Koviar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Koviar (also Koviyar or Covia) is a Sri Lankan Tamil caste of traditional agriculturalists, temple and domestic workers. Today they are found in all aspects of the society. Ritually they are just behind so called upper castes known as Vellalar in Jaffna.
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[edit] Origins
Historically it was considered to be a unique caste as one of the Sri Lankan Tamil castes that is not found in Tamil Nadu(see Nalavar). Some have assumed this to be due to indigenous development where as others have speculated that it is a Tamil social group that assumed independent identity in Sri Lanka. Those who assume an indigenous origin say that Koviar is derived from a Sinhalese social group speculated to be Govigama that was left behind during the ascendancy of the Jaffna Kingdom whereas a competing theory suggests that Koviar are similar in composition to Kovilar or temple workers and are of Tamil origins.
Recent discovery of British colonial era census documents indicate that Koviar (also Koviliar or Kovilon) were found in Tamil Nadu circa 1881. No such caste is found today anymore, but it is not uncommon for caste groups to switch names or go extinct due to many reasons in India. If the referenced document is authentic, the cast is an extension of a South Indian caste in Sri Lanka.
[edit] Historic condition
As a historically depressed social group, they were restricted to Jaffna peninsula and certain areas of Puttalam and eastern Batticaloa region. They provided the bulk of the manual manpower required for cultivation, temple services and domestic labor. There is no evidence that they were held in bonded servitude like other Dalit-like castes in Jaffna. Their ritual position was just below that of the Vellalar and was allowed into the temple as workers and as devotees. They lived close to Vellala settlements but not in any segregated areas such as the other depressed castes of Jaffna.
[edit] Current condition
After Sri Lanka’s independence from Britain in 1948, Sri Lankan Tamil politics was geared towards a nationalistic cause that did not take into account the emancipation and progress of its Dalit-like castes. But Koviar due to their ritual and physical proximity to Vellalar were able to use the educational services to upgrade themselves unlike the other Dalit castes. The quota system imposed by the successive Sri Lankan governments to restrict the number of Tamil students entering state Universities since 1973 affected Koviar students as much as the dominant class. Hence Koviar were also involved in many of the Tamil nationalistic agitations that eventually resulted in the formation of many Tamil militant groups. They were prominent in one of them namely TELO that was eventually eclipsed by the LTTE that was also seen as to be associated with the another minority but upwardly mobile Karaiyar caste in Jaffna.
The civil war and the Black July pogroms have retarded most of these gains and many have escaped the deprivations by seeking refugee status in Europe and North America. They are merging with the host populations and/or the Tamil diaspora. Although lingering castist discrimination, especially in marriages, is still observed, in general they have been integrated as part of the migrant Tamil communities of all castes.
