Nachiapuram is a Nagarathar

Nagarathar

The Nagarathars is a Chettiar community in Shaivism that originated in Kaveripoompattinam under the Chola kingdom of India. They are a prominent mercantile Vaishya, caste in Tamil Nadu, South India...

 village located in Sivagangai District

Sivaganga District

Sivaganga District is an administrative district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Sivaganga is the district headquarters. It is bounded by Pudukkottai district on the Northeast, Tiruchirapalli district on the North, Ramanathapuram district on South East, Virudhunagar district...

 in the State of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

 in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.

Nachiapuram is a panchayat with elected members, and forms part of the Kallal Union.

History

The village of Nachiapuram was founded in the 1800s by Nagarthars migrating from Mekkudi, Kambanoor, Naduvikkottai, Siravayal, and other places. At that time the Amman Temple, Sivan Temple, and other facilities were built in the village.

Nachiapuram gets its name from the deity Nachiar Amman, worshipped as the Goddess that protects the village and its citizens.

Emigrants

In colonial times, Nachiapuram Nagarathars emigrated to countries like Ceylon, Singapore, Burma, Vietnam amongst a few others.

Many of its Nagarathar citizens emigrated to Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

in the 1930s and 1940s and to many other countries in the 1990s and 2000s. Around the 1950s and 1960s, by virtue of most Nagarathars in Singapore having emigrated from Nachiapuram, Singapore was known as Chinna Nachiapuram amongst the Nagarathar residents of Singapore.

Temples and festivals

Besides The Nachiar Amman Temple, Nachiapuram also has the Kattu Nachi Amman Temple, a Sivan Kovil, a common Pillayar Kovil and Thandayuthapani Kovil. The annual Thiruvizha function at the Amman Temples is a ritual that all Nachiapuram Folks look forward to year after year. The Thiruvizha is a ten day event, with Letcharchanai, Amman Oorvalam and many other events termed as MandagapPadi.
Arulmigu Nachiar Amman ~ அருள்மிகு நாச்சியார் அம்மன்

Schools

Nachiapuram has two schools - an elementary school, teaching children up to 5th standard and a high school teaching children up to the tenth standard exams, SSLC. The schools are named after Jeyamkonda Vinayagar: Jeyamkonda Vinayagar Elementary School and Jeyamkonda Vinayagar High School. Jeyamkonda Vinayagar literally translates to "Victorious Lord Ganesa". Children from nearby villages attend the schools.

Other facilities

Nachiapuram has a bank (Indian Bank), a police station, a post office, a small health dispensary and a few shops. Water supply for the village is from two village tanks named after the nearby temples - the Amman Kovil Oorani and Sivan Koil Oorani. Water from these sources is pumped into an overhead tank and distributed to households and to public places by a system of pipes. There is a single postal delivery each day. Most homes in the village are served by landlines. With the advent of cellular phones communication is excellent. The village is on the local town bus routes and is connected to the nearest towns, Karaikudi and Thirupathur. Kathirvel Textile Mills is located in Nachiapuram.