• Source: Rodiya

Rodi or Rodiya (lit., filth) are an untouchable social group or caste amongst the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka. Their status was very similar to all the Untouchable castes of India with segregated communities, ritualised begging, economically weakest section of the society.




Status


Accounts from the colonial period depict the social position and life experiences of the Rodiyas.




History


The various stories on the origin of the Rodi caste are contradictory and therefore far from certain. Rodis have their own mythical stories about their origin (Princess Ratnavalli story) have been passed down orally by their generations. They were considered so untouchable that the Sinhalese royal law prescribed the punishment to banish worst offenders and convicts to the Rodiya community which was considered a worst punishment than the capital punishment, i.e. the daughter of King Parakramabahu named Ratnavalli (also known as Navaratna Valli) secretly conniving with a Rodiya caste butcher (who was supplying venison to the royal court) shared a taste for human flesh (cannibalism). This was later found out by the king and enraged by her serious offense, the King banished her to the Rodiya community, offering her as the bride to that same butcher. Some of these stories are found in published documents as well. Rodis were considered to be purely a low caste group. According to Kandyan law, the worst punishment for high caste nobles was the exiling them to the Rodi caste. Robert Knox (sailor) and Hugh Nevill are two of the prominent writers who have mentioned the Rodi Caste in their writings. Although these folklore tales do not provide many facts about the origins of the Rodi, they trace a connection between the daughter of King Parakramabahu and a butcher.




Modern times


The British Government in London recalled from the service the British Colonial Governor Sir Thomas Maitland (British Army officer) perhaps because of a rumored relationship with a Ceylonese untouchable Rodiya Caste (though normally said to be Sinhalese) dancing girl named Lovina Alfonso. Rodiya people were heavily involved in Sri Lankan independence from British colonization.




See also



Rodiya language




References






Further reading


Boyle, Richard (1928). Ratnavalli's Children, Myth and Mystery of the Rodi
Raghavan, M. D. (1957). Handsome Beggars, The Rodiyas of Ceylon




External links


Ethnic Groups in Sri lanka - Rodiya[usurped]
The Rodiya: Outcaste people of Sri Lanka
The Status of Nihali (On Nihali)
The story of the Rodi: Sri Lanka's 'untouchables'

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Adok
• Suku Sinhala
• Bahasa Wedda
• Etimologi nama tempat di Sri Lanka
• Rodiya
• Rodiya dialect
• Bengal monitor
• Valli
• Ivan Corea
• Rodi
• Nudity in India
• Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement
• Vedda language
• Nyanatiloka