INDEX

A

Abanatha Dharma Siva Acharya Madam, 72 -73, 77 -78, 102

Achari, Kandappa, 60

Achari caste, 52

Age, individuality and, 205

Agency, concept of, 180 -81

Agraharam , (Brahman residential street), 72 -73, 77 , 79

Aiyappan festival, 36

Akkamapet, 25

Altruism. See Generosity

Ammal, O. Jeevarathanam, 128

Angalaparameeswari temple, 68

Annammal estate, 114

Anonymity, 202 -3

Appadurai, Arjun, 7 , 98

Arccanai (prayer-offering) packets, 143

Ardhanariiswarar-Siva temple, 43

Aringar (wise person), 19

Attipattaan Kulam, 72

Autonomy, 17 , 202 , 182 -83, 204 -5

B

Bad persons (kettavar ), 19

B. A. House, 128

Baker, Aaron, 91 -92

Balasubramaniyam, Tiru P. ("Bala"), 53 , 66 ;

accomplishments of, 55 , 80 -82, 136 -46;

as institutional big-man, 56 -58, 60 , 62 , 67 ;

and Kali Rattina Chettiar, 189

Balijas caste, 89 , 92

Bank of Madurai, 38

Beeri Chettiar Association (sangam ), 143 -45

Beeri Chettiar caste, 52 -56, 59 , 60 , 66 -67, 75 -78, 89 , 92 -96, 101 -5, 125 -35;

big-men of, 56 -58;

institutions used by, 68 , 70 , 77 -78, 201 ;

temples controlled by, 62 -63, 65 , 78 -79. See also Castes

Behavior:

caste codes of, 102 -5;

determined by self-interest/motivation, 192 -98, 205 -7, 211 -12n7;

regulated by personalized relationships, 33 -35

Béteille, André, 9

Big-gift-giver (periyadanakaarar ), 14 , 56 -57, 74 , 130 , 139 -40

Big-man (periyar ), 19 , 70 -75;

and charitable institutions, 119 -25, 200 -202;

and community regulation, 35 -40;

compared to headman, 113 -14, 124 -25;

institutional, 56 -58, 65 ;

power of, 77 ;

in Tamil society, 13 -14, 40 -47;

and temples, 59 -65;

tokens of respect for, 65 -66

"Big Naicken," 57 . See also Headman (ejamaanan )

Black Town, 88 , 95 -96

Brahmans, 72 -73, 77 , 78 , 79

Brahmootsavam (main temple festival), 62

British East India Company, 88 -96. See also Great Britain

Bureaucracy, 35 -40, 124 -25, 202

Buttisaali (prudent person), 19

C

Calloway Chitty, 93 , 95

Carnatic Wars, 97

Caste guru, 103 -4

Castes (jati ):

decline of community, 115 -46;

gumbuhal (endogamous clusters) of, 74 ;

headman (ejamaanan ) of, 56 , 70 , 98 -101;

Komati Chettiars, 53 , 79 ;

lawsuits against conduct codes of, 101 -5;

left-hand, 53 , 84 , 87 , 90 ;

and locality endogamy rules, 109 -14, 121 ;

and religious hierarchy, 5 , 208 ;

right-hand, 53 , 87 , 90 ;

ritual institutions controlled by, 70 -75. See also Beeri Chettiar caste; Kinship ties

Character (kunam ), 19

Charitable community institutions, 57 , 119 -25, 142 -43, 200 -202. See also Civic community; Temples

Chetti, Lingi, 76 , 128

Chetti, Mylapore Kandasami, 103

Chetti, Pakam Sabapathi, 103

Chetti, Ramasami, 103 -4, 128

Chetti, Ratnavelu, 103 -4

Chetti, Subraya, 104

Chetti, Thambu, 76 , 127

Chettiar, Akkamapettai Govinda, 62

Chettiar, Kaattavur Subramaniam (K. S.), 130

Chettiar, Kali Rattina, 62 , 130 -31, 136 , 189

Chettiar, Kesavalu K., 137

Chettiar, Maangadu Ellappa, 130

Chettiar, Marambuttasamy, 128

Chettiar, Narayana, 62

Chettiar, Natesa, 128 , 130

Chettiar, O. Kandasamy, 128

Chettiar, P. Seetharama, 132 , 135

Chettiar, Raja Annamalai, 130

Chettiar, Soma, 127

Chettiar, Vaiyabari, 62

Chettiar, V. Chakra, 128

Chettiar, Velur Mari, 60

Chettiar, Venkal Sundara Ramanujam, 128

Chetty, Collah Singana, 100 -101

Chetty, P. A. Ragava, 134 -35, 137

Chinna Maada Viithi (Little Temple Streets), 68

Chinnamuttu, 196 -98

Chit funds, 144 -45

Choolai, 70

Cittaraman, P., 128

Civic community:

and decline of head-man system, 78 -79;

and kinship, 119 -20, 122 -24;

leadership in, 115 -16;

and public events, 136 -37;

and religious institutions, 68 -75;

role of temple trustees and donors in, 58 -65;

and temple processions, 65 -68, 79 . See also Charitable community institutions

Civic individuality, 16 , 19 -23, 83 , 109 -14, 150 -53;

and character, 19 ;

and collective identity, 47 ;

and public trust, 32 -35;

social position and expression of, 14 -15;

spatial aspect of, 22 , 44 -46, 114 , 201 ;

of Tamil big-man (Kasi), 43 -47. See also Big-man; Individuality

Clientele, 41 . See also Big-man

Collective identity, 47

Community. See Civic community

Company Board of Revenue, 100 -101

Company Merchant system, 89 -99

Congress Party Taluk Committee, 45

Conradi, F. L., 60 -61, 77 , 84

Contextualized individual, 21

Cooperative Union (Tamil Nadu), 45

Cooptex, 44 -45

Cosmopolitan Club of Madras, 36

Crime rate, in Madras, 34 -35

D

Daniel, E. Valentine, 6 -7, 9 -10, 207 -8

Dharmakarttaa. See Temple trustees

Dharma Siva Acharya Madam, 74

Dirks, Nicholas, 93 , 98

Dishonorable person (maanam ketta manidan ), 19

"Dividual," 6 , 207 , 211 -12n7. See also Individuality

Drishti (malevolent force), 180

Dubashes, 99

Dumont, Louis, 4 -6, 8 -10, 47 , 90 , 106 , 203 , 208 ,215 n3

E

Economic system:

and castes, 89 -105;

chit funds in, 144 -45;

and Indian merchant, 90 -97;

trust-based relationships in, 31 -40

Education, 109 -14, 132 -33, 142

Eeruurunaadu (Seven City Territory), 44 -45

Ejamaanan. See Headman (ejamaanan )

Ekambareeswarar temple, 67 , 77

Eminent persons (nambi ), 19 , 40 -43, 183 -84, 185 -86, 213 n7

Erode Town, 25

F

Fame (puhar ), 184

Family. See Castes; Kinship ties

Festivals. See Temple festivals

Float Festival, 76

Fluid Signs: Being a Person the Tamil Way (Daniel), 6 -7

Fort St. George, 27 , 49 , 88

Frazer, William, 94

Fusion/separation polarity, 17 , 189 -92

G

Gandhi, Mohandas K., 45

Gandhi, Rajiv, 203

Gender, 15 -18. See also Women

Generosity (vallanmai ), 11 , 18 , 42 -43, 57 , 60 , 62 -65, 184 -86

George Town, 26 -28, 49 -58, 118 ;

absence of big-men in, 133 -34;

civic leadership of, 59 -60;

history of, 88 , 88 -107;

transition in, 141 -46, 202 -3. See also Madras City

Giddens, Anthony, 203

Good character (nalla kunam ), 19

Good persons (nallavar ), 19

Gopalakrishna, V. ("Gopal"), 26

Gourishankar, C., 10 , 53 , 56

Great Britain:

colonization by, 27 ;

Company Merchant system of, 89 -99;

controlling Indian society, 99 -101;

and trading rights in India, 88 -89. See also British East India Company

Grindlay's Bank, 129

Guindy Industrial Estates (Madras), 37

Gumbuhal (endogamous clusters), 74 , 102 -3, 122 , 125 -32, 141 -42. See also Castes; Headman (ejarnaanan )

H

Handloom Board, 44

Handloom textile cooperative movement, 45

Harbor Beach, 68

Headman associations, 107

Headman (ejamaanan ), 56 -57, 70 , 109 -14;

compared to big-man, 124 -25;

and conflicts among Beeri Chettiars, 101 -5;

declining authority of, 98 -101;

merchants as, 90 -91. See also Gumbuhal

Headman (talaivar ), 14 , 56

Hindu caste system, 5 , 208 . See also Castes

Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department (HRCE), 78 , 134 -35

Honor (maanam ), 19

Hospitality offering (taambuulam ), 74 -75

Hundi contract, 36 -37

I

Inden, Ronald, 6 -10

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), 36

Indian merchants, individuality of, 90 -97

Indian society:

British control over, 99 -101;

crime in, 34 -35;

fusion/separation polarity within, 17 , 189 -92;

and Hindu caste system, 5 ;

portraiture in, 3 , 10 -11, 209 -10n1;

and religion, 90 . See also Castes; Tamil Nadu society

India Today (magazine), 1

Individuality (tanittuva m):

achieving, 91 -97;

and age, 205 ;

in collective context, 21 -22, 187 -98;

declining social importance of, 202 -3;

and eminence, 40 -43, 183 -84, 213 n7;

exterior (puram ), 12 , 22 , 151 ;

and generosity, 184 -86;

of Indian merchant headmen, 90 -91;

and inequality, 22 ;

interior (akam ), 12 , 22 , 151 ;

and life histories, 18 , 177 -79;

private motivations/interests and, 192 -98;

spatially defined, 22 ;

in Tamil society, 10 -23, 150 -53, 199 -208;

theories of, 2 -10, 211 nn4, 7 , 212 n8. See also Civic individuality; Public life

Individuals, 4 -5, 19 , 21 -23, 33 -35, 104 -5;

private motivations/interests of, 192 -98, 218 -19n2;

in Tamil society, 199 -208, 210 n2. See also Personal responsibility

Institutional big-man, 56 -58, 65 . See also Big-man

J

Jati. See Castes

Jayalalita, 185

Joint family, 193 -94, 218 n2. See also Castes; Kinship ties

K

Kaalahasteeswarar temple, 72

Kaariyakaarar (caste agent), 165 , 183

Kachaleeswarar temple, 68 , 71 -73, 75 -78

Kaikkoolar caste, 43 -44, 46 , 95 , 109 -14

Kakar, Sudhir, 3 -4, 17

Kaligambal (female deity), 75

Kaliraja, 137 -38, 150

"Kali Rattina group," 189 . See also Chettiar, Kali Rattina

Kammaalans (Smiths) caste, 52 . See also Viswakarma caste

Kandakottam Free Medical Dispensary, 143

Kandan Arts, 67 , 143

Kandan Financial Corporation, 144

Kandasami Spring Hall, 137

Kandasami temple, 52 , 62 -63, 64 , 76 , 134 -35, 186 ;

Bala as trustee of, 55 , 80 -82, 136 -46;

as denominational, 59 -60, 65 ;

head trustee of, 57 -58, 66 ;

history of, 60 -62;

procession routes of, 68 -71, 80 -83. See also Temples

Kandasami (temple deity), 64 , 66 , 75 , 80 , 81

Kandasastri Kotti Arccanai festival, 140

Kanyaka Parameeswari (Shivite goddess), 87

Kapaleeswarar temple, 68

Karumitanam (stinginess), 19

Kasimedu, 80

Kasiviswanathan ("Kasi"), 43 -47

Kettavar (bad persons), 19

Kinship ties, 119 -20, 120 -22, 188 -92, 193 -98. See also Castes; Marriages

Komati Chettiar caste, 53 , 79 , 89 -96

Kothawal Chavadi market, 52 -53, 87 , 100

Krishnamachari Road, 116

Kumarappa Mudali Street, 116

Kumbabisheekam temple ceremony, 141

Kunam (character), 19

L

Lakshmi, S., 18 , 159 -65, 177 , 178 , 181 -84, 187 , 188 , 193 , 194

Leader-centered associations, 107

Leadership, 13 -14, 68 -75;

institutional structures of, 14 -15, 41 -43, 77 -79;

of Tamil women, 15 -17, 212 n10. See also Big-man

Left-hand castes, 53 , 84 , 85 -88, 90 -96. See also Beeri Chettiar caste; George Town

Lingi Chetti Street, 68 , 80 , 82

M

Maanam (honor), 19

Maanam ketta manidan (dishonorable person), 19

Madam (monastery):

of Beeri Chettiar, 73 -74;

court cases over control of, 104 -5;

decline of current, 144 ;

as leadership institution, 77 -79

Madras Christian College (George Town), 56 , 127 -28

Madras City, 23 , 27 -28, 60 -61, 88 -91;

under British rule, 127 ;

crime in, 34 ;

harbor, 49 -50;

temples in, 98 -99;

trading disputes within, 91 -101;

urbanization of, 117 -19, 202 -3. See also George Town

Madras Company Council (Governing Council of the British East India Company), 91 -98

Mahatma (big-man, sage), 57

Malevolent force (drishti ), 180

Malgudi Days (Narayan), 1 , 208

Mallegeeswarar temple, 71 -72

Mandabam (shelter), 74 , 143 , 202

Mandaga padi (temple excursion), 66

Mandala, 70 , 74

Mangadu Sami Aiyar Street, 116

Mannady, 52

Marakayar, Dr., 15 -16

Marina Beach, 68 , 70

Marriages:

advertisements for, 9 , 211 n6;

family connections through, 188 -89;

inter-gumbu , 125 ;

locality-based rules of, 109 -14, 120 -22;

mandabam for, 143 . See also Kinship ties

Marriott, McKim, 6 -10, 200 , 203 -4, 207 -8

Metalsmith caste. See Viswakarma caste

Miller, William, 128

Mint Street, 68

Modernity, 203

Modesty (nanudaimai ), 19

Moka (self-respect), 31

Monastery. See Madam (monastery)

Moothoorama, Collah, 100

Motivation:

Indian view of, 211 -12n7;

for individuation, 192 -98, 205 -7;

sources of, 218 -19n2

Mural pennu (marital term), 120

Murugan (god of Kaikkoolar caste), 113

Murugeesan, 109

Muthialpet, 52

Muthialpet Benefit Fund, 128

Muttu Kumaraswami Devasthanam Chamundi Iswari Ammal Free Medical Dispensary, 143

Muttu Kumaraswami temple, 52

Mylapore, 68

N

Naattaanmaikaarar (village headman), 14 , 44

Nagarattar caste, 36 , 38 -39

Naicken, Muthiyalu, 60

Nalla kunam (good character), 19

Nallavar (good persons), 19

Nambagamana manidan (trustworthy person), 19 , 31 -35

Nambagamatra manidan (untrustworthy person), 19

Nambi. See Eminent persons

Nanudaimai (modesty), 19

Narayan, R. K., 1 , 208

Nataranjan, 108 -14

Natesan, C., 24 -26

North Beach Road, 51

Notes on Love in a Tamil Family (Trawick), 8

N. S. C. Bose Road, 68

Nungambakam High Road, 116

Nungambakam Village Road, 118

Nyinappa Naicken Street, 68

O

Ordinary person (saraasari manidan ), 19

The Other, 17

Outcasting, 101 -5. See also Castes

P

Pachaiyappa's College, 127 -28

Park Town, 52 , 125 -31, 136 , 137 , 140 -43

Pedda (big), 57

Pedda Naickenpet, 52 , 57 , 77

Peraringar (very wise person), 19

Periyadanakaarar. See Big-gift-giver

Periyagramam council, 74 , 78 , 103 -4

Periya Maada Viithi (Big Temple Streets), 68

Periyar. See Big-man

Personal life histories:

of Chinnamuttu, 196 -98;

of C. Sivakumar, 153 -59;

in context of Tamil social history, 152 -53;

of C. Viswanathan, 165 -71;

of M. Tangavelu, 171 -77;

of Nataranjan, 108 -14;

of Saroja, 189 -92, 204 -7;

of S. Lakshmi, 159 -65

Personal responsibility (poruppu ), 179 -80;

for actions and consequences, 181 -82;

and agency, 180 -81;

and eminence, 183 -84;

expressed, 17 ;

and generosity, 184 -86;

of the individual, 32 , 87 ;

as part of social order, 182 -83

Personhood, 4 . See also Individuality

Pitt, Thomas, 84 , 94

Place, Lionel, 101

"A Plan of Fort St. George and The Bounds of Madraspatnam" (Conradi), 60 -61, 77 , 84

Popham's Broadway, 52 , 84

Poruppu. See Personal responsibility

Prasadam (food left by the god), 65 , 82 , 143

Private life:

cultural sense of individuality within, 19 ;

generosity expressed in women's, 185 ;

individuality expressed within, 17 -22, 151 ;

interior (akam ) individuality within, 12 -13;

motivation/interests linked to, 198

Prudent person (buttisaali ), 19

Public honors (tasheerifes ), 91 -92

Public life, 12 -13, 16 -17, 151

Pudupakkam Permanent Fund, Limited, 114

Purdah (seclusion of women), 123

R

Raja Gopuram, 53

Rajaji (C. Rajagopalachariya), 43 , 46

Rama, Sunca, 93 , 95

Rama Naicken Street, 116

Ramanujan, A. K., 18

Religion, 90 , 103 , 208 . See also Temples

The Remembered Village (Srinivas), 31

Responsibility. See Personal responsibility

Right-hand castes, 53 , 84 , 87 -88, 90 -96. See also George Town; Komati Chettiar caste

Riots:

of 1652, 91 -92;

of 1707, 92 -93, 97 ;

of 1716-17, 97 ;

of 1809, 97 -98

Ritual objects (temple), 63 -64

Royapuram, 68 , 71 , 80 -82

S

Salem City, 25

Salmon, Thomas, 88

Samskara: A Rite for a Dead Man (Murthy), 20 -21

Sankaraacharya, Kanchi, 15

Saraasari manidan (ordinary person), 19

Saroja, 189 -92, 204 -7

Self-interest, 192 -98, 205 -7, 211 -12n7

Self-respect (moka ), 31

Senguntha Mittiran (magazine), 113

Separation/fusion polarity, 17 , 189 -92

Seven City Territory Eeruurunaadu), 44 -45

Shroffs (sarrafs ), 99

Sivakumar, C., 153 -59

Siva Subramania Baktha Jana Sabha, 114

South India Corporation, 130

Sowcarpet, 52

Spring Festival, 66 -67, 75 -76, 80

Spring Hall (Vasantha Mandabam), 62 , 137 , 143

Sri Balasubramaniam Baktha Jana Sabha, 113

Sri Kanyaka Parameeswari temple, 100

Srinivas, M. N., 31

State Bank of India, 37 -38, 51 , 129

Stinginess (karumitanam ), 19

Substance-mind balance, 7

Sundaram, K., 132 -33, 136 , 138 , 189

Suriya Narayana Chetti Choultry, 80

Suroodiriyamtaar (hereditary temple trustee), 74 , 127 , 214 n10. See also Temple trustees

T

Taambuulam (hospitality offering), 74 -75

Talaivar (headman), 14 , 56

Taluk (subdistrict) Congress committee, 43

Tambi, 36 -40

Tamil Nadu society, 22 -28;

big-men in, 35 -40, 40 -47;

family life in, 8 ;

individuality in, 10 -23, 150 -53, 188 -92, 199 -208;

substance-mind balance in, 7 ;

trustworthiness in, 31 -35. See also Indian society

Tangavelu, M., 171 -77

Tanikacalam, O., 132 , 189

Tanittuvam. See Individuality

Tasheerifes (publicly accorded honors), 91 -92

Teer (temple car), 62 -64, 141

Temple festivals:

Aiyappan Festival, 36 ;

Float Festival, 76 ;

reestablishment of, 80 -83;

role of headman in, 101 ;

Spring Festival, 66 -67, 75 -76;

Vinayakar cathurthi (Full-moon Day), 116

Temple processions:

reestablishment of, 80 -82;

routes of, 68 -71;

social function of, 65 -68, 79

Temples:

Angalaparameeswari, 68 ;

civic function of, 58 -65;

Ekambareeswarar, 67 , 77 ;

entrance tower (gopuram ) of, 62 , 64 ;

honors from, 65 -66, 91 -93, 95 -98;

Kaalahasteeswarar, 72 ;

Kachaleeswarar, 68 , 71 -73, 75 -78;

Kapaleeswarar, 68 ;

kumbabisheekam ceremony in, 141 ;

in Madras, 98 -99;

Mallegeeswarar, 71 -72;

Sri Kanyaka Parameeswari, 100 ;

taken over by HRCE Department, 78 ;

Vinayakar, 116 -17. See also Kandasami temple; Religion

Temple trustees (dharmakarttaa ), 57 -65, 67 , 74 , 127 , 214 n10

Territorial separation, 92

Thambu Chetti Street, 68

Tirukkural (Tiruvalluvar), 199

Trawick, Margaret, 8 -10

Trichengode, 43 -44

Trust-based relationships, 31 -35, 35 -40, 40 -47, 79 , 201 -2

Trustworthy person (nambagamana manidan ), 19 , 31 -35

Tunai talaivar (associate president), 114

U

Untrustworthy person (nambagamatra manidan ), 19

V

Vallanmai . See Generosity

Valli (wife of deity), 80

Varadarajan, Tiru M., 24

Vasantha Mandabam Arakattalai charity, 143

Vasantha Mandabam (Spring Hall), 62 , 137 , 143

Very wise person (peraringar ), 19

Village headman (naattaanmaikaarar ), 14 , 44

Vinayakar cathurthi (Full-moon Day) festival, 116

Vinayakar (elephant god), 60

Vinayakar temple, 116 -17

Vinkattee Chitty, 93 , 95

Viswakarma caste, 52 -53, 75 -76, 97

Viswanathan, C., 165 -71, 194 -95

W

Wahab, Abdul, 26

"Wandering Lost" (Trawick), 8

Weavers (Kaikkoolar caste), 43 -44, 46 , 95 , 109 -14

Wheeler, J. Talboys, 84 , 118

Wise person (aringar ), 19

Women:

as big-men, 35 ;

and family connections, 188 -89;

folktales of, 18 ;

lack of autonomy of, 204 -5;

leaders in Tamil society, 15 -17, 185 , 212 n10;

purdah (seclusion) of, 123 . See also Gender