Saliya
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu | |
| Languages | |
| Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada | |
| Religion | |
 Hinduism, Atheism
|
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Padmashali, Salagama, Devanga, Pattariyar, Thogataveera |
Saliyar or Saliya or Chaliyan or Sali or Sale is an Indian caste. Their traditional occupation was that of weaving and they are found mostly in the regions of northern Kerala, southern coastal Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil nadu, India.
Among the weaving castes of South India are the Padmashali, Devanga and Kaikolar, the first two of which appear from the evidence of inscriptions to be native to Kannada- and Telugu-speaking regions. However, the Kaikkolar community is native to Tamil-speaking regions. The earliest mention of Kaikkolar as weavers comes in an 8th-century Jain lexicon.The ancestors of weavers of Kerala were migrants from Kannada, Telugu and Tamil regions.
The oldest names for weavers in Kannada and Telugu regions were Saliga (or its variants, Sale, Sali, Saliya etc) or Jeda (or its variants Jada, Jandra etc). However, the present day names like Devanga and Padmasali are the results of Sanskritisation with myths of origins. The original names simply meant weaver (spider). While Saliga is tadbhava of jalikha, spider or weaver in Sanskrit, Jeda is a Kannada word for spider. According to Ramaswamy, as part of the Virasaiva movement weavers initially championed caste negation or anti-casteism initially. However, as time passed even that movement became caste-ridden and various communities started claiming ritual superiority vis-a-vis other communities part of the same religion and also against non-Virasaiva communities like Brahmins. As caste negation gave way to caste exaltation even weavers tried to obtain higher caste credentials and privileges. In 1231, at Chintamani (in the present day Karnataka region with a mixed Kannada/Telugu population) it is said (a dubious claim according to Vijaya Ramaswamy) that a king granted privileges like right to the yajnopavita (the sacred thread worn by Brahmins), right to ride a palanquin, right to one's own flag and symbol etc... to Devanga weavers. Many of these privileges were later granted to Padmashali weavers too.
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