Nambiar (Nair subcaste)

Nambiar
Regions with significant populations
Mostly in North Malabar.
Languages
Malayalam
Religion
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Vermas, Kurups, Nayanars,

The Nambiār, also known as Nambiyār, is an Indian caste who were historically the landlord clans in the North Malabar region of Kerala.[1] The Nambiars are in many ways similar to Nair, due to different ethnic origin. In a broader sense, term "Nambiar" is used to cover all those Samanthan Nair clans of North Malabar.[2]

Position in society

Nambiārs in north Malabār, until the early twentieth century held a prejudice that they were superior to their counterparts in South Malabar. In earlier days, Nambiār women, like most women of Nāyar clans of north Malabar would not unite herself to Nāyar men of South Malabar, nor to Nāyarr men from central and south Kerala. Therefore such superior-clan Nāyar woman of North Malabār (Nambiār women being no exception), could not pass the hills to the eastward and the Elathur River to the south. It was a taboo and breach of which involved forfeiture of caste.[3][4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Coward, Harold (1 January 1993). Hindu-Christian Dialogue: Perspectives and Encounters. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 192–. ISBN 978-81-208-1158-4. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  2. ↑ Gough, E. Kathleen (1961). "Nayars: Central Kerala". In Schneider, David Murray; Gough, E. Kathleen. Matrilineal Kinship. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-02529-5.
  3. ↑ Miller, Eric J. 1954. Caste and Territory in Malabar. American Anthropologists 56(3):410–420
  4. ↑ Miller, Eric J. 1955. Village Structure in North Kerala. In M.N. Srinivas ed. India's Village. Bombay: Media Promoters & Publishers
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