Tondaman caste is surname of many people in southern India. Tondaman caste meaning is It is stated, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, that the Tondamans are also called Sunnambukkaran (q.v.), a Tamil caste of lime (chunam) burners found only in the Tinnevelly district. They are said to be a branch of the Kallans who migrated to Tinnevelly from Pudukkottai, or the Tondamans country. Its members are now drummers and pipers as well as lime-burners. Brahmans are their purohits, but they are not allowed to go into Hindu temples. They will eat in the houses of Maravans. Their title is Solagan. It is noted, in the same report, that the Semman caste has two sub-divisions, Tondaman and Tol-mestri, and men of the former take wives from the latter, but men [175]of the latter may not marry girls of the former. Tondaman is the family name of the Raja of Pudukkottai, a Native State surrounded by the British districts of Tanjore, Madura, and Trichinopoly. The Raja is the head of the Kallan caste. Copper coins, called amman kasu, are current only within the State, and their greatest distribution is during Navaratri or Dusserah, when they are issued to the people with a dole of rice every day during the nine days of the festival. They bear on one side the word Vijaya, meaning victory, or more probably having reference to our faithful ally Vijaya Ragunatha Tondaman, in whose reign they were first struck, it is said in 1761, after the surrender of Pondicherry to the British.
Tondaman caste is one of the many castes subcastes of India.
India has thousands of castes and subcastes, they are in existence and practice since the Vedic times. They were created to solve the problem of division of labor. Tondaman caste name could indicate the type of work people belonging to the Tondaman caste do or did in earlier times. Many last names in India indicate the place the person originally belongs to. All castes sub castes are primarily divided into 4 categories:
1.Brahmins – The learned or priestly class
2.Khastriyas – The warrior class or those with governing functions
3.Vaishyas – The trader, agriculturalists or cattle rearers class
4.Shudra – The class that serves other three categories
Tondaman caste belongs to one of the above 4 categories. Indian caste system is the best system to solve the problem of division of labor. In earlier times there was no rigidity in caste system. Indian caste system is still the best solution for the problem of division of labor, the only change that is needed as per changed times is that rather than having a vertical hierarchical system with Brahmins on top and Shudras at bottom, it would be good to have a horizontal socialist system with Brahmins, Khastriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras all at same level.
The caste system of India is in ruins at present. It is also cause of bloody quarrels in certain parts of the rural India. People of backward castes have reservations in government jobs, this facility is widely misused in India. Many of the backward caste people have become rich and still use the facility for their benefit. Many in India believe reservation in jobs should be given on the basis of poverty rather than caste because there are many poors in upper castes as well.
Many criticize the Indian caste system because of bad material condition of lower castes but if they observe in an unbiased way they would find that there are many in upper castes with bad material conditions. The problem lies in power not in castes, power can corrupt anyone be it from upper caste or lower caste.
All cultures, all countries, all religions have caste system in one form or the other. Christians have different churches depending on the region or language or skin color of people. Muslims have a priestly class that tries to control everything. Arab Muslims before the oil boom were so much divided among tribes that if you drank water from a well of a different tribe you could be shot dead. Tribal divisions still exists among Muslims. You can also see the caste system in a different form in your corporate companies. I had seen different food and drinking facilities for people at different levels.
Tondaman caste is also known as Tondaman Gotra.
Caste situation is quiet different in urban India, people in urban areas especially youngsters don?t bother about castes. Inter caste, inter religious, inter lingual marriages are quiet common in urban India. Inter caste, inter religious and inter lingual marriages in rural areas attract severe criticism and many times people are expelled from community for not marrying as per religious and caste rules.