Article By Shailendra Gangupam
Edited by Archie Joshi, Ashmeen Bains

Fishing predates agriculture, taking us back to 70,000 years ago to the Paleolithic period, while agriculture only began 12,000 years ago, during the Neolithic period. Long before seeds were sown in tilled soil, civilisations had risen beside rivers and oceans, their people sustained by the hunt and the harvest of the sea. Fishing was among the earliest means of survival. Evidence of this maritime legacy can be traced as far back as the Indus Valley Civilisation¹.

Nowhere is this legacy more vivid and more overlooked than along the Pearl Fishery Coast, stretching from Tuticorin (now called Thoothukudi) down to Kanyakumari, the southern tip of the Coromandel Coast. In the Gulf of Mannar, off the shores of India and Sri Lanka, the waters were once rich with pearls and conches, making it one of the largest exporters in the world. These treasures drew countless fisheries into its depths.

Among those who lived and thrived by these waters were the Paravas, a community of fisherfolk whose histories are steeped in salt, trade, conquest, and conversion. With extensive knowledge of the sea and unmatched skill, they dove for pearls and conchs without any gear, making it a hazardous and unforgiving occupation. Facing sharks, unpredictable underwater currents, and shallow-water blackouts, many Parava divers rarely lived to old age. Their lives were often cut short by the sea’s brutal demands.

An excerpt from Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea captures this perilous trade:

“Fishermen gather in the Gulf of Mannar only during the month of March, and for thirty days some 300 boats concentrate on the lucrative harvest of these treasures from the sea. Each boat is manned by ten oarsmen and ten fishermen. The latter divide into two groups, dive in rotation, and descend to a depth of twelve meters with the help of a heavy stone clutched between their feet and attached by a rope to their boat.”  

(Verne, 1998, p. 225)

Sometimes, the person holding the rope, the diver’s lifeline, was a relative, often a brother-in-law, tasked with ensuring his safe return to the surface, back home to his sister— the diver’s wife.

People of the Sea

The Paravas have been historically and culturally tied to the sea. Known for their skills in pearl fishing and conch diving, they were central to the maritime economy of the region. The Parava region finds mention in Sangam-era literature, dating between 300BCE to 200CE, where they are remembered as sovereigns of the sea and subjects of the Pandya kings.

For example, in an ancient tamil poem Mathuraikanchi (Maturaikkāñci), part of an anthology titled Pattuppāṭṭu provides a vivid description of urban and coastal life in the ancient Pandya kingdom. Herbert (n.d.)² translates one passage where the port is “crowded with ships that sailed across the seas,” holding up the maritime importance of the region and its coastal communities like the Paravas.

Leader of Korkai

Nature of the Neythal Seashore Land

Other classical texts such as Cilappatikaram (c. 3rd to 7th CE) describe coastal communities that “killed whales and gathered pearls and conches.” While the text does not explicitly name the Paravas, scholars interpret these references as allusions to pearl-fishing groups like the Paravas. Their ability to travel long distances across the seas facilitated trade and cultural exchange with distant civilisations. As people of the sea, they likely forged relationships with trading partners across the Indian Ocean network, including Arab, Roman and Southeast Asian cultures.

The pearls they harvested weren’t just ornaments; they were currency, traded far and wide, significantly contributing to the revenues of the Pandya Kingdom. The state, as early as the 3rd century BC, had more than 16 such ports,  between Chennai and Tirunelveli, that helped it maintain direct maritime links with China, Egypt, parts of Europe and Southeast Asian countries. Archaeologists say ancient Tamil literature and excavations provide evidence about the existence of such ports that played a major role in overseas trade in the past (Yogesh Kabirdoss, 2017)³.

Other coastal communities like the Kariyars and Mukkuvars also lived alongside the Paravas and participated in annual pearl fisheries. Yet, it was the Paravas who dominated. In return for tributes to the crown, they were exempted from taxation and were allowed to govern themselves; resulting in multiple fisheries being set-up and managed by the Paravas along the coast. Their maritime economy flourished under these arrangements, elevating their standing and influence.

Names and Origins: A List of Popular Folkbeliefs 

Although deeply rooted in Tamil Nadu’s coastal landscape, the origins of the Paravas remain contested. The word Parava is believed to be derived from the old Tamil word paravai, meaning “sea” or “expanse.” In Sangam literature (c. 300 BCE to 200 CE), they are called neithal-makkal, people of the neithal, or coastal lands, one of the five literary landscapes or thinai. 

As the word Parava was generally used to refer to the people inhabiting the coastal region (in the Sangam era), these descriptions were generic and didn’t guarantee any unique ethnic origins,  giving the group a geographical identity contrary to the caste connotations the term carries with it in recent times — where Paravas, today refer to a distinct Catholic fishing caste group in coastal. Tamil Nadu, although historically marginalized⁴, they were granted certain privileges under colonial rule. 

Out of the many that exist, Thurston and Rangachari (1909) in their work, Casts and Tribes of Southern India list the following folk narratives based on mythological fables pertaining to the Parava’s origins. These include stories rooted in divine intervention, sea deities, and legendary ancestral figures, all reflecting the symbolic and sacred associations between the Paravas and the sea

• Descendants of the Sea God:

One of the local myths documented by Thurston and Rangachari (1909) as reported by the community elders states that:

They (Paravas) relate that their ancestors are descendants of the sea god, Varuna; born alongside Kartikeya and nurtured by Krittika⁵, and on the occasion, when Siva had called Kartikeya (god of arms) into existence, for destroying the overwhelming power of the Asuras (evil spirits), they sprang up with him from the sacred lake Sarawana, and were like him nursed by the constellation Krittika (also known as Kartika). At the close of the last kalpa, when the whole earth was covered with a deluge, they constructed a dhōni or boat, and by it escaped the general destruction; and, when dry land appeared, they settled on the spot where the dhōni rested; hence it is called Dhōnipura, or the city of the boat. The Paravas were once  very powerful people, and no doubt derived much of their ascendancy over other tribes from their knowledge of navigation. They had a succession of kings among them, distinguished by the title of Adīyarāsen, some of whom seem to have resided at Uttara Kōsamangay, called at that time the city of Mangay, a famous place of Hindu pilgrimage in the neighbourhood of Rāmnād. 

• Parvati and Siva’s exile from the divine presence:

A fable found in the Valēvīsū Purānam⁷ tells the following story:

Parvati, the consort of Siva, and her son Kartikēya, having offended the deity by revealing some ineffable mystery, were condemned to quit their celestial mansions, and pass through an infinite number of mortal forms, before they could be re-admitted to the divine presence. On the entreaty of Parvati, however, they were allowed, as a mitigation of the punishment, each to undergo but one transmigration. And, as about this time, Triambaka, King of the Paravas, and Varuna Valli, his consort, were making tapas (acts of devotion) to obtain issue, Parvati condescended to be incarnated as their daughter under the name of Tīrysēr Madentē. Her son Kartikēya, transforming himself into a fish, was roaming for some time in the north sea. It appears, however, that he left the north, and made his way into the south sea, where, growing to an immense size, he attacked the vessels employed by the Paravas in their fisheries, and threatened to destroy their trade. Whereupon, the King Triambaka made a public declaration that whoever would catch the fish should have his daughter to wife. Siva, now assuming the character of a Parava, caught the fish, and became re-united to his consort.

• Descendants from Ayodhya; Ancestors to the Pandavas and Kauravas:

Another local myth in Castes and Tribes of Southern India mentions that 

….. the King of the Paravas, who resided on the banks of the Jumna, having found an infant girl in the belly of a fish, adopted her as his own daughter, giving her the name of Machchakindi, and that, when she grew up, she was employed, as was customary with the females of the Parava tribe, to ferry passengers over the river. On a certain day, the sage Parāsara having chanced to meet her at the ferry, she became with child by him, and was subsequently delivered of a son, the famous Vyāsa who composed the Purānas. Her great personal charms afterwards induced King Santanu of the lunar race to admit her to his royal bed, and by him she became the mother of Vichitravīrya, the grandsire of the Pāndavas and Kauravas, whose contentions for the throne of Hastināpūra form the subject of the Mahābhārata. 

Some authors and theorists have identified Jewish roots in the Parava community. The author of the Historia Ecclesiastica identified the Paravas with the Parvaim of the Scriptures and added that, in the time of Solomon, they were famous among those who made voyages by sea, although the basis for this claim remains uncertain (Thurston, 1909).

Over time, the term Parava evolved from a broad geographical identity, once referring to a coastal community known for its maritime knowledge and livelihood,  into a defined caste identity. Today, many members of the community prefer to identify as Bharatar or Bharathakullas.

Hindu or Jewish roots notwithstanding, today’s Paravas are overwhelmingly Catholic, all because of one man’s earlobe.

On One Man’s Earlobe

According to popular folklore, tensions had long been brewing between the Hindu Paravas and the Muslim Kayalars, supported by Arab traders⁸. In one heated confrontation, a Hindu Parava man approached the Kayalars after a slur was cast at his wife.  As a consequence the man was beaten, and his earlobe, bearing a pearl earring, was torn off.

The incident sent ripples of fear across Parava villages. Faced with escalating hostilities and a threat to their livelihood, the Paravas turned to a new power: the Portuguese. They sought protection. The Portuguese agreed on two conditions: they would receive a monopoly over pearl fishing rights, and the Paravas would convert to Christianity.

However, the mass conversion happened much later than when the Portuguese initially fought to protect the Hindu Paravars, as only around 80 individuals were baptised at that time by clergy from Cochin. The mass conversion of approximately 20,000 Paravas took place in 1542, when St. Francis Xavier travelled from Goa to the Pearl Fishery Coast, responding to a request made by one man who would become the first leader of these new Christian Paravas; Jom da Cruz. A new religion had arrived, and an old way of life would soon begin to disappear.

Jom da Cruz, often credited for persuading both his people and the Portuguese, becomes a pivotal figure in the community’s collective memory. St. Xavier, remembered for his mission, owes his journey and legacy largely to Cruz’s plea.

This story has become the localised legend of the Christian community along the pearl fishery coast, but can’t be found in the history books or ethnographic sources. The Church of the Holy Cross is another example; its origins intertwined with stories like that of the torn earlobe and the divine rescue, have become part of the popular Christian folklore among the population.

Even the stone cross outside the church is said to carry a tale of a Portuguese ship that survived a storm. The legend has it that around 1540, a Portuguese trading vessel while sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, on its way to the East encountered a violent storm and had its sails split and the hind mast snapped. The vessel ran the risk of being foundered. The Captain who was devoted to the veneration of the Holy Cross, implored and entrusted the safety of the vessel and that of the care to the crucified Christ. He also made a vow that he would construct a Cross from a portion of the splintered mast and have it implanted on the shore where they alight in safety. Perchance, the vessel after having drifted for several days sought haven in the then well known port of Kulesakharapatnam-Manpad. In fulfillment of his vow, the Captain had the Cross planted on the top of the hillock forming the natural Southern arm of the harbor. The Captain erected over the cross a small hut as protection against possible ravages of weather (Holy Cross Shrine Manapad, n.d.).

Between Salt and Scripture

Despite their long history of interactions with powerful forces such as the Pandyas, the Portuguese, the Dutch, the Paravas’ stories remain mostly untold. While there are academic texts analysing their caste transitions, socio-economic standing, and role in the coastal economy, there are gaps in the documentation of the oral folk culture. The sea shaped not only their livelihood but also their spiritual worldview. For communities that live in such an intimate relationship with nature often carry rituals, beliefs, and superstitions that seem indistinguishable from religion. For the Paravas, nature and faith were once inseparable.

Among the Paravas of the Pearl Fishery Coast, sea rituals and traditions, their beliefs, beautifully blur the lines between the spiritual and the elemental.

Before setting out into the sea, fishermen would often gather at the shoreline to make offerings— mostly flowers, rice or coconut to  Kadalamma or the ‘Mother Sea’. Their sincere devotion to Kadalamma ensures protection and prosperity. This act of devotion, though often dismissed as superstition, reflects a humble recognition of life’s dependence on the ocean’s unpredictable moods and mercies.

These practices have persisted even after the Paravas’ conversion to Christianity in the 16th century. Today, village festivals and Christian processions frequently include ceremonies at the water’s edge, blending Catholic worship with traditions of sea veneration. Protective taboos, belief in guardian spirits inhabiting coastal trees, and rituals marking the opening of the fishing season further highlight this enduring spiritual relationship with the sea. These intertwined customs, passed through oral tradition and everyday ritual, demonstrate how the Paravas’ connection to the ocean is woven into their faith, identity, and collective memory.

The mass conversion, while a political and economic survival strategy, came at a great cultural cost. Long held rituals, myths, local gods, and even names had to be abandoned to forge a new identity, one that required separation from their similar Hindu⁹ counterparts. There were social mechanisms to enforce this distance. As there were gaps in the inheritance of a new faith and religion, the Paravas experienced a great cultural alienation.

Today, most of the surviving folklore among the Parava community revolves around their conversion to Christianity, the church, and the miracles of St. Xavier. The richness of their pre-colonial belief systems echoed in Sangam literature remains buried; not entirely lost, but largely unheard. With each passing generation, these stories fade further into silence. This makes it all the more urgent to document and preserve the rich history of a people who once ruled the fisheries along one of the world’s greatest and most prosperous pearl coasts.

Notes:

¹As evidence collected by archaeologists at Lothal, which is at present day Gujarat which served as a significant port and a hub for commerce. Refer to the following article : https://theprint.in/opinion/lothal-a-complex-urban-centre-with-maritime-connections-had-dockyard-too/2279500/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

²https://sangamtranslationsbyvaidehi.com/pathuppattu-mathuraikanchi/

_³https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/tracking-indian-communities/how-ancient-tamil-ports-helped-trade-in-gems-arab-horses/

⁴Often placed low in the caste hierarchy by Hindu standards, Paravas underwent a dramatic shift in status following their mass conversion to Roman Catholicism in the 16th century. Susan Bayly, in her seminal work Saints, Goddesses and Kings explores how colonial patronage, especially Portuguese control of the pearl fisheries, gave the Paravas economic and symbolic capital, allowing them to reposition themselves within a new caste-Christian-colonial framework. This colonial uplift, however, didn’t erase caste dynamics entirely; it created a new kind of stratification, especially between Christian and non-Christian coastal communities.

⁵ In Hindu mythology, the Krittika constellation, associated with the Pleiades star cluster, is renowned for its connection to Lord Kartikeya, the god of war. It’s believed that six celestial nymphs, known as the Krittikas, collectively nurtured the infant Kartikeya after his birth from the sparks of Lord Shiva’s third eye. These six Krittikas are seen as embodiments of maternal care and fierce protection

⁶ A vast unit of time where one Brahma day equals 4.32 billion human years

⁷Valēvīsū Purānam is a legendary narrative associated with the origins and identity of the Parava (Paravar) community—an ancient fishing and maritime group along the Pearl Fishery Coast in southern India. The Purānam serves as a repository of myth, cultural memory, and identity claims, blending local Tamil folklore with wider Indian mythological motifs.

⁸Bayly explains that the tensions between the Paravas and the Kayalars were rooted largely in fierce competition over control of the lucrative pearl fisheries along the Coromandel Coast. By the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Muslim traders and local mercantile groups, often with Arab backing, had gained significant influence over trade, maritime routes, and access to regional rulers. The Kayalars, with the support of these powerful Arab trading networks, began to assert dominance over the pearl banks, threatening the economic wellbeing and status of the Paravas.

⁹The Paravars, like most ancient coastal communities in South India, practiced a blend of animistic, ancestral, and local village deity (grama devata) worship well before the imposition of rigid, pan-Indian religious labels. Their traditional religious expressions revolved around spirits of the sea, local deities, fertility goddesses, and rituals intended to appease oceanic forces, crucial for their pearl fishing and seafaring livelihoods. Scholars like Susan Bayly in Saints, Goddesses and Kings: Muslims and Christians in South Indian Society 1700–1900 note the persistence of these practices well into the colonial period, even after conversion to Christianity.

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Bio: Shailendra Gangupam is a photographer and a writer drawn to stories which sit at the intersection of people, landscapes and memory, especially those involving water, land and belonging. With a background in English and a growing practice grounded in self-guided research and field work, Shailendra wishes to document the environment and people through these changing times.

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