Paraiyar
Paraiyar or Parayar (formerly anglicised as Pariah) is a caste group found in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. They are also known as Adi Dravida ("Original Dravidian"), which was a title encouraged by the British Raj as a substitute for Paraiyar because the British believed that their colonising of the country had ended slavery in India.
The Indian census of 2001 reported that in Tamil Nadu the Adi Dravida population was about 5,402,755 and the Paraiyar population as 1,860,519.
Etymology
Robert Caldwell and several other writers derive the name of the community from the Tamil word parai ("drum"). According to this hypothesis, the Paraiyars were originally a community of drummers who performed during village festivals and funerals. As their population increased, they were forced to take up occupations that were considered unclean, such as burial of corpses and scavenging. Because of this, they came to be considered as an untouchable caste. M. Srinivasa Aiyangar finds this etymology unsatisfactory, arguing that beating of drums could not have been an occupation of a large number of people. Some other writers, such as Gustav Solomon Oppert, derive the name from poraian, the name of a regional subdivision mentioned by ancient Tamil grammarians.
Podcasts:
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by Brier
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by Praiera
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by Praiera
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by Pro Era
Spancil Hill
by: BrierLast night as I lay dreaming of pleasant days gone by
Me mind being bent on rambling, to Ireland I did fly
I stepped on board a vision, and I followed with a will
'Til next I came to anchor at the cross at Spancil Hill
It being on the 23rd of June, the day before the fair
When Ireland's sons and daughters and friends assembled there
The young, the old, the brave and the bold came, their duty to fulfill
At the parish church in Clooney, a mile from Spancil Hill
I went to see me neighbors, to see what they might say
The old ones were all dead and gone, the young ones turning gray
But I met the tailor Quigley, he's as bold as ever still
Ah, he used to mend me britches when I lived in Spancil Hill
I paid a flying visit to my first and only love
She's as white as any lily, gentle as a dove
And she threw her arms around me saying, "Johnny, I love you still"
As she's Nell the farmer's daughter and the pride of Spancil Hill
I dreamed I held and kissed her as in the days of yore
Ah Johnny, you're only jokin', as many's the time before
Then the cock, he crew in the morning, he crew both loud and shrill