Sri Lankan Paraiyar 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 northern and eastern

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 traditional

parai The parai is a traditional Tamil frame drum about 35 centimeters in diameter, used in the parai attam dance. It consists of a shallow ring of wood, covered on one side with a stretched cow hide that is glued to the wooden frame. The preferred ...

-drummers who were also involved in

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...

and

scavenging Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a herbivorous feeding be ...

Etymology

The name

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 ...

is thought to be derived from the word "''

''" (ancient war-drum). In contrast to the

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

n parai, which is a skinny one sided

frame drum A frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead width greater than its depth. It is one of the most ancient musical instruments, and perhaps the first drum to be invented. It has a single drumhead that is usually made of rawhide, but man-made mat ...

, the parai played by the Sri Lankans is large, stocky and double sided (resembling the

Dhol Dhol (IPA: ) can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan primarily includes nort ...

). The earliest mention of the Paraiyars is 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 ...

, and the

Purananuru The ''Purananuru'' (, literally "four hundred oemsin the genre puram"), sometimes called ''Puram'' or ''Purappattu'', is a classical Tamil poetic work and traditionally the last of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') in the Sangam literatu ...

, of the 1st century BCE. They are also known as ''Sāmban'' (fem. ''Sāmpathi''), which is thought to derive from ''saambu'', another word for the parai drum. The name might also be derived from ''Saambu'', a name of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

, one of the principal deities in hinduism, of whom they attribute their mythical origin to.

History

Myth

According to one myth, there were two priest brothers of a

Mariamman Mariamman, often abbreviated to Amman, is a Hindu goddess of rain, predominantly venerated in the rural areas of South India. Her festivals are held during the late summer/early autumn season of Ādi throughout Tamil Nadu and the Deccan region, ...

temple. One day. the elder brother decided to fast and observe a pledge of silence while his younger brother was set to watch over the temple. He, therefore, told the people "''Nān parayyan, tambi pārpār''" which means "I will be silent (parrayan), brother will watch (parpar)". However it was misunderstood by the people as "I am paraiyan (drummer), brother is parpar (Tamil name for

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

priest)". Another myth states that

Nandanar Nandanar (also spelt as Nantanar), also known as Tirunalaippovar (Thirunaallaippovaar (The one who will go tomorrow)) and Tiru Nalai Povar Nayanar,Other names include: Nandan (Nanda, Nantan), Tirunalaipovanar, Nalaippovar, Nalaippovan was a ...

was born out of the union of Sukkira Bavan and ''Kāti''. Kāti was one of the 27 daughters of the sage,

Kashyapa Kashyapa ( sa, कश्यप}, ) is a revered Vedas, Vedic Sage (philosophy), sage of Hinduism., Quote: "Kasyapa (Rudra),(Vedic Seer)..." He is one of the Saptarishis, the seven ancient sages of the ''Rigveda''. Kashyapa is the most ancien ...

and Virupasikai. She and her children went to live in the forest and were considered impure as they in addition to weaving and delivering messages to others, also slaughtered cows and goats.

who was a Nayanar and devotee of

, progressed with Kāti and her other children's to live in a ''ceri'' settlement between the forest and village for keeping themselves pure. Nandanar and the children of Kāti are said to represent the ancestors of the Paraiyars.

Early history

The Sri Lankan Paraiyars share common origin with the

s 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 ...

. There are few references to them in early literatures. However, the earliest mention of the Paraiyars is in the

, of the 1st century BCE, mentioning them along with other

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer who ...

communities such as the ''Panar'' (bards) and ''Tudiyar'' (''tudi'' drummers). These groups were connected to

warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

and exhortation. The

drum was played for summoning soldiers for war and for announcements of news. It was believed that the playing of the parai drum could cause the enemies defeat. The ''Valluvars'' (subsect among Paraiyars), were royal

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

s and court priests during the

Sangam period The Sangam period or age (, ), particularly referring to the third Sangam period, is the period of the history of ancient Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Sri Lanka (then known as Tamilakam) spanning from c. 6th century BCE to c. 3rd century CE. ...

. The Jain work, ''Perunkatai'' ("the Great story") of latter half of 7th century, mentions the Valluvars as royal heralds who made royal proclamations such as announcing significant news and events to the public. The proclamation was made by them while riding on an elephant and beating the parai drum. It is thought the ancient Tamil poet

Thiruvalluvar Thiruvalluvar (Tamil: திருவள்ளுவர்), commonly known as Valluvar, was a celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher. He is best known as the author of the ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'', a collection of couplets on ethics, political and ...

, author of Thirukkuṛaḷ, hailed from this community.

Medieval History

There are mentions of Paraiyar

chieftainship A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized as ...

in the 8th and 10th centuries. 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 ...

inscription of the

Raja Raja Chola Rajaraja I (947 CE – 1014 CE), born Arunmozhi Varman or Arulmozhi Varman and often described as Raja Raja the Great or Raja Raja Chozhan was a Chola emperor who reigned from 985 CE to 1014 CE. He was the most powerful Tamil king in South ...

period (985 – 1014 AD), mentions the ''ceri'' (a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

) settlement of the ''ulaparaiyar'' (

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

Paraiyars). Several inscriptions records gifts given by Paraiyars to

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

s. Individual wealthier Paraiyars endowed lighting to the temples, such as to a

temple at Tirukalukunram. The Paraiyars belonged to the

Valangai Valangai or the right hand refers to a caste-based division of communities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population ...

(right-handed) division, featured under the Cholas. The king

Raja Raja Chola I Rajaraja I (947 CE – 1014 CE), born Arunmozhi Varman or Arulmozhi Varman and often described as Raja Raja the Great or Raja Raja Chozhan was a Chola emperor who reigned from 985 CE to 1014 CE. He was the most powerful Tamil king in South ...

created the ''valangai velaikarar'', a special regiment of the Chola army in

. The Paraiyars were under the

Jaffna kings Jaffna Kings, formerly known as Jaffna Stallions, are a franchise cricket team which plays in the Lanka Premier League (LPL). On December 16, 2020, the team won the inaugural Lanka Premier League 2020 Championship and are the current title hold ...

, traditional weavers and

s. Some of them also practised native medicine and

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...

. The text ''Vaiyapadal'' mentions the voyagee of the ship captain ''Meekaman'' who sailed with several communities including the Paraiyars. The chaya root was used for extracting the saffron color. The chaya industry in Jaffna was recorded by the Portuguese. Even the Jaffna king were known as ''Chaya Raja'', and a subcaste among the Paraiyars, ''Verkkutti Paraiyar'', were involved in chaya root digging. The textile industry had great importance in the ancient and medieval Jaffna, where weaving was carried out by the

Kaikolar Sengunthar (), also known as the Kaikolar and Senguntha Mudaliyar is a Tamil caste commonly found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and also in some other parts of South India and the neighboring country Sri Lanka. They were traditional weavers ...

s and the Valluvar subcaste of Paraiyars.

Colonial History

The Paraiyars had independent occupation in the

industry. Some of them were also

waste picker A waste picker is a person who salvages reusable or recyclable materials thrown away by others to sell or for personal consumption. There are millions of waste pickers worldwide, predominantly in developing countries, but increasingly in post-in ...

s as observed by the Dutch minister

Philippus Baldaeus Philips Baelde or Father Philippus Baldaeus, (baptized on 24 October 1632, Delft – 1671, Geervliet) was a Dutch minister. He went to Jaffna during the Dutch period in Ceylon with an invading Dutch force. As the second European after Abrah ...

s from

also migrated to Sri Lanka in the 19th century for working in the tea plantations in Sri Lanka and constitute along with the

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 ...

half of the plantation worker population.

Customs

The Paraiyars of Jaffna, in contrast to other communities, retain a dialect with a number of archaic Tamil words and few

Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...

words. One of their patron deities are ''Valliyakkan'' (mighty

yaksha The yakshas ( sa, यक्ष ; pi, yakkha, i=yes) are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in ...

), ''Valliyappan'' and ''Karuppan''. Valliyakkan was apparently the chief among the twelve Mudi-Mannar (crowned kings). Their priests are known as ''Valluvakurukkal''. ''Muppan'' (

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

), ''Valluvan'' (priest), ''Vettiyan'' ( cremator or

watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book Limited series (comics), maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 a ...

), and ''Thōtti'' (

scavenger Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a herbivorous feeding b ...

) are common titles among their headmen They also have a distinct dance known as ''Parai mela kooththu'', a tradition of dancing with the parai and ''sornali'' (

double reed A double reed is a type of reed used to produce sound in various wind instruments. In contrast with a single reed instrument, where the instrument is played by channeling air against one piece of cane which vibrates against the mouthpiece and c ...

instrument) for celebrating new year and other special occasions. With the increased popularity of the

thavil A ''thavil'' (Tamil:தவில்) or ''tavil'' is a barrel-shaped percussion instrument from Tamil Nadu. It is also widely used in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamilnadu and Telangana States of South India. It is used in temple, folk ...

and

nadaswaram The Nagaswaram (nādḥasvaram) is a double reed wind instrument from South India. It is used as a traditional classical instrument in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala. This instrument is "among the world's loudes ...

in the 17th and 18th century also encouraged by Hindu reformer

Arumuka Navalar Arumuka Navalar (; 18 December 1822 – 5 December 1879) was a Sri Lankan Shaivite Tamil language scholar, polemicist, and a religious reformer who was central in reviving native Hindu Tamil traditions in Sri Lanka and India. Navalar's bir ...

, decreased also the use of the parai drum in the temples. The brass drum ''raca melam'' ("king's drum") serve as a heraldic symbol for the caste and serves as the

insignia An insignia () is a sign or mark distinguishing a group, grade, rank, or function. It can be a symbol of personal power or that of an official group or governing body. On its own, an insignia is a sign of a specific or general authority and is ...

for the ''Muppan'' in the Batticaloa region''.'' The Paraiyars came under the term ''Kudimakkal'' and served as paid drummers under ceremonies such as funeral. They had their own

dhobi Dhobi known in some places as Dhoba or Rajaka, Madivala is a group of community in India and the greater Indian subcontinent whose traditional occupations are washing and ironing, Cultivator, agricultural workers. They are a large community, ...

known as '' Thurumbar'', who also washed clothes for the Sri Lankan Pallars and

Nalavar Nalavar () is a Tamil caste found in Sri Lanka. They were traditionally occupied in palm tree climbing and toddy tapping. Etymology According to a folk etymology is the name Nalavar a corrupted form of ''Naluvinavar'' (those who decamped), whi ...

s. The Paraiyars who also were involved in native medicine and astrology, maintained the genealogy of their

feudal lord An overlord in the Kingdom of England, English Feudalism in England, feudal system was a lord of the manor, lord of a manor who had Subinfeudation, subinfeudated a particular Manorialism, manor, Estate in land, estate or fief, fee, to a Leaseho ...

References

{{Reflist Sri Lankan Tamil castes