Karthik Palaniappan
Seattle

 Nagarathars are well known for being a close-knit group of people who have preserved our traditions. Yet, there are many factors that deter us, US Nagarathars, from fully embracing our culture and tradition. The primary influences are the melting pot of US cultures, technology, and a lack of cultural education. Learning and communicating with other Nagarathars helps me keep in touch with our culture. Nagarathar youth should be educated and encouraged to practice our culture and traditions.

Nagarathar culture is a complex system of traditions that defines us as a group. Here is an overview of our traditions. Nagarathars are entrepreneurs, traditionally money lenders and traders. Our distinct marriage system includes important Sadangu functions. Our Chettiar names have a unique origin. Clothing and jewelry distinguishes us from others. We speak a dialect of Tamil that includes specific phrases and sayings. We have discrete religious traditions such as Pillayar Nombu and have our own savory cuisines such as Vellai Paniyaram.

Nagarathars used to be identified as money lenders but that is no longer the case because of banks. US Nagarathars are not entrepreneurs or money lenders because we are comfortable with our standard of living as doctors, engineers, etc. We should extend our identity to include professionals.

Traditionally, marriages would only happen among Nagarathars, between people of different Kovils because others in the same Kovil are considered their siblings. A married Nagarathar couple becomes a new Pulli and represents a branch in the tree of Nagarathars. But, with the acceptance of mixed marriages, some Nagarathars are starting to marry non-Nagarathars resulting in a loss of Nagarathar culture. In order to preserve the culture, it is important to emphasize marrying within the Nagarathar community. Another problem relating to marriage is the wedding ceremony. In the US, Nagarathars are not always able to perform all of the important Sadangu because of the facilities available. It is best to adapt and preserve our marriage traditions irrespective of the wedding location.

When a male child is born, he is traditionally given the paternal grandfather’s name, and a female child, the paternal grandmother’s name, which help propagate the family name. The American system of naming does not allow for traditional Nagarathar naming since our given name comes first, middle names come next and the family name comes last. Traditionally, Nagarathars keep a few generations of paternal names and then the given name. My recommendation is a mix of the two. I think that Nagarathars can put the given name first, then two generations of paternal names and the family name. For example, my child could be named Vinny (given name) Karthik Murugappan (my name, dad’s name) Palaniappan (family name).

Nagarathars in the US pull out more culture than they put in, for example, in clothing and jewelry. Many Nagarathars are afraid to wear traditional saris and dhotis outside of Nagarathar gatherings because they will stand out. It will remain different until more people start wearing traditional clothing and make it part of American culture. For example, “ripped jeans” were looked down on society many years ago. As more people wore them, it became vogue. The same can apply for our clothing.

Communication is an important part of any culture that Nagarathars are not retaining. Since English is the prominent language in the US, many Nagarathars, especially the younger generations, are losing touch with Tamil. I learned English as a child, so my Tamil was not good. My parents sent me to an Achi to learn our Tamil dialect. We should encourage young Nagarathars to read and write Tamil and watch Tamil movies. Our conversations should always occur in our dialect with Tamilians, contributing to the Tamil US language melting pot mix. Other cultures tend to do the same thing and now their phrases are commonly used. These include hola, aloha, gracias, arigato, ni-ho-ma. 

Our several courses Nagarathar cuisine is disappearing because of the lack of time, weather changes, and the variety of food available here. Nagarathars don’t like to bring traditional meals to work or school because it is different. American food is a mix of cultural food and we should popularize our food to be part of mainstream America. We can eat traditional food on the weekends and at dinner, while blending in by eating American food at school or work. Another In America, we tend to be more health conscience about what we eat. Nagarathar cuisine is often oily, so we tend to avoid those foods. My solution is to use less or healthier oil or bake and publish recipes.

Finally, communicating with other Nagarathars is important to preserving culture and traditions. Regional gatherings and biannual retreats are effective to an extent. The NANAL newsletter also does a good job of allowing regional groups to post news as well as allowing Nagarathars to 

post recipes and other ideas. Unfortunately, this only covers major news and is only a quarterly newsletter. This competition deserves praise as it is encourages us Nagarathar youth to voice our view of the challenges and our opinions to preserve our culture. As a solution for constant communication and discussions threads, I created a Facebook page for discussions among Nagarathars (called Sea Nag). This technology is one forum to improve communication. Younger generations who are growing up with this technology are able to adapt to this new system. I would like to encourage all Nagarathars across the country to join this page and hold discussions and post news. Other forums include Wikipedia and article based web sites.

Nagarathar traditions have many challenges of being practiced in the US. There are simple solutions to these seeming complex challenges. A major solution is adding to the melting pot of cultures and make Nagarathar culture known. Educating and communicating with younger generations about the disappearing Nagarathar culture will also help keep traditions alive. We Nagarathars should remain as a close-knit society while adapting to the American culture. This is a necessary balance to embrace Nagarathar culture in the US.