Nāttān

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This article is an excerpt from Castes and Tribes of Southern India By Edgar Thurston, C.I.E., Superintendent, Madras Government Museum; Correspondant Étranger, Société d’Anthropologie de Paris; Socio Corrispondante, Societa,Romana di Anthropologia. Assisted by K. Rangachari, M.A., of the Madras Government Museum. Government Press, Madras 1909.

Nāttān

At the Census, 1901, nearly 12,000 individuals returned themselves as Nāttān, which is stated by the Census Superintendent to be “a vague term meaning people of the country, reported by some to be a main caste, and by others to be a sub-caste of Vellāla. Nearly all of those who returned the name came from Salem and were cultivators, but some of them entered themselves as possessing the title of Sērvai, which usually denotes an Agamudaiyan” (see Sērvai, Sērvaikāran). Nāttān also occurs as a title of the Tamil Sembadavan and Pattanavan fishing castes, and of the Vallambans. Portions of the Tamil country are divided into areas known as nādus, in each of which certain castes, known as Nāttān or Nāttar, are the predominant element. For example, the Vallambans and Kallans are called the Nāttars of the Pālaya Nādu in the Sivaganga zamindari of the Madura district. In dealing with the tribal affairs of the various castes inhabiting a particular nādu, the lead is taken by the Nāttars.