Saliya
Saliya (also spelt as Saliyar or Saliya or Chaliyan or Sali or Sale) is an Indian caste. Their traditional occupation was that of weaving and they are found mostly in the regions of northern Kerala, southern coastal Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu | |
| Languages | |
| Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Padmashali, Pattusali, Devanga, Pattariyar, Thogataveera |
Names
The oldest names for weavers in Kannada and Telugu regions were Saliga (or its variants, Sale, Sali, Saliya etc.) or Jeda (or its variants Jada, Jandra etc.). According to Ramaswamy, as part of the Virasaiva movement weavers initially championed caste negation or anti-casteism initially.[1] However, as time passed even that movement became caste-ridden and various communities started claiming ritual superiority vis-a-vis other communities part of the same religion and also against non-Virasaiva communities like Brahmins.
Relationship to other Malayali castes
In South Malabar, some adopted the surname Nair.[2]
In Kannur, Ashtamachal Bhagavathy temple part of Payyannur Teru has a unique tradition of a festival called Meenamrithu which is related to sea trading culture of the past. It was believed to have belonged to a merchant community called Valanjiyar belonging to left-hand caste group in the past. However, now Saliyas conduct this ritual. But relationship between Valanjiyar and Saliya communities at present is still a speculation.[3]
Notable people
References and notes
- Ramaswamy, Vijaya (2006). Textiles and Weavers in South India (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-19-567633-4.
- Social change in Modern India, Author: M N Srinivas
- Meenamruthu Festival Archived 2007-04-13 at the Wayback Machine