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Valangai or the right hand refers to a caste-based division of communities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu that was in vogue from ancient times right up to the 19th and even the early decades of the 20th century AD. Since India's independence, the differences have practically vanished.〔G. S.Ghurye, Pg 359〕 The ''Valangai'' or right-handed faction was made up of castes with an agricultural basis while the ''Idangai'' was made of metal workers, weavers, etc. i.e. castes involved in manufacturing. The Valangai faction was numerically superior to the ''Idangai'' or left-handed faction. There were 6 castes in the ''Idangai'' faction as opposed to sixty in the ''Valangai'' faction.〔 The ''Valangai'' faction was better organized, politically, than the ''Idangai''.〔Caste Ideology and Interaction, Pg 105〕 Jean-Antoine Dubois on ''Valangai'' writes, The ''Paraiyars'' are its chief support, as a proof of which they glory in the title ‘Valangai-Mougattar’, or friends of the Right-hand.〔Hindu manners, customs and ceremonies. Dubois, J. A. (Jean Antoine),1899(Page.25.)〕 During the Chola period, the left and right-hand factions comprised ninety-eight castes each, but by the 19th century, the right-hand faction was made of 60 castes, and the left-hand, only six. == See also == * Caste system in India * Idangai 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Valangai」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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