Paravar (also known as Bharathar or Bharathakula and sometimes colloquially as 'Fernando') 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 ...
maritime community, mainly living in the state of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and 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 ...
.
Pandyas aka Bharathavars are the Ancient Sea Farers and Kings who established First Kingdom (first of its kind) in the world.
Historically,they were inhabitants of the ''Neithal'' (coastal) lands of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
, and find mention in various ancient
Tamil literary works.
In modern India, Paravars are concentrated along the coastal belt extending along the
Gulf of Mannar
The Gulf of Mannar ( ) is a large shallow bay forming part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean with an average depth of . , from
Kilakarai
Kilakarai (alternatively spelled Kilakkarai or Keelakarai) is a municipality in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 38,355. Kilakarai is one of the Taluka in Ramanathapuram Distri ...
to
Kanyakumari
Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland Ind ...
(Cape Comorin). They also live in some pockets along the
Arabian sea
The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...
coast in
Kanyakumari District
Kanniyakumari district is one of the 38 districts in Tamil Nadu state and the southernmost district in mainland India. It stands second in terms of population density among the districts of Tamil Nadu. It is also the richest district in Tamil Na ...
. Paravars have been significant among the population of the port city of
Thoothukudi
Thoothukudi (formerly Tuticorin) is a port city, a municipal corporation and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city lies in the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is the capital and he ...
, since the 1580s.
Apart from
Thoothukudi
Thoothukudi (formerly Tuticorin) is a port city, a municipal corporation and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city lies in the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is the capital and he ...
, Paravars also live in many of the big cities and towns in South Tamilnadu like
Nagercoil
Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on an ...
,
Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tami ...
and
Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
where they are into diverse professions.
In Sri Lanka, the Paravas (called
Bharathas in Sri Lanka) have been a more affluent, merchant community since the British colonial times.
Today, they are found in significant numbers in the cities of
Negombo
Negombo (, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in Western Province, from Colombo via Colombo - Katunayake Expressway.
Negombo is one of the major commercial hubs in the country an ...
and
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
.
A section of the
Bharathakula community in Sri Lanka has been classified as a separate ethnic group since 2001, whereas another section which identifies itself as
Sri Lankan Tamil live in towns such as
Vankalai
Vankalai or Vangalai or Vangkaalai ( ta, வங்காலை vaṅkālai) is a predominantly fishing and farming village situated in Mannar District of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It lies along the Naanaattan Road with the sea on its ...
in
Mannar District
Mannar District ( ta, மன்னார் மாவட்டம் ''Maṉṉār Māvaṭṭam''; si, මන්නාරම දිස්ත්රික්කය) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative divisi ...
and
Puttalam
Puttalam ( si, පුත්තලම, translit=Puttalama; ta, புத்தளம், translit=Puttaḷam) is the largest town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Puttalam is the administrative capital of the Puttalam Di ...
.
The Paravars have a rich history, it is available from some stone Encryptions in Sri Lanka and
Sangam literature
The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...
such as
silappathikaram
''Cilappatikāram'' ( ta, சிலப்பதிகாரம் ml, ചിലപ്പതികാരം,IPA: ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm, ''lit.'' "the Tale of an Anklet"), also referred to as ''Silappathikaram'' or ''Silappatikaram'', is the e ...
starting from their major economic contributions to the coffers of the ancient
Pandya kings through their pearl-harvesting and trade, to their later interactions with the Portuguese in the 16th century and beyond.
The arrival of Portuguese soldiers and missionaries, including the great missionary, St.
Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...
, in their midst resulted in their conversion to the Catholic faith, adoption of Portuguese names and also protection against marauding enemies.
Etymology
The name Paravar literally means "dwellers on seacoast" and is derived from the
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 ...
word ''paravai'' meaning "sea" or "expanse".
The Paravars may have been the ''Paradavar'' mentioned in
Sangam literature
The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...
, who are mentioned in the
''Pattinappaalai''. They were maritime inhabitants of the littoral
Sangam landscape
The Sangam landscape (Tamil: அகத்திணை "inner classification") is the name given to a poetic device that was characteristic of love poetry in classical Tamil Sangam literature. The core of the device was the categorisation of poe ...
known as ''Neithal,'' who were involved in pearls-harvesting, boat-building, salt-making, fishing, among other maritime activities.
[ Subrahmanian p. 159, 301] The name Parathavar may be derived from the same root word ''paravai''.
The Paravars prefer to call themselves ''Parathar'' also written ''Bharathar'', which may be a corrupted form of the Tamil word ''padavar'' meaning "boat men".
Another etymological theory propose the community had adopted the name of the
Bharatas clan from the Hindu epic
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
, who were the ancestor of the heroes in the epic, following their origin myth from
Ayodhya
Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Ayodhya, also known as Sāketa, Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and ...
.
History
Pandyan dynasty
The Parathavars of ancient
Korkai
Korkai is a small village in the Srivaikuntam taluk of Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu, India. It was called Pandya-Kavada in the Kapatapuram in Kalithogai. It is situated about 3 km north of the Thamirabarani River and about 6 k ...
in the ''Neithal'' (coastal) lands, near the present-day city of
Tuticorin
Thoothukudi (formerly Tuticorin) is a port city, a municipal corporation and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city lies in the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is the capital and ...
, may have been the first Pandya kings. Some researchers also believe that the Paravars were blood-related to the
Maravars
The Mukkulathor people, who are also collectively known as Thevar, are a community or group of communities native to the central and southern districts of Tamil Nadu, India. They comprise the Agamudayar, Kallar and Maravar communities that sha ...
, in ancient times.
The
Pandya kings, eventually, moved their capital to
Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
. Pandyas were rulers with fish on their flag.
There is also a theory that the etymology of the name
Meenakshi, for whom the great
Meenakshi Temple, Madurai
Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundaraswarar Temple is a historic Hindu temple located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi, a form of Parvati, and her consort, ...
was built, is derived from the Tamil words meen (fish) and aatchi (rule). Thus, some researchers point to the fact that the
Pandyans may have been from the ''Neithal'' lands of ancient Tamil country, which were then mostly occupied by the Bharathars. Also, in the ancient Tamil epic ''
Silappatikaram
''Cilappatikāram'' ( ta, சிலப்பதிகாரம் ml, ചിലപ്പതികാരം,IPA: ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm, ''lit.'' "the Tale of an Anklet"), also referred to as ''Silappathikaram'' or ''Silappatikaram'', is the e ...
'', the
Pandyan king is referred to as ''Korkai Pandyan'' by
Kannagi
Kannagi ( ta, கண்ணகி) sometimes spelled Kannaki, is a legendary Tamil woman who forms the central character of the Tamil epic '' Cilappatikaram''. Kannagi is described as the chaste woman who stays with her husband despite his unfa ...
, which gives credence to the theory that the Pandyas were originally from
Korkai
Korkai is a small village in the Srivaikuntam taluk of Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu, India. It was called Pandya-Kavada in the Kapatapuram in Kalithogai. It is situated about 3 km north of the Thamirabarani River and about 6 k ...
, where the Bharathars lived. Also
silapathikaram
''Cilappatikāram'' ( ta, சிலப்பதிகாரம் ml, ചിലപ്പതികാരം,IPA: ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm, ''lit.'' "the Tale of an Anklet"), also referred to as ''Silappathikaram'' or ''Silappatikaram'', is the e ...
mentions about Bharathavar as follows,
பெருங்கடல் பரதவர், பழந்திமில் கொன்ற பரதவர், வலம்புரி மூழ்கிய வான்திமில் பரதவர், ’உரைசால் சிறப்பின் அரசுவிழை திருவின் பரதவர் மலிந்தபயங்கொழு மாநகர்” (மனையறம் படுத்த காதை) ’’அரச குமாரரும் பரவ குமாரரும்”(இந்திர விழா ஊர் எடுத்த காதை)
It Praises Bharathavars as One who sails high seas, Killed huge Sea fishes (whales), one who did Pearl and valamburi shell diving, One who runs world’s famous kingdom and city.
Silapathikaram calls Bharathavars as Kings :
“அரசர் முறையோ பரதர் முறையோ”
Pearls
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living animal shell, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pea ...
were major exports from the
Pandya Kingdom by the first century AD, and was a major source of revenue for the kingdom.
[ Bayly p. 322] (The pearl diving season usually lasted 20 – 30 days, around March).
Neill Neill is an Irish surname, and may refer to
* A. S. Neill (1883-1973), British educator and author
* Alec Neill (b.1950), New Zealand politician
* Ben Neill (b.1957), American composer
* Bob Neill (b.1952), British politician
* Bud Neill (1911-197 ...
p. 141 The Paravas were skilled in diving and in the harvesting of pearls, which were done scientifically. Thus, the control of the Paravas and the Pearls trade led to many skirmishes in the region, right from the ancient Pandyas to the friction between the Muslims, the Portuguese and the Dutch, in later centuries.
The
Pandyan kings allowed the Paravars to manage and operate the pearl fisheries because of their already ancient skills in that activity, which required specialist seamanship abilities, knowledge of how to tend the oysterbeds and also knowledge of their location. The
Pandyan kings exempted the Paravars from taxation and allowed them to govern themselves in return for being paid
tribute
A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...
from the produce extracted.
Cave engravings from the third century BC, found in 2003, reinforce this view as they suggest that the Paravars were the chieftains (
Velirs
The Velir (also known as Vellalar) were a royal house of minor dynastic kings and aristocratic chieftains in Tamilakam in the early historic period of South India. They had close relations with Chera, Chola and Pandya rulers through ruling and ...
) of the coastal region during this period, ruling as subordinates of the
Pandyas.
Previously, in the 1920s, Iyengar had noted that the caste name was used in ancient scripts to mean both boatmen and chiefs of the
Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
country.
Iyengar
Iyengar (also spelt Ayyangar or Aiyengar, pronounced ) refers to the name of an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, whose members follow Sri Vaishnavism and the Visishtadvaita philosophy propounded by Ramanuja. Found mos ...
p. 139 A report written in 1669 made it clear that in so far as they were kings, they were only kings of their own people and not of any wider constituency; furthermore, that these "kings" were referred to as such only by the Paravars. However, in the
Sangam work ''
Mathuraikkanci'', the author Mankudi Maruthanar, refers to his patron, the
Pandya sovereign
Talaiyanganam Nedunjeliyan, as the Lord of Korkai and the Warlord of the southern Parathavar (''Then Parathavar por yere'').
[Subbarayalu, Y. 2014. 'Early Tamil Polity', in ''A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations'', ed. Noburu Karashmia, pp. 52–53. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.]
The community was also involved in
sea salt
Sea salt is salt that is produced by the evaporation of seawater. It is used as a seasoning in foods, cooking, cosmetics and for preserving food. It is also called bay salt, solar salt, or simply salt. Like mined rock salt, production of sea sa ...
production,
Iyengar
Iyengar (also spelt Ayyangar or Aiyengar, pronounced ) refers to the name of an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, whose members follow Sri Vaishnavism and the Visishtadvaita philosophy propounded by Ramanuja. Found mos ...
p. 12 which was a relatively easy task on the Indian coast as the hot temperatures evaporated the water without the need for firewood.
The 1901 Madras Census noted that the Tamil-speaking Paravars "claim" to be
kshatriyas
Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the c ...
(warriors) serving under the Pandyan kings, the word used suggesting some official doubt regarding the issue.
[ Thurston p. 143]
Little is known about the Paravas during the
middle ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. Indeed, Donkin has argued that with one exception, "there are no native literary works with a developed sense of chronology, or indeed much sense of place, before the thirteenth century", and that any historical observations have to be made using Arab, European and Chinese accounts.
[ Donkin p. 152] Southern India came under the control of the Cholas in the ninth century but reverted to Pandyan control around the mid-1200s following a series of battles. They maintained control, despite several challenges, until the 16th century.
[ Donkin p. 160]
Arab arrival
Regardless of any doubt regarding their claims to be warriors under the liege of Pandyan emperors, the Paravars certainly did have armies at a later time, these being created to protect the fisheries and their people from attack.
[ Bayly p. 326]
The Arab Muslim invasion began in 712 AD at the
Sindh Valley and by around 1300 AD they had taken over the entire northern India. However, even prior to the invasion there were Arabs in southern areas such as
Calicut
Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...
,
Quilon
Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city ...
and
Malabar
Malabar may refer to the following:
People
* Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India
* Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion
Places
* Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...
, chiefly traders interested in the spices, pearls, precious stones and cottons which were available there. Another advantage of the location was that it was on a major sea trade route running through south-east Asia and on to China.
[ Donkin pp. 129–130] Some of these Arabs were also pearl divers, having gained their experience in the waters of the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
.
Some Paravars adopted
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, whose women also were married off to Muslim traders. These claimed to be descendants of the
biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
figure
Noah
Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
. The descendants of these Muslim people became known as the
Lebbais and their main settlement was the town of
Kayal, a presence which was noted by
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea.
His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...
and
Duarte Barbosa
Duarte Barbosa (c. 14801 May 1521) was a Portuguese writer and officer from Portuguese India (between 1500 and 1516). He was a Christian pastor and scrivener in a '' feitoria'' in Kochi, and an interpreter of the local language, Malayalam. Barbo ...
by the early sixteenth century.
Neill Neill is an Irish surname, and may refer to
* A. S. Neill (1883-1973), British educator and author
* Alec Neill (b.1950), New Zealand politician
* Ben Neill (b.1957), American composer
* Bob Neill (b.1952), British politician
* Bud Neill (1911-197 ...
p. 142
There is some ambiguity regarding this town: there was a harbour on the
Tamraparani River in Pandyan times which was known as
Korkai
Korkai is a small village in the Srivaikuntam taluk of Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu, India. It was called Pandya-Kavada in the Kapatapuram in Kalithogai. It is situated about 3 km north of the Thamirabarani River and about 6 k ...
and when the river at this point became too silted to use (it is situated approximately 8 km inland nowadays), it was replaced by a port called Kayal, thought to be situated variously either at the mouth of the river or at the village of Palayakayal which was 4 km downstream of Korkai but is itself nowadays about 3 km inland.
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...
described Kayal as a bustling port and the centre of the pearl trade in 1292 but by the mid-16th century this too had probably ceased to operate and was replaced by another port,
Punnaikayal
Punnaikkayal (called Punicale by the Portuguese), is a harbour city in Tamil Nadu, India.
Punnaikkayal seems to have been the main Portuguese possession on the southern Coast of India for a period of 50 years after their arrival from 1551, when ...
(''new Kayal'') under the influence of the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
colonists. Punnaikayal was again at the mouth of the river, which as part of an estuary was under constant change, around 4 km from Palayakayal. It is difficult to determine with any consistency which of these locations is being referred to at various times by various authors but what does appear to be a common factor is that this was until modern times a major port for the pearl trade.
''Kayal'' is the Tamil word for a backwater.
[ Donkin p. 158]
The 1901 Madras Census noted three groups who called themselves Paravars. It speculated that their common root were the mostly Christian Tamil-speaking Paravars, The other groups were the
Canarese
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
-speaking Paravars, who were
umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally use ...
makers and devil-dancers and the
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
-speaking Paravars, who were lime burners, gymnasts, midwives and shell collectors. It has been further speculated that the splitting of the latter two groups from the first may have been as a consequence of a desire to move away from the ancient tribal area when faced with the arrival of Muslims.
The Paravar belief of being the Paravaims of the biblical scriptures and the
lost tribes of Israel
The ten lost tribes were the ten of the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel after its conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire BCE. These are the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, As ...
added to the differences with the Arabs, which is acknowledged by Fr.Henrique Henriques by his claim of kinship.
Arrival of the Portuguese and Catholicism
![Conversion of Paravas by Francis Xavier in 1542](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Conversion_of_Paravas_by_Francis_Xavier_in_1542.jpg)
There are differences of opinion regarding events up to the early 1500s. Donkin and Ray believe that the Muslims gained influence over the Paravars to the point that the latter became at best hired labour and at worst enslaved,
and Neill has claimed that there was a belief among Paravars that the Muslims sought completely to exterminate them following various squabbles.
However, Mannar and Chandrasekaran have said that up to the 16th century the Paravars had held almost a monopoly of the rights to exploit the pearl fisheries, having negotiated with successive kings to achieve this.
By this time, Maynard has claimed, the south Indian coastal areas around Kanyakumari were "the greatest pearl fishery in the world", and that the Hindu people who fished for oysters there " ... were known as the Paravas". He says that the Hindus were essentially peaceful in nature and temperamentally unsuited to counter physical threat,
[ Maynard pp. 111–112] although Frykenberg has described them as a "... proud and venturesome seafaring folk engaged in fishing, pearl diving, trading, and piracy."
Hastings has pointed out that the piracy (and some smuggling) was only an occasional activity and that their more normal occupations demanded courage, strength and stamina, which made them "hardened adventurers".
From 1527 the Paravars were being threatened by Arab fleets offshore, headed by the Muslim supporting
Zamorin
The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited by ...
of Calicut,
and also by an onshore campaign of the
Rajah
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested fr ...
of
Madura
Madura Island is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately (administratively 5,379.33 km2 including various smaller islands to the east, southeast and north that are administrati ...
to wrest control of
Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tami ...
and the Fishery Coast from the hands of the Rajah of
Travancore
The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...
.
[ Maynard pp. 138–142] This continuing situation, and the desire to be relieved of the rivalry from Lebbai divers, caused the Paravars to seek the protection of
Portuguese explorers
Portuguese maritime exploration resulted in the numerous territories and maritime routes recorded by the Portuguese as a result of their intensive maritime journeys during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of Eu ...
who had moved into the area. A delegation led by Vikirama Aditha Pandya visited
Goa
Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
to seek talks to this end in 1532.
[There are discrepancies regarding the identity of Vikirama Aditha Pandya. Bayly believes him "apparently" to have been a headman or senior caste elder (p. 326), as does Kaufmann (p. 208); however, Neill is very specific in saying that he was "a Cheti of the merchant caste resident in Calicut, who in 1513 had been sent to Portugal as an emissary of the zamorin, and while there had been baptised and taken a Portuguese name '' oão da Cruz'." Neill is also of the opinion that the agreement with the Portuguese arose in 1535 rather than 1532. (p. 142) Hastings broadly agrees with Neill regarding the identity (p. 167).] The protection was granted on the condition that the leaders were immediately
baptised
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
as Catholics and that they would encourage their people also to convert to Catholicism; the Portuguese would also gain a strategic foothold and control of the pearl fisheries. The deal was agreed and Vikrama Aditya Pandya baptised as Joao de Cruz became the first subject of the king of Portugal and some months later 20,000 Paravars were baptised en masse, and became subjects of Portugal, during the visit of Pedro Gonsalves,
Vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
of
Cochin
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
. By the end of 1537 the entire community had declared itself to be Catholics, according to Hastings, and the Portuguese proceeded to destroy the Arab fleet when they met fortuitously at
Vedalai on 27 June 1538.
The Portuguese state began to claim rights over the economic resources in the area due to its patronage of the Paravars.
From that point the Paravar people as a whole enjoyed renewed prosperity. Their declaration of acceptance of the Catholic faith did not prevent them from continuing to worship in the manner which they had done previously because there were no translators to spread the Catholic message and also because the conversion was seen by the Paravar people as being merely a convenient arrangement to obtain protection, not a statement of belief. Bayly describes the situation as being "... really a declaration of tactical alliance rather than religious conversions as the term is usually understood."[ Bayly p. 328]
Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...
, a Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
priest, had been working in Goa prior to his journey to Kanyakumari, where he arrived in October 1542. He took with him some interpreters with the intention of spreading the Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
and bringing about further religious conversions. Maynard claims that a further 10,000 Paravars were baptised during the first month of his mission, and 30,000 in total by its end; and that "His conversion of the Paravas, as is pointed out by Père Lhande, is the only instance of an entire caste being brought into the Church."[ Maynard pp. 119] More modest figures have been proposed, such as 15,000 people including re-baptisms. Xavier also brought about the conversion of members of other castes living in the area, for example Mukkuvar
Mukkuvar is a maritime ethnic group found in the Indian states of Kerala , Tamil Nadu and the Eastern and North Western coastal regions of Sri Lanka. They are mostly found on the Malabar Coast, South Travancore Coast and Kanyakumari district, Tam ...
s and Paraiyar
Paraiyar, or Parayar or Maraiyar (formerly anglicised as Pariah and Paree), is a caste group found in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and Sri Lanka.
Etymology
Robert Caldwell, a nineteenth-century missionary and grammarian who ...
s. His methods of conversion were sometimes forceful; for example, it is recorded that he burned down a hut which had been used to house non-Christian religious symbols.[ Maynard p. 133]
Xavier appointed catechists in the Paravar villages up and down the of coastline to spread and reinforce his teachings, the method for much of which was to recite repetitively (and in poorly translated Tamil) rhythmic phrases of the Creed
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets.
The ea ...
, Pater Noster
The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...
and other standard Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
teachings regardless of whether the content was actually understood.[ Maynard p. 131] These appointments necessitated that he obtained funds with which to pay them, the primary source being money granted to him by the Queen of Portugal.[
Violence had not been completely removed from Paravar society, despite the Portuguese intervention. There were a series of bloody skirmishes involving the Badage tribe, raiding from the neighbouring area of Madura in the ongoing struggle between the rajahs. Some of the Portuguese protectors themselves were involved in duplicitous dealings with such tribes, or simply took advantage of the mayhem to make personal gains. Xavier intervened on several occasions in an attempt to right these wrongs and in March 1544 wrote a letter stating that the behaviour of the Portuguese was in fact the biggest hurdle he faced in promoting the Catholic message. In 1545 he wrote that "I have never ceased wondering at the number of new inflexions they have added to the conjugation of the verb ''to rob''." He left India some time in the late 1540s or early 1550s but the precise year is disputed.] There is at least one source who believes that he briefly visited again in 1548, when he was paraded through Tuticorin by the Paravars. It has been suggested that his status among the Paravars was one of "cult worship".[ Bayly p. 329] There is a shrine
A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...
to him, in a cave, which is still venerated today as the place they believe to have been his principal residence during his time among them.[ Bayly p. 331]
Vikirama Aditha Pandya was rewarded by the Portuguese for his actions of 1532, when as part of the arrangement for protection he had offered to manage the pearl diving on behalf of the Portuguese. He became known as Senhor dos Senhores ''("first among notables")'' Dom João da Cruz (but see Note 1) and was recognised as headman and official intermediary by the Portuguese from 1543 until 1553. (1543 was the year that the Portuguese first settled in Tuticorin, and the point from which that port began to expand until it eventually became the hub of the pearl fishery). His title of ''jati thalavan'' (head of the caste) was passed down through 21 other members of his family. Caste elders in the various villages were also among the early beneficiaries of Portuguese recognition, perhaps because they were the first to be converted. The consequence was that a formal system of hierarchical control, based on religious authority and economic standing and extending from the ''jati thalavan'' through to the elders and then to the villagers, became established in the eyes of Paravars and non-Paravars alike. It remained in existence until the 1920s, with the elders extracting payments from villagers which were then passed on to the ''jati thalavan'', and the latter in return managing affairs (including the fishery operations) and adjudicating in both internal and external disputes involving the community. Kaufmann has commented that these "highly organised caste institutions" including hereditary headmen and councils of elders holding sway, was a rare thing in the agrarian economy of southern India and both lasted longer and was more elaborate than most equivalent Hindu systems of the area. Another writer has said that " ... by the beginning of the eighteenth century the Tamil Paravas had emerged as one of south India's most highly organised specialist caste groups", and adds that the hierarchical system had its origins in times prior to the Portuguese intervention.
Their conversion may have enabled them to participate more significantly in religious ceremonies than was the case when they were Hindus, this being because their "unclean" occupations (that is, the taking of life) would have prevented any central contribution in Hindu religious ritual.[ Bayly p. 346] This was certainly the outcome following Pope Clement XIV
Pope Clement XIV ( la, Clemens XIV; it, Clemente XIV; 31 October 1705 – 22 September 1774), born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 May 1769 to his death in Sep ...
's dissolution of the Society of Jesus in 1773, which resulted in a dearth of Catholic misisonaries and priests in the area, enabling the ''jati thalavan'' and his fellow caste notables to assume the role of solemniser for rituals such as marriage.[ Bayly p. 351]
Paravar Christianity, with its own identity based on a mixture of Christian-Catholic religious belief and Hindu caste culture, remains a defining part of the Paravar life today, the early work of missionaries and in the 1540s having been reinforced by others who succeeded them and by the ''jati thalavan'', the latter also being known as the "little king". Kaufmann explains this Christianity as being "in effect a 'caste lifestyle' for the Paravas", whilst Zupanov gives an example of how the missionaries modified Catholic teaching to suit the Paravars by citing the example of Henrique Henriques
Henrique Henriques (also known as Anrique Anriquez) (1520–1600) was a Portuguese Jesuit priest and missionary who spent most of his life in missionary activities in South India. After his initial years in Goa he moved to Tamil Nadu where he mast ...
, who told them that "in the beginning there were no Muslims, only Jews and Tamils".
There are also evidences to show that the Portuguese used some Paravars in their maritime exploitations overseas.
Dutch control
A report written in 1622 stated that the fisheries had been moribund for many years due to the poverty of the Paravars; it is uncertain as to what period this refers or the cause of the poverty.[ Thurston p. 152] Xavier had recorded that the oyster beds seemed to have an uneven cyclical pattern, with a few good years of production alternating with a rather longer period of poor production. Similarly, around 1490 Ahmad ibn Mājid wrote that the fisheries "flourish in some years, but appear dead in others." One contemporary explanation for these changes was that the beds became covered by the shifting sea sands.[ Donkin p. 162] A study of the period 1666–1916 showed that while the good harvests did tend to alternate between the Indian and the Sri Lankan sides of the Gulf, the latter side was more than twice as productive.
Control of the fisheries passed from the Portuguese to the Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
from 1658, along with sovereignty over the Paravars. The new rulers, who were Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
, tried unsuccessfully to convert the Paravars to their own faith. One example of this attempt was the banning of the feast of Our Lady of Snows
The Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major (''In Dedicatione basilicae S. Mariae'') is a feast day in the General Roman Calendar of the Catholic Church, optionally celebrated annually on 5 August with the rank of memorial.
In earlier edit ...
as a consequence of the Dutch taking over all the Catholic churches, many of which were turned into warehouses. This event had originated when a wood statuette of the Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
was moved by the Portuguese to the church of Our Lady of Mercy at Tuticorin in 1582, its installation being celebrated with a nine-day feast which was subsequently repeated annually and much enjoyed by the Paravars. The feast halted with the Dutch takeover but was reinstated from 1709, and three years later permission was granted for the building of a new church. It was the right of the ''jati thalavan'' always to make the first tug of the rope which was attached to a chariot containing the statuette and which marked the start of the festival. The veneration of the statuette has been called a "cult" and continues into modern times, although few outside the caste have such regard for it.
During the period of Catholic repression the Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
also expelled all Catholic priests and outlawed Catholic baptisms and other rituals. Indeed, there are no surviving records to suggest that there was any evangelism at all, although they did build Tuticorin's first Protestant church in 1750.
During their period of control the Dutch also established a cloth factory in Tuticorin and this was a much appreciated venture — at some point the Paravars had also become traders in cloth.[ Bayly p. 357]
British control
The British took over control in 1796, after a period of gradual usurpation of Dutch authority along the coast and elsewhere by the East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
. They had seized Tuticorin in 1785. Both sides had attempted to influence the Paravars, seeking to have their support to exploit the riches of the fishery waters. The new government continued to recognise the Paravar's hierarchical social structure, as the Dutch and Portuguese had done before them.[ Bayly p. 356] However, until 1813 the Company did not officially allow Christian missionaries to operate in the areas under its control, bowing only then due to pressure from religious organisations in Britain. The company was suspicious of any potential political undertones spread by the missionaries and was eager to keep trade running smoothly by operating a policy of non-interventionist conservatism in matters religious and cultural.
Bayly has examined why it was that some among the low-ranking Paravars were able to rise to work in occupations that were both more prestigious and more financially rewarding than had been the case before the conversion to Christianity, She points out that the Paravars held much the same rank as the Mukkavars, who were also a maritime caste of the area and were converted but did not demonstrate the same subsequent socio-economic mobility.[ Bayly p. 321] (It has, however, been argued that the Mukkavars were "a sub-class of the Parava community" and formed the largest group of those converted to Christianity during Xavier's time). Robinson has said
When the Jesuit missionaries returned in the 1830s, following the revival of their Society, they were shocked at the lapse in formal religious observance and in general Christian morality, as well as the opulent lifestyle being led by the Paravar elite which contrasted with the dilapidated state of the churches.[ Bayly pp. 356–357] Around that time the elite, along with some other groups such as Nadar traders, were making significant amounts of money from a surge in export demand for processed cotton, using their existing wealth from the pearl fisheries as a means to expand their interests into this booming sector. By 1845 Tuticorin was the location of the main cotton export activities in southern India and by the end of the century it was the fifth largest port in the entire of India.[ Bayly pp. 361–362]
The Jesuits decided in 1841 to attempt to re-assert their authority over the elite by supporting the aspirations of a rising group of lesser Paravars who had also managed to gain from the boom and had hopes of validating their success with an appropriate rank in the hierarchy. These people were traders, often spending long periods of time away from home in such places as Goa and Sri Lanka. Even lower down the ranks, the rise in ship and cargo movements, the continued development of Tuticorin harbour and town, and similar consequences of the boom (including the requirement for food by those who had moved away from working directly in fishing or on the land) was providing increasingly profitable work. The Paravar elite continued their traditional role, organising this labour as they had done for the pearl fisheries. They also absorbed into their ranks those members of the caste who had profited from independent trading, this being achieved by requiring the newcomers to pay a fee and swear allegiance to the ''jati thalivan''. However, there were people who had been cast aside from the elite as a consequence of falling out with the ''jati'', and others who wanted recognition more quickly than the system allowed. These disaffected people were the target of the Jesuit actions, which consisted primarily of providing them with status symbols such as the offer of additional ''Te Deum
The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Ch ...
s'' and bells at marriage ceremonies. The end result of this attempt to foment a new hierarchy, however, was a riot and a successful move by the ''jati'' to replace the Jesuits with Goan Padroado
The ''Padroado'' (, "patronage") was an arrangement between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Portugal and later the Portuguese Republic, through a series of concordats by which the Holy See delegated the administration of the local churches and gr ...
s as ministers to his people and officiators at the church of Our Lady of Snows. The Jesuits continued trying to split the caste for a further thirty years but rarely had more than temporary successes: the ranks of the disaffected were swollen by new arrivals but also diminished by those who left as a consequence of having obtained satisfaction from the elite.[ Bayly pp. 361–365]
The Jesuits had gone so far as to establish an alternative cathedral, the Sacred Heart, in the hope of drawing worshippers from Our Lady of Snows. That, too, failed in its purpose.[ Bayly p. 369] There were also several instances where the disputes — often relating to rights in regard to religious buildings and their precincts — were taken through the court system, and also more occasions when riots between the factions occurred.
The death of the ''jati thalavan'' in 1889 without a male heir gave rise to a power vacuum and so presented a new opportunity for the Jesuits. Combined with this was another boom in maritime trading, this time involving the plantations of Ceylon, which served to swell the ranks of those aspiring for recognition as members of the elite. The Jesuits employed various measures intended to drive a wedge between the two groups and to limit the subservience displayed towards the ''jati'' and other senior caste members which, the Jesuits believed, infringed on the true worship of God because offerings of money and goods were made to those people as part of Paravan church rituals. They went so far as to attempt to install an alternative ''jati'' and the battle for control continued for several years.[ Bayly pp. 372–374]
The Jesuits were not helped in their aim by the British government, who in 1891 renegotiated the arrangements for sharing the fishery catches with the new, non-Jesuit appointed ''jati thalavan''. This deal, in which it was agreed that the ''jati'' should receive the output of one boat for that of every thirty which went to the government, once again confirmed the support of the ruling power for the caste hierarchy. The new ''jati'' was himself controversial among the Paravars: his appointment to the role, being the son of the previous headman's daughter, was thought by some to be invalid because the succession had passed through the female line.
In the late nineteenth century the Paravar elite tried to reconcile with the Muslim seafarers in their area, seeking to claim kinship. This went as far as the then ''jati thalivan'' declaring that the elite among these Marakkar
Marakkar/Maricar/Marecar/Marikkar/Markiyar/Marican/Marecan (Malayalam:Marakkar; Tamil: Marrakayar)( Sinhalese: Marakkala), is a South Asian Muslim community found in parts of the Indian states of Kerala (The Malabar Coast), Tamil Nadu (the Palk ...
Muslims, from towns such as Kilakarai, were in fact related to him by blood as they shared common antecedents. There was a tactical purpose to these decisions as by these actions he wanted to assert that he had authority over them. Furthermore, it was in the economic interests of the Paravars to foster these relationships because under British rule it was often the Marakkar who were granted the licences to operate the fisheries. Simultaneously, the Paravars were attempting to dissociate themselves from other Christian castes, whom they thought to be of a lower standing than themselves, such as the Nadars.[ Bayly pp. 350–351] Although they regarded the Nadar Christians as their equal in the past.[ Bayly pp. 349] The Nadars had been enthusiastic in their conversion to Christianity but did so much later than the Paravars, with surges of conversion — both to Catholicism and Protestantism — taking place in 1802–1803, the 1840s and the late 1870s/early 1880s. Dyron Daughrity has said that the conversions were "largely because of the increase in social status that could be effected" but adds that
However, the combination of Jesuit pressure and then also that of the Goan Padroados, who came to agree that the ritual role of the ''jati'' was detrimental to belief, caused the gradual erosion of the ''jati's'' powers of patronage and organisation. This situation was assisted by the growing number of people aspiring to be members of the elite and those who disputed the validity of the succession as a consequence of the female lineage. The ceremonial role of the ''jati'' in religious observance and ceremony was gradually reduced, including the removal of status symbols such as the special seat that he occupied for Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
, and with these actions went much of his influence over the caste. By 1900 there were strikes taking place among the pearl and chank divers, often for frivolous reasons; the ''jati'' was unable to impose the discipline upon them which once had been a primary role.[ Bayly p. 377]
As the caste hierarchy disintegrated, becoming a range of groups each seeking to assert their position, the role of the ''jati thalavan'' became more and more impossible and was eventually abandoned, the last occupant of the post having been installed in 1926. The introduction of new technologies in the post-World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
era such as such as nylon fishing nets, refrigeration and motorisation made fishing more lucrative as an occupation in its own right which removed the economic differences between those who laboured and those who either traded or lived off the organisation of labour. With this difference gone, the distinction between the Paravar elite and the majority of the community lost its basis and became obsolete, and the hierarchy within the community disappeared.[ Bayly p. 378]
Post-independence
In 1947, the fisheries became a monopoly of the new independent Indian government. In the 1970s the power of the jati thalaivan and the Paravar elite was shattered by the repatriation of Tamil traders from Sri Lanka. In the present-day, the ritual significance of the ''jati thalaivan'' has been replaced by some of the more prosperous families involved in export of seafood. It is usually one of these families who pulls first at the Golden Carriage during Our Lady of Snows festival and is the chief donor for the associated rites.
, Paravars were classified as a Most backward caste in most of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
by the Government of Tamil Nadu. Until 2009, Christian Paravars were classified as a Backward Caste.
In 2009 the government of Tamil Nadu issued an order designating Christian Paravars within its jurisdiction as being of the Most Backward Classes (MBC), a designation regarding their socio-economic status which entitles them to various assistance measures, primarily in the form of positive discrimination, if they should require it. These designations are flexible and subject to change at various times, according to determined need.
Occupations
Historically, the Paravars were involved in sea-related activities such as pearl diving, fishing, navigation, boatbuilding and the making of salt.
It is known that during the visit of Francis Xavier the Paravars were using two different types of boat for net fishing, which he called the ''vallam'' and the ''toni''. The latter was also used for trips to other coastal settlements and for trading journeys as far away as the Maldives
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
. They were both large, open vessels with masts as well as oars; the sails were made with cotton, stiffened by boiling with roots and cow dung, and the fishing nets were made from coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
fibre. However, Iyengar believes that the ''toni'' was a hide-covered wicker basket similar to a coracle
A coracle is a small, rounded, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales, and also in parts of the West Country and in Ireland, particularly the River Boyne, and in Scotland, particularly the River Spey. The word is also used of s ...
.
There is uncertainty regarding whether or not the present boats called ''vallam'' are similar to the ones described 500 years ago. Hornell's report of 1920 described the single-masted ''vallam'' in use around that time at being about long and with a cargo capacity of around 2 tons. In 1914 he had described a larger three-masted boat, called the ''dhoni'', which was used for pearl fishing and ferrying between anchored ships and Tuticorin harbour, as well as coastal journeys. The ''dhoni'' may owe its origin to Arab designs but could equally be indigenous. Today, most boats are motorized and many fishermen have trawler boats.
The Paravars also used boats similar to catamaran
A Formula 16 beachable catamaran
Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States
A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-stab ...
s and, indeed, that word comes from the Tamil ''katturmaran'' (tied tree). It would seem that the design was developed independently of those used in Polynesia
Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...
. An 1895 traveller describes them as a hollowed-out tree trunk up to long which is connected to a smaller trunk acting as an outrigger
An outrigger is a projecting structure on a boat, with specific meaning depending on types of vessel. Outriggers may also refer to legs on a wheeled vehicle that are folded out when it needs stabilization, for example on a crane that lifts ...
using lashes and two arched lengths of bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
. The voyager and explorer William Dampier
William Dampier (baptised 5 September 1651; died March 1715) was an English explorer, pirate, privateer, navigator, and naturalist who became the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnav ...
had described seeing them in 1699.
Family names
The Paravars were probably a primarily endogamous
Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships.
Endogamy is common in many cultu ...
societyIyengar
Iyengar (also spelt Ayyangar or Aiyengar, pronounced ) refers to the name of an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, whose members follow Sri Vaishnavism and the Visishtadvaita philosophy propounded by Ramanuja. Found mos ...
p. 72 until the arrival of the Portuguese, marrying only within their own caste and so keeping the tribal ties strong. Subsequently, they became exogamous
Exogamy is the social norm of marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which two groups ...
and from this came the use of names based on Portuguese origin. Family names such as Fernando
Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...
, Costa, da Cruz and Roche are a direct consequence of these marriages, and familiar names, such as Susai (a Tamil translation of ''Joseph''), reflect both the marriages and the general Portuguese influence. Robinson offers a different thesis, claiming that they remained endogamous even after conversion, that these family ties strengthened their ability to ascend socially and that the use of Christian family names was in fact a privilege granted to them by the Portuguese and deemed to be a sign of their superiority over other castes such as the Mukkuvars.
There are four family names of non-Christian origin still in common use, these being Kalingarayan, Villavarayan, Poobalarayan and Rayan. These names are thought possibly to have their origin in ''arayan'', which was used by Tamil fishing groups as a caste title. ''Arayan'' is claimed by some modern descendants of the Paravars to be itself derived from ''rayya'' (rajah, king) and "MOTHA" is the surname of all jatithalavas who ruled and it is also followed till now.
Notable people
*Dewan Bahadur Chevalier I. X. Pereira, colonial-era Sri Lankan businessman and politician.
*Rao Bahadur Cruz Fernandez (Legislator).
*Chevalier J. L. P. Roche Victoria (Former State Minister from Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
).
* Chandrababu (Cinema actor from Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
).
* Dunstan M. Devotta, freedom fighter and member of the Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
.
*Abdul Kalam
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (; 15 October 193127 July 2015) was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied ph ...
was an Indian aerospace scientist who served as the 11th president of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu.
*Velupillai Prabhakaran
Velupillai Prabhakaran (; ta, வேலுப்பிள்ளை பிரபாகரன்; , (26 November 1954 – 18 May 2009) was a Sri Lankan Tamil guerrilla and the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ...
was a Eelam Tamil Nationalist and Sri Lankan Tamil guerrilla and the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a militant organization that sought to create an independent Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for the Tamil people.
* Charles Lucas Anthony was a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and leading member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist 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 ...
militant organisation in Sri Lanka.
* Francis Tiburtius Roche (First indigenous bishop of Latin Rite in India, in China, in Asia and in Africa).
* Peter Fernando (Former Bishop of Tuticorin Diocese and Archbishop of Madurai Diocese).
*Thomas Fernando
Thomas Fernando was an Indian Roman Catholic bishop.
Early life
Fernando was born on 9 May 1913 in Idinthakarai, a coastal village Tirunelveli district and a Catholic parish of the Diocese of Tuticorin.
Career
He was ordained a priest for t ...
(Former Bishop of Tuticorin & Trichy Dioceses, Participated in the Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...
, Helped poet Kannadasan to write Yesu Kaviyam, Founder of Kalai Kaveri College).
* Antony Devotta (Former Bishop of Trichy Diocese, First Indian Bishop and second bishop in the worldwide Catholic Church to donate his body).
* Ilanji Vel is one among the ancient velirs
The Velir (also known as Vellalar) were a royal house of minor dynastic kings and aristocratic chieftains in Tamilakam in the early historic period of South India. They had close relations with Chera, Chola and Pandya rulers through ruling and ...
of the Yadu Kingdom. He ruled a territory called Ilanji
Ilanji is a panchayat town in Tenkasi district, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located between the towns Tenkasi and Shencottah.
Geography
The word 'Ilanji' has a number of meanings including a water body. The village has three lakes ...
, near Courtallam. He belongs to the clan of ancient Pandyas.
* Joe D'Cruz 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 ...
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
, novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...
and documentary film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...
from Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
*S. M. Diaz
S. M. Diaz (1919 – 2000) was the Inspector-General of Police of Tamil Nadu. He was also a professor of economics and the first director of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy that trains officers who are inducted into the In ...
IPS
IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to:
Science and technology Biology and medicine
* ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle
* Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells
* Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique
* Intraparietal sulcus, ...
was former Inspector-General of Police
An Inspector General of Police is a senior police officer in the police force or police service of several nations. The rank usually refers to the head of a large regional command within a police service, and in many countries refers to the most se ...
of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
.
* Lourdammal Simon was an Indian politician and former Member of the Legislative Assembly and Minister for Local Administration and Fisheries of Madras State during 1957–1962.
* Ambrose Fernando was an Indian businessman and politician.Member of Legislative Assembly
A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...
Ex-MLA in Travancore-Cochin State.
*Valampuri John
Valampuri John was a Tamil writer, orator and former Rajya Sabha member of India.
He was born in Uvari village in Tirunelveli district, he started his career as a lawyer and activist of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
Later, he joined the ...
(Tamil Writer, Orator and Former member of Rajya Sabha).
* Ignaci Siluvai (Catholic Priest & Educator).
*Servant of God. Antony Soosainather
*Servant of God. Augustine Pereira
*Senhor dos Senhores Dom Gabriel da Cruz B harathavarma Pandiyan was a notable king of the Paravars who helped Maruthu Pandiyar
The Marudhu Pandiyars (Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu) were Diarchal Kings of Sivagangai, Tamil Nadu, India, towards the end of the 18th century. They were known for fighting against the East India Company. They were finally executed by t ...
and other freedom fighters with weapons and gunpowder. This king was also responsible for the construction of the Golden Car of the Basilica of Our Lady of Snows, Thoothukudi.He was also known as pandiapathy.
* S. Jennifer Chandran was an Indian politician and was a Member of the Legislative Assembly.
* Dimitri Mascarenhasis a former English cricketer.
See also
*Indian Christians
Christianity is India's third-largest religion with about 27.8 million adherents, making up 2.3 percent of the population as of the 2011 census. The written records of the Saint Thomas Christians state that Christianity was introduced to th ...
* Bharatha people
Bharatha People (, ) also known as Bharatakula and Paravar, is an ethnicity in the island of Sri Lanka. Earlier considered a caste of the Sri Lankan Tamils, they got classified as separate ethnic group in the 2001 census. They are descendant of ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
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External links
Our lady of Snows Basilica
St. Francis Xavier
{{Use dmy dates, date=January 2014
Indian castes
Social groups of Tamil Nadu
Fishing castes