Vanniar (Chieftain)
Encyclopedia
Vanniar or Vannia is a title of a feudal chief in medieval Sri Lanka
who ruled the Vannimai
regions as tribute payers to the Jaffna kingdom
. They were intermittently subdued by other powers before being recovered. Vanniar is recorded as that of a name of a caste
amongst Sri Lankan Tamils in the Vanni District
of northern Sri Lanka during the early 1900’s. It is no longer used as a name of a caste or as chiefs in Sri Lanka. There are number of origin theories for the feudal chiefs - connected to the Koneswaram shrine
, as the Vanniyar
caste coming from modern Tamil Nadu
state or as an indigenous formation.
and stone inscriptions like Konesar Kalvettu recount that the Chola royal Kankan, a descendant of the legendary King Manu Needhi Cholan
of Thiruvarur, Chola Nadu
, restored the Koneswaram temple
at Trincomalee and the Kantalai tank after finding them in ruins. He visited the Munneswaram temple on the west coast, before settling ancient Vanniars in the east of the island. According to the chronicles, he extensively renovated and expanded the shrine, lavishing much wealth on it; he was crowned with the ephitet Kulakottan meaning Builder of tank and temple. Further to the reconstruction, Kulakottan paid attention to agriculture cultivation and economic development in the area, inviting the Vanniar chief Tanniuna Popalen and families to a new founded town in the area including Thampalakamam
to maintain the Kantalai tank and the temple itself. The effects of this saw the Vanni region flourish. The Vanniar claim descent from this chief. Modern historians and anthropologists agree as historically factual the connection of the Vanniars with the Konesar temple, and some cite epigraphical evidence to date Kullakottan's renovations to 432-440 CE. Others cite poetic and inscriptional evidence to date his renovations to 1589 BCE. Following the re-rise of the Tamil kingdom in the medieval period and demise of the classical Sinhalese kingdom
period post twelfth century AD, many petty chiefs took power in the buffer lands between the northern based Jaffna Kingdom
and other Kingdoms based on the Southwest of the Island namely Kotte Kingdom
and the Kandyan Kingdom. These petty chefs paid tribute to the Jaffna Kingdom. Sometimes they were independent of any central control or subdued by the southern kingdoms during the European colonial era for strategical purposes. The ruling class was composed of multi ethnic and multi caste origins. Some according primary sources such as Yalpana Vaipava Malai
were descended from Vanniar caste immigrants from modern Tamil Nadu
where as others were clearly of Mukkuva origins. There were also number of Vannia chiefs of Sinhalese ancestry. Many kings and chiefs with titles such as Vannian or Vannia had ruled in northern areas of modern Sri Lanka termed as Vannimai
during the Jaffna Kingdom era. (see Pandara Vannian
)
it is no longer registered amongst northern Sri Lankan Tamils but in the 1900s it was present singly in the North and North Central provinces. During the subsequent period it assimilated as part of the local Vellalar
, Govigama
and other similar positioned castes.
primary sources derive the name from the similarly named and militarily important Vanniar caste of modern South India
where as some Sri Lankan historians derive these titles independent of Indian based Vanniar caste amongst both Sri Lankan Tamils and Sinhalese
from the Tamil and Sinhalese for forest, namely Vanna and a Vannia or Wannia as a person from the forest and Vannimai
s were large tracks of forest lands. (see Wanniyala-Aetto
)
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
who ruled the Vannimai
Vannimai
The Vannimais, or Vanni chieftaincies, were feudal land divisions ruled by petty chiefs south of the Jaffna peninsula in the present-day Northern, North Central and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. These chieftaincies arose in the 12th century, with the rise of the medieval Tamil kingdom's golden...
regions as tribute payers to 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...
. They were intermittently subdued by other powers before being recovered. Vanniar is recorded as that of a name of a caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
amongst Sri Lankan Tamils in the Vanni District
Vanni (Sri Lanka)
The Vanni is the name given to the mainland area of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It covers the entirety of Mannar, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya Districts, and most of Kilinochchi District. It has an area of approximately 7,650 km2...
of northern Sri Lanka during the early 1900’s. It is no longer used as a name of a caste or as chiefs in Sri Lanka. There are number of origin theories for the feudal chiefs - connected to the Koneswaram shrine
Koneswaram temple
Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee is an Hindu temple in Trincomalee, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka venerated by Saivites throughout the continent...
, as the Vanniyar
Vanniyar
Vanniyar , refers to a very large social group of people spread all across South India. Vanniyars primarily live in modern Tamil Nadu where they speak Tamil, while in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala they speak their native South Indian Dravidian languages namely, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam...
caste coming from modern Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
state or as an indigenous formation.
Feudal chiefs
Medieval Tamil chronicles such as the 18th century Yalpana Vaipava MalaiYalpana 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...
and stone inscriptions like Konesar Kalvettu recount that the Chola royal Kankan, a descendant of the legendary King Manu Needhi Cholan
Manu Needhi Cholan
Manu Needhi Cholan or Manuneedhi Cholan was a legendary Chola king believed to have killed his own son to provide justice to a Cow, following Manu Needhi or Manu's law. Legend has it that the king hung a giant bell in front of his courtroom for anyone needing justice to ring. One day, he came out...
of Thiruvarur, Chola Nadu
Chola Nadu
Chola Nadu is a region of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. It encompasses the lower reaches of the Kaveri River and its delta, and formed the cultural homeland and political base of the Chola Dynasty which ruled most of South India and parts of Sri Lanka and South-East Asia between the 9th and...
, restored the Koneswaram temple
Koneswaram temple
Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee is an Hindu temple in Trincomalee, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka venerated by Saivites throughout the continent...
at Trincomalee and the Kantalai tank after finding them in ruins. He visited the Munneswaram temple on the west coast, before settling ancient Vanniars in the east of the island. According to the chronicles, he extensively renovated and expanded the shrine, lavishing much wealth on it; he was crowned with the ephitet Kulakottan meaning Builder of tank and temple. Further to the reconstruction, Kulakottan paid attention to agriculture cultivation and economic development in the area, inviting the Vanniar chief Tanniuna Popalen and families to a new founded town in the area including Thampalakamam
Thampalakamam
Thampalakamam is a Town in the Trincomalee District of Sri Lanka and it is located about 20 km South-West of Trincomalee. It is also known as Tampainakar in Tamil chronicles written during the 17th century. Portuguese colonial officers who came to the general area after 1622 with the...
to maintain the Kantalai tank and the temple itself. The effects of this saw the Vanni region flourish. The Vanniar claim descent from this chief. Modern historians and anthropologists agree as historically factual the connection of the Vanniars with the Konesar temple, and some cite epigraphical evidence to date Kullakottan's renovations to 432-440 CE. Others cite poetic and inscriptional evidence to date his renovations to 1589 BCE. Following the re-rise of the Tamil kingdom in the medieval period and demise of the classical Sinhalese kingdom
Rajarata
Rajarata is the name given to the region of Sri Lanka from which monarchs ruled the country from approximately the 5th Century BCE to the early 13th Century CE...
period post twelfth century AD, many petty chiefs took power in the buffer lands between the northern based 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...
and other Kingdoms based on the Southwest of the Island namely Kotte Kingdom
Kotte
Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte , also known as Sri Jayawardenapura or Kotte කෝට්ටේ, is the administrative capital of Sri Lanka. It is located beyond the eastern suburbs of the commercial capital Colombo and is often called New Capital Territory...
and the Kandyan Kingdom. These petty chefs paid tribute to the Jaffna Kingdom. Sometimes they were independent of any central control or subdued by the southern kingdoms during the European colonial era for strategical purposes. The ruling class was composed of multi ethnic and multi caste origins. Some according 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...
were descended from Vanniar caste immigrants from modern Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
where as others were clearly of Mukkuva origins. There were also number of Vannia chiefs of Sinhalese ancestry. Many kings and chiefs with titles such as Vannian or Vannia had ruled in northern areas of modern Sri Lanka termed as Vannimai
Vannimai
The Vannimais, or Vanni chieftaincies, were feudal land divisions ruled by petty chiefs south of the Jaffna peninsula in the present-day Northern, North Central and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. These chieftaincies arose in the 12th century, with the rise of the medieval Tamil kingdom's golden...
during the Jaffna Kingdom era. (see Pandara Vannian
Pandara Vannian
Pandara Vanniyan was a rebel Tamil chief from the Vanni region who was known as one of last native chiefs to challenge British rule in the Island nation of Sri Lanka.-Biography:...
)
As a caste
As a casteCaste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
it is no longer registered amongst northern Sri Lankan Tamils but in the 1900s it was present singly in the North and North Central provinces. During the subsequent period it assimilated as part of the local 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 :...
, 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...
and other similar positioned castes.
Origin theories
The TamilTamil 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...
primary sources derive the name from the similarly named and militarily important Vanniar caste of modern 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...
where as some Sri Lankan historians derive these titles independent of Indian based Vanniar caste amongst both Sri Lankan Tamils and Sinhalese
Sinhalese people
The Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group,forming the majority of Sri Lanka,constituting 74% of the Sri Lankan population.They number approximately 15 million worldwide.The Sinhalese identity is based on language, heritage and religion. The Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and the...
from the Tamil and Sinhalese for forest, namely Vanna and a Vannia or Wannia as a person from the forest and Vannimai
Vannimai
The Vannimais, or Vanni chieftaincies, were feudal land divisions ruled by petty chiefs south of the Jaffna peninsula in the present-day Northern, North Central and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. These chieftaincies arose in the 12th century, with the rise of the medieval Tamil kingdom's golden...
s were large tracks of forest lands. (see Wanniyala-Aetto
Wanniyala-Aetto
Veddas or Veddahs , are an indigenous people of Sri Lanka, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. They amongst other self identified native communities such as Coast Veddas and Anuradhapura Veddas are accorded indigenous status...
)