Maravar (also known as Maravan and Marava) are a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

community in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. These people are one of the three branches of the Mukkulathor confederacy. Members of the Maravar community often use the honorific title '' Thevar''. They are classified as an

Other Backward Class The Other Backward Class is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with General castes, ...

or a Denotified Tribe in Tamil Nadu, depending on the district. The Sethupathi rulers of the erstwhile Ramnad kingdom were from this community. The Maravar community, along with the Kallars, had a reputation for thieving and

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

from as early as the medieval period.

Etymology

The term ''Maravar'' has diverse proposed etymologies; it may come simply from a

word ''maram'', meaning such things as ''vice'' and ''murder. or a term meaning "bravery".

Social status

The Maravars were considered as Shudras and were free to worship in Hindu temples. According to Pamela G, Price, the Maravar were warriors who were in some cases

zamindar A zamindar (Hindustani language, Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian language, Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous Raja, ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughal Em ...

s. During the British colonial era, the Maravars were sometimes recorded as Kshatriyas by the legal officers involved in Zamindari litigation proceedings but more often they classified as

Shudras Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four ''Varna (Hinduism), varnas'' of the Hindu caste system and social order in ancient India. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoret ...

. Maravars were the only ruling castes of Tamil origin in Tamil Nadu. The zamins of Singampatti, Urkadu, Nerkattanseval, Thalavankottai, all ruled by members of Maravar caste. Occasionally the Setupathis had to respond to the charge they were not ritually pure. During the formation of Tamilaham, the Maravars were brought in as socially outcast tribes or traditionally as lowest entrants into the shudra category. The Maravas to this day are feared as a thieving tribe and are an ostracised group in Tirunelveli region.

References

{{Authority control Mukkulathor Social groups of Tamil Nadu Other Backward Classes Denotified tribes of India

Etymology

Social status

See also

References