The following is a chronological overview of the history of the Karavas and

Karaiyar Karaiyar is a Sri Lankan Tamil caste found mainly on the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and globally among the Tamil diaspora. They are traditionally a seafaring community that is engaged in fishing, shipment and seaborne t ...

s caste of Sri Lanka and

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 ...

. Both communities were historically also known as ''Kurukulam,'' meaning ''Kuru clan''.

Medieval period

* Under the reign of

Virarajendra Chola Virarajendra Chola (1002 CE – 1070 CE) was a Chola emperor, who spent a major part of his life as a subordinate to two of his elder brothers Rajadhiraja I and Rajendra II, he is the son of Rajendra I. During his early reign he granted the ...

(1063-1070 CE), the Chola rule ended through a rebellion led by

Vijayabahu I Vijayabahu I (born ''Prince Keerthi'') (ruled 1055–1110), also known as Vijayabahu the Great, was a medieval king of Sri Lanka. Born to a royal bloodline, Vijayabahu grew up under Chola occupation. He assumed rulership of the Ruhuna principalit ...

, under the chief ''Kurukulatta Raiyan'' (King of Kurukulam), mentioned in an inscription in Thirumukkulam,

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. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. * The Karaiyar captain ''Meekaman'' lead the Chola troops and defeated the

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 ...

chief ''Vediarasan'' and Moor chief ''Meera.'' The Delft Island fort is thought as his fort and is thill this day locally known as ''Meekaman Kottai'' or "fort of Meekaman". *The

Mukkara Hatana The Mukkara Hatana ("''The'' ''Mukkuvar War"'') is a 17th-century palm-leaf manuscript from Sri Lanka. Written in Sinhalese, the work celebrates the victory of the Karaiyars, also known as Karavas, over the Mukkuvars, who battled for the dominanc ...

, an old

palm leaf manuscript Palm-leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. Palm leaves were used as writing materials in the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia reportedly dating back to the 5th century BCE. Their use began in South Asia and s ...

from Sri Lanka, is an account of the defeat of the Mukkuvar by the Karaiyars in the

Saka era The Shaka era (IAST: Śaka, Śāka) is a historical Hindu calendar era (year numbering), the epoch (its year zero) of which corresponds to Julian year 78. The era has been widely used in different regions of India as well as in SE Asia. Hist ...

1159 and the taking of the fort of

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 ...

after a three-month siege. * Under the leadership of Karaiyar chiefs

Migapulle Arachchi Migapulle Arachchi ( or ) also known as ''Chinna Migapillai'', was a feudal lord from the Jaffna Kingdom who became a rebel leader just after its annexation by the Portuguese Empire in 1619. His title ''Arachchi'', is a title given to the commanders ...

and

Varunakulattan Varunakulattan (also identified as Khem Nayak or Chem Nayak) was a 17th-century feudal lord and military commander from the Jaffna Kingdom. He led a rebellion as the military commander of Thanjavur Nayak against the Portuguese in their conquest o ...

, aligned with the

Thanjavur Nayak The Thanjavur Nayak kingdom or Thanjavur Nayak dynasty were the rulers of Thanjavur in the 15th and 17th centuries. The Nayaks of the Balija social group, were originally appointed as provincial governors by the Vijayanagara Emperor in the 15th ...

, fought with the Jaffna king

Cankili II Cankili II ( ta, சங்கிலி குமாரன், translit=Caṅkili Kumāraṉ; died 1619) was the last king of the Jaffna kingdom and was a usurper who came to throne with a palace massacre of the royal prince and the regent Ara ...

against the Portuguese in the conquest of the Jaffna kingdom. *The Prince of Uva, '' Kuruvita Rala,'' who was a Karava revolted with his troops against the Portuguese and also raided the Kingdom of Kandy, driving the king Senarat out of his capital.

Independent period

* The British establishment of

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

as a separate unit from its Indian empire in the 1930s, harmed the flourishing trade that was accomplished by the Karaiyars. The Karaiyars traditionally traded and shipped

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

s, chanks, rice and other goods to

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

which was heavily restricted and controlled under the British government. * Karavas formed the elites under colonial era. Several Karavas, such as

James Peiris Sir James Peiris (20 December 1856 – 5 May 1930) was a prominent leader in the Sri Lankan independence movement, the first elected Vice-President of the Legislative Council of Ceylon and the first native Governor of Ceylon (Acting).

, fought for the Sri Lankan independence movement * The

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; ) is a Marxist–Leninist communist party and a former militant organization in Sri Lanka. The movement was involved in two armed uprisings against the government of Sri Lanka: once in 1971 (SLFP), and anothe ...

, was founded by

Rohana Wijeweera Patabendi Don Jinadasa Nandasiri Wijeweera ( si, පටබැඳි දොන් ජිනදාස නන්දසිරි විජෙවීර; 14 July 1943 – 13 November 1989, better known by his '' nom de guerre'' Rohana Wijeweera, was ...

. Wijeweera and many other Karavas, formed the leadership of this organization. *Chief Karava families such as the ''de Mels'', the ''Peiris'' and the ''Soysas'' were heavily involved in estate-owning sector, mainly in coconut and rubber. Entrepreneuring Karavas controlled important commercial groups such as Mackwoods Ltd, Brown's Group Ltd, Richard Pieris Ltd and J. L. M. Fernando's group.

Sources

References

* BITC, ''The Bulletin of the Institute of Traditional Culture I'', Madras University 1961 * Habib Irfan, ''The Agrarian system of Mughal India'', 1999 Oxford * S. Paranavitana, ''Inscriptions of Ceylon,'' Volume I * Perniola Fr. S. J., ''The History of the Catholic Church – Portuguese period'' * Queyroz Fr. S. J., ''1688 The Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylaö'' * Sastri Nilakanta K. A., ''Pandyan Kingdom'' * Sastri Nilakanta K. A. ''The Cholas'' *Raghavan, M. D., The Karava of Ceylon: Society and Culture, K. V. G. de Silva, 1961

External links

Karava website—Kshatriya Maha Sabha Sri Lanka
{{DEFAULTSORT:Timeline Of The Karavas and Karaiyars Sinhalese castes Sri Lankan Tamil castes