Kapu (caste)

Kapu refers to a social grouping of agriculturists found primarily in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (the Telugu-speaking states). Kapus are primarily an agrarian community, forming a heterogeneous peasant caste. The subcastes of Kapu include Telaga, Balija, Ontari, Munnuru Kapu, Turpu Kapu etc.

The Kapu community in the Telugu states is predominantly concentrated in the coastal districts, North Telangana and Rayalaseema regions. They are also found in large numbers in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and some other Indian states as well as Sri Lanka.

Etymology

Kāpu or Kāmpu literally means cultivator or agriculturist in Telugu. Various subgroups of kapus branched off into separate communities in the post-Kakatiya period (Velamas, Panta Kapus and Pakanati Kapus—both of whom got labelled Reddis, and Kapus of Kammanadu—eventually labelled Kammas). The remaining kapus continue to use the original label. All the cultivator caste clusters have a common ancestry in the legends. According to Cynthia Talbot, the transformation of occupational identities as caste labels occurred in the late Viajayanagara period (17th century) or later.