Nayak (title)
Nayak, or Naik, or Nayaka is a historic Indian title conferred on military captains and governors of feudal states in the Middle Ages.[1] Today it is also a surname. Nayaks are mostly Hindu and a few belong to other religions.
As a title
[edit]Today, the surname Nayak is used by various castes and ethnic groups across India. Mostly they follow Hinduism.[2]
- In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, other versions of the name such as Naidu exist. Naidu is used as a title by people belonging to Kapu/Balija, Velama, Kamma communities. Here, Naik is adopted as a surname by communities like Bedar.[3] Some Telugu castes also use a variant like Naicker as title.[4][5][6]
- In Maharashtra, the surnames Nayak and Naik are used by Maratha, Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKPs), Saraswat Brahmin, and Deshastha Brahmin communities.[7] Nayak, or Naik is also used as a title by Koli caste in the state. The Maval region was known as Koli country of fifty two valleys in Maratha Empire. Each valley was controlled by a Koli Nayak and the Sirnayak, or head chief, lived at Junnar, and presided over the gotarni, or caste council.[8]
- In Karnataka, it is used by some subcastes of the Vokkaliga, Namadhari Naik communities.[9][10][11] The Muslim Siddis of Karnataka, use the surname Nayaka which they received as a title from the kings of Bijapur.[12]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ https://www.learnsanskrit.cc/translate?search=captain&dir=es
- ^ Kumar Suresh Singh (2002). People of India: Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-19-564444-9.
- ^ Kumar Suresh Singh (1993). Ethnography, Customary Law, and Change. Concept Publishing Company. p. 249. ISBN 978-81-7022-471-6.
- ^ A. Vijay Kumari (1998). Social Change Among Balijas: Majority Community of Andhra Pradesh. M D Publications. p. 89. ISBN 978-81-7533-072-6.
- ^ Journal of Indian History - Volume 85. Department of History, University of Kerala. 2006. p. 181.
Naidu is a title assumed by a number of Telugu castes such as Balija, Bestha, Boya, Ekari, Gavara, Golla, Kaingi, Kamma, Kapu, Mutracha and Velama. They had migrated from Telugu country during the Vijayanagar rule.
- ^ Edgar Thurston, ed. (1909). Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume V of VII. Library of Alexandria. ISBN 978-1-4655-8240-9.
Naidu.— Naidu or Nāyudu is a title, returned at times of census by many Telugu classes, e.g., Balija, Bestha, Bōya, Ēkari, Gavara, Golla, Kālingi, Kāpu, Mutrācha, and Velama. A Tamilian, when speaking of a Telugu person bearing this title, would call him Naicker or Naickan instead of Naidu
- ^ Anupama Rao (2009). The Caste Question: Dalits and the Politics of Modern India. University of California Press. p. 315. ISBN 978-0-520-25761-0.
- ^ Hardiman, David; Hardiman, Professor of History David (1996). Feeding the Baniya: Peasants and Usurers in Western India. New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press. pp. 221: The Koli country was then known as the Bavan Mavals, or '52 valleys' in Maratha Empire. Each valley was controlled by a Koli chief, or nayak. The sirnayak, or head chief, lived at Junnar, and presided over the gotarni, or caste council. ISBN 978-0-19-563956-8.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ "The Mysore Tribes and Castles".
- ^ L. K. A. Iyer (2005). The Mysore Tribes and Castes. Vol. 3. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. p. 270.
Gauda and Naika are the titles affixed to their names , and the common honorific suffixes Appa and Ayya for males and Avva and Akka for females are also in use
- ^ B. N. Sri Sathyan, ed. (1975). Karnataka State Gazetteer: Shimoga (PDF). Karnataka (India): Director of Print., Stationery and Publications at the Government Press. p. 102.
Some Vokkaliga families also have surnames like Nayak and Heggade in this district.
- ^ Shanti Sadiq Ali (1996). The African Dispersal in the Deccan: From Medieval to Modern Times. Orient Blackswan. p. 226. ISBN 978-81-250-0485-1.