Nadans (also referred as Nelamaikkarar) are a small endogamous group of aristocratic Nadars from the regions south of the Thamirabarani River in the present-day state of Tamil Nadu, India. They were hereditary tax collectors during the Nayak and Pandyan rule and also served as petty lords under the poligars. The Nadans possessed vast tracts of land and were one of the few subcastes among the Nadars to have practiced aristocracy. The term Nadan means lords of the land.[1]