Editing Chettiar

{{Short description|South Indian title}}
{{redirect-multi|3|Chetty|Chetti|Chetties|the Sri Lankan community|Sri Lankan Chetties}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2015}}
'''Chettiar''' (also spelt as '''Chetti''' and  '''Chetty''') is a title used by many traders, weaving, agricultural and land-owning [[caste]]s in [[South India]], especially in the [[States and union territories of India|Indian states]] of [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Kerala]] and [[Karnataka]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Caste, Nationalism and Ethnicity |author=Chandrabhan Prasad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=73msCkfD5V8C&dq=Vellalan+chetti&pg=PA112 |year=2010 |publisher=Gyan Publishing House |pages=112|isbn=978-0-86132-136-0 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article/chettiar-band-avm-to-fm/282336 |title=Chettiar Band, AVM To FM|work=Outlook |access-date=2016-04-09}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2003-08-19/news/27516947_1_tamil-nadu-banking-southern-film-industry |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130426155725/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2003-08-19/news/27516947_1_tamil-nadu-banking-southern-film-industry |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 April 2013 |title=Chettiars reign where wealth meets godliness |work=The Economic Times |access-date=2016-04-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/kp-vishwanath-sir-m-puttanna-chetty-town-hall-bbmp/articleshow/28562233.cms |title=BBMP move shocking: Puttanna Chetty's grandson}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
Chettiar/Chetty is derived from the [[Sanskrit]] word {{IAST|Śreṣṭha}} ([[Devanagari]]: श्रेष्ठ) or {{IAST|Śreṣṭhin}} ([[Devanagari]]: श्रेष्ठीन्), meaning superior. This term was later [[Prakrit]]ised as {{IAST|Seṭhī}} ([[Devanagari]]: सेठी), and eventually became {{IAST|Śeṭ}} ([[Devanagari]]: शेट) or {{IAST|Śeṭī}} ([[Devanagari]]: शेटी) in modern Indo-Aryan dialects.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jalal |first=Ayesha |title=Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia: A Comparative and Historical Perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mHPok4epvlIC&q=South+india |year=1995 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-47862-5 |page=204}}</ref><ref name="Raychaudhuri">{{cite book |first1=Tapan |last1=Raychaudhuri |first2=Irfan |last2=Habib |author-link2=Irfan Habib |title=The Cambridge Economic History of India: c.1200–c.1750 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-s8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA26 |year=1982 |publisher=Cambridge University Press Archive |isbn=978-0-521-22692-9 |pages=27–28}}</ref>

In early Indian literature, the term referred to a wealthy class of merchants associated with the Vysya varna.<ref>{{citation |date=1909 |volume=12 |title=The Dawn and Dawn Society's Magazine |publisher=Lall Mohan Mullick |location=Calcutta |page=91 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o7Q5AQAAIAAJ&q=chettiar}}</ref>

==Historical significance==

The Chettiar title has been associated with a diverse range of communities, including merchant groups, agriculturalists, and artisans. Chettiar's are identified with the [[Vysya]] (merchant) varna due to their economic prominence and community efforts to elevate social status.<ref>{{cite book |last=Belle |first=Carl Vadivella |year=2017 |title=Thaipusam in Malaysia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kB1qDwAAQBAJ&q=chettiar+sudra&pg=PT126 |location=Singapore |publisher=ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute |isbn=9789814695756}}:”Although the Chettiars were originally a Sudra caste, in more recent times they have made claim to be considered as Vaisyas.”</ref><ref name="Pārttacārati2008">{{cite book|author=Intirā Pārttacārati|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-T4aAQAAIAAJ|title=Ramanujar: The Life and Ideas of Ramanuja|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0-19-569161-0|page=98|quote=The Chetti, Vaisya, or merchant caste}}</ref> The title is also used by certain subgroups of the [[Vellalar]] caste, highlighting its adaptability across regions and professions.<ref>{{cite book |last=Singh |first=K. S. |title=People of India: Tamil Nadu |date=October 2014 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-1-78308-315-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dziNBAAAQBAJ&dq=vellan+chetti&pg=PA702}}</ref>

During the [[British Raj|colonial era]], Chettiars, particularly the Nattukottai [[Nagarathar]](Chettiyar), Aruviyur Nagarathar(Chettiyar), gained recognition as prominent bankers and financiers in [[South India]] and [[Southeast Asia]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rudner |first=David |year=1989 |title=Banker's Trust and the Culture of Banking among the Nattukottai Chettiars of Colonial South India |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=417–458|doi=10.1017/S0026749X00009501 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kudaisya |first=Medha |year=2009 |title=Chinese and Indian Business: Historical Antecedents |editor1-first=Medha M. |editor1-last=Kudaisya |editor2-first=Chin-Keong |editor2-last=Ng |publisher=BRILL |location=Leiden |isbn=9789004172791 |chapter=Marwari and Chettiar Merchants. 1850s-1950s: Comparative Trajectories |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQJfjnWly5wC&pg=PA85}}</ref>

== Economic and cultural contributions ==

=== Commerce and finance ===
The Nattukottai Chettiars established a sophisticated banking system, introducing financial instruments like the [[hundi]] (promissory note) and developing credit networks that extended from colonial India to [[Burma]] (Myanmar), [[Malaysia]], and [[Singapore]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rudner |first=David |year=1989 |title=Banker's Trust and the Culture of Banking among the Nattukottai Chettiars of Colonial South India |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=417–458|doi=10.1017/S0026749X00009501 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kudaisya |first=Medha M. |year=2009 |title=Chinese and Indian Business: Historical Antecedents |editor1-first=Medha M. |editor1-last=Kudaisya |editor2-first=Chin-Keong |editor2-last=Ng |publisher=BRILL |location=Leiden |isbn=9789004172791 |chapter=Marwari and Chettiar Merchants. 1850s-1950s: Comparative Trajectories |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQJfjnWly5wC&pg=PA85}}</ref> Their financial expertise earned them a reputation as the "bankers of the East" during the [[British Raj]].

=== Agriculture and textiles ===

In addition to their achievements in commerce, several Chettiar subgroups were engaged in agriculture and textile production. The '''Vellalar Chettiars''' (vellan Chettis) were historically known as agrarian landlords and also involved in trading and merchanting,<ref>{{cite book |title=Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 2 |author=Thurston, Edgar |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.56743/page/n415/mode/1up?view=theater&q=vellalan+chetti |year=1909 |publisher=Government Press |pages=415}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Rudner, David |title=The Chettiar Entrepreneurial Community in Colonial South India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dziNBAAAQBAJ&dq=Vellalan+chetti&pg=PA702 |publisher=Gyan Publishing House |year=2014 |page=702|isbn=978-1-78308-315-2 }}</ref> while others, like the '''Devanga Chettiars''', excelled in weaving fine textiles.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thurston |first=Edgar |year=1909 |title=Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 2 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.56743/page/n415/mode/1up?view=theater&q=vellalan+chetti |pages=415 |publisher=Government Press}}</ref> The Kandangi sari, a traditional handloom product, is an enduring symbol of their craftsmanship.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ganesan |first=R. |year=2007 |title=Textiles and Handicrafts of Tamil Nadu |publisher=Kaveri Books |isbn=9788174790665}}</ref>

=== Philanthropy and religion ===

The Chettiars are celebrated for their philanthropic endeavors. They funded schools, hospitals, and temples, many of which remain significant cultural landmarks. Prominent temples such as the [[Karpaka Vinayakar Temple|Pillaiyarpatti Temple]] and the [[Shanmughanathar Temple, Kunnakudi|Kundrakudi Temple]] in Tamil Nadu are linked to Chettiar patronage.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hardgrave |first=Robert L. |year=1969 |title=The Nadars of Tamilnad: The Political Culture of a Community in Change |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=igswDwAAQBAJ&q=chettiar+temple+patronage |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520014196}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Ramaswamy |first=Sumathi |year=2004 |title=The Lost Land of Lemuria: Fabulous Geographies, Catastrophic Histories |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X1EfAQAAIAAJ&q=pillaiyarpatti+temple+chettiars |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520240311}}</ref> Their generosity extended beyond India, contributing to infrastructure and religious institutions in Southeast Asia.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brown |first=Rajeswary |year=1993 |title=Chettiar Capital and Southeast Asian Credit Networks in the Inter-War Period |editor1-first=Gareth |editor1-last=Austin |editor2-first=Kaoru |editor2-last=Sugihara |publisher=St. Martin's Press |chapter=Local Suppliers of Credit in the Third World, 1750-1960 |isbn=9780312084179}}</ref>

== See also ==

   
* [[Nagarathar]]  
* [[Pattanavar]]  
* [[Pattusali]]  
* [[Twenty four Manai Telugu Chettiars]]  
* [[Vallanattu Chettiar]]  
* [[Vaniya Chettiars]]
* [[vellalar|Vellalar chettiars]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Christine Dobson, ''Asian Entrepreneurial Minorities,''  Curzon Press UK, 1996. (A chapter in the book is devoted to the Chettiars who set up businesses in Burma.)
* Rajeswary Brown (1993) "Chettiar capital and Southeast Asian credit networks in the inter-war period". In G. Austin and K. Sugihara, eds. ''Local Suppliers of Credit in the Third World, 1750-1960''. (New York: St. Martin's Press).
*{{cite book |chapter=Marwari and Chettiar Merchants. 1850s-1950s: Comparative Trajectories |first=Medha M. |last=Kudaisya |title=Chinese and Indian Business: Historical Antecedents |editor1-first=Medha M. |editor1-last=Kudaisya |editor2-first=Chin-Keong |editor2-last=Ng |publisher=BRILL |location=Leiden |year=2009 |isbn=9789004172791 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQJfjnWly5wC&pg=PA85}}
* David Rudner (1989) ''Banker's Trust and the Culture of Banking among the Nattukottai Chettiars of Colonial South India''. ''Modern Asian Studies'' 23 (3), 417-458.
* Heiko Schrader (1996) ''Chettiar Finance in Colonial Asia''. ''Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie'' 121, 101-126.

[[Category:Chettiar| ]]
[[Category:Social groups of Kerala]]
[[Category:Surnames of Indian origin]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan Tamil society]]
[[Category:Social groups of Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Indian castes]]
[[Category:Merchant castes]]
[[Category:Agricultural castes]]
[[Category:South Indian communities]]
[[Category:Social groups of Karnataka]]