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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.

Kallars are found largely in the Thanjavur, Trichy, Pudukkottai, Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Sivagangai, Ramanathapuram, Karur and Kanchipuram districts of Tamil Nadu. Significant Kallar populations are also found in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and other southeast Asian countries. In the 19th century, the British recognised the Raja of Pudukkottai as the hereditary leader of the community.

Etymology

A number of British colonial writers, including Edward Balfour, noted that the term kallar or culler mean "thief" in Tamil, and suggest that as the origin of the caste's name, given that their history has included periods of banditry. Other proposed etymological origins include "black skinned", "hero", and "toddy-tappers".

History

Kallars lived in the Palai, where agriculture was not possible. In more recent times the word kalla has come to have the generic meaning of thief, probably as a consequence of their having a reputation for thievery.

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.

Notables

• Sivaji Ganesan

References

1. Notes on Criminal Classes of the Madras presidency. Government Press. p. 82.
2. Kingship and Political Practice in Colonial India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 62, 87, 193.
3. Historical Dictionary of the Tamils. Rowman and Little field USA. p. 105.
4. Sociology and Social Research. Vol. 11. University of Southern California. p. 121.
5. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland. 19. Government Press: 581 http://books.google.com/books?id=03qFAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA581. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
6. Sadasivan, S. N. A Social History of India. p. 287.
7. Balfour, Edward. The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia.
8. Dirks, Nicholas B. The Hollow Crown: Ethnohistory of an Indian Kingdom. p. 242.
9. G. Kuppuram. India through the ages: history, art, culture, and religion, Volume 1. Sundeep Prakashan, 1988. Pg 366
10. Srivastava, Vinod Chandra (2008). Gopal, Lallanji (ed.). History of agriculture in India, up to c. 1200 A.D. Concept Publishing. p. 619. ISBN 978-81-8069-521-6.
11. 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.
12. 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)
13. 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.
14. Criminal gods and demon devotees: essays on the guardians of popular Hinduism - Alf Hiltebeitel - Google Books
15. Food, ecology, and culture: readings in the anthropology of dietary practices - John R. K. Robson - Google Books
16. A South Indian subcaste: social organization and religion of the Pramalai Kallar - Louis Dumont, A. Stern, Michael Moffatt - Google Books

• Mukkulathor