Sri Lankan Vellalar

Sri Lankan Vellalar
ReligionsHinduism, Christianity
LanguagesTamil
SubdivisionsHistorically; currently non-existent :
  • Periya Vellalar
  • Chinna Vellalar
[1]
Related groupsSri Lankan Tamils, Sinhaleses, Tamils, Vellalar

Sri Lankan Vellalar (Tamil: இலங்கை வெள்ளாளர், lit. 'Ilaṅkai veḷḷāḷar') is a caste in Sri Lanka, predominantly found in the Jaffna peninsula and adjacent Vanni region, who comprise about half of the Sri Lankan Tamil population. They were traditionally involved in agriculture, but also included merchants, landowners and temple patrons.[2][3] They also form part of the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora.[4]

They are reputed as a ritually and numerically dominant caste in the Northern Sri Lankan society, who have contributed among the political elites of the Sri Lankan Tamils.[5] Many of the Tamil Mudaliyars, a high colonial rank, were drawn from the Vellalar caste.[6] In Eastern Sri Lanka, the Vellalars as other prominent castes there, are further divided into kudis or matrilineal clans.[7]

  1. ^ Perinbanayagam, R. S. (1982). The karmic theater: self, society, and astrology in Jaffna. University of Massachusetts Press. p. 26. ISBN 9780870233746.
  2. ^ Bush, Kenneth (9 December 2003). The Intra-Group Dimensions of Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka: Learning to Read Between the Lines. Springer. p. 52. ISBN 9780230597822.
  3. ^ Derges, Jane (20 May 2013). Ritual and Recovery in Post-Conflict Sri Lanka. Routledge. ISBN 978-1136214882.
  4. ^ Pfaffenberger, Bryan (1985). "Vellalar domination". Man. 20 (1): 158. JSTOR 2802228.
  5. ^ Welhengama, Gnanapala; Pillay, Nirmala (5 March 2014). The Rise of Tamil Separatism in Sri Lanka: From Communalism to Secession. Routledge. p. 168. ISBN 9781135119713.
  6. ^ Manogaran, Chelvadurai; Pfaffenberger, Bryan (1994). The Sri Lankan Tamils: ethnicity and identity. Westview Press. pp. 35, 43, 147, 149. ISBN 9780813388458.
  7. ^ Thurnheer, Katharina (30 June 2014). Life Beyond Survival: Social Forms of Coping After the Tsunami in War-affected Eastern Sri Lanka. Transcript Verlag. pp. 142–143. ISBN 9783839426012. McGilvray (19822, 1982b, 1989; 2008, 103) elaborated on a specific feature in marriage practices of eastern Sri Lanka by demonstrating the relevance of matrilineal, exogamous sub-caste categories for marriage relationships: marriages are arranged between members of matriclans or descent units called kudis (kudi). [...] The kudi system and the entailed marriage practice more characteristically describe the paddy-field cultivating Vellalar or Mukkuvar and other castes rather than the Karaiyar.