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The History of Vadakku Saliyar Community

Vadakku Saliyar community is a small but significant group having its present-day habitat in Vadasery area of Kanyakumari district in India. The community is a sub-sect of the larger Saliyar group which has a pan-Indian presence. The community has witnessed many an upheaval in their long & chequered history. The fact that they weathered the ravages of these ordeals magnificently, speaks volumes on their expertise (in chosen profession), enterprise (in managing different situations) & perseverance (in surviving even in adverse environs). The roots of the community is traceable to other parts of South India, and due to various factors, some tenable & others hypothetical, they settled in the current locale.

The information available pertaining to the community commences with the late medieval period (circa 1400), which apparently corresponded to their origination and concludes with the beginning of twenty-first century, which actually coincided with a glorious period in their annals.(Historians claim that not much information is available regarding weaver migration prior to medieval period).

The community has been predominantly involved in handloom weaving almost until the later part of twentieth century. Being primarily artisans, they were not involved in agriculture and hence were not part of the 'zamindari' systems of medieval times. The limited dependence on land (for employment) meant that they had greater opportunity of mobility (for livelihood). Sometimes it was dictated by survival from famine and conflicts (the ‘push’ factors), and at other times for the betterment of living standards (the ‘pull’ factors). Consequently, whenever some of the key elements which are essential for carrying on a successful weaving profession, viz. patronage by the royalty, or prosperity of the general society, were considered deficient (in current setting) or perceived as promising (in another environ), they resorted to migration.

The history of community consists of three disparate but distinct phases. Going forward chronologically they can be divided as follows: The Early Phase started from circa 1400 & lasted till around 1650, when the community had its habitat near Valliyoor in Tirunelvelly district of South India. The macro-group (Saliyars), from whom they had originated, probably migrated from a different/ distant locality. In any case, after their migration/ community-formation, they were well ensconced in their place of settlement. The information pertaining to this period is a little tentative & should be taken as an outline of actual events & further study is necessary to establish the turn of events & chronological developments. The Intermediate Phase started from circa 1650 & lasted till around 1800. It was a period of upheaval in their lives, when they moved away from the above place of settlement to newer areas of opportunities. They had, in all, three migrations – the first, when a small band of families shifted base, led by a community visionary, for a not-yet-known reason; the next, when they had to quit their settlement en masse, when confronted with a black-magic calamity, and finally, they moved places when there was widespread loss of business-opportunities due to the advent of British textiles (which was, however, fairly offset by royal patronage extended by the Kings of Travancore). The second migration broke-up the community & drove them into different locales; however, the third one re-united them in their current place of settlement. The Current Phase started around circa 1800 & continues till date. During this time, the community established itself well in their present place of habitat. The period between 1800 till 1940’s saw the community carrying on their traditional trade with mixed fortunes, but the period between 1940 and 1970 witnessed declining standards. From the 1970’s, however, the community started changing tracks with a steady switch-over to non-traditional means of livelihood. Due to the latter development, about 30% of the community now lives outside this habitat.

The Early Phase (circa 1400 – 1650): The Name origin: The suffix, Saliyar, is derived from the larger group of Saliyars, to whom the community’s roots are traceable. The etymology of ‘Saliya/ Sale’, probably lies in the Proto-South-Dravidian word saal. "Saali" in Telugu & Saalye or Taalye in Tulu mean "spider". The common derivation in the literature is from Sanskrit word Jalika meaning spider or weaver or Prakrit/Tadbhava word Saliga meaning the same. In Tamil, the word is Saalikan or Saaliyan, in Kannada, it's Shaaliga or Shaaliya & in Malayalam, it is Chaaliyan. This word was applied to weavers, probably comparing weaving to the spider's web. As the community, & the larger group to which it belonged, the Saliyars, were primarily weavers, they got the Saliyar epithet attached to their community name. The prefix ‘Vadakku’ had its origin in one of the following: its literary meaning in Tamil is north, indicating the direction from which they migrated. Its etymology is also traceable to their original habitat, Vadu Kacchi Madil, which, over a period of time might have got transformed as Vadakku. It is probably an epithet of recent origin, because, the Bhoothapandi inscription refers to them as Saliyars only.

The Community origin: The ‘caste’ system in South India is quite old & some of the earliest Tamil texts show the existence of caste, but which antedates the Brahmins and the Hindu orthodoxy (Ref “Early Evidence for Caste in South India” by George L. Hart). However at later dates, the polity saw the rise of many castes with diverse origins owing to various migrations and the later consolidation under a single identity. The Saliyar caste formation was primarily attributable to professional evolution. Varnas, as defined in the Shastras (Manu Smriti, etc.), divided the populace (vertically) as per the class of profession. The Jati (caste), on the other hand, stratified them (horizontally) based on the field of specialization. Hence, Saliyars, which specialized in weaving, formed a caste within a Varna (Though Indian caste system has been ridiculed by many as anachronistic, yet in ancient days it played an influential role in shaping economic activities .[26] It was much like the medieval European guilds, ensuring the division of labour, and, in some cases, allowing manufacturers to achieve narrow specialisation. For instance, in certain regions, producing each variety of cloth was the speciality of a particular sub-caste. Also, philosophers argue that the majority of people would be comfortable in stratified endogamous groups, and have been in ancient times). Extending the logic, when people within a caste opted for further specialization, a sub-caste would form that catered to a niche market/application/identity (for e.g. Pattushalis specialized in silk-weaving, Padmashalis, in cotton-handlooms, etc) (in much the same way as the present-day medical speciality & super-specialities)

To track/trace the Vadakku Saliyar’s source-origin, a comparative study of the structure & practices of the macro-groups vis-à-vis that of the community was essential to narrow down the possibilities.

In South India, the Saliyar community has the following major groupings: 1. Chaliyans (Kerala) 2. Kaikkolar (Tamilnadu) 3. Devanga (Karnataka/ Andhra) 4. Sale (Padmashali/Pattu Saliyar) (Andhra/ Karnataka) Among these, the last two castes were native to Kannada and Telugu speaking regions by inscriptional evidences. The Kaikkolar community is native to Tamil-speaking region, whereas the Chaliyans belong to Kerala.

1. The Chaliyans, actually migrated from Tamil region & are mainly made up of the Sali, Devanga, Kaikkolar (& Jedas) group. There is no historical reference on reverse-migration. Hence, it is unlikely that the community had its origin from this group. 2. Kaikkolar community has its roots in Tamilnadu. Their name comes from the words "kai" (hand) and "kol" (shuttle used in looming or spear). They were in the army of Chola dynasty.[2] They are also known as Sengundhar, which means a red dagger. It is customary for Kaikolars to use Mudali title after their personal name. They took up weaving silk and transformed to land owners and business men. At the same time, weaving was not the only occupation they got associated; agriculture and business were also secondary occupations of Sengunthars. 3. Devanga weavers in Karnataka/Andhra Pradesh/Tamil Nadu are primarily goddess worshippers. Their native state was the kingdom of Ujjain where even to this day they form the major community. Their chief deity is Chowdeshwari (Chamundeshwari). Many were also warriors during Vijayanagar era. Both the South India Devanga and Kaikkolar Saliyars were part of left hand castes (The artisan communities of olden days had two internal groupings – the Right-Hand (Balanga) and Left-Hand (Edanga). These divisions were unique to South India and mostly observed in Tamil and Telugu regions in the past. There is no clear cut definition for these divisions, except, perhaps, their claims indicating which hand of God they came from! The divisions mostly determined ritual privileges with right hand castes generally claiming higher position over left hand castes), in Telugu and Tamil regions. None of these customs & practices has a semblance of correlation with that of Vadakku Saliyar community; hence, it is unlikely that they belonged to this group.

4. Pattushali or PathaSali is a Telugu and Kannada weavers' caste found largely in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, particularly in areas surrounding Hyderabad/ Prakasam, Hassan, Mysore, and Bangalore districts. "Pattu" is the Tamil word for "silk." The weaving community that specialized in silk weaving might have become a separate segment and community. Most of the community belongs to Vaishnava sect. Vadakku Saliyars, on the other hand were pure Saivaites; besides, they specialized in pure cotton weaving. These facts negate the possibility of community having its origin in Pattushali group.

Padmashali in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka worship Shiva or Veerabhadra as their main deity. Sali or Saliyar in Tamil Nadu worship Vinayaka as their main deity. (Vadakku Saliyars also have similar worship modes). The Padmashali has a group who are qualified agama shastra pandits who perform the poojas and solemnize marriages etc. They are identified as ‘Padma Brahmins’. (Vadakku Saliyar community also had this practice of performing rituals by own members (called Pattars) instead of engaging ‘upper’ castes). Padmashalis had Tiger as their symbol (Refer Chengalpet district court ruling by Justice George Coleman in 1809, where he decreed that Padmashalis will be allowed the use of Tiger as their symbol & the Pattu Saliyars, that of Berunda, a two-headed bird). (The family deity of Vadakku Saliyars of Vadu Kacchi Madil origin is called Pulivudaiyar (i.e. Sastha, who rides Tiger as his Vaahanam)). The Padmashali group was always part of the right-hand castes, which is also the case with the Vadakku Saliyar community. (According to Vijaya Ramaswamy, a noted historian, Sali weavers (to which Vadakku Saliyars belonged) were always part of right hand castes while Devanga and Kaikkolar Saliyars were part of left hand castes.[5] In Kerala, this grouping is prevalent amongst Malabar Sali or Chaliyans even to this date). All these facts & factors strongly indicate that Vadakku Saliyars had their roots in the Sali group/ Padmashali sect.

The timing of when they branched off from the main-line Saliyar group needs further study.

The People Origin: For ascertaining the origin, it was required to check the following (independent or inter-related) possibilities: 1. Relocation – Ancestors migrating from another locality. 2. Fusion – Ancestors (local) integrating with migrant-artisans through cross-community wedlock. 3. Fission – Ancestors branching off from a major group.

1. Handloom weavers have engaged in collective movements for long as a survival strategy (Refer, ‘Weaver Migration in the Deccan’ by Naveen Kanalu naveenkanal@gmail.com). Further, evidence of the royal families and nobility inviting fine craftsmen from different and far off provinces is commonly found (Refer Wiki “Balaramapuram ). Most of the accounts of medieval migration are linked with the Vijayanagara Empire, under whose expansive and well-administered territory, the weavers received patronage. The Vadakku Saliyar community is, however, quite small in anthropological dimensions – it numbers around 700 families now (Refer Vadakku Saliyar Genealogy study which links the families of the community dating from circa 1820), & would have been still smaller, probably around 100, during the formative years (bulk of their population growth was during the second-half of twentieth century, in line with general Indian population growth). Therefore, they lacked the ‘critical’ mass needed for major demographic shifts. In fact all their subsequent migrations have been limited within a radius of about 50 Kilometers. Therefore, migration of the core group from distant lands seems to be an unlikely possibility.

2. Artisan groups, in principle & practice, never encouraged exogamous relationships. It was probably out of fear of losing their traditional skills/secrets or out of the need to stay united to tide over difficult days arising out of the then prevailing regional rivalries, marauding armies or demographic shifts. Like other weaving communities, the Vadakku Saliyar community also mostly married within the group. There have been hardly any recorded incidents of cross-community wedlock. This probably meant that the ancestors marrying migrant-artisans was only a distant possibility, though not an impossible proposition.

3. The ancestors branching off from a major group seems to be the most tenable cause. Sale weavers of Andhra are the first ones to migrate to Tamil region during Chola period around 10th century (Ref Wiki ‘Saliya’). They were known as Choliya Saliyars. Devanga weavers also migrated during this period; however, they settled down in the Kongu region of Tamilnadu.

The formation of Tirunelvelly Saliyars’ sub-caste (consisting of the Vadakku/ Valliyoor/ Kudumi/ Aruppukottai sub-caste) was probably/partly attributable to geographical segregation (people with common ancestry remaining separated by long-distances & over a period of time). They, thus, separated from the main-line Padmashali group which had earlier migrated from Andhra Pradesh, and remained isolated over a few centuries. The further & final breaking of the Vadakku/ Valliyoor/ Kudumi/ Arruppukottai Saliyars (which had so many things in common, yet, behaved like distant-neighbours) took place probably due to personal/ professional/ ideological misunderstandings (akin to the present-day political party-formations).

The conundrum that still remains to be answered, & which needs further study on the cause & chronology of events, is: 1. Whether the macro-group (the Padmashali) migrated from Andhra Pradesh; if so, when? 2. When did the Tirunelvelly group develop separate identity? 3. When did the Vadakku/ Valliyoor/ Kudumi/ Aruppukottai Saliyars break-off from one another?

The Location origin: The community, after overcoming the initial migratory issues, settled down in the Vadu Kacchi Madil area, near Valliyoor in Tirunelvelly district. This place was originally called Devidapuri, the name indicating its fame & prosperity. (It was re-christened Vadu Kacchi Madil subsequently, due to a legend associated with a Kannada Princess named Vadu Kacchi). Within Devidapuri, the community stayed put in a locale called ‘Saliyar Pallam’ which is in ruins now, though. Devidapuri was surrounded by 3 lakes (Vadu Kachhi madil kulam, Alankulam & Voorkavalan kulam). Vadu Kacchi Madil was ruled over by the king of Valliyoor, a vassal of the Pandian Kings of Madurai. All other sub-sects of the Tirunelvelly Saliyar groups (Aruppukottai Saliyars, Valliyoor Saliyars, Kudumi Saliyars …) also settled down in & around Valliyoor, south of Tirunelvelly.

Political Background: The era prior to 1400 (the mid-medieval period) witnessed many internecine wars between rulers of local Kingdoms & the Muslim rulers of North India. Muslim rule of the region was finally overthrown in 1365 by the new Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar, which had been founded at Hampi. Further South, Kampana Udaiyar, a Vijayanagar prince, drove the Muslim sultan out of Madurai and started a dynasty, subordinate to the court of Vijayanagar that lasted until 1404. For the next two centuries, this empire withstood the marauding Muslim invasions from the north very well. In the beginning, from circa 1350 to 1500 (the late medieval period), the royal princes & commanders (called Nayakars) were ruling over the different provinces. King Krishna Devaraya (1509-1530), the greatest ruler of the Vijayanagar dynasty, exercised close control over this part (Madurai region) of his empire. However, after his exit, a few of the bigger Nayakars, the notable among them being Thirumalai Nayakar (1623-1659) & Rani Mangammal (1689-1704), established almost independent rule in their respective territories from the latter half of the 16th century. The Social Background: The society witnessed numerous migrations and demographic shifts with the resultant formation of multi-ethnic communities in most localities. The society at large was divided into two separate entities, one comprising the agrarian (land-based) communities and the other, artisan (skill-based) communities, with Vadakku Saliyars belonging to the latter group. Multiplication of sub-castes was another notable feature. Religion and temples were integrating factors; however, they were also causes for social conflicts due to ideological rivalries within the ‘Hindu’ religion/ community itself (the Saivaite/ Vaishnavaite feuds, etc).

The Economic Background: This period saw considerable development with the king and the Nayakars encouraging various industries, particularly the weaving industry. Cotton, the major raw material was available in abundance in areas in & around Tirunelvelly region. A good exchange network linked interior towns with the coastal ports facilitating brisk foreign trade in textiles. Foreign trade was conducted mainly with the Dutch and the Portuguese, as the British and the French had not yet made inroads in the region (Ref Wiki: “Madurai Nayakar Dynasty). This period was, indeed, a golden chapter in the annals of Vadakku Saliyar community, as they were secure (from invasions) & prosperous (due to royal patronage & foreign trade).

The Professional Background: Almost all families of the community & every member of the family were involved in handloom weaving/ processing. Weaving was limited to every-day-use cotton items – Veshti, thuvarthu, turkey towel, mundu, bedsheets, jamukalams, etc. They never ventured into other forms of textiles like exquisite silk or other variants. Some of them did excel in business, which was almost exclusively limited to trading in handloom products.

The Cultural Background: The community followed almost all mainstream religious customs while a few were supplanted by local rituals & some others supplemented by superstitions. Deity worship was very common. The members of the community subscribed to the Saivaite ideology (the reason why most of the members of the community were named after Saivaite Gods (e.g. Arumugaperumal, Parameswaran, Bhagavathi, Natarajan, Subramanaiam) or Saivaite saints (e.g. Agastian) or related names (e.g. Sivathanu) etc). Consequently, Vinayakar, Agastiar had temples (like the other communities in the Saliyar fold, the Valliyoor, Kudumi, Aruppukottai Saliyars etc.) in the place they settled down. Sastha, their family deity (Ishta Devata), had a temple in the outskirts of the village (This worship of Sastha was entirely in agreement with the then custom in Tamilnadu – He was originally worshipped as Ayyanar, the son of Ayyan (Shiva) from time immemorial. He was worshipped more as a Guardian deity, the reason why his temples were always located at the outskirts of the village. In order to bring together the two diverse ideological groups of Hinduism, the Saivism & Vaishnavism, the people invented an ingenuous episode explaining the birth of Sastha from Siva and Vishnu (the latter as Mohini, when Vishnu took that bewitching form, once to help the Devas get the Amrutam after churning of Milky ocean, and another time to help Siva escape the troublesome Bhamasura). Thus Ayyanar got transformed as Ayyappa/ Sastha, who being Harihara putra (son of Hari (Vishnu) & Hara (Siva)), was acceptable to people of all denominations). In addition, they had a village god (Oor Kavalan), called Munnodian/ Munadian in the same temple precincts, the puja ceremonies for which were performed by own community members. Also there was a Ganesh temple (in the nearby precincts), which was built by Princess Vadu Kacchi’s royal father with a stone (Nadu Kal) erected in memory of the princess. All of them still exist.

Mutharamman (Muthu Mari Amman – the goddess of small-pox, as the disease was a scourge for many centuries) was worshipped regularly as well as on special occasions (Kodai) alongwith her ‘vassal’ deity, Sudalai Madan. However, their temples are not seen in Vadu Kacchi Madil any longer. A glance at the nearby locale, Kalacaud (Ref Wiki), which had a fairly stable history, indicates that there are still temples of Mutharamman & Sudalai Madan. It is, therefore, likely that the community did worship those deities during their hey-days; however, their temples might have fallen into disuse once there was exodus of the community people from Vadu Kacchi Madil. One interesting feature of their worship was that, while Mutharamman temples were built right in the middle of their habitat, Sastha temple was always located a little removed from the main residential locality (However, with the rise of Sabarimala as an important pilgrimage in the twentieth century, the Deity became a mainstream God. This probably explains why most of the Sastha temples of later origin are installed in town proper). Black magic was a scourge & was, in fact, instrumental in atleast one major migration. In line with other villages of south India (Macnicol, 1912), offering obeisance to girl-child of the family who died before marriage (Kanni Moolai), erecting ‘temples’ for powerful & feared members of the community (Malaiamman of the Kunchu Madan episode), performing goat-sacrifice for Munadian (which is now passé, though), etc. were common practices.

Intermediate History: Circa 1650 – 1800 (the upheaval phase): Though Nayakars continued to rule till the final arrival of British in the later part of eighteenth century, there were three migrations, one around 1650 & another around 1750 and the last around 1800, which re-defined the location contour of the community.

The first wave of migration: The Migration: Around 1650, a handful of families of the three prominent Saliyar sects of the region, the Vadakku Saliyars, the Valliyoor Saliyars & the Kudumi Saliyars, for reasons not yet ascertainable, shifted their base from Valliyoor to the southern portal, the Travancore province, which was ruled by the very able Raja Ravi Varma. (There is a story which claims that once some members of these three Saliyar groups antagonized the then king of their locale, who decreed them to be exiled. The punishment meted to them differed, probably based on the gravity of offence: the faulted-families of the Vadakku Saliyars were deported as such, that of Kudumi Saliyars got their head shaved off except for a tuft of hair (hence called Kudumi, which in Tamil means tuft) & those of Valliyoor Saliyars had their head tonsured (they were, therefore, called ‘Mottai’ Saliyars (‘Mottai’ in Tamil means tonsured – Ref: Karuthu Vinayakar temple inscriptions which still refers to them as ‘Mottai’ Saliyars, though they acquired the epithet ‘Valliyoor’ subsequently). What lends credence to the incident is t he fact that only few families of the respective communities migrated at that point of time, with no other disturbing socio-economic-political developments in the locale). Through Mangamma Salai, this band of valiant pioneers crossed over the mountain range & reached Kadukari via a small pass called Kadukari Thundi. They reached Bhoothapandi plains on the south of the mountain slopes, where they put up their first tenements (Refer Bhoothapandi temple inscription dated 1658, which cites their arrival & stay. The community members continued to visit the Siva temple (which had been erected by them earlier) during their annual festival almost until end of twentieth century). There, on the banks of river ‘Palaiyaar’, they constructed a temple for lord Shiva (Bhoothalingaswamy) (The presiding deity is still called ‘Saliyar kanda Thirumeni’. Scores of community people used to visit the temple on the occasion of ‘Thai Punarpoosam’ festival until recently). On the ‘Tadagai hill-top adjoining the town, a temple for Agastiar. The Vadakku Saliyars continued to stay here until perhaps 1660 after which they moved further south to the present locale of Vadasery (Ref: Travancore State Manual, Part7).

The Tenements: The Vadakku Saliyars settled on the southern & western side of Vadasery (The locale name, ‘Vadasery’ was probably derived from the root word ‘Vadakku Eri’ (referring to the huge lake on the northern side of the portal). Some historians, however, hold that, it was derived from ‘Vadasai Cheri’ (as it was a north (Vadakku) settlement (Cheri) to the then famous Kottar town). The Valliyoor Saliyars settled on the eastern side & the Kudumi Saliyars, partly on the northern side & elsewhere. Like in Vadu Kacchi Madil, they adopted the ‘Theru’ culture of house construction in Vadasery – scientifically designed streets with houses having common walls & abutting one another in a long row. The streets would run east-west with the houses facing north or south. Houses had amble light & ventilation due to provision of open-to-sky ‘Thaalvaaram’ & tiled-roofs. It was also customary to have trees (margosa, drum-stick, curry-leaves, papaya) in the back-yard for captive consumption. The far-end of the houses had organic-pits, which recycled the domestic waste. Every house-hold had arrangements for processing paddy (earthen stoves in the back-yard & open ground in the front-yard, for sun-drying, etc). The well-to-do ones had ‘Kazham’, an exclusive open space for handling farms products. Adjoining the community streets were the settlements of Washermen (Vannaans), Fishermen (Mukuvas), Smiths (Kammaans), Barbers (Navidar) etc (almost akin to the Gandhian model of self-sufficient communities).

The People: The ancestors of the Chidambarathanus, the Danakodis, the Agastians with Kasilingam (later deified as Malainjan Swamigal) as leader, moved out of Vadu Kacchi Madil to the Kingdom of Travancore. Its ruler, Raja Ravi Varma (circa 1663-1672), Raja Ravi Varma (circa 1684 – 1718) & King Martanda Varma (circa 1729-1758), extended a warm welcome to these early settlers. In addition, His Majesty provided sufficient land & royal patronage for their produce. Besides, Vadasery was rich in vegetation as it was surrounded by 3 lakes (Putteri Lake on the north, Subbiar kulam on the west & Kallar kulam on the east). Also, the favorable humidity levels of Vadasery offered ideal conditions needed for yarn spinning, weaving & cloth processing.

As they settled down, the visionary of the community, Kasilingam swamigal, started constructing a temple for Vinayakar under a Peepul tree on the south side of their settlements. (The Vinayakar temple abuts the later-day Siva temple, which was built by the community in fond memory of the Kasilingam swamigal & named it after him (Kasi Viswanathar). All community people & scores of other devotees throng the temple on festival & other days). He also dug a tank (Neerali) adjoining the temple, both of which flourish even this day. (It is said that even during droughts, which were not many in this region, the tank never dried up. Community people earlier & people from other walks of life now, take regular baths). Vanchimartandan Street (named after their patron-king, Raja Marthanda Varma, was one of their first settlements alongwith few other neighboring streets (Vanchimartandan, Anju, Single, Puliyadi, School, Pillaiyarkoil & Vanchimartandan New Streets alongwith part of Chinnarasingam Street were their settlement areas). They adopted Sastha, a little away from the Vinayaka temple on the Distillery Road as their family deity. (The land where Distillery Road runs actually belonged to the community till about 100years back. When Parrys group wanted to set up a distillery, the community relinquished the title for public use). After setting up the tenements/ temples, Kasilingam Swamigal went to Malainjan, near Balaramapurm in the year 1664, & attained Nirvikalpa Samadhi. (The exploits of Kasilingam Swamigal have been documented by one Sivathanu alias Poosai Pillai. For details, refer “Legends of Vadakku Saliyar”. The folk-lore has it that Kasilingam Swamigal attained Samadhi in one Pepul tree. Once, when the tree had to be cut for laying a road, people noticed blood flowing out it & immediately ceased the cutting. The tree with the blood stain can be still seen in Malainjan. The adjoining temple with vast tracts of land which belonged to the community, however, has been lost to the care-taker tenants).

The Second wave of Migration: Even as the first group of people were establishing themselves in Vadasery, back in Vadu Kacchi Madil there was a tragic & terrible incident which shook the very foundation of the community. The incident centered on a black-magic event triggered by a lady called Maalaiamman. Had not history been unkind to her, she would have been like any other community house-maker contributing to the family & society welfare. However, it was not to be, and the story goes on to vividly elaborate her plight on the death of her husband & its aftermath when her brother-in-law initially, & the society & the local king (Aivar Raja) subsequently, refused her rightful claims for alimony & a piece of land. In wrath, she set about destroying the entire community through the practice of black magic. (For further & full account of the incident, please refer “Legends of Vadakku Saliyar”. The story is sung in beautiful prose & poetry by ‘Villu pattu’ exponents during the local ‘Kodai’ festivals of Mutharamman temples. However, in private, people only talk about it in hush-hush manner & even in this scientific era, many people fear to read it. There are two temples dedicated to them, one in Vadu Kacchi Madil (across Oor Kavalan Kulam, a little away from Sastha temple) and another in Vadasery amongst the community settlement. There are seven families which still owe/ claim their roots to this folklore). The consequence of this episode was that, all families of the community, without exception, abandoned their place of residence & ran helter-skelter to different localities. (The area vacated by Saliyars fell into disuse over a period of time. However, around the beginning/middle of the nineteenth century, Thevars, the militia men of the Ramanathapuram Kings during the latter’s heyday, moved in, when they lost their livelihood with the advent of British. They continue to inhabitate the place, extending helping-hand to the Vadakku Saliyars as & when they visit the locality for worship of their family-deity). The story of Kunchu Madan vividly describes the whole episode with specific evidence to show that this migration happened after the earlier one. (The leader in the second migration was one Nagarammai, whereas the earlier one had Kasilingam; the route taken by the second group was the western route of Kanyakumari/ Maruthuva malai/ Kottar, whereas the earlier one had taken the southern route via Kadukarai/ Bhoothapandi. Besides, the final landing point has been stated as Anju Street, which clearly indicates that the street was already inhabitated by their ancestors by the first migration). The ancestors of Thanumalaiyan, Arumugaperumals, Pettamperumal families, with one Nagarammai in the lead, moved to Vadasery area & settled down in Anju Street & nearby places. (There they consulted an astrologer, who advised them to build a ‘temple’ & ‘bottle-up’ the spirit of Malaiamman). Other groups moved over to nearby places in Tirunelvelly district. The ancestors of Boothalingam & Nalayudham families went to Ambasamudram, that of Sivathanus, Ananchaperumals to Tirunelvelly Nattham & the Peria/Chinna Thiraganar families settled down in Valliyoor (Ahasa Sastha) & the Thalavasal families in another location in Valliyoor. The ancestors of some other families settled down in Nanguneri (Ahasa Sastha) & Tirunelvelly Melapalayam. (Even the Aruppukottai Saliyars, who were co-habitants of Vadakku Saliyars in Vadu Kacchi Madil, also vacated the place probably due to this episode). Thus the community got separated into 8 groups & each group settled down in their respective localities. However, they continued their relationships with other members of the community. Another sentiment they retained was worshipping their family deity Sastha in their new settlement areas. (In fact, the descendents of all these early settlers still call these Sastha temples as their family deities & every year, on Panguni Uththiram day, they make it a point to visit the temples). As it turned out, this separation was not to be a permanent one, and they had the re-union soon.

The third wave of migration: Towards the end of 18th Century, the fall of Nayakars of Madurai was swift & decisive once the British moved in. Kattabomman, a local Palayakkarar chieftain in the Tirunelveli district, rebelled against the Company administration in the 1790s. After the First Polygar War, he was captured and hanged in 1799. (Ref Wiki “History of Tamilnadu). The end of the Polygar Wars gave the British complete control over a major portion of Tamil Nadu.[81] In 1802, British formally took control all these areas including Tirunelvelly district. This take-over portended few bad omens for the community. East India Company, which until then was a trading set-up, became a ruler with vast powers. The Company procured large quantities of local cotton (at company-dictated-rates), shipped them back home (Birmingham), converted them as finished textiles (making use of advances from the Industrial Revolution), imported them back into the country & sold them at company-determined prices. With the dismantling of local kingdoms, royal patronage under which the community flourished disappeared. Thus, both the raw material supply as well as the ready-market for their products dwindled almost overnight. Compounding the complication was the entry of middlemen, who supplied cotton yarn & collected the end-product, after paying the weavers pittance of conversion charges. Needless to say, the textile industry suffered irreparable losses. This affected the lives & fortunes of artisans of all hues & the community too felt the impact in full measure.

Unlike agrarian community, which, being producers of food, could build-up stocks to tide over difficult times, the weaving community generally lived off their regular income. Hence, to sustain livelihood, the community had to look beyond its shores. Their natural instinct was to seek living where their community brethren had settled, beyond the mountain ranges, in the province of Travancore. The new locale offered two major advantages. The area was insulated from the rest of India both climatically & politically. Besides, the Maharaja of Travancore extended a warm welcome to this community to set-up their looms & ply their trade.

Around 1810-1820, families who had settled down in areas in and around Tirunelvelly (Ambasamudram, Naththam, Melapalayam, Nanguneri & Valliyoor), started moving over to Vadasery area to start life afresh. It is not certain if they all moved in at the same time or in groups. In any case, by middle of 19th Century, almost all the families had settled down in their new locale.

The Immediate/ Current History: Circa 1800 – present date (the settled phase): Stage 1: The rise (1800 to 1940) & fall in prosperity (1940 to 1970) The community slowly settled down after the upheaval phase. Food was not a problem as Vadasery area was surrounded by a river (Palaiyar), many tanks, numerous groves, rich vegetation & lush green paddy fields. The locale was blessed with both the Southwest & Northeast monsoons & received copious rainfall. The forest & deep woods (Thirparappu, Balamore…) were not very far away, hence, forest products (fire-wood…) were easily available. Profession: The community had developed exclusively cloth-weaving skills. (Of the three stages in textile processing, viz. Cotton cultivation, spinning & weaving, the community specialized in the last aspect only. They bought spun & wound yarn from traders initially, conditioned them in a ‘Thotti’ (a stone contration), in the open part of house or street-corners. Later, the sun-dried roll was wound with portly ‘raattus’ (almost similar to the spinning wheel of Gandhi-fame), in small wooden pipes (kuzhals), a favorite pastime of adolescent girls & pocket-money-earning chore of older ladies. Numerous such ‘kuzhals’ were then loaded into a huge wooden apparatus (also called ‘raattu’) which were permanently mounted in the back/middle of their house. In these devices, the threads were joined into ‘paavus’, which are parallel threads that measures the same length as the street. This bundle of long threads (Paavu) was then conditioned in the streets, with repeated application of starch paste, gentle rubbing & sun-drying. This job of ‘paavu- thoidal’ was the major source of income for the men-folk. The conditioned yarn would then be mounted on a manual loom where shuttles would weave & waft through the long-yarn (paavu). This step demanded lot of skill & attention; hence, only those with deft hands, nimble feet, sharp eyes & mental focus could specialize in it, as the quality of final product depended on excellent control over this step. It is very interesting to note that, there was no electrical or thermal input required at any stage of textile-processing. Besides, all the tasks were performed at the house/neighborhood level; hence, no commuting to place-of-work, etc! If there was a ‘green’ certification then, the whole process would have got a centum). They produced cloth as a marketable commodity with no organic links or skills in the production of the raw material. Some of them did excel in business & service jobs, but those were the exceptions rather than the norm. Even those who shone well in business were mostly in trading activity related to handloom products. Due to the patronage of King of Travancore, they found ready market for their products & wares. There were notable business tycoons, & within a short period the community started flourishing. Social Development: All was probably not well & the community was divided on geographical lines. The north-side settlements (Anju/ Single/ Puliyadi/ School streets) were called Krishnankovil group & the south-side ones (Vanchimartandan/ Pillaiyarkoil/ Vanchimartandan New Street), called the Vadasery group, carried on tirade against each other until around 1900. It is also probable that the Vadasery group erected a Mutharamman temple to rival the one in Anju Street. Finally some of the community elders brokered a peace-agreement & the tempers subsided. However, it was soon followed by another declining phase of their lives, from around 1940.

Politico-Economic Development: The introduction of the railways – starting 1853 – by the colonial British government helped penetrate the self sufficient rural economy. During & after the world wars (in the forties), the international communities were busy recovering from the ravages of the war & reconstructing their economies; consequently, the demand for textiles went into a tail-spin. The independence of the nation in 1947 was indeed a mega event; even as the community rejoiced, the future portended miseries. With the Travancore province being forced to accede to the demands of Sardar Vallabhai Patel to be part of the union (despite wishes to the contrary by the then Dewan of the Province, Sir CP Ramaswamy Iyer), the unavoidable became inevitable. Royal patronage disappeared overnight. The silver-lining, however, was the dwindling imports of finished goods from England. Compounding the downtrend was the advent of powerlooms, around the eighties in twentieth century, which literally made the old ways of weaving obsolete. Besides, the advent of polyester metamorphosed the clothing preferences of people in every corner of the world & that took its toll on cotton textiles substantially (the affordable sections initially & other levels subsequently). Further, the dressing modes of South Indians changed dramatically (from cotton Veshti to polyester trousers), tested their patience & income levels beyond their bearing capacity. Life became very difficult & poverty again raised its ugly head.

Stage 2: The Phoenix rises again: The Locale & the People: It is to the credit of these enterprising people that they switched tracts from traditional routes of subsistence to alternate sources of income. During the hey-days of their prosperity, very few were educated or settled down in Government jobs. (Private jobs were practically unknown.) The next generation (starting around the sixties & seventies) aggressively pursued education as the alternative (& presently the main) source of employment & income. As non-traditional employment opportunities were very limited in Nagercoil, many of the educated youths of sixties & following decades started moving to Chennai/ rest of Tamilnadu/ Bangalore/ Bombay & elsewhere. Consequently about 30 % of the population now lives outside the district.

The Culture: They continued with some of their old tradition of worshipping, by erecting temples for, Mutharamman (one each in Anju Street & Vachnimartandan New Street), Sudalai Madan (in Puliyadi Street), Sage Agastiar (in Anju Street), Lord Ganesh (in Pillaiyar Koil Street, which, however, has been taken over by another community), Kasi Viswanathar (in Distillery Road). They continued to trek to their old family Sasthas temple at Vadu Kachhi Madil, Ambasamudram, Naththam, Melapalayam, Valliyoor, and Nanguneri, on Panguni Uththiram day. In other respects, they imbibed fair amount of customs from the Travancore Province, their adopted place, – for example, food habits, dressing mode of males, celebrations, the matriarchal system of naming the daughters (with the mothers’ initials) & property ownership, etc. Some of their earlier customs underwent slight changes. With rise in education & consequent social status, many families sought alliances outside the caste. Inter-caste marriages are slowly becoming norms now, though it is still mostly restricted to other Saliyar communities (Valliyoor/ Kudumi Saliyars). Some of the customs of the current generation has are undergone sea-change – for example, festivals (Onam is no longer a major festival), eating habits (snacks for dinner), clothing (Veshtis are worn only on occasions), etc. which are vastly different from that of their ancestors.

The Profession: The current generation of youngsters is getting educated & doing extremely well in almost all fields. They qualified as Engineers, Pharmacists, Doctors, Advocates, Scientists to name but a few. Many have climbed the corporate ladders (upto directors), academics (upto Professors) & other elite professional forum. Few of them even sought lucrative jobs abroad (in UK, Canada, Qatar, Singapore) & settled down comfortably.

The Epilogue: This is, thus, the summary of the history of Vadakku Saliyar community – an example par excellence in ambition, adventure & adaptability. The saga & success of the community still continues. With such abundance of enterprise & intelligence, the future is indeed bright & full of prospects for the community & its people.