Skip to main content
Aller à la page d’accueil de la Commission européenne (s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)
français fr
CORDIS - Résultats de la recherche de l’UE
CORDIS

Vellalas in Transition: Caste, Religion, and Authority in South India, Medieval to Modern

Objectif

Between the 15th and 18th centuries, Tamil South India underwent major transformations in religion, language, and caste. Yet when considering the formation of regional identity, this early modern moment has been overlooked in favour of colonial and postcolonial histories. This project investigates these shifts through the Vellalas, a caste that rose from medieval agrarian elites to dominant intellectual and religious actors by the 19th century. While their role in colonial society is well documented, the institutions, texts, and practices that enabled their earlier ascent remain understudied. From the 15th century onwards, historical sources reveal that Vellalas claimed religious authority and the right to teach the Shaiva religion in Tamil, which challenged Brahmanical control over religious education and the privilege of Sanskrit. The project’s central hypothesis is that this shift was made possible by Vellala investment in Shaiva monasteries, the adheenams, which functioned as centres of learning, ritual power, and patronage. These institutions anchored dense networks of pilgrimage, scholarship, and economic exchange at a moment when South India was shaped by interaction with new actors such as Telugu warlords, Arab traders, Sufi lineages, or Christian missionaries. By combining philology, history, material and digital analysis, the project will offer the first comprehensive account of how Vellalas mobilised religious institutions to link Shaivism with Tamil literature and reconfigure caste hierarchies. It will show how these developments gave rise to new forms of authority and belonging before colonialism, laying the foundations for the region’s modern identity.

Champ scientifique (EuroSciVoc)

Ce projet n'a pas encore été classé par EuroSciVoc.
Proposez les domaines scientifiques qui vous semblent les plus pertinents et aidez-nous à améliorer notre service de classification.

Mots‑clés

Programme(s)

Thème(s)

Régime de financement

HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

Voir tous les projets financés dans le cadre de ce programme de financement

Appel à propositions

(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) ERC-2026-STG

Voir tous les projets financés au titre de cet appel

Institution d’accueil

ECOLE DES HAUTES ETUDES EN SCIENCES SOCIALES
Contribution nette de l'UE
€ 1 163 137,00
Adresse
54 BD RASPAIL
75270 Paris
France
Région
Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris
Type d’activité
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Liens
Coût total
€ 1 163 137,00

Bénéficiaires (3)