Saraswathy Andhadhi in praise of Saraswathi the Goddess of learning Sekizhar the minister of chola dynasty wrote periyapuranam his native is kundrathur near chennai kambar who wrote ramayana in Tamil he is also from chola empire kamban veetu kattu tharium kavipadum