obliged to furnish her with ten kalams of pearls every season.
It is noted, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, that "there are in reality three castes which answer to the name Paravan, and which speak Tamil, Malayālam, and Canarese respectively. Probably all three are descended from the Tamil Paravans or Paratavans. The Tamil Paravans are fishermen on the sea coast. Their headquarters is Tuticorin, and their headman is called Talavan. They are mostly Native Christians. They claim to be Kshatriyas of the Pāndyan line of kings, and will eat only in the houses of Brāhmans. The Malayālam Paravans are shell collectors, lime burners and gymnasts, and their women act as midwives. Their titles are Kurup, Vārakurup, and Nūrankurup (nūru, lime). The Canarese Paravas are umbrella-makers and devil-dancers." It has been suggested that the west coast Paravas are the descendants of those who fled from Tinnevelly, in order to avoid the oppression of the Muhammadans.
In the Census Report, 1871, the Paravas are summed up as being a fishing caste on the Madura and Tinnevelly coast, who "were found by the Portuguese, on their arrival in India, to be groaning under the Muhammadan yoke, and were assisted by the Portuguese on condition of their becoming Christians. This general conversion, for political ends, explains why the fishing population of the present day along the south-east coast is to a considerable extent Roman Catholic." It is noted by Mr. S. P. Rice *[1] that the fishermen "who live in the extreme south are devout Catholics, and have preserved the Portuguese names by which their fathers
- ↑ * Occasional Essays on Native South Indian Life, 1901.
