Saptur
Saptur | |
|---|---|
village | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District | Madurai |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Tamil |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 625705 |
| Telephone code | 04552 |
Saptur is one of the palayams of ancient Madurai. Now it's a village in Madurai district in Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
History
Saptur, traditionally recognized as one of the 72 palaiyams of Madura, was situated about 15 km from T.Kallupatti. It was part of Tirunelveli and was transferred in 1859 to Madura District (present day Madurai district) [1]
Saptur is derived from two Telugu words Sapa (mat) and Oota (spring) The place where the Kamaya Naickers of the Kambala Community originally settled according to the orders of Kotiyam Nagama Naick, the first of the Naick kings, was very swampy ,and it was there that they worshipped their deity,putting it on a mat near a spring, and hence that portion of the place was called SapaOota,which has since been corrupted into Saptur.
Zamindari
In 1795 Polygar Ramaswami Kamayya (Cambia, Cawnia) Nayaka was ordered dispossessed of his palaiyam for withholding his tribute and other irregularities.He promptly took the hills and began exacting tribute from his former subjects. In 1797, he joined the polygar of Nilakottai (q.v.) in an unsuccessful attempt to regain control of Nilakottai’s fort. With the assistance of the polygars of Peraiyur, Elumalai, and Santhaiyur, he defeated Sankaralinga Thevar and took possession of a large tract of land that was then divided among the confederates. In 1800 Collector Lushington captured and executed him. His eldest son was also executed, but the second, Warra Kamayya Nayak, enjoyed a pension from the Company. In 1802 The permanent settlement turned him into a major zamindar, holding 47 villages, but deprived him of his kaval and other fees. The impartible zamindari of Saptur is the largest in the taluk and comprises an area of about 123 square miles, including a large portion of the eastern slopes of the Varushanadu hills. [2] Ramaswami Kamaya Naicker was the Polegar of Saptur before the Permanent Settlement .He had three sons and a daughter; of the former ,the eldest was Nagayaswami Kamaya Naicker, also known as "Thalaivetti" (beheaded) as he cut off the heads of many people who were treacherous to the interest if his Palaiyam . He is regarded as a hero and worshipped by the Saptur and the Sivagiri families even to this day.
Ramaswami Kamaya Naicker was succeeded by his son Sankaralingaswami Kamaya Naicker,who was very charitable. He built a temple and dedicated it to Sundara raja perumal,and renovated an ancient Siva temple at Kailasapuram. He presented the village of Gudipatti to the Thiruvaduthurai Matam to defray a portion of the expenses of the festivities of the Meenakshi Temple at Madurai.He also granted some lands for the maintenance of the Mahalingam temple situated within the limits of the Zamindari of Saptur.
Geography
Saptur is located on the foothills of Western Ghats. Nearest Town is Peraiyur.
Demographics
Saptur is a multi caste big village having 3540 households. The major castes are Thevar,Agathamaravar, Chettiyar,Nadar, Sakkliyar, Paraiyar, Aasari, Kudumban and Pillai. The major land holders are Thevar followed by Chettiyars. [3]
References
http://www.census2011.co.in/data/village/640878-saptur-tamil-nadu.html