desire to move away from the ancient tribal area when faced with the arrival of Muslims. The Paravar belief of being the Paravaims of the biblical scriptures and the lost tribes of Israel added to the differences with the Arabs, which is acknowledged by Fr.Henrique Henriques by his claim of kinship. Arrival of the Portuguese and Catholicism There are differences of opinion regarding events up to the early 1500s. Donkin and Ray believe that the Muslims gained influence over the Paravars to the point that the latter became at best hired labour and at worst enslaved, and Neill has claimed that there was a belief among Paravars that the Muslims sought completely to exterminate them following various squabbles. However, Mannar and Chandrasekaran have said that up to the 16th century the Paravars had held almost a monopoly of the rights to exploit the pearl fisheries, having negotiated with successive kings to achieve this. By this time, Maynard has claimed, the south Indian coastal areas around Kanyakumari were "the greatest pearl fishery in the world", and that the Hindu people who fished for oysters there " ... were known as the Paravas". He says that the Hindus were essentially peaceful in nature and temperamentally unsuited to counter physical threat, although Frykenberg has described them as a "... proud and venturesome seafaring folk engaged in fishing, pearl diving, trading, and piracy." Hastings has pointed out that the piracy (and some smuggling) was only an occasional activity and that their more normal occupations demanded courage, strength and stamina, which made them "hardened adventurers". From 1527 the Paravars were being threatened by Arab fleets offshore, headed by the Muslim supporting Zamorin of Calicut, and also by an onshore campaign of the Rajah of Madura to wrest control of Tirunelveli and the Fishery Coast from the hands of the Rajah of Travancore. This continuing situation, and the desire to be relieved of the rivalry from Lebbai divers, caused the Paravars to seek the protection of Portuguese explorers who had moved into the area. A delegation led by Vikirama Aditha Pandya visited Goa to seek talks to this end in 1532. The protection was granted on the condition that the leaders were immediately baptised as Catholics and that they would encourage their people also to convert to Catholicism; the Portuguese would also gain a strategic foothold and control of the pearl fisheries. The deal was agreed