Koviar
Encyclopedia
Koviar is a Sri Lankan Tamil
caste
of traditional agriculturalists and temple workers. Today they are found in all aspects of the society. In the Vellalar
dominated caste hierarchy of the Jaffna peninsula
they ranked higher due to their proximity to temples. There are number of competing theories as to their origins.
According to primary sources such as Yalpana Vaipava Malai
, they were temple workers known as Kovilar who with time came to be known as Koviar. In Tamil
Kovil stands for a Hindu
temple. In South Indian census records Koviar and Kovilar as native South Indian castes
.
Assimilated Sinhalese
Some historians such as Mudaliar Rasanayagam have speculated that Koviar are assimilated Sinhalese belonging to the Govigama
caste with the ascendancy of the Jaffna kingdom
. Mudaliar Rasanayagma made the speculation based on the fact that Koviar caste was not found in South India
but the census figures for 1881 lists a Koviar caste in the Madras Presidency
in South India.
and eastern Batticaloa
region. They provided the bulk of the manual manpower required for cultivation and temple services. There were not 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.
was geared towards a nationalistic cause. Koviar using their ritual and physical proximity to the educational services upgraded themselves socially and economically. The Policy of standardization
imposed by the successive Sri Lankan governments since 1973 had the effect of restricting the number of Tamil students entering state Universities and affected upwardly mobile 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 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 India
, Europe
and North America
. They are merging with the host populations and/or the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora
.
Sri Lanka Tamils (native)
Sri Lankan Tamil people , or Ceylon Tamils also known as Eelam Tamils in Tamil, are a section of Tamil people native to the South Asia island state of Sri Lanka. According to anthropological evidences and archaeological evidences, Sri Lankan Tamils have a very long history in Sri Lankan history and...
caste
Caste system in Sri Lanka
The Caste system in Sri Lanka is a division of society into strata, differing somewhat from the classic Varnas of North India but is similar in nature to the Jāti system found in South India...
of traditional agriculturalists and temple workers. Today they are found in all aspects of the society. In the Vellalar
Vellalar (Sri Lankan Tamil)
Vellalar amongst Sri Lankan Tamils are a dominant group of formerly agricultural landlord related caste from Sri Lanka that is found amongst all walks of life and around the world as part of the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora.- Origins :...
dominated caste hierarchy of the Jaffna peninsula
Jaffna Peninsula
The Jaffna Peninsula is an area in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is home to the capital city of the province, Jaffna and comprises much of the former land mass of the ancient Tamil kingdoms of the Nagas and the medieval Jaffna kingdom. The peninsula is mostly surrounded by water, connected to...
they ranked higher due to their proximity to temples. There are number of competing theories as to their origins.
Origins theories
Native temple workersAccording to primary sources such as Yalpana Vaipava Malai
Yalpana Vaipava Malai
Yalpana Vaipava Malai is a book written by a Tamil poet called Mayilvagana Pulavar 1736 AD. This book contains historical facts of the early Tamil city of Jaffna. The book which may have been written around 1736 during the Governorship of Jan Maccara, the then Dutch Governor of Jaffna. It was...
, they were temple workers known as Kovilar who with time came to be known as Koviar. In Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
Kovil stands for a Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
temple. In South Indian census records Koviar and Kovilar as native South Indian castes
Caste system in India
The Indian caste system is a system of social stratification and social restriction in India in which communities are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups called Jātis....
.
Assimilated Sinhalese
Some historians such as Mudaliar Rasanayagam have speculated that Koviar are assimilated Sinhalese belonging to the Govigama
Govigama
Govi, Govigama, Goigama, Goygama, Goyigama, Goviyo is the most influential and the dominant Caste in Sri Lanka and certainly comes as the leading cast in the hierarchy of cast system in Sri Lanka.The term Govi denotes farmer.From time immemorial the Govigama have been the landlords and have been...
caste with the ascendancy of the Jaffna kingdom
Jaffna Kingdom
The Jaffna kingdom , also known as Kingdom of Aryacakravarti, of modern northern Sri Lanka was a historic monarchy that came into existence around the town of Jaffna on the Jaffna peninsula after the invasion of Magha, who is said to have been from Kalinga, in India...
. Mudaliar Rasanayagma made the speculation based on the fact that Koviar caste was not found in South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
but the census figures for 1881 lists a Koviar caste in the Madras Presidency
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
in South India.
Historic condition
As a historically depressed social group, they were restricted to Jaffna peninsula and certain areas of PuttalamPuttalam
Puttalam is the capital city of the Puttalam District in North Western Province, Sri Lanka.-History:The history of this dry zone dates back to the arrival of Prince Vijaya, nearly 2500 years ago, when his vessel washed ashore. The name "Puttalam" may be a modification of the Tamil word Uppuththalam...
and eastern Batticaloa
Batticaloa
Batticaloa is a city in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka. It is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka. It is on the east coast, south by south east of Trincomalee, and is situated on an island.-Etymology:...
region. They provided the bulk of the manual manpower required for cultivation and temple services. There were not 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.
Current condition
After Sri Lanka’s independence from Britain in 1948, Sri Lankan Tamil politicsSri Lankan Tamil nationalism
Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism is the conviction of the Sri Lankan Tamil people, a minority ethnic group in the South Asian island country of Sri Lanka , that they have the right to constitute an independent or autonomous political community. This idea has not always existed...
was geared towards a nationalistic cause. Koviar using their ritual and physical proximity to the educational services upgraded themselves socially and economically. The Policy of standardization
Policy of standardization
The policy of standardization was a policy implemented by the Sri Lankan government in 1973 to rectify disparities created in university enrollment in Sri Lanka under Colonial rule.-The reasoning for the law:...
imposed by the successive Sri Lankan governments since 1973 had the effect of restricting the number of Tamil students entering state Universities and affected upwardly mobile 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
Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups
Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups rose to prominence in the 1970s to fight the state of Sri Lanka in order to create an independent Tamil Eelam in the north of Sri Lanka. They rose in response to the perception amongst minority Sri Lankan Tamils that the state was preferring the majority Sinhalese...
. They were prominent in one of them namely TELO
Telo
Telo is one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. This woreda has its origins in the province Chetta of the former Kingdom of Kaffa. A triangle-shaped sub-unit of the Keficho Shekicho Zone, Telo is bordered on the west by Decha, at the northwest...
that was eventually eclipsed by the LTTE that was also seen as to be associated with another minority but upwardly mobile Karaiyar
Karaiyar
Karaiyar, also known as Karayar, Karaiar or Kurukulam, is traditionally both a seafaring and warrior caste found in the Tamil Nadu state of India, coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and globally among the Tamil diaspora.-Origins:...
caste in Jaffna
Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
.
The civil war
Sri Lankan civil war
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
and the Black July
Black July
Black July is the commonly used name for the anti-Tamil pogrom and attacks carried out by mobs in Sri Lanka which began on July 23, 1983. The riots occurred following a deadly ambush by a Tamil militant organization known as Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which killed 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers...
pogroms have retarded most of these gains and many have escaped the deprivations by seeking refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
status in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. They are merging with the host populations and/or the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora
Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora
The Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora refers to the global diaspora of the people of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. It can be said to be a subset of the larger Sri Lankan as well as Tamil diaspora....
.