Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 16:47, 11 May 2018

Vokkaligas

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.

Etymology

Vokkaliga is a Kannada-language word found in some of the earliest available literary works of the language, such as the Kavirajamarga, Pampa Bharata, and Mangaraja's Nighantu. It has been used as an appellation for the cultivator community since time immemorial. 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 and an okkaliga is a person belonging to such a family. This is an allusion to the totemistic exogamous 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.
• Okkalutana in Kannada means agriculture and the epithet okkaliga has been used to refer to a person belonging to the cultivator community.
• Alternate etymologies include okku, which means threshing, which is said to refer to their agricultural activities and from which is derived okkaliga.

The Kannada linguist Shamba Joshi and others propose a derivation from the Sanskrit - go (cow) and govala (cowherd) (Govala->Goula->Gowda). 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. According to Shamba Joshi all castes are derived from Halumatha community and they are were called as "Gowda's" in his research book "Halumatha Darshana".

Alternatively Tamil origins to the word claim its derivation from kavundan or kamindan (one who watches over). The Vokkaligas of Tamil Nadu (found mostly in and around Dharmapuri, Ooty, Hosur, Coimbatore, Theni & Dindigul 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 Gauḍa region or not has not been conclusively proved.

Vokkaligas are the second-largest community in Karnataka after the Lingayats.

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. 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. This system is akin to the Brahminical Gotra 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.

Gangadikara Vokkaliga

The Gangadikara Gowdas, also known as the Gangatkar, claim to be descendants of the erstwhile Ganga royalty. 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. The Gangadikaras and the Kongu Vellalars 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.

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. The Gangadikara Vokkaligas have as many as 40 exogamous clans called Bedagu.

Morasu Vokkaliga

The ancestors of Kempe Gowda I 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. In Kanchi, they were known as Morasu Vellala since they had migrated from Morasu Nadu which is identified as the eastern province of Mysore.

According to Burton Stein, the region of modern-day Bangalore and Tumkur districts was known as Morasu Nadu, dominated by the Morasu Vokkaligas. In fact Hosur which borders Bangalore claims to have been called Murasu Nadu during the Sangam Age 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.

Kunchitiga Vokkaliga

The Kunchitiga Vokkaligas.

Namadhari Vokkaligas

The Namadhari Vokkaliga group is the second largest Vokkaliga sub-group.

See also

• Adichunchanagiri Hills
• Kannada people

References

1. "The importance of being Vokkaliga".
2. "In Karnataka politics, caste matters".
3. ^ Dr. Ambalike Hiriyanna (1999). Malenadina Vaishnava Okkaligara Samskruti. Kannada Pustaka Pradhikara, Government of Karnataka.
4. ^ Kannada Nighantu. Kannada Sahitya Parishat, Bangalore. 1970.
5. Ferreira, John Vincent (1965). Totemism in India. Oxford University Press.
6. Dr. Ganapati Gowda (2011). Grama Okkaligara Samsrutika Ananyate Mattu Samakaleena Sandarbhagalu. Kannada University, Hampi.
7. ^ Dr. Suryanath. V. Kamath (1988). Karnataka State Gazetteer. Government Press, Bangalore.
9. ^ Dr. Bhavani Banerjee (1966). Marriage and Kinship of the Gangadikara Vokkaligas of Mysore. Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute, Poona.
10. Dr.B. Pandukumar (2007). 1600 Varshagala Vokkaligara Itihasa. Vedavati Prakashana, Bangalore.
11. E.Stanley (1962). Economic Development and Social Change in South India. University of Manchester Press, Manchester.
12. B.Sheik Ali (1976). History of the Western Gangas. University Of Mysore.
13. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
14. Phalaksha (1999). Introduction to Karnataka History. Shashi Prakashana, Tumkur.
15. Burton Stein (1987). Vijayanagara. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York.
16. "Krishnagiri District Website". Krishnagiri.tn.nic.in. 9 February 2004. Retrieved 23 December 2015.

• Social groups of Karnataka
• Vokkaliga