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Thiyyas migrated from Kyrgyzstan, says study

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 2. The predominant Thiyya community of Malabar migrated to Kerala in 7000 BC from Kyrgyzstan in the erstwhile Soviet Union, says a fresh study revealing their disputed origins.

While the people on the coast of the Black Sea were migrating to different parts of the world in BC 7000, a section who had settled in the foothills of Tian Mountains came to India.

``Thiyyas of Malabar are the descendants of this group of Kyrgyz,'' asserts T. Damu in his latest Malayalam book `Lanka Parvam'.

He says that the name Thiyya was derived from the name of the mountains, Tian, on the southern side of Kyrgyzstan. The Saikon community of Punjab and Saikover community of Rajasthan also have the same origin.

The book, published by the DC Books in Kottayam, will hit the stands this week. Mr. Damu, a former journalist and writer, is at present vice-president of the Taj Group of Hotels.

Ezhavas and Thiyyas

Disputing the general belief that Ezhavas of Travancore and Thiyyas of Malabar in Kerala are the one and the same community, the book claims that they have no hereditary or historical link as they migrated to the State centuries ago from two different geographical regions.

Mr. Damu says that Ezhavas, who are predominant in the southern part of Kerala, migrated to the State from Sri Lanka being the descendants of Sinhalese. ``Therefore, there is no link whatsoever between them. They are two different communities,'' he adds. — UNI

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