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ORIGINS
SUB CASTES There are many subcastes within the Kapu community but most of them prefer to be simply called Kapu. Kapu They were also referred to as Kaampu in the ancient texts. They were probably the earliest settlers of the Deccan and Andhra region who came in and cleared the forests and started agriculture. References to this particular caste or grouping can be traced back to the Satavahana dynasty. It is probably the oldest middle caste in Andhra and is the bed rock from which many of the modern castes in Andhra Pradesh seem to have evolved. The Mackenzie manuscript refers to many ancient rulers of coastal AP as belonging to the Kapu community. Kapu up until the 20th century referred to all landowning communities in Andhra Pradesh. The Land owners were called ''Kapu'' and those who served as village heads were given the title of ''Reddy'' which stood for village head. This is the reason the word Reddy is found among the ''Kapu'' and ''Reddy'' castes. They are heavily concentrated in the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. (Please give bibliography of the Mackenzie report for varification) Dynasties The Telugu Chodas , Kona Kings , Korukonda Nayaks , Koppula Chiefs are some of the Modern Day ruling Clans associated with Kapu community. The Telugu Choda surnames Chode, Chodasetty, Chodepala, Konidena, Chodavarapu point to a link to the Telugu Cholas and Chola-Chalukya dyanasties with the Kapus. Some inscriptions belonging to Chalukya Bhima, the Eastern Chalukyan King, and the ancestor of Raja Raja Narendra , point to link's of these dynasties to the Kapus of coastal Andhra. Though Raja Raja Narendra called himself a Kshatriya Many Authors and Historians (Suravaram Pratapa Reddy)are of the opinion that this was done to justify the rule and the legacy and this Kshatriya Classifiaction was achieved mainly through Matrimonial Alliances. - I did not metion that Narendra was a Kapu i only mentioned that his ancestor mentioned himslef as a Kapu... Velama Legend The Palnadu war was fought between Velanati chiefs resulted in the expulsion (Veli) of certain sections of the Kapu community for practicing the principles of Bramha Naidu and this resulted in the formation of the Velama . (Please place a link to the citation) -Can you quote any refeerences which says they existed before that... refer to Discussions for Answers!!! Reddy
Reddys of Rayalaseema are addressed as Kapu. Why do two communties share the same caste name?
But this was initially associated with people who had the following roles: #Village defence committes (Kapu) #Administration (Pedda Kapu) #Those responsible for protecting farms from bandits and animals (Panta Kapu, Reddy) etc. Telaga The area that had three major Shiva-Aramas was called ''Tri-linga''', and the language spoken by the people there was called Telugu and the people living there were called Telaga. The term Telaga is also a derivation for the word Telugu Nayakulu. This subcaste may have originated around the 7th Century A.D. They served as commanders and vassals of the Western Chalukya n rulers under Pulekesin. His sons Pulekesin II and Vishnuvardhan went onto establish the Eastern Chalukya n Dynasty. Legend Badami Chalukyan King Pulakesi II conducted an Aswamedha Yagna to expand his kingdom, bringing him in direct confrontation with the Pallavas, whom he managed to subjugate. After their defeat he granted his commanders and vassals control over these areas and the Telugu commanders took up reign as Telugu Nayakulu or Telaga. Telaga's are concentrated mainly in the coastal areas of Andhra. Balija ''Balija'' (Bala (Power) + Jeeva (Individual) ie. powerful people. Some sections of the Kapu communtiy diversified into trading. Veera Balaingyas were mentioned in Kakatiya inscriptions. They were Poerful and Wealthy Merchants who were highly respected in Kaktiya society. CP Brown mentioned that the Polygars of Anantapur belonged to this community. Balija itself is a huge branch and has lots of subcastes under it to name a few. Balija Branches
Balija Naidu Balija Naidu is a derivation of the term Balija Nayakulu. This sub caste seems to have formed during the Kakatiya times primarily to protect the Balija/Setty trading caravans and guilds from being attacked by thieves. During the expansion of Vijayanagar into Tamil Nadu Krishna Deva Raya dispatched his famous General Viswanatha Nayaka to subdue and force the Pandyan Dynasty into accept their suzeraty. He was a Telaga. There were a lot of Polligars and Nayakkars who were appointed here after taking control of the Madurai and Tanjavore Regions. Many of them were from the Kapu community. Hence there is a very large Balija Naidu population in Tamil Nadu . They are concentrated in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Munnuru Kapu Munnuru Kapu's are primarily concentrated in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh. Although they have an ancient past the name Munnuru seems to be of a recent origin. Munnuru means three hundred. They belong to the the Telaga community which was the imperial guard of the Tanjore Nayaks . The Nawab of Hyderabad requested the Tanjore Nayak to send a batallion of his best infantry and cavalry for his personal security. The Tanjore Nayak dispatched three hundred Telaga men and their families. The descendants of these three hundred families are now called Munnuru Kapu. They are politically strong in the Telangana region. Ontari Ontari Kapu's used to be soldiers/special forces in Andhra dynasties. They are different from the Ontaris ( Bunt -Individual hand to hand fighters). The Ontari-Kapu community were primarily specialized in individual weapons like a sword or a spear and were primarily used for special operations. Their surnames always start with weapons like Kattula (Knife), Tupakula (Pistol) etc. Turpu Kapu Turpu in Telugu means East. The Kapus living on the eastern frontier of Andhra Pradesh called themselves Turpu Kapus. There is a listing of Turpu Kapu rulers of Andhra. (Please list the Kings and the source of this list) There are other Minor Variants of subcastes like:
KAPU NAMES
(Indicating some of their Ancestors were Village Heads Maddireddy, Muthareddy, Kunapareddy etc) Many people with the Naidu surname had some remote ancestor who was a soldier that was promoted to "Nayaka". It is equivalent to a Baron . They served as Nayakas under the Chalukyas, Kakatiyas and Vijayanagar Emperors. The Kakatiya Dynasty had many prominent Nayakas, of which several were from a Kapu background. The Vijayanagar kings also had several Nayakas of Kapu, Telaga and Balija background. Nayakudu--Nayadu--Naidu--Naidoo--Nayakkar. Many of today's Kapus strongly resemble people in ancient Indian paintings. Note the pic... looks like today's Naidu girl in Nalgonda or Adoni or Vuyyuru. (Or anywhere in AP...most of the folks featured in old paintings are sharp featured and dark complexioned....). Naidus, especially of Kapu background, have migrated to several countries like South Africa , Mauritius , United States etc. They are active in the local Telugu and Tamil associations. FAMOUS KAPU PERSONALITIES This Page contains a list of Modern Day Famous Kapus Personalities. SOURCES Important informatiom about Kapu origins can be obtained from Balijapuranam in the Chennai library. For further information log on to the website for history of Kapus ANDHRA COMMUNITIES
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