Sri Lankan Vellalar

The Tolkappiyam does not contain the term Vellalar but refers to a group of people called Velaan Maanthar who apart from practising agriculture had the right to carry weapons and wear garlands when they were involved in affairs of the state.

[16] The Kailayamalai, an account on Kalinga Magha, the founder of Jaffna Kingdom, narrates the migration of Vellalar Nattar chiefs from the Coromandel Coast of South India.

[17] Vellalar chiefs from the Malavar and Gangeyar clans were appointed to administrative office by the first Jaffna king Cinkaiariyan (ca.

Thus the Vellalar chiefs and other landlord castes had the Koviars and also the Panchamar ("the fives") consisting of the Nalavars, Pallars, Paraiyars, Vannars, and Ambattars working under them as domestic servants altogether known as Kudimakkal.

The growing power of the Vellalars was counterbalanced by removing the Madapallis from earlier suspicion and equally appoint them to the administrative office by the Dutch in the 1690s.

[25] According to historians, the Vellalar population increased between the 17th and 19th-century due to other castes and communities assimilating in Vellalar society after the fall of Jaffna Kingdom, which included castes such as the Agampadiyar (palace servants), Chettiar (merchants), Maravar (soldiers), Thanakkarar (temple managers), Madapallis (palace cooks and stewards), Malayalis, and Paradesis (foreigners, skilled workers).

[34] Due to the effort of the religious reformer, Arumuka Navalar, the conversion to Christianity of many Hindu Vellalars was prevented.

[17][36] Well-to-do Vellalars from Jaffna and Colombo formed one of the political Sri Lankan Tamil elites, one of such being the Ponnambalam-Coomaraswamy family.

[5][2] Vellalar political and ritual dominance was severely restricted due to the post-1983 Sri Lankan civil war domination of Tamil politics by the main rebel group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) whose top leaders, such as Velupillai Prabhakaran, were mostly from the vellalar caste.