Ezhava
The Ezhavas, also known as Thiyya or Tiyyar in the Malabar region, and Chegavar/Chovar in the south, are a community with origins in the region of India presently known as Kerala, where in the 2010s they constituted about 23% of the population and were reported to be the largest Hindu community.
Ezhava dynasties such as the Mannanar existed in Kerala. The British also formed a separate regiment in the British Indian Army called the Thiyyar Regiment in Malabar, which was one of the oldest army regiments in India. The British deployed this unit in various military operations.
The Ezhavas are classified as an Other Backward Class by the Government of India under its system of positive discrimination.
Variations
They are also known as Ilhava, Irava, Izhava and Erava in the south of the region; as Chovas, Chokons and Chogons in Central Travancore; and as Thiyyar, Tiyyas and Theeyas in the Malabar region. Some are also known as Thandan, which has caused administrative difficulties due to the presence of a distinct caste of Thandan in the same region. Thiyya group has claimed a distinct identity in the Hindu caste system than the other Ezhava groups but was considered to be of similar caste by colonial and subsequent administrations. Recent research by the KIRTADS indicates that the Ezhavas of southern Kerala and the Thiyyas of Malabar are distinct groups with separate cultural and anthropological identities.History
Origin
Inscriptions
The earliest use of the word Eelamor Ezham is found in a Tamil-Brahmi inscription as well as in the Sangam literature. The Tirupparankunram inscription found near Madurai in Tamil Nadu and dated on palaeographical grounds to the 1st century BCE, refers to a person as a householder from Eelam. The inscription reads "erukatur eelakutumpikan polalaiyan", which translates to "Polalaiyan, Erukatur, the husbandman from Eelam".
The Sangam literature Paṭṭiṉappālai, mentions Eelattu-unavu. One of the prominent Sangam Tamil poets is known as Eelattu Poothanthevanar meaning Poothan-thevan hailing from Eelam.. The Tamil inscriptions from the Pallava & Chola period dating from 9th century CE link the word with toddy, toddy tapper's quarters, tax on toddy tapping, a class of toddy tappers. Eelavar is a caste of toddy tappers found in the southern parts of Kerala. Eela-kaasu and Eela-karung-kaasu are refers to coinages found in the Chola inscriptions of Parantaka I.
Legend
There are myths of origin for the Ezhava. According to some Malayalam folk songs like Vadakkan Pattukal and legends, the Ezhavas were the progeny of four bachelors that the king of Ceylon sent to what is now Kerala at the request of the Chera king Bhaskara Ravi Varma, in the 1st century CE. These men were sent, ostensibly, to set up coconut farming in the region. Another version of the story says that the king sent eight martial families at the request of a Chera king to quell a civil war that had erupted against him.Social and religious divergence
It has been suggested that the Ezhavas may share a common heritage with the Nair caste. This theory is based on similarities between numerous of the customs adopted by the two groups, particularly with regard to marking various significant life stages such as childbirth and death, as well as their matrilineal practices and martial history. Oral history, folk songs and other old writings indicate that the Thiyyas were at some point in the past serving in the armies of various kings, including the Zamorins of Calicut and the rulers of the Kingdom of Cochin. Cyriac Pullapilly has said that only a common parentage can explain some of these issues.A theory has been proposed for the origins of the caste system in the Kerala region based on the actions of the Aryan Jains introducing such distinctions prior to the 8th-century AD. This argues that the Jains needed protection when they arrived in the area and recruited local sympathizers to provide it. These people were then distinguished from others in the local population by their occupation as protectors, with the others all being classed as out-caste. Pullapilly describes that this meant they "... were given kshatriya functions, but only shudra status. Thus originated the Nairs." The Ezhavas, not being among the group protecting the Jains, became out-castes.
An alternate theory states that the system was introduced by the Nambudiri Brahmins. Although Brahmin influences had existed in the area since at least the 1st century CE, there was a large influx from around the 8th century when they acted as priests, counsellors and ministers to invading Aryan princes. At the time of their arrival the non-aboriginal local population had been converted to Buddhism by missionaries who had come from the north of India and from Ceylon. The Brahmins used their symbiotic relationship with the invading forces to assert their beliefs and position. Buddhist temples and monasteries were either destroyed or taken over for use in Hindu practices, thus undermining the ability of the Buddhists to propagate their beliefs.
The Buddhist tradition of the Ezhavas, and the refusal to give it up, pushed them to an outcaste role within the greater Brahminic society. This tradition is still evident as Ezhavas show greater interest in the moral, non-ritualistic, and non-dogmatic aspects of the religion rather than the theological.
Past occupations
The Ezhavas used to work as agricultural labourers, small cultivators, toddy tappers and liquor businessmen; some were also involved in weaving and some practised Ayurveda. An upper section of Ezhavas, by reason of wealth and/or influence, came into the position to acquire titles such as Panicker from the local rulers. These people lived in Nalukettu, had their private temples and owned a large amount of land.The social anthropologists Filippo and Caroline Osella say that the Ezhavas "... consisted in the mid-nineteenth century of a small landowning and titled elite and a large mass of landless and small tenants who were largely illiterate, considered untouchable, and who eked out a living by manual labour and petty trade." A. Aiyappan, another social anthropologist and himself a member of the caste, noted the mythical belief that the Ezhava brought coconut palms to the region when they moved from Ceylon. Their traditional occupation, or avakasam, was tending to and tapping the sap of such palms. This activity is sometimes erroneously referred to as toddy tapping, toddy being a liquor manufactured from the sap. Arrack was another liquor produced from the palms, as was jaggery. In reality, most Ezhavas were agricultural labourers and small-time cultivators, with a substantial number diverging into the production of coir products, such as coconut mats for flooring, from towards the end of the 19th century. The coastal town of Alleppey became the centre of such manufacture and was mostly controlled by Ezhavas, although the lucrative export markets were accessible only through European traders, who monopolised the required equipment. A boom in trade for these manufactured goods after World War I led to a unique situation in twentieth-century Kerala whereby there was a shortage of labour, which attracted still more Ezhavas to the industry from outlying rural areas. The Great Depression impacted in particular on the export trade, causing a reduction in price and in wages even though production increased, with the consequence that during the 1930s many Ezhava families found themselves to be in dire financial circumstances.
Some Ezhavas were involved in weaving and ship making.
Martial traditions
Some Ezhava served in army of local chieftains and local rulers such as of Kadathanad and Kurumbranad of Kerala, who were privileged in the pre-colonial period to have their own private armies.Chekavar
A subgroup of the Ezhavas considered themselves to be warriors and became known as the Chekavars. The Vadakkan Pattukal ballads describe Chekavars as forming the militia of local chieftains and kings but the title was also given to experts of Kalari Payattu.Medicine and traditional toxicology
Some Ezhavas had an extensive knowledge of the medicinal value of plants, passed to them by their ancestors. Known as Vaidyars, these people acted as physicians. Itty Achudan was probably the best known Ezhava physician: he directly influenced the botanical classification in Hortus Malabaricus, published during the 17th century. Achudan's texts were written in the Kolezhuthu script that Ezhava castes used, for they were prevented from learning the more Sanskritised Aryazuthu script which was the preserve of the upper-castes.Some Ezhavas practiced ayurvedic medicine.