Seerpadar (also written as ''Cirpatar'' or ''Seerpadam'') 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 Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

found in the coastal regions of Eastern Province 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 are traditionally involved in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. They are chiefly found in the Veeramunai,

Mandur Mandur is a village in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Tsundur mandal of Tenali revenue division Tenali is a city in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and ...

, Thuraineelavanai,

Kalmunai Kalmunai ( ta, கல்முனை, translit=Kalmuṉai; si, කල්මුනේ, translit=Kalmunē) is a major city in Ampara District. It is the largest city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. It had a total population of 106,780 as of 2011. I ...

, Kurumanveli and Periye Kallar regions in the

Batticaloa Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the B ...

and

Ampara District Ampara District ( ta, அம்பாறை மாவட்டம், translit=Ampāṟai Māvaṭṭam; si, අම්පාර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, translit=Ampāra Distrikkaya) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the s ...

History

Early history

The Seerpadar caste derive their name and origin from a

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...

queen known as ''Seerpada Devi'', chronicled in inscriptions, copper plates and local poems. According to them, their origin stems from the union of Seerpada Devi and the prince ''Sittathurai'' (also known as ''Balasimhan''), the son of king

Ukkirasinghan Ukkirasinghan (, also spelled ''Ugra Singan'') was an early king of the Jaffna Peninsula of the 8th century CE, who established his capital at Kandarodai, formerly known as ''Kadiramalai''. According to Yalpana Vaipava Malai, Ukkirasinghan was from ...

(legendary founder of

Jaffna Kingdom The Jaffna Kingdom ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு, si, යාපනය රාජධානිය; 1215–1624 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came i ...

). The caste has been recorded in colonial records as being involved in cultivating activities and

warriors A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...

Seerpadar's Inscriptions

*Veeramunai ceppedu *Thirukkovil ceppedu *Kokkaticholai ceppedu *Thuraineelavanai ceppedu *Thirukonamalai ceppedu

Others

* Veeramunai *

Kanchikudicharu Kanchikudicharu is a Tamil village in the Ampara District in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. It is located east of the capital, Colombo. 2007 military action by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The area was controlled by the Sri Lan ...

References

{{Reflist Sri Lankan Tamil castes