Who are pattinavars?
MEENAS \ MEEVAVAR
Meenas are fishermen community of North India, who could be a
variant of kolis. The meenas, who are from Rajastan were warriors
and erstwhile rulers. The meenas of North India and Meenavars of
South India seems to be one and the same people. The western ganga
rulers ( Muttarasas = Mudiraj ) of South India , who are believed
to be the migrants from North India could most probably be the
people belonging or relating to Meena tribe of Rajastan.
The Sangam literature such as Patthupattu, Ettu thogai,
Purnanooru, Agananooru and other works in Tamil language are
clearly vouching the status and predominance the Paravas ( Meenas )
enjoyed in the earlier centuries of B.C & A.D.
While Meenavar community is listed listed in official records as
Most Backward Class (MBC) in Tamilnadu, the Meenas of Rajastan are
listed as Scheduled Tribes. While the meenavar community is the one
that takes the boats out to sea, the jobs listed below are carried
out by dalits and members of the pazhankudi community: (i) Manual
labour that lifts the fish catch from the sea on to the boat, (ii)
Manual labour that lifts the catch on to the shore and sorts it,
(iii) Truck drivers who transport the fish to different regions for
export/sale, (iv) Those who sell fish on the shore in baskets or on
bicycles, (v) Those who repair/paint boats, etc, (vi) Those who do
inland fishing, (vii) Labourers who form part of fish-packing
activities and (viii) Prawn farm labourers.
The people of the sea-shore were Meenavar. They were all simple
people climbing on Palmyrah or Coconut-trees, feeding their cattle
in the grassy lands or catching fish from the sea. Some were
engaged in picking up pearls from the depth of the sea. They were a
simple people. The Meenavar community constitute the majority of
fishermen in Nagapattanam and Eastern coast of Tamilnadu. The
subects of Meenavars are - Agnikula Kshatriya, Mukkuvan including
Chinna Pattinavar Paravar, Parvatharajakulam Pattinavar Periya,
Pattinavar Sembadavar.
Neydal was the coastal region in Tamilnadu. The people of this
region known as Parathavar or Meenavar. Fishing was their natural
occupation. They were also famous sailors. A few people of this
region produced and sold salt. They were called as Umanar. The God
of the Neydal region was Varunan or the God of the sea. There is
one Mutharayer Meenavar Colony in Tuticorin. This indicates
sections of Meenavars are part of Muthuraja community. The people
of Meenavars (Parvatharajakulam) also worship Goddess Angalamman as
Mudiraj worship Goddess Ankamma. Goddess Ankamma is known as
Angamma or Ammanga in Tamilnadu
Meenavars might have mixed with Parada or Paratarajas or Parvata
Raja Kulam, an Indo -Scythian clan and got alienated from the
Villavar and Nadalvar (Nadar) clans. Mudirajus or Mutharaiyar a
Kalabhra aristocracy who once ruled Chera, Chola and Pandyan
kingdoms as Muvendars regard Paratas as one of their own clan. Now
at the present day, Meenavar caste has been spread up to eight
divisions, the major tribes are Maravar and paravar(parathavar),
who were ancient rulers of land and seas of Pandya kingdom. Nagas
seem to be more related to the Kalabhras or Kalapirars or Kalavar
who invaded the Pandyan kingdom around 350 AD.
The Paratarajas ( Indo-Parthians ) are an almost unknown dynasty
who ruled in what is now the Pakistani province of Baluchistan,
probably during the first through the third centuries. The
Paratarajas ( meenas ) are a dynasty of Indo-Scythian kings who
ruled in the Baluchistan region of today's Pakistan and Iran, from
the 1st century to the 3rd century CE. The dynasty of the Paratas
is thought to be identical with the Paradas of the Mahabharata, the
Puranas and other Indian sources. They are essentially known
through their coins, which typically exhibit the bust of the ruler
on the observe, with long hair within a headband), and a swastika
within a Brahmi legend on the reverse (usually silver coins) or
Kharoshthi (usually copper coins). The coins can mainly be found in
the Loralai area of modern Pakistan. Paratarajas were local
Indo-Parthian Satraps, who ruled an area between todays Loralai in
Baluchistan and Multan. Their coinage and history has not been
fully understood, but hopefully with the discovery of more coins,
more insight into their history will come to light. Parvati is the
daughter of Parvataraja, the King of the Himalayas.
Parvatarajas = Paratarajas = Indo-Parthians = Pardhis =
Erukalas
Along the Coromandel coast of Tamil Nadu (between the districts
of Thiruvallur and Nagapattinam), the Pattanavars ( Parvathrajas )
are the main caste involved in fishing, while Kanyakumari is
dominated by the Mukkuvars. Kanyakumari also has the Paravas. Among
the Pattanavars, where the predominant religion is Hinduism, the
most important institution at the community hamlet (kuppam) level
for the fishing community is the caste panchayat, with the talaivar
as the head. Its most important role is in the realm of conflict
resolution in fishery and / or related social issues in the
village. This institution is a nested structure working from the
village upwards.
Parvatar => Paravar => Parava
Parava or Paravas, also known as Bharathar, Paravar is one of
the oldest Tamil castes. For centuries the Paravas had been pearl
divers. The Paravas later diversified into fishing, salt-making and
other maritime professions. Paravar also refers to the people
living on the coast of the Indian state of Tamilnadu and in parts
of northern and western Sri Lanka (Ceylon). The Paravas in Sri
Lanka migrated from India during the British colonial days; many
prospered in trade and business in Sri Lanka and now generally
speak Sinhala, the language of Sri Lanka.
As in other old Tamil caste such as Devars, Paravars are also
are very proud about their caste heritage. There are many historic
reasons for the closer relations with the Pandiyan kingdom of
Madurai. Tuticorin the port city of the Pandiyan kingdom, has
always been a stronghold of the Paravars. The Paravars were the
chiefs of the coastal region and they ruled their areas as
subordinates of the Pandyas of the Sangam age. The Paravars head
quarter was Korkai harbour during the regime of Pandiyan Kingdom
and they all spread into 22 fishing hamlets in the pearl fishery
coast of Gulf of Mannar and adjacent Comerin coast. The paravas
once a very powerful people and no doubt derived much of their
ascendancy over other tribes from their knowledge of navigation and
pearl fishery. They had a succession of kings among them,
distinguished by the title Adiarasen Some of these chiefs seem to
have resided at Uttara Kosmangay near Ramnad. In olden days
paravars were engaged in trading with Greece, Rome, Egypt, China,
Java, Burma and Ceylon. Korkai pearl was the most famous item
exported from Tamil land.
The Paravas were a Tamil fisher caste who inhabited the fishery
coast extending from Cape Comorin Kanya Kumari to the isle of
Mannar (Rameswaram) along the gulf that bears the name. The Paravas
plied the trade of pearl fishing, diving for pearls to the bottom
of the deep where they could stay for many hours. Bharatars
(paravas) worked at the Fishery Coast, which is also known as the
Pearl. Fishery Coast in India. The pearal fishing most probably
gave them the name Mutthuraja.
Mutthu = Muttu = Pearl
Raja = King
Mutthuraja = Muthuraja = Kings from community of pearl
fishing
There were two subdivisions in the Paravars. Pagal Paravas and
Nila Paravas, i.e. Sun Paravas and Moon Paravas. The Paravas of
South India and Ceylone are Moon Paravas. The Moon Paravas seem to
have been the more important of the line. They constituted one
fourth of the whole Mina stock. The country where the Paravas lived
was sometimes called Paravanad � once only in the inscriptions
� on account of their political importance and their riches.
Their main city was called Paravarpalli, the city of the Paravas.
The king of the Paravas always received the title of Minavan and
his banner had two fishes on it.
They are the Bharatar or the Paravas. Parava pearl (incidentally
pearl fishing was done only for 20-30 days in March, every year)
fishermen inhabited the sandy coast from Kanyakumari to Rameswaram
in South India, concentrating around Thoothukudi - Tuticorin. Early
in the 16th century, they were virtually reduced to slavery by
Muslim rulers who took over the pearl fishing rights, and the Hindu
rulers who did not quite support their cause, till finally the
Portuguese came to their salvation. They were the first to embrace
Christianity in the 16th century.
The Paravas, also known as Bharathar, Paravar, Meenparavar and
Fernandos, are one of the oldest Tamil castes. (Paravar is a Tamil
word refering to the people living in the sea shore and its closet
Neythal thinai)- together with Maravar (Devar) and Kuravar. Marvars
are also believed to be the descendants of Meenavars. The name
'Fernando', a predominant surname and other surnames were acquired
from the Portuguese, under whose influence the Paravas came into,
in the 16th century. The Parava tribes split into three categories
namely Tamil Paravans who are Fishermen on the Sea coast ,Malayalee
Paravans who are Sea shell collectors, lime burners& Gymnasts
and thirdly Canarese (kannada) Paravans who are umbrella makers
& devil dancers. The paravas once a very powerful people and no
doubt derived much of their ascendancy over other tribes from their
knowledge of navigation and pearl fishery. They had a succession of
kings among them, distinguished by the title ADIYARASEN. Some of
these kings seem to have resided at UTTARA KOSAMANGAY near Ramnad.
The story of this city itself is clear evidence to this fact.
Later, the leaders were called by names Thalaivan, Pattankattiyars,
Adappannars etc.
Among the various categorisations of the sea environment, the
Pattanavars ( Parvatarajas ) recognise eight kinds of current, wind
and direction. Each current influences the fishing activities,
depending on its direction and velocity, which are further
influenced by the movement of position of the Moon, change of
seasonality, etc.
The Hebrews may be related to the Rigvedic Aryan tribes of
Bharatas. The Bharatas are mentioned in the Rgveda as a warlike
race . The Bharatas appear to be specially connected with
sacrificial rites in the Rigveda. The holy land of Bharatavars was
on the bank of the Gan:ga river in North India. A.L. Basham states
that Bharatas was one of the invading Aryan tribes, which settled
in the region between the Satlaj and Jamna, which later became
known as Brahmavarta.
Bharata's ancestors lived in the region of the Caspian sea in
Central Asia; they were nomadic tribesmen of Aryan stock. Bharata's
legendary capital lay in the Kabul valley, ie. Yusufzai territory
of modern Afghanistan. From this base he descended with his hordes
of Aryan horsemen onto the plains of India.There he defeated Indra,
a descendant of the first Aryan invader Indra, earning himself the
title "most renowned of the Lunar race". Bharata clan initially
settled on the banks of the Saraswati river. There the Bharatas got
mixed up with Dravidian Bhil koli fishing tribes. He then conquered
the Upper Ganges valley, exceeding Indra's dominion. After the wars
of annexation, the Raj of Bharata extended over the enitre doab
between the rivers Ganges and the Jumna right up to the junction of
these 2 rivers. It is thus obvious that Bharata's empire,
Bharatavarsha, only included a few provinces in the Ganges Valley.
Thus Bharatavarsha did not include the whole of India and never
did, but only denoted the kingdom of the Aryan invader Bharata, who
was a chieftain of one of the Aryan tribes that invaded India. This
small region comprised only a small part of the upper Ganges
valley.
Meena is a Sanskrit word meaning fish. It has been suggested
that the Bharatas and some other tribes of the Rgveda later on
merged in the Kurus. There are two Bharatas quite distinct from
each other. One tribe of the Bharatas are the Bharatas of the Rig
Veda, who were descended from Manu and to whom Sudas belonged. The
other tribe of Bharatas are the Daushyanti Bharatas. The decline of
the Kurus after the Bharata War brought in many tribes in the
region who mixed up with and became part and parcel of the original
settlers. The first story of reconciliation concerns the two
tribes, the Bharatas to whom Vishvamitra belonged and the Tritsus
to whom Vasishtha belonged.
This indicates that bharatas or meenas are more aryanised
Indo-Aryan warrior clans having fishing background, who later came
to South India. One of Arjuna's is Partha and this name seems to be
derived from Bharata. Even the people of Pardhi tribe seems to be
related to Bharats. Arjuna who was a descendant of Bharata tribe
hits moving FISH in Matsya Yantra to win Draupadi. This too
indicates that kurus and pandu were warrior clans from fishing
background. There are several Mudiraj people who gotra is
Pandavula.
Bharatha => Bhartha => Phartha => Partha
Partha => Parthi => Pardhi
The Bharatas, and their priestly aristocracy of Tritsus, the
Vasishthas, appear to have joined the Kuru-Panchala confederacy
about the time that the Brahmanas were being composed, and these
were probably influenced by the ritualistic practices of the
Vasishthas. There are references to Agni of the Bharatas, and a
goddess Bharati is mentioned in connection with the Saraswati
river.It appears highly probable that the Bharatas and the
Kuru-Panchalas represent late invasions of peoples who displaced
the earlier Aryan settlers in Hindustan.
The great epic Mah�bh�rata, "the Iliad of India", may have
been founded on the hero songs which celebrated the Aryan tribal
wars in India. Its action is centred in Kuru-kshetra, "the country
of the Kurus", in which the Bharatas had settled. Two rival
families contend for supremacy; these are the Kauravas (the Kurus)
and the Pandavas who are supported by the Panchalas and others. The
Pandavas and Kauravas are cousins and the descendants of the
eponymous King Bharata. In the royal family tree the tribal names
of Kuru and Puru appear as names of kings.
Mahabharata deals with story of Maha Bharatas or the Great
Bharatas. It is possible that that these are the same or related
people who assumed the title Maharayars and Mudirajas after their
migration to South India. Here Mudi and Maha means Great.
Mudi = Maha = Great
The Bharatas (Paravars = Meenas ) are an Aryan tribe mentioned
in the Rigveda, especially in Mandala attributed to the Bharata
sage Vishvamitra and as a name of Rudra. Mandala mentions the
Bharatas as taking part in the Battle of the Ten Kings, where they
are on the winning side. They appear to have been successful in the
early power-struggles between the various Aryan and non-Aryan
tribes so that in post-Vedic ), the Mahabharata, the eponymous
ancestor becomes Emperor Bharata, conqueror of all of India and his
tribe and kingdom is called Bharata. "Bharata" today is the
official name of the Republic of India .
Bharatakula also Bharathas are a Sri Lankan caste of Paravar
immigrants from Tamil Nadu in India. Paravar are to be found all
over Sri Lanka. Amongst Sri Lankan Tamils Paravar are still a
fishing and trading caste. The Bharatas or Bharatakula identity is
maintained by a relatively prosperous merchant group from India
that settled amongst the Sinhalese in the Negombo area. is also
noteworthy that the Bharatas in the Rig Veda were a clan among the
Indo-Aryan Pauravas who fought away Iranian invaders. Many
marchents and vaishyas were once belonged to warrior race but in
due course of time they became specialised in trade & commerce
under the patronage of their warrior ruling relatives.
The Vanaras could have been referred to as 'the monkeys' in
asmuch as the Pandyans who fought under the banner emblazoned with
an image of a fish were referred to iconographically with a symbol
of the fish and their king, in older Tamizh literature, as
'meenavan', literally the fishman.
Meenans of South India are fishermen similar to Cholas and
Mutharayars. From Kumbakonam Nageswaran temple / Tiruvottiyur
inscriptions, we understand that one Meenavan Madevi was one of the
consorts of Uthama Chozha.
The Pandiyan kingdom had the fish as emblem and the flag had the
same motif on it. The kings were called Meenavan indicating that
the kingdom had fishery and perhaps founded by fishermen. Their
deity is "Meenaakshi" (or Meenaakshi or Meenakshi). "Meen" means
fish, and "akshi" means Eye. Thus the name "Meenaakshi" means
Goddess with fisk like eyes. The fish symbols in Harappan seals may
refer to their ancestral king and / or the goddess.
Meen = Meena = Fish
Akshi = Eye
Meena + Akshi = Meenakshi
Meenakshi = One having eyes like fish
The History of Pandiyan Kingdom starts with early prehistory of
India before 12000 to 15000 years ago. The ancient Pandiyan kingdom
had soverignity over most of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Southern Karnataka
and Srilanka. It is the oldest of all the kingdoms in India,
founded by native Dravidians.
However the main ancient Pandian dynasty is from Mara Vamsam.
Nadar community who descend from the ancient Pandian kingdom who
descend from the Maravamsam hence called Maranadar /Mara Nadalwar,
Nadar, Nadan, Nadava, Alwar, Maran all are abbreviations and
synonyms of the same name. The Kings had the title Maravarman and
Maran. Nelveli and Maveli and Chadayan were the titles of the
Pandiyan kings. The Maveli Thamburan of Onam could have been a
Pandiyan king as there was only Pandiyan king before 3000 yrs at
Kerala. The onam festival was celebrated throughout Pandiyan
kingdom ie Kerala as well as Tamil nadu in ancient times. The place
called Mavelikkara and Thirunelveli, NenMara in Palakkad and
Chadayamangalam all may indicate Pandiyan Soverignity. The titles
of ancient Pandiyan kingdom. Maravars are a part of Mutharayar
community and they are one of three clans of Mukkulathors.
Meena => Meenavar => Meenavar
Meenavar => Maarvar => Maravar
The Kalitokai, an ancient Tamil work, mentions the association
of the Villavars and their allies Meenavars (fishermen) who fought
a fierce battle (around 500BC to 1000 BC) against Nagas. The Nagas
though Non Aryan lived in the North India and had heavy Aryan
mixture. When the Villavars and Minavars were defeated by the Nagas
in the Central India, the Present day Maharashtra, Chatthisgarh and
Madyapradesh area was lost to the Villavars and Nagas occupied it.
In the later days, Naga hordes moved southwards and infiltrated
Southern India.
According to scholars, the southern region -- known generally as
tamilakam, which included almost the entire region south of the
Deccan -- was divided into five geographical segments. The people
who inhabited the coasts, known as neithal, were described as
meenavar or paravar in Sangam literature.
After theSaka or Indo-Scythian people who invaded India in the
second century BC some Nagas mixed with the Scythians especially at
North India. Keralolpathi, Keralamahatmiyam and Kerala Purana state
the story of Naga migration from north to south in the first
millennium.
Meenas are a tribe whom one would find only in Rajasthan. They
are now having Scheduled Tribe status in Rajastan. The similarity
between the gujjars and the meenas appear over the way in which the
British treated them. Like the Gujjars, British found this
community also as a thorn in their flesh, and one British
chronicler even called them "revengeful and blood thirsty". And
like they did with the gujjars, this community was also denominated
as a criminal tribe. It may be seen that both gujjars and the
meenas who had belonged to a much higher caste order were relegated
into criminal tribes during the British times.
Originally Meenas were a ruling cast, and were ruler of Matsya,
i.e., Rajasthan, but their slow downfall began with the
assimilation with Scythian. and was completed when the British
government declared them a "Criminal Tribe". Meenas are also found
in north-western Madhya Pradesh. The Meenas, community of
Rajasthan, are an agricultural people occupying one of the most
fertile regions of the state. The Meena kings were the early rulers
of major parts of Rajasthan including Amber (early capital of
Jaipur).According to Britannica, "the Minas are possibly of inner
Asiatic origin, and tradition suggests that they migrated to India
in the 7th century with the Rajputs".
From Vedic period to the present, Meenas have seen many ups and
downs. In ancient period they were a ruling tribe of Rajasthan.
Coming to medieval period they were cut off from their own land, to
the interiors of mountain and forests. The oral history preserved
in the traditional folktales and folklores of this tribe affirm the
kingdom of Meena (Mindesh) with its capital at Amber. Col. James
Tod has written that, Meena was a great community which ruled over
large part of Rajasthan. During the 10th century AD, Meenas were
totally routed out from Amber and Jaipur and thus deprived of their
privileges. Meenas were the original builders of Amber, which town
they consecrated to Amba, the Mother Goddess, whom they knew as
`Gatta Rani' or `Queen of the Pass'
Later, with advent of the Rajputs and other invaders into their
territory, the Meenas were gradually sidelined and pushed deep into
the forests. Even so, they continued to be a threat due to their
guerilla tactics against the Rajputs and the British. To arrest
their power and strength, and to curb their spirit, the British
notified them under the Habitual Criminal Act in 1930, referring to
them as robbers and criminals. Under this Act, permits were issued
to restrict and limit their movement in the area. As a result,
historical literature has completely bypassed the Meenas.
These so-called criminal tribes were actually non-tax paying
communities of singers, acrobats, musicians, and cattle grazers,
amongst others, whose nomadic lifestyle was a constant source of
suspicion for the British. Thereafter, they were confined to newly
created ghettos, and put to work as cheap labour for industries.
Infants were separated from their mothers, because the British
insisted that their "criminal" strain should not be passed on. Thus
the British sowed the seeds of unfounded prejudice, which continues
to date. According to Devy, "Even the Meenas, who were coin makers,
were notified as criminals, because the State wanted to convert
coin production into a state venture. These tribes were stigmatised
by the State and consequently by the people who received education
from it � the middle class."
The Meenas who constitute almost half of the tribal population
used to live on rocky elevations or in thick forests and their
settlements were called Mewasas. The cluster of their houses was
also called a pal and was named after the gotra to which most of
the inhabitants belonged. The Meenas were settled in the villages
of Jaipur, Sawai- Madhopur and Tonk districts. Of their two
classes, the Purana Basi Meenas are mostly agriculturists while the
Naya Basis belong to the light-fingered fraternity which prior to
independence was subjected to daily attendance at the nearest
police station under the Criminal Tribes.
Meenas, Meena or Mina is numerically the largest tribe mainly
found in Rajasthan, India. It is a dominating tribe in the eastern
part of the state (i.e. the Aravalli range) which is most fertile
and ecologically rich. In the past, the greed for this fertile
strip in the remaining arid Rajasthan led to constant invasions by
the Aryans, Kshtriyas, Muslims and later by the British; but the
Meenas did not succumb to these alien forces and retained their
individuality by confining themselves to the interior areas of the
region. Meenas are a rich land-owning community inhabiting the
western districts of Rajasthan.
According to studies it has been found that Meenas originally
seems to have been an aboriginal or pre-Aryan tribe of Rajasthan.
About the ethnic identity and origin of Meenas, they recognize
their progeny from the 'Meenaavatar', the tenth fish incarnation of
Lord Vishnu. The Indus Valley Civilization also seems to bear a
link in the history of this tribe. Meena or Matsya cast was among
the Dravids of Mohenjodaro and Harappan Civilization who were
driven out after the advent of the Aryans.
The name Mina is derived from Meen, meaning 'fish' in Sanskrit,
and the Minas claim descent from the Matsya Avatar, or fish
incarnation, of Vishnu. Meenas celebrate Meenesh Jayanti in the
name of Vishnu on 3 Tithi of Chaitra Shukal paksha according to the
Hindu calendar. The main reference of this belief is based on the
scripture of the Matsya Purana.
Meenas are considered as a Kshatriya cast equally as Rajputs,
and having higher social status in the society. They are well
integrated with other higher cast like Rajputs, Brahmins etc.
Brahmin perform all rituals from birth, marriage and death for
Meenas like for any other higher Hindu cast. In Tamilnadu, we can
see Meenava Chettiyars among chettiyars.
At the time of great Epic Mahabharat was written there was a
Janpad known as "Matsya Janpad".The capital of this Janpad was
"Virat Nagar", now known as "Bairath" and renamed as Virata Nagar
again.The Pandavas got shelter there for one year. Meenas are
considered the brothers and kinsmen of Virata, the ruler of Virat
Nagar. They ruled this area(Near to Virat Nagar) till 11 th
century.
In the ancient times Rajasthan was ruled by a dynasty of Meenas
which had the emblem of Fish like the Pandyan kingdom of the south.
The Meena kingdom ruled the east of the river Jamuna roughly
corresponding to the modern Jaipur and Alwar (ruler) areas. The
meena kingdom (Fish kingdom) was called Matsya Kingdom in Sanskrit
was mentioned in the Rig Veda. The Bhil Meenas could correspond to
the Dravidian Villavar (Chera) and Meenavar (Pandya
Kingdom)respectively and may descend from indigenous Dravidian
rulers (Alwars) originally.
Most of the Bhil Meenavas were aryanised even during the Vedic
Period (1500 BC) and were considered as Vedic Tribes and had
adopted Indo Aryan languages but a minority of the Bhil (tribal)
Meenas still talk Dravidian as their mother tongue. Bhils and
Meenas are included in the Kshatriya Varna. In the later days the
Bhils and Meenas mixed with the Pardeshis or Rajputs who were
Scythian, Hepthalite or other Central Asian clans. The Scythian
mixed Meenas and Bhils remain as Rajput subclans while the Meenas
and Bhils who were displaced by the Scythian invaders and Muslims
have mixed with the tribal Bhils and form the Bhil (tribal) meenas
who still speaks a Dravidian tongue and still considered as
Rajputs. Bhil meenas are also found in parts of North eastern India
and Sind area of Pakistan.
