Berava (caste)
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{{Original research, date=March 2011 Berava are a
social group In the social sciences, a social group is defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties. F ...
or
caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
amongst the Sinhalese of
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. Like the
Paraiyar Paraiyar, Parayar or Maraiyar (formerly anglicised as Pariah and Paree) is a caste group found in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and in Sri Lanka. Etymology Robert Caldwell, a nineteenth-century missionary and grammarian who w ...
of the neighboring
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
ethnic group in Sri Lanka as well as
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
state in
South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
, they were segregated from the mainstream society, yet played and still play an important and vital role in the religious rituals of the mainstream community. In Maharashtra the Berava belongs to maratha(Kshatriya)


Origins

As the mainstream Sinhalese speakers claim
North Indian North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...
ethnic origins the presence of many South Indian type Jatis like the Beravas indicate a complex migration history from India to Sri Lanka. Beravas do not indicate any tribal origins like the other formerly untouchable caste of Rodiyas. They are part and parcel of the caste structure albeit with a primary function associated with Tom Tom or drum besting in all ritual occasions. Yet they are also used as agricultural workers, weavers and domestic help throughout the country.


South Indian roots

Some
anthropologists An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
believe that the early society of Sri Lanka has looked to neighboring South India for manpower to fulfill functional needs as land was cleared and many new villages found. Berava are believed to be descended from
Paraiyar Paraiyar, Parayar or Maraiyar (formerly anglicised as Pariah and Paree) is a caste group found in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and in Sri Lanka. Etymology Robert Caldwell, a nineteenth-century missionary and grammarian who w ...
like caste of South India who also play an important role in Tom Tom or Drum or Bera beating


Colonial period

The powerful
Mudaliyar Thuluva Vellalar, also known as Agamudi Mudaliar or Arcot Mudaliars, is a caste found in northern Tamil Nadu, southern Andhra Pradesh and southern Karnataka. They were an elite and dominant land-owning community. Etymology The earliest occu ...
class created by the British in the 19th century attempted to keep this caste and all other Sri Lankan castes out of colonial appointments. They also used all possible means to economically and socially marginalise and subjugate all other communities. The oppression by the Mudaliars and connected headmen extended to demanding subservience, service, appropriation of cultivation rights and even restrictions on the type of personal names that could be used by this community. Continuous oppression and prejudices created by the Buddhist monastic establishment has made it difficult for this community to progress.


Etymology of Bera

The
etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
of the word Bera for Drum in Sinhalese is derived from after the
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
word ''Parai'' which originally meant ''speak'' came to denote a ''drumming'' caste. Thus this etymology indicates that Berava were a late addition to the Sinhalese Society.


Sub divisions

There are many subdivisions within the caste, some of which are ''Badgam Berava'' and ''Gahala Berava'' indicating drumming specializations. They denote Temple drummers who occupied and cultivated ''Bathgam'' (rice producing villages) as
tenant farmers A tenant farmer is a farmer or farmworker who resides and works on land owned by a landlord, while tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and mana ...
and
Executioner An executioner, also known as a hangman or headsman, is an official who effects a sentence of capital punishment on a condemned person. Scope and job The executioner was usually presented with a warrant authorizing or ordering him to ...
's drummers respectively. It may indicate diverse origins for this caste as for all castes in India.


Role in folk religion

Although great many Sinhalese purport to profess the conservative
Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
there is a thriving belief in
demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in media including fiction, comics, film, t ...
, spirits,
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
gods A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...
and connected rituals such as
spirit possession Spirit Possession is an altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors which are purportedly caused by the control of a human body and its functions by Supernatural#Spirit, spirits, ghosts, demons, angels, or Deity, gods. The concept ...
, cursing ceremonies throughout the country also referred as the Spirit Religion or Folk Tradition. Some of these are facilitated by
shamans Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of th ...
, sorcerers, and native priests and astrologers. Berava perform the needed role as sorceress in some villages and also gain respectability by building cultic shrines to attract devotees from other castes.


References

* The Feast of the Sorcerer: Practices of Consciousness and Power – by BRUCE KAPFERER. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1997. *Performing Respectability: The Beravā, Middle-Class Nationalism, and the Classicization of Kandyan Dance in Sri Lanka by Susan A. Reed Cultural Anthropology May 2002, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 246-277 Posted online on October 29, 2004. * The Musical Gift: Sound, Sovereignty and Multicultural History in Sri Lanka by Jim Sykes, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Chicago, 2011. *Servants of Globalization: Women, Migration, and Domestic Work, and: The Kitchen Spoon's Handle: Transnationalism and Sri Lanka's Migrant Housemaids (review) by Tiengtrakul, Chanasai NWSA Journal - Volume 15, Number 2, Summer 2003, pp. 195-199


External links


The role of Berava exorcists in Sorcery
* ttp://www.aisls.org/pdfs/2005prob-prospects.pdf Prospects and Problems in Sri Lankan Studies Sinhalese castes