Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Kīraikkāran

by Edgar Thurston

Kīraikkāran.— Kīraikkāran is an occupational name, denoting those who cultivate kīrai (Amarantus). The Kīraikkārans are stated, in the Census Report, 1901, to be usually Agamudaiyans in Coimbatore. I gathered, however, that the name is given by Tamil-speaking people to the Kempati Okkiliyans of Coimbatore, a Canarese people who migrated thither from Kempati in Mysore. The majority of them cultivate kirai and other edible vegetables, but some are petty traders or fishermen. Some of their marriage divisions are named after deities, e.g., Masāni and Vīramashti, and one division is called Jōgi.