Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Maniyakkāran

by Edgar Thurston

Maniyakkāran.—Maniyakkāran or Maniyagāran, meaning an overseer, occurs as a title or synonym of Parivāram and Sembadavan. As a name of a sub-division of the Idaiyan shepherds, the word is said to be derived from mani, a bell, such as is tied round the necks of cattle, sheep, and goats. Maniyakkāran has been corrupted into monegar, the title of the headman of a village in the Tamil country.