Vanniar (Chieftain)

Vanniar or Vanniyar (Tamil: பண்டாரத்தார், romanized: Vavuniyar, Sinhala: වන්නියා, romanized: pandara) was a title borne by chiefs in medieval Sri Lanka who ruled in the Chiefdom of Vavuni regions as tribute payers to the Jaffna vassal state. There are a number of origin theories for the feudal chiefs, coming from an indigenous formation. The most famous of the Vavni chieftains was Pandara Vannian, known for his resistance against the British colonial power.^[1]

^ Somasundaram, Daya (2010). "Collective trauma in the Vanni- a qualitative inquiry into the mental health of the internally displaced due to the civil war in Sri Lanka". Int J Ment Health Syst. 4: 22. doi:10.1186/1752-4458-4-22. PMC 2923106. PMID 20667090.

[Somasundaram-1] Somasundaram, Daya (2010). "Collective trauma in the Vanni- a qualitative inquiry into the mental health of the internally displaced due to the civil war in Sri Lanka". Int J Ment Health Syst. 4: 22. doi:10.1186/1752-4458-4-22. PMC 2923106. PMID 20667090.

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