Etymology
Poojary are an ethnic group of India, usually found in coastal Karnataka. Billavas were known for their archery skills in ancient period.It is believed that billava and ilava are derived from a proto-Dravidian word. The word “Billava” is a variant of Villavars (archers) – a warrior caste of the Dravidians who ruled most of India during ancient times. Villavars founded the Chera kingdom, and the Chera king was addressed as Villavar Kon. The word billu means “bow” in Tulu. Martial-arts academies of Billavas are known as garadi. Reading, writing and instruction in archery and the martial arts were the main activities of these Garadi – similar to Kalarippayattu, which is practised by the Ezhava (an intermediate caste) community in Kerala . Thus the word billava (fighters) could be derived from billu (or Villu) in the Tamil language. Billavas are descendants of the ancient Villavar warriors. They are also known as Biruvas; this strengthens the name derivation from the Dravidian/Tulu root “bow”. Tulu words for bow are billu or biru.
Read more about this topic: Poojary (Billava Subcaste)
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