Karaiyar

Karaiyar
Religions Christianity, Hinduism
Languages Tamil
Subdivisions
  • Kurukula Karaiyar
  • Varunakula Karaiyar
  • Meelongi Karaiyar
  • Keelongi Karaiyar
Related groups Tamil people, Karava

Karaiyar (Tamil: கரையார், lit. 'Karaiyār' and Tamil: குருகுலம், lit. 'Kurukulam') is a caste found mainly on the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka and the Coromandel coast of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and globally among the Tamil diaspora.[1]

They are traditionally a coastal community who were engaged in seafaring, fishing and naval warfare.[2][3] They are known for their maritime history and are reputed as a warrior caste who constituted as the generals and captains of the Aryacakravarti dynasty.[4][5]

Historically, they have also been referred to as Kurukulam, Varunakulam and Karaiyalar.[6] Sharing similar origins and status are the Sinhalese Karava.[7]

Etymology

The word "Karaiyar" is derived from the Tamil language words karai ("coast" or "shore") and yar ("people").[6] The British Dravidologist, Robert Caldwell, mention that the term Kareoi mentioned by the 2nd century writer Ptolemy, refers to the Karaiyar.[8] The Portuguese and Dutch sources mentions them under the term Careas or Careaz, a corrupted form of "Karaiyar".[9]

They were historically also known as Kurukulam, meaning clan of the Kuru, following their origin from Kurumandalam (meaning "realm of Kuru's") of Southern India.[6][10] They attribute their origin myth from the Kuru Kingdom, mentioned in Hindu epic Mahabharata.[11][12] Some scholars derived Kurukulam from Kuru, the Tamil name for Jupiter.[13]

History

Ancient era

The Karaiyar, are among the old coastal communities who inhabited the Neithal Sangam landscape.[14] The ancient Tamil literature mentions several coastal populations, but does not contain any direct references to the Karaiyars.

Migration of Karaiyars from South India to Sri Lanka started from around second century BCE.[15] The earliest reference to them could be the 1st century BCE Tamil Householders Terrace, Pali inscription in Anuradhapura referring to several Tamil chiefs including one named "Dameda navika Karava", translated as "Tamil Karayar sailor".[16][17]The Purananuru mentions "Karaiyavar", but not as a coastal population; in the later literature, the word came to be identified with coastal people. Ptolemy mentions Korkai, the capital port of the Pandyan kings, as the chief seat of the Karaiyars.[18]

Medieval era

According to another account given in the Mukkara Hatana manuscript, a battalion of 7740 Karaiyar soldiers came from Kurumandalam in Southern India, and defeated the Mukkuvars (another coastal community) and Sonakars (Tamil Muslims).[19] The Yalpana Vaipava Malai states that Parakramabahu VI of Kotte invited Karaiyar battalions to facilitate trade with other countries.[6] The Karaiyars also formed alliances with coastal military castes from Tamil Nadu such as the Maravars.[20] A 13th century inscription of Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I in Tharangambadi, Tamil Nadu makes a reference to the Karaiyars making food offerings to the Masilamaninathar temple.[21]

The Vaiya Padal mentions the voyage of a Karaiyar chief known as Meekāman, who traveled with ships loaded with several castes and chiefs, including the Karaiyars who make reference as Varunakulaththar.[6][22][23] Karaiyar chief Meekāman is also credited for leading a troop of Chola soldiers and defeating the powerful Mukkuvar chiefs Vediarasan and Meera.[24][25] A destroyed fort at Neduntheevu, the Delft Island fort is locally known as Meekaman kōttai, and is thought to have been the fort of Meekaman.[26]

The Karaiyars in alliance with the Paravars were in control of the port-based trade and the pearl fishery conducted in the Gulf of Mannar under the Jaffna Kingdom, which were one of the worlds major pearl fisheries.[27][28]

Colonial era

Statue of king Cankili II in Jaffna

The Karaiyars were by the Portuguese described as the most "warlike" tribe and their chiefs as most serious adversaries of the colonial Portuguese.[9] The Karaiyars revolted several times against the Portuguese in the conquest of the Jaffna kingdom, who aligned and also commanded over the troops of Thanjavur Nayak Kingdom, whose king was Raghunatha Nayak.[29] The first revolt against them was led by the Karaiyar chief Migapulle Arachchi, a feudal lord of Jaffna Kingdom.[30][31] A later revolt was started by the Karaiyars and the Thanjavur Nayak troops of over 5000 men, commanded by the Karaiyar chief, Varunakulattan, one described by the Portuguese as being of kingly status.[32][33]

The Portuguese ordered Cankili II, king of Jaffna Kingdom, to surrender the Thanjavur Nayak soldiers and the Kinglet of the Karaiyars. However Cankili II did not surrender them as they had come on his request, and were later on defeated by the Portuguese.[34][35] Upon defeat were significant numbers of Karaiyars along with the Nairs and Karavas appointed as Lascarins under Portuguese rule, and were converted to Catholicism.[36]

After the expulsion of the Portuguese, was the growing Dutch rule revolted in 1658 in the Jaffna region by the Christian Karaiyars and Madapallis.[37] A Dutch minister of the 17th century, Philippus Baldaeus, described the Karaiyars, Madapallis and Vellalars among the influential classes of the Christians.[38] Elite Karaiyars were appointed to the rank of Mudaliyars.[39] The Karaiyar dominance got weakened through the political rise of the Vellalars under Dutch rule.[40]

For centuries have the Karaiyars had sea-trade relations with India but also Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, which has been heavily restricted since British rule.[41]

Traditional status

The Makara flag of the Karaiyars

The Karaiyars were assigned the Western section and the harbors and ports of the Jaffna Kingdom.[42] The Karaiyars formed the generals of the Jaffna kings and officered the navy of the Aryacakravarti dynasty.[5][43] They used the Makara as emblem, the mount of their clan deity, the sea god Varuna, which was also seen on their flags.[44] Kannaki Amman is one of the chief deity of the Hindu Karaiyars whereas Francis Xavier and Virgin mary are one of the chief saints of the Christian Karaiyars.[45]

The Karaiyars in Northern Sri Lanka are classified into two groups: the Meelongi and the Keelongi.[46][lower-alpha 1] The Melongi Karaiyars are some areas known as Thevar Karaiyar and Kurukula Karaiyar, who were descendent of commanders, while Keelongi Karaiyars were descendent of the army's soldiers and workers.[47] The Karaiyars in Eastern Sri Lanka like other castes are divided into kudi's or matrilineal clans.[48] The Eastern Karaiyars almost exclusively also use the term Vaiyittu Var (Tamil for "womb-tie") as a synonymous term for kudi or clan.[49]

The chieftains and village headmen of the Karaiyars held the title Pattankattiyar, meaning "One who is crowned" in Tamil.[50][51][52] Other titles they used were Adappanar, Mudaliar, Kurukulattan and Varunakulattan.[53][54][55] The Adappans were headmen who were responsible of the harbors of the northern and western parts of Sri Lanka.[56]

The domestic servants of the Karaiyars, who are known as Kudimakkal include the castes of Ambattar, Vannar, Maraiyar, Koviar and Nattuvar.[57] They gave importance in their ritual roles as officiators under the wedding and funeral.[58]

Social status and politics

The colonial rulers of Sri Lanka, especially the Dutch, strengthened the Vellalar dominance.[59] In the Jaffna region, the Karaiyars were a dominant caste and were considered as upper-class in the social hierarchy, where sections of them also during the Portuguese rule converted to Christianity allowing them to grow closer to those who held the power.[60][6]

In the 20th century, the Karaiyar were the second largest group of voters among the Sri Lankan Tamils after the Vellalar.[61] The Karaiyars formed around 10% of the population, while the dominant Vellalars constituted about 50% of the population.[3][62] Karaiyars, such as Velupillai Prabhakaran, formed the leadership of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a group that fought the Sri Lankan Civil War to form a Tamil sovereign state, intending to secede from the Sinhala-majority Sri Lanka.[3] Following the old order, where the Karaiyars formed partners with the Vellalars, the LTTE gained support and recruitment from the Vellalars.[3]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Excerpt about the Karaiyar subcastes, from Merchants, markets and the state in early modern India: The karaiyar had a less sharp distinction between melongi (i.e. those who aim high) and kilongi (those who aim low).

References

  1. ↑ Raj, Selva J. (2016-04-01). South Asian Christian Diaspora: Invisible Diaspora in Europe and North America. Routledge. ISBN 9781317052296.
  2. ↑ Wilson, A. Jeyaratnam (2000). Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. UBC Press. pp. 18–19. ISBN 9780774807593.
  3. 1 2 3 4 A. Jeyaratnam Wilson (2000). Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism. UBC Press. pp. 19–24. ISBN 9780774807593.
  4. ↑ Das, Sonia N. (2016). Linguistic Rivalries: Tamil Migrants and Anglo-Franco Conflicts. Oxford University Press. p. 236. ISBN 9780190461782.
  5. 1 2 Raghavan, M. D. (1964). India in Ceylonese History: Society, and Culture. Asia Publishing House. p. 143.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Shanmugarajah, Srikanthan. "Ethnohistory Through Intracultural Perspectives: A Study of Embedded History of Karaiyar of Jaffna Peninsula (Sri Lanka) and Coromandel Coast (India)" (PDF). Man In India. Department of Anthropology, Puducherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture. 94 (1–2): 31–48.
  7. ↑ McGilvray, Dennis B. (1982-09-02). Caste Ideology and Interaction. Cambridge University Press. p. 17. ISBN 9780521241458.
  8. ↑ Caldwell, Robert (1913). A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Or South-Indian Family of Languages. Asian Educational Services. p. 97. ISBN 9788120601178.
  9. 1 2 Seeland, Klaus (1993). International quarterly for Asian studies. Weltform Verlag. p. 266.
  10. ↑ Raghavan, M. D. (1971). Tamil culture in Ceylon: a general introduction. Kalai Nilayam.
  11. ↑ Kemper, Steven E. G. (1973). The Social Order of the Sinhalese Buddhist Sangha. University of Chicago.
  12. ↑ Nēthrā: A Non-specialist Journal for Lively Minds. International Centre for Ethnic Studies. 2000. p. 47.
  13. ↑ Perinbanayagam, R. S. (1982). The karmic theater: self, society, and astrology in Jaffna. University of Massachusetts Press. p. 30.
  14. ↑ David, Kenneth (1977-01-01). The New Wind: Changing Identities in South Asia. Walter de Gruyter. p. 203. ISBN 9783110807752.
  15. ↑ Das, Sonia N. (2016-10-27). Linguistic Rivalries: Tamil Migrants and Anglo-Franco Conflicts. Oxford University Press. p. 63. ISBN 9780190675448.
  16. ↑ Raghavan, M. D. (1971). Tamil culture in Ceylon: a general introduction. Kalai Nilayam. p. 138.
  17. ↑ Seneviratna, Anuradha (1994). Ancient Anuradhapura: The Monastic City. Archaeological Survey Department, Government of Sri Lanka. p. 288. ISBN 9789559159025.
  18. ↑ Rao, S. R. (1988). Marine Archaeology of Indian Ocean Countries: Proceedings of the First Indian Conference on Marine Archaeology of Indian Ocean Countries, Oct. 1987. National Institute of Oceanography. p. 118. ISBN 9788190007405.
  19. ↑ Navaratnam, C. S. (1964). A Short History of Hinduism in Ceylon: And Three Essays on the Tamils. Sri Sammuganatha Press.
  20. ↑ Fuglerud, Øivind (1999). Life on the Outside: The Tamil Diaspora and Long-distance Nationalism. University of Oslo: Pluto Press. p. 160. ISBN 9780745314389.
  21. ↑ Subramanian, T.; Kannan, R.; Archaeology, Tamil Nadu (India) Dept of (2003). Tarangampadi (Tranquebar) excavation & conservation report, 2001-2002. Dept. of Archaeology, Govt. of Tamilnadu. p. 3.
  22. ↑ Raghavan, M. D. (1964). India in Ceylonese History: Society, and Culture. Asia Publishing House. p. 53.
  23. ↑ Obeyesekere, Gananath (1984). The cult of the goddess Pattini. University Of Chicago Press. p. 571. ISBN 9780226616025.
  24. ↑ Tamil Culture. Academy of Tamil Culture. 1953. p. 307.
  25. ↑ Raghavan, M. D. (1971). Tamil culture in Ceylon: a general introduction. Kalai Nilayam. p. 53.
  26. ↑ Society, Sri Lanka Branch of the Royal Asiatic (1969). Journal of the Sri Lanka Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Royal Asiatic Society, Sri Lanka Branch. p. 2.
  27. ↑ Pfister, Raymond (1995). Soixante ans de pentecôtisme en Alsace (1930-1990): une approche socio-historique. P. Lang. p. 166. ISBN 9783631486207.
  28. ↑ Silva, Chandra Richard De (2009). Portuguese Encounters with Sri Lanka and the Maldives: Translated Texts from the Age of Discoveries. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 109. ISBN 9780754601869.
  29. ↑ Journal of Tamil Studies. International Institute of Tamil Studies. 1981. p. 44.
  30. ↑ Pieris, Paulus Edward (1914). Ceylon: The Portuguese Era, Being the History of the Island for the Period 1505-1658. Colombo apothecaries Company, Limited, printers. p. 130.
  31. ↑ Hellmann-Rajanayagam, Dagmar (2007). Von Jaffna nach Kilinocchi: Wandel des politischen Bewusstseins der Tamilen in Sri Lanka (in German). Ergon. pp. 104, 134. ISBN 9783899135442.
  32. ↑ Sivaratnam, C. (1968). The Tamils in Early Ceylon. p. 163.
  33. ↑ Vriddhagirisan, V. (1995). Nayaks of Tanjore. Asian Educational Services. p. 91. ISBN 9788120609969.
  34. ↑ Silva, Chandra Richard De (2009-01-01). Portuguese Encounters with Sri Lanka and the Maldives: Translated Texts from the Age of Discoveries. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 137. ISBN 9780754601869.
  35. ↑ Rambukwelle, P. B. (1996). The Period of Eight Kings. P.B. Rambukwelle. p. 96. ISBN 9789559556527.
  36. ↑ Wickramasinghe, Nira (2006). Sri Lanka in the Modern Age: A History of Contested Indentities. University of Hawaii Press. p. 13. ISBN 9780824830168.
  37. ↑ Veen, Ernst van; Blussé, Leonard (2005). Rivalry and Conflict: European Traders and Asian Trading Networks in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Amsterdam University Press. p. 116. ISBN 9789057891045.
  38. ↑ Seeland, Klaus (1993). Internationales Asien Forum: International quarterly for Asian studies. Weltform Verlag. p. 266.
  39. ↑ Manogaran, Chelvadurai; Pfaffenberger, Bryan (1994). The Sri Lankan Tamils: ethnicity and identity. Westview Press. p. 36. ISBN 9780813388458.
  40. ↑ Arasaratnam, Sinnappah (1996-01-01). Ceylon and the Dutch, 1600-1800: External Influences and Internal Change in Early Modern Sri Lanka. n Variorum. p. 390. ISBN 9780860785798.
  41. ↑ Kenneth Andrew, David (1972). The Bound and the NonBound: Variations in Social and Cultural Structure in Rural Jaffna, Ceylon. The University of Chicago,: ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. p. 142.
  42. ↑ Rasanayagam, C.; Rasanayagam, Mudaliyar C. (1993). Ancient Jaffna: Being a Research Into the History of Jaffna from Very Early Times to the Portuguese Period. Asian Educational Services. pp. 211–212. ISBN 9788120602106.
  43. ↑ Skutsch, Carl (2005). Encyclopedia of the world's minorities. Routledge. p. 1184. ISBN 9781579584702.
  44. ↑ Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka. Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka. 1993. p. 137.
  45. ↑ Pfister, Raymond (1995). Soixante ans de pentecôtisme en Alsace (1930-1990): une approche socio-historique. P. Lang. p. 174. ISBN 9783631486207.
  46. ↑ Subrahmanyam, Sanjay (1990). Merchants, markets and the state in early modern India. Oxford University Press. p. 198.
  47. ↑ David, Kenneth (1973). "Spatial Organization and Normative Schemes in Jaffna, Northern Sri Lanka". Modern Ceylon Studies. University of Ceylon. 4: 1 & 2.
  48. ↑ Thurnheer, Katharina (2014-06-30). Life Beyond Survival: Social Forms of Coping After the Tsunami in War-affected Eastern Sri Lanka. Transcript Verlag. p. 143. ISBN 9783839426012.
  49. ↑ McGilvray, Dennis B. (2008-04-16). Crucible of Conflict: Tamil and Muslim Society on the East Coast of Sri Lanka. Duke University Press. p. 192. ISBN 0822389185.
  50. ↑ "பட்டங்கட்டி | அகராதி | Tamil Dictionary". agarathi.com. University of Madras Lexicon. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  51. ↑ Modern Ceylon Studies. University of Ceylon. 1975.
  52. ↑ Nān̲kāvatu An̲aittulakat Tamil̲ārāycci Makānāṭṭu nikal̲ccikaḷ, Yāl̲ppāṇam, Can̲avari, 1974. An̲aittulakat Tamil̲ārāycci Man̲r̲a Ilaṅkaik Kiḷai. 1980.
  53. ↑ K, Arunthavarajah (March 2014). "The Administration of Jaffna Kingdom- A Historical View" (PDF). International Journal of Business and Administration Research Review. University of Jaffna. Volume 2, Issue 3.: 32.
  54. ↑ Cambridge South Asian Studies. University of Cambridge: Cambridge South Asian Studies. 1965. p. 27. ISBN 9780521232104.
  55. ↑ Pandian, Jacob (1987). Caste, Nationalism and Ethnicity: An Interpretation of Tamil Cultural History and Social Order. Popular Prakashan. p. 109. ISBN 9780861321360.
  56. ↑ Bastiampillai, Bertram (2006-01-01). Northern Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in the 19th century. Godage International Publishers. p. 94.
  57. ↑ Kurukshetra. University of Michigan: Sri Lak-Indo Study Group. 1976. p. 60.
  58. ↑ Derges, Jane (2013-05-20). Ritual and Recovery in Post-Conflict Sri Lanka. Routledge. p. 77. ISBN 1136214887.
  59. ↑ Eva Gerharz (2014). The Politics of Reconstruction and Development in Sri Lanka. Routledge. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-317-69280-5.
  60. ↑ Eva Gerharz (2014). The Politics of Reconstruction and Development in Sri Lanka. Routledge. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-317-69280-5.
  61. ↑ S. H. Hasbullah; Barrie M. Morrison (2004). Sri Lankan Society in an Era of Globalization. SAGE. pp. 106–107. ISBN 978-0-7619-3221-5.
  62. ↑ Caste, Class and Prabhakaran’s struggle - Ravana (The Island) Accessed 1 March 2016
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