The following is a chronological overview of the history of the

Karava Karava () is a Sinhalese speaking ethnic group of Sri Lanka, whose ancestors migrated throughout history from the Coromandel coast, claiming lineage to the Kaurava royalty of the old Kingdom of Kuru in Northern India. The Tamil equivalent is Kar ...

s and

Karaiyar Karaiyar is a Sri Lankan Tamil caste found mainly on the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and globally among the Tamil diaspora. They are traditionally a seafaring community that is engaged in fishing, shipment and seaborn ...

s caste 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, ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Both communities were historically also known as ''Kurukulam,'' meaning ''Kuru clan''.

Medieval period

* Under the reign of

Virarajendra Chola Virarajendra Chola (1002 – 1070) was a Chola emperor. A son of Rajendra I, he spent a majority of his life as a subordinate to two of his elder brothers, Rajadhiraja I and Rajendra II. During his early reign, he founded a school to study t ...

(1063-1070 CE), the Chola rule ended through a rebellion led by

Vijayabahu I Vijayabahu the Great (born ''Prince Keerthi'') () (ruled 1055–1110), also known as Vijayabahu I, was a medieval king of Sri Lanka. Born to a royal bloodline, Vijayabahu grew up under Chola occupation. He assumed rulership of the Ruhuna principa ...

, under the chief ''Kurukulatta Raiyan'' (King of Kurukulam), mentioned in an inscription in

Thirumukkulam Thirumukkulam is a village in Thrissur district in the state of Kerala, India. Demographics According to the 2001 India census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and ca ...

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 ...

. * The Karaiyar captain ''Meekaman'' lead the

Chola The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...

troops and defeated 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, and Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, who have tradit ...

chief ''Vediarasan'' and Moor chief ''Meera.'' The

Delft Island fort Delft Island Fort (; , locally known as ''Neduntheevu fort'' and ''Meekaman fort'') are ruins of a fort located on the island of Neduntheevu in the Palk Strait in northern Sri Lanka. Traditionally attributed to the Karaiyar king ''Meekaman'', the ...

is thought as his fort and is thill this day locally known as ''Meekaman Kottai'' or "fort of Meekaman". *The

Mukkara Hatana The Mukkara Hatana ("''The'' ''Mukkuvar War"'') is a 17th-century palm-leaf manuscript from Sri Lanka. Written in Sinhalese, the work celebrates the victory of the Karaiyars, also known as Karavas, over the Sri Lankan Mukkuvars, who battled for th ...

, an old

palm leaf manuscript Palm-leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. Palm leaves were used as writing materials in the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia dating back to the 5th century BCE. Their use began in South Asia and spread to oth ...

from

, is an account of the defeat of the Mukkuvar by the Karaiyars in the

Saka era The Shaka era (IAST: Śaka, Śāka) is a historical Hindu calendar era (year numbering), the epoch (its year zero) of which corresponds to Julian year 78. The era has been widely used in different regions of the Indian subcontinent as well a ...

1159 and the taking of the fort of

Puttalam Puttalam (; ) is the largest town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Puttalam is the administrative capital of the Puttalam District and governed by a municipal council. Climate Under the ...

after a three-month siege.

Colonial period

* Under the leadership of Karaiyar chiefs

Migapulle Arachchi Migapulle Arachchi was a feudal lord from the Jaffna Kingdom who became a rebel leader just after its annexation by the Portuguese Empire in 1619. His title ''Arachchi'', is a title given to the commanders of Lascarins or native military forces. ...

and

Varunakulattan Varunakulattan (also identified as Khem Nayak or Chem Nayak) was a 17th-century general of Tanjore nayak, feudal lord and military commander from the Tanjore Nayak Kingdom. He led a rebellion as the military commander of Thanjavur Nayak against t ...

, aligned with the

Thanjavur Nayak The Thanjavur Nayak dynasty (or Thanjavur Nayak kingdom) were the rulers of Thanjavur in the 15th and 17th centuries founded by Sevappa Nayak, Sevappa Nayaka. The Nayaks, who were Telugu people, Telugu Balija, Balijas,* * * * * * * * * ...

, fought with the Jaffna king

Cankili II Cankili II (; died 1621), also spelled Sangili) was the last king of the Jaffna kingdom and was a usurper who came to throne with a palace massacre of the royal prince and the regent Arasa-kesari in 1617. His regency was rejected by the Portu ...

against the Portuguese in the conquest of the Jaffna kingdom. *The Prince of Uva, '' Kuruvita Rala,'' who was a Karava revolted with his troops against the Portuguese and also raided the

Kingdom of Kandy The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the Sri Lanka, island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century. Initially a client kingdom ...

, driving the king Senarat out of his capital. * Weerahannadige Patabendi Francisco Fernando alias

Puran Appu Weerahannadige Francisco Fernando, colloquially known by his nickname Puran Appu ( Sinhala පුරන් අප්පු) is one of the notable figures of Sri Lanka's post-Kandyan history. Regarded colloquially as a national hero, his staunch ...

, a Catholic Karava led a

revolt Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

against the colonial British in 1848.

Independent period

* The British establishment of

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

as a separate unit from its Indian empire in the 1930s, harmed the flourishing trade that was accomplished by the Karaiyars. The Karaiyars traditionally traded and shipped

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

chank ''Turbinella'' is a genus of very large sea snails with an operculum (gastropod), operculum, marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Turbinellinae of the family Turbinellidae.Bouchet, P. (2011). Turbinella Lamarck, 1799. Access ...

s, rice and other goods to

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

which was heavily restricted and controlled under the British government. *

s formed the elites under colonial era. Several Karavas, such as

James Peiris Sir James Peiris (20 December 1856 – 5 May 1930) was a prominent leader in the Sri Lankan independence movement, the first elected Vice-President of the Legislative Council of Ceylon and the first native Governor of Ceylon (Acting).

, fought for the

Sri Lankan independence movement The Sri Lankan independence movement was a peaceful political movement which was aimed at achieving independence and self-rule for the country of Sri Lanka, then British Ceylon, from the British Empire. The switch of powers was generally kno ...

* The

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; , PLF) is a Marxist–Leninist political party in Sri Lanka. The party was formerly a revolutionary movement and was involved in two armed uprisings against the government of Sri Lanka: once in 1971 JVP ins ...

, was founded by

Rohana Wijeweera Patabendi Don Jinadasa Nandasiri Wijeweera (; 14 July 1943 – 13 November 1989), better known as Rohana Wijeweera, was a Sri Lankan Marxist–Leninist political activist, revolutionary, and founder of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; ). W ...

. Wijeweera and many other

s, formed the leadership of this organization. * The

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...

, was founded by

Velupillai Prabhakaran Velupillai Prabhakaran (; ; ; 26 November 1954 – 18 May 2009) was a Sri Lankan guerrilla and a major figure of Tamil nationalism, being the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE was a militant organiza ...

. Prabhakaran and many other Karaiyars, formed the leadership of this organization. *Chief Karava families such as the ''de Mels'', the ''Peiris'' and the ''Soysas'' were heavily involved in estate-owning sector, mainly in coconut and rubber. Entrepreneuring Karavas controlled important commercial groups such as Mackwoods Ltd, Brown's Group Ltd, Richard Pieris Ltd and J. L. M. Fernando's group.

Sources

References

* BITC, ''The Bulletin of the Institute of Traditional Culture I'', Madras University 1961 * Habib Irfan, ''The Agrarian system of Mughal India'', 1999 Oxford * S. Paranavitana, ''Inscriptions of Ceylon,'' Volume I * Perniola Fr. S. J., ''The History of the Catholic Church – Portuguese period'' * Queyroz Fr. S. J., ''1688 The Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylaö'' * Sastri Nilakanta K. A., ''Pandyan Kingdom'' * Sastri Nilakanta K. A. ''The Cholas'' *Raghavan, M. D., The Karava of Ceylon: Society and Culture, K. V. G. de Silva, 1961

External links

Karava website—Kshatriya Maha Sabha Sri Lanka
{{DEFAULTSORT:Timeline Of The Karavas and Karaiyars Sinhalese castes Sri Lankan Tamil castes