Mukkuvar is a maritime
ethnic
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
group found in the
Indian states of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...
,
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 languag ...
and the Eastern and North Western coastal regions of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. They are mostly found on the Malabar Coast, South Travancore Coast and Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, who have traditionally been involved in
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques ...
and other maritime activities.
Etymology
The caste name proposes several etymology theories. One view holds that the name ''Mukkuvar'' is derived from the
Dravidian term ''muluku'' or ''mukku'' meaning "to dive", suggesting their traditional occupation in diving for
pearls
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...
and
seashell
A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer usually created by an animal or organism that lives in the sea. The shell is part of the body of the animal. Empty seashells are often found washe ...
.
Other titles used by the community are ''Kukankulam, Murkukan'' and ''Mukkiyar''.
The Mukkuvars are divided into
exogamous
Exogamy is the social norm of marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy