Karava

Karava of Sri Lanka

The Karava Maha Kodiya or main flag of the Karava Community. It depicts several traditional royal symbols.
Total population
3 million
Regions with significant populations
Sri Lanka,
Languages
Sinhala
Religion
Buddhism, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Protestantism
Related ethnic groups
Sinhalese, Tamils, Karaiyar, Kshatriyas, Kurukulams, Kauravas

Karava (pronounced Karaava) also Karave, Kara, Karavaa, Kaurava is a significant Sinhalese community from the Island of Sri Lanka. The Tamil equivalent is Karaiyar.

The first recorded instance is the Abhayagiri vihara terrace inscription dating from the 1st century BC denoting a Karava navika.

The origins of the term Karava are still debated. One school of thought maintains that the Karava are the traditional coastal folk citing the similarity between the terms for sea-water (Kara Diya in Sinhalese) and Tamil Karaiyar denoting 'coast men'.

Historical manuscripts such as the Mukkara Hatana indicate that there were also several migrations from India including the Kuru Mandalam Coromandal coast of South India. The Aluth (new) and Parana (old) Kuru korales (provinces) denote such cultural acknowledgement and royal patronage. Many Karava communities throughout Sri Lanka claim an ultimate origin from the Kuru (kingdom) and the epic Kauravas of the Mahabharata.

The Karavas came into contact with the Portuguese, Dutch and English colonial powers before the rural interiors and assimilated (through choice or force) with regards to education, dress, religion and customs and exploited the new opportunities in commercial enterprise earlier than other communities. The Karavas were the most successful at this as all communities strove to modernise and still do. The Karavas north of Negambo, along with all other Sinhalese communities are mostly Catholics, the Karavas south of Colombo along with other Sinhala speakers and are mostly Buddhists. With Salagama and Durave, they make a sizeable number of people among the coastal Sinhalese sub group.