# Marar (caste)
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{{Short description|Caste of temple musicians of Kerala, India}}
{{about|a Hindu caste|the UAE tribe namesake|Marar (tribe)|the place namesake|Marar, Ramgarh|other uses|Marar (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{infobox caste
| caste_name = Marar
| classification = Temple musicians, Musicians caste
| religions = [Hinduism](/source/Hinduism)
| country = India
}}
'''Marar''' is the name given to the caste of hereditary temple musicians[Bodies of Silence, Floods of Nectar: Ritual Music in Contemporary Brahmanical Tantric Temples of Kerala. Yale Journal of Music & Religion: Vol. 7: No. 2, Article 2.] of [Travancore](/source/Travancore), [Cochin](/source/Kingdom_of_Cochin) and [Malabar](/source/Malabar_District) region in the state of [Kerala](/source/Kerala), whose primary duty was to provide the traditional temple ''[Sopanam](/source/Sopanam)'' music.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}} They belong to the [Ambalavasi](/source/Ambalavasi) caste.[{{cite news | url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/idakka-the-folk-instrument-of-kerala/article25840844.ece | title=It is God's own instrument | newspaper=The Hindu | date=27 December 2018 }}]
== Etymology ==
The word 'Marar' comes from the Tamil word 'mar', which means 'beat' and marar meaning the one who beat instruments like [chenda](/source/chenda) and [idakka](/source/idakka) in temples.
Men of the Marar caste are called Mārar and ladies are called Mārasyar or Amma.
Paani, the indispensable part of high tantric rituals of temple such as ulsavabali, sreeboothabali etc. is another main hereditary temple profession of Marar.[https://malayalimanasu.com/us-news/arivinte-muthukal-7/ PMN namboothiri] They were also known for their playing of chenda (valam thala represents deva vadyam (usually play inside the nalambalam) and edam thala represents asura vadyam) and idakka[{{cite journal |last1=Vishnu |first1=Achutha Menon |date=2020 |title=The Rhythmic Structure of Melam |journal=The Chitrolekha Journal on Art and Design |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.21659/cjad.42.v4n202 |s2cid=242270596 |doi-access=free}}][{{Cite web |date=21 May 2015 |title=On a journey with the edakka |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/music/tripunithura-krishnadas-ensured-edakka-is-heard-on-new-platforms/article7226962.ece |accessdate=29 March 2023 |via=www.thehindu.com}}] ''Sopanadwani''[{{Cite web |title=SOPANADHWANI |url=https://www.readwhere.com/magazine/marar-sabha/SOPANADHWANI/32407 |access-date=2022-10-28 |website=Readwhere - India's Largest Digital Newsstand}}] is the monthly publication of ''Akhila Kerala Marar Kshema Sabha''.
== Social status ==
Marar of Kerala maintained a high ritual life akin to [Brahmins](/source/Malayali_Brahmin) and other [Ambalavasi](/source/Ambalavasi) castes. The social status of Ambalavasi and Marar varies with region.
In [North Kerala](/source/Malabar_District), they were popularly known as antharala jathikal, with a ritual rank lying between [Nair](/source/Nair)s and Brahmins. They formed [Akhila Kerala Marar Maha Sabha](/source/Akhila_Kerala_Marar_Maha_Sabha.) for the welfare of Marars.[{{Cite book |last=Thurston |first=Edgar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6gm2K6VMwAC&dq=Travancore%2C+at+any+rate%2C+the+N%C4%81yars+are+considered+to+be+higher+in+the+social+scale+than+the+M%C4%81r%C4%81ns.&pg=PT1537 |title=Castes and Tribes of Southern India (Complete) |date=2020-09-28 |publisher=Library of Alexandria |isbn=978-1-4655-8236-2 |language=en}}][{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aj1ZAAAAMAAJ&q=M%C4%81r%C4%81ns |title=Kerala Brahmins in Transition: A Study of a Namputiri Family |date=2000 |publisher=The Society |isbn=978-951-9380-48-3 |language=en}}]
In [South Kerala](/source/Travancore), Marar and [Paathamangalakkar](/source/Padamangalam_Nair), along with other temple-related Ambalavasi castes, were considered as Auxiliary Nair subcaste. Despite being Ambalavasi, they were also known as Nair-Marar, and were part of Akhila Kerala Marar Maha Sabha along with the [Nair Service Society](/source/Nair_Service_Society).