Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Chetti
Chetti. — It is noted in the Census Report, 1891, that "the name Chetti is used both to denote a distinct caste, and also a title, and people bearing this title describe themselves loosely as belonging to the Chetti caste, in the same way as a Vellāla will say that he is a Mudali. This use of Chetti has caused some confusion in the returns, for the sub-divisions show that many other castes have been included as well as Chetti proper." Again, in the Census Report, 1901, it is recorded that "Chetti means trader, and is one of those titular or occupational terms, which are often loosely employed as caste names. The weavers, oil pressers, and others use it as a title, and many more tack it on to their names, to denote that trade is their occupation. Strictly employed, it is nevertheless, the name of a true caste." The Chettis are so numerous, and so widely distributed, that their many sub-divisions differ very greatly in their ways. The best known of them are the Bēri Chettis, the Nagarattu Chettis, the Kāsukkar Chettis, and the Nāttukōttai Chettis. Of these, the Bēri and Nāttukōttai Chettis are dealt with in special articles. The following divisions of Chettis, inhabiting the Madura district, are recorded in my notes: —
- (a) Men with head clean-shaved: —
| Ilavagai or | Thedakōttai. |
| Karnakudi | Periyakōttai-vellān |
| Sundaraththan | Puliyangudi |
| Ariyūr | Vallam or Tiruvappūr |
| Malampatti | Kurungalūr |
| Palayapattu. | -- |
- (b) Men with kudumi (hair knot): —
| Puvaththukudi or | Mārayakkāra |
| Mannagudi | Pandukudi or |
| Kiramangalam | Manjapaththu |
| Vallanāttu. | -- |
Of these, the Puvaththukudi Chettis, who receive their name from a village in the Tanjore district, are mostly itinerant petty traders and money-lenders, who travel about the country. They carry on their shoulders a bag containing their personal effects, except when they are cooking and sleeping. I am informed that the Puvaththukudi women engage women, presumably with a flow of appropriate language ready for the occasion, to abuse those with whom they have a quarrel. Among the Puvaththukudi Chettis, marriages are, for reasons of economy, only celebrated at intervals of many years. Concerning this custom, a member of the community writes to me as follows. "In our village, marriages are performed only once in ten or fifteen years. My own marriage was celebrated in the year Nandana (1892-93). Then seventy or eighty marriages took place. Since that time, marriages have only taken place in the present year (1906). The god at Avadaiyar kōvil (temple) is our caste god. For marriages, we must receive from that temple garlands, sandal, and palanquins. We pay to the temple thirty-five rupees for every bridegroom through our Nagaraththar (village headmen). The expenses incurred in connection with the employment of washermen, barbers, nāgasaram (musical instrument) players, talayāris (watchmen), carpenters, potters, black-smiths, gurukkals (priests), and garland-makers, are borne collectively and shared by the families in which marriages are to take place." Another Chetti writes that this system of clubbing marriages together is practised at the villages of Puvaththukudi and Mannagudi, and that the marriages of all girls of about seven years of age and upwards are celebrated. The marriages are performed in batches, and the marriage season lasts over several months.
Palayasengadam in the Trichinopoly district is the head-quarters of a section of the Chettis called the Pannirendām (twelfth) Chettis. "These are supposed to be descended from eleven youths who escaped long ago from Kāvēripatnam, a ruined city in Tanjore. A Chōla king, says the legend, wanted to marry a Chetti; whereupon the caste set fire to the town, and only these eleven boys escaped. They rested on the Ratnagiri hill to divide their property; but however they arranged it, it always divided itself into twelve shares instead of eleven. The god of Ratnagiri then appeared, and asked them to give him one share in exchange for a part of his car. They did so, and they now call themselves the twelfth Chettis from the number of the shares, and at their marriages they carry the bridegroom round in a car. They are said to be common in Coimbatore district." *[1]
At the census, 1871, some of the less fortunate traders returned themselves as "bankrupt Chettis."
The following castes and tribes are recorded as having assumed the title Chetti, or its equivalent Setti: —
- Balija. Telugu trading caste.
- Bant. Tulu cultivating caste.
- Bilimagga, Dēvānga, Patnūlkaran, Sāliyan, Sēdan, Seniyan. All weaving classes.
- Dhōbi. Oriya washermen.
- Gāniga. Oil pressers.
- Gamalla. Telugu toddy-drawers.
- Cauda. Canarese cultivators.
- Gudigar. Canarese wood-carvers.
- Jain.
- Janappan. Said to have been originally a section of the Balijas, and manufacturers of gunny-bags.
- Kavarai. Tamil equivalent of Balija.
- Kōmati. Telugu traders.
- Koracha. A nomad tribe.
- Kudumi. A Travancore caste, which does service in the houses of Konkani Brāhmans.
- Mandādan Chetti.
- Mēdara. Telugu cane splitters and mat makers.
- Nāyar. Occupational title of some Nāyars of Malabar.
- Pattanavan. Tamil fishermen.
- Pattapu. Fishermen in the Telugu country.
- Sēnaikkudaiyān. Tamil betel-vine growers and traders.
- Shānān. The great toddy-drawing class of the Tamil country.
- Sonar. Goldsmiths.
- Toreya. Canarese fishermen.
- Uppiliyan. Salt-workers. Some style themselves Karpura (camphor) Chetti, because they used to manufacture camphor.
- Vāniyan. Tamil oil-pressers.
- Wynaadan Chetti.
Of proverbs relating to Chettis,*[2] the following may be quoted: —
- He who thinks before he acts is a Chetti, but he who acts without thinking is a fool.
- When the Chetti dies, his affairs will become public.
- She keeps house like a merchant caste woman, i.e., economically.
- Though ruined, a Chetti is a Chetti, and, though torn, silk is still silk.
- The Chetti reduced the amount of advance, and the weaver the quantity of silk in the border of the cloth.
- From his birth a Chetti is at enmity with agriculture.
In a note on secret trade languages Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao writes as follows, †[3] "The most interesting of these, perhaps, is that spoken by petty shopkeepers and cloth merchants of Madras, who are mostly Moodellys and Chettis by caste. Their business mostly consists in ready- money transactions, and so we find that they have a regular table of numerals. Numbers one to ten have been given definite names, and they have been so long in use that most of them do not understand the meaning of the terms they use. Thus madi (mind) stands for one, mind being always represented in the Hindu shastras as a single thing. Venē (act or deed) stands for two, for venē is of two kinds only, nalvenē and thivenē or good and bad acts. Konam (quality) stands for three, since three different sorts of qualities are recognised in Hindu metaphysics. These are rājasam, thāmasam, and sāthmikam. Shuruthi stands for four, for the Srutis or Vēdas are four in numbers. Sara (arrow) stands for five, after Panchasara, the five-arrowed, a well-known name of Manmatha, the Indian Cupid. Matha represents six, after the shan mathams or six systems of Hindu philosophy. Thērē stands for seven, after the seven oceans recognised by the Sanskrit geographers. Giri (mountain) represents eight, since it stands for ashtagiri or the eight mountains of the Hindus. Mani stands for nine, after navamani, the nine different sorts of precious stones recognised by the Hindus. Thisai represents ten, from the ten points of the compass. The common name for rupee is vellē or the white thing. Thangām vellē stands for half a rupee, pinji vellē for a quarter of a rupee, and pū vellē for an eighth of a rupee. A fanam (or 1¼ annas) is known as shulai. The principal objects with which those who use this language have to deal with are padi or measure, vellē or rupee, and madi anā, one anna, so that madi padi means one measure, madi vellē one rupee, and madi anā one anna. Similarly with the rest of the numerals. The merchants of Trichinopoly have nearly the same table of numerals, but the names for the fractions of a rupee vary considerably. Mūndri anā is, with them, one anna; ē anā is two annas; pū anā is four annas; pani anā is eight annas and mūna anā is twelve annas. Among them also vellē stands for a rupee. They have besides another table of numerals in use, which is curious as being formed by-certain letters of the Tamil alphabet. Thus pīna stands for one, lāna for two, laina for three, yāna for four, līna for five, māna for six, vāna for seven, nāna for eight, thīna for nine, and thuna for ten. These letters have been strung into the mnemonic phrase Pillayalam Vanthathu, which literally means 'the children have come'. This table is also used in connection with measures, rupees, and annas. Dealers in coarse country-made cloths all over Madras and the Chingleput district have a table of their own. It is a very complete one from one pie to a thousand rupees. Occasionally Hindu merchants are found using a secret language based on Hindustani. This is the case in one part of Madras city. With them pāv khānē stands for one anna, ada khānē for two annas, pāvak ruppē for one rupee, and so on. Brokers have terms of their own. The Tamil phrase padiya par, when used by them, means ask less or say less, according as it is addressed to the purchaser or seller. Similarly, mudukka par means ask a higher price. When a broker says Sivan thāmbram, it is to be inferred that the price given out by the seller includes his own brokerage. Telugu brokers have similar terms. Among them, the phrase Malasu vakkādu and Nāsi vakkādu denote respectively increase the rate, and decrease the rate stated."