113992242-Dravidian-Settlements-in-Ceylon-and-the-Beginnings-of-the-Kingdom-of-Jaffna-By-Karthigesu-Indrapala-Complete-Phd-Thesis-University-of-London-1965

159
As in South India, these mercantile co n"'fl'nitiea wereengaged
in providing charitable services and in patronising religious
institutions.
The VT.rakkoi or Vrakkofiyar were another
mercantile community found in Ceylon in about the twelfth
century. They are recorded in the VIha 1kaa inscription to
have associated themselves with the Cetis in tkirg certain
steps to protect a town They are mentioned in a few South
Indian inscriptions, too, but do not seem to have been a
prominent trading comnnznity
The Akkkras and the va zkk
ras appear to have
been two of the non-mercantile Dravidian communities that were
in the island in this period. The 1Akak1ras are frequently
mentioned in the records of the AiffflXuvar but it haø not been
possible to find out the nature of their profession. An akakk.ra,
in T41, is a dandy or a masquerader and is derived from the
Sanskrit word a.figa (=body) Perhaps they were professional
entertainers who specialised in masque. The Avaakr rae do not
find mention in the South Indian inscriptions but are referred
1. See supra, p. JS7.
2. M.E.R. for 1910, No. U of 1910.
3. Nadras Tamil Lexicon, I, p. 18.