page_title: Karava
section_title: Traditional status
hierarchical_section_title: Karava / Traditional status
caption_attribution_description: English: A 19th century representation of the Karava Makara Flag. The image of the mythical creature Makara is extensively used in ancient Sri Lankan royal architecture. This flag is one of the main flags still used by the Karavas at their ceremonies. The Mukkara Hatana, an ola leaf manuscript now in the British Museum states that King Parakramabahu IV granted it to the Karavas
context_page_description: Karava also Karave, Kara and Kaurawa is a Sinhalese caste from Sri Lanka. The Tamil equivalent is Karaiyar. They are traditionally coastal people occupied in seafaring, fishing and naval warfare.
  They have in recent times given great importance to trade and commerce. The elite families are involved in the estate-owning sector, chiefly in coconut and rubber.
context_section_description: The Karavas were coastal people, who served in naval warfare and contributed as coastal chieftains and regional kings. Their chiefs were referred in Sinhalese as Patabendi or Patangatim, which is derived from the Tamil term Pattamkattiyar (meaning "crowned one"), which was also used by their equivalent Tamil Karaiyars.
  The Karavas were one of the few Sri Lankan communities traditionally entitled to use flags. A large number of these Karava flags have survived the ravages of time and many are illustrated in E. W. Perera's book Sinhalese Banners and Standards.
  The sacred usage of conch shell and tying of Nalapata (royal forehead plate) was a common practice among Karavas, also mentioned in the Rajaveliya. The sun and the moon, pearl umbrella are traditional royal symbols used by the Karavas. The Makara, being an emblem of their clan, is the mount of their clan deity, the sea god Varuna.
  Insignia such as the pearl umbrella, flags, swords, trident, yak tail whisks, lighted flame torches and drums were previously widely used by the Karavas at their weddings and funerals. By the 1960s, such usage has been greatly reduced, whereas some places is it still practiced.
caption: A 19th-century representation of the Karava Makara Flag.
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