Gavara is a term used to refer to four different South Indian communities.

  • Gavara is a trading community and is a sub-caste of Balija.[1] They have marital relationship with the Balijas.[2] They are present in Tamil Nadu. The Telugu-speaking Gavara community of Tamil Nadu is related to Balijas. The often use the title Naidu.[3] Kavarai is the Tamil name for Balijas who have settled in Tamil Nadu and is the Tamilised rendition of Gavara.[4] Gavara Balijas are distinct from both Gavara Komatis and the Gavara caste of former Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh.
  • Gavara is also the name of a Komati sub-caste.[5] They are a trading community.[6] Gavara Komatis are distinct from Gavara-Balijas as well as the Gavara caste of former Visakhapatnam district.[7][6]
  • Alternatively, Gavara is also the name of a small caste mostly present in former Visakhapatnam district (present-day Anakapalli and Visakhapatnam districts) and in some parts of the former Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh.[8][9] They are not related to Balija caste. They are predominantly agriculturists and are also involved in petty trade.[8]

References

  1. ^
    • P. R. G. Mathur, ed. (1994). Applied Anthropology and Challenges of Development in India. Punthi-Pustak. p. 341. ISBN 9788185094793. Similarly too the Balija community, with two sub-divisions, Gajalu Balija and Gavara Balija, migrated originally from Tamil Nadu. The Balija Gavarai are popularly known as Naidus and the other as Chetties Valai Chatties, Chettiars. It is said that they originally spoke Telugu. They are mainly traders and jewellers.
    • Pradip . K Bhowmick, ed. (2002). Man and Life. Vol. 28. Institute of Social Research and Applied Anthropology. p. 59. Balija, a Telugu speaking migrant caste to Kerala, is segmented into two sub-castes, viz., Gavara Naidu and Gajaiu Balija ( Vala Chetti ).
    • Alpana Pandey, ed. (2015). Medieval Andhra: A Socio-Historical Perspective. Partridge Publishing. p. 44. ISBN 9781482850178. Balijas: Their main profession was and commerce. They added "Settis" to their names, which showed their supremacy over other castes in trade. The subsects of the Balijas indicate the professions pursued by them. some prominent subdivision were Gajula Balija, Gandhamvallu, Kavarai, etc.
  2. ^ G. Karunanithi, ed. (1991). Caste and Class in Industrial Organisation. Commonwealth Publishers. p. 45. ISBN 9788171691425. A section of the Naidu migrants in Tamilnadu call themselves Kavarais. They are included in the list of backward classes. They have marital relationship with the Balijas.
  3. ^ Vijaya, M.; Kanthimathi, S.; Srikumari, C. R.; Reddy, P. Govinda; Majumder, P. P.; Ramesh, A. (2007). "A Study on Tamil – Speaking Immigrants of Andhra Pradesh, South India" (PDF). International Journal of Human Genetics. 7 (4): 303–306. doi:10.1080/09723757.2007.11886010. S2CID 55044174.
  4. ^
  5. ^
    • K. Ramachandra Murty, ed. (2001). Parties, Elections, and Mobilisation. Anmol Publications. p. 18. ISBN 9788126109791. The Vysyas (Komati) are the most important traditional Telugu trading caste comprising 3 per cent of the State population. They are broadly divided into two endogamous sub-castes, viz., Gavara Komatis and Kalinga Komatis.
  6. ^ a b Singh, K. S. (1992). People of India: Andhra Pradesh. Anthropological Survey of India. ISBN 978-81-7671-006-0.
  7. ^ Tapper, Bruce Elliot (1987). Rivalry and Tribute: Society and Ritual in a Telugu Village in South India. Hindustan Publishing Corporation. ISBN 978-81-7075-003-1.
  8. ^ a b Murthy, B. E. V. V. Narasimha (1989). Entrepreneurship in Small Towns. Mittal Publications. p. 91.
  9. ^ "Kapu, Gavara votes to determine Anakapalli assembly seat's fate". The Times of India. 2 April 2019. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  10. ^
    • K. S. Singh, ed. (1992). People of India: pt.1-3 Kerala. Vol. 27. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 596. The Kavara also known as Gavara are distributed mainly in Ernakulam , Palakkad and Thrissur districts . The community perceives its distribution at medium range and its identification is at the regional level. Iyer ( 1981 ) writes that Kavara is a Tulu caste , found in the Chittur taluk of the Cochin State , who speak mutilated form of Tulu and make wicker work of all kinds. The Kavara still speak a mutilated form of Tulu language , called Kavara dialect with family members . With others they speak malayalam.
    • David Levinson, ed. (1991). Encyclopedia of World Cultures: South Asia. G.K. Hall. p. 325. Kavara A Tulu - speaking caste found in northern and central Kerala . They do wicker work
    • P. R. G. Mathur, ed. (1994). Applied Anthropology and Challenges of Development in India. Punthi-Pustak. p. 356. ISBN 9788185094793.
  11. ^
    • Nagendra Kr Singh, ed. (2006). Global Encyclopaedia of the South Indian Dalit's Ethnography. Global Vision Pub House. p. 340.
    • Ajit K. Danda, S. B. Chakrabarti, ed. (1989). L.K. Ananthakrishna Iyer: 125th Birth Anniversary Tribute. Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Culture, Government of India. p. 118. Kavaras and Gavaras have been again listed as separate Scheduled Castes lifting the area restrictions within Kerala. As already mentioned that the Kavara / Gavaras subsist on basket making . They speak some kind of Tulu - Malayalam dialect.
    • Pradip . K Bhowmick, ed. (2002). Man and Life. Vol. 28. Institute of Social Research and Applied Anthropology. p. 58, 59. Kavara is one of those castes belonging to the sixty - eight Scheduled Castes of Kerala. They subsist on basket - making and are mainly found in the district of Palhgat.