Koviyar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Koviyar
ReligionsHinduism, Christianity
LanguagesTamil
Related groupsSri Lankan Vellalar, Tamils, Sri Lankan Tamils, Sinhalese

Koviyar (Tamil: கோவியர், romanized: Kōviyar, also known as Covia) is a Tamil caste found in Sri Lanka. They are traditional agriculturalists and temple workers.[1] Kattavarayan as caste deity is observed by the Koviar.[2]

Etymology[]

The Yalpana Vaipava Malai states that the term Koviyar stems from Kovil, a Tamil term meaning temple.[3] Another view holds that the term is derived from the Tamil words Ko (cow) and Idaiyar, meaning cowherds.[4][5]

Another theory states that they are descended from Sinhala prisoners of war, and that Kovi is a Tamilised form of the Sinhala Govi.[6] Tamil dirge songs sung by Vellalar women during funeral rituals carried out by Koviyar refer to them as Sinhalas ("O you Kovia, Sinhala").[7]

Vellalar men often took concubines from the Koviyar community, and the children are entitled to Vellalar status as well as certain paternal inheritances.[8]

History[]

Early period[]

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.[4] Intermarriages between the Vellalars and Koviyars were common.[9] Other traditions account that they were Sinhalese captives from the Govigama caste who were settled in Jaffna Kingdom, suggested by their ritual status being equal to that of the Vellalars with whom they share similar traditional occupation with.[10][11] The Vaiya Padal states that they were one of the castes who came from Tamil country in Southern India and were apparently herdsmen.[3]

Colonial period[]

The political rise of the Vellalar under Dutch Ceylon, pushed the Koviyar along with the Pallar and Nalavar into slavery through the legalisation of the Thesavalamai law, who were a group initially bound to only serve the state as tenant farmers.[12][13][14] They were after the abolishment of slavery considered as domestic servants or Kudimakkal for a section of dominant castes, and had the role as ceremony officiators.[15][16]

Modern period[]

After Sri Lanka’s independence from Britain in 1948, Sri Lankan Tamil politics was geared towards a nationalistic cause. Koviyar 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 Koviyar students as much as the dominant class. Hence Koviyar 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.[citation needed]

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.[17]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth from A. Jeyaratnam Wilson
  2. ^ The Ceylon Antiquary and Literary Register. 1922. p. 12.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Pillay, Kolappa Pillay Kanakasabhapathi (1963). South India and Ceylon. University of Madras. p. 168.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Tambiah, Henry Wijayakone (2001). The Laws and Customs of the Tamils of Jaffna. Women's Education & Research Centre. pp. 59, 76. ISBN 9789559261162.
  5. ^ Pillay, Kolappa Pillay Kanakasabhapathi (1963). South India and Ceylon. University of Madras. p. 161.
  6. ^ Indrapala, K. (1965). Dravidian settlements in Ceylon and the beginnings of the kingdom of Jaffna.
  7. ^ R. S. Perinbanayagam - The Karmic Theater: Self, Society, and Astrology in Jaffna, p27
  8. ^ R. S. Perinbanayagam - The Karmic Theater: Self, Society, and Astrology in Jaffna, p27
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja (1992-07-15). Buddhism Betrayed?: Religion, Politics, and Violence in Sri Lanka. University of Chicago Press. p. 145. ISBN 9780226789491.
  11. ^ Hellmann-Rajanayagam, Dagmar (1993). "The Jaffna Social System: Continuity and Change under Conditions of War". Internationales Asienforum. 24 (3–4): 256.
  12. ^ Arasaratnam, S. (1981-07-01). "Social History of a Dominant Caste Society: The Vellalar of North Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in the 18th Century". The Indian Economic & Social History Review. 18 (3–4): 377–391. doi:10.1177/001946468101800306. ISSN 0019-4646.
  13. ^ Perinbanayagam, R. S. (1982). The karmic theater: self, society, and astrology in Jaffna. University of Massachusetts Press. p. 23.
  14. ^ David, Kenneth (1977-01-01). The New Wind: Changing Identities in South Asia. Walter de Gruyter. p. 195. ISBN 9783110807752.
  15. ^ Hocart, Arthur Maurice (1968). Caste, a Comparative Study. Russell & Russell. p. 10.
  16. ^ Holmes, Walter Robert (1980). Jaffna, Sri Lanka 1980. Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society of Jaffna College. p. 215.
  17. ^ 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.

External links[]

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