Iyer

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Iyer is the name given to a community, or sub-caste, of Brahmins (a priestly Hindu class / caste from India). Iyers mostly profess the advaita philosophy propounded by sri Shankaracharya. For many centuries, they have had strong ties with the Tamil-speaking region. Though Iyer is used as a suffix to names, it does not constitute a caste or family name, but a sub-caste of Smartha Brahmins.

The term Iyer is likely derived from the honorific ayya in the Dravidian, which in turn derives from the word arya as in Aryans.

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Identity and origins

Iyers are distinct from other Smartha Brahmin communities mainly in having Tamil for their mother-tongue. In other words: Iyers are Smartha Brahmins whose mother tongue is Tamil. Brahmins are believed to be of North Indian origin, but have been present in South India, including in the Tamil region, for a very long time. Even presuming that theory to be accurate, no one knows when the first Brahmins came south, and they appear to have come to South India in different waves. While there are no specific historical acccounts or documents which describe them to have come from distant lands, traditional folklore attributes the Brahmin sage Agastya to be first Brahmin to come south and establish a family in the Dravidian region. It is even suggested that by the legends, that he learnt Tamil from Lord Siva and the language in the south. This legend is obtained from the Siva puranam(composed many centuries earlier), written in Tamil.This folklore is not totally accepted by local politicians and some historians, who see this folklore as suggestive of Aryan invasion from the North. There are a number of other theories based on race, caste and invasion, which are yet proven or substantiated by any verifiable or authentic evidence. Hence, discussion of these theories is more a discussion of legend than of history.

Such traditional accounts as Chola inscriptions in Tanjore temples hint that a large number of Iyers may have migrated from other regions of India to the Dravidian land at the invitation of Tamil kings in order to perform Vedic rituals such as Yajna and that they received land and donation in return for their services. However, some ancient legends in works like the Ramayana and Mahabharata speak of many Brahmin rishis meditating in the South, which, if true, implies a Brahmin presence in South India before 1000 BCE.

Iyers—like all other Brahmins—trace their paternal ancestors to one of eight rishis or sages. This way they classify themselves into eight gotras, according to the ancestor rishi .

Iyers have many subsects among them, such as Vadamas, Brihatcharanam, Vathima, Ashtasahasram, etc. The different subsects may indicate a different place of origin. Inter-marriage between these subsects was very uncommon until recently, although there is no longer any rigid taboo against this. Many modern Iyers even marry out of the Iyer community: such marriages are often tolerated, though seldom approved.

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Rituals, Ceremonies and Festivals

Although many rituals that were practiced in ancient times are no longer followed, some traditions are continued to this day.

Iyers are initiated into rituals at the time of Birth itself. In ancient times Iyers performed rituals when the baby was being separated from mother's umbilical cord. However, this practice is not followed in modern times. At the time of birth, a horoscope is made for the child based on the position of the stars. Then Iyers undergo the naming ceremony. This affair is important as the name given during this ceremony would be the individual's religious name, and would be used when ever prayers or ceremonies were conducted, where that individual had to be mentioned. Besides this, some families conduct homas every birthday of the individual, to invoke god's blessings. In other families prayers are performed every year on the individual's birthday. This birthday does not have to do with the child's birthdate, but it corresponds to the nakshatra, or star, corresponding to the time at which the individual is born. The child's first birthday is most important, when both Iyer boys and girls have their ears pierced. From that day onwards a girl is expected to wear earrings. The ceremony is only a formality, for the iyer boys of modern families. Image:Vedic students.jpg

When a male child reaches his seventh birthday he is eligible for thread ceremony also known as Upanayanam. From that day on, he becomes an official member of his caste, and is called as a "twice born". In ancient times, the boy was sent to gurukula to learn vedas and scriptures. He then practices extreme discipline during the period known as brahmacharya. He lives a celibate life, living on alms, and surviving on selected vegetarian saatvic food and observing considerable austerity in behaviour and deeds. The individual had to perform daily fire worship, and perform prayers without fail. Though such practices are not followed in modern times by a majority of Iyers, all Iyer boys undergo the sacred thread ceremony before marriage. Even today, many Iyers continue to follow the daily worship of Sun and the Goddess gayatri. This daily worship is also known as sandhyavandanam. This worship is necessary to be performed at dawn, mid-day, and dusk. The mid-day worship is called madhyahnikam. Besides this, all twice-born Iyers need to perform annual ceremonies such as Upakarma, when they replace their sacred threads with new ones. They also recite 1008 gayatri japas on a certain day every year. This is one practice very few twice born Iyers leave out. The Gayaatri is in pre-classical, Vedic Sanskrit, which is even more difficult to pronounce than the classical Sanskrit, words from which have been borrowed and assimilated to the extent of 30 to 75% in literary and, to a lesser extent, in colloquial forms of the respective vernaculars. Since however North Indian languages have been greatly influenced by the use of Urdu, a heavily Persian-loaded language of Muslims, and also South Indians generally do not care to differentiate in pronunciation of Sanskrit's four different sounds of each consonant (k, kh, g, gh; p, ph, b, bh; etc.) Iyer women have their own ceremonies such as the one at the time of attaining puberty (mostly a private family affair) and regular prayers that they organize for the welfare of their family. They learn shlokas and devotional hymns, and regularly worship various Deities.

A typical Iyer marriage consists of Sumangali Prarthana,Naandi Shraartham,Nichiyadhartham and Mangalyadaranam. This is a highly ritualistic affair and finally the bridegroom and the bride walk around the sacred fire seven times to complete the marriage.

The other extremely important rituals for the Iyers are the death ceremonies. All Iyers are cremated according to vedic rites, usually within a day of the individual's death. The death rites include a 13-day ceremony, and regular tarpanam, for the ancestors. There is also a yearly shraddha, that needs to be performed. These rituals are expected to be performed only by male descendants of the deceased.

There are other rituals for different occasions like Grihapravesam (entering a new house), perfoming yagnas for the welfare of world, etc.

In traditional families any food is first offered to God as naivedhya,and then eaten. Food is not considered to be consumed before this religious offering.

Iyers celebrate different festivals where they worship God. They offer different kinds of sweets to God unique to that festival. These offerings ususally include fruits. Worship of Gods is done by reciting Sanskrit hymns and special flowers are offered to God. Some of the many festivals celebrated by Iyers are:

Deepavali - the festival of lights, commemorating the victory of Lord Krishna over the demon Narakasura. The Iyers celebrate this in their unique style by waking up early in the morning and having and oil bath. The Deepavali medicine is a herbal sweet, that is believed to increase an individual's appetite for sweets. This sweet is prepared unfailingly every year. People light their houses with lamps, and burst fire crackers on this day.

Dasara/Navarathri - the nine-day festival of durga which culminates in a Saraswati Puja and then Vijayadasami. On Saraswati puja, Iyers keep the books they use, for puja. These books are removed and read on the Vijayadasami. Any other new work is also started on Vijayadasami. The sweet unique to Dasara is soondal.

Pongal/Makara Sankaranti - the yearly festival for the sun. The chakara pongal is a sweet made of rice and jaggery for this occasion. Sugarcane is also offered to God on this day.

Vinayaka Chaturthi - Birthday of Lord Ganesha. Kozhakattai (steamed rice dumpling usually with a jaggery/coconut filling) is a sweet prepared for this occasion, and is considered the favourite of Lord Ganesha.

Janmashtami - Birthday of Lord Krishna. Cheedais (deep-fried rice balls, with various spices, sometimes jaggery) are special food items prepared for this festival.

Tamil New Year- New Year according to the Tamil calendar. A neem paste is the main dish for this day.

Sivarathri - Worship day of Lord Shiva. The Lord Shiva is pleased with austerities, so no sweets are prepared. Instead, people are expected to fast the whole day, and worship Lord Shiva throughout the night. Fruits are permissible for those who cannot follow the intense devotion expected.

Karthika deepam - Day celebrating the victory of Lord Muruga over evil. Pori (sweetened puffed rice, sweetened with jaggery), is prepared on this day. The house is also lit with lamps to celebrate the victory over darkness.

Avani avittam - Upakarma day for the Iyers. On this day, Iyers change the sacred thread and recite vedas.

Iyers keep certain days for fasting. Some of the days Iyers fast are, Amavasya, Ekadasi, and Sivarathri.

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Residence of Iyers

Iyers nowadays live mostly in Urban centres but also live in certain rural areas as well. In the past , they used to live in colonies known as Agraharams.(In Sanskrit Agram means Tip or End and Haram means Garland. Generally Shiva and Vishnu temples will be situated at the ends of Agraharam.Mostly such Agraharams lie by the side of a river also.) These are streets where only brahmins were allowed to live. A typical agraharam consists of a Temple and a street adjacent to the temple. The street used to have many houses where Iyers lived as Joint families.The houses were simple and usually made of wood. The houses were well built and strong.

After India's independence Iyers started moving out of their agraharams and began living with the rest of the society.However there are still some agraharams left where some traditional or old Iyers continue to stay. In the wake of Brahmins getting sidelined in Professioanl education and Government employment,especially in Tamil Nadu,most Agraharams are now deserted and the present generation ,at least one in a house, has migrated to the US Or UK Or Australia.

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Social and political issues

During the ancient and mediaeval periods, Iyers (and Brahmins in general) rose in prominence in Indian society, primarily due to their emphasis on spiritual life and scholarship, particularly in terms of their expertise in the Vedas and the attendant religious rituals. Later, during the colonial period they also acquired English education and served as clerks in the British rule in India. After independence, they consolidated their position in the Indian administration. Such a situation led to resentment from the other castes in Tamilnadu, An upshot of this atmosphere was an "anti-Brahmin" movement and the formation of the Justice party. Though formed on a principled high-ground, the movement soon led to a power struggle between the Brahmins and the other castes like the Mudaliars, Pillais and Chettiars. In the 1960s the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (roughly translated as "Organisation for Progress of Dravidians") and its subgroups gained political ground on this platform forming state ministries, thereby wrenching control from the Indian National Congress party, where Iyers at that time were holding important party positions.

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Iyer Women

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The Iyer woman is often portrayed as woman draped in a nine yard saree, also known as madisar in tamil. This dress is permitted only for "sumangali" (loosely, a woman whose husband is still alive). Though such dress is worn regularly only by the older women, on festivals and other religious occasions it is worn by young women as well. Traditional Iyer women, both married and unmarried wear a "pottu" (red dot, also known as kumkum/sindoor/bindi) on their forehead and married women always wear the mangalsutra or "thali" as it is called in Tamil. This is a sacred cord tied by the bridegroom around the bride's neck and is the chief part of the marriage as it unites them in matrimony ,while the officiating brahmin priests chants vedic hymns. Image:Gayatri iyer.jpg

According to scripture, an Iyer woman becomes part of her husband's family after marriage and adopts the gotra/lineage as well as the traditions of her husband's family. An Iyer woman who does not marry a brahmin is no longer considered a Brahmin and is not eligible to participate in the any of the orthodox traditions/rituals.

Until recently, an Iyer widow was never allowed to re-marry, while it was acceptable for Iyer widowers to re-marry. Divorces were considered a "great evil". Once a widow, an Iyer woman had to shave her head and lead the life of Sanyasin. She had to stop wearing the kumkum/bindi on her forehead, and was recommended to smear her forehead with sacred ashes. All of these practices have fallen by the wayside over the last few decades, and modern Iyer widows lead unencumbered lives.

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Traditional Iyer Ethics

Iyers were extremely orthodox a century ago. They followed Dharma shastra texts of Manusmriti Apastamba and Baudhayana. The society is patriarchal with an extremely dominating male society. Image:Paramacharya.jpg Nevertheless, a brahmin women has always been found to be more educated (either an expert at arts) or science compared to other communities. This is especially true when you consider the 20th century (rukhmini arundale) where many brahmin women had an undergraduate degree. Iyers observed many rules in the past when they used to live and marry within their own community.They eat strict vegetarian food(which excludes certain plants like Onion and Garlic,which they considered impure but included milk/milk products made from cow). They were not expected to drink alcohol/wine/bhang or any other intoxicants such as drug or smoke cigarattes. They followed ellaborate purificatory rituals,and Kitchen rules(which included separation of different kind of food items).One other example of their kitchen rule is the practise of cooking only after taking a bath.The other example was eating food after offering it to God. Marriage rules prevented Iyers from marrying within their own gotras ,and marrying outside their caste. As in other castes like mudaliars or chettiars, brahmins did not marry outside their caste.They also defined certain acts as unforgivable sin such as pre-marital and extra-marital sex.

Though corrupt and antisocial Iyers are not unknown as in other communities , by and large the community has been known as a law abiding community.

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Traditional attire

Iyer men traditionally wear dhotis, which cover them from waist to foot.These are made of cotton and sometimes silk.These called as veshtis in Tamil. The Veshtis are worn in different styles. They wrap their shoulders sometimes with a single piece of cloth known as angavastram, but mostly keep their chests barren. They also wear the sacred thread across their shoulders .This is worn by them since their initiation into the vedic order,which usually takes place when the boys reach the age of seven.Some highly ritualistic Iyers, also draped their waist or chests with deer skin or grass, many centuries ago.

Even though such traditional attire are worn always only by the priests, many Iyers continue to dress themselves in this manner during religious occasions. Women as discussed earlier wear a nine yard saree which covers them from neck to foot.The sarres are either made of cotton or silk. In modern times synthetic materials are also used.The women wear earrings,necklaces and other ornaments. Women also decorate their hair with sweet smelling flowers such as jasmine.


Slippers were tradionally made of wood but now rubber and leather based footwear has replaced them.

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Iyers today

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Akin to Bengal, the Brahmins in South India were the one of the first communities to be anglicized. However, this was restricted to their outlook on the material world. They have clung on to their Vedic Hindu traditions despite almost two centuries of western influence.

This newly created elite became the dominant social and cultural stratum in South Indian society producing a plethora of British style academicians, industrialists and political leaders. It also played an active role in the Indian independence movement. Prominent leaders from the Iyer community included Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Subramanya Bharathy.

However, with the rise of the Dravidian movement following India's Independence, the Brahmin community and especially the Iyer community and its symbols have become the favorite political whipping post for the Dravidian parties who represent the much larger non brahmin communities. As a result, iyers have almost ceased to exist on the political scene but continue to make their presence felt in other areas such as the private sector (India's industries that are not owned by the Government).

In addition to their earlier occupations, Iyers today have diversified into a variety of fields—their strengths particularly evident in the fields of mass media, science, mathematics and computer science. It is a minuscule percentage of Iyers who choose, in this era, to pursue the traditional vocation of priesthood, though nearly all Hindu Temple priests are Brahmins. Iyers have been active in the cultural field also. Music has always been integral to the Iyer community; Carnatic music forms an ancient classical tradition, and includes, apart from vocal music, instruments such as mridangam, naadaswaram, veena, ghatam, etc. Bharatanatyam has been ardently pursued by female members of the Iyer community from the time of its reinvention in early 20th century. These classical art forms, Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam, enjoy public patronage during the Chennai cultural season in the months of December and January.

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Iyers and Art

A few centuries ago, Iyer men used to learn and patronize music, dance, plays etc.

They wrote works on poetry and dance. The famous work Bharata Natya Shastra was a work preserved by them. This work describes the technique of dance. It includes many aspects of dance such as kama, bhakti etc. The work has influenced dance form in south India, especially the dance performed by devadasis in temples,today more popularly known as Bharatanatyam.The Iyer women were not allowed to learn dance or acting. In modern times however, it is they who have actually taken up the task of preserving the dance form which was dying out due to the abolishment of devadasi system by the Indian Government.

But more than dance, the Iyers were interested in music. They patronized the music of South India also known as Carnatic Music. Shyama Sastri and Muthuswamy dikshitar are two of the greatest composers in Carnatic Music. They belong to the Trinity of Carnatic Music. The musical intstruments that are used in carantic music include Veena,mridangam,nadaswaram,ghatam etc. In modern times they have also adaped instruments such as Violin and Flute to Carnatic Music. Their interest in carnatic Music stems from their belief that Music is an art patronized by the divine godess saraswati and was originated from the vedas.

Iyers have also played an important role in writing works on temple architecture. They have written works on the rules to be followed in building temples and creating idols which are worshipped in them.

They have also authored innumerable plays centered around hindu mythologies. These plays were usually performed in the temples.

But most importantly they have also contributed a lot to Tamil Literature. The works are mostly about Bhakti and religion. There are innumerable hymns composed on different deities worshipped in south such as meenakshi,amman, shiva, murugan,vishnu etc. The style of these poems are indeed unique and beautiful. Besides tamil, they have also written a number of works in sanskrit which was considered as the language to be used in rituals.


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Iyer Food

The Traditional Iyers eat only vegetarian food and avoid intoxicants such as wine or alochol in their food. The staple food crop used by Iyers is Rice. Rice is usually mixed with a typical soup or curd.Rasam,sambar,Khozumbu are some of the different types of soup.The soup are prepared by mixing vegetables, water and different kinds of spices. Vegetables,dal or vegetable salads(which might be fried or roasted) are used as side dish which are eaten along with the main course.They also like to eat appalams which are crispy wafers ususally fried in oil or roasted dry.Sometimes the food is also eaten along with potato or banana chips. Kerala Iyers like to fry their food in cocunut oil which is available in plenty in Kerala. During festivals the food is served on banana leaf.They like to prepare different sweets made out of jaggery , sugar and milk.

Besides the regular course of food , they have milk for breakfast, usually mixed with coffee or tea. However it needs to be added that coffee is clear favorite among them.



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Famous Iyers

The article Distinguished Iyers lists the many famous Iyers who have contributed to the beauty of the Earth.

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External links

Retrieved from "http://www.netipedia.com/index.php/Iyer"