The Karavas have migrated to Sri Lanka over the past 2500 years at different times under different circumstances (see migration from India) As such they seem to have brought different religions with them based on the religious circumstances of the times and the location from which they came.
The earliest migrants may have brought the Surya deva and Indra worship where as those who migrated during Asokan times and the 12th century kalinga kingdom would have brought Buddhism. At most other times it could have been Vishnu, Shiva and Skandha worship. The migrants who came during Portuguese times could have been Roman Catholics.
4.1 An Keliya (horn pulling)
4.2 Pol-Keliya (coconut duel)
4.3 Water cutting ritual
5.1 Udappu
5.2 Munneswaram
5.3 Thondaimanaru
5.4 Velvettiturai
5.5 Dondra
3. Indra
In Vedic times, Indra was the supreme ruler of the gods (Devas). He was the god of war, the god of thunder and storms, the greatest of all warriors. He had early aspects of a sun-god, riding in a golden chariot across the heavens, but he is more often known as the god of thunder, wielding the celestial weapon Vajra, the lightening bolt. He also employs the bow, a net, and a hook in battle. He shows aspects of being a creator god, having set order to the cosmos, and since he was the one who brought water to earth, he was a fertility god as well. He also had the power to revive slain warriors who had fallen in battle.
Indra’s sons are named as Jayanta, Midhusa, Nilambara, Rbhus, Rsabha, Sitragupta, and, most importantly, Arjuna.
He was known as a great drinker of Soma; When not in his chariot, Indra rode on the great white elephant Ayravana (Airavata)
Indra held court at Svarga, his heaven in the clouds surrounding the highest peak of the sacred mountain Meru. Slain warriors were believed to go here after death and lived forever without sorrow, suffering, or fear. His kingdom was full of dancing, music, gaming and athletic contests.
In later Brahmanical times Indra was displaced by Shiva and Vishnu and eventually given the role of god of thunder, the weather god and lord of lesser gods.
Some of the Statues illustrated under Surya Deva and are arbitrarily called Bodhisatvas (future Buddha) in Sri Lanka could also be of Indra, the god of the Kshatriyas (wariors)
Left: a seated statue of Indra from Nepal
and below: a 8 -9 th century statue from Sri Lanka which is being called Avalokithesvara. But it is probably a statue of God Indra (Sun God) - the god of Sri Lanka's Solar (Sun / Surya) dynasty Kshatriya kings.
The lamp illustrated on the right was one of a pair found in the upper relic chamber of the Kotavehera at Dedigama. The figure on the elephant appears to be Indra although for some strange reason no one has attempted to identify the figure as such.
According to folklore Dedigama was where the Iron mace of king Gajabahu was buried. And according to the Kurunegala Vistaraya, king Gajabahu abandoned Dedigama after he built a city at Beligala. This further confirms the period and territory of Gajabahu’s rule. Later Dedigama was the seat of the Keerawella family founded by Rajput Thakura (Godakumbura 1969 pages 5, 24, 28) All of these royals were Karavas.
According to Karava tradition the Kuru Kingdom is the ultimate country of origin of the Karavas. The great epic, the Mahabharata is the story of the Kauravas and Pandavas. Several Hindu Karava communities in Sri Lanka still annually enact scenes from the Mahabharata war. Mr Somasuriya, a Sinhala speaking Karava from the ancient Karava settlement of Kandalama near Dambulla recalls how his Mother used to tell them to think of Arjuna (the hero in Mahabharata) for comfort when they as kids (possibly 1960s) were fearful of thunder.
Another God popular with both Hindu and Buddhist Karavas is Lord Skanda (also known as Murugan, Kandasamy. Katharagama etc). He is the Indian god of war and Karavas being a martial race his appeal to the Karavas is quite understandable. As a god of war, he is often depicted with many weapons including: a sword, a javelin, a mace, a discus and a bow .
Because the Karava are a race it appears that the Karavas had their own priestly class within it. Many Karava ancestral names such as Dévagé, Ginigé, Gurunnanselage, Guruge, Kapugé, Pattini, Sattambige, Tantrige, Telgé, Vedage, Yeddehige etc. indicating religious ocupations seem to suggest that.
The Karava Wickramasuriya family had been the custodians of the Kataragama Devale in Kataragama and the Karava Andra Hennedige family had been the custodians of the Kataragama devale at Dondra in the south. A branch of the Weerawickrama Wijesuriyage Weerawickramasuriya family still holds the Maha Bethme Nilame post of the Sri Vishnu Devale in Kataragama. The Selva Sannithi Murugan Temple in Thondaimanaru too has always been under Kurukulam (Karava) patronage - Family tree
Some scholars believe that the numerous St. Mary's and St. Anne's churches in the maritime provinces display the transformation from previous worship of Mariamman and Patini. St. Anne's churches dating from the Portuguese period are at Wattala,
5.1 Udappu
Udappu is a Karava village situated 65 miles north of Colombo. The people of the village are Hindu Karawa, with a cultural life that is altogether different from others living along the coast in the Chilaw District. They take pride in claiming descent from Kurukulather Chiefs of the Varnakulasuriya clan, who came over from India with their Makara flag and pearl umbrella, under circumstances caused by an unfortunate romance.
According to the story, their King had a beautiful daughter, named Kamalakanni, who was sought after as a bride by the King of the Maravars. But her father would not agree to a marriage with the Maravar. Fear of the persistent and powerful lover Kamalakanni's father agreed to the marriage and he even built the nuptial halls and pandals as was customary at that time.
But the night before the wedding, he fled with all his people and their belongings The angry man was made more angry when he found that instead of a bride waiting for him there was a bitch left tied to the Arasanikal (Bridal Post) and swore to avenge the humiliation and loss of honour he thus suffered.
The Karawe party landed at Mannar but came down south to Kalpitiya and from there to Puttalam, finally traveling through Mundel to settle down at Udappu, some of them later shifted to villages nearby, such as Munneswaram, Gojjaragama and Mandanmunai.
The village is famous for the annual fire walking and water rites performed at it's temple and the reenactment of the Mahabharata war. See Udappu.org for more information.
The main shrine at Udappu is dedicated to Draupadi, the wife of the five Pandya brothers, cousins of the Kauravas of the Mahabharata epic. (The Mahabharata is the origi n story of the Karavas - see Timeline of the Karava I )
The festival is held in july/august and the fifth day falls on the the day the new moon appears.
5.2 Munneswaram
The Tamil inscription of Kotte's Karava king Parakramabahu VI (1412-1467) found at the site of shows the patronage extended by this king to the temple. The temple was razed to the ground by the Portuguese in 1587 and was rebuilt in the eighteenth century by the Karava Vaduga King Kirti Sri Rajasingha (1747-1782 A.D.)
The tree of the kovil (sthala / sthana vrksa) is a Bo tree. Bodhi trees are closely connected with Karava traditions. See Migrations for the Hendath Henerat Bandaravaliya tradition of a Karava migration to Munneswaram. See royal symbols of Sri Lanka for the Tree symbolism and Karavas
For generations, the Trustees of this temple have been Karavas. It is said that , in the past, the annual pageant would not commence it's tour of the streets until the arrival of the Karava chief.
5.3 Thondaimanaru
The worship at Selvasannithi is unique. As Professor K. Sivathamby points out, the temple priests here perform puja as "first among the worshippers" poojas being done without chanting mantram. . The piety, with which the devotees worships takes precedence over rituals and traditions.
Hon. Justice C.V. Wigneswaran, a judge of the Court of Appeal says :
"Becoming is said to manifest in three stages. First stage is the kāma or the desire or the ichcha to become. Second is the jñāna or the wisdom to become. And finally it is the action or kriya of becoming. Thus ichcha, jñāna, and kriya or will, wisdom and action respectively are the three subsequent manifestations of the primordial throb of the one state of transcendental reality.
"Valli is Ichcha Sakti and Teyvayānai is Kriya Sakti. Since Katirgamar was born from the third eye or the eye of wisdom of Shiva, Katirgamar stands for divine knowledge and wisdom (jñāna). Just before any manifestation, in its purest state, 'Being-Becoming' or Katirgamar state has no form, no name, no attribute, no qualities nor functions. This is the subtle inconceivable state of the "Being-Becoming" which is worshipped in Katirgamar as the Supreme Transcendental Absolute (formless form).
"This accounts for the shrine at Katirgamam having no image nor idol whatsoever or even a symbol since divinity transcends all these. What is explained by such a temple is that Divinity is inconceivable and inexpressible. In other words it is apparently 'nil' but potentially 'full'."
5.4 Velvettiturai
5.5 Dondra
Vishnu Temple in the southern most point of Sri Lanka is situated in the ancient Karava settlement of Thenuvar (now called Devinuwara and Dondra). It was a prosperous port city before it was destroyed by the Portuguese in the 16th century . Thenuwara is used as a family name by a few Karava families to date. Until the 1970s, the Basnayake Nilame of this temple was from the Karava Wijetunga family of Matara.
Karava infants were traditionally adorned with a gold pendant embellished with five weapons (Panchaudha or Pancha aayudha the weapons of Lord Vishnu) as a symbol of it's warrior heritage.
The vehicle of Lord Vishnu, the Garuda is seen on ancient Karava flags. See Garuda flag
The Karava Andra Hennedige family were custodians of the Kataragama devale on the premises and many Karava families officiated for generations as temple priests. The premises of one such family is still known as Pattini Gedera although they are no longer connected with the devale.
In Negombo, Chilaw, Jaffna, down south and in the interior there are scores of Cathedrals and churches either built or supported by Karavas.
The entrance to our Lady of Carmel Cathedral in Chilaw, before it was modernised.
Researchers who seem to have done superficial research on Sri Lanka have stated that marginal groups were the first to convert to Catholicism. However Portuguese records from the period show that the Portuguese strategy was to first convert the Royal family and nobles and to use them as examples for others to follow. The conversions in the Kotte and Jaffna kingdoms have followed this method. Some interesting research in this regard has been published by Alan Strathern in Kingship and Conversion in Sixteenth-Century Sri Lanka, Cambridge University Press 2007
In a letter written on 20th March 1557 to the guardian of the religious order, The king of Portugal, King John III himself, expresses his joy as follows on the conversion of a Karava Patangatim and his people : “I am much pleased to rejoice at the news you give me of how our lord has been pleased through the agency of the members of your order to illuminate the Nation of the Carias who you say live in the ports of Ceylon, and are said to exceed 70,000 souls, whose captain named Patangatim accompanied them” (Queyroz 327).
The Jesuit annual letter of 29/12/1606 from Cochin states that the early Portuguese missionaries first concentrated on converting the Karava Patabändas as they were the leaders and rulers of the people. They were used as examples for other gentiles to follow (Perniola II.254) The Portuguese have documented many instances where hundreds of others converted, following the Patabända’s conversion (Perera. C.A. & L. R. 1916 II.24).
Similarly, in Jaffna, in 1623 the Portuguese baptized King Pararajasekaran IX’s two queens as Dona Clara da Silva and Dona Antonia da Silva, several nephews of the king, nine Patangatims and all other chief persons of the Karava caste.(Perniola Portuguese period III)
Some scholars believe that the numerous St. Mary's and St. Anne's churches in the maritime provinces display the transformation from previous worship of Mariamman and Kaliamman.
Karavas have been prominent Bishops and held other high ecclesiastic positions in all denominations. The first People's warden of St. Peter's Church, Koralawella was from the Karava de Mel family. Charles Harold, a grandson of C. H. de Soysa was the second native Bishop of Sri Lanka.
Above: Holy Emmanuel Church Moratuwa built by the Karawe de Soysas.
The British Governor and lady Mc Carthy were present when the church was consecrated by Bishop Chapman on 27th December 1860.
Below: an interior view
St Lukes Church, Moratuwa built by the Karave family of Mr. Manuel de Mel
References
The Karavas have migrated to Sri Lanka over the past 2500 years at different times under different circumstances (see migration from India) As such they seem to have brought different religions with them based on the religious circumstances of the times and the location from which they came.
The earliest migrants may have brought the Surya deva and Indra worship where as those who migrated during Asokan times and the 12th century kalinga kingdom would have brought Buddhism. At most other times it could have been Vishnu, Shiva and Skandha worship. The migrants who came during Portuguese times could have been Roman Catholics.
The above King Bhuvanekabahu VII was one of the three princes who sought refuge with a Karava patabenda during the palace coup of their father king Vijayabáhu VII (AD 1509 -1521)
Above: A mask representing a King. These masks are made and used by the Karava of Ambalangoda in their traditional folk plays. There are masks representing the Queen and several other too.
Above, Nallur Kandasamy (Skanda) Temple built on Kurukkal Valavu after the temple built in 1467 by Xemba Perumal the son of Karava prince Manikka Thalevan of the Mukkara Hatana was destroyed by the Portuguese. Xemba Perumal (prince Sapumal) and his brother were adopted by King Parakramabahu VI of Kotte because their father died in the seige of Nagapattinam. Xemba Perumal ruled the north as a viceroy and later ascended the throne of Kotte as Bhuvanekabahu VI (1470 - 1480). Hymns to his praise are still sung in the Nallur temple.
The statue of Draupathi Amman (Draupadi) being carried by devotees at Udappu's annual festival.
A relief from Deogrh Dasavatar Temple. The central figure is Yudhishthira ; to his left are Bhima and Arjuna . Nakula and Sahadeva the twins are to his right. Their wife Draupadi is at far right.
Preparation of the fire walking pit opposote the temple (above) and below, the medium with the silver pot of flags ( Karakam ) is the first to walk on the fire. He is followed by thousands of others - the highest number to do so in the whole of Sri Lanka.
More photos here
The Sivan Temple at Munnewsaram near Colombo. For generations the Trustees of this Temple have been Karavas and it is said that the annual pageant used to commence it's tour of the streets only after the arrival of the Karava chief.
Selva Sanniti MurukanTemple - Sella Katirkâmam of the North (above) is situated in Thondaimanaru, about twenty miles north of Jaffna. Here too, as at Kataragama in the south of the country, a free non-agamic environment for worship pervades.
The 'Vellala only' discriminations introduced by Arumuga Navalar in the recent past do not operate here. Persons of various creeds and castes congregate here for darshan (viewing and getting blessed) of the Vel (spear – the weapon of Lord Murugan)
Vishnu Temple Devinuwara (Dondra)
According to the Thisara Sandesha of the Kotte period, Varuna, Upulvan, Rama and Vishnu were names used to describe the same god.
Kshatriya Maha Sabha, Sri Lanka