Holeya (caste)
Holeya are a scheduled caste of India, mainly belonging to present day Karnataka State,[1][2] Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and also Madhya Pradesh[3][4]
Originally, they were one of the out-caste, commonly an agricultural labor. The term Hola means an agricultural field and term Holeya is derived from Hola.[1][5]
In British India, Holeyas lived in Canara, Coorg Province and Mysore. They were one of the lowest class, a perdial slave, who can be sold by the owner of the estate in which they were located.[1][2][6]
Holeyas are considered to be a sub division of Dher.[6] Among Dhers there were three principal class of slaves called Holiyas, Yemaru and Paleru.[1][6]
Holeya are also known by name of Pariah in some areas.[1][7] The old Tamil poems and early Christian writing do not mention the word Pariah or Paraiyan but mention the name of a tribe called Eyninas, who were quite distinct from the rest of people and did not live in villages, but in forts of their own. Mr Francis, a historian, regards them as ancestors of present day Pariahas or Holeyas.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Indian Encyclopaedia, Volume 1 By Subodh Kapoor, Page 5504.
- 1 2 Encyclopaedia Asiatica, Comprising Indian Subcontinent, Eastern and Southern Asia: O-Rhamneae by Edward Balfour. Cosmo Publications, 1976
- ↑ Census of India, 1991: Madhya Pradesh, Issue 2
- ↑ Singh, Nagendra Kr (2006). Global Encyclopaedia of the South Indian Dalit's Ethnography. Global Vision Publishing House. p. 251. ISBN 9788182201682. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
- ↑ Omvedt, Gail (1994). Dalits and the Democratic Revolution: Dr Ambedkar and the Dalit Movement in Colonial India. SAGE Publications India. ISBN 9788132119838. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
- 1 2 3 Balfour, Edward (1885). The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia: Commercial, Industrial and Scientific, Products of the Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures. B. Quartitch. p. 45. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
- ↑ Religion and society, Volume 40. Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, 1993 - Religion