{{Short description|Tamil and Telugu speaking community in south India}} {{About|the Indian caste called Muthuraja||Muttaraiyar (disambiguation){{!}}Muttaraiyar}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Infobox caste |caste_name=Muthuraja |languages=[[Tamil language|Tamil]]{{*}}[[Telugu language|Telugu]] |populated_states=[[Tamil Nadu]] |region=Central Tamil Nadu |population= |religions=[[Hinduism]]{{*}}[[Jainism]] |country={{flag|India}} |ethnicity= |classification=[[Other Backward Class|Backward caste]]}}{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}} {{Use Indian English|date=May 2016}} '''Muthuraja''' (also known as '''Mutharaiyar''') is a [[Tamil people|Tamil]] and [[Telugu language|Telugu]]<ref name="Telugu"> * {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VwbtAAAAMAAJ |title=Barriers broken: production relations and agrarian change in Tamil Nadu |publisher=Sage Publications |year=1990 |isbn=9780803996397 |editor1-last=Athreya |editor1-first=Venkatesh B. |page=25 |quote=The Muthurajas are descendants of the soldiers which the poligars recruited in their homeland, the Telugu-speaking areas of contemporary Andhra Pradesh, north of Tamil Nadu. Like other castes originating from Andhra, they are bilingual, often speaking Telugu in family circles and Tamil outside the house |editor2-last=Djurfeldt |editor2-first=Göran |editor3-last=Lindberg |editor3-first=Staffan}} * {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2pAMAQAAMAAJ&q=Muthuracha |title=A handbook of Tamil Nadu |author2= |publisher=International School of Dravidian Linguistics |year=1996 |isbn=9788185692203 |editor1-last=K. M. Venkataramaiah |volume= |page=425 |quote=Muthuracha: A Telugu caste found in some districts of Tamil Nadu, the Muthuracha (muthurācha) is also called Muttaraiyan. Some are talaiyāris or watchmen of villages. They seem to be a major sect in the coastal villages of Andhra Pradesh}} * {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iw7SL2QrgcQC&dq=Among+the+Telugu+castes+that+came+to+Tamilnadu+were+the+Mutturajas+or+Mutr%C4%81chas&pg=PA19 |title=Kattavarayan Katai |author2= |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |year=2004 |isbn=9783447047128 |editor1-last=Eveline Masilamani-Meyer |volume= |page=19 |quote=Among the Telugu castes that came to Tamilnadu were the Mutturajas or Mutrāchas.}} * {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bxiAAAAAMAAJ&q=Muttiriyan++Tamil+Nadu+primarily++Telugu+caste |title=Biology of the People of Tamil Nadu |author2= |publisher= |year=1981 |editor1=L. D. Sanghvi |editor2=V. Balakrishnan |editor3=Irawati Karmarkar Karve |volume= |page=21 |quote=Mutracha (MT) Mutracha is also known as Muttiriyan in Tamil Nadu. It is primarily a Telugu caste found in the southern districts of Andhra Pradesh. They were employed by the Vijayanagar kings to defend their frontiers when they entered Tamil Nadu and were honoured with the title of Paligar. They speak Telugu in Tamil Nadu.}}</ref> speaking community found in the Indian state of [[Tamil Nadu]].
== Etymology == The etymology of the community name is unclear. The names Muthuraja and Muthuraiyar may be derived from two words, the [[Tamil language|Tamil]] name ''muthu'' meaning "pearl" and ''raja'' or ''raiyar'' both meaning "king".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kkppAgAAQBAJ|title=Sacred Groves and Local Gods: Religion and Environmentalism in South India|last=Kent|first=Eliza F.|date=2013-03-26|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199895472|pages=33–34|language=en}}</ref> ''Muttaraiyar'' may also be derived from ''mundru'' meaning "three" and ''tharai'' meaning "earth".{{cn|date=August 2023}} ==Origins==
The [[Tamil language|Tamil]]-speaking Muthuraja are densely distributed in the central and southern districts of Tamil Nadu, particularly in the Cauvery Delta region. They have historical roots as a ruling dynasty in this region, with inscriptions and literature from the 7th-9th centuries mentioning Tamil-speaking Mutharaiyar chiefs.
The [[Telugu language|Telugu]]-speaking section, often known as Muthuraja Naidu or Muthiriya Naidu, is mostly found in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu. This group's ancestors are to have migrated from the [[Telugu language|Telugu]]-speaking regions of present-day [[Andhra Pradesh]] during the [[Vijayanagara Empire|Vijayanagara]] and Nayaka periods, serving as paligars and soldiers.<ref name="Telugu" />
==Subdivision==
The Mutharaiyar community had two linguistic sects within the state; being [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and [[Telugu language|Telugu]].
The [[Tamil language|Tamil]]-speaking Muthuraja community has historical connections to the [[Mutharaiyar dynasty]], a ruling family from the 7th to 9th centuries CE and a strong presence in the central and southern districts of [[Tamil Nadu]]. while the [[Telugu language|Telugu]]-speaking Muthuraja Naidu community, who migrated from the Telugu-speaking areas of [[Andhra Pradesh]], is mostly found in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu.<ref name="Telugu" />
==Titles== Their title '''Ambalakkarar''' is derived from the Tamil word ''ambalam'' meaning [[Gram panchayat|panchayat]] or "village council", as they served as the heads of these councils.<ref name=":0" />
==Unified Subcastes==
[[J. Jayalalithaa]], as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, issued a government order (G.O. 15/22.02.1996) in 1996 that unified 29 existing sub-castes into a single, combined "Mutharaiyar" community for official purposes.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=N . Hari Bhaskar, Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu Government|author2=|title=G.O.Ms.No :15 ( Backward Classes and Most Backward Classes Welfare Department ) dated 22-2-96|volume= |publisher=TAMIL NADU ELECTRICITY BOARD BULLETIN |date=July 1996 |quote=( PART - 2 ) GENERAL ADMINISTRATION & SERVICES ( Page 2 ) GOVERNMENT OF TAMILNADU ABSTRACT : WELFARE OF BACKWARD CLASSES - Mutharaiyar community and its Sub-sects calling the main community and its Sub-sects as Mutharaiyar - Orders - Issused |url=http://tneb.tnebnet.org/test1/Gazette/YearWisePDF/1996/1996_July.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=எஸ்.சஞ்சய் ராமசாமி|author2=|title=மத்திய மண்டலம் அரசியல் பரபர முத்தரையர்கள் வாக்கு யாருக்கு?|volume= |publisher=விகடன் இதழ் |date=15 Sep 2010|page=|quote=96-ம் ஆண்டு 29 பிரிவுகளாக இருந்த எங்கள் சமுதாய மக்களை 'முத்தரையர்கள்' என்கிற பெயரில் ஒருங்கிணைத்து அரசாணை பிறப்பித்தார் ஜெயலலிதா| url=https://www.vikatan.com/government-and-politics/local-bodies/52920--2 }}</ref>
Several [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and [[Telugu language|Telugu]] speaking sub-castes were unified under the common name "Mutharaiyar" (also Muthuraja) for the purpose of official government records and backward class reservations in Tamil Nadu.
[[File:MutharaiyarGO.jpg|thumb|backward classes and most backward classes welfare department G.O.Ms.No :15 dated 22-2-1996 ]]
==Demographics== The [[Tamil language|Tamil]]-speaking Muthuraja are densely distributed in the [[Tiruchirappalli district|Tiruchirappalli]], [[Pudukkottai district|Pudukkottai]], [[Thanjavur district|Thanjavur]], [[Karur district|Karur]], [[Madurai]], [[Dindigul]], [[Perambalur district|Perambalur]] and [[Sivagangai district|Sivagangai]] districts of [[Tamil Nadu]].{{cn|date=September 2023}} The [[Telugu language|Telugu]]-speaking Muthuraja Naidu, comparatively fewer in number, are mostly distributed in the [[Chennai district|Chennai]], [[Tiruvallur district |Tiruvallur]], [[Kanchipuram district|Kanchipuram]], [[Vellore district|Vellore]], [[Tiruvannamalai district|Tiruvannamalai]], [[Viluppuram district |Viluppuram]] and [[Cuddalore district |Cuddalore]] districts of northern [[Tamil Nadu]].{{cn|date=September 2023}}
==References== {{Reflist}} {{Portal|Tamils|India|Hinduism}}
[[Category:Indian castes]] [[Category:Social groups of Tamil Nadu]]