Caste found mainly in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
Velama is a Hindu caste[1] found mainly in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The earliest recorded use of the term "Velama" to refer to a community dates back to the 17th century.[2] In the caste-based hierarchy, they hold a high position alongside the Reddy and Kapu/Telaga castes. They are also referred to as "Dora" (Lord) by other castes, a term that signifies respect. The modern Velama community is divided into four distinct categories: Padmanayaka Velama, Adi Velama, Koppula Velama, and Polinati Velama. In general usage, the term Velama refers to Padmanayaka Velama, a Forward caste.
Origin and history
The Velamas have been described by that name since the 17th century. In the following century, some held zamindari positions under the kings of Golconda, which gave them considerable power over small regions in Telangana.[2] The kings chose to distinguish between various Velama groups by adopting a system of ranks. This emphasis on status and trappings led to rivalries based on recognition of wealth and honors historically granted.
Among those that came to dominate were the Velugotis of Venkatagiri in the coastal Nellore district and the Appa Raos of Nuzvid. Both of these groups claimed recognition as royal clans, while other significant groups included the Pitapuram Raos and the Ranga Raos. The Velugotis, who traced their history to the 12th century, had lived in various places before settling in Nellore district in 1695. Their prestige became such that in the 1870s, their sons were adopted as heirs by rival Velama clan leaders, such as the Pittapores, whose own lineage faced extinction due to infertility or the early death of male children. Such arrangements enhanced the status of the adopters and the influence of the Velugotis.[3]
Velamas carry the title Rao and Dora. They do not engage in hired labor, and their women do not work in fields.[4]
Relationship with the Padmanayakas
According to Cynthia Talbot, who has challenged the theories of historians from the British Raj era, the terms Velama and Padmanayaka are not synonymous. "Padmanayaka" referred to a status that could be claimed by Telugu warriors from various backgrounds. [5] Additionally, the Bhimeswara Puranamu listed Velama and Padmanayaka as distinct communities.[6]
^Sadasivan, S. N. (2000). A Social History of India. APH Publishing. p. 284. ISBN978-81-7648-170-0. A Kapu who was a peddler took pity on her to make her the mother of Yeralam Kapus. Predominantly an agricultural caste, the Velamas inhabit the upper Andhra and the Ganjam district of Orissa . Whether the Velamas were proverted from ...
Alpana Pandey, ed. (2015). Medieval Andhra: A Socio-Historical Perspective. Partridge Publishing. ISBN9781482850178. By this time there were many Velama principalities whose were called the Nayakas. Some of the famous Velama Nayakas of the time were those of the Kalahasti, Bellamakonda, jataprolu, bobbili, Velugodu Principalities.
Ravula Soma Reddy, ed. (2007). Studies in the Socio-economic History of Medieval: Andhra Desa. Research India Press. p. 150. ISBN9788189131142. Another interesting thing to be noted in this connection is that several Velama Chiefs, after the conquest of the Rachakonda and Devarakonda Kingdoms carved out small principalities small principalities like those of Velugodu ( Kurnool district ), Venkatagiri, Kalahasti, Bellamkonda and Nuzividu ( coastal Andhra ) in the Vijayanagara Empire, during the period of the last Sangama rulers.
Alladi Jagannatha Sastri, ed. (1922). A Family History of Venkatagiri Rajas. Addison Press. p. 78. According to the social right established so early as during the days of the second descendant Prasaditya Naidu, under orders of the Emperor Ganapathi Rai, making the Padmanayaka Velamas the first and foremost in rank, the chiefs belonging to the other seventy - six Velama sects, Damara Venkatapathi Naidu of Kalahasti included, paid the customary respects to the Rajah on this occasion by keeping themselves standing . Damara Venkatapathi Naidu himself being the brother - in - law of the Rajah was allowed a seat in the south - east of the hall
W. Francis, ed. (1989). Gazetteer of South India. Mittal Publications. p. 20. Kalahasti Zamindari - One of the largest zamindari estates in Madras, situated partly in North Arcot District, partly in Nellore, and partly in Chingleput. Number of villages, 406 in North Arcot, 201 in Nellore, and 206 in Chingleput; area, 638 square miles in North Arcot, 576 in Nellore, and 250 in Chingleput; total population (1901), 223,327. The capital is the town of Kalahasti, where the zamindar resides. The history of the family, which belongs to the Velama caste, is obscure. The original owner of the estate probably received it from a king of the Vijayanagar dynasty in the fifteenth century, on condition of maintaining order. The estate at one time spread as far as the site of Fort St.George, and the Company obtained the land on which Madras now stands from the proprietor in 1639. The settlement is traditionally said to have been named Chennappapatnam in honour of the zamindar's father. The estate came under British control in 1792, and a formal grant to the family was made in 1801. The zamundar afterwards received the hereditary title of Raja. The gross income amounts to over 5 lakhs.
Illustrated Guide to the South Indian Railway. Higginbotham Publishing. 1900. p. 336. The Rajahs of Kalahasti appear to have always belonged to the Velama caste and to have come south with the Vijayanagar kings who made them menkavalgars or minor custodians, from which position they rose to be Poligars.
Katten, Michael; Making Caste In Nineteenth-Century India: A History of Telling the Bobbili Katha & Velama Identity, University of California at Berkeley, USA
Roghair, Gene H; 1982, The epic of Palnadu: a study and translation of Palnati virula katha, a Telugu oral tradition from Andhra Pradesh, India, Oxford University Press
