Tivaru or Tiyya are said to be the first settlers of the Minocoy island of Lakshadweepa off the Indian mainland.

History

The origin of the Tivaru is unknown. Clarence Malony suggests that they could be Dravidians from southern India. Local oral tradition says that when Dhivehis came to these islands, the Tivaru who had really already settled in these islands migrated to Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, except for those who remained in Giraavaru

Giraavaru people

The Giraavaru people are the indigenous people of Giraavaru Island, part of the Maldives. Of Dravidian origin, and the earliest island community of the Maldives, their presence predates Buddhism and the arrival of a Northern kingly dynasty in the archipelago.Their ancestors were ancient Tamil...

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