Karaiyar

Karaiyar
ReligionsHinduism, Christianity
LanguagesTamil
Subdivisions
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 surf fishing,(by keelongi karaiyar surf fishing within 2km from shore ) shipment (by melongi karaiyar or karaithurai Vellalar) and seaborne trade(melongi karaiyar or karaithurai Vellalar) .[2][3] They fish customarily 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 , Vietnam 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]

  1. ^ Raj, Selva J. (1 April 2016). South Asian Christian Diaspora: Invisible Diaspora in Europe and North America. Routledge. ISBN 9781317052296.
  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. ^ a b Clarance, William (2007). Ethnic warfare in Sri Lanka and the UN crisis. Pluto Press. p. 44. ISBN 9780745325255.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Das, Sonia N. (2016). Linguistic Rivalries: Tamil Migrants and Anglo-Franco Conflicts. Oxford University Press. pp. 63, 236. ISBN 9780190461782.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  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.