Pallar

Pallar
Religions Hinduism, Christianity
Languages Tamil
Related groups Tamils, Sri Lankan Tamils

The Pallar, who prefer to be called Mallar or Devendrakula Vellalar, is a Tamil caste found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and parts of Sri Lanka.

The Pallars are a peasant community who were traditionally involved as tenant agriculturists.[1] The Pallars traditionally inhabited the fertile wetland area referred to as Marutham in the literary devices of the Sangam landscape. In Sri Lanka, the Pallars were one of the communities among the Kudimakkal or domestic servants, whom European settlers considered to be slaves.

In Tamil Nadu the Pallars are distributed mostly in the districts of Thanjavur, Madurai and Ramanathapuram and, as of 2011, numbered 2,329,117.[2]

Etymology

The Pallar name may be derived from pallam, which means a pit or low-lying area. This aligns with their traditional occupation of cultivators of the low wetlands. There is literary evidence that suggests that Pallars were traditional farmers who produced large quantities of food grains.[3]

The name of the caste has previously been spelled as Pallan; however, some caste members replaced the Tamil non-honorific terminal-"n" with an honorific "r", resulting in the name Pallar; a similar process was seen in the fellow Dalit Paraiyar (or Paraiyan) community.[4]

The change of name from Mallar to Pallar is thought to have been imposed upon them after the decline of the rule, when the leaders (Nayaks) of competing tribes wanted to suggest a degradation in status. Some Pallars today prefer the Mallar name due to their belief that Pallar is a derogatory term.[3][5]

History

The Pallars traditionally inhabited the fertile wetland area referred to as Marutham in the literary devices of the Sangam landscape.[6] Vendan, also known as Devendra and identified with Indra, is the god of the Marutham landscape and also one of the chief deities of the Pallars.[7][8][9]

According to some historians, the Pallars are descendants of Pallavas who ruled the Andhra and Tamil countries between the 6th and 9th centuries.[3][5]

In Sri Lanka, the Pallars were one of the communities among the Kudimakkal or domestic servants, whom European settlers considered to be slaves.[10]

The socio-economic position of the Pallar as bonded servants working on farms is a central theme of Pallu poetry.[11] They are also mentioned in Tamil literature from the ancient Sangam literature to the recent 19th century poems, including Purananuru, Kamba Ramayanam, Thirumurukkatruppatai, Silapathigaram, Agananuru, Pathirtrupattu, Kurunthogai, Aingurunooru, Kalithogai, Natrinai, and Paripaadal.

Modern social standing

Nowadays, community members prefer to refer to themselves as Devendra Kula Vellalar (DKV), a name connoting that they were created by the god Devendra.[5] In support of a name change to DKV, Pallars have undertaken hunger strikes and rallies. In January 2011, the Government of Tamil Nadu appointed a one-man commission to consider this latest change mainly for their votes.[3][12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Tyagi, D.; Bhattacharya, K. K.; Chaudhuri, S. S. Datta; Xaviour, D. (2012). Nutritional Status of Indian Population: Southern region. Anthropological Survey of India, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Department of Culture, Government of India. p. 293.
  2. ↑ "Individual Scheduled Caste Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix". Retrieved 2017-02-10.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Ramaiah, A. (2004). "Untouchability and Inter-Caste Relations in Rural India: The Case of Southern Tamil Villages" (PDF). Journal of Religious Culture (70).
  4. ↑ Dana, Leo Paul (2007). Handbook of Research on Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship: A Co-Evolutionary View on Resource Management. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 602. ISBN 978-1-84542-733-7. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 Political Change and Agrarian Tradition in South India. Mittal Publications. 1986. p. 51.
  6. ↑ General, India Office of the Registrar (1964). Census of India, 1961. Manager of Publications. p. 11.
  7. ↑ Subrahmanian, N. (1996). Śaṅgam polity: the administration and social life of the Śaṅgam Tamils. Ennes.
  8. ↑ Viswanathan, S. (2005). Dalits in Dravidian land: Frontline reports on Anti-Dalit violence in Tamil Nadu, 1995-2004. Navayana. ISBN 978-81-89059-05-7.
  9. ↑ Sinha, Sachchidanand (1982). Caste system: myths, reality, challenge. Intellectual Pub. House.
  10. ↑ Raghavan, M. D. (1961). The Karāva of Ceylon: Society and Culture. K. V. G. De Silva. p. 91.
  11. ↑ Flores, Jorge Manuel (2007). Re-exploring the Links: History and Constructed Histories Between Portugal and Sri Lanka. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 44. ISBN 9783447054904.
  12. ↑ "Tamil Nadu government constitutes panel to rechristen sub-castes". New Kerala News. Chennai. 27 January 2012.

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