Can a Tamil be a Brahmin?

Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, in addition to other regions of India, as well as Sri Lanka.

Are Tamil Brahmins Aryan?

Brahmins as 'Aryans'

In the social reality of Tamil Nadu only Brahmins were given access to learn Sanskrit. Given the association of Aryans with Sanskrit, Brahmins conceived themselves as Aryans.

What caste are Tamils?

The caste system of the Sri Lankan Tamils resembles the system of the Sinhalese, but the individual Tamil castes differ from the Sinhalese castes. The dominant Tamil caste, constituting well over 50 percent of the Tamil population, are the Vellala.

What ethnicity is Brahmin?

Brahmin is the highest Varna in Vedic Hinduism. The population of India that is considered a member of the Brahmin caste according to the article “The Joshua project” is about 60,481,000 people. That's approximately 4.3 percent of the total Indian population.

What is Tamil Brahmin ancestry?

A Tamil Brahmin is ancestrally closer to a Pakhtun from Pakistan, then to the Irula, a Dravidian Adivasi tribe in Tamil Nadu. The genetic distance between the Tamil Brahmin and Tamil Adivasi is greater than the genetic distance between Portugal and Finland!

Thambraas Coimbatore Conference Jan - 2023

Who are considered as Brahmins?

The Brahmins are the caste from which Hindu priests are drawn, and are responsible for teaching and maintaining sacred knowledge. The other major castes, from highest to lowest, are the Kshatriya (warriors and princes), Vaisya (farmers or merchants), and Shudra (servants and sharecroppers).

Are Tamils considered Indian?

The Tamils are native to modern state of India known as Tamil Nadu and the northern and eastern part of Sri Lanka.

Which caste is high in Tamil Nadu?

The high ranking landlord castes were mainly Brahmins, Vellalars, Naidus and Kallars.

How many types of Tamil are there?

Three periods have been distinguished through analyses of grammatical and lexical changes: Old Tamil (from about 450 bce to 700 ce), Middle Tamil (700–1600), and Modern Tamil (from 1600).

Are Dravidians Brahmins?

Classification. They fall under the Pancha Dravida Brahmin classification of the Brahmin community in India.

Do Tamil Brahmins know Sanskrit?

There is some confusion on the identity of Tamil speaking brahmins. The Dravidians are fairly clear that brahmins are Aryans. But some Tamil nationalists think brahmins can be included into their fold. They do not speak Sanskrit in any case, except a few mantras.

Do Tamil Brahmins marry cousins?

Yes. We Tamil Brahmins do marry our cross cousins and this was a very common practice. However, as time progressed, the practice lessened. Even in my family, my Chiththi (my Mom's younger sister) married her Mama's (her Mom's elder brothe) son.

Is Iyer a Tamil word?

Iyer (Tamil: ஐயர், pronounced [aɪjəɾ]) has several meanings in Tamil and other Dravidian languages, often referring to a respectable person.

Is Tamil a caste?

There is no specific and separate caste for Tamil people or people of Tamil Nadu (People whose mother tongue is Tamil).

Do Brahmins have different DNA?

The results showed that Brahmins had genetic affinities with several foreign populations and also shared their genetic heritage with several domestic non-Brahmin groups.

Which caste is warrior in Tamil Nadu?

Kallar is synonymous with the western Indian term, Koli, having connotations of thievery but also of upland pastoralism. According to Bayly, Kallar should be considered a "title of rural groups in Tamil Nadu with warrior-pastoralist ancestral traditions".

Which is the highest caste in South India?

The Nambudiri Brahmins were at the top of the ritual caste hierarchy, outranking even the kings.

Are Tamils not Dravidians?

The largest Dravidian ethnic groups are the Telugus from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the Tamils from Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore, the Kannadigas from Karnataka, the Malayalis from Kerala, and the Tulu people from Karnataka.

Do Tamils have curly hair?

Tamils are regarded as Dravidians, which have traditionally lived in southern India and tend to be short, dark and have wavy or curly hair and broad noses.

Can a non Brahmin become a Brahmin?

Let me say: All are born as sudras, only when you acquire knowledge (brahma jnanam) do you become a Brahmin. We are taught that you are a Brahmin by karma and not by birth. Nobody become a Brahmin by birth. Veda Vyasa (who wrote the Mahabharata) was born to a fisherwoman.

Which caste is higher in Brahmin?

A Brahmin is a member of the highest caste or varna and is an incarnation of knowledge. The Kshatriyas are the second-highest of the four varnas representing warriors and aristocracy. Vaishyas (business people) are the third class of the caste system.

What are the three types of Brahmins?

The Brahmans are divided into 10 main territorial divisions, five of which are associated with the north and five with the south. The northern group consists of Sarasvati, Gauda, Kannauj, Maithil, and Utkal Brahmans, and the southern group comprises Maharashtra, Andhra, Dravida, Karnata, and Malabar Brahmans.

What is the origin of Tamil people?

Tamil, people originally of southern India who speak Tamil, one of the principal languages of the Dravidian family.