Thimilar (

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, nati ...

: திமிலர்) is a Sri Lankan Tamil caste found in the northern and eastern coastal areas 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 ...

, and globally among the

Tamil diaspora The Tamil diaspora refers to descendants of the Tamil immigrants who emigrated from their native lands (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Sri Lanka) to other parts of the world. They are found primarily in Malaysia, Arab states of the Persian Gulf, ...

. They are traditional

artisanal fishers Artisanal fishing (or traditional/subsistence fishing) consists of various small-scale, low-technology, low-capital, fishing practices undertaken by individual fishing households (as opposed to commercial fishing). Many of these households are o ...

primarily engaged in shallow-water

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 ...

. In Eastern Sri Lanka are they also involved in cattle cultivation. Historically, they have also been known as ''Sindhu nāttar'' (people of Sindh), following their own myth origins.

Etymology

The word Thimilar is derived from the word ''thimil'', a

word for boat, and the honorific suffix -''ar'', thus Thimilar is literally translated as ''Boatmen''. The

Akanaṉūṟu The ''Akananuru'' (, literally "four hundred oemsin the akam genre"), sometimes called ''Nedunthokai'' (''lit.'' "anthology of long poems"), is a classical Tamil poetic work and one of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') in the Sangam lite ...

of the

Sangam literature The Sangam literature ( Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' ( Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connote ...

, mentions ''Thimilan'', as a boat using fisherman.

History

The ''Vaiyapadal'' mentions the Sindhu Natar, a name of the Thimilar, as one of the communities inhabiting the Jaffna Peninsula. They are mentioned in the

Mattakallappu Manmiyam ''Mattakkalappu Maanmiyam'' (; ''The Glory of Batticaloa'') is a Tamil language historical book concerning the history of Batticaloa. It was compiled by F. X. Nadarajah from the collections of palm-leaf manuscripts, copper plate inscriptions and ...

as one of the fishing tribes living in the eastern part of

, who lost a battle to the

Mukkuvar Mukkuvar is a maritime ethnic group found in the Indian states of Kerala , Tamil Nadu and the Eastern and North Western coastal regions of Sri Lanka. They are mostly found on the Malabar Coast, South Travancore Coast and Kanyakumari district, Ta ...

who were in alliance with the

Pathans Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...

. Place names in the

Batticaloa region Batticaloa region ( ta, மட்டக்களப்புத் தேசம் ''Maṭṭakkaḷapput tēcam''; also known as ''Matecalo''; ''Baticalo''; in Colonial records, was the ancient region of Tamil Settlements in Sri Lanka. The fore ...

are derived from the battle such as Sathurukondan (meaning "were enemy was killed", referring to the execution of the Thimilar chief) and Pathiyai-thookia-palai (where the Thimilar chieftess was hanged).

References

{{Reflist Sri Lankan Tamil castes

Etymology

History

See also

References