Paraiyar Drummers of Sri Lanka: consensus and constraint in an untouchable caste

Abstract

While a number of writers have argued that untouchable castes in South Asia are alienated from, and exploited by, the larger high-caste society and culture of which they are the lowest part, Moffatt has recently argued that untouchables in Tamilnadu, south India, nevertheless share a deep “cultural consensus” with the higher castes concerning the basic values and assumptions of the caste system. Using contrasting data on untouchable Tamil Paraiyar Drummers in two locations in eastern Sri Lanka, this paper supports the consensus theory but also points to major constraints imposed on low-caste culture and social organization by prevailing political, economic, and demographic conditions. [Tamil untouchable castes, Sri Lanka, cultural consensus theory, purity versus kingly honor, matrilineal kinship, Hinduism]