who were boya naidu / boya / boyar / gangawaru naidu (gangavaru naidu) in indian caste system?

The Boya (Bedar) Kings were ruled from the chitradurga fort (Karnataka State in India),Gingi fort tamil nadu, and Rayadurg Fort is located at Rayadurg in Anantapur District. The fort belonged to the Vijayanagar Empire, and the inscriptions on the walls of the fort gives evidence to this fact.

That the Boyas were much prized as fighting men in the stirring times of the eighteenth century is spoken to in the contemporaneous history of Colonel Wilks.f He speaks of the brave armies of the Poligars of Chitteldroog, who belonged to the Beder or Boya race in the year 1755. Earlier, in 1750, Hyder Ali, who was then only a Naik in the service of the Mysore Raja, used with great effect his select corps of Beder peons at the battle of Ginjee. Five years after this According to the Manual of the North Arcot district, the Boyas are a "Telugu hunting caste, chiefly found above the ghats. Many of the Poligars of that part of the country used to belong to the caste, and proved themselves so lawless that they were dispossessed.

The titles of the Boyas are said to be Naidu or Nayudu, Naik, Dora, Dorabidda (children of chieftains), and Valmiki.

In the Gazetteer of the Anantapur district it is noted that "the Boyas are the old fighting caste of this part of the country, whose exploits are so often recounted in the history books. The Poligars' forces, and Haidar Ali's famous troops were largely recruited from these people, and they still retain a keen interest in sport and manly exercises."

In his notes on the Boyas, which Mr. N. E. Q. Mainwaring has-kindly placed at my disposal, he writes as follows. "Although, until quite recently, many a Boya served in the ranks of our Native army, being entered in the records thereof either under his caste title of Naidu, or under the heading of Gentu, which was largely used in old day military records, yet this congenial method of earning a livelihood has now been swept away by a Government order, which directs that in future no Telegas shall be enlisted into the Indian army.

It is stated in the Manual of the Bellary district that "of the various Hindu castes in Bellary, the Boyas (called in Canarese Bedars, Byedas, or Byadas) are far the strongest numerically.

 Nayaka (Naidu) was an honorary title that was used by the people belonging to the other Telugu castes of Ekari (Pala Ekari) Boyar(warrior), Kamma, Mudi Raju, Koppula /Polinati Velama,Ayyaraka,gangavar(Boyar) etc in Andhra Pradesh and other states. Many communities later began using the Naick or Naidu surname. Edgar Thurston (Castes and Tribes of Southern India Vol. 5; p. 138) noted that "Naidu" or "Nayudu" title was in use by several Telugu castes in colonial India (in alphabetical order): Balija, Bestha, Boyar(warrior) caste, Ekari, gangawar(Boyar), Gavara,Kalingi, Kamma, Kapu, Mudirajus, Velama, Odde, Tottiyan, Reddy, Telaga, Uppiliyan, Idiga and Valmiki.

 

In the Gazetteer of the Anantapur district is noted that "the Boyas are the old fighting caste of this part of the country, whose exploits are so often recounted in the history books. The Poligars' forces, and Haidar Ali's famous troops were largely recruited from these people, and they still retain a keen interest in sport and manly exercises."

The titles of the Boyas are said to be Naidu or Nayudu, Naik, Dora, Dorabidda (children of chieftains), and Valmiki. They claim direct lineal descent from Valmiki, the author of the Ramayana.

Reference:

1. Reference: Page No.180-209 of castes and bribes of south india -  by E.THURSTON / PUBLISHED BY THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES,

 http://www.archive.org/details/castestribesofso01thuriala

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naidu