Kerala Mukkuvar

Kerala Mukkuvar is a Malayali caste found in the Indian state of Kerala. [2] They are mostly found on the Malabar Coast and are traditionally occupied in fishing and seafaring.[3]

Mukkuvar
ReligionsHinduism, Christianity, Islam
LanguagesMalayalam
Subdivisions[1]
  • Northern division: Nalillakkar – Ponillam, Chembillam, Karillam, Kachillam
  • Southern division: Munillakkar – Chembillam, Karillam, Kachillam
Related groupsSri Lankan Mukkuvar, Mogaveera

Etymology

The caste name proposes several etymology theories. One view holds that the name Mukkuvar is derived from the Dravidian term muluku or mukku meaning "to dive", suggesting their traditional occupation in diving for pearls and seashell.[4] Other titles used by the community are Kukankulam, Murkukan and Mukkiyar.[5][6] Their titles Kukankulam (Kukan clan) and Murkukan (foremost Kukan) are literary references to Kukan, the mariner who ferried Hindu god Rama across Ganges from Ayodhya whose descendant they claim.[7]

The Mukkuvars are divided into exogamous clans known as llam meaning "house". The Mukkuvars of Northern Malabar are known as Nalillakkar (meaning "of the four illams") constituted of the clans known as Ponillam (from pon meaning "gold"), Chembillam (from chembu meaning "copper"), Karillam and Kachillam. The Mukkuvars of Southern Malabar have only three clans, with the absence of Ponillam, and are therefore known as Munillakar (meaning "of the three illams").[8][9]

History

Early history

The Mukkuvars of Kerala contribute their origin to Sri Lanka from where they migrated to Kerala. As suggested by their name were they probably involved in diving for pearls and conch.[4][9][7]

Medieval history

In the 8th century made mercentile Arabs appearances in Kerala, where they among other married natives such as those from the Mukkuvar community, and formed social groups such as the Mappilas.[10] The Mukkuvars were in addition to fishing and seafaring, involved in warfare. Native rulers such as the Zamorin of Calicut promoted Mukkuvars in coversion to Islam in order to man their navies.[11] Up to 1000 AD were the Mukkuvars recruited to the naval fleets of the Chera dynasty.[12][13] South Indian communities were often invited to Sri Lanka as mercenaries. The Sinhala text known as Dambadeni Asna refers to Mukkuvar warriors serving in the army of Parakramabahu II of Dambadeniya. As mentioned in Mattakallappu Manmiyam, they also served in the 13th century in the army of the invader Kalinga Magha, who seized control of northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka.[14] The Kerala-derived Mukkuvars, whose descendants are the Sri Lankan Mukkuvars, under Kalinga Magha were made chieftains known as Vanniar in the Batticaloa region, where they also formed matrilinear landlords known as Podiyar and exhibited significant political domination. Mukkuvars in alliance with Arabs encamped at the Puttalam region where in an campaign initated by Parakramabahu VI of Kotte, battled and chased away by Karaiyar mercenaries, mentioned in Mukkara Hatana (meaning Mukkuvar war).[15] Mukkuvar women intermarried with their allied Arabs, whose descendants reside in the Sri Lankan Moor ethnicity.[16]

References
  1. Singh, Virendra Prakash (1992). Community and Caste in Tradition. Commonwealth Publishers. p. 33. ISBN 978-81-7169-242-2.
  2. Ram, Kalpana (1992). Mukkuvar Women: Gender, Hegemony, and Capitalist Transformation in a South Indian Fishing Community. Kali for Women. p. 2. ISBN 978-81-85107-46-2.
  3. Ramaiah, T. G. (2013). Role of Exclusive Credit Linkage Programme for Occupational Dynamics Among Fisherwomen: A Study in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu States. National Institute of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. p. 14. ISBN 978-81-85542-89-8.
  4. McGilvray, Dennis B. (1974). Tamils and Moors: caste and matriclan structure in eastern Sri Lanka. University of Chicago. pp. 23–25.
  5. McGilvray, Dennis B. (2008). Crucible of Conflict: Tamil and Muslim Society on the East Coast of Sri Lanka. Duke University Press. p. 60, 61, 64, 77. ISBN 978-0822389187.
  6. Holmes, Walter Robert (1980). Jaffna, Sri Lanka 1980. Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society of Jaffna College. p. 219.
  7. McGilvray, Dennis B. (1982). Caste Ideology and Interaction. Cambridge University Press. p. 59, 60, 68. ISBN 9780521241458.
  8. Singh, Virendra Prakash (1992). Community and Caste in Tradition. Commonwealth Publishers. p. 33. ISBN 978-81-7169-242-2.
  9. Saraswati, Baidyanath (1998). Life-style and Ecology. Indira Gandhi Centre for the Arts [and] D.K. Printworld. p. 178. ISBN 978-81-246-0103-7.
  10. Schneider, David Murray; Gough, Kathleen (1974). Matrilineal Kinship. University of California Press. p. 415. ISBN 978-0-520-02529-5.
  11. Prange, Sebastian R. (2011-12-01). "A Trade of No Dishonor: Piracy, Commerce, and Community in the Western Indian Ocean, Twelfth to Sixteenth CenturySebastian R. PrangeA Trade of No Dishonor". The American Historical Review. 116 (5): 1269–1293. doi:10.1086/ahr.116.5.1269. ISSN 0002-8762.
  12. Sankaranarayanan, K. C.; Studies, University of Madras Centre for South and South-East Asian (1994). The Keralites and the Sinhalese. Centre for South and Southeast Asian Studies. p. 39.
  13. Devi, R. Leela (1986). History of Kerala. Vidyarthi Mithram Press & Book Depot. p. 101.
  14. Whitaker, Mark P. (1999-01-01). Amiable Incoherence: Manipulating Histories and Modernities in a Batticaloa Tamil Hindu Temple. V.U. University Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-90-5383-644-6.
  15. S. Pathmanathan (1978). The Kingdom of Jaffna. Arul M. Rajendran.
  16. Mayer, Markus; Rajasingham-Senanayake, Darini; Thangarajah, Yuvi (2003). Building Local Capacities for Peace: Rethinking Conflict and Development in Sri Lanka. Macmillan India. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-333-93921-5.
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