Siva Raman being interviewd by Catherine

The Nagarathars or Nattukottai Chettiars originated from a place called Chettinad, in South India, situated in the South-Eastern region of Tamil Nadu in the district of Sivagangai. The Nagarathars are one of the most important mercantile castes in South India, well-known for their businesses acumen, hospitality and philanthropy. Many of them ventured overseas to South and South East Asia in the 19th and 20th centuries where they became extremely successful in their business and where they spread their culture.

Today the total number of Nagarathars is estimated to be around 110,000. Due to the movement of people out of certain villages within the Chettinad, the number of Nagarathar villages which was originally 98 has diminished to 75. They are followers of the Hindu religion and worship Shiva and Muruga. In Tamil Nadu, the Nagarathars have set up several businesses and run various educational and philanthropic organisations. The Chettinad art is another contribution made by the community.

On the outskirts of Karaikudi, the largest town in Chettiand is heritage home, “The Bangala”, (the Tamil pronunciation of the anglicised Bungalow ). Belonging to a local Chettiar family, it was restored as a heritage resort for visitors to Chettinad. There, we met with two members of the Nagarathar community: Siva Raman, managing director of The Bangala; and KR. Annapoorni, a tourist guide. Both of them have ancestors who went to Malaysia 100 years ago to do business, as did most of the men of the Nagarathar community who were staying abroad for three years. Once this three year period elapsed, they’d come back to India where their family was staying. They spoke to us about the origin of the Nagarathar community, its economic role and its traditions.

The origin of Nagarathars

The term Nagarathar has several connotations. These include “Man from the town” (nagaram), or “the sophisticated or cultured one” or “one who resides in a palatial home.” The term appears frequently in temple inscriptions of the ninth century A.D and in inscriptions of both the Chola and Pandya dynasties who ruled the region throughout the Middle Ages.

Many of the early inscriptions mention the high social status and the material prosperity of the Nagarathars who could afford to gift or sell to others their surplus land and wealth. For example, the Nagarathars of Tiruvottiyur on the outskirts of present-day Chennai were entrusted with the gold, money and lands of the local temple.

The community is also known as “Chetti” or “Chettiar.”There are many other Chettiar communities in South India, traditionally engaged in trade activities, but the Nagarathar Chettiars are regarded as the most enterprising.

The Nagarathar Chettiars are also called Nattukottai Chettiars meaning “Chettiars of the fort in the country”, an allusion to the grand fortress-like mansions they built and possessed in Chettinad.

Successive migrations

The care taker of the mansion with the massive house key

Historically, the Nagarathars appear to have migrated from various parts of Tamil Nadu to the Chettinad region. The migrations took place in different stages over several centuries. Around 3000 years ago, the Chettiars were living on the East coast near Thanjavur where they dominated the coastal market as merchants who traded in salt, gems and small ships. When a tsunami devastated the coast they were forced to leave the place. It is probably the first of the successive migrations that went on until the thirteenth century A.D., during the rule of King Sundara Pandya. Most of the migrations seem to have been dictated by professional interests. The Nagarathars chose to settle in commercial and market centres or places that lay on a major trade route. Chettinad, which is a dry land with no proper rain, happens to lie on such a route. In the 19th and 20th century, they moved to Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Java and Saigon. They were known to honour their social and business obligations without compromise. Considered as pioneers of modern banking, the Nagarathars played a dominant role as private bankers, money lenders and financiers. They have made significant contributions in the economic, social and cultural spheres.

The Nagarathars’ love and patronage for education dates back to the pre modern age when learning was imparted mainly in the homes of teachers (gurukula system) and within large temples. These traditional schools or educational centres imparted instruction in subjects such as Sanskrit and Tamil language and literature, arithmetic, Hindu religion and philosophy, logic, medicine (mainly the Ayurveda system of medicine) and Yoga.

Today, the Nagarathars have set up in sectors as diversified as banking and finance, engineering, publishing, cinema, pharmaceuticals, and plantation. They have established universities, colleges and schools as well as hospitals and they are committed to numerous charities and philanthropic programmes. The community is also famous for its cuisine and is well-known throughout the world for its chettinad chicken and fish curries.

Nagarathar Traditions

Nine Koil or Clan Temples

The Nagarathar society is divided into Koil Vashi Nagarathar consisting of nine clan temples. This division in the society is for the purpose of choosing their alliance. The bride and the bridegroom cannot be from the same clan temple as they are considered to belong to the same family and therefore regarded as brother and sister.

Pulli System: a temple based registration of all Nagarathar marriages.

A peculiar tradition among the Nagarathars is the pulli system. Pulli in Tamil means "a dot" or "a point". When a Nagarathar man marries a Nagarathar girl, the marriage is recorded in a special book kept in the clan temple to which the groom belongs. With this registration of the marriage, the new couple assume the status of a full pulli, representing the smallest social unit of the community.

Wedding celebrations and marriage rules

Until the nineteenth century, the Nagarathar marriage celebrations lasted seven days. The Second World War and the consequent rationing of foodstuffs further shortened the celebrations to a single day. Nagarathar marriages usually take place in the ancestral houses which are like mansions.Inter-caste union is prohibited among Nagarathars as it would decline their social status and create a problem in case of marriage of their heirs. When a Nagarathar marries a higher caste or lower caste, he or she loses the caste membership and separated from the mainstream.

Pregnancy

During the seventh month of the pregnancy, the mother is the centre of traditional rituals such as Marunthu Kudithal, the drinking of herbal medicines or Theertham Kuditha, the drinking of sanctified water, to ensure the healthy growth of the foetus and a smooth and pain free delivery.

Adoption

A Nagarathar couple could only adopt a son belonging to the same clan temple to which they belonged. An adopted son was called ‘turmeric water son’ because at the adoption ceremony he had to drink turmeric water. A peculiar system of property inheritance to the Nagarathars implied that on the father’s death the eldest son gets the house and the youngest gets his mother’s jewels and bed, the rest of the property being equally shared between all the sons. The daughters usually inherited the personal belongings such as the jewels, clothes and kitchen vessels of the mother.