Kallar (caste): Difference between revisions
Reverted good faith edits by Arjunnattar (talk): You are adding a poor British Raj source as a present-day statement + adding a non-existent cat. (TW) |
→Etymology: Balfour is poor and Dirks covers the kallar = thief point. I'll read Dirks sometime - looks to be useful for expansion |
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==Etymology== |
==Etymology== |
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''Kallar'' is a [[Tamil language]] word meaning "thief". Their history has included periods of banditry.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cegr6zH9PFEC&pg=PA242 |page=242 |title=The Hollow Crown: Ethnohistory of an Indian Kingdom |first=Nicholas B. |last=Dirks}}</ref> Other proposed etymological origins include "black skinned", "hero", and "[[Palm wine|toddy]]-tappers".<ref>G. Kuppuram. [http://books.google.com/books?id=lPcgAAAAMAAJ&q=kallar+brave+etymology&dq=kallar+brave+etymology&source=bl&ots=EaOB-ZjQgN&sig=grsOtzNs6qoBfuA6zt1pkPb5p-U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GQROUK7_F47K0AGszoGABA&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAw ''India through the ages: history, art, culture, and religion, Volume 1'']. Sundeep Prakashan, 1988. Pg 366</ref> |
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==Culture== |
==Culture== |
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Revision as of 17:17, 8 March 2013
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Tamilnadu, Sri Lanka, Malaysia | |
| Languages | |
| Tamil | |
| Religion | |
| Saiva Siddhantam, Hinduism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Mukkulathor, Vellalar. |
The Kallar (or Kallan, formerly spelled as Colleries) are one of the three related castes of southern India which constitute the Mukkulathor confederacy.[1][2][3][4][5] The Kallar, along with the Maravar and Akamudayar, constitute a united social caste on the basis of parallel professions, though their locations and heritages are wholly separate from one another.[6]
Etymology
Kallar is a Tamil language word meaning "thief". Their history has included periods of banditry.[7] Other proposed etymological origins include "black skinned", "hero", and "toddy-tappers".[8]
Culture
Among the traditional customs of the Kallar noted by colonial officials was the use of the "collery stick" (Tamil: valai tādi, kallartādi), a bent throwing stick or "false boomerang" which could be thrown up to 100 yards.[9] Though described as a "false" boomerang, other writers indicate that it was capable of returning to its thrower, and also noted the weapon was used in deer-hunting.[10] Writing in 1957, Louis Dumont noted that despite the weapon's frequent mention in literature, it had disappeared amongst the Pramalai Kallar.[11]
Diet
The Kallar were traditionally a non-vegetarian people,[12] though a 1970s survey of Tamilnad indicated that 30% of Kallar surveyed, though non-vegetarian, refrained from eating fish after puberty.[13] Meat, though present in the Kallar diet, was not frequently eaten but restricted to Saturday nights and festival days. Even so, this small amount of meat was sufficient to affect perceptions of Kallar social status.[14]
References
- ^ Notes on Criminal Classes of the Madras presidency. Government Press. p. 82.
- ^ Kingship and Political Practice in Colonial India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 62, 87, 193.
- ^ Historical Dictionary of the Tamils. Rowman and Little field USA. p. 105.
- ^ Sociology and Social Research. Vol. 11. University of Southern California. p. 121.
- ^ Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland. 19. Government Press: 581 http://books.google.com/books?id=03qFAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA581.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Sadasivan, S. N. A Social History of India. p. 287.
- ^ Dirks, Nicholas B. The Hollow Crown: Ethnohistory of an Indian Kingdom. p. 242.
- ^ G. Kuppuram. India through the ages: history, art, culture, and religion, Volume 1. Sundeep Prakashan, 1988. Pg 366
- ^ Sir Henry Yule; Arthur Coke Burnell (1903). Hobson-Jobson: a glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive. J. Murray. pp. 236–. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- ^ Gustav Salomon Oppert; Lakshmīkānta Varmā; Śukra (1880). On the weapons, army organisation, and political maxims of the ancient Hindus: with special reference to gunpowder and firearms. Higginbotham. pp. 18–. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Louis Dumont; A. Stern; Michael Moffatt (1986). A South Indian subcaste: social organization and religion of the Pramalai Kallar. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- ^ Criminal gods and demon devotees: essays on the guardians of popular Hinduism - Alf Hiltebeitel - Google Books
- ^ Food, ecology, and culture: readings in the anthropology of dietary practices - John R. K. Robson - Google Books
- ^ A South Indian subcaste: social organization and religion of the Pramalai Kallar - Louis Dumont, A. Stern, Michael Moffatt - Google Books