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The Kallar (or Kallan, formerly spelled as Colleries) are one of the three related castes of southern India which constitute the Mukkulathor confederacy. The Kallar, along with the Maravar and Akamudayar, constitute a united social caste on the basis of parallel professions, though their locations and heritages are wholly separate from one another.

kallar is one among the three clans in tamilnadu namely Kallar,Maravar,Agamudiyar which is known as Mudukulathur.Kalla means black.Even kings like Raja Raja cholan, sivagangai king Muthu vaduganathar belong to kallar community.Kallar community has nearly 2000 sub names which none other caste hold it.

Caste origins

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 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." Prior to the late 18th-century, their exposure to Brahmanic Hinduism, the concept of 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.

Culture

Among the traditional customs of the Kallar noted by colonial officials was the use of the "collery stick" (Template:Lang-ta), a bent throwing stick or "false boomerang" which could be thrown up to 100 yards. Though described as a "false" boomerang, other writers indicate that it was capable of returning to its thrower, and also noted the weapon was used in deer-hunting. Writing in 1957, Louis Dumont noted that despite the weapon's frequent mention in literature, it had disappeared amongst the Pramalai Kallar.

Diet

The Kallar were traditionally a non-vegetarian people, though a 1970s survey of Tamilnad indicated that 30% of Kallar surveyed, though non-vegetarian, refrained from eating fish after puberty. 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.

References

1. Kingship and Political Practice in Colonial India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 62, 87, 193.
2. Sociology and Social Research. Vol. 11. University of Southern California. p. 121.
3. Sadasivan, S. N. A Social History of India. p. 287.
4. Cite error: The named reference Bayly2001p61 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. Cite error: The named reference Bayly2001p39 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
6. Sir Henry Yule; Arthur Coke Burnell (1903). Hobson-Jobson: a glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive. J. Murray. pp. 236–. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
7. Gustav Salomon Oppert; Lakshmīkānta Varmā; Śukra (1880). On the weapons, army organisation, and political maxims of the ancient Hindus: with special reference to gunpowder and firearms. Higginbotham. pp. 18–. Retrieved 21 March 2012. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
8. Louis Dumont; A. Stern; Michael Moffatt (1986). A South Indian subcaste: social organization and religion of the Pramalai Kallar. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
9. Criminal gods and demon devotees: essays on the guardians of popular Hinduism - Alf Hiltebeitel - Google Books
10. Food, ecology, and culture: readings in the anthropology of dietary practices - John R. K. Robson - Google Books
11. A South Indian subcaste: social organization and religion of the Pramalai Kallar - Louis Dumont, A. Stern, Michael Moffatt - Google Books

• Mukkulathor