Karaiyar
ReligionsHinduism, Christianity
LanguagesTamil
Subdivisions
  • Meelongi Karaiyar
  • Keelongi Karaiyar
Related groupsTamil people, Karava, Pattanavar

Karaiyar is a Sri Lankan Tamil caste found mainly on the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and globally among the Tamil diaspora.[1]

They are traditionally a seafaring community that is engaged in fishing, shipment and seaborne trade.[2][3] They fish customarily in deep seas or on shore, and employ gillnet and seine fishing methods.[4] The Karaiyars were the major maritime traders and boat owners who among other things, traded with pearls, chanks, tobacco, and shipped goods overseas to countries such as India, Myanmar and Indonesia.[5][6][3] The community known for their maritime history, are also reputed as a warrior caste who contributed as army and navy soldiers of Tamil kings.[7] They were noted as the army generals and navy captains of the Aryacakravarti dynasty.[8]

The Karaiyars emerged in the 1980s as strong representatives of Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism.[9] The nuclear leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have background in the wealthier enterprising section of the Karaiyars.[10]

Historically, they have also been referred to as Kurukulam, Varunakulam and Karaiyalar. Sharing similar origins and status are the Sinhalese Karava and the Pattanavar of Tamil Nadu.[11]

Etymology

The word "Karaiyar" is derived from the Tamil language words karai ("coast" or "shore") and yar ("people").[12] The term Kareoi mentioned by 2nd century AD writer Ptolemy, is identified with the Tamil word "Karaiyar".[13] The Portuguese and Dutch sources mentions them under the term Careas, Careaz, or Carias, which are terms denoting "Karaiyar".[14]

Kurukulam, Varunakulam and Arasakulam were historically one of the significant clans of the Karaiyars.[15] Kurukulam, meaning "clan of the Kuru", may be a reference to their origin from Kurumandalam (meaning "realm of Kuru's") of Southern India.[16] They attribute their origin myth from the Kuru Kingdom, mentioned in Hindu epic Mahabharata.[17][18] Some scholars derived Kurukulam from Kuru, the Tamil name for Jupiter.[19] Varunakulam, meaning "clan of Varuna", is a reference to their maritime origin.[20] Varuna is the god of sea and rain, mentioned in Vedic Literature, but also in Sangam literature as the principal deity of the Neithal Sangam landscape (i.e. littoral landscape).[21] Arasakulam means "clan of kings".[15]

History

Ancient era

The Karaiyar, are among the old coastal communities who inhabited the Neithal Sangam landscape.[22] 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.[7] 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".[23][24] The Purananuru mentions "Karaiyavar", but not as a coastal population; in the later literature, the word came to be identified with coastal people.

Medieval era

Several inscriptions mention high-ranked military officials under the title Kurukulattaraiyan (meaning "King of Kurukulam"). An inscription in Tirumukkudal, Tamil Nadu mentions a notability named Kurukulattaraiyan who 'wore a golden anklet' as the commander of the army of Vijayabahu I (11th century AD) who ended the Chola rule in Sri Lanka.[15][25] Another Kurukulattaraiyan, Choran Uyyaninraduvan, the minister of Maravarman Sundara Pandyan (13th century AD) is mentioned as gifting land and making offerings for the Ninra Narayana Perumal temple in an epigraphy of the temple.[26] The same minister is also mentioned in an inscription issued by Jatavarman Kulasekaran I.[27]

According to an 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).[28] The Yalpana Vaipava Malai states that Parakramabahu VI of Kotte invited Karaiyar battalions to facilitate trade with other countries. The Karaiyars also formed alliances with coastal military castes from Tamil Nadu such as the Maravars.[29] The Maravars who had strong influence in Northern Sri Lanka, established themselves as trading and sea lords and assimilated into the Karaiyar caste.[30] A 13th century inscription of Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I in Tharangambadi, Tamil Nadu makes a reference to the Karaiyars along with the mercantile guild Patinenvisayattar making food offerings to the Masilamaninathar temple.[31]

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.[8][32] Another Karaiyar chief also known as Meekāman is credited for leading a troop of Chola soldiers and defeating the powerful Mukkuvar chiefs Vediarasan and Meera.[23][33] According to one version was this strife caused because of a Pandya ruler who sent Meekaman to obtain a Naga gemstone for Kannagi (the heroine of Silappatikaram).[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.[34] According to Mattakallappu Manmiyam, Kalinga Magha (founder of Aryacakravarti dynasty) gave the principality of Mannar to those of the Kurukulam lineage.[25]

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.[5][35]

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.[14] The Karaiyars revolted six 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.[36] The first revolt led by a Karaiyar chieftain who was defeated near Nallur by Phillippe de Oliveira and his army.[20]

The second revolt against them was led by the Karaiyar chief Migapulle Arachchi, a feudal lord of Jaffna Kingdom who also led the third revolt.[37][38] 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.[20][39]

The Portuguese ordered Cankili II, king of Jaffna Kingdom, to surrender the Thanjavur Nayak soldiers and Varunakulattan (who is described as "King of Careas"). However Cankili II did not surrender them as they had come on his request, and were later on defeated by the Portuguese.[35][40] Upon defeat were significant numbers of Karaiyars along with the Nairs and Karavas appointed as Lascarins under Portuguese rule, and were converted to Catholicism.[41] In the Jaffna region, the Karaiyars were a dominant caste and were considered as upper-class in the social hierarchy, where conversion to Christianity of sections of them allowed them to grow closer to the Portuguese in power.[42]

After the expulsion of the Portuguese, was the growing Dutch rule revolted in 1658 in the Jaffna region by the Christian Karaiyars and Madapallis.[43] A Dutch minister of the 17th century, Philippus Baldaeus, described the Karaiyars, Madapallis and Vellalars among the influential classes of the Christians.[14] Elite Karaiyars were appointed to the rank of Mudaliyars.[6] The Karaiyar dominance got weakened through the political rise of the Vellalars under Dutch rule.[44][45][46]

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.[47]

Modern era

In the 20th century, the Karaiyar were the second largest group of voters among the Sri Lankan Tamils after the Vellalar.[48] The Karaiyars formed around 10% of the population, while the dominant Vellalars constituted about 50% of the population. The Karaiyars dominated the political scene of the Tamils in the late 20th century through the liberation struggle for an independent Tamil Eelam state for Tamils as a result of government sponsored riots and acts such as the 1958 anti-Tamil pogrom and the Standardisation act.[49] Educated Karaiyar youths from Jaffna Peninsula took to militancy as means of protest and formed separatist groups such as TELO, EROS, EPRLF and the world renowned LTTE, also widely known as the Tamil Tigers.[50]

The fact that the core leadership of the LTTE had Karaiyar origin, (e.g. the leader of the LTTE, Velupillai Prabhakaran was a Melongi Karaiyar), he enabled them to develop a strong Sea Tiger force due to their traditional knowledge on seafaring and the waterways of the Palk Strait.[51] They benefited greatly from their kinship and long trade relation with the seafaring and militant communities of the Coromandel Coast, enabling them to set up training camps in coastal regions of Tamil Nadu and exploit the sea for weapon smuggling.[52] Through their kinship to the Karaiyar landlord class in Batticaloa region, the LTTE also gained recruitment of Eastern Tamils.[2] Although having a significant Karaiyar representation, the LTTE promoted Tamil unity through anti-casteism and recruited without caste and regional distinctions, and thus ensured them to be the representative of the Tamil society as a whole compared to the other Tamil militant groups.[49][53]

Customs

The Makara flag of the Karaiyars

The Karaiyars were assigned the western section (present day Gurunagar) and the harbors of the Jaffna Kingdom. The Karaiyars formed the generals of the Jaffna kings and officered the navy of the Aryacakravarti dynasty.[8][54] They used the Makara as emblem, the mount of their clan deity, the sea god Varuna, which was also seen on their flags.[55] 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.[5]

The Karaiyars in Northern Sri Lanka are classified into two groups: the Meelongi and the Keelongi.[56][lower-alpha 1] The Melongi Karaiyars are some areas known as Thevar Karaiyar and Kurukula Karaiyar, who were descendants of commanders, while Keelongi Karaiyars were descendants of the army's soldiers and workers.[57] The Karaiyars in Eastern Sri Lanka like other castes are divided into kudi's or matrilineal clans.[58] The Eastern Karaiyars almost exclusively also use the term Vaiyittu Var (Tamil for "womb-tie") as a synonymous term for kudi or clan.[4]

The chieftains and village headmen of the Karaiyars held the title Pattankattiyar, meaning "One who is crowned" in Tamil.[59][60] Other titles they used were Adappanar, Mudaliar, Pillai, Kurukulattan and Varunakulattan.[61][62][63] The Adappans along with the Pattankattiyar were headmen who were responsible of the harbors and pearl fishery of the northern and western parts of Sri Lanka.[64][65] At the hand of the powerful maritime trading clans of the Karaiyars, the emergence of urban centers known as pattanam were seen. Pattanavar (literally meaning "pattanam-residents"), is an almost extinct caste name also used by the Karaiyars. Mudaliar (meaning "capitalist") were conferred on the maritime elite trading clans of the Karaiyars as titles of nobility.[5][63]

The domestic servants of the Karaiyars, who are known as Kudimakkal include the castes of Ambattar, Vannar, Maraiyar, Koviar and Nattuvar.[66] They gave importance in their ritual roles as officiators under the wedding and funeral.[67]

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. (1 April 2016). South Asian Christian Diaspora: Invisible Diaspora in Europe and North America. Routledge. ISBN 9781317052296.
  2. 1 2 Wilson, A. Jeyaratnam (2000). Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. UBC Press. pp. 18–24. ISBN 9780774807593.
  3. 1 2 Clarance, William (2007). Ethnic warfare in Sri Lanka and the UN crisis. Pluto Press. p. 44. ISBN 9780745325255.
  4. 1 2 McGilvray, Dennis B. (16 April 2008). Crucible of Conflict: Tamil and Muslim Society on the East Coast of Sri Lanka. Duke University Press. pp. 26, 192. ISBN 978-0822389187.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Pfister, Raymond (1995). Soixante ans de pentecôtisme en Alsace (1930-1990): une approche socio-historique. P. Lang. pp. 165, 166, 174. ISBN 9783631486207.
  6. 1 2 Manogaran, Chelvadurai; Pfaffenberger, Bryan (1994). The Sri Lankan Tamils: ethnicity and identity. Westview Press. pp. 34, 36. ISBN 9780813388458.
  7. 1 2 Das, Sonia N. (2016). Linguistic Rivalries: Tamil Migrants and Anglo-Franco Conflicts. Oxford University Press. pp. 63, 236. ISBN 9780190461782.
  8. 1 2 3 Raghavan, M. D. (1964). India in Ceylonese History: Society, and Culture. Asia Publishing House. pp. 53, 143.
  9. ↑ Wilson, A. Jeyaratnam (2000). Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. UBC Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-7748-0759-3.
  10. ↑ Heiberg, Marianne; O'Leary, Brendan; O'Leary, Lauder Professor of Political Science and Director of the Solomon Asch Center for the Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict Brendan; Tirman, John (2007). Terror, Insurgency, and the State: Ending Protracted Conflicts. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-8122-3974-4.
  11. ↑ McGilvray, Dennis B. (2 September 1982). Caste Ideology and Interaction. Cambridge University Press. p. 17. ISBN 9780521241458.
  12. ↑ Dravidian Linguistics Association (1990). International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics. Department of Linguistics, University of Kerala. p. 110.
  13. ↑ Arunachalam, S. (1952). The History of the Pearl Fishery of the Tamil Coast. Ananamalai University. p. 34.
  14. 1 2 3 Seeland, Klaus (1993). International quarterly for Asian studies. Weltform Verlag. p. 266.
  15. 1 2 3 Raghavan, M. D. (1961). The Karāva of Ceylon: Society and Culture. K.V.G. De Sīlva. pp. 5, 13, 195.
  16. ↑ Raghavan, M. D. (1971). Tamil culture in Ceylon: a general introduction. Kalai Nilayam. p. 194.
  17. ↑ Kemper, Steven E. G. (1973). The Social Order of the Sinhalese Buddhist Sangha. University of Chicago. p. 215.
  18. ↑ Nēthrā: A Non-specialist Journal for Lively Minds. International Centre for Ethnic Studies. 2000. p. 47.
  19. ↑ Perinbanayagam, R. S. (1982). The karmic theater: self, society, and astrology in Jaffna. University of Massachusetts Press. p. 30. ISBN 9780870233746.
  20. 1 2 3 Vriddhagirisan, V. (1995). Nayaks of Tanjore. University of Annamalai. p. 91. ISBN 9788120609969.
  21. ↑ Xavier Thaninayagam (1966). Tamil Culture: Its Past, Its Present and Its Future With Special Reference to Ceylon. Academy of Tamil Culture.
  22. ↑ David, Kenneth (1 January 1977). The New Wind: Changing Identities in South Asia. Walter de Gruyter. p. 203. ISBN 9783110807752.
  23. 1 2 Raghavan, M. D. (1971). Tamil culture in Ceylon: a general introduction. Kalai Nilayam. pp. 53, 138.
  24. ↑ Seneviratna, Anuradha (1994). Ancient Anuradhapura: The Monastic City. Archaeological Survey Department, Government of Sri Lanka. p. 288. ISBN 9789559159025.
  25. 1 2 3 Indrapala, Karthigesu (1965). Dravidian Settlements in Ceylon and the Beginnings of the Kingdom of Jaffna. University of London. pp. 109–110, 371, 373.
  26. ↑ Mahalingam, T. V. (1989). A Topographical List of Inscriptions in the Tamil Nadu and Kerala States: Kanyakumari, Madras and Madurai Districts. Indian Council of Historical Research. p. 156.
  27. ↑ Sastri, Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta (1929). The Pāṇḍyan Kingdom from the Earliest Times to the Sixteenth Century. Luzac. pp. 154–155.
  28. ↑ Navaratnam, C. S. (1964). A Short History of Hinduism in Ceylon: And Three Essays on the Tamils. Sri Sammuganatha Press. p. 176.
  29. ↑ Fuglerud, Øivind (1999). Life on the Outside: The Tamil Diaspora and Long-distance Nationalism. University of Oslo: Pluto Press. p. 160. ISBN 9780745314389.
  30. ↑ Schalk, Peter (1997). "Historisation of the martial ideology of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE)". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. Uppsala University. 20 (2): 53. doi:10.1080/00856409708723295.
  31. ↑ 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.
  32. ↑ Obeyesekere, Gananath (1984). The cult of the goddess Pattini. University Of Chicago Press. p. 571. ISBN 9780226616025.
  33. ↑ Tamil Culture. Academy of Tamil Culture. 1953. p. 307.
  34. ↑ 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.
  35. 1 2 Silva, Chandra Richard De (2009). Portuguese Encounters with Sri Lanka and the Maldives: Translated Texts from the Age of Discoveries. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 109, 137. ISBN 9780754601869.
  36. ↑ Journal of Tamil Studies. International Institute of Tamil Studies. 1981. p. 44.
  37. ↑ 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.
  38. ↑ 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.
  39. ↑ Sivaratnam, C. (1968). The Tamils in Early Ceylon. p. 163.
  40. ↑ Rambukwelle, P. B. (1996). The Period of Eight Kings. P.B. Rambukwelle. p. 96. ISBN 9789559556527.
  41. ↑ Wickramasinghe, Nira (2006). Sri Lanka in the Modern Age: A History of Contested Indentities. University of Hawaii Press. p. 13. ISBN 9780824830168.
  42. ↑ Eva Gerharz (2014). The Politics of Reconstruction and Development in Sri Lanka. Routledge. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-317-69280-5.
  43. ↑ 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.
  44. ↑ Arasaratnam, Sinnappah (1 January 1996). Ceylon and the Dutch, 1600-1800: External Influences and Internal Change in Early Modern Sri Lanka. n Variorum. p. 390. ISBN 9780860785798.
  45. ↑ Soundra Pandian, Mathias Samuel (1997). South Indian Studies. Madras Institute of Development Studies: Chithira Publishers. p. 168.
  46. ↑ Eva Gerharz (2014). The Politics of Reconstruction and Development in Sri Lanka. Routledge. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-317-69280-5.
  47. ↑ Kenneth Andrew, David (1972). The Bound and the NonBound: Variations in Social and Cultural Structure in Rural Jaffna, Ceylon. The University of Chicago. p. 142.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  48. ↑ 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.
  49. 1 2 Hellmann-Rajanayagam, Dagmar (1993). "The Jaffna Social System: Continuity and Change under Conditions of War". Internationales Asienforum. 24 (3–4): 269–278.
  50. ↑ Samaranāyaka, Gāmiṇi (2008). Political Violence in Sri Lanka, 1971-1987. Gyan Publishing House. p. 230. ISBN 978-81-212-1003-4.
  51. ↑ Hashim, Ahmed (3 June 2013). When Counterinsurgency Wins: Sri Lanka's Defeat of the Tamil Tigers. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-8122-4452-6.
  52. ↑ Markovits, Claude; Pouchepadass, Jacques; Subrahmanyam, Sanjay (2006). Society and Circulation: Mobile People and Itinerant Cultures in South Asia, 1750-1950. Anthem Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-84331-231-4.
  53. ↑ Derges, Jane (20 May 2013). Ritual and Recovery in Post-Conflict Sri Lanka. Routledge. p. 76. ISBN 978-1-136-21487-5.
  54. ↑ Skutsch, Carl (2005). Encyclopedia of the world's minorities. Routledge. p. 1184. ISBN 9781579584702.
  55. ↑ Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka. Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka. 1993. p. 137.
  56. ↑ Subrahmanyam, Sanjay (1990). Merchants, markets and the state in early modern India. Oxford University Press. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-19-562569-1.
  57. ↑ David, Kenneth (1973). "Spatial Organization and Normative Schemes in Jaffna, Northern Sri Lanka". Modern Ceylon Studies. University of Ceylon. 4: 1 & 2.
  58. ↑ Thurnheer, Katharina (30 June 2014). Life Beyond Survival: Social Forms of Coping After the Tsunami in War-affected Eastern Sri Lanka. Transcript Verlag. p. 143. ISBN 9783839426012.
  59. ↑ "பட்டங்கட்டி | அகராதி | Tamil Dictionary". agarathi.com. University of Madras Lexicon. Retrieved 13 August 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  60. ↑ Modern Ceylon Studies. University of Ceylon: Peradeniya Campus. 1975. p. 48.
  61. ↑ K, Arunthavarajah (March 2014). "The Administration of Jaffna Kingdom- A Historical View" (PDF). International Journal of Business and Administration Research Review. University of Jaffna. 2 (3): 32.
  62. ↑ Cambridge South Asian Studies. University of Cambridge: Cambridge South Asian Studies. 1965. p. 27. ISBN 9780521232104.
  63. 1 2 Pandian, Jacob (1987). Caste, Nationalism and Ethnicity: An Interpretation of Tamil Cultural History and Social Order. Popular Prakashan. p. 109. ISBN 9780861321360.
  64. ↑ Bastiampillai, Bertram (1 January 2006). Northern Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in the 19th century. Godage International Publishers. p. 94. ISBN 9789552088643.
  65. ↑ Vithiananthan, S. (1980). Nān̲kāvatu An̲aittulakat Tamil̲ārāycci Makānāṭṭu nikal̲ccikaḷ, Yāl̲ppāṇam, Can̲avari, 1974. An̲aittulakat Tamil̲ārāycci Man̲r̲a Ilaṅkaik Kiḷai. pp. 44, 47.
  66. ↑ Kurukshetra. University of Michigan: Sri Lak-Indo Study Group. 1976. p. 60.
  67. ↑ Derges, Jane (20 May 2013). Ritual and Recovery in Post-Conflict Sri Lanka. Routledge. p. 77. ISBN 978-1136214882.
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