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Title: Castes and Tribes of Southern India
Vol. 2 of 7
Author: Edgar Thurston
Contributor: K. Rangachari
Release Date: June 21, 2013 [EBook #42992]
Language: English
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CASTES AND TRIBES
OF
SOUTHERN INDIA
By
EDGAR THURSTON, C.I.E.,
Superintendent, Madras Government Museum; Correspondant Étranger,
Société d'Anthropologie de Paris; Socio Corrispondante, Societa,
Romana di Anthropologia.
Assisted by
K. Rangachari, M.A.,
of the Madras Government Museum.
Volume II--C to J
Government Press, Madras
1909.
CASTES AND TRIBES OF SOUTHERN INDIA.
VOLUME II.
C
Canji (gruel).--An exogamous sept of Padma Sale. Canji is the word "in
use all over India for the water, in which rice has been boiled. It
also forms the usual starch of Indian washermen." [1] As a sept of
the Sale weavers, it probably has reference to the gruel, or size,
which is applied to the warp.
Chacchadi.--Haddis who do scavenging work, with whom other Haddis do
not freely intermarry.
Chadarapu Dhompti (square space marriage offering).--A sub-division
of Madigas, who, at marriages, offer food to the god in a square space.
Chakala.--See Tsakala.
Chakkan.--Recorded in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "a Malabar
caste of oil-pressers (chakku means an oil-mill). Followers of this
calling are known also as Vattakkadans in South Malabar, and as
Vaniyans in North Malabar, but the former are the higher in social
status, the Nayars being polluted by the touch of the Vaniyans
and Chakkans, but not by that of the Vattakkadans. Chakkans and
Vaniyans may not enter Brahman temples. Their customs and manners are
similar to those of the Nayars, who will not, however, marry their
women." Chakkingalavan appears as a synonym for Chakkan.
Chakkiliyan.--"The Chakkiliyans," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [2]
"are the leather-workers of the Tamil districts, corresponding to
the Madigas of the Telugu country. The Chakkiliyans appear to be
immigrants from the Telugu or Canarese districts, for no mention is
made of this caste either in the early Tamil inscriptions, or in early
Tamil literature. Moreover, a very large proportion of the Chakkiliyans
speak Telugu and Canarese. In social position the Chakkiliyans occupy
the lowest rank, though there is much dispute on this point between
them and the Paraiyans. Nominally they are Saivites, but in reality
devil-worshippers. The avaram plant (Cassia auriculata) is held in
much veneration by them, [3] and the tali is tied to a branch of it
as a preliminary to marriage. Girls are not usually married before
puberty. The bridegroom may be younger than the bride. Their widows
may remarry. Divorce can be obtained at the pleasure of either
party on payment of Rs. 12-12-0 to the other in the presence of
the local head of the caste. Their women are considered to be very
beautiful, and it is a woman of this caste who is generally selected
for the coarser form of Sakti worship. They indulge very freely in
intoxicating liquors, and will eat any flesh, including beef, pork,
etc. Hence they are called, par excellence, the flesh-eaters (Sanskrit
shatkuli)." It was noted by Sonnerat, in the eighteenth century, [4]
that the Chakkiliyans are in more contempt than the Pariahs, because
they use cow leather in making shoes. "The Chucklers or cobblers,"
the Abbé Dubois writes, [5] "are considered inferiors to the Pariahs
all over the peninsula. They are more addicted to drunkenness and
debauchery. Their orgies take place principally in the evening,
and their villages resound, far into the night, with the yells and
quarrels which result from their intoxication. The very Pariahs refuse
to have anything to do with the Chucklers, and do not admit them to
any of their feasts." In the Madura Manual, 1868, the Chakkiliyans are
summed up as "dressers of leather, and makers of slippers, harness,
and other leather articles. They are men of drunken and filthy habits,
and their morals are very bad. Curiously enough, their women are held
to be of the Padmani kind, i.e., of peculiar beauty of face and form,
and are also said to be very virtuous. It is well known, however, that
zamindars and other rich men are very fond of intriguing with them,
particularly in the neighbourhood of Paramagudi, where they live in
great numbers." There is a Tamil proverb that even a Chakkili girl
and the ears of the millet are beautiful when mature. In the Tanjore
district, the Chakkiliyans are said [6] to be "considered to be of the
very lowest status. In some parts of the district they speak Telugu and
wear the namam (Vaishnavite sect mark) and are apparently immigrants
from the Telugu country." Though they are Tamil-speaking people, the
Chakkiliyans, like the Telugu Madigas, have exogamous septs called
gotra in the north, and kilai in the south. Unlike the Madigas, they do
not carry out the practice of making Basavis (dedicated prostitutes).
The correlation of the most important measurements of the Madigas of
the Telugu country, and so-called Chakkiliyans of the city of Madras,
is clearly brought out by the following figures:--
Thirty Madigas. Fifty Chakkiliyans.
cm. cm.
Stature 163.1 162.2
Cephalic length 18.6 18.6
Cephalic breadth 13.9 13.9
Cephalic index 75. 75.
Nasal height 4.5 4.6
Nasal breadth 3.7 3.6
Nasal index 80.8 78.9
The Chakkiliyan men in Madras are tattooed not only on the forehead,
but also with their name, conventional devices, dancing-girls, etc.,
on the chest and upper extremities.
It has been noticed as a curious fact that, in the Madura district,
"while the men belong to the right-hand faction, the women belong to
and are most energetic supporters of the left. It is even said that,
during the entire period of a faction riot, the Chakkili women keep
aloof from their husbands and deny them their marital rights." [7]
In a very interesting note on the leather industry of the Madras
Presidency, Mr. A. Chatterton writes as follows. [8] "The position of
the Chakkiliyan in the south differs greatly from that of the Madiga
of the north, and many of his privileges are enjoyed by a 'sub-sect'
of the Pariahs called Vettiyans. These people possess the right of
removing dead cattle from villages, and in return have to supply
leather for agricultural purposes. The majority of Chakkiliyans
are not tanners, but leather-workers, and, instead of getting the
hides or skins direct from the Vettiyan, they prefer to purchase
them ready-tanned from traders, who bring them from the large tanning
centres. When the Chuckler starts making shoes or sandals, he purchases
the leather and skin which he requires in the bazar, and, taking
it home, first proceeds with a preliminary currying operation. The
leather is damped and well stretched, and dyed with aniline, the usual
colour being scarlet R.R. of the Badische Anilin Soda Fabrik. This
is purchased in the bazar in packets, and is dissolved in water,
to which a little oxalic acid has been added. The dye is applied
with a piece of rag on the grain side, and allowed to dry. After
drying, tamarind paste is applied to the flesh side of the skin,
and the latter is then rolled between the hands, so as to produce a
coarse graining on the outer side. In making the shoes, the leather is
usually wetted, and moulded into shape on wooden moulds or lasts. As
a rule, nothing but cotton is used for sewing, and the waxed ends of
the English cobbler are entirely unknown. The largest consumption of
leather in this Presidency is for water-bags or kavalais, which are
used for raising water from wells, and for oil and ghee (clarified
butter) pots, in which the liquids are transported from one place to
another. Of irrigation wells there are in the Presidency more than
600,000, and, though some of them are fitted with iron buckets, nearly
all of them have leather bags with leather discharging trunks. The
buckets hold from ten to fifty gallons of water, and are generally
made from fairly well tanned cow hides, though for very large buckets
buffalo hides are sometimes used. The number of oil and ghee pots
in use in the country is very large. The use of leather vessels for
this purpose is on the decline, as it is found much cheaper and more
convenient to store oil in the ubiquitous kerosine-oil tin, and it is
not improbable that eventually the industry will die out, as it has
done in other countries. The range of work of the country Chuckler
is not very extensive. Besides leather straps for wooden sandals, he
makes crude harness for the ryot's cattle, including leather collars
from which numerous bells are frequently suspended, leather whips for
the cattle drivers, ornamental fringes for the bull's forehead, bellows
for the smith, and small boxes for the barber, in which to carry his
razors. In some places, leather ropes are used for various purposes,
and it is customary to attach big coir (cocoanut fibre) ropes to the
bodies of the larger temple cars by leather harness, when they are
drawn in procession through the streets. Drum-heads and tom-toms are
made from raw hides by Vettiyans and Chucklers. The drums are often
very large, and are transported upon the back of elephants, horses,
bulls and camels. For them raw hides are required, but for the smaller
instruments sheep-skins are sufficient. The raw hides are shaved on
the flesh side, and are then dried. The hair is removed by rubbing
with wood-ashes. The use of lime in unhairing is not permissible,
as it materially decreases the elasticity of the parchment." The
Chakkiliyans beat the tom-tom for Kammalans, Pallis and Kaikolans,
and for other castes if desired to do so.
The Chakkiliyans do not worship Matangi, who is the special deity of
the Madigas. Their gods include Madurai Viran, Mariamma, Muneswara,
Draupadi and Gangamma. Of these, the last is the most important, and
her festival is celebrated annually, if possible. To cover the expenses
thereof, a few Chakkiliyans dress up so as to represent men and women
of the Marathi bird-catching caste, and go about begging in the streets
for nine days. On the tenth day the festival terminates. Throughout
it, Gangamma, represented by three decorated pots under a small pandal
(booth) set up on the bank of a river or tank beneath a margosa (Melia
azadirachta), or pipal (Ficus religiosa) tree, is worshipped. On the
last day, goats and fowls are sacrificed, and limes cut.
During the first menstrual period, the Chakkiliyan girl is kept under
pollution in a hut made of fresh green boughs, which is erected by her
husband or maternal uncle. Meat, curds, and milk are forbidden. On the
last day, the hut is burnt down. At marriages a Chakkiliyan usually
officiates as priest, or the services of a Valluvan priest may be
enlisted. The consent of the girl's maternal uncle to the marriage
is essential. The marriage ceremony closely resembles that of the
Paraiyans. And, at the final death ceremonies of a Chakkiliyan, as of a
Paraiyan, two bricks are worshipped, and thrown into a tank or stream.
Lean children, especially of the Mala, Madiga, and Chakkiliyan
classes, are made to wear a leather strap, specially made for them
by a Chakkiliyan, which is believed to help their growth.
At times of census, some Chakkiliyans have returned themselves as
Pagadaiyar, Madari (conceit or arrogance), and Ranaviran (brave
warrior).
Chakkiyar.--The Chakkiyars are a class of Ambalavasis, of whom the
following account is given in the Travancore Census Report, 1901. The
name is generally derived from Slaghyavakkukar (those with eloquent
words), and refers to the traditional function of the caste in Malabar
society. According to the Jatinirnaya, the Chakkiyars represent a caste
growth of the Kaliyuga. The offence to which the first Chakkiyar owes
his position in society was, it would appear, brought to light after
the due performance of the upanayanasamskara. Persons, in respect
of whom the lapse was detected before that spiritualizing ceremony
took place, became Nambiyars. Manu derives Suta, whose functions are
identical with the Malabar Chakkiyar, from a pratiloma union, i.e.,
of a Brahman wife with a Kshatriya husband. [9] The girls either
marry into their own caste, or enter into the sambandham form of
alliance with Nambutiris. They are called Illottammamar. Their jewelry
resembles that of the Nambutiris. The Chakkiyar may choose a wife
for sambandham from among the Nambiyars. They are their own priests,
but the Brahmans do the purification (punyaham) of house and person
after birth or death pollution. The pollution itself lasts for eleven
days. The number of times the Gayatri (hymn) may be repeated is ten.
The traditional occupation of the Chakkiyans is the recitation of
Puranic stories. The accounts of the Avataras have been considered
the highest form of scripture of the non-Brahmanical classes, and
the early Brahmans utilised the intervals of their Vedic rites, i.e.,
the afternoons, for listening to their recitation by castes who could
afford the leisure to study and narrate them. Special adaptations for
this purpose have been composed by writers like Narayana Bhattapada,
generally known as the Bhattatirippat, among whose works Dutavakya,
Panchalisvayamvara, Subhadrahana and Kaunteyashtaka are the most
popular. In addition to these, standard works like Bhogachampu and
Mahanataka are often pressed into the Chakkiyar's service. Numerous
upakathas or episodes are brought in by way of illustration, and the
marvellous flow of words, and the telling humour of the utterances,
keep the audience spell-bound. On the utsavam programme of every
important temple, especially in North Travancore, the Chakkiyarkuttu
(Chakkiyar's performance) is an essential item. A special building,
known as kuttampalam, is intended for this purpose. Here the Chakkiyar
instructs and regales his hearers, antiquely dressed, and seated on a
three-legged stool. He wears a peculiar turban with golden rim and silk
embossments. A long piece of cloth with coloured edges, wrapped round
the loins in innumerable vertical folds with an elaborateness of detail
difficult to describe, is the Chakkiyar's distinctive apparel. Behind
him stands the Nambiyar, whose traditional kinship with the Chakkiyar
has been referred to, with a big jar-shaped metal drum in front of
him called milavu, whose bass sound resembles the echo of distant
thunder. The Nambiyar is indispensable for the Chakkiyarkuttu, and
sounds his mighty instrument at the beginning, at the end, and also
during the course of his recitation, when the Chakkiyar arrives at
the middle and end of a Sanskrit verse. The Nangayar, a female of the
Nambiyar caste, is another indispensable element, and sits in front of
the Chakkiyar with a cymbal in hand, which she sounds occasionally. It
is interesting to note that, amidst all the boisterous merriment into
which the audience may be thrown, there is one person who has to sit
motionless like a statue. If the Nangayar is moved to a smile, the
kuttu must stop, and there are cases where, in certain temples, the
kuttu has thus become a thing of the past. The Chakkiyar often makes
a feint of representing some of his audience as his characters for
the scene under depictment. But he does it in such a genteel way that
rarely is offence taken. It is an unwritten canon of Chakkiyarkuttu
that the performance should stop at once if any of the audience so
treated should speak out in answer to the Chakkiyar, who, it may be
added, would stare at an admiring listener, and thrust questions on
him with such directness and force as to need an extraordinary effort
to resist a reply. And so realistic is his performance that a tragic
instance is said to have occurred when, by a cruel irony of fate,
his superb skill cost a Chakkiyar his life. While he was explaining
a portion of the Mahabharata with inimitable theatrical effect,
a desperate friend of the Pandavas rose from his seat in a fit of
uncontrollable passion, and actually knocked the Chakkiyar dead when,
in an attitude of unmistakable though assumed heartlessness, he, as
personating Duryodhana, inhumanely refused to allow even a pin-point
of ground to his exiled cousins. This, it is believed, occurred in
a private house, and thereafter kuttu was prohibited except at temples.
It is noted, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that "Chakkiyars or
Slaghyar-vakukar are a caste following makkattayam (inheritance from
father to son), and wear the punul (thread). They are recruited
from girls born to a Nambudiri woman found guilty of adultery,
after the date at which such adultery is found to have commenced,
and boys of similar origin, who have been already invested with
the sacred thread. Boys who have not been invested with the punul
when their mother is declared an adulteress, join the class known
as Chakkiyar Nambiyars, who follow marumakkattayam (inheritance in
the female line), and do not wear the thread. The girls join either
caste indifferently. Chakkiyars may marry Nangiyars, but Chakkiyar
Nambiyars may not marry Illotammamar."
Chaliyan.--The Chaliyans are a caste of Malayalam cotton weavers,
concerning whom Mr. Francis writes as follows [10]:--"In dress and
manners they resemble the artisan castes of Malabar, but, like
the Pattar Brahmans, they live in streets, which fact probably
points to their being comparatively recent settlers from the east
coast. They have their own barbers called Potuvans, who are also
their purohits. They do not wear the sacred thread, as the Sale
weavers of the east coast do. They practise ancestor worship, but
without the assistance of Brahman priests. This is the only Malabar
caste which has anything to do with the right and left-hand faction
disputes, and both divisions are represented in it, the left hand
being considered the superior. Apparently, therefore, it settled in
Malabar some time after the beginnings of this dispute on the east
coast, that is, after the eleventh century A. D. Some of them follow
the marumakkatayam and others the makkatayam law of inheritance,
which looks as if the former were earlier settlers than the latter."
The Chaliyans are so called because, unlike most of the west coast
classes, they live in streets, and Teruvan (teru, a street) occurs
as a synonym for the caste name. The right-hand section are said to
worship the elephant god Ganesa, and the left Bhagavati.
The following account of the Chaliyans is given in the Gazetteer of the
Malabar district: "Chaliyans are almost certainly a class of immigrants
from the east coast. They live in regular streets, a circumstance
strongly supporting this view. The traditional account is to the same
effect. It is said that they were originally of a high caste, and were
imported by one of the Zamorins, who wished to introduce the worship
of Ganapathi, to which they are much addicted. The latter's minister,
the Mangatt Acchan, who was entrusted with the entertainment of the
new arrivals, and was nettled by their fastidiousness and constant
complaints about his catering, managed to degrade them in a body
by the trick of secretly mixing fish with their food. They do not,
like their counterparts on the east coast, wear the thread; but it is
noticeable that their priests, who belong to their own caste, wear it
over the right shoulder instead of over the left like the Brahman's
punul, when performing certain pujas (worship). In some parts, the
place of the regular punul is taken by a red scarf or sash worn in
the same manner. They are remarkable for being the only caste in
Malabar amongst whom any trace of the familiar east coast division
into right-hand and left-hand factions is to be found. They are so
divided; and those belonging to the right-hand faction deem themselves
polluted by the touch of those belonging to the left-hand sect, which
is numerically very weak. They are much addicted to devil-dancing,
which rite is performed by certain of their numbers called Komarams
in honour of Bhagavathi and the minor deities Vettekkorumagan and
Gulikan (a demon). They appear to follow makkatayam (descent from
father to son) in some places, and marumakkatayam (inheritance in
the female line) in others. Their pollution period is ten days,
and their purification is performed by the Talikunnavan (sprinkler),
who belongs to a somewhat degraded section of the caste."
The affairs of the caste are managed by headmen called Uralans, and
the caste barber, or Pothuvan, acts as the caste messenger. Council
meetings are held at the village temple, and the fines inflicted on
guilty persons are spent in celebrating puja (worship) thereat.
When a girl reaches puberty, the elderly females of Uralan families
take her to a tank, and pour water over her head from small cups
made of the leaves of the jak (Artocarpus integrifolia) tree. She is
made to sit apart on a mat in a room decorated with young cocoanut
leaves. Round the mat raw rice and paddy (unhusked rice) are spread,
and a vessel containing cocoanut flowers and cocoanuts is placed near
her. On the third evening, the washerman (Peruvannan) brings some
newly-washed cloths (mattu). He is presented with some rice and paddy,
which he ties up in a leaf, and does puja. He then places the cloths
on a plank, which he puts on his head. After repeating some songs
or verses, he sets it down on the floor. Some of the girl's female
relations take a lighted lamp, a pot of water, a measure of rice,
and go three times round the plank. On the following day, the girl
is bathed, and the various articles which have been kept in her room
are thrown into a river or tank.
Like many other Malabar castes, the Chaliyans perform the tali kettu
ceremony. Once in several years, the girls of the village who have
to go through this ceremony are brought to the house of one of the
Uralans, where a pandal (booth) has been set up. Therein a plank, made
of the wood of the pala tree (Alstonia scholaris), a lighted lamp,
betel leaves and nuts, a measure of raw rice, etc., are placed. The
girl takes her seat on the plank, holding in her right hand a mimic
arrow (shanthulkol). The Pothuvan, who receives a fanam (coin) and
three bundles of betel leaves for his services, hands the tali to a
male member of an Uralan family, who ties it on the girl's neck.
On the day before the wedding-day the bridegroom, accompanied by his
male relations, proceeds to the house of the bride, where a feast is
held. On the following day the bride is bathed, and made to stand
before a lighted lamp placed on the floor. The bridegroom's father
or uncle places two gold fanams (coins) in her hands, and a further
feast takes place.
In the seventh month of pregnancy, the ceremony called puli kudi
(or drinking tamarind) is performed. The woman's brother brings a
twig of a tamarind tree, and, after the leaves have been removed,
plants it in the yard of the house. The juice is extracted from the
leaves, and mixed with the juice of seven cocoanuts. The elderly
female relations of the woman give her a little of the mixture. The
ceremony is repeated during three days. Birth pollution is removed
by a barber woman sprinkling water on the ninth day.
The dead are buried. The son carries a pot of water to the grave, round
which he takes it three times. The barber makes a hole in the pot,
which is then thrown down at the head of the grave. The barber also
tears off a piece of the cloth, in which the corpse is wrapped. This
is, on the tenth day, taken by the son and barber to the sea or a tank,
and thrown into it. Three stones are set up over the grave.
Chaliyan also occurs as an occupational title or sub-division of
Nayars, and Chaliannaya as an exogamous sept of Bant. In the Madras
Census Report, 1901, Chaliyan is given as a sub-caste of Vaniyan
(oil-pressers). Some Chaliyans are, however, oilmongers by profession.
Challa.--Challa, meaning apparently eaters of refuse, occurs as
a sub-division of Yanadis, and meaning buttermilk as an exogamous
sept of Devanga. Challakuti, meaning those who eat old or cold food,
is an exogamous sept of Kapus.
Chamar.--Nearly three hundred members of this Bengal caste of
tanners and workers in leather were returned at the census, 1901. The
equivalent Chamura occurs as the name of leather-workers from the
Central Provinces.
Chandala.--At the census, 1901, more than a thousand individuals
returned themselves as Chandala, which is defined as a generic
term, meaning one who pollutes, to many low castes. "It is,"
Surgeon-Major W. R. Cornish writes, [11] "characteristic of the
Brahmanical intolerance of the compilers of the code that the origin
of the lowest caste of all (the Chandala) should be ascribed to the
intercourse of a Sudra man and a Brahman woman, while the union of
a Brahman male with a Sudra woman is said to have resulted in one of
the highest of the mixed classes." By Manu it was laid down that "the
abode of the Chandala and Swapaca must be out of the town. They must
not have the use of entire vessels. Their sole wealth must be dogs
and asses. Their clothes must be the mantles of the deceased; their
dishes for food broken pots; their ornaments rusty iron; continually
must they roam from place to place. Let no man who regards his duty,
religious and civil, hold any intercourse with them, and let food be
given to them in potsherds, but not by the hand of the giver."
Chandra (moon).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba. The name Chandravamsapu
(moon people) is taken by some Razus, who claim to be Kshatriyas,
and to be descended from the lunar race of kings of the Mahabharata.
Chanipoyina (those who are dead).--An exogamous sept of Orugunta Kapu.
Chapa (mat).--An exogamous sept of Boya.
Chappadi (insipid).--An exogamous sept of Jogi.
Chapparam (a pandal or booth).--An exogamous sept of Devanga.
Chapparband.--The Chapparbands are manufacturers of spurious coin,
who hail from the Bombay Presidency, and are watched for by the
police. It is noted, in the Police Report, 1904, that good work was
done in Ganjam in tracing certain gangs of these coiners, and bringing
them to conviction.
For the following note I am indebted to a report [12] by
Mr. H. N. Alexander of the Bombay Police Department. The name
Chapparband refers to their calling, chapa meaning an impression or
stamp. "Among themselves they are known as Bhadoos, but in Hindustan,
and among Thugs and cheats generally, they are known as Khoolsurrya,
i.e., false coiners. While in their villages, they cultivate the
fields, rear poultry and breed sheep, while the women make quilts,
which the men sell while on their tours. But the real business of this
class is to make and pass off false coin. Laying aside their ordinary
Muhammadan dress, they assume the dress and appearance of fakirs of the
Muddar section, Muddar being their Pir, and, unaccompanied by their
women, wander from village to village. Marathi is their language,
and, in addition, they have a peculiar slang of their own. Like all
people of this class, they are superstitious, and will not proceed
on an expedition unless a favourable omen is obtained. The following
account is given, showing how the false coin is manufactured. A mould
serves only once, a new one being required for every rupee or other
coin. It is made of unslaked lime and a kind of yellow earth called
shedoo, finely powdered and sifted, and patiently kneaded with water
to about the consistency of putty. One of the coins to be imitated
is then pressed with some of the preparation, and covered over,
and, being cut all round, is placed in some embers. After becoming
hardened, it is carefully laid open with a knife, and, the coin
being taken out, its impression remains. The upper and lower pieces
are then joined together with a kind of gum, and, a small hole being
made on one side, molten tin is poured in, and thus an imitation of
the coin is obtained, and it only remains to rub it over with dirt
to give it the appearance of old money. The tin is purchased in any
bazaar, and the false money is prepared on the road as the gang
travels along. Chapparbands adopt several ways of getting rid of
their false coin. They enter shops and make purchases, showing true
rupees in the first instance, and substituting false ones at the time
of payment. They change false rupees for copper money, and also in
exchange for good rupees of other currencies. Naturally, they look
out for women and simple people, though the manner of passing off
the base coin is clever, being done by sleight of hand. The false
money is kept in pockets formed within the folds of their langutis
(loin-cloths), and also hidden in the private parts."
The following additional information concerning Chapparbands is
contained in the Illustrated Criminal Investigation and Law Digest
[13]:--"They travel generally in small gangs, and their women never
follow them. They consult omens before leaving their villages. They do
not leave their villages dressed as fakirs. They generally visit some
place far away from their residence, and there disguise themselves as
Madari fakirs, adding Shah to their names. They also add the title
Sahib, and imitate the Sawals, a sing-song begging tone of their
class. Their leader, Khagda, is implicitly obeyed. He is the treasurer
of the gangs, and keeps with him the instruments used in coining, and
the necessary metal pieces. But the leader rarely keeps the coins with
him. The duty of passing the false coins belongs to the Bhondars. A
boy generally accompanies a gang. He is called Handiwal. He acts
as a handy chokra (youngster), and also as a watch over the camp
when the false coins are being prepared. They generally camp on high
ground in close vicinity to water, which serves to receive the false
coins and implements, should danger be apprehended. When moving
from one camp to another, the Khagda and his chokra travel alone,
the former generally riding a small pony. The rest of the gang keep
busy passing the coins in the neighbourhood, and eventually join the
pair in the place pre-arranged. If the place be found inconvenient
for their purpose, another is selected by the Khagda, but sufficient
indication is given to the rest that the rendezvous might be found
out. This is done by making a mark on the chief pathway leading to
the place settled first, at a spot where another pathway leads from it
in the direction he is going. The mark consists of a mud heap on the
side of the road, a foot in length, six inches in breadth, and six in
height, with an arrow mark pointing in the direction taken. The Khagda
generally makes three of these marks at intervals of a hundred yards,
to avoid the chance of any being effaced. Moulds are made of Multani
or some sticky clay. Gopichandan and badap are also used. The clay,
after being powdered and sifted, is mixed with a little water and
oil, and well kneaded. The two halves of the mould are then roughly
shaped with the hand, and a genuine coin is pressed between them,
so as to obtain the obverse on one half and the reverse impression on
the other. The whole is then hardened in an extempore oven, and the
hole to admit the metal is bored, so as to admit of its being poured
in from the edge. The halves are then separated, and the genuine
rupee is tilted out; the molten alloy of tin or pewter is poured in,
and allowed to cool. According to the other method, badap clay brought
from their own country is considered the most suitable for the moulds,
though Multani clay may be used when they run out of badap. Two discs
are made from clay kneaded with water. These discs are then highly
polished on the inner surface with the top of a jvari stalk called
danthal. A rupee, slightly oiled, is then placed between the discs,
which are firmly pressed over it. The whole is then thoroughly hardened
in the fire. The alloy used in these moulds differs from that used in
the others, and consists of an alloy of lead and copper. In both cases,
the milling is done by the hand with a knife or a piece of shell. The
Chapperbands select their victims carefully. They seem to be fairly
clever judges of persons from their physiognomy. They easily find
out the duffer and the gull in both sexes, and take care to avoid
persons likely to prove too sharp for them. They give preference to
women over men. The commonest method is for the Bhondar to show a
quantity of copper collected by him in his character of beggar, and
ask for silver in its place. The dupe produces a rupee, which he looks
at. He then shakes his head sadly, and hands back a counterfeit coin,
saying that such coins are not current in his country, and moves on to
try the same trick elsewhere. Their dexterity in changing the rupees
is very great, the result of long practice when a Handiwal."
Further information in connection with the Chapparbands has recently
been published by Mr. M. Paupa Rao Naidu, from whose account [14]
the following extract is taken. "Chapperbands, as their name implies,
are by profession builders of roofs, or, in a more general term,
builders of huts. They are Sheikh Muhammadans, and originally belonged
to the Punjab. During the Moghul invasion of the Carnatic, as far back
as 1687-88, a large number of them followed the great Moghul army as
builders of huts for the men. They appear to have followed the Moghul
army to Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, and Seringapatam until the year 1714,
when Bijapur passed into the hands of the Peshwas. The Chapperbands
then formed part of the Peshwa's army in the same capacity, and
remained as such till the advent of the British in the year 1818,
when it would appear a majority of them, finding their peculiar
profession not much in demand, returned to the north. A part of those
who remained behind passed into the Nizam's territory, while a part
settled down in the Province of Talikota. A legendary tale, narrated
before the Superintendent of Police, Raipur, in 1904, by an intelligent
Chapperband, shows that they learnt this art of manufacturing coins
during the Moghul period. He said 'In the time of the Moghul Empire,
Chapperbands settled in the Bijapur district. At that time, a fakir
named Pir Bhai Pir Makhan lived in the same district. One of the
Chapperbands went to this fakir, and asked him to intercede with God,
in order that Chapperbands might be directed to take up some profession
or other. The fakir gave the man a rupee, and asked him to take it to
his house quickly, and not to look backwards as he proceeded on his
way. As the man ran home, some one called him, and he turned round
to see who it was. When he reached his house, he found the rupee had
turned into a false one. The man returned to the fakir, and complained
that the rupee was a false one. The fakir was much enraged at the
man's account of having looked back as he ran, but afterwards said
that Chapperbands would make a living in future by manufacturing
false coins. Since that time, Chapperbands have become coiners of
false money.' On every Sunday, they collect all their false rupees,
moulds, and other implements, and, placing these in front of them,
they worship Pir Makhan, also called Pir Madar. They sacrifice a fowl
to him, take out its eyes and tail, and fix them on three thorns of
the trees babul, bir, and thalmakana; and, after the worship is over,
they throw them in the direction in which they intend to start. The
Chapperbands conceal a large number of rupees in the rectum, long
misusage often forming a cavity capable of containing ten to twenty
rupees. So also cavities are formed in the mouth below the tongue."
In a case recorded by Mr. M. Kennedy, [15] "when a Chapperband was
arrested on suspicion, on his person being examined by the Civil
Surgeon, no less than seven rupees were found concealed in a cavity
in his rectum. The Civil Surgeon was of opinion that it must have
taken some considerable time to form such a cavity." A similar case
came before the Sessions Judge in South Canara a few years ago.
The following case of swindling, which occurred in the Tanjore
district, is recorded in the Police Report, 1903. "A gang of
Muhammadans professed to be able to duplicate currency notes. The
method was to place a note with some blank sheets of paper between two
pieces of glass. The whole was then tied round with string and cloth,
and smoked over a fire. On opening the packet, two notes were found,
a second genuine one having been surreptitiously introduced. The
success of the first operations with small notes soon attracted
clients, some of them wealthy; and, when the bait had had time to
work, and some very large notes had been submitted for operation, the
swindlers declared that these large notes took longer to duplicate,
and that the packet must not be opened for several days. Before the
time appointed for opening, they disappeared, and the notes were
naturally not found in the packets. One gentleman was fleeced in this
way to the value of Rs. 4,600." The administration of an enema to a
false coiner will sometimes bring to light hidden treasure.
Chaptegara.--The Chaptegaras or Cheptegaras are described by
Mr. H. A. Stuart [16] as "carpenters who speak Konkani, and are
believed to have come from the Konkan country. Caste affairs are
managed by a Gurikar or headman, and the fines collected are paid
to the Sringeri math. They wear the sacred thread, and employ Karadi
Brahmans as purohits. Infant marriage is practised, and widow marriage
is not permitted. The dead are burned if means allow; otherwise they
are buried. They are Saivites, and worship Durga and Ganapati. They
eat flesh and drink liquor. Their titles are Naik, Shenai, etc." It
is noted, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, that Saraswat Brahmans
will eat with them. Choutagara has been recorded as a corrupt form
of Chaptegara.
Charamurti.--A class of Jangams, who go from village to village
preaching.
Charodi.--The Charodis have been described [17] as "Canarese carpenters
corresponding to the Konkani Cheptegaras (or Chaptegaras), and there
is very little difference in the customs and manners of the two castes,
except that the former employ Shivalli and Konkanashta Brahmans instead
of Karadis. Their title is Naika." In the Madras Census Report, 1901,
Mesta is returned as a Konkani-speaking sub-caste of Charodi.
Chatla (winnow).--An exogamous sept of Madiga. Chatla Dhompti occurs
as a sub-division of Madigas, who, at marriages, place the offering
of food, etc. (dhompti), in a winnow.
Chatri.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as an equivalent
of Kshatriya. It occurs also as the name of an exogamous sept,
meaning umbrella, of the Holeyas.
Chaturakshari.--A sub-division of Satanis, who believe in the efficacy
of the four syllables Ra-ma-nu-ja.
Chaudari.--Chaudari, or Chowdari, is recorded as a title of Haddi,
Kalingi, and Komati.
Chaya (colour) Kurup.--A class of Kollans in Malabar, who work
in lacquer.
Cheli (goat).--An exogamous sept of Bottada and Mattiya.
Chelu (scorpion).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba. The equivalent thelu
occurs among the Padma Sales.
Chembadi.--The Chembadis are a Telugu caste, the occupations of which
are fresh-water fishing, and rowing boats or coracles. In fishing,
unlike the Besthas who use a cast-net, they employ a large drag-net,
called baithivala, the two ends of which are fastened to poles. When
a new net is made, it is folded up, and placed on the edge of a pond
or tank. Mud is spread over it, and on it are placed three masses of
mud kneaded into a conical shape. These represent the God, and cakes,
called kudumulu, are set before them. A male member of the caste,
biting one of the cakes and keeping it between his teeth, goes round
the net, and then drags it to the water, in which the conical masses
become disintegrated. Like the Besthas, they smear a new net with the
blood of the first fish caught in it, but they do not burn a mesh of
the net.
Some Chembadis regard Gurappa Gurunathadu as their caste deity, and
connect him, for some unknown reason, with the jammi tree (Prosopis
spicigera). Jammi occurs as the name of a gotra, and some children
are named Gurappa or Gurunathadu. When such children are five, seven,
or nine years old, they are taken on an auspicious day to a jammi
tree and shaved, after the tree has been worshipped with offerings
of cooked food, etc.
At the betrothal ceremony in this caste, immediately after the girl
has taken up areca nuts, placed them in her lap, and folded them
in her cloth, the headman takes up the betel leaves and areca nuts
(thambulam) before him with crossed hands. This ceremony corresponds
to the thonuku thambulam of the lower classes, e.g., Malas and
Mangalas. Among the Mangalas and Tsakalas, the thambulam is said to be
taken up by a Balija Setti. For the funeral ceremonies, the Chembadis
engage a Dasari of their own caste. During their performances, flesh
and toddy may not be offered to the deceased person.
Chembian.--A name assumed by some Pallis or Vanniyans, who claim that
they belong to the Chola race, on the supposition that Chembinadu is
a synonym for Chola.
Chembillam (chembu, copper).--An exogamous section of Mukkuvan.
Chembotti.--In the Madras Census Report, 1901, it is stated that
the name Chembotti is derived from "chembu, copper, and kotti, he
who beats." They are coppersmiths in Malabar, who are distinct from
the Malabar Kammalans. They are supposed to be descendants of men
who made copper idols for temples, and so rank above the Kammalans
in social position, and about equally with the lower sections of the
Nayars. The name is also used as an occupational term by the Konkan
Native Christian coppersmiths. In the Cochin and Travancore Census
Reports, Chembukotti is recorded as an occupational title or sub-caste
of Nayars who work in copper, chiefly in temples and Brahman houses.
In the Gazetteer of the Malabar district, the Chembottis are described
as copper-workers, whose traditional business is the roofing of the
Sri-kovil, or inner shrine of the temple with that metal. They are
said to have originally formed part of the Kammalan community. "When
the great temple at Taliparamba was completed, it was purified on a
scale of unprecedented grandeur, no less than a thousand Brahmans
being employed. What was their dismay when the ceremony was well
forward, to see a Chembotti coming from the Sri-kovil, where he had
been putting finishing touches to the roof. This appeared to involve
a recommencement of the whole tedious and costly ritual, and the
Brahmans gave vent to their feelings of despair, when a vision from
heaven reassured them, and thereafter the Chembottis have been raised
in the social scale, and are not regarded as a polluting caste."
Chembetti, or Chemmatti, meaning hammer, occurs as an exogamous sept
of the Telugu Yanadis.
Chempakaraman.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901,
as an honorific title of Nayars.
Chenchu.--The Chenchus or Chentsus are a Telugu-speaking jungle
tribe inhabiting the hills of the Kurnool and Nellore districts. In
a letter addressed to the Bengal Asiatic Society, [18] transmitting
vocabularies of various tribes inhabiting Vizagapatam, by Mr. Newill,
it is stated that "the Chenchu tribe, whose language is almost entirely
corrupt Hindi and Urdu with a few exceptions from Bengali, affords
one more example to the many forthcoming of an uncultured aboriginal
race having abandoned their own tongue." The compiler of the Kurnool
Manual (1885) remarks that Mr. Newill's vocabulary "seems to belong to
the dialect spoken by Lambadis, who sometimes wander about the hills,
and it is not unlikely that he was misled as to the character of the
persons from whom his list was taken." As examples of the words given
by Mr. Newill, the following may be quoted:--
Bone, had. One, yek.
Cat, billeyi. Ten, das.
Ear, kan. Far, dur.
Elephant, hate. Drink, pi.
Tiger, bag. Sweet, mitha.
It is probable that Mr. Newill confused the Chenchus with the Bonthuk
Savaras (q.v.) who speak corrupt Oriya, and are called Chenchu vandlu,
and, like the Chenchus, believe that the god Narasimha of Ahobilam
married a girl belonging to their tribe. As a further example of the
confusion concerning the Chenchus, I may quote the remarks of Buchanan
[19] about the Irulas, who are a Tamil-speaking jungle tribe: "In
this hilly tract there is a race of men called by the other natives
Cad Eriligaru, but who call themselves Cat Chensu. The language of
the Chensu is a dialect of the Tamil, with occasionally a few Karnata
or Telinga words intermixed, but their accent is so different from
that of Madras that my servants did not at first understand what they
said. Their original country, they say, is the Animalaya forest below
the ghats, which is confirmed by their dialect." In the Census Report,
1901, Chenchu is said to be the name by which Irulas of North Arcot and
the Mysore plateau are called sometimes, and, in the Census Report,
1891, Chenchu is given as a sub-division of the Yanadis. There can
be little doubt that the Chenchus and Yanadis are descended from the
same original stock. Mackenzie, in the local records collected by him,
speaks of the Chenchus as being called Yanadi Chenchus. The Chenchus
themselves at the present day say that they and the Yanadis are one
and the same, and that the tribes intermarry.
In Scott's 'Ferishta,' the Chenchus are described as they appeared
before Prince Muhammad Masúm, a son of Aurangzib, who passed through
the Kurnool district in 1694, as "exceedingly black, with long hair,
and on their heads wore caps made of the leaves of trees. Each man had
with him unbarbed arrows and a bow for hunting. They molest no one,
and live in caverns or under the shady branches of trees. The prince
presented some of them with gold and silver, but they did not seem
to put any value on either, being quite unconcerned at receiving
it. Upon the firing of a gun, they darted up the mountains with a
surprising swiftness uncommon to man. In Taylor's 'Catalogue raisonné
of Oriental Manuscripts,' the Chenchus are described as people who
"live to the westward of Ahobalam, Srisailam, and other places, in
the woods or wilds, and go about, constantly carrying in their hands
bows and arrows. They clothe themselves with leaves, and live on the
sago or rice of the bamboo. They rob travellers, killing them if they
oppose. This people afflict every living creature (kill for food is
supposed to be meant)." It is noted in the Kurnool Manual that in
former times the Chenchu headman used to "dispose of murder cases,
the murderer, on proof of guilt, being put to death with the same
weapons with which the murder was committed. [20] Captain Newbold,
writing in 1846, says that, passing through the jungle near Pacharla,
he observed a skull bleached by the sun dangling from the branch of
a tamarind tree, which he was informed was that of a murderer and
hill-robber put to death by the headman. In the time of the Nabobs,
some of the Chenchu murderers were caught and punished, but the
practice seems to have prevailed among them more or less till the
introduction of the new police in 1860, since which time all cases
are said to be reported to the nearest police officer."
A Chenchu Taliari (village watchman), who came to see me at Nandyal,
was wearing a badge with his name engraved on it in Telugu, which
had been presented to him by Government in recognition of his
shooting with a double-barrelled gun two Donga Oddes who had robbed
a village. Another aged Taliari had a silver bangle bearing a Telugu
inscription, which had been given to him in acknowledgment of his
capturing a murderer who was wanted by the police, and came to his
hut. The casual visitor explained that he was on his way to Hyderabad,
but the Chenchu, noticing blood on his clothes, tied him to a post,
and gave information that he had secured him. The same man had also
received presents for reporting cases of illicit distillation under
the Abkari Act.
In recent accounts of the Chenchus of the Nallamalai hills by a forest
officer, it is noted that pilgrims, on their way to the Srisailam
temple, "are exploited at every turn, the Chentzu being seen in his
true colours at this period, and, being among the most active agents in
the exactions, but not being by any means the only plunderer. In return
for the protection, the Chentzu levies a toll per head, and as much
more as he can extort. We had to interfere with the perquisites of one
drugged specimen of this race, who drew a knife on a peon (orderly),
and had to be sent down under escort.... It is commonly supposed that
the Chentzus are a semi-wild, innocent, inoffensive hill tribe, living
on roots, honey, wild fruits, and game. If this was so, we should
have no difficulty in controlling them. They are actually a semi-wild,
lazy, drinking set of brigands. They levy blackmail from every village
along the foot of the hills, and, if any ryot (cultivator) refuses
to pay up, his crop silently disappears on some moonless night. They
levy blackmail from every pilgrim to the shrines in the hills. They
levy blackmail from the graziers in the hills. They borrow money from
Komatis and Buniahs (merchants and money-lenders), and repay it in
kind--stolen timber, minor forest produce, etc. They are constantly
in debt to the Komatis, and are practically their slaves as regards
the supply of timber and other forest produce. They think nothing of
felling a tree in order to collect its fruits, and they fire miles of
forest in order to be able to collect with ease certain minor produce,
or to trace game. They poison the streams throughout the hills, and
in short do exactly as they please throughout the length and breadth
of the Nallamalais." The Conservator of Forests expressed his belief
that this picture was not overdrawn, and added that the Chenchus are
"a danger to the forest in many ways, and I have always thought it
a pity that they were given some of the rights at settlement, which
stand against their names. These rights were--
(1) Rights of way, and to carry torches.
(2) Rights to draw and drink water from, wash or bathe in all
streams, springs, wells and pools.
(3) Rights to forest produce for home use.
(4) Rights to fish and shoot.
(5) Rights to graze a limited number of cattle, sheep and goats.
(6) Rights to collect for sale or barter certain minor produce.
In connection with right (3), the District Forest Officer suggested
that "the quantity to be taken annually must be limited, especially
in the case of wood, bamboos, fibre, firewood and honey. The quality
of the wood and of other forest produce should be defined. Chenchus do
not require teak or ebony beams or yegi (Pterocarpus Marsupium) spokes
and felloes for domestic purposes; but, as the right now stands, they
can fell whatever they like, and, though we may know it is for sale
to merchants, the Chenchus have only to say it is for domestic use,
and they cannot be punished. The wood should be limited to poles and
smaller pieces of third-class and unclassified trees."
In 1898 the Governor in Council made the following rules for regulating
the exercise of the rights of the Chenchus living in the reserved
forests on the Nallamalais:--
1. The carrying of torches, and the lighting of fires in fire-protected
blocks during the fire season are prohibited.
2. There shall be no right to wash or bathe in such springs, wells,
pools or portions of streams as are especially set apart for drinking
purposes by the District Forest Officer.
3. No more than the quantity which the Collector may consider to be
actually required for domestic use shall be removed in the exercise of
the right to take wood, bamboos, fibre, thatching grass, firewood,
roots, fruits, honey and other forest produce. The term "other
forest produce" shall be taken to mean other minor forest produce,
not including tusks and horns. No wood other than poles and smaller
pieces of third class and unclassified trees shall be removed.
4. No gudem (Chenchu village) shall, without the special permission
of the Collector, be allowed to keep a larger number of guns than that
for which licenses had been taken out at the time of settlement. Every
gun covered by a license shall be stamped with a distinctive mark or
number. The use of poison and explosives in water, and the setting
of cruives or fixed engines, or snares for the capture or destruction
of fish, are strictly prohibited.
5. For purposes of re-generation, a portion of the area set apart
for the grazing of cattle, not exceeding one-fifth, may be closed
to grazing at any time, and for such length of time as the District
Forest Officer deems fit.
6. The right of pre-emption of all minor forest produce collected
by the Chenchus for sale or barter shall be reserved to the Forest
department. The exercise of the right of collecting wood and other
produce for domestic use, and of collecting minor produce for sale
or barter, shall be confined to natural growth, and shall not include
forest produce which is the result of special plantation or protection
on the part of the Forest department.
In connection with a scheme for dealing with the minor forest produce
in the Nallamalais, the Conservator of Forests wrote as follows in
1905. "I believe that it is generally recognised that it is imperative
to obtain the good-will of the Chenchus even at a considerable loss,
both from a political and from a forest point of view; the latter being
that, if we do not do so, the whole of the Nallamalai forests will,
at a not very remote date, be utterly destroyed by fire. The Chenchus,
being a most abnormal type of men, must be treated in an abnormal way;
and the proposals are based, therefore, on the fundamental principle of
allowing the two District Forest Officers a very free hand in dealing
with these people. What is mainly asked for is to make an experiment,
of endeavouring to get the Chenchus to collect minor produce for the
department, the District Forest Officers being allowed to fix the
remuneration as they like, in money or barter, as they may from time
to time find on the spot to be best." In commenting on the scheme,
the Board of Revenue stated that "action on the lines proposed is
justified by the present state of the Nallamalais. These valuable
forests certainly stand in danger of rapid destruction by fire, and,
according to the local officers, the Chenchus are almost entirely
responsible. The department has at present no means of bringing
influence to bear on the Chenchus, or securing their assistance in
putting out fires. Repressive measures will be worse than useless,
as the Chenchus will merely hide themselves, and do more damage than
ever. The only way of getting into touch with them is to enforce
the right of pre-emption in the matter of minor produce reserved
to Government at the time of forest settlement, and by dealing with
them in a just and generous way to secure their confidence. If this
is achieved, the department may hope to secure their co-operation
and valuable assistance in preventing jungle fires. The department
can certainly afford to sell at a profit, and at the same time give
the Chenchus better prices than the sowcars (money-lenders), who are
said invariably to cheat them. The Board believes that the ultimate
loss from advances will not be serious, as advances will ordinarily be
small in amount, except in cases where they may be required by Chenchus
to pay off sowcars. It will be well, therefore, if the Collector and
the District Forest Officers will ascertain as soon as possible how
much the Chenchus are indebted to the sowcars, as it will probably
be necessary for the success of the scheme to liquidate these debts."
From a note on the Chenchus of the Nallamalai hills, I gather that
"a striking contrast is afforded between those who inhabit the belt of
forest stretching from Venkatapuram to Bairnuti, and those who dwell
in the jungle on the skirts of the great trunk road, which formed the
chief means of communication between the principal towns until the
Southern Mahratta railway diverted traffic into another channel. In
the former we behold the Chenchu semi-civilised and clothed. He
possesses flocks and herds, smiling fields and even gardens, and
evinces an aptitude for barter. The superiority of the Bairnuti
Chenchu has been brought about by the influence, example, labours,
and generosity of a single Englishman, who built a substantial stone
dwelling in the depths of the great Bairnuti forest. There also he
erected indigo vats, and planted indigo, and a grove of choice mango
grafts, orange and lime trees. He bought buffaloes, and by careful
selection and breeding evolved a magnificent type. These buffaloes
have now become almost entirely fruit-eaters, and are engaged in
seeking for and devouring the forest fruits, which--particularly the
mowhra and forest fig--litter the ground in vast quantities. This
habit of fruit-eating imparts to their milk a peculiarly rich nutty
flavour, and the cream is of abnormally rich quality. The Chenchus
manufacture this into ghee (clarified butter), which they turn to
profitable account. The brethren of the Bairnuti Chenchus dwelling in
the forest of Pacherla present very different conditions of life. They
accentuate their nakedness by a narrow bark thread bound round the
waist, into which are thrust their arrows and knife. This is their
full dress. The hair, they aver, is the great and natural covering
of mankind. Why, therefore, violate the ordinary laws of nature by
inventing supererogatory clothing? A missionary sportsman was fairly
non-plussed by these arguments, particularly when his interlocutors
pointed to a celebrated pass or gorge, through which the amorous
Kristna is averred to have pursued and captured a fascinating Chenchu
damsel. 'You see,' said the Chenchu logician, 'the beauty of her form
was so manifest in its rude simplicity that even the god could not
resist it.' En passant it may be noted that, when a Chenchu wishes
to express superlative admiration of a belle, he compares her to a
monkey. In his eyes, the supremest beauty of femininity is agility. The
girl who can shin up a lofty tree, and bring him down fruit to eat is
the acme of feminine perfection. 'Ah, my sweet monkey girl,' said a
demoralised Chenchu, who was too idle to climb up a tree himself, 'she
has been climbing trees all day, and throwing me fruit. There is not
a man in the forest who can climb like my monkey girl.' The Chenchus
are wisely employed by the authorities as road-police or Taliaris, to
prevent highway dacoities. This is an astute piece of diplomacy. The
Chenchus themselves are the only dacoits thereabouts, and the salary
paid them as road-police is virtually blackmail to induce them to
guarantee the freedom of the forest highways. The Chenchu barters
the produce of the forests in which he lives, namely, honey and wax,
deer horns and hides, tamarinds, wood apples (Feronia elephantum),
and mowhra (Bassia latifolia) fruit and flowers, and realises a very
considerable income from these sources. He reaps annually a rich
harvest of hides and horns. The sambur (Cervus unicolor) and spotted
deer (Cervus axis) shed their horns at certain seasons. These horns
are hidden in the rank luxuriant grass. But, when the heat of the dry
weather has withered it, the Chenchu applies fire to it by rubbing two
dried sticks together, and, walking in the wake of the flames, picks
up the horns disclosed to view by the reduction of the vegetation to
ashes. He supplements this method with his bow and rifle, and by the
latter means alone obtains his hides. The Chenchu is every bit as bad
a shot as the average aboriginal. He rarely stalks, but, when he does,
he makes up by his skill in woodcraft for his inexpertness with his
gun. He understands the importance of not giving the deer a slant of
his wind, and, if they catch a glimpse of him, he will stand motionless
and black as the tree trunks around. The ambush by the salt-lick or
water-hole, however, is his favourite method of sport. Here, fortified
with a supply of the pungent-smelling liquor which he illicitly
distils from the mowhra flower he will lie night and day ruthlessly
murdering sambur, spotted deer, nilgai (Boselaphus tràgocamelus);
four-horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis). Tigers often stalk
down, and drink and roll in the pool, but the Chenchu dares not draw
a bead on him. Perhaps the indifference of his shooting, of which he
is conscious, deters him." When in danger from tigers or leopards, the
Chenchus climb a tree, and shout. The Chenchus recognise two distinct
varieties of leopards called chirra puli and chirta puli, concerning
which Blanford writes as follows. [21] "Most of the sportsmen who
have hunted in Central India, and many native shikaris (sportsmen)
distinguish two forms, and in parts of the country there is some
appearance of two races--a larger form that inhabits the hills and
forests, and a smaller form commonly occurring in patches of grass
and bushes amongst cultivated fields and gardens. The larger form is
said to have a shorter tail, a longer head with an occipital crest,
and clearly defined spots on a paler ground-colour. The smaller form
has a comparatively longer tail, a rounder head, less clearly defined
spots, and rougher fur. I cannot help suspecting that the difference
is very often due to age."
A Chenchu who was asked by me whether they kill wild beasts replied
that they are wild beasts themselves. In devouring a feast of
mutton provided for those who were my guests in camp, they certainly
behaved as such, gnawing at the bones and tearing off the flesh. To
the Chenchus a feast, on however liberal a scale the food may be,
is nothing without a copious supply of toddy, of which even infants
receive a small share. In the absence of toddy, they sometimes
manufacture illicit liquor from the flower-buds of the mahua (or
mowhra) tree. The man who gained the prize (a coarse cotton cloth)
in a shooting match with bow and arrow, with the head of a straw
scarecrow as bull's-eye, was in an advanced stage of intoxication,
and used his success as an argument in favour of drink. In a long
distance shooting match, the prize was won with a carry of 144 yards,
the arrow being shot high into the air. It was noted by Captain
Newbold that the Chenchus are not remarkably expert as archers,
to judge from the awkwardness they exhibited in dispatching an
unfortunate sheep picketed for them at forty yards, which was held out
to them as the prize for the best marksman. Some time ago a Chenchu,
who was the bully of his settlement, beat another Chenchu and his
wife. The injured man appealed to the District Forest Officer, and,
explaining that he knew the law did not allow him to kill his enemy,
applied for a written permit to go after him with a bow and arrow.
Some Chenchus bear on the head a cap made of wax-cloth, deer or hare
skin. By the more fashionable the tufted ear or bushy tail-end of
the large Indian squirrel (Sciurus Indicus) is attached by way of
ornament to the string with which the hair of the head is tied into a
bunch behind. Leafy garments have been replaced by white loin-cloths,
and some of the women have adopted the ravike (bodice), in imitation
of the female costume in the plains. Boys, girls, and women wear
bracelets made of Phoenix or palmyra palm leaves. By some pieces of
stick strung on a thread, or seeds of Givotia rottleriformis, are
worn as a charm to ward off various forms of pain. Some of the women
are tattooed on the forehead, corners of the eyes, and arms. And I
saw a few men tattooed on the shoulder as a cure for rheumatism.
The huts of which a present day gudem is composed are either in the
shape of bee-hives like those of the Yanadis, or oblong with sloping
roof, and situated in a grove near a pond or stream. The staple food
of the Chenchus consists of cereals, supplemented by yams (Dioscorea)
which are uprooted with a digging-stick tipped with iron, forest
fruits, and various animals such as peacock, crow, lizard (Varanus),
bear, and black monkey. They are very fond of the young flowers and
buds of the mahua tree, and tamarind fruits, the acidity of which is
removed by mixing with them the ashes of the bark of the same tree.
The forest products collected by the Chenchus include myrabolams,
fruits of the tamarind, Semecarpus anacardiúm, Sapindus trifoliatus
(soap-nut), Buchanania latifolia, Buchanania angustifolia, and Ficus
glomerata; roots of Aristolochia Indica and Hemidesmus Indicus; seeds
of Abrus precatorius; flowers of Bassia latifolia; horns, and honey.
The Chenchus recognise two kinds of bees, large and small, and
gather honey from nests in trees or rocks. It is stated in the
Cuddapah Manual that "the Yenadis or Chenchus alone are able to
climb miraculously into difficult and apparently inaccessible places,
and over perpendicular cliffs in some places from a hundred to two
hundred feet high. This they do by means of a plaited rope made of
young bamboos tied together. Accidents sometimes happen by the rope
giving way. It is a nervous sight to watch them climbing up and down
this frail support. From below the men look like little babies hanging
midway. The rope being fastened on the top of the cliff by means of
a peg driven into the ground or by a tree, the man swings suspended
in the air armed with a basket and a stick. The Chenchu first burns
some brushwood or grass under the hive, which is relinquished by most
of the bees. This accomplished, he swings the rope, until it brings
him close to the hive, which he pokes with his stick, at the same
time holding out his basket to catch the pieces broken off from the
hive. When the basket is full, he shakes the rope, and is drawn up
(generally by his wife's brother). The bamboo ropes are never taken
away; nor are they used a second time, a fresh one being made on each
occasion, and at each place. They are to be seen hanging for years,
until they decay and fall down of themselves."
Like other Telugu classes, the Chenchus have exogamous septs or
intiperu, of which the following are examples:--gurram (horse), arati
(plantain tree), manla (trees), tota (garden), mekala (goats), indla
(houses), savaram (sovereign, gold coin), and gundam (pit).
Of the marriage customs the following account is given in the Kurnool
Manual. "The Chenchus do not follow a uniform custom in respect to
marriage ceremonies. Their marriage is performed in three ways. A
man wishing to marry selects his own bride, and both retire for one
night by mutual consent from the gudem. On the following morning, when
they return, their parents invite their friends and relatives, and by
formally investing them with new clothes, declare them duly married. To
complete the ceremony, a meal is given to those assembled. The second
method is as follows. A small space, circular in form, is cleaned and
besmeared with cowdung. In the centre a bow and arrow tied together
are fixed in the ground, and the bride and bridegroom are made to
move round it, when the men assembled bless them by throwing some rice
over them, and the marriage is complete. According to the third mode,
a Brahmin is consulted by the elders of the family. An auspicious day
is fixed, and a raised pial (platform) is formed, on which the bride
and bridegroom being seated, a tali (marriage badge) is tied, and rice
poured over their heads. The services of the Brahmin are engaged for
three or four days, and are rewarded with a piece of new cloth and some
money. This ceremony resembles that of the ryot (cultivating) class
among the Hindus. It is evidently a recent Brahminical innovation. On
marriage occasions generally tom-toms, if available, are beaten, and
a dance takes place." In the second form of marriage, as described
to me, the bride and bridegroom sit opposite each other with four
arrows stuck in the ground between them. In Mackenzie's record it
is stated that the Chenchus make the bridal pair sit with a single
arrow between them, and, when there is no shadow, some elderly men and
women throw rice over their heads. The importance of the arrow with
the Chenchus, as with the Yanadis, is that the moment when it casts
no shadow is the auspicious time for the completion of the marriage
rite. The remarriage of widows is permitted, and the second husband
is said to be in most cases a brother of the deceased one.
As an example of the Chenchu songs, the following marriage song, sung
by two men and a woman, and recorded by my phonograph, may be cited:--
The tali was of avaram [22] leaves,
Oh! the lord of the Chenchus.
The bashingham [23] was made of the leaf of a wild tree,
Oh! the lord of the Chenchus.
Wild turmeric was used for the kankanam [24],
Oh! the lord of the Chenchus.
Wearing a garment made of the leaves of the paru tree,
Oh! the lord of the Chenchus.
Wearing a bodice made of the leaves of the pannu tree,
Oh! the lord of the Chenchus.
Roaming over inaccessible hills,
Oh! the lord of the Chenchus.
Wandering through dense forests,
Oh! the lord of the Chenchus.
Committing acts that ought not to be done,
Oh! the lord of the Chenchus.
Obalesa's marriage was celebrated,
Oh! the lord of the Chenchus.
A four-cornered dais was made,
Oh! the lord of the Chenchus.
On the dais arrows were stuck,
Oh! the lord of the Chenchus.
Bamboo rice was used to throw on the heads of the pair,
Oh! the lord of the Chenchus.
Cocoanut cups were stuck on the points of the arrow,
Oh! the lord of the Chenchus.
The marriage was thus celebrated.
At a dance in my honour, men and women executed a series of step
dances in time with a drum (thappata) resembling a big tambourine,
which, at the conclusion of each dance, was passed to and fro through
a blazing fire of cholum straw to bring it up to the proper pitch. An
elderly hag went through a variety of gesticulations like those of
a Deva-dasi (dancing-girl). A man dressed up in straw and fragments
of mats picked up near my camp, and another disguised as a woman,
with bells round his ankles, supplied the comic business.
In the Kurnool Manual it is stated that "as soon as a child is born,
the umbilical cord is cut (with a knife or arrow), and the child
is washed in cold or hot water, according as the season is hot or
cold. On the third day, all the women of the tribe are invited, and
served with betel nut. On the fourth day, an old woman gives a name to
the child. The baby is generally laid in a cradle made of deer skins,
and suspended from a bamboo by means of strings or dusara creepers."
The dead are carried to the burial-place in a cloth slung on a
pole. The body, after it has been laid in the grave, is covered over
with leafy twigs, and the grave is filled in. The spot is marked by
a mound of earth and stones piled up. On the second or third day,
some cooked food is offered to the soul of the deceased person, near
the grave, and, after some of it has been set apart for the crows,
the remainder is buried in the mound or within the grave. The same
rite is repeated after the eighth day.
The Chenchus are said [25], like the Yanadis, to worship a god
called Chenchu Devata, to whom offerings of honey and fruits are
sometimes made. They believe, as has been mentioned already, that
the god Narasimha of Ahobilam, whom they call Obalesudu, carried
off a beautiful Chenchu girl, named Chenchita, and married her. To
prevent the occurrence of a similar fate to other females of the
tribe, Chenchita ordained that they should in future be born ugly,
and be devoid of personal charms. The Chenchus claim Obalesudu as
their brother-in-law, and, when they go to the temple for the annual
festival, carry cloths as presents for the god and goddess. The legend
of their origin is told as follows by Captain Newbold. "Previous to the
incarnation of Sri Krishna in the Dwapara Yug (the third of the great
ages), the Chenchwars were shepherds of the Yerra Golla caste. Obal
Iswara, the swami (deity) of Obalam, a celebrated hill shrine in the
Nalla Mallas, having taken away and kept as a Chenchita a maid of
the Yerra Golla family, begat upon her children, of whom they are
descendants." Among other minor deities, the Chenchus are said to
worship Ankalamma, Potu Razu, Sunkalamma, Mallamma, and Guruppa.
In the absence of lucifer matches, the Chenchus make fire with flint
and steel, and the slightly charred floss of the white cotton tree,
Eriodendron anfractuosum, I am informed that, like the Paniyans of
Malabar, they also obtain fire by friction, by means of the horizontal
or sawing method, with two pieces of split bamboo.
Some Chenchus still exhibit the primitive short stature and high
nasal index, which are characteristic of other jungle tribes such as
the Kadirs, Paniyans, and Kurumbas. But there is a very conspicuous
want of uniformity in their physical characters, and many individuals
are to be met with, above middle height or tall, with long narrow
noses. A case is noted in the Kurnool Manual, in which a brick-maker
married a Chenchu girl. And I was told of a Boya man who had married
into the tribe, and was living in a gudem. In this way is the pure
type of Chenchu metamorphosed.
===============================================
Stature, cm. | Nasal index.
-----------------------+-----------------------
AV. | MAX. | MIN. | AV. | MAX. | MIN.
-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
162.5 | 175 | 149.6 | 81.9 | 95.7 | 68.1
===============================================
By the dolichocephalic type of head which has persisted, and which
the Chenchus possess in common with various other jungle tribes,
they are, as shown by the following table, at once differentiated
from the mesaticephalic dwellers in the plains near the foot of the
Nallamalais:--
================================================
| Cephalic | Number of cases
---- | Index. | in which index
| | exceeded 80.
-------------------+----------+-----------------
40 Chenchus | 74.3 | 1
60 Gollas | 77.5 | 9
50 Boyas | 77.9 | 14
39 Tota Balijas | 78. | 10
49 Motati Kapus | 78. | 16
19 Upparas | 78.8 | 4
16 Mangalas | 78.8 | 7
17 Yerukalas | 78.6 | 6
12 Medaras | 80.7 | 8
================================================
The visual acuity of the Chenchus was tested with Cohn's letter E,
No. 6. For clinical purposes, the visual acuity would be represented
by a fraction, of which 6 is the denominator, and the number of metres
at which the position of the letter was recognised by the individual
tested is the numerator, e.g.,
V.A. = 13m/6 = 2.16.
The average distances in metres, at which the letter was
recognised by the various castes and tribes examined by myself and
Dr. W. H. R. Rivers, were as follows:--
16 Sholagas (Rivers) 12.9
94 Kotas 12.8
180 Badagas 12.6
50 Paraiyans 12.5
58 Telugu ryats 12.4
28 Chenchus 12.3
55 Uralis (Rivers) 12.2
30 Brahmans, Mysore 12.2
30 Non-Brahmans, Mysore 12.2
In all classes, it may be noted, the average acuity was between 12 and
13 metres (13 to 14 yards), and ranged between V.A. = 2·15 and V.A. =
2·03. The maxima distances, at which the position of the letter was
recognised, were:--Sholaga, 18m; Paraiyan, 19m; Badaga and Dikshitar
Brahman, 20m. No cases of extraordinary hyper-acuity were met with. The
nine classes, or groups of classes examined, cover a wide range of
degrees of civilisation from the wild jungle Chenchus, Sholagas, and
Uralis, to the cultured Brahman. And, though the jungle man, who has
to search for his food and mark the tracks and traces of wild beasts,
undoubtedly possesses a specially trained keenness of vision for the
exigencies of his primitive life, the figures show that, as regards
ordinary visual acuity, he has no advantage over the more highly
civilised classes.
There were, in 1904-05, two Board upper primary schools for the
Chenchus of the Kurnool district, which were attended by seventy-three
pupils, who were fed and clothed, and supplied with books and slates
free of charge.
Chenu (dry field).--An exogamous sept of Kamma.
Cheppat.--A sub-division of Maran.
Cherukara.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a
sub-division of Nayar.
Cheruku.--Cheruku (sugar-cane) or Cherukula has been recorded as an
exogamous sept of Boya, Jogi and Odde.
Cheruman.--The Cherumans or Cherumukkal have been defined as a
Malayalam caste of agricultural serfs, and as members of an inferior
caste in Malabar, who are, as a rule, toilers attached to the soil. In
the Madras Census Report, 1891, it is stated that "this caste is
called Cheruman in South Malabar and Pulayan in North Malabar. Even
in South Malabar where they are called Cheruman, a large sub-division
numbering over 30,000 is called Pula Cheruman. The most important
of the sub-divisions returned are Kanakkan, Pula Cheruman, Eralan,
Kudan and Rolan. Kanakkan and Pula Cheruman are found in all the
southern taluks, Kudan almost wholly in Walluvanad, and Eralan in
Palghat and Walluvanad." In the Census Report, 1901, Alan (slave),
and Paramban are given as sub-castes of Cheruman.
According to one version, the name Cheruma or Cheramakkal signifies
sons of the soil; and, according to another, Cheriamakkal means little
children, as Parasurama directed that they should be cared for, and
treated as such. The word Pulayan is said to be derived from pula,
meaning pollution.
Of the Cherumans, the following account is given in the Gazetteer
of Malabar. "They are said to be divided into 39 divisions, the more
important of which are the Kanakka Cherumans, the Pula Cherumans or
Pulayas, the Era Cherumans or Eralans, the Roli Cherumans or Rolans,
and the Kudans. Whether these sub-divisions should be treated as
separate castes or not, it is hardly possible to determine; some
of them at least are endogamous groups, and some are still further
sub-divided. Thus the Pulayas of Chirakkal are said to be divided into
one endogamous and eleven exogamous groups, called Mavadan, Elamanam,
Tacchakudiyan, Kundaton, Cheruvulan, Mulattan, Talan, Vannatam,
Eramalodiyan, Mullaviriyan, Egudan, and Kundon. Some at least of these
group names obviously denote differences of occupation. The Kundotti,
or woman of the last group, acts as midwife; and in consequence the
group is considered to convey pollution by touch to members of the
other groups, and they will neither eat nor marry with those belonging
to it. Death or birth pollution is removed by a member of the Mavadan
class called Maruttan, who sprinkles cowdung mixed with water on the
feet, and milk on the head of the person to be purified. At weddings,
the Maruttan receives 32 fanams, the prescribed price of a bride, from
the bridegroom, and gives it to the bride's people. The Era Cherumans
and Kanakkans, who are found only in the southern taluks of the
district, appear to be divided into exogamous groups called Kuttams,
many of which seem to be named after the house-name of the masters whom
they serve. The Cherumans are almost solely employed as agricultural
labourers and coolies; but they also make mats and baskets."
It is noted [26] by Mr. L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer that "from
traditions current among the Pulayas, it would appear that, once upon
a time, they had dominion over several parts of the country. A person
called Aikkara Yajaman, whose ancestors were Pulaya kings, is still
held in considerable respect by the Pulayas of North Travancore,
and acknowledged as their chieftain and lord, while the Aikkaranad
in the Kunnethnad taluk still remains to lend colour to the tale. In
Trivandrum, on the banks of the Velli lake, is a hill called Pulayanar
Kotta, where it is believed that a Pulaya king once ruled. In other
places, they are also said to have held sway. As a Paraya found
at Melkota the image of Selvapillai, as a Savara was originally in
possession of the sacred stone which became the idol in the temple of
Jaganath, so also is the worship of Padmanabha at Trivandrum intimately
connected with a Pulayan. Once a Pulaya woman, who was living with
her husband in the Ananthan kadu (jungle), suddenly heard the cry
of a baby. She rushed to the spot, and saw to her surprise a child
lying on the ground, protected by a snake. She took pity on it, and
nursed it like her own child. The appearance of the snake intimated
to her the divine origin of the infant. This proved to be true,
for the child was an incarnation of Vishnu. As soon as the Raja of
Travancore heard of the wonderful event, he built a shrine on the spot
where the baby had been found, and dedicated it to Padmanabha. The
Pulayas round Trivandrum assert to this day that, in former times,
a Pulaya king ruled, and had his castle not far from the present
capital of Travancore. The following story is also current among
them. The Pulayas got from the god Siva a boon, with spade and axe,
to clear forests, own lands, and cultivate them. When other people
took possession of them, they were advised to work under them."
According to Mr. Logan, [27] the Cherumans are of two sections, one
of which, the Iraya, are of slightly higher social standing than the
Pulayan. "As the names denote, the former are permitted to come as
far as the eaves (ira) of their employers' houses, while the latter
name denotes that they convey pollution to all whom they meet or
approach." The name Cheruman is supposed to be derived from cheru,
small, the Cheruman being short of stature, or from chera, a dam or
low-lying rice field. Mr. Logan, however, was of opinion that there
is ample evidence that "the Malabar coast at one time constituted the
kingdom or Empire of Chera, and the nad or county of Cheranad lying on
the coast and inland south-east of Calicut remains to the present day
to give a local habitation to the ancient name. Moreover, the name of
the great Emperor of Malabar, who is known to every child on the coast
as Cheraman Perumal, was undoubtedly the title and not the name of the
Emperor, and meant the chief (literally, big man) of the Chera people."
Of the history of slavery in Malabar an admirable account is given
by Mr. Logan, from which the following extracts are taken. "In 1792,
the year in which British rule commenced, a proclamation was issued
against dealing in slaves. In 1819, the principal Collector wrote
a report on the condition of the Cherumar, and received orders that
the practice of selling slaves for arrears of revenue be immediately
discontinued. In 1821, the Court of Directors expressed considerable
dissatisfaction at the lack of precise information which had been
vouchsafed to them, and said 'We are told that part of the cultivators
are held as slaves: that they are attached to the soil, and marketable
property.' In 1836, the Government ordered the remission in the
Collector's accounts of Rs. 927-13-0, which was the annual revenue from
slaves on the Government lands in Malabar, and the Government was at
the same time 'pleased to accede to the recommendation in favour of
emancipating the slaves on the Government lands in Malabar.' In 1841,
Mr. E. B. Thomas, the Judge at Calicut, wrote in strong terms a letter
to the Sadr Adalat, in which he pointed out that women in some taluks
(divisions) fetched higher prices, in order to breed slaves; that the
average cost of a young male under ten years was about Rs. 3-8-0, of
a female somewhat less; that an infant ten months old was sold in a
court auction for Rs. 1-10-6 independent of the price of its mother;
and that, in a recent suit, the right to twenty-seven slaves was the
'sole matter of litigation, and was disposed of on its merits.' In a
further letter, Mr. Thomas pointed out that the slaves had increased in
numbers from 144,000 at the Census, 1835, to 159,000 at the Census,
1842. It was apparently these letters which decided the Board of
Directors to send out orders to legislate. And the Government of India
passed Act V of 1843, of which the provisions were widely published
through Malabar. The Collector explained to the Cherumar that it was
in their interest, as well as their duty, to remain with their masters,
if kindly treated. He proclaimed that 'the Government will not order a
slave who is in the employ of an individual to forsake him and go to
the service of another claimant; nor will the Government interfere
with the slave's inclination as to where he wishes to work.' And
again, 'Any person claiming a slave as janmam, kanam or panayam,
the right of such claim or claims will not be investigated into at
any one of the public offices or courts.' In 1852, and again in 1855,
the fact that traffic in slaves still continued was brought to the
notice of Government, but on full consideration no further measures
for the emancipation of the Cherumar were deemed to be necessary. The
Cherumar even yet have not realised what public opinion in England
would probably have forced down their throats fifty years ago, and
there is reason to think that they are still, even now, with their
full consent bought and sold and hired out, although, of course,
the transaction must be kept secret for fear of the penalties of the
Penal Code, which came into force in 1862, and was the real final
blow at slavery in India. The slaves, however, as a caste will never
understand what real freedom means, until measures are adopted to
give them indefeasible rights in the small orchards occupied by them
as house-sites." It is noted by Mr. Anantha Krishna Iyer that "though
slavery has been abolished many years ago, the name valliyal (a person
receiving valli, i.e., paddy given to a slave) still survives."
By the Penal Code it is enacted that--
Whoever imports, exports, removes, buys, sells, or disposes of any
person as a slave, or accepts, receives, or detains against his
will any person as a slave, shall be punished with imprisonment
for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be
liable to a fine.
Whoever habitually imports, exports, removes, buys, sells, traffics
or deals in slaves, shall be punished with transportation for
life, or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years,
and shall be liable to a fine.
Whoever unlawfully compels any person to labour against the will
of that person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term
which may extend to one year, or with a fine, or with both.
"Very low indeed," Mr. S. Appadorai Iyer writes, [28] "is the social
position of these miserable beings. When a Cherumar meets a person
of superior caste; he must stand at a distance of thirty feet. If he
comes within this prohibited distance, his approach is said to cause
pollution, which is removed only by bathing in water. A Cherumar
cannot approach a Brahman village or temple, or tank. If he does so,
purification becomes necessary. Even while using the public road, if he
sees his lord and master, he has to leave the ordinary way and walk, it
may be in the mud, to avoid his displeasure by accidentally polluting
him. To avoid polluting the passer-by, he repeats the unpleasant
sound 'O, oh, O--'. [In some places, e.g., Palghat, one may often
see a Cheruman with a dirty piece of cloth spread on the roadside,
and yelling in a shrill voice 'Ambrane, Ambarane, give me some pice,
and throw them on the cloth.'] His position is intolerable in the
Native States of Cochin and Travancore, where Brahman influence is
in the ascendant; while in the Palghat taluk the Cherumars cannot,
even to this day, enter the bazaar." A melancholy picture has been
drawn of the Cherumans tramping along the marshes in mud, often wet
up to their waists, to avoid polluting their superiors. In 1904, a
Cheruman came within polluting distance of a Nayar, and was struck
with a stick. The Cheruman went off and fetched another, whereupon
the Nayar ran away. He was, however, pursued by the Cherumans. In
defending himself with a spade, the Nayar struck the foremost Cheruman
on the head, and killed him. [29] In another case, a Cheruman, who
was the servant of a Mappilla, was fetching grass for his master,
when he inadvertently approached some Tiyans, and thereby polluted
them. The indignant Tiyans gave not only the Cheruman, but his master
also, a sound beating by way of avenging the insult offered to them.
The status of the Pulayas of the Cochin State is thus described by
Mr. Anantha Krishna Iyer. "They abstain from eating food prepared
by the Velakkathalavans (barbers), Mannans (washermen), Panans,
Vettuvans, Parayans, Nayadis, Ulladans, Malayans, and Kadars. The
Pulayas in the southern parts of the State have to stand at a distance
of 90 feet from Brahmans and 64 feet from Nayars, and this distance
gradually diminishes towards the lower castes. They are polluted by
Pula Cherumas, Parayas, Nayadis, and Ulladans. [The Pula Cherumas are
said to eat beef, and sell the hides of cattle.] The Kanakka Cherumas
of the Chittur taluk pollute Era Cherumas and Konga Cherumas by touch,
and by approach within a distance of seven or eight feet, and are
themselves polluted by Pula Cherumas, Parayas, and Vettuvans, who have
to stand at the same distance. Pulayas and Vettuvans bathe when they
approach one another, for their status is a point of dispute as to
which is superior to the other. When defiled by the touch of a Nayadi,
a Cheruman has to bathe in seven tanks, and let a few drops of blood
flow from one of his fingers. A Brahman who enters the compound of a
Pulayan has to change his holy thread, and take panchagavyam (the five
products of the cow) so as to be purified from pollution. The Valluva
Pulayan of the Trichur taluk fasts for three days, if he happens to
touch a cow that has been delivered of a calf. He lives on toddy and
tender cocoanuts. He has also to fast three days after the delivery
of his wife." In ordinary conversation in Malabar, such expressions
as Tiya-pad or Cheruma-pad (that is, the distance at which a Tiyan
or Cheruman has to keep) are said to be commonly used. [30]
By Mr. T. K. Gopal Panikkar the Cherumans are described [31] as
"a very inferior race, who are regarded merely as agricultural
instruments in the hands of the landlords their masters, who supply
them with houses on their estates. Their daily maintenance is supplied
to them by their masters themselves. Every morning the master's agent
summons them to his house, and takes them away to work in the fields,
in ploughing, drawing water from wells, and in short doing the whole of
the cultivation. In the evening a certain quantity of paddy (unhusked
rice) is distributed to them as wages. Both theory and practice, in
the great majority of cases, are that they are fed at the master's
cost the whole year round, whether they work in the fields or not. But
it is very seldom that they can have a holiday, regard being had to
the nature of agriculture in Malabar. It is the Cheruma that should
plough the land, sow the seed, transplant the seedlings, regulate
the flow of water in the fields, uproot the weeds, and see that the
crops are not destroyed by animals, or stolen. When the crops ripen,
he has to keep watch at night. The sentry house consists of a small
oval-shaped portable roof, constructed of palmyra and cocoanut leaves,
supported by four posts, across which are tied bamboos, which form
the watchman's bed. Wives sometimes accompany their husbands in their
watches. When the harvest season approaches, the Cheruman's hands
are full. He has to cut the crops, carry them to the barn (kalam),
separate the corn from the stalk, and winnow it. The second crop
operations immediately follow, and the Cheruma has to go through all
these processes again. It is in the summer season that his work is
light, when he is set to prepare vegetable gardens, or some odd job is
found for him by his master. The old, infirm, and the children look
after their master's cattle. Receiving his daily pittance of paddy,
the Cheruman enters his hut, and reserves a portion of it for the
purchase of salt, chillies, toddy, tobacco, and dried fish. The other
portion is reserved for food. The Cheruman spends the greater part
of his wages on toddy. It is a very common sight in Malabar to see
a group of Cherumans, including women and children, sitting in front
of a toddy shop, the Cheruman transferring the unfinished portion of
the toddy to his wife, and the latter to the children. A Cheruman,
however, rarely gets intoxicated, or commits crime. No recess is
allowed to the Cherumans, except on national holidays and celebrated
temple festivals observed in honour of the goddess Bhagavati or Kali,
when they are quite free to indulge in drink. On these days, their hire
is given in advance. With this they get intoxicated, and go to the
poora-paramba or temple premises, where the festival is celebrated,
in batches of four, each one tying his hands to another's neck,
and reciting every two seconds the peculiar sound:
Lalle lalle lalle ho.
Lalle lalle lalle ho.
"On the European plantations in the Wynad the Cherumans are in great
request, and many are to be seen travelling nowadays without fear in
railway carriages on their way to the plantations. A few also work
in the gold mines of Mysore."
Like other servile classes, the Cherumans possess special privileges
on special occasions. For example, at the chal (furrow) ceremony in
Malabar "the master of the house, the cultivating agent, and Cherumans
assemble in the barn, a portion of the yard in front of the building
is painted with rice-water, and a lighted bell-lamp is placed near at
hand with some paddy and rice, and several cups made of the leaves
of the kanniram (Strychnos nux-vomica)--as many cups as there are
varieties of seed in the barn. Then, placing implicit faith in his
gods, and deceased ancestors, the master of the house opens the barn
door, followed by the Cheruman with a new painted basket containing the
leaf cups. The master then takes a handful of seed from a seed-basket,
and fills one of the cups, and the cultivating agent, head Cheruman,
and others who are interested in a good harvest, fill the cups till
the seeds are exhausted. The basket, with the cups, is next taken to
the decorated portion of the yard. A new ploughshare is fastened to a
new plough, and a pair of cattle are brought on to the scene. Plough,
cattle, and basket are all painted with rice-water. A procession
proceeds to the fields, on reaching which the head Cheruman lays
down the basket, and makes a mound of earth with the spade. To this a
little manure is added, and the master throws a handful of seed into
it. The cattle are then yoked, and one turn is ploughed by the head
Cheruman. Inside this at least seven furrows are made, and the plough
is dropped to the right. An offering is made to Ganapathi (the elephant
god), and the master throws some seed into a furrow. Next the head
Cheruman calls out 'May the gods on high and the deceased ancestors
bless the seed, which has been thrown broadcast, and the cattle which
are let loose; the mother and children of the house, the master, and
the slaves, may they also vouchsafe to us a good crop, good sunshine,
and good harvest.' A cocoanut is then cut on the ploughshare, and from
the cut portions several deductions are made. If the hinder part is
larger than the front one, the harvest will be moderate. If the cut
passes through the eyes of the nut, or if no water is left in the
cut portions, certain misfortune is foreboded. The cut fragments are
then taken with a little water inside them, and a leaf of the tulsi
plant (Ocimum sanctum) dropped in. If the leaf turns to the right,
a prosperous harvest is assured; whereas, if it turns to the left,
certain calamity will follow. This ceremonial concluded, there is
much shouting, and the names of all the gods may be heard called
out in a confused prayer. The party then breaks up, and the unused
seeds are divided among the workmen." [32] At the ceremony in Malabar,
when the transplantation of rice is completed, during which a goat is
sacrificed to Muni, the protector of cattle and field labourers, the
officiating priest is generally the cultivation agent of the family,
who is a Nayar, or sometimes a Cheruman.
In connection with the harvest ceremonial in Cochin, Mr. Anantha
Krishna Iyer writes as follows. "There are some curious customs
connected with the harvest, prevailing among the Pulayas of the
southern parts of the State. Before reaping, the Pulaya headman asks
his master whether he may begin to reap. With his permission, he
faces the east, and puts the sickle to the stalks. The first bundle
he reserves for the gods of his master, and the second for those of
his castemen. Before thrashing, the same headman takes a few bundles
of corn from the sheaf intended for their gods, and sprinkles toddy on
them. Another Pulayan does the same for the various reapers, and says,
as he does so 'Come, thrashing corn, increase.' This is called filling
the thrashing floor, and each man thrashes his own sheaves. When the
thrashing is over, the headman puts his master's sheaf in the centre of
the floor, and his own at a short distance outside, in order that the
two sets of gods may look kindly on them. The headman is privileged
to measure the corn sitting with his two assistants, saying 'Come,
paddy, increase,' as he counts. He also calls out 'Good paddy, one',
'bad paddy, two', and so on, until he counts ten. The eleventh is the
share for the reaper. He takes a handful, and places it in a basket,
half of which falls to him, his assistants and the watchman, while the
other half is given away in charity to the poor men that come to the
thrashing place. In the northern parts of the State, before reaping,
offerings of goats, fowls, and cocoanuts, are made to Mallan and
Muni. The Cheruma headman faces east, and applies his sickle to the
stalks, reserving the first stalk for the deities above mentioned. The
corn is thrashed and measured by one of them, and, as he does so, he
says 'Labham' (profit) for one, 'Chetham' (loss) for two, and counts
up to ten. The eleventh goes to the share of the reapers. Thus they
get one para for every ten paras of corn. The poor people that attend
are also given a handful of the grain. After reaping, the members of
the castes named in the table below receive a small portion of the
corn for their services rendered to the farmers in the course of the
months during which cultivation has been carried on:--
==============+====================================+===============
Caste. | Purpose for which paddy | Remuneration.
| is given. |
--------------+------------------------------------+---------------
Carpenters | For making and repairing | A big bundle
| ploughs, etc. | of corn.
Blacksmiths | For making sickles, knives, | Do.
| and other tools. |
Parayan | For lifting and placing the | Do.
| loads of stalks on the heads |
| of the Cherumans, who carry |
| them to the farmyard. |
Washerman or | For keeping off birds, insects, | Do.
Mannan. | etc., from the fields by magic. |
Vilkurup | For treating Cherumas during | Do.
| their illness, and for shampooing |
| them. |
Kaniyan or | For giving information of the | Do.
astrologer. | auspicious times for ploughing, |
| sowing, transplanting |
| and reaping, and also of the |
| time for giving rice, vegetables, |
| oil, etc., to the |
| Cherumas during the Onam |
| festival. |
==============+====================================+===============
"The Pulayans receive, in return for watching, a small portion of
the field near the watchman's rest-hut, which is left unreaped for
him. It fetches him a para of paddy.
"The Cherumas who are engaged in reaping get two bundles of corn each
for every field. For measuring the corn from the farmyard, a Cheruman
gets an edangazhy of paddy, in addition to his daily wage. Three paras
of paddy are set apart for the local village deity. During the month of
Karkadakam, the masters give every Cheruman a fowl, some oil, garlic,
mustard, anise seeds, pepper, and turmeric. They prepare a decoction
of seeds, and boil the flesh of the fowl in it, which they take for
three days, during which they are allowed to take rest. Three days'
wages are also given in advance."
In Travancore, a festival named Macam is held, of which the following
account has been published. [33] "The Macam (tenth constellation
Regulus, which follows Thiru Onam in August), is regarded by Hindus
as a day of great festivity. One must enjoy it even at the cost of
one's children, so runs an adage. The day is considered to be so
lucky that a girl born under the star Regulus is verily born with a
silver spoon in her mouth. It was on Macam, some say, that the Devas,
to free themselves from the curse they were put under by a certain
sage, had to churn the sea of milk to procure ambrosia. Be the cause
which led to the celebration what it may, the Hindus of the present
day have ever been enthusiastic in its observance; only some of the
rude customs connected with it have died out in the course of time,
or were put a stop to by Government. Sham fights were, and are still,
in some places a feature of the day. Such a sham fight used to be
carried on at Pallam until, about a hundred years ago, it was stopped
through the intervention of Colonel Munro, the British Resident in
Travancore. The place is still called Patanilam (battle field), and
the tank, on opposite sides of which the contending parties assembled,
Chorakulam (pool of blood). The steel swords and spears, of curious
and various shapes, and shields large enough to cover a man, are
even now preserved in the local temple. Many lives were lost in these
fights. It is not generally known, even to people in these parts, that
a sham fight takes place on Macam and the previous day every year at
a place called Wezhapra, between the Changanacherry and Ambalapuzha
taluks. Three banyan trees mark the place. People, especially Pulayas
and Pariahs, to the number of many thousands, collect round the outside
trees with steel swords, spears, and slings in their hands. A small
bund (embankment) separates the two parties. They have to perform
certain religious rites near the tree which stands in the middle,
and, in doing so, make some movements with their swords and spears
to the accompaniment of music. If those standing on one side of the
bund cross it, a regular fight is the result. In order to avoid such
things, without at the same time interfering with their liberty to
worship at the spot, the Government this year made all the necessary
arrangements. The Police were sent for the purpose. Everything went
off smoothly but for one untoward event. The people had been told not
to come armed with steel weapons, but with wooden ones. They had to
put them down, and were then allowed to go and worship."
Of conversion to Muhammadanism at the present time, a good example is
afforded by the Cherumans. "This caste," the Census Superintendent,
1881, writes, "numbered 99,009 in Malabar at the census of 1871, and,
in 1881, is returned as only 64,735. There are 40,000 fewer Cherumans
than there would have been but for some disturbing influence, and this
is very well known to be conversion to Muhammadanism. The honour of
Islam once conferred on the Cheruman, he moves at one spring several
places higher than that which he originally occupied." "Conversion
to Muhammadanism," Mr. Logan writes, "has had a marked effect in
freeing the slave caste in Malabar from their former burthens. By
conversion a Cheruman obtains a distinct rise in the social scale,
and, if he is in consequence bullied or beaten, the influence of the
whole Muhammadan community comes to his aid." It has been noted [34]
that Cheruman converts to Islam take part in the Moplah (Mappilla)
outbreaks, which from time to time disturb the peace of Malabar.
The home of the Cheruman is called a chala or hut, which has a thatched
roof of grass and palm-leaves resembling an immense bee-hive. A big
underground cell, with a ceiling of planks, forms the granary of
the occupants of these huts. The chief house furniture consists of
a pestle and mortar, and two or three earthenware pots.
The habitations of the Pulayas of Cochin are thus described by
Mr. Anantha Krishna Iyer. "Their huts are generally called madams,
which are put up on the banks of fields, in the middle of rice flats,
or on trees along their borders, so as to enable them to watch the
crops after the toils of the day. They are discouraged from erecting
better huts, under the idea that, if settled more comfortably, they
would be less inclined to move as cultivation required. The madams
are very poor huts, supported on four small posts, and thatched with
leaves. The sides are protected with the same kind of leaves. There
is only one room, and the floor, though slightly raised, is very
damp during the rainy months. These temporary buildings are removed
after the harvest, and put up in places where cultivation has to be
carried on. All the members of the family sleep together in the same
hut. Small temporary huts are sometimes erected, which are little
better than inverted baskets. These are placed in the rice field
while the crop is on the ground, and near the stacks while it is being
thrashed. In the northern parts of the State, the Pulaya huts are made
of mud walls, and provided with wooden doors. The roofs are of bamboo
framework thatched with palmyra palm leaves. The floor is raised,
and the huts are provided with pyals (raised platforms) on three
sides. They have also small compounds (grounds) around them. There
is only one room inside, which is the sleeping apartment of the newly
married youngsters. The others, I am told, sleep on the verandahs. The
utensils consist of a few earthen pots for cooking and keeping water,
and a few earthen dishes for taking food. In addition to these, I
found a wooden mortar, a few pestles, two pans, two winnowing pans,
a fish basket for each woman, a few cocoanut shells for keeping
salt and other things, a few baskets of their own making, in one of
which a few dirty cloths were placed, some mats of their own making,
a bamboo vessel for measuring corn, and a vessel for containing toddy."
"During the rainy season, the Cherumas in the field wear a few
green leaves, especially those of the plantain tree, tied round
their waists, and a small cone-shaped cap, made of plantain leaf,
is worn on the head. This practice, among the females, has fallen
into disuse in Malabar, though it is to some extent still found
in the Native States. The Cherumi is provided with one long piece
of thick cloth, which she wraps round her waist, and which does not
even reach the knees. She does not cover the chest." [35] The Cheruma
females have been described as wearing, when at work in the open,
a big oval-shaped handleless umbrella covered with palm leaves,
which they place on their back, and which covers the whole of their
person in the stooping attitude. The men use, during the rainy season,
a short-handled palm-leaf umbrella.
The women are profusely decorated with cheap jewelry of which the
following are examples:
1. Lobes of both ears widely dilated by rolled leaden ornaments. Brass,
and two glass bead necklets, string necklet with flat brass ornaments,
the size of a Venetian sequin, with device as in old Travancore gold
coins, with two brass cylinders pendent behind, and tassels of red
cotton. Three brass rings on right little finger; two on left ring
finger, one brass and two steel bangles on left wrist.
2. Several bead necklets, and a single necklet of many rows of
beads. Brass necklet like preceding, with steel prong and scoop,
for removing wax from the ears and picking teeth, tied to one of the
necklets. Attached to, and pendent from one necklet, three palm leaf
rolls with symbols and Malayalam inscription to act as a charm in
driving away devils. Three ornamental brass bangles on right forearm,
two on left. Iron bangle on left wrist. Thin brass ring in helix of
each ear. Seventy thin brass rings (alandoti) with heavy brass ornament
(adikaya) in dilated lobe of each ear.
3. In addition to glass bead necklets, a necklet with heavy
heart-shaped brass pendants. String round neck to ward off fever.
4. String necklet with five brass cylinders pendent; five brass
bangles on right wrist; six brass and two iron bangles on left wrist.
Right hand, one copper and five brass rings on middle finger; one
iron and three brass rings on little finger.
Left hand, one copper and five brass rings on middle finger; three
brass and two copper rings on ring finger; one brass ring on little
finger.
5. Trouser button in helix of left ear.
6. Brass bead necklet with pendent brass ornament with legend "Best
superior umbrella made in Japan, made for Fazalbhoy Peeroo Mahomed,
Bombay."
A Cheruman, at Calicut, had his hair long and unkempt, as he played
the drum at the temple. Another had the hair arranged in four matted
plaits, for the cure of disease in performance of a vow. A man who
wore a copper cylinder on his loin string, containing a brass strip
with mantrams (consecrated formulæ) engraved on it, sold it to me
for a rupee with the assurance that it would protect me from devils.
Concerning the marriage ceremony of the Cherumans in Malabar,
Mr. Appadorai Iyer writes that "the bridegroom's sister is the
chief performer. It is she who pays the bride's price, and carries
her off. The consent of the parents is required, and is signified
by an interchange of visits between the parents of the bride and
bridegroom. During these visits, rice-water (conji) is sipped. Before
tasting the conji, they drop a fanam (local coin) into the vessel
containing it, as a token of assent to the marriage. When the
wedding party sets out, a large congregation of Cherumans follow,
and at intervals indulge in stick play, the women singing in chorus
to encourage them 'Let us see, let us see the stick play (vadi tallu),
Oh! Cheruman.' The men and women mingle indiscriminately in the dance
during the wedding ceremony. On the return to the bridegroom's hut,
the bride is expected to weep loudly, and deplore her fate. On entering
the bridegroom's hut, she must tread on a pestle placed across the
threshold." During the dance, the women have been described as letting
down their hair, and dancing with a tolerable amount of rhythmic
precision amid vigorous drumming and singing. According to another
account, the bridegroom receives from his brother-in-law a kerchief,
which the giver ties round his waist, and a bangle which is placed on
his arm. The bride receives a pewter vessel from her brother. Next
her cousin ties a kerchief round the groom's forehead, and sticks a
betel leaf in it. The bride is then handed over to the bridegroom.
Of the puberty and marriage ceremonies of the Pulayas of Cochin, the
following detailed account is given by Mr. Anantha Krishna Iyer. "When
a Pulaya girl comes of age, she is located in a separate hut. Five
Vallons (headmen), and the castemen of the kara (settlement),
are invited to take part in the performance of the ceremony. A
song, called malapattu, is sung for an hour by a Parayan to the
accompaniment of drum and pipe. The Parayan gets a para of paddy,
and his assistants three annas each. As soon as this is over, seven
cocoanuts are broken, and the water thereof is poured over the head
of the girl, and the broken halves are distributed among the five
Vallons and seven girls who are also invited to be present. Some more
water is also poured on the girl's head at the time. She is lodged
in a temporary hut for seven days, during which food is served to
her at a distance. She is forbidden to go out and play with her
friends. On the morning of the seventh day, the Vallons of the kara
and the castemen are again invited. The latter bring with them some
rice, vegetables, and toddy, to defray the expenses of the feast. At
dawn, the mother of the girl gives oil to the seven Pulaya maidens,
and to her daughter for an oil-bath. They then go to a neighbouring
tank (pond) or stream to bathe, and return home. The girl is then
neatly dressed, and adorned in her best. Her face is painted yellow,
and marked with spots of various colours. She stands before a few
Parayas, who play on their flute and drum, to cast out the demons,
if any, from her body. The girl leaps with frantic movements, if she
is possessed by them. In that case, they transfer them to a tree close
by driving a nail into the trunk after due offerings. If she is not
possessed, she remains unmoved, and the Parayas bring the music to
a close. The girl is again bathed with her companions, who are all
treated to a dinner. The ceremony then comes to an end with a feast
to the castemen. The ceremony described is performed by the Valluva
Pulayas in the southern parts, near and around the suburbs of Cochin,
but is unknown among other sub-tribes elsewhere. The devil-driving by
the Parayas is not attended to. Nor is a temporary hut erected for the
girl to be lodged in. She is allowed to remain in a corner of the hut,
but is not permitted to touch others. She is bathed on the seventh day,
and the castemen, friends and relations, are invited to a feast.
"Marriage is prohibited among members of the same koottam (family
group). In the Chittur taluk, members of the same village do not
intermarry, for they believe that their ancestors may have been the
slaves of some local landlord, and, as such, the descendants of the
same parents. A young man may marry among the relations of his father,
but not among those of his mother. In the Palghat taluk, the Kanakka
Cherumas pride themselves on the fact that they avoid girls within
seven degrees of relationship. The marriage customs vary according
to the sub-division. In the southern parts of the State, Pulaya girls
are married before puberty, while in other places, among the Kanakka
Cherumas and other sub-tribes, they are married both before and after
puberty. In the former case, when a girl has not been married before
puberty, she is regarded as having become polluted, and stigmatised
as a woman whose age is known. Her parents and uncles lose all claim
upon her. They formally drive her out of the hut, and proceed to
purify it by sprinkling water mixed with cow-dung both inside and
outside, and also with sand. She is thus turned out of caste. She
was, in former times, handed over to the Vallon, who either married
her to his own son, or sold her to a slave master. If a girl is too
poor to be married before puberty, the castemen of the kara raise a
subscription, and marry her to one of themselves.
"When a young Pulayan wishes to marry, he applies to his master, who
is bound to defray the expenses. He gives seven fanams [36] to the
bride's master, one fanam worth of cloth to the bride-elect, and about
ten fanams for the marriage feast. In all, his expenses amount to ten
rupees. The ceremony consists in tying a ring attached to a thread
round the neck of the bride. This is provided by her parents. When
he becomes tired of his wife, he may dispose of her to any other
person who will pay the expenses incurred at the marriage. There are
even now places where husband and wife serve different masters, but
more frequently they serve the same master. The eldest male child
belongs to the master of the mother. The rest of the family remain
with the mother while young, but, being the property of the owner,
revert to him when of an age to be useful. She also follows them,
in the event of her becoming a widow. In some places, a man brings
a woman to his master, and says that he wishes to keep her as his
wife. She receives her allowance of rice, but may leave her husband
as she likes, and is not particular in changing one spouse for
another. In other places, the marriage ceremonies of the Era Cherumas
are more formal. The bridegroom's party goes to the bride's hut, and
presents rice and betel leaf to the head of the family, and asks for
the bride. Consent is indicated by the bride's brother placing some
rice and cloth before the assembly, and throwing rice on the headman
of the caste, who is present. On the appointed day, the bridegroom
goes to the hut with two companions, and presents the girl with cloth
and twelve fanams. From that day he is regarded as her husband, and
cohabitation begins at once. But the bride cannot accompany him until
the ceremony called mangalam is performed. The bridegroom's party goes
in procession to the bride's hut, where a feast awaits them. The man
gives sweetmeats to the girl's brother. The caste priest recites the
family history of the two persons, and the names of their masters and
deities. They are then seated before a lamp and a heap of rice in a
pandal (booth). One of the assembly gets up, and delivers a speech on
the duties of married life, touching on the evils of theft, cheating,
adultery, and so forth. Rice is thrown on the heads of the couple,
and the man prostrates himself at the feet of the elders. Next day,
rice is again thrown on their heads. Then the party assembled makes
presents to the pair, a part of which goes to the priest, and a part
to the master of the husband. Divorce is very easy, but the money
paid must be returned to the woman.
"In the Ooragam proverthy of the Trichur taluk, I find that the
marriage among the Pulayas of that locality and the neighbouring
villages is a rude form of sambandham (alliance), somewhat similar to
that which prevails among the Nayars, whose slaves a large majority of
them are. The husband, if he may be so called, goes to the woman's hut
with his wages, to stay therein with her for the night. They may serve
under different masters. A somewhat similar custom prevails among the
Pula Cherumas of the Trichur taluk. The connection is called Merungu
Kooduka, which means to tame, or to associate with.
"A young man, who wishes to marry, goes to the parents of the young
woman, and asks their consent to associate with their daughter. If they
approve, he goes to her at night as often as he likes. The woman seldom
comes to the husband's hut to stay with him, except with the permission
of the thamar (landlord) on auspicious occasions. They are at liberty
to separate at their will and pleasure, and the children born of the
union belong to the mother's landlord. Among the Kanakka Cherumas
in the northern parts of the State, the following marital relations
are in force. When a young man chooses a girl, the preliminary
arrangements are made in her hut, in the presence of her parents,
relations, and the castemen of the village. The auspicious day is
fixed, and a sum of five fanams is paid as the bride's price. The
members assembled are treated to a dinner. A similar entertainment
is held at the bridegroom's hut to the bride's parents, uncles, and
others who come to see the bridegroom. On the morning of the day fixed
for the wedding, the bridegroom and his party go to the bride's hut,
where they are welcomed, and seated on mats in a small pandal put up
in front of the hut. A muri (piece of cloth), and two small mundus
(cloths) are the marriage presents to the bride. A vessel full of
paddy (unhusked rice), a lighted lamp, and a cocoanut are placed in
a conspicuous place therein. The bride is taken to the booth, and
seated by the side of the bridegroom. Before she enters it, she goes
seven times round it, with seven virgins before her. With prayers to
their gods for blessings on the couple, the tali (marriage badge)
is tied round the bride's neck. The bridegroom's sister completes
the knot. By a strange custom, the bride's mother does not approach
the bridegroom, lest it should cause a ceremonial pollution. The
ceremony is brought to a close with a feast to those assembled. Toddy
is an indispensable item of the feast. During the night, they amuse
themselves by dancing a kind of wild dance, in which both men and women
joyfully take part. After this, the bridegroom goes along to his own
hut, along with his wife and his party, where also they indulge in a
feast. After a week, two persons from the bride's hut come to invite
the married couple. The bride and bridegroom stay at the bride's hut
for a few days, and cannot return to his hut unless an entertainment,
called Vathal Choru, is given him.
"The marriage customs of the Valluva Pulayas in the southern parts of
the State, especially in the Cochin and Kanayannur taluks, are more
formal. The average age of a young man for marriage is between fifteen
and twenty, while that of a girl is between ten and twelve. Before
a young Pulayan thinks of marriage, he has to contract a formal and
voluntary friendship with another young Pulayan of the same age and
locality. If he is not sociably inclined, his father selects one for
him from a Pulaya of the same or higher status, but not of the same
illam (family group). If the two parents agree among themselves,
they meet in the hut of either of them to solemnise it. They fix a
day for the ceremony, and invite their Vallon and the castemen of
the village. The guests are treated to a feast in the usual Pulaya
fashion. The chief guest and the host eat together from the same
dish. After the feast, the father of the boy, who has to obtain
a friend for his son, enquires of the Vallon and those assembled
whether he may be permitted to buy friendship by the payment of
money. They give their permission, and the boy's father gives the
money to the father of the selected friend. The two boys then clasp
hands, and they are never to quarrel. The new friend becomes from
that time a member of the boy's family. He comes in, and goes out
of their hut as he likes. There is no ceremony performed at it,
or anything done without consulting him. He is thus an inseparable
factor in all ceremonies, especially in marriages. I suspect that
the friend has some claims on a man's wife. The first observance in
marriage consists in seeing the girl. The bridegroom-elect, his friend,
father and maternal uncle, go to the bride's hut, to be satisfied with
the girl. If the wedding is not to take place at an early date, the
bridegroom's parents have to keep up the claim on the bride-elect by
sending presents to her guardians. The presents, which are generally
sweetmeats, are taken to her hut by the bridegroom and his friends,
who are well fed by the mother of the girl, and are given a few
necessaries when they take leave of her the next morning. The next
observance is the marriage negociation, which consists in giving
the bride's price, and choosing an auspicious day in consultation
with the local astrologer (Kaniyan). On the evening previous to the
wedding, the friends and relations of the bridegroom are treated to a
feast in his hut. Next day at dawn, the bridegroom and his friend,
purified by a bath, and neatly dressed in a white cloth with a
handkerchief tied over it, and with a knife stuck in their girdles,
go to the hut of the bride-elect accompanied by his party, and are
all well received, and seated on mats spread on the floor. Over a
mat specially made by the bride's mother are placed three measures of
rice, some particles of gold, a brass plate, and a plank with a white
and red cover on it. The bridegroom, after going seven times round
the pandal, stands on the plank, and the bride soon follows making
three rounds, when four women hold a cloth canopy over her head,
and seven virgins go in front of her. The bride then stands by the
side of the bridegroom, and they face each other. Her guardian puts
on the wedding necklace a gold bead on a string. Music is played, and
prayers are offered up to the sun to bless the necklace which is tied
round the neck of the girl. The bridegroom's friend, standing behind,
tightens the knot already made. The religious part of the ceremony
is now over, and the bridegroom and bride are taken inside the hut,
and food is served to them on the same leaf. Next the guests are
fed, and then they begin the poli or subscription. A piece of silk,
or any red cloth, is spread on the floor, or a brass plate is placed
before the husband. The guests assembled put in a few annas, and take
leave of the chief host as they depart. The bride is soon taken to
the bridegroom's hut, and her parents visit her the next day, and
get a consideration in return. On the fourth day, the bridegroom and
bride bathe and worship the local deity, and, on the seventh day,
they return to the bride's hut, where the tali (marriage badge)
is formally removed from the neck of the girl, who is bedecked with
brass beads round her neck, rings on her ears, and armlets. The next
morning, the mother-in-law presents her son-in-law and his friend
with a few necessaries of life, and sends them home with her daughter.
"During the seventh month of pregnancy, the ceremony of puli kuti, or
tamarind juice drinking, is performed as among other castes. This is
also an occasion for casting out devils, if any, from the body. The
pregnant woman is brought back to the hut of her own family. The
devil-driver erects a tent-like structure, and covers it with plantain
bark and leaves of the cocoanut palm. The flower of an areca palm
is fixed at the apex. A cocoanut palm flower is cut out and covered
with a piece of cloth, the cut portion being exposed. The woman is
seated in front of the tent-like structure with the flower, which
symbolises the yet unborn child in the womb, in her lap. The water
of a tender cocoanut in spoons made of the leaf of the jack tree
(Artocarpus integrifolia) is poured over the cut end by the Vallon,
guardian, and brothers and sisters present. The devil-driver then
breaks open the flower, and, by looking at the fruits, predicts the
sex of the child. If there are fruits at the end nearest the stem,
the child will live and, if the number of fruits is even, there will
be twins. There will be deaths if any fruit is not well formed. The
devil-driver repeats an incantation, whereby he invokes the aid
of Kali, who is believed to be present in the tent. He fans the
woman with the flower, and she throws rice and a flower on it. He
repeats another incantation, which is a prayer to Kali to cast out
the devil from her body. This magical ceremony is called Garbha Bali
(pregnancy offering). The structure, with the offering, is taken up,
and placed in a corner of the compound reserved for gods. The devotee
then goes through the remaining forms of the ceremony. She pours into
twenty-one leaf spoons placed in front of the tent a mixture of cow's
milk, water of the tender cocoanut, flower, and turmeric powder. Then
she walks round the tent seven times, and sprinkles the mixture on
it with a palm flower. Next she throws a handful of rice and paddy,
after revolving each handful round her head, and then covers the
offering with a piece of cloth. She now returns, and her husband puts
into her mouth seven globules of prepared tamarind. The devil-driver
rubs her body with Phlomis (?) petals and paddy, and thereby finds
out whether she is possessed or not. If she is, the devil is driven
out with the usual offerings. The devil-driver gets for his services
twelve measures and a half of paddy, and two pieces of cloth. The
husband should not, during this period, get shaved.
"When a young woman is about to give birth to a child, she is lodged
in a small hut near her dwelling, and is attended by her mother
and a few elderly women of the family. After the child is born, the
mother and the baby are bathed. The woman is purified by a bath on the
seventh day. The woman who has acted as midwife draws seven lines on
the ground at intervals of two feet from one another, and spreads over
them aloe leaves torn to shreds. Then, with burning sticks in the hand,
the mother with the baby goes seven times over the leaves backwards
and forwards, and is purified. For these seven days, the father should
not eat anything made of rice. He lives on toddy, fruits, and other
things. The mother remains with her baby in the hut for sixteen days,
when she is purified by a bath so as to be free from pollution, after
which she goes to the main hut. Her enangathi (relation by marriage)
sweeps the hut and compound, and sprinkles water mixed with cow-dung
on her body as she returns after the bath. In some places, the bark
of athi (Ficus glomerata) and ithi (Ficus Tsiela?) is well beaten and
bruised, and mixed with water. Some milk is added to this mixture,
which is sprinkled both inside and outside the hut. Only after this do
they think that the hut and compound are purified. Among the Cherumas
of Palghat, the pollution lasts for ten days.
"The ear-boring ceremony is performed during the sixth or seventh
year. The Vallon, who is invited, bores the ears with a sharp
needle. The wound is healed by applying cocoanut oil, and the hole
is gradually widened by inserting cork, a wooden plug, or a roll of
palm leaves. The castemen of the village are invited, and fed. The
landlord gives the parents of the girl three paras of paddy, and this,
together with what the guests bring, goes to defray the expenses
of the ceremony. After the meal they go, with drum-beating, to the
house of the landlord, and present him with a para of beaten rice,
which is distributed among his servants. The ear-borer receives eight
edangazhis of paddy, a cocoanut, a vessel of rice, and four annas.
"A woman found to be having intercourse with a Paraya is outcasted. She
becomes a convert to Christianity or Mahomedanism. If the irregularity
takes place within the caste, she is well thrashed, and prevented from
resorting to the bad practice. In certain cases, when the illicit
connection becomes public, the castemen meet with their Vallon, and
conduct a regular enquiry into the matter, and pronounce a verdict
upon the evidence. If a young woman becomes pregnant before marriage,
her lover, should he be a Pulaya, is compelled to marry her, as
otherwise she would be placed under a ban. If both are married, the
lover is well thrashed, and fined. The woman is taken before a Thandan
(Izhuva headman), who, after enquiry, gives her the water of a tender
cocoanut, which she is asked to drink, when she is believed to be
freed from the sin. Her husband may take her back again as his wife,
or she is at liberty to marry another. The Thandan gets a few annas,
betel leaves and areca nuts, and tobacco. Both the woman's father and
the lover are fined, and the fine is spent in the purchase of toddy,
which is indulged in by those present at the time. In the northern
parts of the State, there is a custom that a young woman before
marriage mates with one or two paramours with the connivance of her
parents. Eventually one of them marries her, but this illicit union
ceases at once on marriage."
Of the death ceremonies among the Cherumas of South Malabar, I gather
that "as soon as a Cheruman dies, his jenmi or landlord is apprised
of the fact, and is by ancient custom expected to send a field spade,
a white cloth, and some oil. The drummers of the community are summoned
to beat their drums in announcement of the sad event. This drumming is
known as parayadikka. The body is bathed in oil, and the near relatives
cover it over with white and red cloths, and take it to the front
yard. Then the relatives have a bath, after which the corpse is removed
to the burying ground, where a grave is dug. All those who have come
to the interment touch the body, which is lowered into the grave after
some of the red cloths have been removed. A mound is raised over the
grave, a stone placed at the head, another at the feet, and a third in
the centre. The funeral cortège, composed only of males, then returns
to the house, and each member takes a purificatory bath. The red cloths
are torn into narrow strips, and a strip handed over as a sacred object
to a relative of the deceased. Meanwhile, each relative having on
arrival paid a little money to the house people, toddy is purchased,
and served to the assembly. The mourners in the house have to fast on
the day of the death. Next morning they have a bath, paddy is pounded,
and gruel prepared for the abstainers. An elder of the community, the
Avakasi, prepares a little basket of green palm leaves. He takes this
basket, and hangs it on a tree in the southern part of the compound
(grounds). The gruel is brought out, and placed on a mortar in the
same part of the compound. Spoons are made out of jack (Artocarpus
integrifolia) leaves, and the elder serves out the gruel. Then the
relatives, who have gathered again, make little gifts of money and
rice to the house people. Vegetable curry and rice are prepared,
and served to the visitors. A quaint ceremony called ooroonulka is
next gone through. A measure of rice and a measure of paddy in husk
are mixed, and divided into two shares. Four quarter-anna pieces are
placed on one heap, and eight on the other. The former share is made
over to the house people, and from the latter the Avakasi removes
four of the coins, and presents one to each of the four leading men
present. These four men must belong to the four several points of the
compass. The remaining copper is taken by the elder. From his share
of rice and paddy he gives a little to be parched and pounded. This
is given afterwards to the inmates. The visitors partake of betel and
disperse, being informed that the Polla or post-obituary ceremony
will come off on the thirteenth day. On the forenoon of this day,
the relatives again gather at the mourning place. The inmates of the
house bathe, and fish and rice are brought for a meal. A little of
the fish is roasted over a fire, and each one present just nibbles at
it. This is done to end pollution. After this the fish may be freely
eaten. Half a seer or a measure of rice is boiled, reduced to a pulpy
mass, and mixed with turmeric powder. Parched rice and the powder
that remains after the rice has been pounded, a cocoanut and tender
cocoanut, some turmeric powder, plantain leaves, and the rice that
was boiled and coloured with turmeric, are then taken to the burial
ground by the Avakasi, a singer known as a Kalladi or Moonpatkaren,
and one or two close relatives of the departed. With the pulped rice
the elder moulds the form of a human being. At the head of the grave
a little mound is raised, cabalistic lines are drawn across it with
turmeric, and boiled rice powder and a plantain leaf placed over
the lines. The cocoanut is broken, and its kernel cut out in rings,
each of which is put over the effigy, which is then placed recumbent
on the plantain leaf. Round the mound, strings of jungle leaves are
placed. Next the elder drives a pole into the spot where the chest of
the dead person would be, and it is said that the pole must touch the
chest. On one side of the pole the tender cocoanut is cut and placed,
and on the other a shell containing some toddy. Then a little copper
ring is tied on to the top of the pole, oil from a shell is poured over
the ring, and the water from the tender cocoanut and toddy are in turn
similarly poured. After this mystic rite, the Kalladi starts a mournful
dirge in monotone, and the other actors in the solemn ceremony join
in the chorus. The chant tells of the darkness and the nothingness
that were before the creation of the world, and unfolds a fanciful
tale of how the world came to be created. The chant has the weird
refrain Oh! ho! Oh! ho. On its conclusion, the effigy is left at the
head of the grave, but the Kalladi takes away the pole with him. The
performers bathe and return to the house of mourning, where the Kalladi
gets into a state of afflation. The spirit of the departed enters into
him, and speaks through him, telling the mourners that he is happy,
and does not want them to grieve over much for him. The Kalladi then
enters the house, and, putting a heap of earth in the corner of the
centre room, digs the pole into it. A light is brought and placed
there, as also some toddy, a tender cocoanut, and parched rice. The
spirit of the deceased, speaking again through the Kalladi, thanks
his people for their gifts, and beseeches them to think occasionally
of him, and make him periodical offerings. The assembly then indulge
in a feed. Rice and paddy are mixed together and divided into two
portions, to one of which eight quarter-annas, and to the other twelve
quarter-annas are added. The latter share falls to the Avakasi, while
from the former the mixture and one quarter-anna go to the Kalladi,
and a quarter-anna to each of the nearest relatives. The basket which
had been hung up earlier in the day is taken down and thrown away,
and the jenmi's spade is returned to him." [37]
It is noted by Mr. Logan that "the Cherumans, like other classes,
observe death pollution. But, as they cannot at certain seasons afford
to be idle for fourteen days consecutively, they resort to an artifice
to obtain this end. They mix cow-dung and paddy, and make it into a
ball, and place the ball in an earthen pot, the mouth of which they
carefully close with clay. The pot is laid in a corner of the hut, and,
as long as it remains unopened, they remain free from pollution, and
can mix among their fellows. On a convenient day they open the pot,
and are instantly seized with pollution, which continues for forty
days. Otherwise fourteen days consecutive pollution is all that is
required. On the forty-first or fifteenth day, as the case may be,
rice is thrown to the ancestors, and a feast follows."
The following account of the death ceremonies is given by
Mr. Anantha Krishna Iyer. "When a Pulayan is dead, the castemen in
the neighbourhood are informed. An offering is made to the Kodungallur
Bhagavati, who is believed by the Pulayas to watch over their welfare,
and is regarded as their ancestral deity. Dead bodies are generally
buried. The relatives, one by one, bring a new piece of cloth,
with rice and paddy tied at its four corners, for throwing over the
corpse. The cloth is placed thereon, and they cry aloud three times,
beating their breasts, after which they retire. A few Parayas are
invited to beat drums, and play on their musical instruments--a
performance which is continued for an hour or two. After this, a few
bits of plantain leaves, with rice flour and paddy, are placed near
the corpse, to serve as food for the spirit of the dead. The bier is
carried to the graveyard by six bearers, three on each side. The pit
is dug, and the body covered with a piece of cloth. After it has been
lowered into it, the pit is filled in with earth. Twenty-one small
bits of leaves are placed over the grave, above the spot where the
mouth of the dead man is, with a double-branched twig fixed to the
centre, a cocoanut is cut open, and its water is allowed to flow in
the direction of the twig which represents the dead man's mouth. Such
of the members of the family as could not give him kanji (rice gruel)
or boiled rice before death, now give it to him. The six coffin-bearers
prostrate themselves before the corpse, three on each side of the
grave. The priest then puts on it a ripe and tender cocoanut for the
spirit of the dead man to eat and drink. Then all go home, and indulge
in toddy and aval (beaten rice). The priest gets twelve measures of
rice, the grave-diggers twelve annas, the Vallon two annas, and the
coffin-bearers each an anna. The son or nephew is the chief mourner,
who erects a mound of earth on the south side of the hut, and uses
it as a place of worship. For seven days, both morning and evening,
he prostrates himself before it, and sprinkles the water of a tender
cocoanut on it. On the eighth day, his relatives, friends, the Vallon,
and the devil-driver assemble together. The devil-driver turns round
and blows his conch, and finds out the position of the ghost, whether
it has taken up its abode in the mound, or is kept under restraint by
some deity. Should the latter be the case, the ceremony of deliverance
has to be performed, after which the spirit is set up as a household
deity. The chief mourner bathes early in the morning, and offers
a rice-ball (pinda bali) to the departed spirit. This he continues
for fifteen days. On the morning of the sixteenth day, the members of
the family bathe to free themselves from pollution, and their enangan
cleans the hut and the compound by sweeping and sprinkling water mixed
with cow-dung. He also sprinkles the members of the family, as they
return after the bath. The chief mourner gets shaved, bathes, and
returns to the hut. Some boiled rice, paddy, and pieces of cocoanut,
are placed on a plantain leaf, and the chief mourner, with the members
of his family, calls on the spirit of the dead to take them. Then
they all bathe, and return home. The castemen, who have assembled
there by invitation, are sumptuously fed. The chief mourner allows
his hair to grow as a sign of mourning (diksha), and, after the expiry
of the year, a similar feast is given to the castemen."
The Cherumans are said by Mr. Gopal Panikkar to "worship certain
gods, who are represented by rude stone images. What few ceremonies
are in force amongst them are performed by priests selected from
their own ranks, and these priests are held in great veneration
by them. They kill cocks as offerings to these deities, who are
propitiated by the pouring on some stones placed near them of the
fresh blood that gushes from the necks of the birds." The Cherumans
are further said to worship particular sylvan gods, garden deities,
and field goddesses. In a note on cannibalism, [38] the writer states
that "some sixteen years ago a Nair was murdered in Malabar by some
Cherumans. The body was mutilated, and, on my asking the accused (who
freely confessed their crime) why had this been done? they answered
'Tinnal papam tirum, i.e., if one eats, the sin will cease'." It is
a common belief among various castes of Hindus that one may kill,
provided it is done for food, and this is expressed in the proverb
Konnapavam thinnal thirum, or the sin of killing is wiped away by
eating. The Cheruman reply probably referred only to the wreaking of
vengeance, and consequent satisfaction, which is often expressed by
the lower classes in the words pasi thirndadu, or hunger is satisfied.
Concerning the religion of the Pulayas, Mr. Anantha Krishna Iyer writes
as follows. "The Pulayas are animists, but are slowly coming on to
the higher forms of worship. Their gods are Parakutty, Karinkutty,
Chathan, and the spirits of their ancestors. Offerings to these gods
are given on Karkadaka and Makara Sankrantis, Onam, Vishu, and other
auspicious days, when one of the Pulayas present turns Velichapad
(oracle), and speaks to the assembly as if by inspiration. They are
also devout worshippers of Kali or Bhagavati, whose aid is invoked
in all times of danger and illness. They take part in the village
festivals celebrated in honour of her. Kodungallur Bhagavati is their
guardian deity. The deity is represented by an image or stone on a
raised piece of ground in the open air. Their priest is one of their
own castemen, and, at the beginning of the new year, he offers to the
goddess fowls, fruits, and toddy. The Pulayas also believe that spirits
exercise an influence over the members of their families, and therefore
regular offerings are given to them every year on Sankranti days. The
chief festivals in which the Pulayas take part are the following:--
1. Pooram Vela.--This, which may be described as the Saturnalia
of Malabar, is an important festival held at the village Bhagavati
temple. It is a festival, in which the members of all castes below
Brahmans take part. It takes place either in Kumbham (February-March),
or Meenam (March-April). The Cherumas of the northern part, as well
as the Pulayas of the southern parts of the State, attend the festival
after a sumptuous meal and toddy drinking, and join the procession. Toy
horses are made, and attached to long bamboo poles, which are carried
to the neighbourhood of the temple. As they go, they leap and dance
to the accompaniment of pipe and drum. One among them who acts as a
Velichapad (devil-dancer) goes in front of them, and, after a good deal
of dancing and loud praying in honour of the deity, they return home.
2. Vittu Iduka.--This festival consists in putting seeds, or bringing
paddy seeds to the temple of the village Bhagavati. This also is
an important festival, which is celebrated on the day of Bharani,
the second lunar day in Kumbham. Standing at a distance assigned to
them by the village authorities, where they offer prayers to Kali,
they put the paddy grains, which they have brought, on a bamboo mat
spread in front of them, after which they return home. In the Chittur
taluk, there is a festival called Kathiru, celebrated in honour of
the village goddess in the month of Vrischikam (November-December),
when these people start from the farms of their masters, and go in
procession, accompanied with the music of pipe and drum. A special
feature of the Kathiru festival is the presence, at the temple of the
village goddess, of a large number of dome-like structures made of
bamboo and plantain stems, richly ornamented, and hung with flowers,
leaves, and ears of corn. These structures are called sarakootams, and
are fixed on a pair of parallel bamboo poles. These agrestic serfs bear
them in grand processions, starting from their respective farms, with
pipe and drum, shouting and dancing, and with fireworks. Small globular
packets of palmyra leaves, in which are packed handfuls of paddy rolled
up in straw, are also carried by them in huge bunches, along with the
sarakootams. These packets are called kathirkootoos (collection of
ears of corn), and are thrown among the crowd of spectators all along
the route of the procession, and also on arrival at the temple. The
spectators, young and old, scramble to obtain as many of the packets
as possible, and carry them home. They are then hung in front of the
houses, for it is believed that their presence will help in promoting
the prosperity of the family until the festival comes round again next
year. The greater the number of these trophies obtained for a family by
its members, the greater, it is believed, will be the prosperity of the
family. The festival is one of the very few occasions on which Pulayas
and other agrestic serfs, who are supposed to impart, so to speak,
a long distant atmospheric pollution, are freely allowed to enter
villages, and worship in the village temples, which generally occupy
central positions in the villages. Processions carrying sarakootams
and kathirkootoos start from the several farms surrounding the village
early enough to reach the temple about dusk in the evening, when the
scores of processions that have made their way to the temple merge
into one great concourse of people. The sarakootams are arranged in
beautiful rows in front of the village goddess. The Cherumas dance,
sing, and shout to their hearts content. Bengal lights are lighted,
and fireworks exhibited. Kathirkootoos are thrown by dozens and scores
from all sides of the temple. The crowd then disperses. All night,
the Pulayas and other serfs, who have accompanied the procession to
the temple, are, in the majority of cases, fed by their respective
masters at their houses, and then all go back to the farms.
3. Mandalam Vilakku.--This is a forty-one days' festival in Bhagavati
temples, extending from the first of Vrischikam (November-December)
to the tenth of Dhanu (December-January), during which temples are
brightly illuminated both inside and outside at night. There is much
music and drum-beating at night, and offerings of cooked peas or
Bengal gram, and cakes, are made to the goddess, after which they are
distributed among those present. The forty-first day, on which the
festival terminates, is one of great celebration, when all castemen
attend at the temple. The Cherumas, Malayars, and Eravallars attend
the festival in Chittur. They also attend the Konga Pata festival
there. In rural parts of the State, a kind of puppet show performance
(olapava koothu) is acted by Kusavans (potters) and Tamil Chettis,
in honour of the village deity, to which they contribute their share
of subscription. They also attend the cock festival of Cranganore,
and offer sacrifices of fowls."
For the following note on the religion of the Pulayas of Travancore,
I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Iyer. "The Pulayas worship
the spirits of deceased ancestors, known as Chavars. The Matan,
and the Anchu Tamprakkal, believed by the better informed section
of the caste to be the five Pandavas, are specially adored. The
Pulayas have no temples, but raise squares in the midst of groves,
where public worship is offered. Each Pulaya places three leaves
near each other, containing raw rice, beaten rice, and the puveri
(flowers) of the areca palm. He places a flower on each of these
leaves, and prays with joined hands. Chavars are the spirits of
infants, who are believed to haunt the earth, harassed by a number of
unsatisfied cravings. This species of supernatural being is held in
mingled respect and terror by Pulayas, and worshipped once a year with
diverse offerings. Another class of deities is called Tevaratumpuran,
meaning gods whom high caste Hindus are in the habit of worshipping
at Parassalay; the Pulayas are given certain special concessions on
festival days. Similar instances may be noted at Ochira, Kumaranallur,
and Nedumangad. At the last mentioned shrine, Mateer writes, [39]
'where two or three thousand people, mostly Sudras and Izhuvas, attend
for the annual festival in March, one-third of the whole are Parayas,
Kuravas, Vedars, Kanikkars, and Pulayas, who come from all parts
around. They bring with them wooden models of cows, neatly hung over,
and covered, in imitation of shaggy hair, with ears of rice. Many
of these images are brought, each in a separate procession from its
own place. The headmen are finely dressed with cloths stained purple
at the edge. The image is borne on a bamboo frame, accompanied by a
drum, and men and women in procession, the latter wearing quantities
of beads, such as several strings of red, then several of white,
or strings of beads, and then a row of brass ornaments like rupees,
and all uttering the Kurava cry. These images are carried round the
temple, and all amuse themselves for the day.' By far the most curious
of the religious festivals of the Pulayas is what is known as the Pula
Saturday in Makaram (January-February) at Sastamkotta in the Kunnattur
taluk. It is an old observance, and is most religiously gone through
by the Pulayas every year. The Valluvan, or caste priest, leads the
assembled group to the vicinity of the banyan tree in front of the
temple, and offerings of a diverse nature, such as paddy, roots,
plantain fruits, game, pulse, coins, and golden threads are most
devoutly made. Pulayas assemble for this ceremony from comparatively
distant places. A deity, who is believed to be the most important
object of worship among the Pulayas, is Utaya Tampuran, by which name
they designate the rising sun. Exorcism and spirit-dancing are deeply
believed in, and credited with great remedial virtues. The Kokkara,
or iron rattle, is an instrument that is freely used to drive out evil
spirits. The Valluvan who offers animal sacrifices becomes immediately
afterwards possessed, and any enquiries may be put to him without it
being at all difficult for him to furnish a ready answer. In North
Travancore, the Pulayas have certain consecrated buildings of their
own, such as Kamancheri, Omkara Bhagavathi, Yakshi Ampalam, Pey Koil,
and Valiyapattu Muttan, wherein the Valluvan performs the functions
of priesthood. The Pulayas believe in omens. To see another Pulaya,
to encounter a Native Christian, to see an Izhuva with a vessel in
the hand, a cow behind, a boat containing rice or paddy sacks, etc.,
are regarded as good omens. On the other hand, to be crossed by a cat,
to see a fight between animals, to be encountered by a person with a
bundle of clothes, to meet people carrying steel instruments, etc.,
are looked upon as very bad omens. The lizard is not believed to be
a prophet, as it is by members of the higher castes."
Concerning the caste government of the Pulayas of Travancore,
Mr. Subramania Iyer writes as follows. "The Ayikkara Yajamanan,
or Ayikkara Tamara (king) is the head of the Pulaya community. He
lives at Vayalar in the Shertalley taluk in North Travancore, and
takes natural pride in a lace cap, said to have been presented to one
of his ancestors by the great Cheraman Perumal. Even the Parayas of
North Travancore look upon him as their legitimate lord. Under the
Tamara are two nominal headmen, known as Tatteri Achchan and Mannat
Koil Vallon. It is the Ayikkara Tamara who appoints the Valluvans, or
local priests, for every kara, for which they are obliged to remunerate
him with a present of 336 chuckrams. The Pulayas still keep accounts in
the earliest Travancorean coins (chuckrams). The Valluvan always takes
care to obtain a written authority from the Tamara, before he begins
his functions. For every marriage, a sum of 49 chuckrams and four
mulikkas [40] have to be given to the Tamara, and eight chuckrams and
one mulikka to the Valluvan. The Valluvan receives the Tamara's dues,
and sends them to Vayalar once or twice a year. Beyond the power of
appointing Valluvans and other office-bearers, the authority of the
Tamara extends but little. The Valluvans appointed by him prefer to
call themselves Head Valluvans, as opposed to the dignitaries appointed
in ancient times by temple authorities and other Brahmans, and have a
general supervising power over the Pulayas of the territory that falls
under their jurisdiction. Every Valluvan possesses five privileges,
viz., (1) the long umbrella, or an umbrella with a long bamboo
handle; (2) the five-coloured umbrella; (3) the bracelet of honour;
(4) a long gold ear-ring; (5) a box for keeping betel leaves. They
are also permitted to sit on stools, to make use of carpets, and to
employ kettle-drums at marriage ceremonials. The staff of the Valluvan
consists of (1) the Kuruppan or accountant, who assists the Valluvan
in the discharge of his duties; (2) the Komarattan or exorciser; (3)
the Kaikkaran or village representative; (4) the Vatikkaran, constable
or sergeant. The Kuruppan has diverse functions to perform, such as
holding umbrellas, and cutting cocoanuts from trees, on ceremonial
occasions. The Vatikkaran is of special importance at the bath that
succeeds a Pulaya girl's first menses. Adultery is looked upon as the
most heinous of offences, and used to be met with condign punishment
in times of old. The woman was required to thrust her hand into a
vessel of boiling oil, and the man was compelled to pay a fine of
336 or 64 chuckrams, according as the woman with whom he connected
himself was married or not, and was cast out of society after a most
cruel rite called Ariyum Pirayum Tittukka, the precise nature of which
does not appear to be known. A married woman is tried by the Valluvan
and other officers, when she shows disobedience to her husband."
It is noted by Mr. Anantha Krishna Iyer, that, "in the Palghat
taluk of South Malabar, it is said that the Cherumas in former times
used to hold grand meetings for cases of theft, adultery, divorce,
etc., at Kannati Kutti Vattal. These assemblies consisted of the
members of their caste in localities between Valayar forests and
Karimpuzha (in Valluvanad taluk), and in those between the northern
and southern hills. It is also said that their deliberations used to
last for several days together. In the event of anybody committing a
crime, the punishment inflicted on him was a fine of a few rupees,
or sometimes a sound thrashing. To prove his innocence, a man had
to swear 'By Kannati Swarupam (assembly) I have not done it.' It was
held so sacred that no Cheruman who had committed a crime would swear
falsely by this assembly. As time went on, they found it difficult
to meet, and so left off assembling together."
In connection with the amusements of the Pulayas, Mr. Anantha Krishna
Iyer writes that "their games appear to be connected in some way with
their religious observances. Their favourite dance is the kole kali,
or club dance. A party of ten or twelve men, provided with sticks,
each a yard in length, stand in a circle, and move round, striking
at the sticks, keeping time with their feet, and singing at the same
time. The circle is alternately widened and narrowed. Vatta kali
is another wild dance. This also requires a party of ten or twelve
men, and sometimes young women join them. The party move in a circle,
clapping their hands while they sing a kind of rude song. In thattinmel
kali, four wooden poles are firmly stuck in the ground, two of which
are connected by two horizontal pieces of wood, over which planks are
arranged. A party of Pulayas dance on the top of this, to the music
of their pipe and drum. This is generally erected in front of the
Bhagavati temple, and the dancing takes place immediately after the
harvest. This is intended to propitiate the goddess. Women perform
a circular dance on the occasions of marriage celebrations."
The Cherumas and Pulayas are, like the Koragas of South Canara, short
of stature, and dark-skinned. The most important measurements of the
Cherumans whom I investigated at Calicut were as follows:--
========================================================
| Stature, cm. | Nasal index. |Cephalic index.
+--------------+---------------+---------------
| Average. | Average. | Average.
---------+--------------+---------------+---------------
Males | 157.5 | 78.1 | 73.9
Females | 147.8 | 77. | 74.8
========================================================
Cheruppu-katti (shoemaker).--Said to be a Malayalam synonym for Madiga.
Chetti.--It is noted in the Census Report, 1891, that "the name Chetti
is used both to denote a distinct caste, and also a title, and people
bearing this title describe themselves loosely as belonging to the
Chetti caste, in the same way as a Vellala will say that he is a
Mudali. This use of Chetti has caused some confusion in the returns,
for the sub-divisions show that many other castes have been included
as well as Chetti proper." Again, in the Census Report, 1901, it
is recorded that "Chetti means trader, and is one of those titular
or occupational terms, which are often loosely employed as caste
names. The weavers, oil pressers, and others use it as a title, and
many more tack it on to their names, to denote that trade is their
occupation. Strictly employed, it is nevertheless, the name of a
true caste." The Chettis are so numerous, and so widely distributed,
that their many sub-divisions differ very greatly in their ways. The
best known of them are the Beri Chettis, the Nagarattu Chettis, the
Kasukkar Chettis, and the Nattukottai Chettis. Of these, the Beri and
Nattukottai Chettis are dealt with in special articles. The following
divisions of Chettis, inhabiting the Madura district, are recorded
in my notes:--
(a) Men with head clean-shaved:--
Ilavagai or Karnakudi.
Sundaraththan.
Ariyur.
Malampatti.
Palayapattu.
Thedakottai.
Periyakottai-vellan.
Puliyangudi.
Vallam or Tiruvappur.
Kurungalur.
(b) Men with kudumi (hair knot):--
Puvaththukudi or Mannagudi.
Kiramangalam.
Vallanattu.
Marayakkara.
Pandukudi or Manjapaththu.
Of these, the Puvaththukudi Chettis, who receive their name from a
village in the Tanjore district, are mostly itinerant petty traders
and money-lenders, who travel about the country. They carry on their
shoulders a bag containing their personal effects, except when they
are cooking and sleeping. I am informed that the Puvaththukudi women
engage women, presumably with a flow of appropriate language ready
for the occasion, to abuse those with whom they have a quarrel. Among
the Puvaththukudi Chettis, marriages are, for reasons of economy,
only celebrated at intervals of many years. Concerning this custom,
a member of the community writes to me as follows. "In our village,
marriages are performed only once in ten or fifteen years. My own
marriage was celebrated in the year Nandana (1892-93). Then seventy
or eighty marriages took place. Since that time, marriages have only
taken place in the present year (1906). The god at Avadaiyar kovil
(temple) is our caste god. For marriages, we must receive from
that temple garlands, sandal, and palanquins. We pay to the temple
thirty-five rupees for every bridegroom through our Nagaraththar
(village headmen). The expenses incurred in connection with the
employment of washermen, barbers, nagasaram (musical instrument)
players, talayaris (watchmen), carpenters, potters, blacksmiths,
gurukkals (priests), and garland-makers, are borne collectively and
shared by the families in which marriages are to take place." Another
Chetti writes that this system of clubbing marriages together is
practised at the villages of Puvaththukudi and Mannagudi, and that
the marriages of all girls of about seven years of age and upwards are
celebrated. The marriages are performed in batches, and the marriage
season lasts over several months.
Palayasengadam in the Trichinopoly district is the head-quarters of a
section of the Chettis called the Pannirendam (twelfth) Chettis. "These
are supposed to be descended from eleven youths who escaped long
ago from Kaveripatnam, a ruined city in Tanjore. A Chola king, says
the legend, wanted to marry a Chetti; whereupon the caste set fire
to the town, and only these eleven boys escaped. They rested on the
Ratnagiri hill to divide their property; but however they arranged it,
it always divided itself into twelve shares instead of eleven. The
god of Ratnagiri then appeared, and asked them to give him one share
in exchange for a part of his car. They did so, and they now call
themselves the twelfth Chettis from the number of the shares, and at
their marriages they carry the bridegroom round in a car. They are
said to be common in Coimbatore district." [41]
At the census, 1871, some of the less fortunate traders returned
themselves as "bankrupt Chettis."
The following castes and tribes are recorded as having assumed the
title Chetti, or its equivalent Setti:--
Balija. Telugu trading caste.
Bant. Tulu cultivating caste.
Bilimagga, Devanga, Patnulkaran, Saliyan, Sedan, Seniyan. All
weaving classes.
Dhobi. Oriya washermen.
Ganiga. Oil pressers.
Gamalla. Telugu toddy-drawers.
Gauda. Canarese cultivators.
Gudigar. Canarese wood-carvers.
Jain.
Janappan. Said to have been originally a section of the Balijas,
and manufacturers of gunny-bags.
Kavarai. Tamil equivalent of Balija.
Komati. Telugu traders.
Koracha. A nomad tribe.
Kudumi. A Travancore caste, which does service in the houses of
Konkani Brahmans.
Mandadan Chetti.
Medara. Telugu cane splitters and mat makers.
Nayar. Occupational title of some Nayars of Malabar.
Pattanavan. Tamil fishermen.
Pattapu. Fishermen in the Telugu country.
Senaikkudaiyan. Tamil betel-vine growers and traders.
Shanan. The great toddy-drawing class of the Tamil country.
Sonar. Goldsmiths.
Toreya. Canarese fishermen.
Uppiliyan. Salt-workers. Some style themselves Karpura (camphor)
Chetti, because they used to manufacture camphor.
Vaniyan. Tamil oil-pressers.
Wynaadan Chetti.
Of proverbs relating to Chettis, [42] the following may be quoted:--
He who thinks before he acts is a Chetti, but he who acts without
thinking is a fool.
When the Chetti dies, his affairs will become public.
She keeps house like a merchant caste woman, i.e., economically.
Though ruined, a Chetti is a Chetti, and, though torn, silk is
still silk.
The Chetti reduced the amount of advance, and the weaver the
quantity of silk in the border of the cloth.
From his birth a Chetti is at enmity with agriculture.
In a note on secret trade languages Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao writes
as follows. [43] "The most interesting of these, perhaps, is that
spoken by petty shopkeepers and cloth merchants of Madras, who
are mostly Moodellys and Chettis by caste. Their business mostly
consists in ready-money transactions, and so we find that they have
a regular table of numerals. Numbers one to ten have been given
definite names, and they have been so long in use that most of them
do not understand the meaning of the terms they use. Thus madi (mind)
stands for one, mind being always represented in the Hindu shastras
as a single thing. Vene (act or deed) stands for two, for vene is
of two kinds only, nalvene and thivene or good and bad acts. Konam
(quality) stands for three, since three different sorts of qualities
are recognised in Hindu metaphysics. These are rajasam, thamasam,
and sathmikam. Shuruthi stands for four, for the Srutis or Vedas are
four in numbers. Sara (arrow) stands for five, after Panchasara, the
five-arrowed, a well-known name of Manmatha, the Indian Cupid. Matha
represents six, after the shan mathams or six systems of Hindu
philosophy. There stands for seven, after the seven oceans recognised
by the Sanskrit geographers. Giri (mountain) represents eight, since
it stands for ashtagiri or the eight mountains of the Hindus. Mani
stands for nine, after navamani, the nine different sorts of precious
stones recognised by the Hindus. Thisai represents ten, from the
ten points of the compass. The common name for rupee is velle or the
white thing. Thangam velle stands for half a rupee, pinji velle for
a quarter of a rupee, and pu velle for an eighth of a rupee. A fanam
(or 1-1/4 annas) is known as shulai. The principal objects with which
those who use this language have to deal with are padi or measure,
velle or rupee, and madi ana, one anna, so that madi padi means one
measure, madi velle one rupee, and madi ana one anna. Similarly with
the rest of the numerals. The merchants of Trichinopoly have nearly
the same table of numerals, but the names for the fractions of a rupee
vary considerably. Mundri ana is, with them, one anna; e ana is two
annas; pu ana is four annas; pani ana is eight annas and muna ana
is twelve annas. Among them also velle stands for a rupee. They have
besides another table of numerals in use, which is curious as being
formed by certain letters of the Tamil alphabet. Thus pina stands
for one, lana for two, laina for three, yana for four, lina for
five, mana for six, vana for seven, nana for eight, thina for nine,
and thuna for ten. These letters have been strung into the mnemonic
phrase Pillayalam Vanthathu, which literally means 'the children have
come'. This table is also used in connection with measures, rupees,
and annas. Dealers in coarse country-made cloths all over Madras
and the Chingleput district have a table of their own. It is a very
complete one from one pie to a thousand rupees. Occasionally Hindu
merchants are found using a secret language based on Hindustani. This
is the case in one part of Madras city. With them pav khane stands
for one anna, ada khane for two annas, pavak ruppe for one rupee,
and so on. Brokers have terms of their own. The Tamil phrase padiya
par, when used by them, means ask less or say less, according as
it is addressed to the purchaser or seller. Similarly, mudukka par
means ask a higher price. When a broker says Sivan thambram, it is to
be inferred that the price given out by the seller includes his own
brokerage. Telugu brokers have similar terms. Among them, the phrase
Malasu vakkadu and Nasi vakkadu denote respectively increase the rate,
and decrease the rate stated."
Chevvula (ears).--An exogamous sept of Boya and Golla.
Cheyyakkaran.--A Malayalam form of the Canarese Servegara.
Chikala (broom).--An exogamous sept of Tottiyan.
Chikka (small).--A sub-division of Kurni.
Chikkudu (Dolichos Lablab).--An exogamous sept of Muka Dora.
Chilakala (paroquet).--An exogamous sept of Boya, Kapu and Yanadi.
Chilla (Strychnos potatorum: clearing-nut tree).--An exogamous sept
of Kuruba, and sub-division of Tottiyan.
Chimala (ant).--An exogamous sept of Boya and Tsakala.
Chimpiga (tailor).--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as
a Lingayat sub-caste of Rangari. In the Mysore Census Report, 1901,
Darjis are classified as follows:--"(1) Darji, Chippiga, or Namdev;
(2) Rangare." The first three, known by the collective name of Darji,
are professional tailors, while the Rangares are also dyers and
calico printers.
Chimpiri (rags).--An exogamous sept of Boya.
Chinerigadu.--A class of mendicants connected with the Padma
Sales. (See Devanga.)
Chinda.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a small
caste of Oriya cultivators in Ganjam and Vizagapatam.
Chinese-Tamil Cross.--Halting in the course of an anthropological
expedition on the western side of the Nilgiri plateau, I came across
a small settlement of Chinese, who have squatted for some time on
the slopes of the hills between Naduvatam and Gudalur and developed,
as the result of alliances with Tamil Pariah women, into a colony,
earning a modest livelihood by cultivating vegetables and coffee.
The original Chinese who arrived on the Nilgiris were convicts from the
Straits Settlement, where there was no sufficient prison accommodation,
who were confined in the Nilgiri jail. It is recorded [44] that, in
1868, twelve of the Chinamen "broke out during a very stormy night,
and parties of armed police were sent out to scour the hills for
them. They were at last arrested in Malabar a fortnight later. Some
police weapons were found in their possession, and one of the parties
of police had disappeared--an ominous circumstance. Search was made
all over the country for the party, and at length their four bodies
were found lying in the jungle at Walaghat, half way down the Sispara
ghat path, neatly laid out in a row with their severed heads carefully
placed on their shoulders."
The measurements of a single family are recorded in the following
table:--
========================================================================
| |Cephalic|Cephalic|Cephalic| Nasal | Nasal |Nasal
| |length. |breadth.| index. |height.|breadth.|index.
---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+-------+--------+-------
Tamil |Mother of | 18.1 | 13.9 | 76.8 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 78.7
Paraiyan.|children. | | | | | |
---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+-------+--------+-------
Chinese |Father of | 18.6 | 14.6 | 78.5 | 5.3 | 3.8 | 71.7
|children. | | | | | |
---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+-------+--------+-------
Chinese- |Girl, | 17.6 | 14.1 | 80.1 | 4.7 | 3.2 | 68.1
Tamil |aged 18 | | | | | |
---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+-------+--------+-------
Chinese- |Boy, | 18.1 | 14.3 | 79 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 71.7
Tamil |aged 10 | | | | | |
---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+-------+--------+-------
Chinese- |Boy, | 17 | 14 | 82.4 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 72.7
Tamil |aged 9 | | | | | |
---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+-------+--------+-------
Chinese- |Boy, | 17.1 | 13.7 | 80.1 | 4.1 | 2.8 | 68.3
Tamil |aged 5 | | | | | |
=========+==========+========+========+========+=======+========+=======
The father was a typical Chinaman, whose only grievance was that,
in the process of conversion to Christianity, he had been obliged
to "cut him tail off." The mother was a typical dark-skinned Tamil
Paraiyan. The colour of the children was more closely allied to the
yellowish tint of the father than to that of the mother; and the
semi-Mongol parentage was betrayed in the slant eyes, flat nose and
(in one case) conspicuously prominent cheek-bones.
To have recorded the entire series of measurements of the children
would have been useless for the purpose of comparison with those of
the parents, and I selected from my repertoire the length and breadth
of the head and nose, which plainly indicate the paternal influence
on the external anatomy of the offspring. The figures given in the
table bring out very clearly the great breadth, as compared with
the length, of the heads of all the children, and the resultant high
cephalic index. In other words, in one case a mesaticephalic (79),
and, in the remaining three cases, a sub-brachycephalic head (80.1;
80.1; 82.4) has resulted from the union of a mesaticephalic Chinaman
(78.5) with a sub-dolichocephalic Tamil Paraiyan (76.8). How great is
the breadth of the head in the children may be emphasised by noting
that the average head-breadth of the adult Tamil Paraiyan man is only
13.7 cm., whereas that of the three boys, aged ten, nine, and five
only, was 14.3, 14, and 13.7 cm. respectively.
Quite as strongly marked is the effect of paternal influence on the
character of the nose; the nasal index, in the case of each child
(68.1; 71.772; 7; 68.3), bearing a much closer relation to that of
the long-nosed father (71.7) than to the typical Paraiyan nasal index
of the broad-nosed mother (78.7).
It will be interesting to note hereafter what is the future of the
younger members of this quaint little colony, and to observe the
physical characters, temperament, fecundity, and other points relating
to the cross breed resulting from the blend of Chinese and Tamil.
Chinna (little).--A sub-division of Boya, Kunnuvan, Konda Dora,
Pattanavan, and Pattapu, and an exogamous sept of Mala. Chinna,
chinnam, and chinnada, denoting gold, occur as exogamous septs of
Kuruba, Padma Sale, Toreya, and Vakkaliga.
Chintala (tamarind: Tamarindus Indica).--An exogamous sept of Ghasi,
Golla, Madiga, and Mala. Chintyakula, or tamarind sept, occurs among
the Komatis; chintaginjala (tamarind seeds) as an exogamous sept of
Padma Sales, and of Panta Reddis, who may not touch or use the seeds;
and Chintakai or Chintakayala (tamarind fruit) as an exogamous sept
of Boyas and Devangas.
Chirla (woman's cloth).--An exogamous sept of Kamma.
Chitikan.--A synonym of Maran, indicating one whose occupation relates
to the funeral pyre. A Chitikan, for example, performs the funeral
rites for the Mussads.
Chiti Karnam.--A name of the Oriya Karnam caste. A vulgar form of
Sresta Karnam (Sreshto Korono).
Chitra Ghasi.--The Chitra Ghasis, for the following note on whom I
am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao, are a class of artisans, whose
name, meaning Ghasis who make artistic things, bears reference to
their occupation. They are employed in the manufacture of brass and
bell-metal jewelry, such as is largely worn by the tribes inhabiting
the Jeypore Agency tracts, and are generally found attached to Kond
and Savara villages. They are a polluting class, and their dwellings
are consequently situated at some distance from the huts of the
villagers. Their language is a corrupt form of Oriya.
Girls are usually married after puberty. A man can claim his paternal
aunt's daughter in marriage. When such a marriage is contemplated,
his parents take a little rice and a pot of liquor to the home of
the paternal aunt. If they are accepted, it is taken as a sign
that the match is agreed to, and the jholla tonka (bride-price)
of twelve rupees is paid. After some time has elapsed, the bride is
conducted to the home of her future husband, and the marriage is there
celebrated. A younger brother may marry the widow of an elder brother,
and, if such a woman contracts a marriage with some other man, her
second husband has to give a cow to the younger brother who has been
passed over. The dead are burnt, and death pollution is observed
for three days, during which the caste occupation is not carried
on. On the third day, the ashes are collected together, and a fowl
is killed. The ashes are then buried, or thrown into running water.
Chitrakara or Chitrakaro.--The Chitrakaros of Ganjam, who are a class
of Oriya painters (chitra, painting), are returned in the Census
Report, 1901, as a sub-caste of Muchi. In the Mysore Census Report,
1891, the Chitragaras are said to be "also called Bannagara of the
Rachevar (or Raju) caste. They are painters, decorators and gilders,
and make trunks, palanquins, 'lacquer' toys and wooden images for
temples, cars, etc." At Channapatna in Mysore, I interviewed a Telugu
Chitrakara, who was making toys out of the white wood of Wrightia
tinctoria. The wood was turned on a primitive lathe, consisting of
two steel spikes fixed into two logs of wood on the ground. Seated on
the floor in front of his lathe, the artisan chucked the wood between
the spikes, and rotated it by means of a bow held in the right hand,
whereof the string was passed round the wood. The chisel was held
between the sole of the right foot and palm of the left hand. Colours
and varnish were applied to the rotating toy with sticks of paint like
sealing-wax, and strips of palm leaf smeared with varnish. In addition
to the turned toys, models of fruits were made from mud and sawdust,
cane cradles made by Medaras were painted and idols manufactured
for the Holi festival at Bangalore, and the figure of Sidi Viranna
for the local pseudo-hook-swinging ceremony. The Chitrakaras, whom
I saw at Tumkur, had given up making toys, as it did not pay. They
manufacture big wooden idols (grama devata), e.g., Ellamma and
Mariamma, and vehicles for various deities in the shape of bulls,
snakes, peacocks, lions, tigers, and horses. They further make painted
figures of Lakshmi, and heads of Gauri, the wife of Siva, decorated
with gold-leaf jewels, which are worshipped by Brahmans, Vakkaligas,
Komatis, and others at the annual Gauri puja; and mandahasa (god
houses) with pillars carved with figures of Narasimha and conventional
designs. These mandahasas serve as a receptacle for the household gods
(salagrama stone, lingam, etc.), which are worshipped daily by Smarta
and Madhva Brahmans. These Chitrakaras claimed to be Suryavamsam,
or of the lunar race of Kshatriyas, and wear the sacred thread.
Chitravaliar.--A synonym of Alavan.
Chogan.--See Izhava.
Cholapuram or Sholavaram.--A sub-division of Chetti.
Choliya Pattar.--A name for Pattar Brahmans in Malabar.
Chondi.--See Sondi.
Choutagara.--A corrupt form of Chaptegara.
Chovatton.--Priests of Muttans and Tarakans.
Chuditiya.--See Kevuto.
Chunam (lime).--A sub-division of Toreyas, who are manufacturers of
lime. Chunam, made from calcined shells, limestone, etc., is largely
used for building purposes, and the chunam plaster of Madras has been
long celebrated for its marble-like polish. Chunam is also chewed
with betel.
Chuvano.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a small
Oriya cultivating caste, supposed to be of Kshatriya parentage.
D
Daindla.--The name, denoting those who hid or ran away, of a
sub-division of Mala.
Daivampati.--Recorded in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a
caste included among Ambalavasis, and a sub-division of Nayar.
Dakkala.--Dakkala or Dakkali is the name of a class of mendicants who
beg from Madigas only. In the Kurnool district they are said to have
divided the district with the Mushtis, and not to beg except within
their own limits.
The following story is told as regards the origin of the Dakkalas. A
smith was asked to make a bottu (marriage badge) for Siva's wedding,
and for this purpose required bellows, fire-pot, hammer, etc. Jambuvadu
called his eldest son, and prepared the various implements from sundry
parts of the body, except the backbone. Being highly pleased at this,
the gods endowed the backbone with life, and the son went to his father
Jambuvadu, who failed to recognise him, and refused to admit him. He
was told that he must live as a beggar attached to the Madigas, and
was called Dakkala because he was brought to life from a vertebral
column (dakka).
The Dakkalas wander from place to place. They may not enter Madiga
houses, outside which meals are given to them by males only, as
females are not allowed to serve them. Madiga women may not tread on
the footsteps of the Dakkalas.
Dakku (fear).--An exogamous sept of Mala.
Dakni.--Dakni or Deccani is defined in the Madras Census Report,
1901, as "a territorial name meaning a Musalman of the Deccan;
also a name loosely applied to converts to Islam." In the Tanjore
district, Muhammadans who speak Hindustani, and claim pure Muhammadan
descent, are spoken of as Daknis or Dakanis. In other Tamil districts
they are called Patanigal, to distinguish them from Labbais and
Marakkayars. The Daknis follow the Muhammadan ritual except in
their marriages, which afford an example of a blend between Hindu and
Muhammadan ceremonials. Like Hindus, they erect, at times of marriage,
a milk-post of bamboo, to which are tied a two-anna piece, and a bit
of sugar-candy done up in a Turkey red cloth. The post is handed to
the headman, who decorates it with a garland of flowers and a roll of
betel, and places it in a hole made in the court-yard of the house,
wherein milk has been sprinkled. On the following day, two big pots
are placed near the milk-post, and filled with water by four married
couples. Around the pots, nine kinds of seed grains are sprinkled. On
the third day, the bridegroom's party proceeds to the house of the
bride with thirteen trays of betel, fruits, flowers, sandal paste,
and a paste made of turmeric and henna (Lawsonia alba) leaves. The
bride is decorated, and sits on a plank. Women smear the face and
hands of the bridal couple with the pastes, and one of them, or the
bridegroom's sister, ties a string of black beads round the bride's
neck. While this is being done, no one should sneeze. Wrist threads
(kankanam) are tied on the wrists of the bride and bridegroom. On
the fourth day, the nikka rite is celebrated, and the newly-married
couple sit together while the nalagu ceremony of smearing them with
sandal, and waving coloured water (arati), is performed. The two pots
containing water are kept for forty days, and then examined. If the
water remains sweet, and does not "teem with vermin," it is regarded as
a good omen. The seed grains, too, should by this time have developed
into healthy seedlings.
Dammula.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a small class
of Telugu beggars, and priests in the temples of village goddesses.
Dandasi.--The Dandasis are summed up in the Ganjam Manual as being
village watchmen, many of whom are great thieves. "It is curious,"
Mr. S. P. Rice writes, [45] "to find that the word Naiko [meaning
leader or chief], which is corrupted into the Telugu Naidu, is
the caste distinction of the lowest class, the village watcher
and professional thief. This man, for all that his cognomen is so
lofty, goes by the generic name of Dandasi. This word means worthy
of punishment, and assuredly no appellation ever fitted its owner
more completely than does this. He is the village policeman and the
village thief, a curious mixture of callings." According to other
versions, the name is derived from danda, a stick, and asi, sword,
from dandabadi, a stout bamboo stick, or from dandapasi, stick and
rope, in reference to the insignia of the Dandasi's office.
A large number of criminals, undergoing punishment in Ganjam for
robbery and thieving, are Dandasis. The members of the caste,
like the Tamil Kallans, believe that thieving is their traditional
occupation, and, as such, regard it as justifiable. There is a legend
that they adopted this occupation as their profession because their
ancestors assisted the Pandavas to escape from the lac fort which was
constructed by the Kurus with a view to killing them, by digging a
secret subterranean passage. According to another story, the Dandasis
are descended from the offspring of a clandestine amour of Krishna
with Dhuuthika, Radha's handmaid. The Dandasis perform an interesting
ceremony of initiation into the profession of thieving, when a child
is born. When it is three or five days old, the headman (Behara) is
invited to attend. A breach is made in the wall, or beneath the door
sill. Through this the infant is passed by the Behara three times, and
received by some members of the family. Each time the Behara repeats
the words "Enter, baby enter. May you excel your father!" The Dandasis,
when questioned concerning this custom, denied its existence, but some
admitted that it was carried out in former days. An old woman stated
that her grandchild was passed through a breach beneath the door,
but was not inclined to enter into details.
A number of exogamous septs occur among the Dandasis, of which the
following may be noted. Members of the Santarasi sept must avoid using
mats made of the sedge which goes by this name. Kilalendias avoid
touching the bamboo posts used by washermen to support the ropes on
which cloths are hung to dry. They sacrifice a pig and seven fowls to
their gods on the new-moon day, on which the head of a male child is
first shaved. Diyasis show special reverence for the sun, and cloths,
mokkutos (forehead chaplets), garlands, and other articles to be used
by the bride and bridegroom at a wedding, are placed outside the house,
so that they may be exposed to it. Members of the Ekopothiriya sept
are regarded as low in the social scale, and the following legend
is narrated to account for this. A Dandasi went, with his relations
and friends, to the house of a Dandasi of the Ekopothiriya sept,
to arrange a marriage. The guests were hospitably received, and the
prospective bride asked her father what kind of curry was going to
be served to them. He replied that barikolora (backyard Momordica)
[46] was to be cooked. This aroused the curiosity of some of the
guests, who went to the backyard, where, instead of Momordica, they
saw several blood-suckers (lizards) running about. They jumped to the
conclusion that these were what the host referred to as barikolora,
and all the guests took their departure. Ekopothiriyas will not
partake of food from the same plate as their grown-up children,
even if a married daughter comes on a visit to them.
The Dandasis worship various Takuranis (village deities), e.g.,
Sankaithuni, Kulladankuni, Kombesari and Kalimuki. The gods are
either represented temporarily by brass vessels, or permanently
by three masses of clay, into each of which a small bit of gold is
thrust. When Bassia (mahua) buds or mangoes are first eaten in their
season, a sacrifice is made, and a goat and fowl are killed before
the produce of the harvest is first partaken of.
The Dandasis have a headman, called Behara, who exercises authority
over several groups of villages, and each group is under a Nayako,
who is assisted by a Dondia. For every village there is a Bholloboya,
and, in some places, there is an officer, called Boda Mundi, appointed
by the Zamindar, to whom irregularities in the community have to be
reported. When a woman is delivered of a still-born child, the whole
family is under pollution for eleven days. The headman is then invited
to attend, and presents are given to him. He sprinkles water over
members of the family, and they are thereby freed from this pollution.
A certain portion of the property stolen by Dandasis is set apart for
the headman, and, like the Tamil Kallans and Maravans, they seem to
have a blackmailing system. If a Dandasi is engaged as a watchman,
property is safe, or, if stolen, is recovered and restored to its
owner.
Girls are married after puberty. A man may marry his maternal uncle's,
but not his paternal aunt's daughter. The marriage ceremonies
usually last three days, but are sometimes spread over seven days,
in imitation of the higher castes. On the day (gondo sono) before
the wedding day, seven new pots are brought from a potter's house,
and placed in a room. Seven women throw Zizyphus jujuba leaves over
them, and they are filled with water at a tank (pond). One of the pots
must be carried by the sister-in-law of the bridegroom. A brass vessel
is tied up, and worshipped. Towards evening, a fowl is sacrificed at
an 'ant' hill. The bridegroom is shaved on this day by his sister's
husband. Like other Oriya castes, the Dandasis collect water at seven
houses, but only from those of members of castes higher than their
own. The pot containing this water is hung up over the marriage dais
(bedi). On the wedding (bibha) day, the bridegroom sits on the dais,
with the bride, seated in her maternal uncle's lap or at his side, in
front of him. The headman, or some respected elder of the community,
places a betel nut cutter, on, or with some rice and betel nut between
the united hands of the contracting couple, and ties them together
with seven turns of a turmeric-dyed thread. He then announces that
... the granddaughter of ... and daughter of ... is united to ... the
grandson of ... and son of ... The parents of the bride and bridegroom
pour turmeric-water from a chank (Turbinella rapa) shell or leaf over
their united hands. The nut-cutter is removed by the bride's brother,
and, after striking the bridegroom, he goes away. The couple then play
with cowry (Cypræ arabica) shells, and, while they are so engaged,
the ends of their cloths are tied together, and the rice which is in
their hands is tied in a knot. When the play is finished, this knot
is untied, and the rice is measured in a small earthen pot, first on
behalf of the bride, and is pronounced to be all right. It is then
again measured, and said to have diminished in quantity. This gives
rise to jokes at the expense of the bridegroom, who is called a thief,
and other hard names. Those who imitate the ceremonial of the higher
castes make the bridegroom go away in feigned anger, after he has
broken the pot which is hanging over the dais. He is brought back by
his brother-in-law.
On the occasion of the first menstrual period, a girl is under
pollution for seven days. If she is engaged to be married, her future
father-in-law makes her a present of jewels and money on the seventh
day, and thereby confirms the marriage contract.
The dead are cremated. A widow accompanies the corpse of her husband
to the boundary of the village, carrying a ladle and pot, which she
throws down at the boundary, and returns home. On the day after the
funeral, the embers are extinguished, and an effigy of the deceased is
made on the spot where he was cremated, and food offered to it. Toddy
is distributed among those who have assembled at the house. On the
tenth day, food is offered on ten fragments of pots. On the eleventh
day, if the dead man was an important personage in the community, a
ceremony, corresponding to the jola jola handi of the higher castes,
is performed. A cloth is spread on the ground, on the spot where the
corpse was cremated, and the ground round it swept by women, whose
backs are turned towards the cloth, so that they cannot see it. Two
men, with swords or big knives, sit by the side of the cloth and
wait till an insect settles on the cloth. They then at once put the
swords or knives on the cloth, and, folding it up, place it on a new
winnowing-basket. It is taken home, placed on the floor, and connected
by means of a long thread with the household god (mass of clay or
vessel). It is then shaken near the god, so that the insect falls out.
Dandasi further occurs as a sub-division of the Kondras, the members
of which have taken to the profession of village watchmen.
Dandi (a staff).--A house name of Korava.
Dandu (army).--A sub-division of Idiga, and an exogamous sept of
Boya and Kapu. It has been suggested that the name is not Dandu but
Dande, meaning pole, in reference to the apparatus used by the Idigas
in climbing palm trees for the extraction of toddy. Dandu Agasa,
indicating army washerman, occurs as a name for some Maratha Dhobis in
Mysore, whose forefathers probably accompanied armies in times of war.
Dara (stream of water).--An exogamous sept of Mala.
Darabala.--Taken, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a sub-caste
of Mala. It is a common house-name among many Telugu castes.
Darala (thread).--An exogamous sept of Madiga.
Darzi.--Darzi or Darji is a Muhammadan occupational term, meaning
tailor. "The east," it has been said, [47] "now sews by machinery. The
name of Singer is known from the Mediterranean to the Pacific. In
every bazaar in India one may see men--they are always men, not
women--in turban or Mussalman cap, crouching over the needle-plate,
and working the pedals." The value of the imports of sewing-machines
rose, in British India, from Rs. 5,91,046 in 1901-02 to Rs. 10,06,625
in 1904-05.
Das.--The title of Jain immigrants from Northern India, most of whom
are established as merchants, and also of the Mahants of the Tirumala
(Tirupati) temple, e.g., Balaram Das, Bhagavan Das.
Dasari.--"Dasari or Tadan," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [48] "is a
mendicant caste of Vaishnavas, the reputed descendants of a wealthy
Sudra of one of the northern districts, who, being devoid of offspring,
vowed that, should he be blessed with children, he would devote one
to the service of his god. He subsequently had many sons, one of whom
he named Dasan (servant), and placed entirely at the service of the
deity. Dasan forfeited all claim to participate in his father's estate,
and his offspring are therefore all beggars.
"The caste, like that of the Satanis, is reinforced by idle members of
the lower Sudra classes, who, being branded by the gurus of Tirupati
and other shrines, become Dasaris thereby. They usually wander
about, singing hymns to a monotonous accompaniment upon a leather
instrument called tappai (tabret). Some Sudra castes engage them thus
to chant in front of the corpse at funerals, and many, accompanying
bands of pilgrims travelling to Tirupati, stimulate their religious
excitement by singing sacred songs. A few, called Yerudandis, (q.v.),
take possession of young bulls that have been devoted to a swami,
and teach them to perform tricks very cleverly. The bulls appear to
understand what is said to them, and go through various antics at
the word of command. Some Dasaris exhibit what is called the Panda
Servai performance, which consists in affecting to be possessed by
the spirit of the deity, and beating themselves all over the body
with a flaming torch, after covering it probably with some protecting
substance. In such modes do they wander about and receive alms, each
wearing as a distinction a garland of beads made of tulasi (Ocimum
sanctum) wood. Every Dasari is a Tengalai. They have six sub-divisions,
called Balija, Janappa, Palli, Valluva, Gangeddula, and Golla Dasaris,
which neither eat together nor intermarry. As these are the names of
existing and distinct castes, it is probable that the Dasaris were
formerly members of those classes, who, through their vagabond tastes,
have taken to a mendicant life. Beyond prohibiting widow remarriage,
they have no social restrictions."
Concerning the mendicants of Anantapur, Mr. W. Francis writes [49] that
"the beggars who are most in evidence are the Dasaris. This community
is recruited from several castes, such as the Kapus, Balijas, Kurubas,
Boyas, and Malas, and members of it who belong to the last two of these
(which are low in the social scale) are not allowed to dine with the
others. All Dasaris are Vaishnavites, and admission to the community is
obtained by being branded by some Vaishnavite guru. Thenceforward the
novice becomes a Dasari, and lives by begging from door to door. The
profession is almost hereditary in some families. The five insignia of
a Dasari are the conch shell, which he blows to announce his arrival;
the gong which he strikes as he goes his rounds; the tall iron lamp
(with a cocoanut to hold the oil for replenishing it) which he keeps
lighted as he begs; the brass or copper vessel (sometimes with the
namam painted on it) suspended from his shoulder, in which he places
the alms received; and the small metal image of Hanuman, which he hangs
round his neck. Of these, the iron lamp is at once the most conspicuous
and the most indispensable. It is said to represent Venkatesa, and
it must be burning, as an unlighted lamp is inauspicious. Dasaris
also subsist by doing puja (worship) at ceremonial and festival
occasions for certain of the Hindu castes." In the Kurnool district,
when a girl is dedicated as a Basavi (dedicated prostitute), she
is not, as in some other parts of the country, married to an idol,
but tied by means of a garland of flowers to the tall standard lamp
(garudakambham) of a Dasari, and released by the man who is to receive
her first favours, or by her maternal uncle.
The Dasaris in Mysore are described in the Mysore Census Report, 1901,
as "mendicants belonging to different classes of Sudras. They become
Dasas or servants dedicated to the God at Tirupati by virtue of a
peculiar vow, made either by themselves or their relatives, at some
moment of anxiety or danger, and live by begging in His name. Dasaris
are always Vaishnavites, as the vows are taken only by those castes
which are worshippers of that deity. Dasaris are invited by Sudras
on ceremonial days, and feasted. Properly speaking, Dasari is not a
caste, but simply an occupational division. Among certain castes, the
custom of taking a vow to become a Dasari prevails. In fulfilment of
that vow the person becomes a Dasari, and his eldest son is bound to
follow suit, the others taking to other walks of life. The following
castes take the vow of becoming Dasari:--Telugu Banajiga, Holeya,
Tigala, and Vakkaliga. The duty of a Dasari requires that he should
daily bathe his head, and take care that, while eating with the
profane, their victuals do not get mixed with his. Every Saturday,
after bathing and praying for some hours, he must cook his own food in
a clean pot. They go about the streets singing some Hari Keerthanams,
with a gong and conch to relieve the dull monotony of their mumblings."
Concerning the synonym Tadan, this is stated [50] to be "a corruption
of the Sanskrit dasa which, with the Tamil termination an, stands for
dasan. The word is often used in this form, but often as Dasari. The
word is applied to Vaishnava mendicants. They go out every morning,
begging for alms of uncooked rice, and singing ballads or hymns. They
play on a small drum with their fingers, and often carry a conch shell,
which they blow. They are given to drinking." In the Nellore Manual,
the Dasrivandlu are summed up as being "mendicants and thieves in
the Telugu and Canarese countries. They usually practise what is
known as scissor-theft." The mendicant Dasaris, who are dealt with
in the present note, are stated by Mr. S. M. Natesa Sastri [51] to
be called Gudi Dasari, as the gudi or temple is their home and to
be a set of quiet, innocent and simple people, leading a most idle
and stupid life. "Quite opposed," he adds, "to the Gudi Dasaris in
every way are the Donga Dasaris or thieving Dasaris. They are the
most dreaded of the criminal classes in the Bellary district. These
Donga Dasaris are only Dasaris in name." (See Donga Dasari.)
Some Dasaris are servants under Vaishnava Brahmans, who act as gurus
to various castes. It is their duty to act as messengers to the guru,
and carry the news of his arrival to his disciples. At the time of
worship, and when the guru approaches a village, the Dasari has to
blow a long brass trumpet (tarai). As the Brahman may not approach
or touch his Paraiyan disciples, it is the Dasari who gives them
the holy water (thirtham). When a Paraiyan is to be branded, the
Brahman heats the instruments bearing the devices of the chank and
chakaram, and hands them to the Dasari, who performs the operation
of branding. For councils, settlement of marriage, and the decision
of other social matters, the Dasaris meet, at times of festivals,
at well-known places such as Tirutani, Tirupati or Tiruvallur.
At the annual festival at the temple at Karamadi in the Coimbatore
district, which is visited by very large numbers, belonging for
the most part to the lower orders, various vows are fulfilled. These
include the giving of kavalam to Dasaris. Kavalam consists of plantain
fruits cut up into small slices, and mixed with sugar, jaggery (crude
sugar), fried grain, or beaten rice. The Dasaris are attached to the
temple, and wear short drawers, with strings of small brass bells tied
to their wrists and ankles. They appear to be possessed, and move
wildly about to the beating of drums. As they go about, the devotee
puts some of the kavalam into their mouths. The Dasaris eat a little,
and spit out the remainder into the hands of the devotees, who eat
it. This is believed to cure all diseases, and to give children to
those who partake of it. In addition to kavalam, some put betel leaves
into the mouths of the Dasaris, who, after chewing them, spit them into
the mouths of the devotees. At night the Dasaris carry large torches
made of rags, on which the devotees pour ghi (clarified butter). Some
say that, many years ago, barren women used to take a vow to visit
the temple at the festival time, and, after offering kavalam, have
sexual intercourse with the Dasaris. The temple authorities, however,
profess ignorance of this practice.
When proceeding on a pilgrimage to the temple of Subramanya Swami at
Palni, some devotees pierce their cheeks with a long silver skewer,
which traverses the mouth cavity; pierce the tongue with a silver
arrow, which is protruded vertically through the protruded organ;
and place a silver shield (mouth-lock) in front of the mouth. Some
Dasaris have permanent holes in their cheeks, into which they insert
skewers when they go about the country in pursuit of their profession.
For the following note on Dasaris in the Vizagapatam district, I am
indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The caste is an endogamous unit,
the members calling themselves Sankhu (or conch-blowing) Dasaris,
and is divided into numerous exogamous septs. The menarikam custom,
according to which a man should marry his maternal uncle's daughter,
is followed. The remarriage of widows is permitted, but divorce is
forbidden. The dead are cremated, and the chinna (small) and pedda rozu
(big day) death ceremonies are observed. These Dasaris profess the
Tengalai form of Vaishnavism, and get themselves branded. The caste
is more secular, and less religious than in the southern districts. A
Dasari of the North Arcot or Anantapur type, with conch-shell, metal
gong, iron lamp, copper vessel, and metal image of Hanuman on his neck,
is scarcely met with. The Vizagapatam Dasaris are the most popular
among ballad-singers, and sing songs about heroes and heroines,
of which the following are the most appreciated:--
1. Bobbilipata, which describes the siege and conquest of Bobbili by
Bussy in 1757.
2. Ammi Nayudupata, which describes the tyrannical behaviour of
one Ammi Nayudu, a village headman in the Palkonda taluk, who was
eventually murdered, to the great relief of those subject to him,
by one of his dependents.
3. Lakshmammapata, which relates the life and death of Lakshmamma,
a Velama woman, who went against the menarikam custom of the caste,
and was put to death by her husband.
4. Yerakammaperantala-pata, which recounts the story of one Yerakamma,
who committed sati.
Yerakamma is the local goddess at Srungavarapukota in the Vizagapatam
district. The ballads sung about her say that she was the child of
Dasari parents, and that her birth was foretold by a Yerukala woman
(whence her name), who prophesied that she would have the gift of
second sight. She eventually married, and one day she begged her
husband not to go to his field, as she was sure he would be killed
by a tiger if he did. Her husband went notwithstanding, and was slain
as she had foreseen. She committed sati on the spot where her shrine
still stands, and at this there is a festival at Sivaratri.
As ballad-singers, two Dasaris generally travel about together,
begging from house to house, or at the weekly market, one singing,
while the other plays, and joins in the chorus.
The titles of these Dasaris are Anna and Ayya.
Dasari has been recorded as an exogamous sept of the Koravas, Malas,
and Yerukalas.
Dasi (servant).--The name for a non-Brahman female attendant upon a
Nambutiri Brahman woman, which should not, as sometimes happens, be
confused with Deva-dasi, (q.v.), which has quite another significance.
Dayare (Muhammadan).--The Dayare, Daira, or Mahadev Muhammadans
are found in the Bangalore and Mysore districts of the Mysore
province. Concerning them, we are informed in the Mysore Gazetteer that
"they differ from the general body of Muhammadans in a point of belief
concerning the advent of Imam Mahadi. The Dayares maintain that he
has visited this earth and departed, while the orthodox Muhammadans
believe the Prophet (Imam) has not yet appeared, and that his coming
will be a sign of the end of the world. The following account of the
origin of this body of dissenters has been related. A child was born
of the Sayad sect of Muhammadans at Guzrat about four hundred years
ago, who was named Sayad Ahmed, and afterwards became distinguished
by the title of Alam (superior to Maulvi) in consequence of his great
learning. Sayad Ahmed proclaimed himself the equal of Mahomet, and
superior to all other Paigambars or messengers of god. He succeeded
in obtaining some followers who believed in him, and repaired to
Jivanpur in the Nizam's territories, where he took the name of Imam
Mahadi. From thence he, with some disciples, proceeded to Mecca,
but did not visit Medina. After some time he returned to Hyderabad,
still retaining the name of Imam Mahadi. Such pretensions could not be
tolerated by the great mass of Muhammadans, and Sayad Ahmed, together
with his disciples, being worsted in a great religious controversy,
was driven out of Hyderabad, and came to Channapatna in the Bangalore
district, where they settled. The descendants of these settlers
believe that Sayad Ahmed was the Prophet Imam Mahadi predicted in
the Koran. They offer prayers in a masjid of their own, separate from
other Muhammadans, and do not intermarry with the rest. They are an
enterprising body, and carry on a brisk trade in silk with the western
coast." They are mostly domiciled at Channapatna, where a considerable
industry in the cocoons of the mulberry silk-moth is carried on.
When an adult Hindu joins the Dayares as a convert, an interesting
mock rite of circumcision is performed as a substitute for the real
operation. A strip of betel leaf is wrapped round the penis, so that
it projects beyond the glans, and is snipped instead of the prepuce.
Like other Muhammadan classes of Southern India, the Dayares are as
a whole dolichocephalic. But the frequent occurrence of individuals
with a high cephalic index would seem to point to their recruitment
from the mesaticephalic or brachycephalic Canarese classes.
=================+=============+============+=============
| | | Number of
| | Number | times
Class. | Locality. | examined. | cephalic
| | | index
| | | exceeded 80.
-----------------+-------------+------------+-------------
Mappilla | Malabar | 40 | 0
Saiyad | Madras | 40 | 2
Pathan | Do. | 40 | 2
Sheik | Do. | 40 | 2
Dayare | Mysore | 40 | 8
=================+=============+============+=============
Dayyalakulam (devil's family).--Recorded, at times of census, as a
sub-caste of Gollas, who are wrestlers and acrobats.
Dedingi.--Recorded as a sub-division of Poroja.
Dera.--Dera, Dendra, and Devara occur as synonyms of Devanga.
Desa.--A sub-division of Balija. Desadhipati, denoting ruler of
a country, is a name assumed by some Janappans, who say that they
are Balijas.
Desayi.--For the following account of the Desayi institution,
I am indebted to an excellent account thereof by Mr. S. M. Natesa
Sastri. [52] "The word Desayi means of the country. For almost every
taluk in the North Arcot district there is a headman, called the Desayi
Chetti, who may be said in a manner to correspond to a Justice of the
Peace. The headmen belong to the Kavarai or Balija caste, their family
name being Dhanapala--a common name among the Kavarais--which may be
interpreted as 'the protector of wealth.' The Dhanapala Desayi Chetti
holds sway over eighteen castes, Kavarai, Uppara, Lambadi, Jogi, Idiga,
Paraiyan, etc. All those that are called valangai, or right-hand caste,
fall within his jurisdiction. He has an establishment of two peons
(orderlies), who are castemen, and another menial, a sort of bugler,
who blows the horn whenever the Desayi Chetti goes on circuit. When
any deviation in the moral conduct of any man or woman occurs in a
village under the Desayi's jurisdiction, a report of it is at once
sent to the Desayi Chetti, through the Paraiya of the village, by
the Desayi's representative in that village. He has his local agent
in every village within his jurisdiction. On receipt of a report,
he starts on circuit to the village, with all the quaint-looking
paraphernalia attached to his office. He moves about from place to
place in his bullock coach, the inside of which is upholstered with
a soft cushion bed, with a profusion of pillows on all sides. The
Paraiya horn-blower runs in front of the carriage blowing the horn
(bhamka), which he carries suspended from his shoulder when it is
not in use. On the Desayi Chetti arriving at a village, the horn
is blown to announce his visit on professional matters. While he
camps at a village, people from the surrounding country within his
jurisdiction usually go to him with any representations they may
have to make to him as the head of their caste. The Desayi generally
encamps in a tope (grove) adjoining the village. At the sound of the
horn, the castemen on whose account the visit is made assemble at the
place of encampment, with the Desayi's local representative at their
head. The personal comforts of the Desayi are first attended to, and
he is liberally supplied with articles of food by the party on whose
account the visit has been undertaken. A large cup-shaped spoon is
the ensign of the Desayi. On the outer surface, all round its edge,
are carved in relief eighteen figures, each one being typical of
one of the castes of which the Desayi is the social head. Under each
figure is inscribed in Tamil the name of the caste which that figure
typifies. The figures are smeared with red powder and sandal, and
decorated with flowers. The menial, taking up the cup, rings the bell
attached to it, to summon the parties. As soon as the sound is heard,
the castemen amongst whom any offence has occurred assemble, each
house in the village being represented by a member, so as to make up a
panchayat (council). The Desayi's emblem is then placed in front of him
in the midst of the panchayat, and a regular enquiry held. Supposing
a person stands charged with adultery, the accused is brought before
the assembly, and the charge formally investigated with the advice of
the panchayat, the Desayi declares the accused guilty or not guilty,
as the case may be. In the event of a man being pronounced guilty,
the panchayat directs him to pay the aggrieved husband all the expenses
he had incurred in connection with his marriage. In addition to this,
a fine ranging from ten to twenty rupees is imposed on the offender by
the Desayi, and is collected at once. A small fraction of this fine,
never exceeding four annas, is paid to every representative who sits
in the panchayat, the balance going into the Desayi's pocket. If
the delinquent refuses to pay the fine, a council of the same men
is held, and he is excommunicated. The recalcitrant offender soon
realises the horrors of excommunication, and in a short time appears
before the Desayi, and falls prostrate at his feet, promising to
obey him. The Desayi then accompanies him to the village, calls the
panchayat again, and in their presence removes the interdict. On this
occasion, the excommunicated person has to pay double the amount of
the original fine. But disobedience is rare, as people are alive to
the serious consequences of excommunication. The Desayi maintains a
regular record of all his enquiries and judgments, and in the days
of the Nawabs these decisions were, it would appear, recognised by
the Courts of Justice. The same respect was, it is said, also shown
to the Desayi's decisions by the early courts of John Company. [53]
"Every house belonging to the eighteen castes sends to the village
representative of the Desayi, who is called Periyatanakaran, a
pagoda (Rs. 3-8) in cash, besides rice, dhal (Cajanus Indicus), and
other articles of food for every marriage that takes place, in the
village. The representative reserves for himself all the perishable
articles, sending only the cash to the Desayi. Thus, for every marriage
within his jurisdiction, the Desayi gets one pagoda. Of late, in the
case of those Desayis who have purchased their rights as such from
the old Desayis, instead of a pagoda, a fee of two annas and a half
is levied on each marriage. Every death which occurs in a village
is equally a source of income to the Desayi, who receives articles
of food, and four annas or more, according to the circumstances of
the parties in whose house the death has occurred. As in the case
of marriage, the local representative appropriates to himself the
articles of food, and transmits the money to the Desayi. The local
agent keeps a list of all domestic occurrences that take place in
the village, and this list is most carefully scrutinised and checked
by the Desayi during his tours, and any amount left unpaid is then
collected. Whenever a marriage takes place in his own house, all
the houses within his jurisdiction are bound to send him rice, dhal,
and other articles, and any money they can afford to pay. Sometimes
rich people send large sums to the Desayi, to enable him to purchase
the clothes, jewels, etc., required for the marriage. When a Desayi
finds his work too heavy for him to attend to single-handed, he sells a
portion of his jurisdiction for some hundreds or thousands of rupees,
according to its extent, to some relation. A regular sale deed is
executed and registered." (See also Samaya.)
Desikar.--A sub-division and title of Pandaram.
Desur.--The name of a sub-division of Kapu, which is either
territorial, or possibly derived from deha, body, and sura, valour.
Deva.--Deva or Devara, meaning God, has been recorded as a synonym of
Devanga and Ganiga or Gandla and a sept of Moger, and Deva Telikulakali
as a name for those who express and sell oils in the Vizagapatam
district. Devara occurs further as a title of the Jangams. At
the Madras Census, 1901, Devar was returned as the name of Telugu
merchants from Pondicherry trading in glassware. Devar is also the
title of Occhans, who are priests at temples of village deities. The
title of Maravans is Devan or Tevan. In South Canara, the Halepaiks
(toddy-drawers) are known as Devaru Makkalu (God's children), which,
it has been suggested, [54] is possibly a corruption of Tivaru or
Divaru Makkalu, meaning children of the islanders, in reference to
their supposed descent from early immigrants from the island of Ceylon.
Deva-dasi.--In old Hindu works, seven classes of Dasis are mentioned,
viz., (1) Datta, or one who gives herself as a gift to a temple; (2)
Vikrita, or one who sells herself for the same purpose; (3) Bhritya,
or one who offers herself as a temple servant for the prosperity of
her family; (4) Bhakta, or one who joins a temple out of devotion;
(5) Hrita, or one who is enticed away, and presented to a temple;
(6) Alankara, or one who, being well trained in her profession, and
profusely decked, is presented to a temple by kings and noblemen;
(7) Rudraganika or Gopika, who receive regular wages from a temple,
and are employed to sing and dance. For the following general account
I am indebted to the Madras Census Report, 1901:--
"Dasis or Deva-dasis (handmaidens of the gods) are dancing-girls
attached to the Tamil temples, who subsist by dancing and music, and
the practice of 'the oldest profession in the world.' The Dasis were
probably in the beginning the result of left-handed unions between
members of two different castes, but they are now partly recruited by
admissions, and even purchases, from other classes. The profession
is not now held in the consideration it once enjoyed. Formerly
they enjoyed a considerable social position. It is one of the many
inconsistencies of the Hindu religion that, though their profession
is repeatedly and vehemently condemned by the Shastras, it has always
received the countenance of the church. The rise of the caste, and
its euphemistic name, seem both of them to date from about the ninth
and tenth centuries A.D., during which much activity prevailed in
Southern India in the matter of building temples, and elaborating the
services held in them. The dancing-girls' duties, then as now, were
to fan the idol with chamaras (Tibetan ox tails), to carry the sacred
light called kumbarti, and to sing and dance before the god when he
was carried in procession. Inscriptions [55] show that, in A.D. 1004,
the great temple of the Chola king Rajaraja at Tanjore had attached
to it four hundred talic' cheri pendugal, or women of the temple,
who lived in free quarters in the four streets round about it, and
were allowed tax-free land out of the endowment. Other temples had
similar arrangements. At the beginning of the last century there
were a hundred dancing-girls attached to the temple at Conjeeveram,
who were, Buchanan tells us, [56] 'kept for the honour of the deities
and the amusement of their votaries; and any familiarity between these
girls and an infidel would occasion scandal.' At Madura, Conjeeveram,
and Tanjore there are still numbers of them, who receive allowances
from the endowments of the big temples at these places. In former
days, the profession was countenanced not only by the church, but
also by the State. Abdur Razaak, a Turkish ambassador at the court
of Vijayanagar in the fifteenth century, describes [57] women of
this class as living in State-controlled institutions, the revenue
of which went towards the upkeep of the police.
"At the present day they form a regular caste, having its own laws
of inheritance, its own customs and rules of etiquette, and its own
panchayats (councils) to see that all these are followed, and thus
hold a position, which is perhaps without a parallel in any other
country. Dancing-girls, dedicated to the usual profession of the
caste, are formally married in a temple to a sword or a god, the tali
(marriage badge) being tied round their necks by some men of their
caste. It was a standing puzzle to the census enumerators whether
such women should be entered as married in the column referring to
civil condition.
"Among the Dasis, sons and daughters inherit equally, contrary to
ordinary Hindu usage. Some of the sons remain in the caste, and live
by playing music for the women to dance to, and accompaniments to
their songs, or by teaching singing and dancing to the younger girls,
and music to the boys. These are called Nattuvans. Others marry some
girl of the caste, who is too plain to be likely to be a success in
the profession, and drift out of the community. Some of these affix to
their names the terms Pillai and Mudali, which are the usual titles
of the two castes (Vellala and Kaikola) from which most of the Dasis
are recruited, and try to live down the stigma attaching to their
birth. Others join the Melakkarans or professional musicians. Cases
have occurred, in which wealthy sons of dancing-women have been allowed
to marry girls of respectable parentage of other castes, but they are
very rare. The daughters of the caste, who are brought up to follow
the caste profession, are carefully taught dancing, singing, the art
of dressing well, and the ars amoris, and their success in keeping up
their clientele is largely due to the contrast which they thus present
to the ordinary Hindu housewife, whose ideas are bounded by the day's
dinner and the babies. The dancing-girl castes, and their allies the
Melakkarans, are now practically the sole repository of Indian music,
the system of which is probably one of the oldest in the world. Besides
them and the Brahmans, few study the subject. The barbers' bands
of the villages usually display more energy than science. A notable
exception, however, exists in Madras city, which has been known to
attempt the Dead March in Saul at funerals in the Pariah quarters.
"There are two divisions among the Dasis, called Valangai (right-hand)
and Idangai (left-hand). The chief distinction between them is that
the former will have nothing to do with the Kammalans (artisans) or
any other of the left-hand castes, or play or sing in their houses. The
latter division is not so particular, and its members are consequently
sometimes known as the Kammala Dasis. Neither division, however,
is allowed to have any dealings with men of the lowest castes, and
violation of this rule of etiquette is tried by a panchayat of the
caste, and visited with excommunication.
"In the Telugu districts, the dancing-girls are called Bogams and
Sanis. They are supposed to be dedicated to the gods, just as the
Dasis are, but there is only one temple in the northern part of the
Presidency which maintains a corps of these women in the manner in
vogue further south. This exception is the shrine of Sri Kurmam
in Vizagapatam, the dancing-girls attached to which are known as
Kurmapus. In Vizagapatam most of the Bogams and Sanis belong to the
Nagavasulu and Palli castes, and their male children often call
themselves Nagavasulus, but in Nellore, Kurnool and Bellary they
are often Balijas and Yerukalas. In Nellore the Bogams are said to
decline to sing in the houses of Komatis. The men of the Sanis do
not act as accompanists to their women at nautch parties, as Bogam
and Dasi men do.
"In the Oriya country the dancing-girl caste is called Guni, but there
they have even less connection with the temples than the Bogams and
Sanis, not being even dedicated to the god.
"In the Canarese (or western) taluks of Bellary, and in the adjoining
parts of Dharwar and Mysore, a curious custom obtains among the Boyas,
Bedarus, and certain other castes, under which a family which has no
male issue must dedicate one of its daughters as a Basavi. The girl is
taken to a temple, and married there to the god, a tali and toe-rings
being put on her, and thenceforward she becomes a public woman, except
that she does not consort with any one of lower caste than herself. She
is not, however, despised on this account, and indeed at weddings she
prepares the tali (perhaps because she can never be a widow). Contrary
to all Hindu Law, she shares in the family property as though she was
a son, but her right to do so has not yet been confirmed by the Civil
Courts. If she has a son, he takes her father's name, but if only
a daughter, that daughter again becomes a Basavi. The children of
Basavis marry within their own caste, without restrictions of any kind.
"In Malabar there is no regular community of dancing-girls; nor is
there among the Mussalmans of any part of the Presidency."
"No doubt," Monier Williams writes, [58] "Dasis drive a profitable
trade under the sanction of religion, and some courtesans have been
known to amass enormous fortunes. Nor do they think it inconsistent
with their method of making money to spend it in works of piety. Here
and there Indian bridges and other useful public works owe their
existence to the liberality of the frail sisterhood." The large tank
(lake) at Channarayapatna in Mysore was built by two dancing-girls.
In the Travancore Census Report, 1901, the Dasis of the Coromandel
coast are compared, in the words of a Sanskrit poet, to walking
flesh-trees bearing golden fruits. The observant Abbé Dubois noticed
that, of all the women in India, it is especially the courtesans who
are the most decently clothed, as experience has taught them that for
a woman to display her charms damps sensual ardour instead of exciting
it, and that the imagination is more easily captivated than the eye.
It was noticed by Lord Dufferin, on the occasion of a Viceregal visit
to Madura, that the front part of the dress of the dancing-girls
hangs in petticoats, but the back is only trousers.
The Rev. A. Margöschis writes in connection with the practice
of dilating the lobes of the ears in Tinnevelly, that, as it was
once the fashion and a mark of respectability to have long ears,
so now the converse is true. Until a few years ago, if a woman had
short ears, she was asked if she was a Deva-dasi, because that class
kept their ears natural. Now, with the change of customs all round,
even dancing-girls are found with long ears. "The dancing-girls are,"
the Rev. M. Phillips writes, [59] "the most accomplished women among
the Hindus. They read, write, sing and play as well as dance. Hence
one of the great objections urged at first against the education of
girls was 'We don't want our daughters to become dancing-girls'."
It is on record [60] that, in 1791, the Nabob of the Carnatic dined
with the Governor of Madras, and that, after dinner, they were diverted
with the dancing wenches, and the Nabob was presented with cordial
waters, French brandy and embroidered China quilts. The story is
told of a Governor of Madras in more recent times, who, ignorant of
the inverse method of beckoning to a person to advance or retreat in
the East, was scandalised when a nautch girl advanced rapidly, till
he thought she was going to sit in his lap. At a nautch in the fort
of the Mandasa Zemindar in honour of Sir M. E. Grant Duff, [61] the
dancing-girls danced to the air of Malbrook se va t'en guerre. Bussy
taught it to the dancing-girls, and they to their neighbours. In
the Vizagapatam and Godavari jungles, natives apostrophise tigers as
Bussy. Whether the name is connected with Bussy I know not.
Of Deva-dasis at the Court of Tippoo Sultan, the following account
was published in 1801. [62] "Comme Souverain d'une partie du Visapour,
Tippoo-Saïb jouissoit de la facilité d'avoir parmi ses bayadères celles
qui étoient les plus renommées par leurs talens, leurs graces, leur
beauté, etc. Ces bayadères sont des danseuses supérieures dans leur
genre; tout danse et tout joue en même-tems chez elles; leur tête,
leurs yeux, leurs bras, leurs pieds, tout leur corps, semblent ne se
mouvoir que from enchanter; elles sont d'une incroyable légèreté,
et ont le jarret aussi fort que souple; leur taille est des plus
sveltes et des plus élégantes, et elles n'ont pas un mouvement
qui ne soit une grace. La plus âgée de ces femmes n'avoit pas plus
de seize à dix-sept ans. Aussi tot qu'elles atteignoient cet âge,
on les réformoit, et alors elles alloient courir les provinces, on
s'attachoient à des pagodes, dans lesqueles elles étoient entretenues,
et ou leurs charmes étoient un des meilleurs revenus des brames."
General Burton narrates [63] how a civilian of the old school built
a house at Bhavani, and established a corps de ballet, i.e., a set
of nautch girls, whose accomplishments actually extended to singing
God save the King, and this was kept up by their descendants, so that,
when he visited the place in 1852, he was "greeted by the whole party,
bedizened in all their finery, and squalling the national anthem as if
they understood it, which they did not." With this may be contrasted
a circular from a modern European official, which states that "during
my jamabandy (land revenue settlement) tour, people have sometimes
been kind enough to arrange singing or dancing parties, and, as it
would have been discourteous to decline to attend what had cost money
to arrange, I have accepted the compliment in the spirit in which
it was offered. I should, however, be glad if you would let it be
generally known that I am entirely in accord with what is known as
the anti-nautch movement in regard to such performances."
It was unanimously decided, in 1905, by the Executive Committee of
the Prince and Princess of Wales' reception fund, that there should
be no performance by nautch girls at the entertainment to be given
to Their Royal Highnesses at Madras.
In a note on Basavis, the Collector of the Bellary district writes
that "it is usual among Hindus to dedicate a bull for public use on
the death of a member of their family. These are the breeding bulls
of the village flock. Similarly, cows are dedicated, and are called
Basavis. No stigma attaches to Basavis or their children, and they are
received on terms of equality by other members of their caste. The
origin of the institution, it has been suggested, may probably be
traced to the time when the Boyas, and other castes which dedicate
Basavis, were soldiers, and the Basavis acted as camp-followers and
nurses of the wounded in battle. According to Hindu custom, the wives
of the men could not be taken from their homes, and, other women of
the caste being required to attend to their comforts, the institution
of Basavis might have been started; or, if they existed before then as
religious devotees attached to temples, they might have been pressed
into their service, and the number added to as occasion required. In
Narayandevarkeri there are many Boyas and many Basavis. On the
car-festival day, the Boyas cannot take meals until the car is taken
back to its original place after the procession. Sometimes, owing to
some accident, this cannot be done the same day, and the car-drawing
Boyas sleep near the car, and do not go to their houses. Then it is
their Basavis who bring them food, and not their wives." At Adoni
I have seen a Basavi, who was working at a cotton press for a daily
wage of three annas, in full dress on a holiday in honour of a local
deity, wearing an elaborately chased silver waist belt and abundant
silver jewelry. The following are examples of petitions presented to
a European Magistrate and Superintendent of Police by girls who are
about to become Basavis:--
Petition of __________ aged about 17 or 18.
I have agreed to become a Basavi, and get myself stamped by my guru
(priest) according to the custom of my caste. I request that my
proper age, which entitles me to be stamped, may be personally
ascertained, and permission granted to be stamped.
The stamping refers to branding with the emblems of the chank
and chakram.
Petition of _____ wife of _____.
I have got two daughters, aged 15 and 12 respectively. As I have
no male issues, I have got to necessarily celebrate the ceremony
in the temple in connection with the tying of the goddess's tali
to my two daughters under the orders of the guru, in accordance
with the customs of my caste. I, therefore, submit this petition
for fear that the authorities may raise any objection (under the
Age of Consent Act). I, therefore, request that the Honourable
Court may be pleased to give permission to the tying of the tali
to my daughters.
Petition of two girls, aged 17 to 19.
Our father and mother are dead. Now we wish to be like prostitutes,
as we are not willing to be married, and thus establish our
house-name. Our mother also was of this profession. We now request
permission to be prostitutes according to our religion, after we
are sent before the Medical Officer.
The permission referred to in the above petitions bears reference
to a decision of the High Court that, a girl who becomes a Basavi
being incapable of contracting a legal marriage, her dedication when
a minor is an offence under the Penal Code.
At Adoni the dead body of a new-born infant was found in a ditch,
and a Basavi, working with others in a cotton factory, was suspected
of foul play. The station-house officer announced his intention
of visiting the factory, and she who was in a state of lactation,
and could produce no baby to account for her condition, would be
the culprit. Writing concerning the Basavis of the Bellary district,
[64] Mr. W. Francis tells us that "parents without male issue often,
instead of adopting a son in the usual manner, dedicate a daughter
by a simple ceremony to the god of some temple, and thenceforth,
by immemorial custom, she may inherit her parents' property, and
perform their funeral rites as if she was a son. She does not marry,
but lives in her parents' house with any man of equal or higher caste
whom she may select, and her children inherit her father's name and
bedagu (sept), and not those of their own father. If she has a son,
he inherits her property; if she has only a daughter, that daughter
again becomes a Basavi. Parents desiring male issue of their own,
cure from sickness in themselves or their children, or relief from
some calamity, will similarly dedicate their daughter. The children
of a Basavi are legitimate, and neither they nor their mothers are
treated as being in any way inferior to their fellows. A Basavi,
indeed, from the fact that she can never be a widow, is a most welcome
guest at weddings. Basavis differ from the ordinary dancing-girls
dedicated at temples in that their duties in the temples (which
are confined to the shrine of their dedication) are almost nominal,
and that they do not prostitute themselves promiscuously for hire. A
Basavi very usually lives faithfully with one man, who allows her
a fixed sum weekly for her maintenance, and a fixed quantity of new
raiment annually, and she works for her family as hard as any other
woman. Basavis are outwardly indistinguishable from other women, and
are for the most part coolies. In places there is a custom by which
they are considered free to change their protectors once a year at the
village car-festival or some similar anniversary, and they usually
seize this opportunity of putting their partner's affections to the
test by suggesting that a new cloth and bodice would be a welcome
present. So poor, as a rule, are the husbands that the police aver
that the anniversaries are preceded by an unusual crop of petty
thefts and burglaries committed by them in their efforts to provide
their customary gifts." A recent report of a Police Inspector in the
Bellary district states that "crimes are committed here and there,
as this is Nagarapanchami time. Nagarapanchami festival is to be
celebrated at the next Ammavasya or new-moon day. It is at that time
the people keeping the prostitutes should pay their dues on that day;
otherwise they will have their new engagements."
In the Kurnool district, the Basavi system is practised by the Boyas,
but differs from that in vogue in Bellary and Mysore. The object of
making a Basavi, in these two localities, is to perpetuate the family
when there is no male heir. If the only issue in a family is a female,
the family becomes extinct if she marries, as by marriage she changes
her sept. To prevent this, she is not married, but dedicated as a
Basavi, and continues to belong to her father's sept, to which also
any male issue which is born to her belongs. In the Kurnool district
the motive in making Basavis is different. The girl is not wedded to
an idol, but, on an auspicious day, is tied by means of a garland
of flowers to the garuda kambham (lamp) of a Balija Dasari. She
is released either by the man who is to receive her first favours,
or by her maternal uncle. A simple feast is held, and a string of
black beads tied round the girl's neck. She becomes a prostitute,
and her children do not marry into respectable Boya families.
"Basava women," Dr. E. Balfour writes, [65] "are sometimes married to
a dagger, sometimes to an idol. In making a female child over to the
service of the temple, she is taken and dedicated for life to some
idol. A khanjar, or dagger, is placed on the ground, and the girl who
is to undergo the ceremony puts a garland thereon. Her mother then puts
rice on the girl's forehead. The officiating priest then weds the girl
to the dagger, just as if he was uniting her to a boy in marriage,
by reciting the marriage stanzas, a curtain being held between the
girl and the dagger." In an account of the initiation ceremony of the
Basavis of the Bellary district Mr. F. Fawcett writes as follows. [66]
"A sword with a lime stuck on its point is placed upright beside the
novice, and held in her right hand. It represents the bridegroom, who,
in the corresponding ceremony of Hindu marriage, sits on the bride's
right. A tray, on which are a kalasyam (vessel of water) and a lamp,
is then produced, and moved thrice in front of the girl. She rises,
and, carrying the sword in her right hand, places it in the god's
sanctuary. Among the dancing-girls very similar ceremonies are
performed. With them, the girl's spouse is represented by a drum
instead of a sword, and she bows to it. Her insignia consist of a
drum and bells." In a further note on the dedication of Basavis,
Mr. Fawcett writes [67] that "a tali, on which is depicted the namam
of Vishnu, fastened to a necklace of black beads, is tied round her
neck. She is given by way of insignia a cane as a wand carried in the
right hand, and a gopalam or begging basket, which is slung on the left
arm. She is then branded with the emblems of the chank and chakra. In
another account [68] of the marriage ceremony among dancing-girls,
it is stated that the Bogams, who are without exception prostitutes,
though they are not allowed to marry, go through a marriage ceremony,
which is rather a costly one. Sometimes a wealthy Native bears the
expense, makes large presents to the bride, and receives her first
favours. Where no such opportunity offers itself, a sword or other
weapon represents the bridegroom, and an imaginary nuptial ceremony
is performed. Should the Bogam woman have no daughter, she invariably
adopts one, usually paying a price for her, the Kaikola (weaver)
caste being the ordinary one from which to take a child.
Among the Kaikolan musicians of Coimbatore, at least one girl in
every family should be set apart for the temple service, and she
is instructed in music and dancing. At the tali-tying ceremony
she is decorated with jewels, and made to stand on a heap of paddy
(unhusked rice). A folded cloth is held before her by two Dasis,
who also stand on heaps of paddy. The girl catches hold of the cloth,
and her dancing master, who is seated behind her, grasping her legs,
moves them up and down in time with the music which is played. In the
evening she is taken, astride a pony, to the temple, where a new cloth
for the idol, the tali, and other articles required for doing puja
(worship) have been got ready. The girl is seated facing the idol,
and the officiating Brahman gives sandal and flowers to her, and ties
the tali, which has been lying at the feet of the idol, round her
neck. The tali consists of a golden disc and black beads. She continues
to learn music and dancing, and eventually goes through the form of
a nuptial ceremony, The relations are invited on an auspicious day,
and the maternal uncle, or his representative, ties a golden band on
the girl's forehead, and, carrying her, places her on a plank before
the assembled guests. A Brahman priest recites mantrams (prayers),
and prepares the sacred fire (homam). For the actual nuptials a rich
Brahman, if possible, and, if not, a Brahman of more lowly status is
invited. A Brahman is called in, as he is next in importance to, and
the representative of, the idol. As a Dasi can never become a widow,
the beads in her tali are considered to bring good luck to women
who wear them. And some people send the tali required for a marriage
to a Dasi, who prepares the string for it, and attaches to it black
beads from her own tali. A Dasi is also deputed to walk at the head
of Hindu marriage processions. Married women do not like to do this,
as they are not proof against evil omens, which the procession may
meet. And it is believed that Dasis, to whom widowhood is unknown,
possess the power of warding off the effects of inauspicious omens. It
may be remarked, en passant, that Dasis are not at the present day
so much patronised at Hindu marriages as in olden times. Much is due
in this direction to the progress of enlightened ideas, which have
of late been strongly put forward by Hindu social reformers. When
a Kaikolan Dasi dies, her body is covered with a new cloth removed
from the idol, and flowers are supplied from the temple, to which
she belonged. No puja is performed in the temple till the corpse is
disposed of, as the idol, being her husband, has to observe pollution.
"In former times, dancing-girls used to sleep three nights at the
commencement of their career in the inner shrine of the Koppesvara
temple at Palivela in the Godavari district, so as to be embraced by
the god. But one of them, it is said, disappeared one night, and the
practice has ceased. The funeral pyre of every girl of the dancing
girl (Sani) caste dying in the village should be lit with fire brought
from the temple. The same practice is found in the Srirangam temple
near Trichinopoly." [69]
The following account of Dasis in Travancore, where their total
strength is only about four hundred, is taken from a note by
Mr. N. Subramani Aiyer. "While the Dasis of Kartikappalli, Ambalapuzha,
and Shertallay belonged originally to the Konkan coast, those of
Shenkottah belonged to the Pandian country. But the South Travancore
Dasis are an indigenous class. The female members of the caste are,
besides being known by the ordinary name of Tevadiyal and Dasi, both
meaning servant of God, called Kudikkar, meaning those belonging to
the house (i.e., given rent free by the Sirkar), and Pendukal, or
women, the former of these designations being more popular than the
latter. Males are called Tevadiyan, though many prefer to be known
as Nanchinat Vellalas. Males, like these Vellalas, take the title
of Pillai. In ancient days Deva-dasis, who became experts in singing
and dancing, received the title of Rayar (king) which appears to have
been last conferred in 1847 A.D. The South Travancore Dasis neither
interdine nor intermarry with the dancing-girls of the Tamil-speaking
districts. They adopt girls only from a particular division of the
Nayars, Tamil Padam, and dance only in temples. Unlike their sisters
outside Travancore, they do not accept private engagements in houses
on the occasion of marriage. The males, in a few houses, marry the
Tamil Padam and Padamangalam Nayars, while some Padamangalam Nayars
and Nanchinat Vellalas in their turn take their women as wives.
"When a dancing-woman becomes too old or diseased, and thus unable
to perform her usual temple duties, she applies to the temple
authorities for permission to remove her ear-pendants (todus). The
ceremony takes place at the palace of the Maharaja. At the appointed
spot the officers concerned assemble, and the woman, seated on
a wooden plank, proceeds to unhook the pendants, and places them,
with a nuzzur (gift) of twelve fanams (coins), on the plank. Directly
after this she turns about, and walks away without casting a second
glance at the ear-ornaments which have been laid down. She becomes
immediately a taikkizhavi or old mother, and is supposed to lead a
life of retirement and resignation. By way of distinction, a Dasi in
active service is referred to as atumpatram. Though the ear-ornaments
are at once returned to her from the palace, the woman is never again
permitted to put them on, but only to wear the pampadam, or antiquated
ear-ornament of Tamil Sudra women. Her temple wages undergo a slight
reduction, consequent on her proved incapacity.
"In some temples, as at Keralapuram, there are two divisions
of dancing-girls, one known as the Murakkudi to attend to
the daily routine, the other as the Chirappukuti to serve on
special occasions. The special duties that may be required of the
South Travancore Dasis are:--(1) to attend the two Utsavas at Sri
Padmanabahswami's temple, and the Dusserah at the capital; (2) to meet
and escort members of the royal family at their respective village
limits; (3) to undertake the prescribed fasts for the Apamargam
ceremony in connection with the annual festival of the temple. On
these days strict continence is enjoined, and they are fed at the
temple, and allowed only one meal a day.
"The principal deities of the dancing-girls are those to whom the
temples, in which they are employed, are dedicated. They observe
the new and full-moon days, and the last Friday of every month
as important. The Onam, Sivaratri, Tye-Pongal, Dipavali, and
Chitrapurnami are the best recognised religious festivals. Minor
deities, such as Bhadrakali, Yakshi, and Ghandarva are worshipped by
the figure of a trident or sword being drawn on the wall of the house,
to which food and sweetmeats are offered on Fridays. The priests on
these occasions are Occhans. There are no recognized headmen in the
caste. The services of Brahmans are resorted to for the purpose of
purification, of Nampiyans and Saiva Vellalas for the performance
of funeral rites, and of Kurukkals on occasions of marriage, and for
the final ceremonies on the sixteenth day after death.
"Girls belonging to this caste may either be dedicated to temple
service, or married to a male member of the caste. No woman can
be dedicated to the temple after she has reached puberty. On the
occasion of marriage, a sum of from fifty to a hundred and fifty
rupees is given to the bride's house, not as a bride-price, but for
defraying the marriage expenses. There is a preliminary ceremony of
betrothal, and the marriage is celebrated at an auspicious hour. The
Kurukkal recites a few hymns, and the ceremonies, which include the
tying of the tali, continue for four days. The couple commence joint
life on the sixteenth day after the girl has reached puberty. It is
easy enough to get a divorce, as this merely depends upon the will
of one of the two parties, and the woman becomes free to receive
clothes from another person in token of her having entered into a
fresh matrimonial alliance.
"All applications for the presentation of a girl to the temple are
made to the temple authorities by the senior dancing-girl of the
temple, the girl to be presented being in all cases from six to eight
years of age. If she is closely related to the applicant, no enquiries
regarding her status and claim need be made. In all other cases, formal
investigations are instituted, and the records taken are submitted to
the chief revenue officer of the division for orders. Some paddy (rice)
and five fanams are given to the family from the temple funds towards
the expenses of the ceremony. The practice at the Suchindrum temple is
to convene, on an auspicious day, a yoga or meeting, composed of the
Valiya Sri-kariyakkar, the Yogattil Potti, the Vattappalli Muttatu,
and others, at which the preliminaries are arranged. The girl bathes,
and goes to the temple on the morning of the selected day with two new
cloths, betel leaves and nuts. The temple priest places the cloths and
the tali at the feet of the image, and sets apart one for the divine
use. The tali consists of a triangular bottu, bearing the image of
Ganesa, with a gold bead on either side. Taking the remaining cloth
and the tali, and sitting close to the girl, the priest, facing to
the north, proceeds to officiate. The girl sits, facing the deity,
in the inner sanctuary. The priest kindles the fire, and performs all
the marriage ceremonies, following the custom of the Tirukkalyanam
festival, when Siva is represented as marrying Parvati. He then
teaches the girl the Panchakshara hymn if the temple is Saivite,
and Ashtakshara if it is Vaishnavite, presents her with the cloth,
and ties the tali round her neck. The Nattuvan, or dancing-master,
instructs her for the first time in his art, and a quantity of raw rice
is given to her by the temple authorities. The girl, thus married,
is taken to her house, where the marriage festivities are celebrated
for two or three days. As in Brahmanical marriages, the rolling of a
cocoanut to and fro is gone through, the temple priest or an elderly
Dasi, dressed in male attire, acting the part of the bridegroom. The
girl is taken in procession through the streets.
"The birth of male children is not made an occasion for rejoicing,
and, as the proverb goes, the lamp on these occasions is only dimly
lighted. Inheritance is in the female line, and women are the absolute
owners of all property earned. When a dancing-girl dies, some paddy
and five fanams are given from the temple to which she was attached,
to defray the funeral expenses. The temple priest gives a garland, and
a quantity of ashes for decorating the corpse. After this, a Nampiyan,
an Occhan, some Vellala headmen, and a Kudikkari, having no pollution,
assemble at the house of the deceased. The Nampiyan consecrates a pot
of water with prayers, the Occhan plays on his musical instrument,
and the Vellalas and Kudikkari powder the turmeric to be smeared over
the corpse. In the case of temple devotees, their dead bodies must
be bathed with this substance by the priest, after which alone the
funeral ceremonies may proceed. The Karta (chief mourner), who is
the nearest male relative, has to get his whole head shaved. When
a temple priest dies, though he is a Brahman, the dancing-girl,
on whom he has performed the vicarious marriage rite, has to go to
his death-bed, and prepare the turmeric powder to be dusted over his
corpse. The anniversary of the death of the mother and maternal uncle
are invariably observed.
"The adoption of a dancing-girl is a lengthy ceremony. The application
to the temple authorities takes the form of a request that the girl
to be adopted may be made heir to both kuti and pati, that is, to
the house and temple service of the person adopting. The sanction
of the authorities having been obtained, all concerned meet at the
house of the person who is adopting, a document is executed, and a
ceremony, of the nature of the Jatakarma, performed. The girl then
goes through the marriage rite, and is handed over to the charge of
the music teacher to be regularly trained in her profession."
As bearing on the initiation, laws of inheritance, etc., of Deva-dasis,
the following cases, which have been argued in the Madras High Court,
may be quoted [70]:--
(a) In a charge against a dancing-girl of having purchased a young
girl, aged five, with the intent that she would be used for the purpose
of prostitution, or knowing it to be likely that she would be so used,
evidence was given of the fact of purchase for sixty rupees, and that
numerous other dancing-girls, residing in the neighbourhood, were in
the habit of obtaining girls and bringing them up as dancing-girls or
prostitutes, and that there were no instances of girls brought up by
dancing-girls ever having been married. One witness stated that there
were forty dancing-girls' houses in the town (Adoni), and that their
chief source of income was prostitution, and that the dancing-girls,
who have no daughters of their own, get girls from others, bring
them up, and eventually make them dancing-girls or prostitutes. He
added that the dancing-girls get good incomes by bringing up girls
in preference to boys. Another witness stated that dancing-girls,
when they grow old, obtain girls and bring them up to follow their
profession, and that good-looking girls are generally bought. [71]
(b) The evidence showed that two of the prisoners were dancing-girls
of a certain temple, that one of them took the two daughters of the
remaining prisoner to the pagoda, to be marked as dancing-girls, and
that they were so marked, and their names entered in the accounts of
the pagoda. The first prisoner (the mother of the girls) disposed
of the children to the third prisoner for the consideration of a
neck ornament and thirty-five rupees. The children appeared to be of
the ages of seven and two years, respectively. Evidence was taken,
which tended to prove that dancing-girls gain their livelihood by
the performance of certain offices in pagodas, by assisting in the
performance of ceremonies in private houses, by dancing and singing
upon the occasion of marriage, and by prostitution. [72]
(c) The first prisoner presented an application for the enrolment
of his daughter as a dancing-girl at one of the great pagodas. He
stated her age to be thirteen. She attained puberty a month or two
after her enrolment. Her father was the servant of a dancing-girl, the
second prisoner, who had been teaching the minor dancing for some five
years. The evidence showed that the second prisoner brought the girl
to the pagoda, that both first and second prisoners were present when
the bottu (or tali) was tied, and other ceremonies of the dedication
performed; that third prisoner, as Battar of the temple, was the
person who actually tied the bottu, which denotes that the Dasi is
wedded to the idol. There was the usual evidence that dancing-girls
live by prostitution, though occasionally kept by the same man for
a year or more. [73]
(d) The plaintiff, a Deva-dasi, complained that, when she brought
offerings according to custom and placed them before the God at a
certain festival, and asked the Archakas (officiating priests) to
present the offerings to the God, burn incense, and then distribute
them, they refused to take the offerings on the ground that the
Deva-dasi had gone to a Komati's house to dance. She claimed damages,
Rs. 10, for the rejected offerings, and Rs. 40 for loss of honour,
and a perpetual injunction to allow her to perform the mantapa hadi
(sacrifice) at the Chittrai Vasanta festival. The priests pleaded
that the dancing-girl had, for her bad conduct in having danced at
a Komati's house, and subsequently refused to expiate the deed by
drinking panchagavyan (five products of the cow) according to the
shastras, been expelled both from her caste and from the temple. [74]
(e) In a certain temple two dancing-girls were dedicated by the
Dharmakarta to the services of the temple without the consent of the
existing body of dancing-girls, and the suit was instituted against
the Dharmakarta and these two Deva-dasis, asking that the Court should
ascertain and declare the rights of the Deva-dasis of the pagoda in
regard (1) to the dedication of Deva-dasis, (2) to the Dharmakarta's
power to bind and suspend them; and that the Court should ascertain
and declare the rights of the plaintiff, the existing Deva-dasis, as
to the exclusion of all other Deva-dasis, save those who are related
to or adopted by some one of the Deva-dasis for the time being,
or those who, being approved by all, are elected and proposed to
the Dharmakarta for dedication. That the new Dasis may be declared
to have been improperly dedicated, and not entitled to any of the
rights of Deva-dasis, and restrained from attending the pagoda in that
character, and from interfering with the duly dedicated Deva-dasis
in the exercise of their office. That first defendant be restrained
from stamping and dedicating other Deva-dasis but such as are duly
approved. The Judge dismissed the case on the ground that it would be
contrary to public policy to make the declaration prayed for, as, in
so doing, the Court would be lending itself to bringing the parties
under the criminal law. In the appeal, which was dismissed, one of
the Judges remarked that the plaintiffs claimed a right exclusive to
themselves and a few other dancing-women, professional prostitutes,
to present infant female children for dedication to the temple as
dancing-girls to be stamped as such, and so accredited to become at
maturity professional prostitutes, private or public. [75]
(f) A Deva-dasi sued to establish her right to the mirasi (fees)
of dancing-girls in a certain pagoda, and to be put in possession of
the said mirasi together with the honours and perquisites attached
thereto, and to recover twenty-four rupees, being the value of said
perquisites and honours for the year preceding. She alleged that the
Dharmakarta of the pagoda and his agents wrongfully dismissed her from
the office because she had refused to acquiesce in the admission by
the Dharmakarta of new dancing-girls into the pagoda service, of which
she claimed the monopoly for herself and the then existing families
of dancing-girls. The District Judge dismissed the suit, but the High
Court ordered a re-investigation as to the question of the existence of
an hereditary office with endowments or emoluments attached to it. [76]
(g) A girl, aged seventeen, instituted a suit against the trustees of
a pagoda. It was alleged that a woman who died some years previously
was one of the dancing-women attached to the pagoda, and, as such,
entitled to the benefit of one of the temple endowments; that she
had taken in adoption the plaintiff, who was accordingly entitled
to succeed to her office and the emoluments attached to it; that
the plaintiff could not enter on the office until a bottu-tali had
been tied on her in the temple; and that the trustees did not permit
this to be done. The prayer of the plaint was that the defendants
be compelled to allow the tali to be tied in the temple in view to
the girl performing the dancing service, and enjoying the honours
and endowments attached thereto. The Judge dismissed the suit on the
ground that the claim was inadmissible, as being in effect a claim
by the plaintiff to be enlisted as a public prostitute. [77]
(h) On the death of a prostitute dancing-girl, her adopted niece,
belonging to the same class, succeeds to her property, in whatever
way it is acquired, in preference to a brother remaining in
his caste. The general rule is that the legal relation between a
prostitute dancing-girl and her undegraded relations remaining in
caste be severed. [78]
(i) A pauper sued his sister for the partition of property valued at
Rs. 34,662. The parties belonged to the Bogam caste in the Godavari
district. The woman pleaded that the property had been acquired by her
as a prostitute, and denied her brother's claim to it. He obtained
a decree for only Rs. 100, being a moiety of the property left by
their mother. The High Court held, on the evidence as to the local
custom of the caste, that the decree was right. [79]
(j) The accused, a Madiga of the Bellary district, dedicated his minor
daughter as a Basavi by a form of marriage with an idol. It appeared
that a Basavi is incapable of contracting a lawful marriage, and
ordinarily practices promiscuous intercourse with men, and that her
sons succeed to her father's property. It was held that the accused
had committed an offence under the Penal Code, which lays down that
"whoever sells, lets to hire, or otherwise disposes of any minor
under the age of sixteen years, with intent that such minor shall be
employed or used for the purpose of prostitution, or for any unlawful
and immoral purpose, shall be punished, etc." The Sessions judge
referred to evidence that it was not a matter of course for Basavis
to prostitute themselves for money, and added: "The evidence is very
clear that Basavis are made in accordance with a custom of the Madiga
caste. It is also in evidence that one of the effects of making
a girl Basavi is that her male issue becomes a son of her father,
and perpetuates his family, whereas, if she were married, he would
perpetuate her husband's family. In this particular case, the girl was
made a Basavi that she might be heir to her aunt, who was a Basavi,
but childless. Siddalingana Gowd says that they and their issue inherit
the parents' property. There is evidence that Basavis are made on a
very large scale, and that they live in their parents' houses. There
is no evidence that they are regarded otherwise than as respectable
members of the caste. It seems as if the Basavi is the Madiga and
Bedar equivalent of the "appointed daughter" of Hindu law (Mitakshara,
Chap. I, s. xi, 3). Upon the whole, the evidence seems to establish
that, among the Madigas, there is a widespread custom of performing, in
a temple at Uchangidurgam, a marriage ceremony, the result of which is
that the girl is married without possibility of widowhood or divorce;
that she is at liberty to have intercourse with men at her pleasure;
that her children are heirs to her father, and keep up his family;
and that Basavi's nieces, being made Basavis, become their heirs. The
Basavis seem in some cases to become prostitutes, but the language used
by the witnesses generally points only to free intercourse with men,
and not necessarily to receipt of payment for use of their bodies. In
fact, they seem to acquire the right of intercourse with men without
more discredit than accrues to the men of their caste for intercourse
with women who are not their wives. [80]
It may be observed that Deva-dasis are the only class of women,
who are, under Hindu law as administered in the British Courts,
allowed to adopt girls to themselves. Amongst the other castes,
a widow, for instance, cannot adopt to herself, but only to her
husband, and she cannot adopt a daughter instead of a son. A recent
attempt by a Brahman at Poona to adopt a daughter, who should
take the place of a natural-born daughter, was held to be invalid
by general law, and not sanctioned by local usage. [81] The same
would be held in Madras. "But among dancing-girls," Mayne writes,
[82] "it is customary in Madras and Western India to adopt girls to
follow their adoptive mother's profession, and the girls so adopted
succeed to their property. No particular ceremonies are necessary,
recognition alone being sufficient. In the absence, however, of a
special custom, and on the analogy of an ordinary adoption, only
one girl can be adopted." In Calcutta and Bombay these adoptions by
dancing-girls have been held invalid. [83]
Of proverbs relating to dancing-girls, the following may be quoted:--
(1) The dancing-girl who could not dance said that the hall was not
big enough. The Rev. H. Jensen gives [84] as an equivalent "When the
devil could not swim, he laid the blame on the water."
(2) If the dancing-girl be alive, and her mother dies, there will be
beating of drums; but, if the dancing-girl dies, there will be no such
display. This is explained by Jensen as meaning that, to secure the
favour of a dancing-girl, many men will attend her mother's funeral;
but, if the dancing-girl herself dies, there is nothing to be gained
by attending the funeral.
(3) Like a dancing-girl wiping a child. Jensen remarks that a
dancing-girl is supposed to have no children, so she does not know
how to keep them clean. Said of one who tries to mend a matter,
but lacks experience, and makes things worse than they were before.
(4) As when a boy is born in a dancing-girl's house. Jensen notes
that, if dancing-girls have children, they desire to have girls,
that they may be brought up to their own profession.
(5) The dancing-girl, who was formerly more than filled with good
food in the temple, now turns a somersault to get a poor man's rice.
(6) If a matron is chaste, she may live in the dancing-girl's street,
The insigne of courtesans, according to the Conjeeveram records,
is a Cupid, that of a Christian, a curry-comb. [85]
Devadiga.--The Devadigas are Canarese-speaking temple servants in South
Canara, concerning whom Mr. H. A. Stuart writes as follows. [86] "This
is a class of servants, chiefly musicians in Hindu temples. In the
reign of Mayura Varma, who built a number of new temples, it was found
that Brahmans could not perform all the services. It was, therefore,
ordained by him that the puja or worship alone should be performed by
the Brahmans, and that the Stanikas and Devadigas should perform the
other services in the temples. They are also called Moili (or Moyili),
but there is a caste called Kannada Moili which is quite distinct,
and Devadigas will not eat with them. Some of them cultivate lands,
and some are employed as peons and constables. They returned eleven
sub-divisions, but only one (Tulu) is numerically important. They
are Vaishnavites, and Tulu Brahmans are their priests. As regards
marriage, there is no fixed age. Remarriage of widows is permitted,
but it is practiced only in the case of young widows. The dead are
burned. They eat flesh, and drink liquor."
The Devadigas or Moilis speak Tulu, and are mainly
agriculturists. Their traditional occupation, however, is said to
be service in temples (slaves or servants of the deva or god). A
large number of them, both male and female, are engaged as domestic
servants. Like the Bants, they follow the aliya santana law of
inheritance (in the female line), and they have the same balis
(septs) as the Bants and Billavas. In their marriage ceremonies,
they closely imitate the Bants. An interesting feature in connection
therewith is that, during the dhare ceremony, a screen is interposed
between the bride and bridegroom at the time when the dhare water is
poured. As a sign of betrothal, a ring is given to the bride-elect,
and she wears it on the little finger. The caste is a mixed one,
and here and there Devadigas are seen to have the typical prominent
cheek-bones and square face of the Jains.
In the Census Report, 1901, Dakkera Devali, Padarti, and Valagadava
are returned as sub-divisions of Devadiga.
Devala (belonging to God).--An exogamous sept of Odde. The equivalent
Devali has been recorded as a sub-caste of Devadiga, and Devalyal as a
division of the Todas. [87] A division of the Irulas of the Nilgiris,
settled near the village of Devala, is known by that name.
Devanga.--The Devangas are a caste of weavers, speaking Telugu or
Canarese, who are found all over the Madras Presidency. Those whom
I studied in the Bellary district connected my operations in a vague
way with the pilag (plague) tax, and collection of subscriptions for
the Victoria Memorial. They were employed in weaving women's saris in
pure cotton, or with a silk border, which were sold to rich merchants
in the local bazaar, some of whom belong to the Devanga caste. They
laughingly said that, though they are professional weavers, they find
it cheapest to wear cloths of European manufacture.
The Devangas are also called Jadaru or Jada (great men), Dendra,
Devara, Dera, Seniyan, and Sedan. At Coimbatore, in the Tamil country,
they are called Settukkaran (economical people).
The following legend is narrated concerning the origin of the
caste. Brahma, having created Manu, told him to weave clothes for
Devas and men. Accordingly Manu continued to weave for some years,
and reached heaven through his piety and virtuous life. There being
no one left to weave for them, the Devas and men had to wear garments
of leaves. Vexed at this, they prayed to Brahma that he would rescue
them from their plight. Brahma took them to Siva, who at once created
a lustrous spirit, and called him Devalan. Struck with the brilliancy
thereof, all fled in confusion, excepting Parvati, who remained near
Siva. Siva told her that Devalan was created to weave clothes, to
cover the limbs and bodies of Devas and men, whose descendants are
in consequence called Devangas (Deva angam, limb of god). Devalan
was advised to obtain thread from the lotus stalks springing from
the navel of Vishnu, and he secured them after a severe penance. On
his way back, he met a Rakshasa, Vajradantan by name, who was doing
penance at a hermitage, disguised as a Sanyasi. Deceived by his
appearance, Devalan paid homage to him, and determined to spend the
night at the hermitage. But, towards the close of the day, the Rishi
and his followers threw off their disguise, and appeared in their
true colours as Asuras. Devalan sought the assistance of Vishnu,
and a chakra was given to him, with which he attempted to overthrow
the increasing number of Asuras. He then invoked the assistance
of Chaudanayaki or Chaudeswari, who came riding on a lion, and the
Asuras were killed off. The mighty Asuras who met their death were
Vajradantan (diamond-toothed), Pugainethran (smoke-eyed), Pugaimugan
(smoke-faced), Chithrasenan (leader of armies) and Jeyadrathan (owner
of a victory-securing car). The blood of these five was coloured
respectively yellow, red, white, green, and black. For dyeing threads
of different colours, Devalan dipped them in the blood. The Devangas
claim to be the descendants of Devalan, and say that they are Devanga
Brahmans, on the strength of the following stanza, which seems to
have been composed by a Devanga priest, Sambalinga Murti by name:--
Manu was born in the Brahman caste.
He was surely a Brahman in the womb.
There is no Sudraism in this caste.
Devanga had the form of Brahma.
The legendary origin of the Devangas is given as follows in the
Baramahal Records. [88] "When Brahma the creator created the charam
and acharam, or the animate and inanimate creation, the Devatas or
gods, Rakshasas or evil demons, and the human race, were without a
covering for their bodies, which displeasing the god Narada or reason,
he waited upon Parameshwara or the great Lord at his palace on the
Kailasa Parvata or mount of paradise, and represented the indecent
state of the inhabitants of the universe, and prayed that he would
be pleased to devise a covering for their nakedness. Parameshwara saw
the propriety of Narada's request, and thought it was proper to grant
it. While he was so thinking, a male sprang into existence from his
body, whom he named Deva angam or the body of God, in allusion to the
manner of his birth. Deva angam instantly asked his progenitor why
he had created him. The God answered 'Repair to the pala samudram
or sea of milk, where you will find Sri Maha Vishnu or the august
mighty god Vishnu, and he will tell thee what to do.' Deva angam
repaired to the presence of Sri Maha Vishnu, and represented that
Parameshwara had sent him, and begged to be favoured with Vishnu's
commands. Vishnu replied 'Do you weave cloth to serve as a covering
to the inhabitants of the universe.' Vishnu then gave him some of
the fibres of the lotus flower that grew from his navel, and taught
him how to make it into cloth. Deva angam wove a piece of cloth, and
presented it to Vishnu, who accepted it, and ordered him to depart,
and to take the fibres of trees, and make raiment for the inhabitants
of the Vishnu loka or gods. Deva angam created ten thousand weavers,
who used to go to the forest and collect the fibre of trees, and make
it into cloth for the Devatas or gods and the human race. One day,
Deva angam and his tribe went to a forest in the Bhuloka or earthly
world, in order to collect the fibre of trees, when he was attacked
by a race of Rakshasas or giants, on which he waxed wroth, and,
unbending his jata or long plaited hair, gave it a twist, and struck
it once on the ground. In that moment, a Shakti, or female goddess
having eight hands, each grasping a warlike weapon, sprang from the
earth, attacked the Rakshasas, and defeated them. Deva anga named her
Chudeshwari or goddess of the hair, and, as she delivered his tribe
out of the hands of the Rakshasas, he made her his tutelary divinity."
The tribal goddess of the Devangas is Chaudeswari, a form of Kali or
Durga, who is worshipped annually at a festival, in which the entire
community takes part either at the temple, or at a house or grove
specially prepared for the occasion. During the festival weaving
operations cease; and those who take a prominent part in the rites
fast, and avoid pollution. The first day is called alagu nilupadam
(erecting, or fixing of the sword). The goddess is worshipped, and
a sheep or goat sacrificed, unless the settlement is composed of
vegetarian Devangas. One man at least from each sept fasts, remains
pure, and carries a sword. Inside the temple, or at the spot selected,
the pujari (priest) tries to balance a long sword on its point on
the edge of the mouth of a pot, while the alagu men cut their chests
with the swords. Failure to balance the sword is believed to be
due to pollution brought by somebody to get rid of which the alagu
men bathe. Cow's urine and turmeric water are sprinkled over those
assembled, and women are kept at a distance to prevent menstrual or
other form of pollution. On the next day, called jothiarambam (jothi,
light or splendour) as Chaudeswari is believed to have sprung from
jothi, a big mass is made of rice flour, and a wick, fed with ghi
(clarified butter) and lighted, is placed in a cavity scooped out
therein. This flour lamp must be made by members of a pujari's family
assisted sometimes by the alagu boys. In its manufacture, a quantity
of rice is steeped in water, and poured on a plantain leaf. Jaggery
(crude sugar) is then mixed with it, and, when it is of the proper
consistency, it is shaped into a cone, and placed on a silver or brass
tray. On the third day, called panaka puja or mahanevedyam, jaggery
water is offered, and cocoanuts, and other offerings are laid before
the goddess. The rice mass is divided up, and given to the pujari,
setti, alagu men and boys, and to the community, to which small
portions are doled out in a particular order, which must be strictly
observed. For example, at Tindivanam the order is as follows:--
Setti (headman).
Dhondapu family.
Bapatla family.
Kosanam family.
Modanam family.
Fire-walking does not form part of the festival, as the goddess
herself sprang from fire.
In some places in the North Arcot district the festival lasts over
ten days, and varies in some points from the above. On the first day,
the people go in procession to a jammi (Prosopis spicigera) tree,
and worship a decorated pot (kalasam), to which sheep and goats are
sacrificed. From the second to the sixth day, the goddess and pot are
worshipped daily. On the seventh day, the jammi tree is again visited,
and a man carries on his back cooked rice, which may not be placed on
the ground, except near the tree, or at the temple. If the rice is not
set down en route thereto, it is accepted as a sign that the festival
may be proceeded with. Otherwise they would be afraid to light the
joti on the ninth day. This is a busy day, and the ceremonies of
sandhulu kattadam (binding the corners), alagu erecting, lighting
the flour mass, and pot worship are performed. Early in the morning,
goats and sheep are killed, outside the village boundary, in the
north, east, south, and west corners, and the blood is sprinkled
on all sides to keep off all foreign ganams or saktis. The sword
business, as already described, is gone through, and certain tests
applied to see whether the joti may be lighted. A lime fruit is
placed in the region of the navel of the idol, who should throw it
down spontaneously. A bundle of betel leaves is cut across with a
knife, and the cut ends should unite. If the omens are favourable,
the joti is lighted, sheep and goats are killed, and pongal (rice)
is offered to the joti. The day closes with worship of the pot. On the
last day the rice mass is distributed. All Devanga guests from other
villages have to be received and treated with respect according to
the local rules, which are in force. For this purpose, the community
divide their settlements into Sthalams, Payakattulu, Galugramatulu,
Petalu, and Kurugramalu, which have a definite order of precedence.
Among the Devangas the following endogamous sections occur:--(1)
Telugu; (2) Canarese; (3) Hathinentu Manayavaru (eighteen house
people); (4) Sivachara; (5) Ariya; (6) Kodekal Hatakararu (weavers).
They are practically divided into two linguistic sections, Canarese and
Telugu, of which the former have adopted the Brahmanical ceremonials
to a greater extent than the latter, who are more conservative. Those
who wear the sacred thread seem to preponderate over the non-thread
weavers in the Canarese section. To the thread is sometimes attached
metal charm-cylinder to ward off evil spirits.
The following are examples of exogamous septs in the Telugu section:--
Akasam, sky.
Anumala, seeds of Dolichos lablab.
Boggula, charcoal.
Bandla, rock or cart.
Chintakai, tamarind fruit.
Challa, buttermilk.
Chapparam, pandal or booth.
Dhoddi, cattle-pen, or courtyard.
Dhuggani, money.
Yerra, red.
Konda, mountain.
Kaththi, knife.
Bandari (treasurer).
Busam, grain.
Dhondapu (Cephalandra indica).
Elugoti, assembly.
Gattu, bank or mound.
Paidam, money.
Gonapala, old plough.
Gosu, pride.
Jigala, pith.
Katta, a dam.
Kompala, houses.
Konangi, buffoon.
Katikala, collyrium.
Kaththiri, scissors.
Moksham, heaven.
Pasupala, turmeric.
Pidakala, dried cow-dung cakes.
Pothula, male.
Pachi powaku, green tobacco.
Padavala, boat.
Pouzala, a bird.
Pammi, clay lamp.
Thalakoka, female cloth.
Thutla, hole.
Utla, ropes for hanging pots.
Vasthrala, cloths.
Matam, monastery.
Madira, liquor or heap of earth.
Medam, fight.
Masila, dirt.
Olikala, funeral pyre and ashes.
Prithvi, earth.
Peraka, tile.
Punjala, cock or male.
Pinjala, cotton-cleaning.
Pichchiga, sparrow.
Sika (kudumi: tuft of hair).
Sandala, lanes.
Santha, a fair.
Sajje (Setaria italica).
The majority of Devangas are Saivites, and wear the lingam. They do
not, however, wash the stone lingam with water, in which the feet
of Jangams have been washed. They are not particular as to always
keeping the lingam on the body, and give as an explanation that,
when they are at work, they have to touch all kinds of people. Some
said that merchants, when engaged in their business, should not wear
the lingam, especially if made of spatikam (quartz), as they have to
tell untruths as regards the value and quality of their goods, and
ruin would follow if these were told while the lingam was on the body.
In some parts of Ganjam, the country folk keep a large number of
Brahmini bulls. When one of these animals dies, very elaborate funeral
ceremonies take place, and the dead beast is carried in procession
by Devangas, and buried by them. As the Devangas are Lingayats,
they have a special reverence for Basavanna, the sacred bull, and
the burying of the Brahmini bull is regarded by them as a sacred and
meritorious act. Other castes do not regard it as such, though they
often set free sacred cows or calves.
Devangas and Padma Sales never live in the same street, and do not
draw water from the same well. This is probably due to the fact that
they belong to the left and right-hand factions respectively, and
no love is lost between them. Like other left-hand castes, Devangas
have their own dancing-girls, called Jathi-biddalu (children of the
castes), whose male offspring do achchupani, printing-work on cloth,
and occasionally go about begging from Devangas. In the Madras
Census Report, 1901, it is stated that "in Madura and Tinnevelly,
the Devangas, or Sedans, consider themselves a shade superior to the
Brahmans, and never do namaskaram (obeisance or salutation) to them,
or employ them as priests. In Madura and Coimbatore, the Sedans have
their own dancing-girls, who are called Devanga or Seda Dasis in the
former, and Manikkattal in the latter, and are strictly reserved for
members of the caste under pain of excommunication or heavy fine."
Concerning the origin of the Devanga beggars, called Singamvadu,
the following legend is current. When Chaudeswari and Devalan were
engaged in combat with the Asuras, one of the Asuras hid himself
behind the ear of the lion, on which the goddess was seated. When
the fight was over, he came out, and asked for pardon. The goddess
took pity on him, and ordered that his descendants should be called
Singamvallu, and asked Devalan to treat them as servants, and support
them. Devangas give money to these beggars, who have the privilege
of locking the door, and carrying away the food, when the castemen
take their meals. In assemblies of Devangas, the hand of the beggar
serves as a spittoon. He conveys the news of death, and has as the
insignia of office a horn, called thuththari or singam.
The office of headman, or Pattagar, is hereditary, and he is assisted
by an official called Sesha-raju or Umidisetti who is the servant of
the community, and receives a small fee annually for each loom within
his beat.
Widow remarriage is permitted in some places, and forbidden
in others. There may be intermarriage between the flesh-eating
and vegetarian sections. But a girl who belongs to a flesh-eating
family, and marries into a vegetarian family, must abstain from meat,
and may not touch any vessel or food in her husband's family till
she has reached puberty. Before settling the marriage of a girl,
some village goddess, or Chaudeswari, is consulted, and the omens
are watched. A lizard chirping on the right is a good omen, and on
the left bad. Sometimes, red and white flowers, wrapped up in green
leaves, are thrown in front of the idol, and the omen considered good
or bad according to the flower which a boy or girl picks up. At the
marriage ceremony which commences with distribution of pan-supari
(betel) and Vigneswara worship, the bride is presented with a new
cloth, and sits on a three-legged stool or cloth-roller (dhonige). The
maternal uncle puts round her neck a bondhu (strings of unbleached
cotton) dipped in turmeric. The ceremonies are carried out according
to the Puranic ritual, except by those who consider themselves to
be Devanga Brahmans. On the first day the milk post is set up being
made of Odina Wodier in the Tamil, and Mimusops hexandra in the Telugu
country. Various rites are performed, which include tonsure, upanayanam
(wearing the sacred thread), padapuja (washing the feet), Kasiyatra
(mock pilgrimage to Benares), dharadhattam (giving away the bride),
and mangalyadharanam (tying the marriage badge, or bottu). The
proceedings conclude with pot searching. A pap-bowl and ring are
put into a pot. If the bride picks out the bowl, her first-born will
be a girl, and if the bridegroom gets hold of the ring, it will be
a boy. On the fifth day, a square design is made on the floor with
coloured rice grains. Between the contracting couple and the square a
row of lights is placed. Four pots are set, one at each corner of the
square, and eight pots arranged along each side thereof. On the square
itself, two pots representing Siva and Uma, are placed, with a row of
seedling pots near them. A thread is wound nine times round the pots
representing the god and goddess, and tied above to the pandal. After
the pots have been worshipped, the thread is cut, and worn, with the
sacred thread, for three months. This ceremony is called Nagavali.
When a girl reaches puberty, a twig of Alangium Lamarckii is placed
in the menstrual hut to keep off devils.
The dead are generally buried in a sitting posture. Before the grave is
filled in, a string is tied to the kudumi (hair knot) of the corpse,
and, by its means, the head is brought near the surface. Over it a
lingam is set up, and worshipped daily throughout the death ceremonies.
The following curious custom is described by Mr. C. Hayavadana
Rao. Once in twelve years, a Devanga leaves his home, and joins
the Padma Sales. He begs from them, saying that he is the son of
their caste, and as such entitled to be supported by them. If alms
are not forthcoming, he enters the house, and carries off whatever
he may be able to pick up. Sometimes, if he can get nothing else,
he has been known to seize a lighted cigar in the mouth of a Sale,
and run off with it. The origin of this custom is not certain, but
it has been suggested that the Devangas and Sales were originally one
caste, and that the former separated from the latter when they became
Lingayats. A Devanga only becomes a Chinerigadu when he is advanced
in years, and will eat the remnants of food left by Padma Sales on
their plates. A Chinerigadu is, on his death, buried by the Sales.
Many of the Devangas are short of stature, light skinned, with
sharp-cut features, light-brown iris, and delicate tapering
fingers. Those at Hospet, in the Bellary district, carried thorn
tweezers (for removing thorns of Acacia arabica from the feet),
tooth-pick and ear-scoop, suspended as a chatelaine from the
loin-string. The more well-to-do had these articles made of silver,
with the addition of a silver saw for paring the nails and cutting
cheroots. The name Pampanna, which some of them bore, is connected with
the nymph Pampa, who resides at Hampi, and asked Parameswara to become
her husband. He accordingly assumed the name of Pampapathi, in whose
honour there is a tank at Anagundi, and temple at Hampi. He directed
Pampa to live in a pond, and pass by the name of Pampasarovara.
The Sedans of Coimbatore, at the time of my visit in October, were
hard at work making clothes for the Dipavali festival. It is at times
of festivals and marriages, in years of prosperity among the people,
that the weavers reap their richest harvest.
In the Madras Census Report, 1901, Bilimagga (white loom) and Atagara
(weavers and exorcists) are returned as sub-castes of Devanga. The
usual title of the Devangas is Chetti.
The shortness of stature of some of the weaving classes which I have
examined is brought out by the following average measurements:--
cm.
Padma Sale 159.9
Sukun Sale 160.3
Togata 160.5
Suka Sale 161.1
Devendra.--A name assumed by some Pallans, who claim to be descended
from the king of the gods (devas).
Dhabba (split bamboo).--Dhabba or Dhabbai is the name of a sub-division
of Koravas, who split bamboos, and make various articles therefrom.
Dhakkado.--A small mixed class of Oriya cultivators, concerning whom
there is a proverb that a Dhakkado does not know his father. They
are described, in the Census Report, 1891, as "a caste of cultivators
found in the Jeypore agency tracts. They are said to be the offspring
of a Brahman and a Sudra girl, and, though living on the hills, they
are not an uncivilised hill tribe. Some prepare and sell the sacred
thread, others are confectioners. They wear the sacred thread, and
do not drink water from the hands of any except Brahmans. Girls are
married before puberty, and widow marriage is practiced. They are
flesh-eaters, and their dead are usually buried."
In a note on the Dhakkados, Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao writes that
"the illegitimate descendant of a Brahman and a hill woman of the
non-polluting castes is said to be known as a Dhakkado. The Dhakkados
assume Brahmanical names, but, as regards marriages, funerals, etc.,
follow the customs of their mother's caste. Her caste people intermarry
with her children. A Dhakkado usually follows the occupation of his
mother's caste. Thus one whose mother is a Kevuto follows the calling
of fishing or plying boats on rivers, one whose mother is a Bhumia
is an agriculturist, and so on."
Dhakur.--Stated, in the Manual of the Vizagapatam district, to be
illegitimate children of Brahmans, who wear the paieta (sacred thread).
Dhanapala.--A sub-division of Gollas, who guard treasure while it is
in transit.
Dhangar.--Dhangar, or Donigar, is recorded, in the Madras Census
Report, 1901, as a Marathi caste of shepherds and cattle-breeders. I
gather, from a note [89] on the Dhangars of the Kanara district in
the Bombay Presidency, that "the word Dhangar is generally derived
from the Sanskrit dhenu, a cow. Their home speech is Marathi, but they
can speak Kanarese. They keep a special breed of cows and buffaloes,
known as Dhangar mhasis and Dhangar gais which are the largest cattle
in Kanara. Many of Shivaji's infantry were Satara Dhangars."
Dhaniala (coriander).--An exogamous sept of Kamma. Dhaniala Jati,
or coriander caste, is an opprobrious name applied to Komatis,
indicating that, in business transactions, they must be crushed as
coriander fruits are crushed before the seed is sown.
Dhare.--An exogamous sept of Kuruba. In the Canara country, the
essential and binding part of the marriage ceremony is called dhare
(see Bant).
Dharmaraja.--An exogamous sept of the Irulas of North Arcot. Dharmaraja
was the eldest of the five Pandavas, the heroes of the Mahabharatha.
Dhippo (light).--An exogamous sept of Bhondari. The members thereof
may not blow out lights, or extinguish them in any other way. They
will not light lamps without being madi, i.e., wearing silk cloths,
or cloths washed and dried after bathing.
Dhobi.--A name used for washerman by Anglo-Indians all over India. The
word is said to be derived from dhoha, Sanskrit, dhav, to wash. A
whitish grey sandy efflorescence, found in many places, from which,
by boiling and the addition of quicklime, an alkali of considerable
strength is obtained, is called Dhobi's earth. [90] "The expression
dhobie itch," Manson writes, [91] "although applied to any itching
ringworm-like affection of any part of the skin, most commonly
refers to some form of epiphytic disease of the crutch or axilla
(armpit)." The disease is very generally supposed to be communicated
by clothes from the wash, but Manson is of opinion that the belief
that it is contracted from clothes which have been contaminated by
the washerman is probably not very well founded.
Dhobi is the name, by which the washerman caste of the Oriyas
is known. "They are said," Mr. Francis writes, [92] "to have come
originally from Orissa. Girls are generally married before maturity,
and, if this is not possible, they have to be married to a sword or
a tree, before they can be wedded to a man. Their ordinary marriage
ceremonies are as follows. The bridal pair bathe in water brought from
seven different houses. The bridegroom puts a bangle on the bride's
arm (this is the binding part of the ceremony); the left and right
wrists of the bride and bridegroom are tied together; betel leaf
and nut are tied in a corner of the bride's cloth, and a myrabolam
(Terminalia fruit) in that of the bridegroom; and finally the people
present in the pandal (booth) throw rice and saffron (turmeric) over
them. Widows and divorced women may marry again. They are Vaishnavites,
but some of them also worship Kali or Durga. They employ Bairagis,
and occasionally Brahmans, as their priests. They burn their dead, and
perform sraddha (annual memorial ceremony). Their titles are Chetti
(or Maha Chetti) and Behara." The custom of the bridal pair bathing
in water from seven different houses obtains among many Oriya castes,
including Brahmans. It is known by the name of pani-tula. The water
is brought by married girls, who have not reached puberty, on the
night preceding the wedding day, and the bride and bridegroom wash
in it before dawn. This bath is called koili pani snano, or cuckoo
water-bath. The koil is the Indian koel or cuckoo (Eudynamis honorata),
whose crescendo cry ku-il, ku-il, is trying to the nerves during the
hot season.
The following proverbs [93] relating to washermen may be quoted:--
Get a new washerman, and an old barber.
The washerman knows the defects of the village (i.e., he learns
a good deal about the private affairs of the various families,
when receiving and delivering the clothes).
When a washerman gets sick, his sickness must leave him at the
stone. The stone referred to is the large stone, on which the
washerman cleans cloths, and the proverb denotes that, however
sick a washerman may be, his work must be done.
Dhoddi.--Dhoddi, meaning a court or back-yard, cattle-pen, or
sheep-fold, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of Devanga,
Koppala Velama, Kama Sale, Mala, and Yanadi.
Dhoddiyan.--A name given by Tamilians to Jogis.
Dhollo.--Dhollo is recorded in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as
the same as Doluva. A correspondent informs me that Dhollo is said
to be different from Doluva.
Dhoma (gnat or mosquito).--An exogamous sept of Mala.
Dhondapu (Cephalandra indica).--An exogamous sept of Devanga. The fruit
is one of the commonest of native vegetables, and cooked in curries.
Dhoni (boat).--An exogamous sept of Mila and Oruganti Kapu. In a
paper on the native vessels of South India by Mr. Edge, published in
the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, the dhoni is described as
"a vessel of ark-like form, about 70 feet long, 20 feet broad, and
11 feet deep, with a flat bottom or keel part, which at the broadest
place is 7 feet.
"The whole equipment of these rude vessels, as well as their
construction, is the most coarse and unseaworthy that I have ever
seen." The dhoni, with masts, is represented in the ancient lead and
copper coinage of Southern India.
Dhor.--In the Madras Census Report, 1901, a few (164) individuals were
returned as "Dher, a low caste of Marathi leather workers." They were,
I gather from the Bombay Gazetteer, Dhors or tanners who dwell in
various parts of the Bombay Presidency, and whose home speech, names
and surnames seem to show that they have come from the Maratha country.
Dhudala (calves).--An exogamous sept of Thumati Golla.
Dhudho (milk).--A sept of Omanaito.
Dhuggani (money).--An exogamous sept of Devanga.
Dhuliya.--Dhuliya or Dulia is a small class of Oriya cultivators,
some of whom wear the sacred thread, and employ Boishnobs as their
priests. Marriage before puberty is not compulsory, and widows can
remarry. They eat flesh. The dead are cremated. [94] The name is
said to be derived from dhuli, dust, with which those who work in the
fields are covered. Dhuliya also means carriers of dhulis (dhoolies),
which are a form of palanquin.
Didavi.--A sub-division of Poroja.
Digambara (space-clad or sky-clad, i.e., nude).--One of the two main
divisions of the Jains. The Digambaras are said [95] to "regard
absolute nudity as the indispensable sign of holiness, though the
advance of civilisation has compelled them to depart from the practice
of their theory."
Divar.--See Deva.
Diyasi.--An exogamous sept of Dandasi. The members thereof show special
reverence for the sun, and cloths, mokkutos (forehead chaplets),
garlands, and other articles to be used by the bride and bridegroom
at a wedding are placed outside the house, so that they may be exposed
to it.
Dolaiya.--A title of Doluva and Odia.
Dolobehara.--The name of headmen or their assistants among many Oriya
castes. In some cases, e.g., among the Haddis, the name is used as
a title by families, members of which are headmen.
Doluva.--The Doluvas of Ganjam are, according to the Madras Census
Report, 1891, "supposed to be the descendants of the old Rajahs by
their concubines, and were employed as soldiers and attendants. The
name is said to be derived from the Sanskrit dola, meaning army." The
Doluvas claim to be descended from the Puri Rajahs by their concubines,
and say that some of them were employed as sirdars and paiks under
these Rajahs. They are said to have accompanied a certain Puri Rajah
who came south to wage war, and to have settled in Ganjam. They
are at the present day mainly engaged in agriculture, though some
are traders, bricklayers, cart-drivers, etc. The caste seems to be
divided into five sections, named Kondaiyito, Lenka, Rabba, Pottia,
and Beharania, of which the first two are numerically the strongest
and most widely distributed. Kondaiyito is said to be derived from
kondo, an arrow, and to indicate warrior. The Kondaiyitos sometimes
style themselves Rajah Doluvas, and claim superiority over the other
sections. It is noted, in the Madras Census Report, 1891, that "Oriya
Zamindars get wives from this sub-division, but the men of it cannot
marry into the Zamindar's families. They wear the sacred thread,
and are writers." In former days, the title writer was applied to
the junior grade of Civil Servants of the East India Company. It is
now used to denote a copying clerk in an office.
Various titles occur among members of the caste, e.g., Bissoyi,
Biswalo, Dolei, Jenna, Kottiya, Mahanti, Majhi, Nahako, Porida,
Ravuto, Samulo, and Sani.
The ordinary caste council system, with a hereditary headman, seems
to be absent among the Doluvas, and the affairs of the caste are
settled by leading members thereof.
The Doluvas are Paramarthos, following the Chaitanya form of
Vaishnavism, and wearing a rosary of tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) beads. They
further worship various Takuranis (village deities), among which
are Kalva, Bagadevi, Kotari, Maheswari, and Manickeswari. They are
in some places very particular regarding the performance of sradh
(memorial ceremony), which is carried out annually in the following
manner. On the night before the sradh day, a room is prepared for
the reception of the soul of the deceased. This room is called pitru
bharano (reception of the ancestor). The floor thereof is cleansed with
cow-dung water, and a lamp fed with ghi (clarified butter) is placed
on it by the side of a plank. On this plank a new cloth is laid for
the reception of various articles for worship, e.g., sacred grass,
Zizyphus jujuba leaves, flowers, etc. In front of the plank a brass
vessel, containing water and a tooth brush of Achyranthes aspera root,
is placed. The dead person's son throws rice and Zizyphus leaves into
the air, and calls on the deceased to come and give a blessing on the
following day. The room is then locked, and the lamp kept burning
in it throughout the night. On the following day, all old pots are
thrown away and, after a small space has been cleaned on the floor
of the house, a pattern is drawn thereon with flour in the form of
a square or oblong with twelve divisions. On each division a jak
(Artocarpus integrifolia) leaf is placed, and on each leaf the son
puts cooked rice and vegetables. A vessel containing Achyranthes
root, and a plank with a new cloth on it, are set by the side of
the pattern. After worship has been performed and food offered,
the cloth is presented to a Brahman, and the various articles used
in the ceremonial are thrown into water.
Domb.--The name Domb or Dombo is said to be derived from the word
dumba, meaning devil, in reference to the thieving propensities
of the tribe. The Dombas, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [96] "are a
Dravidian caste of weavers and menials, found in the hill tracts of
Vizagapatam. This caste appears to be an offshoot of the Dom caste
of Bengal, Behar, and the North-Western Provinces. Like the Doms,
the Dombas are regarded with disgust, because they eat beef, pork,
horse-flesh, rats, and the flesh of animals which have died a natural
death, and both are considered to be Chandalas or Pariahs by the
Bengalis and the Uriyas. The Dombs weave the cloths and blankets
worn by the hill people, but, like the Pariahs of the plains, they
are also labourers, scavengers, etc. Some of them are extensively
engaged in trade, and they have, as a rule, more knowledge of the
world than the ryots who despise them. They are great drunkards." In
the Census Report, 1871, it was noted that "in many villages, the
Doms carry on the occupation of weaving, but, in and around Jaipur,
they are employed as horse-keepers, tom-tom beaters, scavengers,
and in other menial duties. Notwithstanding their abject position
in the social scale, some signs of progress may be detected amongst
them. They are assuming the occupation, in many instances, of petty
hucksters, eking out a livelihood by taking advantage of the small
difference in rates between market and market."
"The Dombs," Mr. F. Fawcett writes, [97] "are an outcast jungle
people, who inhabit the forests on the high lands fifty to eighty or a
hundred miles from the east coast, about Vizagapatam. Being outcast,
they are never allowed to live within a village, but have their own
little hamlet adjoining a village proper, inhabited by people of
various superior castes. It is fair to say that the Dombs are akin
to the Panos of the adjoining Khond country, a Pariah folk who live
amongst the Khonds, and used to supply the human victims for the
Meriah sacrifices. Indeed, the Khonds, who hold them in contemptuous
inferiority, call them Dombas as a sort of alternative title to
Panos. The Paidis of the adjoining Savara or Saora country are also,
doubtless, kinsmen of the Dombs. [The same man is said to be called
Paidi by Telugus, Dombo by the Savaras, and Pano by the Khonds. It
is noted in the Census Report, 1881, that the Pano quarters in Khond
villages are called Dombo Sai.] In most respects their condition is
a very poor one. Though they live in the best part of the Presidency
for game, they know absolutely nothing of hunting, and cannot even
handle a bow and arrow. They have, however, one respectable quality,
industry, and are the weavers, traders, and money-lenders of the hills,
being very useful as middlemen between the Khonds, Sauras, Gadabas,
and other hill people on the one hand, and the traders of the plains
on the other. I am informed, on good authority, that there are some
Dombs who rise higher than this, but cannot say whether these are,
or are not crosses with superior races. Most likely they are, for
most of the Dombs are arrant thieves. It was this propensity for
thieving, in fact, which had landed some hundreds of them in the jail
at Vizagapatam when I visited that place, and gave me an opportunity
of recording their measurements." The averages of the more important
of these measurements are as follows:--
cm.
Stature 161.9
Cephalic length 18.8
Cephalic breadth 14.3
Cephalic index 75.6
Nasal index 86.5
It is noted by the Missionary Gloyer [98] that the colour of the
skin of the Dombs varies from very dark to yellow, and their height
from that of an Aryan to the short stature of an aboriginal, and that
there is a corresponding variation in facial type.
For the following note on the Dombs, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana
Rao. They are the weavers, traders, musicians, beggars, and
money-lenders of the hills. Some own cattle, and cultivate. The
hill people in the interior are entirely dependent on them for their
clothing. A few Domb families are generally found to each village. They
act as middlemen between the hill people and the Komati traders. Their
profits are said to be large, and their children are, in some places,
found attending hill schools. As musicians, they play on the drum and
pipe. They are the hereditary musicians of the Maharaja of Jeypore. A
Domb beggar, when engaged in his professional calling, goes about
from door to door, playing on a little pipe. Their supposed powers
over devils and witches result in their being consulted when troubles
appear. Though the Dombs are regarded as a low and polluting class,
they will not eat at the hands of Komatis, Bhondaris, or Ghasis. Some
Dombas have become converts to Christianity through missionary
influence.
In the Madras Census Report, 1891, the following sections of the
Dombs are recorded:--Onomia, Odia, Mandiri, Mirgam, and Kohara. The
sub-divisions, however, seem to be as follows:--Mirigani, Kobbiriya,
Odiya, Sodabisiya, Mandiri, and Andiniya. There are also various septs,
of which the following have been recorded among the Odiyas:--Bhag
(tiger), Balu (bear), Nag (cobra), Hanuman (the monkey god), Kochchipo
(tortoise), Bengri (frog), Kukra (dog), Surya (sun), Matsya (fish),
and Jaikonda (lizard). It is noted by Mr. Fawcett that "monkeys, frogs,
and cobras are taboo, and also the sunari tree (Ochna squarrosa). The
big lizard, cobras, frogs, and the crabs which are found in the paddy
fields, and are usually eaten by jungle people, may not be eaten."
When a girl reaches puberty, she remains outside the hut for five
days, and then bathes at the nearest stream, and is presented with
a new cloth. In honour of the event, drink is distributed among her
relatives. Girls are usually married after puberty. A man can claim
his paternal aunt's daughter in marriage. When a proposal of marriage
is to be made, the suitor carries some pots of liquor, usually worth
two rupees, to the girl's house, and deposits them in front of it. If
her parents consent to the match, they take the pots inside, and drink
some of the liquor. After some time has elapsed, more liquor, worth
five rupees, is taken to the girl's house. A reduction in the quantity
of liquor is made when a man is proposing for the hand of his paternal
aunt's daughter, and, on the second occasion, the liquor will only be
worth three rupees. A similar reduction is made in the jholla tonka,
or bride price. On the wedding day, the bridegroom goes, accompanied
by his relations, to the bride's home, where, at the auspicious moment
fixed by the Desari, his father presents new cloths to himself and
the bride, which they put on. They stand before the hut, and on each
is placed a cloth with a myrabolam (Terminalia) seed, rice, and a few
copper coins tied up in it. The bridegroom's right little finger is
linked with the left little finger of the bride, and they enter the
hut. On the following day, the newly married couple repair to the home
of the bridegroom. On the third day, they are bathed in turmeric water,
a pig is killed, and a feast is held. On the ninth day, the knots in
the cloths, containing the myrabolams, rice, and coins, are untied,
and the marriage ceremonies are at an end. The remarriage of widows
is permitted, and a younger brother usually marries the widow of his
elder brother.
It is noted, in the Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district, that "some
of the Dombus of the Parvatipur Agency follow many of the customs
of the low-country castes, including menarikam (marriage with the
maternal uncle's daughter), and say they are the same as the Paidis
(or Paidi Malas) of the plains adjoining, with whom they intermarry."
The corpses of the more prosperous Dombs are usually cremated. The
wood of the sunari tree and relli (Cassia fistula) may not be used
for the pyre. The son or husband of a deceased person has his head,
moustache, and armpits shaved on the tenth day.
Domb women, and women of other tribes in the Jeypore Agency tracts,
wear silver ear ornaments called nagul, representing a cobra just
about to strike with tongue protruded. Similar ornaments of gold,
called naga pogulu (cobra-shaped earrings), are worn by women of some
Telugu castes in the plains of Vizagapatam.
The personal names of the Dombs are, as among other Oriya castes,
often those of the day of the week on which the individual was born.
Concerning the religion of the Dombs, Mr. Fawcett notes that "their
chief god--probably an ancestral spirit--is called Kaluga. There is
one in each village, in the headman's house. The deity is represented
by a pie piece (copper coin), placed in or over a new earthen pot
smeared with rice and turmeric powder. During worship, a silk cloth,
a new cloth, or a wet cloth may be worn, but one must not dress in
leaves. Before the mangoes are eaten, the first-fruits are offered
to the moon, at the full moon of the month Chitra."
"When," Gloyer writes, "a house has to be built, the first thing is to
select a favourable spot, to which few evil spirits (dumas) resort. At
this spot they put, in several places, three grains of rice arranged in
such a way that the two lower grains support the upper one. To protect
the grains, they pile up stones round them, and the whole is lightly
covered with earth. When, after some time, they find on inspection
that the upper grain has fallen off, the spot is regarded as unlucky,
and must not be used. If the position of the grains remains unchanged,
the omen is regarded as auspicious. They drive in the first post,
which must have a certain length, say of five, seven, or nine ells,
the ell being measured from the tip of the middle finger to the
elbow. The post is covered on the top with rice straw, leaves, and
shrubs, so that birds may not foul it, which would be regarded as
an evil omen. [In Madras, a story is current, with reference to the
statue of Sir Thomas Munro, that he seized upon all the rice depôts,
and starved the people to death by selling rice in egg-shells at one
shell for a rupee, and, to punish him, the Government erected the
statue in an open place, so that the birds of the air might insult
him by polluting his face.] In measuring the house, odd numbers play
an important part. The number four (pura, or full number), however,
forms the proper measurement, whereby they measure the size of the
house, according to the pleasure of the builder. But now the Dissary
(Desari) decides whether the house shall be built on the nandi, dua, or
tia system, nandi signifying one, dua two, and tia three. This number
of ells must be added to the measurement of the house. Supposing that
the length of the house is twelve ells, then it will be necessary to
add one ell according to the nandi system, so that the length amounts
to thirteen ells. The number four can only be used for stables."
"The Dumas," Gloyer continues, "are represented as souls of the
deceased, which roam about without a home, so as to cause to mankind
all possible harm. At the birth of a child, the Duma must be invited
in a friendly manner to provide the child with a soul, and protect it
against evil. For this purpose, a fowl is killed on the ninth day,
a bone (beinknochen) detached, and pressed in to the hand of the
infant. The relations are seated in solemn silence, and utter the
formula:--When grandfather, grandmother, father, or brother comes,
throw away the bone, and we will truly believe it. No sooner does the
sprawling and excited infant drop the bone, than the Dumas are come,
and boisterous glee prevails. The Dumas occasionally give vent to
their ghostly sounds, and cause no little consternation among the
inmates of a house, who hide from fear. Cunning thieves know how to
rob the superstitious by employing instruments with a subdued tone
(dumpftönende), or by emitting deep sounds from the chest. The yearly
sacrifice to a Duma consists of a black fowl and strong brandy. If
a member of a family falls ill, an extraordinary sacrifice has to
be offered up. The Duma is not regarded only as an evil spirit, but
also as a tutelary deity. He protects one against the treacherous
attacks of witches. A place is prepared for him in the door-hinge, or
a fishing-net, wherein he lives, is placed over the door. The witches
must count all the knots of the net, before they can enter. Devil
worship is closely connected with that of the Duma. The devil's
priests, and in rare cases priestesses, effect communion between
the people and the Dumas by a sort of possession, which the spirit,
entering into them, is said to give rise to. This condition, which is
produced by intoxicating drink and the fumes of burning incense, gives
rise to revolting cramp-like contortions, and muscular quiverings. In
this state, they are wont to communicate what sacrifices the spirits
require. On special occasions, they fall into a frenzied state,
in which they cut their flesh with sharp instruments, or pass long,
thin iron bars through the tongue and cheeks, during which operation no
blood must flow. For this purpose, the instruments are rubbed all over
with some blood-congealing material or sap. They also affect sitting
on a sacred swing, armed with long iron nails. [Mr. G. F. Paddison
informs me that he once saw a villager in the Vizagapatam district,
sitting outside the house, while groans proceeded from within. He
explained that he was ill, and his wife was swinging on nails with
their points upwards, to cure him.] The devil called Jom Duto,
or messenger of the going, is believed to be a one-eyed, limping,
black individual, whose hair is twisted into a frightfully long horn,
while one foot is very long, and the other resembles the hoof of a
buffalo. He makes his appearance at the death-bed, in order to drag
his victim to the realm of torture."
Children are supposed to be born without souls, and to be afterwards
chosen as an abode by the soul of an ancestor. The coming of the
ancestor is signalised by the child dropping a chicken bone which
has been thrust into its hand, and much rejoicing follows among the
assembled relations. [99]
Mr. Paddison tells me that some Dombs are reputed to be able to pour
blazing oil over their bodies, without suffering any hurt; and one
man is said to have had a miraculous power of hardening his skin, so
that any one could have a free shot at him, without hurting him. He
further narrates that, at Sujanakota in the Vizagapatam district,
the Dombs, notwithstanding frequent warnings, put devils into two
successive schoolmasters.
Various tattoo devices, borne by the Dombs examined by Mr. Fawcett,
are figured and described by him. "These patterns," he writes,
"were said to be, one and all, purely ornamental, and not in any way
connected with totems, or tribal emblems." Risley, however, [100]
regards "four out of the twelve designs as pretty closely related to
the religion and mythology of the tribe; two are totems and two have
reference to the traditional avocations. Nos. 11 and 12 represent a
classical scene in Dom folk-lore, the story of King Haris-Chandra, who
was so generous that he gave all he had to the poor and sold himself
to a Dom at Benares, who employed him to watch his cremation ground at
night. While he was thus engaged, his wife, who had also been sold for
charitable purposes, came to burn the body of her son. She had no money
to pay her fees, and Haris-Chandra, not knowing her in the darkness,
turned her away. Fortunately the sun rose; mutual recognition followed;
the victims of promiscuous largesse were at once remarried, and Vishnu
intervened to restore the son to life. Tatu No. 11 shows Haris-Chandra
watching the burning-ground by moonlight; the wavy line is the Ganges;
the dots are the trees on the other side; the strokes on either side
of the king are the logs of wood, which he is guarding. In No. 12
we see the sun rising, its first ray marked with a sort of fork,
and the meeting of the king and queen."
It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district, that
"throughout the Jeypore country proper, the Dombus (and some Ghasis)
are by far the most troublesome class. Their favourite crime is
cattle-theft for the sake of the skins, but, in 1902, a Dombu gang in
Naurangpur went so far as to levy blackmail over a large extent of
country, and defy for some months all attempts at capture. The loss
of their cattle exasperates the other hill folk to the last degree,
and, in 1899, the Naiks (headmen) of sixteen villages in the north of
Jeypore taluk headed an organized attack on the houses of the Dombus,
which, in the most deliberate manner, they razed to the ground in some
fifteen villages. The Dombus had fortunately got scent of what was
coming, and made themselves scarce, and no bloodshed occurred. In the
next year, some of the Naiks of the Ramagiri side of Jeypore taluk
sent round a jack branch, a well-recognised form of the fiery cross,
summoning villagers other than Dombus to assemble at a fixed time
and place, but this was luckily intercepted by the police. The Agent
afterwards discussed the whole question with the chief Naiks of Jeypore
and South Naurangpur. They had no opinion of the deterrent effects
of mere imprisonment on the Dombus. 'You fatten them, and send them
back,' they said, and suggested that a far better plan would be to
cut off their right hands. [It is noted, in the Vizagapatam Manual,
1869, that in cases of murder, the Rajah of Jeypore generally had the
man's hands, nose, and ears cut off, but, after all that, he seldom
escaped the deceased's relatives.] They eventually proposed a plan
of checking the cattle-thefts, which is now being followed in much
of that country. The Baranaiks, or heads of groups of villages, were
each given brands with distinctive letters and numbers, and required
to brand the skins of all animals which had died a natural death or
been honestly killed; and the possession by Dombus, skin merchants, or
others, of unbranded skins is now considered a suspicious circumstance,
the burden of explaining which lies upon the possessor. Unless this, or
some other way of checking the Dombus' depredations proves successful,
serious danger exists that the rest of the people will take the
matter into their own hands and, as the Dombus in the Agency number
over 50,000, this would mean real trouble." It is further recorded
[101] that the Paidis (Paidi Malas), who often commit dacoities on
the roads, "are connected with the Dombus of the Rayagada and Gunupur
taluks, who are even worse. These people dacoit houses at night in
armed gangs of fifty or more, with their faces blacked to prevent
recognition. Terrifying the villagers into staying quiet in their huts,
they force their way into the house of some wealthy person (for choice
the local Sondi, liquor-seller and sowcar, [102] usually the only
man worth looting in an agency village, and a shark who gets little
pity from his neighbours when forced to disgorge), tie up the men,
rape the women, and go off with everything of value. Their favourite
method of extracting information regarding concealed property is to
sprinkle the houseowner with boiling oil."
Dommara.--The Dommaras are a tribe of tumblers, athletes, and
mountebanks, some of whom wander about the country, while others
have settled down as agricultural labourers, or make combs out of
the wood of Elæodendron glaucum, Ixora parviflora, Pavetta indica,
Ficus bengalensis, etc., which they sell to wholesale merchants. They
are, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [103] "a nomad class of acrobats,
who, in many respects, recall the gipsies to mind, and raise the
suggestion that their name may possibly be connected with the Doms of
Northern India. They speak Telugu, Marathi, and Hindustani, but not
generally Tamil. They are skilful jugglers, and both men and women
are very clever tumblers and tight-rope dancers, exhibiting their
feats as they travel about the country. Some of them sell date mats
and baskets, some trade in pigs, while others, settled in villages,
cultivate lands. In social position they rank just above the Pariahs
and Madigas. They profess to be Vaishnavites [and Saivites]. Infant
marriage is not practiced. Widow remarriage is freely allowed,
and polygamy is common. Their marriage tie is very loose, and their
women often practice prostitution. They are a predatory class, great
drunkards, and of most dissolute habits. The dead are generally buried,
and [on the day of the final death ceremonies] cooked rice is thrown
out to be eaten by crows. In the matter of food, they eat all sorts of
animals, including pigs, cats, and crows." When a friend was engaged
in making experiments in connection with snake venom, some Dommaras
asked for permission to unbury the corpses of snakes and mungooses
for the purpose of food.
The Dommaras are, in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, summed up as being
buffoons, tumblers, acrobats, and snakecharmers, who travel from place
to place, and earn a precarious living by their exhibitions. In the
Madras Census Report, 1901, Domban, Kalaikuttadi (pole-dancer), and
Arya Kuttadi, are given as synonyms of Dommara. The Kuttadi are summed
up, in the Tanjore Manual, as vagabond dancers, actors, pantomimists,
and marionette exhibitors, who hold a very low position in the social
scale, and always perform in public streets and bazaars.
By Mr. F. S. Mullaly [104] the Dommaras are divided into Reddi or
Kapu (i.e., cultivators) and Aray (Maratha). "The women," he writes,
"are proficient in making combs of horn and wood, and implements used
by weavers. These they hawk about from place to place, to supplement
the profits they derive from their exhibitions of gymnastic feats. In
addition to performing conjuring tricks, rope-dancing and the like,
the Dommaras hunt, fish, make mats, and rear donkeys and pigs. The
head of the tribe is called the Mutli Guru. He is their high priest,
and exercises supreme jurisdiction over them both in spiritual and
temporal matters. His head-quarters is Chitvel in the Cuddapah
district. The legend regarding the office of the Mutli Guru is
as follows. At Chitvel, or as it was then known Mutli, there once
lived a king, who called together a gathering of all the gymnasts
among his subjects. Several classes were represented. Polerigadu,
a Reddi Dommara, so pleased the king that he was presented with a
ring, and a royal edict was passed that the wearer of the ring and
his descendants should be the head of the Dommara class. The ring then
given is said to be the same that is now worn by the head of the tribe
at Chitvel, which bears an inscription in Telugu declaring that the
wearer is the high-priest or guru of all the Dommaras. The office
is hereditary. The dwellings of the Dommaras are somewhat similar
to those of the Koravars and Joghis, made of palmyra leaves plaited
into mats with seven strands. These huts, or gudisays, are located on
the outskirts of villages, and carried on the backs of donkeys when
on the march. Stolen cloths, unless of value, are not as a rule sold,
but concealed in the packs of their donkeys, and after a time worn. The
Dommaras are addicted to dacoity, robbery, burglary, and thefts. The
instrument used by them is unlike those used by other criminal classes:
it is of iron, about a foot long, and with a chisel-shaped point. As
cattle and sheep lifters they are expert, and they have their regular
receivers at most of the cattle fairs throughout the Presidency."
It is noted, in the Nellore Manual, that the Dommaras "are stated by
the Nellore Tahsildar to possess mirasi rights in some villages; that I
take to mean that there is, in some villages, a customary contribution
for tumblers and mendicants, which, according to Wilson, was made in
Mysore the pretext for a tax named Dombar-lingada-vira-kaniki. This
tax, under the name Dombar tafrik, was levied in Venkatagiri in
1801." In the Madura district, Dommaras are found in some villages
formerly owned by zamindars, and they call themselves children of
the zamindars, by whom they were probably patronised.
Being a criminal class, the Dommaras have a thief's language of their
own, of which the following are examples:--
Bidam vadu, Dommara.
Poothi, policeman.
Marigam, pig.
Goparam, seven.
Dasa-masa, prostitute.
Kopparam, salt.
Kaljodu, goldsmith.
The Dommaras are said to receive into their community children of other
castes, and women of doubtful morals, and to practice the custom of
making Basavis (dedicated prostitutes).
The Telugu Dommaras give as their gotra Salava patchi, the name
of a mythological bird. At times of marriage, they substitute a
turmeric-dyed string consisting of 101 threads, called bondhu, for
the golden tali or bottu. The marriage ceremonies of the Are Dommaras
are supervised by an old Basavi woman, and the golden marriage badge
is tied round the bride's neck by a Basavi.
A Dommara, whom I interviewed at Coimbatore, carried a cotton bag
containing a miscellaneous assortment of rubbish used in his capacity
as medicine man and snake-charmer, which included a collection of
spurious jackal horns (nari kompu), the hairs round which were stained
with turmeric. To prove the genuineness thereof, he showed me not only
the horn, but also the feet with nails complete, as evidence that the
horns were not made from the nails. Being charged with manufacturing
the horns, he swore, by placing his hand on the head of a child who
accompanied him, that he was not deceiving me. The largest of the horns
in his bag, he gravely informed me, was from a jackal which he dug out
of its hole on the last new moon night. The possessors of such horns,
he assured me, do not go out with the pack, and rarely leave their
holes except to feed on dew, field rats, etc. These spurious horns
are regarded as a talisman, and it is believed that he who owns one
can command the realisation of every wish. (See Kuruvikkaran.) An
iron ring, which the Dommara was wearing on his wrist, was used as a
cure for hernia, being heated and applied as a branding agent over the
inguinal region. Lamp oil is then rubbed over the burn, and a secret
medicine, mixed with fowl's egg, administered. The ring was, he said,
an ancestral heir-loom, and as such highly prized. To cure rheumatism
in the big joints, he resorted to an ingenious form of dry cupping. A
small incision is made with a piece of broken glass over the affected
part, and the skin damped with water. The distal end of a cow's horn,
of which the tip has been removed, and plugged with wax, does duty for
the cup. A hole is pierced through the wax with an iron needle, and,
the horn being placed over the seat of disease, the air is withdrawn
from it by suction with the mouth, and the hole in the wax stopped
up. As the air is removed from the cavity of the horn, the skin rises
up within it. To remove the horn, it is only necessary to readmit air
by once more boring a hole through the wax. In a bad case, as many as
three horns may be applied to the affected part. The Pitt Rivers Museum
at Oxford possesses dry-cupping apparatus, made of cow horn, from
Mirzapur in Northern India and from Natal, and of antelope horn from an
unrecorded locality in India. In cases of scorpion sting the Dommara
rubbed up patent boluses with human milk or milk of the milk-hedge
plant (Euphorbia Tirucalli), and applied them to the part. For chest
pains he prescribed red ochre, and for infantile diseases myrabolam
(Terminalia) fruits mixed with water. In cases of snake-bite, a black
stone, said to be made of various drugs mixed together, and burnt,
is placed over the seat of the bite, and will, it was stated, drop
off of its own accord as soon as it has absorbed all the poison. It
is then put into milk or water to extract the poison, and the fluid
is thrown away as being dangerous to life if swallowed. As a remedy
for the bite of a mad dog, a plant, which is kept a secret, is mixed
with the milk of a white goat, pepper, garlic, and other ingredients,
and administered internally. A single dose is said to effect a cure.
At Tarikeri in Mysore, a wandering troupe of Are (Maratha) Dommaras
performed before me. The women were decorated with jewels and
flowers, and carried bells on their ankles. The men had a row of bells
attached all round the lower edge of their short drawers. Before the
performance commenced, a Pillayar (Ganesa) was made with cowdung,
and saluted. The entertainment took place in the open air amid the
beating of drums, whistling, singing, and dialogue. The jests and
antics of the equivalent of the circus clown were a source of much
joy to the throng of villagers who collected to witness the tamasha
(spectacle). One of the principal performers, in the waits between his
turns, played the drum, or took a suck at a hooka (tobacco pipe) which
was passed round among the members of the troupe. The entertainment,
in which both men and women took part, consisted of various acrobatic
feats, turning summersaults and catherine wheels, stilt-walking,
and clever feats on the tight rope. Finally a man, climbing up a
lofty bamboo pole, spun himself rapidly round and round on the top
of it by means of a socket in an iron plate tied to his loin cloth,
into which a spike in the pole fitted.
Dondia.--A title of Gaudo.
Donga Dasari.--Dasari (servant of the god), Mr. Francis writes, [105]
"in the strict sense of the word, is a religious mendicant of the
Vaishnavite sect, who has formally devoted himself to an existence
as such, and been formally included in the mendicant brotherhood
by being branded on the shoulders with Vaishnavite symbols." Far
different are the Donga, or thief Dasaris, who receive their name
from the fact that "the men and women disguise themselves as Dasaris,
with perpendicular Vaishnava marks on their foreheads, and, carrying
a lamp (Garuda kambum), a gong of bell-metal, a small drum called
jagata, and a tuft of peacock feathers, go begging in the villages,
and are at times treated with the sumptuous meals, including cakes
offered to them as the disciples of Venkatesvarlu. [106]"
In an interesting article on the Donga Dasaris, Mr. S. M. Natesa Sastri
writes as follows. [107] "Quite opposed to the gudi (temple) Dasaris
are Donga Dasaris. They are the most dreaded of the criminal classes
in the Bellary district. In the early years of their settlement in
Bellary, these Donga Dasaris were said to have practiced kidnapping
boys and girls of other castes to strengthen their number, and even
now, as the practice stands, any person can become a Donga Dasari
though very few would like to become one. But, for all that, the
chief castes who furnished members to this brotherhood of robbery
were the scum of the Lingayats and the Kabberas. Of course, none
of the respectable members of these castes would join them, and
only those who were excommunicated found a ready home among these
Donga Dasaris. Sometimes Muhammadan budmashes (bad-mash, evil means
of livelihood) and the worst characters from other castes, also
become Donga Dasaris. The way an alien is made a Donga Dasari is as
follows. The regular Donga Dasaris take the party who wants to enter
their brotherhood to the side of a river, make him bathe in oil, give
him a new cloth, hold a council, and give a feast. They burn a twig
of the sami (Prosopis spicigera) or margosa (Melia Azadirachta) tree,
and slightly burn the tongue of the party who has joined them. This
is the way of purification and acceptance of every new member,
who, soon after the tongue-burning ceremony, is given a seat in the
general company, and made to partake of the common feast. The Donga
Dasaris talk both Telugu and Kanarese. They have only two bedagas
or family names, called Sunna Akki (thin rice) and Ghantelavaru
(men of the bell). As the latter is a family name of the Kabberas,
it is an evidence that members of the latter community have joined the
Donga Dasaris. Even now Donga Dasaris intermarry with Kabberas, i.e.,
they accept any girl from a Kabbera family in marriage to one of their
sons, but do not give one of their daughters in marriage to a Kabbera
boy. Hanuman is their chief god. Venkatesa, an incarnation of Vishnu,
is also worshipped by many. But, in every one of their villages, they
have a temple dedicated to their village goddess Huligavva or Ellamma,
and it is only before these goddesses that they sacrifice sheep or
fowls. Vows are undertaken for these village goddesses when children
fall ill. In addition to this, these Donga Dasaris are notorious for
taking vows before starting on a thieving expedition, and the way these
ceremonies are gone through is as follows. The gang, before starting on
a thieving expedition, proceed to a jungle near their village in the
early part of the night, worship their favourite goddesses Huligavva
or Ellamma, and sacrifice a sheep or fowl before her. They place one
of their turbans on the head of the sheep or fowl that was sacrificed,
as soon as the head falls on the ground. If the turban turns to the
right, it is considered a good sign, the goddess having permitted
them to proceed on the expedition; if to the left, they return home
that night. Hanuman is also consulted in such expeditions, and the
way in which it is done is as follows. They go to a Hanuman temple
which is near their village, and, after worshipping him, garland
him with a wreath of flowers. The garland hangs on both sides of
the neck. If any flowers on the right side drop down first, it is
considered as a permission granted by the god to start on plundering
expeditions, and, conversely, these expeditions are never undertaken
if any flowers happen to drop from the left side first. The Donga
Dasaris start on their thieving raids with their whole family, wife
and children following. They are the great experts in house-breaking
and theft, and children are taught thieving by their mothers when
they are five or six years old. The mother takes her boy or girl
to the nearest market, and shows the child some cloth or vessel,
and asks it to bring it away. When it fails, it is thrashed, and,
when stroke upon stroke falls upon its back, the only reply it is
taught to give is that it knows nothing. This is considered to be
the reply which the child, when it grows up to be a man or woman,
has to give to the police authorities when it is caught in some
crime and thrashed by them to confess. Whenever the Donga Dasaris are
caught by the police, they give false names and false castes. They
have a cipher language among themselves. The Donga Dasari woman is
very loose, but, if she go astray with a Brahman, Lingayat, Kabbera,
Kuruba, Upparava, or Rajput, her tongue is burnt, and she is taken
back into the community. Widow remarriage freely prevails. They avoid
eating beef and pork, but have no objection to other kinds of flesh."
Donga Odde.--The name for Oddes who practice thieving as a profession.
Dongayato.--A sub-division of Gaudo.
Dongrudiya.--A sub-division of Mali.
Dora.--Dora, meaning lord, has been returned as the title of numerous
classes, which include Boya, Ekari, Jatapu, Konda Dora, Mutracha,
Patra, Telaga, Velama, and Yanati. The hill Kois or Koyis of the
Godavari district are known as Koi Dora or Doralu (lords). I am told
that, in some parts of the Telugu country, if one hears a native
referred to as Dora, he will generally turn out to be a Velama;
and that there is the following gradation in the social scale:--
Velama Dora = Velama Esquire.
Kamma Varu = Mr. Kamma.
Kapu = Plain Kapu, without an honorific suffix.
In Southern India, Dorai or Durai (Master) is the equivalent of the
northern Sahib, and Dorasani (Mistress) of Memsahib.
It is noted by Sir A. J. Arbuthnot [108] that "the appellation by which
Sir Thomas Munro was most commonly known in the Ceded districts was
that of Colonel Dora. And to this day it is considered a sufficient
answer to enquiries regarding the reason for any Revenue Rule, that
it was laid down by the Colonel Dora."
Dorabidda, or children of chiefs, is the name by which Boyas, who
claim to be descended from Poligars (feudal chiefs) call themselves.
Dravida.--A sub-division of Kamsala. South Indian Brahmans are called
Dravidas.
Dubaduba.--Recorded, at times of census, as an Oriya form of
Budubudukala.
Duddu (money).--An exogamous sept of Mala.
Dudekula.--The Dudekulas are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart [109] as
"Muhammadans who have taken to the trade of cotton-cleaning (dude,
cotton; ekula, to clean). By the Tamils they are called Panjari or
Panjukotti, which have the same significance. Though Muhammadans,
they have adopted or retained many of the customs of the Hindus around
them, tying a tali to the bride at marriage, being very ignorant of
the Muhammadan religion, and even joining in Hindu worship as far as
allowable. Circumcision is, however, invariable, and they are much
given to the worship of Muhammadan saints. In dress they resemble the
Hindus, and often shave off the beard, but do not leave a single lock
of hair upon the head, as most Hindus do. Over three hundred Hindus
have returned their caste as either Dudekula or Panjari, but these
are probably members of other castes, who call themselves Dudekula
as they are engaged in cotton-cleaning."
The Dudekulas are described by Mr. W. Francis [110] as "a Muhammadan
caste of cotton-cleaners, and rope and tape-makers. They are either
converts to Islam, or the progeny of unions between Musalmans and the
women of the country. Consequently they generally speak the Dravidian
languages--either Canarese or Telugu--but some of them speak Hindustani
also. Their customs are a mixture of those of the Musalmans and the
Hindus. Inheritance is apparently according to Muhammadan law. They
pray in mosques, and circumcise their boys, and yet some of them
observe the Hindu festivals. They worship their tools at Bakrid and
not at the Dasara; they raise the azan or Muhammadan call to prayers
at sunset, and they pray at the tombs of Musalman saints." In the
Vizagapatam district, the Dudekulas are described as beating cotton,
and blowing horns.
For the following note on the Dudekulas of the Ceded Districts, I am
indebted to Mr. Haji Khaja Hussain. They claim Bava Faqrud-din Pir
of Penukonda in the Anantapur district as their patron saint. Large
numbers of Muhammadans, including Dudekulas, collect at the annual
festival (mela) at his shrine, and offer their homage in the shape of
a fatiha. This, meaning opener, is the name of the first chapter of
the Koran, which is repeated when prayers are offered for the souls
of the departed. For this ceremony a pilau, made of flesh, rice and
ghi (clarified butter) is prepared, and the Khazi repeats the chapter,
and offers the food to the soul of the deceased saint or relation.
The story of Faqrud-din Pir is as follows. He was born in A.H. 564
(about A.D. 1122), and was King of Seistan in Persia. One day, while
he was administering justice, a merchant brought some horses before him
for sale. His attention was diverted, and he became for a time absorbed
in contemplation of the beauty of one of the horses. Awakening from his
reverie, he blamed himself for allowing his thoughts to wander when he
was engaged in the most sacred of his duties as a king. He summoned
a meeting of all the learned moulvis in his kingdom, and enquired of
them what was the penalty for his conduct. They unanimously decreed
that he should abdicate. Accordingly he placed his brother on the
throne, and, becoming a dervish, came to India, and wandered about
in the jungles. Eventually he arrived at Trichinopoly, and there met
the celebrated saint Tabri-Alam, whose disciple he became. After his
admission into holy orders, he was told to travel about, and plant
his miswak wherever he halted, and regard the place where it sprouted
as his permanent residence. The miswak, or tooth-brush, is a piece
of the root of the pilu tree (Salvadora persica), which is used by
Muhammadans, and especially Fakirs, for cleaning the teeth. When Bava
Faqrud-din arrived at Penukonda hill, he, as usual, planted the miswak,
which sprouted. He accordingly decided to make this spot his permanent
abode. But there was close by an important Hindu temple, and the idea
of a Muhammadan settling close to it enraged the Hindus, who asked
him to leave. He not only refused to do so, but allowed his disciples,
of whom a number had collected, to slaughter a sacred bull belonging
to the temple. The Hindus accordingly decided to kill Faqrud-din and
his disciples. The Raja collected an armed force, and demanded the
restoration of the bull. Faqrud-din ordered one of his disciples to
bring before him the skin, head, feet and tail of the animal, which
had been preserved. Striking the skin with his staff, he exclaimed
"Rise, Oh! bull, at the command of God." The animal immediately rose
in a complete state of restoration, and would not leave the presence
of his preserver. Alarmed at this miracle, the Hindus brandished their
swords and spears, and were about to fall on the Muhammadans, when a
dust-storm arose and blinded them. In their confusion, they began to
slay each other, and left the spot in dismay. The Raja then resolved to
kill the Muhammadans by poisoning them. He prepared some cakes mixed
with poison, and sent them to Faqrud-din for distribution among his
disciples. The saint, though he knew that the cakes were poisoned,
partook thereof of himself, as also did his disciples, without any
evil effect. A few days afterwards, the Raja was attacked with colic,
and his case was given up by the court physicians as hopeless. As a
last resort, he was taken before Faqrud-din, who offered him one of
the poisoned cakes, which cured him. Falling at his feet, the Raja
begged for pardon, and offered the village of Penukonda to Faqrud-din
as a jaghir (annuity). This offer was declined, and the saint asked
that the temple should be converted into a mosque. The Raja granted
this request, and it is said that large numbers of Hindus embraced
the Muhammadan religion, and were the ancestors of the Dudekulas.
The Dudekulas, like the Hindus, like to possess some visible symbol
for worship, and they enrol great personages who have died among the
number of those at whose graves they worship. So essential is this
grave worship that, if a place is without one, a grave is erected in
the name of some saint. Such a thing has happened in recent times in
Banganapalle. A Fakir, named Alla Bakhsh, died at Kurnool. A Dudekula
of the Banganapalle State visited his grave, took away a lump of earth
from the ground near it, and buried it in a village ten miles from
Banganapalle. A shrine was erected over it in the name of the saint,
and has become very famous for the miracles which are performed at
it. An annual festival is held, which is attended by large numbers
of Muhammadans and Dudekulas.
Some Dudekulas have names which, though at first sight they seem to be
Hindu, are really Muhammadan. For example, Kambannah is a corruption
of Kamal Sahib, and Sakali, which in Telugu means a washerman, seems
to be an altered form of Sheik Ali. Though Dudekulas say that they are
Muhammadans of the Sheik sect, the name Sheik is only occasionally
used as a prefix, e.g., Sheik Hussain or Sheik Ali. Names of males
are Hussain Sa, Fakir Sa, and Khasim Sa. Sa is an abbreviated form of
Sahib. One old Dudekula stated that the title Sahib was intended for
pucka (genuine) Muhammadans, and that the Dudekulas could not lay claim
to the title in its entirety. Instead of Sa, Bhai, meaning brother,
is sometimes used as a suffix to the name, e.g., Ghudu Bhai. Ghudu,
meaning ash-heap, is an opprobrious name given to children of those
whose offspring have died young, in the hope of securing long life to
them. The child is taken, immediately after birth, to an ash-heap,
where some of the ashes are sprinkled over it. Some Dudekulas adopt
the Hindu termination appa (father), anna (brother), or gadu, e.g.,
Pullanna, Naganna, Yerkalappa, Hussaingadu, Hussainappa. Typical names
of females are Roshamma, Jamalamma, and Madaramma. They have dropped
the title Bibi or Bi, and adopted the Hindu title amma (mother).
The ceremony of naming a child is generally performed on the sixth
day after its birth. The choice of a name is entrusted to an elderly
female member of the family. In some cases, the name of a deceased
ancestor who lived to an advanced age is taken. If a child dies
prematurely, there is a superstitious prejudice against its name,
which is avoided by the family. Very frequently a father and son,
and sometimes two or three brothers, have the same name. In such a
case prefixes are added to their names as a means of distinguishing
them, e.g., Pedda (big), Nadpi (middle), Chinna (little). Sometimes
two names are assumed by an individual, one a Hindu name for every
day use, the other Muhammadan for ceremonial occasions.
The Dudekulas depend for the performance of their ceremonies largely on
the Khazi, by whom even the killing of a fowl for domestic purposes has
to be carried out. The Dudekula, like other Muhammadans, is averse
to taking animal life without due religious rites, and the zabh,
or killing of an animal for food, is an important matter. One who
is about to do so should first make vazu (ablution), by cleaning
his teeth and washing his mouth, hands, face, forearms, head and
feet. He should then face the west, and an assistant holds the animal
to be slaughtered upside down, and facing west. Water is poured into
its mouth, and the words Bismilla hi Alla hu Akbar uttered. The
operator then cuts the throat, taking care that the jugular veins
are divided. In remote villages, where a Khazi is not available,
the Dudekulas keep a sacrificial knife, which has been sanctified by
the Khazi repeating over it the same words from the Koran as are used
when an animal is slaughtered.
The first words which a Muhammadan child should hear are those of the
azan, or call to prayer, which are uttered in its ear immediately after
birth. This ceremony is observed by those Dudekulas who live in towns
or big villages, or can afford the services of a Khazi. It is noted
by Mr. Francis that the Dudekulas raise the azan at sunset. A few,
who have been through a course of religious instruction at a Madrasa
(school), may be able to do this. A Muhammadan is supposed to raise
the azan five times daily, viz., before sunrise, between noon and 3
P.M., between 4 and 6 P.M., at sunset, and between 8 P.M. and midnight.
At the naming of an infant on the sixth day, the Dudekulas do not,
like other Muhammadans, perform the aguiga ceremony, which consists
of shaving the child's head, and sacrificing a he-goat. Children are
circumcised before the tenth year. On such occasions the Muhammadans
generally invite their friends, and distribute sweets and pan-supari
(betel leaf and areca nuts). The Dudekulas simply send for a barber,
Hindu or Muhammadan, who performs the operation in the presence of a
Khazi, if one happens to be available. When a girl reaches puberty,
the Dudekulas invite their friends to a feast. Other Muhammadans,
on the contrary, keep the fact a secret.
At the betrothal ceremony, when sweets and pan-supari are taken by
the future bridegroom and his party to the house of the girl whom he
seeks in marriage, the female members of both families, and the girl
herself, are present. This fact shows the absence of the Muhammadan
gosha system among Dudekulas. A Muhammadan wedding lasts over five or
six days, whereas the ceremonies are, among the Dudekulas, completed
within twenty-four hours. On the night preceding the nikka day, a pilau
is prepared, and a feast is held at the bridegroom's house. On the
following morning, when it is still dark, the bridegroom, accompanied
by his relations, starts on horseback in procession, with beating
of drums and letting off of fireworks. The procession arrives at the
bride's house before sunrise. The Khazi is sent for, and the mahr is
settled. This is a nominal gift settled on the wife before marriage
by the bridegroom. On the death of a husband, a widow has priority of
claim on his property to the promised amount of the mahr. Two male
witnesses are sent to the bride, to obtain her assent to the union,
and to the amount of the mahr. The Khazi, being an orthodox Muhammadan,
treats the Dudekula bride as strictly gosha for the time being, and,
therefore, selects two of her near relatives as witnesses. The lutcha
(marriage badge), consisting of a single or double string of beads,
is brought in a cup filled with sandal paste.
The Khazi chants the marriage service, and sends the lutcha in to
the bride with his blessing. It is tied round her neck by the female
relations of the bridegroom, and the marriage rites are over.
The usual Muhammadan form of greeting among Muhammadans is the familiar
"Peace be with you." "And with you be peace." When a Dudekula greets
a Muhammadan, he simply bows, and, with members of his own community,
uses a Telugu form of salutation, e.g., niku mokkutamu.
The Dudekulas, male and female, dress exactly like Hindus, but,
as a rule, the men do not shave their beard.
Disputes, and social questions affecting the community, are settled
by a Khazi.
With the increase in cotton mills, and the decline of the indigenous
hand-weaving industry, the demand for cotton-cleaning labour
has diminished, and some Dudekulas have, of necessity, taken to
agriculture. Land-owners are very scarce among them, but some
are abkari (liquor) contractors, village schoolmasters, and quack
doctors. In the Ceded Districts, the cotton-cleaning industry is
solely confined to the Dudekulas.
The synonyms of Dudekula, Ladaf and Nurbash, recorded at times of
census, are corruptions of Nad-daf (a cotton dresser) and Nurbaf
(weaving).
Dudi.--A title of Kurumos, who officiate as priests at the temples
of village deities.
Dudi (cotton) Balija.--A name for traders in cotton in the Telugu
country, and an occupational sub-division of Komati.
Durga (fort).--A gotra of Kurni.
Dutan.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, as a synonym of Ari.
Dyavana (tortoise).--An exogamous sept of Moger.
E
Eddulu (bulls).--See Yeddulu.
Ediannaya (hornet's nest).--An exogamous sept of Bant.
Egadavan.---Recorded, at times of census, as an exogamous sept
of Anappans, who are Canarese cattle-grazers settled in the Tamil
country. Possibly it is a corruption of Heggade, a title among Kurubas.
Ekakshara.--A sub-division of Satani. The name is derived from
Ekakshara, meaning one syllable, i.e., the mystic syllable Om.
Ekari.--This caste is summed up in the Madras Census Report, 1901,
under the names Ekari, Ekali, Yakari, and Yakarlu, as a sub-caste
of Mutracha. Mr. H. A. Stuart writes [111] that "Ekaris or Yakarlu
are a class of cultivators and village watchmen, found chiefly in
the northern taluks of North Arcot, and in the adjoining district of
Cuddapah. It is very doubtful whether the Ekaris and Mutrachas are
identical castes. The census statistics are, I think, sufficient to
throw grave doubt on this view. Neither name, for instance, appears
as a sub-division of the other, although this would certainly be
the case if they were synonymous. Nor is there any similarity in the
sub-divisions that are given. They are said, in the Nellore Manual, to
be hunters and mercenaries, and in Cuddapah, where they are known to
some as Boyas and Kiratas, they are classed as a forest tribe. It is
clear, however, that they enjoyed some authority, for several rose to
be poligars. Thus the poligars of Kallur, Tumba, Pulicherla, Bangari
and Gudipati are of this caste, and many of its members are village
policemen. They do not wear the sacred thread, but employ Brahmans as
their priests. Their ceremonies differ very little from those of the
Kapus. They are flesh-eaters, and their titles are Naidu and Dora. The
caste possesses some interest as being that which had, in 1891, the
highest proportion of widowed among females between the ages of 15
and 39. Little is known of the caste history. Some assert that they
were formerly Hindu cotton cleaners, and that their name is derived
from the verb yekuta, to clean cotton. They returned 74 sub-divisions,
of which the most important seem to be Dodda (big) and Pala."
There is neither intermarriage, nor free interdining between Ekaris
and Mutrachas. By some, Kampin, and Nagiripilla kayalu, and by others
Kammi and Yerrai were given as sub-divisions.
One of the recognised names of washermen in Tamil is Egali or Ekali.
Elakayan.--A sub-division of Nayar. It is recorded, in the Madras
Census Report, 1901, that "its hereditary occupation is to get plantain
leaves for the use of the Cherukunnu temple, where travellers are
fed daily by the Chirakkal Raja."
Elayad.--For the following note on the Elayads or Ilayatus I am
indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. Ilayatu literally means younger,
and the name is employed to denote a caste, which is supposed to be
the last among the numerous sub-divisions of Malabar Brahmans. The
caste-men make use of two titles, Ilayatu and Nambiyatiri, the latter
of which has the same origin as Nambutiri, meaning a person worthy of
worship. Women are generally known as Ilayammas, and, in some parts
of North Travancore, also Kunjammas. By the caste-men themselves the
women are called Akattulavar, or those inside, in the same way as
Nambutiri women. Children are called Kunjunnis. The Ilayatus exact
from the Nayars the name of Ilayachchan, or little father.
According to the Jatinirnaya, a work ascribed to Parasurama, the
Ilayatus were once Brahmans of undiminished purity, but became degraded
owing to the priestly service which was performed for a Nayar servant
attached to one of their households. Two members of the house of
Azhvancheri Tamprakkal were brothers. The younger resolved to go to a
foreign country, and could get no other Nayar servant than one who was
obliged to perform his mother's anniversary ceremony on the way. He
promised to act as the priest on this occasion, and is even believed
to have eaten the food prepared by the Nayar. When the matter became
known to his elder brother, he assembled all the Vaidik Brahmans,
and the younger brother was excommunicated. This tradition, like the
majority of Malabar traditions, has to be accepted with reserve. The
Ilayatus assert that, until interdicted by Rama Iyen Dalawa in revenge
for a supposed dishonour to him, they had the privilege of commensality
with Nambutiri Brahmans; but Rama Iyen's authority, large as it was,
did not extend to Cochin and British Malabar, where too the Ilayatus
appear to labour under the same difficulty. Those who encouraged
the higher classes of Nayars with ritualistic functions became Onnam
Parisha or the first party of Ilayatus, the remainder being grouped in
another class known as Randam or second party. The latter are lower in
the social scale than the former. The two sections do not intermarry,
and interdining is restricted to the male sex.
The Ilayatus generally have a dejected appearance, and their
poverty is proverbial. Most of them earn only a scanty living by
their traditional occupation, and yet it is notorious that other
walks of life have absolutely no attraction for them. Not only is
English education not welcomed, but even the study of Sanskrit finds
only a few steadfast votaries. The Ilayatus are, however, a naturally
clever, and intelligent community, and, under favourable conditions,
are found to take a more prominent place in society.
The house of an Ilayatu is, like that of a Nambutiri, called illam. It
is generally large, being the gift of some pious Nayar. Every Ilayatu
house possesses a serpent grove, where periodical offerings are
made. The dress and ornaments of the Ilayatus are exactly like those of
the Nambutiris. The wedding ornament is called kettu-tali. Children
wear a ring tied to a thread round the neck from the moment of
the first feeding ceremony. The Ilayatus are strict vegetarians,
and, though in some of their temples they have to make offerings of
liquor to the deity, they are strictly forbidden by caste rules from
partaking thereof.
The chief occupation of the Ilayatus is the priesthood of the
Nayars. The first division perform this service only for the Ilakkar
or highest class of Nayars, while the second division do not decline
to be the priests of any section of that community. In performing
such services, the Ilayatus recite various liturgic texts, but
hardly any Vedic hymns. The Ilayatus have also been the recognised
priests in several North Travancore temples, the chief of which are
the Kainikkara Bhagavata shrine, the Payappara Sasta shrine, and the
Parekkavu Siva temple at Kuttattukulam. Ilayatus are the priests in
most of the snake groves of Malabar, that at Mannarsalay commanding
the greatest popularity and respect.
Ilayatus are, in all matters of caste such as Smarta-vicharam, or
enquiry into charges of adultery, etc., governed by the Nambutiris,
who are assisted by Vaidiks belonging to the caste itself. It is
the latter who are the regular priests of the Ilayatus, and, though
ignorant of the Vedas, they seem to possess considerable knowledge
of the priestly functions as carried out in Malabar. Nambutiris are
sometimes invited to perform Isvaraseva, Sarpabali, and other religious
rites. Purification rites are performed by the caste priests only,
and no Nambutiri is called on to assist. Brahmans do not cook food
in the houses of Ilayatus.
The Ilayatus are divided mostly into two septs or gotras, called
Visvamitra and Bharadvaja. The marriage of girls is performed before or
after puberty, between the twelfth and eighteenth years. No bride-price
is paid, but a sum of not less than Rs. 140 has to be paid to the
bridegroom. This is owing to the fact that, in an Ilayatu family, as
among the Nambutiris, only the eldest son can lead a married life. All
male members of a family, except the eldest, take to themselves some
Nayar or Ambalavasi woman. Widows do not remove their tuft of hair on
the death of their husband, but throw their marriage ornament on to
the funeral pyre, probably as a symbol of the performance of sati. The
Ilayatus resemble the Nambutiris in all questions of inheritance.
The Ilayatus do not omit any of the sixteen religious ceremonies of
the Brahmans. The rules of name given are that the eldest son should
be named after the paternal grandfather, the second after the maternal
grandfather, and the third after the father. A parallel rule obtains
in giving names to daughters.
The Ilayatus belong in the main to the white and black branches of the
Yajurveda, and observe the sutras of Bodhayana and Asvalayana. They
recite only twenty-four Gayatri hymns, thrice a day. Women are believed
to be polluted for ninety days after childbirth.
It is noted in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, that the Elayads are
"their own priests, and for this reason, and from the fact that
Nayars perform sradhas (memorial service) in the houses of Elayads,
the Nambudris do not cook or take meals in their houses, nor do they,
Kshatriyas or Nampidis, take water from Elayads. In former times, the
Elayads used to take their meals in Nayar houses during the performance
of the sradha ceremony of the Nayars, as Brahmans generally do on such
ceremonial occasions amongst themselves, but they now decline to do it,
except in a few wealthy and influential families. Muthads and Elayads
wear the sacred thread. Though in many respects the Elayads are more
Brahmanical than the Muthads, the majority of the Ambalavasi castes
do not take the food cooked or touched by the Elayads. There are some
temples, in which they officiate as chief priests. The Muthad and
Elayad females are gosha. They both practice polygamy, and perform
Sarvaswadanam marriages like the Nambudris."
Ella (boundary).--An exogamous sept of Mutracha.
Elugoti (assembly).--An exogamous sept of Devanga.
Elugu (bear).--An exogamous sept of Yanadi.
Eluttacchan.--Eluttacchan or Ezhuttacchan, meaning teacher or master
of learning, is the name for educated Kadupattans of Malabar employed
as schoolmasters.
Eman.--A corruption of Yajamanan, lord, recorded, in the Travancore
Census Report, 1901, as a title of Nayar.
Embrantiri.--Embrantiri or Embran is "a Malayalam name for Tulu
Brahmans settled in Malabar. They speak both Tulu and Malayalam. Some
of them call themselves Nambudris, but they never intermarry with
that class." [112] By Wigram they are defined [113] as "a class
of sacrificing Brahmans, chiefly Tulu, who officiate at Sudra
ceremonies." It is a name for the Tulu Shivalli Brahmans.
Emme (buffalo).--See Yemme.
Ena Korava.--See Korava.
Enadi.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "a name for
Shanans, derived from Enadi Nayanar, a Saivite saint. It also means
Ambattan, or barber." The word denotes a chief, barber, or minister.
Enangan.--Enangan or Inangan is defined by Mr. K. Kannan Nayar [114] as
"a member of an Inangu, this being a community of a number of tarwads,
the members of which may interdine or intermarry, and are bound to
assist one another, if required, in the performance of certain social
and religious rites." It is noted, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that
"an Enangan or Inangan is a man of the same caste and sub-division
or marriage groups. It is usually translated kinsman, but is at once
wider and narrower in its connotation. My Enangans are all who can
marry the same people that I can. An Enangatti is a female member of
an Enangan's family."
Eneti.--Said to be mendicants, who beg from Gamallas. (See Yanati.)
Entamara.--See Yanati.
Era.--Era Cheruman, or Eralan, is a sub-division of Cheruman.
Eradi.--Eradi has been defined [115] as meaning "a cow-herd. A
sub-division of the Nayar caste, which formerly ruled in what is
now the Ernad taluk" of Malabar. In the Malabar Manual, Ernad is
said to be derived from Eradu, the bullock country. Eradi denotes,
according to the Census Report, 1891, "a settlement in Ernad. The
caste of Samantas, to which the Zamorin of Calicut belongs."
Eravallar.--The Eravallars are a small forest tribe inhabiting
the Coimbatore district and Malabar. For the following note on the
Eravallars of Cochin, I am indebted to Mr. L. K. Anantha Krishna
Iyer. [116]
Eravallars are a wild tribe of inoffensive hill-men found in the
forests of the Cochin State, especially in the Chittur taluk. They
are also called Villu Vedans (hunters using bows). Their language
is Tamil, though some speak Malayalam. In addressing the elderly
members of the caste, they use the titles Muthan (elder) and Pattan
(grandfather). Names in use for males are Kannan (Krishna), Otukan,
Kothandan, Kecharan, and Attukaran, while females are called Kanni,
Keyi, Kaikayi, Otuka, and Ramayi. These Hindu divine names are recent
innovations after the names of members of the higher castes, with
whom they frequently come in contact.
The Eravallars have no knowledge of the origin of their caste. They
appear to be a rude and primitive people, like the other jungle
tribes of the State, but are somewhat improving their status under
their masters. Their habits are less migratory than those of the
Malayars and Kadars. They live in villages called pathis, situated
in the forests. Their huts are similar to those of the Malayars and
Kadars. They propitiate their sylvan deities before the construction of
their huts, and also before their occupation. Some days are believed to
be lucky, as Mondays for sowing and weddings, Wednesdays for building,
and Fridays for reaping.
Eravallars do not live as small independent communities, but are
mostly attached to farmers, under whom they work for a daily wage
of two edangazhis and a half of paddy (unhusked rice). The women
also work for the same wage, but never agree to serve in a state of
bondage. During the festival kathira in the village temple of their
landlords, when sheaves of corn are brought, every male member gets
from his landlord two veshtis (a cloth with a coloured border 3
yards in length), and every woman a potava (coloured cloth 8 yards
in length). During the Onam and Vishu festivals, one para of paddy,
two cocoanuts, a small quantity of gingelly (Sesamum) and cocoanut
oil are also given. The landlords partly defray their marriage and
funeral expenses by a grant of a few paras of paddy, some salt and
chillies. Sometimes they agree to work for twenty valloms (a large corn
measure) a year. To improve their condition, they borrow money from
their landlords, and purchase a bullock or buffalo or two, to cultivate
a plot of land, after clearing a portion of the forest belonging to
their master. They raise some crops, and make some saving to pay off
the debt. Should they be so unfortunate as to fail in the undertaking,
they willingly mortgage themselves to their master, or to some other,
for the wages above mentioned, and wait for some favourable opportunity
to pay off the debt. Women never surrender themselves to work in a
state of bondage, but are independent day-labourers. The Eravallars
are, as certified by their masters, always truthful, honest, faithful
and god-fearing, and never, like the Pulayas of the northern parts
of the State, ungratefully run away from their masters.
A girl, when she comes of age, is lodged in a separate hut (muttuchala)
erected at a distance of a furlong from the main hut. Only a few girl
friends are allowed to be in company with her during the period of her
seclusion, which is generally seven days, during which food is served
to her at a distance, when she comes to take it. No grown-up member
approaches her, for fear of pollution. She bathes on the morning of
the seventh day, and is then allowed to enter the hut. The day is
one of festivity to her friends and relations. If a girl is married
before she attains puberty, her husband contributes something for the
expenses of the ceremony. Should a woman cohabit with a man before
marriage and become pregnant, she used, in former times, to be put
to death, but is now turned out of caste. Instances of the kind are,
they say, extremely rare.
An Eravallan who wishes to see his son married visits the parents
of a girl with his brother-in-law and a few relatives, who make
the proposal. If the parents agree, the wedding day is fixed, and
all the preliminary arrangements are made at the hut of the bride,
where the relatives assembled are treated to a dinner. The bride's
price is only a rupee. The parents of the bride and bridegroom visit
their respective landlords with a few packets of betel leaves, areca
nuts, and tobacco, and inform them of the marriage proposal. The
landlords give a few paras of paddy to defray a portion of the
wedding expenses. They celebrate their weddings on Mondays. On a
Monday previous to the wedding ceremony, the sister of the bridegroom,
with a few of her relations and friends, goes to the bride's hut, and
presents her parents with the bride's money, and a brass ring for the
bride. On the Monday chosen for the wedding, the same company, and a
few more, go there, and dress the girl in the new garment brought by
them. They are treated to a dinner as on the previous occasion. They
then return with the bride to the hut of the bridegroom, where also
the parties assembled are entertained. On the Monday after this,
the bridegroom and bride are taken to the bride's hut, where they
stay for a week, and then return to the bridegroom's hut. Marriage
is now formally over. The tali (marriage badge) tying is dispensed
with. This custom of marriage prevails among the Izhuvas of the
Chittur taluk. The bridegroom gets nothing as a present during the
wedding, but this is reserved for the Karkadaka Sankranthi, when he
is invited by his father-in-law, and given two veshtis and a turban,
after sumptuously feeding him. A widow can only marry a widower. It is
called Mundakettuka (marrying a widow). When they both have children,
the widower must make a solemn promise to his castemen that he will
treat and support the children by both marriages impartially. The
present of a brass ring and cloth is essential. A man can divorce
his wife, if he is not satisfied with her. The divorced wife can mate
only with a widower. Such cases, they say, are very rare among them.
No ceremony is performed for a pregnant woman during the fifth or
seventh month. If she dreams of dogs, cats, or wild animals coming to
threaten her, it is believed that she is possessed of demons. Then a
devil-driver from this or some other caste is called in. He draws a
hideous figure (kolam) on the floor with powdered rice, turmeric, and
charcoal, and the woman is seated in front of it. He sings and beats
his small drum, or mutters his mantram (consecrated formula). A lamp
is lighted, and frankincense is burned. A kaibali is waved round the
woman's face. She is worked up to a hysterical state, and makes frantic
movements. Boiled rice, flattened rice, plantains, cocoanuts, and fowl
are offered to the demon. Quite satisfied, the demon leaves her, or
offers to leave her on certain conditions. If the woman remains silent
and unmoved all the time, it is supposed that no demon resides in her
body. Very often a yantram (charm) is made on a piece of cadjan (palm)
leaf, and rolled. It is attached to a thread, and worn round the neck.
A woman in childbirth is located in a separate small hut (muttuchala)
erected at a distance from the main hut. Nobody attends upon her,
except her mother or some old woman to nurse her. As soon as delivery
takes place, the mother and child are bathed. Her pollution is for
seven days, during which she stays in the hut. She then bathes, and
is removed to another hut close to the main hut, and is again under
pollution for five months. Her diet during this period is simple, and
she is strictly forbidden to take meat. The only medicine administered
to her during the period is a mixture of pepper, dried ginger, and
palm sugar mixed with toddy. She comes back to the main hut after
purifying herself by a bath at the end of the five months. The day
is one of festivity.
The Eravallers bury their dead, and observe death pollution for five
days. On the morning of the sixth day, the chief mourner, who may
be the son or younger brother, gets shaved, bathes, and offers to
the spirit of the departed boiled rice, parched rice, plantains,
and fowl. A feast is given to the castemen once a year, when they
have some savings. They think of their ancestors, who are propitiated
with offerings.
They are pure animists, and believe that the forests and hills are full
of demons disposed to do them harm. Many of them are supposed to live
in trees, and to rule wild beasts. They also believe that there are
certain local demons, which are supposed to reside in rocks, trees,
or peaks, having influence over particular families or villages, and
that services rendered to them are intended to mitigate their hunger
rather than to seek benefits. Their gods are Kali, Muni, Kannimar, and
Karappu Rayan. Kali is adored to obtain her protection for themselves
and their families while living in the forest. Muni is worshipped for
the protection of their cattle, and to secure good harvest. Kannimar
(the seven virgins) and Karappu Rayan are their family deities,
who watch over their welfare. Offerings of boiled rice, plantains,
cocoanuts, and flattened rice are given to propitiate them. Kali and
Muni are worshipped in the forest, and the others in their huts.
The main occupation of the Eravallers is ploughing dry lands for the
cultivation of chama (Panicum miliaceum), cholam (Sorghum vulgare),
dholl (Cajanus indicus) and gingelly (Sesamum indicum) seeds, and
sowing the seeds, which begin in the middle of May, and harvesting
in November. During these months, they are wholly occupied with
agriculture. During the other months of the year, gardening, fencing,
and thatching are their chief occupations. Offerings are made to Kali
and Muni, when they plough, sow, and reap. They are so propitiated,
as they are supposed to protect their corn from destruction by wild
beasts. The Eravallers are skilful hunters. Owing to their familiarity
and acquaintance with the forests, they can point out places frequented
by wild beasts, which they can recognise by smell, either to warn
travellers against danger, or to guide sportsmen to the game. Ten or
fifteen of them form a party, and are armed with knives, bows and
arrows. Some of them act as beaters, and the animal is driven to a
particular spot, where it is caught in a large net already spread,
shot, or beaten to death. Animals hunted are hares, porcupines, and
wild pigs. The game is always equally divided. Being good marksmen,
they take skilful aim at birds, and kill them when flying.
The ordinary dietary is kanji (gruel) of chama or cholam, mixed
with tamarind, salt and chillies, prepared overnight, and taken
in the morning. The same is prepared for the midday meal, with a
vegetable curry consisting of dholl, horse gram (Dolichos biflorus),
and other grains grown in the garden of their masters, which they have
to watch. They eat the flesh of sheep, fowls, pigs, hares, quails,
and doves. They take food at the hands of Brahmans, Nayars, Kammalars,
and Izhuvas. They refuse to take anything cooked by Mannans, Panans,
Parayans, and Cherumans. They bathe when touched by a Chakkiliyan,
Parayan, or Cheruman. They stand a long way off from Brahmans and
Nayars.
Both men and women are decently clad. Males wear veshtis, one end of
which hangs loose, and the other is tucked in between the legs. They
have a shoulder cloth, either hanging loosely over their shoulders,
or sometimes tied to the turban. They allow their hair to grow
long, but do not, for want of means, anoint it with oil. They grow
moustaches. They wear round the neck a necklace of small white beads to
distinguish them from Malayars, who are always afraid of them. Some
wear brass finger rings. Women wear a potava (coloured cloth),
half of which is worn round the loins, while the other half serves
to cover the body. The hair is not smoothed with oil. It is twisted
into a knot on the back. It is said that they take an oil bath once
a week. Their ear ornament is made of a long palmyra leaf rolled into
a disc, and the ear lobes are sufficiently dilated to contain them.
Erkollar.--A Tamil form of the Telugu Yerragolla, which is sub-division
of Tottiyan.
Ernadan.--In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Aranadans are
described as a hill tribe in Malabar, who kill pythons, and extract
an oil from them, which they sell to people on the plains as a remedy
for leprosy. These are, I have no doubt, the Ernadans, concerning
whom Mr. G. Hadfield writes to me as follows. They are a small
jungle tribe, found exclusively in Malabar, and are considered to
be the lowest of the jungle tribes by the inhabitants of Malabar,
who consider themselves polluted if an Ernadan approaches within
a hundred yards. Even Paniyans and Pariahs give them a wide berth,
and they are prohibited from coming within four hundred yards of a
village. One of their customs is very singular, viz., the father of
a family takes (or used to take) his eldest daughter as his second
wife. The Ernadans use bows and arrows, principally for shooting
monkeys, to the flesh of which they are very partial. They are not
particular as to what they eat, and are, in fact, on a par with
jackals in this respect, devouring snakes and the putrid flesh of
various animals. They are fond of collecting the fat of snakes, and
selling it. Muhammadans employ them in felling timber, and cultivating
fields. Their clothing is exceedingly scanty, and, when hard up,
they use wild plantain leaves for this purpose.
Through Mr. Hadfield's influence with the tribe, Mr. F. Fawcett
was able to examine a few members thereof, who appeared before him
accompanied by their Mappilla master, at a signal from whom they ran
off like hares, to attend to their work in the fields. Their most
important measurements were as follows:--
Max. Min. Av.
Stature (cm.) 156.6 150.6 154.5
Cephalic index 85 77 81
Nasal index 108.8 71.1 88.4
The Ernadans, according to these figures, are short of stature,
platyrhine, with an unusually high cephalic index.
Erra.--See Yerra.
Erudandi.--See Gangeddu.
Erudukkaran.--See Gangeddu.
Erumai (buffalo).--An exogamous sept of Toreya.
Eruman.--A sub-division of Kolayan.
Ettarai (eight and a half).--An exogamous sept of Tamil goldsmiths.
Ettuvitan.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a
sub-division of Nayar.
Eurasian.--Eurasian (Eur-asian) may, after the definition in
'Hobson-Jobson,' [117] be summed up as a modern name for persons of
mixed European and Indian blood, devised as being more euphemistic
than half-caste, and more precise than East-Indian. When the European
and Anglo-Indian Defence Association was established 17 years ago,
the term Anglo-Indian, after much consideration, was adopted as
best designating the community. According to Stocqueler, [118] the
name Eurasian was invented by the Marquis of Hastings. East Indian
is defined by Balfour [119] as "a term which has been adopted by all
classes of India to distinguish the descendants of Europeans and Native
mothers. Other names, such as half-caste, chatikar, and chi-chi, are
derogatory designations. Chattikar is from chitta (trousers) and kar
(a person who uses them). The Muhammadans equally wear trousers, but
concealed by their outer long gowns. The East Indians are also known
as Farangi (Frank), a person of Europe. The humbler East Indians, if
asked their race, reply that they are Wallandez or Oollanday, which is
a modification of Hollandais, the name having been brought down through
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries from the Dutch. East Indians
have, in India, all the rights and privileges of Europeans. Races
with a mixture of European with Asiatic blood possess a proud and
susceptible tone of mind." For the purposes of the Lawrence Asylum,
Ootacamund, the word East Indian is restricted to the children of
European fathers by East Indian or Native mothers, or of East Indian
fathers and mothers, both of whom are the children of European fathers.
By a ruling of the Government of India a few years ago, it was decided
that Eurasians appointed in England to official posts in India are,
if they are not statutory Natives, to be treated as Europeans as
regards the receipt of exchange compensation allowance.
Some Eurasians have, it may be noted, had decorations or knighthood
conferred on them, and risen to the highest position in, and gained
the blue ribbon of, Government service. Others have held, or still
hold, positions of distinction in the various learned professions,
legal, medical, educational, and ecclesiastical.
The influence of the various European nations--Portuguese, Dutch,
British, Danish, and French--which have at different times acquired
territory in peninsular India, is clearly visible in the polyglot
medley of Eurasian surnames, e.g., Gomes, Da Souza, Gonsalvez, Rozario,
Cabral, Da Cruz, Da Costa, Da Silva, Da Souza, Fernandez, Fonseca,
Lazaro, Henriquez, Xavier, Mendonza, Rodriguez, Saldana, Almeyda,
Heldt, Van Spall, Jansen, Augustine, Brisson, Corneille, La Grange,
Lavocat, Pascal, DeVine, Aubert, Ryan, McKertish, Macpherson, Harris,
Johnson, Smith, etc. Little did the early adventurers, in the dawn of
the seventeenth century, think that, as the result of their alliances
with the native women, within three centuries banns of marriage would
be declared weekly in Madras churches between, for example, Ben Jonson
and Alice Almeyda, Emmanuel Henricus and Mary Smith, Augustus Rozario
and Minnie Fonseca, John Harris and Clara Corneille. Yet this has
come to pass, and the Eurasian holds a recognised place among the
half-breed races of the world.
The pedigree of the early Eurasian community is veiled in
obscurity. But the various modes of creation of a half-breed, which
were adopted in those early days, when the sturdy European pioneers
first came in contact with the native females, were probably as
follows:--
A. European man (pure) B. Native woman (pure).
C. Male offspring of A + B (first D. Native woman.
cross)
E. Female offspring of A + B (first F. European man.
cross) G. Native man.
H. Male offspring of C + D I. Cross--female offspring
of A + B.
J. Native woman.
K. Female offspring of C + D L. Cross--male offspring of
A + B.
M. European man.
N. Native man.
The Eurasian half-breed, thus established, has been perpetuated by
a variety of possible combinations:--
European man Eurasian woman.
Native woman.
Eurasian man Native woman.
Eurasian woman.
European woman.
Native man Eurasian woman.
European woman.
In the early days of the British occupation of Madras, the traders and
soldiers, arriving with an inadequate equipment of females, contracted
alliances, regular or irregular, with the women of the country. And
in these early days, when our territorial possessions were keenly
contested with both European and Native enemies, an attempt was made,
under authority from high places, to obtain, through the medium of
the British soldier, and in accordance with the creed that crossing
is an essential means of improving a race, and rendering it vigorous
by the infusion of fresh blood from a separate stock, a good cross,
which should be available for military purposes. Later on, as the
number of the British settlers increased, connexions, either with
the Native women, or with the females of the recently established
Eurasian type, were kept up owing to the difficulty of communication
with the mother-country, and consequent difficulty in securing English
brides. Of these barbaric days the detached or semi-detached bungalows
in the spacious grounds of the old private houses in Madras remain
as a memorial. At the present day the conditions of life in India
are, as the result of steamer traffic, very different, and far more
wholesome. The Eurasian man seeks a wife as a rule among his own
community; and, in this manner, the race is mainly maintained.
The number of Eurasians within the limits of the Madras Presidency
was returned, at the census, 1891, as 26,643. But on this point I
must call Mr. H. A. Stuart, the Census Commissioner, into the witness
box. "The number of Eurasians," he writes, "is 26,643, which is 20.76
per cent. more than the number returned in 1881." The figures for
the last three enumerations are given in the following statement:--
Year. Total. Males. Females.
1871 26,460 13,091 13,359
1881 21,892 10,969 10,923
1891 26,643 13,141 13,502
"It will be seen that, between 1871 and 1881, there was a great
decrease, and that the numbers in 1891 are slightly higher
than they were twenty years ago. The figures, however, are most
untrustworthy. The cause is not far to seek; many persons, who are
really Natives, claim to be Eurasians, and some who are Eurasians
return themselves as Europeans. It might be thought that the errors
due to these circumstances would be fairly constant, but the district
figures show that this cannot be the case. Take Malabar, for example,
which has the largest number of Eurasians after Madras, and where
the division between Native Christians with European names and
people of real mixed race is very shadowy. In 1871 there were in this
district 5,413 Eurasians; in 1881 the number had apparently fallen to
1,676; while in 1891 it had again risen to 4,193, or, if we include
South-east Wynaad, as we should do, to 4,439. It is to be regretted
that trustworthy statistics cannot be obtained, for the question
whether the true Eurasian community is increasing or decreasing is of
considerable scientific and administrative importance. The Eurasians
form but a very small proportion of the community, for there is only
one Eurasian in every 1,337 of the population of the Madras Presidency,
and it is more than probable that a considerable proportion of those
returned as Eurasians are in reality pure Natives who have embraced the
Christian religion, taken an English or Portuguese name, and adopted
the European dress and mode of living. In the matter of education, or
at least elementary education, they are more advanced than any other
class of the community, and compare favourably with the population
of any country in the world. They live for the most part in towns,
nearly one-half of their number being found in the city of Madras."
In connection with the fact that, at times of census, Native Christians
and Pariahs, who masquerade in European clothes, return themselves
as Eurasians, and vice versâ, it may be accepted that some benefit
must be derived by the individual in return for the masking of his or
her nationality. And it has been pointed out to me that (as newspaper
advertisements testify) many ladies will employ a Native ayah rather
than a Eurasian nurse, and that some employers will take Eurasian
clerks into their service, but not Native Christians. It occasionally
happens that pure-bred Natives, with European name and costume,
successfully pass themselves off as Eurasians, and are placed on
a footing of equality with Eurasians in the matter of diet, being
allowed the luxury of bread and butter, coffee, etc.
Mr. Stuart had at his command no special statistics of the occupations
resorted to by Eurasians, but states that the majority of them are
clerks, while very few obtain their livelihood by agriculture. In
the course of my investigations in the city of Madras, the following
occupations were recorded:--
Accountant.
Attendant, Lunatic Asylum.
Baker.
Bandsman.
Bill collector.
Blacksmith.
Boarding-house keeper.
Boatswain.
Boiler smith.
Carpenter.
Chemist's assistant.
Clerk, Government.
Clerk, commercial.
Commission agent.
Compositor.
Compounder.
Contractor.
Coppersmith.
Crane attendant, harbour.
Draftsman.
Electric tram driver.
Electric tram inspector.
Engine-driver, ice factory.
Evangelist.
Filer.
Fireman.
Fitter.
Hammerer.
Harness-maker.
Jewel-smith.
Joiner.
Labourer.
Livery stable-keeper.
Mechanic.
Moulder.
Painter.
Petition writer.
Police Inspector.
Porter.
Printer.
Proof-reader.
Railway--
Auditor.
Chargeman.
Engine-driver.
Engineer.
Goods clerk.
Guard.
Locomotive Inspector.
Parcels clerk.
Prosecuting Inspector.
Shunter.
Signaller.
Station-master.
Storekeeper.
Ticket collector.
Tool-keeper.
Block signaller.
Carriage examiner.
Reporter.
Rivetter.
Saddler.
Schoolmaster.
Sexton.
Spring-smith.
Stereotyper.
Steward.
Telegraph clerk.
Watchmaker.
Watchman.
In the Census Report, 1901, the following statistics of the occupation
of 5,718 Eurasians in Madras city (4,083), Malabar (1,149) and
Chingleput (486) are given. Most of those in the last of these three
reside in Perambur, just outside the Madras municipal limits:--
Number of
workers.
Endowments, scholarships, etc. 813
Pensioners 438
Railway clerks, station-masters, guards, etc. 427
Tailors 378
Merchants' and shop-keepers' clerks 297
Railway operatives 262
Teachers 243
Public service 212
Private clerks 211
Mechanics (not railway) 203
Carpenters 167
Telegraph department 136
Medical department 136
Cooks, grooms, etc. 132
Printing presses: workmen and subordinates 106
Independent means 75
Allowances from patrons, relatives and friends 72
Survey and Public Works department 66
Coffee and tea estate clerks and coolies 60
Inmates of asylums 58
Railway porters, etc. 57
Musicians and actors 54
Harbour service 50
Workmen, gun carriage factories 48
Postal department 48
Non-commissioned officers, Army 46
Mendicants 45
Midwives 42
Priests, ministers, etc. 41
Tramway officials 35
Sellers of hides and bones, shoe and boot makers, 33
tanners, etc.
Local and Municipal service 30
Shipping clerks, etc. 29
Brokers and agents 28
Lawyers' clerks 26
Merchants and shop-keepers 24
Landholders 24
Watch and clock makers 23
Money-lenders, etc. 22
Military clerks 21
Blacksmiths 18
Chemists and druggists 16
Prisoners 15
Pleaders 12
Brass and copper smiths 12
Inmates of convents, etc. 11
Ship's officers, etc. 10
Prostitutes 10
Authors, editors, etc. 10
Cultivating tenants 8
Club managers, etc. 8
Hotel-keepers, etc. 7
Minor occupations 363
As bearing on the subject of Eurasian marriage, I am enabled,
through the courtesy of a railway chaplain and the chaplain of one
of the principal churches in the city of Madras, to place on record
the following statistics abstracted from the registers. It may, in
explanation, be noted that M indicates the bridegroom, F the bride,
and W widow or widower remarriage:--
(a) Railway.
=======+========+========+========+========+=======
M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F.
-------+--------+--------+--------+--------+-------
25 | 18 | 34 | 19 | 24 | 18
21 | 15 | 27 | 16 | 35 | 21
24 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 24 | 19
21 | 14 | 22 | 18 | 22 | 18
22 | 19 | 25 | 16 | 21 | 20
23 | 17 | 22 | 18 | 32 | 19
23 | 14 | 25 | 16 | 26 | 21
23 | 18 | 23 | 21 | 25 | 18
25 | 16 | W 42 | 18 | 33 | 19
W 45 | 19 | 37 | 28 | 20 | 15
25 | 23 | 25 | 19 | 25 | 18
24 | 17 | 24 | 17 | 24 | 20
22 | 17 | 26 | 16 | 32 | 19
W 42 | 18 | 24 | 19 | 27 | 18
40 | 16 | 23 | | |
23 | 22 | 23 | | |
=======+========+========+========+========+======
(b) Madras City.
========+========+========+========+========+======
M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F.
--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+------
33 | 26 | 28 | 19 | 27 | 18
W 40 | 18 | 29 | 20 | W 39 | 19
23 | 26 | 23 | 21 | 27 | 31
23 | 23 | 26 | 21 | 23 | 14
25 | 21 | 22 | 18 | 33 | 24
29 | W 24 | 25 | 17 | 25 | 18
31 | 19 | 28 | W 35 | 25 | 18
28 | 25 | 24 | 18 | 21 | 19
26 | 17 | 26 | 19 | 24 | 20
23 | 15 | 32 | 26 | 26 | 19
23 | 18 | 26 | 18 | W 46 | W 39
23 | 19 | 27 | 18 | 23 | 25
30 | 24 | 25 | 21 | 22 | 20
W 38 | 17 | 23 | 16 | 32 | 17
21 | 17 | 27 | 19 | 21 | 16
26 | 21 | 40 | 16 | 21 | W 30
W 53 | W 43 | 28 | 15 | W 40 | 17
28 | 20 | 31 | 24 | 25 | 24
29 | 21 | 27 | 25 | 30 | 20
W 43 | W 36 | 29 | 17 | W 43 | 23
20 | 16 | 24 | W 30 | 22 | 18
22 | 18 | W 42 | W 34 | |
========+========+========+========+========+=======
Analysing these figures, with the omission of remarriages, we obtain
the following results:--
(a) Railway.
Bridegroom. Bride.
Average age 25-26 18-19
Mean above average 28-29 19-20
Mean below average 23-24 16-17
Range of age 40-20 28-14
(b) Madras City.
Bridegroom. Bride.
Average age 26-27 19-20
Mean above average 28-29 21-22
Mean below average 23-24 17-18
Range of age 40-20 31-14
From the analysis of a hundred male cases in Madras, in which enquiries
were made with reference to the married state, in individuals ranging
in age from 21 to 50, with an average age of 33, I learn that 74 were
married; that 141 male and 130 female children had been born to them;
and that 26, whose average age was 25, were unmarried. The limits of
age of the men at the time of marriage were 32 and 16; of their wives
25 and 13. The greatest number of children born to a single pair
was 10. In only three cases, out of the seventy-four, was there no
issue. In fifty cases, which were examined, of married men, with an
average age of 34, 207 children had been born, of whom 91 had died,
for the most part in early life, from 'fever' and other causes.
The racial position of Eurasians, and the proportion of black blood
in their veins, are commonly indicated, not by the terms mulatto,
quadroon, octoroon, sambo (or zambo), etc., but in fractions of a
rupee. The European pure breed being represented by Rs. 0-0-0, and
the Native pure breed by 16 annas (= 1 rupee), the resultant cross is,
by reference to colour and other tests, gauged as being half an anna in
the rupee (faint admixture of black blood), approaching European types;
eight annas (half and half); fifteen annas (predominant admixture of
black blood), approaching Native types, etc.
The Eurasian body being enveloped in clothes, it was not till they
stripped before me, for the purpose of anthropometry, that I became
aware how prevalent is the practice of tattooing among the male
members of the community. Nearly all the hundred and thirty men
(of the lower classes) whom I examined were, in fact, tattooed to a
greater or less extent on the breasts, upper arms, forearms, wrists,
back of the hands, or shoulders. The following varied selection of
devices in blue, with occasional red, is recorded in my case-book:--
Anchor.
Ballet girl with flag, stars and stripes.
Bracelets round wrists.
Burmese lady carrying umbrella.
Bird.
Bugles.
Conventional artistic devices.
Cross and anchor.
Crown and flags.
Crossed swords and pistols.
Dancing-girl.
Dancing-girl playing with cobras.
Elephant.
Floral devices.
Flowers in pot.
Hands joined in centre of a heart.
Hands joined, and clasping a flower.
Heart.
Heart and cross.
Initials of the individual, his friends, relatives, and inamorata,
sometimes within a heart or laurel wreath.
Lizard.
Mercy (word on left breast).
Mermaid.
Portraits of the man and his lady-love.
Queen Alexandra.
Royal arms and banners.
Sailing boat.
Scorpion.
Solomon's seal.
Steam boat.
Svastika (Buddhist emblem).
Watteau shepherdess.
The most elaborate patterns were executed by Burmese tattooers. The
initials of the individual's Christian and surnames, which
preponderated over other devices, were, as a rule, in Roman, but
occasionally in Tamil characters.
In colour the Eurasians afford examples of the entire colour scale,
through sundry shades of brown and yellow, to pale white, and even
florid or rosy. The pilous or hairy system was, in the cases recorded
by me, uniformly black. The colour of the iris, like that of the
skin, is liable to great variation, from lustrous black to light,
with a predominance of dark tints. Blue was observed only in a
solitary instance.
The Eurasian resists exposure to the sun better than the European,
and, while many wear solah topis (pith sun-hats), it is by no means
uncommon to see a Eurasian walking about in the middle of a hot day
with his head protected only by a straw hat or cap.
The average height of the Eurasians examined by me in Madras, according
to my measurements of 130 subjects, is 166.6 cm. (5 feet 5-1/2 inches),
and compares as follows with that of the English and various Native
classes inhabiting the city of Madras:--
cm.
English 170.8
Eurasians 166.6
Muhammadans 164.5
Brahmans 162.5
Pallis 162.5
Vellalas 162.4
Paraiyans 161.9
The height, as might be expected, comes between that of the two
parent stocks, European and Native, and had, in the cases examined,
the wide range of 30.8 cm., the difference between a maximum of 183.8
cm. (6 feet) and a minimum of 153 cm. (5 feet).
The average length of the head was 18.6 cm. and the breadth 14.1
cm. And it is to be noted that, in 63 per cent. of the cases examined,
the breadth exceeded 14 cm.:--
Length. Breadth. Index.
cm. cm.
Brahmans 18.6 14.2 76.5
Eurasians 18.6 14.1 76
Muhammadans 18.7 13.9 76.1
Vellalas 18.6 13.8 74.1
Paraiyans 18.6 13.7 73.6
Pallis 18.6 13.6 73
The breadth of the head is very clearly brought out by the following
analysis of forty subjects belonging to each of the above six classes,
which shows at a glance the preponderance of heads exceeding 14
cm. in breadth in Eurasians, Brahmans, and (to a less extent)
in Muhammadans:--
12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16
cm. cm. cm. cm.
Eurasians ... 11 27 2
Brahmans 1 9 27 3
Muhammadans 2 17 21 ...
Vellalas ... 24 16 ...
Paraiyans ... 27 13 ...
Pallis 3 30 7 ...
The head of a cross-breed, it has been said, generally takes after the
father, and the breadth of the Eurasian head is a persisting result
of European male influence. The effect of this influence is clearly
demonstrated in the following cases, all the result of re-crossing
between British men and Eurasian women:--
Length. Breadth.
cm. cm.
19 14.5
18.4 14.2
19.2 14.2
20.2 14.6
19 14.6
19.4 14.3
---- ----
Average 19.2 14.4
Eurasian average 18.6 14.1
The character of the nose is, as those who have studied ethnology in
India will appreciate, a most important factor in the differentiation
of race, tribe, and class, and in the determination of pedigree. "No
one," Mr. Risley writes, [120] "can have glanced at the literature
of the subject, and in particular, at the Védic accounts of the Aryan
advance, without being struck by the frequent references to the noses
of the people whom the Aryans found in possession of the plains of
India. So impressed were the Aryans with the shortcomings of their
enemies' noses that they often spoke of them as 'the noseless ones,'
and their keen perception of the importance of this feature seems
almost to anticipate the opinion of Dr. Collignon that the nasal index
ranks higher as a distinctive character than the stature or even the
cephalic index itself."
In the subjoined table, based on the examination of forty members of
each class, the high proportion of leptorhine Eurasians, Muhammadans,
and Vellalas, with nasal indices ranging between 60 and 70, is at
once manifest, and requires no comment:--
60-70. 70-80. 80-90. 90-100.
Eurasians 19 17 3 1
Muhammadans 17 18 4 1
Vellalas 14 22 3 1
Pallis 3 25 9 3
Paraiyans 2 17 19 2
I pass on to the Eurasians of the west coast. My visit to Calicut,
the capital of the Malabar district, was by chance coincident with the
commemoration of the four hundredth anniversary of the arrival of Vasco
da Gama at Calicut after his discovery of the sea-route from Europe
to India. Concerning the origin of the Indo-Portuguese half-breed, I
learn [121] that, on his return from the recapture of Goa, Albuquerque
brought with him the women he had carried away when the Portuguese
were driven out of the place. As soon as affairs became tolerably
settled again at that port, he had them converted to Christianity,
and married them to Portuguese men. No less than 450 of his men were
thus married in Goa, and others who desired to follow their example
were so numerous that Albuquerque had great difficulty in granting
their requests. The marriage of Portuguese men to native women had
already been sanctioned by Dom Manuel, but this privilege was only
to be conceded to men of proved character, and who had rendered good
service. Albuquerque, however, extended the permission to many far
beyond what he was authorised to do, and he took care that the women
so married were the daughters of the principal men of the land. This
he did in the hope of inducing them to become Christians. To those who
were married Albuquerque allotted lands, houses and cattle, so as to
give them a start in life, and all the landed property which had been
in possession of the Moorish mosques and Hindu pagodas he gave to the
principal churches of the city, which he dedicated to Santa Catherina.
The names of some members of the community at Calicut recalled to
mind Pedro Alvares Cabral, who anchored before Calicut in 1500,
and established a factory at Cochin; the first Portuguese Governor,
Dom Franciso de Almeida; André Furtado de Mendonca, who concluded
a treaty with the king of Calicut; and many others, whose exploits
are handed down to posterity in the Indo-Portuguese archives. Though
Portuguese names persist at the present day, it does not follow of
necessity that their owners have any Portuguese blood in their veins,
for some are merely descendants of Native converts to Christianity,
or of household slaves of Portuguese officers. "In Malabar," writes the
Census Commissioner, 1881, "there is a section of Europeanized Native
Christians--Goa Roman Catholics--some of whom have adopted European
dress and customs; and in all districts the popular interpretation
of the word Eurasian is very liberal. There are many Pariahs and
Native Christians, who have adopted a travesty of European clothes,
and who would return themselves as Eurasians, if allowed to do so."
A social distinction is made at Calicut between Eurasians and
East Indians. With a view at clearing up the grounds on which this
distinction is based, my interpreter was called on to submit a note on
the subject, which arrived couched in language worthy of Mark Twain. I,
therefore, reproduce it in the original Indo-Anglian.
"Eurasians are classified to those who stand second in the list of
Europeans and those born in any part of India, and who are the Pedigree
of European descendants, being born of father European and mother East
Indian, and notwithstanding those who can prove themselves as really
good Indian descendants, such as mother and father of the same sex,
therefore these are called Eurasians.
"East Indians are those offsprings of Christians of the East, and
they atimes gather the offsprings of Eurasians to the entering their
marriage to the East Indian females in the East Indian community,
thereby they are called East Indians.
"Native Christians are those of Hindu nations converted into Christians
by their embracing the poles of Christianity. All Hindus thereby
converted are made Christians by a second Baptism are called Native
Christians.
"Coaster. They are alluded to those who belong to the Coast, and who
come from a country that has a Sea Coast into that country that has
not got a Sea Coast is therefore called a Coaster. A very rude word."
Speaking in general terms, it may be said that Eurasians are of greater
stature, and possess skins of lighter hue than the East Indians,
who, as the result of intermarriage with Native Christian women,
have reverted in the direction of the Native type.
The Eurasians examined by me at Calicut, nearly all of whom were Roman
Catholics, were earning a livelihood in the following capacities:--
Bandsman. Municipal inspector.
Boot-maker. Musician.
Bugler. Petition-writer.
Carpenter. Police constable.
Clerk. Railway guard.
Coffee estate writer. Schoolmaster.
Compositor. Tailor.
Copyist. Tin-smith.
Mechanic. Weaver.
As in Madras, so in Malabar, tattooing is very prevalent among the
male members of the community, and the devices are characterised by a
predominance of religious emblems and snakes. The following patterns
are recorded in my notes:--
Bangle on wrist.
Boat.
Bird (the Holy Ghost).
Chalice.
Christ crucified.
Conventional and geometrical designs.
Cross.
Cross and crown.
Cross and heart.
Cross and I.N.R.I.
Crossed swords.
Fish.
Flags.
Flower.
Flower and leaves.
Initials.
Ladder.
Sacred heart.
Snake encircling forearms.
Snake coiled round forearm.
Solomon's seal.
Steam boat.
There are, in North Malabar, many individuals, whose fathers were
European. Writing, in 1887, concerning the Tiyan community, Mr. Logan
states [122] that "the women are not as a rule excommunicated if
they live with Europeans, and the consequence is that there has
been among them a large admixture of European blood, and the caste
itself has been materially raised in the social scale. In appearance
some of the women are almost as fair as Europeans." On this point,
the Report of the Malabar Marriage Commission, 1894, states that "in
the early days of British rule, the Tiyan women incurred no social
disgrace by consorting with Europeans, and, up to the last generation,
if the Sudra girl could boast of her Brahmin lover, the Tiyan girl
could show more substantial benefits from her alliance with a white
man of the ruling race. Happily the progress of education, and the
growth of a wholesome public opinion, have made shameful the position
of a European's concubine; and both races have thus been saved from
a mode of life equally demoralizing to each."
During a visit to Ootacamund on the Nilgiri hills, I was enabled
to examine the physique of the elder boys at the Lawrence Asylum,
the object of which is "to provide for children of European and
East Indian officers and soldiers of Her Majesty's Army (British and
Native), and of Europeans and East Indians in the Medical Service,
military and civil, who are serving, or have served within the limits
of the Presidency of Madras, a refuge from the debilitating effects of
a tropical climate, and from the serious drawbacks to the well-being
of children incidental to a barrack life; to afford for them a plain,
practical, and religious education; and to train them for employment
in different trades, pursuits, and industries." As the result of
examination of thirty-three Eurasian boys, I was able to testify to
the excellence of their physical condition. [123] A good climate, with
a mean annual temperature of 58°, good food, and physical training,
have produced a set of boys well-nourished and muscular, with good
chests, shoulders, and body weight.
Some final words are necessary on liability to certain diseases,
as a differentiating character between Eurasians and Europeans. The
Census Commissioner, 1891, states that Eurasians seem to be peculiarly
liable to insanity and leprosy. To these should be added elephantiasis
(filarial disease), concerning which Surgeon-Major J. Maitland writes
as follows [124] "Almost all the old writers on elephantiasis believed
that the dark races were more susceptible to the disease than white
people; but it is extremely doubtful if this is the case. It is true
that, in those countries where the disease is endemic, the proportion
of persons affected is much greater among the blacks than among the
whites; but it has to be borne in mind that the habits of the former
render them much more liable to the disease than the latter. The
majority of the white people, being more civilised, are more careful
regarding the purity of their drinking water than the Natives,
who are proverbially careless in this respect. In India, although
it is comparatively rare to meet with Europeans affected with the
disease, yet such cases are from time to time recorded. Eurasians
are proportionately more liable to the disease than pure Europeans,
but not so much so as Natives. Doctors Patterson and Hall of Bahia
[125] examined the blood of 309 persons in that place, and found the
following proportions affected with filaria; of whites, 1 in 26; of
blacks, 1 in 10-1/4; of the mixed race, 1 in 9. Doctor Laville [126]
states that, in the Society Islands, out of a total of 13 European and
American residents, 11 were affected with elephantiasis. Taking all
these facts into consideration, together with our knowledge of the
pathology of the disease, I do not think we are justified in saying
that the black races are more susceptible to the disease than white
people. On the other hand, owing to the nature of their habits, they
are much more liable to the diseases than are the white races." During
the five years 1893-97, ninety-eight Eurasians suffering from filarial
diseases were admitted into the General Hospital, Madras.
To Colonel W. A. Lee, I.M.S., Superintendent of the Government Leper
Asylum, Madras, I am indebted for the following note on leprosy in its
relation to the Eurasian and European communities. "Europeans are by
no means immune to the disease, which, in the majority of instances,
is contracted by them through coitus with leprous individuals. Leprosy
is one of the endemic diseases of tropical and sub-tropical countries,
to the risk of contracting which Europeans who settle on the plains
of India, and their offspring from unions with the inhabitants of
the land, as well as the descendants of the latter, become exposed,
since, by the force of circumstances, they are thrown into intimate
contact with the Native population. The Eurasian community furnishes
a considerable number of lepers, and the disease, once introduced
into a family, has a tendency to attack several of its members, and
to reappear in successive generations, occasionally skipping one--a
feature akin to the biological phenomenon known as atavism, but of
perhaps doubtful analogy, for the possibility of a fresh infection
or inoculation has always to be borne in mind. There are numerous
instances of such hereditary transmission among the patients,
both Native and Eurasian, in the Leper Hospital. The spread of
the disease by contagion is slow, the most intimate contact even,
such as that between parent and child, often failing to effect
inoculation. Still there is much evidence in support of its being
inoculable by cohabitation, prolonged contact, wearing the same
clothing, sharing the dwelling, using the same cooking and eating
utensils, and even by arm-to-arm vaccination. Influenced by a belief in
the last mentioned cause, vaccination was formerly regarded with much
suspicion and dislike by Eurasians in Madras. But their apprehensions
on this score have abated since animal vaccine was substituted for the
humanised material. It has also for long been a popular belief among
the same class that the suckling of their infants by infected Native
wet-nurses is a common source of the disease. Attempts to reproduce
leprosy from supposed pure cultures of the leprosy bacillus have
invariably failed, and this strengthens the belief that the disease
would die out if sufferers from the tubercular or mixed forms were
segregated, and intermarriage with members of known leprous families
interdicted. Experience shows that, where such marriages are freely
entered into, a notable prevalence of the disease results, as at
Pondicherry for example, where the so-called creole population is
said to contain a large proportion of lepers from this cause."
Writing concerning the prevalence of insanity in different classes,
the Census Commissioner, 1891, states that "it appears from the
statistics that insanity is far more prevalent among the Eurasians
than among any other class. The proportion is 1 insane person in
every 410. For England and Wales the proportion is 1 in every 307,
and it is significant that the section of the population of Madras,
which shows the greatest liability to insanity, is that which has
an admixture of European blood. I have no information regarding the
prevalence of insanity among Eurasians for any other province or
State in India except Mysore, and there the proportion is 1 in 306."
For the following tabular statement of admissions into the Government
Lunatic Asylum, Madras, I am indebted to Captain C. H. Leet-Palk,
I.M.S.:--
======+=================+=================+================
| Eurasians. | Natives. | Europeans.
-- |-----------------|-----------------|----------------
| Male. | Female. | Male. | Female. | Male. | Female.
------+-------+---------+-------+---------+-------+--------
1893 | 6 | 7 | 110 | 55 | 15 | 4
1894 | 8 | 6 | 104 | 28 | 19 | 1
1895 | 10 | 6 | 113 | 18 | 11 | 4
1896 | 2 | 4 | 82 | 17 | 5 | ...
1897 | 3 | 3 | 84 | 18 | 14 | 1
======+=======+=========+=======+=========+=======+========
Leaving out of question the Europeans, in whom, owing to the
preponderance of the male sex in Madras, a greater number of male than
female lunatics is to be expected, and considering only Eurasians
and Natives, the far higher proportion of female as compared with
male lunatics in the Eurasian than in the Native community, is
very conspicuous. Taking, for example, the numbers remaining in the
Asylum in 1894. Whereas the proportion of Eurasian males to females
was 33:31, that of Natives was 30.6:6.8; and the high proportion of
female Eurasian inmates was visible in other years. The subject seems
to be one worthy of further study by those competent to deal with it.
G
Gabit.--A Bombay fishing caste returned at the census, 1901. To Malpe
in the South Canara district, during the fishing season, come fishermen
with a flotilla of keeled and outrigged sailing boats from Ratnagiri
in the Bombay Presidency. Hither also come fishermen from Goa. The
reasons given by the Ratnagiri fishermen for coming southward are that
fish are not so abundant off their own coast, competition is keener,
and salt more expensive. Moreover, the crystals of Bombay salt are
too large for successful curing, and "do not agree with the fish,
of which the flesh is turned black." If, they said contemptuously,
they were to sun-dry fish by the local method, their people would
laugh at them for bringing back, not fish, but dried cow-dung for
fuel. The Ratnagiri boats go well out of sight of land to the fishing
ground, where they catch seir, pomfret, cat-fish (Arius), and other
big fish near the surface, and sharks in deeper water. If the fishing
is not good near Malpe, they may go south as far as Mangalore. To
the Ratnagiri fishermen the seir (Cybium) is the most valuable and
lucrative fish. Under existing arrangements, by which clashing of
interests is avoided, the fishery at Malpe is divided into two zones,
viz., the deep sea fished by the large Ratnagiri boats, and the
shallow littoral water by the smaller local and Goa boats.
Gadaba.--The Gadabas are a tribe of agriculturists, coolies, and
hunters in the Vizagapatam district. Hunting is said to be gradually
decreasing, as many of the forests are now preserved, and shooting
without a license is forbidden. Men sometimes occupy themselves in
felling trees, catching birds and hares, and tracking and beating game
for sportsmen. The Gadabas are also employed as bearers in the hills,
and carry palanquins. There is a settlement of them on the main road
between Sembliguda and Koraput, in a village where they are said to
have been settled by a former Raja expressly for such service. It
is said that the Gadabas will not touch a horse, possibly because
they are palanquin-bearers, and have the same objection to the rival
animal that a cabman has for a motor-car.
There is a tradition that the tribe owes its name to the fact that
its ancestors emigrated from the banks of the Godabari (Godavari)
river, and settled at Nandapur, the former capital of the Rajas
of Jeypore. The Gadabas have a language of their own, of which a
vocabulary is given in the Vizagapatam Manual. This language is
included by Mr. G. A. Grierson [127] in the Munda linguistic family.
The tribe is apparently divided into five sections, called Bodo (big)
or Gutob, Parenga, Olaro, Kaththiri or Kaththara, and Kapu. Of these,
the last two are settled in the plains, and say that they are Bodo
and Olaro Gadabas who migrated thither from the hills. As among the
Gadabas, so among the Savaras, there is a section which has settled
on the plains, and adopted Kapu as its name. In the Madras Census
Report, 1891, nearly a thousand Gadabas are returned as belonging to
the Chenchu sub-division. Chenchu is the name of a separate jungle
tribe in the Telugu country, and I have been unable to confirm the
existence of a Chenchu sub-division among the Gadabas.
In the Madras Census Report, 1871, Mr. H. G. Turner states that "very
much akin to the Gadabas are a class called Kerang Kapus. They will
not admit any connexion with them; but, as their language is almost
identical, such gainsaying cannot be permitted them. They are called
Kerang Kapu from the circumstance of their women weaving cloths,
which they weave from the fibre of a jungle shrub called Kerang
(Calotropis gigantea)." Mr. H. A. Stuart remarks [128] that "the
Kapu Gadabas are possibly the Kerang Kapus mentioned by Mr. Turner
as akin to the Gadabas, for I find no mention of the caste under the
full name of Kerang Kapu, nor is Kerang found as a sub-division of
either Kapu or Gadaba." Writing concerning the numeral system of the
Kerang Kapus, Mr. Turner observes that it runs thus: Moi, Umbar,
Jugi, O, Malloi, Turu, Gu, Tammar, Santing, Goa, and for eleven
(1 and following numbers), they prefix the word Go, e.g., Gommoi,
Gombaro, etc. The Kerang Kapus can count up to nineteen, but have no
conception of twenty. According to Mr. W. Francis, the only tribe on
the hills which has this system of notation is the Bonda Poraja. The
Gadabas have very similar names for the first five numerals; but,
after that, lapse into Oriya, e.g., sat, at, no, das, etc. The
Bonda Poraja numerals recorded by Mr. Francis are muyi, baar, gii,
oo, moloi, thiri, goo, thamam, and so on up to nineteen, after which
they cannot count. This system, as he points out, agrees with the one
described by Mr. Turner as belonging to the Kerang Kapus. The Gutob
Gadaba numerals recorded by Mr. C. A. Henderson include muititti (1 +
a hand), and martitti (2 + a hand).
Some Gadaba women wear a bustle or dress improver, called irre or
kitte. This article of attire is accounted for by the following
tradition. "A goddess visited a Gadaba village incognito, and asked
leave of one of the women to rest on a cot. She was brusquely told that
the proper seat for beggars was the floor, and she consequently decreed
that thenceforth all Gadaba women should wear a bustle to remind them
to avoid churlishness." [129] The Gadaba female cloths are manufactured
by themselves from cotton thread and the fibre of silloluvada or ankudi
chettu (Holarrhena antidysenterica) and boda luvada or bodda chettu
(Ficus glomerata). The fibre is carefully dried, and dyed blue or
reddish-brown. The edges of the cloth are white, a blue strip comes
next, while the middle portion is reddish-brown with narrow stripes
of white or blue at regular intervals. The Gadabas account for the
dress of their women by the following legend. When Rama, during his
banishment, was wandering in the forests of Dandaka, his wife Sita
accompanied him in spite of his entreaties to the contrary. It was one
of the cruel terms of his stepmother Kaika that Rama should wear only
clothing made from jungle fibre, before leaving the capital. According
to the Hindu religion, a virtuous wife must share both the sorrows
and joys of her lord. Consequently Sita followed the example of Rama,
and wore the same kind of clothing. They then left the capital amidst
the loud lamentation of the citizens. During their wanderings, they met
some Gadaba women, who mocked and laughed at Sita. Whereupon she cursed
them, and condemned them to wear no other dress but the cloth made of
fibre. In a note on the Gadabas, [130] Mr. L. Lakshminarayan writes
that "although mill-prepared cloths are fast replacing house-spun
cloths in all communities, yet, in the case of the Gadabas, there
is a strong superstition which prevents the use of cloths prepared
outside, particularly in regard to the cloths worn by their women. The
legend (about Sita) is fully believed by the Gadabas, and hence their
religious adherence to their particular cloth. At the time of marriage,
it is absolute that the Gadaba maiden should wear this fibre-made
cloth, else misfortune will ruin the family. A bundle of twigs is
brought, and the stems freed of leaves are bruised and twisted to
loosen the bark, and are then dried for two or three days, after which
the bark is ripped out and beaten down smooth with heavy sticks,
to separate the bark from the fibre. The fibre is then collected,
and combed down smooth, and spun into a tolerably fine twist. It
is this twist that the Gadaba maiden weaves in her crude loom,
and prepares from it her marriage sari. According to a good custom
among these people, a Gadaba maiden must learn to weave her cloths
before she becomes eligible for marriage. And no Gadaba ever thinks
of marrying a wife who cannot prepare her own cloths. Men can use
cotton and other cloths, whereas women cannot do so, for they are
under the curse of Sita. But the passion for fineries in woman is
naturally so strong that the modern Gadaba woman is now taking the
liberty of putting cotton thread for the woof and ankudu fibre for
the warp, and thus is able to turn out a more comfortable and finer
cloth. But some old crones informed me that this mixed cloth is not
so auspicious as that prepared wholly from the fibre."
Some Gadaba women wear immense earrings made of long pieces of brass
wire wound into a circle, which hang down from a hole in the ear,
and sometimes reach to the shoulders. The wire is sold in the shandy
(market) at so much a cubit. The head-dress of some of the women
consists of a chaplet of Oliva shells, and strings of beads of various
sizes and colours, or the red and black berries of Abrus precatorius,
with pendants which hang over the forehead. The women also wear
bead necklaces, to which a coin may sometimes be seen attached
as a pendant. Bracelets and rings are as a rule made of brass or
copper, but sometimes silver rings are worn. Toe-rings and brass or
silver anklets are considered fashionable ornaments. Among the Olaro
Gadabas, the wearing of brass anklets by a woman indicates that she is
married. For teaching backward children to walk, the Gadabas employ
a bamboo stick split so as to make a fork, the prongs of which are
connected by a cross-bar. The apparatus is held by the mother, and
the child, clutching the cross-bar, toddles along.
Among the Bodo and Olaro sections, the following septs occur:--Kora
(sun), Nag (cobra), Bhag (tiger), Kira (parrot), and Gollari
(monkey). The Gadabas who have settled in the plains seem to have
forgotten the sept names, but will not injure or kill certain animals,
e.g., the cobra.
Girls are as a rule married after puberty. When a young man's parents
think it time for him to get married, they repair to the home of
an eligible girl with rice and liquor, and say that they have come
to ask a boon, but do not mention what it is. They are treated to
a meal, and return home. Some time afterwards, on a day fixed by
the Disari, three or four aged relatives of the young man go to the
girl's house, and the match is fixed up. After a meal, they return
to their homes. On the day appointed for the wedding ceremonies,
the bridegroom's relations go to the home of the bride, taking with
them a rupee towards the marriage expenses, a new cloth for the girl's
mother, and half a rupee for the females of the bride's village, which
is regarded as compensation for the loss of the girl. To the bride are
given a glass bead necklace, and brass bangles to be worn on the right
wrist. A feast follows. On the following day, the bride is conducted
to the village of the bridegroom, in front of whose home a pandal
(booth), made of four bamboo poles, covered with green leaves, has
been erected. Within the pandal, stems of the sal (Shorea robusta),
addagirli, and bamboo joined together, are set up as the auspicious
post. Beside this a grindstone is placed, on which the bride sits,
with the bridegroom seated on her thighs. The females present throw
turmeric powder over them, and they are bathed with turmeric-water
kept ready in a new pot. They are then presented with new cloths, and
their hands are joined together by the officiating Disari. A feast,
with much drinking, follows, and the day's proceedings conclude with
a dance. On the following day, mud is heaped up near the pandal, into
which the Disari throws a handful of it. The remainder of the mud
is carried into the pandal by the contracting couple, who pour water
over it, and throw it over those who are assembled. All then proceed
to a stream, and bathe. A further feast and dance follows, of which
the newly married couple are spectators, without taking part in it.
In a note on marriage among the Parenga Gadabas, Mr. G. F. Paddison
writes that they have two forms of marriage rite, one of which
(biba) is accompanied by much feasting, gifts of bullocks, toddy,
rice, etc. The most interesting feature is the fight for the bride
with fists. All the men on each side fight, and the bridegroom has
to carry off the bride by force. Then they all sit down, and feast
together. In the other form (lethulia), the couple go off together
to the jungle, and, when they return, pay twenty rupees, or whatever
they can afford, to the girl's father as a fine. A dinner and regular
marriage follow elopement and payment of the fine.
The ghorojavai system, according to which a man works for a stated
period for his future father-in-law, is practiced by the Gadabas. But a
cash payment is said to be now substituted for service. The remarriage
of widows is permitted, and a younger brother may marry the widow of
his elder brother. If she does not marry him, the second husband has
to pay a sum of money, called in Oriya the rand tonka, to him. When
a man divorces his wife, her relations are summoned, and he pays her
two rupees before sending her away. Of this sum, one rupee is paid as
buchni for suspicion regarding her chastity, and the other as chatni
for driving her away. A divorced woman may remarry.
In the hills, the village headman is called Janni or Nayako, and in
the plains Naidado. He is assisted by a Kirasani, who is also the
caste priest.
Concerning the religion of the Gadabas, Mr. H. D. Taylor writes [131]
that it is "simple, and consists of feasts at stated intervals. The
chief festival is Ittakaparva, or hunting feast, in March and April. On
this occasion, the whole male population turns out to hunt, and,
if they return unsuccessful, the women pelt them with cow-dung on
their return to the village; if, however, successful, they have their
revenge upon the women in another way. The chief deities (though
spoken of generally under the term Devata or Mahaprabhu) are Ganga
Devi or Takurani, Iswara or Mouli, Bhairava, and Jhankara. It is
Iswara or Mouli who is worshipped at Chaitra. Jhankara is the god
of land, rainfall and crops, and a cow is sacrificed to him. There
are not, as a rule, temples, but the puja (worship) place consists
of a sacred grove surrounded with a circle of stones, which takes
the name of Jhankara from the god to whom puja is performed. Ganga
Devi, Iswara and Mouli have temples at certain places, but as a
rule there is no building, and the site of puja is marked by trees
and stones. To Iswara a she-buffalo is sacrificed at Chaitra. To the
other Devatas cocks and goats are sacrificed. Ganga Devi or Takurani
is the goddess of life and health, both of men and cattle; to her
pigs, goats, and pigeons are sacrificed. There are one or two curious
superstitions. If a member of the caste is supposed to be possessed
of a devil, he or she is abused and beaten by other members of the
caste until the devil is cast out. In some parts the superstition is
that a piece of wild buffalo horn buried in the ground of the village
will avert or cure cattle disease." Sometimes a sal or kosangi tree
is planted, and surrounded by a bamboo hedge. It is worshipped with
animal sacrifices at harvest time, and the Kirasani acts as priest.
"There is," Mr. G. F. Paddison writes, "rather a curious custom
in connection with a village goddess. Close to her shrine a swing
is kept. On this swing, once a year at the great village festival,
thorns are placed, and the village priest or priestess sits on them
without harm. If the pujari is a male, he has been made neuter. But,
if the village is not fortunate enough to possess a eunuch, a woman
performs the ceremony. [At the fire-walking ceremony at Nuvagode
in Ganjam, the priest sits on a thorny swing, and is endowed with
prophetic powers.] When there is small-pox or other epidemic disease
in a village, a little go-cart is built, composed of a box on legs
fixed to a small board on wheels. In this box is placed a little
clay image, or anything else holy, and carried away to a distant
place, and left there. A white flag is hoisted, which looks like
quarantine, but is really intended, I think, to draw the goddess
back to her shrine. Vaccination is regarded as a religious ceremony,
and the Gadabas, I believe, invariably present the vaccinator as the
officiating priest with rice."
The Gadabas, like other hill tribes, name their children after the
day of the week on which they are born. On the plains, however,
some give their children low-country names, e.g., Ramudu, Lachigadu,
Arjanna, etc.
Males are, as a rule, burnt; but, if a person dies in the night or
on a rainy day, the corpse is sometimes buried. Women and children
are usually buried, presumably because they are not thought worth the
fuel necessary for cremation. Only relations are permitted to touch a
corpse. Death pollution is observed for three days, during which the
caste occupation must not be engaged in. Stone slabs are erected to the
memory of the dead, and sacrifices are offered to them now and again.
The Gadabas have a devil dance, which they are willing to perform
before strangers in return for a small present. It has been thus
described by Captain Glasfurd. [132] "At the time of the Dusserah,
Holi, and other holidays, both men and women dance to the music of a
fife and drum. Sometimes they form a ring by joining hands all round,
and with a long hop spring towards the centre, and then hop back
to the full extent of their arms, while they at the same time keep
circling round and round. At other times, the women dance singly or
in pairs, their hands resting on each other's wrists. When fatigued,
they cease dancing, and sing. A man steps out of the crowd, and sings
a verse or two impromptu. One of the women rejoins, and they sing
at each other for a short time. The point of these songs appears to
consist in giving the sharpest rejoinder to each other. The woman
reflects upon the man's ungainly appearance and want of skill as a
cultivator or huntsman, and the man retorts by reproaching her with
her ugliness and slatternly habits." In connection with dancing,
Mr. Henderson writes that "all the Gadaba dancing I have seen was the
same as that of the Porjas, and consisted of a sort of women's march,
at times accompanied by a few men who wander round, and occasionally
form a ring through which the line of women passes. Sometimes the
men get on each other's shoulders, and so form a sort of two-storied
pyramid. The women's song is comparatively quite melodious."
In recent years, some Gadabas have emigrated to Assam, to work in
the tea-gardens. But emigration has now stopped by edict.
For the information contained in this article, I am mainly indebted to
notes by Mr. C. A. Henderson, Mr. W. Francis, Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao,
and the Kumara Raja of Bobbili.
Gadi (cart).--An exogamous sept of Mala.
Gadidhe Kandla (donkey's eyes).--An exogamous sept of Boya.
Gadu.--A common suffix to the name of individuals among various Telugu
classes, e.g., Ramigadu, Subbigadu.
Gaduge (throne).--A gotra of Kurni.
Gaita.--A sub-division of Konda Razu.
Gajjal (a small bell).--A sub-division of Toreya.
Gali.--Gali or Galollu, meaning wind, devil, or spirit, is recorded
as an exogamous sept of Kamma, Kuruba, and Mala.
Gamalla.--The Gamallas are a class of toddy-drawers, and distillers and
vendors of arrack in the Telugu country and are supposed to be Idigas
who have bettered themselves, and separated from that caste. Both
Gamallas and Idigas worship the deity Kattamayya. At the census,
1891, some returned Idiga as their sub-division. In the Cuddapah
district some toddy-drawers style themselves Asilivandlu. Possibly
the Idiga, Gamalla, and Asili toddy-drawing classes only represent
three endogamous sections of a single caste. In the Nellore district,
the toddy-drawers style themselves Gamandla or Gavandlavandlu,
and say that they have one gotra Kaumandlapu or Gaumandlapu. It
is probable that the name Gamandla or Gavandla has been coined by
Brahman purohits, to connect the caste with Kaumandala Maharishi of
the Puranas. The Gamallas say that they were created to draw toddy
by the sage Kavundinya, and that they belong to the Gaundla varnam
(caste). I am informed that a Puranam, called Gamandla or Gamudi
Puranam, has been created. In the social scale, the toddy-drawers
appear to occupy a higher position in the Telugu than in the Tamil
country, and they are sometimes said to be Telagas or Balijas,
who have adopted toddy-drawing as a profession. The more prosperous
members of the community are toddy and arrack (liquor) shop-keepers,
and the poorer members extract toddy from the palm-trees.
The Kapus of the Nellore district employ Gamallas as their cooks
and domestic servants, and all menial service and cooking are done
by Gamallas in the houses of Kapus on the occasion of festivals
and marriages.
Concerning the origin of the Gamallas, the following legend is
current. A Rishi was doing penance by standing on his head, and, like
the chamæleon, living on light and air, instead of food. According to
some, the Rishi was Kaumandla, while others do not know his name. An
Idiga girl passed by the Rishi, carrying a pot filled with toddy,
which polluted the air, so that the Rishi could not continue the
penance. Being struck with the girl's beauty, he followed her to her
home, and pointed out to her that she was the cause of his mishap. He
asked her to become his wife, but she announced that she was already
married. Eventually, however, they became secretly united, and, in
consequence, the whole town caught fire. The girl's husband, returning
home with some toddy, was amazed at the sight, and she, to protect him,
hid the Rishi in a vat. Into this vat the husband poured the toddy,
which made the Rishi breathe hard, so that the toddy, for the first
time on record, began to foam. Noticing this, the husband found a
lingam, into which the Rishi had been transformed. This lingam was
worshipped by the Gamandlas, and they are at the present day Saivites.
Like other Telugu castes, the Gamallas have exogamous septs, such as
parvathala (hills), kudumalu (a cake), annam (cooked rice), and pandhi
(pig). Among gotras, the following may be noted:--kavundinya, karunya,
vachalya, and surapandesvara (sura panda, toddy pot).
Marriage is, as a rule, adult, and remarriage of widows is permitted,
though the tendency at the present day is to abandon the practice. At
the wedding of a widow, the bottu (marriage badge) is tied round her
neck at night. Prior to the marriage ceremony, the worship of female
ancestors must be performed. A new female cloth, betel, and flowers,
are placed on a tray, and worshipped by the mothers of the contracting
couple. The cloth is given as a present to a sister or other near
relation of the bride or bridegroom.
The dead are cremated, and the widow breaks one or two of her
bangles. Fire must be carried to the burning-ground by the father of
the deceased, if he is alive. On the day following cremation, the hot
embers are extinguished, and the ashes collected, and shaped into an
effigy, near the head of which three conical masses of mud and ashes
are set up. To these representatives of Rudra, Yama, and the spirit
of the departed, cooked rice and vegetables are offered up on three
leaves. One of the leaves is given to the Jangam, who officiates at
the rite, another to a washerman, and the third is left, so that the
food on it may be eaten by crows. All, who are assembled, wait till
these birds collect, and the ashes are finally poured on a tree. On
the ninth, tenth, or eleventh day after death, a ceremony called
the peddadinam (big day) is performed. Cooked rice, curry, meat,
and other things, are placed on a leaf inside the house. Sitting
near this leaf, the widow weeps and breaks one or two of the glass
bangles, which she wears on the wrist. The food is then taken to a
stream or tank (pond), where the agnates, after shaving, bathing, and
purification, make an effigy of the dead person on the ground. Close
to this cooked rice and vegetables are placed on three leaves, and
offered to the effigy. The widow's remaining bangles are broken, and
she is presented with a new cloth, called munda koka (widow's cloth)
as a sign of her condition. All Gamallas, rich or poor, engage on
this occasion the services of Mala Pambalas and Bainedus (musicians
and story-tellers) to recite the story of the goddess Ankamma. The
performance is called Ankamma kolupu. Some of the Malas make on
the ground a design, called muggu, while the others play on the
drum, and carry out the recitation. The design must be made in five
colours, green (leaves of Cassia auriculata), white (rice flour), red
(turmeric and lime), yellow (turmeric), and black (burnt rice-husk). It
represents a male and female figure (Virulu, heroes), who are supposed
to be the person whose peddadinam is being celebrated, and an ancestor
of the opposite sex. If the family can afford it, other designs, for
example of Ankamma, are also drawn. On the completion of the muggu,
cocoanuts, rice, and betel are offered, and a fowl is sacrificed.
Like many other Telugu castes, the Gamallas have a class of beggars,
called Eneti, attached to them, for whom a subscription is raised
when they turn up.
The Gamallas are mostly Saivites, and their priests are Aradhya
Brahmans, i.e., Telugu Brahmans, who have adopted some of the customs
of the Lingayats. They worship a variety of gods and goddesses, who
include Potharaju, Katamayya, Gangamma, Mathamma, and Thallamma, or
Thadlamma. Once or twice during the year, a pot of toddy is brought
from every house to the shrine of Thallamma, and the liquor contained
in some of the pots is poured on the floor, and the remainder given
to those assembled, irrespective of caste.
At the festival of Dipavali, the celebrants bathe in the early
morning, and go, in wet clothes, to an ant-hill, before which
they prostrate themselves, and pour a little water into one of
the holes. Round the hill they wind five turns of cotton thread,
and return home. Subsequently they come once more to the ant-hill
with a lamp made of flour paste. Carrying the light, they go thrice
or five times round the hill, and throw into a hole therein split
pulse (Phaseolus Mungo). During the whole of this day they fast. On
the following morning they again go to the hill, pour milk into it,
and snap the threads wound round it.
At the festival of Sankaranthi, the principal member of every family
observes the worship of ancestors. Various articles are placed in a
room on leaf plates representing the ancestors, who are worshipped
by the celebrant after he has been purified by bathing. Taking a
little of the food from each leaf, he places it on a single leaf,
which is worshipped, and placed in the court-yard, so that the crows
may partake thereof. The remainder of the food is distributed among
the members of the family.
At the census, 1901, some Gamallas returned themselves as Settigadu
(Chetti).
Gampa (basket).--A sub-division of Kamma and Telaga, and an exogamous
sept of Odde. The name, among the Kammas, refers to a deadly struggle
at Gandikota, in which some escaped by hiding in baskets. Gampa dhompti
is the name of a sub-division of the Madigas, whose marriage offerings
to the god are placed in a basket.
Ganayata.--Recorded, at times of census, as a sub-division of Lingayat
Jangams in the Nellore, Cuddapah, and Kurnool districts. The Sanskrit
word Ganam means Siva's attendants.
Gandham (sandal paste).--An exogamous sept of Balijas, one
sub-division of whom is called Gandhavallu or Gandhapodi (sandal
perfume sellers). The paste made by rubbing sandal (Santalum album)
wood on a stone with water is widely used in connection with Hindu
ceremonial observance. A Brahman, for example, after worshipping,
smears his body with the paste. At festivals, and other ceremonial
occasions, sandal paste is distributed to guests along with betel
leaves and areca nuts (pan-supari). Gandhapodi also occurs as an
exogamous sept of Boya.
Gandikota.--A sub-division of Kamma. Gandi Kottei is recorded [133] as
a sub-division of Kapu or Reddi, "found only in Madura and Tinnevelly,
and also known simply as Kottei Reddis. Kottei is the Tamil for a fort,
the corresponding Telugu word being kota. Their females do not appear
in public."
Gandla.--See Ganiga.
Gangadikara.--Gangadikara, said doubtfully to mean those who lived
on the banks of the Ganges, has been recorded as a sub-division of
the Holeyas, Okkiliyans, and Vakkaligas. The name probably refers to
Gangavadi, the country of the Gangas, a royal line which ruled over
the greater part of the modern Mysore in former times.
Gangeddu.--The Gangeddulu are a class of mendicants, who travel about
the country exhibiting performing bulls. "The exhibition of sacred
bulls, known as Gangeddulu (Ganga's bulls) is very common in the towns
and villages of Southern India. The presence of the swami (god) bull,
as he is popularly called, is made known by his keeper playing on a
small drum, which emits a dismal, booming sound, in the intervals of
addressing his dumb companion in a piercing voice. The bull is led
about from house to house, and made to go through several tricks,
which he does with evident zest. The keeper in the meanwhile talks
to him, and puts questions to him, to which he replies by shakes of
his head. He will kneel down in an attitude of worship, with his head
inclined to the ground, or he will approach you, and gently rub his
nozzle against your hand. Usually a diminutive cow accompanies the
bull, and, like him, is grandly attired, and resounds with tinkling
bells. She is introduced to the spectators as the bull's ammagaru,
that is consort or spouse. Then a scene between the pair is enacted,
the gist of which is that the husband is displeased with the wife,
and declines to hold converse with her. As a result of the difference,
he resolves to go away, and stalks off in high dudgeon. The keeper
attempts to make peace between them, and is rewarded by being charged
by the irate husband and knocked down, though no harm is done to him
as the animal's horns are padded. The keeper rises, shakes himself, and
complains woefully of the treatment he has received. Indeed, it is only
after a great deal of coaxing and wheedling, and promises of buying
him endless quantities of rice cakes and other bazaar delicacies,
that the bull condescends to return, and a reconciliation is effected."
For the following note, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The
Gangeddulu, Erudandis, or Perumal Madukkarans, often acquire and
train deformed male calves. It is a popular superstition that
for a family to keep such animals in its possession is to court
destruction. Consequently, when one is born, information is sent
to a Gangeddu, who, on his arrival, is sumptuously fed. The calf is
then washed, and a new cloth tied to its horns. A small present of
money is made to the Gangeddu, and he takes the animal away. Temples
sometimes dispose of their deformed calves in a similar manner. When
the trained animals are exhibited in public, the deformity, which
is the hall-mark of a genuine Gangeddu, is shown, usually at the
commencement of the performance, or at any time at the bidding of any
of the spectators. It is only after the exhibition of the deformity,
which is usually concealed within the trappings of the animal, that
remuneration, generally in kind, or in old rags and copper coins, is
doled out to them. Villagers worship the bulls, when they happen to
pass their houses, and, as soon as they enter a village, the females
wash the feet of the animals with milk and water. They then adorn
their foreheads with kunkumam (aniline powder) and turmeric paste,
and burn incense and camphor before them. Cocoanuts, plantains, betel
leaves and areca nuts, and money are also offered in a plate, and are
the perquisite of the Gangeddu. The bulls are thus venerated, as they
represent Basavanna, the sacred bull which is the vehicle of Siva.
The language of the Gangeddulu is Telugu, but those who have migrated
to the Tamil country also speak the language of the south. They profess
the Vaishnavite religion, and are of the Tengalai persuasion. They
have Brahman gurus (religious preceptors), who reside at Srirangam,
Tirupati, and other places. By them the Gangeddulu are branded on the
shoulder with the emblems of the chank and chakram, and initiated
into the mysteries of the Dasari priesthood. But, though they call
themselves Dasaris, the Gangeddulu have no marital or other connection
with the Dasaris. In addition to training and exhibiting the performing
bulls and cultivating land, the Gangeddulu officiate as Dasaris in
the month of Peratasi (September-October). Their principal insignia of
office are the chank shell, which is blown to announce their arrival,
and the iron lamp (called Garudasthambha), which is kept burning, and
is said to represent Venkatesa, the presiding deity at Tirupati. As
Dasaris, little is expected of them, except offering fruits to the god,
and assisting at funerals. Several proverbs, of which the following
are examples, are current concerning this aspect of their life:--
The mistake of a Dasari is excused with an apology.
The songs of a Dasari are known only to the god, i.e., they are
unintelligible and unreal.
For the song of a Dasari alms are the payment, i.e., that is all the
song is worth.
Sing again what you have sung, oh! Dasari with dirty teeth.
When a beggar was asked whether he was a Dasari or a Jangam, he
replied that it depends on the next village. This in reference to
his being a time-server.
A Gangeddu mendicant is, like his bulls, picturesquely attired. He
is very punctilious about having his sect-mark on the forehead,
invariably wears a turban, and his body is clothed in a long white
cloth robe. When going about with the performing bulls, the Gangeddulu
generally travel in pairs, one carrying a drum, and the other a
bell-metal gong. One of them holds in one hand the nose-rope of the
bull, and in the other the whip. The bulls are dressed up in a patch
work quilt with two eye-holes in it. Of names which are given to the
animals, Rama and Lakshmana are very popular. The tameness of the
bulls is referred to in the proverb "As mild as a Gangeddu."
The Perumal Madukkarans, or Perumal Erudukkarans, both of which
names indicate those who lead bulls about, are found chiefly in
the Chingleput, North and South Arcot districts. "Every now and
then," Mr. S. M. Natesa Sastri writes, [134] "throughout Madras,
a man dressed up as a buffoon is to be seen leading about a bull, as
fantastically got up as himself with cowries (Cypræa arabica shells)
and rags of many colours, from door to door. The bull is called in
Tamil Perumal erudu, and in Telugu Ganga eddu, the former meaning
Vishnu's bull and the latter Ganga's bull. The origin of the first is
given in a legend, but that of the last is not clear. The conductors
of these bulls are neatherds of high caste, called Pu Idaiyan, i.e.,
flower neatherds (see Idaiyan), and come from villages in the North
and South Arcot districts. They are a simple and ignorant set,
who firmly believe that their occupation arises out of a command
from the great god Venkatachalapati, the lord of the Venkatachala
near Tirupaddi (Tirupati) in the North Arcot district. Their legend
is as follows. Among the habitual gifts to the Venkatachala temple
at Tirupaddi were all the freaks of nature of the neighbourhood as
exhibited in cattle, such as two-tailed cows, five-legged bulls,
four-horned calves, and so on. The Pu Idaiyans, whose original
duty was to string flowers for the temple, were set to graze these
abortions. Now to graze cows is an honour, but to tend such creatures
as these the Pu Idaiyans regarded as a sin. So they prayed to
Venkatachalapati to show them how they could purge it away. On this,
the god gave them a bull called after himself the Perumal bull and
said: 'My sons, if you take as much care of this bull as you would
of your own children, and lead it from house to house, begging its
food, your sin will be washed away.' Ever since then they have been
purging themselves of their original sin. The process is this. The bull
leader takes it from house to house, and puts it questions, and the
animal shakes its head in reply. This is proof positive that it can
reason. The fact is the animal is bought when young for a small sum,
and brought up to its profession. Long practice has made its purchasers
experts in selecting the animals that will suit them. After purchase
the training commences, which consists in pinching the animal's ears
whenever it is given bran, and it soon learns to shake its head at
the sight of bran. I need hardly say that a handful of bran is ready
in its conductor's hands when the questions are put to it. It is also
taught to butt at any person that speaks angrily to it. As regards the
offerings made to these people, one-sixth goes to feeding the bulls,
and the remaining five-sixths to the conductors. They look upon it as
'good work', but the village boys and girls think it the greatest fun
in the world to watch its performances, and the advent of a Vishnu's
bull is hailed by the youngsters with the greatest delight."
Gangimakkalu.--Gangimakkalu, or Gangaputra, meaning children or
sons of Ganga, the goddess of water, is the name of a sub-division
of Kabbera. The allied Gangavamsamu, or people of Ganga, is a name
for Jalaris.
Ganiga or Gandla.--The name Ganiga is derived from the Telugu
ganuga, meaning an oil-mill. The Ganigas are said [135] to be "the
oil pressers of the Canarese people, corresponding to the Telugu
Gandla and the Tamil Vaniyan. This caste is sub-divided into three
sections, none of whom eat together or intermarry. These sections are
the Hegganigas, who yoke two oxen to a stone oil-mill; Kirganigas,
who make oil in wooden mills; and Ontiyeddu Ganigas, who yoke only
one animal to the mill. They are collectively known as Jotipans or
Jotinagarams (people of the city of light). In addition to pressing
oil, they also make palm-leaf umbrellas, cultivate land, and work as
labourers. They employ Brahmans to perform their ceremonies. Their
guru is the head of the Vyasaraya mutt at Anegundi. Early marriage is
practiced. Widow remarriage is not allowed. They eat fish, mutton,
and fowls, but do not drink liquor. Chetti is their title." In
the Madras Census Report, 1891, it is stated that the guru of the
Ganigas is the head of the mutt at Sringeri, and that they employ
Havig Brahmans for their ceremonies. Sringeri is the name of a Smarta
(Saivite) mutt or religious institution at several places, such as
Tanjore and Kumbakonam; and there is a town of this name in Mysore,
from which the mutt derives its name.
Concerning the Ganigas of the Mysore Province,
Mr. V. N. Narasimmiyengar writes as follows. [136] "The account locally
obtained connects this caste with the Nagartas, as forming the leading
communities of the left-hand faction, in opposition to the Lingayats
and other castes composing the right-hand faction. Caste supremacy is
ever associated in India with preternatural mythology. If the average
Brahman traces his nobility literally to the face of Brahma, according
to the Vedic Purusha Sukta, every other castelet claims a patent of
superiority in a similar miraculous origin. The Ganigas allege that
they immigrated from the north at a time beyond living memory. A
Mysore noble, named Mallaraje Ars, established and first peopled the
pete (market town) of Bangalore, when the Ganigas first came there,
followed by the Nagartas, who are said to have been co-emigrants
with the Ganigas. Mallaraj made Sattis and Yajamans (headmen) of
the principal members of the two castes, and exempted them from the
house-tax. The Ganigas are both Vaishnavites and Saivites. Their
guru is known as Dharmasivacharsvami in the Madras Presidency, and
certain gotras (family names) are said to be common to the Ganigas
and Nagartas, but they never eat together or intermarry. The Ganigas
claim the peculiar privilege of following the Vishnu image or car
processions, throughout the province, with flags exhibiting the figures
of Hanuman and Garuda, and torches. These insignia are alleged to
have been aboriginally given to an ancestor, named Siriyala Satti,
by Rama, as a reward for a valuable gem presented by him. The Ganigas
call themselves Dharmasivachar Vaisyas like the Nagartas, and the feud
between them used often to culminate in much bitter unpleasantness. The
order includes a small division of the linga-wearing oilmongers,
known as Sajjana (good men), whose population is a small fraction of
the community. The Sajjanas, however, hold no social intercourse of
any kind with the other sub-divisions."
The Ganigas of Sandur, in the little Maratha State of that name,
returned Yenne (oil) and Kallu (stone) as sub-divisions. The average
cephalic index of these Ganigas was very high, being 80.5 as against
77.6 for the Ganigas of Mysore city.
"The oil-mill of the Ganigas is," Mr. W. Francis writes, [137] "a sort
of large wooden mortar, usually formed out of the heart of a tamarind
tree, and firmly imbedded in the ground. A wooden cylinder, shod with
iron, fits roughly into the cavity. A cross beam is lashed to this
in such a way that one end is close to the ground, and to this a pair
of bullocks or buffaloes are fastened. By an arrangement of pullies,
the pressure of the cylinder can be increased at pleasure. As the
bullocks go round the trough, the seeds are crushed by the action of
the cylinder, so that the expressed oil falls to the bottom, while
the residuum, as oil-cake, adheres to the side of the mortar."
The following note refers to the Onteddu (single bullock) Ganigas,
who claim superiority over those who employ two bullocks in working
their oil-mills. The former belong to the right-hand, and the latter
to the left-hand faction. Among them are various sub-divisions,
of which the Deva and Onteddu may intermarry, while the Kasi, Teli
(gingelly: Sesamum), and Chandanapu are endogamous. Like other Telugu
castes they have gotras, some of which are interesting, as there are
certain prohibitions connected with them. For example, members of
the Badranollu and Balanollu gotras may not cut the tree Erythroxylon
monogynum. In like manner, members of the Viranollu and Viththanollu
gotras are forbidden to cut Feronia elephantum, and those of the
Vedanollu gotra to cut Nyctanthes arbor-tristis. Members of certain
other gotras do not cultivate turmeric, sugarcane, or the millet
(Panicum miliare).
The Onteddu Ganigas are Saivites, and disciples of Lingayat Brahmans
(Aradhyas). Some, however, wear the sacred thread, and others bear
on the forehead the red streak of the Vaishnavites. In some places,
their special deity is Chaudeswara, who is the god of some of the
weaving classes. In the Kistna district they claim Mallikarjunasvami
as their deity.
Their primary occupation is oil-pressing, but some are traders in
cotton, oil-seeds, etc., or cultivators. In some localities, the
animal which works the oil-mill is not blindfolded, while it is in
others, because, it is said, it would otherwise fall down after a few
revolutions. Crushing gingelly oil is, according to the Shastras, a
sinful act, but condoned inasmuch as Devatas use this oil for lamps,
and men in temples. For the removal of the oil-cake, or turning the
seeds in the mill, the left hand only is used. Burning the tongue
with a piece of gold, as a means of purification after some offence
has been committed, is a common practice.
The marriage rites conform, for the most part, to the Telugu type. But,
while the wrist thread is being tied on, common salt is held in the
hand. A dagger (baku) is then given to the bridegroom, who keeps it
with him till the conclusion of the ceremonies. On the wedding day,
the bridegroom wears the sacred thread. The tali is not an ordinary
bottu, but a thread composed of 101 thin strings, which is removed on
the last day, and replaced by a bottu. On the third day, the bride and
bridegroom worship a jammi tree (Prosopis spicigera), and the latter,
removing his sacred thread, throws it on the tree. Five young men,
called Bala Dasulu, also worship the tree, and, if they are wearing
the sacred thread, throw it thereon. The dead are as a rule buried, in
a sitting posture if the deceased was an orthodox Saivite. If a young
man dies a bachelor, the corpse is married to an arka plant (Calotropis
gigantea), and decorated with a wreath made of the flowers thereof. The
final death ceremonies are performed on the eleventh day. Food is
offered to crows and the soul of the dead person, who is represented
by a wooden post dressed with his clothes. The bangles of a widow are
broken near the post, which is finally thrown into a tank or stream.
Ganiga further occurs as an occupational name for Lingayat oil-vendors,
and for Mogers who are employed as oil-pressers.
Ganta.--Ganta or Gantla, meaning a bell, has been recorded as an
exogamous sept of Kamma and Balija. Gantelavaru, or men of the bell,
is given by Mr. S. M. Natesa Sastri [138] as the family name of one
section of the Donga (thieving) Dasaris, and of the Kabberas, who are
said to join the ranks of this criminal class. Gantugazula occurs,
in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, as a sub-division of Koracha. In
the Vizagapatam Manual, the Tiragati Gantlavallu are described as
repairing hand-mills, catching antelopes, and selling their skins.
Ganti (a hole pierced in the ear-lobe).--An exogamous sept of Gudala.
Garadi.--Garadi or Garadiga is the name of a class of mendicants
in the Telugu country and Mysore who are snake-charmers, practice
sleight of hand, and perform various juggling and mountebank tricks.
Garappa (dry land).--A synonym of Challa Yanadi.
Gatti.--A small caste of cultivators, found chiefly near Kumbla
and Someswara in the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara. Other names
for the caste are Poladava and Holadava, both signifying men of the
field. Like the Bants, they follow the aliya santana law of inheritance
(in the female line), have exogamous septs or balis, and, on the day
of the final death ceremonies, construct car-like structures, if the
deceased was an important personage in the community. The Bants and
Gattis interdine, but do not intermarry. The headman of the Gattis
is called Gurikara. The God of the Someswara temple is regarded as
the caste deity, and every family has to pay an annual fee of four
annas to this temple. Failure to do so would entail excommunication.
Gattu (bank or mound).--An exogamous sept of Devanga.
Gaud.--A title of Sadar.
Gauda.--The Gaudas or Gaudos are a large caste of Canarese cultivators
and cattle-breeders. "Gauda and Gaudo," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [139]
"are really two distinct castes, the former being Canarese and the
latter Uriya. Each name is, however, spelt both ways. The two names
are, I presume, etymologically the same. The ordinary derivation is
from the Sanskrit go, a cow, but Dr. Gustav Oppert contends [140]
that the root of Gauda is a Dravidian word meaning a mountain. Among
the Canarese, and to a less extent among the Uriyas also, the
word is used in an honorific sense, a custom which is difficult
to account for if Dr. Oppert's philology is correct." "Gaudas,"
Mr. Stuart writes further, [141] "also called Halvaklumakkalu
(children of the milk class), are very numerously represented in
the South Canara district. They have a somewhat elaborate system
of caste government. In every village there are two headmen, the
Grama Gauda and the Vattu or Gattu Gauda. For every group of eight
or nine villages there is another head called the Magane Gauda,
and for every nine Maganes there is a yet higher authority called the
Kattemaneyava. The caste is divided into eighteen baris or balis, which
are of the usual exogamous character. The names of some of these are as
follows: Bangara (gold), Nandara, Malara (a bundle of glass bangles,
as carried about for sale), Salu, Hemmana (pride or conceit), Kabru,
Goli (Portulaca oleracea, a pot-herb), Basruvogaru (basru, belly),
Balasanna, and Karmannaya. Marriage is usually adult, and sexual
license before marriage with a member of the caste is tolerated,
though nominally condemned. The dhare form of marriage (see Bant)
is used, but the bridal pair hold in their joined hands five betel
leaves, one areca nut and four annas, and, after the water has been
poured, the bridegroom ties a tali to the neck of the bride. Divorce
is permitted freely, and divorced wives and widows can marry again. A
widow with children, however, should marry only her late husband's
elder brother. If she marries any one else, the members of her former
husband's family will not even drink water that has been touched
by her. They burn their dead. On the third day, the ashes are made
into the form of a man, which is cut in two, buried, and a mound
made over it. In the house two planks are placed on the ground, and
covered with a cloth. On one of these, a vessel containing milk is
placed, and on the other a lamp, rice, cocoanut, pumpkin, etc., are
deposited. The agnates and some boys go round the plank three times,
and afterwards go to the mound, taking with them the various articles
in a cloth. Three plantain leaves are spread in front of the mound,
and cooked food, etc., placed thereon. Four posts are set up round
the mound, and cloths stretched over them, and placed round the
sides. On the sixteenth day, sixteen plantain leaves are placed in
a row, and one leaf is laid apart. Cakes, cooked fowl's flesh, toddy
and arrack (liquor) are placed on the leaves in small leaf-cups. The
assembled agnates then say "We have done everything as we should do,
and so our ancestors who have died must take the man who is now dead
to their regions. I put the leaf which is apart in the same row with
the sixteen leaves."
"Once a year, in the month of Mituna (June-July), the Gaudas perform
a ceremony for the propitiation of all deceased ancestors. They have
a special preference for Venkataramaswami, to whom they make money
offerings once a year in September. They employ Brahmins to give them
sacred water when they are under pollution, but they do not seek their
services for ordinary ceremonies. They are, for the most part, farmers,
but some few are labourers. The latter receive three or four seers of
paddy a day as wages. Their house language is Tulu in some places, and
Canarese in others, but all follow the ordinary system of inheritance,
and not the custom of descent through females. Their title is Gauda."
As bearing on the superstitious beliefs of the people of South
Canara, the following case, which was tried before the Sessions
Judge in 1908, may be cited. A young Gauda girl became pregnant by
her brother-in-law. After three days' labour, the child was born. The
accused, who was the mother of the girl, was the midwife. Finding the
delivery very difficult, she sent for a person named Korapulu to come
and help her. The child was, as they thought, still-born. On its head
was a red protuberance like a ball; round each of its forearms were
two or three red bands; the eyes and ears were fixed very high in the
head; and the eyes, nose, and mouth were abnormally large. Korapulu
and the girl's younger sister at once carried the mother out of the
out-house lest the devil child should do her harm or kill her. The
accused called for a man named Isuf Saiba, who was standing in the yard
outside. He came in, and she asked him to call some of the neighbours,
to decide what to do. The child, she said, was a devil child, and must
be cut and killed, lest it should devour its mother. While they were
looking at the child, it began to move and roll its eyes about, and
turn on the ground. It is a belief of the villagers that such a devil
child, when born and brought in contact with the air, rapidly grows,
and causes great trouble, usually killing the mother, and sometimes
killing all the inmates of the house. The accused told Isuf Saiba to
cover the child with a vessel, which he did. Then there was a sound
from inside the vessel, either of the child moving or making some
sound with its mouth. The accused then put her hand under the vessel,
dragged the child half way out, and then, while Isuf Saiba pressed
the edge of the earthenware vessel on the abdomen of the child,
the accused took a knife, and cut the body in half. When the body
was cut in two, there was no blood, but a mossy green liquid, or a
black liquid, oozed out. The accused got two areca leaves, and put
one piece of the child on one, and one on the other, and told Isuf
Saiba to get a spade, and come and bury them. So they went out into
the jungle close to the house, and Isuf Saiba dug two holes about
half a yard deep, one on one hillock, and one on another. In these
two holes the two pieces of the child were separately buried. The
object of this was to prevent the two pieces joining together again,
in which case the united devil child would have come out of the grave,
and gone to kill its mother. The birth and death of this devil child
were not kept secret, but were known throughout the village.
Gauda or Gaudu further occurs as a title of Idiga, Kuruba, and
Vakkaliga, an exogamous sept and gotra of Kuruba and Kurni, and a
sub-division of Golla.
Gaudi.--It is recorded, in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, that a
Maleru (temple servant) woman, who cohabits with one of a lower class
than her own, is degraded into a Gaudi.
Gaudo.--The Gaudos are described, in the Madras Census Reports, 1891
and 1901, as "the great pastoral caste of the Ganjam Oriyas. Like those
of all the cowherd classes, its members say that they are descended
from the Yadava tribe, in which Krishna was born (cf. Idaiyan). The
majority of the Gaudos in the northern districts are now cultivators,
but there is evidence that the keeping and breeding of cattle is
their traditional occupation. The most important sub-division is
Sollokhondia; many of them are herdsmen and milk-sellers. Fourteen
sub-divisions have been reported. They are Apoto, Behara, Bolodiya,
Dongayato, Dumalo, Gopopuriya, Kolata, Komiriya, Kusilya, Ladia,
Madhurapurya, Mogotho, Pattilia, and Sollokhondia." In the Census
Report, 1871, it is noted that "there are many Gowdus of high social
standing, who have gotten unto themselves much wealth in cattle. These
men own, in many instances, large herds of buffaloes, which, being
reared in the boundless pastures of the hills, are much prized by
the cartmen of the low country for draught purposes."
Of the sub-division noted above, Behara is apparently a title
only. Bolodiya is the name of a section of the Tellis, who
use pack-bullocks (bolodi, a bull) for carrying grain about the
country. Pattilia must be a mistake for Pachilia. The sections among
the Gaudos which are recognised by all castes in the Ganjam district
are Sollokhondia, Bhatta, Gopopuriya, Madhurapuriya, Mogotho,
Apoto, and Pachilia. These, with the exception of Gopopuriya and
Madhurapuriya, seem to be endogamous sub-divisions. The Bhatta Gaudos
go by the name of Gopopuriya in some places and Madhurapuriya in
others, both these names being connected with the legendary history
of the origin of the caste. The Apoto and Bhatta Gaudos are sometimes
employed as palanquin-bearers. The Mogotho Gaudos, who live on the
hills, are regarded as an inferior section, because they do not abstain
from eating fowls. The Sollokhondia section is regarded as superior,
and consequently all Oriya castes, Brahman and non-Brahman, will accept
water at the hands of members thereof. An orthodox Oriya non-Brahman,
and all Oriya Brahmans, will not receive water from Telugu or Tamil
Brahmans, whom they call Komma Brahmans, Komma being a corrupt form
of karma, i.e., Brahmans who are strict in the observance of the
various karmas (ceremonial rites).
The Sollokhondia Gaudos are agriculturists, rear cattle and sheep,
and sometimes earn a living by driving carts. They have gotras,
among which the most common are Moiro (peacock), Nagasiro (cobra),
and Kochimo (tortoise). Their caste council is presided over by a
hereditary headman called Mahankudo, who is assisted by a Bhollobaya,
Desiya, and Khorsodha or Dhondia. The Khorsodha is the caste servant,
and the Desiya eats with a delinquent who is received back into the
fold after he has been tried by the council. The Sollokhondias are for
the most part Paramarthos, i.e., followers of the Chaitanya form of
Vaishnavism. They show a partiality for the worship of Jagannathaswami,
and various Takuranis (village deities) are also reverenced. Bairagis
are the caste priests.
The marriage prohibitions among the Sollokhondias are those which hold
good among many Oriya castes, but marriage with the maternal uncle's
daughter (menarikam) is sometimes practiced. On the evening preceding
the marriage day (bibha), after a feast, the bride and bridegroom's
parties go to a temple, taking with them all the articles which are
to be used in connection with the marriage ceremonial. On their way
back, seven married girls, carrying seven vessels, go to seven houses,
and beg water, which is used by the bridal couple for their baths on
the following day. Either on the day before the wedding day, or on
the bibha day, the bridegroom is shaved, and the bride's nails are
pared. Sometimes a little of the hair of her forehead is also cut
off. The marriage rites do not materially differ from those of the
Bhondaris (q.v.).
The dead, excepting young children, are burnt. The eldest son carries a
pot of fire to the burning ground. On the day following cremation, the
mourners revisit the spot, and, after the fire has been extinguished,
make an image of a man with the ashes on the spot where the corpse
was burnt. To this image food is offered. Seven small flags, made
of cloths dyed with turmeric, are stuck into the shoulders, abdomen,
legs, and head of the image. A fragment of calcined bone is carried
away, put into a lump of cow-dung, and kept near the house of the
deceased, or near a tank (pond). On the ninth day after death,
towards evening, a bamboo, split or spliced into four at one end,
is set up in the ground outside the house beneath the projecting
roof, and on it a pot filled with water is placed. On the spot where
the deceased breathed his last, a lamp is kept. A hole is made in
the bottom of the pot, and, after food has been offered to the dead
man, the pot is thrown into a tank. On the tenth day, a ceremony is
performed on a tank bund (embankment). The piece of bone, which has
been preserved, is removed from its cow-dung case, and food, fruits,
etc., are offered to it, and thrown into the tank. The bone is taken
home, and buried near the house, food being offered to it until the
twelfth day. On the eleventh day, all the agnates bathe, and are
touched with ghi (clarified butter) as a sign of purification. Sradh
(memorial service) is performed once a year on Sankaranthi (Pongal)
day. Food, in the form of balls, is placed on leaves in the backyard,
and offered to the ancestors. Some food is also thrown up into the air.
All sections of the Gaudos have adopted infant marriage. If a girl
fails to secure a husband before she attains puberty, she has to
go through a form of marriage called dharma bibha, in which the
bridegroom is, among the Sollokhondias, represented by an old man,
preferably the girl's grandfather, and among the other sections by
a sahada or shadi tree (Streblus asper) or an arrow (khando).
Like various other Oriya castes, the Gaudos worship the goddess Lakshmi
on Thursdays in the month of November, which are called Lakshmi
varam, or Lakshmi's day. The goddess is represented by a basket
filled with grain, whereon some place a hair ball, which has been
vomited by a cow. The ball is called gaya panghula, and is usually
one or two inches in diameter. The owner of a cow which has vomited
such a ball regards it as a propitious augury for the prosperity of
his family. A feast is held on the day on which the ball is vomited,
and, after the ball has been worshipped, it is carefully wrapped up,
and kept in a box, in which it remains till it is required for further
worship. Some people believe that the ball continues to grow year
by year, and regard this as a very good sign. Bulls are said not to
vomit the balls, and only very few cows do so.
Gauliar.--A synonym for Lingayat Gollas, or Kannadiyans.
Gaundala.--A synonym of Gamalla.
Gauri.--A division of Okkiliyan, named after Gauri, Siva's consort. The
equivalent Gaura occurs among the Komatis, and Gauriga among the
Medaras. One division of the Kabberas is called Gaurimakkalu, or sons
of Gauri.
Gautama.--A Brahmanical gotra adopted by Bhatrazus, Khatris, and
Kondaiyamkottai Maravans. Gautama was a sage, and the husband of
Ahalya, who was seduced by Indra.
Gavala (cowry shell: Cypræa arabica).--An exogamous sept of Madiga. A
cotton thread string, with cowries strung on it, is one of the insignia
of a Madiga Matangi.
Gavalla.--A synonym for Gamalla.
Gavara.--It is noted, in the Madras Census Report, 1891, that "this
caste is practically confined to the Vizagapatam district, and they
have been classed as cultivators on the strength of a statement to
that effect in the District Manual. Gavara is, however, an important
sub-division of Komatis (traders), and these Gavaras are probably in
reality Gavara Komatis. These are so called after Gauri, the patron
deity of this caste."
For the following note I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. A
tradition is current that the Gavaras originally lived at Vengi, the
ancient capital of the Eastern Chalukyan kings, the ruins of which
are near Ellore in the Godavari district. The king was desirous of
seeing one of their women, who was gosha (in seclusion), but to this
they would not consent. Under orders from the king, their houses were
set on fire. Some of them bolted themselves in, and perished bravely,
while others locked up their women in big boxes, and escaped with them
to the coast. They immediately set sail, and landed at Pudimadaka
in the Anakapalli taluk. Thence they marched as far as Kondakirla,
near which they founded the village of Wadapalli or Wodapalli, meaning
the village of the people who came in boats. They then built another
village called Gavarla Anakapalli. They received an invitation from
king Payaka Rao, the founder of Anakapalli, and, moving northwards,
established themselves at what is now known as Gavarapeta in the town
of Anakapalli. They began the foundation of the village auspiciously
by consecrating and planting the sandra karra (Acacia sundra), which
is not affected by 'white-ants,' instead of the pala karra (Mimusops
hexandra), which is generally used for this purpose. Consequently,
Anakapalli has always flourished.
The Gavaras speak Telugu, and, like other Telugu castes, have various
exogamous septs or intiperulu.
Girls are married either before or after puberty. The custom of
menarikam, by which a man marries his maternal uncle's daughter,
is in force, and it is said that he may also marry his sister's
daughter. The remarriage of widows is permitted, and a woman who has
had seven husbands is known as Beththamma, and is much respected.
Some Gavaras are Vaishnavites, and others Saivites, but difference in
religion is no bar to intermarriage. Both sections worship the village
deities, to whom animal sacrifices are offered. The Vaishnavites show
special reverence to Jagganathaswami of Orissa, whose shrine is visited
by some, while others take vows in the name of this god. On the day
on which the car festival is celebrated at Puri, local car festivals
are held in Gavara villages, and women carry out the performance
of their vows. A woman, for example, who is under a vow, in order
that she may be cured of illness or bear children, takes a big pot
of water, and, placing it on her head, dances frantically before the
god, through whose influence the water, which rises out of the pot,
falls back into it, instead of being spilt.
The Vaishnavites are burnt, and the Saivites buried in a sitting
posture. The usual chinna (little) and pedda rozu (big day) death
ceremonies are performed.
Men wear a gold bangle on the left wrist, and another on the right
arm. Women wear a silver bangle on the right wrist, and a bracelet of
real or imitation coral, which is first worn at the time of marriage,
on the left wrist. They throw the end of their body-cloth over the
left shoulder. They do not, like women of other non-Brahman castes
in the Vizagapatam district, smoke cigars.
The original occupation of the caste is said to have been trading,
and this may account for the number of exogamous septs which are
named after Settis (traders). At the present day, the Gavaras
are agriculturists, and they have the reputation of being very
hard-working, and among the best agriculturists in the Vizagapatam
district. The women travel long distances in order to sell vegetables,
milk, curds, and other produce.
The caste titles are Anna, Ayya, and occasionally Nayudu.
Gaya (cow).--An exogamous sept of Kondra.
Gayinta.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a small
caste of hill cultivators, speaking Oriya and Telugu. The name is
said to be derived from gayinti, an iron digging implement. Gayinta
is reported to be the same as Gaintia, a name of Enetis or Entamaras.
Gazula.--Gazula or Gazul (glass bangle) has been recorded as a
sub-division of Balija, Kapu, and Toreya. The Gazula Balijas make
glass bangles. The Toreyas have a tradition that they originated from
the bangles of Machyagandhi, the daughter of a fisherman on the Jumna,
who was married to king Shantanu of Hastinapur.
Gedala (buffaloes).--A sept of Bonthuk Savara.
Geddam (beard).--An exogamous sept of Boya and Padma Sale.
Gejjala (bells tied to the legs while dancing).--An exogamous sept
of Balija and Korava.
Gejjegara.--A sub-caste of the Canarese Panchalas. They are described,
in the Mysore Census Report, 1891, as makers of small round bells
(gungru), which are used for decorating the head or neck of bullocks,
and tied by dancing-girls round their ankles when dancing.
Genneru (sweet-scented oleander).--An exogamous sept of Boya.
Gentoo.--Gentoo or Jentu, as returned at times of census, is
stated to be a general term applied to Balijas and Telugu speaking
Sudras generally. The word is said by Yule and Burnell [142] to be
"a corruption of the Portuguese Gentio, a gentile or heathen, which
they applied to the Hindus in contradistinction to the Moros or Moors,
i.e., Mahomedans. The reason why the term became specifically applied
to the Telugu people is probably because, when the Portuguese arrived,
the Telugu monarchy of Vijayanagar was dominant over a great part of
the peninsula." In a letter written from prison to Sir Philip Francis,
Rajah Nuncomar referred to the fact that "among the English gentry,
Armenians, Moores and Gentoos, few there is who is not against
me." Gentoo still survives as a caste name in the Madras Quarterly
Civil List (1906).
Ghair-i-Mahdi.--The name, meaning without Mahdi, of a sect of
Muhammadans, who affirm that the Imam Mahdi has come and gone, while
orthodox Muhammadans hold that he is yet to come.
Ghasi.--See Haddi.
Ghontoro.--A small caste of Oriyas, who manufacture brass and
bell-metal rings and bangles for the hill people. The name is derived
from ghonto, a bell-metal plate.
Gidda (vulture).--A sept of Poroja.
Gikkili (rattle).--A gotra of Kurni.
Giri Razu.--A contraction of Puragiri Razu or Puragiri Kshatriya,
by which names some Perikes style themselves.
Goa.--A sub-division of Kudubis, who are said to have emigrated from
Goa to South Canara.
Go Brahman.--A name given to Brahmans by Kammalans, who style
themselves Visva Brahmans.
Godagula.--The Godagulas are recorded, in the Madras Census Report,
1901, as being the same as the Gudalas, who are a Telugu caste of
basket-makers. According to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao, to whom I am
indebted for the following note, they are a distinct caste, speaking
Oriya, and sometimes calling themselves Odde (Oriya) Medara. Like the
Medaras, they work in split bamboo, and make sundry articles which are
not made by other castes who work in this medium. Unlike the Gudalas,
they are a polluting class, and have the following legend to account
for their social degradation. God told them to make winnows and
other articles for divine worship. This, they did, and, after they
had delivered them, they attended a marriage feast, at which they eat
flesh and drank liquor. On their return, God called on them to vomit
the food which they had partaken of, and they accordingly brought up
the meat and drink, whereon God cursed them, saying "Begone, you have
eaten forbidden food." They craved for forgiveness, but were told in
future to earn their living as bamboo-workers. The custom of menarikam,
according to which a man should marry his maternal uncle's daughter,
is so rigidly enforced that, if the uncle refuses to give his daughter
in marriage, the man has a right to carry her off, and then pay a fine,
the amount of which is fixed by the caste council. A portion thereof
is given to the girl's parents, and the remainder spent on a caste
feast. If the maternal uncle has no daughter, a man may, according to
the eduru (or reversed) menarikam custom, marry his paternal aunt's
daughter. Six months before the marriage ceremony takes place, the
pasupu (turmeric) ceremony is performed. The bridegroom's family pay
six rupees to the bride's family, to provide the girl with turmeric,
wherewith she adorns herself. On the day fixed for the wedding,
the parents of the bridegroom go with a few of the elders to the
bride's house, and couple the request to take away the girl with
payment of nine rupees and a new cloth. Of the money thus given,
eight rupees go to the bride's parents, and the remainder to the
caste. The bride is conducted to the home of the bridegroom, who
meets her at the pandal (booth) erected in front of his house. They
are bathed with turmeric water, and sacred threads are put on their
shoulders by the Kula Maistri who officiates as priest. The couple
then play with seven cowry (Cyproea arabica) shells, and, if the
shells fall with the slit downwards, the bride is said to have won;
otherwise the bridegroom is the winner. This is followed by the mudu
akula homam, or sacrifice of three leaves. A new pot, containing a
lighted wick, is placed before the couple. On it are thrown leaves
of the rayi aku (Ficus religiosa), marri aku (Ficus Bengalensis),
and juvvi aku (Ficus Tsiela). The Kula Maistri of the bridegroom's
party spreads out his right hand over the mouth of the pot. On it the
bride places her hand. The bridegroom then places his hand on hers,
and the Kula Maistri of the bride's village puts his hand on that
of the bridegroom. The elders then call out in a loud voice "Know,
caste people of Vaddadi Madugula; know, caste people of Kimedi; know,
caste people of Gunupuram and Godairi; know, caste people of all the
twelve countries, that this man and woman have become husband and wife,
and that the elders have ratified the ceremony." The contracting couple
then throw rice over each other. On the morning of the following day,
the saragatha ceremony is performed. The bridegroom's party repair
to the bank of the local stream, where they are met by the caste
people, who are presented with betel, a cheroot, and a pot of jaggery
(crude sugar) water as cool drink. The sacred threads worn by the
bride and bridegroom are removed at the conclusion of the marriage
ceremonies. The remarriage of widows is permitted, and a younger
brother may marry the widow of an elder brother, or vice versâ. Divorce
is also allowed, and a divorcée may remarry. Her new husband has to
pay a sum of money, a portion of which goes to the first husband,
while the remainder is devoted to a caste feast. The dead are burnt,
and the chinna rozu (little day) death ceremony is observed.
Goda-jati (wall people).--A sub-division of Kammas. The name has
reference to a deadly struggle at Gandikota, in which some escaped
by hiding behind a wall.
Goda-poose (wall polishing).--An exogamous sept of Tsakala.
Godari.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as Telugu
leather-workers in Ganjam and Vizagapatam. They are stated, in the
Vizagapatam Manual, to make and sell slippers in that district. Godari
is, I gather, a synonym of Madiga, and not a separate caste.
Goddali (spade or axe).--An exogamous sept of Odde and Panta Reddi.
Godomalia (belonging to, or a group of forts).--A sub-division of
Bhondari, the members of which act as barbers to Rajahs who reside
in forts.
Golaka.--Recorded in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a name meaning
bastard, and clubbed with the Moilis, or temple servants in South
Canara descended from dancing-girls. In the Mysore Census Report,
1901, it is defined as a term applied to the children of Brahmans by
Malerus, or temple servants.
Goli (Portulaca oleracea: a pot-herb).--An exogamous sept of Gauda.
Golkonda.--A sub-division of Tsakala.
Golla.--"The Gollas," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [143] "are the great
pastoral caste of the Telugu people. The traditions of the caste
give a descent from the god Krishna, whose sportings with the milk
maids play a prominent part in Hindu mythology. The hereditary
occupation of the Gollas is tending sheep and cattle, and selling
milk, but many of them have now acquired lands and are engaged
in farming, and some are in Government service. They are quiet,
inoffensive, and comparatively honest. In the time of the Nabobs,
this last characteristic secured to them the privilege of guarding
and carrying treasure, and one sub-division, Bokhasa Gollas, owes its
origin to this service. Even now those who are employed in packing
and lifting bags of money in the district treasuries are called
Gollas, though they belong to other castes. As a fact they do hold
a respectable position, and, though poor, are not looked down upon,
for they tend the sacred cow. Sometimes they assert a claim to be
regarded as representatives of the Go-Vaisya division. Their title
is Mandadi, but it is not commonly used." Mr. Stuart writes further
[144] that "the social status of the Gollas is fairly high, for they
are allowed to mix freely with the Kapu, Kamma, and Balija castes,
and the Brahmans will take buttermilk from their hands. They employ
Satanis as their priests. In their ceremonies there is not much
difference between them and the Kapus. The name Golla is generally
supposed to be a shortened form of Sanskrit Gopala" (protector of
cows). The Gollas also call themselves Konanulu, or Konarlu, and,
like the Tamil Idaiyans, sometimes have the title Konar. Other titles
in common use are Anna, Ayya, and occasionally Nayudu.
In the Manual of the Kurnool district, it is stated that the Gollas
"keep sheep, and sell milk and ghi (clarified butter). They eat and
mess with the Balijas, and other high caste Sudras; but, unlike their
brethren of the south, in the matter of street processions, they are
classed with goldsmiths, or the left-hand section. When any one is
reduced to poverty, the others give him each a sheep, and restore his
flock. They occasionally dedicate their girls to Venkatesa as Basavis"
(prostitutes).
It is noted, in the Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district, that "in
the country round Madgole, legends are still recounted of a line of
local Golla chieftains, who gave their name to Golgonda, and built
the forts, of which traces still survive in those parts". Each Telugu
New Year's day, it is stated, Gollas come across from Godavari, and go
round the Golla villages, reciting the names of the progenitors of the
fallen line, and exhibiting paintings illustrative of their overthrow.
"At Vajragada (diamond fort) are the ruins of a very large fortress,
and local tradition gives the names of seven forts, by which it was
once defended. These are said to have been constructed by the Golla
kings. A tale is told of their having kidnapped a daughter of the
ruler of Madgole, and held out here against his attacks for months,
until they were betrayed by a woman of their own caste, who showed
the enemy how to cut off their water-supply. They then slew their
womenkind, says the story, dashed out against the besiegers, and fell
to a man, fighting to the last."
Concerning the Gollas of Mysore, I gather [145] that "there are
two main divisions in this caste, viz., Uru (village) and Kadu
(forest). The two neither intermarry, nor eat together. A section of
the Gollas, by guarding treasure while on transit, have earned the
name of Dhanapala. In fact, one of the menial offices in Government
treasuries at the present day is that of Golla. The caste worships
Krishna, who was born in this caste. The Kadu Gollas are said to have
originally immigrated from Northern India, and are still a nomadic
tribe, living in thatched huts outside the villages. Some of their
social customs are akin to those of the Kadu Kurubas. It is said
that, on the occurrence of a childbirth, the mother with the babe
remains unattended in a small shed outside the village from seven
to thirty days, when she is taken back to her home. In the event
of her illness, none of the caste will attend on her, but a Nayak
(Beda) woman is engaged to do so. Marriages among them are likewise
performed in a temporary shed erected outside the village, and the
attendant festivities continue for five days, when the marriage
couple are brought into the village. The Golla is allowed to marry
as many wives as he likes, and puberty is no bar to marriage. They
eat flesh, and drink spirituous liquors. The wife cannot be divorced
except for adultery. Their females do not wear the bodice (ravike)
usually put on by the women of the country. Nor do they, in their
widowhood, remove or break the glass bangles worn at the wrists, as is
done in other castes. But widows are not allowed to remarry. Only 98
persons have returned gotras, the chief being Yadava, Karadi, Atreya,
and Amswasa. The first two are really sub-sects, while Atreya is the
name of a Brahmin Rishi." Yadava, or descendant of King Yadu, from
whom Krishna was descended, also occurs as a synonym for Idaiyan,
the great Tamil shepherd class.
Concerning the Adivi, or forest Gollas, Mr. F. Fawcett writes
as follows. [146] "The people of every house in the village let
loose a sheep, to wander whither it will, as a sort of perpetual
scapegoat. When a woman feels the first pains of labour, she is turned
out of the village into a little leaf or mat hut about two hundred
yards away. In this hut she must bring forth her offspring unaided,
unless a midwife can be called in to be with her before the child is
born. For ninety days the woman lives in the hut by herself. If any one
touches her, he or she is, like the woman, outcasted, and turned out
of the village for three months. The woman's husband generally makes
a little hut about fifty yards from her, and watches over her; but he
may not go near her on pain of being outcasted for three months. Food
is placed on the ground near the woman's hut, and she takes it. On
the fourth day after parturition, a woman of the village goes to her,
and pours water on her, but she must not come in contact with her. On
the fifth day, the village people clear of stones and thorny bushes a
little bit of ground about ten yards on the village side of the hut,
and to this place the woman removes her hut. No one can do it for her,
or help her. On the ninth, fifteenth, and thirtieth days, she removes
the hut in the same way nearer to the village, and, again, once in
each of the two following months. On the ninetieth day, the headman
of the village calls the woman to come out of the hut. The dhobi
(washerman) then washes her clothes. She puts on clean clothes, and
the headman takes her to the temple of their tutelary deity Junjappa,
where the caste pujari breaks cocoanuts, and then accompanies her
to her house, where a purificatory ceremony is performed. Junjappa,
it is said, takes good care of the mother and child, so that death
is said to be unknown."
It is stated [147] that, in the Chitaldrug district of Mysore,
"the wife of the eldest son in every family is not permitted to clean
herself with water after obeying the calls of nature. It is an article
of their belief that their flocks will otherwise not prosper."
Writing in the early part of the last century about the Gollas,
Buchanan informs us that "this caste has a particular duty,
the transporting of money, both belonging to the public and
to individuals. It is said that they may be safely intrusted with
any sum; for, each man carrying a certain value, they travel in
bodies numerous in proportion to the sum put under their charge;
and they consider themselves bound in honour to die in defence of
their trust. Of course, they defend themselves vigorously, and are
all armed; so that robbers never venture to attack them. They have
hereditary chiefs called Gotugaru, who with the usual council settle
all disputes, and punish all transgressions against the rules of
caste. The most flagrant is the embezzlement of money entrusted to
their care. On this crime being proved against any of the caste, the
Gotugaru applies to Amildar, or civil magistrate, and having obtained
his leave, immediately causes the delinquent to be shot. Smaller
offences are atoned for by the guilty person giving an entertainment."
The Golla caste has many sub-divisions, of which the following are
examples:--
Erra or Yerra (red). Said to be the descendants of a Brahman by
a Golla woman.
Ala or Mekala, who tend sheep and goats.
Puja or Puni.
Gangeddu, who exhibit performing bulls.
Gauda, who, in Vizagapatam, visit the western part of the district
during the summer months, and settle outside the villages. They
tend their herds, and sell milk and curds to the villagers.
Karna.
Pakanati.
Racha (royal).
Peddeti. Mostly beggars, and considered low in the social scale,
though when questioned concerning themselves they say they are
Yerra Gollas.
At the census, 1901, the following were returned as sub-castes of
the Gollas:--
Dayyalakulam (wrestlers), Perike Muggalu or Mushti Golla (beggars and
exorcists), Podapotula (who beg from Gollas), Gavadi, and Vadugayan,
a Tamil synonym for Gollas in Tinnevelly. Another Tamil synonym for
Golla is Bokhisha Vadugar (treasury northerners). Golla has been given
as a sub-division of Dasaris and Chakkiliyans, and Golla Woddar (Odde)
as a synonym of a thief class in the Telugu country. In a village
near Dummagudem in the Godavari district, the Rev. J. Cain writes,
[148] are "a few families of Basava Gollalu. I find they are really
Kois, whose grandfathers had a quarrel with, and separated from, their
neighbours. Some of the present members of the families are anxious
to be re-admitted to the society and privileges of the neighbouring
Kois. The word Basava is commonly said to be derived from bhasha,
a language, and the Gollas of this class are said to have been so
called in consequence of their speaking a different language from
the rest of the Gollas."
Like many other Telugu castes, the Gollas have exogamous septs or
intiperu, and gotras. As examples of the former, the following may
be quoted:--
Agni, fire.
Avula, cows.
Chinthala, tamarind.
Chevvula, ears.
Gundala, stones.
Gurram, horse.
Gorrela, sheep.
Gorantla, henna (Lawsonia alba).
Kokala, woman's cloth.
Katari, dagger.
Mugi, dumb.
Nakkala, jackal.
Saddikudu, cold rice or food.
Sevala, service.
Ullipoyala, onions.
Vankayala, brinjal (Solanum melongena).
Some of these sept names occur among other classes, as follows:--
Avula, Balijas, Kapus, and Yerukalas.
Chinthala, Devangas, Komatis, Malas, and Madigas.
Gorantla, Padma Sales.
Gorrela, Kammas, Kapus.
Gurram, Malas, Padma Sales, and Togatas.
Nakkala, Kattu Marathis, and Yanadis.
Those who belong to the Raghindala (Ficus religiosa) gotra are not
allowed to use the leaves of the sacred fig or pipal tree as plates
for their food. Members of the Palavili gotra never construct palavili,
or small booths, inside the house for the purpose of worship. Those who
belong to the Akshathayya gotra are said to avoid rice coloured with
turmeric or other powder (akshantalu). Members of the Kommi, Jammi,
and Mushti gotras avoid using the kommi tree, Prosopis spicigera,
and Strychnos Nux-vomica respectively.
Of the various sub-divisions, the Puja Gollas claim superiority over
the others. Their origin is traced to Simhadri Raju, who is supposed
to have been a descendant of Yayathi Raja of the Mahabaratha. Yayathi
had six sons, the last of whom had a son named Kariyavala, whose
descendants were as follows:--
Penubothi (his son),
|
Avula Amurthammayya,
|
Kalugothi Ganganna,
|
Oli Raju,
|
Simhadri Raju.
|
+------------+-------+------+-------------+
| | | |
Peddi Erunuka Noranoka Poli
Raju. Raju. Raju. Raju.
The Gollas are believed to be descended from the four last kings.
According to another legend, there were five brothers, named Poli Raju,
Erranoku Raju, Katama Raju, Peddi Raju, and Errayya Raju, who lived
at Yellamanchili, which, as well as Sarvasiddhi, they built. The
Rajas of Nellore advanced against them, and killed them, with all
their sheep, in battle. On this, Janagamayya, the son of Peddi Raju,
who escaped the general slaughter, made up his mind to go to Kasi
(Benares), and offer oblations to his dead father and uncles. This
he did, and the gods were so pleased with him that they transported
him in the air to his native place. He was followed by three persons,
viz., (1) Kulagentadu, whose descendants now recite the names of the
progenitors of the caste; (2) Podapottu (or juggler), whose descendants
carry metal bells, sing, and produce snakes by magic; (3) Thevasiyadu,
whose descendants paint the events which led to the destruction of
the Golla royalty on large cloths, and exhibit them to the Gollas
once a year. At the time when Janagamayya was translated to heaven,
they asked him how they were to earn their living, and he advised them
to perform the duties indicated, and beg from the caste. Even at the
present day, their descendants go round the country once a year, after
the Telugu New Year's day, and collect their dues from Golla villages.
By religion the Gollas are both Vallamulu (Vaishnavites) and
Striramanthulu (Saivites), between whom marriage is permissible. They
belong to the group of castes who take part in the worship of
Ankamma. A special feature of their worship is that they place in
a bamboo or rattan box three or four long whip-like ropes made of
cotton or Agave fibre, along with swords, sandals and idols. The
ropes are called Virathadlu, or heroes' ropes. The contents of the
box are set beneath a booth made of split bamboo (palavili), and
decorated with mango leaves, and flowers. There also is placed a pot
containing several smaller pots, cowry shells, metal and earthenware
sandals, and the image of a bull called bolli-avu (bull idol). When
not required for the purpose of worship, the idols are hung up in a
room, which may not be entered by any one under pollution.
Some Karna Gollas earn their living by selling poultry, or by going
about the country carrying on their head a small box containing idols
and Virathadlu. Placing this at the end of a street, they do puja
(worship) before it, and walk up and down with a rope, with which
they flagellate themselves. As they carry the gods (Devarlu) about,
these people are called Devara vallu.
As the Gollas belong to the left-hand section, the Pedda Golla,
or headman, has only a Madiga as his assistant.
At the marriages of Mutrachas, Madigas, and some other classes, a
form of worship called Virala puja is performed with the object of
propitiating heroes or ancestors (viralu). A kindred ceremony, called
Ganga puja, is carried out by the Gollas, the expenses of which amount
to about a hundred rupees. This Ganga worship lasts over three days,
during which nine patterns, called muggu, are drawn on the floor in
five colours, and represent dhamarapadmam (lotus flower), palavili
(booth), sulalu (tridents), sesha panpu (serpent's play?), alugula
simhasanam (throne of Sakti), Viradu perantalu (hero and his wife),
Ranivasam (Rani's palace), bonala (food), and Ganga. The last is
a female figure, and probably represents Ganga, the goddess of
water, though one of the Golla ancestors was named Gangi Raju. The
patterns must be drawn by Madigas or Malas. Three Pambalas, or Madigas
skilled in this work, and in reciting the stories of various gods and
goddesses, commence their work on the afternoon of the third day,
and use white powder (rice flour), and powders coloured yellow
(turmeric), red (turmeric and chunam), green (leaves of Cassia
auriculata), and black (charred rice husk). On an occasion when my
assistant was present, the designs were drawn on the floor of the
courtyard of the house, which was roofed over. During the preparation
of the designs, people were excluded from the yard, as some ill-luck,
especially an attack of fever, would befall more particularly boys
and those of feeble mind, if they caught sight of the muggu before
the drishti thiyadam, or ceremony for removing the evil eye has been
performed. Near the head of the figure of Ganga, when completed, was
placed an old bamboo box, regarded as a god, containing idols, ropes,
betel, flowers, and small swords. Close to the box, and on the right
side of the figure, an earthen tray, containing a lighted wick fed
with ghi (clarified butter) was set. On the left side were deposited
a kalasam (brass vessel) representing Siva, a row of chembus (vessels)
called bonalu (food vessels), and a small empty box tied up in a cloth
dyed with turmeric, and called Brammayya. Between these articles and
the figure, a sword was laid. Several heaps of food were piled up
on the figure, and masses of rice placed near the head and feet. In
addition, a conical mass of food was heaped up on the right side of
the figure, and cakes were stuck into it. All round this were placed
smaller conical piles of food, into which broomsticks decorated with
betel leaves were thrust. Masses of food, scooped out and converted
into lamps, were arranged in various places, and betel leaves and nuts
scattered all over the figure. Towards the feet were set a chembu
filled with water, a lump of food coloured red, and incense. The
preparations concluded, three Gollas stood near the feet of the figure,
and took hold of the red food, over which water had been sprinkled,
the incense and a fowl. The food and incense were then waved in front
of the figure, and the fowl, after it had been smoked by the incense,
and waved over the figure, had its neck wrung. This was followed by the
breaking of a cocoanut, and offering fruits and other things. The three
men then fell prostrate on the ground before the figure, and saluted
the goddess. One of them, an old man, tied little bells round his legs,
and stood mute for a time. Gradually he began to perspire, and those
present exclaimed that he was about to be possessed by the spirit
of an ancestor. Taking up a sword, he began to cut himself with it,
especially in the back, and then kept striking himself with the blunt
edge. The sword was wrested from him, and placed on the figure. The
old man then went several times round the muggu, shaking and twisting
his body into various grotesque attitudes. While this was going on,
the bridegroom appeared on the scene, and seated himself near the
feet of the figure. Throwing off his turban and upper cloth, he fell
on the floor, and proceeded to kick his legs about, and eventually,
becoming calmer, commenced to cry. Being asked his name, he replied
that he was Kariyavala Raju. Further questions were put to him, to
which he made no response, but continued crying. Incense and lights
were then carried round the image, and the old man announced that the
marriage would be auspicious, and blessed the bride and bridegroom
and the assembled Gollas. The ceremony concluded with the burning of
camphor. The big mass of food was eaten by Puni Gollas.
It is stated in the Manual of the Nellore district that, when a Golla
bridegroom sets out for the house of his mother-in-law, he is seized
on the way by his companions, who will not release him until he has
paid a piece of gold.
The custom of illatom, or application of a son-in-law, obtains among
the Gollas, as among the Kapus and some other Telugu-classes. [149]
In connection with the death ceremonies, it may be noted that the
corpse, when it is being washed, is made to rest on a mortar, and
two pestles are placed by its side, and a lighted lamp near the head.
There is a proverb to the effect that a Golla will not scruple to
water the milk which he sells to his own father. Another proverb
refers to the corrupt manner in which he speaks his mother-tongue.
The insigne of the caste at Conjeeveram is a silver churning
stick. [150]
Gollari (monkey).--An exogamous sept of Gadaba.
Gomma.--Recorded by the Rev. J. Cain as the name for Koyis who live
near the banks of the Godavari river. Villages on the banks thereof
are called gommu ullu.
Gonapala (old plough).--An exogamous sept of Devanga.
Gondaliga.--The Gondaligas are described, in the Mysore Census Report,
1901, as being mendicants "of Mahratta origin like the Budabudikes,
and may perhaps be a sub-division of them. They are worshippers of
Durgi. Their occupation, as the name indicates, is to perform gondala,
or a kind of torch-light dance, usually performed in honour of Amba
Bhavani, especially after marriages in Desastha Brahman's houses,
or at other times in fulfilment of any vow."
Gone (a sack).--An exogamous sept of Maala. The Gone Perikes have been
summed up as being a Telugu caste of gunny-bag weavers, corresponding
to the Janappans of the Tamil country. Gunny-bag is the popular and
trading name for the coarse sacking and sacks made from jute fibre,
which are extensively used in Indian trade. [151] Gone is further an
occupational sub-division of Komati.
The Gonigas of Mysore are described, in the Census Report, 1901,
as sack-weavers and makers of gunny-bags, agriculturists, and grain
porters at Bangalore; and it is noted that the abnormal fall of 66
per cent. in the number of the caste was due to their being confounded
with Ganigas.
Gonjakari.--A title of Haddi.
Gonji (Glycosmis penlaphylla).--An exogamous sept of Mala.
Gopalam (alms given to beggars).--An exogamous sept of Togata.
Gopalan (those who tend cattle).--A synonym of Idaiyan.
Gopopuriya.--A sub-division of Gaudo.
Gorantla (Lawsonia alba: henna).--An exogamous sept of Golla and
Padma Sale. The leaves of this plant are widely used by Natives as
an article of toilet for staining the nails, and by Muhammadans for
dyeing the hair red.
Gorava.--A synonym of Kuruba.
Goravaru.--A class of Canarese mendicants.
Gore.--Recorded, at times of census, as a synonym of Lambadi. Gora
means trader or shop-keeper, and trading Lambadis may have assumed
the name.
Gorige (Cyamopsis psoralioides).--An exogamous sept of Devanga.
Gorrela (sheep).--An exogamous sept of Golla, Kamma, and Kapu. Konda
gorri (hill sheep) occurs as an exogamous sept of Jatapu.
Gosangi.--A synonym for Madiga, recorded as Kosangi, in the Madras
Census Report, 1901. The Gosangulu are described in the Vizagapatam
Manual (1869), as "beggars who style themselves descendants of
Jambavanta, the bear into which Brahma transformed himself, to
assist Rama in destroying Ravana. The Gosangis are considered to be
illegitimate descendants of Madigas, and a curious thing about them
is that their women dress up like men, and sing songs when begging. As
mendicants they are attached to the Madigas."
Gosayi or Goswami.--The Gosayis are immigrant religious mendicants
from Northern and Western India. I gather from the Mysore Census
Reports that "they mostly belong to the Dandi sub-division. The Gosayi
is no caste; commonly any devotee is called a Gosayi, whether he
lives a life of celibacy or not; whether he roams about the country
collecting alms, or resides in a house like the rest of the people;
whether he leads an idle existence, or employs himself in trade. The
mark, however, that distinguishes all who bear this name is that
they are devoted to a religious life. Some besmear their bodies
with ashes, wear their hair dishevelled and uncombed, and in some
instances coiled round the head like a snake or rope. They roam
about the country in every direction, visiting especially spots
of reputed sanctity, and as a class are the pests of society and
incorrigible rogues. Some of them can read, and a few may be learned;
but for the most part they are stolidly ignorant. Most of them wear
a yellowish cloth, by which they make themselves conspicuous. The
Gosayis, although by profession belonging to the religious class,
apply themselves nevertheless to commerce and trade. As merchants,
bankers and tradesmen, they hold a very respectable position. They
never marry. One of the chief peculiarities of this caste is that
Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras, the two former especially,
may, if they choose, become Gosayis; but if they do so, and unite
with the members of this fraternity in eating and drinking, holding
full and free intercourse with them, they are cut off for ever from
their own tribes. It is this circumstance which constitutes Gosayis
a distinct and legitimate caste, and not merely a religious order. At
death a horrible custom is observed. A cocoanut is broken on the head
of the deceased by a person specially appointed for the purpose, until
it is smashed to pieces. The body is then wrapped in a reddish cloth,
and thrown into the Ganges. A partial explanation of this practice is
furnished in Southern India. The final aim of Hindu religious life is
Nirvana or Moksham in the next life, and this can only be attained by
those holy men, whose life escapes, after smashing the skull, through
the sushumna nadi, a nerve so called, and supposed to pervade the
crown of the head. The dying or dead Sanyasi is considered to have
led such a holy life as to have expired in the orthodox manner, and
the fiction is kept up by breaking the skull post mortem, in mimicry
of the guarantee of his passage to eternal bliss. Accordingly, the
dead body of a Brahman Sanyasi in Southern India undergoes the same
process and is buried, but never burned or thrown into the river."
A few Gosayis, at the Mysore census, returned gotras, of which the
chief were Achuta and Daridra (poverty-stricken). In the Madras
Census Report, 1901, Mandula (medicine man) and Bavaji are returned
as a sub-division and synonym of Gosayi. The name Guse or Gusei is
applied to Oriya Brahmans owing to their right of acting as gurus or
family priests.
Gosu (pride).--An exogamous sept of Devanga.
Goundan.--It is noted, in the Salem Manual, that "some of the
agricultural classes habitually append the title Goundan as a sort
of caste nomenclature after their names, but the word applies,
par excellence, to the head of the village, or Ur Goundan as he is
called." As examples of castes which take Goundan as their title,
the Pallis, Okkiliyans, and Vellalas may be cited. A planter, or
other, when hailing a Malayali of the Shevaroy hills, always calls
him Goundan.
Goyi (lizard: Varanus).--An exogamous sept of Bottada.
Gramani.--The title of some Shanans, and of the headman of the
Khatris. In Malabar, the name gramam (a village) is applied to a
Brahmanical colony, or collection of houses, as the equivalent of
the agraharam of the Tamil country. [152]
Gudala.--The Gudalas are a Telugu caste of basket-makers in Vizagapatam
and Ganjam. The name is derived from guda, a basket for baling
water. For the following note I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana
Rao. The original occupation of the caste is said to have been the
collection of medicinal herbs and roots for native doctors and sick
persons, which is still carried on by some Gudalas at Saluru town. The
principal occupations, however, are the manufacture of bamboo baskets,
and fishing in fresh water.
Like other Telugu castes, the Gudalas have exogamous septs or
intiperulu, e.g., korra (Setaria italica), paththi (cotton), nakka
(jackal) and ganti (hole pierced in the ear-lobe). The custom of
menarikam, whereby a man should marry his maternal uncle's daughter,
is practiced. Marriage generally takes place before a girl reaches
puberty. A Brahman officiates at weddings. The bride-price (voli)
consists of a new cloth for the bride, and seven rupees for her
parents, which are taken by the bridegroom's party to the bride's
house, together with some oil and turmeric for the bridal bath, and
the sathamanam (marriage badge). A feast is held, and the sathamanam
is tied on the bride's neck. The newly married pair are conducted
to the house of the bridegroom, where a further feast takes place,
after which they return to the bride's home, where they remain for
three days. Widows are permitted to remarry thrice, and the voli on
each successive occasion is Rs. 3, Rs. 2, and Rs. 2-8-0. When a widow
is remarried, the sathamanam is tied on her neck near a mortar.
The members of the caste reverence a deity called Ekkaladevata,
who is said to have been left behind at their original home. The
dead are cremated, and the chinna rozu (little day) death ceremony
is observed. On the third day, cooked rice is thrown over the spot
where the corpse was burnt.
Gudavandlu.--Recorded, in the Nellore Manual, as Vaishnavites,
who earn their livelihood by begging. The name means basket people,
and probably refers to Satanis, who carry a basket (guda) when begging.
Gudi (temple).--A sub-division of Okkiliyan, an exogamous sept of Jogi,
and a name for temple Dasaris, to distinguish them from the Donga or
thieving Dasaris.
Gudigara.--In the South Canara Manual, the Gudigaras are summed up as
follows. "They are a Canarese caste of wood-carvers and painters. They
are Hindus of the Saivite sect, and wear the sacred thread. Shivalli
Brahmans officiate as their priests. Some follow the aliya santana
mode of inheritance (in the female line), others the ordinary
law. They must marry within the caste, but not within the same gotra
or family. Infant marriage is not compulsory, and they have the dhare
form of marriage. Among those who follow the aliya santana law, both
widows and divorced women may marry again, but this is not permitted
among the other sections. The dead are either cremated or buried,
the former being the preferential mode. The use of alcoholic liquor,
and fish and flesh is permitted. Their ordinary title is Setti."
"The Gudigars, or sandal-wood carvers," Mr. D'Cruz writes, [153]
"are reported to have come originally from Goa, their migration
to Mysore and Canara having been occasioned by the attempts of the
early Portuguese invaders to convert them to Christianity. The fact
that their original language is Konkani corroborates their reputed
Konkanese origin. They say that the derivation of the word Gudigara
is from gudi, a temple, and that they were so called because they
were, in their own country, employed as carvers and painters in the
ornamentation of temples. Another derivation is from the Sanskrit
kuttaka (a carver). They assert that their fellow castemen are
still employed in turning, painting, and other decorative arts at
Goa. Like the Chitrakaras (ornamenters or decorative artists), they
claim to be Kshatriyas, and tradition has it that, to escape the
wrath of Parasu Rama in the sixth incarnation of Vishnu, who vowed
to destroy all Kshatriyas, they adopted the profession of carvers
and car-builders. They are also expert ivory-carvers, and it has been
suggested that they may be distantly connected with the Kondikars, or
ivory-carvers of Bengal. The art of sandalwood carving is confined
to a few families in the Sorab and Sagar taluks of the Shimoga
district, in the north-west corner of the province. There are two
or three families in Sagar, and about six in Sorab, which contribute
in all about thirty-five artisans employed in the craft. The art is
also practiced by their relations, who found a domicile in Hanavar,
Kumpta, Sirsi, Siddapur, Biligi, and Banavasi in the North Canara
district. But the work of the latter is said to be by no means so fine
as that executed by the artisans of Sorab and Sagar. The artisans
of North Canara, however, excel in pith-work of the most exquisite
beauty. They usually make basingas, i.e., special forehead ornaments,
richly inlaid with pearls, and worn on the occasion of marriage. The
delicate tools used by the wood-carvers are made from European umbrella
spokes, ramrods, and country steel. The main stimulus, which the art
receives from time to time at the present day, is from orders from the
Government, corporate public bodies, or Maharajas, for address boxes,
cabinets, and other articles specially ordered for presentations,
or for the various fine-art exhibition, for which high prices are
paid." In conversation with the workmen from Sorab and Sagar for work
in the palace which is being built for H. H. the Maharaja of Mysore,
it was elicited that there are some Gudigars, who, from want of a due
taste for the art, never acquire it, but are engaged in carpentry and
turning. Others, having acquired land, are engaged in cultivation,
and fast losing all touch with the art. At Udipi in South Canara,
some Gudigars make for sale large wooden buffaloes and human figures,
which are presented as votive offerings at the Iswara temple at
Hiriadkap. They also make wooden dolls and painted clay figures.
The following extracts from Mr. L. Rice's 'Mysore Gazetteer' may be
appropriately quoted. "The designs with which the Gudigars entirely
cover the boxes, desks, and other articles made, are of an extremely
involved and elaborate pattern, consisting for the most part of
intricate interlacing foliage and scroll-work, completely enveloping
medallions containing the representation of some Hindu deity or subject
of mythology, and here and there relieved by the introduction of animal
forms. The details, though in themselves often highly incongruous,
are grouped and blended with a skill that seems to be instinctive in
the East, and form an exceedingly rich and appropriate ornamentation,
decidedly oriental in style, which leaves not the smallest portion
of the surface of the wood untouched. The material is hard, and the
minuteness of the work demands the utmost care and patience. Hence
the carving of a desk or cabinet involves a labour of many months,
and the artists are said to lose their eyesight at a comparatively
early age. European designs they imitate to perfection." And again:
"The articles of the Gudigar's manufacture chiefly in demand are
boxes, caskets and cabinets. These are completely covered with minute
and delicate scroll-work, interspersed with figures from the Hindu
Pantheon, the general effect of the profuse detail being extremely
rich. The carving of Sorab is considered superior to that of Bombay
or Canton, and, being a very tedious process requiring great care, is
expensive. The Gudigars will imitate admirably any designs that may be
furnished them. Boards for album-covers, plates from Jorrock's hunt,
and cabinets surrounded with figures, have thus been produced for
European gentlemen with great success." A gold medal was awarded to
the Gudigars at the Delhi Durbar Exhibition, 1903, for a magnificent
sandal-wood casket (now in the Madras Museum), ornamented with panels
representing hunting scenes.
When a marriage is contemplated, the parents of the couple, in the
absence of horoscopes, go to a temple, and receive from the priest some
flowers which have been used for worship. These are counted, and, if
their number is even, the match is arranged, and an exchange of betel
leaves and nuts takes place. On the wedding day, the bridegroom goes,
accompanied by his party, to the house of the bride, taking with him
a new cloth, a female jacket, and a string of black beads with a small
gold ornament. They are met en route by the bride's party. Each party
has a tray containing rice, a cocoanut, and a looking-glass. The
females of one party place kunkuma (red powder) on the foreheads
of those of the other party, and sprinkle rice over each other. At
the entrance to the marriage pandal (booth), the bride's brother
pours water at the feet of the bridegroom, and her father leads
him into the pandal. The new cloth, and other articles, are taken
inside the house, and the mother or sister of the bridegroom, with
the permission of the headman, ties the necklet of black beads on the
bride's neck. Her maternal uncle takes her up in his arms, and carries
her to the pandal. Thither the bridegroom is conducted by the bride's
brother. A cloth is held as a screen between the contracting couple,
who place garlands of flowers round each other's necks. The screen is
then removed. A small vessel, containing milk and water, and decorated
with mango leaves, is placed in front of them, and the bride's mother,
taking hold of the right hand of the bride, places it in the right
hand of the bridegroom. The officiating Brahman places a betel leaf
and cocoanut on the bride's hand, and her parents pour water from a
vessel thereon. The Brahman then ties the kankanams (wrist-threads)
on the wrists of the contracting couple, and kindles the sacred fire
(homam). The guests present them with money, and lights are waved
before them by elderly females. The bridegroom, taking the bride by
hand, leads her into the house, where they sit on a mat, and drink
milk out of the same vessel. A bed is made ready, and they sit on it,
while the bride gives betel to the bridegroom. On the second day,
lights are waved, in the morning and evening, in front of them. On
the third day, some red-coloured water is placed in a vessel, into
which a ring, an areca nut, and rice are dropped. The couple search
for the ring, and, when it has been found, the bridegroom puts it on
the finger of the bride. They then bathe, and try to catch fish in
a cloth. After the bath, the wrist-threads are removed.
Gudisa (hut).--An exogamous sept of Boya and Kapu.
Gudiya.--The Gudiyas are the sweet-meat sellers of the Oriya
country. They rank high in the social scale, and some sections of
Oriya Brahmans will accept drinking water at their hands. Sweet-meats
prepared by them are purchased for marriage feasts by all castes,
including Brahmans. The caste name is derived from gudo (jaggery). The
caste is divided into two sections, one of which is engaged in selling
sweet-meats and crude sugar, and the other in agriculture. The former
are called Gudiyas, and the latter Kolata, Holodia, or Bolasi Gudiyas
in different localities. The headman of the caste is called Sasumallo,
under whom are assistant officers, called Behara and Bhollobaya. In
their ceremonial observances on the occasion of marriage, death, etc.,
the Gudiyas closely follow the Gaudos. They profess the Paramartho
or Chaitanya form of Vaishnavism, and also worship Takuranis (village
deities).
The Gudiyas are as particular as Brahmans in connection with the
wearing of sect marks, and ceremonial ablution. Cloths worn during the
act of attending to the calls of nature are considered to be polluted,
so they carry about with them a special cloth, which is donned for
the moment, and then removed. Like the Gudiyas, Oriya Brahmans always
carry with them a small cloth for this purpose.
The titles of the Gudiyas are Behara, Sahu, and Sasumallo. In the
Madras Census Report, 1901, the caste name is given as Godiya.
Gudugudupandi.--A Tamil synonym for Budubudukala.
Guha Vellala.--The name assumed by some Sembadavans with a view
to connecting themselves with Guha (or Kuha), who rowed the boat
of Rama to Ceylon, and, as Vellalas, gaining a rise in the social
scale. Maravans also claim descent from Guha.
Gujarati.--A territorial name, meaning people from Gujarat, some
of whom have settled in the south where they carry on business
as prosperous traders. In the Madras Census Report, 1901, Gujjar
is returned as a synonym. At a public meeting held in Madras, in
1906, to concert measures for establishing a pinjrapole (hospital
for animals) it was resolved that early steps should be taken to
collect public subscriptions from the Hindu community generally,
and in particular from the Nattukottai Chettis, Gujaratis, and other
mercantile classes. The mover of the resolution observed that Gujaratis
were most anxious, on religious grounds, to save all animals from pain,
and it was a religious belief with them that it was sinful to live in
a town where there was no pinjrapole. A pinjrapole is properly a cage
(pinjra) for the sacred bull (pola) released in the name of Siva. [154]
It is noted by Mr. Drummond [155] that every marriage and mercantile
transaction among the Gujaratis is taxed with a contribution ostensibly
for the pinjrapole. In 1901, a proposal was set on foot to establish
a Gujarati library and reading-room in Madras, to commemorate the
silver jubilee of the administration of the Gaekwar of Baroda.
Gulimi (pickaxe).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba.
Gullu (Solanum ferox).--A gotra of Kurni.
Gulti.--A section of Boya, members of which are to be found in Choolay,
Madras City.
Gummadi (Cucurbita maxima).--An exogamous sept of Tsakalas, who will
not cultivate the plant, or eat the pumpkin thereof.
Guna.--Guna or Guni is a sub-division of Velama. The name is derived
from the large pot (guna), which dyers use.
Guna Tsakala (hunchbacked washerman).--Said to be a derisive name
given to Velamas by Balijas.
Gundala (stones).--An exogamous sept of Golla.
Gundam (pit).--An exogamous sept of Chenchu.
Gundu (cannon-ball).--A gotra of Kurni.
Guni.--Guni is the name of Oriya dancing-girls and prostitutes. It
is derived from the Sanskrit guna, meaning qualifications or skill,
in reference to their possession of qualification for, and skill
acquired by training when young in enchanting by music, dancing, etc.
Gunta (well).--A sub-division of Boyas, found in the Anantapur
district, the members of which are employed in digging wells.
Guntaka (harrow).--An exogamous sept of Kapu.
Guntala (pond).--An exogamous sept of Boya.
Gupta.--A Vaisya title assumed by some Muttans (trading caste) of
Malabar, and Tamil Pallis.
Guri.--Recorded, in the Vizagapatam Manual, as a caste of Paiks or
fighting men. Gurikala (marksman) occurs, in the Madras Census Report,
1901, as a sub-division of Patra.
Gurram (horse).--An exogamous sept of Chenchu, Golla, Mala, Padma Sale,
and Togata. The Gurram Togatas will not ride on horseback. Kudire,
also meaning horse, occurs as a gotra or exogamous sept of Kurni
and Vakkaliga.
Gurukkal.--For the following note on the Gurukkals or Kurukkals of
Travancore, I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. The Kurukkals
are priests of castes, whose religious rites are not presided over
by Ilayatus. They are probably of Tamil origin. Males are often
called Nainar and females Nachchiyar, which are the usual titles
of the Tamil Kurukkals also. In the Keralolpatti the caste men are
described as Chilampantis, who are the adiyars or hereditary servants
of Padmanabhaswami in Trivandrum. They seem to have been once known
also as Madamutalis or headmen of matts, and Tevara Pandarams,
or Pandarams who assisted the Brahman priest in the performance
of religious rites in the Maharaja's palace. It is said that the
Kurukkals originally belonged to the great Vaisya branch of Manu's
fourfold system of caste, and migrated from the Pandyan country, and
became the dependants of the Kupakkara family of Pottis in Trivandrum,
whose influence, both religious and secular, was of no mean order in
mediæval times. These Pottis gave them permission to perform all the
priestly services of the Ambalavasi families, who lived to the south
of Quilon. It would appear from the Keralolpatti and other records
that they had the kazhakam or sweeping and other services at the inner
entrance of Sri Padmanabha's temple till the time of Umayamma Rani in
the eighth century of the Malabar era. As, however, during her reign,
a Kurukkal in league with the Kupakkara Potti handed over the letter
of invitation, entrusted to him as messenger, for the annual utsavam
to the Tarnallur Nambudiripad, the chief ecclesiastical functionary of
the temple, much later than was required, the Kurukkal was dismissed
from the temple service, and ever afterwards the Kurukkals had no
kazhakam right there. There are some temples, where Kurukkals are the
recognised priests, and they are freely admitted for kazhakam service
in most South Travancore temples. To the north of Quilon, however, the
Variyars and Pushpakans enjoy this right in preference to others. Some
Kurukkals kept gymnasia in former times, and trained young men in
military exercises. At the present day, a few are agriculturists.
The Kurukkals are generally not so fair in complexion as other
sections of the Ambalavasis. Their houses are known as bhavanams
or vidus. They are strict vegetarians, and prohibited from drinking
spirituous liquor. The females (Kurukkattis) try to imitate Nambutiri
Brahmans in their dress and ornaments. The arasilattali, which closely
resembles the cherutali, is worn round the neck, and the chuttu in
the ears. The mukkutti, but not the gnattu, is worn in the nose. The
minnu or marriage ornament is worn after the tali-kettu until the death
of the tali-tier. The females are tattooed on the forehead and hands,
but this practice is going out of fashion. The sect marks of women are
the same as those of the Nambutiris. The Kurukkals are Smartas. The
Tiruvonam asterism in the month of Avani (August-September) furnishes
an important festive occasion.
The Kurukkals are under the spiritual control of certain men in their
own caste called Vadhyars. They are believed to have been originally
appointed by the Kuppakkara Pottis, of whom they still take counsel.
The Kurukkals observe both the tali-kettu kalyanam and sambandham. The
male members of the caste contract alliances either within the caste,
or with Marans, or the Vatti class of Nayars. Women receive cloths
either from Brahmans or men of their own caste. The maternal uncle's
or paternal aunt's daughter is regarded as the most proper wife for
a man. The tali-kettu ceremony is celebrated when a girl is seven,
nine or eleven years old. The date for its celebration is fixed by her
father and maternal uncle in consultation with the astrologer. As many
youths are then selected from among the families of the inangans or
relations as there are girls to be married, the choice being decided
by the agreement of the horoscopes of the couple. The erection of
the first pillar of the marriage pandal (booth) is, as among other
Hindu castes, an occasion for festivity. The ceremony generally
lasts over few days, but may be curtailed. On the wedding day, the
bridegroom wears a sword and palmyra leaf, and goes in procession to
the house of the bride. After the tali has been tied, the couple are
looked on as being impure, and the pollution is removed by bathing,
and the pouring of water, consecrated by the hymns of Vadhyars, over
their heads. For the sambandham, which invariably takes place after a
girl has reached puberty, the relations of the future husband visit
her home, and, if they are satisfied as to the desirability of the
match, inform her guardians of the date on which they will demand the
horoscope. When it is received on the appointed day, the astrologer
is consulted, and, if he is favourably inclined, a day is fixed for
the sambandham ceremony. The girl is led forward by her maternal
aunt, who sits among those who have assembled, and formally receives
cloths. Cloths are also presented to the maternal uncle. Divorce is
common, and effected with the consent of the Vadhyar. Inheritance is in
the female line (marumakkathayam). It is believed that, at the time of
their migration to Travancore, the Kurukkals wore their tuft of hair
(kudumi) behind, and followed the makkathayam system of inheritance
(in the male line). A change is said to have been effected in both
these customs by the Kupakkara Potti in the years 1752 and 1777 of
the Malabar era.
The Kurukkals observe most of the religious ceremonies of the
Brahmans. No recitation of hymns accompanies the rites of namakarana
and annaprasana. The chaula and upanayana are performed between the
ninth and twelfth years of age. On the previous day, the family priest
celebrates the purificatory rite, and ties a consecrated thread round
the right wrist of the boy. The tonsure takes place on the second day,
and on the third day the boy is invested with the sacred thread, and
the Gayatri hymn recited. On the fourth day, the Brahmacharya rite
is closed with a ceremony corresponding to the Samavartana. When a
girl reaches puberty, some near female relation invites the women of
the village, who visit the house, bringing sweetmeats with them. The
girl bathes, and reappears in public on the fifth day. Only the
pulikudi or drinking tamarind juice, is celebrated, as among the
Nayars, during the first pregnancy. The sanchayana, or collection
of bones after the cremation of a corpse, is observed on the third,
fifth, or seventh day after death. Death pollution lasts for eleven
days. Tekketus are built in memory of deceased ancestors. These are
small masonry structures built over graves, in which a lighted lamp
is placed, and at which worship is performed on anniversary and other
important occasions (See Brahman.)
Gutob.--A sub-division of Gadaba.
Gutta Koyi.--Recorded by the Rev. J. Cain as a name for hill Koyis.
Guvvala (doves).--An exogamous sept of Boya and Mutracha.
H
Haddi.--The Haddis are a low class of Oriyas, corresponding to
the Telugu Malas and Madigas, and the Tamil Paraiyans. It has been
suggested that the name is derived from haddi, a latrine, or hada,
bones, as members of the caste collect all sorts of bones, and trade in
them. The Haddis play on drums for all Oriya castes, except Khondras,
Tiyoros, Tulabinas, and Sanis. They consider the Khondras as a very
low class, and will not purchase boiled rice sold in the bazaar,
if it has been touched by them. Castes lower than the Haddis are the
Khondras and Jaggalis of whom the latter are Telugu Madigas, who have
settled in the southern part of Ganjam, and learnt the Oriya language.
The Haddis may be divided into Haddis proper, Rellis, and Chachadis,
which are endogamous divisions. The Haddis proper never do sweeping
or scavenging work, which are, in some places, done by Rellis. The
Relli scavengers are often called Bhatta or Karuva Haddis. The
Haddis proper go by various names, e.g., Sudha Haddi, Godomalia
Haddi, etc., in different localities. The Haddis work as coolies and
field labourers, and the selling of fruits, such as mango, tamarind,
Zizyphus Jujuba, etc., is a favourite occupation. In some places, the
selling of dried fish is a monopoly of the Rellis. Sometimes Haddis,
especially the Karuva Haddis, sell human or yak hair for the purpose
of female toilette. The Haddis have numerous septs or bamsams, one
of which, hathi (elephant) is of special interest, because members
of this sept, when they see the foot-prints of an elephant, take some
dust from the spot, and make a mark on the forehead with it. They also
draw the figure of an elephant, and worship it when they perform sradh
(memorial service for the dead) and other ceremonies.
There are, among the Haddi communities, two caste officers entitled
Behara and Nayako, and difficult questions which arise are settled
at a meeting of the officers of several villages. It is said that
sometimes, if a member of the caste is known to have committed an
offence, the officers select some members of the caste from his
village to attend the meeting, and borrow money from them. This is
spent on drink, and, after the meeting, the amount is recovered from
the offender. If he does not plead guilty at once, a quarrel ensues,
and more money is borrowed, so as to increase the debt. In addition
to the Behara and Nayako, there are, in some places, other officials
called Adhikari or Chowdri, or Bodoporicha and Bhollobhaya. The caste
title is Nayako. Members of higher castes are sometimes, especially if
they have committed adultery with Haddi women, received into the caste.
Girls are married after puberty. Though contrary to the usual Oriya
custom, the practice of menarikam, or marriage with the maternal
uncle's daughter, is permitted. When the marriage of a young man
is contemplated, his father, accompanied by members of his caste,
proceeds to the home of the intended bride. If her parents are
in favour of the match, a small space is cleared in front of the
house, and cow-dung water smeared over it. On this spot the young
man's party deposit a pot of toddy, over which women throw Zizyphus
Jujuba leaves and rice, crying at the same time Ulu-ula. The village
officials, and a few respected members of the caste, assemble in
the house, and, after the engagement has been announced, indulge
in a drink. On an auspicious day, the bridegroom's party go to the
home of the bride, and place, on a new cloth spread on the floor, the
bride-price (usually twenty rupees), and seven betel leaves, myrabolams
(Terminalia fruits), areca nuts, and cakes. Two or three of the nuts
are then removed from the cloth, cut up, and distributed among the
leading men. After the wedding day has been fixed, an adjournment
is made to the toddy shop. In some cases, the marriage ceremony is
very simple, the bride being conducted to the home of the bridegroom,
where a feast is held. In the more elaborate form of ceremonial, the
contracting couple are seated on a dais, and the Behara or Nayako,
who officiates as priest, makes fire (homam) before them, which he
feeds with twigs of Zizyphus Jujuba and Eugenia Jambolana. Mokuttos
(forehead chaplets) and wrist-threads are tied on the couple, and their
hands are connected by the priest by means of a turmeric-dyed thread,
and then disconnected by an unmarried girl. The bride's brother arrives
on the scene, dressed up as a woman, and strikes the bridegroom. This
is called solabidha, and is practiced by many Oriya castes. The ends
of the cloths of the bride and bridegroom are tied together, and they
are conducted inside the house, the mother-in-law throwing Zizyphus
leaves and rice over them.
Like other Oriya castes, the Haddis observe pollution for seven days
on the occasion of the first menstrual period. On the first day, the
girl is seated, and, after she has been smeared with oil and turmeric
paste, seven women throw Zizyphus leaves and rice over her. She is
kept either in a corner of the house, or in a separate hut, and has
by her a piece of iron and a grinding-stone wrapped up in a cloth. If
available, twigs of Strychnos Nux-vomica are placed in a corner. Within
the room or hut, a small framework, made of broom-sticks and pieces of
palmyra palm leaf, or a bow, is placed, and worshipped daily. If the
girl is engaged to be married, her future father-in-law is expected
to give her a new cloth on the seventh day.
The Haddis are worshippers of various Takuranis (village deities),
e.g., Kalumuki, Sathabavuni, and Baidaro. Cremation of the dead is more
common than burial. Food is offered to the deceased on the day after
death, and also on the tenth and eleventh days. Some Haddis proceed,
on the tenth day, to the spot where the corpse was cremated or buried,
and, after making an effigy on the ground, offer food. Towards night,
they proceed to some distance from the house, and place food and fruits
on a cloth spread on the ground. They then call the dead man by his
name, and eagerly wait till some insect settles on the cloth. As soon
as this happens, the cloth is folded up, carried home, and shaken over
the floor close to the spot where the household gods are kept, so that
the insect falls on sand spread on the floor. A light is then placed
on the sanded floor, and covered with a new pot. After some time,
the pot is removed, and the sand examined for any marks which may be
left on it. This ceremony seems to correspond to the jola jola handi
(pierced pot) ceremony of other castes (see Bhondari).
"The Rellis," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [156] "are a caste of
gardeners and labourers, found chiefly in the districts of Ganjam
and Vizagapatam. In Telugu the word relli or rellis means grass,
but whether there is any connection between this and the caste name
I cannot say. They generally live at the foot of the hills, and sell
vegetables, mostly of hill production."
For the following note on the Rellis of Vizagapatam, I am indebted
to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The Rellis are also known as Sachchari, and
they further call themselves Sapiri. The caste recognises the custom
of menarikam, by which a man marries his maternal uncle's daughter. A
girl is usually married after puberty. The bride-price is paid sometime
before the day fixed for the marriage. On that day, the bride goes,
with her parents, to the house of the bridegroom. The caste deities
Odda Polamma (commonly known as Sapiri Daivam) and Kanaka Durgalamma
are invoked by the elders, and a pig and sheep are sacrificed to
them. A string of black beads is tied by the bridegroom round the
bride's neck, and a feast is held, at which the sacrificed animals
are eaten, and much liquor is imbibed. On the following morning,
a new cloth, kunkumam (red powder), and a few pieces of turmeric
are placed in a small basket or winnow, and carried in procession,
to the accompaniment of music, through the streets by the bride,
with whom is the bridegroom. The ceremony is repeated on the third
day, when the marriage festivities come to an end. In a note on the
Rellis of Ganjam, Mr. S. P. Rice writes [157] that "the bridegroom,
with the permission of the Village Magistrate, marches straight into
the bride's house, and ties a wedding necklace round her neck. A
gift of seven and a half rupees and a pig to the castemen, and of
five rupees to the bride's father, completes this very primitive
ceremony." Widows are allowed to remarry, but the string of beads is
not tied round the neck. The caste deities are usually represented by
crude wooden dolls, and an annual festival in their honour, with the
sacrifice of pigs and sheep, is held in March. The dead are usually
buried, and, as a rule, pollution is not observed. Some Rellis have,
however, begun to observe the chinnarozu (little day) death ceremony,
which corresponds to the chinnadinamu ceremony of the Telugus. The
main occupation of the caste is gardening, and selling fruits and
vegetables. The famine of 1875-76 reduced a large number of Rellis
to the verge of starvation, and they took to scavenging as a means
of earning a living. At the present day, the gardeners look down on
the scavengers, but a prosperous scavenger can be admitted into their
society by paying a sum of money, or giving a feast. Pollution attaches
only to the scavengers, and not to the gardening section. In the
Census Report, 1901, the Pakais or sweepers in the Godavari district,
who have, it is said, gone thither from Vizagapatam, are returned as
a sub-caste of Relli. The usual title of the Rellis is Gadu.
The Haddis who inhabit the southern part of Ganjam are known as Ghasis
by other castes, especially Telugu people, though they call themselves
Haddis. The name Ghasi has reference to the occupation of cutting
grass, especially for horses. The occupational title of grass-cutter
is said by Yule and Burnell [158] to be "probably a corruption
representing the Hindustani ghaskoda or ghaskata, the digger or cutter
of grass, the title of a servant employed to collect grass for horses,
one such being usually attached to each horse, besides the syce or
horsekeeper (groom). In the north, the grass-cutter is a man; in the
south the office is filled by the horsekeeper's wife." It is noted in
'Letters from Madras' [159] that "every horse has a man and a maid
to himself; the maid cuts grass for him; and every dog has a boy. I
inquired whether the cat had any servants, but I found he was allowed
to wait upon himself." In addition to collecting and selling grass,
the Ghasis are employed at scavenging work. Outsiders, even Jaggalis
(Madigas), Paidis, and Panos, are admitted into the Ghasi community.
The headman of the Ghasis is called Bissoyi, and he is assisted by
a Behara and Gonjari. The Gonjari is the caste servant, one of whose
duties is said to be the application of a tamarind switch to the back
of delinquents.
Various exogamous septs or bamsams occur among the Ghasis, of which
naga (cobra), asvo (horse), chintala (tamarind), and liari (parched
rice) may be noted. Adult marriage is the rule. The betrothal
ceremony, at which the kanyo mulo, or bride-price, is paid, is the
occasion of a feast, at which pork must be served, and the Bissoyi
of the future bride's village ties a konti (gold or silver bead)
on her neck. The marriage ceremonial corresponds in the main with
that of the Haddis elsewhere, but has been to some extent modified by
the Telugu environment. The custom, referred to by Mr. S. P. Rice,
of suspending an earthen pot filled with water from the marriage
booth is a very general one, and not peculiar to the Ghasis. It is
an imitation of a custom observed by the higher Oriya castes. The
striking of the bridegroom on the back by the bride's brother is the
solabidha of other castes, and the mock anger (rusyano) in which the
latter goes away corresponds to the alagi povadam of Telugu castes.
At the first menstrual ceremony of a Ghasi girl, she sits in a space
enclosed by four arrows, round which a thread is passed seven times.
The name Odiya Toti (Oriya scavenger) occurs as a Tamil synonym for
Haddis employed as scavengers in Municipalities in the Tamil country.
Hajam.--The Hindustani name for a barber, and used as a general
professional title by barbers of various classes. It is noted, in
the Census Reports, that only fifteen out of more than two thousand
individuals returned as Hajam were Muhammadans, and that, in South
Canara, Hajams are Konkani Kelasis, and of Marathi descent.
Halaba.--See Pentiya.
Halavakki.--A Canarese synonym for Budubudukala.
Halepaik.--The Halepaiks are Canarese toddy-drawers, who are found in
the northern taluks of the South Canara district. The name is commonly
derived from hale, old, and paika, a soldier, and it is said that
they were formerly employed as soldiers. There is a legend that one
of their ancestors became commander of the Vijayanagar army, was made
ruler of a State, and given a village named Halepaikas as a jaghir
(hereditary assignment of land). Some Halepaiks say that they belong
to the Tengina (cocoanut palm) section, because they are engaged in
tapping that palm for toddy.
There is intermarriage between the Canarese-speaking Halepaiks and
the Tulu-speaking Billava toddy-drawers, and, in some places, the
Billavas also call themselves Halepaiks. The Halepaiks have exogamous
septs or balis, which run in the female line. As examples of these,
the following may be noted:--
Chendi (Cerbera Odollum), Honne (Calophyllum inophyllum), Tolar (wolf),
Devana (god) and Ganga. It is recorded [160] of the Halepaiks of the
Canara district in the Bombay Presidency that "each exogamous section,
known as a bali (literally a creeper), is named after some animal or
tree, which is held sacred by the members of the same. This animal,
tree or flower, etc., seems to have been once considered the common
ancestor of the members of the bali, and to the present day it is both
worshipped by them, and held sacred in the sense that they will not
injure it. Thus the members of the nagbali, named apparently after
the nagchampa flower, will not wear this flower in their hair, as
this would involve injury to the plant. The Kadavebali will not kill
the sambhar (deer: kadave), from which they take their name." The
Halepaiks of South Canara seem to attach no such importance to the
sept names. Some, however, avoid eating a fish called Srinivasa,
because they fancy that the streaks on the body have a resemblance
to the Vaishnavite sectarian mark (namam).
All the Halepaiks of the Kundapur taluk profess to be Vaishnavites, and
have become the disciples of a Vaishnava Brahman settled in the village
of Sankarappakodlu near Wondse in that taluk. Though Venkataramana is
regarded as their chief deity, they worship Baiderkulu, Panjurli,
and other bhuthas (devils). The Pujaris (priests) avoid eating
new grain, new areca nuts, new sugarcane, cucumbers and pumpkins,
until a feast, called kaidha puja, has been held. This is usually
celebrated in November-December, and consists in offering food, etc.,
to Baiderkulu. Somebody gets possessed by the bhutha, and pierces
his abdomen with an arrow.
In their caste organisation, marriage and death ceremonies, the
Halepaiks closely follow the Billavas. They do not, however, construct
a car for the final death ceremonies. As they are Vaishnavites,
after purification from death pollution by their own caste barber,
a Vaishnavite mendicant, called Dassaya, is called in, and purifies
them by sprinkling holy water and putting the namam on their foreheads.
There are said to be some differences between the Halepaiks and
Billavas in the method of carrying out the process of drawing
toddy. For example, the Halepaiks generally grasp the knife with
the fingers directed upwards and the thumb to the right, while the
Billavas hold the knife with the fingers directed downwards and the
thumb to the left. For crushing the flower-buds within the spathe
of the palm, Billavas generally use a stone, and the Halepaiks a
bone. There is a belief that, if the spathe is beaten with the bone
of a buffalo which has been killed by a tiger, the yield of toddy
will, if the bone has not touched the ground, be greater than if an
ordinary bone is used. The Billavas generally carry a long gourd,
and the Halepaiks a pot, for collecting the toddy in.
Halige (plank).--A gotra of Kurni.
Hallikara (village man).--Recorded, in the Mysore Census Report,
1901, as a division of Vakkaliga.
Halu (milk).--An exogamous sept of Holeya and Kurni, a sub-division of
Kuruba, and a name for Vakkaligas who keep cattle and sell milk. Halu
mata (milk caste) has been given as a synonym for Kuruba. In the
Mysore Census Report, 1901, Halu Vakkal-Makkalu, or children of the
milk caste, occurs as a synonym for Halu Vakkaliga, and, in the South
Canara Manual, Halvaklumakkalu is given as a synonym for Gauda. The
Madigas call the intoxicant toddy halu. (See Pal.)
Hanbali.--A sect of Muhammadans, who are followers of the Imam Abu
'Abdi 'llah Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, the founder of the fourth orthodox sect
of the Sunnis, who was born at Baghdad A.H. 164 (A.D. 780). "His fame
began to spread just at the time when disputes ran highest concerning
the nature of the Qur'an, which some held to have existed from
eternity, whilst others maintained it to be created. Unfortunately
for Ibn Hanbal, the Khalifah-at-Muttasim was of the latter opinion,
to which this doctor refusing to subscribe, he was imprisoned, and
severely scourged by the Khalifah's order." [161]
Handa.--A title of Canarese Kumbaras.
Handichikka.--The Handichikkas are stated [162] to be "also generally
known as Handi Jogis. This caste is traced to the Pakanati sub-section
of the Jogis, which name it bore some five generations back when the
traditional calling was buffalo-breeding. But, as they subsequently
degenerated to pig-rearing, they came to be known as Handi Jogi or
Handichikka, handi being the Canarese for pig.
Hanifi.--A sect of Muhammadans, named after Abu Hanifah Anhufman,
the great Sunni Imam and jurisconsult, and the founder of the Hanifi
sect, who was born A.H. 80 (A.D. 700).
Hanuman.--Hanuman, or Hanumanta, the monkey god, has been recorded
as a sept of Domb, and gotra of Medara.
Hari Shetti.--A name for Konkani-speaking Vanis (traders).
Haruvar.--A sub-division of the Badagas of the Nilgiri hills.
Hasala.--Concerning the Hasalas or Hasulas, Mr. Lewis Rice writes that
"this tribe resembles the Soliga (or Sholagas). They are met with along
the ghâts on the north-western frontier of Mysore. They are a short,
thick-set race, very dark in colour, and with curled hair. Their chief
employment is felling timber, but they sometimes work in areca nut
gardens and gather wild cardamoms, pepper, etc. They speak a dialect
of Canarese."
In the Mysore Census Report, 1891, it is stated that "the Hasalaru
and Maleru are confined to the wild regions of the Western Malnad. In
the caste generation, they are said to rank above the Halepaikas,
but above the Holeyas and Madigas. They are a diminutive but muscular
race, with curly hair and dolichocephalous head. Their mother-tongue
is Tulu. Their numbers are so insignificantly small as not to be
separately defined. They are immigrants from South Canara, and lead a
life little elevated above that of primordial barbarism. They live in
small isolated huts, which are, however, in the case of the Hasalas,
provided not only with the usual principal entrance, through which
one has to crawl in, but also with a half-concealed hole in the rear,
a kind of postern, through which the shy inmates steal out into
the jungle at the merest suspicion of danger, or the approach of a
stranger. They collect the wild jungle produce, such as cardamoms,
etc., for their customary employers, whose agrestic slaves they have
virtually become. Their huts are annually or periodically shifted from
place to place, usually the most inaccessible and thickest parts of
the wilderness. They are said to be very partial to toddy and arrack
(alcoholic liquor). It is expected that these savages smuggle across
the frontier large quantities of wild pepper and cardamoms from the
ghat forests of the province. Their marriage customs are characterised
by the utmost simplicity, and the part played therein by the astrologer
is not very edifying. Their religion does not seem to transcend devil
worship. They bury the dead. A very curious obsequial custom prevails
among the Hasalas. When any one among them dies, somebody's devil is
credited with the mishap, and the astrologer is consulted to ascertain
its identity. The latter throws cowries (shells of Cyproea moneta)
for divination, and mentions some neighbour as the owner of the devil
thief. Thereupon, the spirit of the dead is redeemed by the heir or
relative by means of a pig, fowl, or other guerdon. The spirit is
then considered released, and is thence forward domiciled in a pot,
which is supplied periodically with water and nourishment. This may
be looked upon as the elementary germ of the posthumous care-taking,
which finds articulation under the name of sradh in multifarious forms,
accompanied more or less with much display in the more civilised
sections of the Hindu community. The Hasalaru are confined to
Tirthahalli and Mudigere."
It is further recorded in the Mysore Census Report, 1891, that "in most
of the purely Malnad or hilly taluks, each vargdar, or proprietor of
landed estate, owns a set of servants styled Huttalu or Huttu-alu and
Mannalu or Mannu-alu. The former is the hereditary servitor of the
family, born in servitude, and performing agricultural work for the
landholder from father to son. The Mannalu is a serf attached to the
soil, and changes hands with it. They are usually of the Holaya class,
but, in some places, the Hasalar race have been entertained." (See
Holeya.)
Concerning the Hasalaru, Mr. H. V. Nanjundayya writes to me that
"their marriages take place at night, a pujari of their caste ties
the tali, a golden disc, round the bride's neck. Being influenced by
the surrounding castes, they have taken of late to the practice of
inviting the astrologer to be present. In the social scale they are a
little superior to Madigas and Holeyas, and, like them, live outside
the village, but they do not eat beef. Their approach is considered
to defile a Brahman, and they do not enter the houses of non-Brahmans
such as Vakkaligas and Kurubas. They have their own caste barbers
and washermen, and have separate wells to draw water from."
Hasbe.--Hasbe or Hasubu, meaning a double pony pack-sack, has been
recorded as an exogamous sept of Holeya and Vakkaliga.
Hastham (hand).--An exogamous sept of Boya.
Hatagar.--A sub-division of Devangas, who are also called Kodekal
Hatagaru.
Hathi (elephant).--A sept of the Oriya Haddis. When members of this
sept see the foot-prints of an elephant, they take some dust from
the spot, and make a mark on the forehead with it. They also draw
the figure of an elephant, and worship it, when they perform sradh
(memorial service for the dead) and other ceremonies.
Hathinentu Manayavaru (eighteen house).--A sub-division of Devanga.
Hatti (hut or hamlet).--An exogamous sept of Kappilliyan and Kuruba.
Hattikankana (cotton wrist-thread).--A sub-division of Kurubas,
who tie a cotton thread round the wrist at the marriage ceremony.
Heggade.--The Heggades are summed up, in the Madras Census
Report, 1901, as being a class of Canarese cultivators and
cattle-breeders. Concerning the Heggades of South Canara,
Mr. H. A. Stuart writes [163] that they "are classified as
shepherds, but the present occupation of the majority of them is
cultivation. Their social position is said to be somewhat inferior to
that of the Bants. They employ Brahmins as their priests. In their
ceremonies, the rich follow closely the Brahminical customs. On the
second day of their marriage, a pretence of stealing a jewel from
the person of the bride is made. The bridegroom makes away with the
jewel before dawn, and in the evening the bride's party proceeds to
the house where the bridegroom is to be found. The owner of the house
is told that a theft has occurred in the bride's house and is asked
whether the thief has taken shelter in his house. A negative answer
is given, but the bride's party conducts a regular search. In the
meanwhile a boy is dressed to represent the bridegroom. The searching
party mistake this boy for the bridegroom, arrest him, and produce
him before the audience as the culprit. This disguised bridegroom,
who is proclaimed to be the thief, throws his mask at the bride,
when it is found to the amusement of all present that he is not the
bridegroom. The bride's party then, confessing their inability to find
the bridegroom, request the owner of the house to produce him. He is
then produced, and conducted in procession to the bride's house."
Some Bants who use the title Heggade wear the sacred thread, follow
the hereditary profession of temple functionaries, and are keepers
of the demon shrines which are dotted all over South Canara.
Of the Heggades who have settled in the Coorg country, the
Rev. G. Richter states [164] that "they conform, in superstitions and
festivals, to Coorg custom, but are excluded from the community of the
Coorgs, in whose presence they are allowed to sit only on the floor,
whilst the former occupy a chair, or, if they are seated on a mat,
the Heggades must not touch it." In the Mysore and Coorg Gazetteer,
Heggade is defined by Mr. L. Rice as the headman of a village, the
head of the village police, to whom, in some parts of the Province,
rent-free lands are assigned for his support.
Heggade is sometimes used as a caste name by Kurubas, and occurs as
an exogamous sept of Stanikas.
Hegganiga.--A sub-division of Ganigas, who use two oxen for their
oil-pressing mills.
Helava.--Helava, meaning lame person, is the name of a class of
mendicants, who, in Bellary, Mysore, and other localities, are the
custodians of village histories. They generally arrive at the villages
mounted on a bullock, and with their legs concealed by woollen
blankets. They go from house to house, giving the history of the
different families, the names of heroes who died in war, and so forth.
Hijra (eunuchs).--See Khoja.
Hire (big).--A sub-division of Kurni.
Hittu (flour).--A gotra of Kurni.
Holadava.--A synonym of Gatti.
Holeya.--The bulk of the Holeyas are, in the Madras Presidency, found
in South Canara, but there are a considerable number in Coimbatore and
on the Nilgiris (working on cinchona, tea, and coffee estates). In the
Manual of the South Canara district it is noted that "Holeyas are the
field labourers, and former agrestic serfs of South Canara, Pulayan
being the Malayalam and Paraiyan the Tamil form of the same word. The
name is derived by Brahmins from hole, pollution, and by others from
hola, land or soil, in recognition of the fact that, as in the case of
the Paraiyan, there are customs remaining which seem to indicate that
the Holeyas were once masters of the land; but, whatever the derivation
may be, it is no doubt the same as that of Paraiyan and Pulayan. The
Holeyas are divided into many sub-divisions, but the most important
are Mari, Mera, and Mundala or Bakuda. The Mera Holeyas are the most
numerous, and they follow the ordinary law of inheritance through
males, as far as that can be said to be possible with a class of people
who have absolutely nothing to inherit. Of course, demon propitiation
(bhuta worship) is practically the exclusive idea of the Holeyas,
and every one of the above sub-divisions has four or five demons to
which fowls, beaten rice, cocoanuts and toddy, are offered monthly
and annually. The Holeyas have, like other classes of South Canara, a
number of balis (exogamous septs), and persons of the same bali cannot
intermarry. Though the marriage tie is as loose as is usual among the
depressed and low castes of Southern India, their marriage ceremony is
somewhat elaborate. The bridegroom's party goes to the bride's house
on a fixed day with rice, betel leaf and a few areca nuts, and waits
the whole night outside the bride's hut, the bridegroom being seated
on a mat specially made by the bride. On the next morning the bride
is made to sit opposite the bridegroom, with a winnowing fan between
them filled with betel leaf, etc. Meanwhile the men and women present
throw rice over the heads of the couple. The bride then accompanies
the bridegroom to his hut, carrying the mat with her. On the last day
the couple take the mat to a river or tank where fish may be found,
dip the mat into the water, and catch some fish, which they let go
after kissing them. A grand feast completes the marriage. Divorce is
easy, and widow marriage is freely practiced. Holeyas will eat flesh
including beef, and have no caste scruples regarding the consumption
of spirituous liquor. Both men and women wear a small cap made of
the leaf of the areca palm." The Holeyas who were interviewed by us
all said that they do not go through the ceremony of catching fish,
which is performed by Shivalli Brahmans and Akkasales.
"All Tulu Brahmin chronicles," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes [165] "agree
in ascribing the creation of Malabar and Canara, or Kerala, Tuluva,
and Haiga to Parasu Rama, who reclaimed from the sea as much land as
he could cover by hurling his battle-axe from the top of the Western
Ghauts. A modified form of the tradition states that Parasu Rama
gave the newly reclaimed land to Naga and Machi Brahmins, who were
not true Brahmins, and were turned out or destroyed by fishermen and
Holeyas, who held the country till the Tulu Brahmins were introduced
by Mayur Varma (of the Kadamba dynasty). All traditions unite in
attributing the introduction of the Tulu Brahmins of the present day
to Mayur Varma, but they vary in details connected with the manner
in which they obtained a firm footing in the land. One account says
that Habashika, chief of the Koragas, drove out Mayur Varma, but was
in turn expelled by Mayur Varma's son, or son-in-law, Lokaditya of
Gokarnam, who brought Brahmins from Ahi-Kshetra, and settled them in
thirty-two villages. Another makes Mayur Varma himself the invader
of the country, which till then had remained in the possession of the
Holeyas and fishermen who had turned out Parasu Rama's Brahmins. Mayur
Varma and the Brahmins whom he had brought from Ahi-Kshetra were again
driven out by Nanda, a Holeya chief, whose son Chandra Sayana had,
however, learned respect for Brahmins from his mother, who had been a
dancing-girl in a temple. His admiration for them became so great that
he not only brought back the Brahmins, but actually made over all his
authority to them, and reduced his people to the position of slaves. A
third account makes Chandra Sayana, not a son of a Holeya king,
but a descendant of Mayur Varma and a conqueror of the Holeya king."
In Coorg, the Rev. G. Richter writes, [166] "the Holeyas are found in
the Coorg houses all over the country, and do all the menial work for
the Coorgs, by whom, though theoretically freemen under the British
Government, they were held as gleboe adscripti in a state of abject
servitude until lately, when, with the advent of European planters,
the slave question was freely discussed, and the 'domestic institution'
practically abolished. The Holeyas dress indifferently, are of dirty
habits, and eat whatever they can get, beef included. Their worship
is addressed to Eiyappa Devaru and Chamundi, or Kali goddess once
every month; and once every year they sacrifice a hog or a fowl."
Of the Holeyas of the Mysore province, the following account is given
in the Mysore Census Reports, 1891 and 1901. "The Holeyas number
502,493 persons, being 10.53 per cent. of the total population. They
constitute, as their name implies, the back-bone of cultivation in the
country. Hola is the Kanarese name for a dry-crop field, and Holeya
means the man of such field. The caste has numerous sub-divisions,
among which are Kannada, Gangadikara, Maggada (loom), and Morasu. The
Holeyas are chiefly employed as labourers in connection with
agriculture, and manufacture with hand-looms various kinds of coarse
cloth or home-spun, which are worn extensively by the poorer classes,
notwithstanding that they are being fast supplanted by foreign cheap
fabrics. In some parts of the Mysore district, considerable numbers
of the Holeyas are specially engaged in betel-vine gardening. As
labourers they are employed in innumerable pursuits, in which manual
labour preponderates. The Aleman sub-division furnishes recruits
as Barr sepoys. It may not be amiss to quote here some interesting
facts denoting the measure of material well-being achieved by,
and the religious recognition accorded to the outcastes at certain
first-class shrines in Mysore. At Melkote in the Mysore district,
the outcastes, i.e., the Holeyas and Madigs, are said to have been
granted by the great Visishtadvaita reformer, Ramanujacharya, the
privilege of entering the Vishnu temple up to the sanctum sanctorum,
along with Brahmans and others, to perform worship there for three days
during the annual car procession. The following anecdote, recorded by
Buchanan, [167] supplies the raison d'être for the concession, which
is said to have also been earned by their forebears having guarded the
sacred murti or idol. On Ramanujacharya going to Melkota to perform
his devotions at that celebrated shrine, he was informed that the
place had been attacked by the Turk King of Delhi, who had carried
away the idol. The Brahman immediately set out for that capital, and
on arrival found that the King had made a present of the image to his
daughter, for it is said to be very handsome, and she asked for it
as a plaything. All day the princess played with the image, and at
night the god assumed his own beautiful form, and enjoyed her bed,
for Krishna is addicted to such forms of adventures. Ramanujacharya,
by virtue of certain mantras, obtained possession of the image,
and wished to carry it off. He asked the Brahmans to assist him,
but they refused; on which the Holeyas volunteered, provided the
right of entering the temple was granted to them. Ramanujacharya
accepted their proposal, and the Holeyas, having posted themselves
between Delhi and Melkota, the image of the god was carried down in
twenty-four hours. The service also won for the outcastes the envied
title of Tiru-kulam or the sacred race. In 1799, however, when the
Dewan (prime minister) Purnaiya visited the holy place, the right of
the outcastes to enter the temple was stopped at the dhvaja stambham,
the consecrated monolithic column, from which point alone can they
now obtain a view of the god. On the day of the car procession, the
Tiru-kulam people, men, women and children, shave their heads and
bathe with the higher castes in the kalyani or large reservoir, and
carry on their head small earthen vessels filled with rice and oil,
and enter the temple as far as the flagstaff referred to above, where
they deliver their offerings, which are appropriated by the Dasayyas,
who resort simultaneously as pilgrims to the shrine. Besides the
privilege of entering the temple, the Tiru-kula Holeyas and Madigs
have the right to drag the car, for which service they are requited by
getting from the temple two hundred seers of ragi (grain), a quantity
of jaggery (crude sugar), and few bits of the dyed cloth used for
decorating the pandal (shed) which is erected for the procession. At
the close of the procession, the representatives of the aforesaid
classes receive each a flower garland at the hands of the Sthanik or
chief worshipper, who manages to drop a garland synchronously into
each plate held by the recipients, so as to avoid any suspicion of
undue preference. In return for these privileges, the members of the
Tiru-kulam used to render gratuitous services such as sweeping the
streets round the temple daily, and in the night patrolling the whole
place with drums during the continuance of the annual procession,
etc. But these services are said to have become much abridged and
nearly obsolete under the recent police and municipal régime. The
privilege of entering the temple during the annual car procession
is enjoyed also by the outcastes in the Vishnu temple at Belur in
the Hassan district. It is, however, significant that in both the
shrines, as soon as the car festival is over, i.e., on the 10th day,
the concession ceases, and the temples are ceremonially purified.
"In the pre-survey period, the Holeya or Madig Kulvadi, in the maidan
or eastern division, was so closely identified with the soil that his
oath, accompanied by certain formalities and awe-inspiring solemnities,
was considered to give the coup de grâce to long existing and vexatious
boundary disputes. He had a potential voice in the internal economy
of the village, and was often the fidus Achates of the patel (village
official). In the malnad, however, the Holeya had degenerated into the
agrestic slave, and till a few decades ago under the British rule,
not only as regards his property, but also with regard to his body,
he was not his own master. The vargdar or landholder owned him as
a hereditary slave. The genius of British rule has emancipated him,
and his enfranchisement has been emphasized by the allurements of the
coffee industry with its free labour and higher wages. It is, however,
said that the improvement so far of the status of the outcastes in
the malnad has not been an unmixed good, inasmuch as it is likewise
a measure of the decadence of the supari (betel) gardens. Be that as
it may, the Holeya in the far west of the province still continues
in many respects the bondsman of the local landholder of influence;
and some of the social customs now prevailing among the Holeyas there,
as described hereunder, fully bear out this fact.
"In most of the purely malnad or hilly taluks, each vargdar, or
proprietor of landed estate, owns a set of servants called Huttalu
or Huttu-Alu and Mannalu or Mannu-Alu. The former is the hereditary
servitor of the family, born in servitude, and performing agricultural
work for the landholder from father to son. The Mannalu is a serf
attached to the soil, and changes with it. These are usually of the
Holeya class, but in some places men of the Hasalar race have been
entertained. To some estates or vargs only Huttu-alus are attached,
while Mannu-alus work on others. Notwithstanding the measure of
personal freedom enjoyed by all men at the present time, and the
unification of the land tenures in the province under the revenue
survey and settlement, the traditions of birth, immemorial custom,
ignorance, and never-to-be-paid-off loads of debt, tend to preserve
in greater or less integrity the conditions of semi-slavery under
which these agrestic slaves live. It is locally considered the acme
of unwisdom to loosen the immemorial relations between capital and
labour, especially in the remote backwoods, in which free labour
does not exist, and the rich supari cultivation whereof would be
ruined otherwise. In order furthermore to rivet the ties which bind
these hereditary labourers to the soil, it is alleged that the local
capitalists have improvised a kind of Gretna Green marriage among
them. A legal marriage of the orthodox type contains the risk of a
female servant being lost to the family in case the husband happened
not to be a Huttalu or Mannalu. So, in order to obviate the possible
loss, a custom prevails according to which a female Huttalu or
Mannalu is espoused in what is locally known as the manikattu form,
which is neither more nor less than licensed concubinage. She may
be given up after a time, subject to a small fine to the caste, and
anybody else may then espouse her on like conditions. Not only does
she then remain in the family, but her children will also become the
landlord's servants. These people are paid with a daily supply of
paddy or cooked food, and a yearly present of clothing and blankets
(kamblis). On special occasions, and at car feasts, they receive in
addition small money allowances.
"In rural circles, in which the Holeyas and Madigs are kept at arm's
length by the Bramanical bodies, and are not allowed to approach
the sacerdotal classes beyond a fixed limit, the outcastes maintain
a strict semi-religious rule, whereby no Brahman can enter the
Holeya's quarters without necessitating a purification thereof. They
believe that the direst calamities will befall them and theirs if
otherwise. The ultraconservative spirit of Hindu priestcraft casts
into the far distance the realization of the hope that the lower
castes will become socially equal even with the classes usually termed
Sudras. But the time is looming in the near distance, in which they
will be on a level in temporal prosperity with the social organisms
above them. Unlike the land tenures said to prevail in Chingleput
or Madras, the Mysore system fully permits the Holeyas and Madigs
to hold land in their own right, and as sub-tenants they are to be
found almost everywhere. The highest amount of land assessment paid
by a single Holeya is Rs. 279 in the Bangalore district, and the
lowest six pies in the Kolar and Mysore districts. The quota paid by
the outcastes towards the land revenue of the country aggregates no
less than three lakhs of rupees, more than two-thirds being paid by
the Holeyas, and the remainder by the Madigs. These facts speak for
themselves, and afford a reliable index to the comparative well-being
of these people. Instances may also be readily quoted, in which
individual Holeyas, etc., have risen to be money-lenders, and enjoy
comparative affluence. Coffee cultivation and allied industries have
thrown much good fortune into their lap. Here and there they have also
established bhajane or prayer houses, in which theistic prayers and
psalms are recited by periodical congregation. A beginning has been
made towards placing the facilities of education within easy reach
of these depressed classes."
In connection with the Holeyas of South Canara, it is recorded [168]
that "the ordinary agricultural labourers of this district are Holeyas
or Pariahs of two classes, known as Mulada Holeyas and Salada Holeyas,
the former being the old hereditary serfs attached to Muli wargs
(estates), and the latter labourers bound to their masters' service by
being in debt to them. Nowadays, however, there is a little difference
between the two classes. Neither are much given to changing masters,
and, though a Mulada Holeya is no longer a slave, he is usually as much
in debt as a Salada Holeya, and can only change when his new master
takes the debt over. To these labourers cash payments are unknown,
except occasionally in the case of Salada Holeyas, where there is a
nominal annual payment to be set off against interest on the debt. In
other cases interest is foregone, one or other of the perquisites
being sometimes docked as an equivalent. The grain wage consists of
rice or paddy (unhusked rice), and the local seer is, on the average,
as nearly as possible one of 80 tolas. The daily rice payments to men,
women, and children vary as follows:--
Men from 1 seer to 2 seers.
Women from 2/3 seer to 2 seers.
Children from 3/8 seer to 1 seer.
"In addition to the daily wages, and the midday meal of boiled rice
which is given in almost all parts, there are annual perquisites or
privileges. Except on the coast of the Mangalore taluk and in the
Coondapoor taluk, every Holeya is allowed rent free from 1/8 to 1/3
acre of land, and one or two cocoanut or palmyra trees, with sometimes
a jack or mango tree in addition. The money-value of the produce of
this little allotment is variously estimated at from 1 to 5 rupees
per annum. Throughout the whole district, cloths are given every
year to each labourer, the money value being estimated at 1 rupee per
adult, and 6 annas for a child. It is also customary to give a cumbly
(blanket) in the neighbourhood of the ghauts, where the damp and cold
render a warm covering necessary. On three or four important festivals,
presents of rice and other eatables, oil and salt are given to each
labourer, or, in some cases, to each family. The average value of these
may be taken at 1 rupee per labourer, or Rs. 4 per family. Presents
are also made on the occasion of a birth, marriage, or funeral, the
value of which varies very much in individual cases. Whole families
of Holeyas are attached to the farms, but, when their master does not
require their services, he expects them to go and work elsewhere in
places where such work is to be got. In the interior, outside work is
not to be had at many seasons, and the master has to pay them even if
there is not much for them to do, but, one way or another, he usually
manages to keep them pretty well employed all the year round."
In a note on the Kulwadis, Kulvadis or Chalavadis of the Hassan
district in Mysore, Captain J. S. F. Mackenzie writes [169] that
"every village has its Holigiri--as the quarter inhabited by the
Holiars is called--outside the village boundary hedge. This, I thought,
was because they are considered an impure race, whose touch carries
defilement with it. Such is the reason generally given by the Brahman,
who refuses to receive anything directly from the hands of a Holiar,
and yet the Brahmans consider great luck will wait upon them if they
can manage to pass through the Holigiri without being molested. To this
the Holiars have a strong objection, and, should a Brahman attempt
to enter their quarters, they turn out in a body and slipper him,
in former times it is said to death. Members of the other castes may
come as far as the door, but they must not enter the house, for that
would bring the Holiar bad luck. If, by chance, a person happens to
get in, the owner takes care to tear the intruder's cloth, tie up
some salt in one corner of it, and turn him out. This is supposed
to neutralize all the good luck which might have accrued to the
trespasser, and avert any evil which might have befallen the owner of
the house. All the thousand-and-one castes, whose members find a home
in the village, unhesitatingly admit that the Kulwadi is de jure the
rightful owner of the village. He who was is still, in a limited sense,
'lord of the village manor.' If there is a dispute as to the village
boundaries, the Kulwadi is the only one competent to take the oath as
to how the boundary ought to run. The old custom for settling such
disputes was as follows. The Kulwadi, carrying on his head a ball
made of the village earth, in the centre of which is placed some
water, passes along the boundary. If he has kept the proper line,
everything goes well; but should he, by accident, even go beyond
his own proper boundary, then the ball of earth, of its own accord,
goes to pieces, the Kulwadi dies within fifteen days, and his house
becomes a ruin. Such is the popular belief. Again, the skins of all
animals dying within the village boundaries are the property of the
Kulwadi, and a good income he makes from this source. To this day a
village boundary dispute is often decided by this one fact. If the
Kulwadis agree, the other inhabitants of the villages can say no
more. When--in our forefathers' days, as the natives say--a village
was first established, a stone called 'karu kallu' is set up. To this
stone the Patel once a year makes an offering. The Kulwadi, after the
ceremony is over, is entitled to carry off the rice, etc., offered. In
cases where there is no Patel, the Kulwadi goes through the yearly
ceremony. But what I think proves strongly that the Holia was the
first to take possession of the soil is that the Kulwadi receives,
and is entitled to receive, from the friends of any person who dies
in the village, a certain fee or as my informant forcibly put it,
'They buy from him the ground for the dead.' This fee is still called
in Canarese nela haga, from nela earth, and haga, a coin worth 1
anna 2 pies. In Munzerabad the Kulwadi does not receive this fee
from those ryots who are related to the headman. Here the Kulwadi
occupies a higher position. He has, in fact, been adopted into the
Patel's family, for, on a death occurring in such family, the Kulwadi
goes into mourning by shaving his head. He always receives from the
friends the clothes the deceased wore, and a brass basin. The Kulwadi,
however, owns a superior in the matter of burial fees. He pays yearly
a fowl, one hana (4 annas 8 pies), and a handful of rice to the agent
of the Sudgadu Siddha, or lord of the burning ground (q.v.)."
A Kulwadi, whom I came across, was carrying a brass ladle bearing the
figure of a couchant bull (Basava) and a lingam under a many-headed
cobra canopy. This ladle is carried round, and filled with rice, money,
and betel, on the occasion of marriages in those castes, of which the
insignia are engraved on the handle. These insignia were as follows:--
Weavers--Shuttle and brush.
Bestha--Fish.
Uppara--Spade and basket for collecting salt.
Korama--Baskets and knife for splitting canes and bamboos.
Idiga--Knife, and apparatus for climbing palm-trees.
Hajam--Barber's scissors, razor, and sharpening stone.
Ganiga--Oil-press.
Madavali--Washerman's pot, fire-place, mallet, and stone.
Kumbara--Potter's wheel, pots, and mallet.
Vakkaliga--Plough.
Chetti--Scales and basket.
Kuruba--Sheep-shears.
A small whistle, called kola-singanatha, made of gold, silver, or
copper, is tied round the neck of some Holeyas, Vakkaligas, Besthas,
Agasas and Kurubas, by means of threads of sheep's wool intertwined
sixteen times. All these castes are supposed to belong to the family
of the God Bhaira, in whose name the whistle is tied by a Bairagi at
Chunchingiri near Nagamangala. It is usually tied in fulfilment of
a vow taken by the parents, and the ceremony costs from a hundred to
two hundred rupees. Until the vow is fulfilled, the person concerned
cannot marry. At the ceremony, the Bairagi bores a hole in the right
ear-lobe of the celebrant with a needle called diksha churi, and from
the wound ten drops of blood fall to the ground (cf. Jogi Purusha). He
is then bathed before the whistle is tied round his neck. As the result
of wearing the whistle, the man attains to the rank of a priest in
his caste, and is entitled to receive alms and meals on festive and
ceremonial occasions. He blows his whistle, which emits a thin squeak,
before partaking of food, or performing his daily worship.
It is noted in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, that the marriage of the
Holeyas is "nothing but a feast, at which the bridegroom ties the bottu
(marriage badge) round the bride's neck. The wife cannot be divorced
except for adultery. Widows are prohibited from remarrying, but the
caste winks at a widow's living with a man." In an account given to
me of marriage among the Gangadikara Holeyas, I was told that, if a
girl reaches puberty without being married, she may live with any man
whom she likes within the caste. If he pays later on the bride price
of twelve rupees, the marriage ceremonies take place, and the issue
becomes legitimate. On the first day of these ceremonies, the bride
is taken to the house of her husband-elect. The parties of the bride
and bridegroom go, accompanied by music, to a river or tank, each with
four new earthen pots, rice, betel, and other things. The pots, which
are decorated with flowers of the areca palm, are filled with water,
and set apart in the houses of the contracting couple. This ceremonial
is known as bringing the god. At night the wrist-threads (kankanam),
made of black and white wool, with turmeric root and iron ring tied
on them, are placed round the wrists of the bride and bridegroom. On
the following day, cotton thread is passed round the necks of three
brass vessels, and also round the head of the bridegroom, who sits
before the vessels with hands folded, and betel leaves stuck between
his fingers. Married women anoint him with oil and turmeric, and he
is bathed. He is then made to stand beneath a tree, and a twig of the
jambu (Eugenia Jambolana) tree is tied to the milk-post. A similar
ceremony is performed by the bride. The bridegroom is conducted to
the marriage booth, and he and the bride exchange garlands and put
gingelly (Sesamum) and jirige (cummin) on each other's heads. The
bottu is passed round to be blessed, and tied by the bridegroom on
the bride's neck. This is followed by the pouring of milk over the
hands of the contracting couple. On the third day, the wrist-threads
are removed, and the pots thrown away.
The Holeyas have a large number of exogamous septs, of which the
following are examples:--
Ane, elephant. Hasubu, pack-sack.
Male, garland. Malige, jasmine.
Nerali, Eugenia Jambolana. Tene, Setaria italica.
Hutta, ant-hill. Chatri, umbrella.
Halu, milk. Mola, hare.
Kavane, sling. Jenu, honey.
It is recorded in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, that "351 out of
the entire population of 577,166 have returned gotras, the names
thereof being Harichandra, Kali, Yekke, and Karadi. In thus doing,
it is evident that they are learning to venerate themselves, like
others in admittedly higher grades of society."
Some Holeya families are called Hale Makkalu, or old children of the
Gangadikara Vakkaligas, and have to do certain services for the latter,
such as carrying the sandals of the bridegroom, acting as messenger
in conveying news from place to place, carrying fire before corpses
to the burning-ground, and watching over the burning body. It is said
that, in the performance of these duties, the exogamous septs of the
Holeya and Vakkaliga must coincide.
In the Census Report, 1901, Balagai, Bakuda, Begara or Byagara,
Kusa (or Uppara) Maila, and Ranivaya (belonging to a queen) are
recorded as sub-sects of the Holeyas. Of these, Balagai is a synonym,
indicating that the Holeyas belong to the right-hand section. The
Bakudas are said to resent the application of that name to them, and
call themselves Aipattukuladavaru, or the people of fifty families,
presumably from the fact that they are divided into fifty balis or
families. These balis are said to be named after deceased female
ancestors. Begara or Byagara is a synonym, applied to the Holeyas
by Kanarese Lingayats. Maila means dirt, and probably refers to the
washerman section, just as Mailari (washerman) occurs among the Malas.
The Tulu-speaking Holeyas must not be confounded with the
Canarese-speaking Holeyas. In South Canara, Holeya is a general name
applied to the polluting classes, Nalkes, Koragas, and the three
divisions of Holeyas proper, which differ widely from each other in
some respects. These divisions are--
(1) Bakuda or Mundala--A stranger, asking a woman if her husband
is at home, is expected to refer to him as her Bakuda, and
not as her Mundala.
(2) Mera or Mugayaru, which is also called Kaipuda.
(3) Mari or Marimanisaru.
Of these, the first two sections abstain from beef, and consequently
consider themselves superior to the Mari section.
The Bakudas follow the aliya santana law of succession (in the female
line), and, if a man leaves any property, it goes to his nephew. They
will not touch dead cows or calves, or remove the placenta when a
cow calves. Nor will they touch leather, especially in the form of
shoes. They will not carry cots on which rice sheaves are thrashed,
chairs, etc., which have four legs, but, when ordered to do so, either
break off one leg, or add an extra leg by tying a stick to the cot
or chair. The women always wear their cloth in one piece, and are
not allowed, like other Holeyas, to have it made of two pieces. The
Bakudas will not eat food prepared or touched by Bilimaggas, Jadas,
Paravas or Nalkes. The headman is called Mukhari. The office is
hereditary, and, in some places, is, as with the Guttinaya of the
Bants, connected with his house-site. This being fixed, he should
remain at that house, or his appointment will lapse, except with the
general consent of the community to his retaining it. In some places,
the Mukhari has two assistants, called Jammana and Bondari, of whom
the latter has to distribute toddy at assemblies of the caste. On all
ceremonial occasions, the Mukhari has to be treated with great respect,
and even an individual who gets possessed by the bhutha (devil)
has to touch him with his kadasale (sword). In cases of adultery,
a purificatory ceremony, called gudi suddha, is performed. The erring
woman's relations construct seven small huts, through which she has to
pass, and they are burned down. The fact of this purificatory ceremony
taking place is usually proclaimed by the Bondari, and the saying is
that 280 people should assemble. They sprinkle water brought from a
temple or sthana (devil shrine) and cow's urine over the woman just
before she passes through the huts. A small quantity of hair from her
head, a few hairs from the eyelids, and nails from her fingers are
thrown into the huts. In some places, the delinquent has to drink a
considerable quantity of salt-water and cow-dung water.
Her relatives have to pay a small money fine to the village deity. The
ordeal of passing through huts is also practiced by the Koragas of
South Canara. "The suggestion," Mr. R. E. Enthoven writes, "seems
to be a rapid representation of seven existences, the outcaste
regaining his (or her) status after seven generations have passed
without further transgression. The parallel suggested is the law of
Manu that seven generations are necessary to efface a lapse from the
law of endogamous marriage."
The special bhuthas of the Bakudas are Kodababbu and Kamberlu (or
Kangilu), but Jumadi, Panjurli, and Tanimaniya are also occasionally
worshipped. For the propitiation of Kodababbu, Nalkes are engaged
to put on the disguise of this bhutha, whereas Bakudas themselves
dress up for the propitiation of Kamberlu in cocoanut leaves tied
round the head and waist. Thus disguised, they go about the streets
periodically, collecting alms from door to door. Kamberlu is supposed
to cause small-pox, cholera, and other epidemic diseases.
On the day fixed for the betrothal ceremony, among the Bakudas, a
few people assemble at the home of the bride-elect, and the Mukharis
of both parties exchange betel or beat the palms of their hands,
and proclaim that all quarrels must cease, and the marriage is
to be celebrated. Toddy is distributed among those assembled. The
bride's party visit the parents of the bridegroom, and receive then
or subsequently a white cloth, four rupees, and three bundles of
rice. On the wedding day, those who are present seat themselves in
front of the house where the ceremony is to take place, and are given
betel to chew. A new mat is spread, and the bride and bridegroom
stand thereon. If there is a Kodababbu sthana in the vicinity, the
jewels belonging thereto are worn by the bridegroom, who also wears
a red cap, which is usually kept in the sthana, and carries in his
hand the sword (kadasale) belonging thereto. The Mukhari or Jammana
asks if the five groups of people, from Barkur, Mangalore, Shivalli,
Chithpadi, Mudanidambur, and Udayavara, are present. Five men come
forward, and announce that this is so, and say "all relationship
involving prohibited degrees may snap, and cease to exist." A tray of
rice and a lamp are placed before the contracting couple, and those
present throw rice over their heads. All then go to the toddy shop,
and have a drink. They then return to the house and partake of a meal,
at which the bridegroom and his bestman (maternal uncle's son) are
seated apart. Cooked rice is heaped up on a leaf before the bridegroom,
and five piles of fish curry are placed thereon. First the bridegroom
eats a portion thereof, and the remainder is finished off by the
bestman. The bridal couple then stand once more on the mat, and the
Mukhari joins their hands, saying "No unlawful marriage should take
place. Prohibited relationship must be avoided." He sprinkles water
from culms of Cynodon Dactylon over the united hands.
The body of a dead Bakuda is washed with hot water, in which mango
(Mangifera indica) bark is steeped. The dead are buried. The day for
the final death ceremonies (bojja) is usually fixed by the Mukhari
or Jammana. On that day, cooked food is offered to the deceased, and
all cry "muriyo, muriyo." The son, after being shaved, and with his
face veiled by a cloth, carries cooked rice on his head to a small
hut erected for the occasion. The food is set down, and all present
throw some of it into the hut.
The Mera or Mugayar Holeyas, like the Bakudas, abstain from eating
beef, and refuse to touch leather in any form. They have no objection
to carrying four-legged articles. Though their mother tongue is Tulu,
they seem to follow the makkala santana law of inheritance (in the male
line). Their headman is entitled Kuruneru, and he has, as the badge
of office, a cane with a silver band. The office of headman passes to
the son instead of to the nephew. Marriage is called Badathana, and
the details of the ceremony are like those of the Mari Holeyas. The
dead are buried, and the final death ceremonies (bojja or savu) are
performed on the twelfth or sixteenth day. A feast is given to some
members of the community, and cooked food offered to the deceased at
the house and near the grave.
The Mari or Marimanisaru Holeyas are sometimes called Karadhi
by the Bakudas. Like certain Malayalam castes, the Holeyas have
distinct names for their homes according to the section. Thus,
the huts of the Mari Holeyas are called kelu, and those of the
Mera Holeyas patta. The headmen among the Mari Holeyas are called
Mulia, Boltiyadi, and Kallali. The office of headman follows in
the female line of succession. In addition to various bhuthas, such
as Panjurli and Jumadi, the Mari Holeyas have two special bhuthas,
named Kattadhe and Kanadhe, whom they regard as their ancestors. At
times of festivals, these ancestors are supposed to descend on earth,
and make their presence known by taking possession of some member
of the community. Men who are liable to be so possessed are called
Dharipuneyi, and have the privilege of taking up the sword and bell
belonging to the bhuthasthana when under possession.
Marriage among the Mari Holeyas is called porathavu. At the betrothal
ceremony, the headmen of the contracting parties exchange betel leaves
and areca nuts. The bride-price usually consists of two bundles of
rice and a bundle of paddy (unhusked rice). On the wedding day the
bridegroom and his party go to the home of the bride, taking with
them a basket containing five seers of rice, two metal bangles, one
or two cocoanuts, a comb, and a white woman's cloth, which are shown
to the headman of the bride's party. The two headmen order betel leaf
and areca nuts to be distributed among those assembled. After a meal,
a mat is spread in front of the hut, and the bride and bridegroom stand
thereon. The bridegroom has in his hand a sword, and the bride holds
some betel leaves and areca nuts. Rice is thrown over their heads,
and presents of money are given to them. The two headmen lift up the
hands of the contracting couple, and they are joined together. The
bride is lifted up so as to be a little higher than the bridegroom,
and is taken indoors. The bridegroom follows her, but is prevented
from entering by his brother-in-law, to whom he gives betel leaves
and areca nuts. He then makes a forcible entrance into the hut.
When a Mari Holeya girl reaches puberty, she is expected to remain
within a hut for twelve days, at the end of which time the castemen
are invited to a feast. The girl is seated on a pattern drawn on the
floor. At the four corners thereof, vessels filled with water are
placed. The girl's mother holds over her head a plantain leaf, and
four women belonging to different balis (septs) pour water thereon
from the vessels. These women and the girl then sit down to a meal,
and eat off the same leaf.
Among the Mari Holeyas, the dead are usually buried, and the final
death ceremonies are performed on the twelfth day. A pit is dug near
the grave, into which an image of the deceased, made of rice straw,
is put. The image is set on fire by his son or nephew. The ashes are
heaped up, and a rude hut is erected round them by fixing three sticks
in the ground, and covering them with a cloth. Food is offered on a
leaf, and the dead person is asked to eat it.
The Kusa Holeyas speak Canarese. They object to carrying articles
with four legs, unless the legs are crossed. They do not eat beef,
and will not touch leather. They consider themselves to be superior
to the other sections of Holeyas, and use as an argument that their
caste name is Uppara, and not Holeya. Why they are called Uppara
is not clear, but some say that they are the same as the Upparas
(salt workers) of Mysore, who, in South Canara, have descended in
the social scale. The hereditary occupation of the Upparas is making
salt from salt earth (ku, earth). The headman of the Kusa Holeyas
is called Buddivant. As they are disciples of a Lingayat priest at
the mutt at Kudli in Mysore, they are Saivites. Every family has to
pay the priest a fee of eight annas on the occasion of his periodical
visitations. The bhuthas specially worshipped by the Kusa Holeyas are
Masti and Halemanedeyya, but Venkataramana of Tirupati is by some
regarded as their family deity. Marriage is both infant and adult,
and widows are permitted to remarry, if they have no children.
At Tumkur, in the Mysore Province, I came across a settlement of people
called Tigala Holeya, who do not intermarry with other Holeyas, and
have no exogamous septs or house-names. Their cranial measurements
approach more nearly to those of the dolichocephalic Tamil Paraiyans
than those of the sub-brachycephalic Holeyas; and it is possible
that they are Tamil Paraiyans, who migrated, at some distant date,
to Mysore.
==================+============+===========+=========
---- | Cephalic | Cephalic | Cephalic
| length. | breadth. | index.
------------------+------------+-----------+---------
| cm. | cm. |
| | |
Tamil Paraiyan | 18.6 | 13.7 | 73.6
Tigala Holeya | 18.5 | 13.9 | 75.1
Holeya | 17.9 | 14.1 | 79.1
==================+============+===========+=========
Holodia Gudiya.--A name for the agricultural section of the Oriya
Gudiyas.
Holuva (holo, plough).--A synonym of Pentiya, and the name of a
section of Oriya Brahmans, who plough the land.
Hon.--Hon, Honnu, and Honne, meaning gold, have been recorded as
gotras or exogamous septs of Kurni, Odde, and Kuruba.
Honne (Calophyllum inophyllum or Pterocarpus Marsupium).--An exogamous
sept of Halepaik and Moger. The Halepaiks sometimes call the sept
Sura Honne.
Honnungara (gold ring).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba.
Huli (tiger).--An exogamous sub-sept of Kappiliyan.
Hullu (grass).--A gotra of Kurni.
Hunise (tamarind).--An exogamous sub-sept of Kappiliyan.
Hutta (ant-hill).--An exogamous sept of Gangadikara Holeya.
Huvvina (flowers).--An exogamous sept of Odde and Vakkaliga.
I
Ichcham (date-palm: Phoenix sylvestris).--Ichcham or Ichanjanar is
recorded, in the Tanjore Manual, as a section of Shanan. The equivalent
Ichang occurs as a tree or kothu of Kondaiyankottai Maravans.
Idacheri.--An occupational name for a section of Nayars, who make
and sell dairy produce. The word corresponds to Idaiyan in the Tamil
country.
Idaiyan.--The Idaiyans are the great pastoral or shepherd caste of the
Tamil country, but some are landowners, and a few are in Government
employ. Those whom I examined at Coimbatore were engaged as milkmen,
shepherds, cultivators, gardeners, cart-drivers, shopkeepers,
constables, family doctors, and mendicants.
It is recorded in the Tanjore Manual that "the Rev. Mr. Pope says that
Ideir are so-called from idei, middle, being a kind of intermediate
link between the farmers and merchants." Mr. Nelson [170] considers
this derivation to be fanciful, and thinks that "perhaps they are so
called from originally inhabiting the lands which lay midway between
the hills and the arable lands, the jungly plains, suited for pasturage
[i.e., the middle land out of the five groups of land mentioned in
Tamil works, viz., Kurinji, Palai, Mullai, Marutam, Neytal]. [171]
The class consists of several clans, but they may be broadly divided
into two sections, the one more thoroughly organised, the other
retaining most of the essential characteristics of an aboriginal
race. The first section follow the Vaishnava sect, wear the namam,
and call themselves Yadavas. Those belonging to the second section
stick to their demon worship, and make no pretensions to a descent from
the Yadava race. They daub their foreheads with the sacred cow-dung
ashes, and are regarded, apparently from this circumstance alone,
to belong to the Saiva sect."
In the Madras Census Report, 1871, it is noted that milkmen and
cowherds appear to hold a social position of some importance,
and even Brahmans do not disdain to drink milk or curds from their
hands. Further, the Census Superintendent, 1901, writes that "the
Idaiyans take a higher social position than they would otherwise do,
owing to the tradition that Krishna was brought up by their caste, and
to the fact that they are the only purveyors of milk, ghi (clarified
butter), etc., and so are indispensable to the community. All Brahmans,
except the most orthodox, will accordingly eat butter-milk and butter
brought by them. In some places they have the privilege of breaking
the butter-pot on the Gokulashtami, or Krishna's birthday, and get
a new cloth and some money for doing it. They will eat in the houses
of Vellalas, Pallis, and Nattamans."
The Idaiyans claim that Timma Raja, the prime minister of Krishna
Deva Raya of Vijayanagar, who executed various works in the Chingleput
district, was an Idaiyan by caste.
The Idaiyans have returned a large number of divisions, of which the
following may be noted:--
Kalkatti and Pasi. The women, contrary to the usual Tamil custom,
have black beads in their tali-string. The practice is apparently
due to the influence of Telugu Brahman purohits, as various Telugu
castes have glass beads along with the bottu (marriage badge). In
like manner, the married Pandamutti Palli women wear a necklace of
black beads. According to a legend, pasi is a pebble found in rivers,
from which beads are made. A giant came to kill Krishna when he was
playing with the shepherd boys on the banks of a river. He fought
the giant with these pebbles, and killed him.
Pal, milk. Corresponds to the Halu (milk) division of the Canarese
Kuruba shepherd caste.
Pendukkumekki, denoting those who are subservient to their women. A
man, on marriage, joins his wife's family, and he succeeds to the
property, not of his father, but of his father-in-law.
Siviyan or Sivala. An occupational name, meaning palanquin-bearer.
Sangukatti, or those who tie the conch or chank shell (Turbinella
rapa). It is narrated that Krishna wanted to marry Rukmani, whose
family insisted on marrying her to Sishupalan. When the wedding was
about to take place, Krishna carried off Rukmani, and placed a bangle
made of chank shell on her wrist.
Samban, a name of Siva. Most members of this division put on the
sacred ashes as a sectarian mark. It is said that the Yadavas were in
the habit of making offerings to Devendra, but Krishna wanted them
to worship him. With the exception of a few Yadavas and Paraiyans
who were also employed in grazing cattle, all the shepherds refused
to do so. It is stated that "in ancient times, men of the Idaiyan
caste ranked only a little above Paraiyans, and that the Idaicheri,
or Idaiyan suburb, was always situated close to the Paraicheri,
or Paraiyan's suburb, in every properly constituted village." [172]
Pudunattu or Puthukkanattar, meaning people of the new country. The
Idaiyans claim that, when Krishna settled in Kishkindha, he peopled
it with members of their caste.
Perun (big) Tali, and Siru (small) Tali, indicating those whose
married women wear a large or small tali.
Panjaram or Pancharamkatti. The name is derived from the peculiar
gold ornament called panjaram or pancharam shaped like a many-rayed
sun, and having three dots on it, which is worn by widows. It is
said that in this division "widow marriage is commonly practiced,
because Krishna used to place a similar ornament round the necks of
the Idaiyan widows of whom he became enamoured, to transform them
from widows into married women, to whom pleasure was not forbidden,
and that this sub-division is the result of these amours." [173]
Maniyakkara. Derived from mani, a bell, such as is tied round the
necks of cattle, sheep and goats.
Kalla. Most numerous in the area inhabited by the Kallan
caste. Possibly an offshoot of this caste, composed of those who
have taken to the occupation of shepherds. Like the Kallans, this
sub-division has exogamous septs or kilais, e.g., Deva (god), Vendhan
(king).
Sholia. Territorial name denoting inhabitants of the Chola country.
Anaikombu, or elephant tusk, which was the weapon used by Krishna
and the Yadavas to kill the giant Sakatasura.
Karutthakadu, black cotton country. A sub-division found mostly in
Madura and Tinnevelly, where there is a considerable tract of black
cotton soil.
The Perumal Madukkarans or Perumal Erudukkarans (see Gangeddu), who
travel about the country exhibiting performing bulls, are said to
belong to the Pu (flower) Idaiyan section of the Idaiyan caste. This
is so named because the primary occupation thereof was, and in some
places still is, making garlands for temples.
In the Gazetteer of the Madura district, it is recorded that "Podunattu
(Pudunattu?) Idaiyans have a tradition that they originally belonged
to Tinnevelly, but fled to this district secretly one night in a body
in the time of Tirumala Nayakkan, because the local chief oppressed
them. Tirumala welcomed them, and put them under the care of the
Kallan headman Pinnai Devan, decreeing that, to ensure that this
gentleman and his successors faithfully observed the charge, they
should always be appointed by an Idaiyan. That condition is observed
to this day. In this sub-division a man has the same right to marry
his paternal aunt's daughter as is possessed by the Kallans. But,
if the woman's age is much greater than the boy's, she is usually
married instead to his cousin, or some one else on that side of the
family. A Brahman officiates at weddings, and the sacred fire is used,
but the bridegroom's sister ties the tali (marriage badge). Divorce
and the remarriage of widows are prohibited. The dead, except
infants, are burnt. Caste affairs are settled by a headman called
the Nattanmaikaran, who is assisted by an accountant and a peon. All
three are elected. The headman has the management of the caste fund,
which is utilised in the celebration of festivals on certain days in
some of the larger temples of the district. Among these Podunattus,
an uncommon rule of inheritance is in force. A woman who has no male
issue at the time of her husband's death has to return his property to
his brother, father, or maternal uncle, but is allotted maintenance,
the amount of which is fixed by a caste panchayat (council). Among the
Valasu and Pendukkumekki sub-divisions, another odd form of maintenance
subsists. A man's property descends to his sons-in-law, who live with
him, and not to his sons. The sons merely get maintenance until they
are married."
In the Madras Census Report, 1901, Pondan or Pogandan is recorded as
a sub-caste of Idaiyans, who are palanquin-bearers to the Zamorin
of Calicut. In this connection, it is noted by Mr. K. Kannan Nayar
[174] that "among the Konar (cowherds) of Poondurai near Erode (in the
Coimbatore district), who, according to tradition, originally belonged
to the same tribe as the Gopas living in the southern part of Kerala,
and now forming a section of the Nayars, the former matrimonial
customs were exactly the same as those of the Nayars. They, too,
celebrated tali-kettu kalyanam, and, like the Nayars, did not make
it binding on the bride and bridegroom of the ceremony to live as
husband and wife. They have now, however, abandoned the custom,
and have made the tying of the tali the actual marriage ceremony."
The typical panchayat (village council) system exists among the
Idaiyans, and the only distinguishing feature is the existence of a
headman, called Kithari or Kilari, whose business it is to look after
the sheep of the village, to arrange for penning them in the fields. In
some places the headman is called Ambalakkaran. In bygone days,
those who were convicted of adultery were tied to a post, and beaten.
In some places, when a girl reaches puberty, her maternal uncle, or
his sons, build a hut with green cocoanut leaves, which she occupies
for sixteen days, when purificatory ceremonies are performed.
The marriage ceremonies vary according to locality, and the following
details of one form therefore, as carried out at Coimbatore, may be
cited. When a marriage between two persons is contemplated, a red and
white flower, tied up in separate betel leaves, are thrown before the
idol at a temple. A little child is told to pick up one of the leaves,
and, if she selects the one containing the white flower, the omens are
considered auspicious, and the marriage will be arranged. On the day
of the betrothal, the future bridegroom's father and other relations
go to the girl's house with presents of a new cloth, fruits, and
ornaments. The bride price (pariyam) is paid, and betel exchanged. The
bridegroom-elect goes to the girl's cousins (maternal uncle's sons),
who have a right to marry her, and presents them with four annas and
betel. The acceptance of these is a sign that they consent to the
marriage. On the marriage day, the bridegroom plants the milk-post,
after it has been blessed by a Brahman purohit, and is shaved by a
barber. The bride and her female relations fetch some earth, and a
platform is made out of it in the marriage pandal (booth). The Brahman
makes fire (homam), and places a cowdung Pillayar (Ganesa) in the
pandal. The bride then husks some rice therein. The relations of the
bride and bridegroom fetch from the potter's house seven pots called
adukupanai, two large pots, called arasanipanai, and seven earthen
trays, and place them in front of the platform. The pots are filled
with water, and a small bit of gold is placed in each. The bridegroom
goes to a Pillayar shrine, and, on his return, the bride's brother
washes his feet, and puts rings on his second toes. The kankanams
(wrist-threads) are tied on the wrists of the contracting couple,
and the bridegroom takes his seat within the pandal, to which the
bride is carried in the arms of one of her maternal uncles, while
another carries a torch light placed on a mortar. The bride takes her
seat by the side of the bridegroom, and the light is set in front
of them. The tali is taken round to be blessed by those assembled,
and handed to the bridegroom, who ties it on the bride's neck. The
couple then put a little earth in each of the seven trays, and sow
therein nine kinds of grain. Two vessels, containing milk and whey,
are placed before them, and the relations pour a little thereof
over their heads. The right hand of the bridegroom is placed on the
left hand of the bride, and their hands are tied together by one of
the bride's maternal uncle's sons. The bride is then carried into
the house in the arms of an elder brother of the bridegroom. At the
threshold she is stopped by the maternal uncle's sons, who may beat
the man who is carrying her. The bridegroom pays them each four annas,
and he and the bride are allowed to enter the house. On the night of
the wedding day, they are shut up in a room. During the following
days the pots are worshipped. On the seventh day, the ends of the
cloths of the newly married couple are tied together, and they bathe
in turmeric water. The wrist-threads are removed, they rub oil over
each other's heads, and bathe in a tank. The bride serves food to the
bridegroom, and their relations eat off the same leaf, to indicate
the union between the two families. Into one of the large pots a gold
and silver ring, and into the other an iron style and piece of palm
leaf are dropped. The couple perform the pot-searching ceremony,
and whichever gets hold of the gold ring or style is regarded as
the more clever of the two. The bridegroom places his right foot,
and the bride her left foot on a grindstone, and they look at the
star Arundathi. The stone represents Ahalliya, the wife of the sage
Gautama, who was cursed by her husband for her misconduct with Indra,
and turned into a stone, whereas Arundathi was the wife of Vasishta and
a model of chastity. The newly married couple, by placing their feet
on the stone, indicate their intention of checking unchaste desires,
and by looking at Arundathi, of remaining faithful to each other. The
bride decorates a small grindstone with a cloth and ornaments, and
takes it round to all her relations who are present, and who bless
her with a hope that she will have many children.
In the Marava country, a grown-up Idaiyan girl is sometimes married
to a boy of ten or twelve. Among some Idaiyans, it is customary for
the tali to be tied by the sister of the bridegroom, and not by the
bridegroom, who must not be present when it is done.
It is said that, in some places, like the Gollas, when an Idaiyan
bridegroom sets out for the house of his bride, he is seized
by his companions, who will not release him till he has paid a
piece of gold. In the Madura Manual it is noted that "at an Idaiyan
wedding, on the third day, when the favourite amusement of sprinkling
turmeric-water over the guests is concluded, the whole party betake
themselves to the village tank (pond). A friend of the bridegroom
brings a hoe and a basket, and the young husband fills three baskets
with earth from the bottom of the tank, while the wife takes them
away, and throws the earth behind. They then say 'We have dug a ditch
for charity.' This practice may probably be explained by remembering
that, in arid districts, where the Idaiyans often tend their cattle,
the tank is of the greatest importance."
It is said that the Siviyan and Pendukkumekki sub-divisions take low
rank, as the remarriage of widows is freely permitted among them. In
the Ramnad territory of the Madura district, the marriage of widows
is attributed to compulsion by a Zamindar. According to the story,
the Zamindar asked an Idaiyan whether he would marry a widow. The
reply was that widows are aruthukattadhavar, i.e., women who will
not tie the tali string again, after snapping it (on the husband's
decease). This was considered impertinent by the Zamindar, as marriage
of widows was common among the Maravars. To compel the Idaiyans to
resort to widow marriage, he took advantage of the ambiguity of the
word aruthukattadhavar, which would also mean those who do not tie
up in a bundle after cutting or reaping. At the time of the harvest
season, the Zamindar sent his servants to the Idaiyans with orders
that they were not to tie up the rice plants in sheaves. This led
to severe monetary loss, and the Idaiyans consented reluctantly to
widow remarriage.
On the death of a married Idaiyan, at Coimbatore, the corpse is
placed in a seated posture. A measure of rice, a lighted lamp, and a
cocoanut are placed near it, and burning fire-wood is laid at the door
of the house. When the relations and friends have arrived, the body is
removed from the house, and placed in a pandal, supported behind by a
mortar. The male relations put on the sacred thread, and each brings
a pot of water from a tank. The widow rubs oil over the head of the
corpse, and some one, placing a little oil in the hands thereof, rubs
it over her head. On the way to the burning-ground, a barber carries
a fire-brand and a pot, and a washerman carries the mat, cloths, and
other articles used by the deceased. When the idukadu, a spot made to
represent the shrine of Arichandra who is in charge of the burial or
burning ground, is reached, the polluted articles are thrown away,
and the bier is placed on the ground. A Paraiyan makes a cross-mark
at the four corners of the bier, and the son, who is chief mourner,
places a small coin on three of the marks, leaving out the one at
the north-east corner. The Paraiyan takes these coins and tears a
bit of cloth from the winding-sheet, which is sent to the widow. At
the burning-ground, the relations place rice, water, and small coins
in the mouth of the corpse. The coins are the perquisite of the
Paraiyan. The son, who is clean-shaved, carries a pot of water on his
shoulder thrice round the pyre, and, at each turn, the barber makes a
hole in it with a chank shell, when the head is reached. Finally the
pot is broken near the head. The sacred threads are thrown by those
who wear them on the pyre, and the son sets fire to it, and goes away
without looking back. The widow meanwhile has broken her tali string,
and thrown it into a vessel of milk, which is set on the spot where the
deceased breathed his last. The son, on his return home after bathing,
steps across a pestle placed at the threshold. Arathi (wave offering)
is performed, and he worships a lighted lamp within the house. On
the following day, rice and Sesbania grandiflora are cooked, and
served to the relatives by the widow's brothers. Next day, milk, ghi
(clarified butter), curds, tender cocoanuts, nine kinds of grain,
water, and other articles required for worship, are taken to the
burning-ground. The smouldering ashes are extinguished with water,
and the fragments of the bones are collected, and placed on a leaf. A
miniature plough is made, and the spot on which the body was burned
is ploughed, and the nine kinds of grain are sown. On his return
home, a turban is placed on the head of the son who acted as chief
mourner by his maternal uncles. A new cloth is folded, and on it a
betel leaf is placed, which is worshipped for sixteen days. On the
sixteenth day, a Brahman makes a human figure with holy grass, which
has to be worshipped by the chief mourner not less than twenty-five
times, and he must bathe between each act of worship. The bones are
then carried in a new earthen pot, and floated on a stream. At night,
food is cooked, and, with a new cloth, worshipped. Rice is cooked at
the door. A cock is tied to a sacrificial post, called kazhukumaram,
set up outside the house, to which the rice is offered. One end
of a thread is tied to the post, and the other end to a new cloth,
which is worshipped inside the house. The thread is watched till it
shakes, and then broken. The door is closed, and the cock is stuck
on the pointed tip of the post, and killed. An empty car is carried
in procession through the streets, and alms are given to beggars. A
widow should remain gosha (in seclusion) for twelve months after her
husband's death. When a grown-up, but unmarried male or female dies,
a human figure, made out of holy grass, is married to the corpse,
and some of the marriage rites are performed.
The Idaiyans are Vaishnavites, and the more civilised among them
are branded like Vaishnava Brahmans. Saturday is considered a holy
day. Their most important festival is Krishna Jayanti, or Sri Jayanti,
in honour of Krishna's birthday. They show special reverence for the
vessels used in dairy operations.
The proverb that the sense of an Idaiyan is on the back of his neck,
for it was there that he received the blows, refers to "the story
of the shepherd entering the gate of his house with a crook placed
horizontally on his shoulders, and finding himself unable to get in,
and his being made able to do so by a couple of blows on his back,
and the removal of the crook at the same time. Another proverb is
that there is neither an Andi among Idaiyans, nor a Tadan among the
potters. The Andi is always a Saivite beggar, and, the Idaiyans being
always Vaishnavites, they can never have in their midst a beggar of
the Saivite sect, or vice versâ. Being extremely stupid, whenever
any dispute arises among them, they can never come to any definite
settlement, or, as the proverb says, the disputes between Idaiyans
are never easily settled. Keeping and rearing cattle, grazing and
milking them, and living thereby, are their allotted task in life,
and so they are never good agriculturists. This defect is alluded to
in the proverb that the field watered by the Idaiyan, or by a member
of the Palli caste, must ever remain a waste." [175]
Other proverbs, quoted by the Rev. H. Jensen, [176] are as follows:--
The shepherd can get some fool to serve him.
Like a shepherd who would not give anything, but showed an ewe
big with young.
The shepherd destroyed half, and the fool half.
In 1904, an elementary school for Idaiyans, called the Yadava school,
was established at Madura.
The usual title of the Idaiyans is Konan or Kon meaning King, but,
in the Census Report, 1901, the titles Pillai and Kariyalan are also
recorded. In the Census Report, 1891, Idaiya is given as a sub-division
of Vakkaiga; and, in the Salem Manual, Idaiyan appears as a synonym
of Shanan.
For the following note on the Idaiyans who have settled in Travancore,
I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. They consist of two
well-defined sections, namely, the Tamil-speaking Idaiyans, who are
but recent immigrants, and largely found in Tevala, Agastisvaram
and Shenkotta, and the Malayalam-speaking branch, who are early
settlers residing chiefly in Kartikapalli and other taluks of Central
Travancore. The Idaiyans are not largely found in Travancore, because
a branch of the indigenous Sudra community, the Idacheri Nayars, are
engaged in the same occupation. They are divided into two classes,
viz., Kangayan (shepherds) and Puvandans, who neither interdine nor
intermarry. The latter appear to be divided into four classes, Pasi,
Gopalan, Nambi, and Valayitayan. Puvandan is another form of the
word Pondan, which means a palanquin-bearer. It is well known that,
in the Tamil country, this was one of the duties of the Idaiyans,
as is evident from a sub-division called Sivi or Siviyar (palanquin)
existing among them. In the early settlement records of Travancore,
they are referred to as Sibis. Many fancy, though incorrectly, that
the word means one who collects flowers. As the Sibis were experts in
palanquin-bearing, they must have been brought from the Tamil country
to serve the mediæval Rajas. At the present day, besides pursuing their
traditional occupation, they also engage in agriculture and trade. The
position of the Puvandans in society is not low. They are entitled
to the services of the Brahman's washerman and barber, and they may
enter temples, and advance as far as the place to which Nayars go,
except in some parts of Central Travancore. They are flesh-eaters, and
the drinking of intoxicating liquor is not prohibited. On ceremonial
occasions, women wear the Tamil Idaiya dress, while at other times
they adopt the attire of Nayar women. Their ornaments are foreign,
and clearly indicate that they are a Tamil caste. The marriage badge
is called sankhu tali, and a small conch-shaped ornament forms its
most conspicuous feature. Besides the ordinary Hindu deities, they
worship Matam, Yakshi, and Maruta. At weddings, the Idaiyan bridegroom
holds a sword in his left hand, while he takes hold of the bride by
the right hand. Funeral ceremonies are supervised by a barber, who
officiates as priest. Corpses are either burnt or buried. Though they
appear to observe only eleven days' death pollution, they cannot enter
a temple until the expiry of sixteen days. An anniversary ceremony in
memory of the deceased is performed on the new-moon day in the month of
Karkatakam (July-August), and, on this day, most members of the caste
go to Varkalai to perform the rite. Many purely Tamil names are still
preserved in the caste, such as Tambi, Chami, Bhagavati, and Chattu.
Idakottu (those who break).--An exogamous sept of Oddes, who, during
their work as navvies, break stones.
Idangai (left-hand).--Recorded, at times of census, as a division
of Deva-dasis, who do service for castes belonging to the left-hand
section.
Idiga.--The Telugu toddy-drawers, whose hereditary occupation is the
extraction of the juice of the date and palmyra palms, go by different
names in different localities. Those, for example, who live in the
Salem, North Arcot and Chingleput districts, are called Idigas or
Indras. In the Northern Circars and the Nellore district, they are
known as Gamallas or Gamandlas, and in the Cuddapah district as Asilis.
It is recorded, in the North Arcot Manual, that "Idiga is one of the
toddy-drawing castes of the Telugu country, the name being derived
from Telugu idchu, to draw. The Idigas are supposed to be a branch
of the Balija tribe, separated on account of their occupation. They
are chiefly Vaishnavites, having Satanis as their priests. They are
divided into two classes, the Dandu (army) [177] Idigas and the Balija
Idigas, of whom the former used originally to distil arrack, but,
now that the manufacture is a monopoly, they usually sell it. The
Balija Idigas extract toddy, the juice of the palm tree. They differ
from the Shanans in some of their professional customs, for, while
the Tamilians in climbing tie their knives behind them, the Telugus
tie them on the right thigh. Tamilian drawers extract the juice from
palmyras and cocoanuts, but rarely from the date, and the Telugus from
the palmyras and dates, but never from cocoanuts. The chief object
of their worship is Yellamma, the deity who presides over toddy and
liquor. On every Sunday, the pots containing liquor are decorated
with flowers, saffron, etc., and offerings are made to them."
In the Madras Census Report, 1901, it is stated that "it is said that
the Idigas are the descendants of Balijas from Rajahmundry in Godavari
district, and that their occupation separated them into a distinct
caste. They are divided into two endogamous sections called either
Dandu and Palli, or Patha (old) and Kotta (new). The headman of the
caste is called Gaudu. They employ Brahmans as purohits for their
ceremonies, and these Brahmans are received on terms of equality by
other Brahmans. They bury their dead, and observe pollution for twelve
days, during which they abstain from eating flesh. The consumption
of alcohol is strictly prohibited, and is severely punished by the
headman of the caste. They eat with all Balijas, except the Gazulu
section. Their titles are Aiya, Appa, and Gaudu."
It is noted by Mr. F. Fawcett that "in the northern districts, among
the Telugu population, the toddy-drawers use a ladder about eight
or nine feet in length, which is placed against the tree, to avoid
climbing a third or fourth of it. While in the act of climbing up or
down, they make use of a wide band, which is passed round the body
at the small of the back, and round the tree. This band is easily
fastened with a toggle and eye. The back is protected by a piece of
thick soft leather. It gives great assistance in climbing, which it
makes easy. All over the southernmost portion of the peninsula, among
the Shanans and Tiyans, the ladder and waist-band are unknown. They
climb up and down with their hands and arms, using only a soft grummel
of coir (cocoanut fibre) to keep the feet near together."
The Idigas claim to be descended from Vyasa, the traditional compiler
of the Mahabharata. In a note by Mr. F. R. Hemingway on the Idigas of
the Godavari district, they are said to worship a deity, to whom they
annually offer fowls on New Year's day, and make daily offerings of
a few drops of toddy from the first pot taken from the tree. In this
district they are commonly called Chetti.
The insigne of the Idigas, as recorded at Conjeeveram, is a
ladder. [178]
Idiya (pounder).--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as
a division of Konkani Sudras. The Idiyans prepare rice in a special
manner. Paddy is soaked in water, and roasted over a fire. While
hot, it is placed in a mortar, and pounded with a pestle. This rice
is called avil, which is said to be largely used as a delicacy in
Travancore, and to be employed in certain religious ceremonies.
The Idiyans are stated to have left their native land near Cochin,
and settled in Travancore at the invitation of a former sovereign. On
arrival in the land of their adoption, they were given, free of tax,
cocoanut gardens and rice land. In return, they were required to
supply, free of charge, the palace of the Maharajah and the temple
of Sri Padmanabhaswami at Trivandrum with as much beaten rice (avil)
as might be required from time to time.
Iga (fly).--An exogamous sept of Mutracha. The equivalent Igala occurs
as an exogamous sept of Yanadi.
Ilai (leaf).--Ilai or Ele has been recorded as a sub-division of
Tigalas and Toreyas who cultivate the betel vine (Piper betle). Elai
Vaniyan occurs as a synonym of Senaikkudaiyans, who are betel leaf
sellers in Tinnevelly.
Ilaiyattakudi.--A sub-division of Nattukottai Chetti.
Ilakutiyan.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a
sub-division of Nayar.
Ilamagan.--The Ilamagans are described by Mr. Francis [179] as "a
cultivating caste found chiefly in the Zamindari taluk of Tiruppattur
in Madura. The word literally means a young man, but the young is
interpreted by other castes in the sense of inferior. One says that it
is made up of the sons of Vallamban females and Vellala males, another
that it is a mixture of outcasted Valaiyans, Kallans and Maravans, and
a third that it is descended from illegitimate children of the Vellalas
and Pallis. Like the Kallans and Valaiyans, the members of the caste
stretch the lobes of their ears, and leave their heads unshaven. The
caste is divided into two or three endogamous sections of territorial
origin. They do not employ Brahmans as purohits; their widows may marry
again; their dead are usually buried; and they will eat pork, mutton,
fowls, and fish. They are thus not high in the social scale, and are,
in fact, about on a par with the Kallans. The headmen of the caste are
called Ambalam." It is suggested, in the Census Report, 1891, that,
from the fact that Ilamagan appears as a sub-division of the Maravans,
it may perhaps be inferred that the two castes are closely allied.
Ilampi.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a
sub-division of Nayar.
Ilayatu.--See Elayad.
Illa (of a house).--An exogamous sept of Yanadi.
Illam.--Defined by Mr. Wigram [180] as meaning the house of an ordinary
Nambudri Brahman. It is recorded, in the Travancore Census Report,
1901, as a sub-division of Nayar. The name Illam Vellala has been
assumed by some Panikkans in the Tamil country, whose exogamous septs
are called Illam. In Travancore, Ilakkar or Illathu, meaning those
attached to Brahman houses, is said to be an occupational sub-division
of Nayars. Ilakkar further occurs as an exogamous sept of Mala Arayans,
known as the Three Thousand.
Illuvellani.--The name, derived from illu, house, and vellani, those
who do not go out, of a sub-division of Kammas, whose wives are kept
gosha (in seclusion).
Inaka Mukku Bhatrazu.--Beggars attached to Padma Sales.
Inangan.--See Enangan.
Ina Pulaya.--A sub-division of Pulayans of Travancore.
Indla (house).--An exogamous sept of Chenchu and Mutracha.
Indra.--See Idiga.
Inichi (squirrel).--A gotra of Kurni.
Inravar.--A Tamil form of Indra.
Ippi (Bassia longifolia: mahua).--An exogamous sept of Panta
Reddi. Members of the Ippala gotra of the Besthas may not touch or
use the ippa (or ippi) tree.
Iranderudhu (two bullocks).--A sub-division of Vaniyans, who use two
bullocks for their oil-mills.
Irani (earthen vessel used at marriages).--A gotra of Kurni.
Irani.--A territorial name, meaning Persian, of the Shiah section
of the Moghal tribe of Muhammadans. The Iranis or Beluchis are
described by Mr. Paupa Rao Naidu [181] as a troublesome nomad tribe
"committing crime all over India openly from the houses and shops
of villages and towns, mostly in broad daylight, with impunity, and
escaping punishment except in rare cases. Their ostensible profession
is merchandise, dealing in the following articles:--ponies, knives,
scissors, padlocks, false stones, false pearls, trinkets of several
kinds, toys, beads, quicksilver, and false coins of different kinds.
Their camp generally consists of a few small tents, a few ponies,
pack saddles to secure their culinary utensils, their dirty clothes,
the leather or gunny bags containing their articles of merchandise;
a few fighting cocks, and cages of birds. They are very fond of cock
fighting, even on wagers of 10 to 50 rupees on each. They train these
cocks specially brought up to fight." For information concerning the
criminal methods of the Iranis, I would refer the reader to Mr. Paupa
Rao Naidu's account thereof.
Iranyavarma.--The name of one of the early Pallava kings, returned
at times of census as a caste name by some wealthy Pallis, who also
gave themselves the title of Solakanar, or descendants of Chola Kings.
Irattai Sekkan.--A sub-division of Vaniyans, who use two bullocks
for their oil-mills.
Iraya.--A name for Cherumans, in Malabar, who are permitted to come
as far as the eaves (ira) of their employers' houses.
Irchakkollan (timber sawyer).--A synonym, in Travancore, of Tacchan
(carpenter) Kammalan.
Irkuli.--Irkuli or Irangolli Vellala, said to mean Vellalas who killed
dampness, is a name assumed by some Vannans.
Irpina (comb).--An exogamous sept of Kamma.
Irulas of the Nilgiris. In the Kotagiri bazaar, which is an excellent
hunting-ground for the anthropologist, may be seen gathered together
on market-day Kotas, Badagas, Kanarese, Irulas, Kurumbas, and an
occasional Toda from the Kodanad mand. A tribal photograph was taken
there, with the result that a deputation subsequently waited on me
with a petition to the effect that "We, the undersigned, beg to submit
that your honour made photos of us, and has paid us nothing. We,
therefore, beg you to do this common act of justice." The deputation
was made happy with a pourboire.
In my hunt after Irulas, which ended in an attack of malarial
fever, it was necessary to invoke the assistance and proverbial
hospitality of various planters. On one occasion news reached me
that a gang of Irulas, collected for my benefit under a promise
of substantial remuneration, had arrived at a planter's bungalow,
whither I proceeded. The party included a man who had been "wanted"
for some time in connection with the shooting of an elephant on
forbidden ground. He, suspecting me of base designs, refused to be
measured, on the plea that he was afraid the height-measuring standard
was the gallows. Nor would he let me take his photograph, fearing
(though he had never heard of Bertillonage) lest it should be used
for the purpose of criminal identification. Unhappily a mischievous
rumour had been circulated that I had in my train a wizard Kurumba,
who would bewitch the Irulas, in order that I might abduct them
(for what purpose was not stated).
As the Badagas are the fairest, so the Irulas are the darkest-skinned
of the Nilgiri tribes, on some of whom, as has been said, charcoal
would leave a white mark. The name Irula, in fact, means darkness or
blackness (irul), whether in reference to the dark jungles in which the
Irulas, who have not become domesticated by working as contractors or
coolies on planters' estates, dwell, or to the darkness of their skin,
is doubtful. Though the typical Irula is dark-skinned and platyrhine,
I have noted some who, as the result of contact metamorphosis,
possessed skins of markedly paler hue, and leptorhine noses.
The language of the Irulas is a corrupt form of Tamil. In their
religion they are worshippers of Vishnu under the name of Rangasvami,
to whom they do puja (worship) at their own rude shrines, or at the
Hindu temple at Karaimadai, where Brahman priests officiate. "An
Irula pujari," Breeks writes, [182] "lives near the Irula temples,
and rings a bell when he performs puja to the gods. He wears the Vishnu
mark on his forehead. His office is hereditary, and he is remunerated
by offerings of fruit and milk from Irula worshippers. Each Irula
village pays about two annas to the pujari about May or June. They say
that there is a temple at Kallampalla in the Sattiyamangalam taluk,
north of Rangasvami's peak. This is a Siva temple, at which sheep
are sacrificed. The pujari wears the Siva mark. They don't know the
difference between Siva and Vishnu. At Kallampalla temple is a thatched
building, containing a stone called Mariamma, the well-known goddess
of small-pox, worshipped in this capacity by the Irulas. A sheep is
led to this temple, and those who offer the sacrifice sprinkle water
over it, and cut its throat. The pujari sits by, but takes no part
in the ceremony. The body is cut up, and distributed among the Irulas
present, including the pujari."
In connection with the shrine on Rangasvami peak, the following note
is recorded in the Gazetteer of the Nilgiris. "It is the most sacred
hill on all the plateau. Hindu legend says that the god Rangasvami
used to live at Karaimadai on the plains between Mettupalaiyam and
Coimbatore, but quarrelled with his wife, and so came and lived here
alone. In proof of the story, two footprints on the rock not far
from Arakod village below the peak are pointed out. This, however,
is probably an invention designed to save the hill folk the toilsome
journey to Rangasvami's car festival at Karaimadai, which used once
to be considered incumbent upon them. In some places, the Badagas
and Kotas have gone even further, and established Rangasvami Bettus
of their own, handy for their own particular villages. On the real
Rangasvami peak are two rude walled enclosures sacred to the god
Ranga and his consort, and within these are votive offerings (chiefly
iron lamps and the notched sticks used as weighing machines), and two
stones to represent the deities. The hereditary pujari is an Irula,
and, on the day fixed by the Badagas for the annual feast, he arrives
from his hamlet near Nandipuram, bathes in a pool below the summit,
and marches to the top shouting 'Govinda! Govinda!' The cry is taken
up with wild enthusiasm by all those present, and the whole crowd,
which includes Badagas, Irulas, and Kurumbas, surrounds the enclosures,
while the Irula priest invokes the deities by blowing his conch and
beating his drum, and pours oblations over, and decorates with flowers,
the two stones which represent them. That night, two stone basins on
the summit are filled with ghee and lighted, and the glare is visible
for miles around. The ceremonies close with prayers for good rain and
fruitfulness among the flocks and herds, a wild dance by the Irula,
and the boiling (called pongal, the same word as pongal the Tamil
agricultural feast) of much rice in milk. About a mile from Arakod
is an overhanging rock called the kodai-kal or umbrella stone, under
which is found a whitish clay. This clay is used by the Irulas for
making the Vaishnava marks on their foreheads at this festival."
The following account of an Irula temple festival is given by
Harkness. [183] "The hair of the men, as well as of the women and
children, was bound up in a fantastic manner with wreaths of plaited
straw. Their necks, ears, and ankles were decorated with ornaments
formed of the same material, and they carried little dried gourds,
in which nuts or small stones had been inserted. They rattled them as
they moved, and, with the rustling of their rural ornaments, gave a
sort of rhythm to their motion. The dance was performed in front of
a little thatched shed, which, we learnt, was their temple. When it
was concluded, they commenced a sacrifice to their deity, or rather
deities, of a he-goat and three cocks. This was done by cutting the
throats of the victims, and throwing them down at the feet of the idol,
the whole assembly at the same time prostrating themselves. Within the
temple there was a winnow, or fan, which they called Mahri--evidently
the emblem of Ceres; and at a short distance, in front of the former,
and some paces in advance one of the other, were two rude stones,
which they call, the one Moshani, the other Konadi Mari, but which
are subordinate to the fan occupying the interior of the temple."
A village near a coffee estate, which I inspected, was, at the time
of my visit, in the possession of pariah dogs and nude children,
the elder children and adults being away at work. The village was
protected against nocturnal feline and other feral marauders by
a rude fence, and consisted of rows of single-storied huts, with
verandah in front, made of split bamboo and thatched, detached huts,
an abundance of fowl-houses, and cucurbitaceous plants twining up rough
stages. Surrounding the village were a dense grove of plantain trees,
castor-oil bushes, and cattle pens.
When not engaged at work on estates or in the forest, the Irulas
cultivate, for their own consumption, ragi (Eleusine Coracana),
samai (Panicum miliare), tenai (Setaria italica), tovarai (Cajanus
indicus), maize, plantains, etc. They also cultivate limes, oranges,
jak fruit (Artocarpus integrifolia), etc. They, like the Kotas, will
not attend to cultivation on Saturday or Monday. At the season of
sowing, Badagas bring cocoanuts, plantains, milk and ghi (clarified
butter), and give them to the Irulas, who, after offering them before
their deity, return them to the Badagas.
"The Irulas," a recent writer observes, "generally possess a small
plot of ground near their villages, which they assiduously cultivate
with grain, although they depend more upon the wages earned by
working on estates. Some of them are splendid cattle-men, that is,
in looking after the cattle possessed by some enterprising planter,
who would add the sale of dairy produce to the nowadays pitiable
profit of coffee planting. The Irula women are as useful as the men
in weeding, and all estate work. In fact, planters find both men and
women far more industrious and reliable than the Tamil coolies."
"By the sale of the produce of the forests," Harkness writes, "such
as honey and bees wax, or the fruit of their gardens, the Irulas are
enabled to buy grain for their immediate sustenance, and for seed. But,
as they never pay any attention to the land after it is sown, or indeed
to its preparation further than by partially clearing it of the jungle,
and turning it up with the hoe; or, what is more common, scratching it
into furrows with a stick, and scattering the grain indiscriminately,
their crops are, of course, stunted and meagre. When the corn is ripe,
if at any distance from the village, the family to whom the patch or
field belongs will remove to it, and, constructing temporary dwellings,
remain there so long as the grain lasts. Each morning they pluck as
much as they think they may require for the use of that day, kindle
a fire upon the nearest large stone or fragment of rock, and, when it
is well heated, brush away the embers, and scatter the grain upon it,
which, soon becoming parched and dry, is readily reduced to meal,
which is made into cakes. The stone is now heated a second time, and
the cakes are put on it to bake. Or, where they have met with a stone
which has a little concavity, they will, after heating it, fill the
hollow with water, and, with the meal, form a sort of porridge. In this
way the whole family, their friends, and neighbours, will live till the
grain has been consumed. The whole period is one of merry-making. They
celebrate Mahri, and invite all who may be passing by to join in the
festivities. These families will, in return, be invited to live on
the fields of their neighbours. Many of them live for the remainder
of the year on a kind of yam, which grows wild, and is called Erula
root. To the use of this they accustom their children from infancy."
Some Irulas now work for the Forest Department, which allows them
to live on the borders of the forest, granting them sites free,
and other concessions. Among the minor forest produce, which they
collect, are myrabolams, bees-wax, honey, vembadam bark (Ventilago
Madraspatana), avaram bark (Cassia auriculata), deer's horns,
tamarinds, gum, soapnuts, and sheekoy (Acacia concinna). The forests
have been divided into blocks, and a certain place within each block
has been selected for the forest depot. To this place the collecting
agents--mostly Sholagars and Irulas--bring the produce, and then it
is sorted, and paid for by special supervisors. [184] The collection
of honey is a dangerous occupation. A man, with a torch in his hand,
and a number of bamboo tubes suspended from his shoulders, descends
by means of ropes or creepers to the vicinity of the comb. The sight
of the torch drives away the bees, and he proceeds to fill the bamboos
with the comb, and then ascends to the top of the rock. [185]
The Irulas will not (so they say) eat the flesh of buffaloes or cattle,
but will eat sheep and goat, field-rats, fowls, deer, pig (which they
shoot), hares (which they snare with skilfully made nets), jungle-fowl,
pigeons, and quail (which they knock over with stones).
They informed Mr. Harkness that, "they have no marriage contract, the
sexes cohabiting almost indiscriminately; the option of remaining in
union, or of separating, resting principally with the female. Some
among them, the favourites of fortune, who can afford to spend
four or five rupees on festivities, will celebrate their union by
giving a feast to all their friends and neighbours; and, inviting
the Kurumbars to attend with their pipe and tabor, spend the night
in dance and merriment. This, however, is a rare occurrence." The
marriage ceremony, as described to me, is a very simple affair. A
feast is held, at which a sheep is killed, and the guests make a
present of a few annas to the bridegroom, who ties up the money in
a cloth, and, going to the bride's hut, conducts her to her future
home. Widows are permitted to marry again.
When an Irula dies, two Kurumbas come to the village, and one shaves
the head of the other. The shorn man is fed, and presented with
a cloth, which he wraps round his head. This quaint ceremonial is
supposed, in some way, to bring good luck to the departed. Outside the
house of the deceased, in which the corpse is kept till the time of the
funeral, men and women dance to the music of the Irula band. The dead
are buried in a sitting posture, with the legs crossed tailorwise. Each
village has its own burial-ground. A circular pit is dug, from the
lower end of which a chamber is excavated, in which the corpse, clad
in its own clothes, jewelry, and a new cloth, is placed with a lamp
and grain. The pit is then filled in, and the position of the grave
marked by a stone. On the third day a sheep is said to be killed,
and a feast held. The following description of an annual ceremony
was given to me. A lamp and oil are purchased, and rice is cooked in
the village. They are then taken to the shrine at the burial-ground,
offered up on stones, on which some of the oil is poured, and puja
is done. At the shrine, a pujari, with three white marks on the
forehead, officiates. Like the Badaga Devadari, the Irula pujari at
times becomes inspired by the god.
Writing concerning the Kurumbas and Irulas, Mr. Walhouse says [186]
that "after every death among them, they bring a long water-worn stone
(devva kotta kallu), and put it into one of the old cromlechs sprinkled
over the Nilgiri plateau. Some of the larger of these have been found
piled up to the cap-stone with such pebbles, which must have been the
work of generations. Occasionally, too, the tribes mentioned make
small cromlechs for burial purposes, and place the long water-worn
pebbles in them."
The following sub-divisions of the tribe have been described to
me:--Poongkaru, Kudagar (people of Coorg), Kalkatti (those who tie
stone), Vellaka, Devala, and Koppilingam. Of these, the first five
are considered to be in the relation of brothers, so far as marriage
is concerned, and do not intermarry. Members of these five classes
must marry into the Koppilingam sub-division. At the census, 1901,
Kasuva or Kasuba was returned as a sub-caste. The word means workmen,
in allusion to the abandonment of jungle life in favour of working
on planters' estates, and elsewhere.
It is recorded by Harkness that "during the winter, or while they
are wandering about the forests in search of food, driven by hunger,
the families or parties separate from one another. On these occasions
the women and young children are often left alone, and the mother,
having no longer any nourishment for her infant, anticipates its
final misery by burying it alive. The account here given was in every
instance corroborated, and in such a manner as to leave no doubt in
our minds of its correctness."
The following notes are abstracted from my case-book.
Man, æt. 30. Sometimes works on a coffee estate. At present engaged in
the cultivation of grains, pumpkins, jak-fruit, and plantains. Goes
to the bazaar at Mettupalaiyam to buy rice, salt, chillies, oil,
etc. Acquires agricultural implements from Kotas, to whom he pays
annual tribute in grains or money. Wears brass earrings obtained from
Kotas in exchange for vegetables and fruit. Wears turban and plain
loin-cloth, wrapped round body and reaching below the knees. Bag
containing tobacco and betel slung over shoulder. Skin very dark.
Woman, æt. 30. Hair curly, tied in a bunch behind round a black cotton
swab. Wears a plain waist-cloth, and print body-cloth worn square
across breasts and reaching below the knees. Tattooed on forehead. A
mass of glass bead necklaces. Gold ornament in left nostril. Brass
ornament in lobe of each ear. Eight brass bangles on right wrist;
two brass and six glass bangles on left wrist. Five brass rings on
right first finger; four brass and one tin ring on right forefinger.
Woman, æt. 25. Red cadjan (palm leaf) roll in dilated lobes of
ears. Brass and glass bead ornament in helix of right ear. Brass
ornament in left nostril. A number of bead necklets, one with young
cowry shells pendent, another consisting of a heavy roll of black
beads. The latter is very characteristic of Irula female adornment. One
steel bangle, eight brass bangles, and one chank-shell bangle on right
wrist; three lead, six glass bangles, and one glass bead bangle on
left wrist. One steel and one brass ring on left little finger.
Woman, æt. 35. Wears loin-cloth only. Breasts fully exposed. Cap of
Badaga pattern on head.
Girl, æt. 8. Lobe of each ear being dilated by a number of wooden
sticks like matches.
Average stature 159.8 cm.; nasal index 85 (max. 100).
Irulas of Chingleput, North and South Arcot. The Irulas, or Villiyans
(bowmen), who have settled in the town of Chingleput, about fifty miles
distant from Madras, have attained to a higher degree of civilisation
than the jungle Irulas of the Nilgiris, and are defined, in the
Census Report, 1901, as a semi-Brahmanised forest tribe, who speak
a corrupt Tamil.
In a note on the Irulas, Mackenzie writes as follows. [187] "After
the Yuga Pralayam (deluge, or change from one Yuga to another) the
Villars or Irulans, Malayans, and Vedans, supposed to be descendants of
a Rishi under the influence of a malignant curse, were living in the
forests in a state of nature, though they have now taken to wearing
some kind of covering--males putting on skins, and females stitched
leaves. Roots, wild fruits, and honey constitute their dietary, and
cooked rice is always rejected, even when gratuitously offered. They
have no clear ideas about God, though they offer rice (wild variety)
to the goddess Kanniamma. The legend runs that a Rishi, Mala Rishi
by name, seeing that these people were much bothered by wild beasts,
took pity on them, and for a time lived with them. He mixed freely
with their women, and as the result, several children were born,
who were also molested by wild animals. To free them from these, the
Rishi advised them to do puja (worship) to Kanniamma. Several other
Rishis are also believed to have lived freely in their midst, and,
as a result, several new castes arose, among which were the Yanadis,
who have come into towns, take food from other castes, eat cooked
rice, and imitate the people amidst whom they happen to live." In
which respects the Irula is now following the example of the Yanadi.
Many of the Chingleput Irulas are very dark-skinned, with narrow
chests, thin bodies, and flabby muscles, reminding me, in their
general aspect, of the Yanadis of Nellore. Clothing is, in the men,
reduced to a minimum--dhuti, and languti of dirty white cotton cloth,
or a narrow strip of gaudy Manchester piece-good. The hair is worn
long and ragged, or shaved, with kudimi, in imitation of the higher
classes. The moustache is slight, and the beard billy-goaty. Some of
the men are tattooed with a blue dot on the glabella, or vertical
mid-frontal line. For ornaments they have a stick in the helix,
or simple ornament in the ear-lobe.
Their chief source of livelihood is husking paddy (rice), but they
also gather sticks for sale as firewood in return for pice, rice, and
sour fermented rice gruel, which is kept by the higher classes for
cattle. This gruel is also highly appreciated by the Yanadis. While
husking rice, they eat the bran, and, if not carefully watched,
will steal as much of the rice as they can manage to secrete about
themselves. As an addition to their plain dietary they catch field
(Jerboa) rats, which they dig out with long sticks, after they have
been asphyxiated with smoke blown into their tunnels through a small
hole in an earthen pot filled with dried leaves, which are set on
fire. When the nest is dug out, they find material for a meat and
vegetable curry in the dead rats, with the hoarded store of rice or
other grain. They feast on the bodies of winged white-ants (Termites),
which they search with torch-lights at the time of their seasonal
epidemic appearance. Some years ago a theft occurred in my house at
night, and it was proved by a plaster cast of a foot-print in the mud
produced by a nocturnal shower that one of my gardeners, who did not
live on the spot, had been on the prowl. The explanation was that he
had been collecting as a food-stuff the carcases of the winged ants,
which had that evening appeared in myriads.
Some Irulas are herbalists, and are believed to have the powers
of curing certain diseases, snake-poisoning, and the bites of rats
and insects.
Occasionally the Irulas collect the leaves of the banyan, Butea
frondosa, or lotus, for sale as food-platters, and they will eat
the refuse food left on the platters by Brahmans and other higher
classes. They freely enter the houses of Brahmans and non-Brahman
castes, and are not considered as carrying pollution.
They have no fixed place of abode, which they often change. Some
live in low, palmyra-thatched huts of small dimensions; others under
a tree, in an open place, in ruined buildings, or the street pials
(verandah) of houses. Their domestic utensils consist of a few pots,
one or two winnows, scythes, a crow-bar, a piece of flint and steel for
making fire, and a dirty bag for tobacco and betel. In making fire,
an angular fragment of quartz is held against a small piece of pith,
and dexterously struck with an iron implement so that the spark falls
on the pith, which can be rapidly blown into a blaze. To keep the
children warm in the so-called cold season (with a minimum of 58°
to 60°), they put their babies near the fire in pits dug in the ground.
For marital purposes they recognise tribal sub-divisions in a
very vague way. Marriage is not a very impressive ceremonial. The
bridegroom has to present new cloths to the bride, and his future
father- and mother-in-law. The cloth given to the last-named is called
the pal kuli (milk money) for having nursed the bride. Marriage is
celebrated on any day, except Saturday. A very modest banquet, in
proportion to their slender means, is held, and toddy provided, if
the state of the finances will run to it. Towards evening the bride
and bridegroom stand in front of the house, and the latter ties the
tali, which consists of a bead necklace with a round brass disc. In
the case of a marriage which took place during my visit, the bride
had been wearing her new bridal cloth for a month before the event.
The Irulas worship periodically Kanniamma, their tribal deity, and
Mari, the general goddess of epidemic disease. The deity is represented
by five pots arranged in the form of a square, with a single pot in the
centre, filled with turmeric water. Close to these a lamp is lighted,
and raw rice, jaggery (crude sugar), rice flour, betel leaves and
areca nuts are offered before it. Mari is represented by a white rag
flag dyed with turmeric, hoisted on a bamboo in an open space near
their dwellings, to which fowls, sheep, and other cooked articles,
are offered.
The dead are buried lying flat on the face, with the head to the
north, and the face turned towards the east. When the grave has been
half filled in, they throw into it a prickly-pear (Opuntia Dillenii)
shrub, and make a mound over it. Around this they place a row or two
of prickly-pear stems to keep off jackals. No monumental stone is
placed over the grave.
By means of the following table a comparison can be readily made
between the stature and nasal index of the jungle Sholagas and Nilgiri
Irulas, and of the more civilised Irulas of Chingleput and Uralis
of Coimbatore:--
===================+==========+============+============+============
| Stature, |Nasal index,|Nasal index,|Nasal index,
| average. | average. | maximum. | minimum.
-------------------+----------+------------+------------+------------
Sholagas | 159.3 | 85·1 | 107·7 | 72·8
Irulas, Nilgiris | 159·8 | 84·9 | 100 | 72·3
Irulas, Chingleput | 159·9 | 80·3 | 90·5 | 70
Uralis | 159·5 | 80·1 | 97·7 | 65·3
===================+==========+============+============+============
The table shows clearly that, while all the four tribes are of short
and uniform stature, the nasal index, both as regards average,
maximum and minimum, is higher in the Sholagas and Irulas of the
Nilgiri jungles than in the more domesticated Irulas of Chingleput
and Uralis. In brief, the two former, who have mingled less with
the outside world, retain the archaic type of platyrhine nose to
a greater extent than the two latter. The reduction of platyrhiny,
as the result of civilisation and emergence from the jungle to the
vicinity of towns, is still further brought out by the following
figures relating to the two classes of Irulas, and the Kanikars of
Travancore, who still live a jungle life, and those who have removed
to the outskirts of a populous town:--
===========================+===============================
| Nasal index.
---- |----------+----------+---------
| Average. | Maximum. | Minimum.
---------------------------+----------+----------+---------
Irulas, jungle | 84.9 | 100 | 72.3
Kanikars, jungle | 84.6 | 105 | 72.3
Kanikars, domesticated | 81.2 | 90.5 | 70.8
Irulas, domesticated | 80.3 | 90.5 | 70
===========================+==========+==========+=========
The Irulas of North Arcot are closely related to those of
Chingleput. Concerning them, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes as follows. [188]
"Many members of this forest tribe have taken to agriculture in
the neighbouring villages, but the majority still keep to the hills,
living upon roots and wild animals, and bartering forest produce for a
few rags or a small quantity of grain. When opportunity offers, they
indulge in cattle theft and robbery. They disclaim any connection
with the Yanadis, whom they hate. Their aversion is such that they
will not even allow a Yanadi to see them eating. They offer worship to
the Sapta Kannikais or seven virgins, whom they represent in the form
of an earthenware oil-lamp, which they often place under the bandari
(Dodonoea viscosa ?), which is regarded by them as sacred. These lamps
are made by ordinary village potters, who, however, are obliged to
knead the clay with their hands, and not with their feet. Sometimes
they place these representatives of their goddess in caves, but,
wherever they place them, no Pariah or Yanadi can be allowed to
approach. The chief occasion of worship, as with the Kurumbas and
Yanadis, is at the head-shaving ceremony of children. All children at
these times, who are less than ten years old, are collected, and the
maternal uncle of each cuts off one lock of hair, which is fastened to
a ragi (Ficus religiosa) bough. They rarely contract marriages, the
voluntary association of men and women being terminable at the will
of either. The more civilised, however, imitate the Hindu cultivating
castes by tying a gold bead, stuck on a thread, round the bride's
neck, but the marriage tie thus formed is easily broken. They always
bury their dead. Some Irulas are credited with supernatural powers,
and are applied to by low Sudras for advice. The ceremony is called
suthi or rangam. The medium affects to be possessed by the goddess,
and utters unmeaning sounds, being, they say, unconscious all the
while. A few of his companions pretend to understand with difficulty
the meaning of his words, and interpret them to the inquirer. The
Irulas never allow any sort of music during their ceremonies,
nor will they wear shoes, or cover their body with more than the
scantiest rag. Even in the coldest and dampest weather, they prefer
the warmth of a fire to that of a cumbly (blanket). They refuse even
to cover an infant with a cloth, but dig a small hollow in the ground,
and lay the newly-born babe in it upon a few leaves of the bandari."
There are two classes of Irulas in the North Arcot district, of
which one lives in towns and villages, and the other leads a jungle
life. Among the latter, as found near Kuppam, there are two distinct
divisions, called Iswaran Vagaira and Dharmaraja. The former set up
a stone beneath a temporary hut, and worship it by offering cooked
rice and cocoanuts on unam (Lettsomia elliptica) leaves. The god
Dharmaraja is represented by a vessel instead of a stone, and the
offerings are placed in a basket. In the jungle section, a woman may
marry her deceased husband's brother. The dead are buried face upwards,
and three stones are set up over the grave.
The Irulas of South Arcot, Mr. Francis writes, [189] "are chiefly
found about the Gingee hills, talk a corrupt Tamil, are very dark
skinned, have very curly hair, never shave their heads, and never
wear turbans or sandals. They dwell in scattered huts--never more than
two or three in one place--which are little, round, thatched hovels,
with a low doorway through which one can just crawl, built among
the fields. They subsist by watching crops, baling water from wells,
and, when times are hard, by crime of a mild kind. In Villupuram and
Tirukkoyilur taluks, and round Gingee, they commit burglaries in
a mild and unscientific manner if the season is bad, and they are
pressed by want, but, if the ground-nut crop is a good one, they
behave themselves. They are perhaps the poorest and most miserable
community in the district. Only one or two of them own any land, and
that is only dry land. They snare hares now and again, and collect
the honey of the wild bees by letting themselves down the face of
cliffs at night by ladders made of twisted creepers. Some of them are
prostitutes, and used to display their charms in a shameless manner
at the Chettipalaiyam market near Gingee, decked out in quantities of
cheap jewellery, and with their eyelids darkened in clumsy imitation of
their sisters of the same profession in other castes. There is little
ceremony at a wedding. The old men of the caste fix the auspicious
day, the bridegroom brings a few presents, a pandal (booth) is made,
a tali is tied, and there is a feast to the relations. The rites at
births and deaths are equally simple. The dead are usually buried,
lying face upwards, a stone and some thorns being placed over the
grave to keep off jackals. On the eleventh day after the death, the
eldest son ties a cloth round his head--a thing which is otherwise
never worn--and a little rice is coloured with saffron (turmeric)
and then thrown into water. This is called casting away the sin, and
ill-luck would befall the eldest son if the ceremony were omitted. The
Irulans pay homage to almost all the gramadevatas (village deities),
but probably the seven Kannimars are their favourite deities."
As already indicated, the Irulas, like the Yerukalas, indulge in
soothsaying. The Yerukala fortune-teller goes about with her basket,
cowry shells, and rod, and will carry out the work of her profession
anywhere, at any time, and any number of times in a day. The Irula, on
the contrary, remains at his home, and will only tell fortunes close to
his hut, or near the hut where his gods are kept. In case of sickness,
people of all classes come to consult the Irula fortune-teller,
whose occupation is known as Kannimar varniththal. Taking up his
drum, he warms it over the fire, or exposes it to the heat of the
sun. When it is sufficiently dry to vibrate to his satisfaction,
Kannimar is worshipped by breaking a cocoanut, and burning camphor and
incense. Closing his eyes, the Irula beats the drum, and shakes his
head about, while his wife, who stands near him, sprinkles turmeric
water over him. After a few minutes, bells are tied to his right
wrist. In about a quarter of an hour he begins to shiver, and breaks
out in a profuse perspiration. This is a sure sign that he is possessed
by Kanniamman. His wife unties his kudumi (tuft of hair), the shaking
of the head becomes more violent, he breathes rapidly, and hisses like
a snake. His wife praises Kannimar. Gradually the man becomes calmer,
and addresses those around him as if he were the goddess, saying,
"Oh! children. I have come down on my car, which is decorated with
mango flowers, margosa and jasmine. You need fear nothing so long
as I exist, and you worship me. This country will be prosperous,
and the people will continue to be happy. Ere long my precious car,
immersed in the tank (pond) on the hill, will be taken out, and after
that the country will become more prosperous," and so on. Questions
are generally put to the inspired man, not directly, but through
his wife. Occasionally, even when no client has come to consult him,
the Irula will take up his drum towards dusk, and chant the praises
of Kannimar, sometimes for hours at a stretch, with a crowd of Irulas
collected round him.
The name Shikari (hunter) is occasionally adopted as a synonym for
Irula. And, in South Arcot, some Irulas call themselves Ten (honey)
Vanniyans or Vana (forest) Pallis.
Irula (darkness or night).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba.
Irumpu (iron) Kollan.--A sub-division of Kollan.
Irunul (two strings).--A division of Marans in Travancore, in which
the remarriage of widows is permitted.
Iruvu (black ant).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba.
Isan (god).--A title of Koliyan.
Iswaran Vagaira.--A division of the Irulas of North Arcot. The name
denotes that they belong to the Iswara (Siva) section.
Ite.--The Itevandlu are a class of Telugu jugglers and acrobats, who
"exhibit shows, such as wrestling, climbing high posts, rope-walking,
etc. The women, like Dommara females, act as common prostitutes." [190]
Itattara.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a
sub-division of Nayar.
Izhava.--The Izhavans or Ilavans, and Tiyans, are the Malayalam
toddy-drawing castes of Malabar, Cochin and Travancore. The etymology
of the name Izhavan is dealt with in the article on Tiyans.
For the following note on the Izhavas of Travancore, I am, when not
otherwise recorded, indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. These people
are known as Izhavas in South and parts of Central Travancore, and
Chovas in parts of Central and North Travancore. They constitute
17 per cent. of the total population of the State. Izhava is said
to mean those belonging to Izham, a corruption of Simhalam, one
of the old names of Ceylon. Jaffna, in the north of that island,
appears to have been specially known by the name of Izham, and from
this place the Izhavas are believed to have originally proceeded to
Malabar. Chova is supposed to be a corruption of Sevaka, or servant. In
some old boat songs current in Malabar, it occurs in the less corrupt
form of Chevaka. According to a legend, a Pandyan princess named
Alli married Narasimha, a Rajah of the Carnatic. The royal couple
migrated to Ceylon, and there settled themselves as rulers. On the line
becoming extinct, however, their relatives and adherents returned to
the continent, where they were accorded only a very low position in
society. It is said that they were the ancestors of the Izhavas. In
support of this theory, it is urged that, in South Travancore, the
Izhavas are known by the title of Mudaliyar, which is also the surname
of a division of the Vellalas at Jaffna; that the Vattis and Mannans
call them Mudaliyars; and that the Pulayas have ever been known to
address them only as Muttatampurans. But it may be well supposed that
the title may have been conferred upon some families of the caste in
consideration of meritorious services on behalf of the State. One of
the chief occupations, in which the Izhavas first engaged themselves,
was undoubtedly the cultivation of palm trees. In the famous grant
of 824 A.D., it is distinctly mentioned that they had a headman of
their guild, and their duty was planting up waste lands. They had two
special privileges, known as the foot-rope right and ladder right,
which clearly explain the nature of their early occupation. The
Syrian Christians appear to have a tradition that the Izhavas were
invited to settle on the west coast at their suggestion. The Izhavas
are said to have brought to Kerala a variety each of the areca palm,
champak, and lime tree, to whose vernacular names the word Izham is
even to-day invariably prefixed. In the middle ages, they were largely
employed as soldiers by the rulers of Malabar. Titles and privileges
were distributed among these soldiers. Canter Visscher, writing about
the Rajah of Ambalapuzha in the middle of the eighteenth century,
[191] observes that "the Rajah of Porkkad has not many Nayars, in the
place of whom he is served by Chegos," and that "in times of civil war
or rebellion, the Chegos are bound to take up arms for their lawful
sovereign." The Panikkans of Ambanat house in the Ambalapuzha taluk
were the leaders of the Izhava force, and many powers and privileges
were conferred upon this family by the Chembakasseri (Ambalapuzha)
princes. Even so late as the days of Maharaja Rama Verma, who died
in 973 M.E., large numbers of Izhavas were employed as soldiers
of the State, if we may believe the account of Friar Bartolomeo,
[192] who is generally a very accurate writer. The South Travancore
Izhavas used to divide themselves into two parties on the occasion
of the Onam festival, and fight at Kaithamukku near Trivandrum. Any
young man who did not attend this camp of exercise had a piece of
wood tied as a wedding ornament round his neck, was led in procession
thrice round the village, and transported to the sea-coast.
The Izhavas proper are divided into three sub-sections called
Pachchili, Pandi, and Malayalam. The Pachchilis live in the tract of
land called Pachchalur in the Neyyattinkara taluk between Tiruvellam
and Kovalam. They are only a handful in number. The Pandis are
largely found in Trivandrum and Chirayinkil. Most of them take the
title of Panikkan. The Malayala Izhavas are sub-divided into four
exogamous groups or illams, named Muttillam, Madampi or Pallichal,
Mayanatti, and Chozhi. Pallichal is a place in the Neyyattinkara
taluk, and Mayannat in Quilon. The members of the Chozhi illam are
believed to have been later settlers. There is another division of
these Izhavas called Patikramams, based on a more or less geographical
distinction. These are also four in number, and called Pallikkattara,
Palattara, Irunkulamgara, and Tenganad, their social precedence being
in this order. Pallikkattara is in Chirayinkil, Palattara in Quilon,
Irunkulamgara in Trivandrum, and Tenganad in Neyyattinkara. The
Palattara section is the most orthodox, and rigorously preserves its
endogamous character, though some of the titular dignitaries among
the Chovas of Central Travancore have found it possible to contract
alliances with them. The divisions of the Illam and Patikkramam are
absent among the Chovas. Among these, however, there is a division
into Sthani or Melkudi, Tanikudi, and Kizhkudi, the first denoting
the titular head, the second the ordinary class, and the third
those under communal degradation. Among the last are included the
toddy-drawing families, Vaduvans, and Nadis. Vaduvans are the slaves of
the Izhavas, and, in ancient days, could be regularly bought and sold
by them. Nadis live in Kartikapalli and some other parts of Central
Travancore. They are people who have been outcasted from the community
for various offences by the headmen, and cannot enter the kitchen of
the ordinary Izhavas. They are served for ceremonial purposes not by
the regular priests of the Izhavas, but by a distinct outcaste sect
like themselves, known as Nadikuruppus. The Izhavattis, who are the
priests of the caste, form a distinct sect with special manners and
customs. Channan, a corruption of the Tamil word, Chanror or chiefmen,
is the most important of the titles of the Izhavas. This title was
conferred upon distinguished members of the caste as a family honour
by some of the ancient sovereigns of the country. Panikkan comes next
in rank, and is derived from pani, work. Tantan, from danda meaning
punishment or control, is a popular title in some parts. Asan, from
Acharya, a teacher, is extremely common. The recipients of this honour
were instructors in gymnastics and military exercises to Nayar and
Izhava soldiers in bygone times, and even now ruins of old kalaris
or exercise grounds attached to their houses are discernible in many
places. Some Izhavas in South Travancore appear to be honoured with
the title of Mudaliyar. Many families were invested with similar
honours by the ancient ruling houses of Ambalapuzha, Kayenkulam,
and Jayasimhanad (Quilon). Even now, some titles are conferred by the
Rajah of Idappalli. The wives of these dignitaries are respectively
known as Channatti, Panikkatti, etc.
The houses of the Izhavas resemble those of the Nayars in form. Each
house is a group of buildings, the most substantial of which, known as
the arappura, stands in the centre. On the left side is the vadakkettu
or woman's apartment, including the kitchen. There is a court-yard
in front of the arappura, and a little building called kizhakkettu
enclosing it on the eastern side. Houses invariably face the east. The
main entrance stands a little to the south of the kizhakkettu, to the
south of which again is the tozhuttu or cow-shed. These buildings, of
course, are found only in rich houses, the poor satisfying themselves
with an arappura, a vatakketu, and a tozhuttu. A tekketu is to be seen
to the south of the arappura in some cases. This is erected mainly
to perpetuate the memory of some deceased member of the family known
for learning, piety, or bravery. A pitha or seat, a conch, a cane,
and a small bag containing ashes, are secured within. It is kept
scrupulously free from pollution, and worship is offered on fixed days
to the ancestors. The tekketu is enclosed on all the three sides,
except the east. This description of houses in South Travancore,
as far as Trivandrum, applies also to buildings erected to the north
as far as Quilon, though tekketus are not so largely found as in the
south. In some parts here, the southern room of the main buildings is
consecrated to the memory of ancestors. In Central Travancore there
are big kalaris to the south of the arappura in most of the ancient
houses, and antique weapons and images of tutelary divinities are
carefully preserved therein.
In dress and ornament, the Izhavas closely resemble the Nayars. The
tattu form of dress is not prevalent among Izhava women. In the wearing
of the cloth, the left side comes inside instead of the right in the
case of South Travancore Izhava women, though this rule is not without
its exceptions. In South Travancore, the ornaments of women differ
considerably from those of the north. Here they wear the pampadam or
Tamil Sudra women's ear ornament, and adorn the wrists with a pair
of silver bangles. The nose ornaments mukkuthi and gnattu have only
recently begun to be worn, and are not very popular in Central and
North Travancore. This is a point in which Izhavas may be said to
differ from the South Travancore Nayar matrons. The ear ornament
of elderly Izhava women in North Travancore is of an antique type
called atukkam-samkhu-chakkravum. Women in the rural parts wear a
curious neck ornament called anti-minnu. Of late, all ornaments of
Nayar women are being worn by fashionable Izhava females. But Izhava
and Nayar women can be distinguished by the tie of the hair lock,
the Izhava women usually bringing it to the centre of the forehead,
while the Nayars place it on one side, generally the left. Tattooing
was once prevalent in South Travancore, but is gradually losing
favour. It was never in vogue in North Travancore.
The Izhavas eat both fish and flesh. Rabbits, deer, pigs, sheep,
porcupines, fowls, doves, guinea-fowls, peacocks, and owls are
believed to make popular dishes. The sweetmeat called ariyunta,
and the curry known as mutirakkary, are peculiar to the Izhavas,
and prepared best by them.
The most important occupation of the Izhavas till recently was
the cultivation of palm trees, and the preparation of toddy and
arrack. Barbosa, writing in the sixteenth century, states that "their
principal employment is to till the palm trees, and gather their
fruits; and to carry everything for hire from one point to another,
because they are not in the habit of transporting them with beasts
of burden, as there are none; and they hew stone, and gain their
livelihood by all kinds of labour. Some of them bear the use of arms,
and fight in the wars when it is necessary. They carry a staff in
their hand of a fathom's length as a sign of their lineage." With the
progress of culture and enlightenment, the occupation of extracting
liquor from the cocoanut palm has ceased to be looked upon with favour,
and such families as are now given to that pursuit have come to be
regarded as a low division of the Chovas. In some parts of Travancore,
the latter do not even enjoy the privilege of commensality with the
other Izhavas. Agriculture is a prominent profession, and there are
several wealthy and influential landlords in the community. There
is also a fair percentage of agricultural labourers. A preliminary
rite, called pozhutana sowing, is performed by farmers, who throw
three handfuls of rice seed on a clay image representing Ganesa,
and pray that their fields may yield a good harvest. Before the time
of reaping, on an auspicious morning, a few sheaves are brought,
and hung up in some prominent place in the house. This ceremony is
known as nira, and is common to all Hindu castes. At the end of it,
the inmates of the house partake of puttari or new rice.
There are a few other customary rites observed by agriculturists,
viz.:--
(1) Metiyittu-varuka, or throwing the grains of the first sheaf
upon another, and covering it with its straw, this being afterwards
appropriated by the chief agricultural labourer present.
(2) Koytu-pitichcha-katta-kotukkuka, or handing over the first sheaves
of grain fastened together with Strychnos Nux-vomica leaves to the
owner of the field, who is obliged to preserve them till the next
harvest season.
(3) Kotuti, or offering of oblations of a few grains dipped in toddy
to the spirits of agricultural fields, the Pulaya priest crying aloud
'Poli, va, poli, va,' meaning literally May good harvest come.
As manufacturers, the Izhavas occupy a position in Travancore. They
produce several kinds of cloth, for local consumption in the main,
and make mats, tiles, and ropes, with remarkable skill. They are
also the chief lemon-grass oil distillers of Travancore. In the
professions of medicine and astrology, the Izhavas have largely engaged
themselves. While it must be confessed that many of them are utter
strangers to culture, there are several who have received a sound
education, especially in Sanskrit. On the whole, the Izhavas may be
said to be one of the most industrious and prosperous communities on
the west coast.
The Izhavas form a pious and orthodox Hindu caste. Though they
cannot enter the inner court-yard of temples, they attend there in
considerable numbers, and make their pious offerings. Over several
temples the Travancore Izhavas have a joint right with the Nayars. In
illustration, the shrines of Saktikulamgara in Karunagappali, and
Chettikulangara in Mavelikara, may be mentioned. Over these and other
temples, the rights that have been enjoyed from time immemorial by
certain Izhava families are respected even at the present day. In
most places, the Izhavas have their own temples, with a member of
their own or the Izhavatti caste as priest. As no provision had been
made in them for daily worship, there was no necessity in early times
for the regular employment of priests. The deity usually worshipped
was Bhadrakali, who was believed to help them in their military
undertakings. The offerings made to her involved animal sacrifices. The
temples are generally low thatched buildings with a front porch, an
enclosure wall, and a grove of trees. There are many instances, in
which the enclosure wall is absent. The Bhadrakali cult is gradually
losing favour under the teaching of a Vedantic scholar and religious
reformer named Nanan Asan. In many Central and South Travancore
shrines, images of Subramania have been set up at his instance,
and daily worship is offered by bachelor priests appointed by the
castemen. An association for the social, material, and religious
amelioration of the community, called Narayana Dharma Paripalana
Yogam, has been started. Its head-quarters is at Aruvippuram in the
Nayyatinkara taluk. Every morning, the sun is specially worshipped
by the cultured class. In ancient times, the adoration of Anchu
Tampurakkal or the five deities, now identified with the Pandavas
of the Mahabharata, prevailed among these people. This worship is
found among the Pulayas also. At Mayyanad in Quilon, there is still
an Izhava temple dedicated to these five lords. Women visit shrines on
all Mondays and Fridays, with a view to worshipping Gauri, the consort
of Siva. Male Izhavas devote the first and last days of a month, as
also that on which the star of their nativity falls, to religious
worship. The Izhavas of Central Travancore pay homage to a spirit
called Kayalil Daivam, or the deity of backwaters. When a village
becomes infected with small-pox or cholera, offerings are made to
the Bhadrakali shrine in that locality. The most important offering
goes by the name of Kalam Vaikkuka, or pot placing. A woman of the
house of the local Panikkan or chief member fasts, and, bearing a
pot containing five nalis (a small measure) of paddy (unhusked rice),
proceeds to all the other Izhava houses in the village, accompanied
by musical instruments. One woman from every house marches to the
shrine with her offering of paddy and a chuckram (nearly half an
anna). The priest receives the offerings, converts the paddy into
rice, and, depositing a portion of it in each of the pots, hands them
back to the votaries on the morning of the next day. Another ceremony
performed on such occasions is called Desakuruti, when women fast, and,
taking all the food-stuffs necessary, proceed to the temple. After the
sacrifice of a goat and fowls by the priest, they make an offering of
the food to the deity before dinner. Tukkam, or suspension, is another
propitiatory ceremony. A religious observance, known as Mamachchirappu,
finds favour with the Izhavas of Central Travancore in the month of
Vrischikam (November-December). Every Izhava bathes in the evening,
addresses the deities by their names for about an hour, and then
makes an offering of tender cocoanuts, fruits, and fried grain. This
takes place according to the convenience of each family from twelve
to forty-one days.
In connection with the tukkam ceremony, Mr. L. K. Anantha Krishna
Aiyar writes as follows. [193] "There are two kinds of hook-swinging,
namely Garuda (Brahmini kite) and thoni (boat) tukkam. The ceremony
is performed in fulfilment of a vow, to obtain some favour of the
deity Kali, before whose presence it is carried out. The performer
of the ceremony should bathe early in the morning, and be in a state
of preparation either for a year or for forty-one days by worshipping
the deity Bhagavati. He must strictly abstain from meat, all kinds of
intoxicating liquors, and association with women. During the morning
hours, the performer dresses himself in a garment tucked into the
waist-band, rubs his body with oil, and is shampooed particularly on
the back, a portion of the flesh in the middle of which is stretched
for the insertion of a hook. He is also taught by his instructor to
perform various feats called payitta. This he continues till the
festival, when he has to swing in fulfilment of the vow. In kite
swinging, a kind of car, resting on two axles provided with four
wheels, is employed. On it, there is a horizontal beam resting on
two vertical supports. A strong rope tied to a ring attached to the
beam is connected with the hook which passes through the flesh of the
back. Over the beam there is a kutaram (tent), which is tastefully
decorated. Inside it, two or three persons can swing at a time. There
is a different arrangement in some places. Instead of the beam and
the supports, there is a small pole, on which rests a horizontal beam
provided with a metallic ring at one end. The beam acts as a lever, so
that one end of it can be either raised or lowered, so as to give some
rest to the swinger. The rope tied to the ring is connected with the
hook and the waist-band. For boat swinging, the same kind of vehicle,
without wheels, is in use. For kite swinging, the performer has his
face painted green. He has to put on artificial lips and wings in
imitation of those of the kite, and wears long locks of hair like those
of an actor in a Kathakali. As he swings, the car is taken three, five,
seven, nine, or eleven times round the temple. In boat swinging, the
car is likewise carried round the temple, with the swinger performing
his feats, as in the case of kite swinging, to the accompaniment of
music. He has to put on the same kind of dress, except the lips and
wings. In pillayeduthutukkam, or swinging with a child in fulfilment
of a vow, the child is taken to the temple by his parents, who pay
to the temple authorities thirty-four chuckrams in Travancore, and
sixty-four puthans [194] in Cochin. The child is then handed over to
the swinger, who carries the child as he swings. These performances
are sometimes made at the expense of the temple, but more generally of
persons who make the outlay in fulfilment of a vow. In the latter case,
it costs as much as Rs. 150 for the kite swinger, but only Rs. 30 for
the boat swinger. During the festival, they are fed in the temple,
owing to their being in a state of vow. It is the Nayars, Kammalars,
Kuruppans, and Izhavas, who perform the swinging in fulfilment of a
vow. In the fight between the goddess Kali and the demon Darika, the
latter was completely defeated, and the former, biting him on the back,
drank his blood to gratify her feelings of animosity. Hook-swinging
symbolises this incident, and the bloodshed by the insertion of the
hook through the flesh is intended as an offering to the goddess."
Of the hook-swinging ceremony as performed a few years ago at the
Kollangadu temple in Travancore, an excellent account is given by
the Rev. T. Knowles, [195] from which the following précis has been
compiled. In front of the temple was a booth containing the image of
the goddess Bhadrakali, a cruel deity, who is supposed to delight in
blood. At a little distance was the car. The bottom part of this was
very much like a lorry used when transporting large logs of timber
by means of elephants. There were four solid wheels of thick timber,
with a frame work, like a railway waggon on a small scale. To this
were attached two thick cable ropes. Joined to the sides of the car
were two upright posts, about 15 feet high, strengthened with stays
and cross-pieces. On the top was a piece of thick timber with a hole
in it, and the bottom rounded, which fitted into a cross-piece,
and allowed the long beam on which the men were swung to move up
or down. This beam was 35 or 40 feet long, and about 9 inches in
diameter. It was placed through the hole in the piece of timber
on the top of the upright frame, and balanced in the middle like a
huge see-saw. At one end of the hole was a covered canopy, and at
the other long ropes were fastened, which trailed on the ground. The
whole arrangement of the car was such that, by lowering one end of the
long beam to the ground, and fastening a man to it, and then pulling
down the other end by the ropes, the man could be raised into the
air to a height of some 40 feet or more. The whole car could then be
dragged by the thick cable ropes round the temple. While the subject
was being prepared for swinging, a mat was stretched above his head,
partly to do him honour, partly to protect him from the sun. His
head and neck were richly ornamented, and below he was bedecked with
peacock's feathers, and clad in a loin-cloth, which would bear some,
if not all the weight of his body. Amid the firing of mortars, beating
of tom-toms, the screeching of flutes, and the shouts of the crowd,
the canopied end of the long beam was lowered, and the devotee, lying
prone on the ground, was fastened to the beam by means of ropes passing
under his arms and around his chest. To some of the ropes, hooks were
fastened. The priests took hold of the fleshy part of the man's back,
squeezed up the flesh, and put some four hooks at least through it. A
rudely fashioned sword and shield were then given to the man, and he
was swung up into the air, waving the sword and shield, and making
convulsive movements. Slowly the people dragged the car round the
temple, a distance not quite as far as round St. Paul's cathedral. Some
of the men were suspended while the car was dragged round three or
four times. The next devotee was fastened in the same way to the beam,
but, instead of a sword and shield, the priests gave him an infant in
his arms, and devotee and infant were swung up in the air, and the car
dragged round the temple as before. Some children were brought forward,
whose parents had made vows about them. The little ones were made to
prostrate themselves before the image of Kali. Then the fleshy parts
of their sides were pinched up, and some wires put through. This done,
the wires were placed in the hands of the relatives, and the children
were led round and round the temple, as though in leading strings. It
is on record that, when the devotee has been specially zealous, the
whole machine has been moved to a considerable distance while he was
suspended from it, to the admiration of the gaping multitudes."
In connection with the religion of the Ilavars, the Rev. S. Mateer
writes as follows. [196] "Demon worship, especially that of Bhadrakali,
a female demon described as a mixture of mischief and cruelty, is
the customary cultus of the caste, with sacrifices and offerings and
devil-dancing like the Shanars. Shastavu and Virabhadran are also
venerated, and the ghosts of ancestors. Groves of trees stand near
the temples, and serpent images are common, these creatures being
accounted favourites of Kali. They carry their superstitions and fear
of the demons into every department and incident of life. In some
temples and ceremonies, as at Paroor, Sarkarei, etc., they closely
associate with the Sudras. The Ilavar temples are generally low,
thatched buildings, with front porch, a good deal of wooden railing
and carving about them, an enclosure wall, and a grove or a few trees,
such as Ficus religiosa, Plumeria, and Bassia. At the Ilavar temple
near Chakki in the outskirts of Trevandrum, the goddess Bhadrakali
is represented as a female seated on an image, having two wings,
gilt and covered with serpents. Twice a year, fowls and sheep are
sacrificed by an Ilavan priest, and offerings of grain, fruit,
and flowers are presented. The side-piercing ceremony is also
performed here. A temple at Mangalattukonam, about ten miles south
of Trevandrum, at which I witnessed the celebration of the annual
festival on the day following Meena Bharani, in March or April,
may be taken as a fair example of the whole. In connection with
this temple may be seen a peculiar wooden pillar and small shrine
at the top, somewhat like a pigeon-house. This is called a tani
maram, and is a kind of altar, or residence, for the demon Madan,
resembling the temporary shrines on sticks or platforms erected by
the Pulayars. On it are carvings of many-headed serpents, etc., and
a projecting lamp for oil. For the festival, the ground around the
temple was cleared of weeds, the outhouses and sheds decorated with
flowers, and on the tani maram were placed two bunches of plantains,
at its foot a number of devil-dancing sticks. Close by were five or
six framework shrines, constructed of soft palm leaves and pith of
plantain tree, and ornamented with flowers. These were supposed to be
the residence of some minor powers, and in them were placed, towards
night, offerings of flowers, rice, plantains, cocoanuts, and blood. The
Ilavars who assemble for the festival wear the marks of Siva, a dot and
horizontal lines on the forehead, and three horizontal lines of yellow
turmeric on the chest. They begin to gather at the temple from noon,
and return home at night. The festival lasts for five days. Some of
the neighbouring Sudras and Shanars also attend, and some Pulayars,
who pay one chuckram for two shots of firework guns in fulfilment of
their vows. Offerings here are generally made in return for relief
from sickness or trouble of some kind. The pujari, or priest, is an
Ilavan, who receives donations of money, rice, etc. A kind of mild
hook-swinging ceremony is practised. On the occasion referred to, four
boys, about fifteen or sixteen years of age, were brought. They must
partly fast for five days previously on plain rice and vegetable curry,
and are induced to consent to the operation, partly by superstitious
fear, and partly by bribes. On the one hand they are threatened with
worse danger if they do not fulfil the vows made by their parents to
the devi (deity); on the other hand, if obedient, they receive presents
of fine clothes and money. Dressed in handsome cloths and turbans,
and adorned with gold bracelets and armlets, and garlands of flowers,
the poor boys are brought to present a little of their blood to the
sanguinary goddess. Three times they march round the temple; then
an iron is run through the muscles of each side, and small rattans
inserted through the wounds. Four men seize the ends of the canes,
and all go round in procession, with music and singing and clapping of
hands, five or seven times, according to their endurance, till quite
exhausted. The pujari now dresses in a red cloth, with tinsel border,
like a Brahman, takes the dancing-club in hand, and dances before the
demon. Cocks are sacrificed, water being first poured upon the head;
when the bird shakes itself, the head is cut off, and the blood poured
round the temple. Rice is boiled in one of the sheds in a new pot, and
taken home with the fowls by the people for a feast in the house. At
Mayanadu, the Bhagavathi of the small temple belonging to the Ilavars
is regarded as the sister of the one worshipped in the larger temple
used by the Sudras, and served by a Brahman priest; and the cars of the
latter are brought annually to the Ilavar's temple, and around it three
times before returning to their own temple. At the Ilavar's temple,
the same night, the women boil rice in new earthen pots, and the men
offer sheep and fowls in sacrifice. In further illustration of the
strange superstitious practices of this tribe, two more incidents may
be mentioned. An Ilavatti, whose child was unwell, went to consult an
astrologer, who informed her that the disease was caused by the spirit
of the child's deceased grandmother. For its removal he would perform
various incantations, for which he required the following, viz.:--water
from seven wells, dung from five cowsheds, a larva of the myrmeleon,
a crab, a frog, a green snake, a viral fish, parched rice, ada cake,
cocoanut, chilly, and green palm leaves. An Ilavan, who had for some
time been under Christian instruction, was led away by a brother, who
informed him that, if he built a small temple for the worship of Nina
Madan, and offered sacrifices, he should find a large copper vessel
full of gold coins hid underground, and under the charge of this
demon. The foolish man did so, but did not find a single cash. Now
the lying brother avers that the demon will not be satisfied unless
a human sacrifice is offered, which, of course, is impossible."
The headmen of the Izhava caste are the Channans and Panikkans,
invested with these titles by the Sovereigns of this State who have
been already referred to. The limits of their jurisdiction were
generally fixed in the charters received from them by their rulers,
and even to-day their authority remains supreme in all social
matters. The priests, it may be noted, are only a minor class,
having no judicial functions. Chief among the offences against
the caste rules may be mentioned non-observance of pollution,
illicit connection, non-performance of the tali-kettu before the
age of puberty, non-employment of the village barber and washerman,
non-celebration of ceremonies in one's own village, and so on. The
headman comes to know of these through the agency of the village
barber or washerman, and also a class of secondary dignitaries known
as Kottilpattukar or Naluvitanmar. In every village, there are four
families, invested with this authority in olden times by the rulers of
the State on payment of fifty-nine fanams to the royal treasury. They
are believed to hold a fourth of the authority that pertains to the
chieftain of the village. If, on enquiry, an offence is proved,
a fine is imposed on the offender, which he is obliged to pay to
the local shrine. If the offence is grave, a feast has to be given
by him to the villagers. In cases of failure, the services of the
village priest and washerman, and also the barber, are refused, and
the culprit becomes ostracised from society. The headman has to be
paid a sum of ten chuckrams on all occasions of ceremonies, and the
Naluvitanmar four chuckrams each. There is a movement in favour of
educating the priests, and delegating some of the above powers to them.
Three forms of inheritance may be said to prevail among the Izhavas
of Travancore, viz.: (1) makkathayam (inheritance from father to son)
in the extreme south; (2) marumakkatayam (through the female line) in
all taluks to the north of Quilon; (3) a mixture of the two between
Neyyatinkara and that taluk. According to the mixed mode, one's own
children are not left absolutely destitute, but some portion of
the property is given them for maintenance, in no case, however,
exceeding a half. In families observing the marumakkatayam law,
male and female heirs own equal rights. Partition, though possible
when all consent, rarely takes place in practice, the eldest male
member holding in his hands the management of the whole property. In
Quilon and other places, the widow and her children are privileged
to remain in her husband's house for full one year after his death,
and enjoy all the property belonging to him.
On the subject of inheritance, the Rev. S. Mateer writes as
follows. "The nepotistic law of inheritance is, to a considerable
extent, followed by this caste. Those in the far south being
more closely connected with the Tamil people, their children
inherit. Amongst the Ilavars in Trevandrum district, a curious attempt
is made to unite both systems of inheritance, half the property
acquired by a man after his marriage, and during the lifetime of
his wife, going to the issue of such marriage, and half to the man's
nepotistic heirs. In a case decided by the Sadr Court, in 1872, the
daughter of an Ilavan claimed her share in the movable and immovable
property of her deceased father, and to have a sale made by him while
alive declared null and void to the extent of her share. As there was
another similar heir, the Court awarded the claimant a half share, and
to this extent the claim was invalidated. Their rules are thus stated
by G. Kerala Varman Tirumulpad:--'If one marries and gives cloth to
an Ilavatti (female), and has issue, of the property acquired by him
and her from the time of the union, one-tenth is deducted for the
husband's labour or individual profit; of the remainder, half goes
to the woman and her children, and half to the husband and his heirs
(anandaravans). The property which an Ilavan has inherited or earned
before his marriage devolves solely to his anandaravans, not to his
children. If an Ilavatti has continued to live with her husband, and
she has no issue, or her children die before obtaining any share of the
property, when the husband dies possessing property earned by both,
his heirs and she must mutually agree, or the castemen decide what
is fair for her support; and the husband's heir takes the remainder.'"
The marriage of Izhava girls consists of two distinct rites, one
before they attain puberty called tali-kettu, and the other generally
after that period, but in some cases before, called sambandham. It is,
however, necessary that the girl must have her tali tied before some
one contracts sambandham with her. The tali-tier may be, but often
is not, as among the Nayars, the future husband of the girl. But,
even for him, the relation will not be complete without a formal
cloth presentation. The legitimate union for a person is with his
maternal uncle's or paternal aunt's daughter. Generally there is a
separate ceremony called Grihapravesam, or entrance into the house of
the bridegroom after sambandham. Widows may contract alliances with
other persons after the death of the first husband. In all cases,
the Izhava husband takes his wife home, and considers it infra dig. to
stay in the house of his father-in-law.
The method of celebrating the tali-kettu differs in different
parts of Travancore. The following is the form popular in Central
Travancore. All the elderly members of the village assemble at the
house of the girl, and fix a pillar of jack (Artocarpus integrifolia)
wood at the south-east corner. On the Kaniyan (astrologer) being
three times loudly consulted as to the auspiciousness of the house he
gives an affirmative reply, and the guardian of the girl, receiving a
silver ring from the goldsmith, hands it over to the Vatti (priest),
who ties it on the wooden post. The carpenter, Kaniyan, and goldsmith
receive some little presents. The next item in the programme is the
preparation of the rice necessary for the marriage, and a quantity of
paddy (unhusked rice) is brought by the girl to the pandal ground, and
formally boiled in a pot. The pandal (booth) is generally erected on
the south side of the house. The chartu, or a chit from the Kaniyan,
certifying the auspiciousness of the match and the suitable date for
its formal adoption, is taken by the guardian and four Machchampis or
Inangans to the headman of the latter. These Machchampis are Izhavas
of the village, equal in status to the guardian of the girl. All
the preliminary arrangements are now over, and, on the day previous
to the marriage, the girl bathes, and, wearing the bleached cloths
supplied by the Mannan (washerman), worships the local deity, and
awaits the arrival of the bridegroom. In the evening, the wife of
the Vatti applies oil to her hair, and after a bath the rite known
as Kalati begins, as a preliminary to which a thread passing through
a silver ring is tied round her right wrist. Kalati is recitation of
various songs by the women of the village before the girl. This is
followed by Kanjiramala, or placing the girl before a line of carved
wooden images, and songs by the Vatti women. On the following day, the
girl is introduced, at the auspicious hour, within the katirmandapa or
raised platform decorated with sheaves of corn within the pandal. The
minnu or marriage ornament, prepared by the goldsmith, is handed
over to the priest, along with two cloths to be worn by the bride
and bridegroom. A string is made of thread taken from these cloths,
and the minnu attached to it. The mother-in-law of the bridegroom
now stands ready at the gate, and, on his arrival, places a garland
of flowers round his neck. The new cloths are then presented by
the Vatti and his wife to the bridegroom and bride respectively,
after some tender cocoanut leaves, emblematic of the established
occupation of the caste, are thrust into the bridegroom's waist by
the headman of the village. In former days, a sword took the place
of these leaves. The minnu is then tied round the neck of the bride,
and all parties, including the parent or guardian, give presents to
the bridegroom. The day's ceremony is then over, and the bridegroom
remains at the house of the bride. The string is removed from
the bride's wrist by the Vatti on the fourth day, and the couple
bathe. More than one girl may have the tali tied at the same time,
provided that there are separate bridegrooms for them. Only boys from
the families of Machchampis can become tali-tiers.
The sambandham of North and Central Travancore differs from that
of South Travancore in some material respects. In the former, on
the appointed day, the bridegroom, who is a different person from
the tali-tier, accompanied by his relations and friends, arrives
at the bride's house, and the guardian of the former offers a sum
of money to the guardian of the latter. A suit of clothes, with ten
chuckrams or ten rasis (coins), is presented by the bridegroom to the
bride, who stands in a room within and receives it, being afterwards
dressed by his sister. The money goes by right to her mother, and is
known as Ammayippanam. Now comes the time for the departure of the
bride to her husband's house, when she receives from her guardian a
nut-cracker, lime-can, a dish filled with rice, and a mat. A red cloth
is thrown over her head, and a few members accompany the party for some
distance. In South Travancore, the bridegroom is accompanied, besides
others, by a companion, who asks in the midst of the assembly whether
they assent to the proposed alliance, and, on their favourable reply,
hands over a sum of money as an offering to the local shrine. Another
sum is given for the maintenance of the bride, and, in the presence of
the guardian, a suit of clothes is given to her by the bridegroom. The
wife is, as elsewhere, immediately taken to the husband's house. This
is called Kudivaippu, and corresponds to the Grahapravesam celebrated
by Brahmans.
The following account of marriage among the Izhavas of Malabar is
given in the Gazetteer of that district. "A girl may be married before
puberty, but the consummation is not supposed to be effected till
after puberty, though the girl may live with her husband at once. If
the marriage is performed before puberty, the ceremony is apparently
combined with the tali-kettu kalyanam. The bride is fetched from the
devapura or family chapel with a silk veil over her head, and holding
a betel leaf in her right hand in front of her face. She stands in
the pandal on a plank, on which there is some rice. On her right
stand four enangans of the bridegroom, and on her left four of her
own. The elder of the bridegroom's enangans hands one of the bride's
enangans a bundle containing the tali, a mundu and pava (cloths),
some rice, betel leaves, and a coin called meymelkanam, which should
be of gold and worth at least one rupee. All these are provided by
the bridegroom. He next hands the tali to the bridegroom's sister,
who ties it. After this, all the enangans scatter rice and flowers
over the bride. In this caste, the claim of a man to the hand of his
paternal aunt's daughter is recognised in the ceremony called padikkal
tada (obstruction at the gate), which consists of a formal obstruction
offered by eleven neighbours to the bride's removal, when she is not
so related to her husband They are bought off by a fee of two fanams,
and a packet of betel leaf. The girl is then taken to the bridegroom's
house. If very young, she is chaperoned by a female relative. On the
fourth day there is a feast at the bridegroom's house called nalam
kalyanam and this concludes the ceremonies. Marriage after puberty
is called Pudamari. The ceremonial is the same, but there is no
padikkal tada."
When an Izhava girl reaches puberty, the occasion is one for a four
days' religious ceremonial. On the first day, the Vatti priestess
anoints the girl with oil, and after a bath, dresses her in the cloth
supplied by the Mannatti (washerwoman). She is then laid on a broad
wooden plank, and is supposed not to go out until she bathes on the
fourth day. All the female relations of the family present her with
sweetmeats. On the seventh day, she is again taken to and from the
village tank (pond) with much éclat, and, on her return, she either
treads on cloths spread on the floor, or is carried by an elderly
woman. After this, she husks a quantity of paddy, and cooks the
rice obtained thence. If this ceremony takes place at the house of a
headman, the villagers present him with a vessel full of sugared rice.
A two days' ceremonial, called Pulikudi in north Travancore, and
Vayattu Pongala in the south, which corresponds to the Pumsavana of
Brahmans, is observed at the seventh month of pregnancy. On the first
day, at twilight in the evening, the pregnant woman, preceded by the
priestess, proceeds to the foot of a tamarind tree on the southern
side of the compound. Arriving there, she receives a thread seven
yards in length, to which a silver ring is attached at one end, and,
by means of circumambulation, entwines the tree with the thread. If
the thread is by chance or inadvertence broken during this process,
the popular belief is that either the mother or the child will die
soon. Next day, the thread is unwound from the tree, and a handful of
tamarind leaves is given to the woman by her husband. On re-entering
the house, tamarind juice is poured through the hands of the husband
into those of the wife, who drinks it. The priestess then pours
a quantity of oil on the navel of the woman from a betel leaf,
and, from the manner in which it flows down, it is believed that
she is able to determine the sex of the unborn child. The woman
has to lean against a cutting of an ambazham (Spondias mangifera)
tree while she is drinking the juice, and this cutting has to be
planted in some part of the compound. If it does not grow properly,
the adversity of the progeny is considered to be sealed. The husband
is given a ring and other presents on this occasion. Women bathe on
the third, fifth, and nineteenth day after delivery, and wear the
mattu or changed cloth of the Mannatti, in order to be freed from
pollution. The name-giving ceremony of the child takes place on
the twenty-eighth day. It is decorated with a pair of iron anklets,
and a ribbon passed through a few pieces of iron is tied round its
waist. It is then held standing on a vessel filled with rice, and,
its left ear being closed, a name is muttered by its guardian into the
right ear. The first feeding ceremony is observed in the sixth month,
when the iron ornaments are removed, and replaced by silver and gold
ones. The ear-boring ceremony takes place at an auspicious hour on
some day before the child attains its seventh year.
In former times, only the eldest male member of a family was cremated,
but no such restriction obtains at the present day. When a member
of the community dies, three handfuls of rice are placed in the
mouth of the corpse by the eldest heir after a bath, followed by
the sons, nephews, and grandsons of the deceased. Every relative
throws an unbleached cloth over the corpse, after which it is taken
to the burning-ground, where the pyre is lighted by the heir with
a consecrated torch handed to him by the priest. A wooden plank is
furnished by the carpenter, and an impression of the foot of the
deceased smeared with sandal paste is made on it. The name, and date
of the death of the deceased, are inscribed thereon, and it has to be
carefully preserved in the house of the heir. The record refreshes
his memory on occasions of sradh (memorial service), etc. When the
cremation is half completed, the contents of a tender cocoanut are
placed beside the head of the corpse as an offering, and prayers are
muttered. A pot full of water is then borne by the chief mourner on
his shoulder thrice round the corpse. As he does so, the priest pricks
the pot thrice with an iron instrument. Finally, the pot is broken
on the pyre, and the chief mourner returns home without turning back
and looking at the corpse. On the second day, an oblation of food
(pinda) is offered to the departed. The inmates of the house are fed
with conji (rice gruel) on this day by the relatives. The Sanchayana,
or collection of bones, takes place on the fifth day. Pollution lasts
for fifteen days in Central and North Travancore, but only for ten days
in the south. There are some rites, not observed necessarily by all
members of the caste, on the forty-first day, and at the end of the
first year. Persons who have died of contagious diseases, women who
die after conception or on delivery, and children under five years
of age, are buried. Pollution is observed only for nine days when
children die; and, in the case of men who die of contagious disease,
a special group of ceremonies is performed by the sorcerer. Those
who are under pollution, besides being forbidden to enter shrines
and other sanctuaries, may not read or write, or partake of liquor,
butter, milk, ghi, dhal, or jaggery.
J
Jada.--Jada or Jandra, meaning great men, has been recorded as a
synonym of Devanga and Kurni.
Jaggali.--The Jaggalis are defined, in the Manual of the Ganjam
district, as Uriya workers in leather in Ganjam. It is recorded,
in the Madras Census Report, 1901, that "the traditional occupation
of this caste was apparently leatherworking, but now it is engaged in
cultivation and miscellaneous labour. Its members speak both Oriya and
Telugu. They admit outcastes from other communities to their ranks on
payment of a small fee. Marriage is either infant or adult, and widows
and divorcées may remarry. Satanis are employed as priests. They eat
beef and pork, and drink alcohol. They bury their dead. In some places
they work as syces (grooms), and in others as firewood-sellers and
as labourers. Patro and Behara are their titles." It may, I think,
be accepted that the Jaggalis are Telugu Madigas, who have settled
in Ganjam, and learnt the Oriya language. It is suggested that the
name is derived from the Oriya jagiba, watching, as some are village
crop-watchers.
Jaikonda (lizard).--A sept of Domb.
Jain.--"Few," Mr. T. A. Gopinatha Rao writes, [197] "even among
educated persons, are aware of the existence of Jainas and Jaina
centres in Southern India. The Madras Presidency discloses vestiges
of Jaina dominion almost everywhere, and on many a roadside a stone
Tirthankara, standing or sitting cross-legged, is a common enough
sight. The present day interpretations of these images are the same all
over the Presidency. If the images are two, one represents a debtor
and the other a creditor, both having met on the road, and waiting
to get their accounts settled and cleared. If it is only one image,
it represents a debtor paying penalty for not having squared up his
accounts with his creditor."
It is recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1891, that "out of a
total of 25,716 Jains, as many as 22,273 have returned both caste and
sub-division as Jain. The remainder have returned 22 sub-divisions,
of which some, such as Digambara and Swetambara, are sectarian rather
than caste divisions, but others like Marvadi, Osval, Vellalan, etc.,
are distinct castes. And the returns also show that some Jains have
returned well-known castes as their main castes, for we have Jain
Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Gaudas, Vellalas, etc. The Jain Bants, however,
have all returned Jain as their main caste." At the Madras census,
1901, 27,431 Jains were returned. Though they are found in nearly
every district of the Madras Presidency, they occur in the largest
number in the following:--
South Canara 9,582
North Arcot 8,128
South Arcot 5,896
At the Mysore census, 1901, 13,578 Jains were returned. It is
recorded in the report that "the Digambaras and Swetambaras are the
two main divisions of the Jain faith. The root of the word Digambara
means space clad or sky clad, i.e., nude, while Swetambara means
clad in white. The Swetambaras are found more in Northern India,
and are represented but by a small number in Mysore. The Digambaras
are said to live absolutely separated from society, and from all
worldly ties. These are generally engaged in trade, selling mostly
brass and copper vessels, and are scattered all over the country,
the largest number of them being found in Shimoga, Mysore, and Hassan
districts. Sravana Belagola, in the Hassan district, is a chief seat
of the Jains of the province. Tirthankaras are the priests of the
Jain religion, and are also known as Pitambaras. The Jain Yatis or
clergy here belong to the Digambara sect, and cover themselves with
a yellow robe, and hence the name Pithambara." The Dasa Banajigas of
Mysore style themselves Jaina Kshatriya Ramanujas.
In connection with the terms Digambara and Swetambara, it is noted
by Bühler [198] that "Digambara, that is those whose robe is the
atmosphere, owe their name to the circumstance that they regard
absolute nudity as the indispensable sign of holiness, though the
advance of civilization has compelled them to depart from the practice
of their theory. The Swetambara, that is they who are clothed in
white, do not claim this doctrine, but hold it as possible that the
holy ones who clothe themselves may also attain the highest goal. They
allow, however, that the founder of the Jaina religion and his first
disciples disdained to wear clothes."
The most important Jain settlement in Southern India at the present day
is at Sravana Belagola in Mysore, where the Jains are employed in the
manufacture of metal vessels for domestic use. The town is situated at
the base of two hills, on the summit of one of which, the Indra Betta,
is the colossal statue of Gomatesvara, Gummatta, or Gomata Raya, [199]
concerning which Mr. L. Rice writes as follows. [200] "The image is
nude, and stands erect, facing the north. The figure has no support
above the thighs. Up to that point it is represented as surrounded by
ant-hills, from which emerge serpents. A climbing plant twines itself
round both legs and both arms, terminating at the upper part of the arm
in a cluster of fruit or berries. The pedestal on which the feet stand
is carved to represent an open lotus. The hair is in spiral ringlets,
flat to the head, as usual in Jain images, and the lobe of the ears
lengthened down with a large rectangular hole. The extreme height
of the figure may be stated at 57 feet, though higher estimates have
been given--60 feet 3 inches by Sir Arthur Wellesley (afterwards Duke
of Wellington), and 70 feet 3 inches by Buchanan." Of this figure,
Fergusson writes [201] that nothing grander or more imposing exists
anywhere out of Egypt, and even there no known statue surpasses it
in height, though, it must be confessed, they do excel it in the
perfection of art they exhibit."
Other colossal statues of Gummata are situated on the summit
of hills outside the towns of Karkal and Venur or Yenur in South
Canara. Concerning the former, Dr. E. Hultzsch writes as follows. [202]
"It is a monolith consisting of the figure itself, of a slab against
which it leans, and which reaches up to the wrists, and of a round
pedestal which is sunk into a thousand-petalled lotus flower. The legs
and arms of the figure are entwined with vines (drâkshâ). On both sides
of the feet, a number of snakes are cut out of the slab against which
the image leans. Two inscriptions [203] on the sides of the same slab
state that this image of Bahubalin or Gummata Jinapati was set up by
a chief named Vîra-Pândya, the son of Bhairava, in A.D. 1431-32. An
inscription of the same chief is engraved on a graceful stone pillar
in front of the outer gateway. This pillar bears a seated figure of
Brahmadêva, a chief of Pattipombuchcha, the modern Humcha in Mysore,
who, like Vîra-Pândya, belonged to the family of Jinadatta, built
the Chaturmukha basti in A.D. 1586-87. As its name (chaturmukha, the
four-faced) implies, this temple has four doors, each of which opens
on three black stone figures of the three Tirthankaras Ari, Malli,
and Munisuvrata. Each of the figures has a golden aureole over the
head." According to a legend recorded by Mr. M. J. Walhouse, [204]
the Karkal statue, when finished, was raised on to a train of twenty
iron carts furnished with steel wheels, on each of which ten thousand
propitiatory cocoanuts were broken and covered with an infinity of
cotton. It was then drawn by legions of worshippers up an inclined
plane to the platform on the hill-top where it now stands.
The legend of Kalkuda, who is said to have made the colossal statue
at "Belgula," is narrated at length by Mr. A. C. Burnell. [205]
Told briefly, the story is as follows. Kalkuda made a Gummata two
cubits higher than at Belur. Bairanasuda, King of Karkal, sent for
him to work in his kingdom. He made the Gummatasami. Although five
thousand people were collected together, they were not able to raise
the statue. Kalkuda put his left hand under it, and raised it, and set
it upright on a base. He then said to the king "Give me my pay, and the
present that you have to give to me. It is twelve years since I left
my house, and came here." But the king said "I will not let Kalkuda,
who has worked in my kingdom, work in another country," and cut off
his left hand and right leg. Kalkuda then went to Timmanajila, king
of Yenur, and made a Gummata two cubits higher than that at Karkal.
In connection with the figure at Sravana Belagola, Fergusson suggests
[206] that the hill had a mass or tor standing on its summit, which
the Jains fashioned into a statue.
The high priest of the Jain basti at Karkal in 1907 gave as his
name Lalitha Kirthi Bhattaraka Pattacharya Variya Jiyaswamigalu. His
full-dress consisted of a red and gold-embroidered Benares body-cloth,
red and gold turban, and, as a badge of office, a brush of peacock's
feathers mounted in a gold handle, carried in his hand. On ordinary
occasions, he carried a similar brush mounted in a silver handle. The
abhishekam ceremony is performed at Karkal at intervals of many
years. A scaffold is erected, and over the colossal statue are poured
water, milk, flowers, cocoanuts, sugar, jaggery, sugar-candy, gold
and silver flowers, fried rice, beans, gram, sandal paste, nine kinds
of precious stones, etc.
Concerning the statue at Yenur, Mr. Walhouse writes [207] that "it
is lower than the Kârkala statue (41-1/2 feet), apparently by three
or four feet. It resembles its brother colossi in all essential
particulars, but has the special peculiarity of the cheeks being
dimpled with a deep grave smile. The salient characteristics of all
these colossi are the broad square shoulders, and the thickness and
remarkable length of the arms, the tips of the fingers, like Rob
Roy's, nearly reaching the knees. [One of Sir Thomas Munro's good
qualities was that, like Rama, his arms reached to his knees or,
in other words, he possessed the quality of an Ajanubahu, which is
the heritage of kings, or those who have blue blood in them.] Like
the others, this statue has the lotus enwreathing the legs and arms,
or, as Dr. Burnell suggests, it may be jungle creepers, typical of
wrapt meditation. [There is a legend that Bahubalin was so absorbed
in meditation in a forest that climbing plants grew over him.] A
triple-headed cobra rises up under each hand, and there are others
lower down."
"The village of Mudabidure in the South Canara district," Dr. Hultzsch
writes, "is the seat of a Jaina high priest, who bears the title
Chârukirti-Panditâchârya-Svâmin. He resides in a matha, which is
known to contain a large library of Jaina manuscripts. There are
no less than sixteen Jaina temples (basti) at Mûdabidure. Several
of them are elaborate buildings with massive stone roofs, and are
surrounded by laterite enclosures. A special feature of this style
of architecture is a lofty monolithic column called mânastambha,
which is set up in front of seven of the bastis. In two of them
a flagstaff (dhvajastambha), which consists of wood covered with
copper, is placed between the mânastambha and the shrine. Six of
them are called Settarabasti, and accordingly must have been built
by Jaina merchants (Setti). The sixteen bastis are dedicated to the
following Tîrthankaras:--Chandranatha or Chandraprabha, Nêminâtha,
Pârsvanâtha, Âdinâtha, Mallinâtha, Padmaprabha, Anantanâtha,
Vardhamâna, and Sântinâtha. In two of these bastis are separate
shrines dedicated to all the Tîrthankaras, and in another basti the
shrines of two Yakshis. The largest and finest is the Hosabasti, i.e.,
the new temple, which is dedicated to Chandranâtha, and was built in
A.D. 1429-30. It possesses a double enclosure, a very high mânastambha,
and a sculptured gateway. The uppermost storey of the temple consists
of wood-work. The temple is composed of the shrine (garbagriha),
and three rooms in front of it, viz., the Tîrthakaramandapa, the
Gaddigemandapa, and the Chitramandapa. In front of the last-mentioned
mandapa is a separate building called Bhairâdêvimandapa, which was
built in A.D. 1451-52. Round its base runs a band of sculptures, among
which the figure of a giraffe deserves to be noted. The idol in the
dark innermost shrine is said to consist of five metals (pancha-lôha),
among which silver predominates. The basti next in importance is the
Gurugalabasti, where two ancient talipot (srîtâlam) copies of the
Jaina Siddhânta are preserved in a box with three locks, the keys
of which are in charge of three different persons. The minor bastis
contain three rooms, viz., the Garbhagriha, the Tîrthakaramandapa,
and the Namaskâramandapa. One of the sights of Mûdabidire is the ruined
palace of the Chautar, a local chief who follows the Jaina creed, and
is in receipt of a pension from the Government. The principal objects
of interest at the palace are a few nicely-carved wooden pillars. Two
of them bear representations of the pancha-nârîturaga, i.e., the
horse composed of five women, and the nava-nârî-kunjara, i.e., the
elephant composed of nine women. These are fantastic animals, which are
formed by the bodies of a number of shepherdesses for the amusement
of their Lord Krishna. The Jains are divided into two classes, viz.,
priests (indra) and laymen (srivaka). The former consider themselves as
Brâhmanas by caste. All the Jainas wear the sacred thread. The priests
dine with the laymen, but do not intermarry with them. The former
practice the makkalasantâna, i.e., the inheritance through sons, and
the latter aliya-santâna, i.e., the inheritance through nephews. The
Jainas are careful to avoid pollution from contact with outcastes,
who have to get out of their way in the road, as I noticed myself. A
Jaina marriage procession, which I saw passing, was accompanied by
Hindu dancing-girls. Near the western end of the street in which most
of the Jainas live, a curious spectacle presents itself. From a number
of high trees, thousands of flying foxes (fruit-bat, Pteropus medius)
are suspended. They have evidently selected the spot as a residence,
because they are aware that the Jainas, in pursuance of one of the
chief tenets of their religion, do not harm any animals. Following the
same street further west, the Jaina burial-ground is approached. It
contains a large ruined tank with laterite steps, and a number of
tombs of wealthy Jain merchants. These tombs are pyramidal structures
of several storeys, and are surmounted by a water-pot (kalasa) of
stone. Four of the tombs bear short epitaphs. The Jainas cremate
their dead, placing the corpse on a stone in order to avoid taking
the life of any stray insect during the process."
In their ceremonials, e.g., marriage rites, the Jains of South Canara
closely follow the Bants. They are worshippers of bhuthas (devils),
and, in some houses, a room called padoli is set apart, in which
the bhutha is kept. When they make vows, animals are not killed,
but they offer metal images of fowls, goats, or pigs.
Of the Jains of the North Arcot district, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes
[208] that "more than half of them are found in the Wandiwash taluk,
and the rest in Arcot and Polur. Their existence in this neighbourhood
is accounted for by the fact that a Jain dynasty reigned for many
years in Conjeeveram. They must at one time have been very numerous, as
their temples and sculptures are found in very many places, from which
they themselves have now disappeared. They have most of the Brahman
ceremonies, and wear the sacred thread, but look down upon Brahmans
as degenerate followers of an originally pure faith. For this reason
they object generally to accepting ghee (clarified butter) or jaggery
(crude sugar), etc., from any but those of their own caste. They are
defiled by entering a Pariah village, and have to purify themselves by
bathing and assuming a new thread. The usual caste affix is Nainar,
but a few, generally strangers from other districts, are called Rao,
Chetti, Das, or Mudaliyar.
At Pillapalaiyam, a suburb of Conjeeveram in the Chingleput district,
is a Jain temple of considerable artistic beauty. It is noted by Sir
M. E. Grant Duff [209] that this is "left unfinished, as it would seem,
by the original builders, and adapted later to the Shivite worship. Now
it is abandoned by all its worshippers, but on its front stands the
census number 9-A--emblematic of the new order of things."
Concerning the Jains of the South Arcot district, Mr. W. Francis
writes [210] that "there is no doubt that in ancient days the Jain
faith was powerful in this district. The Periya Puranam says that
there was once a Jain monastery and college at Pataliputra, the old
name for the modern Tirupapuliyur, and remains of Jain images and
sculptures are comparatively common in the district. The influence
of the religion doubtless waned in consequence of the great Saivite
revival, which took place in the early centuries of the present era,
and the Periya Puranam gives a story in connection therewith, which is
of local interest. It says that the Saivite poet-saint Appar was at one
time a student in the Jain college at Pataliputra, but was converted to
Saivism in consequence of the prayers of his sister, who was a devotee
of the deity in the temple at Tiruvadi near Panruti. The local king was
a Jain, and was at first enraged with Appar for his fervent support
of his new faith. But eventually he was himself induced by Appar to
become a Saivite, and he then turned the Paliputra monastery into
a temple to Siva, and ordered the extirpation of all Jains. Later
on there was a Jain revival, but this in its turn was followed by
another persecution of the adherents of that faith. The following
story connected with this latter occurs in one of the Mackenzie
Manuscripts, and is supported by existing tradition. In 1478 A.D.,
the ruler of Gingee was one Venkatampettai, Venkatapati, [211] who
belonged to the comparatively low caste of the Kavarais. He asked the
local Brahmans to give him one of their daughters to wife. They said
that, if the Jains would do so, they would follow suit. Venkatapati
told the Jains of this answer, and asked for one of their girls as a
bride. They took counsel among themselves how they might avoid the
disgrace of connecting themselves by marriage with a man of such a
caste, and at last pretended to agree to the king's proposal, and
said that the daughter of a certain prominent Jain would be given
him. On the day fixed for the marriage, Venkatapati went in state to
the girl's house for the ceremony, but found it deserted and empty,
except for a bitch tied to one of the posts of the verandah. Furious
at the insult, he issued orders to behead all Jains. Some of the faith
were accordingly decapitated, others fled, others again were forced
to practice their rites secretly, and yet others became Saivites
to escape death. Not long afterwards, some of the king's officers
saw a Jain named Virasenacharya performing the rites peculiar to his
faith in a well in Velur near Tindivanam, and hauled him before their
master. The latter, however, had just had a child born to him, was
in a good temper, and let the accused go free; and Virasenacharya,
sobered by his narrow escape from death, resolved to become an
ascetic, went to Sravana Belgola, and there studied the holy books
of the Jain religion. Meanwhile another Jain of the Gingee country,
Gangayya Udaiyar of Tayanur in the Tindivanam taluk, had fled to the
protection of the Zamindar of Udaiyarpalaiyam in Trichinopoly, who
befriended him and gave him some land. Thus assured of protection,
he went to Sravana Belgola, fetched back Virasenacharya, and with
him made a tour through the Gingee country, to call upon the Jains
who remained there to return to their ancient faith. These people
had mostly become Saivites, taken off their sacred threads and put
holy ashes on their foreheads, and the name Nirpusi Vellalas, or
the Vellalas who put on holy ash, is still retained. The mission was
successful, and Jainism revived. Virasenacharya eventually died at
Velur, and there, it is said, is kept in a temple a metal image of
Parsvanatha, one of the twenty-four Tirthankaras, which he brought
from Sravana Belgola. The descendants of Gangayya Udaiyar still
live in Tayanur, and, in memory of the services of their ancestor
to the Jain cause, they are given the first betel and leaf on
festive occasions, and have a leading voice in the election of the
high-priest at Sittamur in the Tindivanam taluk. This high-priest,
who is called Mahadhipati, is elected by representatives from the
chief Jain villages. These are, in Tindivanam taluk, Sittamur itself,
Viranamur, Vilukkam, Peramandur, Alagramam, and the Velur and Tayanur
already mentioned. The high-priest has supreme authority over all Jains
south of Madras, but not over those in Mysore or South Canara, with
whom the South Arcot community have no relations. He travels round
in a palanquin with a suite of followers to the chief centres--his
expenses being paid by the communities he visits--settles caste
disputes, and fines, and excommunicates the erring. His control over
his people is still very real, and is in strong contrast to the waning
authority of many of the Hindu gurus. The Jain community now holds a
high position in Tindivanam taluk, and includes wealthy traders and
some of quite the most intelligent agriculturists there. The men use
the title of Nayinar or Udaiyar, but their relations in Kumbakonam
and elsewhere in that direction sometimes call themselves Chetti
or Mudaliyar. The women are great hands at weaving mats from the
leaves of the date-palm. The men, except that they wear the thread,
and paint on their foreheads a sect-mark which is like the ordinary
Vaishnavite mark, but square instead of semi-circular at the bottom,
and having a dot instead of a red streak in the middle, in general
appearance resemble Vellalas. They are usually clean shaved. The
women dress like Vellalas, and wear the same kind of tali (marriage
emblem) and other jewellery. The South Arcot Jains all belong to the
Digambara sect, and the images in their temples of the twenty-four
Tirthankaras are accordingly without clothing. These temples, the
chief of which are those at Tirunirankonrai [212] and Sittamur, are
not markedly different in external appearance from Hindu shrines,
but within these are images of some of the Tirthankaras, made of
stone or of painted clay, instead of representations of the Hindu
deities. The Jain rites of public worship much resemble those of the
Brahmans. There is the same bathing of the god with sacred oblations,
sandal, and so on; the same lighting and waving of lamps, and burning
of camphor; and the same breaking of cocoanuts, playing of music,
and reciting of sacred verses. These ceremonies are performed by
members of the Archaka or priest class. The daily private worship in
the houses is done by the laymen themselves before a small image of
one of the Tirthankaras, and daily ceremonies resembling those of the
Brahmans, such as the pronouncing of the sacred mantram at daybreak,
and the recital of forms of prayer thrice daily, are observed. The
Jains believe in the doctrine of re-births, and hold that the end of
all is Nirvana. They keep the Sivaratri and Dipavali feasts, but say
that they do so, not for the reasons which lead Hindus to revere these
dates, but because on them the first and the last of the twenty-four
Tirthankaras attained beatitude. Similarly they observe Pongal and
the Ayudha puja day. They adhere closely to the injunctions of their
faith prohibiting the taking of life, and, to guard themselves from
unwittingly infringing them, they do not eat or drink at night lest
they might thereby destroy small insects which had got unseen into
their food. For the same reason, they filter through a cloth all
milk or water which they use, eat only curds, ghee and oil which
they have made themselves with due precautions against the taking of
insect life, or known to have been similarly made by other Jains,
and even avoid the use of shell chunam (lime). The Vedakkarans
(shikari or hunting caste) trade on these scruples by catching
small birds, bringing them to Jain houses, and demanding money
to spare their lives. The Jains have four sub-divisions, namely,
the ordinary laymen, and three priestly classes. Of the latter, the
most numerous are the Archakas (or Vadyars). They do the worship in
the temples. An ordinary layman cannot become an Archaka; it is a
class apart. An Archaka can, however, rise to the next higher of the
priestly classes, and become what is called an Annam or Annuvriti,
a kind of monk who is allowed to marry, but has to live according
to certain special rules of conduct. These Annams can again rise
to the highest of the three classes, and become Nirvanis or Munis,
monks who lead a celibate life apart from the world. There is also a
sisterhood of nuns, called Aryanganais, who are sometimes maidens, and
sometimes women who have left their husbands, but must in either case
take a vow of chastity. The monks shave their heads, and dress in red;
the nuns similarly shave, but wear white. Both of them carry as marks
of their condition a brass vessel and a bunch of peacock's feathers,
with which latter they sweep clean any place on which they sit down,
lest any insect should be there. To both classes the other Jains make
namaskaram (respectful salutation) when they meet them, and both are
maintained at the cost of the rest of the community. The laymen among
the Jains will not intermarry, though they will dine with the Archakas,
and these latter consequently have the greatest trouble in procuring
brides for their sons, and often pay Rs. 200 or Rs. 300 to secure a
suitable match. Otherwise there are no marriage sub-divisions among the
community, all Jains south of Madras freely intermarrying. Marriage
takes place either before or after puberty. Widows are not allowed
to remarry, but are not required to shave their heads until they are
middle-aged. The dead are burnt, and the death pollution lasts for
twelve days, after which period purification is performed, and the
parties must go to the temple. Jains will not eat with Hindus. Their
domestic ceremonies, such as those of birth, marriage, death and so
on resemble generally those of the Brahmans. A curious difference
is that, though the girls never wear the thread, they are taught the
thread-wearing mantram, amid all the ceremonies usual in the case of
boys, when they are about eight years old."
It is recorded, in the report on Epigraphy, 1906-1907, that at
Eyil in the South Arcot district the Jains asked the Collector for
permission to use the stones of the Siva temple for repairing their
own. The Collector called upon the Hindus to put the Siva temple in
order within a year, on pain of its being treated as an escheat.
Near the town of Madura is a large isolated mass of naked rock, which
is known as Anaimalai (elephant hill). "The Madura Sthala Purana
says it is a petrified elephant. The Jains of Conjeeveram, says this
chronicle, tried to convert the Saivite people of Madura to the Jain
faith. Finding the task difficult, they had recourse to magic. They
dug a great pit ten miles long, performed a sacrifice thereon, and
thus caused a huge elephant to arise from it. This beast they sent
against Madura. It advanced towards the town, shaking the whole earth
at every step, with the Jains marching close behind it. But the Pandya
king invoked the aid of Siva, and the god arose and slew the elephant
with his arrow at the spot where it now lies petrified." [213]
In connection with the long barren rock near Madura called Nagamalai
(snake hill), "local legends declare that it is the remains of a huge
serpent, brought into existence by the magic arts of the Jains, which
was only prevented by the grace of Siva from devouring the fervently
Saivite city it so nearly approaches." [214] Two miles south of Madura
is a small hill of rock named Pasumalai. "The name means cow hill,
and the legend in the Madura Sthala Purana says that the Jains,
being defeated in their attempt to destroy Madura by means of the
serpent which was turned into the Nagamalai, resorted to more magic,
and evolved a demon in the form of an enormous cow. They selected this
particular shape for their demon, because they thought that no one
would dare kill so sacred an animal. Siva, however, directed the bull
which is his vehicle to increase vastly in size, and go to meet the
cow. The cow, seeing him, died of love, and was turned into this hill."
On the wall of the mantapam of the golden lotus tank (pothamarai)
of the Minakshi temple at Madura is a series of frescoes illustrating
the persecution of the Jains. For the following account thereof, I am
indebted to Mr. K. V. Subramania Aiyar. Sri Gnana Sammandha Swami,
who was an avatar or incarnation of Subramaniya, the son of Siva,
was the foremost of the sixty-three canonised saints of the Saivaite
religion, and a famous champion thereof. He was sent into the world
by Siva to put down the growing prevalence of the Jaina heresy, and
to re-establish the Saivite faith in Southern India. He entered on
the execution of his earthly mission at the age of three, when he was
suckled with the milk of spirituality by Parvati, Siva's consort. He
manifested himself first at the holy place Shiyali in the present
Tanjore district to a Brahman devotee named Sivapathabja Hirthaya
and his wife, who were afterwards reputed to be his parents. During
the next thirteen years, he composed about sixteen thousand thevaram
(psalms) in praise of the presiding deity at the various temples which
he visited, and performed miracles. Wherever he went, he preached the
Saiva philosophy, and made converts. At this time, a certain Koon
(hunch-back) Pandyan was ruling over the Madura country, where,
as elsewhere, Jainism had asserted its influence, and he and all
his subjects had become converts to the new faith. The queen and the
prime-minister, however, were secret adherents to the cult of Siva,
whose temple was deserted and closed. They secretly invited Sri Gnana
Sammandha to the capital, in the hope that he might help in extirpating
the followers of the obnoxious Jain religion. He accordingly arrived
with thousands of followers, and took up his abode in a mutt or
monastery on the north side of the Vaigai river. When the Jain priests,
who were eight thousand in number, found this out, they set fire to
his residence with a view to destroying him. His disciples, however,
extinguished the flames. The saint, resenting the complicity of the
king in the plot, willed that the fire should turn on him, and burn him
in the form of a virulent fever. All the endeavours of the Jain priests
to cure him with medicines and incantations failed. The queen and
the prime-minister impressed on the royal patient the virtues of the
Saiva saint, and procured his admission into the palace. When Sammandha
Swami offered to cure the king by simply throwing sacred ashes on him,
the Jain priests who were present contended that they must still be
given a chance. So it was mutually agreed between them that each
party should undertake to cure half the body of the patient. The
half allotted to Sammandha was at once cured, while the fever raged
with redoubled severity in the other half. The king accordingly
requested Sammandha to treat the rest of his body, and ordered the
Jaina priests to withdraw from his presence. The touch of Sammandha's
hand, when rubbing the sacred ashes over him, cured not only the
fever, but also the hunched back. The king now looked so graceful
that he was thenceforward called Sundara (beautiful) Pandyan. He was
re-converted to Saivism, the doors of the Siva temple were re-opened,
and the worship of Siva therein was restored. The Jain priests, not
satisfied with their discomfiture, offered to establish the merits of
their religion in other ways. They suggested that each party should
throw the cadjan (palm-leaf) books containing the doctrines of their
respective religions into a big fire, and that the party whose books
were burnt to ashes should be considered defeated. The saint acceding
to the proposal, the books were thrown into the fire, with the result
that those flung by Sammandha were uninjured, while no trace of the
Jain books remained. Still not satisfied, the Jains proposed that the
religious books of both parties should be cast into the flooded Vaigai
river, and that the party whose books travelled against the current
should be regarded as victorious. The Jains promised Sammandha that,
if they failed in this trial, they would become his slaves, and serve
him in any manner he pleased. But Sammandha replied: "We have already
got sixteen thousand disciples to serve us. You have profaned the name
of the supreme Siva, and committed sacrilege by your aversion to the
use of his emblems, such as sacred ashes and beads. So your punishment
should be commensurate with your vile deeds." Confident of success,
the Jains offered to be impaled on stakes if they lost. The trial took
place, and the books of the Saivites travelled up stream. Sammandha
then gave the Jains a chance of escape by embracing the Saiva faith,
to which some of them became converts. The number thereof was so great
that the available supply of sacred ashes was exhausted. Such of the
Jains as remained unconverted were impaled on stakes resembling a sula
or trident. It may be noted that, in the Mahabharata, Rishi Mandaviar
is said to have been impaled on a stake on a false charge of theft. And
Ramanuja, the Guru of the Vaishnavites, is also said to have impaled
heretics on stakes in the Mysore province. The events recorded in
the narrative of Sammandha and the Jains are gone through at five of
the twelve annual festivals at the Madura temple. On these occasions,
which are known as impaling festival days, an image representing a Jain
impaled on a stake is carried in procession. According to a tradition
the villages of Mela Kilavu and Kil Kilavu near Solavandan are so
named because the stakes (kilavu) planted for the destruction of the
Jains in the time of Tirugnana extended so far from the town of Madura.
For details of the literature relating to the Jains, I would refer
the reader to A. Guérinot's 'Essai de Bibliographie Jaina,' Annales
du Musée Guimet, Paris, 1906.
Jain Vaisya.--The name assumed by a small colony of "Banians," who
have settled in Native Cochin. They are said [215] to frequent the
kalli (stone) pagoda in the Kannuthnad taluk of North Travancore,
and believe that he who proceeds thither a sufficiently large number
of times obtains salvation. Of recent years, a figure of Brahma is
said to have sprung up of itself on the top of the rock, on which
the pagoda is situated.
Jakkula.--Described [216] as an inferior class of prostitutes, mostly
of the Balija caste; and as wizards and a dancing and theatrical
caste. At Tenali, in the Kistna district, it was customary for each
family to give up one girl for prostitution. She was "married" to
any chance comer for one night with the usual ceremonies. Under the
influence of social reform, the members of the caste, in 1901, entered
into a written agreement to give up the practice. A family went back on
this, so the head of the caste prosecuted the family and the "husband"
for disposing of a minor for the purpose of prostitution. The records
state that it was resolved, in 1901, that they should not keep the
females as girls, but should marry them before they attain puberty. "As
the deeds of the said girls not only brought discredit on all of us,
but their association gives our married women also an opportunity
to contract bad habits, and, as all of our castemen thought it good
to give up henceforth the custom of leaving girls unmarried now in
vogue, all of us convened a public meeting in the Tenali village,
considered carefully the pros and cons, and entered into the agreement
herein mentioned. If any person among us fail to marry the girls in
the families before puberty, the managing members of the families
of the girls concerned should pay Rs. 500 to the three persons whom
we have selected as the headmen of our caste, as penalty for acting
in contravention of this agreement. If any person does not pay the
headmen of the caste the penalty, the headmen are authorised to
recover the amount through Court. We must abstain from taking meals,
living, or intermarriage with such of the families as do not now join
with us in this agreement, and continue to keep girls unmarried. We
must not take meals or intermarry with those that are now included in
this agreement, but who hereafter act in contravention of it. If any
of us act in contravention of the terms of the two last paragraphs,
we should pay a penalty of Rs. 50 to the headmen."
Jalagadugu.--Defined, by Mr. C. P. Brown, [217] as "a caste of
gold-finders, who search for gold in drains, and in the sweepings
of goldsmiths' shops." A modest livelihood is also obtained, in
some places, by extracting gold from the bed of rivers or nullahs
(water-courses). The name is derived from jala, water, gadugu,
wash. The equivalent Jalakara is recorded, in the Bellary Gazetteer,
as a sub-division of Kabbera.
In the city of Madras, gold-washers are to be found working in the
foul side drains in front of jewellers' shops. The Health Officer
to the Corporation informs me that he often chases them, and breaks
their pots for obstructing public drains in their hunt for pieces of
gold and other metals.
For the following note on the gold-washers of Madras, I am indebted
to Dr. K. T. Mathew: "This industry is carried on in the city by the
Oddars, and was practically monopolised by them till a few years back,
when other castes, mostly of the lower orders, stepped in. The Oddars
now form a population of several thousands in the city, their chief
occupation being conservancy cooly work. The process of gold washing
is carried out by women at home, and by the aged and adults in their
spare hours. The ashes, sweepings, and refuse from the goldsmiths'
shops are collected on payment of a sum ranging from one rupee to ten
rupees per mensem, and are brought in baskets to a convenient place
alongside their huts, where they are stored for a variable time. The
drain silts from streets where there are a large number of jewellers'
shops are similarly collected, but, in this case, the only payment to
be made is a present to the Municipal peon. The materials so collected
are left undisturbed for a few days or several months, and this storing
away for a time is said to be necessary to facilitate the extraction of
the gold, as any immediate attempt to wash the stuff results in great
loss in the quantity obtained. From the heap as much as can be taken
on an ordinary spade is put into a boat-shaped tub open at one end,
placed close to the heap, and so arranged that the waste water from the
tub flows away from the heap behind, and collects in a shallow pool in
front. The water from the pool is collected in a small chatty (earthen
vessel), and poured over the heap in the tub, which is continually
stirred up with the other hand. All the lighter stuff in this way
flows out of the tub, and all the hard stones are every now and then
picked out and thrown away. This process goes on until about a couple
of handfuls of dark sand, etc., are left in the tub. To this a small
quantity of mercury is added, briskly rubbed for a minute or two,
and the process of washing goes on, considerable care being taken to
see that no particle of mercury escapes, until at last the mercury,
with a great many particles of metallic dust attached, is collected
in a small chatty--often a broken piece of a pot. The mercury, with
the metallic particles in it, is then well washed with clean water,
and put into a tiny bag formed of two layers of a piece of rag. The
mass is then gently pressed until all the mercury falls into a chatty
below, leaving a small flattened mass of dark substance in the bag,
which is carefully collected, and kept in another dry chatty. The
washing process is repeated until enough of the dark substance--about a
third of a teaspoonful--is collected. This substance is then mixed with
powdered common salt and brick-dust, put into a broken piece of a pot,
and covered with another piece. The whole is placed in a large earthen
vessel, with cow-dung cakes well packed above and below. A blazing
fire is soon produced, and kept up till the mass is melted. This mass
is carefully removed, and again melted with borax in a hole made in a
piece of good charcoal, by blowing through a reed or hollow bamboo,
until the gold separates from the mass. The fire is then suddenly
quenched, and the piece of gold is separated and removed."
Jalari.--The Jalaris are Telugu fishermen, palanquin-bearers, and
cultivators in Ganjam and Vizagapatam. The name, Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao
writes, is derived from jala, a net. Some are fresh-water fishermen,
while others fish with a cast-net (visuru valalu) from the sea-shore,
or on the open sea. They bear the name Gangavamsamu, or people of
Ganga, in the same way that a division of the Kabbera fishing caste
is called Gangimakkalu. In caste organisation, ceremonial, etc.,
the Jalaris coincide with the Milas. They are called Noliyas by the
Oriyas of Ganjam. They have house-names like other Telugus, and their
females do not wear brass bangles, as low-caste Oriya women do.
The Jalaris have two endogamous divisions, called panrendu kotla
(twelve posts), and edu kotla (seven posts), in reference to the number
of posts for the booth. The former claim superiority over the latter,
on the ground that they are illegitimate Jalaris, or recently admitted
into the caste.
Like other Telugu castes, the Jalaris have a caste council under
the control of a headman called Pilla. In imitation of the Oriyas,
they have created an assistant headman called Dolobehara, and they
have the usual caste servant.
In their puberty, marriage and death ceremonies, they closely follow
the Vadas and Palles. The prohibitions regarding marriage are of the
Telugu form, but, like the Oriya castes, the Jalaris allow a widow to
marry her deceased husband's younger brother. The marriage ceremonies
last for three days. On the first day, the pandal (booth), with the
usual milk-post, is erected. For every marriage, representatives of
the four towns Peddapatnam, Vizagapatam, Bimlipatam, and Revalpatnam,
should be invited, and should be the first to receive pan-supari (betel
leaves and areca nuts) after the pandal has been set up. Peddapatnam
is the first to be called out, and the respect may be shown to any
person from that town. The representatives of the other towns must
belong to particular septs, as follows:--
Vizagapatam Buguri sept.
Revalpatnam Jonna sept.
Bimlipatam Sundra sept.
The Jalaris are unable to explain the significance of this "counting
towns," as they call it. Possibly Peddapatnam was their original
home, from which particular septs emigrated to other towns. On the
second day of the marriage ceremonies, the tying of the sathamanam
(marriage badge) takes place. The bridegroom, after going in procession
through the streets, enters the house at which the marriage is to be
celebrated. At the entrance, the maternal uncle of the bride stands
holding in his crossed hands two vessels, one of which contains water,
and the other water with jaggery (crude sugar) dissolved in it. The
bridegroom is expected to take hold of the vessel containing the
sweetened water before he enters, and is fined if he fails to do
so. When the bridegroom approaches the pandal, some married women
hold a bamboo pole between him and the pandal, and a new earthen
pot is carried thrice round the pole. While this is being done, the
bride joins the bridegroom, and the couple enter the pandal beneath
a cloth held up to form a canopy in front thereof. This ceremonial
takes place towards evening, as the marriage badge is tied on the
bride's neck during the night. An interesting feature in connection
with the procession is that a pole called digametlu (shoulder-pole),
with two baskets tied to the ends, is carried. In one of the baskets
a number of sieves and small baskets are placed, and in the other
one or more cats. This digametlu is always referred to by the Vadas
when they are questioned as to the difference between their marriage
ceremonies and those of the Jalaris. Other castes laugh at this custom,
and it is consequently dying out.
The Jalaris always marry young girls. One reason assigned for this
is "the income to married young girls" at the time of the marriage
ceremonies. Two or more married couples are invited to remain at the
house in which the marriage takes place, to help the bridal couple in
their toilette, and assist at the nalagu, evil eye waving, and other
rites. They are rewarded for their services with presents. Another
instance of infant marriage being the rule on account of pecuniary
gain is found among the Dikshitar Brahmans of Chidambaram. Only married
males have a voice in temple affairs, and receive a share of the temple
income. Consequently, boys are sometimes married when they are seven
or eight years old. At every Jalari marriage, meals must be given to
the castemen, a rupee to the representatives of the patnams, twelve
annas to the headman and his assistant, and three rupees to the Malas.
Like other Telugu castes, the Jalaris have intiperus (septs),
which resemble those of the Vadas. Among them, Jonna and Buguri are
common. In their religious observances, the Jalaris closely follow
the Vadas.
The Madras Museum possesses a collection of clay and wooden figures,
such as are worshipped by the fishing castes at Gopalpur, and other
places on the Ganjam coast. Concerning these, Mr. J. D'A. C. Reilly
writes to me as follows. The specimens represent the chief gods
worshipped by the fishermen. The Tahsildar of Berhampur got them
made by the potters and carpenters, who usually make such figures for
the Gopalpur fishermen. I have found fishermen's shrines at several
places. Separate families appear to have separate shrines, some
consisting of large chatties (earthen pots), occasionally ornamented,
and turned upside down, with an opening on one side. Others are made
of bricks and chunam (lime). All that I have seen had their opening
towards the sea. Two classes of figures are placed in these shrines,
viz., clay figures of gods, which are worshipped before fishing
expeditions, and when there is danger from a particular disease which
they prevent; and wooden figures of deceased relations, which are quite
as imaginative as the clay figures. Figures of gods and relations
are placed in the same family shrine. There are hundreds of gods to
choose from, and the selection appears to be a matter of family taste
and tradition. The figures which I have sent were made by a potter
at Venkatarayapalle, and painted by a carpenter at Uppulapatti,
both villages near Gopalpur. The Tahsildar tells me that, when he
was inspecting them at the Gopalpur traveller's bungalow, sixty or
seventy fishermen objected to their gods being taken away. He pacified
them by telling them that it was because the Government had heard of
their devotion to their gods that they wanted to have some of them
in Madras. The collection of clay figures includes the following:--
Bengali Babu.--Wears a hat, and rides on a black horse. He blesses
the fishermen, secures large hauls of fish for them, and guards them
against danger when out fishing.
Samalamma.--Wears a red skirt and green coat and protects the fishermen
from fever.
Rajamma, a female figure, with a sword in her right hand, riding on
a black elephant. She blesses barren women with children, and favours
her devotees with big catches when they go out fishing.
Yerenamma, riding on a white horse, with a sword in her right hand. She
protects fishermen from drowning, and from being caught by big fish.
Bhagirathamma, riding on an elephant, and having eight or twelve
hands. She helps fishermen when fishing at night, and protects them
against cholera, dysentery, and other intestinal disorders.
Nukalamma.--Wears a red jacket and green skirt, and protects the
fishing community against small-pox.
Orosondi Ammavaru.--Prevents the boats from being sunk or damaged.
Bhagadevi.--Rides on a tiger, and protects the community from cholera.
Veyyi Kannula Ammavaru, or the goddess of a thousand eyes, represented
by a pot pierced with holes, in which a gingelly (Sesamum) oil light
is burnt. She attends to the general welfare of the fisher folk.
Jali (Acacia arabica).--A gotra of Kurni.
Jalli.--Jalli, meaning palm tassels put round the neck and horns of
bulls, occurs as an exogamous sept of Jogi. The name occurs further
as a sub-division of Kevuto.
Jambava.--A synonym of the Madigas, who claim descent from the rishi
Audi Jambavadu.
Jambu (Eugenia Jambolana).--An exogamous sept of Odde.
Jambuvar (a monkey king with a bear's face).--An exogamous sept of
Kondaiyamkottai Maravan.
Jamkhanvala (carpet-maker).--An occupational name for Patnulkarans
and Patvegars.
Jammi (Prosopis spicigera).--A gotra of Gollas, members of which may
not use the tree. It is further a gotra of Chembadis. Children of this
caste who are named after the caste god Gurappa or Gurunathadu are
taken, when they are five, seven, or nine years old, to a jammi tree,
and shaved after it has been worshipped with offerings of cooked food,
etc. The jammi or sami tree is regarded as sacred all over India. Some
orthodox Hindus, when they pass it, go round it, and salute it,
repeating a Sanskrit verse to the effect that "the sami tree removes
sins; it is the destroyer of enemies; it was the bearer of the bows
and arrows of Arjuna, and the sight of it was very welcome to Rama."
Janappan.--The Janappans, Mr. W. Francis writes, [218] "were
originally a section of the Balijas, but they have now developed
into a distinct caste. They seem to have been called Janappan,
because they manufactured gunny-bags of hemp (janapa) fibre. In Tamil
they are called Saluppa Chettis, Saluppan being the Tamil form of
Janappan. Some of them have taken to calling themselves Desayis or
Desadhipatis (rulers of countries), and say they are Balijas. They
do not wear the sacred thread. The caste usually speaks Telugu,
but in Madura there is a section, the women of which speak Tamil,
and also are debarred from taking part in religious ceremonies, and,
therefore, apparently belonged originally to some other caste."
In a note on the Janappans of the North Arcot district [219]
Mr. H. A. Stuart states that Janappan is "the name of a caste,
which engages in trade by hawking goods about the towns and
villages. Originally they were merely manufacturers of gunny-bags
out of hemp (janapa, Crotalaria juncea), and so obtained their
name. But they are now met with as Dasaris or religious beggars,
sweetmeat-sellers, and hawkers of English cloths and other goods. By
the time they have obtained to the last honourable profession, they
assume to be Balijas. Telugu is their vernacular, and Chetti their
usual caste name. According to their own tradition, they sprung from
a yagam (sacrificial rite) made by Brahma, and their remote ancestor
thus produced was, they say, asked by the merchants of the country
to invent some means for carrying about their wares. He obtained some
seeds from the ashes of Brahma's yagam, which he sowed, and the plant
which sprang up was the country hemp, which he manufactured into
a gunny-bag. The Janapa Chettis are enterprising men in their way,
and are much employed at the fairs at Gudiyattam and other places
as cattle-brokers."
The Saluppans say that they have twenty-four gotras, which are divided
into groups of sixteen and eight. Marriage is forbidden between members
of the same group, but permitted between members of the sixteen and
eight gotras. Among the names of the gotras, are the following:--
Vasava. Madalavan.
Vamme. Piligara.
Mummudi. Mukkanda.
Pilli Vankaravan. Vadiya.
Makkiduvan. Thonda.
Thallelan. Kola.
Gendagiri.
The Janappans of the Telugu country also say that they have only
twenty-four gotras. Some of these are totemistic in character. Thus,
members of the Kappala (frog) gotra owe their name to a tradition
that on one occasion, when some of the family were fishing, they
caught a haul of big frogs instead of fish. Consequently, members of
this gotra do not injure frogs. Members of the Thonda or Thonda Maha
Rishi gotra abstain from using the fruit or leaves of the thonda plant
(Cephalandra indica). The fruits of this plant are among the commonest
of native vegetables. In like manner, members of the Mukkanda sept may
not use the fruit of Momordica Charantia. Those of the Vamme gotra
abstain from eating the fish called bombadai, because, when some of
their ancestors went to fetch water in the marriage pot, they found
a number of this fish in the water collected in the pot. So, too,
in the Kola gotra, the eating of the fish called kolasi is forbidden.
In their marriage customs, those who live in the Telugu country follow
the Telugu Puranic form, while those who have settled in the Tamil
country have adopted some of the marriage rites thereof. There are,
however, some points of interest in their marriage ceremonies. On the
day fixed for the betrothal, those assembled wait silently listening
for the chirping of a lizard, which is an auspicious sign. It is said
that the match is broken off, if the chirping is not heard. If the
omen proves auspicious, a small bundle of nine to twelve kinds of
pulses and grain is given by the bridegroom's father to the father
of the bride. This is preserved, and examined several days after the
marriage. If the grain and pulses are in good condition, it is a sign
that the newly married couple will have a prosperous career.
There are both Saivites and Vaishnavites among these people,
and the former predominate in the southern districts. Most of the
Vaishnavites are disciples of Bhatrazus. The Bhatrazu priest goes round
periodically, collecting his fees. Those among the Saivites who are
religiously inclined are disciples of Pandarams of mutts (religious
institutions). Those who have settled in the Salem district seem to
consider Damayanti and Kamatchi as the caste deities.
The manufacture of gunny-bags is still carried on by some members of
the caste, but they are mainly engaged in trade and agriculture. In
the city of Madras, the sale of various kinds of fruits is largely
in the hands of the Janappans.
Sathu vandlu, meaning a company of merchants or travellers, occurs
as a synonym of Janappan.
In the Mysore Census Report, 1901, Janappa is returned as a
sub-division of the Gonigas, who are sack-weavers, and makers of
gunny-bags.
Jandayi (flag).--An exogamous sept of Yanadi.
Janga (calf of the leg).--An exogamous sept of Mala.
Jangal Jati.--A synonym, denoting jungle folk, of the Kurivikarans
or Kattu Marathis.
Jangam.--It is noted, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, that "strictly
speaking, a Jangam is a priest to the religious sect of Lingayats,
but the term is frequently loosely applied to any Lingayat, which
accounts for the large numbers under this head (102,121). Jangams
proper are said to be of two classes, Pattadikaris, who have a definite
head-quarters, and Charamurtis, who go from village to village,
preaching the principles of the Lingayat sect. Many Jangams are priests
to Sudras who are not Lingayats, others are merely religious beggars,
and others of them go in for trade." In the Census Report, 1891, it
is further recorded that "the full name is Jangama Lingayat, meaning
those who always worship a moveable lingam, in contradistinction
to the Sthavara (immoveable) lingam of the temples. Only two of
the sub-divisions returned are numerically important, Ganayata and
Sthavara. The sub-division Sthavara is curious, for a Sthavara Jangam
is a contradistinction in terms. This sub-division is found only in
the two northern districts, and it is possible that the Jangam caste,
as there found, is different from the ordinary Jangam, for, in the
Vizagapatam District Manual, the Jangams are said to be tailors." In
the Telugu country Lingayats are called Jangalu.
The Ganta Jangams are so called, because they carry a metal bell
(ganta).
The Jangams are thus referred to by Pietro della Valle. [220]
"At Ikkeri I saw certain Indian Friars, whom in their language they
call Giangama, and perhaps are the same with the sages seen by me
elsewhere; but they have wives, and go with their faces smeared with
ashes, yet not naked, but clad in certain extravagant habits, and a
kind of hood or cowl upon their heads of dyed linen of that colour
which is generally used amongst them, namely a reddish brick colour,
with many bracelets upon their arms and legs, filled with something
within that makes a jangling as they walk. I saw many persons come
to kiss their feet, and, whilst such persons were kissing them, and,
for more reverence, touching their feet with their foreheads, these
Giangamas stood firm with a seeming severity, and without taking
notice of it, as if they had been abstracted from the things of the
world." (See Lingayat.)
Janjapul (sacred thread).--An exogamous sept of Boya.
Janmi.--Janmi or Janmakaran means "proprietor" or "landlord"; the
person in whom the janman title rests. Janman denotes (1) birth,
birthright, proprietorship; (2) freehold property, which it was
considered disgraceful to alienate. Janmabhogam is the share in the
produce of the land, which is due to the Janmi." [221] In 1805-1806,
the Collector of Malabar obtained, for the purpose of carrying out
a scheme of assessment approved by Government, a return from all
proprietors of the seed, produce, etc., of all their fields. This
return is usually known as the Janmi pymaish of 981 M.E. (Malabar
era). [222]
Writing to me concerning Malabar at the present day, a correspondent
states that "in almost every taluk we have jungle tribes, who call
themselves the men of Janmis. In the old days, when forests were sold,
the inhabitants were actually entered in the contract as part of
the effects, as, in former times, the landlord sold the adscripti
or ascripti glebæ with the land. Now that is not done. However,
the relationship exists to the following extent, according to what a
Tahsildar (native magistrate) tells me. The tribesmen roam about the
forests at will, and each year select a place, which has lain fallow
for five years or more for all kinds of cultivation. Sometimes they
inform the Janmis that they have done so, sometimes they do not. Then,
at harvest time, the Janmi, or his agent, goes up and takes his share
of the produce. They never try to deceive the Janmi. He is asked to
settle their disputes, but these are rare. They never go to law. The
Janmi can call on them for labour, and they give it willingly. If badly
treated, as they have been at times by encroaching plainsmen, they run
off to another forest, and serve another Janmi. At the Onam festival
they come with gifts for the Janmi, who stands them a feast. The
relation between the jungle folk and the Janmi shows the instinct
in a primitive people to have a lord. There seems to be no gain in
having a Janmi. His protection is not needed, and he is hardly ever
called in to interfere. If they refused to pay the Janmi his dues,
he would find it very hard to get them. Still they keep him." In the
middle of the last century, when planters first began to settle in
the Malabar Wynad, they purchased the land from the Janmis with the
Paniyans living on it, who were practically slaves of the landowners.
The hereditary rights and perquisites claimed, in their villages,
by the astrologer, carpenter, goldsmith, washerman, barber, etc.,
are called Cherujanmam.
Janni.--The name of the caste priests of Jatapus.
Japanese.--At the Mysore census, 1901, two Japanese were returned. They
were managers of the silk farm instituted on Japanese methods by
Mr. Tata of Bombay in the vicinity of Bangalore.
Jat.--A few members of this North Indian class of Muhammadans,
engaged in trade, have been returned at times of census in Mysore.
Jatapu.--The Jatapus are defined, in the Madras Census Report,
1901, as "a civilised section of the Khonds, who speak Khond on the
hills and Telugu on the plains, and are now practically a distinct
caste. They consider themselves superior to those Khonds who still
eat beef and snakes, and have taken to some of the ways of the castes
of the plains."
For the following note, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The
name Jatapu is popularly believed to be an abbreviated form of Konda
Jatapu Doralu, or lords of the Khond caste. To this caste the old
chiefs of the Palkonda Zamindari are said to have belonged. It is
divided into a number of septs, such, for example, as:--
Thorika or Thoyika, who revere the thorika kodi, a species of
wild fowl.
Kadrika, who revere another species of fowl.
Mamdangi, who revere the bull or cow.
Addaku, who revere the addaku (Bauhinia racemosa), which is used
by low-country people for eating-platters.
Konda Gorre, who revere a certain breed of sheep.
Navalipitta, who revere the peacock.
Arika, who revere the arika (Paspalum scrobiculatum).
Other septs, recorded in the Census Report, 1901, are Koalaka (arrow),
Kutraki (wild goat), and Vinka (white ant, Termes).
Marriage is celebrated either before or after a girl reaches puberty. A
man may claim his paternal aunt's daughter as his wife. The marriage
ceremonies closely resemble those of the low-country Telugu type. The
bride-price, called voli, is a new cloth for the bride's mother, rice,
various kinds of grain, and liquor. The bride is conducted to the house
of the bridegroom, and a feast is held. On the following morning,
the kallagolla sambramam (toe-nail cutting) ceremony takes place,
and, later on, at an auspicious hour, the wrist threads (kankanam) are
tied on the wrists of the contracting couple, and their hands joined
together. They then bathe, and another feast is held. The remarriage
of widows is allowed, and a younger brother may marry the widow of
his elder brother. Divorce is permitted, and divorcées may remarry.
The dead are usually buried, but those who die from snake-bite are
said to be burnt. Death pollution lasts for three days, during which
the caste occupation of cultivating is not carried on. An annual
ceremony is performed by each family in honour of the dead. A fowl
or goat is killed, a portion of the day's food collected in a plate,
and placed on the roof of the house. Once in twenty years or so, all
the castemen join together, and buy a pig or cow, which is sacrificed
in honour of the ancestors.
The caste goddess is Jakara Devata, who is propitiated with sacrifices
of pigs, sheep, and buffaloes. When the crop is gathered in, the
first fruits are offered to her, and then partaken of.
The caste headman is called Nayudu or Samanthi, and he is assisted
by the Janni, or caste priest, who officiates at ceremonials, and
summons council meetings.
The caste titles are Dora, Naiko, and Samanto.
Jatikirtulu.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a class
of beggars in the Cuddapah district. The name means those who praise
the caste, and may have reference to the Bhatrazus.
Jati Pillai (children of the caste).--A general name for beggars,
who are attached to particular castes, from the members of which they
receive alms, and at whose ceremonies they take part by carrying
flags in processions, etc. It is their duty to uphold the dignity
of the caste by reciting the story of its origin, and singing its
praises. As examples of Jati Pillais, the following may be cited:--
Mailari attached to Komatis.
Viramushti attached to Beri Chettis and Komatis.
Nokkan attached to Pallis.
Mastiga attached to Madigas.
It is recorded by Mr. M. Paupa Rao Naidu [223] that some Koravas, who
go by the name of Jatipalli Koravas, "are prevalent in the southern
districts of the Madras Presidency, moving always in gangs, and
giving much trouble. Their women tattoo in return for grain, money,
or cloths, and help their men in getting acquainted with the nature
and contents of the houses."
Jaura.--The Jauras are a small Oriya caste, closely allied to the
Khoduras, the members of which manufacture lac (jau) bangles and
other articles. Lac, it may be noted, is largely used in India for
the manufacture of bangles, rings, beads, and other trinkets worn as
ornaments by women of the poorer classes. Dhippo (light) and mohiro
(peacock) occur as common exogamous septs among the Jauras, and are
objects of reverence. The Jauras are mainly Saivites, and Suramangala
and Bimmala are the caste deities. Titles used by members of the
caste are Danse, Sahu, Dhov, and Mahapatro.
Javvadi (civet-cat).--An exogamous sept of Medara.
Jelakuppa (a fish).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba.
Jen (honey).--A sub-division of Kurumba.
Jenna.--A title of Oriya castes, e.g., Bolasi and Kalinji.
Jerribotula (centipedes).--An exogamous sept of Boya.
Jetti.--A Telugu caste of professional wrestlers and gymnasts, who, in
the Telugu districts, shampoo and rub in ointments to cure nerve pains
and other disorders. In Tanjore, though living in a Tamil environment,
they speak Telugu. They wear the sacred thread, and consider themselves
to be of superior caste, never descending to any degrading work. During
the days of the Rajas of Tanjore, they were employed in guarding
the treasury and jewel rooms. But, since the death of the late Raja,
most of them have emigrated to Mysore and other Native States, a few
only remaining in Tanjore, and residing in the fort.
The Jettis, in Mysore, are said [224] to have been sometimes employed
as executioners, and to have despatched their victim by a twist of
the neck. [225] Thus, in the last war against Tipu Sultan, General
Matthews had his head wrung from his body by the "tiger fangs of
the Jetties, a set of slaves trained up to gratify their master with
their infernal species of dexterity." [226]
They are still considered skilful in setting dislocated joints. In
a note regarding them in the early part of the last century, Wilks
writes as follows. "These persons constitute a distinct caste,
trained from their infancy in daily exercises for the express purpose
of exhibitions; and perhaps the whole world does not produce more
perfect forms than those which are exhibited at these interesting
but cruel sports. The combatants, clad in a single garment of light
orange-coloured drawers extending half-way down the thigh, have
their right arm furnished with a weapon, which, for want of a more
appropriate term, we shall name a cæstus, although different from
the Roman instruments of that name. It is composed of buffalo horn,
fitted to the hand, and pointed with four knobs, resembling very
sharp knuckles, and corresponding to their situation, with a fifth
of greater prominence at the end nearest the little finger, and at
right angles with the other four. This instrument, properly placed,
would enable a man of ordinary strength to cleave open the head of his
adversary at a blow; but, the fingers being introduced through the
weapon, it is fastened across them at an equal distance between the
first and second lower joints, in a situation, it will be observed,
which does not admit of attempting a severe blow, without the risk
of dislocating the first joints of all the fingers. Thus armed, and
adorned with garlands of flowers, the successive pairs of combatants,
previously matched by the masters of the feast, are led into the
arena; their names and abodes are proclaimed; and, after making their
prostrations, first to the Raja seated on his ivory throne, and then
to the lattices behind which the ladies of the court are seated, they
proceed to the combat, first divesting themselves of the garlands,
and strewing the flowers gracefully over the arena. The combat is a
mixture of wrestling and boxing, if the latter may be so named. The
head is the exclusive object permitted to be struck. Before the end
of the contest, both of the combatants may frequently be observed
streaming with blood from the crown of the head down to the sand of
the arena. When victory seems to have declared itself, or the contest
is too severely maintained, the moderators in attendance on the Raja
make a signal for its cessation by throwing down turbans and robes,
to be presented to the combatants. The victor frequently goes off the
arena in four or five somersaults, to denote that he retires fresh
from the contest. The Jettis are divided into five classes, and the
ordinary price of victory is promotion to a higher class. There are
distinct rewards for the first class, and in their old age they are
promoted to be masters of the feast."
In an account of sports held before Tipu Sultan at Seringapatam,
James Scurry, who was one of his prisoners, writes as follows. [227]
"The getiees would be sent for, who always approached with their
masters at their head, and, after prostration, and making their
grand salams, touching the ground each time, they would be paired,
one school against another. They had on their right hands the
wood-guamootie (wajramushti) of four steel talons, which were fixed
to each back joint of their fingers, and had a terrific appearance
when their fists were closed. Their heads were close shaved, their
bodies oiled, and they wore only a pair of short drawers. On being
matched, and the signal given from Tippu, they begin the combat,
always by throwing the flowers, which they wear round their necks,
in each other's faces; watching an opportunity of striking with the
right hand, on which they wore this mischievous weapon which never
failed lacerating the flesh, and drawing blood most copiously. Some
pairs would close instantly, and no matter which was under, for the
gripe was the whole; they were in general taught to suit their holds to
their opponent's body, with every part of which, as far as concerned
them, they were well acquainted. If one got a hold against which his
antagonist could not guard, he would be the conqueror; they would
frequently break each other's legs and arms; and, if anyway tardy,
Tippu had means of infusing spirit into them, for there were always
two stout fellows behind each, with instruments in their hands that
would soon put them to work. They were obliged to fight as long as
Tippu pleased, unless completely crippled, and, if they behaved well,
they were generally rewarded with a turban and shawl, the quality
being according to their merit."
The Jettis of Mysore still have in their possession knuckle-dusters of
the type described above, and take part annually in matches during the
Dasara festival. A Jetti police constable, whom I saw at Channapatna,
had wrestled at Baroda, and at the court of Nepal, and narrated to me
with pride how a wrestler came from Madras to Bangalore, and challenged
any one to a match. A Jetti engaged to meet him in two matches for
Rs. 500 each, and, after going in for a short course of training,
walked round him in each encounter, and won the money easily.
The Mysore Jettis are said to be called, in some places, Mushtigas. And
some are stated to use a jargon called Mallabasha. [228]
Jetti further occurs as the name of an exogamous sept of the Kavarais.
Jew.--It has been said by a recent writer that "there is hardly a
more curious, and in some respects one might almost say a more weird
sight than the Jew town, which lies beyond the British Settlement at
Cochin. Crossing over the lagoon from the beautiful little island of
Bolghotty, where the British Residency for the Cochin State nestles
in a bower of tropical vegetation, one lands amidst cocoanut trees,
opposite to one of the old palaces of the Cochin Rajahs, and, passing
through a native bazaar crowded with dark-skinned Malayalis, one
turns off abruptly into a long narrow street, where faces as white as
those of any northern European race, but Semitic in every feature,
transport one suddenly in mind to the Jewish quarter in Jerusalem,
or rather perhaps to some ghetto in a Polish city."
In the preparation of the following note, I have been much indebted to
the Cochin Census Report, 1901, and to a series of articles published
by Mr. Elkan N. Adler in the Jewish Chronicle. [229]
The circumstances under which, and the time when the Jews migrated to
the Malabar Coast, are wrapped in obscurity. They themselves are able
to give accounts of only isolated incidents, since whatever records
they had were lost at the destruction by the Portuguese of their
original settlement at Cranganur in 1565, and by the destruction at a
later period of such fragments as remained in their possession in the
struggle between the Portuguese and the Dutch, for the Portuguese,
suspecting that the Jews had helped the Dutch, plundered their
synagogue in Cochin.
It is recorded by the Dutch Governor Moens [230] that "when Heer
van Goens besieged Cochin, the Jews were quite eager to provide the
troops of the Dutch Company with victuals, and to afford them all
the assistance they could, hoping that they would enjoy under this
Company the greatest possible civil and religious liberty; but,
when the above-mentioned troops were compelled to leave this coast
before the end of the good monsoon, without having been able to take
Cochin, the Portuguese did not fail to make the Jews feel the terrible
consequences of their revenge. For, no sooner had the Dutch retreated,
than a detachment of soldiers was sent to the Jewish quarters, which
were pillaged and set fire to, whilst the inhabitants fled to the
high-lands, and returned only after Cochin was taken by the Dutch.
"The Jews, who still hold that the Malabar Israelites were in
possession of an old copy of the Sepher Thora, say that this copy,
and all other documents, got lost on the occasion when the Portuguese
destroyed the Jewish quarters, but this is not likely. For, whereas
they had time to save their most valuable property according to their
own testimony, and to take it to the mountains, they would not have
failed to take along with them these documents, which were to them
of inestimable value. For it is related that for a new copy of the
Pentateuch which at that time was in their synagogue they had so much
respect, and took such great care of it, that they even secured this
copy, and took it along, and (when they returned) carried it back
with great rejoicing, as it was done in olden times with the Ark of
the Covenant."
Writing in the eighteenth century, Captain Hamilton states [231] that
the Jews "have a synagogue at Cochin, not far from the King's Palace,
in which are carefully kept their Records, engraven on copper plates
in Hebrew characters; and when any of the characters decay, they
are new cut, so that they can show their own History from the Reign
of Nebuchadnezzar to this present time. Myn Heer Van Reeda, about the
year 1695, had an Abstract of their History translated from the Hebrew
into low Dutch. They declare themselves to be of the Tribe of Manasseh,
a Part whereof was, by order of that haughty Conqueror Nebuchadnezzar,
carried to the easternmost Province of his large Empire, which, it
seems, reached as far as Cape Comerin, which journey 200,000 of them
travelled in three years from their setting out of Babylon."
The elders of the White Jews of Cochin have in their possession a
charter on two copper plates in Vatteluttu character, "the original
character which once prevailed over nearly all the Tamil country
and south-west coast, but which has long ceased to be used in the
former place, and, in the latter, is now only known in a later form,
used for drawing up documents by Hindu Rajas." [232] Concerning this
copper-plate charter, Mr. Adler writes that "the white Jews say that
they have always held it; the black Jews contend that it was originally
theirs. The title-deed is quaint in many ways. It consists of three
strips of copper, one of which is blank, one etched on both sides,
and the third on one side only. The characters are made legible by
being rubbed with whitening. The copper plates have a round hole in
the corner, through which a string was passed to tie them together
under seal, but the seal is lost. They are now kept together by a
thin and narrow copper band, which just fits."
Taking Dr. Gundert's [233] and Mr. Ellis' [234] translation of the
charter as guides, Mr. Burnell translates it as follows:-- [235]
Svasti Sri.--The king of kings has ordered (This is) the act of grace
ordered by His Majesty Srî Pârkaran Iravi Vanmar [236] wielding the
sceptre and reigning in a hundred thousand places, (in) the year
(which is) the opposite to the second year, the thirty-sixth year,
(on) the day he designed to abide in Mûyirikkôdu. [237] We have
given to Isuppu Irabbân [238] Ansuvannam (as a principality), and
seventy-two proprietary rights (appertaining to the dignity of a
feudal lord) also tribute by reverence (?) and offerings, and the
profits of Ansuvannam, and day-lamps, and broad garments (as opposed
to the custom of Malabar), and palankins, and umbrellas, and large
drums, and trumpets, and small drums and garlands, and garlands across
streets, etc., and the like, and seventy-two free houses. Moreover,
we have granted by this document on copper that he shall not pay
the taxes paid by the houses of the city into the royal treasury,
and the (above-said) privileges to hold (them). To Isuppu Irabbân,
prince of Ansuvannam, and to his descendants, his sons and daughters,
and to his nephews, and to (the nephews) of his daughters in natural
succession, Ansuvannam (is) an hereditary estate, as long as the world
and moon exist. Srî. The charter is witnessed by various local chiefs.
A somewhat different reading is given by Dr. G. Oppert [239] who
renders the translation as follows:--
"Hail and happiness! The King of Kings, His Holiness Srî Bhaskara Ravi
Varma, who wields the sceptre in many hundred thousand places, has made
this decree on the day that he was pleased to dwell in Muyirikodu in
the thirty-sixth year of his reign. We have granted unto Joseph Rabban
Anjavannan the [dignity of] Prince, with all the seventy-two rights
of ownership. He shall [enjoy] the revenues from female elephants
and riding animals, and the income of Anjavannan. He is entitled to
be honoured by lamps by day, and to use broad-cloth and sedan chairs,
and the umbrella and the drums of the north and trumpets, and little
drums, and gates, and garlands over the streets, and wreaths, and so
on. We have granted unto him the land tax and weight tax. Moreover,
we have by these copper tablets sanctioned that, when the houses
of the city have to pay taxes to the palace, he need not pay, and
he shall enjoy other privileges like unto these. To Joseph Rabban,
the prince of Anjavannam, and to his descendants, and to his sons and
daughters, and to the nephews and sons-in-law of his daughters, in
natural succession, so long as the world and moon exist, Anjuvannam
shall be his hereditary possession." It is suggested by Dr. Oppert
that Anjuvannam is identical with the fifth or foreign caste.
Dr. E. Hultzsch, the latest authority on the subject of the copper
plates, gives the following translation: [240] "Hail! Prosperity! (The
following) gift (prasada) was graciously made by him who had assumed
the title 'King of Kings' (Kogon), His Majesty (tiruvadi) the King
(ko), the glorious Bhaskara Ravivarman, in the time during which (he)
was wielding the sceptre and ruling over many hundred thousands of
places, in the thirty-sixth year after the second year, on the day on
which (he) was pleased to stay at Muyirikkodu. We have given to Issuppu
Irappan (the village of) Anjuvannam, together with the seventy-two
proprietary rights (viz.), the tolls on female elephants and other
riding-animals, the revenue of Anjuvannam, a lamp in day-time,
a cloth spread (in front to walk on), a palanquin, a parasol, a
Vaduga (i.e., Telugu?) drum, a large trumpet, a gateway, an arch,
a canopy (in the shape) of an arch, a garland, and so forth. We have
remitted tolls and the tax on balances. Moreover, we have granted with
(these) copper-leaves that he need not pay (the dues) which the (other)
inhabitants of the city pay to the royal palace (koyil), and that (he)
may enjoy (the benefits) which (they) enjoy. To Issuppu Irappan of
Anjuvannam, to the male children and to the female children born of
him, to his nephews, and to the sons-in-law who have married (his)
daughters (we have given) Anjuvannam (as) an hereditary estate for
as long as the world and the moon shall exist. Hail! Thus do I know,
Govardhana-Martandan of Venadu. Thus do I know, Kodai Srikanthan of
Venapalinadu. Thus do I know, Manavepala-Manavyan of Eralanadu. Thus
do I know, Irayiram of Valluvanadu. Thus do I know, Kodai Ravi of
Nedumpuraiyurnadu. Thus do I know, Murkham Sattan, who holds the office
of sub-commander of the forces. The writing of the Under-Secretary
Van--Talaiseri--Gandan Kunrappolan."
"The date of the inscription," Dr. Hultzsch adds, "was the
thirty-sixth year opposite to the second year. As I have shown on a
previous occasion, [241] the meaning of this mysterious phrase is
probably 'the thirty-sixth year (of the king's coronation, which
took place) after the second year (of the king's yauvarajya).' The
inscription records a grant which the king made to Issuppu Irappan,
i.e., Joseph Rabban. The occurrence of this Semitic name, combined
with the two facts that the plates are still with the Cochin Jews,
and that the latter possess a Hebrew translation of the document,
proves that the donee was a member of the ancient Jewish colony on
the western coast. The grant was made at Muriyikkodu. The Hebrew
translation identifies this place with Kodunnallur (Cranganore),
where the Jewish colonists resided, until the bad treatment which
they received at the hands of the Portuguese induced them to settle
near Cochin. The object of the grant was Anjuvannam. This word means
'the five castes,' and may have the designation of that quarter of
Cranganore, in which the five classes of Artisans--Ain-Kammalar,
as they are called in the smaller Kottayam grant--resided."
In a note on the Kottayam plate of Vira Raghava, which is in the
possession of the Syrian Christians, Rai Bahadur V. Venkayya writes
as follows. [242] "Vira-Raghava conferred the title of Manigramam
on the merchant Iravikkorran. Similarly Anjuvannam was bestowed by
the Cochin plates on the Jew Joseph Rabban. The old Malayalam work
Payyanur Pattola, which Dr. Gundert considered the oldest specimen
of Malayalam composition, refers to Anjuvannam and Manigramam. The
context in which the two names occur in this work implies that they
were trading institutions. In the Kottayam plates of Sthanu Ravi,
both Anjuvannam and Manigramam are frequently mentioned. Both of them
were appointed along with the six hundred to be 'the protectors' of
the grant. They were 'to preserve the proceeds of the customs duty
as they were collected day by day,' and 'to receive the landlord's
portion of the rent on land. If any injustice be done to them,
they may withhold the customs and the tax on balances, and remedy
themselves the injury done to them. Should they themselves commit
a crime, they are themselves to have the investigation of it.' To
Anjuvannam and Manigramam was granted the freehold of the lands of
the town (of Kollam?). From these extracts, and from the reference in
the Payyanur Pattola, it appears that Anjuvannam and Manigramam were
semi-independent trading corporations. The epithet Setti (merchant)
given to Ravikkorran, the trade rights granted to him, and the sources
of revenue thrown open to him as head of Manigramam, confirm the view
that the latter was a trading corporation. There is nothing either
in the Cochin grant, or in the subjoined inscription to show that
Anjuvannam and Manigramam were, as believed by Dr. Gundert and others,
Jewish and Christian principalities, respectively. It was supposed by
Dr. Burnell that the plate of Vira-Raghava created the principality
of Manigramam, and the Cochin plates that of Anjuvannam, and that,
consequently, the existence of these two grants is presupposed
by the plates of Sthanu Ravi, which mention both Anjuvannam and
Manigramam very often. The Cochin plates did not create Anjuvannam,
but conferred the honours and privileges connected therewith to a Jew
named Joseph Rabban. Similarly, the rights and honours associated with
the other corporation, Manigramam, was bestowed at a later period on
Ravikkorran. Therefore, Anjuvannam and Manigramam must have existed
as institutions even before the earliest of these three copper-plates
was issued. It is just possible that Ravikkorran was a Christian by
religion. But his name and title give no clue in this direction, and
there is nothing Christian in the document, except its possession by
the present owners."
It is recorded by Mr. Francis Day [243] that Governor Moens obtained
three different translations of the plates, and gave as the most
correct version one, in which the following words occur:--"We, Erawi,
Wanwara, Emperor of Malabar ... give this deed of rights to the good
Joseph Rabban, that he may use the five colours, spread his religion
among the five castes." Mr. Burnell, however, notes that Dr. Gundert
has ascertained beyond doubt that Anjuvannan (literally five colours)
does not mean some privilege, but is the name of a place.
Concerning the copper-plates, Governor Moens writes thus. "The
following translation is by the Jewish merchant Ezechiel Rabby, who
was an earnest explorer of anything that had any connection with his
nation. After this I will give another translation, which I got from
our second interpreter Barend Deventer, who was assisted by an old
and literary inhabitant of Malabar; and lastly I will add a third
one, which I obtained from our first interpreter Simon of Tongeren,
assisted by a heathen scribe of Calicut, in order thus not to allow
the Jews to be the judges in their own affair, but rather to enable
the reader to judge for himself in this doubtful matter. The first
translation runs thus:--
"By the help of God, who created the universe and appoints
the kings, and whom I honour, I, Erawi Wanwara, Emperor of
Malabar, grant in the 36th year of our happy reign at the court
of Moydiricotta--alias Cranganore--this Act of Privileges to
the Jew Josep Rabaan, viz., that he may make use of the five
colours, spread his religion among the five castes or dynasties,
fire salutes on all solemnities, ride on elephants and horses,
hold stately processions, make use of cries of honour, and in
the day-time of torches, different musical instruments, besides a
big drum; that he may walk on roads spread with white linen, hold
tournaments with sticks, and sit under a stately curtain. These
privileges we give to Josep Rabaan and to the 72 households,
provided that the others of this nation must obey the orders
of his and their descendants so long as the sun shall shine
on the earth. This Act is granted in the presence of the Kings
of Trevancore, Tekkenkore, Baddenkenkore, Calicoilan, Aringut,
Sammoryn, Palcatchery, and Colastry; written by the secretary
Calembi Kelapen in the year 3481 Kalijogam.
"'The second translation differs in important statements from the
first, and would deserve more attention when neutral people of
Malabar could be found, who could testify to the credibility of
the same; but, notwithstanding the trouble I have taken to find
such persons, it has been hitherto in vain. The second translation
runs thus:--
"'In the quiet and happy time of our reign, we, Erawi Wanwara,
imitator of (successor to ?) the sceptres, which for many hundreds
of thousands of years have reigned in justice and righteousness,
the glorious footsteps of whom we follow, now in the second year
of our reign, being the 36th year of our residence in the town
of Moydiricotta, grant hereby, on the obtained good testimony
of the great experience of Joseph Rabaan, that the said person
is allowed to wear long dresses of five colours, that he may use
carriages together with their appurtenances, and fans which are
used by the nobility. He shall have precedence to the five castes,
be allowed to burn day-lamps, to walk on spread out linen, to make
use of palanquins, Payeng umbrellas, large bent trumpets, drums,
staff, and covered seats. We give him charge over the 72 families
and their temples, which are found both here and elsewhere, and
we renounce our rights on all taxes and duties on both houses. He
shall everywhere be allowed to have lodgings. All these privileges
and prerogatives, explained in this charter, we grant to Joseph
Rabaan head of the five castes, and to his heirs, sons, daughters,
children's children, the sons-in-law married to the daughters,
together with their descendants, as long as the sun and moon shall
shine; and we grant him also all power over the five castes, as
long as the names of their descendants shall last. Witnesses hereof
are the Head of the country of Wenaddo named Comaraten Matandden;
the head of the country of Wenaaodea named Codei Cheri-canden;
the Head of the country of Erala named Mana Bepalamaan; the Head
of the country Walonaddo named Trawaren Chaten; the Head of the
country Neduwalur named Codei Trawi; besides the first of the
lesser rulers of territories of the part of Cusupady Pawagan,
namely the heir of Murkom Chaten named Kelokandan; written by
the secretary named Gunawendda Wanasen Nayr, Kisapa Kelapa;
signed by the Emperor.
"'The third translation runs as follows:--
"'In the name of the Most High God, who created the whole world
after His own pleasure, and maintains justice and righteousness,
I, Erwij Barman, raise my hands, and thank His Majesty for his
grace and blessing bestowed on my reign in Cranganore, when
residing in the fortress of Muricotta. I have granted for good
reasons to my minister Joseph Raban the following privileges;
that he may wear five coloured cloths, long dresses, and hang on
the shoulders certain cloths; that they may cheer together, make
use of drums and tambourines, burn lights during the day, spread
cloths on the roads, use palanquins, umbrellas, trumpet torches,
burning torches, sit under a throne (?), and act as Head of all
the Jews numbering seventy-two houses, who will have to pay him
the tolls and taxes of the country, no matter in what part of the
country they are living; these privileges I give to Joseph Raban
and his descendants, be they males or females, as long as any
one of them is alive, and the sun and moon shine on the earth;
for this reason I have the same engraved on a copper-plate as an
everlasting remembrance. Witnesses are the Kings of Travancore,
Berkenkore, Sammorin, Arangolla, Palcatchery, Collastry, and
Corambenaddo; written by the secretary Kellapen.
"'The aforesaid copper-plate is written in the old broken Northern
Tamil language, but with different kinds of characters, viz., Sanskrit
and Tamil, and is now read and translated by a heathen scribe named
Callutil Atsja, who was born at Calicut, and who, during the war,
fled from that place, and stays at present on the hills.
"'When these translations are compared with one another, it will
be observed at once that, in the first, the privileges are granted
to the Jew Joseph Rabban, and to the 72 Jewish families, whereas,
in the second, no trace is found of the word Jew; and Joseph
Rabban is, in the third, not called a Jew, but the minister of
the king, although he may be taken for a Jew from the context in
the course of the translation, for he is there appointed as Head
of all the other Jews to the number of 72 houses. It is equally
certain that the name of Rabaan is not exclusively proper to the
Jews only. Furthermore, the first and last translations grant
the above-mentioned privileges not only to Joseph Rabaan, but
also to the 72 Jewish families, whereas, according to the second
translation, the same are given to Joseph Rabaan, his family
and offspring only. The second translation, besides, does not at
all mention the freedom granted, and the consent to spread the
Jewish religion among the five castes. Thus, it is obvious that
these three translations do not agree, that the first and third
coincide more with each other than they do with the second; that,
for that reason, the first and last translations deserve more to
be believed than the second, which stands alone; but that this,
for that very reason, does not prove what it, properly speaking,
ought to prove, and, whereas I am not acquainted with the Malabar
language, I prefer to refrain from giving my opinion on the
subject. For hitherto I have been unable to come across, either
among the people of Malabar and Canara, or among the literary
priests and natives, any one who was clever enough to translate
these old characters for the fourth time, notwithstanding the
fact that I had sent a copy of these characters to the north and
south of Cochin, in order to have them deciphered.
"'The witnesses who were present at the granting of this charter
differ also. The first and third translations, however, seem also
to concur more with each other than with the second one. But the
discrepancy of the second translation lies in this, that in it
not the personal names of the witnesses are recorded, but only
their offices or dignities, in which they officiated at that time;
whereas the mistake in the first and third translations consists
herein, that the witnesses are called kings, and more so of those
places by which names these places were called some time after and
subsequently when times had changed, and by which names they are
still known. The second translation, however, calls them merely
heads of the countries, in the same manner as they were known at
the time of the Emperor, when these heads were not as yet kings,
because these heads bore the title of king and ruler only after
the well-known division of the Malabar Empire into four chief
kingdoms, and several smaller kingdoms and principalities. It must
be admitted, however, that the head of the country of Cochin is,
in the first and third translations, not mentioned by that name,
although the kingdom of Cochin is in reality one of the four
chief kingdoms of Malabar. I add this here for elucidation,
in order that one should not wonder, when reading this charter,
that inferior heads of countries and districts of the Malabar
Empire could be called kings, because the Empire being at that
time not as yet divided, they were not kings. It seems, therefore,
to have been a free translation, of which the translators of the
first and third translations have made use, and which has been
pointed out in the second translation.
"'The other statements of this charter, especially the authority
over the five castes, must be explained according to the
ancient times, customs, and habits of the people of Malabar,
and need not be taken into consideration here. Whether this
charter has in reality been granted to the Jews or not, it is
certain that not at any time has a Jew had great authority over
his co-religionists, and still less over the so-called five
castes. Moreover, the property of the Jews has never been free
from taxes, notwithstanding the fact that the kings to whom they
were subject appointed as a rule as heads of the Jews men of their
own nationality. They were known by the name of Moodiliars, who
had no other authority than to dispose of small civil disputes,
and to impose small fines of money.
"'There is, however, a peculiarity, which deserves to be
mentioned. Although, in the charter, some privileges are granted,
which were also given to other people, yet to no one was it ever
permitted to fire three salutes at the break of day, or on the
day of a marriage feast of one who entered upon the marriage
state, without a previous request and special permission. This
was always reserved, even to the present day, to the kings of
Cochin only. Yet up to now it was always allowed to the Jews
without asking first. And it is known that the native kings do
not easily allow another to share in outward ceremonies, which
they reserve for themselves. If, therefore, the Jews would have
arrogated to themselves this privilege without high authority,
the kings of Cochin would put a stop to this privilege of this
nation, whose residences are situated next to the Cochin palace,
but for this reason, I suppose, dare not do so.'"
Various authorities have attempted to fix approximately the date
of the copper-plate charter. Mr. Burnell gives 700 A.D. as its
probable date. The Rev. G. Milne Rae, accepting the date as fixed
by Mr. Burnell, argues that the Jews must have received the grant a
few generations after the settlement, and draws the conclusion that
they might have settled in the country some time about the sixth
century A.D. Dr. J. Wilson, in a lecture [244] on the Beni-Israels
of Bombay, adopts the sixth century of the Christian era as the
probable date of the arrival of the Beni-Israels in Bombay, about
which time also, he is inclined to think, the Cochin Jews came to
India, for their first copper-plate charter seems to belong to this
period. There is no tradition among the Jews of Cochin that they
and the Beni-Israels emigrated to the shores of India from the same
spot or at the same time, and the absence of any social intercourse
between the Beni-Israels and the Cochin Jews seems to go against
this theory. In one of the translations of the charter obtained by
the Dutch Governor Moens, the following words appear: "Written by the
Secretary Calembi Kelapoor, in the year 3481 of the Kali-yuga (i.e.,
379 A.D.)." This date does not appear, however, in the translations
of Gundert, Ellis, Burnell and Oppert. The charter was given in the
thirty-sixth year of the reign of the donor Bhaskara Ravi Varma. And,
as all, except the last of the foreign Viceroys of Kerala, are said to
have been elected for twelve years only, Cheruman Perumal, reputed to
be the last of Perumals, who under exceptional circumstances had his
term extended, according to Malabar tradition, to thirty-six years,
may be identical with Bhaskara Ravi Varma, who, Mr. Day says, reigned
till 378 A.D. Mr. C. M. Whish gives a still earlier date, for he
fixes 231 A.D. as the probable date of the grant. In connection with
the claim to the antiquity of the settlement of the Jews in Malabar,
it is set forth in the Cochin Census Report that they "are supposed
to have first come in contact with a Dravidian people as early as
the time of Solomon about B.C. 1000, for 'philology proves that the
precious cargoes of Solomon's merchant ships came from the ancient
coast of Malabar.' It is possible that such visits were frequent
enough in the years that followed. But the actual settlement of
the Jews on the Malabar coast might not have taken place until long
afterwards. Mr. Logan, in the Manual of Malabar, writes that 'the
Jews have traditions, which carry back their arrival on the coast
to the time of their escape from servitude under Cyrus in the sixth
century B.C.,' and the same fact is referred to by Sir W. Hunter
in his 'History of British India.' This eminent historian, in his
'Indian Empire' speaks of Jewish settlements in Malabar long before
the second century A.D. A Roman merchant ship, that sailed regularly
from Myos Hormuz on the Red Sea to Arabia, Ceylon, and Malabar, is
reported to have found a Jewish colony in Malabar in the second century
A.D. In regard to the settlement of the Jews in Malabar, Mr. Whish
observes that 'the Jews themselves say that Mar Thomas, the apostle,
arrived in India in the year of our Lord 52, and themselves, the Jews,
in the year 69.' In view of the commercial intercourse between the
Jews and the people of the Malabar coast long before the Christian
era, it seems highly probable that Christianity but followed in the
wake of Judaism. The above facts seem to justify the conclusion that
the Jews must have settled in Malabar at least as early as the first
century A.D."
At Cochin the Jews enjoyed full privileges of citizenship, and were
able to preserve the best part of their religious and civil liberty,
and to remain here for centuries unseen, unknown, and unsearched
by their persecutors. But, in the sixteenth century, they fell
victims by turns to the oppression of fanatical Moors and over-zealous
Christians. "In 1524, the Mahomedans made an onslaught on the Cranganur
Jews, slew a great number, and drove out the rest to a village to the
east; but, when they attacked the Christians, the Nayars of the place
retaliated, and in turn drove all the Mahomedans out of Cranganur. The
Portuguese enlarged and strengthened their Cranganur fort, and
compelled the Jews finally to desert their ancient settlement of
Anjuvannam." Thus, with the appearance of a powerful Christian nation
on the scene, the Jews experienced the terrors of a new exile and a
new dispersion, the desolation of Cranganur being likened by them to
the desolation of Jerusalem in miniature. Some of them were driven to
villages adjoining their ruined principality, while others seem to have
taken shelter in Cochin and Ernakulam. "Cranganore," Mr. Adler writes,
"was captured by the Mahomedan Sheikh or Zamorin in 1524, and razed
to the ground. The Rajah Daniel seems to have previously sent his
brother David to Europe to negociate with the Pope and the Portuguese
for an offensive and defensive alliance against the Zamorin. Anyhow,
a mysterious stranger, who called himself David Rubbeni, appeared in
Rome in March, 1524, and, producing credentials from the Portuguese
authorities in India and Egypt, was received with much honour by
the Pope, King John of Portugal, and the Emperor Charles the Fifth
in turn. After some years he fell a victim to the inquisition, but
his failure and non-return to India are more easily explained by the
fact that he was too late, and that the State he represented was no
longer existent, than by the cheap assumption of all our historians,
including Graetz, that he was an impostor with a cock-and-bull
story. Whether the famous diary of David Rubbeni is genuine or
not is less certain. But I have elsewhere sought to re-establish
this long-discredited ambassador, and here limit myself to drawing
attention to his name, which seems to have been David Rabbani. To
this day David is one of the commonest names among the Cochin Jews,
as well as the B'nei Israel, and Rabbani is the name of the ruling
family under the copper grant. Its alteration into Rubeni was due to
sixteenth century interest in the lost ten tribes, and a consequent
desire of identifying the Royal family as sprung from Reuben, the
first-born of Israel. Reuben, too, is a favourite name among the
B'nei Israel. With the destruction of their capital, the Jews left
and migrated, though to no great distance. Within 20 miles south
of Cranganore are four other places, all on the Cochin back-water,
where the Black Jews still have synagogues. Parur, Chennan Mangalam,
and Mala have each one synagogue, Ernakulam has two, and Cochin three,
of which one belongs to the White Jews. The Parur Jews have also
the ruins of another synagogue marked by a Ner Tamid, which they say
existed 400 years ago, when there were eighteen Bote Midrash (schools)
and 500 Jewish houses. This tradition further confirms the importance
of Cranganore before 1524. With the advent of the Dutch, better times
ensued for the Jews. The Dutch were bitter foes of the Portuguese
and their inquisition, and friends of their enemies. Naturally the
Jews were on the side of the Dutch, and, as naturally, had to suffer
for their temerity. In 1662 the Dutch attacked the Ranee's palace
at Mattancheri and besieged the adjoining town of Cochin, but had
to retire before Portuguese reinforcements. The Portuguese therefore
burnt the synagogue adjoining the palace, because they suspected the
Jews, no doubt with justice, of having favoured the Dutch. In the
following year, however, 'the Dutch renewed their attack on Cochin,
this time with complete success. The port and town fell into their
hands, and with it fell the Portuguese power in India. By a series
of treaties, Cochin and Holland became close allies, and the Dutch
settlement became firmly established in Cochin.' The Dutch helped
the White Jews to rebuild their synagogue. The Dutch clock is still
the pride of Cochin Jewry."
It is well known that the Cochin Jews are generally divided into two
classes, the White and the Black. Writing in the early part of the
eighteenth century, [245] Baldæus states that "in and about the City
of Cochin, lived formerly some Jews, who even now have a synagogue
allow'd them without the Fortifications; they are neither White
nor Brown, but quite black. The Portuguese Histories mention that
at a certain time certain blasphemous papers against our Saviour,
with some severe reflections against the Jesuit Gonsalvus Pereira
(who afterwards suffer'd Martyrdom at Monopatapa) being found in a
box set in the Great Church for the gathering of Alms; and the same
being supposed to be laid there by some European Jews, who now and then
used to resort thither privately, this gave occasion to introduce the
Inquisition into Goa." It is noted by the Rev. J. H. Lord [246] that
"Jacob Saphir, a Jewish traveller, who visited his co-religionists
in Cochin in recent years, having described some of the Jews resident
there as black, hastens to tone down his words, and adds, they are not
black like the raven, or as the Nubians, but only as the appearance
of copper. But Hagim Jacob Ha Cohen, another modern Jewish traveller,
chastizing the latter for calling them black at all, declares that
he will write of this class everywhere as the non-white, and never
anywhere (God forbid!) as the Black." The Black Jews claim to have
been the earliest settlers, while the White Jews came later. But
the latter assert that the former are pure natives converted to the
Jewish faith. These two difficult, yet important, issues of priority of
settlement and purity of race have divided antiquarians and historians
quite as much as they have estranged the two classes of Jews themselves
from one another. According to the Rev. C. Buchanan, [247] the White
Jews dwelling in Jews' town in Mattancheri are later settlers than
the Black Jews. They had only the Bible written on parchment, and of
modern appearance, in their synagogue, but he managed to get from the
Black Jews much older manuscripts written on parchment, goat's skin,
and cotton paper. He says that "it is only necessary to look at their
countenances to be satisfied that their ancestors must have arrived in
India many years before the White Jews. Their Hindu complexion, and
their very imperfect resemblance to the European Jews, indicate that
they had been detached from the parent stocks in Judea many ages before
the Jews in the West, and that there have been marriages with families
not Israelitish." The Rev. J. Hough observes [248] that the Black Jews
"appear so much like the natives of India, that it is difficult at
first sight to distinguish them from the Hindu. By a little closer
observation, however, the Jewish contour of their countenances cannot
be mistaken." In the lecture already referred to, Dr. Wilson states
that "their family names, such as David Castile (David the Castilian)
go to prove that they (the White Jews) are descended of the Jews
of Spain, probably of those driven from that country in the reign
of Ferdinand and Isabella, and of German and Egyptian Jews. The real
ancient Jews of Cochin are the Black Jews' descendants, we believe, of
Judea-Arabians and Indian proselytes. Some rather obscure references
to the Jews of Cochin and Quilon are made by Benjamin of Tudela, who
returned to Spain from his eastern voyage in 1173. He found no White
Jews in India. Speaking of those in the pepper country near Chulam
(Quilon), he says that all the cities and countries inhabited by
these people contain only about 100 Jews (members of the synagogue),
who are of black colour as well as the other inhabitants." Referring
to Jan Linschoten's 'Itinerary,' published in Holland in 1596,
Mr. Adler observes that "the Jews who interested our traveller were
the 'rich merchants and of the king of Cochin's nearest counsellers,
who are most white of colour like men of Europe, and have many fair
women. There are many of them that came of the country Palestine and
Jerusalem thither, and spoke over all the exchange verie perfect and
good Spanish.' This directly confirms the view that the White Jews
were new comers from foreign lands. Their knowledge of Spanish is
now quite a thing of the past, but it proves that they were Sephardim."
In regard to the claim of the White Jews to being the only genuine
Jews, it may be of interest to record the opinion of a Jew, Rabbi
David D'Beth Hithel, who travelled in Cochin in 1832. He says
that "the White Jews say of them (the Black Jews) that they are
descendants of numerous slaves who were purchased and converted to
Judaism, set free and carefully instructed by a rich White Jew some
centuries ago. At his cost, they say, were all their old synagogues
erected. The Black Jews believe themselves to be the descendants of
the first captivity, who were brought to India, and did not return
with the Israelites who built the second temple. This account I am
inclined to believe correct. Though called Black Jews--they are of
somewhat darker complexion than the White Jews--yet they are not of
the colour of the natives of the country, or of persons descended
from Indian slaves." This passage bears reference to a tradition
current among the Black Jews that they are the descendants of the
Jews who were driven out of the land of Israel thirteen years before
the destruction of the first temple built by Solomon. They are said
to have first come to Calicut, whence they emigrated to Cranganur.
"The White Jews," Mr. Adler writes, "claiming that they, and they
alone, are the true descendants of the aboriginal Jews of Cranganur,
retain the copper tablets in their possession, and boast that,
about the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Rajah of Cochin
invested the head of the Hallegua family with the hereditary title
of Mudaliar or Noble [and a wand with a silver knob as a sign of his
dignity], with the power of punishing certain crimes. The males of
that family still bear the title, but their feudal rights have been
abrogated. Nowadays the number of White Jews has dwindled to less than
200, so that it was easy to procure a list of all their names. From
the foreign origin of their surnames (Kindel, Ashkenazi, Mizrahi,
Koder, Roby, Sassoon), as well as for other reasons, it seems certain
that the White Jews are late comers, who did not settle in India till
after the destruction of Cranganur. They were traders, who came to
Cochin; they prospered under the rule of the Dutch, and built their
synagogue and quarter after the Black Jews were already established
there. Though, now, they hold themselves jealously aloof from the
Black Jews, they were at first quite intimate and friendly. The Indian
environment has had the opposite effect to that which England has had
upon our Ashkenazim and our no longer exclusive Sephardim. In India
caste is varna, which means colour, and their difference in colour has
produced caste distinctions among the Indian Jews. But, although the
White Jews are fair, some of them are certainly not quite white, nor
are the Black Jews quite black. Some of the 'Black' Jews are hardly
distinguishable from their 'White' brethren. Their customs, ritual,
and religious observances are the same. Their synagogues are so alike
that it needs some keenness of eyesight to detect that two pictures
are not of the identical building. The only great (?) difference
is that the White Jews have theirs tiled with rare old blue tiles,
over which newspaper correspondents wax eloquent. They say the tiles
are old Dutch, but really they are genuine Chinese [blue and white
Canton China], [249] whereby hangs a tale. The synagogue was built
nearly 200 years ago in a corner of the Rajah's palace-yard. At that
time, the Dutch were in possession of what is now British Cochin, and
they were the only people trading with China. The Rajah, through his
allies the Dutch, had imported a large quantity of the best China
tiles to pave his Darbar hall, but the Jews, says Mr. Thurston,
thought they would just do for the synagogue they were building, so
they told the Rajah that he could not possibly use them, inasmuch as
bullock's blood had been employed in their manufacture. His Highness,
much perturbed at the indignity to so sacred an animal, bade them
take the tiles away, and never let him see them again. Hence their
presence in the synagogue. The other synagogue has tiles also, but
they are of gleaming white." The synagogues, it may be added, are
square whitewashed buildings, surmounted by a bell-tower. It is said
that the Kadyabagan synagogue of the Black Jews is admitted by the
White Jews to be the oldest at present existing, having been built
in the 12th century.
It is recorded by Governor Moens that "in the Jewish quarters
(situated) next to the palace of the king of Cochin at Cochin de Sima
there are two synagogues, viz., one for the White Jews, and the other
for the Black Jews. The latter have readers of their own tribe, who
hold the services, but, when a White Rabbi comes to their synagogue,
the honour of conducting the service must be given to him."
"The dates," the Rev. J. H. Lord writes, "of the synagogues of the
Black Jews altogether antedate those of the White. Thus, the date
on the mural slab of the now disused and dilapidated Cochin Angadi
synagogue is A.D. 1344 = 563 years ago. That of the Kadavambagom
synagogue in Cochin is A.D. 1639, or = 268 years ago. That of the
Cochin Theckumbagom synagogue is A.D. 1586, or = 321 years ago;
while that of the synagogue of the White Jews is A.D. 1666 or =
241 years ago. Hence the institutions of the Black Jews are the
more ancient. The tomb-stone dates of the Black Jews are also far
more ancient than those of the White Jews. The earliest date of any
tomb-stone of the Black Jews is six hundred years old."
It is further noted by the Rev. J. H. Lord that "the Black Jews
are still the ones who make use of the privileges granted in the
copper-plate charter. They still carry a silk umbrella, and lamps
lit at day-time, when proceeding to their synagogue on the 8th day
after birth of sons. They spread a cloth on the ground, and place
ornaments of leaves across the road on occasions when their brides
and bridegrooms go to get married, and use then cadanans (mortars
which are charged with gunpowder, and fired), and trumpets. After
the wedding is over, four silk sunshades, each supported on four
poles, are borne, with lamps burning in front, as the bridal party
goes home. The Black Jews say that the White Jews use none of these,
and never have done so. The White Jews aver that they were accustomed
formerly to use such privileges, but have discontinued them."
There is record of disputes between the White and Black Jews for as
early a time as that of the Dutch settlement, or even earlier. Jealousy
and strife between the two sections on matters of intermarriage and
equal privileges seem to have existed even during the time of the
Portuguese. Canter Visscher, in his 'Letters from Malabar,' [250]
refers to these party feelings. "The blacks," he writes, "have a
dark coloured Rabbi, who must stand back if a white one enters,
and must resign to him the honour of performing the divine service
in the synagogue. On the other hand, when the black Rabbis enter the
synagogue of Whites, they must only be hearers. There has lately been
a great dispute between the two races; the Black wishing to compel the
White Jewesses to keep their heads uncovered, like their own women,
and trying to persuade the Rajah to enforce such a rule. The dispute
ended, however, with permission given to every one, both men and women,
to wear what they chose."
More than once, Jewish Rabbis have been appealed to on the subject of
racial purity, and they have on all occasions upheld the claims of a
section of the Black Jews to being Jews, and the White Jews have as
often repudiated such decisions, and questioned their validity. The
weight of authority, and the evidence of local facts, seem to militate
against the contention of the White Jews that the Black Jews do
not belong to the Israelitish community, but are the descendants of
emancipated slaves and half castes. The White Jews appear to have
maintained the purity of their race by declining intermarriage with
the Black Jews. It must be admitted that, in the earlier centuries,
the original settlers purchased numerous slaves, who have since then
followed the religion of their masters. It is recorded by Stavorinus
[251] that "when these Jews purchase a slave, they immediately manumit
him; they circumcise him and receive him as their fellow Israelite,
and never treat him as a slave." It is noted by Canter Visscher [252]
that "the Jews make no objection to selling their slaves who are
not of their own religion to other nations, obliging them, however,
when sold, to abandon the use of the Jewish cap, which they had
before worn on their heads. But slaves, male or female, once fully
admitted into their religion by the performance of the customary
rites, can never be sold to a stranger." The Jews are said to have
had former fugitive connections with the women of these converts,
and brought into existence a mixed race of Dravidians and Semitics. It
would be uncharitable to infer from this that all the Black Jews are
the descendants of converted slaves or half-castes, as it would be
unreasonable to suppose that all of them are the descendants of the
original settlers. It is noted by Mr. Adler that "the Rev. J. H. Lord
quotes an interesting pronouncement on the racial purity of the
Black Jews of Malabar made by Haham Bashi of Jerusalem in 1892. The
Rabbi is said to have referred to the Maharikash (R. Jacob Castro,
of Alexandria), whose responsum in 1610 confirmed the 'Jichus' or the
'Mejuchasim' and decided likewise. He is even said to have allowed
one of his relatives to marry a Brown Jew! Nowadays, the White Jews
hold aloof from the larger community, black or brown, and profess to
be of another caste altogether. But one of the most intelligent of
their number, who took us round the synagogues, professed to think
such exclusiveness exaggerated and unfair, and admitted that their own
grandfathers had lived with Black Jewesses in a more or less binding
marital relation, and it is abundantly clear that, till recently,
the Black and White Jews were quite friendly, and the very fact of
the White Jews holding the title-deeds merely proves that they were
trusted by the true owners to keep them for safe custody, as they
were richer and possessed safes. In an article in the 'Revue des
Deux Mondes,' [253] Pierre Loti, writing of the Black Jews, says that
"le rabbin me fait d'ameres doléances sur la fierté des rivaux de la
rue proche, qui ne veulent jamais consentir à contracter marriage,
ni même à frayer avec ses paroissiens. Et, pour comble, me dit-il,
le grand rabbin de Jérusalem, à qui on avait adressé une plainte
collective, le priant d'intervenir, s'est contenté d'émettre, en
réponse, cette généralité plutôt offensante: Pour nicher ensemble,
il faut être des moineaux de même plumage."
In recent years, a distinction appears to have grown up among the
Black Jews, so that they now want to be distinguished as Brown Jews
and Black Jews, the former claiming to be Meyookhasim or genuine
Jews. In this connection, Mr. Adler writes that "the Black Jews are
themselves divided into two classes, the Black Jews proper, who are
darker, and have no surnames, and the noble, who have family names
and legitimate descent, and claim to be the true descendants of the
Cranganur or Singili Jews."
The White Jews are generally known by the name of Paradesis
(foreigners). This designation is found in some of the Sirkar (State)
accounts, and also in a few Theetoorams or Royal writs granted to
them. It is argued that they must have been so called at first to
distinguish them from the more ancient Israelites. The existence for
centuries of three small colonies of Black Jews at Chennamangalam and
Mala in the Cochin State, and Parur in Travancore, at a distance of
five or six miles from Cranganur, shows that they must have sought
refuge in those places on being hard pressed by the Moors and the
Portuguese. There are no White Jews in any of these stations, nor
can they point to any vested interests in the tracts about Cranganur,
the most ancient Jewish settlement in the State.
The Jews wear a long tunic of rich colour, a waistcoat buttoned up
to the neck, and full white trousers. They go about wearing a skull
cap, and put on a turban when they go to the synagogue. The Black
Jews dress more or less like the native Mahomedans. Many of them
put on shirts, and have skull caps like the Jonaka Mappilas. They
generally wear coloured cloths. The Jews invariably use wooden
sandals. These, and their locks brought down in front of the ears,
distinguish them from other sections of the population. The Jewesses
always wear coloured cloths. Hebrew is still the liturgical language,
and is studied as a classic by a few, but the home language is
Malayalam. The White Jews celebrate their marriages on Sundays,
but the Black Jews still retain the ancient custom of celebrating
them on Tuesdays after sunset. Though polygamy is not prohibited,
monogamy is the rule. The males generally marry at the age of 20,
while the marriageable age for girls is 14 or 15. Marriages are
generally celebrated on a grand scale. The festivities continue for
seven days in the case of the White Jews, and for fifteen days among
the Black Jews, who still make use of some of the ancient privileges
granted by the charter of Cheraman Perumal. The Jews of all sections
have adopted a few Hindu customs. Thus, before going to the synagogue
for marriage, a tali (marriage badge) is tied round the bride's neck
by some near female relative of the bridegroom (generally his sister)
in imitation of the Hindu custom, amidst the joyful shouts (kurava)
of women. Divorce is not effected by a civil tribunal. Marriages are
dissolved by the making good the amount mentioned in the kethuba or
marriage document. In regard to their funerals, the corpse is washed,
but not anointed, and is deposited in the burial-ground, which is
called Beth Haim, the house of the living.
Like their brethren in other parts of the world, the Cochin Jews
observe the Sabbath feasts and fasts blended intimately with their
religion, and practice the rite of circumcision on the eighth day, when
the child is also named. The Passover is celebrated by the distribution
of unleavened bread, but no kid is killed, nor is blood sprinkled upon
the door-post and lintel. The other feasts are the feast of Pentecost,
feast of Trumpets, and feast of Tabernacles. The day of atonement,
and the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem, are observed as
fasts. On the day of atonement, the Jews pray in the synagogue from
5 A.M. till 7 P.M. The Jewish fasts commence from 5 P.M. on the day
previous to the fast, and end at 7 P.M. next day. Their days begin
and end with sunset. The feast of Tabernacles is observed with more
pomp and ceremony than other feasts. A pandal, or temporary shed,
with a flat roof, covered over with plaited leaves of the cocoanut
palm, and decorated with festoons, is put up in the court-yard of,
or near every house, beneath which the inmates of the house assemble
and take their meals. On the last day of the feast, a large can
filled with oil is lit up in front of the synagogue. On that day,
the congregation assembles in the synagogue. Persons of both sexes
and of all ages meet in the house of prayer, which is gorgeously
decorated for the occasion. On this day, when the books are taken
outside the synagogue by the male congregation, the females, who are
seated in the gallery, come into the synagogue, and, when the books
are taken back, they return to their gallery.
The genuine Jews are, as indicated, known as M'yukhasim (those of
lineage or aristocracy), while converts from the low castes are
called non-M'yukhasim. According to the opinion of Jewish Rabbis,
Tabila, or the holy Rabbinical bath, removes the social disabilities
of the latter. Those who have had recourse to this bath are free
to marry genuine Jews, but respect for caste, or racial prejudice,
has invariably stood in the way of such marriages being contracted.
From a recent note (1907), I gather that "the Jews, realising that
higher and more advanced education is needed, have bestirred
themselves, and are earnestly endeavouring to establish an
institution which will bring their education up to the lower secondary
standard. The proposed school will be open to both the White and
Black Jews. In order to place the school on a good financial basis,
one of the leading Jews, Mr. S. Koder, approached the Anglo-Jewish
Association for aid, and that Society has readily agreed to provide
a sum of £150 a year for the upkeep of the school. Generous, however,
as this offer is, it is found that the amount is insufficient to cover
the expenditure; so the Jews are going to raise a public subscription
amongst themselves, and they also intend to apply to the Cochin Darbar
for a grant under the Educational Code." [254]
I was present at the Convocation of the Madras University in 1903,
when the Chancellor conferred the degree of Bachelor of Arts on the
first Jew who had passed the examination.
According to the Cochin Census, 1901, there were 180 White, and 957
Black Jews.
Jhodia.--A sub-division of Poroja.
Jhoria.--A sub-division of Gaudo.
Jilaga (pith).--An exogamous sept of Devanga.
Jilakara (cumin seeds: Cuminum cyminum). An exogamous sept of Balija
and Togata.
Jinigar.--"There are," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [255] "a few members
of this caste, chiefly in the Chendragiri taluk, whose ordinary
occupation it now is to paint pictures. They were, however, once, it
is said, artificers, and the account given of them is as follows. They
were originally Razus from the Northern Circars, who, coming to the
Chendragiri Raja for employment, were set to watch members of the
Kammala caste who served the Raja, in order to prevent idleness
or fraud. After some time, the Kammalans finished an idol's car,
and, being inflated with pride, demanded to be allowed to sit in it
before the swami was himself placed there. For their arrogance they
were expelled, and the Razus, having by observation learnt something
of their craft, discharged their duties to the community. Under the
Nabobs they abandoned this walk of life, and took to saddlery, whence
came their name from jini a saddle, and now they are merely muchis."
Mr. W. Francis informs us [256] that "in Bellary wood-carving is done
by Jinigaras, who have taught the art to some Muhammadans, who are
now often more skilful than their teachers. Two of them made a teak
doorway, carved in the Chalukyan style, which obtained a medal at the
Arts Exhibition at the Delhi Darbar, and is now in the Madras Museum."
At Nandyal in the Kurnool district, I recently saw a Jinigar, who
makes "lacquer" (gesso) fans, trays, large circular table tops, etc.,
and paintings of Hindu deities and mythological subjects. He made
a number of panels used in the dado of Lady Curzon's boudoir at the
circuit house, Delhi. A medal was awarded to him for his gesso ware
at the Delhi Exhibition, but it was, in colouring, inferior to that
of the collection which was sent to the Indo-Colonial Exhibition
in 1886. The "lacquer" ware of Kurnool has been said to be perhaps
the finest Indian gesso work produced anywhere. The work turned out
at Mandasa in Ganjam is much bolder, and suitable for decoration on
a large scale. A similar method of decoration was formerly largely
used in Saracenic architectural decoration of interiors in various
countries. The patterns of the Kurnool ware are floral, and in slight
relief, and the colours are very bright with much gilding. At Nossam,
in Ganjam, leather dishmats are painted with pictures of deities and
floral designs. Native circular playing-cards, and fans made of palmyra
leaves or paper and cloth "lacquered" and painted in brilliant colours,
are also made here.
In the Nellore district, the Jiniga-vandlu make toys, pictures, and
models in paper and pith. At Trichinopoly, very elaborate and accurate
models of the great Hindu temples, artificial flowers, bullock coaches,
etc., are made of the pith of sola (Æschynomene aspera), which is also
used in the construction of sola topis (sun-hats). The Madras Museum
possesses a very quaint pith model of the Raja of Tanjore in darbar,
with performing wrestlers and Deva-dasis, made many years ago.
Jinka.--(Indian gazelle, Gazella bennetti).--An exogamous sept of
Padma Sale. The equivalent Jinkala is a sept of Boya.
Jira.--In the Bellary district, a Lingayat who sells flowers calls
himself a Jira, and his caste Jira kula.
Jirige (cumin: Cuminum cyminum).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba, and
gotra of Kurni.
Jivala (an insect).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba.
Jogi.--The Jogis, who are a caste of Telugu mendicants, are summed
up by Mr. H. A. Stuart [257] as being "like the Dasaris, itinerant
jugglers and beggars. They are divided into those who sell beads, and
those who keep pigs. They are dexterous snake-charmers, and pretend
to a profound knowledge of charms and medicine. They are very filthy
in their habits. They have no restrictions regarding food, may eat
in the house of any Sudra, and allow widows to live in concubinage,
only exacting a small money penalty, and prohibiting her from washing
herself with turmeric-water." In addition to begging and pig-breeding,
the Jogis are employed in the cultivation of land, in the destruction
of pariah dogs, scavenging, robbery and dacoity. Some of the women,
called Killekyata, are professional tattooers. The Jogis wander about
the country, taking with them (sometimes on donkeys) the materials
for their rude huts. The packs of the donkeys are, Mr. F. S. Mullaly
informs us, [258] "used as receptacles for storing cloths obtained
in predatory excursions. Jogis encamp on the outskirts of villages,
usually on a plain or dry bed of a tank. Their huts or gudisays are
made of palmyra leaves (or sedge) plaited with five strands forming
an arch." The huts are completely open in front.
In the Tamil country, the Jogis are called Dhoddiyan or Tottiyan
(q.v.), and those who are employed as scavengers are known as
Koravas or Oddans. The scavengers do not mix with the rest of the
community. Some Jogis assert that they have to live by begging in
consequence of a curse brought on them by Parvati, concerning whose
breasts one of their ancestors made some indiscreet remarks. They
consider themselves superior to Malas and Madigas, but an Oddan
(navvy caste) will not eat in the house of a Jogi. They are said to
eat crocodiles, field rats, and cats. There is a tradition that a Jogi
bridegroom, before tying the bottu (marriage badge) on his bride's
neck, had to tie it by means of a string dyed with turmeric round the
neck of a female cat. People sometimes object to the catching of cats
by Jogis for food, as the detachment of a single hair from the body
of a cat is considered a heinous offence. To overcome the objection,
the Jogi says that he wants the animal for a marriage ceremony. On
one occasion, I saw a Madiga carrying home a bag full of kittens,
which, he said, he was going to eat.
The Jogi mendicants go about, clad in a dirty loin-cloth (often red
in colour) and a strip of cloth over the shoulders, with cobras,
pythons, or rat snakes in baskets, and carrying a bag slung over the
shoulder. The contents of one of these bags, which was examined, were
fruits of Mimusops hexandra and flower-spikes of Lippia nodiflora (used
for medicine), a snake-charming reed instrument, a piece of cuttle-fish
shell, porcupine quills (sold to goldsmiths for brushes), a cocoanut
shell containing a powder, narrikombu (spurious jackals' horns) such as
are also manufactured by Kuruvikarans, and two pieces of wood supposed
to be an antidote for snake-poisoning. The women go about the streets,
decorated with bangles and necklaces of beads, sharks' vertebræ, and
cowry shells, bawling out "Subbamma, Lachchamma," etc., and will not
move on till alms are given to them. They carry a capacious gourd,
which serves as a convenient receptacle for stolen articles.
Like other Telugu castes, the Jogis have exogamous septs or intiperu,
of which the following are examples:--
Vagiti, court-yard.
Uluvala, horse-gram.
Jalli, tassels of palmyra leaves put round the necks of bulls.
Vavati (relationship).
Gundra, round.
Bindhollu, brass water-pot.
Cheruku, sugar-cane.
Chappadi, insipid.
Boda Dasiri, bald-headed mendicant.
Gudi, temple.
At the Mysore census, 1901, Killekyata, Helava, Jangaliga, and Pakanati
were returned as being Jogis. A few individuals returned gotras, such
as Vrishabha, Kaverimatha, and Khedrumakula. At the Madras census,
Siddaru, and Pamula (snake) were returned as sub-castes. Pamula is
applied as a synonym for Jogi, inasmuch as snake-charming is one of
their occupations.
The women of the caste are said to be depraved, and prostitution is
common. As a proof of chastity, the ordeal of drinking a potful of
cow-dung water or chilly-water has to be undergone. If a man, proved
guilty of adultery, pleads inability to pay the fine, he has to walk
a furlong with a mill-stone on his head.
At the betrothal ceremony, a small sum of money and a pig are given
to the bride's party. The pig is killed, and a feast held, with much
consumption of liquor. Some of the features of the marriage ceremony
are worthy of notice. The kankanams, or threads which are tied by the
maternal uncles to the wrists of the bride and bridegroom, are made
of human hair, and to them are attached leaves of Alangium lamarckii
and Strychnos Nux-vomica. When the bridegroom and his party proceed to
the bride's hut for the ceremony of tying the bottu (marriage badge),
they are stopped by a rope or bamboo screen, which is held by the
relations of the bride and others. After a short struggle, money is
paid to the men who hold the rope or screen, and the ceremonial is
proceeded with. The rope is called vallepu thadu or relationship rope,
and is made to imply legitimate connection. The bottu, consisting of a
string of black beads, is tied round the bride's neck, the bride and
bridegroom sometimes sitting on a pestle and mortar. Rice is thrown
over them, and they are carried on the shoulders of their maternal
uncles beneath the marriage pandal (booth). As with the Oddes and
Upparavas, there is a saying that a Jogi widow may mount the marriage
dais (i.e., remarry) seven times.
When a girl reaches puberty, she is put in a hut made by her brother
or husband, which is thatched with twigs of Eugenia Jambolana, margosa
(Melia Azadirachta), mango (Mangifera Indica), and Vitex Negundo. On
the last day of the pollution ceremony the girl's clothes and the
hut are burnt.
The dead are always buried. The corpse is carried to the burial-place,
wrapped up in a cloth. Before it is lowered into the grave, all present
throw rice over the eyes, and a man of a different sept to the deceased
places four annas in the mouth. Within the grave the head is turned
on one side, and a cavity scooped out, in which various articles of
food are placed. Though the body is not burnt, fire is carried to the
grave by the son. Among the Jalli-vallu, a chicken and small quantity
of salt are placed in the armpit of the corpse. On the karmandhiram,
or day of the final death ceremonies, cooked rice, vegetables, fruit,
and arrack are offered to the deceased. A cloth is spread near the
grave, and the son, and other agnates, place food thereon, while
naming, one after the other, their deceased ancestors. The food is
eaten by Jogis of septs other than the Jalli-vallu, who throw it into
water. If septs other than the Jalli were to do this, they would be
fined. Those assembled proceed to a tank or river, and make an effigy
in mud, by the side of which an earthen lamp is placed. After the
offering of cooked rice, etc., the lamp and effigy are thrown into
the water. A man who is celebrating his wife's death-rites then has
his waist-thread cut by another widower while bathing.
The Jogis worship Peddavadu, Malalamma, Gangamma, Ayyavaru, Rudramma,
and Madura Virudu.
Some women wear, in addition to the marriage bottu, a special bottu
in honour of one of their gods. This is placed before the god and
worn by the eldest female of a family, passing on at her death to
the next eldest.
As regards the criminal propensities of the Jogis, Mr. Mullaly writes
as follows. [259] "On an excursion being agreed upon by members of
a Joghi gang, others of the fraternity encamped in the vicinity are
consulted. In some isolated spot a nim tree (Melia Azadirachta) is
chosen as a meeting place. Here the preliminaries are settled, and
their god Perumal is invoked. They set out in bands of from twelve
to fifteen, armed with stout bamboo sticks. Scantily clad, and with
their heads muffled up, they await the arrival of the carts passing
their place of hiding. In twos and threes they attack the carts, which
are usually driven off the road, and not unfrequently upset, and the
travellers are made to give all they possess. The property is then
given to the headman of the gang for safe-keeping, and he secretes it
in the vicinity of his hut, and sets about the disposal of it. Their
receivers are to be found among the 'respectable' oil-mongers of 11
villages in the vicinity of their encampments, while property not
disposed of locally is taken to Madras. Readmission to caste after
conviction, when imprisonment is involved, is an easy matter. A feed
and drink at the expense of the 'unfortunate,' generally defrayed from
the share of property which is kept by his more fortunate kinsfolk,
are all that is necessary, except the ceremony common to other classes
of having the tongue slightly burnt by a piece of hot gold. This is
always performed by the Jangam (headman) of the gang. The boys of the
class are employed by their elders in stealing grain stored at kalams
(threshing-floors), and, as opportunity offers, by slitting grain
bags loaded in carts."
Jogi.--A sub-division of Kudubi.
Jogi Gurukkal.--See Yogi Gurukkal.
Jogi Purusha.--The Purushas or Jogi Purushas seem to have come into
existence in recent times, and to be divided into two distinct classes,
one of which has crystallised into a caste, while the other merely
follows a cult practiced by several other castes. Those in South
Canara, who speak Marathi and Tulu, say that they form a caste,
which will not admit members of other castes into its ranks. There
is a head mutt (religious institution) at Kadiri, with subordinate
mutts at Halori and Bhuvarasu, all in South Canara. The Jogi Purushas
are disciples of one or other of these mutts. Their special deity
is Bairava, but some regard Gorakshanath as their god. They are
initiated into the Bairava cult by their priest. They may lead either
a celibate or married life. The celibates should have a hole bored in
the middle of the ear, and wear therein a ring of rhinoceros horn or
china-clay. Those who wish to lead a married life need not have a hole
in the ear, but, at the time of their initiation, a piece of clay is
pressed over the spot where the hole should be. All Jogi Purushas who
have become the disciples of a guru (spiritual instructor) of their
cult ought to have a brass, copper, or silver pipe, called singanatha,
tied on a thread round the neck. Before taking their meals, they are
expected to pray to Bairava, and blow the pipe.
The Jogi Purushas follow the Makkalakattu system of inheritance (in
the male line), and, for their marriage ceremonies, engage a Karadi
Brahman. The dead are buried in a sitting posture. The bojja, or final
death ceremony, is usually performed on the twelfth day, and a Brahman
priest officiates thereat. The ceremony consists in offering food to
the crows, making presents to Brahmans, and undergoing purificatory
rites for the removal of death pollution. If the deceased has been
initiated into the Bairava cult, puja (worship) must be done at the
grave every alternate day from the third day till the bojja day.
Some Jogi Purushas are professional mendicants, while others work as
coolies, peons, etc.
Jonagan.--Jonagan is given, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as the
name applied to "Musalman traders of partly Hindu parentage. The word
is from the Tamil Sonagan, which means Arabia, and is not strictly
the name of any Musalman tribe, but is a loose term applied by the
Tamils to Musalmans of mixed descent." In the Gazetteer of South
Arcot, Mr. Francis says that "the term Jonagan or Sonagan, meaning
a native of Sonagan or Arabia, is applied by Hindus to both Labbais
and Marakkayars, but it is usually held to have a contemptuous
flavour." According to another version, Jonagan is applied to
sea-fishermen and boatmen, and the more prosperous traders are called
Marakkayars. In a note on the Mappillas of Malabar, Mr. Padmanabha
Menon writes that "the Muhammadans generally go by the name of Jonaga
Mappillas. Jonaka is believed to stand for Yavanaka, i.e., Greek."
Joti (light).--An exogamous sept of Boya.
Jotinagara.--Jotinagara (people of the city of light) and Jotipana
are high sounding synonyms of the Canarese oil-pressing Ganigas,
who express illuminant oils from seeds. In like manner, the Tamil
oil-pressing Vaniyans are known as Jotinagarattar and Tiru-vilakku
Nagarattar (dwellers in the city of holy lamps).
Juda Mappilla.--A name by which the Cochin Jews are known.
Julaha.--A few members of this Muhammadan class of weavers have been
returned at times of census.
Jungu (cock's-comb).--A gotra of Kurni.
NOTES
[1] Yule and Burnell. Hobson-Jobson.
[2] Manual of the North Arcot district.
[3] The bark of the avaram plant is one of the most valuable Indian
tanning agents.
[4] Voyage to the East Indies, 1774 and 1781.
[5] Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies.
[6] Manual of the Tanjore district, 1883.
[7] Manual of the Madura district.
[8] Monograph of Tanning and Working in Leather, 1904.
[9] Pratiloma, as opposed to an anuloma union, is the marriage of a
female of a higher caste with a man of a lower one.
[10] Madras Census Report, 1901.
[11] Madras Census Report, 1871.
[12] Madras Police Gazette, 1902.
[13] I. No. 4. 1908, Vellore.
[14] Criminal Tribes of India, No. III, 1907.
[15] Criminal Classes in the Bombay Presidency.
[16] Manual of the South Canara district.
[17] Manual of the South Canara district.
[18] Journal Asiatic Society, XXV, 1857.
[19] Journey through Mysore, Canara, and Malabar.
[20] Journal Royal Asiatic Society, VIII, 1846.
[21] Fauna, British India, Mammalia.
[22] Cassia auriculata.
[23] Marriage chaplet worn on the forehead.
[24] Wrist-threads dyed with turmeric.
[25] Madras Census Report, 1891.
[26] Monograph, Eth. Survey of Cochin, No. 6, 1906.
[27] Manual of Malabar.
[28] Calcutta Review, 1900.
[29] Madras Police Report, 1904.
[30] Gazetteer of the Malabar district.
[31] Malabar and its Folk, 1900.
[32] Karunakara Menon, Madras Mus. Bull., V. 2, 1906.
[33] Madras Mail, 1908.
[34] S. Appadorai Iyer.
[35] Calcutta Review, 1900.
[36] One fanam = four annas eight pies.
[37] Madras Mail, 1895.
[38] Ind. Ant., VIII, 1879.
[39] Native Life in Travancore.
[40] A mulikka is the collective name for a present of five betel
leaves, one areca nut, and two tobacco leaves.
[41] Gazetteer of the Trichinopoly district.
[42] Rev. H. Jensen, Classified Collection of Tamil Proverbs, 1897.
[43] Madras Mail, 1904.
[44] Gazetteer of the Nilgiris.
[45] Occasional Essays on Native South Indian Life.
[46] The fruits of several species of Momordica are eaten by Natives.
[47] Sidney Low. A Vision of India, 1906.
[48] Manual of the North Arcot district.
[49] Gazetteer of the Anantapur district.
[50] Manual of the Tanjore district.
[51] Calcutta Review, 1905.
[52] Madras Mail, 1901.
[53] John Company, a corruption of Company Jehan, a title of the
English East India Company.
[54] Manual of the South Canara district.
[55] South Indian Inscriptions, Vol. II, part 3, p. 259.
[56] Journey from Madras through Mysore, Canara and Malabar, 1807.
[57] Elliott. History of India.
[58] Brahmanism and Hinduism.
[59] Evolution of Hinduism, 1903.
[60] J. T. Wheeler. Madras in the Olden Time.
[61] Notes from a Diary, 1881--86.
[62] J. Michaud. Histoire des Progrès et de la Chûlte de l'Empire de
Mysore, sons les Règnes d'Hyder-Aly et Tippoo Saib.
[63] An Indian Olio.
[64] Manual of the Bellary district.
[65] Cyclopædia of India.
[66] Journ. Anth. Soc., Bombay, Vol. II.
[67] Journ. Anth. Soc., Bombay, 1891.
[68] Manual of the North Arcot district.
[69] Gazetteer of the Godavari district.
[70] See also collection of decisions on the law of succession,
maintenance, etc., applicable to dancing-girls and their
issues. C. Ramachendrier, Madras, 1892.
[71] Indian Law Reports, Madras Series, XXIII, 1900.
[72] Ibid., Vol. V, 1869-70.
[73] Ibid., Vol. I, 1876-78.
[74] Ibid., Vol. VI, 1883.
[75] Ibid., Vol. I, 1876-78.
[76] Ibid., Vol. I, 1876-78.
[77] Ibid., Vol. XIX, 1896.
[78] Ibid., Vol. XIII, 1890.
[79] Ibid., Vol. XIV, 1891.
[80] Ibid., Vol. XV, 1892.
[81] Ganga Bai v. Anant. 13 Bom., 690.
[82] Hindu Law and Usage.
[83] Macnaghten, Digest.
[84] Classified Collection of Tamil Proverbs, 1897.
[85] J. S. F. Mackenzie. Ind. Ant., IV, 1875.
[86] Madras Census Report, 1891; Manual of the South Canara district.
[87] Breeks. Account of the Primitive Tribes and Monuments of the
Nilgiris.
[88] Section III, Inhabitants. Madras Government Press, 1907.
[89] Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, XV, Part I, 1883.
[90] Yule and Burnell, Hobson-Jobson.
[91] Tropical Diseases.
[92] Madras Census Report, 1901.
[93] Rev. H. Jensen. Classified Collection of Tamil Proverbs, 1897.
[94] Madras Census Report, 1891.
[95] G. Bühler on the Indian Sect of the Jainas, 1903.
[96] Madras Census Report, 1891.
[97] Man., 1901.
[98] Jeypore, Breklum, 1901.
[99] Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district.
[100] Man., 1902.
[101] Ibid.
[102] Money-lender.
[103] Madras Census Report, 1891; Manual of the North Arcot district.
[104] Notes on the Criminal Classes of the Madras Presidency.
[105] Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.
[106] M. Paupa Rao Naidu. History of Railway Thieves. 3rd Edition,
1904.
[107] Calcutta Review, 1905.
[108] Memoir of Sir Thomas Munro.
[109] Manual of the North Arcot district; Madras Census Report, 1891.
[110] Madras Census Report, 1901.
[111] Manual of the North Arcot district; Madras Census Report, 1891.
[112] Madras Census Report, 1901.
[113] Malabar Law and Custom.
[114] Malabar Quarterly Review, VII, 3, 1908.
[115] Wigram. Malabar Law and Custom.
[116] Monograph. Eth. Survey of Cochin, No. 9, 1906.
[117] Yule and Burnell, 2nd ed., 1903.
[118] Handbook of British India, 1854.
[119] Cyclopædia of India.
[120] Journ. Anth. Inst., XX, 1891.
[121] Danvers. The Portuguese in India, 1894.
[122] Manual Of Malabar.
[123] See Madras Museum Bulletin, II, 2, Table XXVI, 1898.
[124] Elephantiasis and allied disorders, Madras, 1891.
[125] Veterinarian, June, 1879.
[126] Endemic Skin and other Diseases of India. Fox and Farquhar.
[127] Linguistic Survey of India IV, 1906.
[128] Madras Census Report, 1891.
[129] Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district.
[130] Madras Mail, 1907.
[131] Madras Census Report, 1891.
[132] Manual of the Vizagapatam district.
[133] Madras Census Report, 1891.
[134] Ind. Ant. XVIII, 1889.
[135] Manual of the South Canara district.
[136] Mysore Census Report, 1891.
[137] Gazetteer of the Bellary district.
[138] Calcutta Review, 1905.
[139] Madras Census Report, 1891.
[140] Original Inhabitants of Bharatavarsha.
[141] Manual of the South Canara district.
[142] Hobson-Jobson.
[143] Manual of the North Arcot district.
[144] Madras Census Report, 1891.
[145] Mysore Census Report, 1901.
[146] Journ. Anth. Soc., Bombay, 1, 1888.
[147] Mysore Census Report, 1891.
[148] Ind. Ant. VIII, 1879.
[149] See C. Ramchendrier, Collection of decisions of High Courts
and the Privy Council applicable to dancing-girls, illatom, etc.,
Madras, 1892.
[150] J. S. F. Mackenzie, Ind. Ant., IV, 1875.
[151] Yule and Burnell, Hobson-Jobson.
[152] Wigram. Malabar Law and Custom.
[153] Thurston. Monograph on Wood-carving in Southern India. 1903.
[154] Yule and Burnell. Hobson-Jobson.
[155] Illustrations of the Guzarattee, Mahratlee, and English
languages, 1808.
[156] Madras Census Report, 1891.
[157] Occasional Essays on Native South Indian Life.
[158] Hobson-Jobson.
[159] Letters from Madras. By a Lady. 1843.
[160] Monograph, Eth. Survey of Bombay, 12, 1904.
[161] T. P. Hughes., Dictionary of Islam.
[162] Mysore Census Report, 1901.
[163] Manual of the South Canara district.
[164] Manual of Coorg.
[165] Manual of the South Canara district.
[166] Manual of Coorg.
[167] Journey through Mysore, Canara and Malabar.
[168] Manual of the South Canara district.
[169] Ind. Ant. II, 1873.
[170] Manual of the Madura district.
[171] Madras Census Report, 1891.
[172] Manual of the Madura district.
[173] Madras Census Report, 1901.
[174] Malabar Quart. Review, II, 1903.
[175] Madras Mail, 1904.
[176] Classified Collection of Tamil proverbs, 1897.
[177] The Idigas are said to have been formerly employed as soldiers
under the Poligars.
[178] J. S. F. Mackenzie, Ind. Ant., IV, 1875.
[179] Madras Census Report, 1901.
[180] Malabar Law and Custom.
[181] Criminal Tribes of India, No. III, Madras, 1907.
[182] Primitive Tribes of the Nilgiris.
[183] Description of a singular Aboriginal Race inhabiting the
Neilgherry Hills, 1832.
[184] A. W. Lushington, Indian Forester, 1902.
[185] Agricultural Ledger Series, 1904.
[186] Ind. VI, 1877.
[187] Oriental Manuscripts.
[188] Manual of the North Arcot district.
[189] Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.
[190] Manual of the Nellore district.
[191] Letters from Malabar.
[192] Voyage to the East Indies. Translation, 1800.
[193] Monograph Ethnograph: Survey of Cochin, No. 10, Izhavas, 1905.
[194] Chuckrams and puthans are coins.
[195] Wide World Magazine, September 1899.
[196] Native Life in Travancore, 1883.
[197] Malabar Quart. Review, IV, 3, 1905. See also T. C. Rice. Jain
Settlements in Karnata. Ibid., III, 4, 1904.
[198] On the Indian Sect of the Jainas. Translation by J. Burgess,
1903.
[199] The earlier Tirthankaras are believed to have been of prodigious
proportions, and to have lived fabulously long lives, but the later
ones were of more ordinary stature and longevity.
[200] Inscriptions at Sravana Belagola. Archæological Survey of
Mysore, 1889.
[201] History of Indian and Eastern Architecture.
[202] Annual Report on Epigraphy, Madras, 1900-1901.
[203] The inscriptions on the three Jaina Colossi of Southern
India have been published by Dr. Hultzsch in Epigraphia Indica,
VII, 1902-1903.
[204] Ind. Ant., V, 1876.
[205] Ind. Ant., XXV, 220, sq., 1896.
[206] Op. cit.
[207] Loc. cit.
[208] Manual of the North Arcot district.
[209] Notes from a Diary, 1881-86.
[210] Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.
[211] Local oral tradition gives his name as Dupala Kistnappa Nayak.
[212] Also known as Jaina Tirupati.
[213] Gazetteer of the Madura district.
[214] Ibid.
[215] N. Sunkuni Wariar. Ind. Ant., XXI, 1892.
[216] Madras Census Report, 1901; Nellore Manual.
[217] Telugu Dictionary.
[218] Madras Census Report, 1901.
[219] Manual of the North Arcot district.
[220] Travels into East India and Arabia deserta, 1665.
[221] Wigram, Malabar Law and Custom.
[222] Logan, Manual of Malabar, which contains full details concerning
Janmis.
[223] History of Korawars, Erukalas, or Kaikaries. Madras, 1905.
[224] Rice, Mysore and Coorg Gazetteer.
[225] Narrative Sketches of the Conquest of Mysore, 1800.
[226] Wilks' Historical Sketches: Mysore, 1810-17.
[227] The captivity, sufferings, and escape of James Scurry, 1824.
[228] Manual of the Bellary district.
[229] May 11th, June 1st and 29th, 1906.
[230] For the translations from the Dutch I am indebted to the kindness
of the Rev. P. Grote.
[231] A new account of the East Indies, 1744.
[232] A. C. Burnell, Ind. Ant. III, 1874.
[233] Madras Journ. Lit. Science, XIII, Part I.
[234] Ibid., Part II.
[235] Loc. cit.
[236] Bhâskara-Ravi-Varmâ.
[237] This is explained in the Hebrew version by Cranganore, and Muyiri
is, no doubt, the original of the Mouziris of Ptolemy and the Periplus
of the Red Sea. It is (according to local tradition) the part where the
Travancore lines end, opposite to Cranganore but across the back-water.
[238] I.e., Yusuf Rabbân.
[239] Ueber die Jüdischen Colonien in Indien. Kohut Memorial Volume,
Semitic Studies, Berlin, 1897.
[240] Epigraphia Indica, III, 1894-95.
[241] Ind. Ant., XX, 1891.
[242] Epigraphia Indica, IV, 1896-97.
[243] The Land of the Permauls, or Cochin, its past and its present,
1863.
[244] Ind. Ant., III, 1874.
[245] A Description of ye East India Coasts of Malabar and Coromandel,
1703.
[246] The Jews in India and the Far East, 1907.
[247] Christian Researches in India, 1840.
[248] History of Christianity in India, I, 470-71, 1839.
[249] J. Splinter Stavorinus. Voyages to the East Indies, 1774-78.
[250] Edition by Major Heber Drury, 1862. Letter XVIII.
[251] Op. cit.
[252] Loc. cit.
[253] July, 1902.
[254] Madras Mail, 1907.
[255] Manual of the North Arcot district.
[256] Gazetteer of the Bellary district.
[257] Manual of the North Arcot district.
[258] Notes on Criminal Classes of the Madras Presidency.
[259] Op. cit.
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