Castes and Tribes of Southern India
Encyclopedia
Castes and Tribes of Southern India is a seven-volume encyclopedia
of social groups of Madras Presidency
and the princely states of Travancore
, Mysore, Coorg and Pudukkottai
published by British museologist Edgar Thurston
and K. Rangachari
in 1909.
in the year 1901, coinciding with the 1901 census, for the purpose of recording the 'manners and customs' of Indian castes and tribes. However, as early as 1894, even before the project got its official sanction, Edgar Thurston, Superintendent of the Madras Government Museum since 1885, had been studying the hill tribes of Nilgiris District with anthropometric instruments borrowed from the Asiatic Society of Bengal. The results of this study were later incorporated into the seven-volume work.
As a part of the "People of India" project, the Government of India appointed a Superintendent of Ethnography for each province. Edgar Thurston was appointed Superintendent for Madras Presidency while L. K. Ananthakrishna Iyer
and N. Subramania Iyer were appointed Superintendents for the princely states of Cochin and Travancore
respectively. The reports by the two Superintendents were later integrated with Thurston's work to form the Castes and Tribes of Southern India. The state of Mysore was allocated to Thurston for anthropometric srvey but excluded for ethnographic survey. In his investigations in Madras Presidency, Thurston was assisted by K. Rangachari of the Government Museum.
individuals subjected to cranial measurements by Thurston usually undertook purification baths after the survey was done.
The encyclopedia has been acclaimed by anthropologists who consider it to be relevant enough for the present day.
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
of social groups of Madras Presidency
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
and the princely states of Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
, Mysore, Coorg and Pudukkottai
Pudukkottai
Pudukkottai is a town and a municipality in Pudukkottai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Pudukkottai District was carved out of Tiruchirappalli and Thanjavur districts in January 1974.It is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai District....
published by British museologist Edgar Thurston
Edgar Thurston
Edgar Thurston CIE was a British museologist and ethnographer working in colonial Southern India. In 1885 he was appointed to the Madras Government Museum, where he held the role of Superintendent...
and K. Rangachari
K. Rangachari
Diwan Bahadur Kadambi Rangachari was an Indian ethnologist who served as Assistant Superintendent of the Madras museum. He co-authored the 7-volume ethnographic encyclopedia Castes and Tribes of Southern India along with the British museologist Edgar Thurston. He was awarded the title Diwan...
in 1909.
Background
The seven volume work was the result of the "People of India" project which was formally instituted by the Government of British IndiaBritish Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
in the year 1901, coinciding with the 1901 census, for the purpose of recording the 'manners and customs' of Indian castes and tribes. However, as early as 1894, even before the project got its official sanction, Edgar Thurston, Superintendent of the Madras Government Museum since 1885, had been studying the hill tribes of Nilgiris District with anthropometric instruments borrowed from the Asiatic Society of Bengal. The results of this study were later incorporated into the seven-volume work.
As a part of the "People of India" project, the Government of India appointed a Superintendent of Ethnography for each province. Edgar Thurston was appointed Superintendent for Madras Presidency while L. K. Ananthakrishna Iyer
L. K. Ananthakrishna Iyer
Diwan Bahadur Lakshminarayanapuram Krishna Ananthakrishna Iyer was an anthropologist of British India, who is renowned for his work amongst the hill tribes of the western part of Madras province.-Early life:...
and N. Subramania Iyer were appointed Superintendents for the princely states of Cochin and Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
respectively. The reports by the two Superintendents were later integrated with Thurston's work to form the Castes and Tribes of Southern India. The state of Mysore was allocated to Thurston for anthropometric srvey but excluded for ethnographic survey. In his investigations in Madras Presidency, Thurston was assisted by K. Rangachari of the Government Museum.
The Survey
Thurston investigated the manners, customs and physical characteristics of over 300 castes and tribes of South India between 1901 and 1909. In performing the survey, Thurston had to overcome hassles imposed by religious superstition. The Paniyan women of Wynad believed that Thurston had been sent on a mission to kill them and collect their stuffed bodies for the Madras museum. In the Mysore kingdom, Thurston was suspected of being an army recruiter. BrahminBrahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
individuals subjected to cranial measurements by Thurston usually undertook purification baths after the survey was done.
Critical assessments
Nature magazine, in its September 1910 issue, described the work asThe encyclopedia has been acclaimed by anthropologists who consider it to be relevant enough for the present day.