Nattuvan.— Defined in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "an occupational term, meaning a dancing-master, which is applied to males of the dancing-girl castes, who teach dancing." At nautch parties, when the Dēva-dāsis dance, the Nattuvans play the accompaniment on the drum, bag-pipe, flute, clarionet, cymbals, etc. At the initiation of a Kaikōlan girl as a Dēva-dāsi, her dancing-master seats himself behind her, and, grasping her legs, moves them up and down in time with the music. Some Ōcchans in the Tamily country, who teach dancing to Dēva-dāsis, are also called Nattuvan.
Natuvili (middle). — A sub-division of Paraiyans in Travancore.
Navakōti (nine crores). — An exogamous sept of Dēsūr Reddi. A crore is one hundred lakhs, i.e, 10,000,000.
Navalipitta (peacock). — A sept of Jātapu.
Navāyat.— The Navāyats or Navāyets are summed up, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "a Musalman tribe, which appears to have originally settled at Bhatkal in North Canara, and is known on the west coast as Bhatkali. The derivation of the name is much disputed. There are five sub-divisions of the tribe, namely, Kurēshi, Mehkeri, Chīda, Gheas, and Mohāgir. It takes a high place among Musalmans, and does not intermarry with other tribes."
Of the Nevayets, the following account, based on the Saadut Nama, and conversations with members of the community, is given by Colonel Wilks.*[1] "Nevayet is generally supposed to be a corruption of the Hindustanee and Mahratta terms for new-comer. About the end of the first century of the Hejira, or the early part of the
- ↑ * Historical Sketches of the South of India, 1810.
