Seerpadar (also written as ''Cirpatar'' or ''Seerpadam'') is a Tamil

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...

found in the coastal regions of Eastern Province in

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 traditionally involved in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

. They are chiefly found in the

Veeramunai Veeramunai is a rural village in the Ampara District situated within the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. Most of the residents are minority Sri Lankan Tamils and are farmers. According to local chronicles, Veeramunai was founded by early Mukkuva se ...

, Mandur, Thuraineelavanai,

Kalmunai Kalmunai ( ta, கல்முனை, translit=Kalmuṉai; si, කල්මුනේ, translit=Kalmunē) is a major city in Ampara District. It is the largest city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. It had a total population of 106,780 as of 2011. I ...

, Kurumanveli and Periye Kallar regions in the

Batticaloa Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the ...

and

Ampara District Ampara District ( ta, அம்பாறை மாவட்டம், translit=Ampāṟai Māvaṭṭam; si, අම්පාර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, translit=Ampāra Distrikkaya) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the sec ...

History

Early history

The Seerpadar caste derive their name and origin from a

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century B ...

queen known as ''Seerpada Devi'', chronicled in inscriptions, copper plates and local poems. According to them, their origin stems from the union of Seerpada Devi and the prince ''Sittathurai'' (also known as ''Balasimhan''), the son of king Ukkirasinghan (legendary founder of

Jaffna Kingdom The Jaffna Kingdom ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு, si, යාපනය රාජධානිය; 1215–1624 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came i ...

). The caste has been recorded in colonial records as being involved in cultivating activities and warriors.

Seerpadar's Inscriptions

*Veeramunai ceppedu *Thirukkovil ceppedu *Kokkaticholai ceppedu *Thuraineelavanai ceppedu *Thirukonamalai ceppedu

Others

Kanchikudicharu Kanchikudicharu is a Tamil village in the Ampara District in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. It is located east of the capital, Colombo. 2007 military action by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The area was controlled by the Sri Lan ...

References

{{Reflist Sri Lankan Tamil castes