Kuruba

Kuruba (also known as Kuruma, Kurumbar or Kuruba Gowda) is a Hindu caste whose traditional occupation was that of shepherding and farming. The community is present in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. They are known by different names such as Dhangar,Hatkar and Telwar Lingayat in Maharashtra.

Some sources connect them to Pala, the shepherd dynasty of the Ahirs and suggest that Kuruba is a Dravidian name for Ahir. But this relation is contested by other sources on the grounds that the Ahirs are spread over a large area of Kutch, Kathiawad, Khandesh, Central Provinces, Central India, Bengal and North Western Provinces but everywhere they are known as Ahir only then how they came to be known by a different name Kuruba in south.

Etymology

The term kuruba is derived from kuri, meaning sheep; kuruba means shepherd.

History

The Kurubas are said to have been connected to the Yadu or Yadava lineage mentioned in Puranas. Traditional sources claim that the Kurubas founded the Sangam dynasty and the Vijayanagara Empire.