Koviar

Koviar
Religions Hinduism, Christianity
Languages Tamil
Related groups Konar, Sri Lankan Vellalar, Tamils, Sri Lankan Tamils

Koviar (Tamil: கோவியர், translit. Kōviyar, also known as Covia) is a Tamil caste found in Sri Lanka. They are traditional agriculturalists and temple workers.[1]

Etymology

The Yalpana Vaipava Malai states that the term Koviyar stems from Kovil, a Tamil term meaning temple.[2] Another view holds that the term is derived from the Tamil words Ko (cow) and Idaiyar, meaning cowherds.[3][4]

History

They are mentioned in the Thesavalamai law of the Jaffna Peninsula, which was codified by the Dutch under their rule. There they are stated as descendants of the Sri Lankan Vellalar.[5] Intermarriages between the Vellalars and Koviars were common.[6] Other traditions accounts that they were Sinhalese captives who settled in Jaffna Kingdom.[7] The Vaiya Padal states that they were one of the castes who came from Tamil country in Southern India and were apparently herdsmen.[2]

They came under the term Kudimakkal or Adimaikal, as they along other castes such as the Pallar and Nalavar were domestic servants.[8][9] The worship of Kattavarayan as caste deity is observed by the Koviar.[10]

Current condition

After Sri Lanka’s independence from Britain in 1948, Sri Lankan Tamil politics was geared towards a nationalistic cause. Koviar using their ritual and physical proximity to the educational services upgraded themselves socially and economically. The Policy of standardization imposed by the successive Sri Lankan governments since 1973 had the effect of restricting the number of Tamil students entering state Universities and affected upwardly mobile Koviar students as much as the dominant class. Hence Koviar were also involved in many of the Tamil nationalistic agitations that eventually resulted in the formation of many Tamil militant groups. They were prominent in one of them namely TELO that was eventually eclipsed by the LTTE that was also seen as to be associated with Karaiyar caste in Jaffna.

The civil war and the Black July pogroms have retarded most of these gains and many have escaped the deprivations by seeking refugee status in India, Europe and North America. They are merging with the host populations and/or the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth from A. Jeyaratnam Wilson
  2. 1 2 Pillay, Kolappa Pillay Kanakasabhapathi (1963). South India and Ceylon. University of Madras. p. 168.
  3. ↑ Tambiah, Henry Wijayakone (2001). The Laws and Customs of the Tamils of Jaffna. Women's Education & Research Centre. p. 76. ISBN 9789559261162.
  4. ↑ Pillay, Kolappa Pillay Kanakasabhapathi (1963). South India and Ceylon. University of Madras. p. 161.
  5. ↑ Tambiah, Henry Wijayakone (1954). The laws and customs of the Tamils of Ceylon. Tamil Cultural Society of Ceylon. p. 59.
  6. ↑ Leach, E. R. (1971-10-31). Aspects of Caste in South India, Ceylon and North-West Pakistan. Cambridge University Press: CUP Archive. p. 66. ISBN 9780521096645.
  7. ↑ Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja (1992-07-15). Buddhism Betrayed?: Religion, Politics, and Violence in Sri Lanka. University of Chicago Press. p. 145. ISBN 9780226789491.
  8. ↑ Perinbanayagam, R. S. (1982). The karmic theater: self, society, and astrology in Jaffna. University of Massachusetts Press. p. 23.
  9. ↑ David, Kenneth (1977-01-01). The New Wind: Changing Identities in South Asia. Walter de Gruyter. p. 195. ISBN 9783110807752.
  10. ↑ The Ceylon Antiquary and Literary Register. 1922. p. 12.
  11. ↑ Hasbullah, S. H.; Morrison, Barrie M. (2004). From differences to ethnic solidarity amongst Tamils. Dagmar Hellman-Rajanayagam. Sage. ISBN 978-0-7619-3221-5. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
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