Origin Village Directory
Explore Tamil Nadu origin villages that appear in indenture records. Each village page shows migration ships, destination countries, and families researching that area.
Notable origin villages
Villages with the most indenture records, or search for any village above.
620,017 indenture records
271,778 indenture records
91,752 indenture records
82,683 indenture records
25,709 indenture records
14,281 indenture records
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1,026 indenture records
70,394 Tamil ancestors sailed from the Madras Presidency to Natal, each with a recorded native village. Browse by district and village to find your family in the indenture records.
Explore South African rootsRecords spell villages the colonial way. Look up an old name (e.g., Saidapet) to see its present-day village, district and map location.
Find a modern village nameDigitised Calcutta letters — the money and messages indentured labourers in Suriname sent home to their families in India. Browse by ancestor name or village and read the letters in full.
Read the letters homeSearch historical indenture records by name, ship, village, or year.
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