Karaiyar

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Karaiyar also Karayar, Karaiar or Kurukulam are a fishing related caste or social group found in the Tamil Nadu state of India and coastal areas of Sri Lanka.

1 Origins
2 Traditional occupation
3 Sanskritisation
4 Position in Sri Lanka
5 Karaiyar and their politics
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Origins

Along with Mukkuvar and Paravar they are one of the oldest inhabitants of the coastal region of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. They are predominantly found in a coastal area known as Coromandal coast. These three fishing related social groups are regionally distributed with each group dominating a certain coastal belt. Karaiyar are found north of Tanjore in Tamil nadu well into the Andhra Pradesh coastal areas.

It is quite possible that a significant part of this community is made up of the traditional Warrior and Naval community of Sri Lanka, disempowered after the fall of northern and southern kingdoms to Europeans. For information on the martial race of Sri Lanka see Karava

[edit] Traditional occupation

Traditionally Karaiyars have been fishers along with activities related to boat building, overseas trading and providing mercenaries to local kings in India and Sri Lanka. But great many of them were simple fishers as well as a significant minority were petty and wealthy chiefs and merchants in both the countries.

[edit] Sanskritisation

Along with many so called Shudra castes of Tamil Nadu they have sanskritized their name to Kuru Kulam indicating an origin from North India and Kshatriya origins. It should be noted that related Paravas have upgraded their name to Bharathas and other depressed groups such as Sakkiliar have changed their name to Arunthathiyar and Parayar to Sambavar to enable social up- gradation.

[edit] Position in Sri Lanka

Their relative social position in Tamil nadu has not improved much due to their various efforts and today there a politically and socially insignificant group where as in Sri Lanka where they form over 10% of the total population of the country, they are an upwardly mobile and relatively upgraded caste both amongst the majority Sinhalese and minority Sri Lankan Tamils (see Caste in Sri Lanka). Amongst the Sinhalese they are known as the Karave. Analysis of family names and traditions of Karaiyar caste in Sri Lanka indicates that it has accepted within its fold many indigenous and migrant peoples from India and aboard. Hence the Karaiyar of Sri Lanka and India differ from each other in significant manner.

[edit] Karaiyar and their politics

Currently the Karaiyar amongst Sri Lankan Tamils are overwhelmingly represented in the Tamil militant group LTTE where as Karave are very vocal about their Sinhala Buddhist identity and drive the nationalistic political parties such as the SLFP and JVP. Some sociologist have commented that the current civil war in Sri Lanka has become a vehicle by which both the Karaiyar and Karave have sort to marginalize the traditional elites by taking extremely partisan but opposite views.