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| '''Vokkaliga''' (pronounced ''Okkaliga'') is a community with origins in India. It refers to various agricultural, previously ], ] found mainly in the erstwhile ] and other areas of what is now southern ].{{cn|date=February 2018}} They form a politically and numerically important Hindu group,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/The-importance-of-being-Vokkaliga/articleshow/535910.cms|title=The importance of being Vokkaliga}}</ref> and were the most populous group{{cn|date=February 2018}} until the ] of 1956 which enlarged the erstwhile State of Mysore by the inclusion of predominantly ] districts of the ], ] and ]. Mysore was renamed Karnataka in 1973, following which the Lingayats became the most populous social group in Karnataka.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/apr/21spec.htm|title=In Karnataka politics, caste matters}}</ref> | '''Vokkaliga''' (pronounced ''Okkaliga'') is a community with origins in India. It refers to various agricultural, previously ], ] found mainly in the erstwhile ] and other areas of what is now southern ].{{cn|date=February 2018}} They form a politically and numerically important Hindu group,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/The-importance-of-being-Vokkaliga/articleshow/535910.cms|title=The importance of being Vokkaliga}}</ref> and were the most populous group{{cn|date=February 2018}} until the ] of 1956 which enlarged the erstwhile State of Mysore by the inclusion of predominantly ] districts of the ], ] and ]. Mysore was renamed Karnataka in 1973, following which the Lingayats became the most populous social group in Karnataka.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/apr/21spec.htm|title=In Karnataka politics, caste matters}}</ref> | ||
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| ==Etymology== | |||
| Vokkaliga is a ]-language word found in some of the earliest available literary works of the language, such as the '']'', '']'', and ''Mangaraja's Nighantu''. It has been used as an appellation for the cultivator community since time immemorial.<ref name="Namadhari">{{cite book|author=Dr. Ambalike Hiriyanna|title=Malenadina Vaishnava Okkaligara Samskruti|year=1999|publisher=Kannada Pustaka Pradhikara, Government of Karnataka}}</ref>{{pn|date=February 2018}}{{qn|date=February 2018}} Generally, the term has come to mean an agriculturist though various etymological derivations are available, including: | |||
| * The word ''okka'' or ''okkalu'' is a Kannada word for a family or a clan<ref name="Nighantu">{{cite book|title=Kannada Nighantu|year=1970|publisher=Kannada Sahitya Parishat, Bangalore}}</ref>{{pn|date=February 2018}} and an ''okkaliga'' is a person belonging to such a family.<ref name="Namadhari" /> This is an allusion to the ] ] clans which together form an endogamous sub group, of which there are many amongst the Vokkaligas. These clans are called Bali, Bedagu, Kutumba, Gotra or simply Okkalu all of which mean ''family''. They are named after their progenitor, primary occupation or in most cases after various birds, animals or objects.<ref>{{cite book|first=John Vincent |last=Ferreira|title=Totemism in India|year=1965|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>{{pn|date=February 2018}} | |||
| * ''Okkalutana'' in Kannada means agriculture<ref name="Nighantu" /> and the epithet ''okkaliga'' has been used to refer to a person belonging to the cultivator community.{{cn|date=February 2018}} | |||
| * Alternate etymologies include ''okku'', which means '']'',<ref name="Nighantu" /> which is said{{who|date=February 2018}} to refer to their agricultural activities and from which is derived ''okkaliga''.{{cn|date=February 2018}} | |||
| The Kannada linguist ] and others propose a derivation from the Sanskrit - ''go'' (cow) and ''govala'' (cowherd) (Govala->Goula->Gowda).<ref name="Namadhari" /><ref name="Grama">{{cite book|author=Dr. Ganapati Gowda|title=Grama Okkaligara Samsrutika Ananyate Mattu Samakaleena Sandarbhagalu|year=2011|publisher=Kannada University, Hampi|url=http://www.kannadauniversity.org/publications.html}}</ref> Moreover, though the Vokkaligas did practise animal husbandry, Govalas (from whence ''Golla'') or the Yadavas/Kurubas form a separate caste group and they were traditionally herdsmen.<ref name="Karnataka" /> According to Shamba Joshi all castes are derived from ] community and they are were called as "Gowda's" in his research book "Halumatha Darshana".{{cn|date=February 2018}} | |||
| Alternatively ] origins to the word claim its derivation from ''kavundan'' or ''kamindan'' (one who watches over). The Vokkaligas of ] (found mostly in and around Dharmapuri, Ooty, Hosur, ], Theni & ] districts) use 'Gowdar (though sometimes addressed by Tamils as Kaundar) kongu vellalars of Tamil Nadu use Gounder as their surname. Whether the name ''Gauda/Gowda'' is an allusion to the ] or not has not been conclusively proved.{{cn|date=February 2018}} | |||
| Vokkaligas are the second-largest community in Karnataka after the Lingayats.<ref></ref> | |||
| ==Subgroups== | |||
| The Vokkaliga Community has several sub-groups within its fold. Previously they were mostly endogamous but in the modern context inter-group marriages have become a common affair, especially since colonial times.{{cn|date=February 2018}} However to this day, within any given sub-group, exogamy at the family/clan level is strictly controlled by using the idiom of Mane Devaru (the patron god of the given exogamic clan) which dictates that the followers of same ''Mane Devaru'' are siblings and marriage is thus forbidden, allowing marital alliances only with another clan and not within.<ref name="Ganga">{{cite book|author=Dr. Bhavani Banerjee|title=Marriage and Kinship of the Gangadikara Vokkaligas of Mysore|year=1966|publisher=Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute, Poona}}</ref> This system is akin to the Brahminical ] System and is seen as a common feature in most Indian communities. The community is patrilineal. | |||
| It is opined that all the sub-groups previously formed a single unified community which broke into several factions over the ages.{{cn|date=February 2018}} | |||
| ===Gangadikara Vokkaliga=== | |||
| The Gangadikara Gowdas, also known as the Gangatkar, claim to be descendants of the erstwhile Ganga royalty.<ref name="Namadhari" /><ref name="Itihasa">{{cite book|author=Dr.B. Pandukumar|title=1600 Varshagala Vokkaligara Itihasa|year=2007|publisher=Vedavati Prakashana, Bangalore}}</ref><ref name="Economic">{{cite book|author=E.Stanley|title=Economic Development and Social Change in South India|year=1962|publisher=University of Manchester Press, Manchester|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ekG8AAAAIAAJ&q=gangadikar#v=snippet&q=gangadikar&f=false}}</ref> With various theories on the origins of the Gangas, this is hard to prove but some scholars do opine that the Gangas were local chieftains who ascertained their power and rose to dominance during the political unrest caused in South India after the invasion of Samudragupta I. It is however, a fact that the administrative setup of Gangas vested power, at various levels of administration and apart from administrative duties the ''Gauda'' was expected to raise militia when called for.<ref name="Talakad">{{cite book|author=B.Sheik Ali|title=History of the Western Gangas|year=1976|publisher=University Of Mysore}}</ref> The Gangadikaras and the ]s are said to share a common origin and they regard themselves ''Ganga Kshatriyas''. In fact the word ''Kongu'' is the Tamil equivalent for ''Ganga''. There is a significant number of Vellala Goundars in Kollegala and T. Narsipur of southern Karnataka.<ref name="Karnataka">{{cite book|author=Dr. Suryanath. V. Kamath|title=Karnataka State Gazetteer|year=1988|publisher=Government Press, Bangalore}}</ref> | |||
| The Gangadikaras have two primary sections – the Bujjanige (or ''Dhaare Shastradavaru'') and the Pettige (or ''Veelyada Shastradavaru'') based on differences in rituals performed during the wedding ceremony. They can be ''Shaiva'' or ''Vaishnava'' in religious affiliation (called ''Mullu'' and ''Dasa'' sects). The ''Dasa'' sect forms a separate endogamous group under the Gangadikaras and are called Dasa Vokkaligas. And the Gangatkar Vokkaligas was also split to Sarpa Vokkaliga long long years back for the sake of reservation and the person who split the community was Gangatkar Ramaiah, later on he registered it in the government as Sarpa Vokkaliga and even he (late. Gangatkar Ramaiah) did not succeed in it and they did not find a way and started following separate sub group called Sarpa vokkaliga and moved on. Cheluru Gangadikaras (also called Chelaru), another small sub-sect, are said to be strictly vegetarian, a vestige of the times when the Gangas followed Jainism. Oral traditions of the people maintain that after the decline of the Ganga power they reverted to Hinduism retaining certain Jaina practises.{{cn|date=February 2018}} The Gangadikara Vokkaligas have as many as 40 exogamous clans called ''Bedagu''.<ref name="Ganga" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.karunadu.gov.in/gazetteer/GazetteerMandya2009/Chapter-3.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2011-12-27 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303181218/http://www.karunadu.gov.in/gazetteer/GazetteerMandya2009/Chapter-3.pdf |archivedate=2012-03-03 |df= }}</ref> | |||
| ===Morasu Vokkaliga=== | |||
| The ancestors of ] of the Yelahanka Nadaprabhus (the founder of Bangalore city and himself a Morasu Vokkaliga) are recorded to have migrated to these districts from Alur of Kanchi around the 15th century under Rana Bhaire Gowda, who built the fort at Devanahalli.<ref name="History">{{cite book|author=Phalaksha|title=Introduction to Karnataka History|year=1999|publisher=Shashi Prakashana, Tumkur}}</ref>{{Full|date=March 2018}} In Kanchi, they were known as Morasu Vellala since they had migrated from Morasu Nadu which is identified as the eastern province of Mysore.{{cn|date=March 2018}} | |||
| According to ], the region of modern-day Bangalore and Tumkur districts was known as Morasu Nadu, dominated by the Morasu Vokkaligas.<ref name="Burton">{{cite book|author=Burton Stein|title=Vijayanagara|year=1987|publisher=Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OpxeaYQbGDMC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref> In fact Hosur which borders Bangalore claims to have been called ''Murasu Nadu'' during the Sangam Age<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.krishnagiri.tn.nic.in/history.htm |title=Krishnagiri District Website |publisher=Krishnagiri.tn.nic.in |date=2004-02-09 |accessdate=2015-12-23}}</ref> and has a significant population of Morasu Vokkaligas. | |||
| The four main sub-divisions being the Musuku, Hosadevru (Beralu), Palyadasime and Morasu proper which is again divided into three lines called ''Salu'' viz. ''Kanu salu'', ''Nerlegattada salu'', ''Kutera salu''. The Musuku sect is so-called because the bride wears a veil or 'Musuku' during the wedding ceremony.<ref name="Karnataka" /> | |||
| ===Kunchitiga Vokkaliga=== | |||
| The ] Vokkaligas. | |||
| ===Namadhari Vokkaligas=== | |||
| The Namadhari Vokkaliga group is the second largest Vokkaliga sub-group.<ref name="Namadhari" /> | |||
| ==Organisation== | |||
| There are many organisations that cater to the needs of the community. These include the ] based in Bengaluru. The Sangha runs institutions such as ], ], V.V.Puram Arts and Commerce College among others such institutions. The Sangha also runs several hostels for the welfare of students from the community.<ref>http://vokkaligarasangha.com/</ref> | |||
| ], a religious mutt in Nagamangala Taluk, Mandya District, Karnataka State, India is a Vokkaliga community Mutt. (The Mutt runs more than 450 educational institutions worldwide.<ref>http://acmbgs.org/</ref>) | |||
| Since the 20th century when Vokkaligas began to emigrate out of their native region various organisations have been formed elsewhere, such the" Vokkaligara Parishat of America (USA<ref>http://www.myvpa.org/</ref>)and United Arab Emirates,(UAE)" | |||
Revision as of 16:45, 11 May 2018
Ethnic group
| Vokkaligaru | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Karnataka, India | |
| Languages | |
| Kannada, Are Bhashe | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism, Jainism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Dravidian · Kannadiga · Kodava · Tuluva |
Vokkaliga (pronounced Okkaliga) is a community with origins in India. It refers to various agricultural, previously endogamous, social groups found mainly in the erstwhile Mysore State and other areas of what is now southern Karnataka. They form a politically and numerically important Hindu group, and were the most populous group until the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 which enlarged the erstwhile State of Mysore by the inclusion of predominantly Canarese districts of the State of Bombay, State of Hyderabad and Coorg. Mysore was renamed Karnataka in 1973, following which the Lingayats became the most populous social group in Karnataka.
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