Nalavar () is a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

caste found in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. They were traditionally occupied in

palm tree The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...

climbing and

toddy tapping Palm wine, known by several #Names, local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the Borassus, palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and i ...

Etymology

According to a folk etymology is the name Nalavar a corrupted form of ''Naluvinavar'' (those who decamped), which they gained after withdrawing from a battle field. Another theory suggest the name is derived from ''Nalua'' meaning to climb, in reference to their traditional occupation. It has also been proposed that the name is derived from ''Naravar'' (from ''Naravu,'' ancient

term for toddy).

History

According to

Yalpana Vaipava Malai Yalpana Vaipava Malai ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாண வைபவமாலை) is a book written by a Tamil poet named Mayil Vaakaanar ( ta, மயில் வாகனார்) in 1736. This book contains historical facts of the early Tam ...

were the Nalavars originally called ''Nambis'' who originally Vanniar chieftains and served as bowmen. A former subdivision among them were known as ''Kottai Vayil Nalavar'' i.e. "Nalavars in service of the

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

". Under the

Dutch Ceylon Dutch Ceylon ( Sinhala: Tamil: ) was a governorate established in present-day Sri Lanka by the Dutch East India Company. Although the Dutch managed to capture most of the coastal areas in Sri Lanka, they were never able to control the Kandyan ...

was the

Thesavalamai Thesavalamai is the traditional law of the Sri Lankan Tamil inhabitants Jaffna peninsula, codified by the Dutch during their colonial rule in 1707. The Thesawalamai is a collection of the Customs of the Malabar Inhabitants of the Province of Jaffn ...

law codified. This law allowed landlords to have slaves, and the Nalavars were also employed as agriculture labors, and were classified along with the

Koviar (, also known as Covia) is a Tamil caste found in Sri Lanka. They are traditional agriculturalists and temple workers. ''Kattavarayan'' as caste deity is observed by the Koviar. Etymology The Yalpana Vaipava Malai states that the term ''Koviyar ...

and

Pallar The Pallar, who prefer to be called Mallar, are an agricultural community from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Pallars traditionally inhabited the fertile wetland area referred to as ''Marutham'' in the literary devices of the Sangam landsc ...

under the term ''Adimai'' (slave).

Customs

The badge and cattle brand mark of the Nalavars is the

bow and arrow The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles ( arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the practice was comm ...

. The Nalavar along with the

worship ''Annamar'', their caste deity.

References

{{Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan Tamil castes Brewing and distilling castes

Etymology

History

Customs

See also

References