- Vellalar (Sri Lankan Tamil)
Vellalar amongst
Sri Lankan Tamils are a dominat group of formerly farming relatedcaste group fromSri Lanka that is found amongst all walks of life and around the world as part of theSri Lankan Tamil diaspora . [cite journal
last = Pfaffenberger
first = Bryan
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Vellalar domination
journal = Man
volume = 20
issue = 1
pages = 158
date = 1985
url = http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0025-1496(198503)2%3A20%3A1%3C158%3AVD%3E2.0.CO%3B2-S
doi =
id =
accessdate = ]Origins
Sri Lankan Tamil people What is certain is that the Sri Lankan Tamil Vellalar identity rose amongst those who migrated from neibhouring
Tamil Nadu state inIndia since the 13the century. According toYalpana Vaipava Malai , a native chronicle that documents the history of the rise and fall of theJaffna kingdom in Sri Lanka from the 12th century to the 16th, many Vellalar chiefs from Tamil Nadu were responsible for organizing settlement groups from India in to theJaffna peninsula . Most of these pioneering families had titles associted with clan chiefs such as "Rayan", Thevan", "Mudali", "Mappanan" and "Malavan". Citation
last = Pulavar
first = Mylvakana
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title = Yalpana Vaipava Malai
place=
publisher = Asian Educational Services
year = 1999
location =
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edition =
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isbn = 8120613627] (forTamil language version see [http://noolaham.net/library/books/02/101/101.htm here] )Yalpana Vaipava Malai explains in details the names and places of origin of some of these Vellala
lineage founders. One was of ethnicTuluva origin where as others were of mercantileChetty caste. Some had idependent wealth from India yet others were known for the fighting abilities. In total it explains a settlement pattern of pioneering people fromSouth India under influence of an independent Jaffna kingdom who although mostly of Vellala origin but also had other origins.Rise to dominance
During the Jaffna kingdom period and the following colonial period since the 16 the century, Vellala chiefs were in constant struggle for supremacy with another now
extinct caste calledMadapalli . The kings belonging to theArya Chakaravarthi dynasty would appoint leaders from both the factions to maintain peace in the kingdom. [Citation
last = Mudaliar
first = Rasanayagam
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title = History of ancient Jaffna
place=
publisher =
year =
location =
volume =
edition =
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = ]According
Bryan Pfaffenberger , an American anthroplogist who has studied the community in detail, the rise to complete dominance by the Vellala elites began with the capture of Portuguese holdings in Sri Lanka by the Dutch. The Dutch ineterpreted the local laws later codified asThesavalamai as allowing Vellala chiefs to own slaves. Thus empowered manytobacco plantation s were created by the Vellala chiefs with the help of imorted Indian workers from thePallar caste who were held asslaves . This new found wealth enabled the Vellalas in general to morph into a dominant land owning elite with ritual and political control. Eventually their portion of the total Tamil population of the densely populatedJaffna peninsula rose from a mere 8% to over 50%. Upwardly mobile families of people belonging to other castes also eventually associated them with the Velllala identity according the priniples ofSanskritisation .cite web
last = Bryan
first = Pfaffenberger
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Caste in Tamil Culture: The Religious Foundations of Sudra Domination in Tamil Sri Lanka
work =
publisher =
date = 1987
url =http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0025-1496(198312)2%3A18%3A4%3C805%3ACITCTR%3E2.0.CO%3B2-G
format =
doi =
accessdate = ] cite conference
first = Bryan
last = Pfaffenberger
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Sri Lankan Tamils
booktitle =
pages =
publisher =
date = 1991
location =
url = http://www.tamilnation.org/conferences/cnfUS91/pfaffenberger.htm
doi =
id =
accessdate = ] This period also saw the dispersal of Vellala lineages across the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka.During the British colonial period in Sri Lanka which began with the capture of the entire island nation and its unification by
Great Britain in1815 , Vellalas began to look for education as the new opportunity to upgrate their livelihoods. Various christan missionaries had made the Tamil dominatedJaffna peninsula as the best location in all of Asia for English education in the 19 th century. Many Vellala families used this opportunity to educate their children and they provided the bulk of the British colonialcivil servants in Sri Lanka and in British heldMalaysia andSingapore . Slavery was also abolished in1855 by the British colonial authorities, thus making agriculture less profitable.The domination of Sri lankan Tamils in government services in post independent Sri Lanka eventually became one of the route causes of the Sri Lankan civil war.
Post
1983 societyA wide range of communities claim Vellala ancestry today. Many of them unrelated to the earlier migrants. But they rely on the early history and migration to create an aura of
aristocracy . But what is obviously still visible is the traditional andconservative nature of the religionSaivite Hinduism practiced amongJaffna Tamils . They follow a conservative brand ofSaiva Siddhanta which followAgamic and Sanksritic features. In this they are similar toSaiva Vellalars of India who also consider themselves the custodians ofSaiva Adheenam s andSaivite culture.Chrisitan Vellalas in Jaffna are very influential in all spheres and dominate the priesthood as well. Although caste System is not formally practiced at all in the Tamil society or
Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora , but Tamils in Sri Lanka still frequently quote from the Kailaya Malai or Yalapan Vaipava Malai to claim their links to the Royal houses of Tamil Nadu and their arsitocratic origins.Fact|date=October 2007Vellala political and ritual dominance has been severely restricted due to the effects of the post 1983
Sri Lankan civil war and domination of the main rebel groupLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam by members of theKaraiyar caste. [cite web
last = Marschall
first = Wolfgang
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Social Change Among Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees in Switzerland
work =
publisher =
date = 2003
url = http://www.research.unibe.ch/abstracts/A_66584590.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = ] LTTE's policies of anti-castism and empowerement of formerly low castes as part of the political struggle between the majority Sinhalese dominated Sri Lankan government and itself has enabled members belonging to all castes and walks of life to effectively challenge their dominance. [cite web
last = Sharma
first = S. L.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Nations and National identity
work =
publisher =
date = 1999
url =http://books.google.com/books?id=feqXs6hvEesC&pg=PA203&lpg=PA203&dq=%22vellalar+caste%22+%22sri+lanka%22&source=web&ots=r1Yl0nURI1&sig=ovHZ6KfPRPDMKX_z2XtQZvSHx0s
format =
doi =
accessdate = ]ee also
*
Hinduism in Sri Lanka
*Arumuga Navalar References
External links
* [http://www.tamilcanadian.com/page.php?cat=75&id=447 Sri Lankan Tamil society and politics-series]
* [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/5180/slhist.html Chronology ofevents in Sri Lankan Tamil society]
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