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Parava or Paravar, also known as Parathavar, Paradavar, Bharathar, Bharathakula Pandyar〔Iyengar p. 139〕 or Bharathakula Kshathriyar〔Subrahmanian p. 151〕 is a caste in southern India that in ancient times were coastal fishermen and subordinate rulers to Pandyas, as well as according to at least one modern writer, described as "ferocious soldiers".〔Subrahmanian p. 159〕 There are many theories as to their origins but they have since ancient times been recorded in the area of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In modern India, Paravars are concentrated along the coastal belt extending around the Gulf of Mannar, from Kilakarai through to Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin) and then on almost as far as Trivandrum. and their 60 or so villages are solely occupied by caste members and are interspersed with villages occupied by Muslims. There are also Paravar settlements on the outskirts of inland villages, and there has been a significant number among the population of Tuticorin, a major town, since the 1580s.〔 ==Origins== Theorised origins include that they are descendants of: * the Dravidian origins, ancient inhabitants of the coastal areas.〔Iyengar p. 36〕 * the Naga fishermen who settled in the coastal areas prior to its invasion by the Tamils. This proposition, quoted by Edgar Thurston, was advanced by James Hornell in his 1905 work, ''Report on the Indian pearl fisheries in the Gulf of Mannar''.〔Thurston p. 148〕 * the Indus Valley people. Also number of theories have been proposed regarding the origins of the Paravas. Writing in 1909, Thurston named examples given by Simon Casie Chitty in volume 4 of the ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'' of 1837. These included them being: * related to the Parvaims, people who traded gold with Israel during the Solomonic era.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Passage results: 2 Chronicles 3–4 (New International Version) )〕 Thurston attributes this theory as arising from the Tamil language ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' published in 1735 and discounts it as having no solid foundation.〔Thurston p. 140〕 He does not make more clear as to which of the many works titled as such he is referring. * from the country of Oudh, near to the river of Yamuna. This is explained, but not elaborated upon, by Thurston as being the general belief of the Paravars.〔 * descendants of Varuna, the god of the sea, which is dismissed by Thurston as a myth.〔Thurston p. 142〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Paravar」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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