Nādān, and it seems most probable that it refers to the fact that the Īluvan ancestors of the caste lived outside the villages. (South Indian Inscriptions, vol. II, part I.) But, even if Nādān and Grāmani both mean rulers, it does not give those who bear these titles any claim to be Kshatriyas. If it did, all the descendants of the many South Indian Poligars, or petty chiefs, would be Kshatriyas."
The Census Superintendent, 1891, states that the "Shānāns are in social position usually placed only a little above the Pallas and the Paraiyans, and are considered to be one of the polluting castes, but of late many of them have put forward a claim to be considered Kshatriyas, and at least 24,000 of them appear as Kshatriyas in the caste tables. This is, of course, absurd, as there is no such thing as a Dravidian Kshatriya. But it is by no means certain that the Shānāns were not at one time a warlike tribe, for we find traces of a military occupation among several toddy-drawing castes of the south, such as the Billavas (bowmen), Halēpaik (old foot soldiers), Kumārapaik (junior foot). Even the Kadamba kings of Mysore are said to have been toddy-drawers. 'The Kadamba tree appears to be one of the palms, from which toddy is extracted. Toddy-drawing is the special occupation of the several primitive tribes spread over the south-west of India, and bearing different names in various parts. They were employed by former rulers as foot-soldiers and bodyguards, being noted for their fidelity.'*[1] The word Shānān is ordinarily derived from Tamil sāru, meaning toddy; but a learned missionary derives it from sān (a span) and nār (fibre or string), that is the noose, one span in length, used
- ↑ • Rice. Mysore Inscriptions, p. 33.
