Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Kodikkāl

by Edgar Thurston

Kodikkāl. — Kodikkāl, Kodikkār, or Kodikkālkāran, meaning betel vine man, is the occupational name of a sub-division of Vellālas, and of Labbai Muhammadans who cultivate the betel vine. In the Census Report, 1901, it is noted that those who gave this as the name of their caste returned their parent tongue as Tamil, and their title as Nāyakkan, and were therefore clubbed with Pallis. Kodikkāl is further a sub-division of the Shānāns, who derive the name from kōdi, a flag, and give flag-bearer as its significance. Other castes, however, make it to mean a betel garden, in reference to Shānāns who were betel vine growers. Kodikkāl Pillaimar is a synonym of the Sēnaikkudaiyāns, indicating Pillaimars who cultivate the betel vine.