Vokkaliga is a Hindu farming community with 54 sub-divisions in Karnataka. They have notable demographic, political, and economic dominance in the southern parts of the Indian state of Karnataka. They are designated as an Other Backward Class in India's reservation system.
Etymology
Vokkaliga is a Kannada-language word found in some of the earliest available literary works of the language, such as the Kavirajamarga, Pampa Bharata, and Mangaraja's Nighantu. It has been used as an appellation for the cultivator community since time immemorial. Generally, the term has come to mean an agriculturist though various etymological derivations are available, including: s in Puttur organizing marriages
The wordokka or okkalu is a Kannada word for a family or a clan and an okkaliga is a person belonging to such a family. This is an allusion to the totemistic exogamous clans which together form an endogamous sub group, of which there are many amongst the Vokkaligas. These clans are called Bali, Bedagu, Kutumba, Gotra or simply Okkalu all of which mean family. They are named after their progenitor, primary occupation or in most cases after various birds, animals or objects.
Okkalutana in Kannada means agriculture
Alternate etymologies include okku, which means threshing
The Kannada linguist Shamba Joshi and others propose a derivation from the Sanskrit - gau and govala. Moreover, though the Vokkaligas did practise animal husbandry, the traditional herdsmen community, Kurubas, form a separate caste group.
Subgroups
The Vokkaliga community has several sub-groups within its fold. Exogamy at the family/clan level is strictly controlled by using the idiom of Mane Devaru which dictates that the followers of same Mane Devaru are siblings and marriage is thus forbidden, allowing marital alliances only with another clan and not within.
Gangadikara Vokkaliga
The Gangadikara Gowdas, also known as the Gangatkar, claim to be descendants of the erstwhile Ganga royalty. With various theories on the origins of the Gangas, this is hard to prove but some scholars do opine that the Gangas were local chieftains who ascertained their power and rose to dominance during the political unrest caused in South India after the invasion of Samudragupta I. It is however, a fact that the administrative setup of Gangas vested power, at various levels of administration and apart from administrative duties the Gauda was expected to raise militia when called for. The Gangadikaras and the Kongu Vellalars are said to share a common origin and they regard themselves Ganga Kshatriyas. In fact, the wordKongu is the Tamil equivalent for Ganga. There is a significant number of Gounders in Kollegal and T. Narsipur in Chamarajanagar. The Gangadikara Vokkaligas have as many as 40 kulas, exogamous clans, known in Kannada as Bedagu.
Morasu Vokkaliga
The ancestors of Kempe Gowda I of the Yelahanka Nadaprabhus are recorded to have migrated to these districts from Alur of Kanchi around the 15th century under Rana Bhaire Gowda, who built the fort at Devanahalli. According to Burton Stein, the region of modern-day Bangalore and Tumkur districts was known as Morasu Nadu, dominated by the Morasu Vokkaligas. In fact Hosur which borders Bangalore claims to have been called Murasu Nadu during the Sangam Age and has a significant population of Morasu Vokkaligas. The four main sub-divisions being the Musuku, Hosadevru, Palyadasime and Morasu proper which is again divided into three lines called Salu viz. Kanu salu, Nerlegattada salu, Kutera salu. The Musuku sect is so-called because the bride wears a veil or 'Musuku' during the wedding ceremony.
Namadhari Vokkaligas
The Namadhari Vokkaliga group is the first largest Vokkaliga sub-group.
Halakki Vokkaliga
s are an indigenous tribe in of Uttar Kannada district. Taking cognisance of the tribe’s demands to be recognised as a Scheduled Tribe a study was commissioned by the social welfare department in 2010 and a report was submitted.
