Chettiar

Chettiar/Chetty is derived from the Sanskrit word {{IAST|Śreṣṭha}} (Devanagari: श्रेष्ठ) or {{IAST|Śreṣṭhin}} (Devanagari: श्रेष्ठीन्), meaning superior. This term was later Prakritised as {{IAST|Seṭhī}} (Devanagari: सेठी), and eventually became {{IAST|Śeṭ}} (Devanagari: शेट) or {{IAST|Śeṭī}} (Devanagari: शेटी) in modern Indo-Aryan dialects.{{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}}{{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}}

In early Indian literature, the term referred to a wealthy class of merchants associated with the Vysya varna.{{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}}

The Chettiar title has been associated with a diverse range of communities, including merchant groups, agriculturalists, and artisans.{{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.”{{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}} The title is also used by certain subgroups of the Vellalar caste, highlighting its adaptability across regions and professions.{{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}}

During the colonial era, Chettiars, particularly the Nattukottai Nagarathar(Chettiyar), Aruviyur Nagarathar(Chettiyar), gained recognition as prominent bankers and financiers in South India and Southeast Asia.{{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 }}{{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}}

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.{{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 }}{{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}} Their financial expertise earned them a reputation as the "bankers of the East" during the British Raj.

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,{{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}}{{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 }} while others, like the Devanga Chettiars, excelled in weaving fine textiles.{{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}} The Kandangi sari, a traditional handloom product, is an enduring symbol of their craftsmanship.{{cite book |last=Ganesan |first=R. |year=2007 |title=Textiles and Handicrafts of Tamil Nadu |publisher=Kaveri Books |isbn=9788174790665}}

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 Pillaiyarpatti Temple and the Kundrakudi Temple in Tamil Nadu are linked to Chettiar patronage.{{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}}{{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}} Their generosity extended beyond India, contributing to infrastructure and religious institutions in Southeast Asia.{{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}}

• Nagarathar
• Pattanavar
• Pattusali
• Twenty four Manai Telugu Chettiars
• Vallanattu Chettiar
• Vaniya Chettiars
• Vellalar chettiars

{{reflist}}

• 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: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