IYER- THE GREAT PART 2 Friends,
I had covered about sub sects Vadama andBrahacharanam subsects of Brahmins in detail already. I had completed earlierposting with Karnataka Iyers. Continue reading. 7. Sri Lanka According to the Buddhistscripture MAHAVAMSA, the presence of Brahmins has been recorded in Sri Lanka asearly as 500BC when the first migrations from the Indian mainland supposedlytook place. Brahmins were an importantconstituent of the Sri Lankan Tamil minority. Tamil Brahmins are believed tohave played a historic role in the formation of the Jaffna Kingdom. Now Brahmins are few inSrilanka. 8. Recent migrations Apart from South India, Iyershave also migrated to and settled in places in North India. There aresignificantly large Iyer communities in Mumbai and Delhi. These migrations, which commencedduring the British rule, were often undertaken in search of better prospectsand contributed to the prosperity of the community. My note- Mattunga is having more Brahmins in Bombay comparing toother areas. On those days it was common to go to Bombay in search of job withsome basic qualification. Mostly there would be a cousin or known person formany. Similarly many have gone to Calcutta also with theirtype writing and shorthand knowledge for stenography etc. Similarly many Hindus, Christiansand Muslims are in Chennaifrom Kerala. Many Palghat iyers are in Chennai for generations. We candistinguish them from their talk, behaviour etc. They talk to persons from Kerala in Palghat Malayalam. In recent times Iyers have alsomigrated in significant numbers to the United Kingdom, Europe Arab countries andthe United States in search of better fortune. 9. Iyer sub sects Iyers have many sub-sects amongthem, such as Vadama, Brahatcharanam, Vāthima, Sholiyar or Chozhiar,Ashtasahasram, Mukkāni, Gurukkal, Kāniyālar and Prathamasāki each sub-sect isfurther subdivided according to the village or region of origin. 9A Vāthima The Vāthimas (Tamil: வாத்திமா) are fewin number and are confined mostlyto eighteen villages in Thanjavur district. They are sub-divided intoPathinettu Gramathu Vāthima or Vāthima of the eighteen villages, Udayalur,Nannilam and Rathamangalam. 9B .Ashtasahasram or Ashtasasthram The Ashtasahasram (Sanskrit: अष्टसहश्रम) are, like the Brahacharnams,more Saivite than the Vadamas. They are further sub-divided into Aththiyur,Arivarpade, Nandivadi and Shatkulam. 9C Dīkshitar The Dīkshitars (Tamil: தீக்ஷிதர்) ofChidambaram or more particularly called in Tamil as 'Thillai Muairavar' are based mainly in thetown of Chidambaram and according to legend, have descendedfrom three thousands individuals who migrated from Varanasi. They wear their kudumiin front of their head like the Nairs and Namboothiris of Kerala.These iyersare wheat complexioned as observed by me while worshipping Chidambaram temple. I have read elsewhere in netmostly they marry among their community making a group as ChidambaramDeekshithars. In Tamilnadu about a family it iscommon to joke- Are you Chidambaram or Madurai? Madurai meant womenmore commanding in the family. Chidambaram means men more commanding in afamily. 9D Chozhiar or Sholiyar The Sholiyars (Tamil: சோழியர்) serveas priests, cooks or decorate idols in Hindu temples. Chozhiars hold theuniversal belief that Chanakya,the minister of Chandragupta Maurya was one of them. They are divided intoTirukattiur, Madalur, Visalur, Puthalur, Senganur, Avadiyar Koil. Renowned carnaticsinger, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar belonged to the Chozhiar community. There is a Malayalam saying “chozhiyan Kudummichumma aatuma?” meaning if he agrees or say yes, he aims some gain outof it. 9E. Sivacharyas or Gurukkal The sect of Sivāchārya orGurukkal (Tamil: குருக்கள்) formthe hereditary priesthood or in the Siva and Sakthi temples in Tamil Nadu. They are Saivites and adhere tothe philosophy of ShaivaSiddhanta and in that sense are not followers of Adi Shankarachyarya. They are well versed in AgamaSasthras and follow the agamic rituals of these temples. Because of thesecultural differences, intermarriages with other Iyers are rare even to thisdate. Gurukkals are sub-divided intoTiruvalangad, Conjeevaram and Thirukkazhukunram. I had a junior engineer from thecommunity. Once he was telling me they are orthodox in marriage matters. Atthat time I could not understand what he meant. 9F Mukkāni The Mukkāni (Tamil: முக்கானீ)sub-sect of Iyers are traditionally helpers to the priests in the temples ofThiruchendur. Tiruchendur is having main priest Nampoothiri, if I recollect. Legend has it that the Mukkānis were theBhootaganas, the demon bodyguards of Lord Siva and that they weregiven the responsibility for guarding Subrahmanya's shrines by Siva. TheMukkanis predominantly subscribe to the Rig Veda. 9G Kāniyālar The Kāniyālar (Tamil: காநியாளர்) are alittle known sub-sect of Iyers. A large number of Kāniyālars serve as cooks andmenial servants in Vaishnavitetemples. Hence, theysport the nāmam like Vaishnavite Iyengars. 9H Prathamasāki The Prathamasākis form anotherlittle-known sub-sect of Iyers. They follow the White YajurVeda.( Yajurveda learnt from Sun God by sage Yanjavalkya). Not the blackyajurveda of Vaisampayana – his uncle and Guru. Black Yajurveda is followed by most yajurvedies in South India) According to Hindu legend, inremote antiquity, the Prathamasākis were cursed by God to spend one hour everyday as Parayars and hence they are known as "Madhyana Paraiyans" in Tanjore district and areregarded inferior by other sects of Brahmins. 9I Hiranyakesigal. Edgar Thurston also mentionsanother sect of Iyers called Kesigal or Hiranyakesigal.However, this sub-sectappears to have disappeared or merged into the larger Vadama community with thepassage of time. 10. Vedic study Iyers, just like other Brahmins are/were required to learn the Vedas. Iyers are also divided into different sectsbased on the Veda they follow. Iyers belonging to the Yajur Veda sect usuallyfollow the teachings of the Krishna Yajur Veda. Now there are vedapatasalas and sasthrikalsinstructing students in Tamilnadu. They study in addition othersubjects also. Afterwards they are absorbed to the profession as sasthrikal. There are also special schools withvedadhyayam as a compulsory subject. Alongwith Upakarma there is Vidyarambham. Most have reduced Vedic study limited toit. 11 Brahmin gotra systems Iyers, like all other Brahmins,trace their paternal ancestry to one of the eight rishis or sages. Accordingly they are classifiedinto eight gotrās basedon the rishi they have descended from. A maiden in the family belongs to gotraof her father, but upon marriage takes or adopts the gotrā of her husband. Gothrolbhava during marriage isreciting gothra of the bride groom and bride with lineage details. Since Kanya danam is there, she adopts the Gothra of the bridegroom, still having- “ENGATTHUGOTHRAM”. On account of this if anybodydecease in her parents family she has limited “theettu”. Nowadays they observe theettu for the full days, sincethey go to their mother’s home and return only after samaradhani. Exceptions can be there. 12. Vedic sakhas The Vedas are further sub-dividedinto shākhās or "branches" and followers of each Veda are furthersub-divided based on the shākhā they adhere to. However, only a few of theshākhās are extant, the vast majority of them having disappeared. The differentVedas and the corresponding shākhās that exist today in Tamil Nadu are: 1) Rig Veda Shakala and Paingi 2) Yajur Veda Kanva and Taittiriya 3) SamaVeda Kauthuma, Jaiminiya/ Talavakara, Shatyayaniya 4) Atharva Veda Shaunakiya and Paippalada 13 Rituals Iyer rituals comprise rites asdescribed in Hindu scriptures such as Apastamba Sutra attributed to the Hindu sage Apastamba. There are a few following Bhodayana sutra attributed tosage Bhodayanam. During aavani avittam,their mantras are more with slight deviation. Many sasthrikal refer book for reciting them. We can hear on Avittam daysasthrikal announcing- Bodhayanamellam thaniyae ukkarungo, avalukku manthram verae aakkum…. The most important rites are theShodasa Samaskāras or the 16 duties. 14. Changing sacred thread Once a year, Iyers change theirsacred thread. This ritual is EXCLUSIVE TO SOUTH INDIAN BRAHMINS and the day iscommemorated in Tamil Nadu as Āvani Avittam. My note- I have read it fromWikipedia. Learnt members can write- for other Brahmins there is no such a ritual as upakarma? -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/2039928970.3152595.1622962814261%40mail.yahoo.com.
