The Vanniyar Confusion: Why One Word Doesn't Mean One Caste

DISCLAIMER: This article was written to explain about communal name and not to put down any community.

The word Vanni frequently causes confusion among historians. While the Vanniyar community of today is widely recognized, they were historically known as Palle or Palli.

Highly populated across northern Tamil Nadu and its borders with Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, these groups do not all share the same native language. In Andhra and Karnataka, the Palli speak Telugu and Kannada.

This name shift traces back to the British era, when many social groups in the Madras Presidency began rebranding their caste identity.

Since 1833, the Palli community campaigned to change their name from Palli to Agnikula Kshatriya or Vannikula Kshatriya. Even in the census of 1891, a majority of 89% still identified themselves as Palli.

Only in 1931 was the word Palli dropped and replaced with Agnikula Kshatriya or Vannikula Kshatriya. It was a campaign which took almost 100 years to succeed. 

Unlike what many people assumed, Vanni or Vanniyar is not the name of a single community. It has several meanings. It is assumed that it comes from Vahni (Fire) which in Tamil is written as Vanni. 

The word Vanni can also be used to refer to forest dwellers, region of forest or even as a title synonymous with the word king. So the word Vanni has been misunderstood as a caste identity.

There is a region in Sri Lanka known as Vanni. As per records such as in Culavamsa, there have been migration of people from India into this region during the Chola period. However, the word Vanniyar is not confined to the Pallis alone. 

Although some may assume this to be true considering that the title Padayatchi exists in the Vanni region and the Palli community of northern Tamil Nadu use it, one has to understand that the Padayatchi title is also used by members of the Paravar community who live in coastal regions of neighboring Tamil Nadu. There is a subsect known as Arumboli Paravars who are also known as Padayatchi.

There were also migration of Paravar people into Sri Lanka as they lived closer to the island compared with the Pallis of the north. Possibilities of a mixed Padayatchi presence in Vanni should not be over looked.

Furthermore, anyone from Vanni region irrespective of caste is also called Vanniyar. The chieftains from the Karayar and Mukkuvar caste are also called Vanniyar. The local Veddah tribe is called Vanniyalaeto meaning forest dwellers or even Vanniminisu. 

In the Vanni region's social hierarchy, those of upper class are called MahaVanni and those below them are called SiriVanni. This shows that the word Vanniyar was also a regional identity and not just mere caste identity.

Among the Kallars of Thanjavur, there exist families which use the word Vanniyar as titles. They live in villages and streets bearing the name Vanniyan Theru. According to their history, the title was given to them by the Chola kings for their military service in Vanni, Sri Lanka. They have family names like Vanniyar, Vanniyanar, Nallavanniyar, Vannimundar and Vannikondar.

Some Agambadiyar families in Aranthangi, Pudukottai, have the surname Vanniyapillai.

Among the Maravars caste, there is a subdivision known as Vanniya Maravar. There were also many Maravar feudal lords who used Vanniyar and Vanniyanar as titles behind their names.

Vanniya Maravar (Vanniyar) a subsect of Maravar community. Unrelated to Vanniyakula (Palli) caste.

In 1881, some Maravar subdivisions were recorded as Vanniya Maravar, Vannikattu Maravar, Vannikuthi Maravar, Vannivirathu Maravar and Vanniya Thevar. 

Some Maravars even had Vanni as name. 

One example is the nephew of the Sethupathi of Ramnad, Sadaikka Thevar (1636 AD - 1645 AD) . His name was Vanni Thevar and he was nicknamed Vannian. Vanni Thevar served as the commander of his uncle's army and he belonged to the Sembinattu subdivision of the Maravar caste. 

Some spread false information in the internet that the Sivagiri Palayakarars were Palli because of the word Vanniya Maravar. This is not true. The Sivagiri Palayakarars are Maravars and one of the descendant happened to be a friend of mine.

Caste certificate of Sivagiri Zamin's descendant shows that they are Maravar.

Other distinct groups also carry Vanni prefixes, such as the Vanniya Sembadavan, Vanniya Oddar, Vanniya Kammalar, Vanniya Gavarai, Vanniya Valayar, and Vanniya Koravar. None of these belong to the Palli or Maravar castes.

Inscriptions across Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka mentioning a Vannian chieftain should not be broadly generalized. The term was used widely and could apply to individuals from different communities.

The Palli community’s name shift to Vanniyakula Kshatriya (Vanniyar) in the early 1900s created a modern misconception that all historical references to Vanni mean the present day Vanniyar caste.

When reading historical Tamil texts, we should avoid assuming Vanni, Vannian, or Vanniyar always refer to a single caste.

"Skirting along the hills they halted one evening at the fort of the Poligar Vaniah of Shevagherry ["Vaniah" stands here for Vanniya, the caste name or title of a branch of the Marava caste, to which the Sivagiri Poligar belonged. The Elayiram pannei Poligar was also a Vanniya]"

Page 114 

History of Tinnevelly by Bishop R.Caldwell (1881)

"The Vannian caste, known in Tinnevelly as Maravars, are chiefly the agricultural servants or sub-tenants of the wealthier ryota under whom they cultivate, receiving a share of crop varying from one-ffth to half" Page 16 

A Manual of The Tinnevelly District in The Presidency of Madras by A.J Stuart (1879)

"The Maravar or Vannian caste peculiar to Southern India has a history of its own of considerable interest. To this class belonged most of the Poligars or feudal chieftains who disputed with the English the posession of Tinnevelly during the later half of the last and the first years of the present century; as feudal chiefs and at the same time heads of a numerous caste or class of the population, and one whose charateristics was eminently adapted for the roll of followers of a turbulent chieftain, bold, active, enterprising, cunning and capricious, this class constituted themselves or were constituted by the peaceful cultivators, their protectors in times of bloodshed and rapine, when no central authority capable of keeping the peace existed" 

Page 17 & 18 A Manual of The Tinnevelly District in The Presidency of Madras by A.J Stuart (1879)

"At this time there were thrity-two Poligars in Tinnevelly, each of whom had entrenched himself in a fort and surrounded himself with a large body of armed retainers. The constant endeavour of each was to enroach on the domains of this neighbours, and especially to swallow up any revenue or right that still remained in the posession of the central government. Their armed retainers were either Maravars or Nayakas, the latter chiefly in the eastern villages, the former in the western country. These are described by Orme as tall, well made and well featured" 

Page 50

A Manual of The Tinnevelly District in The Presidency of Madras by A.J Stuart (1879)

"The taluk contains 268 villages, of which 222 are Government, 17 Inam, and 29 Kattuguttakai or rented. The population  numbers 180,219 souls, of whom 160,607 are Hindus, 18,966 Mahomedans, and 650 Christians. The castes most numerously represented are Vellalars or Pillais, 33,975; Vannians or Maravars, 47,945; Shanars, 13,313; Shephers, 12,956; and Brahmins, 10,791. The Pariahs amount to 11,148." 

Page 89 

A Manual of The Tinnevelly District in The Presidency of Madras by A.J Stuart (1879)