Arunattu Vellalar
The Arunattu Vellalar (Tamil: ஆறுநாட்டு வெள்ளாளர்) or Arunadu Vellalar or Arunadu Velalar (Tamil: ஆறுநாடு வெள்ளாளர்) (Tamil: ஆறுநாடு வேளாளர்) is a prominent subcaste of the Vellalar caste from India. The Vellaalas originally belonging to six 'naadus' (equivalent to taluqs of today) near Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu bonded themselves into a sub-caste named as Arunattu Vellalar. For reasons unknown they migrated to the Tiruchirappalli district over more than 1500 years ago. They are an enterprising community with early interests in agriculture by their large land holdings in the fertile Cauvery delta region of Tiruchirappalli and by owning vast tracts of plantation estate lands, as successful planters of commercial crops like Tea, Coffee, Spices, Palm Oil & Cocoa in Southern India especially in the districts of The Nilgiris, Coimbatore (Valparai), Salem (Yercaud), Dindugal (Kodaikanal), Theni (Meghamalai), Munnar and in countries like Sri Lanka & Malaysia. Later proving themselves to be masters in trade and commerce and now establishing themselves in the fields of Scientific Research and in Service sectors. Their defining characteristic is that it is absolutely mandatory that the men should not marry the daughter of one's own sibling-sister. An equally defining practice of this sub-caste is the entire mangalasuthra is mandated to be in gold wrought into the shape of a string; also the mangalasutra should be a circle of gold rod to which the 'thaali' coins were attached at the front. Widows of any age were allowed only to wear pure white sarees, but as time has changed they have adopted to be more liberal in their practice, customs and thoughts. They form a large population in and around Thuraiyur, Musiri and Manachanallur towns and surrounding villages of Tiruchirappalli district and own large tracts of fertile lands in this region. They are also significantly populated in the city of Tiruchirappalli where they thrive in economic and business activities by which they contribute a large revenue to the city of Tiruchirappalli. They also live in various villages such as valayapatti, potireddy patti,erumapatti, ponneri etc. in and around Namakkal District. They also live in Natham Kovilpatti in Dindigul District. Many of them have migrated to Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, USA in the early 1940s, 1950s or 1960s despite even now they are widely spread across the world and flourish in their endeavours.
Arunattu Vellalar - Kothra / Gothra / Gowthram
Kothra/Gothra/Gowtharam traces to one's origin in the family tree and determines the inter-gowtharm relationship. It is also used to determine marriage ability between two members of Arunattu Vellalar. The different Gowthrams, Prime God of Worship (Kula Theivam in Tamil) for the families of that gowthram, the location (Town/Village) of the Temple (Kula Theiva Koil in Tamil) [1] are:
| No. | Kothram | God of Worship | Location of temple of God of worship |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alattutaiyan | Arulmigu Mangayee Amman | Alattutaiyanpatti |
| 2 | Ethumalaiudayan | Arulmigu Neelavanathi Amman | Edhumalai |
| 3 | Kaarudaiyan | Arulmigu Sellaye Amman | Karukudi |
| 4 | Kalappalan | Arulmigu Aadaykalam Katha Amman, Arulmigu Nalla Selli Amman | Oomanthur, P.K Agaram |
| 5 | Kalathudayan | Arulmigu Iyalamman&Pappathi Amman | Samayaburam |
| 6 | Konnakudaiyan | Arulmigu Anagalaparameswari | Serukudi |
| 7 | Koonudaiyan | Arulmigu Periyandavar Kovil Muthaiyan | Vadakkuthathamangalam |
| 8 | Koothudaiyan | Arulmigu Sellaye Amman | Pungaisanganthi |
| 9 | Kunakathudaiyan | Arulmigu Papathi Amman | Sathanur/Abinimangalam |
| 10 | Kuruvaludaiyan | Arulmigu Anna Kamatchi Amman, Arulmigu Ekambareswarar and Arulmigu Maasi Periyannasamy in Oomanthur Periya Kovil, Arulmigu Sappaani Karuppu | Oomanthur, Veeramachanpatti |
| 11 | Kuthudaiyan | Arulmigu Sellandi Amman | Sirukanur |
| 12 | Marudhudaiyan | Arulmigu Thatichi Amman | Sathanur |
| 13 | Mathurdaiyan | Arulmigu Ulaga Nayagi Amman/ Arulmigu Venkatachalapathy | Mathur/ Tirupati |
| 14 | Mirathudaiyan | Arulmigu Periyakovil Deivangal | Komanthur |
| 15 | Murugathudaiyan | Arulmigu Sellayee Amman | Surampatti |
| 16 | Muraikara Sathudaiyan | Aruilmigu Thayumanavar Samy | Malaikottai |
| 17 | Nalludaiyan | Arulmigu Papathi Amman | Nallur |
| 18 | Nathamudaiyan | Arulmigu Meenakshi Amman | Reddiyapatti |
| 19 | Nimaludaiyan | Arulmigu Aalai Muthaiyan | Illupayur |
| 20 | Panaiyadiyan | Arulmigu Ayyanar | Sirukudi |
| 21 | Pavaludaiyan | Arulmigu Ayyanar | Serukudi |
| 22 | Pundiludaiyan | Arulmigu Elayee Amman | Surampatti |
| 23 | Samayamanthiri | Arulmigu Aravayi Amman | Mangalam |
| 24 | Sannamangalathudaiyan | Arulmigu Puthu Karrupannaswamy | Sannamangalam |
| 25 | Sathudaiyan | Arulmigu Patchai Amman | Thathamangalam |
| 26 | Siruthalandudaiyan | Arulmigu Aeramveeli Amman | Kariyamanickam |
| 27 | Thetumangalathudaiyan | Arulmigu Vellankarrupu | Kannangudi |
| 28 | Thevangudaitan | Arulmigu Pachai Amman | Sathanur |
| 29 | Thirusanggudaiyan | Arulmigu Venkatachalapathi | Siiyampalayam |
| 30 | Valavuthirainallathambi | Arulmigu Karrupanaswamy | Palaiyur |
| 31 | Velanchakravarthi | Arulmigu Arapalisvara | Kollimalai |
| 32 | Vennavaludaiyan | Arulmigu Irrani Amman | Thiruvannaikaval |
| 33 | Vilvarayan | Arulmigu Venkatachalapathy | Thirupathi |
| 34 | Vazhamudaiyan | Arulmigu Adaikalam Katha Amman | Oomanthur |
| 35 | Valavhuserudaiyan | Arulmigu Periyandavar | Thathamanglam |
Read more: http://www.everyculture.com/South-Asia/Vellala-Orientation.html#ixzz2sbuyqT7X
They are predominantly landlords and agriculturalists and most of them concentrate on business and trading now.[2]
References
- ↑ http://chennaiavs.com/Kothiram.aspx#
- ↑ Singh, Kumar Suresh; R. Thirumalai (1997). People of India: Tamil Nadu. 3. Affiliated East-West Press for Anthropological Survey of India. p. 1624. ISBN 978-81-85938-88-2.