Kallar (caste) - Revision history

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	{{Short description\|Tamil caste belonging to the triumvirate known as Mukkulathor}}		{{Short description\|Tamil caste belonging to the triumvirate known as Mukkulathor}}
	{{For\|the caste of Northern India\|Kalwar (caste)}}		{{For\|the caste of Northern India\|Kalwar (caste)}}
	~~{{pp-extended\|small=yes}}~~
	{{Use dmy dates\|date=November 2018}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=November 2018}}
	{{Use Indian English\|date=November 2018}}		{{Use Indian English\|date=November 2018}}

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{{Short description|Tamil caste belonging to the triumvirate known as Mukkulathor}}
{{For|the caste of Northern India|Kalwar (caste)}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
|image = Kallan siblings.jpg
|caption = Kallar children with dilated earlobes, formerly a common practice
|group = Kallar
|popplace = [[Tamil Nadu]]
|languages = [[Tamil language|Tamil]]
|religions = [[Folk Hinduism]]
|related-c =
}}

'''Kallar''' (or '''Kallan''', formerly spelled as '''Colleries''') is one of the three related castes of [[South India|southern India]] which constitute the [[Mukkulathor]] confederacy.<ref>{{cite book |title=Kingship and Political Practice in Colonial India |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages= 62, 87, 193 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=aqKSTs4ajsAC&pg=PA193 |first=Pamela G. |last=Price |edition=Reprinted |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-52155-247-9}}</ref> The Kallar, along with the [[Maravar]] and [[Agamudayar]], constitute a united social caste on the basis of parallel professions, though their locations and heritages are wholly separate from one another.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

==Etymology==
''Kallar'' is a Tamil word meaning ''thief''. Their history has included periods of banditry.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cegr6zH9PFEC&pg=PA242 |page=242 |title=The Hollow Crown: Ethnohistory of an Indian Kingdom |first=Nicholas B. |last=Dirks |authorlink=Nicholas Dirks |edition=2nd |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=1993 |isbn=9780472081875}}</ref> Kallar' self use title such as "Landlord",<ref>{{cite book|title= Journal Of Madras University Vol 81|url=https://archive.org/details/journalofmadrasuniversityvol81no1jan1990_202003_30/mode/1up?q=|year=1990|pages=[https://archive.org/details/journalofmadrasuniversityvol81no1jan1990_202003_30/page/n91/mode/1up?q 84]}}</ref> Other proposed etymological origins include "black skinned", "hero", and "[[Palm wine|toddy]]-tappers".<ref>{{cite book |first=G. |last=Kuppuram |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lPcgAAAAMAAJ&q=kallar+brave+etymology&dq=kallar+brave+etymology |title=India through the ages: history, art, culture, and religion, Volume 1 |publisher=Sundeep Prakashan |year=1988 |page=366|isbn=9788185067087 }}</ref>

The anthropologist [[Susan Bayly]] notes that the name Kallar, as with that of Maravar, was a title bestowed by Tamil [[Polygar|''palaiyakkarars'']] (warrior-chiefs) on pastoral peasants who acted as their armed retainers. The majority of those poligars, who during the late 17th- and 18th-centuries controlled much of the [[Telugu people|Telugu]] region as well as the Tamil area, had themselves come from the Kallar, Maravar and [[Vatuka]] communities.<ref name="Bayly2001p39">{{cite book |title=Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age |first=Susan |last=Bayly |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-521-79842-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbAjKR_iHogC |page=39}}</ref> ''Kallar'' is synonymous with the western Indian term, ''Koli'', having connotations of thievery but also of upland pastoralism.<ref name="Bayly2001p61">{{cite book |title=Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age |first=Susan |last=Bayly |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-521-79842-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbAjKR_iHogC |page=61}}</ref> According to Bayly, ''Kallar'' should be considered a "title of rural groups in Tamil Nadu with warrior-pastoralist ancestral traditions".<ref>{{cite book |title=Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age |first=Susan |last=Bayly |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-521-79842-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbAjKR_iHogC |page=385}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Ramachandra Tondaiman.jpg|thumb|200px|Ramachandra Tondaiman, [[Raja]] of [[Pudukkottai state|Pudukkottai]] seated in his palace, 1858]]

Bayly notes that the Kallar and Maravar identities as a caste, rather than as a title, "... were clearly not ancient facts of life in the Tamil Nadu region. Insofar as these people of the turbulent poligar country really did become castes, their bonds of affinity were shaped in the relatively recent past".<ref name="Bayly2001p61" /> Prior to the late 18th-century, their exposure to [[Brahmanic Hinduism]], the concept of [[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]] and practices such as [[endogamy]] that define the Indian caste system was minimal. Thereafter, the evolution as a caste developed as a result of various influences, including increased interaction with other groups as a consequence of jungle clearances, state-building and ideological shifts.<ref name="Bayly2001p39" />

British sources often characterized the Kallars, and the related castes, as "soldiers out of work." Many Kallars had been warriors as well as peasants for the last few centuries. Kallar chieftaincies, organized into networks of ''nadus'', controlled the region north and west of Madurai. The Nayaks attempted to pacify or subjugate them by titling Kallar chieftains, with limited success. These ''nadus'' were well outside Nayaka control, and folk songs told of fields that could not be harvested and raids by Kallar parties, who were considered sovereign and independent, in Madurai city. This situation persisted past the downfall of the Nayakas and the advent of Yusuf Khan, until the mid 18th century. Starting in 1755, the British army engaged in several brutal, bloody campaigns against the Kallars of [[Melur]], but decades later Kallar raiding parties still posed a significant threat. In 1801, they networked with palegars of Tamil and Telugu regions to spearhead a series of revolts against British control.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Pandian|first=Anand|date=2005|title=Securing the rural citizen|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/001946460504200101|journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review|volume=42|issue=1|pages=1–39|doi=10.1177/001946460504200101|issn=0019-4646|via=}}</ref>

By the late 18th century, the Kallars were working as ''kavalkarars'', or watchmen, in hundreds of villages throughout southern Tamil Nadu, especially the region west of Madurai. These ''kavalkarars'' were given ''maniyam'', rent-free land, to ensure they did their job correctly. These ''kaval maniyams'' were commonly held by ''palaiyakarars'' who used land, and shares of the crops, to maintain a small militia. A common allegation made by colonial officials was that these ''kavalkarars'' were "abusing" their position and exploiting the peasants whose livelihoods they were supposed to protect. Kallars were often also hired as [[mercenaries]] by ''palaiyakarars'', who according to British sources, used them to loot villagers. In 1803, these rights were abolished by the East India Company and the militias were abolished. However, the ''kaval'' system was not abolished but placed under the supervision of the East India Company.<ref name=":0" />

Reforms in 1816 abolished the responsibility ''kavalkarars'' had towards compensation for damaged crops while keeping fees, which British sources claimed led to the ''kavalkarars'' charging exorbitant fees. By the end of the 19th century, the watchmen formed a "shadow administration." Although British claims that Kallar watchmen were operating a "protection racket" were exaggerated, the Kallar watchmen still had the power of violence over the cultivators who paid them.<ref name=":0" />

Around the beginning of the 20th century, the cultivators, of many communities, near Madurai staged an anti-Kallar movement against the community's authority. The reasons for the movement are complex: partly the abuse of authority shown by Kallar watchmen, partly agrarian distress, and part-personal feud. The agitations took the form of violence against the Kallars, including arson, and forcing them out of the villages. In 1918, the community was placed on the list of Criminal Tribes.<ref name=":0" />

The [[Thondaman dynasty|Thondaiman dynasty]] of the erstwhile [[Pudukkottai State|Pudukkottai state]] hailed from the Kallar community.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cegr6zH9PFEC&pg=PA130&dq=tondaiman+kallar+caste#q=tondaiman%20kallar%20caste|title=The Hollow Crown: Ethnohistory of an Indian Kingdom|author=Nicholas B. Dirks|year=1993|publisher=University of Michigan Press, 1993 - Social Science - 430 pages|page=130|isbn=9780472081875}}</ref>

==Culture==
Among the traditional customs of the Kallar noted by colonial officials was the use of the "collery stick" ({{lang-ta|[[valai tādi]], kallartādi}}), a bent [[throwing stick]] or "false boomerang" which could be thrown up to {{convert|100|yd|m}}.<ref name="YuleBurnell1903">{{cite book|author1=Sir Henry Yule|author2=Arthur Coke Burnell|title=Hobson-Jobson: a glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Z5iAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA236|accessdate=21 March 2012|year=1903|publisher=J. Murray|pages=236–}}</ref> Writing in 1957, [[Louis Dumont]] noted that despite the weapon's frequent mention in literature, it had disappeared amongst the [[Piramalai Kallar]].<ref name="DumontStern1986">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQduAAAAMAAJ |title=A South Indian subcaste: social organization and religion of the Pramalai Kallar |first1=Louis |last1=Dumont |authorlink1=Louis Dumont |first2=A. |last2=Stern |first3=Michael |last3=Moffatt|year=1986|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195617856 }}</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2020}}

===Diet===
The Kallar were traditionally a non-vegetarian people,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d8k98lBxwM4C&pg=PA21 |title=Criminal gods and demon devotees: essays on the guardians of popular Hinduism |first=Alf |last=Hiltebeitel |date=21 September 1989 |authorlink=Alf Hiltebeitel |page=21|isbn=9780887069826 }}</ref> though a 1970s survey of Tamil Nadu indicated that 30% of Kallar surveyed, though non-vegetarian, refrained from eating fish after puberty.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gHsxM3h_JX4C&pg=PA98 |title=Food, ecology, and culture: readings in the anthropology of dietary practices |first=John R. K. |last=Robson |year=1980 |page=98|isbn=9780677160900 }}</ref> Meat, though present in the Kallar diet, was not frequently eaten but restricted to Saturday nights and festival days. Even so, this small amount of meat was sufficient to affect perceptions of Kallar social status.<ref name="DumontStern1986"/>{{page needed|date=July 2020}}

===Martial arts===
The Kallars traditionally practised a Tamil martial art variously known as ''[[Adimurai]]'', ''chinna adi'' and ''varna ati''. In recent years, since 1958, these have been referred to as Southern-style [[Kalaripayattu]], although they are distinct from the ancient martial art of Kalaripayattu itself that was historically the style found in [[Kerala]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia. A – L |volume=1 |editor-first=Thomas A. |editor-last=Green |year=2001| page=177 |chapter=India |first=Philip B. |last=Zarilli |publisher=ABC-CLIO | isbn=978-1-57607-150-2 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v32oHSE5t6cC&pg=PA177}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mukkulathor]]
[[Category:Social groups of Tamil Nadu]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:42, 23 September 2025
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	{{Short description\|Tamil caste belonging to the triumvirate known as Mukkulathor}}		{{Short description\|Tamil caste belonging to the triumvirate known as Mukkulathor}}
	{{For\|the caste of Northern India\|Kalwar (caste)}}		{{For\|the caste of Northern India\|Kalwar (caste)}}
			{{pp-extended\|small=yes}}
	{{Use dmy dates\|date=November 2018}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=November 2018}}
	{{Use Indian English\|date=November 2018}}		{{Use Indian English\|date=November 2018}}
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	==Etymology==		==Etymology==
	''Kallar'' is a Tamil word meaning ''thief''. Their history has included periods of banditry.<ref>{{cite book \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cegr6zH9PFEC&pg=PA242 \|page=242 \|title=The Hollow Crown: Ethnohistory of an Indian Kingdom \|first=Nicholas B. \|last=Dirks \|authorlink=Nicholas Dirks \|edition=2nd \|publisher=University of Michigan Press \|year=1993 \|isbn=9780472081875}}</ref> ~~Kallar' self~~ use ~~title~~ such as "~~Landlord~~",<ref>{{cite book\|title= Journal Of Madras University Vol 81\|url=https://archive.org/details/journalofmadrasuniversityvol81no1jan1990_202003_30/mode/1up?q=\|year=1990\|pages=[https://archive.org/details/journalofmadrasuniversityvol81no1jan1990_202003_30/page/n91/mode/1up?q 84]}}</ref> Other proposed etymological origins include "black skinned", "hero", and "[[Palm wine\|toddy]]-tappers".<ref>{{cite book \|first=G. \|last=Kuppuram \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lPcgAAAAMAAJ&q=kallar+brave+etymology&dq=kallar+brave+etymology \|title=India through the ages: history, art, culture, and religion, Volume 1 \|publisher=Sundeep Prakashan \|year=1988 \|page=366\|isbn=9788185067087 }}</ref>		''Kallar'' is a [[Tamil language\|Tamil]] word meaning ''thief''. Their history has included periods of banditry.<ref>{{cite book \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cegr6zH9PFEC&pg=PA242 \|page=242 \|title=The Hollow Crown: Ethnohistory of an Indian Kingdom \|first=Nicholas B. \|last=Dirks \|authorlink=Nicholas Dirks \|edition=2nd \|publisher=University of Michigan Press \|year=1993 \|isbn=9780472081875}}</ref> Kallars themselves use titles such as "landlord".<ref>{{cite book\|title= Journal Of Madras University Vol 81\|url=https://archive.org/details/journalofmadrasuniversityvol81no1jan1990_202003_30/mode/1up?q=\|year=1990\|pages=[https://archive.org/details/journalofmadrasuniversityvol81no1jan1990_202003_30/page/n91/mode/1up?q 84]}}</ref> Other proposed etymological origins include "black skinned", "hero", and "[[Palm wine\|toddy]]-tappers".<ref>{{cite book \|first=G. \|last=Kuppuram \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lPcgAAAAMAAJ&q=kallar+brave+etymology&dq=kallar+brave+etymology \|title=India through the ages: history, art, culture, and religion, Volume 1 \|publisher=Sundeep Prakashan \|year=1988 \|page=366\|isbn=9788185067087 }}</ref>

	The anthropologist [[Susan Bayly]] notes that the name Kallar, as with that of Maravar, was a title bestowed by Tamil [[Polygar\|''palaiyakkarars'']] (warrior-chiefs) on pastoral peasants who acted as their armed retainers. The majority of those poligars, who during the late 17th- and 18th-centuries controlled much of the [[Telugu people\|Telugu]] region as well as the Tamil area, had themselves come from the Kallar, Maravar and [[Vatuka]] communities.<ref name="Bayly2001p39">{{cite book \|title=Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age \|first=Susan \|last=Bayly \|publisher=Cambridge University Press \|year=2001 \|isbn=978-0-521-79842-6 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbAjKR_iHogC \|page=39}}</ref> ''Kallar'' is synonymous with the western Indian term, ''Koli'', having connotations of thievery but also of upland pastoralism.<ref name="Bayly2001p61">{{cite book \|title=Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age \|first=Susan \|last=Bayly \|publisher=Cambridge University Press \|year=2001 \|isbn=978-0-521-79842-6 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbAjKR_iHogC \|page=61}}</ref> According to Bayly, ''Kallar'' should be considered a "title of rural groups in Tamil Nadu with warrior-pastoralist ancestral traditions".<ref>{{cite book \|title=Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age \|first=Susan \|last=Bayly \|publisher=Cambridge University Press \|year=2001 \|isbn=978-0-521-79842-6 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbAjKR_iHogC \|page=385}}</ref>		The anthropologist [[Susan Bayly]] notes that the name Kallar, as with that of Maravar, was a title bestowed by Tamil [[Polygar\|''palaiyakkarars'']] (warrior-chiefs) on pastoral peasants who acted as their armed retainers. The majority of those poligars, who during the late 17th and 18th centuries controlled much of the [[Telugu people\|Telugu]] region as well as the Tamil area, had themselves come from the Kallar, Maravar and [[Vatuka]] communities.<ref name="Bayly2001p39">{{cite book \|title=Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age \|first=Susan \|last=Bayly \|publisher=Cambridge University Press \|year=2001 \|isbn=978-0-521-79842-6 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbAjKR_iHogC \|page=39}}</ref> ''Kallar'' is synonymous with the western Indian term, ''Koli'', having connotations of thievery but also of upland pastoralism.<ref name="Bayly2001p61">{{cite book \|title=Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age \|first=Susan \|last=Bayly \|publisher=Cambridge University Press \|year=2001 \|isbn=978-0-521-79842-6 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbAjKR_iHogC \|page=61}}</ref> According to Bayly, ''Kallar'' should be considered a "title of rural groups in Tamil Nadu with warrior-pastoralist ancestral traditions".<ref>{{cite book \|title=Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age \|first=Susan \|last=Bayly \|publisher=Cambridge University Press \|year=2001 \|isbn=978-0-521-79842-6 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbAjKR_iHogC \|page=385}}</ref>

	==History==		==History==
	[[File:Ramachandra Tondaiman.jpg\|thumb\|200px\|Ramachandra Tondaiman, [[Raja]] of [[Pudukkottai state\|Pudukkottai]] seated in his palace, 1858]]		[[File:Ramachandra Tondaiman.jpg\|thumb\|200px\|Ramachandra Tondaiman, [[Raja]] of [[Pudukkottai state\|Pudukkottai]] seated in his palace, 1858]]

	Bayly notes that the Kallar and Maravar identities as a caste, rather than as a title, "... were clearly not ancient facts of life in the Tamil Nadu region. Insofar as these people of the turbulent poligar country really did become castes, their bonds of affinity were shaped in the relatively recent past".<ref name="Bayly2001p61" /> Prior to the late 18th-century, their exposure to [[Brahmanic Hinduism]], the concept of [[Varna (Hinduism)\|varna]] and practices such as [[endogamy]] that define the Indian caste system was minimal. Thereafter, the evolution as a caste developed as a result of various influences, including increased interaction with other groups as a consequence of jungle clearances, state-building and ideological shifts.<ref name="Bayly2001p39" />		Bayly notes that the Kallar and Maravar identities as a caste, rather than as a title, "... were clearly not ancient facts of life in the Tamil Nadu region. Insofar as these people of the turbulent poligar country really did become castes, their bonds of affinity were shaped in the relatively recent past".<ref name="Bayly2001p61" /> Prior to the late 18th century, their exposure to [[Brahmanic Hinduism]], the concept of [[Varna (Hinduism)\|varna]] and practices such as [[endogamy]] that define the Indian caste system was minimal. Thereafter, the evolution as a caste developed as a result of various influences, including increased interaction with other groups as a consequence of jungle clearances, state-building and ideological shifts.<ref name="Bayly2001p39" />

	British sources often characterized the Kallars, and the related castes, as "soldiers out of work." Many Kallars had been warriors as well as peasants for the last few centuries. Kallar chieftaincies, organized into networks of ''nadus'', controlled the region north and west of Madurai. The Nayaks attempted to pacify or subjugate them by titling Kallar chieftains, with limited success. These ''nadus'' were well outside Nayaka control, and folk songs told of fields that could not be harvested and raids by Kallar parties, who were considered sovereign and independent, in Madurai city. This situation persisted past the downfall of the Nayakas and the advent of Yusuf Khan, until the mid 18th century. Starting in 1755, the ~~British army~~ engaged in several ~~brutal, bloody~~ campaigns against the Kallars of [[Melur]], but decades later Kallar raiding parties still posed a significant threat. In 1801, they networked with palegars of Tamil and Telugu regions to spearhead a series of revolts against British control.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal\|last=Pandian\|first=Anand\|date=2005\|title=Securing the rural citizen\|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/001946460504200101\|journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review\|volume=42\|issue=1\|pages=1–39\|doi=10.1177/001946460504200101\|issn=0019-4646\|via=}}</ref>		British sources often characterized the Kallars, and the related castes, as "soldiers out of work." Many Kallars had been warriors as well as peasants for the last few centuries. Kallar chieftaincies, organized into networks of ''nadus'', controlled the region north and west of Madurai. The Nayaks attempted to pacify or subjugate them by titling Kallar chieftains, with limited success. These ''nadus'' were well outside Nayaka control, and folk songs told of fields that could not be harvested and raids by Kallar parties, who were considered sovereign and independent, in Madurai city. This situation persisted past the downfall of the Nayakas and the advent of Yusuf Khan, until the mid-18th century. Starting in 1755, the [[Presidency armies]] of the [[East India Company]] engaged in several campaigns against the Kallars of [[Melur]], but decades later Kallar raiding parties still posed a significant threat. In 1801, they networked with palegars of Tamil and Telugu regions to spearhead a series of revolts against British control.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal\|last=Pandian\|first=Anand\|date=2005\|title=Securing the rural citizen\|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/001946460504200101\|journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review\|volume=42\|issue=1\|pages=1–39\|doi=10.1177/001946460504200101\|issn=0019-4646\|via=\|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

	By the late 18th century, the Kallars were working as ''kavalkarars'', or watchmen, in hundreds of villages throughout southern Tamil Nadu, especially the region west of Madurai. These ''kavalkarars'' were given ''maniyam'', rent-free land, to ensure they did their job correctly. These ''kaval maniyams'' were commonly held by ''palaiyakarars'' who used land, and shares of the crops, to maintain a small militia. A common allegation made by colonial officials was that these ''kavalkarars'' were "abusing" their position and exploiting the peasants whose livelihoods they were supposed to protect. Kallars were often also hired as [[mercenaries]] by ''palaiyakarars'', who according to British sources, used them to loot villagers. In 1803, these rights were abolished by the East India Company and the militias were abolished. However, the ''kaval'' system was not abolished but placed under the supervision of the East India Company.<ref name=":0" />		By the late 18th century, the Kallars were working as ''kavalkarars'', or watchmen, in hundreds of villages throughout southern Tamil Nadu, especially the region west of Madurai. These ''kavalkarars'' were given ''maniyam'', rent-free land, to ensure they did their job correctly. These ''kaval maniyams'' were commonly held by ''palaiyakarars'' who used land, and shares of the crops, to maintain a small militia. A common allegation made by colonial officials was that these ''kavalkarars'' were "abusing" their position and exploiting the peasants whose livelihoods they were supposed to protect. Kallars were often also hired as [[mercenaries]] by ''palaiyakarars'', who according to British sources, used them to loot villagers. In 1803, these rights were abolished by the East India Company and the militias were abolished. However, the ''kaval'' system was not abolished but placed under the supervision of the East India Company.<ref name=":0" />
Line 32:		Line 32:
	Reforms in 1816 abolished the responsibility ''kavalkarars'' had towards compensation for damaged crops while keeping fees, which British sources claimed led to the ''kavalkarars'' charging exorbitant fees. By the end of the 19th century, the watchmen formed a "shadow administration." Although British claims that Kallar watchmen were operating a "protection racket" were exaggerated, the Kallar watchmen still had the power of violence over the cultivators who paid them.<ref name=":0" />		Reforms in 1816 abolished the responsibility ''kavalkarars'' had towards compensation for damaged crops while keeping fees, which British sources claimed led to the ''kavalkarars'' charging exorbitant fees. By the end of the 19th century, the watchmen formed a "shadow administration." Although British claims that Kallar watchmen were operating a "protection racket" were exaggerated, the Kallar watchmen still had the power of violence over the cultivators who paid them.<ref name=":0" />

	Around the beginning of the 20th century, the cultivators, of many communities, near Madurai staged an anti-Kallar movement against the community's authority. The reasons for the movement are complex: partly the abuse of authority shown by Kallar watchmen, partly agrarian distress, and part-personal feud. The agitations took the form of violence against the Kallars, including arson, and forcing them out of the villages. In 1918, the community was placed on the list of Criminal Tribes.<ref name=":0" />		Around the beginning of the 20th century, the cultivators, of many communities, near Madurai staged an anti-Kallar movement against the community's authority. The reasons for the movement are complex: partly the abuse of authority shown by Kallar watchmen, partly [[agrarian distress]], and part-personal feud. The agitations took the form of violence against the Kallars, including arson, and forcing them out of the villages. In 1918, the community was placed on the list of Criminal Tribes.<ref name=":0" />

	The [[Thondaman dynasty\|Thondaiman dynasty]] of the erstwhile [[Pudukkottai State\|Pudukkottai state]] hailed from the Kallar community.<ref>{{cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cegr6zH9PFEC&pg=PA130&dq=tondaiman+kallar+caste#q=tondaiman%20kallar%20caste\|title=The Hollow Crown: Ethnohistory of an Indian Kingdom\|author=Nicholas B. Dirks\|year=1993\|publisher=University of Michigan Press, 1993 - Social Science - 430 pages\|page=130\|isbn=9780472081875}}</ref>		The [[Thondaman dynasty\|Thondaiman dynasty]] of the erstwhile [[Pudukkottai State\|Pudukkottai state]] hailed from the Kallar community.<ref>{{cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cegr6zH9PFEC&pg=PA130&dq=tondaiman+kallar+caste#q=tondaiman%20kallar%20caste\|title=The Hollow Crown: Ethnohistory of an Indian Kingdom\|author=Nicholas B. Dirks\|year=1993\|publisher=University of Michigan Press, 1993 - Social Science - 430 pages\|page=130\|isbn=9780472081875}}</ref>

	==Culture==		==Culture==
	Among the traditional customs of the Kallar noted by colonial officials was the use of the "collery stick" ({{~~lang-~~ta\|[[valai tādi]], kallartādi}}), a bent [[throwing stick]] or "false boomerang" which could be thrown up to {{convert\|100\|yd\|m}}.<ref name="YuleBurnell1903">{{cite book\|author1=Sir Henry Yule\|author2=Arthur Coke Burnell\|title=Hobson-Jobson: a glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Z5iAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA236\|accessdate=21 March 2012\|year=1903\|publisher=J. Murray\|pages=236–}}</ref> Writing in 1957, [[Louis Dumont]] noted that despite the weapon's frequent mention in literature, it had disappeared amongst the [[Piramalai Kallar]].<ref name="DumontStern1986">{{cite book \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQduAAAAMAAJ \|title=A South Indian subcaste: social organization and religion of the Pramalai Kallar \|first1=Louis \|last1=Dumont \|authorlink1=Louis Dumont \|first2=A. \|last2=Stern \|first3=Michael \|last3=Moffatt\|year=1986\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|isbn=9780195617856 }}</ref>{{page needed\|date=July 2020}}		Among the traditional customs of the Kallar noted by colonial officials was the use of the "collery stick" ({{langx\|ta\|[[valai tādi]], kallartādi}}), a bent [[throwing stick]] or "false boomerang" which could be thrown up to {{convert\|100\|yd\|m}}.<ref name="YuleBurnell1903">{{cite book\|author1=Sir Henry Yule\|author2=Arthur Coke Burnell\|title=Hobson-Jobson: a glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Z5iAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA236\|accessdate=21 March 2012\|year=1903\|publisher=J. Murray\|pages=236–}}</ref> Writing in 1957, [[Louis Dumont]] noted that despite the weapon's frequent mention in literature, it had disappeared amongst the [[Piramalai Kallar]].<ref name="DumontStern1986">{{cite book \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQduAAAAMAAJ \|title=A South Indian subcaste: social organization and religion of the Pramalai Kallar \|first1=Louis \|last1=Dumont \|authorlink1=Louis Dumont \|first2=A. \|last2=Stern \|first3=Michael \|last3=Moffatt\|year=1986\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|isbn=9780195617856 }}</ref>{{page needed\|date=July 2020}}

	===Diet===		===Diet===