Ethnic group
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Kerala | |
| Languages | |
| Malayalam, Sanskrit | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Illathu Nairs, Kiryathil Nairs, Nambiar, Eradi, Samantha Kshatriya, Swaroopathil Nair |
Samantan Nair, also known as Samanthan Nair or just Samantan (meaning "equal to" or "deemed to be"), was a generic term applied to dignify a group of sub-clans among the ruling elites (Naduvazhi) and feudal lords (Jenmimar) of the Nair community in Kerala.
Robin Jeffrey, an anthropologist, described the Samantans as, "A matrilineal caste ranking between Nairs and Kshatriyas"
References
- Gough, Kathleen (1954). "The Traditional Kinship System of the Nayars of Malabar". Social Science Research Council Summer Seminar on Kinship, Harvard University. Harvard University Press. OL 15134143M.
- Mencher, Joan (1963). "The Nayars of South Malabar". Cornell University Press.
- Narayanan, Muttayil Govindamenon Sankara (January 1996). Perumāḷs of Kerala: Brahmin Oligarchy and Ritual Monarchy : Political and Social Conditions of Kerala Under the Cēra Perumāḷs of Makōtai (c. AD 800-AD 1124). Current Books Thrissur. ISBN 8193368320.
- Jeffrey, Robin (1976). The Decline of Nayar Dominance: Society and Politics in Travancore, 1847–1908. Sussex University Press. ISBN 0-85621-054-4.