Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Puluvan

by Edgar Thurston

Puluvan.—The Puluvans have been described †^[1] as "a small tribe of cultivators found in the district of Coimbatore. Puluvans are the learned men among the Coimbatore Vellālas, and are supposed to be the depositaries of the poet Kamban's works. One authority from Coimbatore writes that the traditional occupation of this caste is military service, and derives the word from bhū, earth, and valavan, a ruler; while another thinks that the correct word is Puruvan, aborigines. Their girls are married usually after they attain maturity. In the disposal of the dead, both cremation and burial are in vogue, the tendency being towards the former. They are flesh-eaters. Their customs generally resemble those of the Konga Vellālas."

The Puluvans call themselves Puluva Vellālas.

1. † Madras Census Report, 1891.