Sengunthar

Sengunthar Castes of India File:Sengunthar.jpg Language Tamil Religion Hinduism and Saivism Distribution Tamil Nadu, Puducherry Classification Tamil people

Sengunthar(IPA: [sɛŋkʊnʈɻ] Tamil: செங்குந்தர்) or Kaikolar(Tamil: கைக்கோளர்) is a community from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Kaikkola Mudaliars are also found in some parts of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Northern Province, Sri Lanka.

Etymology

1. The word Kaikkolar comes from the words kai (hand) and kol (shuttle used in looming or spear).

2.Kaikkolar also meant men with stronger arms(Men with Dagger)

3.Senguntham means a red dagger. Sengunthar means a warrior with Red Dagger

This dual name of Sengunthar and Kaikolar has been in use for over 1200 years based on literary evidence. Sengunthars use the title of Mudaliar after their name..They are one of the castes using Mudaliar title for many centuries others being sub-castes of Velalar

Literary Evidence about Sengunthar

Adhi Diwakaram

The earliest literary evidence about Sengunthar occurs in Adhi Diwakaram, a Tamil lexicon written by Sendan Diwakarar. This dictionary dated 8th-9th century AD says செங்குந்தப் படையார் சேனைத் தலைவர் தந்து வாயர் காருகர் கைக்கோளர். It meant the profession of Kaikolars-Senkuntharpadai (army of Sengunthars), Senaithalaivar(commander-in-chief), Thanthuvayar(weaver), Kaarugar(weaver). This clearly proves Kaikolar pursued weaving along with soldiering profession

Senguntha Prabanda Thirattu

Senguntha Prabanda Thiratu is a collection of various literary works written about Kaikkolars. It was published by editor Sabapathi Mudaliar in 1926

It contains the following:

Senkunthar pillai tamizh by Gnanaprakasa swamigal, Tirisirapuram Kovintha Pillai & Lakkumanaswami

Senkunthar pillai tamizh is a collection of songs from palm-leaf manuscripts about Sengunthars. It was published by Ñanappirakacacuvamikal, Tiricirapuram Kovinta Pillai, Ilatcumanacuvami in 18th century in Kanchipuram

Eetti ezhubathu

The major literary work about Sengunthar was a poetry by Ottakkoothar,a poet of the same caste, known as Eetti ezhupathu in 12th century AD during the reign of Rajaraja Chola II. This work describes the mythical origin of Sengunthar, expeditions of Sengunthar chieftains and also praises 1008 Kaikolar who gave their heads for the same work to be written by the court poet of Chola

Ezhupezhubathu

Ezhupezhubathu is a sequel to Eetti ezhubathu written by Ottakkoothar. In this work, he prays Goddess Saraswathi to fix the heads of 1008 Sengunthars to their respective bodies.

Kalipporubathu

Kalipporubathu is a collection of 10 stanzas compiled by Kulothunga Chola III. These stanzas were written after Ezhupezhubathu in express of joy when the 1008 heads of Kaikolars got attached to their respective ones. These stanzas include the songs who witnessed it in the court of Raja Raja II including himself which was later compiled by his successor Kulothunga Chola III

Thirukkai vazhakkam

Thirukkai vazhakkam describes the good deeds of Sengunthars and their saivite religion principles. It was written by Puhalendi

Sengunthar silaakkiyar malai

Sengunthar Silaakkiyar malai was written by Kanchi Virabadhra Desigar which describes the legends and eminent personalities born in Sengunthar community

Other works included in Senguntha Prabanda Thirattu are Sengunthar kulamaatchi, Kaliththurai malai, Senguntha Velavar thirukkai vazhakku anthathi, Senguntha vinayaga puranam, Sengunthar Verpathigam, Sengunthar Marabu Vilakkam and Senaithalaivar Marabu Vilakka suravali

Kaikolar Warriors

Senapati and Chieftains

Kaikkolar were Chieftains and Senapathi(commander-in-chiefs) of Later Cholas. These commander in chiefs were known as Samanta Senapathigal or Senaithalaivar. . The Chieftain names were mentioned in works such as Vallaan kaviyam, Vira Narayana Vijayam and Eeti ezhubathu

Therinja kaikolar padai

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 were called Therinja kaikolar padai (Terinja means known in Tamil and Padai means Battalion). Some of the regiments were further divided into Ilaya Samakkattu and Mutha Samakkattu

Some of the well known Kaikola Battalions were:

• Singalantaka-terinda-Kaikkolar (a regiment named after Singalantaka i.e. Parantaka 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

Smarakesarit-terinja-Kaikkolar and Vikramasingat-terinja-Kaikkolar derived their names from possible titles of Parantaka Udaiyar-Gandaradittatterinja-Kaikkolar[8] must have been the name of a regiment called after king Gandaraditya, the father of Uttama-Chola. Singalantaka-terinda-Kaikkolar (a regiment named after Singalantaka i.e. Parntaka I) 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. Muttavalperra seems to indicate some special honour or rank conferred on the regiment by the king.

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

Warrior traditions

Navakandam

Sengunthar soldiers had practiced the tradition of Navakandam. This act involved cutting any of the nine parts of the human body such as arms, legs and even the neck. This was usually done after taking an oath to death in service of a chieftain. Nava Kandam sculpture is found widely all over Kongu Nadu and at Tharamangalam Kailasanathar kovil

Saavaankal

Saavaankal or Nadukal was a rock fixed in place of warrior who sacrificed his life by slicing his neck. The name and specialities of the warrior would be written along with his portrait in this Saavaankal. In Thenkarai Moolanatha sami temple in Madurai, a Saavaankal depicting the act of a Kaikkolan warrior holding his hair with his left hand and slicing his neck with his right dated 14th century is said to be annually worshipped by Kaikolar

Military Exploits

In Journal of the Bombay Historical Society, the authors state that in the army of Medieval and Later Cholas, 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.

According to Carla M. Sinopoli in the book The Political Economy of Craft Production: Crafting Empire in South India, evidence for Kaikkola armies appear from the Chola period. 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. 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. Sengunthar origin stories also emphasize their military heritage. A twelft-century epic poiem by the legendary Tamil poet Ottakkoothar 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.

Later Society

After 13th century Sengunthars had become associated with weaving completely. 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.. During the period of Sadasiva raya, the sthanathar of the Brahmapuriswara temple made an agreement that they would cultivate certain lands of the Kaikkolar regiment.. Here is a reference that Sengunthars are involved in agriculture and how they used Mudaliar title Cylon

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.

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.

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.. They also built some temples

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).

Culture and Customs

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

Sengunthar caste consists of diverse group of people even though they are classified under the same group by the government of India. There is a diverse culture and customs among Sengunthar. Sengunthar follow the local custom and culture of the region where they live. While many Sengunthar groups follow the kootam culture, some groups do not follow kootam culture for marriage. This is a legacy of the federal system of the Sengunthar Nadus and Desams.

Community Legends and festivals

Mythical claim regarding origin

Legend says Lord Siva was enraged against the giants who harassed the people of the earth and sent forth six sparks of fire from his eyes. His wife, Parvati, was frightened, and retired to her chamber and in so doing, dropped nine beads from her anklets. Siva converted the beads into as many females, to each of whom was born a hero with full-grown moustaches and a dagger. These nine heroes, with Subramanya at their head, marched in command of a large force, and destroyed the demons. Kaikolar or Sengunthar claim to be the descendants of these warriors. After killing the demon, the warriors were told by Siva that they adopt a profession, which would not involve the destruction or injury of any living creature and weaving being such a profession, they were trained in it. Chithira valli , daughter of Virabahu, one of the above commanders was married to Musukunthan and gave birth to Angi Vanman. His descendants were claimed as first generation of Sengunthars. The above legend was also depicted by Adhi Saiva saint Kachiappa Sivachariyar of Kanchipuram around 14th to 15th century AD in his masterpiece Kanthapuranam .

Sura samharam

The Sura Samharam festival is a ritual tradition practised a long time ago by the Sengunthars.. At the Sura Samhara festival, they dress up as the lieutenants of Lord Karthikeya and enact the killing of the demon Narakasura. Viravagu Utsavam is a festival associated with 14 naattu Sengunthar in the holy town of Tiruchendur and other abodes of Lord Muruga

Religion

Sengunthars are predominantly Shaivites, with some clans being Veerashaivite. They possess a Clan God as most of the castes in Tamil Nadu. Mostly, it is some form of Goddess Amman. Only a minority of Sengunthar are Vaishnavites. Some have embraced Christianity.

Divisions

Nadus

Historically there were 4 thisai nadus, which in turn was divided into 17 kilai nadus, exclusive of thisai nadus, totally making 72 nadus in the Sengunthar. The thisai nadus were

1. Sivapuram (Walajabad), where Kamachchi Amman is said to have placed Nandi as a guard
2. Thonthipuram, where Thonthi Vinayakar was stationed
3. Virinjipuram to the west, guarded by Subramanya
4. Chozhalingapuram (Sholinghur) to the south, watched over by Bairava.

Each of the seventy-two nadus is sub-divided into kilai gramams (branch villages), perur (big) and sitrur (little) gramams. In Tamil literary works relating to the Sengunthar caste, Kanchipuram is said to be the mahanadu, and those belonging thereto are spoken of as the nineteen hundred, who are entitled to respect from other Kaikolars. All these Nadus have now disappeared by time.

Koottams

Now Nadu structure is being replaced by Koottam structure though some sections of Kaikolar do not have it. Koottam defines birth from a single male ancestor. Koottam is transferred patrilineally i.e., via the father of a person. Hence people belonging to the same koottam are considered as brothers and sisters.

Table of various Kootams

Kootam Name	Region	God	Goddess	Temple Location
Arasan kootam	Alingiyam,kurumanthur, Erode District	sri murugan Temple	Angala Parameshwari Amman Temple	sokkannur
Kaanchan
ChinnanChetty	Erode District
KulandaiChetty	Kavindapadi, Erode District	Palani Murugan Temple	Kanchipuram Kamatchi Amman
Veerabahu
Kanoorar
Kariyoorar
Ukayanoorar
Sevoorar
Pulikutti
Annathana cholan	Naduvacheri, Avinashi, Coimbatore Dt		Sivalapuri Amman
Karumanda vathiayar
24 nadu pattakarar
Pasiyoorar
Karuvalooran	Naduvacheri, Avinashi, Coimbatore Dt		Sivalapuri Amman
Gunnathroorar
Sooriya Mudhali Kootam	Erode Dt		Pon Parappi Amman
Thadi Komban Kootam	Erode Dt		Nalla Pulli Amman
Vazhthu Mudhali	Erode Dt
Samaya Mudhali	Erode Dt
Kailasa / Namasivaya Koottam	Oddanchatram Dindigul Dt		Sangili Karuppanna Swamy, Muthunaickenpatti, Oddanchatram Taluk / Ariyur Chellandi Amman,K.Paramthi,Karur Dt

Modern clans

Certain regions of Sengunthars are still very much separated both by distance, culture and marriage relations. Some of the district wise sub-division in Tamil Nadu are

• Kanchipuram
• Thiruvallur
• Thiruvannamalai
• Villupuram
• Dindigul
• Vellore
• Cuddalore
• Gudiyattam
• Erode
• Gobi
• Alingiyam
• Arasur
• Salem (more than 25 subgroups) - Largest Region.
• Coimbatore
• Tiruppur
• Madurai and southern districts (multiple subgroups)
• Tanjore
• Tiruchi(multiple subgroups)
• Thirunelveli, Tuticorin
• Pondicherry

They are found in the following regions of other states

• Kerala (Cochin, Trivandrum)
• Andhrapradesh (Chittoor, Nellore, Prakasam, Hyderabad, etc)
• Karnataka (Kolar, Bangalore, Mangalore, etc)
• Sri Lanka (Nallur/Yaazhpaanam(Jaffna)) Mass emigration from Kanchipuram during Yaalpaana Kingdom era.
• Sengunthar community lives around the Palace of Nallur Kingdom. In 1934, Senguntha Hindu College was established in Nallur by the forsighted elders. By the effort of Late Pandit S Rasiah, sengunthar had established the sole right to offer the flag-cloth to the historically famous Nallur Kandasamy temple mahotsavam. Senguntha community in past was famous for having a large number of ayurvedic physicians.
• Batticaloa, Arayampathi, Kalmunai (Eastern Province of Sri Lanka)

Even within these geographical regions many exogamous (no inter-marriage) subgroups exist. These are a legacy of the old classification of Sengunthars.

Prominent personalities

Further information: List of Sengunthars

Related websites

• Official website