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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox caste
|caste_name=Mukkuvar
|languages=[[Tamil language|Tamil]]
|religions=[[Hinduism]], [[Christianity]], [[Islam]]
|related=[[Kerala Mukkuvar]], [[Maravar]], [[Marakkayar]], [[Mogaveera]], [[Thuluva Vellalar]], [[Sri Lankan Moors]]
}}

'''Sri Lankan Mukkuvar''' ({{Lang-ta|முக்குவர்|lit=}}) is a [[Sri Lankan Tamils|Tamil]] speaking ethnic group found in the Western and Eastern coastal regions of [[Sri Lanka]]. They are primarily concentrated in the districts of Batticaloa, Ampara and Puttalam. They are also related to "[[Sri Lankan Moors]]". Sri Lankan Mukkuvars along with Eastern Muslims of Sri Lankan claim their origin from Kerala and matrilineal in practice. Recent studies show their habits and clan structure, as well as dialects, show affinity towards the Northern Kerala regions.<ref name="colorado.edu">https://www.colorado.edu/faculty/mcgilvray-dennis/sites/default/files/attached-files/mcgilvray_1982_mukkuvar_vannimai.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>

It is still unclear when did this group migrated from South Western India to Sri Lanka. Mukkuvars traditionally involved in [[fishing]], [[conch shell]] and [[pearl]] diving but are also rendered their service as Mercenaries and Naval Mariners to Kings of Sri Lanka, today most of them involved in [[agriculture]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yI4cAAAAMAAJ|title=Early Settlements in Jaffna: An Archaeological Survey|last=Ragupathy|first=Ponnampalam|date=1987|publisher=University of Jaffna|pages=223|language=en}}</ref><ref name="dbm1982p64">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MgHIiEtdVFAC&pg=PA172|title=Crucible of Conflict: Tamil and Muslim Society on the East Coast of Sri Lanka|last=McGilvray|first=Dennis B.|publisher=Duke University Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0822389187|pages=60, 61, 64, 77|author-link=Dennis B. McGilvray}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DpyFAAAAMAAJ|title=The Debasement of the law and of humanity and the drift towards total war|last=(Jaffna)|first=University Teachers for Human Rights|publisher=UTHR (Jaffna), University of Jaffna, Thirunelvely|year=1991|page=31}}</ref> They also include the major [[landlord]]s in the [[Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|Eastern Province]] of Sri Lanka who historically also served as [[mercenaries]] in medieval era.<ref name="dbm1982p59">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n-88AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA60|title=Caste Ideology and Interaction|last=McGilvray|first=Dennis B.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1982|isbn=9780521241458|pages=59, 60, 68}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The name of the caste has several etymology theories. According to one is Mukkuvar derived from [[Tamil language|Tamil]] word ''mukku'' (means tip or corner) and the suffix ''ar'' (people), thus the term denotes "those from tip of the landmass".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dH0px4c60Z0C&pg=PA3|title=Conflict Over Fisheries in the Palk Bay Region|last=Suryanarayan|first=V.|publisher=Lancer Publishers|year=2005|isbn=9788170622420|page=3}}</ref> Another theory states that the word ''Mukkuvan'' (singular form), means "diver" derived from the [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] word ''muluku'' (to immerse or to dive).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CNxhAAAAMAAJ|title=Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society|last=Colombo|first=Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland Ceylon Branch|publisher=Colombo Apothecaries Company|year=1967|page=42}}</ref> Other titles used by the community are ''Kukankulam, Murkukan'' and ''Mukkiyar''.<ref name="dbm1982p64" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OccLAAAAIAAJ|title=Jaffna, Sri Lanka 1980|last=Holmes|first=Walter Robert|date=1980|publisher=Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society of Jaffna College|pages=219}}</ref> Their titles Kukankulam (Kukan clan) and Murkukan (foremost Kukan) are literary references to ''Kukan,'' the mariner who ferried Hindu god [[Rama]] across [[Ganges]] from [[Ayodhya]] whose descendant they claim.<ref name="dbm1982p59" />

==History==
The earliest mention of the Mukkuvar is in the [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] [[panegyric]] called ''Dambadeni asna'' (13th century AD'')'', mentioning them as soldiers under the army of [[Parakramabahu II of Dambadeniya|Parakramabahu II]].<ref name="dbm1982p59"/> Their folk origin varies from region to region. According to the legend of the Mukkuvar from Kerala, they emigrated to and from Sri Lanka.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lEBuAAAAMAAJ|title=Tamils and Moors: caste and matriclan structure in eastern Sri Lanka|last=McGilvray|first=Dennis B.|publisher=University of Chicago|year=1974|pages=25–26}}</ref> The ''[[Mattakallappu Manmiyam]]'' text and other local [[palm-leaf manuscript]]s attribute the emigration of the Sri Lankan Mukkuvar from [[South India]] under the rule of [[Kalinga Magha]] in 12th century AD, who delegates the power to local petty kings whose successors are identified as belonging to ''Kukankulam''.<ref name="dbm1982p59"/> The conch shell trade flourished in the ancient and medieval era. The Mukkuvars of Jaffna region were traditionally involved in conch shell diving, however took to fishing with the decline of the conch shell trade.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Early Settlements in Jaffna: An Archaeological Survey|last=Ragupathy|first=Ponnampalam|date=1987|publisher=University of Jaffna|pages=166|language=en}}</ref>

The Mukkuvar are found in [[Northern Western Province, Sri Lanka|Northern Western Province]] and [[Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|Eastern Province]] of Sri Lanka.<ref name=":1" /> Mukkuvar tribes migrated from [[Malabar Coast|Malabar]] Coast in Kerala to cities in [[Puttalam]] and [[Jaffna]] in the 12th century.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} They established a local polity in Puttalam, Mannar, and Jaffna. However, they and the [[Sri Lankan Moors|Sonakar]] were defeated in a three-month siege by the [[Karaiyar]] chieftains, sponsored by the [[Kingdom of Kotte]] in the 15th century. This event is celebrated in a [[Sinhalese language|Sinhalese]] palm leaf manuscript called the [[Mukkara Hatana]] (''The Mukkuvar War'').<ref name="dbm1982p64" />[[File:Ancient temple or Vedi Arasan fort.JPG|thumb|Ruins locally known as ''Vedi Arasan Kottai'' i.e. Vedi Arasan's fort.]] The [[Jaffna]] chronicle, ''[[Yalpana Vaipava Malai]]'', mentions the exile of Mukkuvars from Jaffna Kingdom to [[Batticaloa]] during the 15th Century after the invasion of Jaffna by Sampumal Kumarayya.

According to a popular folklore, is the [[Delft Island]] linked to the Mukkuvar king ''Vedi Arasan''. Vedi Arasan had forts at [[Kayts]], [[Kankesanthurai]] and [[Keerimalai]], and was in possession of a ''Naga'' [[gemstone]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Ceylon Antiquary and Literary Register|publisher=Office Of The Times Of Ceylon|year=1923|volume=8|location=Archeological Survey of India|pages=252}}</ref> The Karaiyar king ''Meekaman'' with his [[Chola dynasty|Chola]] army defeated Vedi Arasan and the [[Sri Lankan Moors|Moor]] chief ''Meera'' and earned his Naga gemstone for the Chola princess ''Kannika.''<ref>{{Cite book|title=Tamil Culture in Ceylon: A General Introduction|last=Raghavan|first=M.D.|publisher=Kalai Nilayam|year=1971|pages=53}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Tamil Culture|publisher=Tamil Literature Society|year=1953|volume=2–3|location=Academy of Tamil Culture|pages=307}}</ref> Ruins in Delft island such as [[Delft Island fort|''Meekaman kottai'']] and ''Vedi Arasan'' ''kottai'' are local names identified with this event.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Devendra|first=D. T.|date=1969|title=A Ruined Dagaba in Delft|journal=The Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland|volume=13|pages=i–iii|issn=0304-2235|jstor=43483470}}</ref>

The ''Mattakallappu Manmiyam'' refers to the defeat of the [[Thimilar]] by the Mukkuvar and the Sonakar in eastern parts of the island. Several places in Eastern Province bear names related to this event.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lvjsAAAAMAAJ|title=Land, human rights & the eastern predicament|last=(Jaffna)|first=University Teachers for Human Rights|date=1993|publisher=UTHR (Jaffna), University of Jaffna, Thirunelvely|page=89}}</ref> The theme of the Mukkuvar seeking the aid of Muslim Sonakars was always present and at that time alliances and intermarriage between the communities took place.<ref name=":0" /> The [[Batticaloa District|Batticaloa region]] was under the leadership of Mukkuvar ''Vannimai'' chiefs.<ref name="dbm1982p64" />

==Religion==
One of the earliest tribes to get converted to [[Catholicism]] by the [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] were the Mukkuvars from [[Thiruvananthapuram]] in Kerala. The Mukkuvar practising [[Islam]] are known as ''[[Pusalan]]'', ''Pulasar'', ''Puislam'' or "''New muslims''", derived from the [[Tamil language|Tamil]] word ''putiya'' (new) and ''Islam''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lMmSFw8G4wgC&pg=PA77|title=Kaleidoscopic Ethnicity: International Migration and the Reconstruction of Community Identities in India|last=Kurien|first=Prema A.|publisher=Rutgers University Press|year=2002|isbn=9780813530895|page=77}}</ref> The Mukkuvars of Sri Lanka from [[North Western Province, Sri Lanka|North Western Province]] are mostly Roman Catholic with a strong minority of Muslim Mukkuvars who are known as Sonakars, however they are mostly [[Hindu]]s in the Northern and Eastern provinces.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fb4LAAAAIAAJ|title=Tamil culture in Ceylon: a general introduction|last=Raghavan|first=M. D.|publisher=Kalai Nilayam|year=1971|page=88|quote="Religiously considered, in the North-western Province, they are largely Roman Catholics, with a strong minority of the Muslim Mukkuvar in the village of Kottantivu. In the Northern and Eastern Provinces they are largely Hindus."}}</ref>

==Customs==
The Mukkuvars of eastern parts of Sri Lanka follow the [[Mukkuva laws]], also known as ''Mukkuva Ēṟppāṭu'', which applies to marriage and property.<ref name="dbm1982p59" /> The Mukkuvars in Eastern Sri Lanka are, like other castes, also divided into ''kudi's'' ([[Matrilineality|matrilineal]] clans).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AO_WBQAAQBAJ|title=Life Beyond Survival: Social Forms of Coping After the Tsunami in War-affected Eastern Sri Lanka|last=Thurnheer|first=Katharina|publisher=Transcript Verlag|year=2014|isbn=9783839426012|page=142}}</ref> According the study conducted by McGilvray, Kudi system of Mukkuvars and Eastern Muslims has greater resemblances to Northern Kerala Nayars, Tiyyars, and Mappillas.<ref name="colorado.edu"/>

==See also==
*[[Caste in Sri Lanka]]
*[[History of Eastern Tamils]]
*[[Seerpadar]]

==References==
{{Reflist}} 17. Could Marthanda Varma have won the Colachel War without the fishermen
english.manoramaonline.com

==Further reading==
*''The ancient myths of the aborigines'' Kerala Calling, July 2004 by Dr. M.V Vishnu Namboodiri [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930154634/http://www.kerala.gov.in/keralcalljuly04/p31-34.pdf]

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060602151045/http://www.kanyakumari.tn.nic.in/coastal.htm Mukkuvas in India]
*[http://planningcommission.nic.in/data/ngo/csw/csw_6a.pdf The effect of 2004 Tsunami]

{{Sri Lankan Tamil people}}

[[Category:Social groups of Kerala]]
[[Category:Indian castes]]
[[Category:Fishing communities in India]]
[[Category:Social groups of Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan Tamil castes]]

Sri Lankan Mukkuvar - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Creating a new article