P

padaippu (Tm). See pataippu .

paise (Ur): a copper coin valued at 4 to the anna and 64 to the rupee.

palaiyakkarar (Tm): Tamil military chief or "little king" (cf. palaiyam ).

palaiyam (Tm): a domain or "little kingdom" with a military chief.

panam (Tm): 1. a coin. 2. a deposit.

panchayat (Hn): traditionally, a group of five elders who met to resolve disputes or make decisions that affected the welfare of a village or caste.

Pandaram (Tm): Tamil caste of non-Brahman priests and temple officiants.

Pandya (Tm): name of classical and medieval Tamil kingdoms.

Pandyaniadu (Tm): the Pandyan kingdom; literally, "land of the Pandyas."

pangali (Tm). See pankali .

Panganeri Kallar (Tm): Kallar subcaste living near Sivaganga.

Panguni (Tm): March–April.

pankali (Tm): member of agnatic descent group; co-parcener; literally, "shareholder."

pankalis (a composite term, formed from the Tamil root and the English plural morpheme). See pankalikal .

pankalikal (Tm): 1. members of an agnatic descent group. 2. the descent group itself.

panku (Tm): share.

paricam (Tm): "bride price" in some castes.

paripalakkar (Sk): royal protector.

parivara (Sk): joint family.

Parvati (Sk): Siva's wife (see Meenakshi ).

pataippu (Tm): rite of ancestor worship.

patta (Tm). See pattayam.

pattappeyar (Tm): Pudukottai Kallar lineage (literally, "deed name"), used instead of karai when referring to lineages for purposes of marriage.

pattayam (Tm): deed.

pekki pustakam (Tm): ledger of outstanding debts.

pen (Tm): woman.

peredu (Tm): an account book, specifically a general ledger or compilation of subsidiary ledgers.

peretu (Tm). See peredu .

periya (Tm): large, important, older (cf. cinna).

peshkash (Ur): 1. land tax. 2. tribute.

pettai (Tm): 1. a fortified market town. 2. a Nadar caste organization.

pettiyati paiyan (Tm): errand boy.

pettiyadi paiyan (Tm). See pettiyadi paiyan.

pey (Tm): ghost, demon.

Pillaiyar (Tm): elephant-headed son of Siva; other names: Vinayakar, Ganapati, Ganesh.

pirantu itattukkoti (Tm): funerary vevu : a gift of unbleached cloth and ceremonial items for the funeral pyre presented to the decedent by his or her tayatis (i.e., in the case of a deceased man, presented by his wife's father or brothers, and in the case of a deceased woman, by her own father or brothers).

pirasatam (Tm). See prasad .

piratu (Tm): honor, emblem.

pirivu (Tm): segment or division of Nakarattar lineage (kuttikkira pankali).

poligar (AI). See palaiyakkarar.

pollam (AI). See palaiyam .

Pongal (Tm). See Ponkal .

Ponkal (Tm): 1. new year festival in January. 2. sweet rice porridge.

Pramalai Kallar (Tm): a Kallar subcaste living west of Madurai; their name is probably derived from Piranmalai located east of Madurai on the western border of Chettinad.

prasad, prasadam (Sk): sacramental food offered to a deity and redistributed to devotees.

pratiloma (Sk): in an unnatural order; as applied to marriage, an intercaste marriage in which the husband is a member of a lower-ranking caste than the wife (cf. anuloma ).

pucai (Tm). See puja .

Pudukottai Kallar (Tm): a Kallar subcaste residing in Pudukottai.

puja (Sk): worship; religious ceremony.

pulli (Tm): Nakarattar conjugal family; literally, the dot used for reckoning a quantity of goods.

pulli parkka (Tm): to estimate.

pulli vari (Tm): a temple tithe, pulli tax.

purana (Sk): history (synonym: varalaru ).

Purattaci (Tm): September–October.

Purusha (Sk): Hindu mythical first man.

putumai (Tm): rite of first birthday.