Draft:Valanjiyar

Valanjiyar is a Old Tamil trading or mercantile caste originated and active in the Tamil country and srilanka. They were successful during the time of Cholas Valanjiyars traded far sea till Indonesia, Malaysia,Cambodia, china and Vietnam during the reign of rajaraja and rajendra chola. They were keen on spreading Tamil language overseas. Several inscriptions of valanjiyar community have been Found in many places of Tamil Nadu, kerala, andhra pradesh and karanaka. They were the one who created the popular aihole guild of Karnataka. They had played an important role in spreading hinduism in China which speaks about "Tamil merchant guilds of Ayyavole and Manigramam, once thrived in medieval south China. Evidence of Tamil Shiva motifs and temples, such as in the Kaiyuan temple, continue to be discovered in Quanzhou, Fujian, a province of southeast China.

The inscriptions found In java island of Indonesia tells about Tamil merchant guild Then ilangai valanjiyar and their contribution.

After 12th century they started disappearing in the Tamil country and started appearing in the kannada and telugu countries. They were called balanjiyas or balanjigas in kannada and balijas in telugu. Currently They Live as balija and speak Telugu and Tamil.