Giispune at 19:48, 3 March 2026

2026-03-03T19:48:13Z

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{{Short description|Tamil community traditionally involved in the arts of music and dance}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox caste|caste_name=Isai Velalar|image=|caption=|languages=[[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]]|populated_states=[[Tamil Nadu]]{{*}}[[Kerala]]{{*}}[[Andhra Pradesh]]{{*}}[[Karnataka]]|region=Northern Tamil Nadu, Southern Andhra Pradesh|population=|religions=[[Hinduism]]|country={{flag|India}}|ethnicity=[[South Asian]]|classification=[[Other Backward Class]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kerala |first=Government |title=The Kerala State Commission for Backward Classes |url=https://kscbc.kerala.gov.in/images/stories/docs/35_96_1996.pdf |website=kscbc.kerala.gov.in}}</ref>
|subdivisions={{*}}{{*}}Nayanakkarar{{*}}Nattuvanar{{*}}Melakkarar <ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.epw.in/journal/2013/08/commentary/caste-tamil-nadu-iii.html | title=Caste in Tamil Nadu - III | journal=Economic and Political Weekly | date=5 June 2015 | volume=48 | issue=8 | pages=7–8 }}</ref>}}
'''Isai Vellalar ''' is a community found in [[India]] in [[Tamil Nadu]]. They are traditionally involved as performers of classical dance and music in [[Hindu temple]]s and [[court]]s of the patrons.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of the Tamils|last=University|first=Vijaya Ramaswamy, Jawaharlal Nehru|date=2017-08-25|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9781538106860|location=|pages=114–115, 161–162|language=en}}</ref> The term "Isai Velalar" is a recent community identity, people of [[minstrel]] occupation from various castes such as, Melakkarar, Nayanakkarar and Nattuvanar come under this term.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Of Property and Propriety: The Role of Gender and Class in Imperialism and Nationalism|last1=Bannerji|first1=Himani|last2=Mojab|first2=Shahrzad|last3=Whitehead|first3=Judith|date=2001|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=9780802081926|location=|pages=162|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Soneji|first=Davesh|title=Unfinished Gestures: Devadasis, Memory, and Modernity in South India|date=2012-01-15|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-76809-0|location=|pages=143–144|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Madras Studios: Narrative, Genre, and Ideology in Tamil Cinema|last=Pillai|first=Swarnavel Eswaran|date=2015-01-27|publisher=SAGE Publications India|isbn=9789351502128|location=|pages=231|language=en}}</ref>

Isai Vellalars are a micro community. Out of all the divisions, Melakkarars are the predominant Isai Vellalars. [[Edgar Thurston]] noted that the community had two linguistic sects within the state; being [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and [[Telugu language|Telugu]]. Tamil-speaking Melakkarars traditionally performed both ‘Chinna Melam’([[Nautch|nautch music]]) and/or ‘Periya Melam’([[nadaswaram]]), while Telugu-speaking Melakkarars of Tamil Nadu performed only ‘Periya Melam.’ and has nothing to do with dancing, The chinna melam tamils are dancing at its core, Telugu Melakkarars had surname like ‘Reddi’ and ‘Naidu’, while the Tamil sect used ‘Pillai’ and 'mudali' title. The Tamil speaking melakkarars are [[Tamil Shaivism|shaivites.]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Mēlakkāran - Wikisource, the free online library |url=https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Castes_and_Tribes_of_Southern_India/M%C4%93lakk%C4%81ran |access-date=2024-08-27 |website=en.wikisource.org |language=en}}</ref> There are also other sects like Nattuvanar, naayanakkarar, devaradiyar etc. under Isai Vellalar label.<ref>{{cite web |title=Isai Vellalar and their history | date=24 April 2024 |url=https://maddy06.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-music-of-melakkar.html?m=1}}</ref> Some from this community were made [[devadasi]]s until its abolition.

== Social status ==
They are listed as a [[Other Backward Class|Most Backward Class]] in the state of Tamil Nadu.<ref>{{cite web |title=state obc list tn |url=https://bcmbcmw.tn.gov.in/bclist.htm}}</ref>

==Etymology ==
The term Isai Vellalar derives from the Tamil words ''Isai'' meaning "music" and vellar a generic term roughly meaning "cultivator", thus translates as "cultivators of music".<ref name=":0" /> This term was introduced after the legal abolition of the [[Devadasi]] system as a result of the reform and anti-[[nautch]] movement in 1947.<ref name=":1" />

== History ==
The Isai Velalar communities were originally [[nomad]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Kalabhras in the Pandiya country and their impact on the life and letters there|last=Arunachalam|first=M.|date=1979|publisher=University of Madras|isbn=|location=|pages=90|language=en}}</ref> [[Bard]]ic traditions are referred in early [[Sangam literature]] and well into the early [[Pallava dynasty|Pallava]] and [[Pandya dynasty|Pandya]] periods. These were primarily ritualistic and defensive in nature. The artistic side of music and dance came to be strengthened during the [[Chola dynasty|Chola]] and [[Vijayanagara Empire|Vijayanagara]] period.

Early [[Chola dynasty|Chola]] inscriptions mentions Tevaratiyar as recipients of food offering and ritual performers of the temples, and was a term carrying honorific and high connotations.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Donors, Devotees, and Daughters of God: Temple Women in Medieval Tamilnadu|last=Orr|first=Leslie C.|date=2000-03-09|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195356724|location=|pages=5, 52, 56|language=en}}</ref> Inscriptional evidences indicates devadasis to have been independent professionals who enjoyed property (made large land donations to temples) and a respectable position in the society. The 11th-century inscription of [[Rajaraja I]] states that the Tevaratiyar were invited to serve the [[Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur|Brihadisvara Temple]] and were given land near the temple.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Approaches to History: Essays in Indian Historiography|last=Bhattacharya|first=Sabyasachi|date=2011|publisher=Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR)|isbn=9789380607177|location=|pages=206|language=en}}</ref>

Under the patronage of the [[Nayaks of Tanjavur]] and [[Thanjavur Maratha kingdom|Thanjavur Maratha]] kings, [[Telugu people|Telugu]] musicians and [[Devadasi]]s from [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Maharashtra]] migrated to the [[Thanjavur district|Thanjavur region]]. The Melakkarars of Thanjavur are therefore divided in two distinct linguistic groups – the Tamil and Telugu Melakkarar.<ref name=":1" />

With the entry of [[Colonial India]], great loss of temple patronage resulted in the Tevaratiyar looking for other ways of income which degraded their social status.<ref name=":3" /> The [[Devadasi]] system was legally abolished in 1947 after the campaigns of the social reformers [[Moovalur Ramamirtham]] and [[Muthulakshmi Reddi]]. The entry of [[Tamil Brahmin]]s in music and dance was seen as a threat to the traditional performers of these art forms. This led communities traditionally associated with music and dance to start forming a politicized non-Brahmin caste association which they coined as "Isai Velalar Sangam" and thereby created a political unified identity.<ref name=":1" />

== Notable people==
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2021}}

===Historical personalities===
*[[Muthu Thandavar]]

===Social activists===
*[[Moovalur Ramamirtham]]

===Politicians===
*[[M. K. Stalin|MK Stalin]]
*[[Udhayanidhi Stalin]]
*[[M Karunanidhi]]
*[[Murasoli Maran]]
*[[S. S. Thennarasu]]
*[[MK Azhagiri]]
*[[Dayanidhi Maran|Dhayanidhi Maran]]

===Business personalities===
*[[Kalanithi Maran]]
*[[Kavya Maran]]

===Arts===
*[[Thanjavur Quartet]]
*[[R Muthukannammal]]
*[[Veenai Dhanammal]]
*[[T. Brinda]]
*[[T. Muktha]]
*[[Valayapatti A. R. Subramaniam]]
*[[P. R. Thilagam]]
*[[Namagiripettai Krishnan]]
*[[Thiruvarur Bakthavathsalam]]
*[[S. Somasundaram]]
*[[Balasaraswathi]]

===Cinema===

*[[Arulnidhi]]
*[[Sivakarthikeyan]]

== References ==
<references />
{{Portal|Tamils|India|Hinduism}}

[[Category:Social groups of Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Indian castes]]
[[Category:Indian castes by profession]]
[[Category:South Indian communities]]
[[Category:Other Backward Classes]]
[[Category:Social groups of Kerala]]
[[Category:Social groups of Karnataka]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in South Asia]]

Isai Vellalar - Revision history

Giispune at 19:48, 3 March 2026