Mudumbai, Mudumbi, Mudumby, Mudumbye, Mudumbe, Mudumbaiyer, Mudumbaiyar, also called Mudumbai Chakravarthi's or Mudumbaiyers, are, by heritage, a sub-sect of South India

South India

South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...

n Brahmin

Brahmin

Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

s known as Sri Vaishnavas or Iyengar

Iyengar

Iyengar or Ayyangar is a caste given to Hindu Brahmins of Tamil origin who follow the Visishtadvaita philosophy propounded by Sri Ramanujacharya. They are found mostly in Tamil Nadu as they are generally native to the Tamil Nadu state of the Republic of India...

s. Their mother tongue is typically Telugu

Telugu language

Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...

, Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 or, infrequently, Kannada

Kannada language

Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...

. There have spread all over South India, mostly in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

 and Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

, some even to Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

. In the past 100 years, many have migrated abroad India to United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

 and Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. There are many well-known persons with the surname

Surname

A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...

 Mudumbai/Mudumbi/Mudumby in various fields, mostly in scientific disciplines such as mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

, medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

 and computer science

Computer science

Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...

. One such person is an eminent mathematician Mudumbai Seshachalu Narasimhan, widely known as M. S. Narasimhan.

History

Progenitors of Mudumbai people are Mudumbai Nambi (முடும்பை நம்பி) and Mudumbai Ammal (முடும்பை அம்மாள்) from the early 12th century A.D, ordained by Sri Ramanujacharya (Ramanuja) as one mudhali (முதலி)(Simhasanadhipathi) among 74 Iyengars, to guard and propagate Sri Vaishnava's philosophy, the Visishta Advaitam. All Mudumbais having common paternal heritage, belong to the gotram Sri Vatsa

Sri Vatsa

Sri Vatsa is an auspicious symbol used by Svetambara Jains as part of the Ashtamangala. It represents the upper chest of the 24 Tirthankaras, showing compassionate and eternal universal love to all living beings however minute they may be....

, though not all persons belonging to Srivatsa

Srivatsa

The Śrīvatsa, Shrivatsa, or Sri Vatsa is a figure of South Asian symbology. Shrivatsa was married to Rudrani. Chandra et al.. state that it denotes "...the auspicious mark represented by a curled noose emblematical of love...".Shrivatsa is an ancient auspicious symbol in India...

 are Mudumbais. Of Mudumbais, there are both vadakalai

Vadakalai

Vadakalai , meaning Northern branch are a subsect of the Vaishnavite Iyengar community of Hindu Brahmins. In Sanskrit the Vadakalai are referred to as Uttara Kalārya . Vadakalais are followers of Ramanuja and Vedanta Desika....

 (வடகலை-Southern) and thenkalai

Thenkalai

Thenkalai are a subsect of the Vaishnavite Iyengar community of Hindu Brahmins. Thenkalais are followers of Ramanuja, Pillai Lokacharya and Manavala Mamuni.-Differences with Vadakalai Srivaishnavas:...

 (தென்கலை-Northern).

The ordainment by Sri Ramanajucharya took place in Madhurantakam, Tamil Nadu. It has been suggested that Mannargudi

Mannargudi

India census, Mannargudi had a population of 61,588. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Mannargudi has an average literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average 59.5%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy is 74%. In Mannargudi, 9% of the population is under 6...

 (மன்னார்குடி) is the origin of the Mudumbaiyars. The Mudumbai village is thought to be near Kanchipuram

Kanchipuram

Kanchipuram, or Kanchi, is a temple city and a municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a temple town and the headquarters of Kanchipuram district...

 (திருக்கச்சி (காஞ்ஜீபுரம்)) in Tamil Nadu. It is believed that Mudumbais spread to Tanjore (தஞ்சாவூர்) and then on to the Ramanathapuram

Ramanathapuram

Ramanathapuram , also known as Ramnad, is a city and a municipality in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Ramanathapuram district.-Tourism:...

 (இராமநாதபுரம்) area. As with all Iyengars, Mudumbais have acquired the language inherent to the region in which they have settled. Being that Madhurantakam was a region in which both Tamil and Telugu learning were present, these languages were highly retained by the descendants. For example, many Mudumbais of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka recite the Tiruppavai daily, some even being able to retain reading ability of Tamil all the while maintaining exceptional proficiency of Telugu and Kannada.

In addition to the surnames Mudumbai, Mudumbi, Mudumby, in modern times, some Mudumbais have settled abroad in India with the general Iyengar surname Chari, Chary, Charyulu or Acharya.