# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Nāttukōttai Chetti

​Nāttukōttai Chetti.— "Of all the Chettis," Mr.Francis writes,* " perhaps the most distinctive and interesting are the Nāttukōttai Chettis, who are wealthy money-lenders with head-quarters in the Tiruppattūr ​and Devakōttai divisions of the Sivaganga and Rāmnād zamindaris in the Madura district. They are the most go-a-head of all the trading castes in the south, travelling freely to Burma, the Straits Settlements and Ceylon (also Saigon, Mauritius, and South Africa), and having in some cases correspondents in London and on the Continent. As long as their father is alive, the members of a Nāttukōttai Chetti family usually all live together. The caste is noted in the Madura district for the huge houses, to which this custom has given rise. Married sons have a certain number of rooms set aside for them, and are granted a carefully calculated yearly budget allotment of rice and other necessaries. On the father's death, contrary to all ordinary Hindu usage, the eldest son retains the house, and the youngest his mother's jewels and bed, while the rest of the property is equally divided among all the sons. When a male child is born, a certain sum is usually set aside, and in due time the accumulated interest upon it is spent on the boy's education. As soon as he has picked up business ways sufficiently, he begins life as the agent of some other members of the caste, being perhaps entrusted with a lakh of rupees, often on no better security than an unstamped acknowledgment scratched on a palmyra leaf, and sent off to Burma or Singapore to trade with it, and invest it. A percentage on the profits of this undertaking, and savings from his own salary, form a nucleus which he in turn invests on his own account. His wife will often help pay the house-keeping bills by making baskets and spinning thread, for the women are as thrifty as the men. As a caste they are open-handed and devout. In many houses, one pie in every rupee of profit is regularly set aside for charitable and religious expenditure, and a whip round for a caste-fellow in ​difficulties is readily responded to. By religion they are fervent Saivites, and many of the men proclaim the fact by wearing a rudrāksham (Elcsocarpus Ganitrus) fruit, usually set in gold, round their necks. Of late years they have spent very large sums upon several of the famous Saivite shrines in the Madras Presidency, notably those at Chidambaram,* Madura, and Tiruvannāmalai. Unfortunately, however, much of the work has been executed in the most lamentable modern taste, and it is saddening to contrast the pitiful outcome of their heavy outlay with the results which might have been attained under judicious guidance. The decoration in the new Kaliyāna Mahāl in the Madura temple is mainly inferior varnished wood-carving, looking-glasses, and coloured glass balls. The same style has been followed at Tiruvannāmalai, although lying scattered about in the outer courts of the temple are enough of the old pierced granite pillars to make perhaps the finest mantapam in South India. Owing to their wealth and their money-lending, the Nāttukōttai Chettis have been called the Jews of South India, but their kindliness and charity deserve more recognition than this description accords."
I am informed that the property of a woman (jewels, vessels, investments, etc.), on her decease, goes to her daughters. As among other Hindu castes, the eldest son may retain the personal effects of his father, and, with the consent of his brothers, may retain his house. But the value thereof is deducted from his share in the property.
It is stated in the Madura Manual that the "Nāttukōttai Settis in particular are notorious for their greed, and most amusing stories are told about them. However ​wealthy they may be, they usually live in the most penurious manner, and they will never by any chance show mercy to a debtor, so long as he shall have a penny left, or the chance of earning one. However, to make amends for their rapacity, they are in the habit of spending large sums now and then in works of charity. And, whatever faults there may be, they are most excellent men of business. Indeed, until quite lately, the good faith and honesty of a Nāttukōttai Setti were proverbial, and are even now conspicuous. The Nāttukōttai Settis claim to be a good caste, and asserted that they emigrated to this district thousands of years ago from a town called Kāveripattanam, in consequence of an intolerable persecution. But the other Settis will not admit the truth of their story, and affect to despise them greatly, alleging even that they are the bastard descendants of a Muhammadan man and a Kalla woman. The word Nāttukōttai is said to be a corruption of Nāttarasangkōttai, the name of a small village near Sivaganga. But this derivation appears to be doubtful." The name is usually said to be derived from Nāttukōttai, or country fort.
It has been said that "the Nāttukōttai Chettis, in organisation, co-operation, and business methods, are as remarkable as the European merchants. Very few of them have yet received any English education. They regard education as at present given in public schools as worse than useless for professional men, as it makes men theoretical, and scarcely helps in practice. The simple but strict training which they give their boys, the long and tedious apprenticeship which even the sons of the richest among them have to undergo, make them very efficient in their profession, and methodical in whatever they undertake to do." ​Concerning the Nāttukōttai Chettis, Mr. P. R. Sundara Aiyar writes as follows.* "The first and chiefest aim of a Nāttukōttai Chetti is to make as much money as possible. He does not regard usury as a sin. As a little boy of ten or twelve, he begins to apply himself to business, learns accounts, and attends the shop of his father. As soon as he marries, his father gives him a separate home, or rather compels him to live separately, though often in the same house as his parents. This makes him self-reliant, and produces in him a desire to save as much money as possible. He is given a certain allowance out of the paternal estate, but, if he spends more, he is debited with the excess amount. Every one consequently tries to increase his stock of individual savings. Even the women earn money in a variety of ways. Every rupee saved is laid out at as high a rate of interest as possible. It is commonly stated that a rupee, laid out at the birth of a child at compound interest at 12 per cent., will amount to a lakh of rupees by the time he attains the age of a hundred. The habits of a Nāttukōttai Chetti are very simple, and his living is very cheap, even when he is rich. So strict are the Chettis in pecuniary matters that, if a relation visits them, he gets only his first meal free, and if he stays longer, is quietly debited with the cost of his stay."
The Nāttukōttai Chettis † are said to employ Kammālans, Valaiyans, Kallans, and Vallambans as their cooks. They are permitted to enter the interior of Hindu temples, and approach near to the innermost doorway of the central shrine. This privilege is doubtless accorded to them owing to the large sums of money ​which they spend on temples, and in endowing charitable institutions. It is noted, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that "of the profits of their commercial transactions, a fixed percentage (called magamai) is usually-set aside for charity. Some of the money so collected is spent on keeping up Sanskrit schools, but most of it has been laid out in the repair and restoration of the temples of the south, especial attention being paid to those shrines (padal petta sthalangal, as they are called), which were hymned by the four great poet-saints, Mānikya Vāchakar, Appar, Tirugnāna Sambandhar, and Sundaramūrti." " The Chettis," Mr. Sundara Aiyar writes, "are believed to be the most charitable class in Southern India, and undoubtedly they spend the largest amount of money on charity. They set apart a fraction of their profits for charity. They levy rates among themselves for local charities, wherever they go. The income obtained from the rates is generally spent on temples. In new places like Ceylon, Burma, and Singapore, they build new temples, generally dedicated to Subramanya Swāmi. In India itself, they establish festivals in existing temples, and undertake the repair of temples. Immense sums have been spent by them recently in the renovation and restoration of ancient temples. We should not be surprised to be told that the amount spent within the last thirty years alone amounts to a crore of rupees. Being Saivites, they do not generally care for Vaishnava temples. And, even among Saiva temples, only such as have special sanctity, and have been sung about by the Saiva Nainars or Bhaktas, are patronised by them. They have devoted large sums to the establishment of comfortable choultries (rest-houses), feeding houses, Vēdic and recently also Sastraic pāthasālas (schools). They have established schools for the education of ​the Kurukal or the priestly class. And, in fact, every charity of the orthodox Hindu type finds generous support among them."
It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that the gōpurams of the Madura temple "have been repaired of late years at great cost by the Nāttukōttai Chettis. The northern tower used to consist only of the brick and stone-work storeys, and was known in consequence as the mottai (literally bald) gōpuram. Recently, however, a courageous Chetti, who cared nothing for the superstition that it is most unlucky to complete a building left unfinished, placed the usual plaster top upon it."
In recent years, the temple at Chidambaram has been renovated by the Nāttukōttai Chettis, who "have formed for this and similar restorations a fund which is made up of a fee of four annas per cent, levied from their clients on all sums borrowed by the latter. The capital of this is invested, and the interest thereon devoted exclusively to such undertakings."*
In 1906, the purificatory ceremony, or kumbabishēkam, of the Sri Pasupathiswara Swāmi temple at Karūr was performed with great pomp. The old temple had been thoroughly overhauled and repaired by the Nāttukōttai Chettis. The ceremony cost about fifty thousand rupees. Many thousands were fed, and presents of money made to a large number of Vaidiki Brāhmans. In the same year, at a public meeting held in Madras to concert measures for establishing a pinjrapole (hospital for animals), one of the resolutions was that early steps should be taken to collect public subscriptions from the Hindu community generally, and in ​particular from the Nāttukōttai Chettis, Gujarātis, and other mercantile classes.
Still more recently, the kumbabishēkam festival was celebrated at Tiruvanaikkaval, the seat of a celebrated temple near Trichinopoly, which was repaired by the Nāttukōttai Chettis at a cost of many lakhs of rupees.
NĀTTUKŌTTAI CHETTI CHILDREN.
In connection with Nāttukōttai agencies, Mr. Hayavadana Rao writes as follows. * "People of moderate means usually elect to go to distant places as agents of the different firms that have their head offices either at Madura or in the Zamindaris of Ramnād and Sivaganga. The pay of a local agent varies directly with the distance of the place to which he is posted. If he is kept at Madura, he gets Rs. 100 per mensem; if sent to Burma, he gets three times as much; and, if to Natal, about twice the latter sum. If an agent proves himself to be an industrious and energetic man, he is usually given a percentage on the profits. The tenure of office is for three years, six months before the expiry of which the next agent is sent over to work conjointly with the existing one, and study the local conditions. On relief, the agent returns directly to his head office, and delivers over his papers, and then goes to his own village. With this, his connection with his firm practically ceases. He enjoys his well-earned rest of three years, at the end of which he seeks re-employment either under his old firm, or under any other. The former he is bound to, if he has taken a percentage on the profits during his previous tenure of office. If the old firm rejects him when he so offers himself, then he is at liberty to enter service under others." It is said to be very rare for Nāttukōttai women to accompany their husbands to distant places. ​"In fact, the husbands have to visit their native places at long intervals, and make a felicitous sojourn in the company of their wives."
The houses of the Nāttukōttai Chettis are spacious and substantial buildings all based on the same general plan. The front entrance opens into an oblong courtyard with a verandah all round, and rows of rooms at the two sides. At the farther end of the courtyard is an entrance leading into a backyard or set of apartments. Modern houses have imposing exteriors, and an upper storey. Married sons live in separate quarters, and every couple receive from their fathers a fixed yearly allowance, which may amount to twenty rupees and fifteen kalams of paddy. The sons may, if they choose, spend more, but the excess is debited to their account, and, at the time of partition of the estate, deducted, with interest, from their share.
It is noted by Mr. Hayavadana Rao that "the remarkable custom prevails amongst them that obliges all married members to cook separately and eat their meals, though they live in the same house. Even the widowed mother is no exception to this rule. Unmarried members live with their parents until they are married. Allotments of rice and other necessaries are annually made to the several semi-independent members of the household. This custom has given rise to the commodious houses in which members of this caste usually reside."
As concerning the origin of the Nāttukōttai Chettis, the following story is told. In ancient days, the Vaisyas of the lunar race were living in the town of Sānthyapuri in the Naganādu of the Jambudvipa (India). They paid daily visits to the shrine of Vinayāka god made of emerald, and were traders in precious stones. They were ​much respected, and led the life of orthodox Saivites, wore rudrāksha beads, and smeared themselves with sacred ashes. They were, however, much oppressed by a certain ruler, and emigrated in a body to Conjeeveram in the Tondamandalam country in the year 204 of the Kāliyuga. The king of Conjeeveram gave them permission to settle in his territory, and made grants to them of land, temples and matams. They stayed there for a very long time, but, being troubled by heavy taxes and fines, left this part of the country about 2312 Kāliyuga, and settled in the Chōla country. The Chōla king, being much impressed with them, bestowed on them the privilege of placing the crown on the head of a new ruler at his coronation. At this time, the town of Kāveripumpattanam is said to have been in a very flourishing state, and the north street was occupied by Vaisyas from other countries. Being unwilling to disturb them, the king made the new settlers occupy the east, west, and south streets. As a mark of respect, they were allowed to use flags with the figure of a lion on them, and use golden vessels (kalasam) in their houses. They all, at the instigation of the king, became disciples of one Isānya Sivachariar of Patānjalikshetra (Chidambaram). About 3775 Kāliyuga, Pūvandi Chōla Rāja imprisoned several of the Vaisya women, whereon all the eight thousand Vaisya families destroyed themselves, leaving their male children to be taken care of by a religious teacher named Atmanadhachariar. In all 1,502 children were thus brought up, viz., 600 of six ways from the west street, 502 of seven ways from the east street, and 400 of four ways from the south street. Later on, Pūvandi Chōla fell ill, and, knowing his recovery to be impossible, sent for the Vaisya boys, and asked them to look after the coronation of his son ​Rājabhushana Chōla. But they said that, as they were bachelors, they could not comply with his request. The king accordingly made them marry Vellāla girls. Those of the west street took as wives girls of the Karkaththar section, those of the east street girls of the Sōzhia section, and those of the south street girls of the Kāniyala section. The three groups became disciples of three different matams, viz., Tiruvārur, Kumbakonam, and Vānchium. In the year 3790, a dispute arose in connection with the right of priority in receiving sacred ashes between the Vaisya and true Vellāla women, and the former were made to become the disciples of a new guru (religious preceptor). About 3808, a Pāndya king, named Sundara Pāndya, is said to have asked the Chōla king to induce some of the Vaisyas to settle down in the Pāndya territory. They accordingly once more emigrated in a body, and reached the village of Onkarakudi on a Friday (the constellation Astham being in the ascendant on that day). They were allowed to settle in the tract of country north of the river Vaigai, east of the Piranmalai, and south of Vellar. Those from the east street settled at Ilayaththukudi, those from the west street at Ariyūr, and those from the south street at Sundarapattanam. Thus the Chettis became divided into three endogamous sections, of which the Ilayaththukudi and Sundarapattanam are found at the present day in the Madura district. The members of the Ariyūr section migrated to the west coast on the destruction of their village. The members of the Ilayaththukudi section became the Nāttukōttais, They, not being satisfied with only one place of worship, requested the king to give them more temples. Accordingly, temples were provided for different groups at Māththur, Vairavanpatti, Iraniyūr, Pillayarpatti, Nēmam, Iluppaikudi, Suraikudi, and ​Velangkudi. At the present day, the Nāttukōttai Chettis are divided into the following divisions (kōvils or temples) and exogamous sub-divisions: —
    1. Ilayaththūkudi kōvil —
       Okkurūdaiyar.
       Pattanasāmiar.
       Perumaruthurudaiyar,
       Kazhanivasakkudaiyar.
       Kinkinikkudaiyar.
       Perasendurudaiyar.
       Sirusēththurudaiyar.
    2. Maththūr kōvil —
       Uraiyūr.
       Arumbakūr.
       Manalūr,
       Mannūr.
       Kannūr.
       Karuppūr.
       Kulaththūr.
    3. Vairavan kōvil —
       Sirukulaththūr.
       Kazhanivāsal.
       Marudendrapūram .
    4. Iraniyūr kōvil.
    5. Pillayarpatti kōvil.
    6. Nēmam kōvil.
    7. Iluppaikudi kōvil.
    8. Suraikudi kōvil.
    9. Velāngkudi kōvil.
When Nāttukōttai Chettis adopt children, they must belong to the same temple division. An adopted son is called Manjanir Puthiran, or turmeric-water son, because, at the ceremony of adoption, the lad has to drink turmeric-water.* In villages where their main temples are situated, the temple manager is obliged to ​give food to stranger Chettis, and charge for it if they belong to another temple division.
According to a variant of the story relating to the origin of the Nāttukōttai Chettis, "they were formerly merchants at the court of the Chōla kings who ruled at Kaveripattanam, at one time a flourishing sea-port at the mouth of the Cauveri, from which they emigrated in a body on being persecuted by one of them, and first settled at Nattarasankottai, about three miles north-east of Sivaganga."
By other castes, the Nāttukōttai Chettis are said to be the descendants of the offspring of unions between a Shānān and a Muhammadan and Uppu Korava women. Some of the peculiarities of the caste are pointed out in support of the story. Thus, Nāttukōttai men shave their heads like Muhammadans, and both men and women have the lobes of their ears dilated like the older Shānāns. Their girls wear necklaces of shell beads like Korava women, and the women delight in making baskets for recreation, as the Korava women do for sale. The caste is sometimes spoken of as Uppu (salt) Maruhira Chetti. The arguments and illustrations are naturally much resented by the Nāttukōttai Chettis, who explain the obnoxious name by the story that they were formerly very poor, and made a living by selling salt.
The Nāttukōttai Chettis have recourse to pānchayats (councils) in matters affecting the community. They have, Mr. Sundara Aiyar writes, "been at any rate till recently remarkable for settling their differences out of court. The influence of the elders in preventing litigation is very strong. They conciliate the disputants as far as possible and, after reducing the difference between them to a minimum, they often get their ​signatures to an award, in which a blank is left to decide the still existing point of difference, the disputants agreeing, after putting in their signatures, to the mediators' filling in the blank, and deciding the dispute as they choose. We are afraid that this spirit of give-and-take is now unfortunately diminishing, and the arbitrament of the courts is more often resorted to than before." There are, among the Nāttukōttai Chettis, two forms of panchāyat, called madaththuvāsal mariyal (matam panchayāt) and kōvilvāsal mariyal (temple panchāyat), of which, at the present day, only the latter is in vogue. For every temple there is a manager, an assistant, and a servant called Vairāvi, who must be a Melakkāran. The aggrieved party lodges his complaint with the manager, who sends word to the leading men of the temple division concerned. The complainant and defendant are summoned to attend a council meeting, and the evidence is recorded by the temple manager. If the accused fails to put in an appearance, the Vairāvi is sent to his house, to take therefrom adavu (security) in the shape of some article belonging to him. In a recent case, a wealthy Nāttukōttai Chetti promised his brother's widow that she should be allowed to adopt a boy. But, as the promise was not fulfilled, she complained to the temple; and, as her brother-in-law did not attend the council meeting, the Vairāvi went to his house, and, in his absence, abstracted the adavu. This was regarded as a great insult, and there was some talk of the case going into court. Matters such as the arrangement of marriage contracts, monetary disputes, family discussions, and the like, are referred to the temple council for settlement. Final decisions are never recorded in writing, but delivered by word of mouth. Those who fail to abide by the decision of the council do not receive ​a garland from the temple for their marriage, and without this garland a marriage cannot take place.
It is noted by Mr. Hayavadana Rao that each of the kōvils or temples "is managed by Karyakārans, who are nominated to the place by the local elders. These Karyakārans act as Panchāyatdars, and decide all civil cases referred to them. If a case is first referred to them, it may, if necessary, be carried over again to the established courts of the country. But, if once a case is first taken to the courts, they would not entertain it before themselves. They enforce their decrees (1) by refusing to give the garland of flowers at the marriage time, (2) by exercising the power of excommunication."
Every Nāttukōttai Chetti youth has to perform a ceremony called Sūppidi before marriage. On the Karthika day, when the constellation Krithikai is in the ascendant, he is taken on horseback to a Pillayar (Ganēsa) temple, where he worships, and whirls a bag of burning charcoal tied to a long string round his head. In front of the temple he burns a booth (chokkapane), which has been set up, and with the ashes his forehead is marked. On his return home, and at the entrance of Nāttukōttai houses which he passes, rice lamps are waved before him (alathi). In like manner, every girl has to go through a ceremony, called thiruvādhirai, before marriage. On the day of the Arudrādarsanam festival, she is bathed and decorated. A necklace of gold beads is placed on her neck instead of the necklace of glass beads (pāsimani), which she has hitherto worn. She proceeds, with a silver cup, to the houses where other girls are performing the ceremony, and bawls out: —
JEWELRY OF NĀTTUKŌTTAI CHETTIS
I have come speaking; give me sorakkai (Lagenariafruit).
Various kinds of vegetables are placed on the silver vessel, cooked, and distributed. Cakes, called dosai, are made in the house, and, during their preparation, holes are made in them by married women with an iron style. These cakes are also distributed, and it is taken as an insult if any individual does not receive one.
Every Nāttukōttai Chetti is said to have the inviolable right to claim the hand of his paternal aunt's daughter. This being so, ill-assorted marriages are quite common, the putative father being often but a child.* The marriage ceremonies commence with the giving of gold for the bride's neck. On an auspicious day, the bridegroom's party give a gold coin to a goldsmith, who beats it into a thin sheet, and goes home after receiving betel, etc. On the first day of the marriage rites, a feast is given to the bridegroom's family, and female ancestors are worshipped. On the following day, the presentation of the dowry (sireduththal) takes place. The presents, which are often of considerable value, are laid out for inspection, and an inventory of them is made. Perishable articles, such as rice, ghī (clarified butter), dhāl (Cajanus indicus), and fruits are sold. The bride's presents are taken to the house of the bridegroom, those who carry them being rewarded with betel, a silk fan, scent bottle, silk handkerchief, bottle of chocolate, a tin of biscuits, and a brass vessel. On the third day, garlands are received from the temples to which the bride ​and bridegroom belong. The bride's party go to the house of the bridegroom, taking on a tray a silk handkerchief and cloth, and in a silver vessel fifty rupees, betel, etc. These are presented to the bridegroom. This ceremony is called māppillai ariyappōthal, or going to examine the son-in-law. The next item on the programme is nālkuriththal, or fixing the day. The bridegroom's party proceed to the house of the bride, taking with them two cocoanuts wrapped up in a blanket, betel, turmeric, etc., as a present. The bride is bathed and decorated, and purangkaliththal is proceeded with. She stands by the side of her grandmother, and a Brāhman purōhit, taking up a few leafy margosa (Melia Azadirachta) twigs, touches the girl's shoulders, head, and knees with them, and throws them away. Her glass bead necklace is then removed. At the uppu-eduththal (salt carrying) ceremony, the bridegroom's party carry a basket containing salt, a bundle containing nine kinds of grains, and a palmyra scroll for writing the marriage contract on, to the bride's house. The sacred fire is lighted, and hōmam performed by the Brāhman purōhit. An old man, who has had a number of children, and belongs to a temple other than that of a bride, and the bridegroom's sister, then tie the tāli string round her neck. This string bears a large tāli, about seven inches long and four inches broad, and seventeen to twenty-three gold ornaments, often of considerable value. Some of them have very sharp points, so that accidents sometimes arise from the points sticking in the eyes of babies carried by women. For every day wear, the massive ornaments are replaced by a smaller set. Immediately after the tāli has been tied, the marriage contract (isagudi mānam) is written. Two copies are made, for the bride and bridegroom respectively. ​As an example of a marriage contract, the following may be cited: "This is written for the marriage celebrated on ... . between Subramanyan, the son of Okkurudaiyan Arunāchelam Chetti Ramanadhan Chetti and Valliammai, the daughter of Arumbākurudaiyan K. Narayana Chetti, both formerly of Ilayaththukudi, at the village of . . . . The value of jewels given to the girl is .... of gold; his dowry amounts to .... ; money for female servant . . . . ; sirattuchukram money . . . . ; free gift of jewels . This esaikudimanam was written by me at . Signed Ramanadhan Chetti." The bridegroom goes on horseback to a Pillayar temple where he worships, and then proceeds in procession through various streets to the bride's house, accompanied by his sister carrying milk in a vessel, and a cooly bearing a bundle of seed rice. At every Chetti house the procession halts, and coloured rice lights are waved before the bridegroom. At the entrance to the bride's house, he is met by the bride, whose sister-in-law pushes the couple against each other. Hence the ceremony is called māppillaikuidiththukāttal, or showing the bride to the bridegroom by pushing her. The couple are then conducted to a dais within the house, and wristlets made of cotton cloth are tied on by the purōhit. They exchange cocoanuts and garlands, and, amid the blowing of the conch shell (musical instrument) by women, the bride's mother touches the couple with turmeric, ashes, sandal, etc. On the fourth day, money called veththilai surul rupai (betel-roll money) is given to the newly-married couple by Chettis and the maternal uncles. A silver vessel, containing betel and two rupees, is given to the bridegroom by his father-in-law. The bridegroom usually carries on his shoulders a long purse of silk ​or red cloth, called valluvaippai, into which he puts the betel and other things which are given to him. On the last day of the marriage ceremonies, toe-rings and wristlets are removed, and the bridal pair eat together.
In connection with pregnancy, two ceremonies are performed, called respectively marunthidal (medicine giving) and thirthamkudiththal (drinking holy water). The former is celebrated at about the fifth month. On an auspicious day, the sister-in-law of the pregnant woman, amid the blowing of the conch-shell by females, extracts the juice from the leaves of five plants, and gives to the woman to drink. During the seventh month the woman is given consecrated water (thirtham) from the temple. All first-born children, both male and female, have to go through a ceremony called pudhumai (newness). When they are two years old, on an auspicious day, fixed by a Brāhman purōhit, the maternal uncle of the child ties on its neck strings of coral and glass beads, to which ornaments of pearls and precious stones are added in the case of the wealthy. The child is further decorated with other ornaments, and placed in an oval wooden tray, which is held by the mother and her sister-in-law. They go round three times with the tray, and the child's aunt, taking it up, carries it round to be blessed by those who have assembled. Presents of money are given to the child by relations and friends, and the maternal uncles have to give a larger sum than the others. On the second or third day the coral and bead ornaments are removed, and, on the fourth day, the child, if a male, is shaved, and must thenceforth have the head clean shaved throughout life. " The story goes that, when the Chōla king of Kāveripattanam persecuted them, the members of this caste resolved not to shave their heads until they quitted his territories. When ​they reached their new settlement they shaved their heads completely as a memorial of their stern resolution."*When a death occurs among the Nāttukōttai Chettis, news thereof is conveyed by the Thandakāran, or caste messenger. Those who come to condole with the bereaved family are received with outstretched hands (kainīttikolludhal). The head of the corpse is shaved, and it is washed and decorated. In front of the house a pandal (booth), supported by four Thespesia populnea posts, and roofed with twigs of Eugenia Jambolana, is erected. Beneath this the corpse is laid, and all present go round it thrice. While the corpse is being got ready for conveyance to the burning ground, the daughters and sisters of the deceased husk paddy (unhusked rice). On the way to the burning ground, the son carries the fire. If the deceased is a young boy or girl, the pandal is removed after the funeral; otherwise it is removed, on a Tuesday, Thursday, or Sunday, within four days. The Nattukottais restrict the name pandal to the funeral booth, the marriage booth being called kavanam or kottagai. Even an ordinary shed set up in front of a house is not called a pandal, as the name is associated with funerals. On the day following the funeral, the bigger fragments of bones are collected by a barber, and given to the son, who places them in an earthen pot. A Pandāram offers fruit, food, etc., to the deceased. Eight days afterwards, a feast, at which meat is partaken of for the first time since the death, is given to the relations of the dead person, and their pollution is at an end. They may not, however, enter a temple for thirty days. On the sixteenth day after death, the final death ceremonies (karmandhiram) are performed, and liberal presents of ​money, religious books, such as the Rāmāyana, Mahābhārata, and Periya Purānam, wooden spoons for domestic use, etc., are given to Brāhmans.
There are three matams, whereat the Nāttukōttai Chettis are initiated into their religion, at Pātharakkudi (or Padanakkudi) and Kīla for males, and Tulāvur for females. They are Saivites, but also, more especially the women, worship such minor deities as Aiyanar, Munēswara, and Karuppan. They are also said to worship two village goddesses, called Sellattamman and Kannudayamman, at Nattarasankottai.
Nāttukōttai men have the lobes of the ears artificially dilated, but seldom wear ornaments therein. They frequently have a gold chain round the loins, and wear finger rings set with diamonds. The wives even of wealthy men wear a cheap body cloth, and do menial house work, such as cleaning the kitchen utensils. They plait baskets, and, in some houses, wheels for spinning cotton may be seen.
Like other trading classes in Southern India, the Nāttukōttai Chettis have a trade language of their own, which varies according to locality. In the city of Madras they have three tables, for annas, rupees, and tens of rupees respectively. Each of these is formed out of the syllables of certain words. Thus, the anna table is composed of the syllables of Tiripurasundari, the goddess at Madura, which is a great centre for Nāttukōttai Chettis. The syllables (in the inverse order), and their money equivalent are as follows:—
| Ri | ½ anna. |
| Da | ¾ anna.„ |
| Un | 1 anna.„ |
| Su | 2 annas. |
| Ra | 3 annas.„ ​ |
| Pu | 4 annas. |
| Ri | 8 annas.„ |
| Ti | 12 annas.„ |
The rupee table is composed of the word Vedagirīis-vararthunai, meaning with the help of Vēdagirīsvarar, the god at Tirukalikundram near Madras:—
| Vē | 1 rupee. |
| Da | 2 rupees. |
| Gi | 3 rupees.„ |
| Ri | 4 rupees.„ |
| Ī | 5 rupees.„ |
| Is | 6 rupees.„ |
| Va | 7 rupees.„ |
| Ra | 8 rupees.„ |
| Ar | 9 rupees.„ |
| Thu | 10 rupees.„ |
| Nai | 11 rupees.„ |
The tens-of-rupees table is made up from the word Tirukalikundram:—
| Ti | 10 rupees. |
| Ru | 20 rupees.„ |
| Ik | 30 rupees.„ |
| Ka | 40 rupees.„ |
| Li | 50 rupees.„ |
| Ik | 60 rupees.„ |
| Ku | 70 rupees.„ |
| In | 80 rupees.„ |
| Ra | 90 rupees.„ |
| Im | 100 rupees.„ |
An anna is sometimes called vanakkam; a rupee is known as vellē (white).
Nāttupattan.—A section of Ambalavāsis. (See Unni.)
Nāttusāmbān.—Sāmbān (a name of Siva) is a title of some Tamil Paraiyans. Nāttusāmbān denotes a village Paraiyan.
​Nattuvan.— Defined in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "an occupational term, meaning a dancing-master, which is applied to males of the dancing-girl castes, who teach dancing." At nautch parties, when the Dēva-dāsis dance, the Nattuvans play the accompaniment on the drum, bag-pipe, flute, clarionet, cymbals, etc. At the initiation of a Kaikōlan girl as a Dēva-dāsi, her dancing-master seats himself behind her, and, grasping her legs, moves them up and down in time with the music. Some Ōcchans in the Tamily country, who teach dancing to Dēva-dāsis, are also called Nattuvan.
Natuvili (middle). — A sub-division of Paraiyans in Travancore.
Navakōti (nine crores). — An exogamous sept of Dēsūr Reddi. A crore is one hundred lakhs, i.e, 10,000,000.
Navalipitta (peacock). — A sept of Jātapu.
Navāyat.— The Navāyats or Navāyets are summed up, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "a Musalman tribe, which appears to have originally settled at Bhatkal in North Canara, and is known on the west coast as Bhatkali. The derivation of the name is much disputed. There are five sub-divisions of the tribe, namely, Kurēshi, Mehkeri, Chīda, Gheas, and Mohāgir. It takes a high place among Musalmans, and does not intermarry with other tribes."
Of the Nevayets, the following account, based on the Saadut Nama, and conversations with members of the community, is given by Colonel Wilks.* "Nevayet is generally supposed to be a corruption of the Hindustanee and Mahratta terms for new-comer. About the end of the first century of the Hejira, or the early part of the ​eighth century of the Christian era, Hejaj Bin Yusuf, Governor of Irak, on the part of the Khalif Abd-al-Melik-bin-Merwan, a monster abhorred for his cruelties even among Musalmans, drove some respectable and opulent persons of the house of Hâshem to the desperate resolution of abandoning for ever their native country. Aided by the good offices of the inhabitants of Kufa, a town of celebrity in those days, situated near to the tomb of Ali, west of the Euphrates, they departed with their families, dependents, and effects, and embarked on ships prepared for their reception in the Persian Gulf. Some of these landed on that part of the western coast of India called the Concan; the others to the eastward of Cape Comorin; the descendants of the former are the Nevayets; of the latter the Lubbē. The Lubbē pretend to one common origin with the Nevayets, and attribute their black complexion to intermarriage with the natives; but the Nevayets affirm that the Lubbē are the descendants of their domestic slaves; and there is certainly, in the physiognomy of this very numerous class, and in their stature and form, a strong resemblance to the natives of Abyssinia. The Nevayets of the western coast preserved the purity of their original blood by systematically avoiding intermarriage with the Indians, and even with the highest Muhammadan families, for many centuries after the establishment of the Musalman dynasties of the Deckan. Even at this time there are some Nevayets whose complexions approach the European freshness. Their adherence to each other as members of the same family preserved their respectability; and they were famed at the Muhammadan courts of the Deckan for uniting the rare qualities of the soldier, the scholar, and the gentleman."
* ↑ * Madras Census Report, 1901.
* ↑ * The proverb Chetti Chidambaram is well known.
* ↑ * Malabar Quart: Review, 1905.
* ↑ † C. Hayavadana Rao, Indian Review, VIII, 8, 1907.
* ↑ * Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.
* ↑ * Gazetteer of the Madura district.
* ↑ * Indian Review, VIII, SJ, 1907.
* ↑ * Indian Law Reports, Madras Series, XXIX, 1906.
* ↑ * C. Hayavadana Rao. Loc. cit.
* ↑ * C. Hayavadana Rao. Loc. cit.
* ↑ * Historical Sketches of the South of India, 1810.