Madras → Natal, 1860–1911

South African Tamil Roots

Tens of thousands of Tamil families sailed from the Madras Presidency to the cane fields of Natal. The ship registers recorded each person's native village — and we've mapped them. Find your ancestor's village below to open both sides: their Natal records and the modern Tamil Nadu village where living relatives may still be.

70,394

named emigrants to Natal

26,410

native villages

4,406

villages with records in India

New — ready-made family trees. Explore archival ancestor trees you can claim in one click.Explore

Village Verification Project · £200 verified ancestry reward. Help reconnect SA descendants with Tamil Nadu native villages. Evidence-verified, not a random draw — see how it works.Learn more

South Africa: Natal indenture records

Ship registers, indenture numbers, employers — 1860–1911.

Search the archive

Tamil Nadu: voter rolls & living relatives

Present-day rolls that name people still in the same village.

Search voter rolls

Where they sailed from

Tamil Nadu emigrants to Natal, by district

Tap a district to filter the village list below.

Loading map…

Emigrants recordedNo records / outside TN

~193 more emigrants came from Kerala, Andhra & Karnataka (outside this Tamil Nadu map); they’re listed below.

Districts~70,394 named

+ 109 more districts

26,410 villages

Madras

now Chennai, Chennai

1,060to Natal

1860–1904

records in India

See the Natal records Explore the Tamil Nadu village

Chingleput

now Chengalpattu, Chengalpattu

729to Natal

1860–1905

records in India

See the Natal records Explore the Tamil Nadu village

Polur

North Arcot district

705to Natal

1860–1905

records in India

See the Natal records Explore the Tamil Nadu village

Conjeeveram

now Kanchipuram, Kanchipuram

632to Natal

1863–1905

See the Natal records

Vellore

North Arcot district

491to Natal

1860–1905

records in India

See the Natal records Explore the Tamil Nadu village

Arni

now Arani, Tiruvannamalai

316to Natal

1865–1905

records in India

See the Natal records Explore the Tamil Nadu village

Arcot

North Arcot district

304to Natal

1861–1904

records in India

See the Natal records Explore the Tamil Nadu village

Trichinopoly

now Tiruchirappalli, Tiruchirappalli

286to Natal

1860–1905

See the Natal records

Tiruvallur

Chingleput district

259to Natal

1860–1905

See the Natal records

Salem

Salem district

242to Natal

1860–1905

records in India

See the Natal records Explore the Tamil Nadu village

Madurantakam

Chingleput district

241to Natal

1863–1905

See the Natal records

Chittoor

North Arcot district

214to Natal

1861–1905

See the Natal records

Wandiwash

now Vandavasi, Tiruvannamalai

210to Natal

1860–1905

records in India

See the Natal records Explore the Tamil Nadu village

Karai

now Ikarai, Sivaganga

174to Natal

1864–1905

121 village land records

See the Natal records Explore the Tamil Nadu village

Nagaram

North Arcot district

153to Natal

1860–1904

See the Natal records

Tiruvannamalai

South Arcot district

150to Natal

1860–1905

106 village land records

See the Natal records Explore the Tamil Nadu village

Trivellore

now Tiruvallur, Tiruvallur

148to Natal

1876–1903

See the Natal records

Mandakolathur

North Arcot district

146to Natal

1860–1905

records in India

See the Natal records Search voter roll in Tamil Nadu

Saidapet

Chingleput district

145to Natal

1860–1905

records in India

See the Natal records Explore the Tamil Nadu village

St. Thomas Mount

now St Thomas Mount, Chennai

144to Natal

1865–1902

See the Natal records

Tindivanam

South Arcot district

137to Natal

1861–1905

records in India

See the Natal records Explore the Tamil Nadu village

Madura

now Madurai, Madurai

134to Natal

1860–1905

records in India

See the Natal records Explore the Tamil Nadu village

Tanjore

now Thanjavur, Thanjavur

129to Natal

1860–1905

See the Natal records

Nagari

North Arcot district

120to Natal

1874–1905

See the Natal records

Don't see your village?

Both sides are one click away. Search the full Natal indenture archive by name, ship or year — or jump straight to Tamil Nadu voter rolls and find living relatives in the same village.

Search South Africa records Search Tamil Nadu voter rolls

Privacy — no living person's details are ever shown in public

Public pages show only archival indenture records (1860–1911). TamizhConnect does not publish any living person's details — voter rolls and family trees are private to their account owner.