Elur Chetty
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Elur Chetty (also called Elur Chettu or Ezhur Chetty) is a Tamil speaking Hindu community in South India. They are said to have migrated from Kaveripoompattanam in Thanjavur District and settled in Kanyakumari District. They come under the common name of Chetty which includes other communities such as Kottar Chetty, Pathira Chetty, Valayal Chetty, Pudukottai Chetty etc. They were once a trading community and were distinct from the other Chetty communities. The name is derived from "Ezhu oor" meaning "7 towns". The 7 towns were in and around the Kanyakumari District in South Tamilnadu, India, namely Eraniel, Colachel, Ganapathipuram, Midalam, Thiruvithancode, Padmanabhapuram and Parakkai. Later Kottar, Thiruvananthapuram, Therusinamkoppu, Thalakkulam, Nagercoil were added. Currently the members are spread all over India and in other parts of the World. They have also diversified their profession and is not limited to trading.
Elur Chetty Sangham was started as a registered association in 1952 with its office in Eraniel. Elur Chetty is classified as Backward Class (OBC) in Tamilnadu and Kerala considering the social and financial backwardness of the community.
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[edit] Surname
Most common surname found in this community is Pillai. This surname is shared by many other communities including Sozhiya Vellalar and Kerala Nair community.There are two majority subcastes in this community which is called as Melatheru and Keezhatheru. However ,there are different subdivisions the surname is almost common.Time has had its influences on the community and among other changes, the current generation seldom uses this surname.
[edit] Legend
During the rule of King of Kaveripoompattinam, a member of his court brought him a bagful of a rare and beautiful pearls known then as "Konnu Muthu". These pearls were so beautiful unlike any other the King had seen before. They were colored red on the one side and black on the other. On seeing these beautiful pearls, the king wished to make a beautiful necklace out of it for his queen. However, there was one big problem. These pearls were so tiny in size it was impossible to make a hole in it to thread the pearls together. Several skillful jewellers tried their luck and ended up failing in vain. The king was quite saddened and disappointed by this. The king's chief trade advisor offered to help. He took those pearls to his home and gave them to his two beautiful daughters Thangammai and Thayammai and asked them if they can help with this seemingly impossible task.
Both girls being quite clever, came up quickly with an ingenious solution. They took each pearl and stuck a grain of sugar on two opposite ends of it and arranged each pearl closer to one other in a straight line. They then took a thread and attached one end of it to the pearl on the top end. They did this and went to their beds. The next morning, the pearls were neatly threaded for them. The girls father was very surprised to see this. He later found out that it was the work of the ants that had followed the trail of its food and drilled a hole inside the pearls on its way.
The king was extremely delighted to see the necklace made so quickly. He came to know that this was the work and creativity of his advisor's young daughters. He asked the advisor to bring both his daughters to him, so he can thank them and reward them personally. As per his request the daughters were brought before the king. The king thanked them both and rewarded them well. He then got immensely attracted by the beauty of these two young girls. He immediately wished to have both of them as his wives.
The advisor was displeased with the king's wishes. He couldn't come to terms to agree with the king and give away their daughters but at the same time he couldn't dare to disobey the king. The advisor discussed the issue with his other 6 siblings and they together came to a conclusion not to give away their daughters.
The legend goes that the girls were said to have been buried in a well and the family with all 7 siblings immediately fled to the south along with their belongings and deities' idols. On the way they did puja for Vinayaka in Kottar. After the puja, when they tried to remove the idol, they were unsuccessful. Some people stayed back in Kottar and are called Kottar Chetty. Later the Kottar Pillayar Temple was built there.
Others moved further and reached Oduppurai near Eraniel and placed the Nagaramman (the snake goddess) idol there. They made nivedyam (a sweet offering for God) from a mixture of raw rice flour, banana fruit, cardomam, dried ginger, coconut and jaggery. This mixture was pressed to form a solid rectangular shape (like a brick), which was then covered using banana and coconut leaves and tied using Kaithai (a plant which produces a very frangrant flower) root. This was baked using coconut husk and served to the god. This came to be known as the 'Oduppurai Kolukkattai'.
Before the 7 sibilings parted from 'Oduppurai' they all agreed to meet again on every last Sunday of Chithirai month of Tamil Calendar during the day of Chithirai nakshatra and full moon.
Since then, the Oduppurai Nagaramman Temple celebrations are being held to this day and the family and community meet together.
[edit] Community Temple
Oduppurai Nagaramman Temple is the community temple of Elur Chetty community. Monthly poojas are carried out on the last Sunday of the Tamil calendar.
Oduppurai Temple celebration years:
- 1941 May 11 (1116 Chittirai 22)
- 1944 May 7 (1119 Chittirai 18)
- 1951 May 13 (1126 Chittirai 30)
- 1954 May 9 (1129 Chittirai 26)
- 1958 May 4 (1133 Chittirai 14)
- 1961 Apr 30 (1136 Chittirai 11)
- 1966 May 8
- 1971 May 2
- 1978 Apr 16
- 1981 May 10
- 1985 Apr 28
- 2008 Apr/May
Other related temples are Eraniel Pillayar Temple, Kattalai Temple, Colachal Pillayar Temple, Kottar Pillayar Temple, Thiruvananthapuram Nandavanam Nagaramman Temple, Ganapathipuram Pillayar Temple, Thiruvithancode Maadan Kovil, Thiruvithancode Pillayar Temple, Padmanabhapuram Amman Temple and Padmanabhapuram Pillayar Temple .
[edit] Offering Ingredients
During the celebrations, offering to God is submitted as done during the earlier days. The detailed measurement and ingredients for the offering are 600gm Chamba raw rice, Scraps from 1 full Coconut, 500gm Jaggery, 5gm cardomom, 5gm dried ginger, 1 banana wrapped in 2 banana leaves, 2 palm leave mat with 9 or 11 leaves, 5 coconut husk and 9 Kaithai strings.
