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diff --git a/42994-0.txt b/42994-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d832a03 --- /dev/null +++ b/42994-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14857 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42994 *** + + 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 IV--K to M + + Government Press, Madras + + 1909. + + + + + + + + CASTES AND TRIBES OF SOUTHERN INDIA. + + VOLUME IV. + + +Kori (blanket).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba. + +Koriannayya (fowl sept).--An exogamous sept of Bant. + +Korono.--Karnam, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [1] "includes both +Karnam proper, and also Korono, the accountant caste of Ganjam and +Orissa. The following remarks relate solely to the Uriya Koronos. The +word Korono is said to be derived from kirani, which means a writer +or clerk. The origin of the Koronos is uncertain. One writer says +that they are Kayasts of Northern India, who are of Kshatriya +origin. Mr. R. C. Dutt says, in his History of Ancient India, that, +according to Manu, the Koronos belong to the Kshatriya Vratyas, who +do not perform the religious rites. And, in the Raghuvamsa, the poet +Kalidasa describes Koronos as the offspring of a Vaisya and a Sudra +woman, and he is supported by the lexicographer Amara Sinha. It is +said that the ancestors of the Koronos were brought from Northern +India by Yayatikesari, King of Orissa (447--526 A.D.), to supply the +want of writers and clerks in certain parts of Orissa. The Koronos are +worshippers of Vishnu. Their ceremonies are performed with the aid of +Brahman priests. The remarriage of widows is not permitted. They eat +fish, and the flesh of goats and deer. The Uriya Koronos observe the +gosha system, and carry it to such an extent that, after a girl attains +puberty, she is not allowed to appear before her elder brother. Their +titles are Patnaik and Mahanti." + +The heads of the Ganjam villages are, Mr. S. P. Rice informs us, +"called Korono, the doer, and Karji, the manager. The Korono, who is +really only the accountant, but who, by reason of his higher education, +is generally the ultimate authority in the village, appropriates +to himself the title Potonaiko, as his caste distinction. The word +signifies the Naik or head of the town." It has been noted that +"in the Telugu districts, the Karnam is usually a Brahman. Being in +some respects the most intelligent, and the most unpopular man in +the village, he is both feared and hated. Murders of accountants, +though infrequent, are not unknown." Of proverbs relating to Karnams, +the following may be quoted:-- + + + Even if a thousand pagodas are levied from a village, not even + a cash will be levied from the Karnam (a pagoda is a gold, and + a cash a copper coin). + + The Karnam is the cause of the Kapu's (cultivator caste) death. + + The hungry Karnam looks into his old accounts (to worry his + creditors). + + The co-operation of the Karnam is as necessary as the axles to + the wheels of a cart. + + One Karnam to one village. + + A quiet Karnam is as little cared for as a tame elephant. + + If a Karnam trusts another, his end is near. + + If an enemy is his neighbour; if another Karnam is his superior; + if the Kapu bears complaints against him, a Karnam cannot live on. + + +The Koronos are divided into various sections, e.g., Sishta or +Srishti, Vaisya, Majjula, and Matihansa, some of which wear the sacred +thread. The Vaisyas are not allowed to marry their girls after puberty, +whereas the others may marry them before or after this event. A woman +of the Bhondari caste is employed on the occasion of marriage and +other ceremonies, to perform certain duties, for which her services +are indispensable. + +Korra (millet: Setaria italica).--An exogamous sept of Gudala. + +Korti.--An occupational name, derived from korto, a saw, of woodsawyers +in Ganjam. + +Kosalya.--A sub-division of Mali, named after Kosala, the modern Oudh. + +Koshti.--Koshti or Koshta is the name of a weaving and cultivating +caste of Chota Nagpur, a few members of which have settled in the +Madras Presidency (see Risley, Tribes and Castes of Bengal). Koshta is +also the name by which the Khatris of Conjeeveram call the Patnulkaran +silk weavers. + +Kota.--According to Dr. Oppert [2] "it seems probable that the Todas +and Kotas lived near each other before the settlement of the latter on +the Nilagiri. Their dialects betray a great resemblance. According to a +tradition of theirs (the Kotas), they lived formerly on Kollimallai, +a mountain in Mysore. It is wrong to connect the name of the +Kotas with cow-slaying, and to derive it from the Sanskrit go-hatya +(cow-killer). The derivation of the term Kota is, as clearly indicated, +from the Gauda-dravidian word ko (ku) mountain, and the Kotas belong to +the Gandian branch." There is a tradition that the Kotas were formerly +one with the Todas, with whom they tended the herds of buffaloes in +common. But, on one occasion, they were found to be eating the flesh of +a buffalo which had died, and the Todas drove them out as being eaters +of carrion. A native report before me suggests that "it is probable +that, after the migration of the Kotas to the hills, anthropology +was at work, and they got into them an admixture of Toda blood." + +The Kotas inhabit seven villages (Kotagiri or kokal), of which +six--Kotagiri, Kil Kotagiri, Todanad, Sholur, Kethi and Kunda--are +on the Nilgiri plateau, and one is at Gudalur at the north-west base +of these hills. They form compact communities, and, at Kotagiri, +their village consists of detached huts, and rows of huts arranged +in streets. The huts are built of mud, brick, or stone, roofed with +thatch or tiles, and divided into living and sleeping apartments. The +floor is raised above the ground, and there is a verandah in front +with a seat on each side whereon the Kota loves to "take his siesta, +and smoke his cheroot in the shade," or sleep off the effects of a +drinking bout. The door-posts of some of the huts are ornamented with +carving executed by wood-carvers in the plains. A few of the huts, +and one of the forges at Kotagiri, have stone pillars sculptured with +fishes, lotuses, and floral embellishments by stone-carvers from the +low country. It is noted by Breeks [3] that Kurguli (Sholur) is the +oldest of the Kota villages, and that the Badagas believe that the +Kotas of this village were made by the Todas. At Kurguli there is +a temple of the same form as the Toda dairy, and this is said to be +the only temple of the kind at any Kota village. + +The Kotas speak a mixture of Tamil and Kanarese, and speak Tamil +without the foreign accent which is noticeable in the case of the +Badagas and Todas. According to orthodox Kota views, a settlement +should consist of three streets or keris, in one of which the Terkaran +or Devadi, and in the other two the Munthakannans or Pujaris live. At +Kotagiri the three streets are named Kilkeri, Nadukeri, and Melkeri, +or lower, central, and upper street. People belonging to the same keri +may not intermarry, as they are supposed to belong to the same family, +and intermarriage would be distasteful. The following examples of +marriage between members of different keris are recorded in my notes:-- + + + Husband. Wife. + Kilkeri. Nadukeri. + Kilkeri. Melkeri. + Nadukeri. Melkeri. + Melkeri. Nadukeri. + Nadukeri. First wife Kilkeri, second wife Melkeri. + + +The Kota settlement at Sholur is divided into four keris, +viz.:--amreri, kikeri, korakeri, and akkeri, or near street, lower +street, other street, and that street, which resolve themselves into +two exogamous groups. Of these, amreri and kikeri constitute one group, +and korakeri and akkeri the other. + +On the day following my arrival at Kotagiri, a deputation of Kotas +waited on me, which included a very old man bearing a certificate +appointing him headman of the community in recognition of his services +and good character, and a confirmed drunkard with a grog-blossom +nose, who attributed the inordinate size thereof to the acrid juice +of a tree, which he was felling, dropping on it. The besetting +vice of the Kotas of Kotagiri is a partiality for drink, and they +congregate together towards dusk in the arrack shop and beer tavern +in the bazar, whence they stagger or are helped home in a state of +noisy and turbulent intoxication. It has been said [4] that the Kotas +"actually court venereal disease, and a young man who has not suffered +from this before he is of a certain age is looked upon as a disgrace." + +The Kotas are looked down on as being unclean feeders, and eaters of +carrion; a custom which is to them no more filthy than that of eating +game when it is high, or using the same tooth-brush week after week, +is to a European. They have been described as a very carnivorous race, +who "have a great craving for flesh, and will devour animal food of +every kind without any squeamish scruples as to how the animal came by +its death. The carcase of a bullock which has died of disease, or the +remains of a deer half devoured by a tiger, are equally acceptable to +him." An unappetising sight, which may be witnessed on roads leading to +a Kota village, is that of a Kota carrying the flesh of a dead buffalo, +often in an advanced stage of putridity, slung on a stick across his +shoulders, with the entrails trailing on the ground. Colonel Ross +King narrates [5] how he once saw a Kota carrying home a dead rat, +thrown out of a stable a day or two previously. When I repeated this +story to my Kota informant, he glared at me, and bluntly remarked +in Tamil "The book tells lies." Despite its unpleasant nature, the +carrion diet evidently agrees with the Kotas, who are a sturdy set +of people, flourishing, it is said, most exceedingly when the hill +cattle are dying of epidemic disease, and the supply of meat is +consequently abundant. + +The missionary Metz narrates [6] that "some years ago the Kotas +were anxious to keep buffaloes, but the headmen of the other tribes +immediately put their veto upon it, declaring that it was a great +presumption on the part of such unclean creatures to wish to have +anything to do with the holy occupation of milking buffaloes." + +The Kotas are blacksmiths, goldsmiths, silversmiths, carpenters, +tanners, rope-makers, potters, washermen, and cultivators. They +are the musicians at Toda and Badaga funerals. It is noted by +Dr. W. H. R. Rivers [7] that "in addition they provide for the first +Toda funeral the cloak (putkuli) in which the body is wrapped, and +grain (patm or s(=a)mai) to the amount of five to ten kwa. They give +one or two rupees towards the expenses, and, if they should have no +grain, their contribution of money is increased. At the marvainolkedr +(second funeral ceremony) their contributions are more extensive. They +provide the putkuli, together with a sum of eight annas, for the +decoration of the cloak by the Toda women. They give two to five +rupees towards the general expenses, and provide the bow and arrow, +basket (tek), knife (kafkati), and the sieve called kudshmurn. The +Kotas receive at each funeral the bodies of the slaughtered buffaloes, +and are also usually given food." + +Though all classes look down on the Kotas, all are agreed that they +are excellent artisans, whose services as smiths, rope and umbrella +makers, etc., are indispensable to the other hill tribes. The strong, +durable ropes, made out of buffalo hide, are much sought after by +Badagas for fastening their cattle. The Kotas at Gudalur have the +reputation of being excellent thatchers. The Todas claim that the +Kotas are a class of artisans specially brought up from the plains +to work for them. Each Toda, Badaga, Irula, and Kurumba settlement +has its Muttu Kotas, who work for the inhabitants thereof, and supply +them with sundry articles, called muttu, in return for the carcasses of +buffaloes and cattle, ney (clarified butter), grain, plantain, etc. The +Kotas eat the flesh of the animals which they receive, and sell the +horns to Labbai (Muhammadan) merchants from the plains. Chakkiliyans +(leather-workers) from the plains collect the bones, and purchase the +hides, which are roughly cured by the Kotas with chunam (lime) and +avaram (Cassia auriculata) bark, and pegged out on the ground to dry. + +The Kota blacksmiths make hatches, bill-hooks, knives, and other +implements for the various hill tribes, especially the Badagas, and +also for European planters. Within the memory of men still living, +they used to work with iron ore brought up from the low country, +but now depend on scrap iron, which they purchase locally in the +bazar. The most flourishing smithy in the Kotagiri village is made +of bricks of local manufacture, roofed with zinc sheets, and fitted +with anvil pincers, etc., of European manufacture. + +As agriculturists the Kotas are said to be quite on a par with the +Badagas, and they raise on the land adjacent to their villages crops +of potatoes, bearded wheat (akki or rice ganji), barley (beer ganji), +kirai (Amarantus), samai (Panicum miliare), korali (Setaria italica), +mustard, onions, etc. + +At the revenue settlement, 1885, the Kotas were treated in the same way +as the Badagas and other tribes of the Nilgiris, except the Todas, and +the lands in their occupation were assigned to them at rates varying +from ten to twenty annas per acre. The bhurty or shifting system of +cultivation, under which the Kotas held their lands, was formally, but +nominally, abolished in 1862-64; but it was practically and finally +done away with at the revenue settlement of the Nilgiri plateau. The +Kota lands are now held on puttas under the ordinary ryotwari tenure. + +In former days, opium of good quality was cultivated by the Badagas, +from whom the Kotas got poppy-heads, which their herbalists used for +medicinal purposes. At the present time, the Kotas purchase opium in +the bazar, and use it as an intoxicant. + +The Kota women have none of the fearlessness and friendliness of the +Todas, and, on the approach of a European to their domain, bolt out of +sight, like frighted rabbits in a warren, and hide within the inmost +recesses of their huts. As a rule they are clad in filthily dirty +clothes, all tattered and torn, and frequently not reaching as low as +the knees. In addition to domestic duties, the women have to do work +in the fields, fetch water and collect firewood, with loads of which, +supported on the head by a pad of bracken fern (Pteris aquilina) +leaves, and bill-hook slung on the shoulder, old and young women, +girls and boys, may continually be seen returning to the Kotagiri +village. The women also make baskets, and rude earthen pots from +a black clay found in swamps on a potter's wheel. This consists of +a disc made of dry mud, with an iron spike, by means of which it is +made to revolve in a socket in a stone fixed in the space in front +of the houses, which also acts as a threshing-floor. The earthenware +vessels used by the Todas for cooking purposes, and those used in +dairy work, except those of the inner room of the ti (sacred dairy), +are said by Dr. Rivers to be made by the Kotas. + +The Kota priesthood is represented by two classes, Munthakannan or +Pujari, and Terkaran or Devadi, of whom the former rank higher than +the latter. There may be more than two Terkarans in a village, but +the Munthakannans never exceed this number, and they should belong +to different keris. These representatives of the priesthood must +not be widowers, and, if they lose their wives while holding office, +their appointment lapses. They may eat the flesh of buffaloes, but +not drink their milk. Cow's flesh, but not its milk, is tabu. The +Kotas may not milk cows, or, under ordinary conditions, drink the +milk thereof in their own village, but are permitted to do so if +it is given to them by a Pujari, or in a village other than their +own. The duties of the Munthakannan include milking the cows of the +village, service to the god, and participation in the seed-sowing +and reaping ceremonial. They must use fire obtained by friction, and +should keep a fire constantly burning in a broken pot. In like manner, +the Terkarans must not use matches, but take fire from the house of +the Munthakannan. The members of the priesthood are not allowed to +work for others, but may do so on their own account in the fields or +at the forge. They should avoid pollution, and may not attend a Toda +or Badaga funeral, or approach the seclusion hut set apart for Kota +women. When a vacancy in the office of Munthakannan occurs, the Kotas +of the village gather together, and seek the guidance of the Terkaran, +who becomes inspired by the deity, and announces the name of the +successor. The selected individual has to be fed at the expense of +the community for three months, during which time he may not speak to +his wife or other woman direct, but only through the medium of a boy, +who acts as his assistant. Further, during this period of probation, +he may not sleep on a mat or use a blanket, but must lie on the ground +or on a plank, and use a dhupati (coarse cloth) as a covering. At +the time of the annual temple festival, neither the Munthakannans +nor the Terkarans may live or hold communion with their wives for +fear of pollution, and they have to cook their food themselves. + +The seed-sowing ceremony is celebrated in the month of Kumbam +(February-March) on a Tuesday or Friday. For eight days the Pujari +abstains from meat and lives on vegetable dietary, and may not +communicate directly with his wife, a boy acting as spokesman. On the +Sunday before the ceremony, a number of cows are penned in a kraal, +and milked by the Pujari. The milk is preserved, and, if the omens are +favourable, is said not to turn sour. If it does, this is attributed +to the Pujari being under pollution from some cause or other. On the +day of the ceremony, the Pujari bathes in a stream, and proceeds, +accompanied by a boy, to a field or the forest. After worshipping +the gods, he makes a small seed-pan in the ground, and sows therein +a small quantity of ragi (Elusine Coracana). Meanwhile, the Kotas of +the village go to the temple, and clean it. Thither the Pujari and the +boy proceed, and the deity is worshipped with offerings of cocoanuts, +betel, flowers, etc. Sometimes the Terkaran becomes inspired, and +gives expression to oracular utterances. From the temple all go to +the house of the Pujari, who gives them a small quantity of milk and +food. Three months later, on an auspicious day, the reaping of the +crop is commenced with a very similar form of ceremonial. + +During the seed-sowing festival, Mr. Harkness, writing in 1832, [8] +informs us, "offerings are made in the temples, and, on the day of the +full moon, after the whole have partaken of a feast, the blacksmith +and the gold and silversmith, constructing separately a forge and +furnace within the temple, each makes something in the way of has +avocation, the blacksmith a chopper or axe, the silversmith a ring +or other kind of ornament." + +"Some rude image," Dr. Shortt writes, [9] "of wood or stone, a rock +or tree in a secluded locality, frequently forms the Kota's object of +worship, to which sacrificial offerings are made; but the recognised +place of worship in each village consists of a large square of ground, +walled round with loose stones, three feet high, and containing in its +centre two [10] pent-shaped sheds of thatch, open before and behind, +and on the posts (of stone) that support them some rude circles and +other figures are drawn. No image of any sort is visible here." These +sheds, which at Kotagiri are a very short distance apart, are dedicated +to Siva and his consort Parvati under the names of Kamataraya and +Kalikai. Though no representation thereof is exhibited in the temples +at ordinary times, their spirits are believed to pervade the buildings, +and at the annual ceremony they are represented by two thin plates of +silver, which are attached to the upright posts of the temples. The +stones surrounding the temples at Kotagiri are scratched with various +quaint devices, and lines for the games of kote and hulikote. The +Kotas go, I was told, to the temple once a month, at full moon, and +worship the gods. Their belief is that Kamataraya created the Kotas, +Todas, and Kurumbas, but not the Irulas. "Tradition says of Kamataraya +that, perspiring profusely, he wiped from his forehead three drops of +perspiration, and out of them formed the three most ancient of the +hill tribes--the Todas, Kurumbas, and Kotas. The Todas were told to +live principally upon milk, the Kurumbas were permitted to eat the +flesh of buffalo calves, and the Kotas were allowed perfect liberty +in the choice of food, being informed that they might eat carrion +if they could get nothing better." According to another version of +this legend given by Dr. Rivers, Kamataraya "gave to each people a +pot. In the Toda pot was calf-flesh, and so the Todas eat the flesh +of calves at the erkumptthpimi ceremony; the Kurumba pot contained +the flesh of a male buffalo, so this is eaten by the Kurumbas. The +pot of the Kotas contained the flesh of a cow-buffalo, which may, +therefore, be eaten by this people." + +In addition to Kamataraya and Mangkali, the Kotas at Gudalur, which is +near the Malabar frontier, worship Vettakaraswami, Adiral and Udiral, +and observe the Malabar Onam festival. The Kotas worship further +Magali, to whose influence outbreaks of cholera are attributed, and +Mariamma, who is held responsible for smallpox. When cholera breaks out +among the Kota community, special sacrifices are performed with a view +to propitiating the wrath of the goddess. Magali is represented by an +upright stone in a rude temple at a little distance from Kotagiri, +where an annual ceremony takes place, at which some man becomes +possessed, and announces to the people that Magali has come. The +Pujari offers up plantains and cocoanuts, and sacrifices a sheep and +fowls. My informant was, or pretended to be ignorant of the following +legend recorded by Breeks as to the origin of the worship of the +smallpox goddess. "A virulent disease carried off a number of Kotas of +Peranganoda, and the village was abandoned by the survivors. A Badaga +named Munda Jogi, who was bringing his tools to the Kotagiri to be +sharpened, saw near a tree something in the form of a tiger, which +spoke to him, and told him to summon the run-away Kotas. He obeyed, +whereupon the tiger form addressed the Kotas in an unknown tongue, and +vanished. For some time, the purport of this communication remained +a mystery. At last, however, a Kota came forward to interpret, and +declared that the god ordered the Kotas to return to the village on +pain of a recurrence of the pestilence. The command was obeyed, and +a Swami house (shrine) was built on the spot where the form appeared +to the Badaga (who doubtless felt keenly the inconvenience of having +no Kotas at hand to sharpen his tools)." The Kotas are not allowed +to approach Toda or Badaga temples. + +It was noted by Lieutenant R. F. Burton [11] that, in some hamlets, +the Kotas have set up curiously carved stones, which they consider +sacred, and attribute to them the power of curing diseases, if the +member affected be only rubbed against the talisman. + +A great annual festival is held in honour of Kamataraya with the +ostensible object of propitiating him with a view to his giving the +Kotas an abundant harvest and general prosperity. The feast commences +on the first Monday after the January new moon, and lasts over many +days, which are observed as a general holiday. The festival is said to +be a continuous scene of licentiousness and debauchery, much indecent +dancing taking place between men and women. According to Metz, +[12] the chief men among the Badagas must attend, otherwise their +absence would be regarded as a breach of friendship and etiquette, +and the Kotas would avenge themselves by refusing to make ploughs or +earthen vessels for the Badagas. The programme, when the festival is +carried out in full detail, is, as far as I have been able to gather, +as follows:-- + +First day. A fire is kindled by one of the priests in the temple, +and carried to the Nadukeri section of the village, where it is +kept burning throughout the festival. Around the fire men, women, +adolescent boys and girls, dance to the weird music of the Kota band, +whose instruments consist of clarionet, drum, tambourine, brass horn +and flute (buguri). + + +[**TODO: Verify table] + Second day Dance at night. + Third day + Fourth day + Fifth day + + +Sixth day. The villagers go to the jungle and collect bamboos and +rattans, with which to re-roof the temple. Dance at night. + +The seventh day is busily spent in re-roofing and decorating the +temples, and it is said to be essential that the work should be +concluded before nightfall. Dance at night. + +Eighth day. In the morning the Kotas go to Badaga villages, and +cadge for presents of grain and ghi (clarified butter), which they +subsequently cook, place in front of the temple as an offering to +the god, and, after the priests have eaten, partake of, seated round +the temple. + +Ninth day. Kotas, Todas, Badagas, Kurumbas, Irulas, and 'Hindus' +come to the Kota village, where an elaborate nautch is performed, +in which men are the principal actors, dressed up in gaudy attire +consisting of skirt, petticoat, trousers, turban and scarves, and +freely decorated with jewelry, which is either their own property, +or borrowed from Badagas for the occasion. Women merely dressed in +clean cloths also take part in a dance called kumi, which consists +of a walk round to time beaten with the hands. I was present at a +private performance of the male nautch, which was as dreary as such +entertainments usually are, but it lacked the go which is doubtless +put into it when it is performed under natural conditions away from +the restraining influence of the European. The nautch is apparently +repeated daily until the conclusion of the festival. + +Eleventh and twelfth days. A burlesque representation of a Toda +funeral is given, at which the part of the sacrificial buffaloes is +played by men with buffalo horns fixed on the head, and body covered +with a black cloth. + +At the close of the festival, the Kota priests and leading members +of the community go out hunting with bows and arrows, leaving the +village at 1 A.M., and returning at 3 A.M. They are said to have +formerly shot 'bison' (Bos gaurus) at this nocturnal expedition, +but what takes place at the present day is said to be unknown to +the villagers, who are forbidden to leave their houses during the +absence of the hunting party. On their return to the village, a fire +is lighted by friction. Into the fire a piece of iron is put by one +of the priests, made red hot with the assistance of the bellows, +and hammered. The priests then offer up a parting prayer to the god, +and the festival is at an end. + +The following is a translation of a description by Dr. Emil Schmidt +[13] of the dancing at the Kota annual festival, at which he had the +good fortune to be present as an eye-witness:-- + +"During my stay at Kotagiri the Kotas were celebrating the big +festival in honour of their chief god. The feast lasted over twelve +days, during which homage was offered to the god every evening, and a +dance performed round a fire kept burning near the temple throughout +the feast. On the last evening but one, females, as well as males, +took part in the dance. As darkness set in, the shrill music, which +penetrated to my hotel, attracted me to the Kota village. At the end of +the street, which adjoins the back of the temple, a big fire was kept +up by continually putting on large long bundles of brushwood. On one +side of the fire, close to the flames, stood the musicians with their +musical instruments, two hand-drums, a tambourine, beaten by blows on +the back, a brass cymbal beaten with a stick, and two pipes resembling +oboes. Over and over again the same monotonous tune was repeated by the +two latter in quick four-eight time to the accompaniment of the other +instruments. On my arrival, about forty male Kotas, young and old, were +dancing round the fire, describing a semicircle, first to one side, +then the other, raising the hands, bending the knees, and executing +fantastic steps with the feet. The entire circle moved thus slowly +forwards, one or the other from time to time giving vent to a shout +that sounded like Hau! and, at the conclusion of the dance, there was +a general shout all round. Around the circle, partly on the piles of +stone near the temple, were seated a number of Kotas of both sexes. A +number of Badagas of good position, who had been specially invited +to the feast, sat round a small fire on a raised place, which abuts +on the back wall of the temple. The dance over, the circle of dancers +broke up. The drummers held their instruments, rendered damp and lax +by the moist evening breeze, so close to the flames that I thought +they would get burnt. Soon the music began again to a new tune; first +the oboes, and then, as soon as they had got into the proper swing, +the other instruments. The melody was not the same as before, but its +two movements were repeated without intercession or change. In this +dance females, as well as males, took part, grouped in a semicircle, +while the men completed the circle. The men danced boisterously and +irregularly. Moving slowly forwards with the entire circle, each +dancer turned right round from right to left and from left to right, +so that, after every turn, they were facing the fire. The women danced +with more precision and more artistically than the men. When they set +out on the dance, they first bowed themselves before the fire, and +then made left and right half turns with artistic regular steps. Their +countenances expressed a mixture of pleasure and embarrassment. None of +the dancers wore any special costume, but the women, who were nearly +all old and ugly, had, for the most part, a quantity of ornaments in +the ears and nose and on the neck, arms and legs. In the third dance, +played once more in four-eight times, only females took part. It was +the most artistic of all, and the slow movements had evidently been +well rehearsed beforehand. The various figures consisted of stepping +radially to and fro, turning, stepping forwards and backwards, etc., +with measured seriousness and solemn dignity. It was for the women, +who, at other times, get very little enjoyment, the most important +and happiest day in the whole year." + +In connection with Kota ceremonials, Dr. Rivers notes that "once a year +there is a definite ceremony, in which the Todas go to the Kota village +with which they are connected, taking an offering of clarified butter, +and receiving in return an offering of grain from the Kotas. I only +obtained an account of this ceremony as performed between the people +of Kars and the Kota village of Tizgudr, and I do not know whether +the details would be the same in other cases. In the Kars ceremony, +the Todas go on the appointed day to the Kota village, headed by a +man carrying the clarified butter. Outside the village they are met +by two Kota priests whom the Todas call teupuli, who bring with them a +dairy vessel of the kind the Todas call mu, which is filled with patm +grain. Other Kotas follow with music. All stand outside the village, +and one of the Kotas puts ten measures (kwa) of patm into the pocket +of the cloak of the leading Toda, and the teupuli give the mu filled +with the same grain. The teupuli then go to their temple and return, +each bringing a mu, and the clarified butter brought by the Todas is +divided into two equal parts, and half is poured into each mu. The +leading Toda then takes some of the butter, and rubs it on the heads +of the two Kota priests, who prostrate themselves, one at each foot +of the Toda, and the Toda prays as follows:-- + +May it be well; Kotas two, may it be well; fields flourish may; +rain may; buffalo milk may; disease go may. + +"The Todas then give the two mu containing the clarified butter +to the Kota priests, and he and his companions return home. This +ceremony is obviously one in which the Todas are believed to promote +the prosperity of the Kotas, their crops, and their buffaloes. + +"In another ceremonial relation between Todas and Kotas, the +kwòdrdoni ti (sacred dairy) is especially concerned. The chief annual +ceremony of the Kotas is held about January in honour of the Kota +god Kambataraya. In order that this ceremony may take place, it is +essential that there should be a palol (dairy man) at the kwòdrdoni ti, +and at the present time it is only occupied every year shortly before +and during the ceremony. The palol gives clarified butter to the Kotas, +which should be made from the milk of the arsaiir, the buffaloes of +the ti. Some Kotas of Kotagiri whom I interviewed claimed that these +buffaloes belonged to them, and that something was done by the palol +at the kwòdrdoni ti in connection with the Kambataraya ceremony, +but they could not, or would not, tell me what it was." + +In making fire by friction (nejkol), the Kotas employ three forms of +apparatus:--(1) a vertical stick, and horizontal stick with sockets +and grooves, both made of twigs of Rhodomyrtus tomentosus; (2) a +small piece of the root of Salix tetrasperma is spliced into a stick, +which is rotated in a socket in a piece of the root of the same tree; +(3) a small piece of the root of this tree, made tapering at each +end with a knife or fragment of bottle glass, is firmly fixed in the +wooden handle of a drill. A shallow cavity and groove are made in a +block of the same wood, and a few crystalline particles from the ground +are dropped into the cavity. The block is placed on several layers of +cotton cloth, on which chips of wood, broken up small by crushing them +in the palm of the hand, are piled up round the block in the vicinity +of the grove. The handle is, by means of a half cocoanut shell, pressed +firmly down, and twisted between the palms, or rotated by means of a +cord. The incandescent particles, falling on to the chips, ignite them. + +In a report by Lieutenant Evans, written in 1820, it is stated that +"the marriages of this caste (the Kothewars) remind one of what is +called bundling in Wales. The bride and bridegroom being together for +the night, in the morning the bride is questioned by her relatives +whether she is pleased with her husband-elect. If she answers +in the affirmative, it is a marriage; if not, the bridegroom is +immediately discharged, and the lady does not suffer in reputation +if she thus discards half a dozen suitors." The recital of this +account, translated into Tamil, raised a smile on the face of my +Kota informant, who volunteered the following information relating +to the betrothal and marriage ceremonies at the present day. Girls as +a rule marry when they are from twelve to sixteen years old, between +which years they reach the age of puberty. A wife is selected for a +lad by his parents, subject to the consent of the girl's parents; +or, if a lad has no near relatives, the selection is made for him +by the villagers. Betrothal takes place when the girl is a child +(eight to ten). The boy goes, accompanied by his father and mother, +to the house where the girl lives, prostrates himself at the feet of +her parents, and, if he is accepted, presents his future father-in-law +with a four-anna piece, which is understood to represent a larger sum, +and seals the contract. According to Breeks, the boy also makes a +present of a birianhana of gold, and the betrothal ceremony is called +balimeddeni (bali, bracelet, meddeni, I have made). Both betrothal +and marriage ceremonies take place on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday, +which are regarded as auspicious days. The ceremonial in connection +with marriage is of a very simple nature. The bridegroom, accompanied +by his relatives, attends a feast at the house of the bride, and the +wedding day is fixed. On the appointed day the bridegroom pays a dowry, +ranging from ten to fifty rupees, to the bride's father, and takes the +girl to his house, where the wedding guests, who have accompanied them, +are feasted. The Kotas as a rule have only one wife, and polyandry is +unknown among them. But polygamy is sometimes practiced. My informant, +for example, had two wives, of whom the first had only presented him +with a daughter, and, as he was anxious to have a son, he had taken +to himself a second wife. If a woman bears no children, her husband +may marry a second, or even a third wife; and, if they can get on +together without fighting, all the wives may live under the same roof. + +Divorce may, I was told, be obtained for incompatibility of temper, +drunkenness, or immorality; and a man can get rid of his wife 'if she +is of no use to him', i.e., if she does not feed him well, or assist +him in the cultivation of his land. Divorce is decided by a panchayat +(council) of representative villagers, and judgment given, after the +evidence has been taken, by an elder of the community. Cases of theft, +assault, or other mild offence, are also settled by a panchayat, +and, in the event of a case arising which cannot be settled by the +members of council representing a single village, delegates from +all the Kota villages meet together. If then a decision cannot be +arrived at, recourse is had to the district court, of which the Kotas +steer clear if possible. At a big panchayat the headman (Pittakar) +of the Kotas gives the decision, referring, if necessary, to some +'sensible member' of the council for a second opinion. + +When a married woman is known to be pregnant with her first child, +her husband allows the hair on the head and face to grow long, +and leaves the finger nails uncut. On the birth of the child, he +is under pollution until he sees the next crescent moon, and should +cook his own food and remain at home. At the time of delivery a woman +is removed to a hut (a permanent structure), which is divided into +two rooms called dodda (big) telullu and eda (the other) telullu, +which serve as a lying-in chamber and as a retreat for women at +their menstrual periods. The dodda telullu is exclusively used for +confinements. Menstruating women may occupy either room, if the +dodda telullu is not occupied for the former purpose. They remain in +seclusion for three days, and then pass another day in the raised +verandah of the house, or two days if the husband is a Pujari. A +woman, after her first confinement, lives for three months in the +dodda telullu, and, on subsequent occasions, until the appearance of +the crescent moon. She is attended during her confinement and stay in +the hut by an elderly Kota woman. The actual confinement takes place +outside the hut, and, after the child is born, the woman is bathed, +and taken inside. Her husband brings five leafy twigs of five different +thorny plants, and places them separately in a row in front of the +telullu. With each twig a stick of Dodonæa viscosa, set alight with +fire made by friction, must be placed. The woman, carrying the baby, +has to enter the hut by walking backwards between the thorny twigs. + +A common name for females at Kotagiri is Madi, one of the synonyms +of the goddess Kalikai, and, at that village, the first male child is +always called Komuttan (Kamataraya). At Sholur and Gudalur this name +is scrupulously avoided, as the name of the god should not be taken +by mortal man. As examples of nicknames, the following may be cited. + + + Small mouth. + Head. + Slit nose. + Burnt-legged. + Monkey. + Dung or rubbish. + Deaf. + Tobacco. + Hunchback. + Crooked-bodied. + Long-striding. + Dwarf. + Opium eater. + Irritable. + Bad-eyed. + Curly-haired. + Cat-eyed. + Left-handed. + Stone. + Stammerer. + Short. + Knee. + Chank-blower. + Chinaman. + + +The nickname Chinaman was due to the resemblance of a Kota to the +Chinese, of whom a small colony has squatted on the slopes of the +hills between Naduvatam and Gudalur. + +A few days after my arrival at Kotagiri, the dismal sound of mourning, +to the weird strains of the Kota band, announced that death reigned +in the Kota village. The dead man was a venerable carpenter, of +high position in the community. Soon after daybreak, a detachment of +villagers hastened to convey the tidings of the death to the Kotas +of the neighbouring villages, who arrived on the scene later in the +day in Indian file, men in front and women in the rear. As they drew +near the place of mourning, they all, of one accord, commenced the +orthodox manifestations of grief, and were met by a deputation of +villagers accompanied by the band. Meanwhile a red flag, tied to the +top of a bamboo pole, was hoisted as a signal of death in the village, +and a party had gone off to a glade, some two miles distant, to obtain +wood for the construction of the funeral car (teru). The car, when +completed, was an elaborate structure, about eighteen feet in height, +made of wood and bamboo, in four tiers, each with a canopy of turkey +red and yellow cloth, and an upper canopy of white cloth trimmed with +red, surmounted by a black umbrella of European manufacture, decorated +with red ribbands. The car was profusely adorned with red flags and +long white streamers, and with young plantain trees at the base. Tied +to the car were a calabash and a bell. During the construction of the +car the corpse remained within the house of the deceased man, outside +which the villagers continued mourning to the dirge-like music of the +band, which plays so prominent a part at the death ceremonies of both +Todas and Kotas. On the completion of the car, late in the afternoon, +it was deposited in front of the house. The corpse, dressed up in a +coloured turban and gaudy coat, with a garland of flowers round the +neck, and two rupees, a half-rupee, and sovereign gummed on to the +forehead, was brought from within the house, lying face upwards on a +cot, and placed beneath the lowest canopy of the car. Near the head +were placed iron implements and a bag of rice, at the feet a bag of +tobacco, and beneath the cot baskets of grain, rice, cakes, etc. The +corpse was covered with cloths offered to it as presents, and before it +those Kotas who were younger than the dead man prostrated themselves, +while those who were older touched the head of the corpse and bowed to +it. Around the car the male members of the community executed a wild +step-dance, keeping time with the music in the execution of various +fantastic movements of the arms and legs. During the long hours of the +night mourning was kept up to the almost incessant music of the band, +and the early morn discovered many of the villagers in an advanced +stage of intoxication. Throughout the morning, dancing round the car +was continued by men, sober and inebriated, with brief intervals of +rest, and a young buffalo was slaughtered as a matter of routine form, +with no special ceremonial, in a pen outside the village, by blows on +the back and neck administered with the keen edge of an adze. Towards +midday presents of rice from the relatives of the dead man arrived on +the back of a pony, which was paraded round the car. From a vessel +containing rice and rice water, water was crammed into the mouths +of the near relatives, some of the water poured over their heads, +and the remainder offered to the corpse. At intervals a musket, +charged with gunpowder, which proved later on a dangerous weapon in +the hands of an intoxicated Kota, was let off, and the bell on the car +rung. About 2 P.M., the time announced for the funeral, the cot bearing +the corpse, from the forehead of which the coins had been removed, +was carried to a spot outside the village called the thavachivadam, +followed by the widow and a throng of Kotas of both sexes, young and +old. The cot was then set down, and, seated at some distance from it, +the women continued to mourn until the funeral procession was out of +sight, those who could not cry spontaneously mimicking the expression +of woe by contortion of the grief muscles. The most poignant sorrow was +displayed by a man in a state of extreme intoxication, who sat apart +by himself, howling and sobbing, and wound up by creating considerable +disturbance at the burning-ground. Three young bulls were brought from +the village, and led round the corpse. Of these, two were permitted +to escape for the time being, while a vain attempt, which would have +excited the derision of the expert Toda buffalo-catchers, was made by +three men, hanging on to the head and tail, to steer the third bull +up to the head of the corpse. The animal, however, proving refractory, +it was deemed discreet to put an end to its existence by a blow on the +poll with the butt-end of an adze, at some distance from the corpse, +which was carried up to it, and made to salute the dead beast's +head with the right hand, in feeble imitation of the impressive Toda +ceremonial. The carcase of the bull was saluted by a few of the Kota +men, and subsequently carried off by Pariahs. Supported by females, +the exhausted widow of the dead man was dragged up to the corpse, +and, lying back beside it, had to submit to the ordeal of removal +of all her jewellery, the heavy brass bangle being hammered off the +wrist, supported on a wooden roller, by oft-repeated blows with mallet +and chisel delivered by a village blacksmith assisted by a besotten +individual noted as a consumer of twelve grains of opium daily. The +ornaments, as removed, were collected in a basket, to be worn again +by the widow after several months. This revolting ceremony concluded, +and a last salutation given by the widow to her dead husband, arches +of bamboo were attached to the cot, which was covered over with a +coloured table-cloth hiding the corpse from sight. A procession was +then formed, composed of the corpse on the cot, preceded by the car +and musicians, and followed by male Kotas and Badagas, Kota women +carrying the baskets of grain, cakes, etc., a vessel containing +fire, and burning camphor. Quickly the procession marched to the +burning-ground beyond the bazar, situated in a valley by the side of +a stream running through a glade in a dense undergrowth of bracken +fern and trailing passion-flower. On arrival at the selected spot, +a number of agile Kotas swarmed up the sides of the car, and stripped +it of its adornments including the umbrella, and a free fight for the +possession of the cloths and flags ensued. The denuded car was then +placed over the corpse, which, deprived of all valuable ornaments and +still lying on the cot, had been meanwhile placed, amid a noisy scene +of brawling, on the rapidly constructed funeral pyre. Around the car +faggots of wood, supplied in lieu of wreaths by different families +in the dead man's village as a tribute of respect, were piled up, and +the pyre was lighted with torches kindled at a fire which was burning +on the ground close by. As soon as the pyre was in a blaze, tobacco, +cigars, cloths, and grain were distributed among those present, and +the funeral party dispersed, leaving a few men behind in charge of the +burning corpse, and peace reigned once more in the Kota village. A few +days later, the funeral of an elderly woman took place with a very +similar ceremonial. But, suspended from the handle of the umbrella +on the top of the car, was a rag doll, which in appearance resembled +an Aunt Sally. I was told that, on the day following the funeral, +the smouldering ashes are extinguished with water, and the ashes, +collected together, and buried in a pit, the situation of which +is marked by a heap of stones. A piece of the skull, wrapped in +bracken fronds, is placed between two fragments of an earthen pot, +and deposited in the crevice of a rock or in a chink in a stone wall. + +The Kotas celebrate annually a second funeral ceremony in imitation of +the Todas. For eight days before the day appointed for its observance, +a dance takes place in front of the houses of those Kotas whose +memorial rites are to be celebrated, and three days before they are +performed invitations are issued to the different Kota villages. On +a Sunday night, fire is lighted by friction, and the time is spent in +dancing. On the following day, the relatives of the departed who have +to perform the ceremony purify the open space in front of their houses +with cow-dung. They bring three basketfuls of paddy (unhusked rice), +which are saluted and set down on the cleansed space. The Pujari and +the rest of the community, in like manner, salute the paddy, which is +taken inside the house. On the Monday, cots corresponding in number to +that of the deceased whose dry funeral is being held, are taken to the +thavachivadam, and the fragments of skulls are laid thereon. Buffaloes +(one or more for each skull) are killed, and a cow is brought near +the cots, and, after a piece of skull has been placed on its horns, +sacrificed. A dance takes place around the cots, which are removed to +the burning-ground, and set on fire. The Kotas spend the night near +the thavachivadam. On the following day a feast is held, and they +return to their homes towards evening, those who have performed the +ceremony breaking a small pot full of water in front of their houses. + +Like the Todas, the Kotas indulge in trials of strength with heavy +spherical stones, which they raise, or attempt to raise, from the +ground to the shoulders, and in a game resembling tip-cat. In another +game, sides are chosen, of about ten on each side. One side takes +shots with a ball made of cloth at a brick propped up against a wall, +near which the other side stands. Each man is allowed three shots at +the brick. If it is hit and falls over, one of the 'out-side' picks +up the ball, and throws it at the other side, who run away, and try +to avoid being hit. If the ball touches one of them, the side is put +out, and the other side goes in. A game, called hulikote, which bears +a resemblance to the English child's game of fox and geese, is played +on a stone chiselled with lines, which forms a rude game-board. In one +form of the game, two tigers and twenty-five bulls, and in another +three tigers and fifteen bulls engage, and the object is for the +tigers to take, or, as the Kotas express it, kill all the bulls. In +a further game, called kote, a labyrinthiform pattern, or maze, +is chiselled on a stone, to get to the centre of which is the problem. + +The following notes are taken from my case-book:-- + + + Man--Blacksmith and carpenter. Silver bangle on right wrist; + two silver rings on right little finger; silver ring on each + first toe. Gold ear-rings. Languti (cloth) tied to silver chain + round loins. + + Man--Light blue eyes, inherited from his mother. His children + have eyes of the same colour. Lobes of ears pendulous from heavy + gold ear-rings set with pearls. Another man with light blue eyes + was noticed by me. + + Man--Branded with cicatrix of a burn made with a burning cloth + across lower end of back of forearm. This is a distinguishing + mark of the Kotas, and is made on boys when they are more than + eight years old. + + Woman--Divorced for being a confirmed opium-eater, and living + with her father. + + Woman--Dirty cotton cloth, with blue and red stripes, covering + body and reaching below the knees. + + Woman--Two glass bead necklets, and bead necklet ornamented + with silver rings. Four brass rings, and one steel ring on left + forearm. Two massive brass bangles, weighing two pounds each, and + separated by cloth ring, on right wrist. Brass bangle with brass + and steel pendants, and shell bangle on left wrist. Two steel + rings, and one copper ring on right ring-finger; brass rings on + left first, ring, and little fingers. Two brass rings on first + toe of each foot. Tattooed lines uniting eyebrows. Tattooed on + outer side of both upper arms with rings, dots, and lines; rows + of dots on back of right forearm; circle on back of each wrist; + rows of dots on left ankle. As with the Todas, the tattooed devices + are far less elaborate than those of the women in the plains. + + Woman--Glass necklet ornamented with cowry shells, and charm + pendant from it, consisting of a fragment of the root of some + tree rolled up in a ball of cloth. She put it on when her baby + was quite young, to protect it against devils. The baby had a + similar charm round its neck. + + +In the course of his investigation of the Todas, Dr. Rivers found that +of 320 males 41 or 12.8 per cent. and of 183 females only two or 1.1 +per cent. were typical examples of red-green colour-blindness. The +percentage in the males is quite remarkable. The result of examination +of Badaga and Kota males by myself with Holmgren's wools was that +red-green colour-blindness was found to be present in 6 out of +246 Badagas, or 2·5 per cent. and there was no suspicion of such +colour-blindness in 121 Kotas. + +Kota (a fort).--A sub-division of Balija, and an exogamous sept +of Padma Sale. The equivalent Kotala occurs as an exogamous sept of +Boya. There are, in Mysore, a few Kotas, who are said to be immigrants +from South Canara, and to be confined to the Kadur district. According +to a current legend, they were originally of the Kota community, +but their ancestors committed perjury in a land-case, and were cursed +to lose their rank as Brahmans for seven hundred years. [14] Kota is +also the name of a section of Brahmans. + +Kotari.--A class of domestic servants in South Canara, who claim to +be an independent caste, though some regard them as a sub-caste of +Bant. [15] + +Kotegara or Koteyava.--See Servegara. + +Koti (monkey).--The name for Koravas, who travel about the country +exhibiting monkeys. + +Kotippattan.--The Kotippattans are described, in the Travancore +Census Report, 1901, as "a class of Tamil Brahmans, who, at a very +early age in Malabar history, were declared by society to have lost +the original Brahmanical status. The offence was, it is said, their +having taken to the cultivation of the betel-vine as their chief +occupation. The ordinances of caste had prescribed other duties for +the Brahmans, and it is not unlikely that Sankaracharya, to whose +curse the present position of the Kotippattan is traced, disapproved +of the change. In general appearance as regards thread, position of +hair-tuft, and dress of men as well as women, and in ceremonials, the +Kotippattans cannot be easily distinguished from the Brahman class. Sad +instances have occurred of Brahman girls having been decoyed into +matrimonial alliances with Kotippattans. They form a small community, +and the state of social isolation into which they have been thrown +has greatly checked their increase, as in the case of many other +Malabar castes. Their priests are at present Tamil Brahmans. They do +not study the Vedas, and the Gayatri hymn is recited with the first +syllable known as the pranavam. In the matter of funeral ceremonies, +a Kotippattan is treated as a person excommunicated. The cremation is a +mere mechanical process, unaccompanied by any mantras (sacred formulæ) +or by any rites, anantarasamskara (deferred funeral rites) being done +after the lapse of ten days. They have their annual sraddhas, but no +offerings of water (tarpanam) on the new-moon day. Their household +deity is Sasta. Their inheritance is from father to son. Their +household language is Malayalam. Their chief seat is Vamanapuram, +twenty miles from Trivandrum." + +Kotlu (cow-shed).--An exogamous sept of Yanadi. + +Kottaipaththu.--A sub-division of Agamudaiyans, who believe that they +are the same as the Kottai (fort) Vellalas of Tinnevelly. + +Kottai Vellala.--"The Kottai Vellalas," Mr. J. A. Boyle writes, +[16] have been "shut up within narrow walls, the others between two +rivers. The result of insulation has been the same, and they have +developed from small families into small, but perfectly distinct, +castes. In the centre of the town of Srivaiguntam, in the Tinnevelly +district, is a small fort, composed of a mud enclosure, containing +the houses of a number of families known as Kottai (fort) Vellalas, +who are separated from social intercourse and intermarriage with +other families of the great Vellala caste. The traditional origin +of this settlement is dated nearly a thousand years ago, when their +ancestors were driven by a political revolution from their home in +the valley of the Veigay (the river which flows past Madura). Under +the Pandya dynasty of Madura, these Vellalas were, they allege, the +chamberlains or treasurers, to whom belonged the hereditary dignity +of crowning the newly-succeeded kings. And this is still commemorated +by an annual ceremony, performed in one of the Tinnevelly temples, +whither the heads of families still repair, and crown the head of +the swami (god). Their women never leave the precincts of the mud +enclosure. After seven years of age, no girl is allowed to pass +the gates, and the restriction is supported by the tradition of a +disobedient little girl, who was murdered for a thoughtless breach +of this law. Into the fort no male stranger may enter, though there +is no hindrance to women of other castes to enter. After marriage, +no woman of the caste may be seen by man's eyes, except those of her +husband, father, brothers, and maternal uncles. When the census was +taken, they refused to say how many women there were inside the fort, +and infanticide is not only possible, but most probable; for there +is a suspicious absence of increase in the colony, which suggests +some mode of disposing of the 'useless mouths,' unknown to health +officers and policemen. Until recent times, housed within the fort, +were certain prædial slaves (Kottar, smiths) of inferior social status, +who worked for their masters, and lived in the same rigid seclusion +as regards their women. They have been turned out, to live beyond +the enclosure, but work for their masters." + +It is said that, during the days of oppression at the hands of +Muhammadan and Poligar rulers, the Kottai Vellalas had to pay +considerable sums of money to secure immunity from molestation. The +Kottai Pillai, or headman of the community, is reported to possess +the grants made from time to time by the rulers of the country, +guaranteeing them the enjoyment of their customs and privileges. The +fort, in which the Kottai Vellalas live, is kept in good preservation +by Government. There are four entrances, of which one is kept closed, +because, it is said, on one occasion, a child who went out by it to +witness the procession of a god was killed. Brahmans who are attached +to the fort, male members of various castes who work for the inmates +thereof, and Pallans may freely enter it. But, if any one wishes to +speak to a man living in the fort, the Paraiyan gatekeeper announces +the presence of the visitor. Females of all castes may go into the +fort, and into the houses within it. + +On marriage and other festive occasions, it is customary for the +Kottai Vellalas to give raw rations to those invited, instead of, +as among other castes, a dinner. The Kottans eat and drink at the +expense of their masters, and dance. + +Like the Nangudi Vellalas (Savalai Pillais), the Kottai Vellalas have +kilais (septs) running in the female line, and they closely follow +them in their marriage customs. It is usual for a man to marry his +paternal aunt's daughter. The bridegroom goes in state, with his and +the bride's relations and their respective Kottans, to the bride's +house. Arrived at the marriage pandal (booth), they are welcomed by +the bride's party. The homam (sacrificial fire) is then raised by the +officiating Brahman priest, who blesses the tali (marriage badge), +and hands it to a Kottan female, who passes it on to the elder sister +of the bridegroom, or, if he has no such sister, to a female who takes +her place. She takes it inside the house, and ties it on the neck of +the bride, who has remained within during the ceremony. The contracting +couple are then man and wife. The husband goes to live with his wife, +who, after marriage, continues to live in her father's house. On the +death of her father, she receives half of a brother's share of the +property. If she has no brothers, she inherits the whole property. [17] + +Kottai Vellala women wear ordinary jewels up to middle life, when they +replace them by a jewel called nagapadam, which is a gold plate with +the representation of a five-headed cobra. This is said to be worn +in memory of the occasion when a Pandyan king, named Thennavarayan, +overlooking the claims of his legitimate son, gave the kingdom to +an illegitimate son. The fort Vellalas living at Sezhuvaimanagaram +refused to place the crown on the bastard's head. They were +consequently persecuted, and had to leave the country. They decided +to throw themselves into a fire-pit, and so meet their death in a +body. But, just as they were about to do so, they were prevented by +a huge five-headed cobra. Hearing of this marvellous occurrence, the +Pandyan king who was ruling in Tinnevelly invited them to settle at +Srivaiguntam. The fort Vellalas claim that one of the Pandyan kings +gave them extensive lands on the bank of the Vaigai river when they +lived at Sezhuvaimanagaram. They claim further that the ministers +and treasurers of the Pandyan kings were selected from among them. + +The dead are usually cremated. The corpses are borne by Kottans, who +carry out various details in connection with the death ceremonies. The +corpses of women are placed in a bag, which is carefully sewn up. + +I am informed that, owing to the scarcity of females, men are at the +present day obliged to recruit wives from outside. + +The Kottaipaththu Agamudaiyans believe that they are the same as the +Kottai Vellalas. + +Kottakunda (new pot).--An exogamous sept of Medara. + +Kottan.--An occupational name, meaning bricklayer, returned, at times +of census, by some Pallis in Coimbatore. Some Pallis are also employed +as bricklayers in the City of Madras. Kottan is also recorded as a +title of Katasan. + +Kottha.--A sub-division of Kurubas, the members of which tie a woollen +thread round the wrist at marriages. + +Kottiya Paiko.--A sub-division of Rona. + +Kove (ant-hill).--An exogamous sept of Gangadikara Vakkaliga. + +Kovila (Indian cuckoo, Eudynamis honorata).--A gotra of Medara. + +Kovilar (temple people).--The name adopted by a section of Pallis +or Vanniyans, who wear the sacred thread, and have temples of their +own, in which they worship. Koil Adiyan (temple servant) has been +returned by some Balijas at times of census. Kovilammamar or Koilpat, +denoting ladies of, or those who live in palaces, is a title of some +Samanta ladies. Kovilagam is the usual term for the house of a Raja +or Tirumalpad, and Koilpantala is recorded, from Travancore, as a +synonym for Koil Tamburan. The Nattukottai Chettis have exogamous +septs, or koils, named after temples, e.g., Mathur koil. + +Koya.--The land and boat-owning class of Muhammadans in the Laccadive +islands. The name is said to be a corrupt form of Khoja, meaning a +man of distinction. Mappillas use Koya as a suffix to their names, +e.g., Hassan Koya, Mahomed Koya (see Mappilla). + +Koyappan.--Koyappan or Koyavappan are corrupt forms of Kusavan +(Malabar potters). + +Koyi.--The Koyis, Kois, or Koyas, are a tribe inhabiting the hills +in the north of the Godavari district, and are also found in the +Malkangiri taluk of the Jeypore Zamindari. They are said to belong +to the great Gond family, and, when a man of another caste wishes to +be abusive to a Koyi, he calls him a Gondia. The Koyi language is +said by Grierson to be a dialect of Gondi. Writing concerning the +Koyis of the Godavari district, the Rev. J. Cain states [18] that +"in these parts the Kois use a great many Telugu words, and cannot +always understand the Kois who come from the plateau in Bustar. A +few years ago, when Colonel Haig travelled as far as Jagdalpuram, +the Kois from the neighbourhood of Dummagudem who accompanied him +were frequently unable to carry on any conversation with many of +the Kois on this plateau. There are often slight differences in the +phraseology of the inhabitants of two villages within a mile of each +other. When two of my teachers, living not more than a mile apart, +were collecting vocabularies in the villages in which they lived, they +complained that their vocabularies often differed in points where they +expected to find no variety whatever." A partial vocabulary of the Koyi +language is given by the Rev. J. Cain, who notes that all the words +borrowed from Telugu take purely Koi terminations in the plural. "Its +connection," he writes, "with the Gond language is very apparent, and +also the influence of its neighbour Telugu. This latter will account +for many of the irregularities, which would probably disappear in +the language spoken by the Kois living further away from the Telugu +country." Mr. G. F. Paddison informs me that all the Gonds whom he +met with in the Vizagapatam district were bholo loko (good caste), +and would not touch pork or mutton, whereas the Koyi shares with the +Dombs the distinction of eating anything he can get in the way of meat, +from a rat to a cow. It is noted by Mr. H. A. Stuart [19] that "the +Khonds call themselves Kui, a name identical with Koi or Koya." And, +in 1853, an introduction to the grammar of the Kui or Kandh language +was produced by Lingum Letchmajee. [20] + +It is recorded by the Rev. J. Cain that "until the talukas were handed +over to British rule, the Bhadrachallam Zamindar always kept up a +troop of Rohillas, who received very little pay for their services, +and lived chiefly by looting the country around. In attendance upon +them were one hundred Kois, and one hundred Madigas. Twenty-five Koi +villages form a samutu, and, in the Bhadrachallam taluka, there are +ten samutus. In the territory on the opposite side of the river, which +also belonged to the Ashwa Rau family, there were ten samutus. Each +samutu was bound in turn to furnish for a month a hundred Kois +to carry burdens, fetch supplies, etc., for the above-mentioned +Rohillas. During the month thus employed they had to provide their +own batta (subsistence money). The petty Zamindars of Albaka, Cherla, +Nagar, Bejji and Chintalanada, likewise had their forces of Nayaks and +Kois, and were continually robbing and plundering. All was grist which +came to their mill, even the clothes of the poor Koi women, who were +frequently stripped, and then regarded as objects of ridicule. The Kois +have frequently told me that they could never lie down to rest without +feeling that before morning their slumbers might be rudely disturbed, +their houses burnt, and their property all carried off. As a rule, they +hid their grain in caves and holes of large trees." It is recorded, +in the Vizagapatam Manual, that, in 1857, the headman of Koraturu, +a village on the Godavari river, was anxious to obtain a certain rich +widow in marriage for his son. Hearing, however, that she had become +the concubine of a village Munsiff or Magistrate of Buttayagudem, he +attempted, with a large body of his Koi followers, to carry her off +by force. Failing in the immediate object of his raid, he plundered +the village, and retreated with a quantity of booty and cattle. + +Those Koyis, the Rev. J. Cain writes, who live in the plains "have a +tradition that, about two hundred years ago, they were driven from +the plateau in the Bustar country by famine and disputes, and this +relationship is also acknowledged by the Gutta Kois, i.e., the hill +Kois, who live in the highlands of Bustar. These call the Kois who +live near the Godavari Gommu Kois and Mayalotilu. The word Gommu is +used to denote the banks and neighbourhood of the Godavari. Thus, for +instance, all the villages on the banks of the Godavari are called +Gommu ullu. Mayalotilu means rascal. The Gutta Kois say the lowland +Kois formerly dwelt on the plateau, but on one occasion some of them +started out on a journey to see a Zamindar in the plains, promising +to return before very long. They did not fulfil their promise, +but settled in the plains, and gradually persuaded others to join +them, and at times have secretly visited the plateau on marauding +expeditions.... The Kois regard themselves as being divided into +five classes, Perumboyudu, Madogutta, Peregatta, Matamuppayo, and +Vidogutta." The Rev. J. Cain states further that "the lowland Kois +say that they are divided into five tribes, but they do not know +the first of these. The only names they can give are Paredugatta, +Mundegutta, Peramboyina, and Wikaloru, and these tribes are again +sub-divided into many families. The members of the different tribes +may intermarry, but not members of the same tribe." + +It is recorded by Mr. F. R. Hemingway [21] that "exogamous septs, +called Gattas, occur in the tribe. Among them are Mudo (third), +Nalo (fourth) or Paredi, Aido (fifth) or Rayibanda, Aro (sixth), +Nutomuppayo (130th), and Peramboya. In some places, the members of +the Mudo, Nalo, and Aido Gattas are said to be recognisable by the +difference in the marks they occasionally wear on their foreheads, +a spot, a horizontal, and a perpendicular line respectively being +used by them. The Aro Gatta, however, also uses the perpendicular +line." It is further noted by Mr. Hemingway that the Racha or Dora +Koyas consider themselves superior to all other sub-divisions, except +the Oddis (superior priests). + +It is noted by the Rev. J. Cain that at Gangolu, a village about +three miles from Dummagudem, "live several families who call +themselves Basava Gollavandlu, but on enquiry I found that they are +really Kois, whose grandfathers had a quarrel with some of their +neighbours, and separated themselves from their old friends. 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 that class are said to have been so called in +consequence of their speaking a different language from the rest of +the Gollas. A small but well-known family, the Matta people, are all +said to have been originally Erra Gollas, but six generations ago +they were received into the Koi people. Another well-known family, +the Kaka people, have the following tradition of their arrival +in the Koi districts. Seven men of the Are Kapulu caste of Hindus +once set out on a journey from the neighbourhood of Warangal. Their +way led through dense jungle, and for a very long time they could +find no village, where they and their horses could obtain food and +shelter. At length they espied a small hut belonging to a poor widow, +and, riding up to it, they entered into conversation with her, when +they learned that the whole country was being devastated by a nilghai +(blue bull: Boselaphus tragocamelus), which defied all attempts to +capture it. In despair, the king of the country, who was a Koi of the +Emu family, had promised his youngest daughter in marriage to any man +who would rid the country of the pest. Before very long, the youngest +of the Kapus was out wandering in the neighbouring jungle, and had an +encounter with the formidable beast, which ran at him very fiercely, +and attempted to knock him down. The young man raised a small brass +pot, which he was carrying, and struck the animal so forcible a blow +on the head that it fell dead on the spot. He then cut off its tail, +nose, and one ear, and carried them away as trophies of his victory; +and, having hidden his ring in the mutilated head of the animal, +he buried the body in a potter's pit close to the scene of the +encounter. He and his elder brothers then resumed their journey, +but they had not gone far before they received news from the widow +that the potter, hearing of the death of the animal, had gone to the +king with the tidings, and asserted that he himself was the victor, +and was therefore entitled to the promised reward. The king, however, +declined to comply with his request, unless he produced satisfactory +evidence of the truth of the story. The real victor, hearing all +this, bent his steps to the king's court and asserted his claim, +showing his trophies in proof of his statements, and requesting the +king to send and dig up the carcase of the animal, and see whether +the ring was there or not. The king did so, and, finding everything +as the claimant had asserted, he bestowed his daughter on him, and +assigned to the newly married couple suitable quarters in his own +house. Before very long, the next elder brother of the bridegroom +came to pay him a visit, riding in a kachadala, i.e., a small cart +on solid wooden wheels. He found all the city in great trouble in +consequence of the ravages of a crow with an iron beak, with which +it attacked young children, and pecked out their brains. The king, +deeply grieved at his subjects' distress, had it proclaimed far and +wide that the slayer of this crow should receive in reward the hand +of his youngest remaining daughter. The young man had with him a new +bamboo bow, and so he fitted an arrow to the string, and let fly at +the crow. His aim was so good that the crow fell dead at once, but +the force of the blow was so great that one of the wings was driven +as far south as the present village of Rekapalli (wing village), +its back fell down on the spot now occupied by Nadampalli (loin or +back village), its legs at Kalsaram (leg village), and its head at +Tirusapuram (head village), whilst the remainder fell into the cart, +and was carried into the presence of the king. The king was delighted +to see such clear proofs of the young man's bravery, and immediately +had the marriage celebrated, and gave the new son-in-law half the +town. He then made an agreement with his sons-in-law and their +friends, according to which they were in future to give him as many +marriageable girls as could be enclosed and tied up by seven lengths +of ropes used for tying up cattle, and he was to bestow upon them as +many as could be tied up by three lengths. In other words, he was to +receive seventy children, and to give thirty, but this promise has +never been fulfilled. The victor received the name of Kaka (crow), +and his descendants are called the Kaka people." + +The Koyis of the Godavari district are described in the Manual as being +"a simple-minded people. They look poor and untidy. The jungles in +which they reside are very unhealthy, and the Kois seem almost to +a man to suffer from chronic fever. They lead an unsophisticated, +savage life, and have few ideas, and no knowledge beyond the daily +events of their own little villages; but this withdrawal from +civilised existence is favourable to the growth of those virtues +which are peculiar to a savage life. Like the Khonds, they are noted +for truthfulness, and are quite an example in this respect to the +civilised and more cultivated inhabitants of the plains. They call +themselves Koitors, the latter part of which appellation has been +very easily and naturally changed by the Telugu people, and by the +Kois who come most closely into contact with them, into Dorala, +which means lords; and they are always honoured by this title in +the Godavari district. [The Rev. J. Cain expresses doubts as to the +title Dora being a corruption of tor, and points out that it is a +common title in the Telugu country. Some Koyis on the Bastar plateau +call themselves Bhumi Razulu, or kings of the earth.] The villages +are small, but very picturesque. They are built in groups of five or +six houses, in some places even a smaller number, and there are very +rarely so many as ten or fifteen. A clearing is made in the jungle, +and a few acres for cultivation are left vacant round the houses. In +clearing away the wood, every tree is removed except the ippa (Bassia +latifolia) and tamarind trees, which are of the greatest service +to the people on account of their fruit and shade. The Kois do not +remain long in the same place. They are a restless race. Four years +suffice to exhaust the soil in one locality, and they do not take the +trouble to plough deeper, but migrate to another spot, where they make +a fresh clearing, and erect a new village. Their huts are generally +covered with melons and gourds, the flowing tendrils of which give +them a very graceful appearance, but the surrounding jungle makes them +damp and unhealthy. When the cultivation season is over, and the time +of harvest draws on, the whole of the village turns out by families, +and lives on the small wooden scaffoldings erected in the fields, for +the purpose of scaring away the wild animals and birds, which come +to feed on the ripening grain. Deer and wild pigs come by night to +steal it, and herds of goats by day. Tigers and cheetas (leopards) +often resort to the fields of Indian corn, and conceal themselves +among the lofty plants. Poorer kinds of grain are also grown, such +as millet and maize, out of which the people make a kind of porridge, +called java. They likewise grow a little cotton, from which they make +some coarse cloth, and tobacco. The ippa tree is much prized. The +Koyis eat the flowers of this tree, which are round and fleshy. They +eat them either dried in the sun, or fried with a little oil. Oil both +for lights and for cooking is obtained from the nut, from which also +an intoxicating spirit is extracted." I gather that the Koyis further +use the oil for anointing the hair, whereas, in Kurnool, the forest +officers barter with the Chenchus for the fruits, which they will part +with, as they do not require them for the toilette or other purpose. + +The cultivation of the Koyis has been described as "of the simplest, +most unprofitable kind. A piece of jungle is selected, and all +the trees, except the fruit-bearing ones, are cut down and burned, +the ashes being used for manure. Then, without removing the stumps +or further clearing, the land is scratched along the top, and the +seed sown. For three or four years the natural fertility of the soil +yields them a crop, but then, when the undergrowth begins to appear +and the soil to be impoverished, being too lazy to plough and clean +it properly or to give it manure, they abandon it, and the land again +becomes scrub jungle." + +In a note on cultivation in the Agency tracts of the Godavari district, +F. R. Hemingway writes as follows. [22] "The majority of the hill +Reddis and the Koyas in the Agency carry on shifting cultivation, +called podu, by burning clearings in the forests. Two methods prevail: +the ordinary (or chalaka) podu, and the hill (or konda) podu. The +former consists in cultivating certain recognised clearings for a +year or two at a time, allowing the forest to grow again for a few +years, and then again burning and cultivating them; while, under the +latter, the clearing is not returned to for a much longer period, +and is sometimes deserted for ever. The latter is in fashion in +the more hilly and wilder parts, while the former is a step towards +civilisation. In February or March, the jungle trees and bushes are cut +down, and spread evenly over the portion to be cultivated; and, when +the hot weather comes on, they are burnt. The ashes act as a manure, +and the cultivators think that the mere heat of the burning makes +the ground productive. The land is ploughed once or twice in chalaka +podus before and after sowing, but not at all in konda podus. The seed +is sown in June. Hill cholam and samai are the commonest crops. The +former is dibbled into the ground. Grain is usually stored in regular +granaries (kottu), or in thatched bamboo receptacles built on a raised +foundation, and called gadi. These are not found in Bhadrachalam or +the central delta, where a high, round receptacle made of twisted straw +(puri) is used. Grain is also stored, as elsewhere, in pits." + +It is noted by Mr. Hemingway that the houses of the Koyis "are made of +bamboo, with a thatch of grass or palmyra. They are very restless, and +families change frequently from one village to another. Before morning, +they consult the omens, to see whether the change will be auspicious or +not. Sometimes the hatching of a clutch of eggs provides the answer, +or four grains of four kinds of seed, representing the prosperity +of men, cattle, sheep, and land, are put on a heap of ashes under a +man's bed. Any movement among them during the night is a bad omen. The +Koyas proper are chiefly engaged in agriculture. Their character is +a curious medley. They excite admiration by their truthfulness and +simplicity; contempt by their drunkenness, listlessness, and want of +thrift; amusement by their stupidity and their combination of timidity +and self-importance; and disgust by their uncanny superstitions and +thinly veiled blood-thirstiness. Their truthfulness is proverbial, +though it is said to be less characteristic than of yore, and they +never break their word. Their drunkenness is largely due to the +commonness of the ippa tree (Bassia latifolia), from the flowers of +which strong spirit is distilled, and is most noticeable when this +is blossoming. Their laziness is notorious, and their stupidity is +attested by numerous stories. One, vouched for by the Rev. J. Cain, +relates how some of them, being despatched with a basket of fruit and +a note describing its contents, and being warned that the note would +betray any pilfering, first buried the note so that it could not see, +then abstracted some of the fruit, afterwards disinterred the note and +delivered it and the basket, and were quite at a loss, when charged +with the theft, to know how the note could have learnt about it. They +are terribly victimised by traders and money-lenders from the low +country, who take advantage of their stupidity to cheat them in every +conceivable way. Their timidity has on occasions driven them to seek +refuge in the jungle on the appearance of a Hindu in clean clothes, +but, on the other hand, they insist upon, and receive a considerable +measure of respect from lowlanders whom they encounter. They are +perfectly aware that their title Dora means lord, and they insist +upon being given it. They tolerate the address 'uncle' (mama) from +their neighbours of other castes, but they are greatly insulted if +called Koyas. When so addressed, they have sometimes replied 'Whose +throat have I cut?' playing on the word koya, which means to slice, +or cut the throat. When driven to extremes, they are capable of much +courage. Blood feuds have only recently become uncommon in British +territory, and in 1876 flourished greatly in the Bastar State." + +Concerning the marriage custom of the Koyis the Rev. J. Cain writes +that "the Koyis generally marry when of fair age, but infant marriage +is unknown. The maternal uncle of a girl has always the right to +dispose of her hand, which he frequently bestows upon one of his own +sons. If the would-be bridegroom is comparatively wealthy, he can +easily secure a bride by a peaceable arrangement with her parents; +but, if too poor to do this, he consults with his parents and friends, +and, having fixed upon a suitable young girl, he sends his father and +friends to take counsel with the headman of the village where his +future partner resides. A judicious and liberal bestowal of a few +rupees and arak (liquor) obtain the consent of the guardian of the +village to the proposed marriage. This done, the party watch for a +favourable opportunity to carry off the bride, which is sure to occur +when she comes outside her village to fetch water or wood, or, it may +be, when her parents and friends are away, and she is left alone in +the house. The bridegroom generally anxiously awaits the return home +of his friends with their captive, and the ceremony is proceeded +with that evening, due notice having been sent to the bereaved +parents. Some of the Koyis are polygamists, and it not unfrequently +happens that a widow is chosen and carried off, it may be a day or +two after the death of her husband, whilst she is still grieving on +account of her loss. The bride and bridegroom are not always married +in the same way. The more simple ceremony is that of causing the woman +to bend her head down, and then, having made the man lean over her, +the friends pour water on his head, and, when the water has run off +his head to that of the woman, they are regarded as man and wife. The +water is generally poured out of a bottle-gourd. (These gourds are +used by the Koyis as bottles, in which they carry drinking water when +on a journey. Very few Koyis stir far from their homes without one of +these filled with water.) Generally, on this all-important occasion, +the two are brought together, and, having promised to be faithful to +each other, drink some milk. Some rice is then placed before them, +and, having again renewed their promises, they eat the rice. They then +go outside the house, and march round a low heap of earth which has +been thrown up under a small pandal (booth) erected for the occasion, +singing a simple love song as they proceed. Afterwards they pay their +respects to the elders present, and beg for their blessing, which +is generally bestowed in the form of 'May you be happy! may you not +fight and quarrel!' etc. This over, all present fall to the task of +devouring the quantity of provisions provided for the occasion, and, +having well eaten and drunk, the ceremony is concluded. If the happy +couple and their friends are comparatively wealthy, the festivities +last several days. Dancing and singing are kept up every evening, +and, when the fun waxes fast and furious, the mother-in-law takes +up her new son-in-law on her shoulders, and his mother her new +daughter-in-law, and dance round as vigorously as age and strength +permit. If the mothers-in-law are not able, it is the duty of the +respective maternal aunts to perform this ludicrous office. When the +bridegroom is a fine strapping young man, this is a duty rather than a +pleasure. Some do not object to run away with the wife of another man, +and, in former years, a husband has been known to have been murdered +for the sake of his wife. Even at present, more disputes arise from +bride-stealing than from any other cause, especially as up to the +present time (1876) the Government officials have not been able to +stop this practice. In the case of a man running away with another +man's wife, the samatu dora (headman), on its being reported to him, +goes to the village where the culprit lives, assembles the headman, +and calls the offender before him. He then fines the man twelve rupees, +and orders him to give another twelve to the husband of the woman whom +he has stolen, and then demands two rupees' worth of liquor, a goat, +and grain for a feast. On these being brought, the night is spent in +feasting and drinking, and the fault is forgiven. In cases of breach +of the seventh commandment, the offender is often placed between two +logs of wood, upon which as many men sit as can be accommodated, and +press it down as long as they can without endangering the unfortunate +man's life. In all the Koi villages there is a large house, where +the young unmarried men have to sleep, and another which the young +unmarried girls have to occupy at night." + +It is noted by Mr. Hemingway that, "if a Koya youth is refused by the +maiden of his choice, he generally carries her off by force. But a +boy can reserve a girl baby for himself by giving the mother a pot, +and a cloth for the baby to lie upon, and then she may not be carried +off. Girls who consort with a man of low caste are purified by having +their tongues branded with a hot golden needle, and by being made +to pass through seven arches of palmyra leaves which are afterwards +burnt." (cf. Koraga.) According to Mr. R. E. Enthoven, [23] "the +suggestion seems to be a rapid representation of seven existences, +the outcast 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." + +In a note on marriage among the Koyis of Vizagapatam, Mr. C. Hayavadana +Rao writes that the parents and other relations of the bridegroom go +to the bride's home with a present (voli) of three or four head-loads +of fermented liquor made from ragi (Eleusine Coracana) seeds, a pair +of new cloths for the girl's father and mother, and a pig. A feast is +held, and, on the following day, the bride is conducted to the home +of the bridegroom. The marriage ceremony is then conducted on lines +similar to those already described. + +In connection with birth ceremonies, the Rev. J. Cain writes that +"the Koi women are very hardy, and careless about themselves. After +the birth of a child, they do not indulge in the luxury of a cot, but, +according to their usual custom, continue to lie upon the ground, +bathe in cold water, and eat their accustomed food. Directly the +child is born, it is placed upon a cot, and the mother resumes her +ordinary work of fetching water, wood, leaves, etc., cooking for +the family, and so on. On the seventh day the child is well washed, +and all the neighbours and near relatives assemble together to +name the child. Having placed the child on a cot, they put a leaf +of the mohwa tree (Bassia) in the child's hand, and pronounce some +name which they think suitable. If the child closes its hand over +the leaf, it is regarded as a sign that the child acquiesces, but, +if the child rejects the leaf or cries, they take it as a sign that +they must choose another name, and so they throw away the leaf, +and substitute another leaf and another name, until the child shows +its approbation. If the name chosen is that of any person present, +the owner of that name generally expresses his appreciation of the +honour thus conferred by placing a small coin in the hand of the child, +otherwise the father is bound to do so. This ceremony is followed by +a night of dancing and singing, and the next day the father gives +a feast to his neighbours and friends, or, if too poor for that, +treats the male friends to liquor. Most Kois now name their children +without all the elaborate ceremonial mentioned above." + +"The bodies of children," the Rev. J. Cain writes, "and of young +men and young women are buried. If a child dies within a month of +its birth, it is usually buried close to the house, so that the rain +dropping from the eaves may fall upon the grave, and thereby cause the +parents to be blessed with another child in due course of time. With +the exception of the above mentioned, corpses are usually burnt. A +cow or bullock is slain, and the tail cut off and put in the dead +person's hand, after the cot on which the corpse is carried has been +placed upon the funeral pile. If a pujari, or Koi priest, is present, +he not unfrequently claims a cloth or two belonging to the dead +person. The cot is then removed, and the body burnt. Mr. Vanstavern +reports having seen part of the liver of the slain animal placed in the +mouth of the corpse. The friends of the deceased retire, and proceed +to feast upon the animal slain for the occasion. Three days afterwards +they generally return, bringing contributions of cholam (grain), and, +having slain one or more animals, have a second feast. In some parts, +immediately after the corpse is consumed, the ashes are wetted, rolled +into balls, and deposited in a hole about two feet deep, dug on the +roadside just outside their village. Over the hole is placed a slab of +stone, and at the head an upright stone, and, whenever friends pass +by these monuments, they endeavour to place a few leaves of tobacco +on the slabs, remarking at the same time how fond the deceased were +of tobacco in their lifetime. The hill Kois have erected very large +slabs in days gone by, and it is not uncommon to see rows of ten to +fifteen outside the villages close to well-frequented roads, but at +present they seldom take the trouble to put up any monuments. In the +Malkanagiri taluk, the Kois every now and then erect these stones, +and, when encamped in a village, we were struck by the height of one, +from the top of which was suspended an ox tail. On enquiry we found +that it was the tomb of the late headman, who had been enterprising +enough to build some large bunds (embankments), and thus improve his +rice fields. Success attended his efforts, and five crops rewarded +him. But, alas, envious persons plotted his downfall, he became ill, +and called in the diviner, who soon discovered the cause of the fatal +illness in the shape of balls of mud, which had been surreptitiously +introduced into his stomach by some demoness at the instigation +of some foes. Three days after the funeral feast, a second one +is frequently held, and, if means are forthcoming, another on the +seventh and fifteenth days. The nights are always spent in dancing to +the beating of the tom-tom or drum. All believe that these feasts are +necessary for the repose of the spirits of the deceased, and that, if +these are not thus duly honoured, they will wander about the jungle in +the form of pisachas (devils) ready to avenge their friends' neglect +of their comfort by bringing evil upon their children or cattle. If +they are not satisfied as to the cause of the death of any of their +friends, they continue to meet at intervals for a whole year, offer the +sacrificial feasts, and inquire of the diviner whether he thinks that +the spirit of the deceased has been able to associate with spirits +or its predeceased friends, and, when they obtain an answer in the +affirmative, then and then only do they discontinue these feasts." + +In connection with death ceremonies, Mr. Hemingway notes that "when a +Koya dies, a cow or bullock is slaughtered, and the tail is cut off, +and put in the dead man's hand. The liver is said to be sometimes put +in his mouth. His widow's tali (marriage badge) is always placed there, +and, when a married woman dies, her tali is put in her mouth. The +pyre of a man is lighted by his nephew, and of a woman by her son. No +pollution is observed by those attending the funeral. The beef of +the slain animal provides a feast, and the whole party returns home +and makes merry. On the eighth day, a pot of water is placed in the +dead man's house for him to drink, and is watched by his nephew. Next +morning another cow is slaughtered, and the tail and a ball of cooked +rice are offered to the soul at the burning ground." + +Concerning the death ceremonies in the Vizagapatam district, +Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao writes that the corpses of young children are +buried far away from the home of their parents. It is customary, +among the more prosperous families, to put a few rupees into the +mouth of a corpse before the funeral pyre is lighted. The money is +made to represent the value of the animal sacrificed in the Godavari +district. Death pollution is not observed, but on the eighth day +the relations kill a fowl, and burn it at the spot where the body +was cremated. The ashes of a dead person are carried to a spot set +apart close to the highway. Water is poured over them, and they +are made into small balls. A hole, two or three feet deep, is dug, +into which the balls, a few of the pots belonging to the deceased, +and some money are put. They are covered over with a stone slab, +at one end of which an upright slab is set up. A cow is killed, +and its tail cut off, and tied to the upright slab, to appease the +ghost of the dead person. The remainder of the animal is carried off, +and used for a feast. Ghasias are notorious for opening up these Koyi +sepulchres, and stealing the money buried in them. + +Mr. H. Tyler informs me that he came across the burning funeral pyre +of a Koyi girl, who had died of syphilis. Across a neighbouring path +leading to the Koyi village, were a basket fish-trap containing grass, +and on each side thorny twigs, which were intended to catch the malign +spirit of the dead girl, and prevent it from entering the village. The +twigs and trap, containing the captured spirit, were to be burnt by +the Koyis on the following day. + +It is noted by Mr. Hemingway that "people who are neither good enough +for heaven, nor bad enough for hell, are born again in their former +family. Children with hare-lip, moles, etc., are often identified as +re-incarnations of deceased relations. Tattooing is common. It is, +for various reasons, considered very important for the soul in the +next world that the body should have been adequately tattooed." + +Concerning the religion of the Koyis, the Rev. J. Cain writes that +they say "that the following gods and goddesses were appointed to +be worshipped by Sudras:--Muttelamma, Maridimahalakshmi, Poturazu +and Korrazulu; and the following were to receive adoration from +the Koyis:--Kommalamma, Katurudu, Adamarazu. The goddess Mamili +or Pele must be propitiated early in the year, or else the crops +will undoubtedly fail; and she is said to be very partial to human +victims. There is strong reason to think that two men were murdered +in 1876 near a village not far from Dummagudem, as offerings to this +devata, and there is no reason to doubt that every year strangers +are quietly put out of the way in the Bastar country, to ensure the +favour of this blood-thirsty goddess. All the Koyis seem to hold in +great respect the Pandava brothers, especially Arjuna and Bhima. The +wild dogs or dhols are regarded as the dutas or messengers of these +brothers, and the long black beetles which appear in large numbers +at the beginning of the hot weather are called the Pandava flock of +goats. Of course they would on no account attempt to kill a dhol, +even though it should happen to attack their favourite calf, and +they even regard it as imprudent to interfere with these dutas, when +they wish to feast upon their cattle." The tradition among the Koyis +is that, when the Pandava brothers were in exile, Bhima, whom they +call Bhimador, went hunting in the jungle, and met a wild woman of +the woods, whom he fell in love with and married. The fruit of this +union was the Koyi people. The tradition further states that this wild +woman was not a human being. [24] "A Koi," the Rev. J. Cain continues, +"whom Mr. Alexander met in a village about two miles from Dummagudem, +caused him to infer that the Kois think heaven to be a great fort, +and in it plenty of rice to eat for those who enter it; that hell is +a dismal place, where a crow, made of iron, continually gnaws off the +flesh of the wicked. This must have been that particular Koi's own +peculiar belief, for it certainly is not that of any of the Kois with +whom I so frequently come in contact. The mention of the iron crow +reminds me that, about two years ago, a rumour rapidly spread in some +of the villages that an iron cock was abroad very early in the morning, +and upon the first village in which it heard one or more cocks begin +to crow it would send a grievous pestilence, and at least decimate the +village. In one instance at least, this led to immediate extermination +of all the unfortunate cocks in that village. Last year (1878) +the inhabitants of a village on the left bank of the Godavari were +startled by the tallaris (village peons) of the neighbouring village +bringing about twenty fowls, and ordering them to be sent on the next +village south of Dummagudem. On being asked the reason of this order, +they replied that the cholera goddess was selecting her victims in the +villages further north, and that, to induce her to leave their parts, +some of these villages had sent these fowls as offerings to her, but +they were to be passed on as far as possible before they were slain, +for then she would follow in anticipation of the feast, and so might +be tempted quite out of these regions. The Police, however, interfered, +and they were passed back into the Upper Godavari district." + +Writing further concerning the religion of the Koyis, the Rev. J. Cain +adds that "one Sunday afternoon, some Kois came to us from a village +nine miles away, and begged for medicine for a man, whose right +cheek, they said, had been torn away by a tiger, just as if it had +been cut out by a knife. A few days afterwards we heard a story, +which was far more credible. The people of the village were very +anxious for good crops, and resolved to return to the practice of +offering a stranger passing by to the goddess Mamili, and so two +of them were on the look-out for a victim. They soon saw one, and +began to pursue him, but he, a Koi, knowing the former evil repute +of the village, suspected their design and fled, and at last took +refuge up a manchan. They began to ascend too, when he took out of +his belt a knife, and struck at his assailants, and cut away his +right cheek. This caused the two assailants to retreat, and the man +escaped. As human sacrifices are now illegal, a langur monkey is +frequently substituted, and called for occasion Ekuromma Potu, i.e., +a male with small breasts. This name is given in the hope of persuading +the goddess that she is receiving a human sacrifice. Mutyalamma is the +goddess, who is supposed to preside over small-pox and cholera. When +the villages have determined to appease this dread goddess, they erect +a pandal (booth) outside their village under a nim (Melia Azadirachta) +tree, search all round for the soft earth of a white-ant heap, and +proceed at once to mould this earth into the form of an image of a +woman, tie a cloth or two round her, hang a few peacock's feathers +around her neck, and place her under the pandal on a three-legged +stool, which has been made of the wood of Cochlospermum Gossypium +(silk-cotton tree) for the occasion. They then bring forward a chicken +and try to persuade it to eat some of the grains they have thrown +down before the image, requesting the goddess to inform them whether +she will leave their village or not. If the chicken picks up some of +the grains, they regard it as a most favourable omen, but, if not, +their hearts are immediately filled with dread of the continued anger +of the goddess. They then bring forward two sheep or goats, and then +present to them a dish of toddy, and, if the toddy is drunk by the +animals, they are quite assured of the speedy departure of the plague +which is devastating their village. The sheep are then tied up till +the next morning. In the meantime a sorcerer is brought to the front, +and they enquire of him the determination of the goddess. After this +they return to the village, and they all drink well, and the night +is spent in dancing, in which the women join. The next morning the +pandal and its inmate are removed to a site still farther away from +the village, after which the fowl is killed over the image, on which +some drops of blood are allowed to fall. The sheep then have garlands +hung round their necks, and their heads are adorned with turmeric, +and pots of cold water are poured over them. The deity is at the +same time again asked whether she intends to leave them alone, and, +if she is disposed to be favourable towards them, she replies by +causing the sheep to shiver. The animals are immediately killed, +the left ear and left leg being cut off and placed in the mouth, and +the head cut off and left as an offering before the image. The rest +of the sacrifice is then carried away, to be cooked and enjoyed by +all the worshippers before they reach home, as their wives are not +allowed to partake of the sacrificial feast. + +"Another goddess or demoness, of which many stand in dread, is called +a Pida, and her they propitiate in the month of December. All the men +of the village gather together and collect from each house a handful +of cholam, which they give to the wife of the pujari, directing her +to make bread with it for her husband. After he has partaken of it, +they bring pots of warm water and pour it over his head, and then +all in the village spend some time in dancing. A chatty (pot) is +brought after a time, in which are placed leaves of the Diospyros +Embryopteris, and two young men carry it between them, suspended from +a pole cut from the same tree, all around the village. The pujari, +carrying a cock, accompanies them, and also the rest of the men of +the village, each one carrying a staff cut from the above mentioned +tree, with which he strikes the eaves of each house passed in +their perambulations. When they have been all around the village, +they all march off some little distance, and tie up the stick on +which the pot is suspended to two neighbouring trees, and place +their staves close by. The pujari sets to work to kill the cock, +and they all beg the demoness, whom they suppose to have entered the +pot, not to come to their village again. The pujari then cooks and +eats the cock with food which has been supplied him, and the other +worshippers also satisfy the cravings of hunger with food they have +brought with them. On no account do they return home until after dark, +lest the demoness should see the road to their village, and follow +in their wake. Very frequently on these occasions, votive offerings, +promised long before, are sacrificed and eaten by the pujari. It is +not at all uncommon for a Koi to promise the Pida a seven-horned male +(i.e., a cock) as a bribe to be let alone, a two-horned male (i.e., +a goat) being set apart by more wealthy or more fervent suppliants. + +"The Kois acknowledge that they worship the devatalu or the dayyamulu +(demons of the mountains). The Korra Razu is supposed to be the deity +who has supreme control over tigers, and a friend of mine once saw a +small temple devoted to his worship a few miles from the large village +of Gollapalli, Bastar, but it did not seem to be held in very great +respect. There is no Koi temple in any village near Dummagudem, and +the Kois are seldom, if ever, to be found near a Hindu temple. Some +time ago there was a small mud temple to the goddesses Sarlamma and +Kommalamma at Pedda Nallapalli, and the head Koi of the village was +the pujari, but he became a Christian, and the temple fell into ruins, +and soon melted away. A few families have added to their own faith +the worship of Siva, and many of them are proud of the appellation +of Linga Kois." "In times of drought," Mr. Hemingway writes, "a +festival to Bhima, which lasts five days, is held. When rain appears, +the Koyis sacrifice a cow or pig to their patron. Dancing plays an +important part at all these feasts, and also at marriages. The men +put on head-dresses of straw, into which buffalo horns are stuck, +and accompany themselves with a kind of chant." + +"There is," the Rev. J. Cain writes, "generally one velpu for each +gens, and in a certain village there is the chief velpu for the +whole tribe of Kois. When any of the inferior velpus are carried +about, contributions in kind or cash are collected by its guardians +almost exclusively from the members of the gens to which the velpu +belongs. When the superior velpu is taken to any village, all the +inferior velpus are brought, and, with the exception of two, are +planted some little distance in front of their lord. There are two, +however, which are regarded as lieutenants of the paramount power, +and these are planted one on each side of their superior. As it +was expressed to me, the chief velpu is like the Raja of Bastar, +these two are like his ministers of state, and the rest are like the +petty zamindars (land-owners) under him. The largest share of the +offerings goes to the chief, the two supporters then claim a fair +amount, and the remainder is equally divided amongst those of the +third rank.... Ancestral worship prevails among the Kois, especially +on the occasions when the velpu of the family is carried round. The +velpu is a large three-cornered red cloth, with a number of figures of +various ancestors roughly cut out of different coloured cloth, white, +green, blue, or yellow, and stitched to the main cloth. Whenever any +important male member of the family dies, a new figure is added to +commemorate his services. It is usually kept in the custody of the +leading man of the family, and taken round by him to all members of +that family once a year, when each member is bound to give an offering +to the velpu. No one belonging to a different family takes any part +in the ceremonies. On the occasion of its being carried round, it is +fixed to a long bamboo ornamented at the top with the hair from the +tail of a yak, and with loudly sounding brass bells. On arriving at a +village where there are a sufficient number of Kois of the particular +family to make it worth while to stay, the priest in charge of the +velpu and his attendant Doli give due notice of their arrival, and, +having planted the velpu in the ground, the night is spent by all +the members of the family to which the velpu belongs in dancing and +making merry to the sound of the drum, which is beaten by the Doli +only. The priest in charge has to fast all night, and keep himself +ceremonially pure. In the morning they all proceed to the nearest +stream or tank (pond), with the velpu in front carried by the priest, +and there bathe, and also enjoy the fun of sprinkling each other +with water to their hearts' content. This done, they come up out of +the water, plant the velpu on the bank, and send for the bullock to +be sacrificed. When this is brought, its legs are tied together, and +it is then thrown on the ground, and the priest (or, if he is weak, +a strong younger man) has to kill it at one blow. It is then cut up, +and, after the attendant priest has received his share, it is divided +amongst the attendant crowd, who spend the rest of the day in feasting +and drinking. As a rule, no act of obeisance or worship is even paid to +the velpu, unless the offering of money to the custodian be regarded +as such. Sometimes a woman very desirous of having a child brings a +cock, throws it down before the velpu and makes obeisance to it, but +this is not a very common custom. The Dolivandlu or Dolollu always +attend the velpu, and are present at all the marriage feasts, when +they recite old stories, and sing national songs. They are not Kois, +but really a section of the Mala caste, although they will not mix +with the rest of the Malas of their own family, excepting when on the +Bastar plateau among the hill Kois. The Kois have very amusing stories +as to how the hair from the tail of the yak is obtained. They say that +the yak is a hairy animal which lives in a country far away, but that +its great peculiarity is that it has only one leg, and that this leg +has no joints in it. Being a very swift animal, it is impossible to +capture it in any ordinary way, but, as it rests at night by leaning +against one particular tree, the hunters carefully mark this tree, and +some time during the day cut the trunk through as far as advisable, +and watch the result. When night comes on, the animal returns to +its resting place, leans against the tree, which is no longer able +to give support to the yak, and both fall to the ground. The hunters +immediately rush in, and seize their prey. A friend has supplied me +with the following reference in 'De Bello Gallico.' They (the hunters) +either undermine all the trees in that place at the roots, or cut them +so far as to leave the external appearance of a standing tree. Then +the elk, which has no knots or joints, comes, leans, as usual, and +down comes tree, elk and all." + +Concerning the velpus, Mr. Hemingway writes that "they consist of small +pieces of metal, generally iron and less than a foot in length, which +are kept in a hollow bamboo deposited in some wild and unfrequented +spot. They are guarded with great secrecy by those in charge of them, +and are only shown to the principal worshippers on the rare occasions +when they are taken out to be adored. The Koyas are very reticent +about them. Mr. Cain says that there is one supreme velpu, which is +recognised as the highest by the whole Koya tribe, and kept hidden +in the depths of Bastar. There are also velpus for each gatta, and +for each family. The former are considered superior to the latter, +and are less frequently brought out of their retreats. One of them +called Lakkala (or Lakka) Ramu, which belongs either to the Aro or +Peramboya gatta, is considered more potent than the others. It is +ornamented with eyes of gold and silver, and is kept in a cave near +Sitanagaram in the Bhadrachalam taluk. The others are deposited in +different places in the Bastar state. They all have names of their own, +but are also known by the generic term Adama Razu. Both the gatta and +family velpus are worshipped only by members of the sept or family to +which they appertain. They are taken round the country at intervals, +to receive the reverence and gifts of their adherents. The former +are brought out once in every three or four years, especially during +widespread sickness, failure of crops, or cattle disease. An animal +(generally a young bullock) is stabbed under the left shoulder, the +blood is sprinkled over the deity, and the animal is next killed, +and its liver is cut out and offered to the deity. A feast, which +sometimes lasts for two days, takes place, and the velpu is then put +back in its hiding-place. + +"At present," the Rev. J. Cain writes, "the Kois around here +(Dummagudem) have very few festivals, except one at the harvest of +the zonna (Sorghum vulgare). Formerly they had one not only for every +grain crop, but one when the ippa flowers were ready to be gathered, +another when the pumpkins were ripe, at the first tapping of the +palm tree for toddy, etc. Now, at the time the zonna crop is ripe +and ready to be cut, they take a fowl into the field, kill it, and +sprinkle its blood on any ordinary stone put up for the occasion, +after which they are at liberty to partake of the new crop. In many +villages they would refuse to eat with any Koi who has neglected this +ceremony, to which they give the name Kottalu, which word is evidently +derived from the Telugu word kotta (new). Rice-straw cords are hung +on trees, to show that the feast has been observed." In some places, +Mr. Hemingway tells us, the victim is a sheep, and the first fruits are +offered to the local gods, and to the ancestors. Another singular feast +occurs soon after the cholam (zonna) crop has been harvested. Early +on the morning of that day, all the men of each village have to turn +out into the forest to hunt, and woe betide the unlucky individual +who does not bring home some game, be it only a bird or a mouse. All +the women rush after him with cow-dung, mud or dirt, and pelt him +out of their village, and he does not appear again in that village +until the next morning. The hunter who has been most successful then +parades the village with his game, and receives presents of paddy +(rice) from every house. Mr. Vanstavern, whilst boring for coal at +Beddadanolu, was visited by all the Koi women of the village, dressed +up in their lords' clothes, and they told him that they had that +morning driven their husbands to the forest, to bring home game of +some kind or other. This quaint festival is said by Mr. Hemingway to +be called Bhudevi Pandaga, or the festival of the earth goddess. When +the samalu crop is ripe, the Kois summon the pujari on a previously +appointed day, and collect from every house in the village a fowl and +a handful of grain. The pujari has to fast all that night, and bathe +early the next morning. After bathing, he kills the fowls gathered the +previous evening in the names of the favourite gods, and fastens an +ear of samalu to each house, and then a feast follows. In the evening +they cook some of the new grain, and kill fresh fowls, which have +not to be curried but roasted, and the heart, liver, and lights of +which are set apart as the especial food of their ancestral spirits, +and eaten by every member of each household in their name. The bean +feast is an important one, as, until it is held, no one is allowed +to gather any beans. On the second day before the feast, the village +pujari must eat only bread. The day before, he must fast the whole +twenty-four hours, and, on the day of the feast, he must eat only +rice cooked in milk, with the bird offered in sacrifice. All the men +of the village accompany the pujari to a neighbouring tree, which +must be a Terminalia tomentosa, and set up a stone, which they thus +dedicate to the goddess Kodalamma. Every one is bound to bring for the +pujari a good hen and a seer of rice, and for himself a cock and half +a seer of rice. The pujari also demands from them two annas as his +sacrificing fee. Each worshipper then brings his cock to the pujari, +who holds it over grains of rice which have been sprinkled before +the goddess, and, if the bird pecks at the rice, good luck is ensured +for the coming year, whilst, if perchance the bird pecks three times, +the offerer of that particular cock can scarcely contain himself for +joy. If the bird declines to touch the grains, then ill-luck is sure +to visit the owner's house during the ensuing year. + +"The Kois have but little belief in death from natural causes. Some +demon or demoness has brought about the death by bringing fever +or small-pox, or some other fell disease, and this frequently at +the instigation of an enemy of the deceased. In days gone-by, the +taking of the ordeal to clear oneself was the common practice, but at +present it is quite the exception. But, if there are very suspicious +circumstances that ill-will has brought about the death, the friends of +the deceased assemble, place the corpse on a cot, and make straight for +the suspected enemy. If he or she is unfortunate enough to be at home, +a trial takes place. A pot is partly filled with water, on the top +of which ghee (clarified butter) and milk are poured, and then it is +placed on the fire. As soon as it begins to boil, stones are thrown +in, and the accused is summoned to take them out. If this is done +without any apparent injury to the unfortunate victim, a verdict of not +guilty is returned; but, if there are signs of the hand being at all +scalded or burnt, the unhappy wight has to eat a bone of the deceased, +which is removed and pounded, and mixed with boiled rice and milk. In +days gone-by, the sentence was death." According to Mr. Hemingway, +when a death occurs, "an enquiry is held as to who is guilty. Some +male member of the family, generally the nephew of the deceased, +throws coloured rice over the corpse as it lies stretched on the bed, +pronouncing as he does so the names of all the known sorcerers who +live in the neighbourhood. It is even now solemnly asserted that, +when the name of the wizard responsible is pronounced, the bed gets +up, and moves towards the house or village where he resides." "For +some months," the Rev. J. Cain continues, "a poor old Koi woman was +living in our compound, because she had been driven out of village +after village in Bastar from the suspicion that she was the cause of +the death of more than one relative, and she was afraid that she might +fall a victim to their just(?) vengeance. The fear that some envious +person will persuade a demon to plague them affects their whole life +and conduct. Over and over again we have been told by men and women, +when we have remonstrated with them on account of their scanty attire +'Yes, it is quite true that we have abundance of clothes at home, but, +if we were always to wear them, some enemy or other would prevail +on a demon to take possession of us, and kill us.' A young Koi was +once employed to teach a few children in his own village, but, alas, +ere long he became unwell of some strange disease, which no medicine +could remove. As a last resource, a diviner was called in, who made a +careful diagnosis of the case, and the illness was declared to have +been brought on by a demoness at the instigation of some enemy, who +was envious of the money which the lad had received for teaching. I +once saw one of these diviners at work, discovering the sickness which +had laid prostrate a strong man. The diviner had in his hand a leaf +from an old palmyra leaf book, and, as he walked round and round the +patient, he pretended to be reading. Then he took up a small stick, +and drew a number of lines on the ground, after which he danced and +sang round and round the sick man, who sat looking at him, evidently +much impressed with his performance. Suddenly he made a dart at the +man, and, stooping down, bit him severely in two or three places in +the back. Then, rushing to the front, he produced a few grains which +he said he had found in the man's back, and which were evidently the +cause of the sickness. In the case of the young man before mentioned, +the diviner produced a little silver, which he declared to be a sure +sign that the sickness was connected with the silver money he was +receiving for teaching. The diviners have to wear their hair long, +like Samson, and, if it falls off or is cut short, their power is +supposed to leave them." It is noted by Mr. Hemingway that in some +parts, when any one falls ill, the professional sorcerer is consulted, +and he reads both the cause and the remedy in a leaf platter of rice, +which he carries thrice round the invalid. + +The name Chedipe (prostitute) is applied to sorceresses among +various classes in the Godavari district. She is believed to ride on +a tiger at night over the boundaries of seven villages, and return +home at early morn. When she does not like a man, she goes to him +bare-bodied at dead of night, the closed doors of the house in which +he is sleeping opening before her. She sucks his blood by putting his +toe in her mouth. He will then be motionless and insensible like a +corpse. Next morning he feels intoxicated, as if he had taken ganja +(Cannabis sativa), and remains in that condition all day. If he +does not take medicine from one skilled in treating such cases, +he will die. If he is properly treated, he will be as well as ever +in about ten days. If he makes no effort to get cured, the Chedipe +will molest him again and again, and, becoming gradually emaciated, +he will die. When a Chedipe enters a house, all those who are awake +will become insensible, those who are seated falling down as if they +had taken a soporific drug. Sometimes she drags out the tongue of +the intended victim, who will die at once. At other times, slight +abrasions will be found on the skin of the intended victim, and, when +the Chedipe puts pieces of stick thereon, they burn as if burnt by +fire. Sometimes she will hide behind a bush, and, undressing there, +fall on any passer-by in the jungle, assuming the form of a tiger +with one of the four legs in human form. When thus disguised, she is +called Marulupuli (enchanting tiger). If the man is a brave fellow, +and endeavours to kill the Chedipe with any instrument he may have +with him, she will run away; and, if a man belonging to her village +detects her mischief, she will assume her real form, and answer meekly +that she is only digging roots. The above story was obtained by a +native revenue official when he visited a Koyi village, where he was +told that a man had been sentenced to several years' imprisonment for +being one of a gang who had murdered a Chedipe for being a sorceress. + +In the Godavari district, a sorcerer known as the Ejjugadu (male +physician) is believed, out of spite or for payment, to kill another +by invoking the gods. He goes to a green tree, and there spreads +muggu or chunam (lime) powder, and places an effigy of the intended +victim thereon. He also places a bow and arrow there, and recites +certain spells, and calls on the gods. The victim is said to die in +a couple of days. But, if he understands that the Ejjugadu has thus +invoked the gods, he may inform another Ejjugadu, who will carry out +similar operations under another tree. His bow and arrow will go to +those of the first Ejjugadu, and the two bows and arrows will fight +as long as the spell remains. The man will then be safe. The second +Ejjugadu can give the name of the first, though he has never known him. + +"The leading man," the Rev. J. Cain writes, "of the Koyi samatu is +called the Samatu Dora, and he is assisted by two others, who are +called Pettandarulu. The duties of the Samatu Dora are to preside over +all meetings, to settle all tribal disputes, and to inflict fines +for all breaches of caste rules, of which fines he always receives +a certain share. The office is not necessarily hereditary, and the +appointment is generally confirmed by the landlord of the majority +of the villages, be the landlord the Zemindar or the Government." + +The Koyis say that their dance is copied from Bhima's march after a +certain enemy. The dance is described by Mr. G. F. Paddison as being +"a very merry business. They sing for a couple of beats, and then take +two steps round, and sing again. They first sang to us a song in their +own lingo, and then broke into Telugu 'Dora Babu yemi istavu'--What +will the great man give us? They then burst into a delightful Autolycus +song, 'Will you give us a cloth, a jewel for the hair?' and so on." + +For the following account of a dance at the Bhudevi Pandaga festival +at Ankagudem in the Polavaram taluk of the Godavari district, I am +indebted to Mr. N. E. Marjoribanks. "Permission having been given +to dance in our presence, the whole village turned out, and came to +our camp. First came about half a dozen young men, got up in their +best clothes, with big metal ear-rings, basket caps adorned with +buffalo horns and pendants of peacock skins (the neck feathers), and +scanty torn cloths, and provided, some with barrel-shaped tom-toms, +others with old rusty flintlocks, and swords. Next came all the adult +women, two by two, each pair clasping hands, and hanging on to the +next pair by holding their waist-cloths with their free hands. The +young men kept up a steady monotonous beat on their drums, and went +through various pantomimes of the chase, e.g., shooting and cutting +up an animal, or a fight between two bulls. The women sang a chaunt, +and came along slowly, taking one step back after two steps forwards, +copied by the village old men, women, and children. At the camp, the +women went round in this fashion in circles, the pantomime among the +men continuing, and each vying with the others in suggesting fresh +incidents. The women then went through a series of figures. First +the older ones stood in a circle with their arms intertwined, +and the younger girls perched aloft, standing astraddle on their +shoulders. Like this the circle proceeded half round, and then back +again till some of the smaller girls looked as if they would split in +half, their discomfort causing great merriment among the others. Next +all stood in a circle, and jumped round, two steps one way and then +back. This was varied by a backwards and forwards movement, the +chaunt continuing all the time. Inam (present of money) having been +duly disbursed, the double chain of women went round the camp twice, +and made off to the village, all standing and raising a shout twice as +they turned out of the circle to go. The next day, we were told that +the men of the village were all going hunting in the forest. About the +middle of the day, we saw a procession approaching as on the previous +day, but it consisted entirely of women, the drummers and swordsmen +being women dressed up as men. The chaunt and dance were as before, +except that the pantomime abounded in the most indecent gestures and +attitudes, all illustrative of sexual relations. One girl slipped +(or pretended to) and fell. Whereupon, one of those playing a man's +part fell upon her to ravish her. A rescue ensued amidst roars of +merriment, and the would-be ravisher was in process of being stripped +when our modesty compelled us to call an interval. In the evening the +men returned unsuccessful, and, we were told (but did not see it), +were pelted with dung and rubbish. The next day they went out again, +and so did we. Our beats yielded nothing, and we returned to find to +our horror the women of the village awaiting our return. Fortunately +we had noticed some whistling teal on a tank, and had shot some for +the pot. I verily believe this glorious bag was our salvation from +dire humiliation. The same dance and antics were repeated round +the bodies of the two tigers and panther that we shot during our +stay. The Koyis insisted on singeing the whiskers of the beasts, +saying we should never get any more if this was not done. Of course +we reduced the ceremony to the barest form." I gather that, if the +Koyis shoot a sambar (deer) or 'bison,' the head is stuck up on the +outskirts of the village, and there are very few villages, which have +not got one or two such trophies. Besides beating for game, the Koyis +sit up at night over salt-licks or water, and thus secure their game." + +It is recorded in the Catalogue Raisonné of Oriental Manuscripts [25] +that "the Coya people reside within their forest boundaries. If any +traveller attempt to pluck fruit from any tree, his hand is fastened +to the spot, so that he cannot move; but if, on seeing any one of +the Coya people, he calls out to that person, explaining his wishes, +and gets permission, then he can take the fruit and move away, while +the Coya forester, on the receipt of a small roll of tobacco leaf, is +abundantly gratified. Besides which, the Coya people eat snakes. About +forty years since, a Brahman saw a person cooking snakes for food, and, +expressing great astonishment, was told by the forester that these were +mere worms; that, if he wished to see a serpent, one should be shown +him; but that, as for themselves, secured by the potent charms taught +them by Ambikesvarer, they feared no serpents. As the Brahman desired +to see this large serpent, a child was sent with a bundle of straw +and a winnowing fan, who went, accompanied by the Brahman, into the +depths of the forest, and, putting the straw on the mouth of a hole, +commenced winnowing, when smoke of continually varying colours arose, +followed by bright flame, in the midst of which a monstrous serpent +having seven heads was seen. The Brahman was speechless with terror +at the sight, and, being conducted back by the child, was dismissed +with presents of fruits." + +The Mission school at Dummagudem in the Godavari district, where the +Rev. J. Cain has laboured so long and so well, was primarily intended +for Koyis, but I gather that it has been more successful in dealing +with the Malas. In 1905, the lower primary school at Butchampet in +the Kistna district was chiefly attended by Koyi children. + +Koyippuram.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a +sub-division of Nayar. + +Krishnavakakkar.--The Krishnavakakkars are, in Travancore, practically +confined to the southern taluks of Eraniel and Kalkulam. The caste +name literally means belonging to Krishna, but probably means nothing +more than belonging to the pastoral class, as the titular suffixes, +Ayan and Acchi, to the names of males and females, found in the early +settlement accounts of the State, indicate. In modern times the title +Pillai has been adopted. By some castes, e.g., the Shanars, they are +called Kuruppu. + +The tradition is that, in ancient times, a large section of them +migrated from Ambadi, the place of Krishna's nativity and early +childhood, to Conjeeveram, in the vicinity of which place there is +still a village called Ayarpati. Here they resided for some time, +and then seventy-two families, seeking fresh fields and pastures new, +proceeded to Kerala, and presented an image of Krishna, which they +had brought from northern India to the reigning king Maharaja Udaya +Martanda Varma. According to another account, the recipient of the +image was one Pallivana Perumal at an earlier date. The Maharaja, +according to the legend, observing the interesting customs of the +immigrants, and especially their devotion to Krishna, called them +Krishnanvaka, and ordered them to serve in the temple of Krishna +(Tiruvampadi within the pagoda of Sri Padmanabha at Trivandrum). Their +leader was given the title of Ananthapadmanabha Kshetra Pallava +Rayan. This migration is supposed to have occurred in the first year of +the Malabar era. A neet, or royal grant, engraved on a copper plate, +was issued to them, by which they were entrusted with the management +of the temple, and commanded to live at Vanchiyur in Trivandrum. In +the pollution consequent on a birth or death among the seventy-two +families, the image of Krishna, which they had brought, was believed +to share for three days as a distant relation, and, in consequence, +the daily ceremonies at the temple were constantly interrupted. They +were told to remove to a place separated from Trivandrum by at least +three rivers, and settled in the Eraniel and Kalkulam taluks. They +were, as a tax in kind for lands given to them for cultivation, +ordered to supply peas for the Tiruvampati temple. During the reign of +Martanda Varma the Great, from 904 to 933 M.E., successive neets were +issued, entrusting them with diverse duties at this temple. Such, +briefly, is the tradition as to the early history of the caste in +Travancore. The title Pallava Rayan (chief of the Pallavans) seems +to indicate the country, from which they originally came. They must +have been originally a pastoral class, and they probably proceeded +from Conjeeveram, the capital of the Pallavas, to Travancore, where, +being worshippers of Vishnu, they were entrusted with the discharge +of certain duties at the shrine of Krishna in Trivandrum. + +The Krishnavakakkar are not strict vegetarians, as fish constitutes +a favourite diet. Intoxicating liquors are forbidden, and rarely +drunk. In respect to clothing and ornaments, those who follow the +makkathayam system of inheritance (from father to son) differ from +those who follow the marumakkathayam system (through the female line), +the former resembling the Vellalas in these matters, and the latter +the Nayars. The only peculiarity about the former is the wearing +of the mukkuthi (nose ornament), characteristic till recently of +all Nayar women in south Travancore, in addition to the ordinary +ornaments of Chettis and other Tamilians. Widows, too, like the +latter, are dressed in white, and the pampadam and melitu in the +ears form their only ornaments. They tie up their hair, not in front +like Nayar women, nor at the back like Tamil women, but in the middle +line above the crown--the result of a blend between an indigenous and +exotic custom. The hair is passed through a cadjan ring secured by a +ring of beads, and wound round it. The ring is decorated with arali +(Nerium odorum) flowers. Tattooing was very common among women in +former times, but is going out of fashion. + +They worship both Siva and Vishnu, and special adoration is paid to +Subramaniya, for whose worship a great shrine is dedicated at Kumara +Koil. Sasta, Bhutattan, and Amman have small shrines, called ilankams, +dedicated to them. They live in large groups, each presided over +by a headman called Karyastan, who is assisted by an accountant and +treasurer. The offices are elective, and not hereditary. Their priest +is known as Karnatan or Asan. At present there is apparently only one +family of Karnatans, who live at Mepra in the Eraniel taluk. The female +members of this priestly family are known as Mangalyama, and do not +intermarry or feed with the general community. The marumakkathayam +Krishnavakakkar speak Malayalam, while the makkathayis speak a very +corrupt Tamil dialect intermixed with Malayalam. + +The names of the seventy-two houses of the caste are remembered, like +the gotras of the Brahmans, and marriage between members of the same +house are absolutely forbidden. Among the marumakkathayam section, +the talikettu is celebrated in childhood, and supplemented by the +actual wedding after the girl reaches puberty. On the marriage day, +the bridegroom goes in procession to the house of the bride, sword +in hand, and martially clad, probably in imitation of Krishna on +his marriage expedition to the Court of Kundina. On the third day +of the marriage ceremonies, the bride's party go to the house of the +bridegroom with an air of burning indignation, and every effort is made +to appease them. They finally depart without partaking of the proffered +hospitality. On the seventh day, the newly-married couple return to the +bride's house. The custom is said to be carried out as symbolising +the act of bride-capture resorted to by their ancestor Krishna +in securing the alliance of Rukmani. It is generally believed that +fraternal polyandry once prevailed among these people, and even to-day +a widow may be taken as wife by a brother of the deceased husband, +even though he is younger than herself. Issue, thus procreated, +is the legitimate issue of the deceased, and acquires full right of +inheritance to his property. If one brother survives the deceased, +his widow is not required to remove her marriage ornament during life. + +The origin of the marumakkathayam custom is alleged to have been that +the first immigrants came with a paucity of women, and had to contract +alliances with the indigenous Travancoreans. At the present day only +about a hundred families follow the law of inheritance through the +female line. Their children are known by the name of the mother's +illam (house). The male, but not the female members of makkathayam and +marumakkathayam sections, will eat together. A daughter, in default +of male issue, succeeds to the property of her father, as opposed to +his widow. The Krishnavakakkar believe that, in these matters, they +imitate the Pandavas. A peculiar feature of their land-tenure is what +is known as utukuru--a system which exists to a smaller extent among +the Shanars of Eraniel and the adjacent taluks. In the ayakkettu or old +settlement register, it is not uncommon to find one garden registered +in the name of several persons quite unconnected with each other by any +claim of relationship. In some instances the ground is found registered +in the name of one person, and the trees on it in the name of another. + +The dead are generally cremated, and the ashes taken to the foot of +a milky tree, and finally thrown into the sea. On the sixteenth day, +the Asan is invited to perform the purificatory ceremony. A quantity +of paddy (unhusked rice), raw rice, and cocoanuts, are placed on a +plantain leaf with a cup of gingelly (Sesamum) oil, which is touched +by the Asan, and poured into the hands of the celebrants, who, after +an oil bath, are free from pollution. [26] + +Kshatriya.--The second, or ruling and military caste of the four +castes of Manu. In the Madras Census Report, 1891, it is recorded +that "the term Kshatriya is, of course, wholly inapplicable to the +Dravidian races, who might with as much, perhaps more, accuracy +call themselves Turks. There possibly are a few representatives +of the old Kshatriya castes, but the bulk of those who figure in +the returns under this head are pure Dravidian people. The claim +to the title is not confined to the old military classes desirous +of asserting their former position, for we find it put forward by +such castes as Vannias and Shanans, the one a caste of farmers and +labourers, the other toddy-drawers. It is not possible to distribute +these pseudo-Kshatriyas among their proper castes, as 70,394 of them +have given Kshatriya as the sub-division also." It is noted, in the +Madras Census Report, 1901, that "Parasurama is said to have slain +all the Kshatriyas seven times over, but 80,000 persons have returned +themselves as such in this Presidency alone. Strictly speaking, there +are very few persons in the Presidency who have any real title to +the name, and it has been returned mainly by the Pallis or Vanniyas +of Vizagapatam, Godavari, and Chingleput, who say they are Agnikula +Kshatriyas, by the Shanans of Tinnevelly, and by some Mahratis in +South Canara. In Tinnevelly, Kammas and Balijas have also returned +the name." It is further recorded, in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, +that the castes grouped under the head Kshatriya are "the Arasus, +Rajaputs, Coorgs, and Sikhs. To the Arasu section belongs the Royal +Family of Mysore." Some Rachevars style themselves Arya Kshatriyalu. + +For the following note on Malayala 'Kshatriyas,' I am indebted +to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. There is an old Sanskrit verse, which +describes eight classes of Kshatriyas as occupying Kerala from very +early times, namely, Bhupala or Maharaja, as those of Travancore and +Cochin, Rajaka or Raja, as those of Mavelikkara and Cranganore, Kosi +or Koil Tampuran, Puravan or Tampan, Sri Purogama or Tirumulppad, +Bhandari or Pandarattil, Audvahika or Tirumulppad, and Cheta or +Samanta. The Samantas cannot be looked upon as Malayala Kshatriyas +proper. The indigenous Kshatriyas of Kerala are divided into four +well distinguishable septs, viz., the Koil Pandala, the Raja, the +Tampan; and the Tirumulppad. The total number of Malayala Kshatriyas +in Travancore is 1,575, the largest number living in the taluks of +Tiruvella, Vaikam, and Mavelikara. Tampans live mostly at Vaikam, +and Tirumulppads at Shertallay and Tiruvella. The remaining two septs +are not so much caste septs as isolated groups of families. Koil +Pandala literally means the keeper of the royal treasury. Tampan +is a corruption of Tampuran, the latter being a title directly +applied to the Rajas, while the term Tirumulppad, in its literal +sense, conveys the idea of those who wait before kings. Women are +known as Tumpurattis in the first two, as Tampattis in the third, +and Nampishthatiris in the fourth division. The Pantalam Rajas have +the title of Sriviradhara, and those of Mullanikkadu of Narasimha. + +According to immemorial tradition, Koil Tampurans were the nephews of +the Cheraman Perumals or viceroys of Chera, who ruled at Cranganore, +their earliest residence being Beypore in British Malabar, where +three or four families of this sept lived at the beginning of the +Christian era. From one of these families, male members were invited +about 300 M.E., for marrying the ladies of the Venadswarupam, i.e., +the Travancore royal house. They began to live at Kilimanur in the +Chirayinkil taluk, six miles from Attingal, where the female members of +the royal family permanently resided. In 963 M.E., the year in which +Tipu Sultan invaded Malabar, eight persons, five females and three +males, belonging to the Alyankodu Kovilakam in North Malabar fled, +and found shelter in Travancore. All their expenses were commanded to +be met from the State treasury. As the five women were only cousins +and not uterine sisters, one of them removed herself to the rural +village Kirtipuram near Kandiyur in the Mavelikkara taluk, and thence +to Gramam, a little further in the interior. Another, in course of +time, settled at Pallam in Kottayam, and a third at Paliyakkara +in Tiruvella, while the fourth, having no issue, stayed with the +youngest at the Nirazhi palace of Changanacheri. This last lady gave +birth to five children, being three females and two males. The first +of these branches removed to Anantapuram in Kartikapalli in 1040, +and the second to Chemprol in Tiruvella in 1041, while the third +continued to reside at Changanacheri. After 1040 M.E., three more +Koil Pandala families immigrated from British Malabar, and settled +at Cherukol, Karamma, and Vatakkematham. These, however, are not so +important as the previous ones. As already stated, the Kilimanur Koil +Tampurans were among these the earliest settlers in Travancore, and +a whole property (revenue village) was granted to them in freehold +in 1728 A.D., in recognition of the sacrifice a member of the family +made in saving the life of a Travancore prince from the murderous +attack of the Ettuveetil Pillamar. The first family of Kolasvarupam +Rajas immigrated into Travancore in the fifth century M.E. As the +Travancore royal house then stood in need of adoption, arrangements +were made through a Koil Tampuran of the Tattari Kovilakam to bring +two princesses for adoption from Kolattunad, and the first family of +Rajas, known as the Putupalli Kovilakam, settled at Kartikapalli. The +family is now extinct, as the last member died in 1033 M.E. The next +family that migrated was Cheriyakovilakam between 920 and 930, also +invited for purposes of adoption. These latter lived at Aranmula. The +third series of migrations were during the invasion of Malabar by Tipu +Sultan in 964 M.E., when all the Rajas living at the time went over +to Travancore, though, after the disturbance was over, many returned +home. The Rajas of the Kolasvarupam began to settle permanently +in the country, as they could claim relationship with the reigning +sovereigns, and were treated by them with brotherly affection. There +were only two branches at the beginning, namely, Pallikovilakam and +Udayamangalam. The families of Mavelikara, Ennaykkad and Prayikkara +are divisions of the Chengakkovilakam house. The Udayamangalam house +has branched off into three divisions, Mittil, whose descendants now +live at Mariyapalli, Nedumprum, and Kartikapalli. Naduvilekkovilakam +members live at Perinjel in Aranmula, and Cheriyakovilakam, whose +members are divided into five other families, in the same locality. No +branch of the Udayamangalam house resides in British Malabar. Some of +these branches even now own large estates in that collectorate. There +are two other important families of Rajas in Travancore, viz., those +of Pantalam and Punjat. Both of them are believed to have been related +to the early Pandyan kings. The reason alleged for the immigration +of the Pantalam Rajas into Travancore is the persecution of a Nayak +minister in mediæval times, who compelled them to change their mode of +inheritance from marumakkathayam (in the female line) to makkathayam +(from father to son), and then marry his daughter. They are supposed to +have sojourned at Sivagiri and Tenkasi in the Tinnevelly district on +their way to Travancore. Ilattur in the Shenkottah taluk originally +belonged to them, but was afterwards taken over by Travancore in +default of payment of the annual subsidy. Tampans are believed +by tradition to have had territorial sovereignty in Kerala, until +they were deprived of it by the Ilayetasvarupam kings. This does not +appear to have any basis of truth, as the Ilayetasvarupam kings lived +in Central Travancore, while the Tampans live in the north, where +the former are never known to have led any invasion. In mediæval +times, both Tampans and Tirumalppads were invariably commanders of +armies. With the invasion of Malabar by Tipu Sultan, many sought +refuge in the kingdom of Travancore, and continued to live here after +the passing of the storm. + +The Malayala Kshatriyas are as a class learned. Both men and women +are, in the main, accomplished Sanskrit scholars. Mr. Kerla Varma, +C.S.I., Valiyakoil Tampuran, a finished poet and an accomplished +patron of letters, and Mr. Ravi Varma, the talented artist, are both +Koil Tampurans. The houses of the Koil Tampurans and Rajas are known +as kottarams or kovilakams, i.e., palaces, while those of the Tampans +and Tirumalppads are known as kovilakams and mathams. The Malayala +Kshatriyas resemble the Brahmans in their food and drink. The males +dress like the Nambutiris, while the dress and ornaments of the +women are like those of other classes in Malabar There are, however, +three special ornaments which the Kshatriya ladies particularly wear, +viz., cheru-tali, entram, and kuzhal. The Koil Pandalas and Rajas +are landlords of considerable wealth, and a few have entered the +Civil Service of the State. The Tampans and Tirumalppads, besides +being landlords and agriculturists, are personal servants of the +ruling families of Kerala, the latter holding this position to even a +greater extent than the former. The Kshatriya personal attendants of +the Maharajas of Travancore serve them with characteristic fidelity +and devotion. + +The Malayala Kshatriyas are a particularly religious community. In +a place within their houses, called tevarappura or the room for +religious worship, the Vaishnavite salagrama and Saivite linga are +kept together with the images of other deities, and Brahmans officiate +at their worship. Ganapati puja (worship), and antinamaskaram are +regularly observed. + +As all the Koil Tampurans belong to one sept or gotra, that of +Visvamitra, and all the Rajas to another, that of Bhargava, neither +of these divisions are permitted to marry among themselves. The +Tirumalppads also, with their local divisions such as Ancherri, +Koyikkal, Plamtanam, and Kannezham, own Visvamitra, and hence do not +marry among themselves. As for the Tampans, all the families belonging +to that group trace their descent to a common ancestor, and belong to +the same sept as the Koil Tampurans and Tirumalppads. As a consequence, +while the Koil Tampurattis are married to Nambutiri husbands, the Koil +Tampurans themselves take wives from the families of Rajas. Rajas +may keep Nayar or Samanta ladies as mistresses, the same being the +case with the Tampans and Tirumalppads also. The Ranis of Pantalam +take Nambutiri husbands, while Tampan and Tirumalppad women live +with any class of Brahmans. No Kshatriya lady is permitted to leave +her home for that of her husband, and so no grihaprevesa ceremony +prevails among them. Thirteen is the proper age for marrying girls, +but the marriage may be postponed until the choice of a fit husband +is made. In the branches of the Kolattunad family, girls who attain +puberty as maids are obliged to keep a vow, in honour of Ganapati. + +The Tampan and Tirumalppad women, as also those of the Pantalam family, +have their talis (marriage badge) tied by Aryappattars. Remarriage of +widows is permitted. Polygamy is rare. Divorce may take place at the +will of either party, and prevails largely in practice. The Rajas make +a donation of Rs. 50 to 70 as stridhanam, excepting those of Pantalam, +who only pay about Rs. 35. + +Some time before the auspicious hour for the marriage of a Koil +Tampuratti, the Brahmanipattu, or recitation of certain Puranic songs +by a female of the Brahmani caste, begins. Four lighted lamps are +placed in the middle of the hall, with a fifth dedicated to Ganapati in +the centre. While these songs are being sung, the bride appears in the +tattu dress with a brass minu and a bunch of flowers in her hand, and +sits on a wooden seat kept ready for the purpose. The songs generally +relate to the conception of Devaki, and the birth of Krishna. Then +a Nayar of the Illam sept waves a pot containing cocoanut, flowers, +burning wicks, etc., before the bride, after which she rises to wash +her feet. At this point the bridegroom arrives, riding on an elephant, +with a sword in his hand, and the procession is conducted with much +ceremony and ostentation. He then bathes, and two pieces of cloth, +to be worn by him thereafter, are touched by the bride. Wearing them, +the bridegroom approaches the bride, and presents her with a suit of +clothes known as the mantrakoti. One of the clothes is worn as a tattu, +and with the other the whole body is covered. The mother of the bride +gives her a brass mirror and a garland, both of which she takes in +her hand to the altar where the marriage is to be performed. After +the punyaha, accompanied by a few preliminary homas or sacrifices +to the fire, by the Nambutiri family priest, the first item in the +ceremony, known as mukhadarsana or seeing each other, begins. The +bride then removes the cloth covering her body. The next events are +udakapurva, panigrahana, and mangalyadharana, which are respectively +the presentation by the bride of water to the bridegroom, his taking +her hand in token of the union, and tying the tali round the neck of +the bride. The next item is the saptapadi (seven feet), and the last +dikshaviruppu, peculiar to the Malayalam Kshatriyas. A particular room +is gaily decorated, and a long piece of white cotton cloth is spread +on the floor. Upon this a black carpet is spread, and a lighted lamp, +which should never be extinguished, placed in the vicinity. The +bride has to remain in this room throughout the marriage. On the +marriage night commences the aupasana, or joint sacrifice to the +fire. On the fourth day are the mangalasnana or auspicious bath, +and procession through the town. On that night consummation takes +place. The procession of the bridegroom (mappilapurappat) to the house +of the bride is a noticeable item. The brother of the bride receives +him at the gate, and, after washing his feet, informs him that he may +bathe and marry the girl. The uduku-purva rite is performed by the +brother himself. When the bridegroom leaves the marriage hall with +the bride, an armed Pandala stops them, and a fixed present is given +to him. Every rite is performed according to the method prescribed by +Bodhayana among the Koil Tampurans and Rajas, the family at Pantalam +alone following the directions of Asvalayana. On the fourth day, +the contracting couple bathe, and wear clothes previously dipped in +turmeric water. At night, while the Brahmani song is going on, they +sit on a plank, where jasmine flowers are put on, and the goddess +Bhagavathi is worshipped. The bride's maternal uncle ties a sword +round her loins, which is immediately untied by the bridegroom in +token of the fact that he is her future supporter. Panchamehani is +a peculiar rite on the fifth day, when an atti (Ficus, sp.) tree is +decorated, and an offering of food made on the grass before it. The +couple also make a pretence of catching fish. In modern times, +the Pantalam Rajas do not patronise the songs of the Brahmani, and, +among them, the panchamehani is conspicuous by its absence. + +Women are in theory the real owners of property, though in practice +the eldest male has the management of the whole. There is no division +of property, but, in some cases, certain estates are specially +allotted for the maintenance of specific members. The authorities +of the Malayala Kshatriyas in all matters of social dispute are the +Nambutiri Vaidikas. + +When a girl reaches puberty, she is kept in a room twelve feet apart +from the rest for a period of three days. On the fourth day, after +a bath, she puts on a new cloth, and walks, with a brass mirror +in her hand, to her house. Among the Kolattunad Rajas there are a +few additional rites, including the Brahmani's song. The pumsavana +and simanta are performed by the family priest. On the birth of a +child, the jatakarma is performed, when women mix honey and clarified +butter with gold, to be given to the child. On the twelfth day, the +Nambutiri priest performs the namakarna, after a purifying ceremony +which terminates the birth pollution. The eldest child is generally +named Raja Raja Varma. Udaya Varma and Martanda Varma are names found +among the Rajas, but absent among the Koil Tampurans. Martanda Varma +was once exclusively used only among the members of the Travancore +Royal Family. The full style and titles of the present Maharaja of +Travancore are His Highness the Maharaja Sir Sri Padmanabha Dasa +Vanchi Bala Rama Varma, Kulasekhara Kiritapati Sultan Manne Maharaja +Raja Ramaraja Bahadur Samsher Jung, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E. Raghava Varma +is a name peculiar to the Pantalam Rajas. Women are, as in the case of +Tirumalppads and Tampans, called Amba, Ambika, Ambalika, Mangala, etc. + +The annaprasana and nishkramana are performed consecutively on the +same day. The mother takes the child to the foot of a jak (Artocarpus +integrifolia) tree, and, going thrice round it, touches it with the leg +of the child, and then dips a golden ring in the payasa, and applies +it to the child's lips. The same act is then repeated by the maternal +uncle, father, and next of kin. The Yatrakali is attended with much +éclat during the night. The upanayana, or investiture with the sacred +thread, takes place as late as the sixteenth year. As a preliminary +rite on the same day, the chaula or tonsure ceremony is performed. It +is formally done by the Nambutiri priest in the capacity of guru or +preceptor, and left to be completed by the Maran. The priest then +invests the boy with the thread, and, with the sacrificial fire +as lord and witness, initiates him into the Gayatri prayer. All +Kshatriyas are obliged to repeat this prayer ten times morning +and evening. On the fourth day, the youth listens to a few Vaidic +hymns recited by the priest. There is not the prolonged course of +discipline of a Brahmanical Brahmachari, such as the Nambutiris so +religiously observe. The samavartana, or completion of the pupilage +ceremony, takes place on the fourth day. The ceremony of proceeding +to Benares, the pre-eminent seat of learning in ancient days, which is +the natural after-event of the Vaidic pupilage, is then gone through, +as in the case of Brahmans. A would-be father-in-law intercedes, and +requests the snataka to bless his daughter, and settle in life as a +grihastha. The Nambutiri priest then reminds the boy of his duty as +a Kshatriya, and gives him a sword as a symbol of his pre-ordained +function in society. He then becomes a grihastha, and may chew betel +leaf. The Saivite panchakshara, and the Vaishnavite ashtakshara are +also taught, and are invariably recited after the performance of the +daily duties. For girls only the chaula is performed, and that along +with her marriage. On the occasion of birthdays, the family priest +performs the ayushya homa, and shashtipurti, or celebration of the +sixtieth birthday, is also observed as an important religious occasion. + +The funeral ceremonies are almost the same as those of Nambutiris. When +a Koil Tampuran dies, he is placed on the bare floor, some hymns +being recited in his ears. The corpse is placed on a stretcher made +of plantain stems, and the head is touched with a razor in token of +shaving. It is bathed, covered with a new cloth, and decorated with +flowers and sandal paste. Kusa grass is received at the hands of +a Maran. The funeral rites are performed by the nephews. Pollution +is observed for eleven days and nights. A religious vow is observed +for a year. The offering to the spirit of the deceased is not in the +form of cooked food, but of presents to Brahmans. All the Malayala +Kshatriyas are adherents of the Yajur-veda. The anniversary of +maternal grandmothers, and even sisters is punctiliously observed. If +a maternal aunt or grandaunt dies without children, their sraddhas +must be performed as for the rest. + +The Malayala Kshatriyas hold rank next to the Brahmans, and above the +Ilayatus. They are permitted to take their meal in the same row with +the Brahmans, and receive prasada from the temples directly from the +priest, and standing at the right side of the inner gate. + +Further information concerning the Malayala Kshatriyas is contained +in an article by Mr. K. Rama Varma Raja, [27] who concludes +as follows:--"The Kshatriya community is an intermediate caste +between the Brahmin (Namburi) and the Sudra (Nair) classes, and has +affinities to both; to the former in matters of ablution, ceremonies, +food and drink, and to the latter in those of real matrimonial +relations and inheritance, i.e., the constitution and propagation +of the family.... The intermediate caste must be the Aryans more +Dravidianised, or the Dravidians more Aryanised, that is, the Aryans +degraded or the Dravidians elevated, more probably the latter." + +It is recorded, [28] in a note on the ancestry of the Rajas of Jeypore, +that "the family chronicles ascribe a very ancient origin to the line +of the Jeypore Zamindars. Beginning with Kanakasena of the solar race, +a general and feudatory of the king of Kashmir, they trace the pedigree +through thirty-two generations down to Vinayaka Deo, a younger son, +who left Kashmir rather than hold a subordinate position, went to +Benares, did penance to Kasi Visvesvarasvami there, and was told by +the god in a dream to go to the kingdom of Nandapuram belonging to +the Silavamsam line, of which he would become king. Vinayaka Deo, +continues the legend, proceeded thither, married the king's daughter, +succeeded in 1443 A.D. to the famous throne of thirty-two steps there, +and founded the family of Jeypore. Vinayaka Deo and his six successors, +say the family papers, had each only one son, and the sixth of them, +Vira Vikrama (1637-69) accordingly resolved to remove his residence +elsewhere. The astrologers and wise men reported that the present +Jeypore was 'a place of the Kshatriya class,' and it was accordingly +made the capital, and named after the famous Jeypore of the north." + +The Maharaja of Mysore belongs to the Arasu caste of Kshatriyas. + +Kshauraka.--A Sanskrit name for barber, by which barbers of various +classes--Mangala, Ambattan, Kelasi, etc.--are sometimes called. It is +commonly used by Canarese-speaking barbers of the Madras Presidency +and Mysore. + +Kshetravasinah (those who live in temples).--A name for Ambalavasis. + +Kudaikatti (basket-making).--A sub-division of Palli or Vanniyan. At +the census, 1901, some Koravas also returned themselves as Kudaikatti +Vanniyan. + +Kudan.--For the following note on the Kudans, or "Kootans" of the +west coast, I am indebted to Mr. L. K. Anantha Krishna Aiyar [29]:-- + +The Kootans are agricultural labourers, and take part in every kind of +work connected with agriculture, such as turning the soil, ploughing, +sowing, manuring, weeding, transplanting, and the like. As soon as the +monsoon is over, they work in gardens, turning the soil, watering, +and fencing. They form one of the divisions of the slave castes, +working under some landlord or farmer for a daily wage of an edangazhy +of paddy (unhusked rice) during the rainy months of June, July, and +August and of two edangazhis during the other months of the year. They +receive, for the Onam and Vishu festivals, a para of paddy, some salt, +cocoanuts, oil, and chillies. On the day of the village festival, every +male gets a mundu (cloth) or two, and every female a kacha (cloth) +or two, in addition to toddy and arrack (spirituous liquor), and the +other articles mentioned above. They dress themselves in their cloths, +and are treated to a sumptuous dinner. With shouts of joy, they attend, +and take part in the village festival. When they fall ill, they are +properly looked after by their masters, both on account of their good +feelings towards them, and also of the loss of work they may have to +sustain, should they be laid up for a long time. Whenever a landlord +or farmer has more men than he can afford to give work and wages to, +he generally lends their services to some one else on a pattom of +four paras of paddy a year for a male, and three for a female. The new +master gives them work and wages, and sends them back when they are no +longer wanted. Should a Kootan run away from his master, he is brought +back either by threat or mild word; but, should these fail, there is +no remedy to force him back. In spite of the abolition of slavery +some sixty years ago, the Kootans are in a state of bondage. They +live in small huts with insufficient food, plodding on from day to +day with no hope of improving their condition. Their huts are erected +on four bamboo posts. The roofs are thatched, and the sides protected +by mud walls, or covered with palm leaves. A bamboo framework, with +similar leaves, serves the purpose of a door. There is a verandah in +front. The Kootans have a few earthen and bamboo utensils for domestic +use. They take rice kanji (gruel) prepared the previous night, with +salt and chillies. They have some leisure at midday, during which +they go to their huts, and take kanji with a fish or two boiled in +it, or sometimes with some vegetable curry. At night, boiled rice, +or kanji with fish or curry made of vegetables from their kitchen +garden, form their chief food. All their provisions are acquired by +exchange of paddy from a petty shop-keeper in their vicinity. + +They eat and drink at the hands of all castes except Paraiyans, +Pulayans, Ulladans, and Nayadis. In some parts of the State, they +approach the houses of Izhuvas, and no other castes eat with them. They +have to keep at a distance of forty-eight feet from all high-caste +Hindus. They are polluted by Pulayas, Nayadis, and Ulladans, who +have to stand at some distance from them. They may take water from +the wells of Mappillas. They are their own barbers and washermen, +and may approach the temple of their village goddess Kali on some +special days, while, at other times, they have to stand far away. + +When a girl attains puberty, she is lodged in a corner of the hut. The +inmates thereof may neither touch nor approach her on the score of +pollution. Four or seven girls, who are invited, bathe the girl on +the first day. The pollution lasts for seven days, and, on the morning +of the seventh day, seven girls take her to a tank (pond) or river to +bathe. A kai-bali is waved round her face, and, as she bathes, it is +floated on the water. On their return to the hut, the girls are fed, +and allowed to depart with a present of an anna each. Their relatives, +and others who are invited, are well entertained. A kai-bali is an +offering held in the hand of a woman, and may take the form of a +sacrificed fowl, plantain fruits, boiled rice, etc. + +Girls are generally married after puberty. A Kootan can enter into +a sambandham (alliance) with a woman of his own caste, or with a +Pulaya woman. He has to bathe before he returns to his hut, if he +should stay for the night with a woman of the latter caste. This +proves that he belongs to a caste superior to that of the Pulayas, +and the union resembles that of a Brahman with a Sudra woman. Should +a woman of the Kootan caste mate with a Pulaya, she is at once turned +out of caste. A Kootan, who wishes to enter into a sambandham with +a woman of his own or the Pulaya caste, goes to her hut with one or +two of his relations or friends, to recommend him to the parents of +the woman to permit him to enter into conjugal relations with their +daughter, or form kutikuduka. With their permission, they become a +kind of husband and wife. In most cases, the will of the man and the +woman is sufficient for the union. The woman generally stays with her +parents, and very often her lover comes to her with his wages after +the day's hard work, and stays with her for the night. Should she +wish to accompany him to his hut, she does so with her wages in the +evening. They exercise sexual license even before marriage. If a woman +who has no open lover becomes pregnant, her fault is condoned when she +mentions her lover's name. When one dislikes the other for some reason +or other, they separate, and are at liberty to form new unions. Widows +may remarry, and may even associate with their brothers-in-law. The +Kootans follow the marumakkathayam law of inheritance (in the female +line). They have no property, except sometimes a sheep or a few fowls. + +The Kootans believe in magic and sorcery. Mannans and Muhammadan +Mappillas are sometimes consulted, and these dupe them. They profess +the lower forms of Hinduism, and worship the local village deity +(Kali), and the spirits of their ancestors, whom they represent by +means of stones placed on a raised floor under a tree, and to whom +boiled rice, parched grain, toddy, plantain fruits, and cocoanuts +are offered at the Vishu and Onam festivals, and on Karkatakam, +Thulam, and Makara Sankranti. Care is always taken to have the +offerings served separately on leaves, lest the ancestors should +quarrel with one another, and do them harm. Should illness, such +as cholera, small-pox, or fever occur in a family, some fowls and +an anna or two are offered at the temple to the goddess Bhagavathi, +who is believed to be able to save them from the impending calamity. + +When a member of the caste breathes his last, the landlord gives +a spade to dig the grave, an axe or knife for cutting wood to +serve as fuel if the corpse is to be burned, a piece of cloth for +covering the dead body, and also some paddy and millet to meet the +funeral expenses. A cocoanut is broken, and placed on the neck of +the corpse, which is covered with the cloth, and carried on a bier +to the burial-ground, which is sprinkled over with water mixed with +turmeric. When the funeral is over, the people who attended it, +including the relatives and friends of the deceased, bathe, and go +to the hut of the dead person, where they are served with kanji and +toddy, after which they depart. The members of the family, and close +relatives of the deceased, fast for the night. In the case of a man +dying, his nephew is the chief mourner, while, in that of a woman, her +eldest son and daughter are the chief mourners, who do not go to work +for two weeks. The chief mourners bathe in the early morning, cook a +small quantity of rice, and offer it to the spirit of the deceased. It +is eaten up by the crows. This is continued for fourteen days, and, +on the fourteenth night, all fast. On the fifteenth morning, they +regard themselves as having been cleansed from the pollution. All the +castemen of the kara (settlement) are invited, and bring with them +rice, curry-stuffs, and toddy. Their Enangan cleans and sweeps the +hut, while the rest go to the grave-yard, turn the earth, and make +it level. They bathe, and the Enangans sprinkle cow-dung water on the +grave. They return home, and partake of a sumptuous meal, after which +they all take leave of the chief mourner, who observes the diksha, +bathes in the early morning, and offers the bali (ball of rice) +before he goes to work. This he continues for a whole year, after +which he gets shaved, and celebrates a feast in honour of the dead. + +Kudianavar (cultivator).--A name commonly assumed by Pallis and +Vellalas. + +Kudikkar (those who belong to the house).--A name for Deva-dasis +(dancing-girls) in Travancore, who are given a house rent-free by +the Sirkar (Government). + +Kudimaghan (sons of the ryot).--A name for Tamil Ambattans. + +Kudire (horse).--An exogamous sept or gotra of Vakkaliga and +Kurni. Gurram, also meaning horse, has been recorded as an exogamous +sept of Chenchu, Golla, Mala, Padma Sale, and Togata. Gurram Togatas +will not ride on horseback. + +Kudiya.--The Kudiyas or Male (hill) Kudiyas are found at Neriya, +Darmasthala, and Sisila in the South Canara district. Those who +live at the two former places are agrestic slaves of landlords +who own cardamom plantations on the ghats. They live for the most +part in the jungles, beneath rocks, in caves, or in low huts, and +shift from one spot to another. At the season of the cardamom crop, +they come down to the plains once a week with the produce. They are +said to carry off cardamoms to the Mysore frontier, and sell them +fraudulently to contractors or merchants. They make fire traces for +the Forest Department. + +Except in stature, the Kudiyas have not retained the characters of a +primitive race, and, as the result of racial admixture, or contact +metamorphosis, some individuals are to be seen with comparatively +light coloured skins, and mesorhine or leptorhine noses. In the matter +of personal names, septs, and ceremonial observances, they have +been much influenced by other castes. They speak a corrupt form of +Tulu, and say that they follow the aliya santana law of inheritance +(in the female line), though some, especially at Sisala and on the +Mysore frontier, follow the law of succession from father to son +(makkala santana). They are not regarded as a polluting class, and +can enter all parts of their landlords' houses, except the kitchen and +dining-room. They are presided over by a headman, called Gurikara, who +inquires into transgression of caste rules, and assists on ceremonial +occasions. Their chief deities are Bhairava, Kamandevaru, and the +Pancha Pandavas (the five Pandava brothers), but they also believe +in certain bhuthas (devils), such as Male Kallurti and Ambatadaiva. + +The Kudiyas do not object to marriage between a widowed woman and +her eldest son. Among those attached to a landlord at Neriya, two +such cases were pointed out. In one, there was no issue, but in the +other a son had been born to the mother-wife. + +When the arrangement of a match is in contemplation, the father +of the prospective bridegroom goes, accompanied by two women, to +the girl's home, and takes with him betel leaves, areca-nuts, and +gingelly (Sesamum) oil. If the girl's parents consent to the match, +they accept the oil; otherwise they refuse it. The binding part of +the marriage ceremony consists of the bridal couple standing with +their hands united, and the pouring of water thereon by the bride's +father. The Kudiyas who have settled on the plains have adopted the +ceremonial observances of the Bants and other castes. The remarriage +of widows is permitted. There is no elaborate marriage ceremony, +but sometimes the contracting couple stand in the presence of the +headman and a few others, and make a round mark with sandal paste on +each other's foreheads. + +If a member of the tribe dies near the settlement, the body is +cremated, and, if far away therefrom, buried. On the third day, a visit +is paid to the place where cremation took place, and the son or some +near relative of the deceased goes round the spot on which the corpse +was burnt three times, and sprinkles rice thereon thrice. Five leaves +of the teak or plantain, or other big leaves, are spread on the ground, +and fowl's flesh, cooked rice, and vegetables are placed thereon, and +the ancestors are invoked in the words "Oh! old souls, gather up the +new soul, and support it, making it one of you." On the sixteenth day, +food is again offered on leaves. In cases where burial is resorted to, +an effigy of the deceased is made in straw, and burnt. On the third +day, the ashes are taken to the grave, and buried. + +In a note on the Kudiyas of the plains, it is recorded [30] that +"the dead are either burned or buried, the former being the custom in +the case of rich men. On the seventh day after cremation or burial, +a pandal (booth) is erected over the grave or the place of cremation, +and a bleached cloth is spread on it by the washerman. A wick floating +in half a cocoanut shell full of oil is then lighted, and placed at +each corner of the pandal. The relations of the deceased then gather +round the place, and weep, and throw a handful of rice over the spot." + +The Kudiyas are fond of toddy, and eat black monkeys, and the big +red squirrel, which they catch with snares. + +Kudiyalu (farmer).--A synonym for Lambadi, apparently used by members +of the tribe who have settled down to agriculture. + +Kudlukara.--Kudlukara or Kudaldeshkara is a sub-division of Rajapuri. + +Kudubi.--The Kudubis are found mainly in the Kundapur taluk of the +South Canara district. Among themselves, they use Kaluvadi as the caste +name. They say that they are divided into the following sections: Are, +Goa, Jogi, Kodiyal, and Kariya. Of these, the Are, Goa, and Kodiyal +Kudubis are confined to the Kundapur taluk, and the other two sections +are found in villages near Mudbidri. Both the Are and Jogi sections +speak Marathi, and the latter are considered inferior to the former, +who will not eat in their houses. Are women clad themselves in black +or red garments, whereas Jogi women are said to wear white cloths. The +Goa and Kariya Kudubis speak Konkani, and do not mix with the Ares +and Jogis, even for meals. They are much influenced by Brahmanical +priests, by whom they are guided in their ceremonial observances, and +have adopted the dhare form of marriage (see Bant). The Goa Kudubis +say that they emigrated to South Canara owing to the oppression from +which they suffered, bringing with them the sweet potato (Ipomoea +Batatas), cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale), chrysanthemum, and +Indian spinach (Basella alba). Among the Goa Kudubis, an adulterer +has to undergo a curious form of punishment. His head is clean-shaved, +and his moustache removed. He then stands in a pit, and leaf-platters, +off which food has been eaten, are thrown on his head. A money fine +is imposed by the headman. If a woman does not confess her guilt, +she is made to stand in the sun with an iron rod on her shoulders. + +The Are Kudubis have exogamous septs, or wargs. Each warg is said +to have its own god, which is kept in the house of some elderly or +respected member of the sept. A corner of the house, or a special +room, is set apart for the god, and a member of the family is +the pujari (priest). He is expected to do puja to the god every +Monday. Ordinarily, rice, fruits, etc., are offered to it; but, during +the big festival in November-December, fowls are sacrificed. Like +other Marathi castes, the Are Kudubis regard the Holi festival. On +the first day, they collect together, and worship the tulsi katte--a +square structure on which a tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) plant is growing. On +the following days, they go about in detached groups, some males being +dressed up as females, with drums and cymbals, and dance and sing. On +the last day of the festival, rice is cooked, offered with liquor to +Kalabhairava, and eaten. The Are Kudubis sometimes worship bhuthas +(devils), e.g., Jettiga, and Hola Hayaguli. Special reverence is +shown to the tulsi plant, and, at almost every house, it is planted +in a brindhavan or katte. To it vegetables and fruits are offered. + +Girls are married either before or after puberty. Widows are +allowed to remarry, but may not marry a man of the sept to which her +deceased husband belonged. Marriage ceremonies last over five days, +and commence with the ide karuchi, or betrothal, at the house of the +bride-elect. Pan-supari (betel leaves and areca-nuts) is distributed to +at least one member of each warg present according to a recognised code +of precedence, commencing with the Hivelekar warg, which is considered +superior. On the second day, a post made of the wood of the silk-cotton +tree (Bombax malabaricum) is set up beneath the marriage pandal +(booth). The bridegroom and his party go in procession to the bride's +house, where the contracting couple are decorated with jewels, and +turmeric-dyed strings are tied round their necks. The bride's father +ties a kankanam (thread) on his own wrist. The couple stand facing +each other, with a screen stretched between them. After the exchange +of garlands, their hands are joined, and the screen is removed. They +then go five times round the Bombax post and marriage dais, and sit +down. Dhare water is poured over their united hands by the bride's +father. Rice is then thrown over them, and presents are given. The +proceedings terminate with the waving of coloured water, a light, +etc. The dhare ceremony is celebrated at night. On the third day, +the bridal couple go five times round the Bombax post set up at the +bridegroom's house, and take their seats on the dais. Rice is thrown, +and betel leaves and areca-nuts are distributed. On the fourth and +fifth days, the same items are gone through at the bride's house. + +In the case of the remarriage of a widow, the bride and bridegroom +take their seats, and rice is thrown over them. The dhare water is +not poured over their hands. Sometimes, the marriage consists merely +in the holding of a feast. + +The dead are buried in a sitting posture, with the legs crossed +tailor-wise. Before the grave is filled in, a small quantity of +cooked rice is put in the mouth of the corpse. On the third day, +a small mound is made over the grave, and food offered to it. The +final death ceremonies take place on the eleventh day, and consist +in the sprinkling of holy water, and giving presents to Brahmans. By +the prosperous members of the community, a caste feast is given on +the twelfth day. + +The main occupation of the Kudubis is shifting (kumari) +cultivation. Some, however, are employed in the preparation of cutch +(catechu) from the wood of Acacia Catechu, of which the following +account is given by Mr. H. A. Latham [31] of the Forest Department. "In +South Canara, one of our most profitable sources of revenue is the +extract obtained by boiling the wood of the catechu tree. The tree is +confined to the laterite plateaux in the Coondapur taluk, situated +as a rule within 15 miles of the sea, and gradually dies out as we +proceed southwards, until near Coondapur itself the tree will hardly +grow. It appears again to a small extent in the Kasaragod taluk +80 miles further south, but no extraction is done there now. The +extract is astringent, and, besides the other uses it is put to, +it appears to be a remedy for diarrhoea, dysentery, and diabetes. It +is, however, chiefly used for chewing with pan supari. Locally, it +is used pure in small pieces, the size of a pea, and rolled up with +the other ingredients in the betel leaf to form a chew. In Mysore, +the catechu bought by the merchants from us is dissolved in water, +and the areca-nut is, after being boiled and sliced, steeped in the +solution, and then put out in the sun on mats to dry, this operation +being repeated until sufficient catechu has been taken up to form +a red, shining, semi-transparent film, through which the ruminated +albumen of the areca-nut is just visible; the brighter the red colour +so obtained, the better the quality of the nut. As we sell it, the +catechu is in the shape of hard round balls covered with a whitish +dust, the ashes with which the balls are covered to prevent them +adhering to one another. On breaking, the interior of the balls should +show a vitreous conchoidal fracture similar to quartz, and be of a warm +reddish brown colour. The manufacture of catechu is carried out under +departmental supervision by a contractor, who is paid on the outturn, +and is bound, for the actual boiling, to employ only Kudubis. So far +as the department is concerned, a locality where there are plenty of +catechu trees is selected, and all trees over 6 inches in diameter +are allowed to be cut. The contractor has to engage the Kudubis and +select the site for the ovens, conveniently situated both for water +and firewood, and also as close to the majority of catechu trees as +he can get it. The site usually selected is a rice field, for which +the contractor may have to pay a small rent. Generally, however, +no rent is charged, as the owner is only too glad to have the ashes, +obtained in extracting, to plough into his field. On this field the +encampment is made, consisting of rows of thatched huts made of grass +and bamboos. The first thing to do is to erect the ovens, known as +wolle. These are made by a party of men a fortnight or so before the +main body come. The ordinary soil of the field is used, and the ovens +are built to a height of 18 inches, and placed about 5 yards in front +of the huts at irregular distances, 1 or 2 to each hut. The oven is an +oblong, about 2 feet wide by 3 feet long, with two openings above about +1 foot in diameter, on which the boilers, common ovoid earthenware pots +(madike) are placed. The opening for the fire is placed on the windward +side, and extends to the far side of the second opening in the top of +the oven, the smoke, etc., escaping through the spaces between the +boilers and the oven. The earth forms the hearth. To proceed to the +details of the working, the guard and the watcher go out the first +thing in the morning, and mark trees for the Kudubis to cut, noting +the name of the man, the girth and length of the workable stem and +branches. The Kudubi then cuts the tree, and chips off the sapwood, +a ring about 1 inch wide, with his axe, and brings it into the camp, +where a Forester is stationed, who measures the length and girth of +the pieces, and takes the weight of wood brought in. The Kudubi then +takes it off to his shelter, and proceeds to chip it. In the afternoon +he may have to go and get firewood, but generally he can get enough +firewood in a day to serve for several days' boiling. So much for +the men's work. Mrs. Kudubi puts the chips (chakkai) into the pot +nearest the mouth of the oven, and fills it up with water, putting a +large flat wooden spoon on the top, partly to keep the chips down, +and, lighting her fire, allows it to boil. As soon as this occurs, +the pot is tipped into a wooden trough (marige) placed alongside the +oven, and the pot with the chips is refilled. This process is repeated +six times. The contents of the trough are put into the second pot, +which is used purely for evaporating. The contents of this pot are +replenished from the trough with a cocoanut bailer (chippu) until all +the extract obtained from the chips has been evaporated to a nearly +solid residue. The contents are then poured into a broken half pot, +and allowed to dry naturally, being stirred at intervals to enable the +drying to proceed evenly. The extract (rasa) is of a yellowish brown +colour when stirred, the surface being of rich red-brown. This stirring +is done with a one-sided spoon (satuga). To make the balls, the woman +covers her hands with a little wood ash to prevent the extract adhering +to them, and takes up as much catechu as she can close her hands on, +and presses it into shape. These balls are paid for at Rs. 1-2-0 per +100, and are counted before the Forester next morning, and delivered +to the contractor. This ends the work done by the Kudubis. When the +balls have been counted, they are rolled by special men engaged for +the purpose on a board sprinkled with a little wood ash, and this is +repeated daily for three or four days to consolidate them. After this +daily rolling, the balls are spread out in the receiving shed to dry, +in a single layer for the first day or two, and after that they may +be in two layers. After the fourth or fifth day's rolling, they are +put in a pit, and covered with wood ashes on which a little water is +poured, and, on being taken out the next day, are gone over, and all +balls which are soft or broken are then rejected, the good ones being +put on the upper storey of the stone shed to get quite hard and dry." + +Before the commencement of operations, the Kudubis select an Areca +Catechu tree, and place a sword, an axe, and a cocoanut on the +ground near it. They prostrate themselves before the tree, with +hands uplifted, burn incense, and break cocoanuts. The success of +the operations is believed to depend on the good will of a deity +named Siddedevaru. Before the Kudubis commence work, they pray to +him, and make a vow that, if they are successful, they will offer a +fowl. Failure to produce good balls of catechu is attributed to the +wrath of the deity. At the close of the work, if it has prospered, +a kalasam (brass vessel) is set up, and fowls are killed. Sometimes, +goats are sacrificed, cooked food and meat are placed on leaves round +the kalasam, and after worshipping, the viands are partaken of. + +Like some other castes, the Kudubis do not eat new rice until after +the Hosthu (new crop) festival. Just before reaping, a few plants are +plucked, laid in the field, and worshipped. The ears are then cut, and +carried to their houses, where they are tied to pillars or to the roof. + +There are, among the Kudubis, magicians called Gardi, who are sought +after during illness. To show his magical skill, a Gardi should be +able to cut a single grain of rice in twain with a big knife. + +Kudugudukaran.--The Kudugudukarans or Kuduguduppukarans are a mendicant +caste, who beat a small hour-glass-shaped drum while begging from +house to house. + +Kudumala (cake).--An exogamous sept of Bonthuk Savara, Gamalla, +and Madiga. + +Kudumba.--A sub-division of Savara. + +Kudumban.--A title sometimes used by Pallans, the headman among whom +goes by this name. + +Kudumi or Kudumikkar.--The Kudumis are mainly found in the sea-board +taluks of Parur, Shertally, and Ambalapuzha, in Travancore. The +name is believed to be a corruption of the Sanskrit Kudumbi, +meaning one connected with a family. By others it is derived from a +Konkani word, meaning Sudra. The popular name for the caste is Idiya +(pounder), in reference to the occupation of pounding rice. Kadiya, +apparently derived from Ghatiyal, or a person possessed, is a term +of reproach. The title Chetti is now assumed by members of the +caste. But the well-known title is Muppan, or elder, conferred on +some respectable families by former Rajas of Cochin. The authority +of the Trippanithoray Muppan is supreme in all matters relating +to the government of the caste. But his authority has passed, in +Travancore, to the Turavur Muppan, who has supreme control over the +twenty-two villages of Kudimis. The belief that the Muppans differ +from the rest of the Kudimis, so as to make them a distinct sept, +does not appear to be based on fact. Nor is it true that the Muppans +represent the most ancient families of Konkana Sudras, who emigrated to +Kerala independently of the Konkanis. Chief among them is the Koratti +Muppan of Trippanithoray, who has, among other privileges, those of +the drinking vessel and lighted lamp conferred on him by the Cochin +rulers. Every Kudumi village has a local Muppan. A few families enjoy +the surname Kammatti, which is believed to be of agricultural origin. + +The Kudumis speak a corrupt form of the Konkani dialect of +Marathi. They are the descendants of these Konkana Sudras, who +emigrated from Goa on account of the persecutions of the Portuguese +in the sixteenth century, and sought refuge along with their masters, +the Konkana Brahmans, on the coast of Travancore and Cochin. Most of +them set out as the domestic servants of the latter, but a few were +independent traders and agriculturists. Two varieties of rice grain, +chethivirippu and malarnellu, brought by them from the Konkan, are +still sown in Travancore. One of the earliest occupations, in which +they engaged, was the manufacture of fireworks, and, as they were +bold and sturdy, they were enlisted as soldiers by the chieftains +of Malabar. Relics of the existence of military training-grounds are +still to be found in many of their houses. + +On a raised mud platform in the court-yard of the Kudumi's house, +the tulasi (Ocimum sanctum) or pipal (Ficus religiosa) is invariably +grown. Fish and flesh, except beef, are eaten, and intoxicating +liquor is rather freely imbibed. The women wear coloured cloths, +usually black, and widows are not obliged to be clad in white. A +gold mukkutti is an indispensable nose ornament. Tattooing is largely +resorted to by the women. + +The occupation of the Kudumis is service in the houses of the Konkana +Brahmans. They also prepare beaten rice, act as boatmen, porters, +and agricultural labourers, clean tanks and wells, and thatch +houses. The Muppans manufacture, and give displays of fireworks, +which have a local reputation at the great Konkani temple of Turavur +in the Shertallay taluk. + +They worship at the temples of the Konkana Brahmans, as well as +their own. But they are not pronounced Vaishnavites, like the +Brahmans, as the teachings of Madhvacharya did not reach the +lower ranks of Hinduism. On Sunday only one meal is taken. Maddu +or Madan is their chief minor deity, and water-sheds are erected to +propitiate him. Brahma is adored for nine days in the month of Kumbham +(February-March) from the full-moon day. The pipal tree is scrupulously +worshipped, and a lighted lamp placed beside it every evening. + +A woman, at the menstrual period, is considered impure for four +days, and she stands at a distance of seven feet, closing her mouth +and nostrils with the palm of the hand, as the breath of such +a woman is believed to have a contaminating effect. Her shadow, +too, should not fall on any one. The marriage of girls should take +place before puberty. Violation of this rule would be punished by +the excommunication of the family. During the marriage ceremony, +the tulasi plant is worshipped, and the bride and bridegroom husk a +small quantity of rice. The mother of the bridegroom prepares a new +oven within the house, and places a new pot beside it. The contracting +couple, assisted by five women, throw five handfuls of rice into the +pot, which is cooked. They then put a quantity of paddy (unhusked rice) +into a mortar, and after carefully husking it, make rice flour from +it. A quantity of betel and rice is then received by the bride and +bridegroom from four women. The tali is tied round the bride's neck +by the bridegroom, and one of his companions then takes a thread, +and fastens it to their legs. On the fifth day of the marriage rites, +a piece of cloth, covering the breasts, is tied round the bride's neck, +and the nose is pierced for the insertion of the mukkutti. + +Inheritance is generally from father to son (makkathayam), but, in a +few families, marumakkathayam (inheritance through the female line) is +observed. Widow remarriage is common, and the bridegroom is generally a +widower. Only the oldest members of a family are cremated, the corpses +of others being buried. The Kudumis own a common burial-ground in +all places, where they reside in large numbers. Pollution lasts for +sixteen days. + +The Kudumis and the indigenous Sudras of Travancore do not accept food +from each other. They never wear the sacred thread, and may not enter +the inner courtyard of a Brahmanical temple. They remove pollution +by means of water sprinkled over them by a Konkana Brahman. Their +favourite amusement is the koladi, in which ten or a dozen men execute +a figure dance, armed with sticks, which they strike together keeping +time to the music of songs relating to Krishna, and Bhagavati. [32] + +Kudumi.--Concerning the Kudumi medicine-men. I gather [33] that "the +Kudumi is a necessary adjunct to the village. His office implies +a more or less intimate acquaintance with the curative herbs and +roots in the forests, and their proper application to the different +ailments resulting from venomous bites or stings. It is the Kudumi who +procures leeches for the gouty Reddi or the phlegmatic Moodeliar, when +he finds that some blood-letting will benefit their health. He prays +over sprains and cricks, and binds the affected parts with the sacred +cord made of the hair taken from the patient's head. He is an expert +practitioner at phlebotomy, and many old Anglo-Indians domiciled in +the country will recall the Kudumi when his services were in demand to +heal some troublesome limb by the letting of blood. This individual is +believed to possess a magic influence over wild animals and snakes, +and often comes out in public as a dexterous snake-charmer. It is +principally in the case of poisonous bites that the Kudumi's skill +is displayed. It is partly by the application of medicinal leaves +ground into a paste, and partly by exercising his magical powers, +that he is believed to cure the most dangerous bites of snakes and +other venomous animals." + +The Kudumi often belongs to the Irula or Jogi caste. + +Kudumi.--The kudumi is the tuft of hair, which is left when the head +of Hindus is shaved. "For some time past," Bishop Caldwell writes, +[34] "a considerable number of European missionaries in the Tamil +country have come to regard the wearing of the tuft as a badge of +Hinduism, and hence require the natives employed in their missions +to cut off the kudumi as a sine quâ non of their retention of mission +employment". The kudumi, as the Bishop points out, would doubtless have +been admired by our grandfathers, who wore a kudumi themselves, viz., +the queue which followed the wig. "The Vellalas of the present day," +he continues, "almost invariably wear the kudumi, but they admit +that their forefathers wore their hair long. Some of the Maravars +wear the kudumi, and others do not. It makes a difference in their +social position. The kudumi, which was originally a sign of Aryan +nationality, and then of Aryan respectability, has come to be a sign +of respectability in general, and hence, whilst the poorer Maravars +generally wear their hair long, the wealthier members of the caste +generally wear the kudumi. The Pallars in Tinnevelly used to wear their +hair long, but most of them have recently adopted the kudumi, and the +wearing of the kudumi is now spreading even among the Pariahs. In +short, wherever higher notions of civilization, and a regard for +appearances extend, the use of the kudumi seems to extend also". Even +a Toda has been known to visit the Nanjengod temple at the base of +the Nilgiris, to pray for offspring, and return with a shaved head. + +Kudumo.--See Kurumo. + +Kukkundi.--Kukkundi or Kokkundia is the name of a small class of Oriya +cultivators and fishermen, who are said to be expert in spearing fish +with a long spear. + +Kukru.--Kukru or Kukkuro, meaning dog, occurs as the name of a sept +of Bottada, Domb, and Omanaito. The equivalent Kukkala is a sept of +the Orugunta Kapus and Boyas. + +Kulala.--Some members of the potter caste style themselves Kulala +vamsam, as being a more dignified caste name than Kusavan, and claim +descent from Kulalan, the son of Brahma. + +Kulanji.--A sub-division of Maran. + +Kulappan.--A synonym of Kusavan. + +Kulasekhara.--A sub-division of Satanis, who claim descent from the +Vaishnavite saint Kulasekhara Alvar. + +Kulloi.--A sub-division of Gadaba. + +Kulodondia.--A title, meaning headman of the caste, used by some +Tiyoros. + +Kuluvadi.--A synonym of Kudubi. + +Kumda (red gourd: Cucurbita maxima).--A sept of Omanaito. + +Kummara, Kumbara, Kumbaro.--"The potters of the Madras Presidency," +Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [35] "outside the Tamil country and Malabar, +are called Kummara in Telugu, Kumbaro in Uriya, and Kumbara in +Canarese, all these names being corrupted forms of the Sanskrit +word Kumbhakara, pot-maker (ku, earth). In social position they are +considered to be a superior class of Sudras. The Telugu Kummaras +were cooks under the ancient kings, and many of them still work in +that capacity in Sudra houses. The Kumbaros are purely Vaishnavites +and employ Boishnob priests, while the Kummaras and Kumbaras call +in Brahmans. Widow remarriage is allowed among the Uriya section +alone. All of them eat flesh." Concerning the potter classes, +Mr. Stuart writes further [36] that "Kummaras or Kusavans (q.v.) are +the potters of the country, and were probably at one time a single +caste, but are now divided into Telugus, Northern Tamilians and +Southern Tamilians, who have similar customs, but will not intermarry +or eat together. The northern and southern potters differ in that +the former use a wheel of earthenware, and the latter one made of +wood. The Telugu potters are usually followers of Vishnu and the +Tamilians of Siva, some being also Lingayats, and therefore burying +their dead. All the potters claim an impure Brahmanical descent, +telling the following story regarding their origin. A learned Brahman, +after long study, discovered the day and hour in which he might +beget a mighty offspring. For this auspicious time he waited long, +and at its approach started for the house of his selected bride, +but floods detained him, and, when he should have been with her, +he was stopping in a potter's house. He was, however, resolved not +to lose the opportunity, and by the daughter of his host he had a +son, the celebrated Salivahana. This hero in his infancy developed +a genius for pottery, and used to amuse himself by making earthen +figures of mounted warriors, which he stored in large numbers in a +particular place. After a time Vikramarka invaded Southern India, and +ordered the people to supply him with pots for his army. They applied +to Salivahana, who miraculously infused life into his clay figures, +and led them to battle against the enemy, whom he defeated, and the +country (Mysore) fell into his hands. Eventually he was left as its +ruler, and became the ancestor of the early Mysore Rajas. Such is +the story current among the potters, who generally believe that they +are his progeny. They all live in a state of poverty and ignorance, +and are considered of a low rank among other Sudras." + +At the village of Karigeri in the North Arcot district, there is +carried on by some of the local potters an interesting industry in +the manufacture of ornamental pottery, for which a medal was awarded +at the Delhi Darbar Exhibition. "The soft pottery," Surgeon-General +G. Bidie writes, "receives a pretty green glaze, and is made into +vases and other receptacles, some of which are imitations of Delft +ware and other European manufactures of the fifteenth and sixteenth +centuries; patterns having been introduced by Collectors. [37] +Some of the water-bottles are double, the outer shell being pierced +so as to allow air to circulate around the inner." The history of +this little industry is, I gather, as follows. [38] "Mr. Robinson, a +Collector in the sixties of the last century, started the manufacture +of tea-pots, milk jugs, and sugar bowls with a dark green glaze, +but his dream of supplying all India with chota hazri (early tea) +sets was not realised. Then came Mr. Whiteside, and the small Grecian +vases and the like are due to his and Mrs. Barlow's influence. He had +accurate wooden models made by his well-known wood-carvers. He further +altered the by no means pretty green glaze, and reddish browns and +yellows were produced. Then came Mr. Stuart, who pushed the sale at +exhibitions and railway stations. He also gave the potters models of +fancy flower-pots for in-door use. The pottery is exceedingly fragile, +and unsuitable for rough usage. Unglazed water and butter coolers +were the earliest and best articles the potters produced." + +Concerning the Kumbaras of South Canara, Mr. Stuart writes, [39] that +they "seem to be a branch of the Telugu and Canarese potter castes, +but many of them have Tulu for their home speech, and follow the +aliyasantana rule of inheritance (in the female line). Some of them +officiate as pujaris (priests) in the temples of the local deities +or demons, and are employed to perform funeral rites. Unlike the +Tamil potters, the Kumbaras do not wear the sacred thread. Infant +and widow marriages are very common. On the birth of a child, the +family observe pollution for fifteen days, and on the sixteenth +day the village barber and dhobi (washerman) get holy water from +the village temple, and purify the family by sprinkling it on their +head. There are two endogamous sub-divisions, the Kannada and Tulu +Kumbara, and each of these is divided into exogamous balis. Their +ordinary title is Handa, which is also sometimes used as the name +of the caste. In Uppinangadi a superior kind of pottery is made +(by the Kannada Kumbaras). It is made of clay powdered, mixed with +water, and strained. It is then poured into a pit specially prepared +for the purpose, where it is allowed to remain for about a month, +by which time it becomes quite dry. It is then removed, powdered, +moistened, and made into balls, which are one by one placed upon a +wheel and fashioned into various kinds of vessels, including vases, +goglets, tea-pots, cups and saucers. The vessels are dried in the +shade for about eight days, after which they are baked for two days, +when they are ready for sale. They have a glazed appearance, and are +sometimes beautifully ornamented." + +In the Census Report, 1901, Vodari, Bandi, and Mulya are returned as +sub-castes of the Canarese potters. + +The Kumbaras of the Mysore Province are, Mr. T. Ananda Row informs us, +[40] "potters and tile-makers. There are two great divisions among +them mutually exclusive, the Kannada and Telugu, the former claiming +superiority over the latter. The Telugu Kumbaras trace their descent +to Salivahana, and wear the sacred thread. They abstain from eating +meat. There are both Saivites and Vaishnavites among Kumbaras. The +former acknowledge the Smartha Brahman's sway. Polygamy is permitted, +and divorce can only be for adultery. Widows are not permitted to +remarry. This caste also includes dyers known as Nilagara (nil, +indigo). It is curious that these two trades, quite distinct from +one another, are followed by persons of the same family according +to inclination. The Kumbaras worship all the Hindu deities, but pay +special reverence to their kiln. They are recognised members of the +village hierarchy." Of the Mysore Kumbaras, Mr. L. Rice writes [41] +that the "pot-makers were not stationed in every village, one or two +being generally sufficient for a hobli or taraf. He furnished pots +for all the ryats (agriculturists) of his taraf, and was entitled to +ayam in an equal proportion as the other Ayagar (hereditary village +officers). For liberty of exposing his wares for sale to travellers +in the markets, he paid chakra-kanke to the Sirkar (Government)." At +Channapatna, in Mysore, I purchased for three annas a large collection +of articles of pottery made out of black and brown clay. They are +said to be made at a village near Channapatna, and consist of rudely +ornamented miniature lamps of various patterns, models of native +kitchen-ranges, pots, tobacco-pipes, dishes, etc. At the Mysore census, +1891, some potters described themselves as Gundu (round) Brahmans. + +The Oriya Kumbaro (kumbho, a pot) are said to practice both infant and +adult marriage, and to permit the remarriage of widows. A sub-caste, +named Bhande, derives its name from the Sanskrit bhanda, a pot. The +Madras Museum possesses a quaint series of painted clay figures, +made by a potter at Venkatarayapalle in Ganjam, which are set up in +shrines on the seashore, and worshipped by fishermen. They include +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. + +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. + +Veyyi Kannalu Ammavaru, or the goddess of a thousand eyes, represented +by a pot pierced with many holes, in which a gingelly (Sesamum) oil +light is burnt. She attends to the general welfare of the fishing folk. + +Further details relating to the South Indian potters will be found +under the heading Kusavan. + +Kumbi (potter).--A sub-division of Savara. + +Kummidichatti.--Recorded, in the North Arcot Manual, as a sub-division +of Vellalas, who carried the chatty, or pot of fire, at Vellala +funerals. In Tamil, the name kumbidu chatti is applied to a pot, in +which fire is always kept burning. Such a pot is used for obtaining +fire for domestic purposes, and by old people, to keep themselves +warm in cold weather. + +Kumpani.--Returned by some Kurubas at the Census, 1901. The name +refers to the East India Company, which was known as Kumpani Jahan +(or John Company). + +Kunapilli.--A synonym of Padigarajulu, a class of mendicants, who +beg from Padma Sales. + +Kunbi.--Recorded, at times of Census, as a Bombay cultivating +caste. (See Bombay Gazetteer, XVIII, Part I, 284.) It is also a +sub-division of Marathis, generally agriculturists, in the Sandur +State. + +Kuncheti.--A sub-division of Kapu. + +Kunchigar.--The Kunchigars, Kunchitigas, or Kunchiliyans, are a +class of cultivators in the Salem district, who speak Canarese, +and have migrated southward to the Tamil country. Their tradition +concerning their origin is that "a certain Nawab, who lived north +of the Tungabadra river, sent a peon (orderly) to search for ghi +(clarified butter), twelve years old. In his travels south of +the river, the peon met a lovely maid drawing water, who supplied +his want. Struck by her beauty, he watched her bathing place, and +stole one hair which fell from her head in bathing, which he took +to the Nawab. The latter conceived the idea of marrying the girl, +and sent an embassy, which was so far successful that the girl and +her family came to his residence, and erected a marriage pandal +(booth). Subsequently they repented, and, thinking that the marriage +would be a mésalliance (the Nawab was probably a Muhammadan), fled +in the night, leaving a dog in the pandal. In their flight they came +to the Tungabadra, which was in full flood, and, eager to escape, +they consented to marry the maiden to a Kurumban who ferried them +across the river. The Kunchigars are the descendants of this girl +and the Kurumban. When running away they, in their haste, forgot a +little girl, and left her behind them. She was seized by the Nawab, +who thirsted for vengeance, and thrown into the air so as to fall on +knives placed so as to transfix her. Some miracle interposed to save +her, and the Are Kunchigars of Mysore are her descendants." [42] + +Kunchu (a tassel or bunch).--A sub-division of Okkiliyans, and of +Koravas who make brushes used by weavers. Kuncham, meaning either a +measure used in measuring grain or a tassel, occurs as an exogamous +sept of Madiga and Mala. + +Kundanakkaran.--An occupational Tamil name for those who cut, enchase, +and set precious stones. + +Kundaton.--A name for chunam (lime) workers in Malabar. + +Kundu (nest).--A sub-division of the Irulas of South Arcot. + +Kungiliyan.--A title of some Kallans. + +Kunjamma.--A name for Elayad females. + +Kunnuvan.--The Kunnuvans are described, in the Gazetteer of +the Madura district, as "the principal cultivating caste on the +Palni hills. They speak Tamil. Their own traditions say that their +ancestors were Vellalans from the Dharapuram and Kangayam country in +Coimbatore, who went up the Palnis some four or five centuries ago +because the low country was so disturbed by war (other accounts say +devastated by famine), and they call themselves Kunnuva Vellalas, +and state that the name Kunnuva is derived from Kunnur village in +Coimbatore. Other traditions add that the Virupakshi and Ayyakudi +poligars (feudal chieftains) helped them to settle on their land +in the hills, which up to then had only been cultivated by indolent +Pulaiyans. The Kunnuvans ousted these latter, and eventually turned +them into predial serfs--a position from which they have hardly yet +freed themselves. In every village is a headman, called the Mannadi, +who has the usual powers. The caste is divided into three endogamous +sections, called Vaguppus, namely, Periya (big) Kunnuvar, Kunnuvar, +and Chinna (little) Kunnuvar. They will eat together. The dress of the +women is characteristic. They wear rough metal necklets, brass bangles +and anklets, silver bangles on their upper arms, and rings in their +noses; and they knot their upper cloths in front across the breasts, +and bind them round their waists in a sort of bandage. White cloths +used to be forbidden them, but are common enough nowadays. [It was +noted by Mr. M. J. Walhouse, in 1881, [43] in connection with the +Kuneivar on the lower slopes of the Palnis, that women were never +allowed to wear white clothes. None could tell why, but it was said +that, within memory, women offending against the rule had been cast +from a high rock.] The claim of a man to his paternal aunt's daughter +is rigidly maintained, and the evasions of the rule allowed by other +castes when the ages of the parties are disproportionate are not +permitted. Consequently, a boy sometimes marries more than one of +these cousins of his, and, until he reaches manhood, those of them +who are much older than he is live with other men of the caste, the +boy being the nominal father of any children which may be born. A boy +of nine or ten may thus be the putative father of a child of two or +three. [In this connection, Mr. J. H. Nelson writes [44] that Madura +Collectors have sometimes been puzzled not a little by evidence adduced +to show that a child of three or four years was the son or daughter of +a child of ten or twelve.] When a man has no children except a girl, +and his family is in danger of coming to an end, a curious practice, +called keeping up the house, is followed. The girl cannot be claimed +by her maternal uncle's son as usual, but may be married to one of +the door-posts of the house. A silver bangle is put on her right wrist +instead of a tali (marriage badge) round her neck; she is allowed to +consort with any man of her caste; her earnings go to her parents; +she becomes their heir, and, if she has a son, the boy inherits their +property through her. The custom is a close parallel to the system of +making girls Basavis, which is so common in the western part of Bellary +and the neighbouring parts of Dharwar and Mysore. Divorce is readily +obtained, on the petitioner paying the amount of the bride-price, but +the children all go to the father. Divorcées and widows may remarry, +and they do so with a frequency which has made the caste a byword +among its neighbours. The Kunnuvans worship the usual deities of the +plains. They generally burn their dead." + +It is recorded, in the Manual of the Madura district, that the +Kunnuvans of the western parts of the Palni hills differ in many +of their customs from those of the eastern. With both divisions, +incompatibility of temper is a sufficient ground for divorce, and +a husband can at any time get rid of his wife by taking her to her +parents together with a pair of oxen if he be an eastern Kunnuvan, +and a vatti or round metal dish if he be a western. On the other hand, +if the wife dislikes her partner, she may leave him upon giving up +her golden jewels--the silver she retains--and may, according to +her pleasure, either go back to her father's house, or marry another +man. In the west, however, she takes with her only such property as +she may have possessed at the time of her marriage. Her children must +all be made over to the deserted husband; and, if she be pregnant +when she goes away, and a child be born while she is living with +her second husband, it must nevertheless be given up to the first, +upon payment of the expense of rearing it if in the east, upon mere +demand in the west. In this way a woman may legally marry any number +of men in succession, though she may not have two husbands at one and +the same time. She may, however, bestow favours on paramours without +hindrance, provided they be of equal caste with her. On the other +hand, a man may indulge in polygamy to any extent he pleases, and +the wealthier Kunnuvans keep several wives as servants, especially +for agricultural purposes. The religion of the Kunnuvans appear to +be the Saiva, but they worship their mountain god Valapan with far +more devotedness than any other. + +The name Kunnuvan is derived by Mr. Nelson from kunru, a hill. + +Kunta.--A division of Kuravas of Travancore, who derive their name +from their first ancestor having appeared from a sacrificial altar +(homakunta). + +Kunte (pond).--A gotra of Kurni. + +Kurakula (vegetable class).--An occupational title, returned at times +of census, by Oriya and Telugu cultivators in Ganjam and Vizagapatam. + +Kurava.--For the following note on the Kuravas of Travancore, I am +indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. + +There are more than 50,000 Kuravas in Travancore, of whom the +largest numbers live in the taluks of Kunnatur, Chirayinkil, and +Kottarakkara. They were originally divided into four branches, called +Kunta Kuravan, Pum Kuravan, Kakka Kuravan, and Pandi Kuravan. Almost +all the Kuravas of this country belong to the first of these +sections. The Pum Kuravas are believed to have become a different +caste, called Velan. Similarly, the Kakka Kuravans have crystallised +into a distinct caste named Kakkalan. Pandi Kuravas speak Tamil, +and are chiefly found in Nanchinad, being there known as Nanchi +Kuravas. The Kunta Kuravas attribute the origin of their name to +the appearance of their first ancestor from a sacrificial altar +(homakunta). They are known in some places, such as Nedumangad, +by the name of Muli Kuravas, probably because they emit a drawling +noise when called. It has been suggested that the Kuravas are one of +the early tribes of Southern India, and one with the Kurumbas of the +Tamil country, and closely allied to the Vedans. Such of them as still +preserve their old practices, and do not mingle with the low-country +people, are known as Malan Kuravas. They form one of the sixteen +hill-tribes mentioned in the Keralolpatti. About three centuries +ago, Nanchinad in Travancore was governed by a line of Kurava kings, +called Nanchi Kuravans. + +The Kuravas are prædial slaves, who were liable in olden days to +be bought and sold along with the land they occupied. They are not +regarded as so faithful as the Pulayas. Their homes are, like those +of the Pulayas, low thatched sheds. They eat meat, and drink toddy +and arrack. Their women tie their hair in the centre of the head, +and not behind like the Pulayas. Tattooing is very largely resorted to. + +Though Hindu deities are worshipped, the Chavars, or spirits of the +dead, receive the most particular attention. The days considered +to be of religious importance are Onam in the month of Chingam, the +Ailiyam and Makam stars in Kanni, the 28th of Makaram, the Bharani +star in Kumbham and Minam, and the first day of Audi. The special +deities of the Kuravas are called Katiyatikal or mountain gods, +whom they worship on these days with an offering. On the 30th of +each month, and on days of festivity, all the Kuravas take beaten +rice and toddy, and offer them with a view to propitiating their +ancestors. Small sheds are dedicated to Chavars, where the priest, +called Piniyali or sorcerer, is the only important person. The Kuravas +have among themselves a special class of exorcisers, whom they call +Rarakkar (literally Vicharakkar), or those who make enquiries about +the occurrence of diseases. The Rarakkaran first becomes possessed, +and cries out the names of all the mountain deities in the vicinity, +violently shaking every limb of his body as he does so. Some of +these deities are Chavar, Ayiravalli, Chattan, Pakavati, Matan, Murti, +Taivam, Pakavan, Appuppan, and Maruta. He then takes a handful of paddy +(unhusked rice) from a quantity placed in front of him, and, after +counting, decides, upon the chance of one or two grains remaining in +the end after each of them is removed, whether some one in the house +is not attacked by, or liable to the attack of some evil spirit. The +same process is repeated, in order to find out the proper remedy for +appeasing them. The Rarakkaran at the end proceeds out of the house +in a northerly direction. The Urali, or headman of Peruvirutti Mala +in Kunnattur, becomes possessed on the evening of the third Monday of +Minam, and foretells coming events for such Kuravas as are assembled. + +The headmen of the Kuravas are called Urali and Panikkan, and they +must be paid a fee of not less than ten chuckrams on all religious +occasions. The priest is known as Kaikkaran. + +The Kuravas observe two forms of marriage ceremonial, viz., the +tali-kettu before puberty, and sambandham. At the former, an elderly +Kuratti (Kurava woman) ties the minnu or wedding ornament round the +neck of the girl. When a Kurava wishes to marry a girl, he must pay +twelve fanams to her maternal uncle. Widows remarry, and divorce, +though void without the consent of the headmen, is easily effected. The +form of inheritance is marumakkathayam (in the female line). + +The dead are buried, and death pollution is observed for twelve days. + +The Kuravas are obliged to stand, according to some at forty-eight, +and according to others at sixty-four paces from a high-caste +Hindu. They regard themselves as higher in the social scale than +Pulaiyas and Paraiyans. + +Kuravan.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a +sub-division of Nayar. + +Kureshi.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a territorial +name returned by Muhammadans, Kureshi being a village in Arabia; +also one of the sub-divisions of the Navayat tribe. + +Kuricchan.--The Kuricchans, or Kuricchiyans, are described by +Mr. H. A. Stuart [45] as "the hunting caste of Malabar. Some derive the +word from kurikke, to mark or assign, as they say that this caste fixed +the hunting days. This must be the production of a highly imaginative +person. Dr. Gundert thinks it is derived from, or allied to, Canarese +Koracha (Korava). I would rather say it is allied to that word, +and that both are derivatives of kuru, a hill (cf. Tamil kurinchi), +kurunilam, etc., and Malayalam kurissi, a suffix in names of hilly +localities. With the exception of 2,240 persons in Kottayam, and 373 +in Kurumbranad, both bordering on Wynaad, all the Kuricchans are found +in Wynaad. They are excellent bowmen, and played an important part +in the Pyche Raja's rebellion at the beginning of the (nineteenth) +century. The Kuricchans affect a great contempt for Brahmans. When +a Brahman has been in a Kuricchan's house, the moment he leaves it, +the place where he was seated is besmeared with cowdung to remove the +pollution! They follow inheritance in the male line in some places, +and in the female line in others. Their god is called Muttappan, +which literally means grandfather. They now subsist mostly by punam +(shifting) cultivation." + +In the Gazetteer of Malabar, the Kuricchiyans (kuricchi, hill country) +are described as "a jungle tribe of punam cultivators, found in the +Wynaad and the slopes of the ghats, north of Calicut. They consider +themselves polluted by the approach of other hill tribes and by the +touch of Tiyans and Kammalans; and their women require water sanctified +by a Brahman to purify them. They perform the tali kettu ceremony +before puberty, and say that they follow the marumakkathayam family +system (of inheritance in the female line), though the wife usually +goes to live with her husband in a new hut, and the husband has to pay +a price for his bride. They act as oracles during the great festival +at Kottiyur. The performer becomes inspired after sitting for some time +gazing into a vessel containing gingelly oil, and holding in his hand a +curious-shaped wand of gold about a foot and a half long, and hollow." + +It is recorded by Mr. Logan, [46] in connection with a disturbance in +Malabar early in the last century, that "the first overt act occurred +at Panamaram in Wynad. Some five days previous to 11th October 1802, +one of the proscribed rebel leaders, Edachenna Kungan, chanced to +be present at the house of a Kurchiyan, when a belted peon came up, +and demanded some paddy (rice) from the Kurchiyan. Edachenna Kungan +replied by killing the peon, and the Kurchiyans (a jungle tribe) in +that neighbourhood, considering themselves thus compromised with the +authorities, joined Edachenna Kungan. This band, numbering about 150, +joined by Edachenna Kungan and his two brothers, then laid their plans +for attacking the military post at Panamaram, held by a detachment of +70 men of the 1st Battalion of the 4th Bombay Infantry under Captain +Dickenson and Lieutenant Maxwell. They first seized sentry's musket, +and killed him with arrows. Captain Dickenson killed and wounded +with his pistols, bayonet, and sword, 15 of the Kurchiyars, 5 of whom +died. The whole of the detachment was massacred." + +In a note on an inspection of a Kuriccha settlement, Mr. F. Fawcett +recorded that the houses were close to some rice-fields cultivated by +the Kuricchas. The Mappillas, however, took the crop as interest on +an outstanding debt. One house was noted as having walls of wattle +and mud, a thatched roof, and verandah. In the eastern verandah +were a bow and arrows, a fresh head of paddy (unhusked rice), some +withered grain, etc., dedicated to the god Muttappan. A man requested +Mr. Fawcett not to approach a hut, in which a meal was being cooked, +as he would pollute it. A child, a few months old, with a ring in each +ear, and a ring of shell or bone on a string to avert the evil eye, +was lying in a cradle suspended from the roof. Both by Mr. Fawcett and +others, the Kuricchas are given the character of remarkably innocent, +truthful, and trustworthy people. + +For the following note, I am indebted to Mr. E. Fernandez. The +Kuricchas usually live by cultivation, but it is considered a great +stroke of good luck to obtain a post as postal runner or amsham +peon. When on a hunting expedition, they are armed with bows and +arrows, or occasionally with guns, and surround a hill. Some of +them then enter the jungle with dogs, and drive the game, which is +killed by the dogs, or shot with arrows or bullets. The flesh of the +spoil is divided up between the sylvan deity, the jenmi (landlord), +the dogs, the man who put the first arrow or bullet into the animal, +and the other Kuricchas. In some places, the Kuricchas use arrows for +shooting fresh-water fish. The principle is described by Mr. Fawcett +as being the same as in the Greenlander's spear, and the dart used +with a blow-pipe on the west coast for catching sharks. + +From Malabar I have received two forms of blowpipe, used for killing +fish, birds, and small game. In one, the tube consists of a piece +of straight slender bamboo about 4' 6'' in length; the other, +which is about 7' in length, is made from the stem of the areca +palm. In the latter, two pieces of the stem are placed face to face, +so that a complete tube is made. Round the exterior, thin cloth or +tree-bark, steeped in gum, is tightly wrapped, so that the two halves +are kept together. Sometimes the blow-pipe is decorated with painted +designs. The arrow consists of a reed shaft and iron arrow-head, which, +by means of a socket, fits loosely on the conical end of the shaft. A +piece of string, several feet long, is tied round the arrow-head, +and wound closely round the shaft. When the arrow is discharged from +the tube, and enters, for example, the body of a fish, the string is +uncoiled from the shaft, which floats on the surface of the water, +and points out the position of the fish, which is hauled up. + +A Paniyan, Adiyan, Kurumba, or Pulayan, approaching within a +recognised distance of a Kuriccha, conveys pollution, which must +be removed by a bath, holy water, and the recitation of mantrams +(consecrated formulæ). The Kuricchas address Brahmans as Tambrakal, +and Nayars as Tamburan. They are themselves addressed by Paniyans +and Adiyans as Acchan and Pappan, by Jen Kurumbas as Muttappan, +and by Pulayans as Perumannom. + +In addition to Muttappan, the Kuricchas worship various other deities, +such as Karimbil Bhagavathi, Malakurathi, and Athirallan. No animal +sacrifices are performed, but each family celebrates annually +a ceremony called Kollu Kodukal, for which the Pittan (head of +the family) fixes an auspicious day. The temple is cleaned, and +smeared with cow-dung, and holy water is sprinkled, to remove all +pollution. Those who attend at the ceremony bathe before proceeding to +the temple, which is lighted with oil-lamps. Cocoanuts, sugar-candy, +plantains, beaten rice, a measure (edangali) full of rice, and another +full of paddy, are placed before the lamps, and offered to the deity +by the Pittan. One of the community becomes possessed, and gives +forth oracular utterances. Finally he falls down, and the deity is +supposed to have left him. The offerings are distributed among those +who have assembled. + +The management of tribal affairs is vested in the Pittans of the +different families, and the final appellate authority is the Kottayath +Raja, who authorises certain Nayars to hear appeals on his behalf. + +The Kuricchas celebrate the tali-kettu kalyanam. Marriages are arranged +by the Pittans. The wedding is a very simple affair. The bridegroom +brings a pair of cloths and rings made of white metal or brass as a +present for the bride, and a feast is held. + +Kurivi (sparrow).--A gotra of Kurni. + +Kurma (tortoise).--A gotra of Nagaralu. The equivalent Kurum is +recorded as a sept of Pentiya. + +Kurmapu.--The Kurmapuvallu are women, in the Vizagapatam district, +who have not entered into matrimony, but earn money by prostitution, +and acting as dancers at feasts. They are so called from the fact +that they were originally dancing-girls attached to the temple of +Sri Kurmam, a place of pilgrimage in Vizagapatam. [47] + +Kurni.--The name Kurni is, according to the Census Report, 1901, +"a corruption of kuri (sheep) and vanni (wool), the caste having been +originally weavers of wool. They now weave cotton and silk, and also +cultivate. They have two main sub-divisions, Hire (big) and Chikka +(small). The Hires are all Lingayats, and are said to have sixty-six +totemistic septs or gotras. They employ Jangams as priests, and also +men of their own caste, who are called Chittikaras. They will mess with +the non-Lingayat section, and with Lingayats of other castes. They +do not eat meat, or smoke or drink alcohol, but the Chikkas do all +three. Marriage before puberty is the rule in the caste. Divorces +are permitted. Widows may marry again, but have to spend two nights +alone at two different temples. Their wedding ceremonies are carried +out by widows only, and the woman is not afterwards allowed to take +part in religious or family observances." A synonym of both Kurnis +and Devangas is Jada or Jandra, meaning great men. A further synonym +of the Kurnis is said to be Kunigiri. The term Nese, meaning weaver, +is applied to several of the weaving castes, including the Kurnis. + +The following extract is taken from an appeal for subscriptions in +aid of the publication of the Bhavishyottara Purana by the Kurnis in +a village in the Bellary district. "Greetings from all the Kuruhine +Setti Virasaivas residing in Hirihala village of Bellary taluk. The +wish of the writers is that all, old and young, should rejoice in the +sixty-six gotras, sixty-six rudras, and sixty-six rishis. He who reads +the order of these sixty-six gotras of the Kuruhina Settis will enter +Sivaloka. His twenty-one generations will attain to the position of +ganas (attendants) of Sivaloka. Such was the order of Iswara. This is +the end of the chapter in the Nilakantha Mallikarjuna Bhavishyat purana +acquired by Shanmukha from the Iswara shruti of the Haravatula." The +gotras are described as being of the Brahman, Kshatriya, and Vaisya +sub-divisions of the caste, and of Shanmukha's Sudra caste:-- + + +Gotras. + + + Anasu, ferrule. + Anchu, edge or border. + Arashina, turmeric. + Are, Bauhinia racemosa. + Arya, venerable. + Banaju, trade or painted wooden toys. + Bandi, cart. + Banni, Prosopis spicigera. + Basari, fig tree. + Benne, butter. + Bile, white. + Dharma, conduct. + Durga, fort. + Gaduge, throne. + Gauda, headman. + Gikkili, rattle. + Gorige, Cyamopsis psoralioides. + Gullu, Solanum ferox. + Gundu, cannon-ball. + Halige, plank. + Halu, milk. + Heggu, nape of the neck. + Hemme, vanity. + Hittu, flour. + Hon, gold. + Hullu, grass. + Ime, eyelid. + In, sweet. + Inichi, squirrel. + Irani, earthen vessel used at marriages. + Jali, Acacia arabica. + Jirige, cummin seed. + Jiva, life. + Junju, cock's comb. + Kadi, blade of grass. + Katige, collyrium. + Kadle (Bengal gram, Cicer arietinum). + Kadu, wild. + Kakke, Cassia Fistula. + Kamadi, tortoise. + Kanni, rope. + Katte, embankment. + Ken, red. + Kenja, red ant. + Kere, tank. + Kesari, lion. + Kinkila, Indian cuckoo, Eudynamis honorata. + Koti, dagger. + Kudure, horse. + Kunte, pond. + Kurivi, sparrow. + Mallige, jasmine. + Maralu, sand. + Menasu, pepper or chillies. + Midichi, locust. + Mini, leather rope. + Muchchu, broken rice. + Muddu, kiss or love. + Mullu, thorn. + Naga, snake. + Nellu, unhusked rice. + Parama, highest. + Raksha, protecting. + Rama, lovely. + Rikki, feather ? + Salige, wire. + Sampige, Michelia Champaca. + Samsara, family. + Sara, string. + Sindhu, sea or flag ? + Swarabha, sound. + Tikke, gem. + Uttama, best. + Vanki, armlet. + Vatte, camel. + + +Some of the above names also occur as exogamous septs, or sub-divisions +of other Canarese or Telugu classes, e.g.-- + + + Arashina, turmeric. Agasa, Kuruba, Odde. + + Bandi, cart. Kapu, Kavarai, Kuruba, Kuravan, Mala, Odde, Yanadi. + + Halu, milk. Holeya, Kuruba, Vakkaliga. + + Hon, gold. Kuruba, Odde. + + Jirige, cummin. Kuruba. + + Kudure, horse. Vakkaliga. + + Mallige, Malli, or Mallela, jasmine. Holeya, Kamma, Kuruba, + Kuravan, Madiga, Mala, Odde, Tsakala. + + Menasu, pepper or chillies. Kuruba. + + Sampigi or Sampangi, Michelia Champaca. Odde. + + +Kuruba.--Though plucky in hunting bears and leopards, the Kurubas at +Hospet were exceedingly fearful of myself and my methods, and were +only partially ingratiated by an offer of a money prize at one of the +wrestling combats, in which they delight, and of which I had a private +exhibition. The wrestlers, some of whom were splendid specimens of +muscularity, had, I noticed, the moustache clipped short, and hair +clean shaved at the back of the head, so that there was none for the +adversary to grip. One man, at the entreaties of an angry spouse, +was made to offer up the silver coin, presented by me in return for +the loan of his body for measurement, as bad money at the shrine of +Udachallama, together with two annas of his own as a peace-offering +to the goddess. The wives of two men (brothers), who came to me for +measurement, were left sobbing in the village. One, at the last moment, +refused to undergo the operation, on the principle that one should +be taken, and the other left. A man was heard, at question time, to +mutter "Why, when we are hardworking and poor, do we keep our hair, +while this rich and lazy Sahib has gone bald?" Another (I believe, +the tame village lunatic) was more complimentary, and exclaimed "We +natives are the betel leaf and nut. You, Sir, are the chunam (lime), +which makes them perfect." + +Many of the Kurubas wear charms in the form of a string of black +sheep's wool, or thread tied round the arm or neck, sometimes with +sacred ashes wrapped inside, as a vow to some minor deity, or a four +anna piece to a superior deity. A priest wore a necklet of rudraksha +(Elæocarpus Ganitrus) beads, and a silver box, containing the material +for making the sacred marks on the forehead, pendent from a loin +string. His child wore a similar necklet, a copper ornament engraved +with cabalistic devices, and silver plate bearing a figure of Hanuman, +as all his other children had died, and a piece of pierced pottery +from the burial-ground, to ward off whooping-cough, suspended round +the neck. In colour-scale the Kurubas vary enormously, from very dark +to light brown. The possessor of the fairest skin, and the greatest +development of adipose tissue, was a sub-magistrate. At Hospet, +many had bushy mutton-chop whiskers. Their garments consisted of a +tight fitting pair of short drawers, white turban, and black kambli +(blanket), which does duty as overcoat, umbrella, and sack for bringing +in grass from the outlying country. + +Some of the Kurubas are petty land-owners, and raise crops of cholam +(Andropogon Sorghum), rice, Hibiscus cannabinus, etc. Others are +owners of sheep, shepherds, weavers, cultivators, and stone-masons. The +manufacture of coarse blankets for wearing apparel is, to a very large +extent, carried on by the Kurubas. In connection with this industry, +I may quote the following extracts from my "Monograph on the woollen +fabric industry of the Madras Presidency" (1898). + +Bellary.--In the Bellary Manual (1872), it is stated that "cumblies are +the great article of export, and the rugs made in the Kudligi taluk +are in great demand, and are sent to all parts of the country. They +are manufactured of various qualities, from the coarse elastic cumbly +used in packing raw cotton, price about six annas, to a fine kind +of blanket, price Rs. 6 to 8. In former times, a much finer fabric +was manufactured from the wool of the lamb when six months old, +and cumblies of this kind sold for Rs. 50 or Rs. 60. These are no +longer made." Coarse blankets are at present made in 193 villages, +the weavers being mostly Kurubas, who obtain the wool locally, +sun-dry it, and spin it into thread, which is treated with a watery +paste of tamarind seeds. The weaving is carried out as in the case of +an ordinary cotton cloth, the shuttle being a piece of wood hollowed +out on one side. Inside the ruined Maratha fort at Sandur dwells a +colony of Kurubas, whose profession is blanket-weaving. The preliminary +operations are performed by the women, and the weaving is carried out +by the men, who sit, each in his own pit, while they pass the shuttle +through the warp with repeated applications of tamarind paste from +a pot at their side. + +Kurnool.--Blankets are manufactured in 39 villages. Sheep's wool is +beaten and cleaned, and spun into yarn with hand spindles. In the +case of the mutaka, or coarse cumblies used by the poorer classes, the +thread used for the warp is well rubbed with a gruel made of tamarind +seeds before being fitted up in the loom, which is generally in the +open air. In the case of jadi, or cumblies of superior quality used +as carpets, no gruel is used before weaving. But, when they are taken +off the loom, the weavers spread them out tight on a country cot, +pour boiling water over them, and rub them well with their hands, +until the texture becomes thick and smooth. + +Kistna.--Both carpets and blankets are made at Masulipatam, +and blankets only, to a considerable extent, in the Gudivada +taluk. The Tahsildar of Nuzvid, in several villages of which taluk +the blanket-weaving industry is carried on, gives me the following +note. The sheep, of which it is intended to shear the wool, are first +bathed before shearing. If the wool is not all of the same colour, the +several colours are picked out, and piled up separately. This being +done, each separate pile is beaten, not as a whole, but bit by bit, +with a light stick of finger thickness. Then the cleaning process is +carried out, almost in the way adopted by cotton-spinners, but with a +smaller bow. Then the wool is spun into yarn with the help of a thin +short piece of stick, near the bottom of which a small flat, circular +or square weight of wood or pot-stone (steatite) is attached, so as +to match the force of the whirling given to the stick on the man's +thigh. After a quantity of yarn has been prepared, a paste is smeared +over it, to stiffen it, so that it can be easily passed through the +loom. The paste is prepared with kajagaddalu, or tamarind seeds, when +the former is not available. Kajagaddalu is a weed with a bulbous root, +sometimes as large as a water-melon. The root is boiled in water, and +the thin coating which covers it removed while it is still hot. The +root is then reduced to a pulp by beating in a mortar with frequent +sprinkling of water. The pulp is mixed with water, to make it sticky, +and applied to the yarn. Tamarind seeds are split in two, and soaked +in water for several hours. The outer coating then becomes detached, +and is removed. The seeds are beaten into a fine flour, and boiled +until this acquires the necessary consistency. They are then made +into a paste with water, and applied to the yarn. + +Madura.--Coarse blankets are manufactured to a small extent by Kuruba +women in twenty-two villages of the Melur, Dindigul, and Palni taluks. + +In the province of Mysore, parts of Chitaldrug and the town of Kolar +are noted for the manufacture of a superior kind of blanket, of fine +texture like homespun, by Kurubas. The wool is spun by the women. + +By one section of the Kurubas, called Sunnata or Vasa (new) only +white blankets are said to be made. + +The personal names of Kurubas are derived from their gods, Basappa, +Lingappa, Narasimha, Huliga, etc., with Ayya, Appa, or Anna as +affixes. An educational officer tells me that, when conducting a +primary examination, he came across a boy named Mondrolappa after +Sir Thomas Munro, who still lives in the affections of the people. + +"It has," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [48] "been suggested that the name +Kuruba is a derivative of the Canarese root kuru, sheep (cf. Tamil +kori); but it has been objected to this that the Kurumbas were not +originally a purely shepherd tribe, and it is contended that the +particular kind of sheep called kori is so called because it is +the sheep of the Kurumbas. Again, the ancient lexicographer of the +Tamil language, Pingala Muni, defines Kurumban as Kurunila Mannar, +or petty chieftains. But the most common derivation is from the Tamil +kurumbu, wickedness, so that Kurumban means a wicked man. With this +may be compared the derivation of Kallan from kalavu, theft, and the +Kallans are now generally believed to have been closely connected +with, if not identical with the original Kurumbas. On the other hand, +the true derivation may be in the other direction, as in the case of +the Sclavs. The language of the Kurumbas is a dialect of Canarese, +and not of Tamil, as stated by Bishop Caldwell. It resembles the old +Canarese." Concerning the affinities of the Kurubas, Mr. Stuart states +that "they are the modern representatives of the ancient Pallavas, +who were once so powerful in Southern India. In the seventh century, +the power of the Pallava kings seems to have been at its zenith, +though very little trace of their greatness now remains; but, soon +after this, the Kongu, Chola, and Chalukya chiefs succeeded in winning +several victories over them, and the final overthrow of the Kurumba +sovereignty was effected by the Chola King Adondai about the eighth +century A.D., and the Kurumbas were scattered far and wide. Many +fled to the hills, and, in the Nilgiris and Wynad, in Coorg and +Mysore, representatives of this ancient race are now found as wild +and uncivilised tribes." Let me call anthropometric evidence, and +compare the Kurubas of Mysore and Bellary with the jungle Kurumbas +of the Nilgiris and the allied Kadirs and Mala Vedars, by means of +the two important physical characters, stature and nasal index. + + + Stature. Nasal index. + Average. Maximum. Minimum. Average. Maximum. Minimum. + cm. cm. cm. + +Kurubas, 163.9 176.4 155 73.2 85.9 62.3 +Mysore +Kurubas, 162.7 175.4 153.4 74.9 92.2 63.3 +Bellary +Kurumbas, 157.5 163.6 149.6 88.8 111.1 79.1 +Nilgiris +Kadirs 157.7 169.4 148.6 89.8 115.4 72.9 +Mala 154.2 163.8 140.8 84.9 102.6 71.1 +Vedars + + +In this table, the wide gap which separates the domesticated Kurubas +of the Mysore Province and the adjacent Bellary district from the +conspicuously platyrhine and short-statured Kurumbas and other jungle +tribes, stands out prominently before any one who is accustomed to deal +on a large scale with bodies and noses. And I confess that I like to +regard the Kurumbas, Mala Vedars, Kadirs, Paniyans, and other allied +tribes of short stature with broad noses as the most archaic existing +inhabitants of the south of the Indian peninsula, and as having +dwelt in the jungles, unclothed, and living on roots, long before +the seventh century. The question of the connection between Kurubas +and Kurumbas is further discussed in the note on the latter tribe. + +The popular tradition as to the origin of the caste is as +follows. Originally the Kurubas were Kapus. Their ancestors were Masi +Reddi and Nilamma, who lived on the eastern ghats by selling firewood, +and had six sons. Taking pity on their poverty, Siva came begging to +their house in the disguise of a Jangam, and gave Nilamma some sacred +ashes, while promising prosperity through the birth of another son, +who was called Undala Padmanna. The family became prosperous through +agriculture. But, unlike his six brothers, Undala Padmanna never went +out to work in the fields. They accordingly contrived to get rid of him +by asking him to set fire to some brushwood concealing a white-ant +hill, in the hope that the snake within it would kill him. But, +instead of a snake, an innumerable host of sheep appeared. Frightened +at the sight of these strange black beasts, Undala Padmanna took to +his heels. But Siva appeared, and told him that they were created +for his livelihood, and that he should rear them, and live by their +milk. He taught him how to milk the sheep and boil the milk, and sent +him to a distant town, which was occupied by Rakshasas, to fetch +fire. There the giants were keeping in bondage a Brahman girl, who +fell in love with Undala Padmanna. They managed to escape from the +clutches of the Rakshasas by arranging their beds over deep pits, +which were dug for their destruction. To save her lover, the girl +transformed him into a lizard. She then went with him to the place +where his flock was, and Undala Padmanna married a girl of his own +caste, and had male offspring by her as well as the Brahman. At the +marriage of these sons, a thread kankanam (bracelet) was tied to the +wrist of the caste woman's offspring, and a woollen kankanam to that +of the Brahman girl's sons. The sons of the former were, therefore, +called Atti (cotton) Kankanadavaru, and those of the latter Unni +(woollen) Kankanadavaru. The latter are considered inferior, as they +are of hybrid origin. A third sub-division is that of the Ande Kurubas, +named after the small vessel (ande) used in milking goats. In a note +on the Kurubas of Alur, Thikka, meaning a simpleton, is given as +the name of an important division. It is noted in the Mysore Census +Report, 1901, that the Kurubas have not taken kindly to education, +and are by nature so simple that Kuruba has, in some places, become +a byword for a simpleton. The Kurubas are also known as Halu Mata, +or milk caste, as they believe that they were created out of milk +by Revana Siddeswara. In Hindustani they are called Dhangars, or +rich people. Some, in spite of their poor dress and appearance, +are well-to-do. At the Madras census, 1901, Kavadiga, Kumpani, +and Rayarvamsam (Raja's clan) were returned by some members of the +community. In Mysore, the Kurubas are said [49] to be divided into +Hande Kurubas and Kurubas proper, who have no intercourse with one +another. The latter worship Bire Devaru, and are Saivites. According +to another account, the Halu Kurubas of Mysore have sub-divisions +according to the day of the week, on which they offer puja to their +god, e.g., Aditya Varada (Sunday), Brihaspati Varada (Thursday), +Soma Varada (Monday). + +"The Kurubas," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, "are again sub-divided into +clans or gumpus, each having a headman or guru called a gaudu, who +gives his name to the clan. And the clans are again sub-divided +into gotras or septs, which are mostly of totemistic origin, and +retain their totemistic character to this day. The Arisana gotram is +particularly worthy of notice. The name means saffron (turmeric), +and this was originally taboo; but, as this caused inconvenience, +the korra grain has been substituted, although the old name of the +sept was retained." + + + Exogamous septs. + + Agni, fire. + Alige, drum. + Andara, booth. + Ane, elephant. + Arashina or Arisana, turmeric. + Arathi, wave offering. + Ari, ebony. + Ariya, noble. + Avu, snake. + Bandi, cart. + Banni (Prosopis spicigera). + Basale (Basella rubra). + Batlu, cup. + Belata (Feronia elephantum). + Belli, silver. + Belu (Ægle Marmelos). + Bende (Hibiscus esculentus). + Benise, flint. + Bevu or Bevina (Melia Azadirachta). + Binu, roll of woollen thread. + Bola, bangle. + Chandra, moon. + Chelu, scorpion. + Chilla (Strychnos potatorum). + Chinna or Sinnata, gold. + Deva, a tree. + Emme, buffalo. + Gali, devil. + Gauda, headman. + Gulimi, pick-axe. + Halu, milk. + Hatti, hut. + Honnungara, gold ring. + Ibabire, tortoise. + Irula, darkness. + Iruvu, black ant. + Jelakuppa, a fish. + Jirige, cummin. + Jivala, an insect. + Kalle, bengal gram. + Kanchu, bell-metal. + Kavada, coloured border of a cloth. + Kombu, stick. + Kori, blanket. + Mana, measure. + Malli, jasmine. + Menusu, pepper. + Minchu, metal toe-ring. + Mise, moustache. + Mugga, loom. + Muttu, pearl. + Nali, bamboo tube. + Nayi, dog. + Othu, goat. + Putta, ant-hill; snake hole. + Ratna, precious stones. + Samanti or Savanti (Chrysanthemum). + Same (millet: Panicum miliare). + Samudra, ocean. + Sankhu, conch-shell. + Sarige, lace. + Surya, sun. + Thuppa, clarified butter. + Turaka, Muhammadan. + Ungara, ring. + Uppiri, earth-salt. + + +The titles of members of the caste are Gauda or Heggade, and +the more prosperous go by the name of Kaudikiaru, a corruption +of Gaudikiaru. Many, at the present day, have adopted the title +Nayakkan. Some are called Gorava Vandlu. + +According to Mr. Stuart, "each community of Kurubas, residing in a +group of villages, has a headman or Gaudu. He acts the part of pujari +or priest in all their ceremonies, presides over their tribal meetings, +and settles disputes. He is paid four annas, or, as they call it, +one ruka per house per annum. He is a strict vegetarian, and will not +eat with other Kurubas." The headman or guru of the caste in Bellary +goes by the name of Revana Siddeswara, and he wears the lingam, and +follows the Lingayat creed. Sometimes he dines with his people, and, +on these occasions, new cooking pots must be used. He exercises the +power of inflicting fines, excommunicating those who have had illicit +intercourse with Boyas, Muhammadans, and others, etc. The Kurubas +in Bellary and Anantapur are said to pay three pies to their guru +for every blanket which they sell. The name of the tribal headman at +Alur is Kattaiyintivadu, i.e., shed with a pial or raised verandah +in front of it. Among both Kurubas and Bedars, a special building, +built by public subscription, and called the katta-illu or chavadi, is +set apart for council meetings, at which tribal affairs are discussed +and decided. + +When a girl reaches puberty, she is kept in a corner of the house for +eight days. On the ninth day she bathes, and food is taken to her by +an old woman of the house. Kuruba women are invited to be present in +the evening. The girl, covered with a blanket, is seated on a raised +place. Those assembled throw rice over her feet, knees, shoulders, +and head, and into her lap. Coloured turmeric and lime water is then +waved three or five times round her, and ravikes (body-cloths) are +presented to her. + +The following account of the marriage ceremonial was recorded in +Western Bellary. When a marriage has been settled between the parents +of the young people, visits are exchanged by the two families. On +a fixed day, the contracting couple sit on a blanket at the bride's +house, and five women throw rice over five parts of the body as at +the menstrual ceremony. Betel leaves and areca-nuts are placed before +them, of which the first portion is set apart for the god Birappa, +the second for the Gauda, another for the house god, and so on up +to the tenth. A general distribution then takes place The ceremony, +which is called sakshi vilya or witness betel-leaf, is brought to a +conclusion by waving in front of the couple a brass vessel, over the +mouth of which five betel leaves and a ball of ashes are placed. They +then prostrate themselves before the guru. For the marriage ceremony, +the services of the guru, a Jangam, or a Brahman priest, are called +into requisition. Early on the wedding morning, the bridal couple are +anointed and washed. A space, called the irani square, is marked out +by placing at the four corners a pot filled with water. Round each pot +a cotton thread is wound five times. Similar thread is also tied to +the milk-post of the marriage pandal (booth), which is made of pipal +(Ficus religiosa) wood. Within the square a pestle, painted with +red and white stripes, is placed, on which the bride and bridegroom, +with two young girls, seat themselves. Rice is thrown over them, and +they are anointed and washed. To each a new cloth is given, in which +they dress themselves, and the wrist-thread (kankanam) is tied on all +four. Presents are given by relations, and arathi (red water) is waved +round them. The bridegroom is decorated with a bashingam (chaplet +of flowers), and taken on a bull to a Hanuman shrine along with his +best man. Cocoanuts, camphor, and betel are given to the priest as +an offering to the god. According to another account, both bride and +bridegroom go to the shrine, where a matron ties on their foreheads +chaplets of flowers, pearls, etc. At the marriage house a dais has +been erected close to the milk-post, and covered with a blanket, on +which a mill-stone and basket filled with cholum (Andropogon Sorghum) +are placed. The bridegroom, standing with a foot on the stone and +the bride with a foot on the basket, the gold tali, after it has been +touched by five married women, is tied round the bride's neck by the +officiating priest, while those assembled throw rice over the happy +pair, and bless them. According to another version, a bed-sheet is +interposed as a screen, so that the bride and bridegroom cannot see +each other. On the three following days, the newly-married couple sit +on the blanket, and rice is thrown over them. In Western Bellary, the +bridegroom, on the third day, carries the bride on his waist to Hanuman +temple, where married women throw rice over them. On the fifth morning, +they are once more anointed and washed within the irani square, and, +towards evening, the bride's father hands her over to her husband, +saying "She was till this time a member of my sept and house. Now I +hand her over to your sept and house." On the night of the sixth day, +a ceremony called booma idothu (food placing) is performed. A large +metal vessel (gangalam) is filled with rice, ghi (clarified butter), +curds, and sugar. Round this some of the relations of the bride and +bridegroom sit, and finish off the food. The number of those, who +partake thereof must be an odd one, and they must eat the food as +quickly as possible. If anything goes wrong with them, while eating +or afterwards, it is regarded as an omen of impending misfortune. Some +even consider it as an indication of the bad character of the bride. + +Concerning the marriage ceremony of the Kurubas of North Arcot, +Mr. Stuart writes as follows. "As a preliminary to the marriage, +the bridegroom's father observes certain marks or curls on the +head of the proposed bride. Some of these are believed to forebode +prosperity, and others only misery to the family, into which the girl +enters. They are, therefore, very cautious in selecting only such +girls as possess curls (suli) of good fortune. This curious custom, +obtaining among this primitive tribe, is observed by others only in +the case of the purchase of cows, bulls, and horses. One of the good +curls is the bashingam found on the forehead; and the bad ones are the +peyanakallu at the back of the head, and the edirsuli near the right +temple. But widowers seeking for wives are not generally particular +in this respect. [As bad curls are supposed to cause the death of +the man who is their possessor, she is, I am informed, married to a +widower.] The marriage is celebrated in the bridegroom's house, and, +if the bride belongs to a different village, she is escorted to that +of the bridegroom, and is made to wait in a particular spot outside +it, selected for the occasion. On the first day of the marriage, +purna kumbam, a small decorated vessel containing milk or ghi, with +a two-anna piece and a cocoanut placed on the betel leaf spread over +the mouth of it, is taken by the bridegroom's relations to meet the +bride's party. Therethe distribution of pan supari takes place, +and both parties return to the village. Meanwhile, the marriage +booth is erected, and twelve twigs of naval (Eugenia Jambolana) +are tied to the twelve pillars, the central or milk post, under +which the bridal pair sit, being smeared with turmeric, and a yellow +thread being tied thereto. At an auspicious hour of the third day, +the couple are made to sit in the booth, the bridegroom facing the +east, and the bride facing west. On a blanket spread near the kumbam, +2 1/2 measures of rice, a tali or bottu, one cocoanut, betel leaf and +camphor are placed. The Gaudu places a ball of vibhuti (sacred ashes) +thereon, breaks a cocoanut, and worships the kumbam, while camphor +is burnt. The Gaudu next takes the tali, blesses it, and gives it to +the bridegroom, who ties it round the bride's neck. The Gaudu then, +throwing rice on the heads of the pair, recites a song, in which +the names of various people are mentioned, and concluding 'Oh! happy +girl; Oh! prosperous girl; Basava has come; remove your veil.' The +girl then removes her veil, and the men and women assembled throw +rice on the heads of the bridal pair. The ends of their garments are +then tied together, and two girls and three boys are made to eat out +of the plates placed before the married couple. A feast to all their +relations completes the ceremony. The Gaudu receives 2 1/2 measures +of rice, five handfuls of nuts and betel leaf, and twelve saffrons +(pieces of turmeric) as his fee. Even though the girl has attained +puberty, the nuptial ceremony is not coincident with the wedding, but +is celebrated a few months later." In like manner, among the Kammas, +Gangimakkulu, and other classes, consummation does not take place +until three months after the marriage ceremony, as it is considered +unlucky to have three heads of a family in a household during the +first year of marriage. By the delay, the birth of a child should +take place only in the second year, so that, during the first year, +there will be only two heads, husband and wife. At a marriage among +the Kurubas of the Madura district, a chicken is waved in front of +the contracting couple, to avert the evil eye. The maternal uncle's +consent to a marriage is necessary, and, at the wedding, he leads the +bride to the pandal. A Kuruba may, I am informed, marry two sisters, +either on the death of one of them, or if his first wife has no issue, +or suffers from an incurable disease. Some twenty years ago, when +an unmarried Kuruba girl was taken to a temple, to be initiated as +a Basavi (dedicated prostitute), the caste men prosecuted the father +as a protest against the practice. + +In the North Arcot district, according to Mr. Stuart, "the mother +and child remain in a separate hut for the first ten days after +delivery. On the eleventh day, all the Kuruba females of the village +bring each a pot of hot water, and bathe the mother and child. Betel +and nuts are distributed, and all the people of the village eat in +the mother's house. On the next market-day, her husband, with some of +his male friends, goes to a neighbouring market, and consults with +a Korava or Yerukala what name is to be given to the child, and the +name he mentions is then given to it." In a case which came before +the police in the Bellary district in 1907, a woman complained that +her infant child had been taken away, and concealed in the house of +another woman, who was pregnant. The explanation of the abduction was +that there is a belief that, if a pregnant woman keeps a baby in her +bed, she will have no difficulty at the time of delivery. + +Remarriage of widows is permitted. The ceremony is performed in +a temple or dark room, and the tali is tied by a widow, a woman +dedicated to the deity, or a Dasayya (mendicant) of their own +caste. According to another account, a widow is not allowed to wear a +tali, but is presented with a cloth. Hence widow marriage is called +Sire Udiki. Children of widows are married into families in which +no widow remarriage has taken place, and are treated like ordinary +members of the community. + +In Western Bellary I gathered that the dead are buried, those +who have been married with the face upwards, others with the face +downwards. The grave is dug north and south, and the head is placed +to the south. Earth is thrown into the grave by relations before it +is filled in. A mound is raised over it, and three stones are set up, +over the head, navel, and feet. The eldest son of the deceased places +on his left shoulder a pot filled with water, in the bottom of which +three small holes are made, through which the water escapes. Proceeding +from the spot beneath which the head rests, he walks round the grave, +and then drops the pot so that it falls on the mound, and goes home +without looking back. This ceremony is a very important one with both +Kurubas and Bedars. In the absence of a direct heir, he who carries the +pot claims the property of the deceased, and is considered to be the +inheritor thereof. For the propitiation of ancestors, cooked rice and +sweetmeats, with a new turban and cloth or petticoat, according to the +sex of the deceased, are offered up. Ancestors who died childless, +unless they left property, do not receive homage. It is noted, +in the Bellary Gazetteer, that "an unusual rite is in some cases +observed after deaths, a pot of water being worshipped in the house +on the eleventh day after the funeral, and taken the next morning and +emptied in some lonely place. The ceremony is named the calling back +of the dead, but its real significance is not clear." + +Of the death ceremonies in the North Arcot district, Mr. Stuart +writes that "the son, or, in his absence, a near relative goes round +the grave three times, carrying a pot of water, in which he makes +a hole at each round. On the third round he throws down the pot, +and returns home straight, without turning his face towards the +direction of the grave. For three days, the four carriers of the bier +are not admitted into their houses, but they are fed at the cost of +the deceased's heir. On the the third day, cooked rice, a fowl and +water are taken to the burial-ground, and placed near the grave, to +be eaten by the spirit of the dead. The son, and all his relations, +return home, beating on their mouths. Pollution is observed for ten +days, and, on the eleventh day, sheep and fowls are killed, and a +grand feast is given to the Kurumbas of the village. Before the feast +commences, a leaf containing food is placed in a corner of the house, +and worshipped. This is removed on the next morning, and placed over +the roof, to be eaten by crows. If the deceased be a male, the glass +bangles worn by his wife on her right arm are broken on the same day." + +The patron saint of the Kurubas is Birappa or Biradevaru, and they +will not ride on horses or ponies, as these are the vehicles of the +god. But they worship, in addition, various minor deities, e.g., +Uligamma, Mallappa, Anthargattamma, Kencharaya, and have their house +gods, who are worshipped either by a house or by an entire exogamous +sept. In some places, Mariamma and Sunkulamma are worshipped on Tuesday +and Friday, and the sheep and other offerings are the perquisite of +Boyas, Malas, and Madigas. Some families of Kuruba Dasaris reverence +a goddess called Hombalamma, who is worshipped secretly by a pujari +(priest) at dead of night. Everything used in connection with the rite +is buried or otherwise disposed of before morning. The Kurubas show +reverence for the jammi tree (Prosopis spicigera) and ashwatham (Ficus +religiosa) by not cutting them. It was noticed by Mr. F. Fawcett that, +at the temples of the village goddesses Wannathamma and Durgamma in the +Bellary district, an old Kuruba woman performs the daily worship. In +the mantapam of the temple at Lepakshi, in the Anantapur district, +"is the sculptured figure of a man leaning his chin upon his hands, +which is said to represent a Kuruba who once acted as mediator between +the builder of the temple and his workmen in a dispute about wages. The +image is still bathed in oil, and worshipped by the local Kurubas, +who are proud of the important part played by their caste-man." [50] +In Mysore, the Kurubas are said to worship a box, which they believe +contains the wearing apparel of Krishna under the name of Junjappa. One +of the goddesses worshipped by the Kurubas is named Kelu Devaru or Mane +Hennu Devaru, the pot or household deity. She is worshipped annually +at the Dasara festival, and, on occasions of marriage, just before +the tali is tied. The pot is made by a Kumbara (potter), who is well +paid for his work. During its manufacture, he has to take only one +meal daily, and to avoid pollution of all kinds. The clay should be +kneaded with the hands, and wetted with milk, milk of tender cocoanuts, +and water. When at work on it, the potter should close his mouth with +a bandage, so that his breath may not defile the pot. The Kurubas who +are settled in the Madura district reverence Vira Lakkamma (Lakshmi) +as their family deity, and an interesting feature in connection with +the worship of their goddess is that cocoanuts are broken on the head +of a special Kuruba, who becomes possessed by the deity. + +The Kurubas are ancestor worshippers, and many of them have in their +possession golden discs called hitharadha tali, with the figures of one +or more human beings stamped on them. The discs are made by Akasales +(goldsmiths), who stamp them from steel dies. They are either kept +in the house, or worn round the neck by women. If the deceased was +a celebrity in the community, a large plate is substituted for a disc. + +Concerning the religion of the Kurubas, Mr. Francis writes as +follows. "The most striking point about the caste is its strong +leaning towards the Lingayat faith. Almost everywhere, Jangams are +called in as priests, and allegiance to the Lingayat maths (religious +institutions) is acknowledged, and in places (Kamalapuram for example), +the ceremonies at weddings and funerals have been greatly modified +in the direction of the Lingayat pattern." [51] "In the North Arcot +district, the Gaudu is entrusted with the custody of a golden image +representing the hero of the clan, and keeps it carefully in a small +box filled with turmeric powder. There are also some images set up in +temples built for the purpose. Once a year, several neighbouring clans +assemble at one of their bigger temples, which is lighted with ghi, +and, placing their images in a row, offer to them flowers, cocoanuts, +milk, etc., but they do not slay any victim. On the last day of +their festival, the Kurumbas take a bath, worship a bull, and break +cocoanuts upon the heads of pujaris who have an hereditary right to +this distinction, and upon the head of the sacred bull. Some Kurumbas +do not adopt this apparently inhuman practice. A pujari or priest, +supposed to have some supernatural power, officiates, and begins by +breaking a few nuts on the heads of those nearest to him, and then the +rest go on, the fragments belonging by right to those whose skulls have +cracked them, and who value the pieces as sacred morsels of food. For +a month before this ceremony, all the people have taken no meat, and +for three days the pujaris have lived on fruits and milk alone. At +the feast, therefore, all indulge in rather immoderate eating, but +drink no liquor, calling excitedly upon their particular god to grant +them a prosperous year. The temples of this caste are usually rather +extensive, but rude, low structures, resembling an enclosed mantapam +supported upon rough stone pillars, with a small inner shrine, where +the idols are placed during festival time. A wall of stone encloses +a considerable space round the temple, and this is covered with +small structures formed of four flat stones, three being the walls, +and the fourth the roof. The stone facing the open side has a figure +sculptured upon it, representing the deceased Gaudu, or pujari, to +whom it is dedicated. For each person of rank one of these monuments +is constructed, and here periodically, and always during the annual +feasts, puja is made not only to the spirits of the deceased chiefs, +but also to those of all who have died in the clan. It seems impossible +not to connect this with those strange structures called by the natives +Pandava's temples. They are numerous where the Kurumbas are now found, +and are known to have been raised over the dead. Though the Kurumbas +bury, they do not now raise their monuments over the resting place of +the corpse. Nor can they build them upon anything approaching to the +gigantic scale of the ancient kistvaen or dolmen." [52] It was noted +by a correspondent of the Indian Antiquary [53] that, in the Kaladgi +'district,' he "came across the tomb of a Kuruba only four years +old. It was a complete miniature dolmen about eighteen inches every +way, composed of four stones, one at each side, one at the rear, and +a cap-stone. The interior was occupied by two round stones about the +size of a man's fist, painted red, the deceased resting in his mother +earth below." In the open country near Kadur in Mysore, is a shrine +of Biradevaru, which consists of four stone pillars several feet +in height surmounted by flat slabs as a cap-stone, within which the +deity is represented by round stones, and stones with snakes carved +on them are deposited. Within the Kuruba quarter of the town, the +shrine of Anthargattamma is a regular dolmen beneath a margosa (Melia +Azadirachta) tree, in which the goddess is represented by rounded +stones imbedded in a mound of earth. Just outside the same town, +close to a pipal tree (Ficus religiosa) are two smaller dolmen-like +structures containing stones representing two Kuruba Dasaris, one a +centenarian, who are buried there. + +"The village of Maliar, in the Hadagalli taluk of the Bellary district, +contains a Siva temple, which is famous throughout the district +for an annual festival held there in the month of February. This +festival has now dwindled more or less into a cattle fair. But the +fame of the temple continues as regards the karanika, which is a +cryptic sentence uttered by a priest, containing a prophecy of the +prospect of the agricultural season of the ensuing year. The pujari +of the temple is a Kuruba. The feast in the temple lasts for ten +days. On the last day of the feast, the god Siva is represented as +returning victorious from the battlefield after having slain Malla +with a huge bow. He is met half-way from the field of battle by the +goddess. The huge wooden bow is brought, and placed on end before +the god. The Kuruba priest climbs up the bow as it is held up by +two assistants, and then gets on the shoulders of these men. In +this posture he stands rapt in silence for a few minutes, looking +in several directions. He then begins to quake and quiver from head +to foot. This is the sign of the spirit of the Siva god possessing +him--the sign of the divine afflatus upon him. A solemn silence +holds the assembly, for the time of the karanika has approached. The +shivering Kuruba utters a cryptic sentence, such as Akasakke sidlu +bodiyuttu, or thunder struck the sky. This is at once copied down, +and interpreted as a prophecy that there will be much rain in the year +to come. Thus every year, in the month of February, the karanika of +Mailar is uttered and copied, and kept by all in the district as a +prophecy. This karanika prognostication is also pronounced now at the +Mallari temple in the Dharwar district, at Nerakini in the Alur taluk, +and at Mailar Lingappa in the Harapanahalli taluk." [54] + +The rule of inheritance among the Kurubas is said [55] to differ +very little from that current among Hindus, but the daughters, if +the deceased has no son, share equally with the agnates. They belong +to the right-hand faction, and have the privilege of passing through +the main bazars in processions. Some Mudalis and 'Naidus' are said +to have no objection to eat, drink, and smoke with Kurubas. Gollas +and some inferior flesh-eating Kapus will also do so. + +Kuruhina Setti Viraisaivar.--A synonym of Kurni. Kuruhina means +literally a sign, mark, or token. Kuruvina Banajiga occurs as a +synonym of Bilimagga. + +Kurukkal.--See Gurukkal (Brahman). + +Kurukula Vamsam.--The name, derived from Kuru, the ancestor of the +Kauravas, assumed by some Pattanavans. + +Kurumba or Kuruman.--As bearing on the disputed question of the +connection between the Kurumbas who dwell in the jungle, and the +Kurubas (shepherds and weavers) who live in the plains and open +country, I may quote the evidence of various witnesses:-- + +Madras Census Report, 1891.--"The Kurumbas or Kurrubas are the modern +representatives of the ancient Kurumbas or Pallavas, who were once +so powerful throughout Southern India, but very little trace of their +greatness now remains. In the seventh century, the power of the Pallava +kings seems to have been at its zenith; but, shortly after this, +the Kongu, Chola, and Chalukya chiefs succeeded in winning several +victories over them. The final overthrow of the Kurumba sovereignty +was effected by the Chola king Adondai about the seventh or eighth +century A.D., and the Kurumbas were scattered far and wide. Many +fled to the hills, and in the Nilgiris and the Wynad, in Coorg and +Mysore, representatives of this ancient race are now found as wild +and uncivilised tribes. Elsewhere the Kurumbas are more advanced, +and are usually shepherds, and weavers of coarse woollen blankets." + +"Kuruman.--This caste is found in the Nilgiris and the Wynad, with a +slight sprinkling in the Nilambur and Attapadi hills in Malabar. Their +principal occupations are wood-cutting, and the collection of forest +produce. The name is merely another form of Kurumban, but, as they +differ from the ordinary Kurumbas, it seemed better to show them +separately. I think, however, that they were originally identical with +the shepherd Kurumbans, and their present separation is merely the +result of their isolation in the fastnesses of the Western Ghats, +to which their ancestors fled, or gradually retreated after the +downfall of the Kurumba dynasty. The name Kurumbranad, a sub-division +of Malabar, still bears testimony to their once powerful position." + +Madras Census Report, 1901--"Kuruba; Kurumban.--These two have always +been treated as the same caste. Mr. Thurston (Madras Mus. Bull. II, +i) thinks they are distinct. I have no new information, which will +clearly decide the matter, but the fact seems to be that Kurumban is +the Tamil form of the Telugu or Canarese Kuruba, and that the two +terms are applied to the same caste according to the language in +which it is referred to. There was no confusion in the abstraction +offices between the two names, and it will be seen that Kuruba is +returned where Canarese and Telugu are spoken, and Kurumban where +the vernacular is Tamil. There are two sharply defined bodies of +Kurumbans--those who live on the Nilgiri plateau, speak the Kurumba +dialect, and are wild junglemen; and those who live on the plains, +speak Canarese, and are civilised." + +Mysore Census Report, 1891--Kadu Kuruba or Kurumba.--"The tribal name +of Kuruba has been traced to the primeval occupation of the race, +viz., the tending of sheep, perhaps when pre-historic man rose to +the pastoral stage. The Uru or civilised Kurubas, who are genuine +tillers of the soil, and who are dotted over the country in populous +and thriving communities, and many of whom have, under the present +'Pax Britannica,' further developed into enterprising tradesmen and +withal lettered Government officials, are the very antipodes of the +Kadu or wild Kurubas or Kurumbas. The latter, like the Iruligas and +Soligas, are the denizens of the backwoods of the country, and have +been correctly classed under the aboriginal population. The Tamilised +name of Kurumba is applied to certain clans dwelling on the heights +of the Nilgiris, who are doubtless the offshoots of the aboriginal +Kadu Kuruba stock found in Mysore." + +W. R. King. Aboriginal Tribes of the Nilgiri Hills--"Kurumbas.--This +tribe is of another race from the shepherd Kurumbas. The Nilgiri tribe +have neither cattle nor sheep, and in language, dress, and customs, +have no affinity whatever with their namesakes." + +G. Oppert. Original Inhabitants of India--"Kurubas or +Kurumbas.--However separated from each other, and scattered among the +Dravidian clans with whom they have dwelt, and however distant from +one another they still live, there is hardly a province in the whole +of Bharatavarasha which cannot produce, if not some living remnants +of this race, at least some remains of past times which prove their +presence. Indeed, the Kurumbas must be regarded as very old inhabitants +of this land, who can contest with their Dravidian kinsmen the priority +of occupation of the Indian soil. The terms Kuruba and Kurumba are +originally identical, though the one form is, in different places, +employed for the other, and has thus occasionally assumed a special +local meaning. Mr. H. B. Grigg appears to contradict himself when, +while speaking of the Kurumbas, he says that 'in the low country they +are called Kurubas or Curubaru, and are divided into such families +as Ane or elephant, Naya or dog, Male or hill Kurumbas.' [56] Such +a distinction between mountain Kurumbas and plain Kurumbas cannot be +established. The Rev. G. Richter will find it difficult to prove that +the Kurubas of Mysore are only called so as shepherds, and that no +connection exists between these Kurubas and the Kurumbas. Mr. Lewis +Rice calls the wild tribes as well as the shepherds Kurubas, but +seems to overlook the fact that both terms are identical, and refer +to only the ethnological distinction." + +The above extracts will suffice for the purpose of showing that +the distinction between the jungle Kurumbas and the more civilised +Kurubas, and their relationship towards each other, call for a +'permanent settlement.' And I may briefly place on record the results +of anthropometric observations on the jungle Kurumbas of the Nilgiris, +and the domesticated Kurubas of Mysore and the Bellary district, +whose stature and nasal index (two factors of primary importance) +are compared with those of the jungle Paniyans of Malabar and Kadirs +of the Anaimalai mountains-- + + + ===================+==========+===============+============= + | Stature. | Nasal index. | Nasal index. + ==== | Average. | Average. | Maximum. + ===================+==========+===============+============= + | cm. | | + Kurubas, Bellary | 162.7 | 74.9 | 92 + Kurubas, Mysore | 163.9 | 73.2 | 86 + Kurumbas, Nilgiris | 157.5 | 88.8 | 111 + Paniyans | 157.4 | 95.1 | 108 + Kadirs | 151.7 | 89 | 115 + ===================+==========+===============+============= + + +A glance at the above table at once shows that there is a closer +affinity between the three dark-skinned, short, platyrhine jungle +tribes, than between the jungle Kurumbas and the lighter-skinned, +taller, and more leptorhine Kurubas. + +The domesticated Kurubas are dealt with separately, and, in the +remarks which follow, I am dealing solely with the jungle Kurumbas. + +The Kadu, or wild Kurumbas of Mysore are divided into "(a) Betta +or hill Kurumbas, with sub-divisions called Ane (elephant), Bevina +(nim tree: Melia Azadirachta), and Kolli (fire-brand)--a small +and active race, capable of great fatigue, who are expert woodmen; +(b) Jenu or honey Kurumbas, said to be a darker and inferior race, +who employ themselves in collecting honey and bees-wax." [57] + +For the following note on the Kadu Kurumbas I am indebted to the Mysore +Census Report, 1891. "There are two clans among them, viz., Bettada +and Jenu. The former worship the forest deities Narali and Mastamma; +eat flesh and "drink liquor, a favourite beverage being prepared from +ragi (Eleusine Coracana) flour. Some of their habits and customs are +worth mentioning, as indicating their plane of civilization. They have +two forms of marriage. One is similar to the elaborate ceremony among +the Vakkaligas, while the other is the simple one of a formal exchange +of betel leaves and areca nuts, which concludes the nuptials. The +Kadu Kurubas can only eat meals prepared by members of the higher +castes. During their periodical illnesses, the females live outside +the limits of the Hadi (group of rude huts) for three days. And, in +cases of childbirth, none but the wet nurse or other attendant enters +the room of the confined woman for ten days. In cases of sickness, no +medical treatment is resorted to; on the other hand, exorcisms, charms, +incantations, and animal sacrifices are more generally in vogue. The +male's dress consists of either a bit of cloth to cover their nudity, +or a piece of coarse cloth tied round the waist, and reaching to the +knees. They wear ornaments of gold, silver, or brass. They are their +own barbers, and use broken glass for razors. The females wear coarse +cloth four yards long, and have their foreheads tattooed in dots of +two or three horizontal lines, and wear ear-rings, glass bangles, +and necklaces of black beads. Strangers are not allowed to enter +their hadis or hamlets with shoes or slippers on. In case of death, +children are buried, whilst adults are burned. On the occurrence of +any untoward event, the whole site is abandoned, and a new hadi set +up in the vicinity. The Kadu Kurubas are very active, and capable of +enduring great fatigue. It is said that they are revengeful, but, +if treated kindly, they will do willing service. The Jenu Kurubas +live in small detached huts in the interior of thick jungles, far +away from inhabited places. Their habits are no less wild. The male +dress consists of either a woollen kambli or coarse cloth, and a skull +cap. The female's sadi is white coarse cloth, their wonted ornaments +being a pair of brass ear-rings, strings of black beads tied round +the neck, and glass bangles on the wrist. These people do not allow +to outcasts and Musalmans access to their premises, or permit shoes +being brought into their houses or streets. They eat flesh, and take +meals from Vakkaligas, Lingayats, and other superior castes. They +subsist on wild bamboo seed, edible roots, etc., found in the jungle, +often mixed with honey. They are said not unfrequently to make a +dessert out of bees in preference to milk, ghi (clarified butter), +etc. They are engaged chiefly in felling timber in the forests, and +other similar rude pursuits, but they never own or cultivate land for +themselves, or keep live-stock of their own. They are very expert in +tracking wild animals, and very skilfully elude accidental pursuits +thereby. Their children, more than two years old, move about freely +in the jungle. They are said to be hospitable to travellers visiting +their place at any unusual hour. They are Saivites, and Jangams are +their gurus. The ceremonial pollution on account of death lasts for +ten days, as with the Brahmans. Children are buried, while adults, +male or female, are cremated. A curious trait of this primitive race +is that the unmarried females of the village or hadi generally sleep +in a hut or chavadi set apart for them, whilst the adult bachelors +and children have a separate building, both under the eye of the head +tribesman. The hut for the latter is called pundugar chavadi, meaning +literally the abode of vagabonds." The Jenu Kurumbas are said to eat, +and the Betta Kurumbas to abstain from eating the flesh of the 'bison' +(Bos gaurus). + +In a note on the Jenu and Betta Kurumbas of Mysore, +Mr. M. Venkatanarnappa writes as follows. "The Betta are better clothed +and fed than the Jen Kurumbas. Their occupation is kumri (burning and +shifting) cultivation. Their women are clever at basket-making. They +can be distinguished by the method of dress which their women have +adopted, and the way in which the men wear their hair. A Betta woman +covers her body below the shoulders by tying a long cloth round +the arm-pits, leaving shoulders and arms bare, whereas a Jen woman +in good circumstances dresses up like the village females, and, if +poor, ties a piece of cloth round her loins, and wears another to +partially conceal the upper part of her body. Among males, a Betta +Kurumba leaves his hair uncut, and gathers it from fore and aft into +a knot tied on the crown of the head. A Jen Kurumba shaves like the +ryots, leaving a tuft behind, or clips or crops it, with a curly or +bushy growth to protect the head from heat and cold. The Betta and +Jen Kurumbas never intermarry." The Betta Kurumbas are, I am told, +excellent elephant mahauts (drivers), and very useful at keddah +(elephant-catching) operations. + +Of the Kadu and Betta Kurumbas, as they were at the beginning of the +nineteenth century, the following account is given by Buchanan. [58] +"The Cad Curubaru are a rude tribe, who are exceedingly poor and +wretched. In the fields near the villages, they build miserable low +huts, have a few rags only for clothing, and the hair of both sexes +stands out matted like a mop, and swarms with vermin. Some of them +hire themselves out as labouring servants to the farmers, and receive +monthly wages. Others, in crop seasons, watch the fields at night, +to keep off elephants and wild hogs. In the intervals between crops, +they work as daily labourers, or go into the woods, and collect the +roots of wild yams (Dioscorea), part of which they eat, and part +exchange with the farmers for grain. Their manner of driving away +the elephant is by running against him with a burning torch made of +bamboos. The animal sometimes turns, waits till the Curubaru comes +close up; but these poor people, taught by experience, push boldly +on, dash their torches against the elephant's head, who never fails +to take to immediate flight. Should their courage fail, and should +they attempt to run away, the elephant would immediately pursue, and +put them to death. The Curubaru have no means of killing so large +an animal, and, on meeting with one in the day-time, are as much +alarmed as any other of the inhabitants. During the Sultan's reign +they caught a few in pitfalls. [I have heard of a clever Kurumba, +who caught an elephant by growing pumpkins and vegetable marrow, +for which elephants have a partiality, over a pit on the outskirts +of his field.--E.T.] The wild hogs are driven out of the fields +by slings, but they are too fierce for the Curubaru to kill. These +people frequently suffer from tigers, against which their wretched +huts are a poor defence; and, when this wild beast is urged by hunger, +he is regardless of their burning torches. These Curubaru have dogs, +with which they catch deer, antelopes, and hares; and they have the +art of taking in snares, peacocks, and other esculent birds. They +believe that good men, after death, will become benevolent Devas, +and bad men destructive Devas. They are of such known honesty that +on all occasions they are entrusted with provisions by the farmers, +who are persuaded that the Curubaru would rather starve than take one +grain of what was given to them in charge. The spirits of the dead +are believed to appear in dreams to their old people, and to direct +them to make offerings to a female deity named Bettada Chicama, +that is, the mother of the hill. Unless these offerings are made, +this goddess occasions sickness. In cases of adultery, the husband +flogs his wife severely, and, if he is able, beats her paramour. If +he be not able, he applies to the gaudo (headman), who does it for +him." The Betta Curubaru, Buchanan continues, "live in poor huts near +the villages, and the chief employment of the men is the cutting of +timber, and making of baskets. With a sharp stick they also dig up +spots of ground in the skirts of the forest, and sow them with ragi +(Eleusine Coracana). The men watch at night the fields of the farmers, +but they are not so dexterous at this as the Cad Curubaru. In this +class, the Cutigas are women that prefer another man to their husband, +or widows, who do not wish to relinquish carnal enjoyment. Their +children are not considered as illegitimate." + +Of the casual system of clearing the jungle in vogue among the +Kurumbas, I may quote the following description. [59] "In their search +for food, this wild tribe naturally prefers a forest cleared of all +undergrowth, in which to move about, and the ingenuity with which +they attain this end, and outwit the vigilant forest subordinates, +is worthy of a better object. I have heard of a Kurumba walking miles +from his hadi or hamlet, with a ball of dry smouldering elephant +dung concealed in his waist-cloth. This he carried to the heart of +the forest reserve, and, selecting a suitable spot, he placed the +smouldering dung, with a plentiful supply of dry inflammable grass +over it, in such a position as to allow the wind to play upon it, +and fan it into a flame with the pleasing certainty that the smoke +from the fire would not be detected by the watchers on the distant +fire-lines until the forest was well alight, the flames beyond all +control, and the Kurumba himself safe at home in his hadi, awaiting +the arrival of the forest subordinate to summon the settlement to +assist in the hopeless task of extinguishing the fire." + +Of the Kurumbas who are found in the Wynad, Calicut, and Ernad taluks +of Malabar, the following account is given in the Gazetteer of that +district. "They are sub-divided into Mullu (bamboo) Kurumbans, Jen or +Ten (honey) Kurumbans, also called Kadu or Shola Nayakkans (or Jenu +Koyyo Shola Nayakas, i.e., honey-cutting lords of the woods), and +Urali or Bet Kurumbans; of which the first-named class, who consider +themselves superior to the others, are cultivators and hunters; the +second wood-cutters and collectors of honey; and the third make baskets +and implements of agriculture. The Mullu and Ten Kurumbans have headmen +with titles of Muppan and Mudali respectively conferred by their janmis +(landlords). The Kurumbans, like many of the other hill-tribes, use +bows and arrows, with which they are expert. The caste deity of the +Ten Kurumbans is called Masti. It is perhaps worth remarking that +the Urali Kurumbans of the Wynaad differ from the other two classes +in having no headmen, observing a shorter period of pollution after +a birth than any other Malabar tribe and none at all after a death, +and in not worshipping any of the Malabar animistic deities." + +The chief sub-divisions of the Kurumbas on the Nilgiris, and in +the Wynad, are said, in the Madras Census Report, 1891, to be "Mullu +(thorn), Betta or Vetta (hill), Urali (Ur, a village), Ten (honey), and +Tac'chanadan Muppan (carpenter headman). Of these, the first and last +speak Malayalam, and wear a lock in front of their head in the Malabar +fashion. The rest speak Canarese. Urali Kurumbas work in metals." + +The villages of the Kurumbas on the Nilgiri hills are, Mr. Grigg +writes, [60] called mottas. They consist generally of only four or +five huts, made of mud and wattle, with thatched roofs. The front of +the house is sometimes whitewashed, and ornamented with rude drawings +of men and animals in red earth or charcoal. They store their grain +in large oval baskets, and for bottles they use gourds. They clear a +patch round about the village, and sow the ground with ragi (Eleusine +Coracana), tenne (Setaria italica), or kiri (Amarantus). They dig up +roots (called gasu) for food, and collect the jungle produce, honey, +resin, gall-nuts, etc., which they barter with low-country traders, +and they are clever in catching game in nets, and dispose of the flesh +in a surprisingly short time. Kurumbas occasionally take work on coffee +plantations, and some earn a livelihood by officiating as priests to +the Badagas. They are also employed as musicians at wedding feasts +and funerals of the other tribes, where they play on clarionets, +drums, and tambourines, as well as the buguri. They make baskets of +rattan and milk vessels out of a joint of bamboo, as well as nets +of a thread called oilhatti. Their women confine themselves to the +limited work of their households, fetching water, cooking, etc. The +following extract embraces all that can be said of the religion of +the Kurumbas. "Some profess to worship Siva, and occasionally women +mark their foreheads with the Siva spot. Others, living near Barliar, +worship Kuribattraya (lord of many sheep) and the wife of Siva under +the name of Musni. They worship also a rough stone under the name of +Hiriadeva, setting it up either in a cave, or in a circle of stones +like the so-called Kurumba kovil of the Badagas, which the latter +would seem to have borrowed from the Kurumbas. To this they make +puja, and offer cooked rice at the sowing time. They also profess to +sacrifice to Hiriadeva a goat, which they kill at their own houses, +after sprinkling water, and eat, giving a portion of flesh to the +pujari (priest). Others say that they have no pujari: among such a +scattered tribe customs probably vary in each motta"--(Breeks). It +is recorded by Dr. Rivers, in connection with the Toda legendary +stories of Kwoten, that "one day Kwoten went with Erten of Keadr, +who was spoken of as his servant to Poni, in the direction of Polkat +(Calicut). At Poni there is a stream called Palpa, the commencement of +which may be seen on the Kundahs. Kwoten and Erten went to drink water +out of the stream at a place where a goddess (teu) named Terkosh had +been bathing.... Finally, they came to Terkosh, who said to Kwoten, +"Do not come near me, I am a teu." Kwoten paid no heed to this, but +said "You are a beautiful woman," and went and lay with her. Then +Terkosh went away to her hill at Poni, where she is now, and to this +day the Kurumbas go there once a year and offer plantains to her, +and light lamps in her honour." + +It is further recorded by Dr. Rivers that "two ceremonial objects are +obtained by the Todas from the Kurumbas. One is the tall pole called +tadrsi or tadri, which is used in the dance at the second funeral +ceremonies, and afterwards burnt. Poles of the proper length are said +to grow only on the Malabar side of the Nilgiris, and are probably +most easily obtained from the Kurumbas. The other is the teiks, +or funeral post at which the buffalo is killed." Besides supplying +the Badagas with the elephant-pole required at their funerals, the +Kurumbas have to sow the first handful of grain for the Badagas every +season. The ceremony is thus described by Harkness. [61] "A family +of the Burghers (Badagas) had assembled, which was about to commence +ploughing. With them were two or three Kurumbas, one of whom had set +up a stone in the centre of the spot on which we were standing, and, +decorating it with wild flowers, prostrated himself to it, offered +incense, and sacrificed a goat, which had been brought there by the +Burghers. He then took the guidance of the plough, and, having ploughed +some ten or twelve paces, gave it over, possessed himself of the head +of the sacrificed animal, and left the Burghers to prosecute their +labours.... The Kurumba, sowing the first handful, leaves the Burgher +to go on with the remainder, and, reaping the first sheaf, delivers it +with the sickle to him, to accomplish the remainder of the task. At +harvest time, or when the whole of the grain has been gathered in, +the Kurumba receives his dues, or proportion of the produce." The +relations of the Kurumbas with the Badagas at the present day, and +the share which the former take in the ceremonies of the latter, +are dealt with in the account of the Badagas. + +I am informed that, among the Kurumbas of the Nilgiris, it is the +custom for several brothers to take one wife in common (adelphogamy), +and that they do not object to their women being open to others +also. There is said to be no marriage rite. A man and woman will mate +together, and live as husband and wife. And, if it happens that, in +a family, there has been a succession of such wives for one or two +generations, it becomes an event, and is celebrated as such. The pair +sit together, and pour water over each other from pots. They then put +on new cloths, and a feast is partaken of. Among the Shola Nayakkars, +a feature of the marriage ceremony is said to be for the bride to roll +a cheroot of tobacco leaves, which both parties must smoke in turn. + +Writing concerning the Irulas and Kurumbas, Mr. Walhouse says [62] +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. Mr. Breeks reports that the Kurumbas in the neighbourhood +of the Rangasvami peak and Barliar burn their dead, and place a +bone and a small round stone in the savu-mane (death-house)--an old +cromlech." The conjecture is hazarded by Fergusson [63] that the +Kurumbas are the remnant of a great and widely spread race, who may +have erected dolmens. As bearing on the connection between Kurumbas +and Kurubas, it is worthy of note that the latter, in some places, +erect dolmens as a resting-place for the dead. (See Kuruba.) + +It is noted, in the Gazetteer of the Nilgiris, that the Kurumbas +"trade largely on the extraordinary dread of their supposed magical +powers which possesses the Todas and the Badagas--the latter +especially. Stories are told of how they can summon wild elephants +at will, and reduce rocks to powder merely by scattering mystic herbs +upon them." + +"The Kurumbas," Harkness writes, "have a knowledge of herbs and +medicinal roots, and the Burghers (Badagas) say that they limit their +knowledge thereof to those which are noxious only, and believe that, +with the assistance of their magic, they are able to convey them into +the stomachs of those to whom they have any dislike. The violent +antipathy existing between the Burghers and the Kurumbas, and the +dread and horror which the former entertain of the preternatural +powers of the latter, are, perhaps, not easily accounted for; but +neither sickness, death, nor misfortune of any kind, ever visit +the former, without the latter having the credit of producing it. A +few years before, a Burgher had been hanged by the sentence of the +provincial court for the murder of a Kurumba. The act of the former +was not without what was considered great provocation. Disease had +attacked the inhabitants of the hamlet, a murrain their cattle. The +former had carried off a great part of the family of the murderer, +and he himself had but narrowly escaped its effects. No one in +the neighbourhood doubted that the Kurumba in question had, by his +necromancy, caused all this misfortune, and, after several fruitless +attempts, a party of them succeeded in surrounding him in open day, +and effecting their purpose." In 1835 no less than forty-eight +Kurumbas were murdered, and a smaller number in 1875 and 1882. In +1900 a whole family of Kurumbas was murdered, of which the head, +who had a reputation as a medicine-man, was believed to have brought +disease and death into a Badaga village. The sympathies of the whole +country-side were so strongly with the murderers that detection was +made very difficult, and the persons charged were acquitted. [64] In +this case several Todas were implicated. "It is," Mr. Grigg writes, +"a curious fact that neither Kota, Irula, or Badaga will slay a Kurumba +until a Toda has struck the first blow, but, as soon as his sanctity +has been violated by a blow, they hasten to complete the murderous +work, which the sacred hand of the Toda has begun." The Badaga's +dread of the Kurumba is said to be so great that a simple threat of +vengeance has proved fatal. My Toda guide--a stalwart representative +of his tribe--expressed fear of walking from Ootacamund to Kotagiri, +a distance of eighteen miles along a highroad, lest he should come +to grief at the hands of Kurumbas; but this was really a frivolous +excuse to get out of accompanying me to a distance from his domestic +hearth. In like manner, Dr. Rivers records that, when he went to +Kotagiri, a Toda who was to accompany him made a stipulation that +he should be provided with a companion, as the Kurambas were very +numerous in that part. In connection with the Toda legend of Ön, who +created the buffaloes and the Todas, Dr. Rivers writes that "when Ön +saw that his son was in Amnodr (the world of the dead), he did not like +to leave him there alone, and decided to go away to the same place. So +he called together all the people, and the buffaloes and the trees, +to come and bid him farewell. All the people came except a man of +Kwodrdoni named Arsankutan. He and his family did not come. All the +buffaloes came except the Arsaiir, the buffaloes of the Kwodroni ti +(sacred dairy). Some trees also failed to come. Ön blessed all the +people, buffaloes and trees present, but said that, because Arsankutan +had not come, he and his people should die by sorcery at the hands +of the Kurumbas, and that, because the Arsaiir had not come, they +should be killed by tigers, and that the trees which had not come +should bear bitter fruit. Since that time the Todas have feared the +Kurumbas, and buffaloes have been killed by tigers." + +On the Nilgiri hills, honey-combs are collected by Jen Kurumbas +and Sholagas. The supply of honey varies according to the nature +of the season, and is said to be especially plentiful and of good +quality when Strobilanthes flowers. [65] The Kurumbas are said to +have incredibly keen eye-sight, gained from constantly watching +the bee to his hive. When they find a hive not quite ready to take, +they place a couple of sticks in a certain position. This sign will +prevent any other Kurumba from taking the honey, and no Badaga or +other hillman would meddle with it on any account, for fear of being +killed by sorcery. + +Fortified by a liberal allowance of alcohol and tobacco, the Kurumbas, +armed with bamboo torches, will follow up at night the tracks of +a wounded 'bison' (Bos gaurus), and bring back the head and meat to +camp. A European sportsman recounts that he has often seen his Kurumba +shikari (tracker) stop, and, with the one word "honey," point to the +top of an adjacent tree. "How do you know?" he asked, "Oh! I saw +a bee" was the answer given with the greatest nonchalance. On one +occasion he found himself close to a swarm of bees. The Kurumba, +seeing him hesitate, thrust his stick clean through the swarm, +and, with the bare remark "No honey," marched on. The District +Forest Officer, when out shooting, had an easy shot at a stag, and +missed it. "There," said the Kurumba, pointing to a distant tree, +"is your bullet." His trained sense of hearing no doubt enabled him +to locate the sound of the bullet striking the tree, and his eyes, +following the sound, instantly detected the slight blaze made by the +bullet on the bark. The visual acuity of a number of tribes and castes +inhabiting the mountains, jungles, and plains, has been determined +by Dr. W. H. R. Rivers and myself, by means of the Cohn letter E +method. And, though the jungle man, who has to search for his food +and mark the tracks or traces of wild beasts, undoubtedly possesses +a specially trained keenness of vision for the exigencies of his +primitive life, our figures show that, as regards ordinary visual +acuity, he has no advantage over the more highly civilised classes. + +"The Kurumbas of the Mysore forests," Mr. Theobald writes, "make fire +by friction. They follow the same method as the Todas, as described +by Mr. Thurston, but never use the powdered charcoal in the cavity +of the horizontal piece of wood which is held down by their feet, +or by a companion. The fine brown powder, formed during the rotation +of the longer vertical piece, gives sufficient tinder, which soon +ignites, and is then placed on a small piece of cotton rag, rolled +loosely, and gently blown until it is ignited. The vertical stick +is held between the palms, and has a reciprocal motion, by the palms +being moved in opposite directions, at the same time using a strong +downward pressure, which naturally brings the palms to the bottom, +when they are at once raised to their original position, and the +operation continued till the naturally formed tinder ignites." + +In his report on Forest Administration in Coorg, 1902-1903, +Mr. C. D'A. McCarthy writes as follows concerning the Kurumbas, who +work for the Forest department. "We experienced in connection with the +Kurumbas one of those apparent aberrations of sense and intellect, +the occurrence of which amongst this peculiar race was foreshadowed +in the last report. The Chief Commissioner is aware that, in the +interests of the Kurubas themselves, we substitute for a single cash +payment distributions to the same value of food-grains, clothes and +cash, in equal proportions of each. Now, seventy years ago, before +the annexation of Coorg, the Kurubas and similar castes were prædial +slaves of the dominant Coorgs, receiving no other remuneration for +service than food and clothing. In fact, this institution, nothing less +than real slavery, was not entirely broken up until the great demand +for local labour created by the opening up of the country for coffee +cultivation so late as 1860-1870, so that the existing generation are +still cognisant of the old state of affairs. Last year, during the +distribution of rewards for the successful protection of the reserves +that season from fire, it seems that the idea was put into the heads +of these people that our system of remuneration, which includes the +distribution of food and clothing, was an attempt to create again +at their expense a system of, as it were, forest slavery; with the +result that for a time nothing would induce many of them to accept +any form of remuneration for the work already performed, much less +to undertake the same duties for the approaching season. It was some +time, and after no little trouble, that the wherefore of this strange +conduct was discovered, and the suspicions aroused put at rest." In +his report, 1904-1905, Mr. McCarthy states that "the local system +of fire protection, consisting of the utilisation of the Kuruba +jungle population for the clearing of fire lines and patrolling, +and the payment of rewards according to results, may now be said to +be completely established in Coorg. The Kurubas appear to have gained +complete confidence in the working of the system, and, provided the +superior officers personally see to the payment of the rewards, are +evidently quite satisfied that the deductions for failures are just +and fair." + +The Kurumbas are said to have been very useful in the mining operations +during the short life of the Wynad gold-mines. A few years ago, I +received the skulls of two Kurumbas, who went after a porcupine into +a deserted tunnel on the Glenrock Gold-mining Company's land in the +Wynad. The roof fell in on them, and they were buried alive. + +In a note on the 'Ethnogénie des Dravidiens', [66] Mr. Louis Lapicque +writes as follows. "Les populations caractéristiques du Wainaad sont +les Panyer, les négroides les plus accusés et les plus homogenes que +j'ai vus, et probablement qui existent dans toute l'Inde. D'autre +part, les tribus vivant de leur côté sur leurs propres cultures, +fortement négroides encore, mais plus mélangées. Tels sont les Naiker +et les Kouroumbas." + + + ===================+==========+=============+======== + ==== | Indice | Indice | + | nasal. | céphalique. | Taille. + ===================+==========+=============+======== + 54 Panyer | 84 | 74 | 154 + 28 Kouroumbas | 81 | 75 | 157 + 12 Naiker | 80 | 76.9 | 157 + ===================+==========+=============+======== + + +Concerning Nayakas or Naikers and Kurumbas, Mr. F. W. F. Fletcher +writes to me as follows from Nellakotta, Nilgiris. "It may be that +in some parts of Wynaad there are people known indifferently as +Kurumbas and Shola Nayakas; but I have no hesitation in saying that +the Nayakas in my employ are entirely distinct from the Kurumbas. The +two classes do not intermarry; they do not live together; they will not +eat together. Even their prejudices with regard to food are different, +for a Kurumba will eat bison flesh, and a Nayaka will not. The latter +stoutly maintains that he is entirely distinct from, and far superior +to, the Kurumba, and would be grievously offended if he were classed +as a Kurumba. The religious ceremonies of the two tribes are also +different. The Nayakas have separate temples, and worship separate +gods. The chief Kurumba temple in this part of the country is close to +Pandalur, and here, especially at the Bishu feast, the Kurumbas gather +in numbers. My Nayakas do not recognise this temple, but have their +place of worship in the heart of the jungle, where they make their puja +(worship) under the direction of their own priest. The Nayakas will +not attend the funeral of a Kurumba; nor will they invite Kurumbas to +the funeral of one of their own tribe. There is a marked variation in +their modes of life. The Kurumba of this part lives in comparatively +open country, in the belt of deciduous forest lying between the ghats +proper and the foot of the Nilgiri plateau. Here he has been brought +into contact with European Planters, and is, comparatively speaking, +civilised. The Nayaka has his habitat in the dense jungle of the ghats, +and is essentially a forest nomad, living on honey, jungle fruits, and +the tuberous roots of certain jungle creepers. By constant association +with myself, my Nayaka men have lost the fear of the white man, which +they entertained when I first came into the district; but even now, +if I visit the village of a colony who reside in the primæval forest, +the women and children will hide themselves in the jungle at sight of +me. The superstitions of the two tribes are different. Some Nayakas +are credited with the power of changing themselves at will into a +tiger, and of wreaking vengeance on their enemies in that guise. And +the Kurumba holds the Nayaka in as much awe as other castes hold +the Kurumba. Lower down, on the flat below the ghats I am opening a +rubber estate, and here I have another Nayaka colony, who differ in +many respects from their congeners above, although the two colonies +are within five miles as the crow flies. The low-country Nayaka does +his hair in a knot on one side of his head, Malayalam fashion, and his +speech is a patois of Malayalam. The Nayaka on the hills above has +a mop of curly hair, and speaks a dialect of his own quite distinct +from the Kurumba language, though both are derived from Kanarese. But +that the low-country people are merely a sept of the Nayaka tribe +is evident from the fact that intermarriage is common amongst the +two colonies, and that they meet at the same temple for their annual +puja. The priest of the hill colony is the pujari for both divisions +of the Nayakas, and the arbiter in all their disputes." + +Kurumo.--The Kurumos are a caste of Oriya agriculturists, found mainly +in the Russellkonda taluk of Ganjam. They are called Kurumo by Oriyas, +and Kudumo by Telugus. There is a tradition that their name is derived +from Srikurmam in the Vizagapatam district, where they officiated as +priests in the Siva temple, and whence they were driven northward. The +Kurumos say that, at the present day, some members of the caste are +priests at Saivite temples in Ganjam, bear the title Ravulo, and wear +the sacred thread. It is noted in the Madras Census Report, 1901, +that "some of them wear the sacred thread, and follow Chaitanya, +and Oriya Brahmans will accept drinking-water at their hands. They +will eat in Brahmans' houses, and will accept drinking-water from +Gaudos, Bhondaris, and Ravulos." Bhondaris wash the feet of Kurumos +on ceremonial occasions, and, in return for their services, receive +twice the number of cakes given to other guests at feasts. + +In addition to the Kurumos proper, there is a section called Kuji +Kurumo, which is regarded as lower in the social status. The caste +titles are Bissoyi, Behara, Dudi, Majhi, Nayako, Podhano, Ravulo, +Ravuto, Senapati, and Udhdhandra. Those who bear the title Dudi are +priests at the temples of the village deities. The title Udhdhandra +was conferred by a zamindar, and is at present borne by a number of +families, intermarriage among members of which is forbidden. Every +village has a headman entitled Adhikari, who is under the control of +a chief headman called Behara. Both these appointments are hereditary. + +Among other deities, the Kurumos worship various Takuranis +(village deities), such as Bodo Ravulo, Bagha Devi, Kumbeswari, and +Sathabhavuni. In some places, there are certain marriage restrictions +based on the house-gods. For example, a family whose house-god is +Bodo Ravulo may not intermarry with another family which worships the +same deity. Every family of Kurumos apparently keeps the house-god +within the house, and it is worshipped on all important occasions. The +god is usually represented by five areca nuts, which are kept in a +box. These nuts must be filled with pieces of gold, silver, iron, +copper, and lead, which are introduced through a hole drilled in the +base of the nut, which is plugged with silver. + +Infant marriage is the rule, and, if a girl does not secure a husband +before she reaches maturity, she has to go through the mock-marriage +rite, called dharma bibha, with her grandfather or other elder. On +the evening of the day previous to that of the real marriage, called +gondo sona, the paternal aunt of the bridegroom goes to a tank (pond), +carrying thither a brass vessel. This is placed on the tank bund +(embankment), and worshipped. Some cowry (Cypræa arabica) shells +are then thrown into the tank, and the vessel is filled with water, +and taken to the house. At the entrance thereto, a Sullokhondia +Gaudo stands, holding a vessel of water, from which a little water +is poured into the vessel brought from the tank. The bride's aunt +then goes to three or five houses of members of her own caste, and +receives water therefrom in her vessel, which is placed near the +house-gods, and eventually kept on the marriage dais throughout the +wedding ceremonies. Over the marriage dais (bedi) at the bridegroom's +house, four brass vessels, and four clay lamps fed with ghi (clarified +butter), are placed at the four corners. Round the four posts thereof +seven turns of thread are made by a Brahman purohit. The bridegroom, +wearing mokkuto (forehead chaplet) and sacred thread, after going +seven times round the dais, breaks the thread, and takes his seat +thereon. After Zizyphus Jujuba leaves and rice have been thrown +over him, he is taken in procession to a temple. On his return home, +he is met by five or seven young girls and women at the entrance to +the house, and Zizyphus leaves are again thrown over him. A Bhondari +woman sprinkles water from mango leaves over him, and he proceeds +in a palanquin to the home of the bride. At the marriage ceremony, +the bride throws rice on the head of the bridegroom over a screen +which is interposed between them. After their hands have been tied +together, a grinding-stone and roller are placed between them, and +they face each other while their fingers are linked together above the +stone. On the seventh day, the newly married couple worship seven posts +at the bride's house. The various articles used in connection with +the marriage ceremonies, except one pot, are thrown into a tank. On +his return thence, the bridegroom breaks the pot, after he has been +sprinkled with the water contained in it by a Bhondari. At times of +marriage, and on other auspicious occasions, the Kurumos, when they +receive their guests, must take hold of their sticks or umbrellas, +and it is regarded as an insult if this is not done. + +On the fifth and eighth days after the birth of a child, a new cloth +is spread on the floor, on which the infant is placed, with a book +(bagavatham) close to its head, and an iron rod, such as is used +by Oriya castes for branding the skin of the abdomen of newly-born +babies, at its side. The relations and friends assemble to take part +in the ceremonial, and a Brahman purohit reads a puranam. Betel leaves +and areca nuts are then distributed. On the twenty-first day, the +ceremonial is repeated, and the purohit is asked to name the child. He +ascertains the constellation under which it was born, and announces +that a name commencing with a certain letter should be given to it. + +Like other Oriya castes, the Kurumos are particular with regard to +the observation of various vratams (fasts). One, called sudasa vratam, +is observed on a Thursday falling on the tenth day after new moon in +the month of Karthika (November-December). The most elderly matron +of the house does puja (worship), and a puranam is read. Seven cubits +of a thread dyed with turmeric are measured on the forearm of a girl +seven years old, and cut off. The deity is worshipped, and seven knots +are made in the piece of thread, which is tied on to the left upper +arm of the matron. This vratam is generally observed by Oriya castes. + +Kurup.--In a note on the artisan classes of Malabar, it is recorded +[67] that "the Kolla-Kurups combine two professions which at first +sight seem strangely incongruous, shampooing or massage, and the +construction of the characteristic leather shields of Malabar. But +the two arts are intimately connected with the system of combined +physical training, as we should now call it, and exercise in arms, +which formed the curriculum of the kalari (gymnasium), and the title +kurup is proper to castes connected with that institution. A similar +combination is found in the Vil-Kurups (bow-Kurups), whose traditional +profession was to make bows and arrows, and train the youth to use +them, and who now shampoo, make umbrellas, and provide bows and arrows +for some Nayar ceremonies. Other classes closely connected are the +Kollans or Kurups distinguished by the prefixes Chaya (colour), Palissa +(shield), and Tol (leather), who are at present engaged in work in +lacquer, wood, and leather." Kurup also occurs as a title of Nayars, +in reference to the profession of arms, and many of the families +bearing this title are said [68] to still maintain their kalari. + +Kuruvikkaran.--The Kuruvikkarans are a class of Marathi-speaking +bird-catchers and beggars, who hunt jackals, make bags out of the +skin, and eat the flesh thereof. By Telugu people they are called +Nakkalavandlu (jackal people), and by Tamilians Kuruvikkaran +(bird-catchers). They are also called Jangal Jati and Kattu +Mahrati. Among themselves they are known as Vagiri or Vagirivala. They +are further known as Yeddu Marige Vetagandlu, or hunters who hide +behind a bullock. In decoying birds, they conceal themselves behind a +bullock, and imitate the cries of birds in a most perfect manner. They +are said to be called in Hindustani Paradhi and Mir Shikari. + +As regards their origin, there is a legend that there were once +upon a time three brothers, one of whom ran away to the mountains, +and, mixing with Kanna Kuruvans, became degraded. His descendants +are now represented by the Dommaras. The descendants of the second +brother are the Lambadis, and those of the third Kuruvikkarans. The +lowly position of these three classes is attributed to the fact +that the three brothers, when wandering about, came across Sita, +the wife of Rama, about whose personal charms they made remarks, +and laughed. This made Sita angry, and she uttered the following +curse:--"Malitho shikar, naitho bhikar," i.e., if (birds) are found, +huntsmen; if not, beggars. According to a variant of the legend, +[69] many years ago in Rajputana there lived two brothers, the elder +of whom was dull, and the younger smart. One day they happened to +be driving a bullock along a path by the side of a pool of water, +when they surprised Sita bathing. The younger brother hid behind his +bullock, but the elder was too stupid to conceal himself, and so both +were observed by the goddess, who was much annoyed, and banished +them to Southern India. The elder she ordered to live by carrying +goods about the country on pack-bullocks, and the younger to catch +birds by means of two snares, which she obligingly formed from hair +plucked from under her arm. Consequently the Vagirivalas never shave +that portion of the body. + +The Kuruvikkarans are nomadic, and keep pack-bullocks, which convey +their huts and domestic utensils from place to place. Some earn their +living by collecting firewood, and others by acting as watchmen in +fields and gardens. Women and children go about the streets begging, +and singing songs, which are very popular, and imitated by Hindu +women. They further earn a livelihood by hawking needles and glass +beads, which they may be seen in the evening purchasing from Kayalans +(Muhammadan merchants) in the Madras bazar. + +One of the occupations of the Kuruvikkarans is the manufacture and sale +of spurious jackal horns, known as narikompu. To catch the jackals, +they make an enclosure of a net, inside which a man seats himself, +armed with a big stick. He then proceeds to execute a perfect imitation +of the jackal's cry, on hearing which the jackals come running to +see what is the matter, and are beaten down. A Kuruvikkaran, whom +the Rev. E. Löventhal interviewed, howled like a jackal, to show his +skill as a mimic. The cry was quite perfect, and no jackal would have +doubted that he belonged to their class. Sometimes the entire jackal's +head is sold, skin and all. The process of manufacture of the horn is +as follows. After the brain has been removed, the skin is stripped off +a limited area of the skull, and the bone at the place of junction of +the sagittal and lambdoid sutures above the occipital foramen is filed +away, so that only a point, like a bony outgrowth, is left. The skin +is then brought back, and pressed over the little horn, which pierces +it. The horn is also said to be made out of the molar tooth of a dog or +jackal, introduced through a small hole in a piece of jackal's skin, +round which a little blood or turmeric paste is smeared, to make it +look more natural. In most cases only the horn, with a small piece +of skull and skin, is sold. Sometimes, instead of the skin from the +part where the horn is made, a piece of skin is taken from the snout, +where the long black hairs are. The horn then appears surrounded by +long black bushy hairs. The Kuruvikkarans explain that, when they see +a jackal with such long hairs on the top of its head, they know that +it possesses a horn. A horn-vendor, whom I interviewed, assured me +that the possessor of a horn is a small jackal, which comes out of +its hiding-place on full-moon nights to drink the dew. According to +another version, the horn is only possessed by the leader of a pack of +jackals. The Sinhalese and Tamils alike regard the horn "as a talisman, +and believe that its fortunate possessor can command the realisation of +every wish. Those who have jewels to conceal rest in perfect security +if, along with them, they can deposit a narricomboo." [70] The ayah +(nurse) of a friend who possessed such a talisman remarked "Master +going into any law-court, sure to win the case." This, as has been +pointed out, does not show much faith in the British administration of +justice, if a so-called jackal's horn can turn the scale. Two spurious +horns, which I possessed, were promptly stolen from my study table, +to bring luck to some Tamil member of my establishment. + +Some Kuruvikkarans carry suspended from their turban or body-cloth a +small whistle, with which they imitate the song of birds, and attract +them. Young boys often have with them a bundle of small sticks strung +together, and with a horse-hair noose attached to them. The sticks are +driven into the ground, and grain is strewn around to entice birds, +which get caught in the noose. + +The women wear a petticoat and an ill-fitting bodice. Among other +classes "Wearing the bodice like a Kuruvikkaran woman" is used as +a taunt. The petticoat may never be taken off till it is tattered +and torn, and replaced by a new one; and, when a woman bathes, she +has to do so with the garment on. Anything which has come in contact +with the petticoat, or rice husked with a woman's feet, is polluted, +and may not be used by men. Women adorn themselves with necklaces of +beads and cowry shells, or sometimes, like the Lambadis, wear shell +bracelets. Both men and women stain their teeth with a preparation +of myrabolams, Acacia arabica pods, and sulphates of copper and +iron. Females may not blacken their teeth, or wear a necklace of +black beads before marriage. + +A young married woman, wherever she may be during the daytime, +must rejoin her husband at night. If she fails to do so, she has +to go through the ordeal of grasping a red-hot iron bar or sickle, +and carrying it sixteen paces without dropping it. Another form +of ordeal is dipping the hands in a pot containing boiling cowdung +water, and picking out therefrom a quarter-anna piece. If the woman +is innocent, she is able to husk a small quantity of paddy (rice) +by rubbing it between her hands immediately after the immersion in +the liquid. If a man has to submit to trial by ordeal, seven arka +(Calotropis gigantea) leaves are tied to his palm, and a piece of +red-hot iron placed thereon. His innocence is established if he is +able to carry it while he takes seven long strides. + +The Kuruvikkarans have exogamous septs, of which Ranaratod seems to +be an important one, taking a high place in the social scale. Males +usually add the title Sing as a suffix to their names. + +Marriage is always between adults, and the celebration, including +the betrothal ceremony, extends over five days, during which meat is +avoided, and the bride keeps her face concealed by throwing her cloth +over it. Sometimes she continues to thus veil herself for a short time +after marriage. On the first day, after the exchange of betel, the +father of the bride says "Are you ready to receive my daughter as your +daughter-in-law into your house? I am giving her to your son. Take care +of her. Do not beat her when she is ill. If she cannot carry water, +you should help her. If you beat her, or ill-treat her in any way, +she will come back to us." The future father-in-law having promised +that the girl will be kindly treated, the bridegroom says "I am true, +and have not touched any other woman. I have not smiled at any girl +whom I have seen. Your daughter should not smile at any man whom she +sees. If she does so, I shall drive her back to your house." In the +course of the marriage ceremonies, the bride is taken to the home of +her mother-in-law, to whom she makes a present of a new cloth. The +Nyavya (headman) hands a string of black beads to the mother-in-law, +who ties it round the bride's neck, while the assembled women sing. At +a marriage of the first daughter of a member of the Ranaratod sept, +a Brahman purohit is invited to be present, and give his blessing, +as it is believed that a Gujarati Brahman was originally employed +for the marriage celebration. + +The principal tribal deity of the Kuruvikkarans is Kali or Durga, +and each sept possesses a small plate with a figure of the goddess +engraved on it, which is usually kept in the custody of the headman. It +is, however, frequently pledged, and money-lenders give considerable +sums on the security of the idol, as the Kuruvikkarans would on no +account fail to redeem it. When the time for the annual festival of +the goddess draws nigh, the headman or an elder piles up Vigna Catiang +seeds in five small heaps. He then decides in his mind whether there is +an odd or even number of seeds in the majority of heaps. If, when the +seeds are counted, the result agrees with his forecast, it is taken +as a sign of the approval of the goddess, and arrangements are made +for the festival. Otherwise it is abandoned for the year. On the day +of the festival, nine goats and a buffalo are sacrificed. While some +cakes are being cooked in oil, a member of the tribe prays that the +goddess will descend on him, and, taking some of the cakes out of the +boiling liquid, with his palm rubs the oil on his head. He is then +questioned by those assembled, to whom he gives oracular replies, +after sucking the blood from the cut throat of a goat. It is noted +in the North Arcot Manual that the Vagirivalas assemble two or three +times in the year at Varadareddipalli for worship. The objects of +this are three saktis called Mahan Kali, Chamundi, and Mahammayi, +represented by small silver figures, which are mortgaged to a Reddi +of the village, and lent by him during the few days of the festival. + +Kusa.--A sub-division of Holeyas in South Canara, who also call +themselves Uppara. Some of them say that they are the same as Upparas +of Mysore, whose hereditary occupation was the manufacture of salt +from salt-earth (ku, earth). Kusa further occurs as a synonym of the +Otattu, or tile-making section of the Nayars, and Kusa Maran as a class +of potters in Travancore. Kusa is also an exogamous sept of the Boyas. + +Kusavan.--The Kusavans are the Tamil potters. "The name," +Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [71] "is said to be derived from the Sanskrit +word ku signifying earth, the material in which they work, and avan, +a personal termination. They wear the sacred thread, and profess +both Saivism and Vaishnavism. Their ceremonials are somewhat like +those of the Vellalas. The eating of flesh is permitted, but not +widow marriage. Some have priests of their own caste, while others +employ Brahmans. Kusavans sometimes officiate as pujaris in Pidari +temples. Their titles are Udayan and Velan. Their stupidity and +ignorance are proverbial." At times of census, Kulalan has been +returned as a synonym of Kusavan, and Kusavan as an occupational +division of Paraiyans. The Kusavans are divided into the territorial +sections Chola, Chera, and Pandya, and say that "these are descended +from the three sons of their original ancestor Kulalan, who was the +son of Brahma. He prayed to Brahma to be allowed, like him, to create +and destroy things daily; so Brahma made him a potter." [72] + +In ancient days, the potters made the large pyriform sepulchral urns, +which have, in recent times, been excavated in Tinnevelly, Madura, +Malabar, and elsewhere. Dr. G. U. Pope shows [73] that these urns +are mentioned in connection with the burial of heroes and kings as +late as the eighth century A.D., and renders one of the Tamil songs +bearing on the subject as follows:-- + + + "Oh! potter chief ... what toil hath befallen thee! + The descendant of the Cora kings.... + Hath gained the world of gods. And so + 'Tis thine to shape an urn so vast + That it shall cover the remains of such an one." + + +The legend concerning the origin of the potter classes is narrated +in the article on Kummaras. "It is," Mr. E. Holder writes, [74] +"supposed by themselves that they are descended from a Brahmin father +and Sudra mother, for the sacrificial earthen vessels, which are now +made by them, were, according to the Vedas, intended to be made by the +priests themselves. Some of the potters still wear the sacred thread, +like the Kammalars or artisan class. They are generally illiterate, +though some of their class have earned distinction as sound scholars, +especially of late years. The women assist the men in their work, +chiefly where delicacy of execution is needed. On the whole, the +potters are a poor class compared with the Kammalar class, which +includes jewellers, metal-workers and wood-workers. Their occupation +is, on that account, somewhat despised by others." + +The potter's apparatus is described by Monier Williams [75] as "a +simple circular horizontal well-balanced fly-wheel, generally two +or three feet in diameter, which can be made to rotate for two or +three minutes by a slight impulse. This the potter loads with clay, +and then, with a few easy sweeps and turns of his hands, he moulds his +material into beautiful curves and symmetrical shapes, and leaves the +products of his skill to bake in the sun." By Mr. Holder the apparatus +is described as follows. "The potter's implements are few, and his +mode of working is very simple. The wheel, a clumsily constructed and +defective apparatus, is composed of several thin pliable pieces of +wood or bamboo, bent and tied together in the form of a wheel about +3 1/2 feet in diameter. This is covered over thickly with clay mixed +with goat's hair or any fibrous substance. The four spokes and the +centre on which the vessel rests are of wood. The pivot is of hard +wood or steel. The support for the wheel consists of a rounded mass +of clay and goat's hair, in which is imbedded a piece of hard wood +or stone, with one or two slight depressions for the axle or pivot to +move in. The wheel is set into motion first by the hand, and then spun +rapidly by the aid of a long piece of bamboo, one end of which fits +into a slight depression in the wheel. The defects in the apparatus +are--firstly its size, which requires the potter to stoop over it in +an uneasy attitude; secondly, the irregularity of its speed, with a +tendency to come to a standstill, and to wave or wobble in its motion; +and thirdly, the time and labour expended in spinning the wheel afresh +every time its speed begins to slacken. Notwithstanding, however, +the rudeness of this machine, the potters are expert at throwing, and +some of their small wares are thin and delicate. The usual manner in +which most of the Madras potters bake their wares is as follows. A +circular space, about ten feet in diameter, is marked out on the +ground in any convenient open spot. Small pieces of wood and dried +sticks are spread over this space to a depth of about six inches, and +a layer of brattis (dried cow-dung cakes) laid over the sticks. The +vessels are then carefully piled on top of this platform of fuel to a +height of about five or six feet, and the whole heap is covered over +with straw, and plastered over with clay, a few small openings being +left here and there to allow the smoke to escape. These arrangements +being completed, the fuel at the bottom is fired, and in the course +of a few hours the process of baking is completed." + +When travelling in India, Dr. Jagor noticed that the potters of Salem +communicated to their ware a kind of polish, exactly like that seen +on some of the specimens of antique pottery found in cromlechs. It +was ascertained that the Salem potters use a seed for producing the +polish, which was determined by Surgeon-General G. Bidie to be the +seed of Gyrocarpus Jacquini, which is also used for making rosaries +and necklaces. Another method employed for producing a polish is to +rub the surface of the baked vessel with the mucilaginous juice of +tuthi (Abutilon indicum), and then fire the vessel again. + +It is stated, in the Coimbatore Manual, that "the potter never +begins his day's work at the wheel without forming into a lingam +and saluting the revolving lump of clay, which, with the wheel, +bears a strong resemblance to the usual sculptured conjunction" +(of lingam and yoni). An old potter woman, whom I examined on this +point, explained that the lump represents Ganesa. In like manner, +the pan coolies at the salt factories never scrape salt from the pans +without first making a Pillayar (Ganesa) of a small heap of salt, +on the top of which the salt is sometimes piled up. + +Painted hollow clay images are made by special families of Kusavans +known as pujari, who, for the privilege of making them, have to +pay an annual fee to the headman, who spends it on a festival at +the caste temple. When a married couple are anxious to have female +offspring, they take a vow to offer figures of the seven virgins, +who are represented all seated in a row. If a male or female recovers +from cholera, small-pox, or other severe illness, a figure of the +corresponding sex is offered. A childless woman makes a vow to offer +up the figure of a baby, if she brings forth offspring. Figures of +animals--cattle, sheep, horses, etc.--are offered at the temple when +they recover from sickness, or are recovered after they have been +stolen. The pupils of the eyes of the figures are not painted in +till they are taken to the temple, where offerings of fruit, rice, +etc., are first made. Even the pupils of a series of these images, +which were specially made for me, were not painted at the potter's +house, but in the verandah of the traveller's bungalow where I was +staying. Horses made of clay, hollow and painted red and other colours, +are set up in the fields to drive away demons, or as a thank-offering +for recovery from sickness or any piece of good luck. The villagers +erect these horses in honour of the popular deity Ayanar, the guardian +deity of the fields, who is a renowned huntsman, and is believed, when, +with his two wives Purna and Pushkala, he visits the village at night, +to mount the horses, and ride down the demons. Ayanar is said to be +"the special deity of the caste. Kusavans are generally the pujaris +in his temples, and they make the earthenware (and brick and mortar) +horses and images, which are placed before these buildings." [76] + +For the following note on a ceremony, in which the potters take part, +I am indebted to an essay submitted in connection with the M.A. degree +of the Madras University. "Brahmans of Vedic times ate dogs, horses, +bulls, and goats. The fondness for mutton even in a raw state finds +its modern counterpart in the bloody hecatombs that disfigure some +of their annual sacrifices. In these ceremonies called Pasubandha, +Agnishtoma, Vajapeya, Garudachayana, etc., a goat is tied to a +post, and, after the usual mantrams (prayers) and the service of +frankincense, etc., is ablutioned in water mixed with turmeric and +taken to the slaughter-room. And the method of slaughtering is most +appalling. Two men appointed for the purpose, invariably men belonging +to the pot-making community, rush into the apartment. One catches +hold of the fore-quarter of the animal and keeps it from struggling, +while the other squeezes the scrotum with so much violence that the +animal succumbs in a few minutes, after writhing in the most painful +fashion. The man in charge of the fore-quarter puts a handful of salt +into the animal's mouth, and holds it tight, lest the animal should +bleat, and make the ceremony unsanctimonious. The carcase is now +brought to the mailing shed, where, with crude knives and untrained +hands, the Brahmans peel off the skin most savagely. Then they cut +open the chest, and it is a common sight to see these Brahmans, +uninitiated in the art of butchery, getting their hands severely +poked or lacerated by the cut sharp ends of the ribs. Then portions of +flesh are cut off from various portions of the carcase, such as the +buccal region, the cardiac region, the scapular region, the renal, +the scrotal, the gluteal and gastroenemial regions. The amount of +flesh thus chopped comes to not less than three big potfuls, and they +are cooked in water over the slow fire of a primitively constructed +oven. No salt is put to season the meat, but the Brahmans bolt it +without any condiment in an awful fashion." + +The services of the potter are required in connection with the +marriage ceremonial of many castes. At some Brahman marriages, for +example, the tali is tied on the bride's neck in the presence of +33 crores (330 millions) of gods, who are represented by a number +of variously coloured pots, large and small. At a Lingayat wedding, +new pots are brought with much shouting, and deposited in the room +in which the household god is kept. An enclosure is made round the +bride and bridegroom with cotton thread passed round four pots placed +at the four corners of the marriage pandal. Among the Patnulkarans, +on the occasion of a wedding, a number of small pots are set up in +a room, and worshipped daily throughout the marriage ceremonies. The +ceremonial of breaking a pot containing water at the graveside prevails +among many classes, e.g., Oddes, Toreyas, and Paraiyans. + +At the time of the Aruvaththimuvar festival, or festival of the +sixty-three saints, at Mylapore in the city of Madras, crowds may be +seen returning homeward after attending it, each carrying a new pot +(chatty), which they purchase so as not to go home empty-handed. At +the festival of Tiruvottiyur, stalks of Amarantus gangeticus are in +like manner purchased. + +It is noted, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that "a Kusavan +can claim the hand of his paternal aunt's daughter. Marriage occurs +before puberty. The tali is tied by the bridegroom's sister, and the +usual bride-price is paid. The ceremonies last three days. One of them +consists in the bridegroom's sister sowing seeds in a pot, and, on the +last day of the wedding, the seedlings which have sprouted are taken +with music to a river or tank (pond), and thrown into it. When the +bride attains maturity, a ceremony is conducted by the caste priest, +and consummation follows on the next auspicious day." + +Among the Kusavans, divorce and remarriage are permissible on mutual +agreement, on one party paying to the other the expenses of the +latter's original marriage (parisam). A case came before the High Court +of Madras, [77] in which a Kusavan woman in the Tinnevelly district, +on the ground of ill-treatment, repaid her husband the parisam, +thereby dissolving the marriage, and married another man. + +The potters are considered to be adepts in the treatment of cases of +fracture. And it is still narrated how one of them successfully set in +splints the broken arm of Lord Elphinstone, when Governor of Madras, +after the English doctors had given up the job as hopeless. [78] +"In our village," it is recorded, [79] "cases of dislocations +of bones and fractures, whether simple, compound, comminuted or +complicated, are taken in hand by the bone-setters, who are no other +than our potters. The village barber and the village potter are our +surgeons. While the barber treats cases of boils, wounds, and tumours, +the potter confines himself to cases of fracture and dislocations +of bones." The amateur treatment by the unqualified potter sometimes +gives rise to what is known as potter's gangrene. + +For the notes of the following case I am indebted to Captain +F. F. Elwes, I.M.S. A bricklayer, about a month and a half or two +months prior to admission into hospital, fell from a height, and +injured his left arm. He went to a potter, who placed the arm and +forearm in a splint, the former in a line with the latter, i.e., +fully extended. He kept the splint on for about a month and, when +it was removed, found that he was unable to bend the arm at the +elbow-joint. When he was examined at the hospital, practically +no movement, either active or passive, could be obtained at the +elbow-joint. The lower end of the humerus could be felt to be decidedly +thickened both anteriorly and posteriorly. There had apparently been +a fracture of the lower end of the humerus. Röntgen ray photographs +showed an immense mass of callus extending over the anterior surface of +the elbow-joint from about two and a half inches above the lower end +of the humerus to about an inch below the elbow-joint. There was also +some callus on the posterior surface of the lower end of the humerus. + +Concerning potter's gangrene, Captain W. J. Niblock, I.M.S., writes +as follows. [80] "Cases of gangrene, the result of treatment of +fractures by the village potters, used to be frequently met with +in the General Hospital, Madras. These were usually brought when +the only possible treatment consisted in amputation well above the +disease. Two of these cases are indelibly impressed on my mind. Both +were cases of gangrene of the leg, the result of tight splinting by +potters. The first patient was a boy of thirteen. Whilst a student +was removing the dressings on his admission, the foot came off in his +hands, leaving two inches of the lower ends of the tibia and fibula +exposed, and absolutely devoid of all the soft tissues, not even the +periosteum being left. The second case was that of a Hindu man, aged +46. He was taken to the operation theatre at once. Whilst engaged +in disinfecting my hands, I heard a dull thud on the floor of the +operation theatre, turned round, and found that the gangrenous leg, +as the result of a struggle whilst chloroform was being administered, +had become separated at the knee-joint, and had fallen on floor; or, +to put it tersely, the man had kicked his leg off." + +In connection with the Tamil proverb "This is the law of my caste, +and this is the law of my belly," the Rev. H. Jensen notes [81] +that "potters are never Vaishnavas; but potters at Srirangam were +compelled by the Vaishnava Brahmans to put the Vaishnava mark on their +foreheads; otherwise the Brahmans would not buy their pots for the +temple. One clever potter, having considered the difficulty, after +making the Saivite symbol on his forehead, put a big Vaishnava mark +on his stomach. When rebuked for so doing by a Brahman, he replied as +above." The proverb "Does the dog that breaks the pots understand how +difficult it is to pile them up?" is said by Jensen to have reference +to the pots which are piled up at the potter's house. A variant is +"What is many days' work for the potter is but a few moment's work +for him who breaks the pots." + +In the Madura district, the Kusavans have Velan as a title. + +The insigne of the Kusavans, recorded at Conjeeveram, is a potter's +wheel. [82] + +Kutikkar.--A name for Dasis in Travancore. + +Kutraki (wild goat).--An exogamous sept of Jatapu. + +Kuttadi.--Described, in the Census Report, 1901, as an occupational +name, meaning a rope-dancer, applied to Dommaras, Paraiyans, +or Koravas. Arya Kuttadi is a Tamil synonym for Maratha (Are) +Dommaras. Kuttadi also occurs as the name of a class of mendicants +attached to Kaikolans. + +Kuttan.--A division of Toda. + +Kuttina.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a +sub-division of Nayar. + +Kuttiya.--A sub-division of Kond. + +Kuzhal.--The name of the flute used by shepherds and snake-charmers. It +occurs as an exogamous sept of Toreyas, the members of which must +not hear the sound of this musical instrument when at meals. + +Kuzhappara.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a +sub-division of Nayar. + +Kuzhiyan.--A synonym derived from kuzhi a pit, for Thanda Pulayans, +in reference to the legend that they were found emerging in a state +of nudity from a pit. + + + + + + + +L + + +Labbai.--The Labbais are summed up, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, +as being "a Musalman caste of partly Tamil origin, the members of +which are traders and betel vine (Piper Betle) growers. They seem to +be distinct from the Marakkayars, as they do not intermarry with them, +and their Tamil contains a much smaller admixture of Arabic than that +used by the Marakkayars. In the Tanjore district, the Labbais are +largely betel vine cultivators, and are called Kodikkalkaran (betel +vine people)." In the Census Report, 1881, the Labbais are said to be +"found chiefly in Tanjore and Madura. They are the Mappilas of the +Coromandel coast, that is to say, converted Dravidians, or Hindus, +with a slight admixture of Arab blood. They are thrifty, industrious, +and enterprising; plucky mariners, and expert traders. They emigrate to +the Straits Settlements and Burma without restriction." In the Census +Report, 1891, they are described as "a mixed class of Muhammadans, +consisting partly of compulsory converts to Islam made by the early +Muhammadan invaders and Tippu Sultan." As regards their origin, Colonel +Wilks, the historian of Mysore, writes as follows. [83] "About the end +of the first century of the Hejirah, or the early part of the eighth +century A.D., Hijaj Ben Gusaff, Governor of Irak, a monster abhorred +for his cruelties even among Musalmans, drove some persons of the +house of Hashem to the desperate resolution of abandoning for ever +their native country. Some of them landed on that part of the western +coast of India called the Concan, the others to the eastward of Cape +Comorin. The descendants of the former are Navaiyats, of the latter +the Labbai, a name probably given to them by the natives from that +Arabic particle (a modification of labbick) corresponding with the +English 'Here I am,' indicating attention on being spoken to [i.e., +the response of the servant to the call of his master. A further +explanation of the name is that the Labbais were originally few in +number, and were often oppressed by other Muhammadans and Hindus, +to whom they cried labbek, or we are your servants]. Another account +says they are the descendants of the Arabs, who, in the eleventh +and and twelfth centuries, came to India for trade. These Arabs were +persecuted by the Moghals, and they then returned to their country, +leaving behind their children born of Indian women. The word Labbai +seems to be of recent origin, for, in the Tamil lexicons, this caste +is usually known as Sonagan, i.e., a native of Sonagam (Arabia), +and this name is common at the present day. Most of the Labbais are +traders; some are engaged in weaving corah (sedge) mats; and others in +diving at the pearl and chank fisheries of the Gulf of Manaar. Tamil +is their home-speech, and they have furnished some fair Tamil poets. In +religion they are orthodox Musalmans. Their marriage ceremony, however, +closely resembles that of the lower Hindu castes, the only difference +being that the former cite passages from the Koran, and their females +do not appear in public even during marriages. Girls are not married +before puberty. Their titles are Marakkayan (Marakalar, boatmen), and +Ravuttan (a horse soldier). Their first colony appears to have been +Kayalpatnam in the Tinnevelly district." In the Manual of the Madura +district, the Labbais are described as "a fine, strong, active race, +who generally contrive to keep themselves in easy circumstances. Many +of them live by traffic. Many are smiths, and do excellent work as +such. Others are fishermen, boatmen, and the like. They are to be found +in great numbers in the Zamindaris, particularly near the sea-coast." + +Concerning the use of a Malay blow-gun (glorified pea-shooter) +by the Labbais of the Madura district, Dr. N. Annandale writes as +follows. [84] "While visiting the sub-division of Ramnad in the +coast of the Madura district in 1905, I heard that there were, among +the Muhammadan people known locally as Lubbais or Labbis, certain +men who made a livelihood by shooting pigeons with blow-guns. At +Kilakarai, a port on the Gulf of Manaar, I was able to obtain a +specimen, as well as particulars. According to my Labbi informants, +the 'guns' are purchased by them in Singapore from Bugis traders, +and brought to India. There is still a considerable trade, although +diminished, between Kilakarai and the ports of Burma and the Straits +Settlements. It is carried on entirely by Muhammadans in native sailing +vessels, and a large proportion of the Musalmans of Kilakarai have +visited Penang and Singapore. It is not difficult to find among them +men who can speak Straits Malay. The local name for the blow-gun is +senguttan, and is derived in popular etymology from the Tamil sen +(above) and kutu (to stab). I have little doubt that it is really a +corruption of the Malay name of the weapon--sumpitan. The blow-gun +which I obtained measures 189.6 cm. in length: its external diameter +at the breech is 30mm., and at the other extremity 24 mm. The diameter +of the bore, however, is practically the same throughout, viz., 12 +mm. Both ends are overlaid with tin, and the breech consists of a +solid piece of tin turned on a lathe and pierced, the diameter of the +aperture being the same as that of the bore. The solid tin measures +35 mm. in length, and is continuous with the foil which covers the +base of the wooden tube. The tube itself is of very hard, heavy, dark +wood, apparently that of a palm. It is smooth, polished and regular +on its outer surface, and the bore is extremely true and even. At a +distance of 126 mm. from the distal extremity, at the end of the foil +which protects the tip of the weapon, a lump of mud is fixed on the +tube as a 'sight.' The ornamentation of the weapon is characteristic, +and shows that it must have been made in North Borneo. It consists of +rings, leaf-shaped designs with an open centre, and longitudinal bars, +all inlaid with tin. The missiles used at Kilakarai were not darts, +but little pellets of soft clay worked with the fingers immediately +before use. The use of pellets instead of darts is probably an Indian +makeshift. Although a 'sight' is used in some Bornean blow-guns, I +was told, probably correctly, that the lump of mud on the Kilakarai +specimen had been added in India. I was told that it was the custom +at Kilakarai to lengthen the tin breech of the 'gun' in accordance +with the capacity of the owner's lungs. He first tried the tube by +blowing a pellet through it, and, if he felt he could blow through a +longer tube, he added another piece of tin at the proximal end. The +pellet is placed in the mouth, into which the butt of the tube +is also introduced. The pellet is then worked into the tube with +the tongue, and is propelled by a violent effort of the lungs. No +wadding is used. Aim is rendered inaccurate, in the first place by +the heaviness of the tube, and secondly by the unsuitable nature of +the missile." A toy blow-gun is also figured by Dr. Annandale, such +as is used as a plaything by Labbai boys, and consisting of a hollow +cane with a piece of tinned iron twisted round the butt, and fastened +by soldering the two ends together. I have received from the Madura +district a blowpipe consisting of a long black-japanned tin tube, +like a billiard-cue case, with brass fittings and terminals. + +In connection with the dugong (Halicore dugong), which is caught +in the Gulf of Manaar, Dr. Annandale writes as follows. [85] "The +presence of large glands in connection with the eye afforded some +justification for the Malay's belief that the Dugong weeps when +captured. They regard the tears of the ikandugong ('Dugong fish') +as a powerful love-charm. Muhammadan fishermen on the Gulf of Manaar +appeared to be ignorant of this usage, but told me that a 'doctor' +once went out with them to collect the tears of a Dugong, should they +capture one. Though they do not call the animal a fish, they are less +particular about eating its flesh than are the Patani Malays and the +Trang Samsams, who will not do so unless the 'fish's' throat has been +cut in the manner orthodox for warm-blooded animals. The common Tamil +name for the Dugong is kadalpudru ('sea-pig'); but the fishermen at +Kilakarai (Lubbais) call it avilliah." + +Concerning the Labbais of the South Arcot district, Mr. W. Francis +writes as follows. [86] "The Labbais are often growers of betel, +especially round about Nellikuppam, and they also conduct the +skin trade of the district, are petty shop-keepers, and engage in +commerce at the ports. Their women are clever at weaving mats from +the screw-pine (Pandanus fascicularis), which grows so abundantly +along the sandy shore of the Bay of Bengal. The Labbais very +generally wear a high hat of plaited coloured grass, and a tartan +(kambayam) waist-cloth, and so are not always readily distinguishable +in appearance from the Marakkayars, but some of them use the Hindu +turban and waist-cloth, and let their womankind dress almost exactly +like Hindu women. In the same way, some Labbais insist on the use of +Hindustani in their houses, while others speak Tamil. There seems to +be a growing dislike to the introduction of Hindu rites into domestic +ceremonies, and the processions and music, which were once common +at marriages, are slowly giving place to a simpler ritual more in +resemblance with the nikka ceremony of the Musalman faith." + +In a note on the Labbais of the North Arcot district, [87] +Mr. H. A. Stuart describes them as being "very particular Muhammadans, +and many belong to the Wahabi section. Adhering to the rule of the +Koran, most of them refuse to lend money at interest, but get over the +difficulty by taking a share in the profits derived by others in their +loans. They are, as a rule, well-to-do, and excellently housed. The +first thing a Labbai does is to build himself a commodious tiled +building, and the next to provide himself with gay attire. They seem +to have a prejudice against repairing houses, and prefer letting them +go to ruin, and building new ones. The ordinary Musalmans appear to +entertain similar ideas on this point." + +Some Kodikkalkaran Labbais have adopted Hindu customs in their +marriage ceremonies. Thus a bamboo is set up as a milk-post, and a +tali is tied round the neck of the bride while the Nikkadiva is being +read. In other respects, they practice Muhammadan rites. + +Concerning the Labbais who have settled in the Mysore province, I +gather [88] that they are "an enterprising class of traders, settled in +nearly all the large towns. They are vendors of hardware and general +merchants, collectors of hides, and large traders in coffee produce, +and generally take up any kind of lucrative business. It is noteworthy, +as denoting the perseverance and pushing character of the race that, +in the large village of Gargesvari in Tirumakudlu, Narsipur taluk, +the Labbes have acquired by purchase or otherwise large extents of +river-irrigated lands, and have secured to themselves the leadership +among the villagers within a comparatively recent period." + +For the purpose of the education of Labbai and Marakkayar children, +the Koran and other books have been published in the Tamil language, +but with Arabic characters. Concerning these Arab-Tamil books I gather +that "when a book thus written is read, it is hardly possible to say +that it is Tamil--it sounds like Arabic, and the guttural sounds of +certain words have softened down into Arabic sounds. Certain words, +mostly of religious connection, have been introduced, and even words of +familiar daily use. For instance, a Labbai would not use the familiar +word Annai for brother, Tagappan for father, or Chithammai for aunt, +but would call such relatives Bhai, Bava, and Khula. Since the books +are written in Arabic characters, they bear a religious aspect. The +Labbai considers it a sacred and meritorious duty to publish them, +and distribute them gratis among the school-going children. A book +so written or printed is called a kitab, rather than its Tamil +equivalent pustagam, and is considered sacred. It commands almost +the same respect as the Koran itself, in regard to which it has been +commanded 'Touch not with unclean hands.' A book of a religious nature, +written or printed in Tamil characters, may be left on the ground, +but a kitab of even secular character will always be placed on a +rihal or seat, and, when it falls to the ground, it is kissed and +raised to the forehead. The origin of this literature may be traced +to Kayalpatnam, Melapalayam, and other important Labbai towns in the +Tinnevelly district." The following rendering of the second Kalima +will serve as an example of Arab-Tamil. + +Ladaf.--Recorded, at the census, 1901, as a synonym of Dudekula. A +corruption of nad-daf (a cotton-dresser). + +Ladar.--It is noted, in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, that "the +Ladars are a class of general merchants, found chiefly in the cities, +where they supply all kinds of stores, glass-ware, etc." I gather [89] +that the "Lad or Suryavaunshi Vanis say that they are the children +of Surya, the sun. They are said to have come from Benares to Maisur +under pressure of famine about 700 years ago. But their caste name +seems to show that their former settlement was not in Benares, but +in South Gujarat or Lat Desh. They are a branch of the Lad community +of Maisur, with whom they have social intercourse. They teach their +boys to read and write Kanarese, and succeed as traders in grain, +cloth, and groceries." + +Lala.--The names of some Bondilis, or immigrants from Bandelkand, +who have settled in the North Arcot district and other localities, +terminate with Lala. Lala also occurs as a synonym for Kayasth, +the writer caste of Bengal, immigrants from Northern India, who +have settled in Madras, where there are a number of families. "In +Madras," Mr. S. M. Natesa Sastri informs us, [90] "the Mahrattas and +Lalas--mostly non-Brahman--observe the Holi feast with all sorts of +hideousness. The youngsters of the Lala sect make, in each house or +in common for a whole street, an image of Holika, sing obscene songs +before it, offer sweetmeats, fruits and other things in mock worship +of the image, exchange horseplay compliments by syringing coloured +water on each other's clothes, and spend the whole period of the +feast singing, chatting, and abusing. Indecent language is allowed +to be indulged in during the continuance of this jolly occasion. At +about 1 A.M. on the full moon day, the image of Holika is burnt, +and children sit round the embers, and beat their mouths, making a +mock mourning sound. Tender children are swung over the fire for a +second by the fond mothers, and this is believed to remove all kinds +of danger from the babies." + +Laligonda.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as Lingayats, +consisting of Canarese-speaking Kapus or Vakkaligas. + +Lambadi.--The Lambadis are also called Lambani, Brinjari or Banjari, +Boipari, Sugali or Sukali. By some Sugali is said to be a corruption of +supari (betel nut), because they formerly traded largely therein. [91] +"The Banjaras," Mr. G. A. Grierson writes, [92] "are the well-known +tribe of carriers who are found all over Western and Southern +India. [93] One of their principal sub-castes is known under the name +of Labhani, and this name (or some related one) is often applied to +the whole tribe. The two names appear each under many variations, +such as Banjari, Vanjari, Brinjari, Labhani, Labani, Labana, Lambadi, +and Lambani. The name Banjara and its congeners is probably derived +from the Sanskrit Vanijyakarakas, a merchant, through the Prakrit +Vanijjaarao, a trader. The derivation of Labhani or Labani, etc., +is obscure. It has been suggested that it means salt carrier from +the Sanskrit lavanah, salt, because the tribe carried salt, but +this explanation goes against several phonetic rules, and does not +account for the forms of the word like Labhani or Lambani. Banjari +falls into two main dialects--that of the Panjab and Gujarat, and +that of elsewhere (of which we may take the Labhani of Berar as +the standard). All these different dialects are ultimately to be +referred to the language of Western Rajputana. The Labhani of Berar +possesses the characteristics of an old form of speech, which has +been preserved unchanged for some centuries. It may be said to be +based partly on Marwari and partly on Northern Gujarati." It is noted +by Mr. Grierson that the Banjari dialect of Southern India is mixed +with the surrounding Dravidian languages. In the Census Report, 1901, +Tanda (the name of the Lambadi settlements or camps), and Vali Sugriva +are given as synonyms for the tribal name. Vali and Sugriva were +two monkey chiefs mentioned in the Ramayana, from whom the Lambadis +claim to be descended. The legend, as given by Mr. F. S. Mullaly, +[94] is that "there were two brothers, Mota and Mola, descendants of +Sugriva. Mola had no issue, so, being an adept in gymnastic feats, +he went with his wife Radha, and exhibited his skill at 'Rathanatch' +before three rajahs. They were so taken with Mola's skill, and the +grace and beauty of Radha, and of her playing of the nagara or drum, +that they asked what they could do for them. Mola asked each of the +rajahs for a boy, that he might adopt him as his son. This request was +accorded, and Mola adopted three boys. Their names were Chavia, Lohia +Panchar, and Ratade. These three boys, in course of time, grew up and +married. From Bheekya, the eldest son of Ratade, started the clan known +as the Bhutyas, and from this clan three minor sub-divisions known as +the Maigavuth, Kurumtoths, and Kholas. The Bhutyas form the principal +class among the Lambadis." According to another legend, [95] "one +Chada left five sons, Mula, Mota, Nathad, Jogda, and Bhimda. Chavan +(Chauhan), one of the three sons of Mula, had six sons, each of whom +originated a clan. In the remote past, a Brahman from Ajmir, and a +Marata from Jotpur in the north of India, formed alliances with, +and settled among these people, the Marata living with Rathol, +a brother of Chavan. The Brahman married a girl of the latter's +family, and his offspring added a branch to the six distinct clans +of Chavan. These clans still retain the names of their respective +ancestors, and, by reason of cousinship, intermarriage between some +of them is still prohibited. They do, however, intermarry with the +Brahman offshoot, which was distinguished by the name of Vadtya, +from Chavan's family. Those belonging to the Vadtya clan still wear +the sacred thread. The Marata, who joined the Rathol family, likewise +founded an additional branch under the name of Khamdat to the six +clans of the latter, who intermarry with none but the former. It is +said that from the Khamdat clan are recruited most of the Lambadi +dacoits. The clan descended from Mota, the second son of Chada, +is not found in the Mysore country. The descendants of Nathad, the +third son, live by catching wild birds, and are known as Mirasikat, +Paradi, or Vagri (see Kuruvikkaran). The Jogdas are people of the +Jogi caste. Those belonging to the Bhimda family are the peripatetic +blacksmiths, called Bailu Kammara. The Lambani outcastes compose a +sub-division called Thalya, who, like the Holayas, are drum-beaters, +and live in detached habitations." + +As pointing to a distinction between Sukalis and Banjaris, it is +noted by the Rev. J. Cain [96] that "the Sukalilu do not travel in +such large companies as the Banjarilu, nor are their women dressed as +gaudily as the Banjari women. There is but little friendship between +these two classes, and the Sukali would regard it as anything but +an honour to be called a Banjari, and the Banjari is not flattered +when called a Sukali." It is, however, noted, in the Madras Census +Report, 1891, that enquiries show that Lambadis and Sugalis are +practically the same. And Mr. H. A. Stuart, writing concerning the +inhabitants of the North Arcot district, states that the names Sugali, +Lambadi and Brinjari "seem to be applied to one and the same class +of people, though a distinction is made. The Sugalis are those who +have permanently settled in the district; the Lambadis are those who +commonly pass through from the coast to Mysore; and the Brinjaris +appear to be those who come down from Hyderabad or the Central +Provinces." It is noted by Mr. W. Francis [97] that, in the Bellary +district, the Lambadis do not recognise the name Sugali. + +Orme mentions the Lambadis as having supplied the Comte de Bussy +with store, cattle and grain, when besieged by the Nizam's army at +Hyderabad. In an account of the Brinjaris towards the close of the +eighteenth century, Moor [98] writes that they "associate chiefly +together, seldom or never mixing with other tribes. They seem to have +no home, nor character, but that of merchants, in which capacity +they travel great distances to whatever parts are most in want of +merchandise, which is the greatest part corn. In times of war they +attend, and are of great assistance to armies, and, being neutral, +it is a matter of indifference to them who purchase their goods. They +marched and formed their own encampments apart, relying on their +own courage for protection; for which purpose the men are all armed +with swords or matchlocks. The women drive the cattle, and are the +most robust we ever saw in India, undergoing a great deal of labour +with apparent ease. Their dress is peculiar, and their ornaments are +so singularly chosen that we have, we are confident, seen women who +(not to mention a child at their backs) have had eight or ten pounds +weight in metal or ivory round their arms and legs. The favourite +ornaments appear to be rings of ivory from the wrist to the shoulder, +regularly increasing in size, so that the ring near the shoulder will +be immoderately large, sixteen or eighteen inches, or more perhaps +in circumference. These rings are sometimes dyed red. Silver, lead, +copper, or brass, in ponderous bars, encircle their shins, sometimes +round, others in the form of festoons, and truly we have seen some +so circumstanced that a criminal in irons would not have much more +to incommode him than these damsels deem ornamental and agreeable +trappings on a long march, for they are never dispensed with in the +hottest weather. A kind of stomacher, with holes for the arms, and +tied behind at the bottom, covers their breast, and has some strings +of cowries, [99] depending behind, dangling at their backs. The +stomacher is curiously studded with cowries, and their hair is also +bedecked with them. They wear likewise ear-rings, necklaces, rings +on the fingers and toes, and, we think, the nut or nose jewel. They +pay little attention to cleanliness; their hair, once plaited, is +not combed or opened perhaps for a month; their bodies or cloths are +seldom washed; their arms are indeed so encased with ivory that it +would be no easy matter to clean them. They are chaste and affable; +any indecorum offered to a woman would be resented by the men, who have +a high sense of honour on that head. Some are men of great property; +it is said that droves of loaded bullocks, to the number of fifty or +sixty thousand, have at different times followed the Bhow's army." + +The Lambadis of Bellary "have a tradition among them of having first +come to the Deccan from the north with Moghul camps as commissariat +carriers. Captain J. Briggs, in writing about them in 1813, states +that, as the Deccan is devoid of a single navigable river, and has +no roads that admit of wheeled traffic, the whole of the extensive +intercourse is carried on by laden bullocks, the property of the +Banjaris." [100] Concerning the Lambadis of the same district, +Mr. Francis writes that "they used to live by pack-bullock trade, and +they still remember the names of some of the generals who employed +their forebears. When peace and the railways came and did away with +these callings, they fell back for a time upon crime as a livelihood, +but they have now mostly taken to agriculture and grazing." Some +Lambadis are, at the present time (1908), working in the Mysore +manganese mines. + +Writing in 1825, Bishop Heber noted [101] that "we passed a number +of Brinjarees, who were carrying salt. They all had bows, arrows, +sword and shield. Even the children had, many of them, bows and arrows +suited to their strength, and I saw one young woman equipped in the +same manner." + +Of the Lambadis in time of war, the Abbé Dubois inform us [102] +that "they attach themselves to the army where discipline is least +strict. They come swarming in from all parts, hoping, in the general +disorder and confusion, to be able to thieve with impunity. They make +themselves very useful by keeping the market well supplied with the +provisions that they have stolen on the march. They hire themselves +and their large herds of cattle to whichever contending party will +pay them best, acting as carriers of the supplies and baggage of the +army. They were thus employed, to the number of several thousands, by +the English in their last war with the Sultan of Mysore. The English, +however, had occasion to regret having taken these untrustworthy +and ill-disciplined people into their service, when they saw them +ravaging the country through which they passed, and causing more +annoyance than the whole of the enemy's army." + +It is noted by Wilks [103] that the travelling grain merchants, +who furnished the English army under Cornwallis with grain during +the Mysore war, were Brinjaris, and, he adds, "they strenuously +objected, first, that no capital execution should take place without +the sanction of the regular judicial authority; second, that they +should be punishable for murder. The executions to which they demanded +assent, or the murders for which they were called to account, had +their invariable origin in witchcraft, or the power of communication +with evil spirits. If a child sickened, or a wife was inconstant, +the sorcerer was to be discovered and punished." It is recorded by +the Rev. J. Cain that many of the Lambadis "confessed that, in former +days, it was the custom among them before starting out on a journey to +procure a little child, and bury it in the ground up to the shoulders, +and then drive their loaded bullocks over the unfortunate victim, +and, in proportion to their thoroughly trampling the child to death, +so their belief in a successful journey increased. A Lambadi was seen +repeating a number of mantrams (magical formulæ) over his patients, +and touching their heads at the same time with a book, which was a +small edition of the Telugu translation of St. John's gospel. Neither +the physician nor patient could read, and had no idea of the contents +of the book." At the time when human (meriah) sacrifices prevailed in +the Vizagapatam Agency tracts, it was the regular duty of Lambadis +to kidnap or purchase human beings in the plains, and sell them to +the hill tribes for extravagant prices. A person, in order to be a +fitting meriah, had to be purchased for a price. + +It is recorded [104] that not long after the accession of Vinayaka +Deo to the throne of Jeypore, in the fifteenth century, some of his +subjects rose against him, but he recovered his position with the help +of a leader of Brinjaris. Ever since then, in grateful recognition, +his descendants have appended to their signatures a wavy line (called +valatradu), which represents the rope with which Brinjaris tether +their cattle. + +The common occupation of the Lambadis of Mysore is said [105] to be +"the transport, especially in the hill and forest tracts difficult +of access, of grain and other produce on pack bullocks, of which +they keep large herds. They live in detached clusters of rude huts, +called thandas, at some distance from established villages. Though +some of them have taken of late to agriculture, they have as yet +been only partially reclaimed from criminal habits." The thandas +are said to be mostly pitched on high ground affording coigns of +vantage for reconnoissance in predatory excursions. It is common +for the Lambadis of the Vizagapatam Agency, during their trade +peregrinations, to clear a level piece of land, and camp for +night, with fires lighted all round them. Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao +informs me that "they regard themselves as immune from the attacks +of tigers, if they take certain precautions. Most of them have to +pass through places infested with these beasts, and their favourite +method of keeping them off is as follows. As soon as they encamp +at a place, they level a square bit of ground, and light fires in +the middle of it, round which they pass the night. It is their firm +belief that the tiger will not enter the square, from fear lest it +should become blind, and eventually be shot. I was once travelling +towards Malkangiri from Jeypore, when I fell in with a party of +these people encamped in the manner described. At that time, several +villages about Malkangiri were being ravaged by a notorious man-eater +(tiger). In the Madras Census Reports the Lambadis are described as +a class of traders, herdsmen, cattle-breeders, and cattle-lifters, +found largely in the Deccan districts, in parts of which they have +settled down as agriculturists. In the Cuddapah district they are said +[106] to be found in most of the jungly tracts, living chiefly by +collecting firewood and jungle produce. In the Vizagapatam district, +Mr. G. F. Paddison informs me, the bullocks of the Lambadis are +ornamented with peacock's feathers and cowry shells, and generally a +small mirror on the forehead. The bullocks of the Brinjaris (Boiparis) +are described by the Rev. G. Gloyer [107] as having their horns, +foreheads, and necks decorated with richly embroidered cloth, and +carrying on their horns, plumes of peacock's feathers and tinkling +bells. When on the march, the men always have their mouths covered, +to avoid the awful dust which the hundreds of cattle kick up. Their +huts are very temporary structures made of wattle. The whole village +is moved about a furlong or so every two or three years--as early +a stage of the change from nomadic to a settled life as can be +found." The Lambadi tents, or pals, are said by Mr. Mullaly to be +"made of stout coarse cloth fastened with ropes. In moving camp, +these habitations are carried with their goods and chattels on +pack bullocks." Concerning the Lambadis of the Bellary district +Mr. S. P. Rice writes to me as follows. "They are wood-cutters, +carriers, and coolies, but some of them settle down and become +cultivators. A Lambadi hut generally consists of only one small +room, with no aperture except the doorway. Here are huddled together +the men, women, and children, the same room doing duty as kitchen, +dining and bedroom. The cattle are generally tied up outside in any +available spot of the village site, so that the whole village is a +sort of cattle pen interspersed with huts, in whatsoever places may +have seemed convenient to the particular individual. Dotted here and +there are a few shrines of a modest description, where I was told that +fires are lighted every night in honour of the deity. The roofs are +generally sloping and made of thatch, unlike the majority of houses +in the Deccan, which are almost always terraced or flat roofed. I have +been into one or two houses rather larger than those described, where +I found a buffalo or two, after the usual Canarese fashion. There is +an air of encampment about the village, which suggests a gipsy life." + +The present day costume and personal adornments of the Lambadi +females have been variously described by different writers. By one, +the women are said to remind one of the Zingari of Wallachia and +the Gitani of Spain. "Married women," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [108] +"are distinguished from the unmarried in that they wear their bangles +between the elbow and shoulder, while the unmarried have them between +the elbow and wrist. Unmarried girls may wear black bead necklets, +which are taken off at marriage, at which time they first assume +the ravikkai or jacket. Matrons also use an earring called guriki +to distinguish them from widows or unmarried girls." In the Mysore +Census Report, 1901, it is noted that "the women wear a peculiar +dress, consisting of a lunga or gown of stout coarse print, a tartan +petticoat, and a mantle often elaborately embroidered, which also +covers the head and upper part of the body. The hair is worn in +ringlets or plaits hanging down each side of the face, and decorated +with shells, and terminating in tassels. The arms are profusely +covered with trinkets and rings made of bones, brass and other rude +materials. The men's dress consists of a white or red turband, and +a pair of white breeches or knicker-bockers, reaching a little below +the knee, with a string of red silk tassels hanging by the right side +from the waistband." "The men," Mr. F. S. Mullaly writes, "are fine +muscular fellows, capable of enduring long and fatiguing marches. Their +ordinary dress is the dhoty with short trousers, and frequently gaudy +turbans and caps, in which they indulge on festive occasions. They also +affect a considerable amount of jewellery. The women are, as a rule, +comely, and above the average height of women of the country. Their +costume is the laigna (langa) or gown of Karwar cloth, red or green, +with a quantity of embroidery. The chola (choli) or bodice, with +embroidery in the front and on the shoulders, covers the bosom, and +is tied by variegated cords at the back, the ends of the cords being +ornamented with cowries and beads. A covering cloth of Karwar cloth, +with embroidery, is fastened in at the waist, and hangs at the side +with a quantity of tassels and strings of cowries. Their jewels are +very numerous, and include strings of beads of ten or twenty rows +with a cowry as a pendant, called the cheed, threaded on horse-hair, +and a silver hasali (necklace), a sign of marriage equivalent to the +tali. Brass or horn bracelets, ten to twelve in number, extending to +the elbow on either arm, with a guzera or piece of embroidered silk, +one inch wide, tied to the right wrist. Anklets of ivory (or bone) +or horn are only worn by married women. They are removed on the death +of the husband. Pachala or silk embroidery adorned with tassels and +cowries is also worn as an anklet by women. Their other jewels are +mukaram or nose ornament, a silver kania or pendant from the upper part +of the ear attached to a silver chain which hangs to the shoulder, +and a profusion of silver, brass, and lead rings. Their hair is, +in the case of unmarried women, unadorned, brought up and tied in +a knot at the top of the head. With married women it is fastened, +in like manner, with a cowry or a brass button, and heavy pendants or +gujuris are fastened at the temples. This latter is an essential sign +of marriage, and its absence is a sign of widowhood. Lambadi women, +when carrying water, are fastidious in the adornment of the pad, called +gala, which is placed on their heads. They cover it with cowries, +and attach to it an embroidered cloth, called phulia, ornamented with +tassels and cowries." I gather that Lambadi women of the Lavidia and +Kimavath septs do not wear bracelets (chudo), because the man who went +to bring them for the marriage of a remote ancestor died. In describing +the dress of the Lambadi women, the Rev. G. N. Thomssen writes that +"the sari is thrown over the head as a hood, with a frontlet of coins +dangling over the forehead. This frontlet is removed in the case of +widows. At the ends of the tufts of hair at the ears, heavy ornaments +are tied or braided. Married women have a gold and silver coin at +the ends of these tufts, while widows remove them. But the dearest +possession of the women are large broad bracelets, made, some of wood, +and the large number of bone or ivory. Almost the whole arm is covered +with these ornaments. In case of the husband's death, the bracelets +on the upper arm are removed. They are kept in place by a cotton +bracelet, gorgeously made, the strings of which are ornamented with +the inevitable cowries. On the wrist broad heavy brass bracelets with +bells are worn, these being presents from the mother to her daughter." + +Each thanda, Mr. Natesa Sastri writes, has "a headman +called the Nayaka, whose word is law, and whose office is +hereditary. Each settlement has also a priest, whose office is +likewise hereditary." According to Mr. H. A. Stuart, the thanda is +named after the headman, and he adds, "the head of the gang appears +to be regarded with great reverence, and credited with supernatural +powers. He is believed to rule the gang most rigorously, and to have +the power of life and death over its members." + +Concerning the marriage ceremonies of the Sugalis of North Arcot, +Mr. Stuart informs us that these "last for three days. On the first +an intoxicating beverage compounded of bhang (Cannabis indica) leaves, +jaggery (crude sugar), and other things, is mixed and drunk. When all +are merry, the bridegroom's parents bring Rs. 35 and four bullocks +to those of the bride, and, after presenting them, the bridegroom +is allowed to tie a square silver bottu or tali (marriage badge) +to the bride's neck, and the marriage is complete; but the next two +days must be spent in drinking and feasting. At the conclusion of the +third day, the bride is arrayed in gay new clothes, and goes to the +bridegroom's house, driving a bullock before her. Upon the birth of +the first male child, a second silver bottu is tied to the mother's +neck, and a third when a second son is born. When a third is added +to the family, the three bottus are welded together, after which no +additions are made." Of the Lambadi marriage ceremony in the Bellary +district, the following detailed account is given by Mr. Francis. "As +acted before me by a number of both sexes of the caste, it runs as +follows. The bridegroom arrives at night at the bride's house with a +cloth covering his head, and an elaborately embroidered bag containing +betel and nut slung from his shoulder. Outside the house, at the four +corners of a square, are arranged four piles of earthen pots--five +pots in each. Within this square two grain-pounding pestles are stuck +upright in the ground. The bride is decked with the cloth peculiar to +married women, and taken outside the house to meet the bridegroom. Both +stand within the square of pots, and round their shoulders is tied a +cloth, in which the officiating Brahman knots a rupee. This Brahman, +it may be at once noted, has little more to do with the ceremony +beyond ejaculating at intervals 'Shobhana! Shobhana!' or 'May it +prosper!' Then the right hands of the couple are joined, and they +walk seven times round each of the upright pestles, while the women +chant the following song, one line being sung for each journey round +the pestle: + + + To yourself and myself marriage has taken place. + Together we will walk round the marriage pole. + Walk the third time; marriage has taken place. + You are mine by marriage. + Walk the fifth time; marriage has taken place. + Walk the sixth time; marriage has taken place. + Walk the seventh time; marriage has taken place. + We have walked seven times; I am yours. + Walk the seventh time; you are mine. + + +"The couple then sit on a blanket on the ground near one of the +pestles, and are completely covered with a cloth. The bride gives the +groom seven little balls compounded of rice, ghee (clarified butter) +and sugar, which he eats. He then gives her seven others, which she in +turn eats. The process is repeated near the other pestle. The women +keep on chanting all the while. Then the pair go into the house, +and the cloth into which the rupee was knotted is untied, and the +ceremonies for that night are over. Next day the couple are bathed +separately, and feasting takes place. That evening the girl's mother +or near female relations tie to the locks on each side of her temples +the curious badges, called gugri, which distinguish a married from an +unmarried woman, fasten a bunch of tassels to her back hair, and girdle +her with a tasselled waistband, from which is suspended a little bag, +into which the bridegroom puts five rupees. These last two are donned +thereafter on great occasions, but are not worn every day. The next +day the girl is taken home by her new husband." It is noted in the +Mysore Census Report, 1891, that "one unique custom, distinguishing +the Lambani marriage ceremonial, is that the officiating Brahman priest +is the only individual of the masculine persuasion who is permitted to +be present. Immediately after the betrothal, the females surround and +pinch the priest on all sides, repeating all the time songs in their +mixed Kutni dialect. The vicarious punishment to which the solitary +male Brahman is thus subjected is said to be apt retribution for +the cruel conduct, according to a mythological legend, of a Brahman +parent who heartlessly abandoned his two daughters in the jungle, +as they had attained puberty before marriage. The pinching episode is +notoriously a painful reality. It is said, however, that the Brahman, +willingly undergoes the operation in consideration of the fees paid for +the rite." The treatment of the Brahman as acted before me by Lambadi +women at Nandyal, included an attempt to strip him stark naked. In +the Census Report, it is stated that, at Lambadi weddings, the women +"weep and cry aloud, and the bride and bridegroom pour milk into an +ant-hill, and offer the snake which lives therein cocoanuts, flowers, +and so on. Brahmans are sometimes engaged to celebrate weddings, +and, failing a Brahman, a youth of the tribe will put on the thread, +and perform the ceremony." + +The following variant of the marriage ceremonies was acted before me +at Kadur in Mysore. A pandal (booth) is erected, and beneath it two +pestles or rice-pounders are set up. At the four corners, a row of +five pots is placed, and the pots are covered with leafy twigs of +Calotropis procera, which are tied with Calotropis fibre or cotton +thread. Sometimes a pestle is set up near each row of pots. The bridal +couple seat themselves near the pestles, and the ends of their cloths, +with a silver coin in them, are tied together. They are then smeared +with turmeric, and, after a wave-offering to ward off the evil eye, +they go seven times round the pestles, while the women sing:-- + + + Oh! girl, walk along, walk. + You boasted that you would not marry. + Now you are married. + Walk, girl, walk on. + There is no good in your boasting. + You have eaten the pudding. + Walk, girl, walk. + Leave off boasting. + You sat on the plank with the bridegroom's thigh on yours. + + +The bride and bridegroom take their seats on a plank, and the former +throws a string round the neck of the latter, and ties seven knots +in it. The bridegroom then does the same to the bride. The knots are +untied. Cloths are then placed over the backs of the couple, and a +swastika mark ([swastika]) is drawn on them with turmeric paste. A +Brahman purohit is then brought to the pandal, and seats himself on +a plank. A clean white cloth is placed on his head, and fastened +tightly with string. Into this improvised turban, leafy twigs of +mango and Cassia auriculata are stuck. Some of the Lambadi women +present, while chanting a tune, throw sticks of Ficus glomerata, +Artocarpus integrifolia, and mango in front of the Brahman, pour +gingelly (Sesamum) oil over them, and set them on fire. The Brahman +is made a bridegroom, and he must give out the name of his bride. He +is then slapped on the cheeks by the women, thrown down, and his +clothing stripped off. The Brahman ceremonial concluded, a woman +puts the badges of marriage on the bride. On the following day, she +is dressed up, and made to stand on a bullock, and keep on crooning +a mournful song, which makes her cry eventually. As she repeats the +song, she waves her arms, and folds them over her head. The words of +the song, the reproduction of which in my phonograph invariably made +the women weep, are somewhat as follows:-- + + + Oh! father, you brought me up so carefully by spending much money. + All this was to no purpose. + Oh! mother, the time has come when I have to leave you. + Is it to send me away that you nourished me? + Oh! how can I live away from you, + My brothers and sisters? + + +Among the Lambadis of Mysore, widow remarriage and polygamy are said +[109] to freely prevail, "and it is customary for divorced women to +marry again during the lifetime of the husband under the sire udike +(tying of a new cloth) form of remarriage, which also obtains among the +Vakkaligas and others. In such cases, the second husband, under the +award of the caste arbitration, is made to pay a certain sum (tera) +as amends to the first husband, accompanied by a caste dinner. The +woman is then readmitted into society. But certain disabilities are +attached to widow remarriage. Widows remarried are forbidden entry +into a regular marriage party, whilst their offspring are disabled +from legal marriage for three generations, although allowed to take +wives from families similarly circumstanced." According to Mr. Stuart, +the Sugalis of the North Arcot district "do not allow the marriage of +widows, but on payment of Rs. 15 and three buffaloes to her family, +who take charge of her children, a widow may be taken by any man as a +concubine, and her children are considered legitimate. Even during her +husband's life, a woman may desert him for any one else, the latter +paying the husband the cost of the original marriage ceremony. The +Sugalis burn the married, but bury all others, and have no ceremonies +after death for the rest of the soul of the deceased." If the head +of a burning corpse falls off the pyre, the Lambadis pluck some grass +or leaves, which they put in their mouths "like goats," and run home. + +A custom called Valli Sukkeri is recorded by the Rev. G. N. Thomssen, +according to which "if an elder brother marries and dies without +offspring, the younger brother must marry the widow, and raise up +children, such children being regarded as those of the deceased elder +brother. If, however, the elder brother dies leaving offspring, and +the younger brother wishes to marry the widow, he must give fifteen +rupees and three oxen to his brother's children. Then he may marry the +widow." The custom here referred to is said to be practiced because +the Lambadi's ancestor Sugriva married his elder brother Vali's widow. + +I am informed by Mr. F. A. Hamilton that, among the Lambadis of +Kollegal in the Coimbatore district, "if a widower remarries, he may +go through the ordinary marriage ceremony, or the kuttuvali rite, +in which all that is necessary is to declare his selection of a +bride to four or five castemen, whom he feeds. A widow may remarry +according to the same rite, her new husband paying the expenses of the +feast. Married people are burnt. Unmarried, and those who have been +married by the kuttuvali rite, are buried. When cremation is resorted +to, the eldest son sets fire to the funeral pyre. On the third day +he makes a heap of the ashes, on which he sprinkles milk. He and +his relations then return home, and hold a feast. When a corpse is +buried, no such ceremonies are performed. Both males and females are +addicted to heavy drinking. Arrack is their favourite beverage, and a +Lambadi's boast is that he spent so much on drink on such and such an +occasion. The women dance and sing songs in eulogy of their goddess. At +bed-time they strip off all their clothes, and use them as a pillow." + +The Lambadis are said to purchase children from other castes, and +bring them up as their own. Such children are not allowed to marry +into the superior Lambadi section called Thanda. The adopted children +are classified as Koris, and a Kori may only marry a Lambadi after +several generations. + +Concerning the religion of the Lambadis, it is noted in the Mysore +Census Report, 1891, that they are "Vishnuvaits, and their principal +object of worship is Krishna. Bana Sankari, the goddess of forests, +is also worshipped, and they pay homage to Basava on grounds dissimilar +to those professed by the Lingayets. Basava is revered by the Lambadis +because Krishna had tended cattle in his incarnation. The writer +interviewed the chief Lambani priests domiciled in the Holalkere +taluk. The priests belong to the same race, but are much less +disreputable than the generality of their compatriots. It is said that +they periodically offer sacrificial oblations in the agni or fire, +at which a mantram is repeated, which may be paraphrased thus:-- + + + I adore Bharma (Bramha) in the roots; + Vishnu who is the trunk; + Rudra (Mahadev) pervading the branches; + And the Devas in every leaf. + + +"The likening of the Creator's omnipotence to a tree among a people +so far impervious to the traditions of Sanskrit lore may not appear +very strange to those who will call to mind the Scandinavian tree of +Igdrasil so graphically described by Carlyle, and the all-pervading +Asvat'tha (pipal) tree of the Bhagavatgita." It is added in the Mysore +Census Report, 1901, that "the Lambanis own the Gosayis (Goswami) as +their priests or gurus. These are the genealogists of the Lambanis, +as the Helavas are of the Sivachars." Of the Sugalis of Punganur +and Palmaner in the North Arcot district Mr. Stuart writes that +"all worship the Tirupati Swami, and also two Saktis called Kosa +Sakti and Mani Sakti. Some three hundred years ago, they say that +there was a feud between the Bukia and Mudu Sugalis, and in a combat +many were killed on both sides; but the widows of only two of the +men who died were willing to perform sati, in consequence of which +they have been deified, and are now worshipped as saktis by all +the divisions." It is said [110] that, near Rolla in the Anantapur +district, there is a small community of priests to the Lambadis who +call themselves Muhammadans, but cannot intermarry with others of the +faith, and that in the south-west of Madakasira taluk there is another +sub-division, called the Mondu Tulukar (who are usually stone-cutters +and live in hamlets by themselves), who similarly cannot marry with +other Musalmans. It is noted by the Rev. J. Cain [111] that in some +places the Lambadis "fasten small rags torn from some old garment +to a bush in honour of Kampalamma (kampa, a thicket). On the side +of one of the roads from Bastar are several large heaps of stones, +which they have piled up in honour of the goddess Guttalamma. Every +Lambadi who passes the heaps is bound to place one stone on the heap, +and to make a salaam to it." The goddess of the Lambadis of Kollegal +is, according to Mr. Hamilton, Satthi. A silver image of a female, +seated tailor-fashion, is kept by the head of the family, and is an +heirloom. At times of festival it is set up and worshipped. Cooked food +is placed before it, and a feast, with much arrack drinking, singing, +beating of tom-tom, and dancing through the small hours of the night, +is held. Examples of the Lambadi songs relating to incidents in the +Ramayana, in honour of the goddesses Durga and Bhavani, etc., have +been published by Mr. F. Fawcett. [112] + +The Brinjaris are described by the Rev. G. Gloyer as carrying their +principal goddess "Bonjairini Mata," on the horns of their cattle +(leitochsen). + +It is noted by the Rev. G. N. Thomssen that the Lambadis "worship the +Supreme Being in a very pathetic manner. A stake, either a carved +stick, or a peg, or a knife, is planted on the ground, and men and +women form a circle round this, and a wild, weird chant is sung, while +all bend very low to the earth. They all keep on circling about the +stake, swinging their arms in despair, clasping them in prayer, and +at last raising them in the air. Their whole cry is symbolic of the +child crying in the night, the child crying for the light. If there +are very many gathered together for worship, the men form one circle, +and the women another. Another peculiar custom is their sacrifice of +a goat or a chicken in case of removal from one part of the jungle +to another, when sickness has come. They hope to escape death by +leaving one camping ground for another. Half-way between the old +and new grounds, a chicken or goat is buried alive, the head being +allowed to be above ground. Then all the cattle are driven over the +buried creature, and the whole camp walk over the buried victim." In +former days, the Lambadis are reputed to have offered up human +sacrifices. "When," the Abbé Dubois writes, "they wish to perform +this horrible act, it is said, they secretly carry off the first +person they meet. Having conducted the victim to some lonely spot, +they dig a hole, in which they bury him up to the neck. While he is +still alive, they make a sort of lump of dough made of flour, which +they place on his head. This they fill with oil, and light four wicks +in it. Having done this, the men and women join hands, and, forming a +circle, dance round their victim, singing and making a great noise, +till he expires." The interesting fact is recorded by Mr. Mullaly +"that, before the Lambadis proceed on a predatory excursion, a token, +usually a leaf, is secreted in some hidden place before proceeding to +invoke Durga. The Durgamma pujari (priest), one of their own class, +who wears the sacred thread, and is invested with his sacred office +by reason of his powers of divination, lights a fire, and, calling on +the goddess for aid, treads the fire out, and names the token hidden +by the party. His word is considered an oracle, and the pujari points +out the direction the party is to take." + +From a further note on the religion of the Lambadis, I gather that +they worship the following:-- + + + (1) Balaji, whose temple is at Tirupati. Offerings of money are + made to this deity for the bestowal of children, etc. When their + prayers are answered, the Lambadis walk all the way to Tirupati, + and will not travel thither by railway. + (2) Hanuman, the monkey god. + (3) Poleramma. To ward off devils and evil spirits. + (4) Mallalamma. To confer freedom to their cattle from attacks + of tigers and other wild beasts. + (5) Ankalamma. To protect them from epidemic disease. + (6) Peddamma. + (7) Maremma. + + +The Lambadis observe the Holi festival, for the celebration of which +money is collected in towns and villages. On the Holi day, the headman +and his wife fast, and worship two images of mud, representing Kama +(the Indian cupid) and his wife Rati. On the following morning, +cooked food is offered to the images, which are then burnt. Men and +women sing and dance, in separate groups, round the burning fire. On +the third day, they again sing and dance, and dress themselves in gala +attire. The men snatch the food which has been prepared by the women, +and run away amid protests from the women, who sometimes chastise them. + +It is narrated by Moor [113] that "he passed a tree, on which were +hanging several hundred bells. This was a superstitious sacrifice by +the Bandjanahs, who, passing this tree, are in the habit of hanging +a bell or bells upon it, which they take from the necks of their sick +cattle, expecting to leave behind them the complaint also. Our servants +particularly cautioned us against touching these diabolical bells; but, +as a few were taken for our own cattle, several accidents that happened +were imputed to the anger of the deity, to whom these offerings were +made, who, they say, inflicts the same disorder on the unhappy bullock +who carries a bell from this tree as he relieved the donor from." + +There is a legend in connection with the matsya gundam (fish pool) +close under the Yendrika hill in the Vizagapatam district. The +fish therein are very tame, and are protected by the Madgole +Zamindars. "Once, goes the story, a Brinjari caught one and turned +it into curry, whereon the king of the fish solemnly cursed him, +and he and all his pack-bullocks were turned into rocks, which may +be seen there to this day." [114] + +Lambadi women often have elaborate tattooed patterns on the backs +of the hands, and a tattooed dot on the left side of the nose may be +accepted as a distinguishing character of the tribe in some parts. My +assistant once pointed out that, in a group of Lambadis, some of the +girls did not look like members of the tribe. This roused the anger +of an old woman, who said "You can see the tattoo marks on the nose, +so they must be Lambadis." + +Lambadi women will not drink water from running streams or big tanks. + +In the Mysore Province, there is a class of people called Thamburi, +who dress like Lambadis, but do not intermarry with them. They are +Muhammadans, and their children are circumcised. Their marriages are +carried out according to the Muhammadan nikka rite, but they also go +through the Lambadi form of marriage, except that marriage pots are +not placed in the pandal (wedding booth). The Lambadis apparently pay +some respect to them, and give them money at marriages or on other +occasions. They seem to be bards and panegyrists of the Lambadis, +in the same way that other classes have their Nokkans, Viramushtis, +Bhatrazus, etc. It is noted by Mr. Stuart [115] that the Lambadis +have priests called Bhats, to whom it is probable that the Thamburis +correspond in Mysore. + +The methods of the criminal Lambadis are dealt with at length by +Mr. Mullaly. And it must suffice for the present purpose to note that +they commit dacoities and have their receivers of stolen property, +and that the Naik or headman of the gang takes an active share in +the commission of crime. + +Lampata.--A name, signifying a gallant, returned by some Sanis at +times of census. + +Landa.--A synonym of Mondi. + +Lanka (island).--An exogamous sept of Boya and Kamma. + +Lattikar.--Recorded, at the census, 1901, as a sub-division of +Vakkaliga (Okkiliyan) in the Salem district. Latti means a reckless +woman, and latvi, an unchaste woman, and the name possibly refers to +Vakkaligas who are not true-bred. + +Lekavali.--A division of Marathas in the Sandur State. Many of them +are servants in the Raja's palace. They are stated, in the Gazetteer +of the Bellary district, to be the offspring of irregular unions +among other Marathas. + +Lekkala (accounts).--An exogamous sept of Kamma. + +Linga Balija.--The Linga Balijas (traders) are summed up, in the +Madras Census Report, 1901, as a Lingayat sub-caste of Balija. In a +note on Lingayats, Mr. R. C. C. Carr records that the Linga Banjigs +or Banajigas are essentially traders, though many are now cultivators, +and that Telugu Lingayats often call themselves Linga Balijas. + +The following legendary account of the origin of the "Linga +Bhojunnalawaru" is given in the Baramahal Records. [116] "Para +Brahma or the great god Brahma created the god Pralayakala Rudra or +the terrific at the day of destruction, a character of the god Siva, +and he created the Chatur Acharyulu or four sages named Panditaraju, +Yekcoramalu, Murralaradulu, and Somaluradulu, and taught them mantras +or prayers, and made them his deputies. On a time, the Asuras and +Devatas, or the giants and the gods, made war on each other, and +the god Pralayakala Rudra produced from his nose a being whom he +named Muchari Rudra, and he had five sons, with whom he went to the +assistance of the devatas or gods, and enabled them to defeat the +giants, and for his service the gods conferred upon him and his sons +the following honorary distinctions:-- + + + A flag with the figure of an alligator (crocodile) portrayed on it. + A flag with the figure of a fish portrayed on it. + A flag with the figure of a bullock. + A flag with the figure of an eagle. + A flag with the figure of a bell. + A bell. + A modee ganta, or iron for marking cattle. + The use of burning lamps and flambeaus in their public processions + during the day. + The use of tents. + + +"On a time, when the god Pralayakala Rudra and Mochari Rudra and +his five sons, with other celestial attendants, were assembled on +the Kailasa parvata or mountain of Paradise, the god directed the +latter to descend into the Bhuloka or earthly world, and increase +and multiply these species. They humbly prayed to know how they were +again to reach the divine presence. He answered 'I shall manifest +myself in the Bhuloka under the form of the Lingam or Priapus; do +you worship me under that form, and you will again be permitted to +approach me.' They accordingly descended into the earthly regions, +and from them the present castes of Baljawaras deduce their origin." + +In a note on the Linga Balijas of the North Arcot district, +Mr. H. A. Stuart writes [117] that "Linga Balija appears rather to +be the name of the followers of a religious faith than of a distinct +caste, for the Linga Balijas state that their caste contains eleven +sub-divisions, each with a separate occupation, viz., Jangam (priests), +Reddi (cultivators), Gandla (oil-mongers), and the like. Almost all the +Linga Balijas of North Arcot are traders, who speak Canarese and are +immigrants from Mysore, in which their gurus (religious preceptors) +live, and whither they still refer their caste disputes. At one +time they enjoyed much importance in this district, particularly in +its large trading towns. Headmen among them, styled Chettis, were +by the Arcot Nawabs assigned districts, in which they possessed +both magisterial and civil authority, and levied taxes from other +merchants for their own personal use. They carried on very extensive +trade with Mysore and the Ceded districts, and are said to have had +enormous warehouses, which they enclosed and fortified. Breaches +of the peace are also described as not infrequent, resulting from +the interference of one Linga Balija Chetti with matters relating to +the district of another. Their authority has long since disappeared, +and is only a matter of tradition. Every Linga Balija wears a Siva +lingam, usually encased in a silver casket (or gold casket set with +precious stones), and suspended from the neck, but the very poor +place theirs in a cloth, and sometimes tie it to their arm. It is a +strict rule that one should be tied to a child's neck on the tenth +day of its birth, otherwise it is not entitled to be classed as a +Linga Balija. The Siva lingam worn by these people differs from the +Buta or Preta lingams used by Pandarams, Kaikolans, or others who +profess the Lingayat faith. They acknowledge two puranams, called +respectively the Siva and Basava puranams, and differ in very many +respects from other Hindus. They bury and do not burn their dead, +and do not recognise the five kinds of pollution resulting from a +birth, death, spittle, etc., and they do not therefore bathe in order +to remove such pollution. Widow remarriage is allowed even where the +widow has children, but these are handed over to the relatives of her +first husband. To widow remarriages no women who are not widows are +admitted, and, similarly, when a maiden is married, all widows are +excluded. Unlike most Hindus, Linga Balijas shave off the whole of the +hair of their heads, without leaving the usual lock at the back. They +deny metempsychosis, and believe that after death the soul is united +with the divine spirit. They are particular in some of their customs, +disallowing liquor and flesh-eating, and invariably eating privately, +where none can see them. They decline even to eat in the house of +a Brahman." + +A Linga Banajiga (Canarese trader), whom I interviewed at Sandur, was +smeared with white marks on the forehead, upper extremities, chest, +and abdomen in imitation of a Hubli priest. Some orthodox Lingayat +traders remove their lingam during the transaction of the day's work, +on the ground, as given to me, that it is necessary to tell little +falsehoods in the course of business. + +Lingadari.--A general term, meaning one who wears a lingam, for +Lingayat. + +Lingakatti.--A name applied to Lingayat Badagas of the Nilgiri hills. + +Lingam.--A title of Jangams and Silavants. + +Lingayat.--For the following note I am mainly indebted to +Mr. R. C. C. Carr, who took great interest in its preparation when he +was Collector of Bellary. Some additional information was supplied +by Mr. R. E. Enthoven, Superintendent of the Ethnographic Survey, +Bombay. The word Lingayat is the anglicised form of Lingavant, which is +the vernacular term commonly used for any member of the community. The +Lingayats have been aptly described as a peaceable race of Hindu +Puritans. Their religion is a simple one. They acknowledge only one +God, Siva, and reject the other two persons of the Hindu Triad, They +reverence the Vedas, but disregard the later commentaries on which the +Brahmans rely. Their faith purports to be the primitive Hindu faith, +cleared of all priestly mysticism. They deny the supremacy of Brahmans, +and pretend to be free from caste distinctions, though at the present +day caste is in fact observed amongst them. They declare that there is +no need for sacrifices, penances, pilgrimages or fasts. The cardinal +principle of the faith is an unquestioning belief in the efficacy of +the lingam, the image which has always been regarded as symbolical +of the God Siva. This image, which is called the jangama lingam or +moveable lingam, to distinguish it from the sthavara or fixed lingam of +Hindu temples, is always carried on some part of the body, usually the +neck or the left arm, and is placed in the left hand of the deceased +when the body is committed to the grave Men and women, old and young, +rich and poor, all alike wear this symbol of their faith, and its +loss is regarded as spiritual death, though in practice the loser can +after a few ceremonies, be invested with a new one. They are strict +disciplinarians in the matter of food and drink, and no true Lingayat +is permitted to touch meat in any form, or to partake of any kind +of liquor. This Puritan simplicity raises them in the social scale, +and has resulted in producing a steady law-abiding race, who are +conservative of the customs of their forefathers and have hitherto +opposed a fairly unbroken front to the advancing tide of foreign +ideas. To this tendency is due the very slow spread of modern education +amongst them, while, on the other hand, their isolation from outside +influence has without doubt assisted largely in preserving intact +their beautiful, highly polished, and powerful language, Canarese. + +It is matter of debate whether the Lingayat religion is an innovation +or a revival of the most ancient Saivaite faith, but the story of +the so-called founder of the sect, Basava, may with some limitations +be accepted as history. The events therein narrated occurred in the +latter half of the twelfth century at Kalyan, a city which was then +the capital of the Western Chalukyas, and is now included in the +province of Bidar in the Nizam's Dominions. It lies about a hundred +miles to the west of Hyderabad. The Chalukyas came originally from +the north of India, but appeared to the south of the Nerbudda as +early as the fourth century. They separated into two branches during +the seventh century, and the western line was still represented +at Kalyan 500 years later. The southern portion of Hindustan had +for centuries been split up between rival kingdoms, and had been +the theatre of the long struggle between the Buddhists, the Jains, +and the Hindus. At the time of Basava's appearance, a Jain king, +Bijjala by name, was in power at Kalyan. He was a representative of +the Kalachuryas, a race which had been conquered by the Chalukyas, +and occupied the position of feudatories. Bijjala appears to have +been the Commander-in-chief of the Chalukyan forces, and to have +usurped the throne, ousting his royal master, Taila III. The date +of the usurpation was 1156 A.D., though, according to some accounts, +Bijjala did not assume the full titles till some years later. He was +succeeded by his sons, but the Chalukyan claimant recovered his throne +in 1182, only to lose it again some seven years afterwards, when the +kingdom itself was divided between the neighbouring powers. The final +downfall of the Chalukyan Deccani kingdom was probably due to the +rise of the Lingayat religion. The Hindus ousted the Jains, but the +tenets inculcated by Basava had caused a serious split in the ranks +of the former. The house divided against itself could not stand, +and the Chalukyas were absorbed into the kingdoms of their younger +neighbours, the Hoysala Ballalas from Mysore in the south, and the +Yadavas from Devagiri (now identified with Daulatabad) in the north. + +At about this time there appears to have been a great revival of the +worship of Siva in the Deccan and in Southern India. A large number +of important Saivaite temples are known to have been built during +the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and inscriptions speak of many +learned and holy men who were devoted to this worship. The movement +was probably accentuated by the opposition of the Jains, who seem +to have been very powerful in the Western Deccan, and in Mysore. An +inscription which will be more fully noticed later on tells of the +God Siva specially creating a man in order to "put a stop to the +hostile observances of the Jains and Buddhists." This was written +about the year 1200 A.D., and it may be gathered that Buddhism was +still recognised in the Deccan as a religious power. Mr. Rice tells +us that the labours of the Saivaite Brahman, Sankaracharya, had in +the eighth century dealt a deathblow to Buddhism, and raised the Saiva +faith to the first place. [118] Its position was, however, challenged +by the Jains, and, even as late as the twelfth century, it was still +battling with them. The Vaishnavaite reformer, Ramanujacharya, appeared +at about this time, and, according to Mr. Rice, was mainly instrumental +in ousting Jainism; but the followers of Vishnu built many of their +big temples in the thirteenth century, two hundred years later than +their Saivaite brethren, so it may be presumed that the latter faith +was in the ascendancy prior to that time. Chaitanya, the Vaishnavaite +counterpart of Basava, appeared at a much later date (1485 A.D.). It +is interesting to note that the thirteenth century is regarded as the +culminating period of the middle ages in Italy, when religious fervour +also displayed itself in the building of great cathedrals. [119] + +The actual date of Basava's birth is uncertain, but is given by +some authorities as 1106 A.D. The story of his career is told in +the sacred writings of the Lingayats, of which the principal books +are known as the Basava Purana and the Channabasava Purana. The +former was apparently finished during the fourteenth century, and +the latter was not written till 1585. The accounts are, therefore, +entirely traditionary, and, as might have been expected, are full +of miraculous occurrences, which mar their historical value. The +Jain version of the story is given in the Bijjalarayacharitra, and +differs in many particulars. The main facts accepted by Lingayat +tradition are given by Dr. Fleet in the Epigraphia Indica [Vol. V, +p. 239] from which the following account is extracted. To a certain +Madiraja and his wife Madalambika, pious Saivas of the Brahman caste, +and residents of a place called Bagevadi, which is usually supposed +to be the sub-divisional town of that name in the Bijapur district, +there was born a son who, being an incarnation of Siva's bull, +Nandi, sent to earth to revive the declining Saiva rites, was named +Basava. This word is the Canarese equivalent for a bull, an animal +sacred to Siva. When the usual time of investiture arrived, Basava, +then eight years of age, having meanwhile acquired much knowledge of +the Siva scriptures, refused to be invested with the sacred Brahmanical +thread, declaring himself a special worshipper of Siva, and stating +that he had come to destroy the distinctions of caste. This refusal, +coupled with his singular wisdom and piety, attracted the notice of +his uncle Baladeva, prime minister of the Kalachurya king Bijjala, +who had come to be present at the ceremony; and Baladeva gave him +his daughter, Gangadevi or Gangamba, in marriage. The Brahmans, +however, began to persecute Basava on account of the novel practices +propounded by him, and he consequently left his native town and went +to a village named Kappadi, where he spent his early years, receiving +instruction from the God Siva. Meanwhile his uncle Baladeva died, +and Bijjala resolved to secure the services of Basava, whose ability +and virtues had now become publicly known. After some demur Basava +accepted the post, in the hope that the influence attached to it +would help him in propagating his peculiar tenets. And, accompanied by +his elder sister, Nagalambika, he proceeded to Kalyana, where he was +welcomed with deference by the king and installed as prime minister, +commander-in-chief and treasurer, second in power to the king himself; +and the king, in order to bind him as closely as possible to himself, +gave him his younger sister Nilalochana to wife. Somewhere about this +time, from Basava's unmarried sister Nagalambika there was born, +by the working of the spirit of Siva, a son who was an incarnation +of Siva's son Shanmukha, the god of war. The story says that Basava +was worshipping in the holy mountain and was praying for some gift, +when he saw an ant emerge from the ground with a small seed in its +mouth. Basava took this seed home, and his sister without Basava's +knowledge swallowed it, and became pregnant. The child was called +Channabasava, or the beautiful Basava, and assisted his uncle in +spreading the new doctrines. Indeed, he is depicted as playing a more +important part than even Basava himself. + +The two Puranas are occupied for the most part with doctrinal +expositions, recitals of mythology, praises of previous Siva saints, +and accounts of miracles worked by Basava. They assert, however, +that uncle and nephew were very energetic promoters of the faith, +and that they preached the persecution and extermination of all +persons (especially the Jains), whose creed differed from that of the +Lingayats. Coupled with the lavish expenditure incurred by Basava +from the public coffers in support of Jangams or Lingayat priests, +these proceedings aroused in Bijjala, himself a Jain, feelings of +distrust, which were fanned by a rival minister, Manchanna, although +the latter was himself a Vira Saiva, and at length an event occurred +which ended in the assassination of Bijjala and the death of Basava. + +At Kalyana there were two specially pious Lingayats, whom Bijjala in +mere wantonness caused to be blinded. Thereupon Basava left Kalyana, +and deputed one of his followers Jagaddeva to slay the king. Jagaddeva, +with two others, succeeded in forcing his way into the palace, where he +stabbed the king in the midst of his court. Basava meanwhile reached +Kudali-Sangameshvara, and was there absorbed into the lingam, while +Channabasava fled to Ulvi in North Canara, where he found refuge in +a cave. + +The above story is taken mainly from the Basava Purana. The account +given in the Channabasava Purana differs in various details, +and declares that Bijjala was assassinated under the orders of +Channabasava, who had succeeded his uncle in office. The Jain account +states that Basava's influence with the king was due to Basava's +sister, whom Bijjala took as a concubine. The death of Bijjala was +caused by poisoned fruit sent by Basava, who, to escape the vengeance +of Bijjala's son, threw himself into a well and died. The version +of Basava's story, which is found in most books of reference, makes +him appear at Kalyan as a youth flying from the persecution of his +father. His uncle, Baladeva, sheltered him and eventually gave him his +daughter; and, when Baladeva died, Basava succeeded to his office. This +seems to have been copied from the account given by Mr. C. P. Brown, +but later translations of the Purana show that it is erroneous. When +Basava came to Kalyan, Bijjala was in power, and his arrival must +therefore have been subsequent to 1156 A. D. If the date of birth +be accepted as 1106, Basava would have been a man of fifty years of +age or more when summoned to office by Bijjala. The latter resigned +in favour of his son in 1167, and may have been assassinated shortly +afterwards. On the other hand, Baladeva could not have been Bijjala's +minister when he came to Basava's upanayanam ceremony, for this +event occurred in 1114, long before the commencement of Bijjala's +reign. There is no reason, however, for crediting the Purana with +any great historical accuracy, and, in fact, the evidence now coming +to light from inscriptions, which the industry of archæologists is +giving to the world, throws great doubt upon the traditional narrative. + +An inscription on stone tablets which have now been built into the wall +of a modern temple at Managoli, a village in the Bijapur district of +the Bombay Presidency about eleven miles to the north-west of Bagevadi, +the supposed birth place of Basava, contains a record of the time of +the Kalachuri king, Bijjala. Two dates are given in the inscription, +and from one of them it is calculated with certainty that Bijjala's +reign began in 1156 A.D. The record gives a certain date as "the +sixth of the years of the glorious Kalachurya Bijjaladeva, an emperor +by the strength of his arm, the sole hero of the three worlds." The +corresponding English date is Tuesday, 12th September, 1161 A.D., so +that Bijjala must have come into power, by the strength of his arm, in +1156. But a still more important piece of information is furnished by +the mention of a certain Basava or Basavarasayya as the builder of the +temple, in which the inscription was first placed, and of one Madiraja, +who held the post of Mahaprabhu of the village when the grants in +support of the temple were made. The record runs as follows. [120] +"Among the five hundred of Manigavalli there sprang up a certain +Govardhana, the moon of the ocean that was the Kasyappa gotra, an +excellent member of the race of the Vajins. His son was Revadasa. The +latter had four sons.... The youngest of these became the greatest, +and, under the name of Chandramas, made his reputation reach even as +far as the Himalaya mountains. To that lord there was born a son, +Basava. There were none who were like him in devotion to the feet +of (the God) Maheshvara (Siva); and this Basava attained the fame +of being esteemed the sun that caused to bloom the water-lily that +was the affection of the five hundred Brahmans of Manigavalli. This +Basavarasayya came to be considered the father of the world, since +the whole world, putting their hands to their foreheads, saluted him +with the words 'our virtuous father'; and thus he brought greatness +to the famous Manigavalli, manifesting the height of graciousness in +saying this is the abode of the essence of the three Vedas; this is +the accomplishment of that which has no end and no beginning; this +is the lustrous divine linga." + +Dr. Fleet suggests that we have at last met with an epigraphic mention +of the Lingayat founder, Basava. This is eminently satisfactory, but +is somewhat upsetting, for the inscription makes Basava a member of +the Kasyapa gotra, while Madiraja is placed in an entirely different +family. As regards the latter, the record says; (l. 20) "in the +lineage of that lord (Taila II, the leader of the Chalukyas) there +was a certain Madhava, the Prabhu of the town of Manigavalli, the very +Vishnu of the renowned Harita gotra;" and later on the same person is +spoken of as the Mahaprabhu Madiraja. If Basava and Madiraja, herein +mentioned, are really the heroes of the Lingayats, it is clear that +they were not father and son, as stated in the Lingayat writings. But +it must be borne in mind that this is the only inscription yet +deciphered which contains any allusion whatever to Basava, and +the statement that "he caused to bloom the water-lily that was the +affection of the five hundred Brahmans of Manigavalli," is directly +opposed to the theory that he broke away from the Brahman fold, and +set up a religion, of which one of the main features is a disregard +of Brahman supremacy. The fact that the inscription was found so near +to Basava's birthplace is, however, strong evidence in favour of the +presumption that it refers to the Basava of Lingayat tradition, and the +wording itself is very suggestive of the same idea. The record gives +a long pedigree to introduce the Basava whom it proceeds to extol, +and puts into his mouth the noteworthy utterance, which ascribes godly +qualities to the "lustrous divine linga." The date of this record is +contemporary with the events and persons named therein, and it must +therefore be far more reliable than the traditionary stories given in +the Puranas, which, as already indicated, are not at all in accordance +with each other. Dr. Fleet is of opinion that the Purana versions are +little better than legends. This is perhaps going too far, but there +can be no doubt that later research will in this, as in the case of +all traditionary history, bring to knowledge facts which will require +a considerable rearrangement of the long accepted picture. + +Another inscription, discovered at Ablur in the Dharwar district of +the Bombay Presidency, is of great importance in this connection. It +is dated about A.D. 1200, and mentions the Western Chalukya king +Somesvara IV, and his predecessor the Kalachurya prince Bijjala. It +narrates the doings of a certain Ekantada Ramayya, so called because +he was an ardent and exclusive worshipper of Siva. This individual got +into controversy with the Jains, who were apparently very powerful +at Ablur, and the latter agreed to destroy their Jina and to set +up Siva instead, if Ramayya would cut off his own head before his +god, and have it restored to his body after seven days without a +scar. Ramayya appears to have won his wager, but the Jains refused +to perform their part of the contract. The dispute was then referred +to king Bijjala, himself a Jain, and Ramayya was given a jayapatra, +or certificate of success. This king and his Chalukyan successor also +presented Ramayya with lands in support of certain Siva temples. It +is noteworthy that the story is told also in the Channabasava Purana, +but the controversy is narrated as having occurred at Kalyan, where +Ramayya had gone to see king Bijjala. The same passage makes Ramayya +quote an instance of a previous saint, Mahalaka, having performed +the same feat at a village named Jambar, which may conceivably be +the Ablur of the inscription. But the interest and importance of the +inscription centre in the fact that it discloses the name of another +devout and exclusive worshipper of Siva, who, it is said, caused this +man to be born into the world with the express object of "putting a +stop to the hostile observances of the Jains and the Buddhists who +had become furious" or aggressive. Dr. Fleet considers that, making +allowance for the supernatural agency introduced into the story, the +narrative is reasonable and plain, and has the ring of truth in it; +and, in his opinion, it shows us the real person to whom the revival +of the ancient Saivaite faith was due. The exploits of Ramayya are +placed shortly before A.D. 1162, in which year Bijjala is said to +have completed his usurpation of the sovereignty by assuming the +paramount titles. Ramayya was thus a contemporary of Basava, but the +Ablur inscription makes no mention of the latter. + +This fresh evidence does not appear to run counter to the commonly +accepted story of the origin of the Lingayats. It confirms the theory +that the religion of Siva received a great impetus at this period, +but there is nothing in the inscription ascribing to Ramayya the +position of a reformer of Saivaite doctrines. He appears as the +champion of Siva against the rival creeds, not as the Saivaite Luther +who is attacking the priestly mysticism of the Saivaite divines; and, +as Dr. Fleet points out, there is nothing improbable in the mention +of several persons as helping on the same movement. Both Ramayya and +Basava are, however, represented in these inscriptions as being the +chief of Saivaite Brahmans, and there is no mention of any schism +such as the Protestant revolt which is associated with the name of +Luther. It is possible, therefore, that the establishment of the +Lingayat sect may have been brought about by the followers of these +two great men--a fact that is hinted at in Lingayat tradition by the +very name of Channabasava, which means Basava the beautiful, because, +according to the Channabasava Purana, he was more beautiful in many +respects than Basava, who is represented as receiving instruction from +his superior nephew in important points connected with their faith. The +two inscriptions and numerous others, which have been deciphered by +the same authority, are of the greatest value from a historical point +of view, and paint in bold colours the chief actors in the drama. The +closing years of the Western Chalukyan kingdom are given to us by the +hand of an actor who was on the same stage, and, if the birth of the +Lingayat creed is still obscured in the mist of the past, the figures +of those who witnessed it stand out with surprising clearness. + +It has been already stated that one of the principles of the +religion is a disregard of caste distinctions. The prevailing +races were Dravidian, and it is an accepted fact that the theory +of caste as propounded by Manu is altogether foreign to Dravidian +ideas. Historians cannot tell us how long the process of grafting the +caste system on to the Dravidian tree lasted, but it is clear that, +when Basava appeared, the united growth was well established. Brahmans +were acknowledged as the leaders in religious matters, and, as the +secular is closely interwoven with the religious in all eastern +countries, the priestly class was gradually usurping to itself a +position of general control. But, as was the case in Europe during the +sixteenth century, a movement was on foot to replace the authority +of the priests by something more in accordance with the growing +intelligence of the laity. And, as in Europe, the reformers were +found amongst the priests themselves. Luther and Erasmus were monks, +who had been trained to support the very system of priestcraft, which +they afterwards demolished. Basava and Ramayya, as already stated, were +Saivaite Brahmans, from whom has sprung a race of free thinkers, who +affect the disregard of caste and many of the ceremonial observances +created by the Brahman priesthood. The comparison may even be carried +further. Luther was an iconoclast, who worked upon men's passions, +while Erasmus was a philosopher, who addressed himself to their +intellects. Basava, according to the traditionary account, was the +counterpart of Luther. Ramayya may be fairly called the Indian Erasmus. + +This freedom from the narrowing influence of caste was doubtless a +great incentive to the spread of the reformed religion. The lingam +was to be regarded as the universal leveller, rendering all its +wearers equal in the eye of the Deity. High and low were to be brought +together by its influence, and all caste distinctions were to be swept +away. According to Basava's teaching, all men are holy in proportion +as they are temples of the great spirit; by birth all are equal; +men are not superior to women, and the gentle sex must be treated +with all respect and delicacy; marriage in childhood is wrong, and +the contracting parties are to be allowed a voice in the matter of +their union; and widows are to be allowed to remarry. All the iron +fetters of Brahmanical tyranny are, in fact, torn asunder, and the +Lingayat is to be allowed that freedom of individual action, which is +found amongst the more advanced Christian communities. Even the lowest +castes are to be raised to the level of all others by the investiture +of the lingam, and all Lingadharis, or wearers of the divine symbol, +are to eat together, to intermarry, and to live at unity. + +But social distinctions inevitably asserted themselves later. As the +Lingayats, or Panchamsalis as they styled themselves, increased in +importance, number and wealth, elaborate forms of worship and ceremony +were introduced, rules of conduct were framed, and a religious system +was devised, on which the influence of the rival Brahman aristocracy +can be freely traced. Thus, in course of time, the Panchamsalis became +a closed caste, new converts were placed on a lower social footing, +the priests alone continuing as a privileged class to dine freely +with them. This development is alleged to have occurred about the +close of the seventeenth century. + +Among the many ceremonies introduced in the course of the changes +just described, one known as the ashtavarna or eight-fold protection +is of special importance. + +These rites consist of-- + + + 1. Guru. + 2. Linga. + 3. Vibhuti. + 4. Rudraksha. + 5. Mantra. + 6. Jangam. + 7. tirtha. + 8. Prasada. + + +Among the greater number of Lingayats, after the birth of a child, +the parents send for the guru or spiritual adviser of the family, +who is the representative of one of the five Acharyas from whom the +father claims descent, or in his absence of his local agent. The +guru binds the linga on the child, besmears it with vibhuti (ashes), +places a garland of rudraksha (fruits of Elæocarpus Ganitrus) round +its neck, and teaches it the mystic mantra of "Namah Shivaya." The +child being incapable of acquiring the knowledge of the sacred text +at this early stage of its existence, the mantra is merely recited in +its ear by the guru. The child has then to be presented to the god +Siva in the person of a Jangam, or Lingayat priest, who is summoned +for the purpose; on his arrival, the parents wash his feet. The water +in which the feet are washed is described as the tirtha or charana +tirtha of Siva. This tirtha is next poured over the linga attached +to the infant. The Jangam is fed, and a portion of the cooked food +from the dish is placed in the child's mouth. This final ceremony is +known as prasada. (I am informed that it would be considered by Tamil +Lingayats sacrilege to wash the lingam with the tirtha.) Occasionally +the double character of guru and Jangam are combined in one person. + +According to some accounts, the rites described above form the basis +of the present social organization of the Lingayat community. They +are divided into those entitled to ashtavarna, and those who are +not. The first of these divisions is again sub-divided into several +groups, which may for convenience be designated Panchamsalis who +are descendants of the original converts, and non-Panchamsalis or +later converts. + +This explanation will throw some light on the scheme of classification +adopted in the Bombay Gazetteer (see volumes Bijapur and Dharwar) +where the smaller groups are shown as-- + + + 1. Pure Lingayats. + 2. Affiliated Lingayats. + 3. Half Lingayats. + + +These divisions, of which the full significance is not clearly +conveyed by the titles, may perhaps be expanded with advantage by +the addition to each of the alternatives already explained, viz., +Panchamsalis, non-Panchamsalis with ashtavarna rites, and others, +including the unclean castes attached to the Lingayat community by +reason of performing its menial services, e.g., Dhors, Chalvadis, +etc. It is the modern practice to deny to these low castes the right +to style themselves Lingayats at all. It must be further explained that +there are seven divisions of Panchamsalis, and that these stand to each +other in the relation of hypergamous groups, that is to say, members of +the higher orders may wed the daughters of those beneath them, which +suggests the probable former existence of free intermarriage. Members +of the lower orders among these Panchamsalis may rise to the higher +by performing certain religious ceremonies, constituting a form of +initiation. In the second and third divisions, i.e., non-Panchamsalis +and "others," the sub-castes are functional groups and are endogamous, +i.e., intermarriage is prohibited. It seems probable that the members +of these divisions became converts to Lingayatism some time after the +initiation of the reforms, to which it gave birth, when the crusade +against caste distinctions had lost much of its pristine vigour, +and ceased to be a living part of the fundamental doctrine of the sect. + +At the present day, marriage is both infant and adult, and the +parties to the contract have practically no choice. Widows are indeed +allowed to remarry, but such marriages are regarded with disfavour +by the stricter members of the sect. A Pariah or a Mala cannot be +invested with the lingam, and, if he pretends to be a Lingayat, +the Jangam does not acknowledge him. The strict rules regarding +meat and drink are maintained, and Lingayats are still free from +many of the ceremonies and religious performances required of other +Hindus. But the tendency of to-day is to follow the lead of the +Brahman; and, while no Lingayat will admit the superiority of that +caste, they practically acknowledge it by imitating many Brahmanical +practices. Much of the good effected by the founder has thus been +counteracted, and the Lingayat is gradually becoming more and more +like his orthodox Hindu brother. In proof of this tendency it may be +noted that, at the time of the census of 1891, there were numerous +representations from Lingayats claiming the right to be described +as Virasaiva Brahmans. Further, on the occasion of the census of +1901, a complete scheme was supplied to the census authorities +professing to show all Lingayat sub-divisions in four groups, viz., +Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra. It is noted, in the Mysore +Census Report, 1891, that the Lingayats interviewed the Maharaja, +and begged that their registration as Virasaiva Brahmans might be +directed. "The crisis was removed by His Highness the Maharaja's +Government passing orders to the effect that the Lingayats should not +be classed as Sadras any more than any other non-Brahmans, but should +be separately designated by their own name, and that, while they were +at liberty to call themselves Virasaiva Brahmans, they should specify +the name of the particular and well-known sub-division to which each +censused unit belonged. It is noteworthy that, as soon as the clamour +of the Lingayats was set at rest, some of their leaders seem to have +become ashamed of their own previous vehemence, while the movement +seemed to have lost the spring imparted by sincerity. Their feelings +were brought to the test when the question of permitting the wonted +periodical procession of their religious flagstaff, the nandi-dhvaja, +came on for consideration by the Police department. The Lingayats' +application for a license was opposed by the other castes on the ground +that, since they had become Brahmans, and had ceased to belong to the +right-hand faction, they had no right to parade the nandi-dhvaja. The +Lingayats then showed themselves glad to regain their status quo ante." + +In connection with the name Virasaiva, it may be noted en passant +that the first session of the Shreemat Veerashaiva Mahasabha [121] +was held at Dharwar in the Bombay Presidency in 1904. Thereat various +suggestions were made concerning religious instruction, education, +marriage, the settlement of disputes by arbitration, and other matters +affecting the material welfare of the Lingayat community as a whole. + +It is worthy of note that, according to some writers, Basava +is supposed to have come within the influence of the Syrian +Christians. The idea was started by Mr. C. P. Brown, whose essay on +the Jangams [122] is the classic on this subject. Mr. A. C. Burnell +quotes the remarkable fact from Cosmos that, in the sixth century, +there was a Persian Bishop at Kalliana near Udupi. And it is presumed +by Surgeon-Major W. R. Cornish, the writer of the Madras Census Report, +1871, that Kalliana is identical with Kalyan, where Basava was prime +minister six centuries later. This is clearly wrong, for Udupi is +on the west coast 30 miles north of Mangalore, whereas Kalyan, the +Chalukyan capital, is in the heart of the Deccan, 350 miles away +over the western ghauts. There was another Calyaun or Kaliana close +to Udupi on the coast, as shown by some of the older maps. But it +is well known that Western India was at this time tenanted by large +settlements of Persians or Manichæans, and recent discoveries tend +to show that these people were Christians. It seems, therefore, to be +quite possible that the discussions, which preceded Basava's revolt, +were tinged with some Christian colouring, derived from the followers +of the Syrian school. Mr. Burnell even thinks that all the modern +philosophical schools of India owe much to the same source. + +The Lingayat faith appears to have spread very rapidly after Basava's +death, which may be placed in the year 1168, and Rice says that, +according to tradition, within sixty years of the founder's death it +was embraced from Ulavi near Goa to Sholapur, and from Balehalli to +Sivaganga. The disappearance of the Chalukyan dynasty is in itself +evidence of the rising power of the Lingayats. But no real estimate +can be made of its progress at first. More than a hundred years +later, the Muhammadan invaders took possession of the Deccan, and +other religions were driven southwards. The Empire of Vijayanagar, +which is said to have covered the whole country from the Kistna to +Cape Comorin, rose out of the ruins of the Hindu kingdoms, and as +Mr. Sewell says, [123] the fighting Kings of Vijayanagar became the +saviours of the south for two and a half centuries. The early members +of this dynasty were Saivaites in faith, but there is no record of +the workings of the reformed religion, which had spread southwards +before Vijayanagar became a power. + +The followers of this religion are easily distinguished from other +Hindus by the fact that the lingam is worn on a conspicuous part of +the body. The bulk of the cultivators enclose it in a red silk scarf +tied round their necks, with a knot in front. This scarf is tied +on the left arm above the elbow when the wearer is at work, and is +sometimes placed round the head when bathing. Some of the traders, +who are the richer class, carry it in a small silver box hung round +the neck with a thread called sivadhara, or in a gold box studded +with precious stones. The women do not wear it outside the dress, +and generally keep it on a neck-string. No one is allowed to put +it down even for a moment. Recently a Lingayat merchant in Madras +removed his silver lingam casket from his neck, wrapped it up in +a cloth, put it under his head, and went to sleep on a street pial +(platform). While he was slumbering, the casket was stolen by a cart +driver. The lingam itself, which is regarded as the home of the deity, +is generally made of grey soapstone brought from Parvatgiri (Srisaila) +in the Kurnool district. It is brought by a class of people called +Kambi Jangams, because, besides the linga stone, they bring on a +kavadi or shoulder-bamboo the holy water of the Patalganga, a pool +on Parvatgiri, whose water Lingayats hold as sacred as Brahmans the +water of the Ganges. + +The following description of the lingam is taken from the Bombay +Gazetteer for Bijapur. "It consists of two discs, the lower one +circular about one-eighth of an inch thick, the upper slightly +elongated. Each disc is about three-quarters of an inch in +diameter, and is separated by a deep groove about an eighth of an +inch broad. From the centre of the upper disc, which is slightly +rounded, rises a pea-like knob about a quarter of an inch long and +three-quarters of an inch round, giving the stone lingam a total height +of nearly three-quarters of an inch. This knob is called the ban or +arrow. The upper disc is called jalhari, that is the water carrier, +because this part of a full-sized lingam is grooved to carry off the +water which is poured over the central knob. It is also called pita, +that is the seat, and pithak the little seat. Over the lingam, to keep +it from harm, is plastered a black mixture of clay, cowdung ashes, +and marking-nut juice. This coating, which is called kauthi or the +cover, entirely hides the shape of the enclosed lingam. It forms a +smooth black slightly truncated cone, not unlike a dark betel nut, +about three-quarters of an inch high, and narrowing from three-quarters +of an inch at the base to half an inch across the top." + +The Jangam cannot as a rule be distinguished from other Lingayats. All +male members of the community have a clean-shaved head, without the +top-knot common to the Brahmans. All, male as well as female, daub +their foreheads with vibhuti or sacred ashes every morning. There +is thus no distinctive mark for the Jangam. But certain ascetics +of the priestly class sometimes put on a red robe peculiar to them, +and others cover themselves with vibhuti and many quaint ornaments. [A +Jangam whom I interviewed at a village in Mysore, was named Virabhadra +Kayaka, and was also known as Kasi Lingada Vira. He was going about +the village, shouting, dancing, and repeating the Virabhadra khadga +or praise of Virabhadra, Siva's son. On his bead he had a lingam stuck +in his head-cloth, with a five-headed snake forming a canopy over it, +and the sacred bull Basava in front. Tied to the forehead, and passing +round the head, was a string holding thirty-two lingams. At the back +of the head was a mane of white false hair. His face was painted +bright red. Round the neck he had four garlands of rudraksha beads, +and suspended from the neck, and resting on the chest, was a silver +casket containing a lingam. Round the waist was a waist-band made of +brass squares ornamented with a variety of figures, among which were +the heads of Daksha Brahma and Virabhadra. Suspended from the neck was +a breast-plate, with a representation of Virabhadra and the figures +of Daksha Brahma and his wife engraved in copper. From the waist a +piece of tiger skin was suspended, to which were attached two heads +of Daksha Brahma with a lion's head between. Hanging lower down was a +figure of Basava. Tied to the ankles were hollow brass cylinders with +loose bits of brass inside. Strings of round brass bells were tied +to the knees. In his right hand he carried a long sword, and tied +to the left forearm was a gauntlet-handled scimitar. To the handle +were attached pieces of brass, which made a noise when the arm was +shaken. Finally, round the forearm were tied pieces of bear-skin.] + +No account of the Lingayat community as it exists at the present +day would be complete without some reference to the grounds on which +the modern representatives of Lingayatism claim for their religion +an origin as ancient as that of Brahministic Hinduism, and a social +structure similar to that which is described in the Code of Manu. + +Mr. Karibasava Shastri, Professor of Sanskrit and Canarese in the +State College of Mysore, writes that the Shaiv sect of Hindus has +always been divided into two groups, the one comprising the wearers +of the linga, and the other those who do not wear it. The former +he designates Virshaiv, and declares that the Virshaivs consist of +Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Sudra. Quoting from the 17th chapter +of the Parameshvar Agma, he declares that the Virshaiv Brahmans are +also known as Shudha Virshaivs, Virshaiv Kings are Marga Virshaiv, +Virshaiv Vaishya are Mishra Virshaiva, and the Sudras of the community +are Anter Virshaiv. In his opinion the duties and penances imposed +on the first of these classes are-- + + + (1) The ashtavarna. + (2) Penances and bodily emaciation. + (3) The worship of Siva without sacrifice. + (4) The recital of the Vedas. + + +The Professor asserts that the Hindu ashrams of Brahmacharya, Grahasta +and Sanyasi are binding on Virshaivs, and quotes from various Sanskrit +works texts in support of this view. He also furnishes a mythical +account of the origin of the Lingayats at the time of the creation +of the world. + +A committee of gentlemen appointed in the Belgaum district +to consider the question of the origin of the Lingayats base +their opinion on a Sanskrit work, the Paramarahasya, and give the +following account:--"When the God Shiva wished to people the earth, +he created from his mouth five acharyas, namely, Marula Radhyacharya, +Ekoranadhyacharya, Revanaradhyacharya, Panditaradhyacharya and +Vishvaradhyacharya. These five acharyas propagated the Lingayat +portion of mankind. Each of them founded a gotra, namely, Bhringi, +Vira, Vrisha, Skanda and Handi, and their five seats are Shrishaila, +Kollipaki, Ujjaini, Kashi and Balihalli." + +A third account prepared specially in connection with the census of +1901 begins by controverting the common opinion that Basava founded +the Lingayat religion, that it was in origin anti-Brahmanical, +and that it abolished caste distinctions. The account continues as +follows. "A little enquiry will clearly show that it was not Basava +who founded the religion, but that he only revived the previously +existing and ancient religion; that it is not anti-Brahmanical, +but that it protests against the efficacy of animal sacrifices, and +that the religion itself is founded on the authority of the Vedas, +treating of animal sacrifices just as the Shri Vaishnav and Madhva +religions have rejected certain portions and adopted certain others +of the Vedas. Consequently it is incorrect to say that the Virshaivs +reject the authority of the Vedas." The writer maintains that caste +distinctions are not foreign to the nature of Lingayatism, and asserts +that they have always existed. According to him, the orthodox theory +is that, when Brahma was ordered to create the world, he requested +Siva to teach him how to, whereupon Siva created aprakruts. Brahma +created the world from the five elements of nature, and produced the +prakruts. The Lingayats are the aprakruts, and the Brahmanistic Hindus +prakruts. Here follow many quotations from Sanskrit Agmas in support +of the facts alleged. It is unnecessary to weary the reader with the +texts and their translations. The object in referring to these latter +day accounts of the origin of the Lingayats is to show the modern +tendency of tradition to bring Lingayatism into line with Brahmanistic +Hinduism. The works referred to by the learned authors appear to +be Sanskrit writings of not more than 500 years ago, and cannot be +taken as proof that the Lingayat religion is of greater antiquity +than the 12th century, or that it has always been observant of caste +distinctions. The persistence with which these points are advanced at +the present day is, however, worthy of careful notice. If Lingayatism +was an island thrown up within the "boundless sea of Hinduism," it +would appear that the waters of the ocean are doing their utmost to +undermine its solid foundations. The Lingayats in Bombay, Madras and +Mysore number about two millions. Mysore and the Southern Mahratta +country are the principal homes of the creed, and the Bellary district, +which is wedged in between the above territories, must be classed with +them. Mr. Rice tells us that it was the State religion of the Wodeyars +of Mysore from 1399 to 1610, and of the Nayaks of Keladi, Ikkeri or +Bednur from 1550 to 1763. At the present day the ruling family in +Mysore employ none but Lingayats as cooks and watermen. The Lingayats +of Madras numbered 138,518 at the census of 1901. These figures, +however, are of doubtful accuracy, as many were entered under caste +names, and the probable strength of the community must be largely in +excess of the figures. They were chiefly found in the Bellary district. + +The following are the main sub-divisions of the community in the +Madras Presidency :-- + + + 1. Jangam. The priestly class. + + 2. Banajiga or Banjig, divided into Banajigas proper and Jain + Banajigas. + + These are essentially traders, but many are now cultivators. The + equivalent in the Telugu country is Linga Balija. Jangams + occasionally take Banajiga girls in marriage. The girl has to + undergo certain ceremonies before her marriage, and after that + she should not be treated as a daughter or sister of the family, + but should be considered as a Jangam's wife, and respect paid + to her. Jangam girls are not given to Banajigas as wives. Jain + Banajigas are considered as inferior to Banajigas proper, and + girls of the former are not married into families of the latter. + + 3. Sadaru, divided into Kumbala Kudi Sadaru and Chadaru Sadaru. The + great majority are cultivators. + + 4. Laligonda, divided into Hera (elder) and Chikka (younger) + Laligonda. + + 5. Kapu, Reddi, and Vakkaliga, cultivators. + + +The Aradhya Brahman is termed a Lingayat. This caste is not included +in the present note. The members of it wear the sacred thread, as well +as the lingam. They are strict Saivite Brahmans, and have nothing to +do with the Lingayats proper. + +The three religious divisions of the community are styled:-- + + + 1. Nirabara Vira Saiva. Sanyasis or ascetics, wearing only the + kaupinam or loin-cloth + + 2. Vishesha Vira Saiva. The priestly class, generally called + Jangams. + + 3. Samanya Vira Saiva. This includes all Lingayats, who are not + Sanyasis or Jangams. The whole Lingayat community is dealt with + by Mr. C. P. Brown under the name Jangam, and his essay speaks of + Vishesha and Samanya Jangams. This is incorrect, for no Samanya + Vira Saiva can be a Jangam, and all Jangams are Vishesha Vira + Saivas. + + +The Jangams are mostly literate, and the members of the Banjig or +trader class are frequently literate. The other classes of men, +and the women of all classes are practically illiterate. Canarese is +the common language of Lingayats, and it is usually preserved as a +house language where Canarese is not the language of the locality. In +Bellary the teachers in several of the board schools (primary standard) +are Jangams. Very few Lingayats have as yet competed for University +honours, and the number of Lingayat graduates is small. + +The common termination for males is Appa, and for females Amma or Akka, +or Avva. In the case of Jangams the male termination is Ayya. The +names commonly in use are as follows:-- + + + Basappa or Basamma, after Basava, the founder of the religion. + + Chennappa or Chennava, after Chennabasava, nephew of Basava. + + Sugurappa or Suguravva, after Sugur, where there is a temple + of Virabhadra. + + Revanna or Revamma, after Revana Sideswara, the founder of the + Balehalli mutt. + + Mallappa or Mallava, a localised name of Siva. + + Nagappa or Naganna, after a snake. + + Bussappa or Bussavva, after the hiss of a snake. + + +Basappa is the most common name of all, and it is said that in Kottur, +a town of 7,000 inhabitants, not far from Ujjini, one half of the +male Lingayats are styled Kottur Basappa. + +Tinduga or Tindodi is a nickname given to a daughter's son born and +bred up in his maternal grandfather's house. The name signifies +that the boy will some day quit the house and join his father's +family, tindu meaning eating, and wodi, running away. If the child +happens to be a female she is called Tindavva or Tindodi. Kuldappa, +or Kuldavva, is a nickname for one who fails to see a thing at once +when he looks for it. Kulda is a corruption of kuruda, which means +a blind man. Superstition has something to do with the naming of +children. Children whose predecessors died successively in their +infancy are named as Sudugappa or Sudugadavva after sudugadu, +burial-ground, Gundappa or Gundavva after gundu, a rock, Tippiah or +Tippavva after tippa, a rubbish heap, Tirakappa after tirakambonu, +begging. These names signify humility, and are given in the belief +that God will pity the parents and give the children a long lease +of life. Two names are not given to a child, but pet names are used +instead. + +The recognised head-quarters of the Lingayats in the Bellary district +is Ujjini, a village in the south of the Kudligi taluk on the borders +of Mysore. There are five head-quarters of the community in different +parts of India. In each there is what is called a Simhasanadhipati. In +the first period of creation, Iswara or Siva is supposed to have +appeared in five different forms, emanating from his five faces, and +the five Lingayat centres are representative of these five forms. The +places are Ujjini, Srisaila, Kollepaka, Balehalli, and Benares. + +It is said that the Mutt at Kollepaka no longer exists, and has +been replaced by one at Bukkasagar in the Hospet taluk of Bellary +district. The shape and materials of their dwellings are not in any +way different from those of other Hindus. In the Bellary district, +houses of the better classes are built of stone; poorer persons can +only afford mud houses. All adopt the flat roof peculiar to the Deccan. + +It is recorded, in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, that "the orthodox +theory among the Lingayats is that their religion was founded by +a number of Acharyas, the most famous of whom were Renuka, Daraka, +Gajakarna, Ghantakarna and Viswakarna, who are the Gotrakartas of +the Lingayat Dwijas, having received their mandate direct from Siva +to establish his true religion on earth, or rather to restore it to +its purity. As belonging to the Apprakrita Srishti, the Virasaivas +are enjoined not to follow that portion of the Vedas which treats of +Yagnas or animal sacrifices. Their contention is that karma, or the +performance of ceremonies, is of two kinds, namely, one relating to the +attainment of worldly desires, and the other relating to the attainment +of wisdom or gnana. The idea of salvation in Brahmanical religions +generally is the attainment of desires, going to Swarga or Heaven, +where one would enjoy eternal bliss. But salvation, as understood +by the Virasaiva religion, is something different, and goes one step +further, meaning absorption into and attainment of oneness with the +deity. Consequently, they are prohibited from performing all those +ceremonies which relate to the attainment of Swarga, but are bound +to perform those which relate to gnana or wisdom, and to salvation +as understood by them. The five great Gotrakartas established five +great religious centres in different parts of India, viz., Ekorama +at Ketara in the Himalayas, Viswacharya at Benares, Marutacharya +at Ujjain, Pandithacharya at Srisaila in Cuddapah district, and +Renukacharya at Balehalli or Balehonnur in Koppa taluk (of Mysore), +at all of which places the mutts still exist. The heads of these mutts +have geographically divided the Lingayats into five great divisions, +and each head exercises spiritual control within his own legitimate +sphere, though all of them have a general jurisdiction over all the +Lingayats generally. Each of these mutts, called simhasanas (thrones), +has sub-mutts in important popular centres under the management of +Pattadaswamis. Each sub-mutt has a number of branch mutts, called +Gurusthala mutts, under it, and these latter are established wherever +a community of Lingayats exists. The rights and duties of the Swamis +of these mutts are to preside on all ceremonial occasions, to receive +their dues, to impart religious instructions, to settle religious +disputes, and to exercise a general control over all matters affecting +the interests of the community at large. But one particular feature +of this sect is the existence of another order of priests, called +Viraktas, also known as Nirabharis or Jangamas, who hold the highest +position in the ecclesiastical order, and therefore command the highest +respect from laymen as well as from the above mentioned clergy. Each +Virakta mutt is directly subject to the Murgi mutt at Chitaldrug, +which has absolute jurisdiction over all the Viraktas. Most Lingayat +towns have a Virakta mutt built outside the town, where the Swami or +the Jangama leads a solitary, simple and spiritual life. Unlike the +other priests, the Virakta is prohibited from presiding on ceremonial +occasions, and from receiving unnecessary alms unless for the purpose +of immediately distributing the same to others. He should devote +his whole life partly to spiritual meditation, and partly to the +spreading of spiritual knowledge among his disciples, so that he +would be the fountain head, to whom all laymen and all clergy must +turn for spiritual wisdom. His position, in short, should be that of +a pure Sanyasi of the most exalted order. But here, as in the case +of most other Indian ecclesiastical orders, the modern representative +of the ancient prototype is far different from the ideal." + +Sacrifices are contrary to the tenets of the faith, but the practices +of other Hindus are to some extent copied. When laying the foundations +of a house, a cocoanut is broken, incense offered and camphor +burnt. When setting up the main door frame, a ceremony called Dwara +Pratishta is performed. On that day, or a subsequent day, an iron +nail is driven into the frame, to prevent devils or evil spirits +from entering the house. After the house is completed, the ceremony +of Graha Pravesam takes place. With all Lingayat ceremonies the most +important feature is the worship of the jangam, and in this instance +the house is sprinkled with water, in which the Jangam's feet have +been washed. Jangam's friends and relatives are then entertained and +fed in the house. + +Theoretically, any one may become a Lingayat by virtue of investiture +with the lingam. But in practice very few outsiders are admitted. The +priests do not proselytise. The elders of the community sometimes +persuade a relative or friend to join the fold. In the Bellary +district, it is believed that the religion is not spreading. The +contrary seems to be the case in the Bombay Presidency. The Bijapur +Gazetteer states that the wearing of the lingam, and the desertion +of Brahmans for Jangams as priests, are still spreading among the +Brahmanical castes of Bijapur, and adds "In Mr. Cumine's opinion +few castes have remained beyond the influence of the new sect, and +between Lingayatism and Islam, Brahmanism will in a few centuries be +almost extinct." According to Mr. C. P. Brown, the Jangams insist upon +any candidate for admission undergoing a probation of ten or twelve +years. The authorities at Ujjini state that there is a recognised +scale of probation ranging from three years for the Brahman to +twelve years for the Sudra, but the Jangams admit that no Brahmans +are ever converted now, and the probation period is probably not +enforced. The castes from which outsiders occasionally come are the +various sub-divisions of the Kapu or Reddi caste. It is not uncommon +to find all the Neredi Kapus in one village wearing the lingam, +while the people of the same caste in a neighbouring village are +not Lingayats. The Pakanati Kapus illustrate the same rule. Lingayat +and non-Lingayat Kapus who are relatives eat together, and in some +cases intermarry. + +Lingayatism has recently made converts from other castes. In the +last century, many weavers of Tuminkatti in the Dharwar district +of Bombay were converted by a Jangam from Ujjini, and are now known +as Kurvinavaru. They have abandoned all social intercourse with the +parent caste. + +According to Basava's teaching, even the lowest castes could join +the community, and obtain equality with other Lingayats. The Abbé +Dubois wrote that, "even if a Pariah joins the sect, he is considered +in no way inferior to a Brahman. Wherever the lingam is found, there +they say is the throne of the deity, without distinction of class or +rank. The Pariah's humble hut containing the sacred emblem is far above +the most magnificent palace where it is not." These were undoubtedly +the views of the founder, but his orders are not followed at the +present day. The authorities at Ujjini deny that any Mala or Madiga +can become a Lingayat, and say that, even if he wears a lingam, it +has not been given him by a Jangam. There is a class of Malas called +Chalavadis, whose duty it is to accompany Lingayat processions, +and ring a bell. These Chalavadis wear the lingam. It is, however, +the accepted rule amongst Lingayats of the present day that a Mala +or Madiga cannot wear lingam. + +In a note on the relations between Lingayats and Brahmans, [124] +Mr. T. V. Subramanyam refers to the long-standing differences +between them in the Bellary district. "The quarrel," he writes, +"has reference to the paraphernalia the former may carry in their +religious processions, and has its origin in a legend. The story runs +that Vedavyasa, the author of the Mahabharata and a fervent devotee +of Vishnu, once went to Benares with the object of establishing +the superiority of his favourite deity in that stronghold of +Saivism. Within the precincts of the temple, he raised his hands aloft, +proclaiming that Vishnu was the supreme God, when, to the consternation +of the assembled worshippers, Nandi, the trusted servant and vehicle +of Siva, whose sculptured image is found in every temple sacred to +his master, rose up in indignation, and cut off the right hand of +the blasphemous sage. The principal insignia claimed to be used in +Lingayat processions are makaratoranam, pagaladivitti, svetachhatram, +nandidhvajam, and vyasahastam. No objection is raised by the Brahmans +to the use of the first three of these, which are respectively a +banner with the representation of a tortoise embroidered thereon, +torches carried during the day, and a white umbrella. The nandidhvajam +consists of a long pole, at the upper end of which floats a flag with +a representation of Nandi, and to which is affixed an image of Basava, +the founder of the sect. The vyasahastam is a similar pole, from which +a wooden arm is suspended. The assertion of the prowess of Nandi, and +the perpetuation of the punishment alleged by the Lingayats to have +been inflicted on Vyasa for daring to declare the supremacy of Vishnu, +as symbolised by these emblems, are equally offensive to all classes +of Brahmans, as the sage is reverenced equally by Vaishnavas, Madhvas, +and Smartas. Besides these emblems, the Lingayats claim that, during +their processions, they are entitled to ring a bell, which is usually +suspended from the flat end of a large ladle-like object. The Brahmans +object to this, however, as the bells are carried by low-caste persons, +who ring them with their feet, to the accompaniment of chants intended +to insult the Brahmans and their religious creeds. They contend also +that the hollow of the ladle is designed in mockery of the Brahmakapala +(or skull of Brahma), which is very sacred in their eyes.... In the +year 1811, a dispute arose regarding the display of the nandidhavajam +and the vyasahastam, an enquiry into which was held by the Judge of +Bellary, who issued a proclamation for general information throughout +the district, prohibiting the procession altogether, and declaring that +no person should attempt it, on pain of being put in irons, and sent +to take his trial before the Court of Circuit.... When the Sringeri +Swami, known as Jagadguru or spiritual head of the universe, visited +Bellary in 1888, certain Lingayats petitioned the District Magistrate, +praying that, if he was to be allowed to enter the town displaying +his usual paraphernalia, their gurus must also be allowed a similar +privilege during their processions. The petitioners were directed to +meet the agent of the Sringeri Swami, and they agreed with him, to +quote from the Collector's order, in a spirit of mutual consideration +that the processions of the gurus of the Smarta Brahmans and of the +Lingayats should be peaceably conducted, and that, in the latter, +neither the nandidhvajam nor the vyasahastam should be used. In 1899, +it was decided in a Civil Court that the bells used in the processions +of the Lingayats should be rung with the hands and not with the +feet, and that the Chalavadis, or bell-ringers, should not utter +any cries or chants offensive to the feelings of the Brahmans. In +1901, the Collector negotiated a compromise between the Lingayats +and the Brahmans of Rayadrug, by which the display of all insignia, +except the vyasahastam, was permitted to the former. Apparently, the +Brahmans have not been satisfied with the terms of this compromise, +as, subsequent to 1901, they have started civil litigation, in which it +is contended that the use of nandidhvajam is itself objectionable. At +the present moment, therefore, the Brahman Lingayat controversy is +exactly where it was a hundred years ago." + +Non-Lingayats, wishing to join the faith, have to undergo a three +days' purification ceremony. On the first day they get their face and +head shaved, and take a bath in cow's urine and ordure. Except these +articles, they are under a prohibition to drink or eat anything else +that day. On the second day they bathe themselves in dhulodaka, i.e., +water with which a Jangam's feet have been washed, and eat sugar and +drink cow's milk. On the third or last day, they take a panchamrutham +bath, i.e., they apply to the head and body a paste made of plantains, +cow's milk, ghi (clarified butter), curds and honey, and wash it +off with water; they drink the water (thirtham) in which a Jangam's +feet have been washed; the lingam is tied on by the Jangam, and the +convert eats with other Lingayats. Women also undergo this ceremony, +but in their case shaving is omitted. + +Disputes are settled by a panchayat (council) headed by one of +the community called Yejaman or Setti, assisted by the Reddi or +headman called Banakara. Where there is no Setti, the Reddi takes +his place. The Setti is appointed by the community, after the office +itself has been created by the Simhasanadhipati of the mutt. The +other members of the panchayat are not permanent, but are selected +for the occasion. The panchayat also tries offences against caste +rules, and imposes fine on the culprit. The money, when collected, +is given to some mutt or temple. Failure to pay is punished by +excommunication. Any one may be appointed Setti, but the post is +hereditary. It is an honorary post carrying no remuneration, and the +enquiries of the panchayat entail no expense, except in the cost of +supplying pansupari (betel leaves and areca nuts). The panchayat is +not limited in numbers, all the leading members of the community being +invited to attend. Appeals from the decisions of the panchayat lie to +the mutt to which the village is subordinate. In Bellary appeals go +to Ujjini. The orders of the mutt are final. The Ujjini authorities +say that the only punishment that can be inflicted is to interdict +the offender from all social intercourse. He is practically "put into +Coventry"; but is released on payment of a fine to the guru, so the +punishment is in fact a fine. The appointment of a new Setti is a +solemn function, resembling the instalment of a church dignitary. The +priests and Settis of neighbouring villages assemble, and instal the +new man. The following is the order of precedence amongst them:-- + + + (1) Matadaya. + (2) Matapati. + (3) Ganachari. + (4) Sthavaria or Gunari. + (5) Setti. + (6) Patna Setti. + (7) Kori Setti. + (8) Wali Setti. + + +A ceremony called Diksha is said by some to be compulsory with Jangams, +male and female, in their eighth year, and the same is also said to +be required for lay Lingayats. The ceremony is performed in order to +impart to the recipient the sacred mantram called Panchakshari. This is +whispered in the ear by the guru. The rite is evidently in imitation +of the Brahman practice of imparting the Gayatri mantram at the +time of the Upanayanam or thread-tying ceremony. The term Diksha is +sometimes used to express the conversion ceremony used in the case of +a new-comer. It is an essential of the faith that the sacred spell +should be whispered in the ear by the guru, and this explains the +three word motto or "guru, linga and Jangam." But, in the case of lay +Lingayats and of women, it does not appear that Diksha is universal, +and the sacred spell is whispered in the ear when the lingam is tied. + +Pollution periods are not observed. The indifference displayed by +Lingayats to the purification ceremonies prescribed by Hindu custom +is noticed by the Abbé Dubois, who quotes the Hindu proverb which says +"There is no river for a Lingayat." + +A simple ceremony is performed when a girl comes to maturity. This +lasts only one day. The girl takes an oil bath, and puts on clean +clothes and ornaments. Married women come and place in her lap two +cocoanuts, two dates, five limes, five areca nuts, five betel leaves, +and some rice. They sing some bright song, and then pass round her +head three times the wave offering (arati) of a light. They then +depart, after being presented with food and betel. This ceremony is +evidently copied from other castes, and with well-to-do Lingayats +is sometimes prolonged for several days. Holy water (thirtham) is +sprinkled over the head of the girl. No ceremonies are observed at +subsequent menstrual periods, as no pollution is attached to them. + +No special diet or customs are observed during pregnancy by husband or +wife. The woman in her confinement is attended by her female relatives +and the village midwife. At the birth of a child, all the female +members of the family, and other women who attend the confinement, +bathe and give a bath to the mother and child. On the second and +third day, from five to ten women are invited. They bring boiled +water and turmeric paste to apply to the body of the mother. On +the third day a ceremony called Viralu is performed. Viralu means +the worship of the afterbirth. The midwife buries it at the outer +door, throws over the grave a piece of thread, dipped in turmeric +water, and some rice, turmeric powder, kunkuma (red powder) and nim +(Melia Azadirachta) leaves. She offers to it kitchade, a mess made +of broken cholam (millet: Sorghum) and a dish of greens, and breaks a +cocoanut. The mother, who wears on the right wrist a piece of thread +with a piece of sweet flag (Acorus Calamus) tied to it, worships +the grave with joined hands. The women who have brought boiled water +also wear similar threads on the right wrists, and eat the cholam and +the greens. The midwife takes away the offering made to the grave, +and gets also her money perquisites. The Viralu ceremony is observed +in the belief that the mother's breasts will thereby be fruitful of +milk. The mother for the first time, on the day after the ceremony is +over, suckles the child. Both of them receive dhulodaka (water from +a Jangam's feet). The child also receives from the Jangam the lingam, +which is to be his personal property for life and for eternity. + +The name is given to a child on the sixteenth day after birth. Five +married women go to a well or river, where they worship Gangamma, and +return with a new pot filled with water. The mother receives it at the +entrance, and places it on some cholam under the cradle. After this, +the child is put into the cradle, and is given a name. The child's +maternal uncle or aunt gives the name, and at once all the women +present assault the namer with their fists. After this the Jangam +and guests are fed, and guggeri (fried grain) is distributed. + +Marriage is both infant and adult. There is no difference in this +respect between Jangams and other Lingayats. Sexual license before +marriage is neither recognised nor tolerated. Open prostitution is +not permitted. On the other hand, it is condemned as a moral sin and +a social offence, and the party is punished by excommunication. There +are Basavis (dedicated prostitutes) amongst Lingayats. Polygamy is +permitted. Polyandry is strictly prohibited. Among the Lingayats, +marriage between brothers' children is strictly prohibited. Similarly, +sisters' children cannot marry. Marriage between some classes of +second cousins is also prohibited, i.e., a man's children may not +marry the children of his paternal uncle or of his maternal aunt. A +man may marry his sister's daughter, but, in the case of children of +the younger sister, such marriages are looked on with disfavour. The +parties to a marriage have no freedom of choice. It is arranged for +them by their parents or by the elders of their family, who come to +an agreement as to the amount of teravu that should be paid to the +bride's family. This marriage price usually amounts to 12 pagodas or +42 rupees, but is often more. In the case of a second marriage, the +amount is double. The presents to the bridegroom generally consist +of a pair of cloths, a turban, and a gold ring. These gifts are not +compulsory, and their amount and value depend upon the circumstances +of the bride's family. + +For a betrothal, the bridegroom's family come to the bride's house on +an auspicious day in company with a Jangam. They bring a sire (woman's +cloth), a kuppasa (jacket), two cocoanuts, five pieces of turmeric, +five limes, betel leaf and areca nut. They also bring flowers for +the susaka (a cap of flowers made for the bride), gold and silver +ornaments, and sugar and areca nut for distribution to guests. The +bride puts on the new cloths with the ornaments and flowers, and +sits on a folded kumbli (blanket), on which fantastic devices have +been made with rice. Some married women fill her lap with cocoanuts +and other things brought by the bridegroom's party. Music is played, +and the women sing. Five of them pick up the rice on the kumbli, and +gently drop it on to the bride's knees, shoulders and head. They do +this three times with both hands. Sugar and betel are then distributed, +and one of the bride's family proclaims the fact that the bride has +been given to the bridegroom. One of the bridegroom's family then +states that the bride is accepted. That night the bride's family feed +the visitors on sweet things; dishes made of hot or pungent things +are strictly prohibited. + +The marriage ceremony, which often takes place some years later, +occupies from one to four days according to circumstances. In the +case of a four-day marriage, the first day is spent in worshipping +ancestors. On a second day, rice and oil are sent to the local +mutt, and oil alone to the relatives. New pots are brought with much +shouting, and deposited in the god's room. A pandal (booth) is erected, +and the bridegroom sits under it side by side with a married female +relative, and goes through a performance which is called Surige. An +enclosure is made round them with cotton thread passed ten times +round four earthen pitchers placed at the four corners. Five married +women come with boiled water, and wash off the oil and turmeric, +with which the bride and the bridegroom and his companion have been +anointed. The matrons then clothe them with the new cloths offered +to the ancestors on the first day. After some ceremonial, the thread +forming the enclosure is removed, and given to a Jangam. The Surige +being now over, the bridegroom and his relatives are taken back to the +god's room. The bride and her relatives are now taken to the pandal, +and another Surige is gone through. When this is over, the bride is +taken to her room, and is decorated with flowers. At the same time, +the bridegroom is decorated in the god's room, and, mounting on a +bullock, goes to the village temple, where he offers a cocoanut. A +chaplet of flowers called bashingam is tied to his forehead, and he +returns to the house. In the god's room a panchakalasam, consisting +of five metal vases with betel and vibhuti (sacred ashes) has been +arranged, one vase being placed at each corner of a square, and one on +the middle. By each kalasam is a cocoanut, a date fruit, a betel leaf +and areca nut, and one pice (a copper coin) tied in a handkerchief. A +cotton thread is passed round the square, and round the centre kalasam +another thread, one end of which is held by the family guru, and the +other by the bridegroom who sits opposite to him. The guru wears a +ring made of kusa grass on the big toe of his right foot. The bride +sits on the left hand side of the bridegroom, and the guru ties their +right and left hands respectively with kusa grass. Hastapuja then +follows. The joined hands of the bride and bridegroom are washed, and +bilva (Ægle Marmelos) leaves and flowers are offered. The officiating +priest then consecrates the tali and the kankanam (wrist-thread), +ties the latter on the wrists of the joined hands, and gives the tali +to the bridegroom, who ties it round the bride's neck, repeating some +words after the priest. The tying of the tali is the binding portion +of the ceremony. Before the tali is given to the bridegroom, it is +passed round the assembly to be touched by all and blessed. As soon +as the bridegroom ties it on the bride, all those present throw over +the pair a shower of rice. The bridegroom places some cummin seed +and jaggery (crude sugar) on the bride's head, and the bride does +the same to the bridegroom. Small quantities of these articles are +tied in a corner of the cloth of each, and the cloths are then knotted +together. The bride worships the bridegroom's feet, and he throws rice +on her head. The newly married couple offer fruits to five Jangams, +and present them with five pice. The relatives worship the bride and +bridegroom, wash their feet and offer presents, and the proceedings +of the day terminate. On the third day, friends and relatives are fed, +and on the fourth day bride and bridegroom ride in procession through +the village, on the same bullock, the bride in front. On return to +the house they throw scented powder (bukkittu) at each other, and the +guests join in the fun. Then follows the wedding breakfast, to which +only the near relatives are admitted. The married couple worship +Jangams and the elders, and take off the kankanam or consecration +thread from their wrists, and tie it at the doorway. The five matrons +who have assisted are given presents and dismissed, and the marriage +is now complete. In a one-day marriage, the above ceremonies are +crowded into the short time allotted. The remarriage of widows was +one of the points on which Basava insisted, and was probably one of +the biggest bones of contention with the Brahmans. Widow remarriage +is allowed at the present day, but the authorities at Ujjini see +fit to disregard it. They say that amongst Jangams it is prohibited, +and that amongst the other classes of Lingayats it is growth of custom. + +The practice of widow remarriage is widely followed even among Jangams, +but amongst the stricter classes, who are probably under the influence +of their Brahman friends, it is discountenanced. The parties to such +a marriage are not allowed to take part in the marriage ceremonies of +others. A great deal can, however, be done when money is forthcoming, +and in one case a girl has recently been remarried according to +the form in use for original marriages. Every Jangam probably has +his price. + +A widow cannot marry her deceased husband's brother or cousin. The +marriage goes by the name of Udiki, and corresponds to some extent +to the Gandarva form of the Hindus. The ceremony is a very simple +one; there is no music and no guests are invited. The parties go to +the temple in company with the Matapati or headman, and the bangle +seller. The latter puts glass bangles on the bride's wrists, and the +Matapati ties the tali. This last act ratifies the marriage contract, +and makes it indissoluble. In some cases the ceremony takes place +at night, as though the parties wished the darkness to cover them, +but this practice does not seem to be universal. A widower generally +takes a widow as his second bride; a bachelor will not as a rule +marry a widow. In connection with a case concerning the Lingayat +'Goundans' of the Wynad, it is noted, in the Indian Law Reports, +[125] that "there is an immemorial custom by which Lingait widows +are remarried. Such marriage is styled, not kalianam, but odaveli or +kudaveli. It is not accompanied with the same ceremonies as a kalianam +marriage, but a feast is given, the bride and bridegroom sit on a mat +in the presence of the guests and chew betel, their cloths are tied +together, and the marriage is consummated the same night. Widows +married in this form are freely admitted into society. They cease +to belong to the family of their first husband, and the children of +the second family inherit the property of their own father." Divorce +is permitted on proof of misconduct. The husband can exercise his +right to divorce his wife by proving before a panchayet the alleged +misconduct. The wife can only claim to divorce her husband when he +has been outcasted. Wives who have been divorced cannot remarry. The +above answers are given on the authority of the Ujjini mutt. There +appears to be considerable divergence of opinion in other quarters. By +some it is positively asserted that divorce is not permitted under +any circumstances; that the husband and wife may separate on the +ground of incompatibility of temper or for misconduct; and that +in these circumstances the husband is at liberty to marry again, +while the wife is not. Others say that divorce is permitted, and +that both parties are at liberty to remarry. In connection with the +Lingayats of South Canara, it is recorded, in the Indian Law Reports, +[126] that "second marriage of a wife forsaken by the first husband +is allowed. Such marriage is known as serai udiki (giving a cloth); +as distinguished from lagna or dhara, the first marriage." + +All castes included in Lingayat community follow the Hindu law of +inheritance, and succession is governed by the same. + +As a rule Lingayats worship Basaveswara and Virabhadra, the former +being the founder of their sect, and the latter a son of Siva. They +worship also the other sons of Siva, Shanmukha and Vinayaka, and +Parvati, wife of Siva. The other deities of the Hindu pantheon +are not reverenced. Some later saints are sometimes regarded with +reverence, but there does not appear to be any great uniformity in this +matter, and the Ujjini authorities declare that no god except Siva +is worshipped. This is clearly the correct view of the religion, and +it is evident that the worship of minor deities was not countenanced +by the founder. + +It is a peculiarity amongst the Lingayats that they esteem the Jangam +or priest as superior even to the deity. They pay homage to the Jangam +first, and to Siva afterwards. The Jangam is regarded as an incarnation +of the deity. They allow him to bathe his lingam in water with which +his feet have been washed, and which for this reason is regarded as +holy water. With the same water they bathe their own lingams, and drink +the remainder. The motto of the creed quoted by Mr. C. P. Brown is +"Guru, linga, Jangam." These three words express the Lingayat faith, +but in practice the Jangam is placed first, and, as stated above, is +worshipped as god upon earth. This practice of bathing the lingams in +holy water is universal, and precedes each meal. The Jangam blesses +the food in the name of Basava, and eats before the others can begin. + +Monday in every week is the Lingayat Sunday, and is sacred to +Siva. This day is observed everywhere, and no Lingayat will cultivate +his field, or otherwise work his cattle on a Monday. This fact was +noted by the Abbé Dubois. The following account of the various +festivals recognised by Lingayats was furnished by the Dewan of +the Sandur State, but, as he himself admits, very few people really +observe the rules:-- + +The month Chaitra.--First day of the bright fortnight being Ugadi or +new year's day, all take an oil bath and feast, the first dish to be +eaten being a porridge made of margosa (Melia Azadirachta) flowers, +sugar candy or jaggery, dried grapes, almonds, Bengal gram flour, +poppy seeds, and cocoanut kernel. Those who can afford it put on new +clothing. The eating of margosa flowers on Ugadi is not, however, +peculiar to the Lingayat. On the full-moon day, called Davanadahunname +(from davana, a scented plant), they enjoy dainty dishes in honour +of Hampe Pompapathiswami's car festival. + +The month Vaisakha.--On the full-moon day called Hagihunname (from +hage, a young plant) cultivators make nursery beds, and enjoy a +good repast. + +The month Jyesta.--The full-moon day called Karuhunname (from kare, +a festoon). Bullocks are washed, painted, and taken out in procession, +when a festoon made of leaves, etc., and tied high across the main +street, is broken. On the new-moon day called Mannueththina-amavasya, +they make bulls with earth, worship them, and eat a good meal. + +The month Ashadha.--On the full-moon day called Kadlakadavena hunname, +they make a mixture of cholam or other flour with a single grain +of unbroken Bengal gram inside, boil it and eat. Women strike one +another with these cakes, which are either round or oblong, and are +tough. Before being eaten, they are cut into pieces with a knife. + +The month Sravana.--The fifth day of the bright fortnight, called +Nagarapanchame. The image of a serpent, made of mud taken from a +snake's hole, is worshipped with offerings of milk, soaked Bengal +gram, rice, balls made of jaggery and fried gingelly (Sesamum) +called chigali, balls made of rice flour and jaggery called tanittoo, +cocoanuts, plantains and flowers. On each Monday of this month, all +the gods are worshipped with offerings of dainty dishes, and Jangams +are fed. This is the most important month in the year. Those who can +afford it have the Basava or other Puranams read and explained. + +The month Bhadrapada.--The fourth day of the bright fortnight. The +image of Ganesha, made of earth and painted, is worshipped with +an offering consisting of 21 harnakadubu, 21 chigali, 21 tanittoo, +a cocoanut, flowers and incense. It is taken out in procession on +the 3rd, 5th or 9th day, and deposited in a well or stream after +the necessary worship. The new-moon day called Malada-amavasya (from +Mahalaya, a period comprising 15 days from full- to new-moon), during +which offerings are made to the manes of departed ancestors. + +The month Aswija.--The first day of the bright fortnight. Male children +bathe, put on holiday clothes, and go to the village school. They +do so till the 10th or Dasami day. With them their master makes +house-to-house visits for annual presents. They sing and play with +the kolatam, a pair of painted round sticks about one foot in length +with a diameter of 1 1/4 inches. On the Dasami day, books, accounts, +scales and weights, measures and weapons are worshipped with jambi +(Prosopis spicigera), rich food, flowers and incense. All, including +Jangams, enjoy a good meal. In the evening they visit temples, +and offer cocoanuts to the idols. They pay reverence to elders by +giving them jambi, and falling at their feet. On the same day, girls +collect earth from ant-hills, and place it in a heap in the village +temple. Every evening they go to the said temple with aratis (wave +offerings), singing on the way, and worship the heap. They continue +this till the full-moon day called Seegahunname. On the following day, +i.e., on the first day of the dark fortnight, they worship in the +same temple an image of Siva and his consort Parvati seated on the +sacred bull made of earth and painted. They worship with offerings +of cakes and other dainties, and cocoanuts, flowers and incense, +and give arati. The Matapati who has installed the idol takes these +offerings, and gives each girl two idols of Kontamma, made out of +the heaped earth previously worshipped by them. They take them home +in their arati platters. Within the next three days, they go from +house to house playing on kolu or kolatam and singing, and receive +money presents. These earnings they spend on the worship of Kontamma +by making sajja and gingelly cakes called konte roti, and offering +them. This worship is performed on the top of the roof of a house. The +girls eat up the cakes, and take Kontamma in procession to a stream or +well, and gently let her into the water, singing songs all the while. + +On the new-moon day, a religious observance called nope or nomulu in +honour of Gauri (another name of Parvati) is kept up. The observance +consists in offering to the goddess 21 karjikayi, 21 whole areca nuts, +21 betel nuts, 21 bits of turmeric, 21 chendu flowers, 21 tumbe huvvu, +a silk string with 21 threads and 21 knots, a cocoanut kernel, a date +fruit, kunkuma, a cocoanut, bukkittu and incense, in a winnowing +fan specially made with 21 fastenings. The fan is passed round the +goddess 21 times. A face worked in silver, a new earthen pitcher or +a metal pot with a twig of the banian tree in it, well decorated, +represents the goddess. The silk string is allowed to remain before +her that night. Next morning, offerings of food, etc., are made to +her, and the pujari (priest) ties a silk string on the left arm if a +female, or the right arm if a male. That day being the Balipadyam day, +men, women and children take an oil bath very early in the morning, +eat something, and put on new clothing. Just before daybreak, women +make two sets of cow-dung Panchapandavas, and keep one set on either +side of the outer threshold, and, sprinkling on them milk, butter and +ghi, worship them. At the usual breakfast time, all the members of the +family enjoy a hearty meal with the newly married son-in-law, to whom +they make presents of cloths and gold according to circumstances. All +that day children let off crackers. + +The month Kartika.--On the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight, +girls bring ant-hill earth, and, depositing it in a temple, follow +the procedure observed from the tenth day of the bright fortnight of +Aswija up to the day on which the Kontamma was left in a stream or +well. They go through the various details in three days. + +The month Pushya.--The Sankranti (the day on which the sun's progress +to the north of the equator begins) festival is observed. On the +Bhogi day, i.e., the day previous to Sankranti, cakes made of sajja +and gingelly, dishes made of pumpkin, brinjals, sweet potatoes, +red radish, raw chillies and chitrana (coloured rice) are eaten. On +the Sankranti day, more rich food, including holigas (cakes made of +jaggery, dhal and wheat), is eaten in company with Jangams, who are +dismissed with money presents and betel and nut. + +The month Magha.--The full-moon day called Baratahunname. This is a +feasting day on which no ceremony is performed, but the people enjoy +themselves by eating good things. The fourteenth day of the dark +fortnight is the Sivarathri day, i.e., the day sacred to Siva. This +should be a fasting and sleepless day, the fast being broken early +next morning, but very few observe these rules strictly. + +The month Phalguna.--The full-moon day is the day on which the Holi +festival takes place. It is not marked by any religious observance +beyond eating good things. The same is the case with the new-moon day. + +Brahmans are not employed as a general rule. The Jangam is the priest +of the Lingayat, and is called in for all ceremonies. Brahmans are +sometimes consulted in fixing auspicious days, and in some cases are +even allowed to officiate at marriages. This is the rule in Sandur, +and shows the tendency of modern times. The Ujjini mutt is, however, +still bigoted in its rejection of all Brahman interference, though, +with strange inconsistency, the elders of the community themselves +claim to be Brahmans. Jangams are now studying Vedic Shastras, and +may often be heard repeating Vedic hymns. + +The dead are buried in a sitting posture facing towards the north, +but an exception is made in the case of unmarried people, who are +buried in a reclining position. Before the patient dies, the ceremony +called Vibhutidharane or Vibhuti achchodu is performed. He is given +a bath, and is made to drink holy water in which the Jangam's feet +have been washed. He is made to give the Jangam a handkerchief +with vibhuti (ashes), rudraksha, dakshina (coin) and tambula (betel +leaf). This is followed by a meal, of which all the Jangams present, +and the relatives and friends of the patient partake. It appears +to be immaterial whether the patient is still alive or not. It is +stated that, if the invalid survives this ceremony, he must take to +the jungles and disappear, but in practice this is not observed. The +death party resembles in some respects an Irish 'wake,' though the +latter does not commence until the deceased is well on his way to the +next world. After death, the corpse is placed in a sitting posture, +and the Jangam, who has received the offering before death, places his +left foot on the right thigh of the body. The people present worship +the corpse, and the usual distribution of coins and betel to Jangams +follows. The body is then carried in a vimanam or bamboo chair to the +burial-ground. The grave should be a cube of nine feet dimensions, +with a niche on one side, in which the corpse is to sit. The lingam +is untied, and placed in the left hand; bilva leaves (Ægle Marmelos) +and vibhuti are placed at the side; the body is wrapped in an orange +coloured cloth; and the grave is filled in. A Jangam stands on the +grave, and, after receiving the usual douceur, shouts out the name +of the deceased and says that he has gone to Kailasa or heaven. + +Memorial ceremonies are contrary to Lingayat tenets, but in this, as in +other matters, the influence of the Brahmans appears, and amongst some +sections an annual ceremony is performed. The performance of Sradh, +or the memorial ceremonial common to other Hindus, is unknown. The +Abbé Dubois tells us that a Lingayat is no sooner buried than he is +forgotten. He says, "The point in the creed of the Saivaites which +appears to me to be most remarkable is their entire rejection of +that fundamental principle of the Hindu religion 'marujanma' or +metempsychosis. From this it would follow that they do not believe +in ghosts. But there is a generally accepted idea that evil spirits +sometimes take possession of females. This may be a rude way of +expressing the fact that the gentle sex is uncertain, coy and hard +to please." + +Though Sradh is unknown, once in a year on the new-moon day of the +month Bhadrapada or in Aswija, they offer clothes and food to ancestors +in general, childless ancestors, and men who have died a violent death. + +The special object of worship is a bull, the animal sacred to Siva. A +bull is supposed to be used by Siva for riding. It is also painted +on Siva's flag. + +Tattooing is confined to females. Children are tattooed in their +fifth year. A round mark, the size of a pea, is pricked between the +eyebrows, on the right cheek, and on the chin. Other marks are made on +the forehead. These marks are also made on the forearms and hands. The +pigment is of a green colour, but the recipe is not known. The skin +is pricked with babul (Acacia arabica) thorns. + +Females wear a sadi about 8 yards long and 1¼ yards broad. It is +invariably a coloured one, with silk or cotton borders at the edges +and across at both the ends. One of the cross borders is much broader +than the other, and is showy. The sadi is of different patterns. It +is tied below the waist with folds in front, the end with the cross +border passing round the trunk from left to right, and covering the +head. They wear also a kuppasa, which covers half the body from the +neck, and is fastened in the front by a knot. + +In some families infants are branded with a hot needle on the stomach, +under the idea that disease is thereby warded off. Children who suffer +from fits are branded with a twig of margosa or with a glass bangle. + +As Lingayats were originally recruited from all castes, the community +must have included persons of nearly every trade. At the present day +the majority may be grouped under priests, traders and agriculturists. + +It is the idea of some Lingayats that Jangams are forbidden to trade, +and strictly speaking this objection is valid. But it is even admitted +at Ujjini that there is no such objection in practice. Many wealthy +traders may be found amongst the above class, and in the town of Kampli +there is a Lingayat guru who is held in great esteem, and yet is the +owner of two shops, the business of which he personally conducts. It +is even whispered that the head of the Ujjini Mutt is not averse +to increasing his income by a little discreet usury. The majority +of Lingayats in Bellary are tenant-farmers, or self-cultivating +pattadars. It is said to be uncommon to find a Lingayat daily +labourer in the Bombay Presidency--they are mostly landholders and +cultivators or petty traders. They are prohibited from doing such +work as is required of a butcher, a toddy drawer or seller, sweeper +or scavenger. Anything connected with the use of leather is an object +of special abhorrence to a Lingayat. Even the use of a leather bucket +for irrigation purposes is by some of the stricter members considered +degrading. It is even supposed to be wrong to touch one's shoe or +sandals in the presence of others, and beating with a shoe is a +special insult. This last objection is probably common to all castes. + +There are few artisans, but a special sub-section called +the Hirekurnis are weavers. Oil-sellers are styled Ganigas and +Sajjanaganigas. Flower-sellers are called Jiru; those engaged in making +dairy produce, Gaulis ; those who do tailoring, Chippigas. Members of +the above trades under the above names are not exclusively Lingayats. + +Ploughing is never commenced in Pushya, as it is considered an +inauspicious month, but what was begun in the previous Margasira +could be continued through it. Those who did not begin in Margasira +do so in Magha, the month succeeding Pushya. Tuesdays and Fridays +are auspicious days for the commencement of this operation. They are +also the appropriate days for sowing. There is no restriction as to +month, that being entirely dependent on the season. Before ploughing +commences, the team of bullocks is worshipped. The horns of the animals +are washed with water, and covered with sacred ashes. A cocoanut is +broken on the yoke. Before sowing, puja (worship) is offered to the +drill-plough. The hollow bamboos, through which the seed drops, is +daubed with chunam (lime), and the other parts with red earth. Bunches +of leaves of the sacred pipal, and bits of turmeric are stuck in +three or four places. To the drill, a string, containing marking-nut, +sweet flag, and pieces of palmyra leaf, is tied. Kunkuma is applied, +and to the whole apparatus food specially prepared is offered. This +takes place at home. The drill-plough is then carried to the field, +where, after the bullocks have been attached, a cocoanut is broken on +the cross beam. Reaping commences with the sprinkling of milk and ghi +on the crop. At the threshing floor, a ceremony called Saraga is gone +through. A conical-shaped image made of cow-dung is set at the foot +of the grain heap. On its top are placed the tail hair of bullocks, +a single cholam ear-head, a flower of the avari (bean) creeper, and +tummi flower (Leucas aspera). Before it are spread the mess of cholam +and other food brought from home, and a cocoanut is broken. Some of +the mess is dissolved in buttermilk, and thrown round the threshing +floor. The man who throws it lays the pot which contained it before +the image, and salutes the heap with joined hands. The residue of +the cholam mess and other food is eaten by a Jangam, the cultivator, +the guests, servants and coolies. The grain in the heap is next +winnowed and made into a heap. It is measured just before sunset, +neither sooner nor later, after breaking the cocoanut which was +secreted in the original heap. The measurers sit with their faces +towards the north. While the measurement is proceeding, no one in the +threshing floor may speak; nor is any one allowed to enter it at the +time. The belief is that, if either of these happens, the grain in +the heap will diminish. This mysterious disappearance is called wulusu. + +Rain in Rohini Karte (one of the twenty-seven asterisms in +which rain falls) is good for sowing, and that in Mrugasira and +Ardra appropriate. These three asterisms are suited for sowing +cholam. Showers in Punarvasu, Pushya, and Aslesha are suitable for +sowing korra, saju and savi. Rain in Pubba and Wuttara is favourable to +cotton, korra and horse gram, and that in Hasta and Chitta to wheat, +cholam, Bengal gram and kusumulu (oil-seed). Flashes of lightning +occurring at the exit of Ardra, augur good showers. The saying +is that, if it flashes in Ardra, six showers will fall. In Magha, +weeding, either by the hand or by bullocks, should not be done. Wind +should not blow in Wuttara. If it does, the grain in the ear-heads +will be hollow. There should be no lightning flashes in Swati. If +there are, a pest called benkihula will appear, and grain will not +be formed in each socket. Rain in Visakha destroys worms, and is +good for pulses. Rain in Anuradha spoils them. A scare-crow in the +shape of a human being is set up in fields where there are crops, to +scare birds and animals. It is made much in the same way as elsewhere, +with crossed sticks and a painted chatty (pot). The sticks are covered +with rags of cotton or a kambli (blanket). A cocoanut is broken before +digging for a well commences. + +The Lingayats are strict vegetarians, and abstain from all forms +of liquor. The staple foods in Bellary are cholam, cumbu, ragi +and korra. Lingayats will not eat, drink or smoke with any one of +another religion. This is the strict rule, but, as already stated, +Kapu Lingayats will sometimes eat with a non-Lingayat relative or +friend. (See also Jangam.) + +Liyari.--See Kevuto. + +Lohana.--Immigrant traders from the Bombay Presidency. "They state +that they take their name from the port of Loha in Sindh, but Burton +says that they came from Lohanpur near Multan, and that they were +driven south by the Muhammadans. They reverence the Daria Pir, or +the Indus spirit." [127] + +Lohara.--The Loharas, Luharas, or Luharos, are an Oriya caste of +iron-workers, whose name is derived from loha, iron. Luhara also +occurs as an occupational name of a sub-division of Savaras. + +Loliya.--A synonym for Jalari. + +Lombo-lanjia (long tail).--A sub-division of Savaras, which is so +called because its members leave, at the buttocks, one end of the +long piece of cloth, which they wear round the waist. + +Loriya.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a small class +of hill cultivators in the Vizagapatam district. They are said to be +a sub-division of Gaudo. + + + + + + + +M + + +Machi.--Recorded as a synonym of Myasa Bedar. + +Madaka (plough).--An exogamous sept of Togata. + +Madari (pride or arrogance).--A Tamil name for Chakkiliyan. + +Maddi.--Maddi or Madderu, indicating those who use the root of the +Indian mulberry (maddi: Morinda citrifolia) as a dye, has been recorded +as a sub-division of Besthas and Kabberas. + +Maddila (drum).--Maddila or Maddili has been recorded as an exogamous +sept of Kapu and Mala. + +Madhave (marriage).--An exogamous sept of Badagas of the Nilgiri hills. + +Madhurapuria.--A name frequently given by members of the Bhatta +sub-division of Gaudo. + +Madhya.--Madhya or Madhaya is a sub-division of Bottada and Sondi. + +Madiga.--The Madigas are the great leather-working caste of the Telugu +country, and correspond to the Chakkiliyans of the Tamil area. They +were first studied by me at Hospet in the Bellary district, and at once +formed a strong opposition party, in the belief that I was going to +select and carry off the strong men, lest they should become kings, +and upset the British Raj. So frightened were they, that they went +in a body to live in the Muhammadan quarter of the town. + +At the Hospet weekly market I witnessed a mendicant youth lying naked +in a thorny bed of babul (Acacia arabica) stems. A loathsome spectacle +was afforded by a shrivelled old woman with mouth distended by a mass +of mud the size of a cricket-ball, both eyes bunged up with mud, and +beating her bare breasts with her hands. The market was infested by +religious mendicants, some from Benares and Ramesvaram, others from +across the Hyderabad frontier, who cadged persistently for tobacco +leaves, an onion or brinjal (Solanum Melongena), a few chillies, a +handful of grain, or a pinch of salt, and helped to deplete the slender +stock of the market-sellers. One holy man from Sholapur was profusely +decorated with beads, ashes, brass snakes, and deities. Holding out for +four pies worth of betel leaves, while the stall-keeper only offered +one pie worth, he, after making a circle in the ground with his staff +round his sandals thickly studded with blunt nails, stood thereon, and +abused the vendor in language which was not nice. A Native Magistrate +thereon summoned a constable, who, hastily donning his official belt, +took the holy man in custody for an offence under the Act. + +A conspicuous feature of Hospet are the block-wheel carts with wooden +wheels, solid or made of several pieces, with no spokes. Dragged by +sturdy buffaloes, they are excellent for carrying timber or other +loads on rough roads or hill-tracks, where ordinary carts cannot +travel. During the breezy and showery season of the south-west monsoon, +kite-flying is the joy of the Hospet youths, the kites being decorated +with devices of scorpions and Hindu gods, among which a representation +of Hanuman, one of the genii loci, soared highest every evening. + +It is fairly easy to distinguish a Madiga from a Bedar, but difficult +to put the distinction in words. The Madigas have more prominent +cheek-bones, a more vinous eye, and are more unkempt. The Bedar, it is +said, gets drunk on arrack (alcohol obtained by distillation), whereas +the Madiga contents himself with the cheaper toddy (fermented palm +juice). The Bedars resort freely to the Madiga quarters (Madiga keri), +situated on the outskirts of the town, and fenced in by milk-hedge +(Euphorbia Tirucalli) bushes. My Brahman assistant, hunting in the +Madiga quarters for subjects for measurement, unfortunately asked some +Bedars if they were Madigas. To which, resenting the mistake, one of +them replied "We call you the Madiga," and the Brahman stood crushed. + +The Hospet Madigas had their hair cropped short, moustache, and trimmed +beard. They wore the customary threads or charm cylinders to ward off +devils, and steel tweezers for removing the thorns of the babul, which +is largely used as a fence for the fields of cholam and sugar. One +man had suspended round his neck, as a hereditary talisman, a big +silver Venkataramana bottu with the namam in the centre on an altar, +and the chank and chakram stamped on it. + +As bearing on the social status of the Malas and Madigas, which +is a subject of dispute between the two classes, it may be noted +that all the billets in cotton factories which require any skill, +such as engine-drivers, valve-men, moulders, turners, etc., are +held by Malas. The Madigas are generally only three-anna wage men, +and do such work as turning a winch, moving bales, and other trivial +jobs. At a factory, whereat I stayed, at Adoni, there were three wells, +viz.:--for Malas, for Madigas, and for the rest of the workers, except +Brahmans. And the well-water for the Malas was better than that for +the Madigas. A Madiga chindu, or sword-dance, was prohibited in 1859 +and 1874. But a petition, referring to its obscene nature, and its +being the cause of frequent collision between the Malas and Madigas, +was submitted to the Collector of Kurnool in 1887, by a missionary. The +dance was performed at festivals, held annually or triennially, in +honour of the village goddess, and during the time of threshing corn, +building a new house, or the opening of a newly-dug well. The dance, +accompanied by a song containing grossly indecent reflections against +the Malas, was also performed, under the excitement of strong drinks, +in the presence of the goddess, on the occasion of marriages. One +verse ran as follows: "I shall cut with my saw the Malas of the four +houses at Nandyal, and, having caused them to be cut up, shall remove +their skins, and fix them to drums." + +"The right hand party," it is stated, [128] "resent the use by the +left of palanquins at their marriages, and so the Malas are very +jealous of the Chucklers (Madigas) carrying the bride and bridegroom +through the streets, using tinkling ornaments, etc. Riots sometimes +occur when a strong feeling of opposition is raised, to resent what +they consider innovations." + +" The Madigas," Mr. N. G. Chetty writes, [129] "belong to the +left-hand caste, and often quarrel with the Malas (right-hand). In +1871 a Madiga, having contrived to obtain a red cloth as a reward +from the Police Superintendent, wore it on his head, and went in +procession on horseback by the main bazaar street. This resulted in a +disturbance, in which a European Inspector was severely hurt by a Mala, +who had mistaken him for the Superintendent. The two factions fixed, +by mutual understanding, the streets by which each was to proceed, +and no quarrels have since occurred." During the celebration of village +festivals, an unmarried Madiga woman, called for the occasion Matangi +(a favourite deity), abuses and spits upon the people assembled, +and they do not take this as an insult, because they think that her +spittle removes the pollution. The woman is, indeed, regarded as +the incarnation of the goddess herself. Similarly, the Malas use +very obscene language, when the god is taken in procession to the +streets of the caste people. [130] Concerning the Matangi I gather +[131] that she is an "unmarried woman of the Madiga class, chosen +after a most trying ordeal, unless she happens to be descended from +a previous Matangi, to represent the goddess. She must vindicate +her fitness by suitable prophetic utterances, and her nomination is +not confirmed till she has obtained divine approval at the temple of +a certain village near Kumbam in Kurnool. When she has been finally +confirmed in her honours, she enjoys the privilege of adorning her face +with a profusion of turmeric and red powder, and of carrying margosa +(Melia Azadirachta) leaves about her. She is unmarried, but without +being bound by a vow of celibacy. Her business is to preside at the +purificatory ceremonies that precede all festivities. When Malakshmi, +or Poleramma, or Ankamma, or any other of the village deities is to +have her festival, the nearest Matangi is applied to. Her necklace of +cowry (Cypræa moneta) shells is deposited in a well for three days, +before she is allowed to put it on for the ceremony. She dons the +necklace, and marches behind the master of the ceremonies, who carries +a knife, wooden shoes and trident, which have been similarly placed +for a time at the bottom of a well. The master of the ceremonies, +his male and female relations, then stand in a line, and the Matangi +runs round and round them, uttering what appear to be meaningless +exclamations, spitting upon all of them, and touching them with her +stick. Her touch and saliva are believed to purge all uncleanliness +of body and soul, and are invited by men who would ordinarily scorn +to approach her, and it passes one's comprehension how she should +be honoured with the task of purifying the soul and body of high +class Reddis and purse-proud Komatis. It must be said that only very +few Brahman families keep up this mysterious ceremony of homage to +the Matangi. She is allowed to come into the house, that is to pass +the outer gate. There she besmears a certain spot with cowdung, and +places upon it a basket. It is at once filled with cooked food. A +layer of rice powder covers the surface of the food, and on it is +placed a small lamp, which is lighted. She then holds out a little +earthenware pot, and asks for toddy to fill it with. But the Brahman +says that she must be content with water. With the pot in her hand, +and wild exultant songs in her mouth, recounting her humiliation +of Brahman and Kshatriya, of saint and sovereign, she moves quickly +round the assembled men and women, scattering with a free hand upon +them the water from the pot. The women doff their petticoats, and +make a present of them to the Matangi, and the mistress of the house +gives her the cloth she is wearing. The men, however, with strange +inconsistency, doff their sacred threads, and replace them by new ones +after a bath. The origin of the supremacy of the Matangi is obscure, +and shrouded in legends. According to one of them, the head of Renuka, +the wife of the sage Bhrigu, who was beheaded by her lord's orders, +fell in a Madiga house, and grew into a Madiga woman. According to +another legend, a certain king prayed to be blessed with a daughter, +and in answer the gods sent him a golden parrot, which soon after +perched on an ant-hill, and disappeared into it. The disappointed +father got the ant-hill excavated, and was rewarded for his pains by +finding his daughter rise, a maid of divine beauty, and she came to be +worshipped as the Matangi. It is interesting to note that Matangas were +an ancient line of kings 'somewhere in the south,' and the Madigas +call themselves Matangi Makkalu or children of Matangi or Durga, +who is their goddess." + +The system of making Basavis (see Deva-dasi), which prevails among +the Madigas of the Ceded districts, is apparently not in vogue among +those of the Telugu country, where, however, there are, in some +places, a class of prostitutes called Matangi, Matamma, or Matha, +who are held in much respect. In connection with the Basavi system, +it is recorded, in the Madras Law Report, 1892, that "upon the whole, +the evidence seems to be to establish that, among the Madigas, there +is a widespread custom of performing in the 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 pleasure; that her children are +heirs to her father, and keep up his family; and that Basavis' +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 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." + +The ceremony of initiation into Matangihood is fully described +by Emma Rosenbusch (Mrs. Clough). [132] In the Canarese country, +e.g., at Tumkur in Mysore, the ceremony of initiation is performed +by a Vakkaliga priest. A portion of the front courtyard of the +house is cleaned, and smeared with cow-dung. On the space thus +prepared, a pattern (muggu) of a lotus is drawn with red, yellow, +and white powders. The outline is first drawn with rice or ragi +(Eleusine Coracana) flour deftly dropped from between the thumb and +index finger. The interspaces are then filled in with turmeric and +kunkuma powder. Five small pots are arranged, one in the centre, +and one at each corner of the pattern. By the side of the pots are +placed a ball of sacred ashes, a new cloth, a piece of turmeric, +camphor, and plantain fruits. Plantain stems are set up at the +corners of the pattern. A string is passed seven times round the +four corner pots, and tied to the central pot. The woman who is +about to become a Matangi should live on fruits and milk for five +days previous to the ceremony. She is dressed in a white sari, +and seats herself on the muggu close to the central pot. A bamboo +basket, containing a pot bearing the device of two foot-prints +(of Ellamma), an earthen or wooden receptacle, an iron lamp, and a +cane, is placed on her head. The Asadi sings songs about Ellamma, +and the Vakkaliga priest throws rice over the novice's head, feet, +knees, and shoulders, and ties two bottus (marriage badges), called +respectively Ellamma's and Parasurama's bottu, on her neck. The new +and old Matangis bawl out Ekkalde Jogavva. The ceremony closes with +the drinking of toddy by the Matangis and Asadis. The basket (adlige) +containing the various articles enumerated is the badge of a Matangi, +who carries it with its contents, and a few leafy twigs of the margosa +tree (Melia Azadirachta). The basket is wrapped up in a red or brown +cloth, and may not be placed on the ground. At the Matangi's house, +it is hung up by means of a rope, or placed in a niche in the wall. It +may be noted that the Madigas call the intoxicant toddy palu (milk). + +For the following interesting note on the Matangi institution, I am +indebted to an article by Mr. A. Madhaviah. [133] "About ten miles +to the south-west of Cumbum, in the Kurnool district, and within a +mile of the village of Tudimilla, there is a narrow pass between two +hillocks known as Surabeswara Kona. Besides the more common presences, +we find here the following shrines:-- + + +(a) Sapthamathas (seven mothers). + +(b) A curious temple, in which are found the idols of Jamadhagni +Bagawan--the father of Parasurama and the local rishi--his wife Renuka +Devi, and the Surabi. + +(c) Opposite to this temple is the curious shrine, not very much bigger +than a railway pointsman's box, dedicated to Mathangi. In this temple +are found no less than five idols arranged in the following order:--(1) +a three-headed snake; (2) another three-headed snake; (3) a female +body, with the palms joined reverentially in the worshipping posture +in front, with the lower half of the body snaky in form, and with a +canopy of snaky hoods above; (4) Mathangi proper--a female figure +of about 15 inches in height, made of stone--with a short skirt, +below which the feet are visible, but no upper garment, and wearing +a garland round the neck. The right hand holds a snake-headed stick, +while the left has an adlika, a kind of sieve; (5) another similar +figure, but without even the skirt. + + +"We shall now proceed to enquire who this Mathangi was, and how +she came to be worshipped there. Jamadhagni Maharishi, known also as +Bagawan on account of his godly power and virtues, married Renuka, the +daughter of Renu, and had five sons by her, the youngest of whom was +the famous Parasurama, an incarnation of Vishnu. 'Once upon a time,' +says the Bhagavatapurana, 'Renuka having gone to the Ganga, saw the +king of the Ghandarvas wearing garlands of lotus, to play with the +Apsaras. Having gone to the river to fetch water, she, whose heart +was somewhat attracted by Chitaratha (the king of the Gandharvas) +who was playing, forgot the time of Yajna (sacrifice). Coming to +feel the delay, and afraid of the curse of the Muni, she returned to +the hermitage, and placed the pitcher before the Muni, and remained +standing with folded palms. The Muni (Jamadhagni), coming to know of +the unchasteness of his wife, got enraged, and said 'O my sons! kill +this sinner.' Although thus directed, they did not do so. The said +(Parasu) Rama, who was well aware of the power of the Muni in respect +of meditations and asceticism, killed, being directed by his father, +his mother along with his brothers. The son of Satyavati (Jamadhagni) +was pleased, and requested Rama to pray for any favour. Rama desired +the reanimation of those killed, and their forgetfulness of the fact +of their having been killed. Immediately did they get up, as though +after a deep sleep. Rama, who was conscious of the powers of his +father in regard to asceticism, took the life of his dear ones.' + +"The version locally prevalent is somewhat different. Jamadhagni +Bagawan's hermitage was near this Kona, and he was worshipping the +god Surabeswara, and doing tapas (penance) there. One day, his wife +Renuka Devi went, very early in the morning, to the river Gundlacama +to bathe, and fetch water for her husband's sacrificial rites. She +was accompanied, as was her wont on such occasions, by a female slave +of the chuckler (leather-worker) caste, as a sort of bodyguard and +attendant. While she was bathing, the great warrior Karthaviriyarjuna +with a thousand arms happened to fly across the sky on some business +of his own, and Renuka saw his form reflected in the water, and was +pleased with it in her mind. It must be mentioned that she never +used to take any vessel with her to fetch water, for her chastity +was such that she had power to roll water into a pot-like shape, as +if it were wax, and thus bring it home. On this day, however, she +failed to effect this, try what she might, and she was obliged to +return home empty-handed. In the meanwhile, the sage, her husband, +finding that his wife did not return as usual, learnt through his +'wisdom sight' what had happened, and ordered his son Parasurama to +slay his sinful mother. Parasurama went towards the river accordingly, +and, seeing his mother returning, aimed an arrow at her, which severed +her head from her body, and also similarly severed, with its unspent +force, the head of the chuckler woman who was coming immediately +behind his mother. Parasurama returned to his father without even +noticing this accident, and when his father, pleased with his prompt +obedience, offered him any boon, he prayed for the re-animation of his +mother. Jamadhagni then gave him some holy water out of his vessel, and +told him to put together the dismembered parts, and sprinkle some water +over them. Parasurama went off in great delight and haste, and, as it +was still dark and early in the morning, he wrongly put his mother's +head on the chuckler woman's trunk, and sprinkled water on them. Then, +seeing another head and another body lying close by, he thought that +they belonged to the female slave whom he had unwittingly killed, +and he put them also together, and re-animated them. He was extremely +vexed when he found out the mistakes he had committed, but, as there +was no rectifying them without another double murder, he produced +the two women before his father, and begged to be forgiven. The sage +finally accepted the person with his late consort's head as his wife, +and granted to the other woman the status of an inferior deity, in +response to her prayers, and owing to her having his wife's body. This +was the origin of Mathangi. + +"There are some permanent inam (rent-free) lands belonging to this +shrine, and there is always a Madiga 'vestal virgin' known as Mathangi, +who is the high priestess, or rather the embodied representative +of the Brahman-chuckler goddess, and who enjoys the fruits of the +inams. Mathangi is prohibited from marrying, and, when a Mathangi +dies, her successor is chosen in the following manner. All the +chuckler girls of the village, between the ages of eight and ten, +who have not attained puberty, are assembled before the shrine, and +the invoking hymns are chanted amid a flourish of trumpets, drums, and +other accessories. The girl who becomes possessed--on whom the goddess +descends--is the chosen vessel, and she is invested with the insignia +of her office, a round sieve, a bunch of margosa (Melia Azadirachta) +leaves, a snake-headed bamboo stick, a piece of cotton thread rope with +some cowries (Cypræa moneta shells) strung on it, and a small vessel +of kunkuma (coloured aniline powder). A vow of lifelong celibacy is +also administered to her. Curiously enough, this shrine is venerated +by all castes, from the Brahman downwards. We were informed that, +at the time of worship, the chuckler priestess dances about in wild +frenzy, and she is given toddy to drink, which she not infrequently +spits on her devotees, and even Brahmans regard this as auspicious, +and not in the least polluting. We had the pleasure of witnessing +a 'possessed dance' by the reigning Mathangi, with her drummer in +attendance. She is a chuckler woman, about thirty years of age, and, +but for the insignia of her office, not in any way differing from +the rest of her class. Though unmarried she had several children, +but this was apparently no disqualification. We were standing before +the shrine of the seven mothers when the drummer invoked the goddess +by chanting a Telugu hymn, keeping time on his drum. The meaning of +the hymn was to this effect, as far as we could make out:-- + +Sathya Surabesa Kona! Gowthama's Kamadhenu! the headless trunk in +Sathya Surabesa Kona! your father Giri Razu Kamadeva Jamadhagni Mamuni +beheaded the trunk; silently Jamadhagni cut off the arms; did you, the +headless trunk in Kamadhenuvanam, the headless trunk of Jamadhagni, +your father's golden sword, did you ask to be born a virgin in the +snake pit? + +"While chanting the above, the drummer was dancing round and round +the woman, and beating wildly on his drum. The woman began to tremble +all over, and soon it was visible that the goddess had descended on +her. Then the drummer, wilder and more frantic than ever, began to +praise the goddess in these words:-- + +Are you wearing bells to your ankles, O mother? Are you wearing +cowries, O mother? Dancing and singing, O mother! We pray to thee, +O mother! Possessed and falling on the ground, I implore thee, +O mother! O mother, who went to Delhi and Oruganti with a sieve in +the right-hand, with a wand in the left; with bells tinkling at her +ankles, the mother went to Oruganti town, the mother went away. + +"During this chant, the woman vies with the drummer, and dances +fiercely round and round, always facing him. Then comes the appeasing +chant, which the drummer drawls out in a quivering and solemn tone, +and without dancing about:-- + +By the feet of the thirty-three crores, by the feet of the sixty +crores, by the feet of the Devas, peace ! + +"The woman then stands with closed eyes, panting for breath, and +quite exhausted. + +"On ordinary days, the Mathangi goes about the villages, collecting +the offerings of her devotees, and, we take it, she is never in much +want. There are also local Mathangis in other villages, but they are +all said to be subordinate to the Tudimilla woman, who is the high +Pontiff of the institution. We were informed that there was an old +palmyra-leaf manuscript in existence, describing the institution and +the ceremonies (mostly tantric and phallic) in detail." + +Among the Madigas of Tumkur in Mysore, the Matangis must apparently +belong to one of two septs, Belliyoru or Malloru. + +The Madiga Asadis, who are males, have to go through an initiation +ceremony very similar to that of the Matangi. But a necklet of +pebbles is substituted for the bottu, and the Vakkaliga priest +touches the novice's shoulders with flowers, turmeric powder, and +kunkumam. The Asadis are musicians who sing songs and recite stories +about Ellamma. They play on a musical instrument called chaudike, which +is a combination of a drum and stringed instrument. The Matangis and +Asadis, both being dedicated to Ellamma, are eminently qualified to +remove pollution for many castes who are Ellamma Vokkalu or followers +of Ellamma. A lotus device, or figures of Pothu Raja and Matangi, are +drawn on the ground, after it has been cleansed with cow-dung. The +Matangi, with her insignia, sits in the centre of the device, and +the Asadis, sitting close by, sing the praises of Ellamma to the +accompaniment of the chaudike. The Matangis and Asadi then drink toddy, +and go about the house, wherein the former sprinkle toddy with the +margosa twig. Sometimes they pour some of the toddy into their mouths, +and spit it out all over the house. The pot, in which the toddy is +placed, is, in some places, called pallakki (palanquin). + +The Asadis' version of the story of Ellamma is as follows. She is the +goddess for all, and is present in the tongues of all except dumb +people, because they have to pronounce the syllable elli (where) +whenever they ask a question containing the word where. She is a +mysterious being, who often exhibits herself in the form of light +or flames. She is the cause of universe, and the one Sakthi in +existence thereon. She is supposed to be the daughter of Giriraja +Muni and Javanikadevi, and the wife of Jamadhagni Rishi. Her son is +Parasurama, carrying a plough. The town where she lives has three +names, Jambupuri, Isampuri, and Vijayanagara, has eighty-seven gates, +and is fortified by seven walls. She is believed to have for her +dress all kinds of snakes. Several groves of margosa trees are said +to flourish in her vicinity. She is worshipped under many names, +and has become Lakshmi, Gauramma, and Saraswati in Brahman houses, or +Akkumari in Vakkaliga houses. To the Idigas she is Gatabaghya Lakshmi, +to the Kurubas Ganga Mari, to the Oddes Peddamma and Chinnamma, and +so on. She is said to have proceeded on a certain day to the town of +Oragallu, accompanied by Jana Matangi. On the way thither, the soles +of Matangi's feet blistered, and she sat down with Ellamma beneath +a margosa tree. After resting a short time Matangi asked Ellamma's +permission to go to a neighbouring Idiga (Telugu toddy-drawer), and +get some toddy to drink. Ellamma objected, as the Idiga Gauda was a +Lingayat, and Matangi would be compelled to wear the lingam. When +Matangi persisted, Ellamma transformed herself into an ant-hill, +and Matangi, in the guise of a young woman, went to the Idiga Gauda +with her cane (Jogi kolu) and basket, and asked for toddy. The Gauda +became angry, and, tying her to a date-palm (Phoenix sylvestris), +beat her, and gave her cane and basket to his groom. Matangi was +further ill-treated by the Gauda and his wives, but escaped, and went +to the Gauda's brother, who treated her kindly, and offered her toddy, +of which he had sixty loads on bullocks. All this he poured into the +shell of a margosa fruit which Matangi held in her hand, and yet it +was not filled. Eventually the toddy extracted from a few palms was +brought, and the shell became full. So pleased was Matangi with the +Idiga's treatment of her, that she blessed him, and instructed him to +leave three date-palms untapped as Basavi trees in every grove. She +then returned to Ellamma, and it was resolved to afflict the Gauda +who had treated her badly with all kinds of diseases. Still disguised +as a young woman, she went to him with sweet-smelling powders, which +he purchased for a large sum of money. But, when he used them, he +became afflicted with manifold diseases, including small-pox, measles, +cancer, asthma, gout, rheumatism, abscesses, and bed-sores. Matangi +then appeared before him as an old fortune-teller woman, whom the Idiga +consulted, and doing as he was told by her, was cured. Subsequently, +learning that all his misfortunes were due to his want of respect to +Matangi, he became one of Ellamma's Vokkalu. + +"The Madigas," Mr. H. A. Stuart informs us, [134] "will not take food +or water from Pariahs, nor the latter from the former, a prejudice +which is taken advantage of in the Kalahasti Raja's stables to prevent +theft of gram by the Pariah horse-keepers, the raw gram being sprinkled +with water by Madigas in the sight of the Pariahs." + +There are Telugu proverbs to the effect that "under the magili system +of cultivation, even a Madiga will grow good crops," and "not even +a Madiga will sow before Malapunnama." + +Writing concerning the Madigas, [135] the Rev. H. Huizinga states that +"they live in hamlets at a respectable distance from the villages of +the caste people, by whom they are greatly despised. Their habits +are squalid in the extreme, and the odour of a Madiga hamlet is +revolting. They perform all the lowest kinds of service for the caste +people, especially bearing burdens and working in leather. They take +charge of the ox or buffalo as soon as it dies. They remove the skin +and tan it, and eat the loathsome carcase, which makes them specially +despised, and renders their touch polluting. Some of the skins are +used for covering the rude drums that are so largely used in Hindu +festivals, and beaten in honour of the village deities. The caste men +impress the Madigas into their service, not only to make the drums, +but also to beat them at their feasts. It may be mentioned that nearly +ten per cent. of the Madigas are nominal Christians, and, in some parts +of the Nellore district, the Christians form over half of the Madiga +population. This changes their habits of life and also their social +position. Eating of carrion is now forbidden, as well as beating of +drums at Hindu festivals, and their refusal in this particular often +leads to bitter persecution at the hands of the caste people. The +main duty of the Madigas is the curing and tanning of hides, and the +manufacture of rude leather articles, especially sandals, trappings +for bullocks, and large well-buckets used for irrigation. The process +of tanning with lime and tangedu (Cassia auriculata) bark is rough +and simple. [Tangedu is said [136] to be cut only by the Madigas, as +other classes think it beneath their dignity to do it.] As did their +forefathers, so the Madigas do to-day. The quality of the skins they +turn out is fair, and the state of the development of the native +leather trade compares very favourably with that of other trades +such as blacksmithy and carpentry. The Madiga's sandals are strong, +comfortable, and sometimes highly ornamental. His manner of working, +and his tools are as simple as his life. He often gets paid in kind, +a little fodder for his buffalo, so many measures of some cheap grain, +perhaps a few vegetables, etc. In the northern districts, the Madigas +are attached to one or more families of ryots, and are entitled to +the dead animals of their houses. Like the Vettiyan in the south, +the Madiga is paid in kind, and he has to supply sandals for the +ryots, belts for the bulls, and all the necessaries of agriculture; +and for these he has to find the requisite leather himself; but for +the larger articles, such as water-buckets, the master must find the +leather. Of late years there is a tendency observable among Madigas +to poach on each other's monopoly of certain houses, and among the +ryots themselves to dispense with the services of family Madigas, +and resort to the open market for their necessaries. In such cases, +the ryots demand payment from the Madigas for the skins of their +dead animals. The hides and skins, which remain after local demands +have been satisfied, are sold to merchants from the Tamil districts, +and there is generally a central agent, to whom the various sub-agents +send their collections, and by him they are dried and salted and sent +to Madras for tanning. In the Kistna district, children have little +leather strings hanging from the left shoulder, like the sacred cord +of the Brahman, from which is suspended a bag containing something +put in it by a Madiga, to charm away all forms of disease from the +infant wearer." + +In some places bones are collected by the Madigas for the Labbais +(Muhammadans), by whom they are exported to Bombay. + +The god of the temple at Tirupati appears annually to four persons in +different directions, east, west, north and south, and informs them +that he requires a shoe from each of them. They whitewash their houses, +worship the god, and spread rice-flour thickly on the floor of a room, +which is locked for the night. Next morning the mark of a huge foot is +found on the floor, and for this a shoe has to be made to fit. When +ready, it is taken in procession through the streets of the village, +and conveyed to Tirupati, where it is presented at the temple. Though +the makers of the shoes have worked in ignorance of each other's work, +the shoes brought from the north and south, and those from the east +and west, are believed to match, and make a pair. Though the worship +of these shoes is chiefly meant for the Pariahs, who are prohibited +from ascending the Tirupati hill, as a matter of fact all, without +distinction of caste, worship them. The shoes are placed in front +of the image of the god near the foot of the hill, and are said to +gradually wear out by the end of the year. + +At a pseudo-hook-swinging ceremony in the Bellary district, as carried +out at the present day, a Bedar is suspended by a cloth passed under +his arms. The Madigas always swing him, and have to provide the hide +ropes, which are used. [137] + +In an exceedingly interesting account of the festival of the village +goddess Uramma, at Kudligi in the Bellary district, Mr. F. Fawcett +writes as follows. "The Madiga Basivis (dedicated prostitutes) are +given alms, and join in the procession. A quantity of rice and ragi +flour is poured into a basket, over which one of the village servants +cuts the throat of a small black ram. The carcase is laid on the bloody +flour, and the whole covered with old cloths, and placed on the head +of a Madiga, who stands for some time in front of the goddess. The +goddess is then carried a few yards, the Madiga walking in front, +while a hole is dug close to her, and the basket of bloody flour +and the ram's carcase are buried. After some dancing by the Madiga +Basivis to the music of the tom-tom, the Madigas bring five new pots, +and worship them. A buffalo, devoted to the goddess after the last +festival, is then driven or dragged through the village with shouting +and tom-toming, walked round the temple, and beheaded by the Madiga +in front of the goddess. The head is placed in front of her with the +right foreleg in the mouth, and a lamp, lighted eight days previously, +is placed on top. All then start in procession round the village, +a Madiga, naked but for a few margosa (Melia Azadirachta) leaves, +and held by two others, leading the way. Behind him are all the other +Madigas, carrying six hundred seers of cholum (Sorghum: millet), +which they scatter; and, following them, all the other villagers. It +is daybreak, and the Madiga who led the way, the pujari (priest), +and the women who followed him, who have been fasting for more than +twenty-four hours, now eat. The Madiga is fed. This Madiga is said +to be in mortal terror while leading the procession, for the spirit +or influence of the goddess comes over him. He swoons before the +procession is completed. At noon the people collect again at Uramma's +temple, where a purchased buffalo is sacrificed. The head is placed +in front of the goddess as before, and removed at once for food. Then +those of the lower Sudra castes, and Madigas who are under vows, come +dressed in margosa leaves, with lamps on their heads, and sacrifice +buffaloes, sheep and goats to the goddess." A further account of +the festival of the village goddess Udisalamma, at Bandri in the +Bellary district, is given by Mr. Fawcett. "A Madiga," he writes, +"naked but for a few leaves round his waist, leads the procession, +and, following him, are Madigas with baskets. Fear of the goddess +comes on the Madiga. He swoons, and is carried to the temple, and +flung on the ground in front of the goddess. After a while he is +revived, bathed, and given new clothing. This man is one of a family, +in which this curious office is hereditary. He must be the son of a +married woman, not of a Basivi, and he must not be married. He fasts +from the beginning of the festival till he has done what is required +of him. A young ram--the sacrifice sheep--is taken up by one of the +Poturazus, as if it were a child, its hind legs at either side of his +waist and its forelegs over his shoulders, and he bites its throat +open and shows his bloody mouth to the people. He throws it down, +and the Madigas remove it." + +In an account of a festival, during times of epidemic, at Masulipatam, +Bishop Whitehead writes as follows. [138] "On the last day, a male +buffalo, called Devara potu (he who is devoted to the goddess), is +brought before the image, and its head cut off by the head Madiga +of the town. The blood is caught in a vessel, and sprinkled over +some boiled rice, and then the head, with the right foreleg in the +mouth, is placed before the shrine on a flat wicker basket, with +the rice and blood on another basket just below it. A lighted lamp +is placed on the head, and then another Madiga carries it on his +own head round the village, with a new cloth dipped in the blood of +the victim tied round its neck. This is regarded here and elsewhere +as a very inauspicious and dangerous office, and the headman of the +village has to offer considerable inducements to persuade a Madiga +to undertake it. Ropes are tied round his body and arms, and held +fast by men walking behind him, to prevent his being carried off by +evil spirits, and limes are cut in half and thrown into the air, +so that the demons may catch at them instead of at the man. It is +believed that gigantic demons sit on the tops of tall trees ready +to swoop down and carry him away, in order to get the rice and the +buffalo's head. The idea of carrying the head and rice round a village, +so the people said, is to draw a kind of cordon on every side of it, +and prevent the entrance of the evil spirits. Should any one in the +town refuse to subscribe for the festival, his house is omitted from +the procession, and left to the tender mercies of the devils. This +procession is called Bali-haranam, and in this (Kistna) district inams +(lands rent free) are held from Government by certain families of +Madigas for performing it. Besides the buffalo, large numbers of sheep +and goats, and fowls are sacrificed, each householder giving at least +one animal. The head Madiga, who kills the animals, takes the carcase, +and distributes the flesh among the members of his family. Often cases +come into the Courts to decide who has the right to kill them. As the +sacrifice cannot wait for the tedious processes of the law, the elders +of the village settle the question at once, pending an appeal to the +Court. But, in the town of Masulipatam, a Madiga is specially licensed +by the Municipality for the purpose, and all disputes are avoided." + +In some localities, during epidemics of small-pox or cholera, the +Madigas celebrate a festival in honour of Mariamma, for the expenses +of which a general subscription is raised, to which all castes +contribute. A booth is erected in a grove, or beneath a margosa or +Strychnos Nux-vomica tree, within which a decorated pot (karagam) is +placed on a platform. The pot is usually filled with water, and its +mouth closed by a cocoanut. In front of the pot a screen is set up, +and covered with a white cloth, on which rice, plantains, and cakes are +placed, with a mass of flour, in which a cavity is scooped out to hold +a lighted wick fed with ghi (clarified butter), or gingelly oil. A +goat is sacrificed, and its head, with a flour-light on it, placed +close to the pot. The food, which has been offered to the goddess, +is distributed, On the last day of the festival, the pot is carried +in procession through the village, and goats are sacrificed at the +four cardinal points of the compass. The pot is deposited at a spot +where three roads meet, and a goat, pumpkins, limes, flowers, etc., +are offered to it. Everything,except the pot, is left on the spot. + +The Madigas sometimes call themselves Jambavas, and claim to be +descended from Jambu or Adi Jambuvadu, who is perhaps the Jambuvan of +the Ramayana. Some Madigas, called Sindhuvallu, go about acting scenes +from the Mahabaratha and Ramayana, or the story of Ankalamma. They +also assert that they fell to their present low position as the result +of a curse, and tell the following story. Kamadhenu, the sacred cow +of the Puranas, was yielding plenty of milk, which the Devas alone +used. Vellamanu, a Madiga boy, was anxious to taste the milk, but was +advised by Adi Jambuvadu to abstain from it. He, however, secured some +by stealth, and thought that the flesh would be sweeter still. Learning +this, Kamadhenu died. The Devas cut its carcase into four parts, of +which they gave one to Adi Jambuvadu. But they wanted the cow brought +back to life, and each brought his share of it for the purpose of +reconstruction. But Vellamanu had cut a bit of the flesh, boiled it, +and breathed on it, so that, when the animal was recalled to life, +its chin sank, as the flesh thereof had been defiled. This led to the +sinking of the Madigas in the social scale. The following variant of +this legend is given in the Mysore Census Report, 1891. "At a remote +period, Jambava Rishi, a sage, was one day questioned by Isvara (Siva) +why the former was habitually late at the Divine Court. The rishi +replied that he had personally to attend to the wants of his children +every day, which consequently made his attendance late: whereupon +Isvara, pitying the children, gave the rishi a cow (Kamadhenu), which +instantaneously supplied their every want. Once upon a time, while +Jambava was absent at Isvara's Court, another rishi, named Sankya, +visited Jambava's hermitage, where he was hospitably entertained by +his son Yugamuni. While taking his meals, the cream that had been +served was so savoury that the guest tried to induce Jambava's son +Yugamuni, to kill the cow and eat her flesh; and, in spite of the +latter's refusal, Sankya killed the animal, and prevailed upon the +others to partake of the meat. On his return from Isvara's Court, +Jambava found the inmates of his hermitage eating the sacred cow's +beef; and took both Sankya and Yugamuni over to Isvara's Court for +judgment. Instead of entering, the two offenders remained outside, +Sankya rishi standing on the right side and Yugamuni on the left of +the doorway. Isvara seems to have cursed them to become Chandalas or +outcasts. Hence, Sankya's descendants are, from his having stood on +the right side, designated right-hand caste or Holayas; whilst those +who sprang from Yugamuni and his wife Matangi are called left-hand +caste or Madigas." The occupation of the latter is said also to be +founded on the belief that, by making shoes for people, the sin their +ancestors had committed by cow-killing would be expiated. This mode +of vicariously atoning for deliberate sin has passed into a facetious +proverb, 'So and so has killed the cow in order to make shoes from +the skin,' indicating the utter worthlessness and insufficiency of +the reparation. + +The Madigas claim to be the children of Matangi. "There was," +Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [139] "formerly a Matanga dynasty in +the Canarese country, and the Madigas are believed by some to be +descendants of people who were once a ruling race. Matangi is a +Sanskrit name for Kali, and it is possible that the Madigas once +played an important part in the worship of the god. The employment +of Chakkiliyans and Madiga women in Shakti worship gives some colour +to this supposition." According to Fleet [140] "the Matangas and +the Katachchuris are mentioned in connection with Mangalisa, who +was the younger brother and successor of Kirttivarma I, and whose +reign commenced in Saka 489 (A.D. 567-8), and terminated in Saka 532 +(A.D. 610-11). Of the Matangas nothing is known, except the mention +of them. But Matanga means 'a Chandala, a man of the lowest caste, +an outcast, a kirata mountaineer, a barbarian'; and the Madigas, +i.e., the Mahangs of this part of the country, usually call +themselves Matangimakkalu, i.e., the children of Matangi or Durga, +who is their goddess. It is probable, therefore, that the Matangas +of this inscription were some aboriginal family of but little +power, and not of sufficient importance to have left any record +of themselves." There are allusions to Matangas in the Ramayana, +and in Kadambari, a Sanskrit work, the chieftain of the Cabaras +is styled Matanga. The tutelary deity of the Madigas is Mathamma or +Matangi, who is said to be worshipped by the Komatis under the name of +Kanyakaparameswari. The relations between the Madigas and Komatis are +dealt with in the note on the latter caste. There is a legend to the +effect that Matangi was defeated by Parasu Rama, and concealed herself +from him under the tanning-pot in a Madiga's house. At the feast of +Pongal, the Madigas worship their tanning pots, as representing the +goddess, with offerings of fowls and liquor. In addition to Matangi, +the Madigas worship Kattamma, Kattappa, Dandumari, Muneswara, and +other deities. Some of their children are named after these deities, +while others receive Muhammadan names in fulfilment of vows made to +Masthan and other Pirs. + +When asked concerning their caste, the Madigas always reply "Memu pedda +inti vallamu," i.e., we are of the big house. The following legend is +current in the Cuddapah district concerning a pool in the Rayachoti +taluk called Akkadevatalakolam, or the pool of the holy sisters. "A +thousand years ago, there lived near the pool a king, who ruled over +all this part of the country. The king had as his commander-in-chief +a Madiga. This Madiga made himself powerful and independent, and built +himself a residence on a hill still called Madiga Vanidoorgam. At last +he revolted, and defeated the king. On entering the king's palace, +he found seven beautiful virgins, the king's daughters, to all of whom +he at once made overtures of marriage. They declined the honour, and, +when the Madiga wished to use force, they all jumped into this pool, +and delivered their lives to the universal lord." [141] + +The following are some of the more important endogamous sub-divisions +among the Madigas:-- + + + Gampa dhompti, basket offering. + Ginna or thel dhompti, tray or cup offering. + Bhumi dhompti, earth offering. + Chatla dhompti, winnowing basket offering. + Sibbi dhompti, brass vessel offering. + Chadarapa dhompti, square space on the ground offering. + + +These sub-divisions are based on the way in which the members thereof +offer food, etc., to their gods during marriages, e.g., a Gampa dhompti +places it in a basket, a Bhumi dhompti on the floor. Each sub-division +possesses many exogamous septs, of which the following are examples:-- + + + Belli, silver. + Chinthala, tamarind. + Chatla, winnowing basket. + Darala, thread. + Emme, buffalo. + Gavala, cowry shells. + Golkonda, a town. + Jalam, slowness. + Kambha, post. + Kappala, frog. + Kalahasti, a town. + Kaththe, donkey. + Kaththi, knife. + Kudumala, cake. + Kuncham, tassel. + Midathala, locust. + Mallela, or malli, jasmine. + Nannuru, four hundred. + Pothula, buffalo. + Pasula, cow. + Ragi, Eleusine Coracana. + Sikili, broom. + Thela, scorpion. + + +There seems to be some connection between the Madigas, the Mutrachas, +and Gollas. For, at times of marriage, the Madiga sets aside one +thambulam (betel leaf and areca nut) for the Mutracha, and, in +some places, extends the honour to the Golla also. At the marriage +ceremonies of the Puni Gollas, an elaborate and costly form of Ganga +worship is performed, in connection with which it is the Madiga +musicians, called Madiga Pambala vandlu, who draw the designs in +colour-powders on the floor. + +The Madigas observe the panchayat or tribal council system for the +adjustment of disputes, and settlement of various questions at issue +among members of the community. The headman is called Pedda (big) +Madiga, whose office is hereditary; and he is assisted by two elected +officers called Dharmakartha and Kulambantrothu. + +Widow remarriage (udike) is freely permitted, and the woman and her +children are received in Madiga society. But care is taken that +no one but the contracting parties and widows shall witness the +marriage ceremony, and no one but a widower is allowed to avail +himself of the form. [142] A man may get a divorce from his wife +by payment to her of a few rupees. But no money is given to her, +if she has been guilty of adultery. The bride's price varies in +amount, being higher if she has to cross a river. The elaborate +marriage ceremonial conforms to the Telugu type, but some of the +details may be recorded. On the muhurtham (wedding) day, a ceremony +called pradhanam (chief thing) is performed. A sheep is sacrificed +to the marriage (araveni) pots. The sacrificer dips his hands in the +blood of the animal, and impresses the blood on his palms on the wall +near the door leading to the room in which the pots are kept. The +bridegroom's party bring betel nuts, limes, a golden bead, a bonthu +(unbleached cotton thread), rice, and turmeric paste. The maternal +uncle of the bride gives five betel leaves and areca nuts to the +Pedda Madiga, and, putting the bonthu round the bride's neck, ties +the golden bead thereon. The ceremony concludes with the distribution +of pan-supari in the following order: ancestors, Mutrachas, Gollas, +Madigas, the Pedda Madiga, and the assembled guests. The Pedda Madiga +has to lift, at one try, a tray containing cocoanuts and betel with +his right hand. In his hand he holds a knife, of which the blade is +passed over the forefinger, beneath the middle and fourth fingers, +and over the little finger. This ceremony is called thonuku thambulam, +or betel and nuts likely to be spilt on the floor. The bridegroom, +after a bath, proceeds to the temple, where cloths, the bashingam, +bottu (marriage badge), etc., are placed in front of the god, and then +taken to a jammi tree (Prosopis spicigera), which is worshipped. The +bottu is usually a disc of gold, but, if the family is hard-up, +or in cases of widow remarriage, a bit of turmeric or folded mango +leaf serves as a substitute for it. On the third day, the wrist +threads (kankanam) are removed, and dhomptis, or offerings of food +to the gods, are made, with variations according to the dhompti to +which the celebrants belong. An illustration may be taken from the +Gampa dhompti. The contracting parties procure a quantity of rice, +jaggery (crude sugar), and ghi (clarified butter), which are cooked, +and moulded into an elongated mass, and placed in a new bamboo basket +(gampa). In the middle of the mass, which is determined with a string, +a twig, with a wick at one end, is set up, and two similar twigs are +stuck into the ends of the mass. Puja (worship) is performed, and +the mass is distributed among the daughters of the house and other +near relations, but not among members of other dhomptis. The bride +and bridegroom take a small portion from the mass, which is called +dhonga muddha, or the mass that is stolen. The bottu is said [143] +to be "usually tied by the Madiga priest known as the Thavatiga, or +drummer. This office is hereditary, but each successor to it has to +be regularly ordained by a Kuruba guru at the local Madiga shrine, +the chief item in the ceremony being tying round the neck of the +candidate a thread bearing a representation of the goddess, and on +either side of this five white beads. Henceforth the Thavatiga is +on no account to engage in the caste profession of leather-work, but +lives on fees collected at weddings, and by begging. He goes round to +the houses of the caste with a little drum slung over his shoulder, +and collects contributions." + +The Madiga marriages are said to be conducted with much brawling +and noise, owing to the quantity of liquor consumed on such +occasions. Among the Madigas, as among the Kammas, Gangimakkulu, and +Malas, marriage is said not to be consummated until three months after +its celebration. This is apparently because it is considered unlucky +to have three heads of a household within a year of marriage. By the +delay, the birth of the child should take place only in the second +year, so that, during the first year, there will be only two heads, +husband and wife. + +At the first menstrual period a girl is under pollution for ten days, +when she bathes. Betel leaves and nuts, and a rupee are placed in +front of the Pedda Madiga, who takes a portion thereof for himself, +and distributes what remains among those who have assembled. Sometimes, +just before the return of the girl to the house, a sheep is killed +in front of the door, and a mark made on her face with the blood. + +The Madigas dispose of their dead both by burial and cremation. The +body is said to be "buried naked, except for a few leaves. Children are +interred face downwards. Pregnant women are burnt. The bier is usually +made of the milk-hedge (Euphorbia Tirucalli) plant." [144] The grave +is dug by a Mala Vettivadu. The chinnadhinam ceremony is performed +on the third day. On the grave a mass of mud is shaped into the form +of an idol, to which are offered rice, cocoanuts, and jaggery (crude +sugar) placed on leaves, one of which is set apart for the crows. Three +stones are arranged in the form of a triangle, and on them is set a pot +filled with water, which trickles out of holes made in the bottom of +the pot. The peddadhinam is performed, from preference on a Wednesday +or Sunday, towards the close of the third week after death. The son, +or other celebrant of the rites, sets three stones on the grave, +and offers food thereto. Food is also offered to the crows by the +relations of the deceased, and thrown into a river or tank (pond), +if the crows do not eat it. They all go to a tank, and make on the +bank thereof an effigy, if the dead person was a female. To married +women, winnows and glass bangles are offered. The bangles of a widow, +and waist-thread of a widower, are removed within an enclosure on the +bank. At night stories of Ankamma and Matangi are recited by Bainedus +or Pambalas, and if a Matangi is available, homage is done to her. + +In some places, Madigas have their own washermen and barbers. But, +in the northern districts, the caste washerman does their washing, +the cloths being steeped in water, and left for the washerman to +take. "The Madigas," Mr. Francis writes, [145] "may not use the wells +of the better classes, though, when water is scarce, they get over this +last prohibition by employing some one in the higher ranks to draw +water for them from such wells, and pour it into their chatties. In +other districts they have to act as their own barbers and washermen, +but in Anantapur this disability is somewhat relaxed, as the barbers +make no objection to let them (and other low castes such as the Malas) +use their razors for a consideration, and the dhobis will wash their +clothes, as long as they themselves first unroll them, and dip them +into the water. This act is held to remove the pollution, which would +otherwise attach to them." + +Like many castes, the Madigas have beggar classes attached to their +community, who are called Dakkali and Mastiga. The Dakkalis may not +enter the Madiga settlement. They sing songs in praise of the Madigas, +who willingly remunerate them, as their curses are believed to be +very effective. The Mastigas may enter the settlement, but not the +huts. It is said to be a good omen to a Lingayat, if he sees a Madiga +coming in front. + +Gosangi is often used as a synonym for Madiga. Another synonym is +Puravabatta, which is said to mean people older than the world by +six months. At the Madras census, 1901, Chakara, Chundi, and Pavini +or Vayani were returned as sub-castes, and Mayikkan was taken as the +Malabar equivalent for Madiga. + +Concerning the Madigas of Mysore, Mr. T. Ananda Row writes as +follows. [146] "The Madigas are by religion Vaishnavites, Saivites, +and Sakteyas, and have five different gurus belonging to mutts at +Kadave, Kodihalli, Kongarli, Nelamangala, and Konkallu. The tribe is +sometimes called Jambava or Matanga. It is divided into two independent +sub-divisions, the Desabhaga and the others, between whom there is +no intermarriage. The former, though under the above named mutts, +acknowledge Srivaishnava Brahmins as their gurus, to whom they +pay homage on all ceremonial occasions. The Desabhaga division has +six sub-classes, viz.: Billoru (bowmen); Malloru (mallu = fight?); +Amaravatiyavaru (after a town); Munigalu (Muni or rishi); Yenamaloru +(buffalo); Morabuvvadavaru (those who place food in a winnow). The +Madigas are mostly field labourers, but some of them till land, +either leased or their own. In urban localities, on account of +the value in the rise of skins, they have attained to considerable +affluence, both on account of the hides supplied by them, and their +work as tanners, shoe-makers, etc. Only 355 persons returned gotras, +such as Matangi, Mareecha, and Jambava-rishi." At the Mysore census, +1891, some Madigas actually returned themselves as Matanga Brahmans, +producing for the occasion a certain so-called Purana as their charter. + +Madivala.--See Agasa. + +Madukkaran.--See Gangeddu. + +Madurai.--The name of a sub-division of Shanan, apparently meaning +sweet liquor, and not the town of Madura. + +Magadha Kani.--Recorded, at times of census, as a sub-division of +Bhatrazu. + +Maggam.--Maggam, Magga, and Maggada, meaning loom, have been recorded +as exogamous septs of Kurubas, Malas, and Holeyas, some of whom +are weavers. + +Maghadulu.--A sub-division of Bhatrazu, named after one Maghade, +who is said to have been herald at the marriage of Siva. + +Magili (Pandanus fascicularis).--A gotra of Tsakalas and Panta +Reddis, by whom the products of the tree may not be touched. The +Panta Reddi women of this gotra will not, like those of other castes, +use the flower-bracts for the purpose of adorning themselves. There +is a belief, in Southern India, that the fragrant male inflorescence +harbours a tiny snake, which is more deadly than the cobra, and that +incautious smelling thereof may lead to death. + +Magura.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a small caste +of Oriya leaf-plate makers and shikaris (huntsmen). The name is said to +be derived from magora, meaning one who traces foot-paths and tracks. + +Mahadev.--A synonym of Daira Muhammadan. + +Mahankudo.--A title of Gaudo and Gudiya. The headman of the latter +caste goes by this name. + +Mahant.--The Mahant is the secular head and trustee of the temple at +Tirumala (Upper Tirupati) in the North Arcot district, and looks after +the worldly affairs of the swami (god). "Tirupati," Mr. H. A. Stuart +writes, [147] "unlike most other temples, has no dancing-girls +attached to it, and not to be strictly continent upon the sacred hill +is a deadly sin. Of late years, however, even celibate Bairagis and +priests take their paramours up with them, and the pilgrims follow +suit. Everything is held to betoken the approaching downfall of +the temple's greatness. The irregular life of the Mahant Balaram +Das sixty years ago caused a great ferment, though similar conduct +now would probably hardly attract notice. He was ejected from his +office by the unanimous voice of his disciples, and one Govardhan +Das, whose life was consistent with the holy office, was elected, +and installed in the math (monastery) near the temple. Balaram Das, +however, collected a body of disbanded peons from the palaiyams, +and, arming them, made an attack upon the building. The walls were +scaled, and the new Mahant with his disciples shut themselves up in +an inner apartment. In an attempt at rescue, one man was killed, and +three were seriously wounded. A police force was sent to co-operate +with the Tirupati poligars (feudal chiefs), but could effect nothing +till the insurgent peons were threatened with the loss of all their +lands. This broke up the band, and Balaram Das' followers deserted +him. When the gates were broken open, it was found that he and a few +staunch followers had committed suicide. But perhaps the greatest +scandal which has occurred in the history of the math was that +which ended in the conviction of the present Mahant's predecessor, +Bhagavan Das. He was charged with having misappropriated a number of +gold coins of considerable value, which were supposed to have been +buried beneath the great flagstaff. A search warrant was granted, +and it was discovered that the buried vessels only contained copper +coins. The Mahant was convicted of the misappropriation of the gold, +and was sentenced to two years' rigorous imprisonment, but this was +reduced to one year by the High Court. On being released from jail, +he made an effort to oust his successor, and acquire possession of +the math by force. For this he was again sent to jail, for six months, +and required to furnish security to be of good behaviour." + +It is recorded by Sir M. E. Grant Duff, [148] formerly Governor +of Madras, that "while the municipal address was being read to me, +a huge elephant, belonging to the Zemindar of Kalahastri, a great +temporal chief, charged a smaller elephant belonging to the Mahant +or High Priest of Tripaty, thus disestablishing the church much more +rapidly, alas! than we did in Ireland." + +Mahanti.--Mahanti is, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, defined as "a +caste akin to the Koronos or Karnams (writers and accountants). The +name is sometimes taken by persons excommunicated from other +castes." The word means great, or prestige. According to a note +submitted to me, the Mahantis gradually became Karnams, with the +title of Patnaik, but there is no intermarriage between them and +the higher classes of Karnams. The Mahantis of Orissa are said to +still maintain their respectability, whereas in Ganjam they have as +a class degenerated, so much so that the term Mahanti is now held up +to ridicule. + +Mahapatro.--Said to be a title sold by the caste council to +Khoduras. Also a title of Badhoyis, and other Oriya castes. + +Maharana.--A title of Badhoyi. + +Maheswara (Siva).--A synonym of Jangams (priests of the Lingayats). The +Jangams of the Silavants, for example, are known by this name. + +Mailari.--The Mailaris are a class of beggars, who are said [149] to +"call themselves a sub-division of the Balijas, and beg from Komatis +only. Their ancestors were servants of Kannyakammavaru (or Kannika +Amma, the virgin goddess of the Komatis), who burnt herself to avoid +falling into the hands of Raja Vishnu Vardhana. On this account, they +have the privilege of collecting certain fees from all the Komatis. The +fee, in the Kurnool district, is eight annas per house. When he demands +the fee, a Mailari appears in full dress (kasi), which consists of +brass human heads tied to his loins, and brass cups to his head; +a looking-glass on the abdomen; a bell ringing from his girdle; a +bangle on his forearm ; and wooden shoes on his feet. In this dress +he walks, holding an umbrella, through the streets, and demands his +fee. If the fee is not paid, he again appears, in a more frightful +form called Bhuthakasi. He shaves his whiskers, and, almost naked, +proceeds to the burning-ground, where he makes rati, or different kinds +of coloured rice, and, going to the Komatis, extorts his fee." I am +informed that the Mailaris travel about with an image of Kannyakamma, +which they exhibit, while they sing in Telugu the story of her life. + +The Mailaris are stated, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, to be +also called Bala Jangam. Mailari (washerman) is also an exogamous +sept of the Malas. + +Majji.--Recorded as a title of Bagatas, Doluvas, and Kurumos, and as a +sept of Nagaralus. In the Madras Census Report, 1901, it is described +as a title given to the head peons of Bissoyis in the Maliahs. + +Majjiga (butter-milk).--An exogamous sept of Boya. + +Majjula.--A sub-division of Korono. + +Majjulu.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "cultivators +in Vizagapatam, and shikaris (hunters) and fishermen in Ganjam. They +have two endogamous divisions, the Majjulus and the Racha Majjulus, +the members of the latter of which wear the sacred thread, and will +not eat with the former. In their customs they closely resemble the +Kapus, of which caste they are perhaps a sub-division. For their +ceremonies they employ Oriya Brahmans, and Telugu Nambis. Widow +marriage is allowed. They burn their dead, and are said to perform +sraddhas (memorial services). They worship all the village gods and +goddesses, and eat meat. They have no titles." + +Makado (monkey).--An exogamous sept of Bottada. + +Makkathayam.--The name, in the Malayalam country, for the law of +inheritance from father to son. The Canarese equivalent thereof is +makkalsanthanam. + +Mala.--"The Malas," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [150] "are the Pariahs of +the Telugu country. Dr. Oppert derives the word from a Dravidian root +meaning a mountain, which is represented by the Tamil malai, Telugu +mala, etc., so that Mala is the equivalent of Paraiyan, and also +of Mar or Mhar and the Mal of Western and Central Bengal. I cannot +say whether there is sufficient ground for the assumption that the +vowel of a Dravidian root can be lengthened in this way. I know of +no other derivation of Mala. [In C. P. Brown's Telugu Dictionary it +is derived from maila, dirty.] The Malas are almost equally inferior +in position to the Madigas. They eat beef and drink heavily, and are +debarred entrance to the temples and the use of the ordinary village +wells, and have to serve as their own barbers and washermen. They +are the musicians of the community, and many of them (for example in +the villages near Jammalamadugu in the Cuddapah district) weave the +coarse white cotton fabrics usually worn by men." + +The Malas will not take water from the same well as the Madigas, +whom they despise for eating carrion, though they eat beef themselves. + +Both Malas and Tamil Paraiyans belong to the right-hand section. In +the Bellary district the Malas are considered to be the servants of +the Banajigas (traders), for whom they do certain services, and act +as caste messengers (chalavathi) on the occasion of marriages and +funerals. At marriages, six Malas selected from certain families, lead +the procession, carrying flags, etc., and sit in the pial (verandah) +of the marriage house. At funerals, a Mala carries the brass ladle +bearing the insignia of the right-hand section, which is the emblem +of the authority of the Desai or headman of the section. + +The Malas have their own dancing girls (Basavis), barbers, and +musicians (Bainedus), Dasaris or priests, and beggars and bards called +Mastigas and Pambalas (drum people), who earn their living by reciting +stories of Ankamma, etc., during the funeral ceremonies of some Telugu +castes, acting as musicians at marriages and festivals to the deities, +begging, and telling fortunes. Other beggars are called Nityula +(Nitiyadasu, immortal). In some places, Tsakalas (washerman caste) +will wash for the Malas, but the clothes must be steeped in water, +and left till the Tsakala comes for them. The Malas will not eat +food prepared or touched by Kamsalas, Medaras, Madigas, Beri Chettis, +Boyas, or Bhatrazus. The condition of the Malas has, in recent times, +been ameliorated by their reception into mission schools. + +In a case, which came before the High Court of Madras on appeal a few +years ago, a Mala, who was a convert to Christianity, was sentenced +to confinement in the stocks for using abusive language. The Judge, +in summing up, stated that "the test seems to be not what is the +offender's creed, whether Muhammadan, Christian, or Hindu, but what is +his caste. If he belongs to one of the lower castes, a change of creed +would not of itself, in my judgment, make any difference, provided he +continues to belong to the caste. If he continues to accept the rules +of the caste in social and moral matters, acknowledges the authority of +the headmen, takes part in caste meetings and ceremonies, and, in fact, +generally continues to belong to the castes, then, in my judgment, he +would be within the purview of the regulation. If, on the other hand, +he adopts the moral standards of Christianity instead of those in his +caste, if he accepts the authority of his pastors and teachers in place +of that of the headman of the caste, if he no longer takes part in +the distinctive meetings and ceremonies of the caste ... then he can +no longer be said to belong to one of the lower castes of the people, +and his punishment by confinement in the stocks is no longer legal." + +Between the Malas and Madigas there is no love lost, and the latter +never allow the former, on the occasion of a festival, to go in +palanquins or ride on horseback. Quite recently, in the Nellore +district, a horse was being led at the head of a Madiga marriage +procession, and the Malas followed, to see whether the bridegroom +would mount it. To the disgust of the Madigas, the young man refused +to get on it, from fear lest he should fall off. + +The Malas will not touch leather shoes, and, if they are slippered +with them, a fine is inflicted, and the money spent on drink. + +Of the share which the Malas take in a village festival in the Cuddapah +district, an excellent account is given by Bishop Whitehead. [151] +"The village officials and leading ryots," he writes, "collect money +for the festival, and buy, among other things, a barren sheep and +two lambs. Peddamma and Chinnamma are represented by clay images of +female form made for the occasion, and placed in a temporary shrine +of cloth stretched over four poles. On the appointed evening, rice is +brought, and poured out in front of the idol by the potter, and rice, +ghi (clarified butter), and curds are poured on the top of it. The +victims are then brought, and their heads cut off by a washerman. The +heads are placed on the ground before the idol. The people then pour +water on the heads, and say 'speak' (paluku). If the mouth opens, +it is regarded as a sign that the goddess is propitious. Next, a +large pot of boiled cholam (millet) is brought, and poured in a heap +before the image, a little further away than the rice. Two buffaloes +are then brought by the Malas and Madigas. One of the Malas, called +the Asadi, chants the praises of the goddess during the ceremony. The +animals are killed by a Madiga, by cutting their throats with a knife, +one being offered to Peddamma, and the other to Chinnamma. Some of +the cholam is then taken in baskets, and put under the throat of the +buffaloes till it is soaked with blood, and then put aside. A Madiga +then cuts off the heads of the buffaloes with a sword, and places +them before the idol. He also cuts off one of the forelegs of each, +and puts it crosswise in the mouth. Some of the cholam is then put +on the two heads, and two small earthen saucers are put upon it. The +abdomens are then cut open, and some of the fat taken out, melted, +and put in each saucer with a lighted wick. A layer of fat is spread +over the eyes and mouths of the two heads, some of the refuse of the +stomach is mixed with the cholam soaked in blood, and a quantity of +margosa (Melia Azadirachta) leaves put over the cholam. The Asadi then +takes some of this mixture, and sprinkles it round the shrine, saying +'Ko, bali,' i.e., accept the sacrifice. Then the basket is given to +another Mala, who asks permission from the village officials and ryots +to sprinkle the cholam. He also asks that a lamb may be killed. The +lamb is killed by a washerman, and the blood allowed to flow into the +cholam in the basket. The bowels of the lamb are taken out, and tied +round the wrist of the Mala who holds the basket, and puts it round his +neck. He then goes and sprinkles the cholam mixed with blood, etc., in +some cases round the village, and in others before each house, shouting +'Ko, bali' as he goes. The people go in procession with him, carrying +swords and clubs to drive away evil spirits. During the procession, +limes are cut in half, and thrown into the air to propitiate evil +spirits. Other lambs are killed at intervals during the course of +the procession. In the afternoon, the carcases of the two buffaloes +offered the night before are taken away by the Malas and Madigas. One +is cut open, and some of the flesh cooked near the shrine. Part of it, +with some of the cholam offered before the images, is given to five +Mala children, called Siddhulu, i.e., holy or sinless, who, in some +cases, are covered with a cloth during the meal. The rest is eaten by +Malas. The remainder of the carcases is divided among the Malas and +Madigas, who take it to their own homes for a feast. The carcases of +the lambs belong to the Malas and washermen. The carcase of the barren +sheep is the perquisite of the village officials, though the Kurnam, +being a Brahmin, gives his portion away." + +At a festival to the village goddess which is held at Dowlaishweram +in the Godavari district once every three years, a buffalo is +sacrificed. "Votive offerings of pots of buttermilk are presented +to the goddess, who is taken outside the village, and the pots are +emptied there. The head of the buffalo and a pot of its blood are +carried round the village by a Mala, and a pig is sacrificed in an +unusual and cruel manner. It is buried up to its neck, and cattle +are driven over it until it is trampled to death. This is supposed +to ensure the health of men and cattle in the ensuing year." [152] + +In connection with a village festival in the Godavari district, +Bishop Whitehead writes as follows. [153] "At Ellore, which is a town +of considerable size and importance, I was told that in the annual +festival of Mahalakshmi about ten thousand animals are killed in one +day, rich people sending as many as twenty or thirty. The blood then +flows down into the fields behind the place of sacrifice in a regular +flood, and carts full of sand are brought to cover up what remains on +the spot. The heads are piled up in a heap about fifteen feet high in +front of the shrine, and a large earthen basin, about 1 1/2 feet in +diameter, is then filled with gingelly oil and put on the top of the +heap, a thick cotton wick being placed in the basin and lighted. The +animals are all worshipped with the usual namaskaram (folded hands +raised to the forehead) before they are killed. This slaughter of +victims goes on all day, and at midnight about twenty or twenty-five +buffaloes are sacrificed, their heads being cut off by a Madiga pujari +(priest), and, together with the carcases, thrown upon the large heaps +of rice, which have been presented to the goddess, till the rice is +soaked with blood. The rice is collected in about ten or fifteen large +baskets, and is carried on a large cart drawn by buffaloes or bullocks, +with the Madiga pujari seated on it. Madigas sprinkle the rice along +the streets and on the walls of the houses, as the cart goes along, +shouting poli, poli (food). A large body of men of different castes, +Pariahs and Sudras, go with the procession, but only the Madigas +and Malas (the two sections of the Pariahs) shout poli, the rest +following in silence. They have only two or three torches to show +them the way, and no tom-toms or music. Apparently the idea is that, +if they make a noise or display a blaze of lights, they will attract +the evil spirits, who will swoop down on them and do them some injury, +though in other villages it is supposed that a great deal of noise +and flourishing of sticks will keep the evil spirits at bay. Before +the procession starts, the heads of the buffaloes are put in front +of the shrine, with the right forelegs in their mouths, and the fat +from the entrails smeared about half an inch thick over the whole +face, and a large earthen lamp on the top of each head. The Pambalas +play tom-toms, and chant a long story about Gangamma till daybreak, +and about 8 A.M. they put the buffalo heads into separate baskets +with the lighted lamps upon them, and these are carried in procession +through the town to the sound of tom-toms. All castes follow, shouting +and singing. In former times, I was told, there was a good deal of +fighting and disturbance during this procession, but now the police +maintain order. When the procession arrives at the municipal limits, +the heads are thrown over the boundary, and left there. The people +then all bathe in the canal, and return home. On the last day of the +festival, which, I may remark, lasts for about three months, a small +cart is made of margosa wood, and a stake fixed at each of the four +corners, and a pig and a fowl are tied to each stake, while a fruit, +called dubakaya, is impaled on it instead of the animal. A yellow +cloth, sprinkled with the blood of the buffaloes, is tied round the +sides of the cart, and some margosa leaves are tied round the cloth. A +Pambala sits on the cart, to which are fastened two large ropes, each +about 200 yards long. Then men of all castes, without distinction, +lay hold of the ropes, and drag the cart round the town to the sound +of tom-toms and music. Finally it is brought outside the municipal +limits and left there, the Pariahs taking away the animals and fruits." + +The following detailed account of the Peddamma or Sunkulamma jatra +(festival) in the Kurnool district, is given in the Manual. "This is +a ceremony strictly local, in which the entire community of a village +takes part, and which all outsiders are excluded from participating +in. It is performed whenever a series of crops successively fail or +cattle die in large numbers of murrain, and is peculiarly adapted, +by the horrible nature of the attendant rites and the midnight hour +chosen for the exhibition of its most ghastly scenes, to impress +the minds of an ignorant people with a belief in its efficacy. When +the celebration of the jatra is resolved on, a dark Tuesday night is +selected for it, and subscriptions are collected and deposited with +the Reddi (headman) or some respectable man in the village. Messengers +are sent off to give intimation of the day fixed for the jatra to +the Bynenivadu, Bhutabaligadu, and Poturaju, three of the principal +actors in the ceremony. At the same time a buffalo is purchased, and, +after having its horns painted with saffron (turmeric) and adorned +with margosa leaves, is taken round the village in procession with +tom-toms beating, and specially devoted to the sacrifice of the +goddess Peddamma or Sunkulamma on the morning of the Tuesday on which +the ceremony is to take place. The village potter and carpenter are +sent for, and ordered to have ready by that evening two images of +the goddess, one of clay and the other of juvi wood, and a new cloth +and a quantity of rice and dholl (peas: Cajanus indicus) are given +to each of them. When the images are made, they are dressed with +the new cloths, and the rice and dholl are cooked and offered as +naivedyam to the images. In some villages only one image, of clay, +is made. Meanwhile the villagers are busy erecting a pandal (booth) +in front of the village chavidi (caste meeting-house), underneath +which a small temple is erected of cholam straw. The Bynenivadu takes +a handful of earth, and places it inside this little temple, and the +village washerman builds a small pyal (dais) with it, and decorates +it with rati (streaks of different coloured powders). New pots are +distributed by the potter to the villagers, who, according to their +respective capabilities, have a large or small quantity of rice cooked +in them, to be offered as kumbham at the proper time. After dark, when +these preparations are over, the entire village community, including +the twelve classes of village servants, turn out in a body, and, +preceded by the Bynenivadu and Asadivandlu, proceed in procession +with music playing to the house of the village potter. There the +image of the goddess is duly worshipped, and a quantity of raw rice +is tied round it with a cloth. A ram is sacrificed on the spot, and +several limes are cut and thrown away. Borne on the shoulders of the +potter, the image is then taken through the streets of the village, +Bynenivadu and Asadivandlu dancing and capering all the way, and the +streets being drenched with the blood of several rams sacrificed at +every turning of the road, and strewed with hundreds of limes cut and +thrown away. The image is then finally deposited in the temple of straw +already referred to, and another sheep is sacrificed as soon as this is +done. The wooden image, made by the carpenter, is also brought in with +the same formalities, and placed by the side of the image of clay. A +pot of toddy is similarly brought in from the house of the Idigavadu +(toddy-drawer), and set before the images. Now the devarapotu, or +buffalo specially devoted to the sacrifice of the goddess, is led +in from the Reddi's house in procession, together with a sheep and a +large pot of cooked rice. The rice in the pot is emptied in front of +the images and formed into a heap, which is called the kumbham, and +to it are added the contents of many new pots, which the villagers +have ready filled with cooked rice. The sheep is then sacrificed, +and its blood shed on the heap. Next comes the turn of the devarapotu, +the blood of which also, after it has been killed, is poured over the +rice heap. This is followed by the slaughter of many more buffaloes +and sheep by individuals of the community, who might have taken vows to +offer sacrifices to the goddess on this occasion. While the carnage is +going on, a strict watch is kept on all sides, to see that no outsider +enters the village, or steals away any portion of the blood of the +slaughtered animals, as it is believed that all the benefit which +the villagers hope to reap from the performance of the jatra will be +lost to them if an outsider should succeed in taking away a little +of the blood to his village. The sacrifice being over, the head and +leg of one of the slaughtered buffaloes are severed from its body, +and placed before the goddess with the leg inserted into the mouth +of the head. Over this head is placed a lighted lamp, which is fed +with oil and buffalo's fat. Now starts a fresh procession to go round +the village streets. A portion of the kumbham or blood-stained rice +heaped up before the image is gathered into two or three baskets, and +carried with the procession by washermen or Madigas. The Bhutabaligadu +now steps forward in a state of perfect nudity, with his body clean +shaven from top to toe, and smeared all over with gore, and, taking +up handfuls of rice (called poli) from the baskets, scatters them +broadcast over the streets. As the procession passes on, bhutams or +supernatural beings are supposed to become visible at short distances +to the carriers of the rice baskets, who pretend to fall into trances, +and, complaining of thirst, call for more blood to quench it. Every +time this happens, a fresh sheep is sacrificed, and sometimes limes are +cut and thrown in their way. The main streets being thus sprinkled over +with poli or blood-stained rice, the lanes or gulleys are attended +to by the washermen of the village, who give them their share of +the poli. By this time generally the day dawns, and the goddess is +brought back to her straw temple, where she again receives offerings +of cooked rice from all classes of people in the village, Brahmins +downwards. All the while, the Asadivandlu keep singing and dancing +before the goddess. As the day advances, a pig is half buried at the +entrance of the village, and all the village cattle are driven over +it. The cattle are sprinkled over with poli as they pass over the +pig. The Poturaju then bathes and purifies himself, and goes to the +temple of Lingamayya or Siva with tom-toms and music, and sacrifices +a sheep there. The jatra ends with another grand procession, in which +the images of the goddess, borne on the heads of the village potter +and carpenter, are carried to the outskirts of the village, where +they are left. As the villagers return home, they pull to pieces the +straw temple constructed in front of the chavidi, and each man takes +home a straw, which he preserves as a sacred relic. From the day the +ceremony is commenced in the village till its close, no man would +go to a neighbouring village, or, if he does on pressing business, +he would return to sleep in his own village. It is believed that the +performance of this jatra will ensure prosperity and health to the +villagers and their cattle. + +"The origin of this Sunkulamma jatra is based on the following legend, +which is sung by the Byneni and Asadivandlu when they dance before the +images. Sunkulamma was the only daughter of a learned Brahmin pandit, +who occasionally took pupils, and instructed them in the Hindu shastras +gratuitously. One day, a handsome youth of sixteen years came to the +pandit, and, announcing himself as the son of a Brahmin of Benares +come in quest of knowledge, requested that he might be enlisted as +a pupil of the pandit. The pandit, not doubting the statement of the +youth that he was a Brahmin, took him as a pupil, and lodged him in +his own house. The lad soon displayed marks of intelligence, and, +by close application to his studies, made such rapid progress that he +became the principal favourite of his master, who was so much pleased +with him that, at the close of his studies, he married him to his +daughter Sunkulamma. The unknown youth stayed with his father-in-law +till he became father of some children, when he requested permission +to return to his native place with his wife and children, which was +granted, and he accordingly started on his homeward journey. On the +way he met a party of Mala people, who, recognising him at once as +a man of their own caste and a relation, accosted him, and began +to talk to him familiarly. Finding it impossible to conceal the +truth from his wife any longer, the husband of Sunkulamma confessed +to her that he was a Mala by caste, and, being moved by a strong +desire to learn the Hindu shastras, which he was forbidden to read, +he disguised himself as a Brahmin youth, and introduced himself to +her father and compassed his object; and, as what had been done in +respect to her could not be undone, the best thing she could do was +to stay with him with her children. Sunkulamma, however, was not to +be so persuaded. Indignant at the treachery practiced on her and her +parent, she spurned both her husband and children, and returning to +her village, sent for her parent, whose house she would not pollute +by going in, and asked him what he would do with a pot denied by +the touch of a dog. The father replied that he would commit it to +the flames to purify it. Taking the hint, she caused a funeral pile +to be erected, and committed suicide by throwing herself into the +flames. But, before doing so, she cursed the treacherous Mala who bad +polluted her that he might become a buffalo, and his children turn +into sheep, and vowed she would revive as an evil spirit, and have +him and his children sacrificed to her, and get his leg put into his +mouth, and a light placed on his head fed with his own fat." + +The following additional information in connection with the jatra +may be recorded. In some places, on a Tuesday fifteen days before +the festival, some Malas go in procession through the main streets +of the village without any noise or music. This is called mugi +chatu (dumb announcement). On the following Tuesday, the Malas go +through the streets, beating tom-toms, and proclaiming the forthcoming +ceremony. This is called chatu (announcement). In some villages, metal +idols are used. The image is usually in the custody of a Tsakala +(washerman). On the jatra day, he brings it fully decorated, and +sets it up on the Gangamma mitta (Gangamma's dais). In some places, +this is a permanent structure, and in others put up for the jatra at a +fixed spot. Asadis, Pambalas, and Bainedus, and Madiga Kommula vandlu +(horn-blowers) dance and sing until the goddess is lifted up from +the dais, when a number of burning torches are collected together, +and some resinous material is thrown into the flames. At the same +time, a cock is killed, and waved in front of the goddess by the +Tsakala. A mark is made with the blood on the forehead of the idol, +which is removed to a hut constructed by Malas with twigs of margosa +(Melia Azadirachta), Eugenia Jambolana and Vitex Negundo. In some +villages, when the goddess is brought in procession to the outskirts +of the village, a stick is thrown down in front of her. The Asadis +then sing songs, firstly of a most obscene character, and afterwards +in praise of the goddess. + +The following account of "the only Mala ascetic in Bharatavarsha" +(India) is given by Mr. M. N. Vincent. [154] The ascetic was living +on a hill in Bezwada, at the foot of which lay the hamlets of the +Malas. The man, Govindoo by name, "was a groom in the employ of +a Muhammadan Inspector of Police, and he was commissioned on one +occasion to take a horse to a certain town. He was executing his +commission, when, on the way, and not far from his destination, the +animal shied and fell into the Krishna river, and was swept along +the current, and poor Govindoo could not help it. But, knowing the +choleric temper of his employer, and in order to avoid a scolding, +he roamed at large, and eventually fell in with a company of Sadhus, +one of whose disciples he became, and practiced austerities, though +not for the full term, and settled eventually on the hill where we +saw him occupying the old cave dwelling of a former Sadhu. It appears +that there was something earthly in the man, Sadhu though he was, +as was evidenced from his relations with a woman votary or disciple, +and it was probably because of this phase of his character that some +people regarded him as a cheat and a rogue. But this unfavourable +impression was soon removed, and, since the time he slept on a bed of +sharp thorns, as it were in vindication of his character, faulty though +it had been, he has been honoured. A good trait in the man should be +mentioned, namely, that he wrote to his parents to give his wife in +marriage to some one else, as he had renounced his worldly ties." + +At Vanavolu, in the Hindupur taluk of the Anantapur district, +there is a temple to Rangaswami, at which the pujari (priest) is a +Mala. People of the upper castes frequent it, but do their own puja, +the Mala standing aside for the time. [155] + +It is noted, in the Madras Census Report, 1891, that the chief object +of worship by the Balijas is Gauri, their caste deity. "It is said +that the Malas are the hereditary custodians of the idol of Gauri +and her jewels, which the Balijas get from them whenever they want +to worship her. The following story is told to account for this. The +Kapus and the Balijas, molested by the Muhammadan invaders on the +north of the river Pennar, migrated to the south when the Pennar was +in full flood. Being unable to cross the river, they invoked their +deity to make a passage for them, for which it demanded the sacrifice +of a first-born child. While they stood at a loss what to do, the +Malas, who followed them, boldly offered one of their children to the +goddess. Immediately the river divided before them, and the Kapus +and the Balijas crossed it, and were saved from the tyranny of the +Muhammadans. Ever since that time, the Malas have been respected by +the Kapus and Balijas, and the latter even deposited the images of +Gauri, the bull and Ganesa, which they worshipped in the house of +a Mala. I am credibly informed that the practice of leaving these +images in the custody of Malas is even now observed in some parts of +Cuddapah district and elsewhere." + +An expert Mala medicine-man has been known to prescribe for a Brahman +tahsildar (revenue officer), though the consultation was conducted +at a most respectful distance on the part of the honoured physician. + +Mala weavers are known as Netpanivandlu (Nethapani, weaving +work). According to the Census Report, 1891, the sub-divisions +of the Malas, which are numerically strongest, are Arava, Kanta, +Murikinadu, Pakanati, and Reddi Bhumi. To these may be added Sarindla, +Savu, Saindla, and Daindla. Concerning some of these divisions, +the following legend is current. A Mala married eighteen wives, one +from each kulam or tribal division. The god Poleramma, objecting to +the sacrifice of sheep and goats, wanted him to offer up a woman +and child in substitution for the animals, and the Mala broke the +news to his wives, one of whom eloped with a Reddi, and gave origin +to the Reddi Bhumis (bhumi, earth). Another ran away, and gave +rise to the Pakanatis (eastern country). A third hid herself, and +escaped by hiding. Hence her descendants are called Daindla vandlu, +concerning whom there is a proverb "Dagipoyina vandlu Daindla vandlu" +or "Those who escaped by hiding are Daindlas." One of the wives, +who fled to the forest, found her way out by clearing the jungle, +and her descendants are called Sarindla (straight). The wife who +consented to be sacrificed with her child was restored to life by +Poleramma, and gave rise to the Savu (death) or Saindla (belonging to +a death house) section. The Daindlas are said to be Tamil Paraiyans, +who settled down in the Telugu country, and adopted the manners and +customs of the Malas. Some call themselves Arava (Tamil) Malas. They +are employed as servants in European houses, horse-keepers, etc. + +In connection with the origin of the Malas, the Rev. S. Nicholson +writes as follows. "Originally the Malas belonged to the kudi paita +section of the community, i.e., their women wore the cloth over +the right shoulder, but now there are both right and left paita +sections, and this must be taken as the principal division. The +right-hand (right paita) section is again divided into (a) Reddi +Bhumalavaru, (b) Pokunativaru. The left-hand (left paita) section +are Murikinativaru. The following legend professes to account for the +existence of the three divisions. When Virabahuvu went to the rescue +of Harischandra, he promised Kali that, if she granted him success, he +would sacrifice to her his wives, of whom he had three. Accordingly, +after his conquest of Vishvamithrudu, he returned, and called his +wives that he might take them to the temple in order to fulfil his +vow. The wives got some inkling of what was in store for them, and +one of them took refuge in the house of a Reddi Bhumala, another +ran away to the eastern country (Pokunati), while the third, though +recently confined, and still in her dirty (muriki) cloth, determined +to abide by the wish of her lord. She was, therefore, sacrificed to +Kali, but the goddess, seeing her devotion, restored her to life, +and promised to remain for ever her helper. The reason given for +the change in the method of wearing the cloth is that, after the +incident described above took place, the women of the Murikinati +section, in order to express their disapproval of the two unfaithful +wives, began to wear their cloths on the opposite, viz., the left, +shoulder. In marriages, however, whatever the paita of the bride, +she must wear the cloth over the right shoulder. + +"The Reddi Bhumalu and Pokunativaru say that the reason they wear +the cloth over the right shoulder is that they are descendants of the +gods. According to a legend, the goddess Parvati, whilst on a journey +with her lord Parameshvarudu, discarded one of her unclean (maila) +cloths, from which was born a little boy. This boy was engaged as a +cattle-herd in the house of Parameshvarudu. Parvati received strict +injunctions from her lord that she should on no account allow the +little Mala to taste cream. One day, however, the boy discovered some +cream which had been scraped from the inside of the pot sticking to a +wall. He tasted it, and found it good. Indeed, so good was it that he +came to the conclusion that the udder from which it came must be even +better still. So one day, in order to test his theory, he killed the +cow. Then came Parameshvarudu in great anger, and asked him what he +had done, and, to his credit be it said, the boy told the truth. Then +Parameshvarudu cursed the lad and all his descendants, and said that +from henceforth cattle should be the meat of the Malas--the unclean." + +The Malas have, in their various sub-divisions, many exogamous septs, +of which the following are examples:-- + + +(a) Reddi Bhumi. + + Avuka, marsh. + Bandi, cart. + Bommala, dolls. + Bejjam, holes. + Dakku, fear. + Dhidla, platform or back-door. + Dhoma, gnat or mosquito. + Gera, street. + Kaila, measuring grain in threshing-floor. + Katika, collyrium. + Naththalu, snails. + Paida, money or gold. + Pilli, cat. + Rayi, stone. + Samudrala, ocean. + Silam, good conduct. + Thanda, bottom of a ship. + + +(b) Pokunati. + + Allam, ginger. + Dara, stream of water. + Gadi, cart. + Gone, sack. + Gurram, horse. + Maggam, loom. + Mailari, washerman. + Parvatha, mountain. + Pindi, flour-powder. + Pasala, cow. + Thummala, sneezing. + + +(c) Sarindla. + + Boori, a kind of cake. + Ballem, spear. + Bomidi, a fish. + Challa, butter milk. + Chinthala, tamarind. + Duddu, money. + Gali, wind. + Karna, ear. + Kaki, crow. + Mudi, knot. + Maddili, drum. + Malle, jasmine. + Putta, ant-hill. + Pamula, snake. + Pidigi, handful. + Semmati, hammer. + Uyyala, see-saw. + + +(d) Daindla. + + Dasari, priest. + Doddi, court or backyard. + Gonji, Glycosmis pentaphylla. + Kommala, horn. + Marri, Ficus bengalensis. + Pala, milk. + Powaku, tobacco. + Thumma, Acacia arabica. + + +Concerning the home of the Malas, Mr. Nicholson writes that "the +houses (with mud or stone walls, roofed with thatch or palmyra palm +leaves) are almost invariably placed quite apart from the village +proper. Gradually, as the caste system and fear of defilement become +less, so gradually the distance of their houses from the village is +becoming less. In the Ceded Districts, where from early times every +village was surrounded by a wall and moat, the aloofness of the houses +is very apparent. Gradually, however, the walls are decaying, and the +moats are being filled, and the physical separation of the outcaste +classes is becoming less apparent." + +Mr. Nicholson writes further that "according to their own traditions, +as told still by the old people and the religious mendicants, in former +times the Malas were a tribe of free lances, who, 'like the tiger, +slept during the day, and worked at night.' They were evidently the +paid mercenaries of the Poligars (feudal chiefs), and carried out +raids and committed robberies for the lord under whose protection they +were. That this tradition has some foundation may be gathered from the +fact that many of the house-names of the Malas refer to weapons of war, +e.g., spear, drum, etc. If reports are true, the old instinct is not +quite dead, and even to-day a cattle-stealing expedition comes not +amiss to some. The Malas belong to the subjugated race, and have been +made into the servants of the community. Very probably, in former days, +their services had to be rendered for nothing, but later certain inam +(rent-free) lands were granted, the produce of which was counted as +remuneration for service rendered. Originally, these lands were held +quite free of taxation, but, since the advent of the British Raj, +the village servants have all been paid a certain sum per month, +and, whilst still allowed the enjoyment of their inam lands, they +have now been assessed, and half the actual tax has to be paid to +Government. The services rendered by the Malas are temple service, +jatra or festival service, and village service. The village service +consists of sweeping, scavenging, carrying burdens, and grave-digging, +the last having been their perquisite for long ages. According to +them, the right was granted to them by King Harischandra himself. The +burial-grounds are supposed to belong to the Malas, and the site of a +grave must be paid for, the price varying according to the position and +wealth of the deceased, but I hear that, in our part of the country, +the price does not often exceed two pence. Though the Brahmans do +not bury, yet they must pay a fee of one rupee for the privilege of +burning, besides the fee for carrying the body to the ghat. There is +very little respect shown by the Malas at the burning-ghat, and the +fuel is thrown on with jokes and laughter. The Malas dig graves for +all castes which bury, except Muhammadans, Oddes, and Madigas. Not +only on the day of burial, but afterwards on the two occasions of +the ceremonies for the dead, the grave-diggers must be given food +and drink. The Malas are also used as death messengers to relatives +by all the Sudra castes. When on this work, the messenger must not +on any account go to the houses of his relatives though they live in +the village to which he has been sent. + +"The chief occupations of the Malas are weaving, and working as +farm labourers for Sudras; a few cultivate their own land. Though +formerly their inam lands were extensive, they have been, in the +majority of cases, mortgaged away. The Malas of the western part +of the Telugu country are of a superior type to those of the east, +and they have largely retained their lands, and, in some cases, are +well-to-do cultivators. In the east, weaving is the staple industry, +and it is still carried on with the most primitive instruments. In +one corner of a room stands the loom, with a hole in the mud floor +to receive the treadles, and a little window in the wall, level with +the floor, lights the web. The loom itself is slung from the rafters, +and the whole can be folded up and put away in a corner. As a rule, +weaving lasts for eight months of the year, the remainder of the +year being occupied in reaping and stacking crops, etc. Each weaver +has his own customers, and very often one family of Malas will have +weaved for one family of Sudras for generations. Before starting to +weave, the weaver worships his loom, and rubs his shuttle on his nose, +which is supposed to make it smooth. Those who cannot weave subsist +by day labour. As a rule, they stick to one master, and are engaged +in cultivation all the year round. Many, having borrowed money from +some Sudra, are bound to work for him for a mere pittance, and that +in grain, not cash." + +In a note on a visit to Jammalamadugu in the Cuddapah district, Bishop +Whitehead writes as follows. [156] "Lately Mr. Macnair has made an +effort to improve the methods of weaving, and he showed us some looms +that he had set up in his compound to teach the people the use of a +cheap kind of fly-shuttle to take the place of the hand-shuttle which +is universally used by the people. The difficulties he has met with +are characteristic of many attempts to improve on the customs and +methods of India. At present the thread used for the hand-shuttle +is spun by the Mala women from the ordinary cotton produced in the +district. The Mala weavers do not provide their own cotton for the +clothes they weave, but the Kapus give them the cotton from their +own fields, pay the women a few annas for spinning it, and then pay +the men a regular wage for weaving it into cloth. But the cotton spun +in the district is not strong enough for the fly-shuttle, which can +only be profitably worked with mill-made thread. The result is that, +if the fly-shuttle were generally adopted, it would leave no market +for the native cotton, throw the women out of work, upset the whole +system on which the weavers work, and, in fact, produce widespread +misery and confusion!" + +The following detailed account of the ceremonies in connection with +marriage, many of which are copied from the higher Telugu castes, is +given by Mr. Nicholson. "Chinna Tambulam (little betel) is the name +given to the earliest arrangements for a future wedding. The parents +of the boy about to be married enquire of a Brahman to which quarter +they should go in search of a bride. He, after receiving his pay, +consults the boy's horoscope, and then tells them that in a certain +quarter there is loss, in another quarter there is death, but that +in another quarter there is gain or good. If in the quarter which +the Brahman has intimated as good there are relations, so much the +better; the bride will be sought amongst them. If not, the parents +of the youth, along with an elder of the caste, set out in search +of a bride amongst new people. On reaching the village, they do not +make their object known, but let it appear that they are on ordinary +business. Having discovered a house in which there is a marriageable +girl, after the ordinary salutations, they, in a round-about way, +make enquiries as to whether the warasa or marriage line is right or +not. If it is all right, and if at that particular time the girl's +people are in a prosperous condition, the object of the search is +made known. If, on the other hand, the girl's people are in distress +or grief, the young man's party go away without making their intention +known. Everything being satisfactory, betel nut and leaves are offered, +and, if the girl's people are willing to contract, they accept it; +if not, and they refuse, the search has to be resumed. We will take +it for granted that the betel is accepted. The girl's parents then say +'If it is God's will, so let it be; return in eight or nine days, and +we will give you our answer.' If, within that time, there should be +death or trouble of any sort in either of the houses, all arrangements +are abandoned. If, when going to pay the second visit, on the journey +any of the party should drop on the way either staff or bundle of food, +it is regarded as a bad omen, and further progress is stopped for that +day. After reaching the house of the prospective bride on the second +occasion, the party wait outside. Should the parents of the girl bring +out water for them to drink and to wash their faces, it is a sign +that matters may be proceeded with. Betel is again distributed. In +the evening, the four parents and the elders talk matters over, and, +if all is so far satisfactory, they promise to come to the house of +the future bridegroom on a certain date. The boy's parents, after again +distributing betel, this time to every house of the caste, take their +departure. When the party of the bride arrive at the boy's village, +they are treated to toddy and a good feed, after which they give their +final promise. Then, having made arrangements for the Pedda Tambulam +(big betel), they take their departure. This ends the first part of +the negotiations. Chinna Tambulam is not binding. The second part +of the negociations, which is called Pedda Tambulam, takes place at +the home of the future bride. Before departing for the ceremony, the +party of the bridegroom, which must be an odd number but not seven, +and some of the elders of the village, take part in a feast. The +members of the party put on their religious marks, daub their +necks and faces with sandal paste and akshinthulu (coloured rice), +and are sent off with the good wishes of the villagers. After the +party has gone some few miles, it is customary for them to fortify +themselves with toddy, and to distribute betel. The father of the +groom takes with him as a present for the bride a bodice, fried dal +(pea: Cajanus indicus), cocoanut, rice, jaggery, turmeric, dates, +ghi, etc. On arrival at the house, the party wait outside, until +water is brought for their faces and feet. After the stains of travel +have been washed off, the presents are given, and the whole assembly +proceeds to the toddy shop. On their return, the Chalavadhi (caste +servant) tells them to which households betel must be presented, +after which the real business commences. The party of the bridegroom, +the people of the bride, the elders of the caste, and one person from +each house in the caste quarter, are present. A blanket is spread +on the floor, and grains of rice are arranged on it according to a +certain pattern. This is the bridal throne. After bathing, the girl +is arrayed in an old cloth, and seated on a weaver's beam placed upon +the blanket, with her face towards the east. Before seating herself, +however, she must worship towards the setting sun. In her open hands +betel is placed, along with the dowry (usually about sixteen rupees) +brought by her future father-in-law. As the bride sits thus upon +the throne, the respective parents question one another, the bride's +parents as to the groom, what work he does, what jewels he will give, +etc. Whatever other jewels are given or not, the groom is supposed to +give a necklace of silver and beads, and a gold nose jewel. As these +things are being talked over, some one winds 101 strands of thread, +without twisting it, into a circle about the size of a necklace, and +then ties on it a peculiar knot. After smearing with turmeric, it is +given into the hands of the girl's maternal uncle, who, while holding +his hands full of betel, asks first the girl's parents, and then the +whole community if there is any objection to the match. If all agree, +he must then worship the bridal throne, and, without letting any of +the betel in his hands fall, place the necklace round the bride's +neck. Should any of the betel fall, it is looked upon as a very bad +omen, and the man is fined. After this part of the performance is +over, and after teasing the bride, the uncle raises her to her feet, +and, taking from her hands the dowry, etc., sends her off. After +distributing betel to every one in the village, even unborn babies +being counted, the ceremony ends, and, after the usual feast has been +partaken of, the people all depart to their various homes. + +"The wedding, contrary to the previous ceremonies, takes place at the +home of the bridegroom. A Brahman is asked to tell a day on which the +omens are favourable, for which telling he receives a small fee. A +few days before the date foretold, the house is cleaned, the floor +cow-dunged, and the walls are whitewashed. In order that the evil +eye may be warded off, two marks are made, one on each side of the +door, with oil and charcoal mixed. Then the clothes of the bride and +bridegroom are made ready. These, as a rule, are yellow and white, +but on no account must there be any indigo in them, as that would be a +sign of death. The grain and betel required for the feast, a toe-ring +for the bridegroom, and a tali (marriage badge) for the bride, are then +purchased. The toe-ring is worn on the second toe of the right foot, +and the tali, which is usually about the size of a sixpence, is worn +round the woman's neck. The goldsmith is paid for these not only in +coin, but also in grain and betel, after receiving which he blesses +the jewels he has made, and presents them to the people. Meanwhile, +messengers have been sent, with the usual presents, to the bride's +people and friends, to inform them that the auspicious day has been +fixed, and bidding them to the ceremony. In all probability, before +the preparations mentioned above are complete, all the money the +bridegroom's people have saved will be expended. But there is seldom +any difficulty in obtaining a loan. It is considered an act of great +merit to advance money for a wedding, and people of other and richer +castes are quite ready to lend the amount required. In former days, +it was customary to give these loans free of interest, but it is not so +now. The next item is the preparation of the pandal or bower. This is +generally erected a day or two before the actual marriage in front of +the house. It consists of four posts, one at each corner, and the roof +is thatched with the straw of large millet. All round are hung garlands +of mango leaves, and cocoanut leaves are tied to the four posts. On +the left side of the house door is planted a branch of a tree (Nerium +odorum), to which is attached the kankanam made in the following +way. A woollen thread and a cotton thread are twisted together, +and to them are tied a copper finger-ring, a piece of turmeric root, +and a betel leaf. The tree mentioned is watered every day, until the +whole of the marriage ceremonies are completed. As a rule, the whole +of the work in connection with the erection of the pandal is carried +out by the elders, who receive in payment food and toddy. At this time, +also, the fire-places for the cooking of the extra amount of food are +prepared. These are simply trenches dug in the mud floor of the house, +usually three in number. Before they are dug, a cocoanut is broken, +and offered over the spot. A journey is now made to the potter's for +the pots required in the cooking of the marriage feast. This in itself +is quite a ceremony. A canopy is formed of an ordinary wearing cloth +supported at its four corners by four men, whilst a boy with a long +stick pushes it into a tent shape in the middle. Beneath the canopy +is one of the women of the bridegroom's family, who carries on a +tray two sacred lamps, an eight-anna piece, some saffron (turmeric), +akshinthulu, betel, frankincense, cocoanut, etc. On arriving at the +potter's house, the required pots are placed in a row outside, and a +cocoanut, which has been held in the smoke of the incense, is broken +into two equal parts, the two halves being placed on the ground about +a yard apart. To these all the people do puja (worship), and then +take up the pots, and go home. The eight-anna piece is given to the +potter, and the betel to the Chalavadhi. On the way to the potter's, +and on the return thence, the procession is accompanied with music, +and the women sing songs. Meanwhile, the groom, and those who have +remained at home, have been worshipping the goddess Sunkalamma. The +method of making this goddess, and its worship, are as follows. Rice +and green gram are cooked together, and with this cooked food a cone +is made minus the point. A little hollow is made on the top, and this +is filled with ghi (clarified butter), onions, and dal. Four wicks are +put into it, so forming a lamp. A nose jewel is stuck somewhere on the +outside of the lump, two garlands are placed round it, and the whole +is decorated with religious marks. This goddess is always placed in +the north-east corner of the house, called the god's corner, which has +been previously cleaned, and an image of Hanuman, or some other deity, +is drawn with rice-powder on the floor. Upon this drawing the image of +Sunkalamma is placed. Before her are put several little balls of rice, +with which ghi has been mixed. The worship consists in making offerings +of frankincense and camphor, and a cocoanut, which is broken in half, +the halves being put in front of the goddess. A ram or a he-goat +is now brought, nim (Melia Azadirachta) leaves are tied round the +horns, religious marks are made on the forehead, water is placed in +its mouth, and it is then sacrificed. After the sacrifice has been +made, those assembled prostrate themselves before the image for some +time in silence, after which they go outside for a minute or two, +and then, returning, divide the goddess, and eat it. The groom now +has his head shaved, and the priest cuts his finger and toe nails, +eyelashes, etc. The cuttings are placed, along with a quarter of a +rupee which he has kept in his mouth during the process, in an old +winnowing tray, with a little lamp made of rice, betel and grain. The +priest, facing west and with the bridegroom in front of him, makes +three passes with the tray from the head to the foot. This is supposed +to take away the evil eye. The priest then takes the tray away, all the +people getting out of the way lest the blight should come on them. He +throws away what is useless, but keeps the rest, especially the quarter +of a rupee. After this little ceremony, the future husband takes a +bath, but still keeps on his old clothes. He is given a knife, with +which to keep away devils, and is garlanded with the garlands which +were round the goddess. His toe-ring is put on, and the next ceremony, +the propitiation of the dead, is proceeded with. The sacrificed animal +is dismembered, and the bones, flesh, and intestines are put into +separate pots, and cooked. Rice also is prepared, and placed in a heap, +to which the usual offerings are made. Then rice, and some of the flesh +from each pot, is placed upon two leaf plates. These are left before +the heap of rice, with two lamps burning. The people all salute the +rice, and proceed to eat it. The rice on the two plates is reserved +for members of the family. By this time, the bride has most likely +arrived in the village, but, up to this stage, will have remained in +a separate house. She does not come to the feast mentioned above, but +has a portion of food sent to her by the bridegroom's people. After +the feast, bride and bridegroom are each anointed in their separate +houses with nalugu (uncooked rice and turmeric). When the anointing +of the bride takes place, the groom sends to her a cloth, a bodice, +cocoanut, pepper and garlic. The bride leaves her parents' house, +dressed in old clothes. Her people provide only a pair of sandals, +and two small toe-rings. She also carries a fair quantity of rice in +the front fold of her cloth. Again a procession is formed as before for +the cooking-pots, and another visit is paid to the potter's house, but, +on this occasion, in place of eight annas grain is taken. The potter +presents them with two wide-mouthed pots, and four small-mouthed pots, +two of which are decorated in four colours. As before, these are placed +in a row outside, and again the party, after worshipping them, takes +them to the bridegroom's house. These pots are supposed to represent +Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, and, as they are being carried to +the house, no pregnant woman or mother with small children should +meet them, or they will have trouble. On arriving at the house, and +before entering, a cock is sacrificed, and a cocoanut offered. [In some +places, a goat is killed in front of the room in which the marriage +pots are kept, and marks are made with the palms of the hands covered +with the blood on the side-walls of the entrance.] Water is sprinkled +on the door step, and the pots are taken inside. During the whole of +the above performance, the pots are held in the hands, and must not +be put down. After entering the house, grain is spread on the floor +in the north-east corner, and upon this are placed the pots, one upon +the other, in two or four rows. The topmost pot is covered with a lid, +and on the lid is placed a lighted lamp. From the beams exactly above +the lamps are suspended, to which are fastened small bundles containing +dates, cocoanut, jaggery, sugar, and saffron. Round each pot is tied +a kankanam (wrist-thread). These pots are worshipped every day as +long as the wedding ceremonies last, which is usually three days. Not +only so, but the lamps are kept continually burning, and there is +betel arranged in a brass pot in the form of a lotus ever before +them. Beneath the pandal is now arranged a throne exactly similar to +the one which was used on the occasion of the Pedda Tambulam. Until +now the bride has kept to her separate house, but she now dresses +in her new clothes. Putting on the sandals she brought from her own +home, she proceeds to the house of the bridegroom. There she waits +in the pandal for her future husband, who comes out dressed in his +wedding garments, wearing his sandals, and carrying a blanket, gochi, +[157] shoulder-cloth, and knife. Both bride and bridegroom now have +fastened on to their foreheads a kind of philactery or nuptial crown +called bhasingalu. They are also garlanded with flowers, in addition to +which the bridegroom has tied on to his wrists the kankanam. In order +that the two most intimately concerned persons may not see one another +(and up to this point they have not done so), a screen is erected, +the bride standing on one side, and the bridegroom on the other. As +a rule, they each of them keep their heads bent during the whole +of the proceedings, and look as miserable as possible. Indeed, it +would be a breach of etiquette for either of them to appear as though +they were enjoying the ceremony. Except for the screen, the two are +now face to face, the groom looking towards the east, and the bride +towards the west. Upon the bridal throne there is now placed for the +bride to stand upon a basket filled with grain, and for the groom +the beam of a loom. The screen is now taken away, and the priest, +a Dasari, asks whether the elders, the Mala people generally, and +the village as a whole, are in favour of the marriage. This he asks +three times. Probably, in former times, it was possible to stop a +marriage at this point, but now it is never done, and the marriage is +practically binding after Pedda Tambulam has been gone through. Indeed, +in hard times, if the bride is of marriageable age, the couple will +live together as man and wife, putting off the final ceremony until +times are better. The groom now salutes the priest, the bride places +her foot on the weaving beam, and the groom places his foot upon that +of the woman as a token of his present and continued lordship. After +this, the bride also is invested with the kankanam. After the groom +has worshipped the four quarters of heaven, the priest, who holds in +his hands a brass vessel of milk, hands the golden marriage token to +the groom, who ties it round the bride's neck. This is the first time +during the ceremony that either of them has looked on the other. Before +the groom ties the knot, he must ask permission from the priest and +people three times. The priest now dips a twig of the jivi tree +(Ficus Tsiela) into the milk, and hands it to the husband, who, +crossing his hands over his wife's head, allows some of the drops +to fall upon her. The wife then does the same to the husband. After +this, the rice which the bride brought with her in her lap is used +in a similar blessing. The priest, holding in his hand a gold jewel, +now takes the hands of the two in his, and repeats several passages +(charms). Whoever wishes may now shower the pair with rice, and, +after that is done, the priest publicly announces them to be man and +wife. But the ceremonies are not yet ended. The newly-married pair, +and all the assembled party, now proceed to the village shrine to +worship the god. Before doing so, the cloths of the newly-wed pair +are tied together by the priest. This knot is called the Brahma +knot, and is a sign that God had ordained the two to be man and wife +even in a previous birth. After the god has been worshipped, and an +offering of betel made to the four quarters, the party return to the +house accompanied by weird music and much tom-tom. The women, as a +rule, sing wedding songs, and the husband and wife are shaded by a +canopy. Arrived at the threshold of the house, the fear of the evil +eye is made the reason for another ceremony. Before either crosses +the threshold, passes are made from their head to their feet with +black and red water. On the threshold is placed a brass bowl full of +grain, upon which is a gold nose jewel. The man and woman must each +touch this with the right foot, after which they may enter the house +without fear. After entering the house, the evil eye is again removed, +this time with a cocoanut, which is afterwards thrown away. Those +who have unlucky twists of hair must at this time, besides the above +ceremony, sacrifice a goat. After entering the house, the whole party +worship Lakshmi. Long ago, the tradition runs, this goddess was very +gracious to the Malas, and, in consequence, they were wealthy and +prosperous. One day, however, Lakshmi went up to one of the chief +men, who at that time was very busy at work upon a web of cloth, +and began to make love to him. At any other time this would have been +very acceptable, but just then, being very busy, he asked the goddess +to go away. She, however, took no notice, and only bothered him the +more. Whereupon, losing his temper, he hit her over the head with +the heavy sizing brush which he was using. This hurt the feelings +of Lakshmi to such an extent that she left the Malas, withdrew her +favour, and transferred it to the Komatis. Since then, the Malas +have been poor. The husband next dips his hands into a plate of milk +three times, each time placing his wet hand on the wall. After him, +the bride does the same. The two then, sitting down, eat rice and +milk off one plate. This is the first and only time that husband +and wife eat together. The bashingams are now taken off, and the +wife is relieved from the burden of rice she has thus far carried in +her lap. The next ceremony is called the Bhumalu, and is a feast for +the husband, his wife, and blood relations only. Not more than ten, +and not less than six must partake, and these must all be husbands +or wives, i.e., the party must consist of either three or five +couples. The feast consists of the most expensive food the people can +afford, and is eaten on two consecutive days. A blanket is spread on +the floor, and on this raw rice is placed in a cloth, with betel leaves +arranged in the form of a lotus at the four corners. Here and there are +placed red rice, sandal, and turmeric, and a new lamp is lit. Three +children are brought in, and are made to stand before the rice. The +parties who are to partake now come in couples, and one of the children +ties upon their wrists the kankanam, another daubs them with sandal +paste, and another with red rice. The food is placed on two plates, +one for the women and one for the males. All the women sit round the +one, and the men round the other. Whilst eating, they must not drop a +single grain. Should they do so, it is not only unlucky, but is also +the cause of serious quarrels, and the fault is punishable with a +heavy fine. After the feast is over, the heap of rice is worshipped, +and the children are sent off with a little present each. The pair +are again anointed with nalugu. This is done twice every day for +three days, but no widow is allowed to do it. Before anointing, the +people about to do it must present a cocoanut and jaggery. When the +cocoanut and jaggery are given, they must be in strips, and put into +the bride's mouth partly projecting. The groom must take hold of the +projecting part with his teeth, and eat it. The same performance is +gone through with betel leaf. A doll is now made with cloths, having +arms, legs, etc. The newly-married couple are made to play with it, +being much teased the while by the onlookers, who sing lullabys. The +two now have their hands and feet anointed with turmeric, and are +bathed. This is done on three consecutive days. On the third day is +the nagavalli. The bride and her husband are escorted under a canopy +to some ant heap outside the village. The man digs a basketful of +earth with his knife, which was given to him, and which he has never +relinquished, and the wife carries it to the house. There the earth +is made into four heaps, one near each post. A hollow is left at the +top of each heap, which is filled with water. During the time they +have been fetching the earth, the people who remained at home have +been worshipping aireni pots representing Lakshmi, but they now come +outside to the pandal. The pair are escorted all round the village, +accompanied with music. They must not walk, but must be either carried +or driven. After their return to the pandal, they are seated on the +nagavalli simhasanam. Four small pots are placed in the form of a +square, and round these is wound a fence of thread, which must not +be broken in the process. On the pots are placed bread and meal. The +bridal pair again put on their bridal crowns, and the man, taking +his knife, digs a few furrows in the ground, which his wife fills +with grain. The husband then covers up the grain with his knife, +after which his wife sprinkles water over the whole, and then gives +her husband some gruel. The bread and meal, which were placed on +the pots, are eaten by the relatives of the husband publicly in the +pandal. After this ceremony is over, the pair are again anointed, +during which process there must be music and singing. The next day, +the whole of the party set off for the bride's house, where the +marala pendli, or second marriage, is performed. Before setting out, +the husband and wife bow down at the feet of the elders, and receive +their blessing. The husband must provide an abundance of toddy for +all. They stay in the house of the bride's people for three days, +and then another feast is made. On the fourth day, all, except the +relations of the bride, return to their villages, but, before their +departure, the bride again pays homage to the departing elders, who +bless her, and give her a small present of money. On their return, +they are met outside the village, and are escorted to the husband's +house with music. The married pair usually remain in the house of the +bride's mother for a month, and during that time they never change +their wedding garments, or take off the garlands of flowers. The +parents of the bridegroom present their daughter-in-law with new +clothes, but these must not have any indigo in them. If the bride is +past puberty, at the end of the month the father and mother-in-law +will return with the married couple to the husband's village. If the +girl has not reached puberty, she will only spend a short time in her +husband's house, and will afterwards be continually going backwards +and forwards between the two houses. At the time of puberty, the +matter is made known to all parties concerned. The Chalavadhi must be +the bearer of the news, and he is treated to as much food and drink +as he can take, and is also given presents. When the messenger goes, +he must carry with him dal, jaggery, sugar-candy, etc. The neighbours +come out to see how much he has brought, and, if the amount is small, +they make a fuss. During the ceremonies which ensue, the girl is made +to sit down, and is blessed by the women sprinkling her with nalugu, +and is also given sweetmeats to eat. The time is made merry by song +and music. After bathing, the girl is made to take food out of a dish +along with three married women. She is then made to touch a thorn tree +three times, and also plucks the leaves. Upon returning to the house, +she is made to touch the cooking instruments and pots. At this time, +if anyone has lent her beads or ornaments, they are taken, and, after +being threaded on new strings, are returned to the lenders. If the day +on which a girl reaches puberty is an unlucky day, it is considered +a bad sign for the husband. On the second occasion the husband comes +for his wife, and there is much rejoicing. After being detained for +four or five days, they go to their permanent home, the house of the +husband's father, and there is at that time much weeping. The mother +tells the girl to be obedient to her husband and parents-in-law, +and says that it will be better for her to throw herself into a well +and die than to return home disgraced. + +"There are slight differences in the ceremonies described above +according to the district and sect of the people. In the eastern Telugu +country, during the marriage ceremonies, there is a sort of bridesmaid, +who accompanies the bride on the day of the wedding. In the western +country, largely under the influence of the Canarese, the bridesmaid +is scarcely distinguishable from the real bride, but she is not, as +at home, an unmarried girl, but must be a mature woman following the +functions of a married life. There is another slight difference between +the two sections concerning the Bhumala ceremony. The Vaishnavites, +after the arranged people have partaken of the feast, distribute the +remainder of the food; the Saivites, on the other hand, if any food +is left, bury it somewhere inside the house. + +"Malas may be married many times, and indeed it is not considered +respectable to remain a widower. A widower is unable to make +arrangements for the marriage of others, to take part in any of +the ceremonies connected therewith, except in the capacity of a +spectator. It is not the correct thing for a man to have two wives at +one time unless the first one is barren, or unless there is other good +cause. A woman must on no account marry again. She need not, according +to Telugu morals, be ashamed of living, after she is widowed, with +another man as his concubine, but, at the very mention of marriage, +she covers her face with shame. If such people become Christians, it +is a most difficult thing to overcome their prejudice, and persuade +them to become legally man and wife. Almost the only way to do so +is by refusing to marry their children. In the Canarese country, +there is a kind of half marriage (chira kattinchinaru, they have +tied her cloth), which may be attained by widows. It is not reckoned +as a proper marriage, nor is the woman considered a concubine. The +ceremony for this is not performed at the great length of an ordinary +marriage, but it must receive the sanction of the elders. In spite +of their sanction, the man must pay a fine imposed by the caste +guru. The woman is permitted to wear the tali or marriage token, +but not bangles or other jewels usually worn by a married woman. The +children are part inheritors, and are not entirely without rights, +as the children of concubines are. A man's second wife must wear two +talis--that of the first wife as well as her own." + +The following variants of the Pedda Tambulam ceremony, which is +performed during the marriage rites, may be noted. As soon as all +are assembled in the front yard of the bride's house, a blanket is +spread on the floor, and covered with a cloth. About ten seers of +cholam (millet: Sorghum) are heaped up, and a brass vessel (kalasam) +is placed thereon. By its side, a lamp is kept burning. A Dasari, +or a Mala priest, stands on one side of it, and a married woman on +the other. The names of the gods are mentioned, one after the other, +and the woman throws two betel leaves and a nut on the kalasam for +each name uttered. The bride is then brought from within the house, +and the leaves and nuts are tied up in a cloth. This, with the kalasam, +is put in the bride's cloth, and she is led inside. In some places, the +ceremony is more elaborate. For the betrothal ceremony some leading men +of the village, and the headmen of the bride and bridegroom's villages, +are required to be present. The Chalavati (caste servant) hands over +a bag containing betel leaves, areca nuts, pieces of turmeric, and +Rs. 4-6, to the headman of the bride's village. All these articles are +displayed on a new bamboo sieve, or on the lid of a bamboo box. The +two headmen discuss the proposed match, and exchange betel and nut +thrice. After this, the bride-elect (chinnapapa) is brought from +the house, and seated on a plank or on a cloth roller (dhone). Three +handfuls of betel leaves and areca nuts are placed in her lap. Her +maternal uncle then puts on her neck a string of unwoven unbleached +cotton thread dyed with turmeric. The bride's headman asks the assembly +if he may proceed with the thonuku ceremony. With their permission, +he takes from a sieve betel leaves, nuts, and a cocoanut with his right +hand, using only the thumb, first, and ring fingers. While doing this, +he is expected to stand on one leg, and to take up the various things, +without letting even a single leaf or nut fall. In some places, the +headman has the privilege of doing this seated near the sieve. In +other places, he is said to hold a knife in his hand, with a blade +passed below the middle finger, and over the first ring finger. + +In connection with birth ceremonies, Mr. Nicholson writes as +follows. "During labour, a sickle and some nim (Melia Azadirachta) +leaves are always kept upon the cot, to ward off evil spirits, +which will not approach iron. Difficulty during labour is considered +to be the effect of kharma, and the method employed for easing it +is simple. Some mother, who has had an 'easy time,' is called in, +and presents the labouring woman with betel, etc. Should this not be +effective, a line of persons is drawn up from the well to the house, +and water is passed from hand to hand until it reaches the 'easy +time' woman, who gives the water to the sufferer. This last resort +is only sought in extreme cases, but, when it is appealed to, even +the caste people will join in the line and help. After the placenta +has come away, the child is placed on a winnowing basket, which has +been previously filled with grain, and covered with a cloth. The +umbilical cord is cut, and the child is washed, and branded with a +hot needle in all places, over twenty in all, which are considered +vital. When the umbilical cord is cut, some coin is placed over the +navel for luck. This, with the grain in the basket, is the midwife's +perquisite. Should the child present with the cord round its neck, +a cocoanut is immediately offered. If the child survives, a cock is +offered to the gods on the day the mother takes her first bath. The +placenta is put in a pot, in which are nim leaves, and the whole is +buried in some convenient place, generally in the backyard. The reason +for this is said to be that, unless the afterbirth was buried, dogs or +other animals might carry it off, and ever after the child would be of +a wandering disposition. The first bath of the mother takes place on +the third, fifth, seventh, or ninth day after delivery. Every house +in the particular quarter sends a potful of hot water. All the pots +are placed near the spot where the afterbirth was buried. The mother +then comes from the house supported by two women, carrying in her +hand the sickle and nim leaves. After worshipping the four mud gods +which have been placed on the spot, she takes her seat on the cot +on which she was confined, and, after having her body covered with +turmeric, and her head anointed with a mixture of rice, chunam (lime) +and turmeric, she is bathed by the women in attendance. After the bath, +both the mother and child are garlanded with a root strung on strings, +and worn round the neck and wrists. One of these is eaten every day by +the mother. The mother rises and enters the house, but, before doing +so, she worships the four quarters on the threshold. The women who +assisted in the bathing operation go to their homes, and bathe their +own children, afterwards returning to take part in a feast provided +by the parents of the newly-born child. On this day also a name is +given to the child. If all previous children have died, the child +is rolled in leaf plates and rice, after which the nose and ears +are pierced. The rice is given to the dogs, and the child is named +Pulligadu (used up leaf plates) or Pullamma according to sex. Should +the parents consider that they have a sufficiently large family, +they name the child Salayya or Salakka (enough). There are several +superstitions about teething. If the teeth come quickly, people say +that the afterbirth has not been buried deeply enough. Should the +top teeth come first, it is supposed to imply danger to the maternal +uncle, who generally gives his daughter in marriage to his nephew. He +is called, and brings with him a cocoanut, the inner shell of which +he crushes on the child's head. This must be done without looking +on the child. In order that girls may not grow hair on their faces, +their lips and chins are rubbed with the afterbirth. The dried navel +is highly prized as a remedy for sterility. + +In connection with death ceremonies, Mr. Nicholson writes as +follows. "There is a difference in the ceremonies performed by the +Vishnuvite and Saivite sects. The former allow their people to die in +the house; the latter, fearing pollution, remove the person outside +the door, as soon as it is recognised that death is at hand. The +following description relates chiefly to the Vishnuvites or Namdaris, +but, wherever possible, the difference of ceremony between the two +sects is noticed. As soon as it is recognized that a person is at +the point of death, the wife and children, or near relations, gather +round the rough string cot, and ask what the dying person's last +wishes are. However bad a life may have been led, the dying words are +considered imperatively binding. If at all possible, the son or brother +of the dying person will give a little food and a drink of water; and, +if there is no one to perform this office--the rite which entitles the +dying to heaven--great is the grief. 'May you have no one to give you +water to drink' is a most bitter curse. As soon as life has departed, +those who are standing by will close the eyes and mouth, and stop the +nostrils and ears. The two great toes are tied together, whilst the +wife and sons burn incense at the head of the corpse. A lamp is lit, +and left in the house. Before this, the near relations have heard +that things were serious, and have come to render assistance. They now +bring water for the bathing, and some go to the bazar for sweetmeats, +etc., required in the subsequent ceremonies. Some of the elders go +to call the Dasari, or priest, and, by the time he arrives, rice will +have been prepared, and the blood of a fowl sprinkled over the place +where the death occurred. It should be mentioned that the head of +the dying is always placed to the south. Yamudu, the god of death and +lord of Hades, is god of the south. Consequently, if the dead arose, +if facing south he would go to the evil place. By lying on the back +with the head to the south, they rise facing north, and so escape an +evil fate. When the food is prepared, the corpse is removed outside, +bathed, and wrapped in a new cloth. Betel nut and leaf are ground +and put into the mouth, whilst the priest puts the namam (the mark of +Vishnu) upon both the forehead of the corpse and of the bearers. After +the bathing of the corpse, and before it is wrapped in the new cloth, +a small square piece is torn out of the cloth, and presented to +the Nambi of the temple. The corpse being prepared, the priest and +the wife and relations of the deceased, along with the bearers, eat +a small portion of the food which has been got ready. Immediately +upon rising after having eaten, the corpse is lifted, and placed +upon a rough bier, wrapped in a cloth, and the party proceed to the +burying ground. The priest goes first singing a funeral hymn, and at +the end of each verse all the people cry Govinda (one of the names +of Vishnu). Following the priest comes the Chalavadhi, carrying his +belt and insignia of office. At every other step the bell is rung by +coming in contact with his leg. After the Chalavadhi comes the corpse +carried by men who are, according to Telugu relationship, brothers +(actual brothers, or sons of father's brother or mother's sister). In +the case of a married woman, the bearers must be either husband or +brothers. Following the corpse comes the wife or son, bearing water and +fire. Shortly before reaching the burial-ground, a halt is made. The +son sprinkles a little water on the ground, and the bier is placed +upon the spot with the fire at the head. The face is then uncovered, +and all look upon the dead features for the last time. The reason +given for the halt is that upon one occasion, according to tradition, +the bearers became exhausted, and, when they rested the bier upon the +ground, the corpse arose alive. In carrying a dead body, it is always +carried feet first. The grave, which has been prepared beforehand, +and which is usually not more than three feet deep, is reached, and +the body is placed therein with the head towards the south. In the +case of a male, after being placed in the grave, the waist-cord and +toe-rings are removed, and left in the grave. In the case of a woman, +the glass bracelets, bell-metal toe-rings, and bead necklace are +left, but no jewels of value or the marriage token are left. After +this is over, the body is covered with leaves of the tangedu tree +(Cassia auriculata). As a rule, Vishnuvites, before covering the +body with leaves, take off the cloth in which it is wrapped, leaving +it naked. This is supposed to be emblematic of the nakedness with +which we enter upon life. The corpse is buried face upwards, and it +is considered a means of future happiness to the deceased if those +assembled throw earth into the grave. The nearer the relationship +of those doing so, the greater is the happiness conferred. Hence +it is always desired that a son should be present. After the grave +has been filled up half way with earth, three stones are placed, +one at the head, one in the middle, and one at the feet. Only the +Vishnuvites do this. Upon the middle of these stones stands the +priest, while the relatives of the deceased wash his feet, and put +upon them the namam or sign of Vishnu. Whilst standing thus, they +bargain and haggle as to what fee is to be paid. After this is over, +the grave is completely filled in, and great care is taken that the +corpse is so covered that it may not be disturbed by jackals and other +animals, at any rate before the fifth day. If it should be disturbed, +heaven will not be reached. So the Telugu curse 'May the jackals eat +your tongue' is a curse of damnation. The Saivites bury their dead +in the cloth, face downwards. After the grave has been filled in, +the fire carried by the son is placed at the head of the grave, and +incense is burnt. Then the water carried from the house is sprinkled +over the grave, and the procession departs homeward. On their way, +they stop at some wayside well, and wash away their defilement, +afterwards sitting on the edge of the well to chew betel and eat +sweetmeats. They may also pay a visit to the temple, where they +again sit and gossip, but perform no worship. If the deceased be +a woman leaving a husband, the talk will be about arrangements for +the marriage which will shortly take place. Immediately the body is +taken from the house for burial, the lamp which was first lighted is +extinguished, and another lighted in its place. Then those who stay +at home (the women do not usually attend a funeral) clean sweep the +house, plastering it with cow-dung. After this, they wait outside the +house for the return of the burial party. The blood relations who have +attended the burial come, and, without entering the house, glance at +the newly-lighted lamp, afterwards going to their own homes, where, +before entering, and without touching any of the pots, they must bathe +in hot water. Toddy flows freely at the close of a funeral. Indeed, +this is one of the occasions when excess is most common. From now +until the fifth day, when the Divasalu ceremony takes place, fire +and a lamp are lighted at the grave each evening at sunset. + +"The Divasalu ceremony, which is observed by all castes which follow +the Ramanuja matham or Satani cult, is generally performed at the dead +of night, and with as much ceremony as possible. All the Namdaris in +the village are invited, each being separately called by the Kondigadu, +who is a kind of messenger belonging to the Dasari or Mala priest. In +former days, many of the Sudras used to attend this ceremony, but +of late, either through Malas more openly eating the flesh of cows, +or for some other reason, they rarely attend, and, if they do so, it +is with great secrecy. The Nambi, however, who is a Satani, should +attend. Indeed, it is he who is the performer of the ceremony. The +flesh required for the sacrifice is found by slaughtering a sheep +or a goat. Before killing it, holy water is poured into its mouth, +and incense is burnt before it. When the animal has been dismembered, +the head, guts, and blood are cooked in one pot, the bones in another, +the flesh in a third, whilst in a fourth pot bread is baked. Toddy +and arrack (native spirit) are also placed in readiness. After these +preparations, the Nambi draws upon the floor, on the spot where the +death occurred, the ashtakshari (eight-cornered) mantram, repeating the +while magical words. The mantram is usually drawn with treble lines, +one black, one yellow, and one white. At each corner are placed a +cocoanut, betel, dates, and a lump of molasses, whilst a rupee is +placed in the middle at one side. The words repeated are in Tamil, +and, roughly translated, are as follows: 'This is the mantram of Manar +Nambi. This is the holy water of the sacred feet of ... Nambi. This is +the secret of holiness of the 108 sacred places. These are the means +for obtaining heaven. They are for the saving of the sinner. This +drawing is the seal of the saints. Countless sins have I committed; +yet by thought on the saints is sin cleansed.' After the completion +of the drawing, the officiating priest puts the holy mark of Vishnu on +the foreheads of those who bring the vessels of cooked food. Then, to +the east side of the drawing, he makes two little piles of millet. He +then asks (in Tamil) for the pot containing the head, and for the +toddy. The two bearers bring the pots, keeping exactly together, and, +as they reach the Nambi, each must exchange places with the other. The +priest then inscribes on one pot the wheel (chakra), and on the other +the conch shell, these being the sacred symbols of Vishnu. Before +doing so, he wets the leaves of the tulasi plant (Ocimum sanctum) +in a rice plate, and places them in a brass vessel containing holy +water by his side. Then, with the conch shell which he carries, he +pours some of the holy water into each pot, afterwards placing the +pots upon the heaps of millet. Next, a leaf plate is placed in the +middle of the drawing. Upon it is placed some of each variety of food +cooked, along with milk and ghi. Over all, another plate is placed +as a cover. During this time, so that no one may see the ceremony, +a sheet or blanket is held up before the Nambi as a screen. He then +takes two little sticks with cotton-wool in a notch at the end, and +puts them to steep in castor-oil. Whilst they are steeping, he takes +a cocoanut, and, after breaking it, pours the milk into the vessel +containing holy water, and places the two pieces by the side of the +heaps of grain upon which are the two pots. Then, taking up the two +sticks, and having made passes with them over the whole drawing, he +lights them and holds them aloft above the screen, so that the people +on the other side may see them. All then bow down, and worship the two +lights. Then the bearers of the corpse are invested with the namam, +after which the whole of those assembled drink of the holy water in +the brass vessel. A little holy water, betel, etc., are now put into +the rice plate, which is afterwards covered with soil upon the top +of the grave. The party then eat the small portion of food which may +be left, and, after trimming the lamp, proceed to their homes. The +Nambi who officiates is supposed to be particularly holy. If he is +wicked and unclean, and yet draws and sits upon the magic diagrams, +he will bring loss and sorrow upon his own head. + +"There is no other ceremony until the night of the twelfth day. On +this day, not only is the floor plastered with cow-dung, but the +whole house is cleaned outside and in. All the inmates of the house +bathe, shave, and put on clean clothes. Then, as on the fifth day, +an animal is killed, and the flesh is cooked exactly as before. In +the north-east or god's corner, the panchakshari (five cornered) +diagram is inscribed, and a handful of rice is put in the middle. As +before, cocoanuts, etc., are placed at the five corners, and before +the drawing are placed five copper images. The Dasari who performs the +ceremony places two leaf plates before these images, and, breaking +a couple of cocoanuts, sacrifices to them. After this, the Nambi, +Dasaris, Kondigadu, corpse-bearers, and bearers of the pots, each +drink two measures of toddy, and eat some of the flesh cooked in +the second pot. The party, consisting entirely of males, now take +as much food as will be required for the forthcoming ceremony, and +proceed towards the grave, which has been previous to this plastered +and decorated, and a little shrine erected at the head. On their +arrival, a diagram, called panchakshari is drawn on the grave in +black, yellow, and white. At the five corners are placed cocoanut, +lime, etc. In the middle is placed a leaf plate with food on it, and +a cocoanut is offered, the two halves being placed one on each side +of the plate. A lamp is now lighted, and placed in the little shrine +at the head of the grave, which the Nambi worships. It may be noted +that the ashtakshari diagram is the sign of Vishnu or Narayanamurti, +and the panchakshari is the sign of Siva. The reason for both being +used is that Vishnu is the preserver, and Siva the destroyer. If Siva +alone is worshipped, he will only cease from destroying; if Vishnu +alone is worshipped, he cannot keep from destruction. Hence there is a +sort of compromise, so that the benefits rendered by each god may be +reaped. The Nambi now invests all the males present with the namam, +and, if there is a widow, she is made to put on the bottu or small +circular mark, the symbol most often being associated with Siva. The +widow is made to sit in the middle of the house, with a leaf plate +set before her. There she is stripped of all the jewels she wore +as a married woman. Afterwards she is taken inside by some widows, +and, after bathing, dons a cloth which has been brought for her by +her brothers. Her own cloth is left outside, and must be sent from +there to the washerman. It afterwards becomes a perquisite of the +Dasari. If the deceased was a married woman, the widower would be +deprived of his toe-ring, bathed, and clothed in a new cloth. + +"On the occasion of Divasalu, blood relatives are all supposed to +be present, and the ceremony is an expensive one, poor people often +spending on this occasion alone as much as they can earn in a couple +of months. The first ceremony is not so expensive, and will only cost +about five rupees. All the male relatives of the dead man, or the +brothers-in-law of a dead woman, must bring a little rice and some +sticks of incense. If they are quite unable to attend the ceremony, +they will clean their own houses, and will then perform some ceremony +to the deceased. The relatives of the wife who come to the ceremony +will not proceed to the house, or even to the caste quarters, but +will go to the toddy shop, whence they send word of their arrival. As +soon as the head of the house hears of this, he also proceeds to +the toddy shop, and each one treats the other to drink. If they +do not wish to drink, the one will pour a little liquor into the +palm of the other. This ceremony is called chedupaputa (the taking +away of bitterness), and without it they cannot visit one another's +houses. These relatives must only partake of food on the night of +their arrival and next day, but on no account must they linger till +the light is lit on the thirteenth day. + +"The above ceremony is that performed by the Namdaris or Vishnuvites, +who are not afraid of pollution, but who must do all things according +to a prescribed ritual. We will now consider the ceremonies of +the Mondis or Saivites, who think little of ceremony, but much of +defilement. These take the dying person outside, and, as soon as it +is realised that the end is near, all arrangements are made as to +who is to cook, carry the corpse, etc. Before the breath has left +the body, some go to the bazaar to purchase a new cloth. The women +smear themselves with turmeric as at a wedding, and put a circular +red mark (bottu) on the forehead, whilst the men smear ashes on +their foreheads. As soon as the food is cooked, the dead body is +washed, and placed upon a bier. Most of the Vishnuvites do not use a +bier. The corpse is carried to the grave, accompanied with fire and +water as in the Vishnuvite ceremony. Shortly before the grave-yard +is reached, a halt is made. The cloth which has been placed over the +face is torn, and a cooking pot is broken, after which the body is +taken to the grave, and buried without covering, lying prone on the +face. After the earth has been filled in, the son of the deceased +takes an earthen water-pot full of water, and bores a hole in it, +so that the water may escape. He then makes three circuits of the +grave, allowing the water to flow on the ground. After each circuit, +he makes a fresh hole in the pot. He then goes away without looking +back on the grave. When the funeral party, which consists only of men, +reaches the house, they find that some of the old women have made a +heap of cow-dung, at the top of which is a little hollow filled with +water. Those who have returned from the grave dip their great toes +in this water, and then linger on the threshold to worship the lamp +which is inside. After this, the lamp is taken, and thrown outside +the village, and, on their return, they bathe in hot water. The +Saivites perform the first ceremony for the dead on the third day, +and they have neither Nambi nor priest, but perform the whole ceremony +themselves. Like the Vishnuvites, they thoroughly cleanse and plaster +the house. There is no animal sacrifice, but food is prepared with +vegetables. A tray is plaited from the twigs of the tamarind tree +(Tamarindus indica), and in this is placed a leaf plate containing +food, frankincense, betel, etc. This food offering is carried to +the grave along with fire and water at about eight o'clock in the +morning. The man who carries the food must wear only a torn cloth, +and yet with this he must manage to cover his head. On reaching the +grave, they worship. The tray is left at the head of the grave, and +the people retire a short distance, and there wait until a crow or +a kite comes, and takes food from the tray. The more quickly this +occurs, the greater the merit obtained by the deceased. They never +go away until either the one or the other of these birds comes. They +afterwards proceed to the well, and bathe fully. On the twelfth day, +another ceremony is performed. In the morning, all those taking part +in the ceremony proceed to some place outside the village where they +shave, and put on clean clothes which have come direct to that place +from the washerman. They then go to some temple, and there obtain a +little holy water, with which they afterwards sprinkle themselves, +the widow, and the house of the deceased. The widow is then arrayed +in all her clothes and jewels, and is taken weeping to the 'widow's +harbour.' There a stone image is set up, and worshipped. Then the +woman's jewels are taken off, and her bracelets broken. Sweet food is +cooked and partaken of, all bathe, and return to their homes. After +this ceremony, poor people will stay in their houses for three days, +and rich people for a much longer period. For several years, on the +anniversary of the death, some little ceremony is usually performed." + +In connection with Mala Dasaris, to whom reference has already been +made, Mr. Nicholson writes as follows. "There is a considerable +number of individuals who obtained their living through religious +mendicancy. They are known as Dasaris. There is usually a Nambi +or Dasari for every three or four villages. Some few Dasaris have +inam (rent-free) lands, but the majority live on the charity of the +people. They do not ask alms, but sing hymns in honour of Chennudu or +Pedda Muni. They also officiate as a sort of priest, and their services +are requisitioned at the time of death, marriage, hair-cutting, and +the creation of Basavis and Dasaris. The Dasari who officiates at a +wedding ceremony cannot act in a case of death. There is, in the west +Telugu country, a class called Varapu Dasari, who act as pujaris for +the Sudras, and in all places the Dasari receives certain emoluments +from Sudras for singing at weddings and funerals. They receive alms +from all classes. Occasionally disturbances take place on account of +the Saivites objecting to the Dasaris coming into their streets, and +it is at such times as these that pavadamu is said to take place. It +is firmly believed that, if a Dasari is offended, he will revenge +himself in smaller offences by piercing his cheeks or side, for a +serious offence by killing himself, generally by severing the head +from the body. If one kills himself in this way, the news is said to +be immediately and miraculously communicated to every Dasari and Nambi +in the country. They all come to the place where the body lies. Until +their arrival, this has been kept covered with a new cloth, and +water is constantly sprinkled over it, to keep the wounds from drying +up. When the Gurus, Dasaris, and others are collected, they show their +magic power by frying fish, which come to life again on being placed +in water, and by cutting limes in two and making them join together, +while the remainder sing hymns to Chennudu, and call on the name of +Govinda. The Gurus then dig a hole, and in it light the sacred fire +of sandal-wood, which must be kindled by the friction of two pieces +of wood. All assemble before this sacred fire, and join in singing +or reciting the Dandakamu, after which the Dasaris dance a dance +called the request dance. A lotus flower is simulated by arranging +betel leaves in a small chembu (metal vessel), and this is placed in +a plate along with the severed head. The tray is then carried three +times round the corpse by the wife of the deceased if he was married; +if not, by his mother; and, if he had no kin, by a Basavi. The head +is then taken by the Guru, and fixed properly to the trunk, the +junction being plentifully daubed with sacred earth (tirumani). A new +cloth is then spread over the corpse, and a network of flowers over +all. The Dasaris again walk round the corpse, calling on Tembaru +Manara, repeating at the same time a mantram. Then Kurumayya, the +caste Guru, strokes the corpse from head to foot three times with +his staff, after which he places his foot on the head of the corpse, +and calls on the body to rise. The ability of the Dasaris to perform +this marvel is implicitly believed in. Some I have asked have seen it +attempted, but on one occasion it failed because the wife was unwell +(under menstrual pollution). On another occasion, the ceremony was +not carried out with fitting reverence, and failed in consequence. + +"The chief people among the Dasaris are Guru, Annalayya, Godugulayya +(umbrella men), and Tuttulayya (horn-blowers). The Dasaris have got +certain badges of office, which are supposed to have been given by +Chennudu on the conquest of Vijayanagar. [According to tradition, +between the 8th and 11th centuries A.D. there was great rivalry +between the Saivite and Vishnuvite sects, and it is supposed that +Kurumayya, fighting on the side of the Vishnuvites, by the aid of +the god Chennudu was able to suppress and overcome the followers of +Siva. He thus became the Guru of the Malas.] The Dasari's insignia +consist of an iron staff, copper pot, tiger skin, antelope skin, +etc. Besides these, some of the chief Dasaris are said to possess +copper inscriptions given to them by the kings of Vijayanagar, but +these they refuse to allow any one to see." + +Concerning the practice of making Basavis (dedicated prostitutes), +Mr. Nicholson writes as follows. "The origin of the Basavis is said +to be thus. In former times, the Asadhis had the duty and privilege +of dancing and singing before the God, but this office was always +performed by a male. On one occasion, there was no male to take up +the duties, and, as there was no prospect of further children, one of +the daughters was appointed to the work, so that the livelihood would +not be lost. Then no one came forward to marry the girl, and she found +it impossible to live a good life. The fact, however, that she was a +servant of the God kept her from disgrace, and from that time it has +been customary to dedicate these girls to the God's service. Nowadays, +the girl goes through a ceremony with a knife, which is placed in +front of the God, and, as at ordinary weddings, there are all the +various ceremonies performed, and feasts eaten. If at the time of the +wedding, any man wishes to have a sort of proprietary right, he may +obtain the same by paying a sort of dowry. The elders of the village +must give their consent to the dedication, and usually signify this by +eating out of the same plate as the bride. In the west Telugu country, +parents who have good looking daughters, no matter what their class, +give them as Basavis. But, in the east Telugu country, only the Asadhi, +Beineni, and Pambala people do so. A Basavi can never be widowed, +and people say they are consecrated to the God. Consequently, their +life, though a life of sin, is not considered so by the Gods. Yet by +a strange inconsistency, men consorting with Basavis are immediately +branded as loose men. The first few years of a Basavi's life are full +of profit, and it is probably for this reason that parents are willing +thus to sacrifice their daughters. Afterwards, when the charms of youth +are passed, the Basavi resorts to begging, or, with two or three more, +obtains a precarious livelihood by music and dancing. Their children +have a share in the maternal father's property. + +"The above account of a Basavi's dedication applies to the Asadhis +or singing beggars. The following is a more detailed description of +the ceremony as performed by the Dasaris. The girl to be dedicated +is dressed in a white ravike and cloth, after which she is conducted +to the priest who is to officiate. He burns the signs of a chank and +chakram on the girl's shoulders, presenting to her at the same time +holy water. After this, the priest receives the guruvu kanika, which +consists not only of five rupees, but also five seers of rice, five +cocoanuts, five garlics, and a quarter of a seer of betel nuts. The +person giving the girl away now receives permission from the people +and Guruvu, and attaches the marriage symbol to the girl's neck. Before +the tali is tied, the girl is made to sit on a blanket, upon which has +been drawn the 'throne,' with her hands which clasp the Garuda stambha +tied together with a wreath of flowers. Before the hands are unbound, +in place of the usual dowry of about twenty rupees, five duddu (copper +coins) are given into the hand of the priest. All assembled now worship +the beggar's staff, and, on proceeding to the place of lodging, food is +given to the Dasaris. Usually the ceremonies are performed before the +village shrine, but, at times of festival, they are performed before +the God, in honour of whom the festival is being held. On returning +to the village, the girl is obliged, for five consecutive Saturdays, +to go round the village accompanied by a Dasari, to whose food and +comfort she has to attend. This is, no doubt, a public announcement of +the profession the girl has had put upon her. When puberty is arrived +at, a feast is given, and thenceforward the girl is her own mistress." + +The Malas worship a variety of deities, including Gurappa, Subbarayadu, +Gunnathadu, Sunkalamma, Poleramma, Gangamma, and Gontiyalamma. In +connection with the worship of the goddess Gontiyalamma, +Mr. F. R. Hemingway writes, in a note on the Malas of the Godavari +district, that "the special caste deity is Gontiyalamma, the mother +of the five Pandava brethren. They say that Bhima threatened to kill +his mother, who took refuge under an avireni pot (painted pot used +at weddings) in a Mala's house. For this she was solemnly cursed by +her sons, who said that she should remain a Mala woman for ever. In +commemoration of this story, a handful of growing paddy (rice) is +pulled up every year at the Dasara festival, and, eight days later, +the earth adhering to its roots is mixed with turmeric and milk, made +into an image of the goddess, and hidden under the avireni pot. For +the next six months this image is worshipped every Sunday by all the +villagers in turn, and, on the Sivaratri night, it is taken round the +village, accompanied by all the Malas bearing pots of rice and other +food carried in a kavadi, and is finally thrown with much ceremony +into a river or tank (pond or lake). This rite is supposed to mean that +the goddess is the daughter of the caste, that she has lived with them +six months, and that they are now sending her back with suitable gifts +(the rice, etc.) to her husband. A common form of religious vow among +Malas is to promise to send a cloth and a cow with the goddess on the +last day of the rite, the gifts being afterwards presented to a married +daughter." It is noted by Mr. Hemingway that both Malas and Madigas +hold a feast in honour of their ancestors at Pongal--an uncommon rite. + +In the Godavari district scarcity of rain is dealt with in various +ways. "It is considered very efficacious if the Brahmans take in +procession round the village an image of Varuna (the god of rain) +made of mud from the tank of a river or tank. Another method is to +pour 1,000 pots of water over the lingam in the Siva temple. Malas +tie a live frog to a mortar, and put on the top of the latter a +mud figure representing Gontiyalamma. They then take these objects +in procession, singing 'Mother frog, playing in water, pour rain by +pots full.' The villagers of other castes then come and pour water +over the Malas." [158] Mr. Nicholson writes that, to produce rain +in the Telugu country, "two boys capture a frog, and put it into a +basket with some nim (Melia Azadirachta) leaves. They tie the basket +to the middle of a stick, which they support on their shoulders. In +this manner they make a circuit of the village, visiting every house, +singing the praises of the god of rain. The greater the noise the +captive animal makes, the better the omen, and the more gain for the +boys, for, at every house, they receive something in recognition of +their endeavour to bring rain upon the village fields." + +Mala Arayan.--The Mala Arayans are described, in the Travancore +Census Report, 1901, as "a class of hill tribes, who are a little +more civilized than the Mannans, and have fixed abodes on the slopes +of high mountain ranges. Their villages are fine-looking, with trees +and palms all round. They are superior in appearance to most other +hill tribes, but are generally short in stature. Some of the Arayans +are rich, and own large plots of cultivated grounds. They seldom work +for hire, or carry loads. A curious custom with them is that every +man in the family has his own room separate from the rest, which only +he and his wife are permitted to enter. They are very good hunters +and have a partiality for monkey flesh. As wizards they stand very +high, and all the low-country people cherish a peculiar dread for +them. Makkathayam is the prevailing form of inheritance (from father +to son), but among a few families marumakkathayam (inheritance through +the female line) obtains as an exception. Their language is a corrupt +form of Malayalam. Their marriage ceremony is simple. The bridegroom +and bride sit and eat on the same plantain leaf, after which the tali +(marriage badge) is tied. The bride then seizes any ornament or cooking +vessel in the house, saying that it is her father's. The bridegroom +snatches it from her, and the marriage rite is concluded. Birth +pollution is of considerable importance. It lasts for a whole month +for the father, and for seven days for the mother. The Arayans bury +their dead. Drinking is a very common failing." + +It is recorded by Mr. M. J. Walhouse [159] that "on the higher ranges +in Travancore there are three of Parasurama's cairns, where the Mala +Arraiyans still keep lamps burning. They make miniature cromlechs +of small slabs of stone, and place within them a long pebble to +represent the deceased. Dr. Livingstone noticed a similar custom in +Africa. 'In various villages we observed miniature huts about two +feet high, very neatly thatched and plastered. Here we noticed them in +dozens. On inquiry we were told that, when a child or relative dies, +one is made, and, when any pleasant food is cooked or beer brewed, +a little is placed in the tiny hut for the departed soul, which is +believed to enjoy it.' So the Mala Arraiyans offer arak (liquor) +and sweetmeats to the departed spirit believed to be hovering near +the miniature cromlech." + +In a detailed account of the Mala Arayans, the Rev. S. Mateer writes +as follows. [160] "The Arayans bury their dead; consequently there +are many ancient tumuli in these hills, evidently graves of chiefs, +showing just the same fragments of pottery, brass figures, iron +weapons, etc., as are found in other similar places. These tumuli are +often surrounded with long splintered pieces of granite, from eight +to twelve or fifteen feet in length, set up on end, with sacrificial +altars and other remains, evidently centuries old. Numerous vaults, +too, called Pandi Kuri, are seen in all their hills. They stand north +and south, the circular opening being to the south; a round stone +is fitted to this aperture, with another acting as a long lever, to +prevent its falling out; the sides, as also the stones of the top and +bottom, are single slabs. To this day the Arayans make similar little +cells of pieces of stone, the whole forming a box a few inches square; +and, on the death of a member of any family, the spirit is supposed +to pass, as the body is being buried, into a brass or silver image, +which is shut into this vault; if the parties are very poor, an oblong +smooth stone suffices. A few offerings of milk, rice, toddy, and ghee +(clarified butter) are made, a torch is lighted and extinguished, the +figure placed inside the cell, and the covering hastily put on; then +all leave. On the anniversary, similar offerings being made, the stone +is lifted off, and again hastily closed. The spirit is thus supposed +to be enclosed; no one ventures to touch the cell at any other time. + +"The objects of Arayan worship are the spirits of their ancestors, or +certain local demons supposed to reside in rocks or peaks, and having +influence only over particular villages or families. The religious +services rendered to these are intended to deprecate anger rather than +to seek benefits; but in no case is lust to be gratified, or wickedness +practiced, as pleasing to these deities. One of their ancestors is +represented by a brass image about three inches in height, the back of +the head hollow, the hands holding a club and a gun. This represents a +demonized man of wicked character, who lived about a century ago. He is +said to have beaten his wife to death with a club; wherefore the people +joined to break his skull, and he became a malignant demon. Another +image carried an umbrella and staff, and had a milder countenance--this +was a good demon. One such image is kept in each family, in which +the spirit is supposed actually to reside. They were also put into +the little square chambers described above. The Rev. W. J. Richards, +of Cottayam, has favoured me with the following history, which throws +much light upon this curious superstition. 'Talanani was a priest or +oracle-revealer of the hunting deity, Ayappan, whose chief shrine is in +Savarimala, a hill among the Travancore ghats. The duty of Talanani +was to deck himself out in his sword, bangles, beads, etc., and, +highly frenzied with excitement and strong drink, dance in a horrid +convulsive fashion before his idols, and reveal in unearthly shrieks +what the god had decreed on any particular matter. He belonged to +the Hill Arayan village of Eruma-para (the rock of the she-buffalo), +some eight miles from Melkavu, and was most devoted to his idolatry, +and rather remarkable in his peculiar way of showing his zeal. When the +pilgrims from his village used to go to Savarimala--a pilgrimage which +is always, for fear of the tigers and other wild beasts, performed +in companies of forty or fifty--our hero would give out that he was +not going, and yet, when they reached the shrine of their devotions, +there before them was the sorcerer, so that he was both famous among +his fellows and favoured of the gods. Now, while things were in this +way, Talanani was killed by the neighbouring Chogans during one of +his drunken bouts, and the murderers, burying his body in the depths +of the jungle, thought that their crime would never be found out; but +the tigers--Ayappan's dogs--in respect to so true a friend of their +master, scratched open the grave, and removing the corpse, laid it +on the ground. The wild elephants found the body, and reverently took +it where friends might discover it, and, a plague of small-pox having +attacked the Chogans, another oracle declared it was sent by Sastavu +(the Travancore hill boundary god, called also Chattan or Sattan) in +anger at the crime that had been committed; and that the evil would +not abate until the murderers made an image of the dead priest, and +worshipped it. This they did, placing it in a grave, and in a little +temple no bigger than a small dog kennel. The image itself is about +four inches high, of bronze. The heir of Talanani became priest and +beneficiary of the new shrine, which was rich in offerings of arrack, +parched rice, and meat vowed by the Arayans when they sallied out on +hunting expeditions. All the descendants of Talanani are Christians, +the result of the Rev. Henry Baker's work. The last heir who was in +possession of the idol, sword, bangle, beads, and wand of the sorcerer, +handed them over to the Rev. W. J. Richards in 1881.' + +"Lamps to the memory of their ancestors were kept burning in +little huts, and at stones used to represent the spirits of their +ancestors. At one spot, where the genii were supposed to reside, there +was a fragment of granite well oiled, and surrounded by a great number +of extinguished torches. A most fearful demon was said to reside in a +hollow tree, which had been worshipped by thousands of families. They +did not know the precise hole in which the symbol was to be found; +when discovered, it looked like the hilt of an old sword. One deity +was said by the priest of a certain hill to have placed three curious +looking rocks as resting-places for himself on his journey to the +peak. Cocoanuts are offered to famous demons, residing in certain +hills. It has been observed that, in cases of sickness, sometimes +Arayans will make offerings to a Hindu god, and that they attend the +great feasts occasionally; but in no case do they believe that they +are under any obligation to do so, their own spirits being considered +fully equal to the Hindu gods. Each village has its priest, who, +when required, calls on the 'hill' (mala), which means the demon +resident there, or the pretham, ghost. If he gets the afflatus, +he acts in the usual way, yelling and screaming out the answers +sought. The devil-dancer wears the kudumi, and has a belt, bangles, +and other implements; and invokes the demons in case of sickness. + +"They have some sacred groves, where they will not fire a gun, or +speak above a breath; they have certain signs also to be observed +when fixing on land for cultivation or the site of a house, but no +other elaborate religious rites. In choosing a piece of ground for +cultivation, before cutting the jungle they take five strips of bark +of equal length, and knot all the ends together, holding them in the +left hand by the middle. If all, when tied, form a perfect circle, +the omen is lucky, and the position in which the cord falls on the +ground is carefully noted by the bystanders." + +Mala Nayakkan.--A name returned by Tamil Malaiyalis at times of census. + +Mala Vedan.--See Vedan. + +Malai-kanda.--A sub-division of Vellala. + +Malaiman.--See Udaiyan. + +Malaiyadi (foot of the hills).--A sub-division of Konga Vellala. + +Malakkar.--It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that +"the Malakkars, also called Malamuttanmar and Malapanikkar, are a +comparatively superior tribe of jungle cultivators and hunters found +in the Calicut and Ernad hills. They follow the marumakkathayam system +(of inheritance in the female line), and observe pollution for twelve +days. They call their huts illams, and, if they leave them to go down +to the plains, must bathe before returning. They consider themselves +polluted by all castes below Nayars. The name Muttan is properly a +title, meaning elder, confirmed on their headman by their janmis +(landlords). Their chief god is Maladevan. They are good forest +watchers and elephant catchers." + +Malara (a bundle of glass bangles, as carried about for sale).--An +exogamous sept of Gauda. + +Malasar.--The Malasars or Malsars are found in the Coimbatore district, +and in the Cochin State. The following account of them was given by +Buchanan a century ago. [161] "The forests here are divided into +Puddies, each of which has its boundary ascertained, and contains +one or more families of a rude tribe, called Malasir. Both the Puddy +and its inhabitants are considered as the property of some landlord, +who farms out the labour of these poor people, with all they collect, +to some trader (Chitty or Manadi). Having sent for some of these +poor Malasirs, they informed me that they live in small villages of +five or six huts, situated in the skirts of the woods on the hills +of Daraporam, Ani-malaya, and Pali-ghat. They speak a mixture of the +Tamul and Malayala languages. They are a better looking people than +the slaves, but are ill-clothed, nasty, and apparently ill-fed. They +collect drugs for the trader, to whom they are let, and receive from +him a subsistence, when they can procure for him anything of value. He +has the exclusive right of purchasing all that they have for sale, +and of supplying them with salt and other necessaries. A great part +of their food consists of wild yams (Dioscorea), which they dig when +they have nothing to give to the trader for rice. They cultivate some +small spots in the woods after the cotu-cadu fashion, both on their +own account and on that of the neighbouring farmers, who receive +the produce, and give the Malasirs hire. The articles cultivated in +this manner are ragi (Eleusine Coracana), avaray (Dolichos Lablab), +and tonda (Ricinus communis). They are also hired to cut timber and +firewood. The god of their tribe is called Mallung, who is represented +by a stone that is encircled by a wall, which serves for a temple. Once +a year, in April, a sacrifice of goats, and offerings of rice, honey, +and the like, are made by the Malasir to this rude idol. If this be +neglected, the god sends elephants and tigers to destroy both them +and their houses." + +The Malasars are described, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "a +forest tribe living by hill cultivation and day labour. They are good +at game-tracking, and very handy with their axes, with the help of +which they will construct a bamboo house for the wandering sportsman +in a few hours. They reside in hamlets known as pathis, each of which +has a headman, called Vendari, who exercises the usual authority, +with the assistance of a panchayat (council). One of the punishments +inflicted by panchayats is to make the culprit carry a heavy load of +sand for some distance, and then stand with it on his head and beg for +forgiveness. They worship Kali and Mariamman, the small-pox goddess, +but their special deity is Manakadatta, to whom they sacrifice fowls +and sheep in the Masi. A man of the tribe acts as priest on these +occasions, and keeps the heads of the offerings as his perquisite. An +unusual item in their wedding ceremonies is the tying of an iron ring +to the bridegroom's wrist. They will eat and drink almost anything, +except vermin and cobras. The Kadans regard themselves as superior to +the Malasars." It is noted, in the Manual of the Coimbatore district, +that "the Malasars live at a much lower elevation than the Kadars. They +are found almost down on the plains, and along the slopes near the +foot of the hills. They are somewhat sturdier in general build, but +have not the characteristic features of regular hillmen. They are not +to be depended on in any way, but will desert en masse on the smallest +excuse. They commit dacoities whenever they see an opportunity, and, +in fact, even to this day, the roads near the foot of the hills are +rarely traversed by low-country natives except in small bands, from +fear of the Malasars. On the other hand, the Malasars are useful +as being excellent axemen; and as baggage coolies they can hardly +be dispensed with. They carry for the most part on their heads like +low-country coolies, but unlike the Kadars and Puliyars, who, when +they can be induced to carry at all, carry loads on their backs." + +There may be said to be three grades of Malasars, viz., the Malai +(hill) Malasars, who live on the hills (e.g., at Mount Stuart +on Anaimalais), and the Malasars who live on the slopes and the +plains. It is said that Kadirs and Eravalars are admitted into +the Malasar caste. The Kadirs abstain from eating the flesh of the +'bison' and cow, whereas the Malasars will eat the carrion of these +animals. The settlements of the Malasars are called padhis or pathis, +and their streets salais. These are Tamil names, denoting villages and +rows. The padhis are named after the owners of the land on which they +are built, e.g., Sircar (Government) padhi, Karuppa Goundan padhi. On +the hills, the dwelling huts are made of bamboo matting thatched with +grass and teak leaves, whereas on the plains the walls are made of mud, +and are roofed with grass and bamboo. Like the Yanadis and Chenchus, +the Malasars seem to have an objection to well-built houses, and a +Malasar forester prefers his own rude hut to Government quarters. + +Some Malasars work as coolies, while others are employed as +agricultural labourers, or in collecting honey. A landlord keeps +under him a number of Malasars, to whom he gives land free of rent, +on which they raise their food-crops. In return, they are expected to +work in the fields, and do other services for their landlord (Mannadi), +who exercises absolute control over them. Sometimes, if a landholder +has a grievance against another, it is not difficult to induce his +Malasars to damage the crops of his enemy. The operations connected +with the catching and taming of wild elephants are carried out by +Malasars. They are proverbially lazy, and will take a week's wages +in advance, and spend a good portion thereof on drink on the same +day. With the remainder provisions are purchased, and they may only +put in three or four days' work in the week. Like other hill tribes, +they dig up yams when food is scarce. + +Marriage is generally adult, though infant marriage is not +prohibited. The Malasars of the plains perform the marriage ceremonies +at the home of the bride. Monday is considered an auspicious day for +their celebration. On the previous day, the contracting couple stand +on a pestle, and are anointed, and bathe. Two balls of cooked rice, +coloured red and black, are placed in a tray, and lighted wicks are +stuck into them. The flames from the two wicks should be of the same +height, or the omens would be considered unfavourable. The lights +are waved in front of the bride and bridegroom, to ward off the evil +eye. After bathing, the couple are seated on a dais within the marriage +pandal (booth), and the bridegroom ties the tali (marriage badge) +on the neck of the bride, and their hands are joined by the Muppan +(headman). The tali consists of a brass disc, tied to a string dyed +with turmeric. The couple eat from the same leaf or plate, and the +ceremony is at an end. + +The Malai Malasars bring the bride to the home of the bridegroom for +the marriage ceremonies. The bridegroom goes on a Wednesday to the +bride's house and takes her to his home on the following day. A pandal, +made of Sorghum and bamboo stems, is erected. Towards evening, the tali +is tied, and the fingers of the contracting couple are linked together +(kaidharam). They eat together from the same plate. The bridegroom +should feed his relations and friends at his own house, as well as +at that of the bride. He generally presents his mother-in-law with +a female cloth, with an eight anna bit tied in the skirt thereof. + +Ancestor worship is important among the Malayans. Before commencing +their ceremonies, cooked rice and the flesh of the fowl are offered +to the ancestors on seven leaves. On the occasion of a marriage, +a little of the food is eaten by the bridegroom on a Wednesday, +before he proceeds to the home of the bride. + +When a girl reaches maturity, she occupies a separate hut for seven +days. On the seventh day, she bathes and goes to the dwelling hut. A +measure and a lamp are placed before the hut, and the girl has to +go over them with her right foot foremost. She then steps backwards, +and again goes over them before entering the hut. + +The dead are usually buried, face upward. If the dead person was +an elder, his personal effects, such as pillows, walking-stick, and +clothes, are buried with him, or his corpse is cremated. Sometimes, +the dead are buried in a sitting posture, in a niche excavated on +one side of the grave. In the case of the Malasars of the plains, +the widow chews betel leaf and areca nuts, and spits the betel over +the eyes and neck of the corpse. On the third day after death, cooked +rice and meat are offered to the soul of the deceased on seven arka +(Calotropis gigantea) leaves. The male members of the family then +eat from the same leaf. + +The Malasars who live in the plains consider the Ficus glomerata tree +sacred, and worship it once a year. At least one branch thereof should +be used in the construction of the marriage pandal, and the menstrual +hut should be made of it. The Malasars of the plains also avoid the use +of the Pongamia glabra tree for any purpose. The hill Malasars worship, +among other deities, Ponnalamman (Mariamma), Pullarappachi (Ganesa), +and Kaliamman. To Ponnalamman, pigs and buffaloes are sacrificed once +a year. The deity worshipped by the Malasars of the plains is Mariayi +(Mariamma), at whose festival a stake is fixed in the ground, and +eventually shaken by the Malasars, and removed by Paraiyans. The +Malasar women of the plains wear glass bangles only on the left +wrist. If a woman puts such bangles on both wrists, the Paraiyans +are said to break them, and report the matter to the Muppan, who is +expected to fine the woman. As Paraiyan women, like the Malasars, only +wear glass bangles on one wrist, they take the wearing of bangles on +both wrists by Malasar women, who are only their equals, as an insult. + +The following graphic account of a Kama Mystery Play, in which Malasars +are represented, has been given by Mr. S. G. Roberts. [162] "The play, +as the writer saw it in a little village on the banks of the Amravati +river, was at once a mystery or miracle play, a mime, a tragedy +that strangely recalled the Greek choral tragedies, and a satyric +drama. These various ingredients gave it a quaint nebulous character, +the play now crystallising into mere drama, and again dissolving into +a religious rite. Just as an understanding of the Greek mythology is +necessary for the full grasping of the meaning of a Greek tragedy, +so it is necessary to portray the legend which is the basis of this +mystery, all the more as the characters are Hindu gods. Kama, then, is +the Hindu Cupid, not a tiny little child like the Roman god of love, +but more like Eros. He has beautiful attributes. His bow is of the +sugar-cane; his arrows are tipped with flowers; and his bow-string +is a chain of bees--a pretty touch that recalls the swallow song of +the Homeric bowstring. For all that, the genius of the country has +modified the local idea of Eros. He has long ago found his Psyche: +in point of fact, this Hindu Eros is a married man. His wife, Rathi, +is the other speaking character, and she certainly displays a beautiful +eloquence not unfitting her position. Moreover, like every married +man, Kama has a father-in-law, and here the tragedy begins to loom +out of the playful surroundings of a god of love of whatever nation or +clime. Siva, the destroyer, he of the bright blue neck, the dweller, +as Kama tauntingly says, among graves and dead men's ashes; Siva, +mighty in penance, is father of Rathi. In the play itself, he is not +even a muta persona; he does not appear at all. What he does is only +adumbrated by the action or song of the other characters. The legend +strikingly illustrates the Hindu view of penance. Briefly stated, +it is that anyone who performs any penance for a sufficiently long +time acquires such a store of power and virtue, that the very gods +themselves cannot stand against it. Hindu mythology affords many +examples of this belief. Siva himself, in one of his incarnations, +saved the whole Indian Olympus and the universe at large from a +demi-god, who, by years of penance, had become charged, as it were, +with power, like a religious electric 'accumulator.' The early sages +and heroes of Indian story had greater facilities for the acquisition +of this reserve of power, in that their lives lasted for centuries +or even æons. It may be imagined that three centuries of penance +increased the performer's strength to a degree not expressible in +modern figures! In this case, the gods had viewed with alarm a penance +which Siva had begun, and which threatened to make him master of all +creation. In spite of a few grotesque attributes, the mythology lends +to Siva a character at once terrific and awe-inspiring. When his third +eye was closed on one occasion, the universe was involved in darkness, +and the legend under discussion presents a solemn picture of the +god, sitting with his rosary in sackcloth and ashes, immersed in his +unending penance. Kama was deputed to break the spell. Accompanied by +his nymphs, he sported before the recluse, taking all shapes that could +'shake the saintship of an anchorite,' till this oriental St. Anthony, +but too thoroughly aroused, opened his tremendous frontal eye, and, +with a flashing glance of rage, consumed the rash intruder on his +solitude. Such is the legend which supplies the closing scene of the +life of Kama, a life that is celebrated, as March begins, with several +days' rejoicing in every town and village of Southern India. The writer +had seen the heap of bricks that support the Kama pillar in a village +which he visited a few months after first landing in India. As March +came round, he saw them in whatever village his work brought him, +and the legend was impressed on his memory by a case in court, in +which the momentous word 'Kamadakshinasivalingamedai' (or the high +place of the emblem of Siva who consumed Kama) was pronounced by +the various witnesses. It was not, however, till the spring of 1900 +that an opportunity presented itself for witnessing the performance +of the Kama mystery. The time of representation was the night, the +playtime for old and young in India. It has this special advantage, +from a theatrical point of view, that everything in a village street +takes on an adventitious beauty. The heaps of dust, the ragged huts, +lose their prominence, the palm trees become beautiful, and the tower +of the temple grows in majesty. Everything that is ugly or incongruous +seems to disappear, till the façade of a wealthy Hindu's house wears +the dignity of the old Grecian palace proscenium. The rag torches +give a soft strong light, that adds effect to the spangled and laced +robes of the actors, and leaves the auditory in semi-darkness, quite +in accordance with Wagnerian stage tradition. Kama was represented +in full dress, with a towering, crocketed, gilded mitre or helmet, +such as is worn by the images of South Indian gods. He is not like +the unadorned Eros of the Greeks, and he shows his Indian blood by +the green which paints the upper half of his face. Kama had the bow +of sugar-cane, and Rathi, otherwise dressed like a wealthy Hindu +bride, also bore a smaller bow of the same. The buffoon must not +be omitted. He figures in every Indian play, and here, besides the +distinction of a girdle of massive cow bells gracefully supporting +his paunch, he showed his connection with this love drama by a small +bow of sugar-cane fastened upright, by one tip, to the peak of a high +dunce's cap. The play began by Kama boastfully, and at great length, +announcing his intention of disturbing Siva's penance. Rathi did her +best to dissuade him, but every argument she could use only stirred +up his pride, and made him more determined on the adventure. The +dialogue was sometimes sustained by the characters themselves; +sometimes they sang with dreadful harshness; sometimes they but +swayed to and fro, as if in a Roman mimus, while the best voice in +the company sang their songs for them. Now and then, the musicians +would break into a chorus, which strikingly recalled, but for the +absence of dancing, the Greek tragic chorus, especially in their idea +of inevitable destiny, and in their lamentations over the disastrous +end of the undertaking. Meanwhile, the buffoon played his part with +more or less success, and backed up the astonishingly skilful and +witty acting of the players, who provided the comic relief. In most +Tamil dramas the action of the play is now and again suspended, +while one or more comedians stroll on to the stage, and amuse the +audience by a vesham, i.e., an impersonation of different well-known +street characters representing men (and women) not only of different +castes, but of different nations. Needless to say, the parts they +play have little or nothing to do with the subject of the drama, but +they afford great scope for delineation of character. There is not, +of course, in Southern India, the uniformity in dress that we notice +in England of the present day. A man's trade, profession, religion, +and sect are expressed by his dress and ornament--or lack of both. To +mention three of the different veshangal shown on this occasion, +there were a Mahrattah tattooing-woman, a north country fakir, and +a man and woman of the Malsar caste, each of the parts being dressed +to perfection, and admirably sustained. The Malsars are a low caste, +and employed in certain parts as bearers of announcements of death +(written on palm leaves) from the family of the deceased to relatives +at a distance. As they hobbled about, bending over their short crooked +crutch sticks, with turbans of twisted straw and bark, and girt with +scanty and dirty sackcloth kilts, they would have made a mummy laugh; +and they were equally mirth-provoking when they broke into a rough +song and dance peculiar to chucklers (leather-workers) when more than +usually intoxicated. When Kama had finally declared his unalterable +determination to engage in his contest with Siva--a point which was +only reached after discussion almost as interminable as a dialogue of +Euripides--the performers, and part of the audience, moved off in a +procession, which slowly perambulated the town, and halted for prayer +before the village temple. The 'stage wait' was filled up by some +simple playing and singing by a few local amateurs. This brought on +the climax of the tragedy. The Kama stake, to give it an appropriate +English name, was now ready. This was a slight stake or pole, a little +above a man's height, planted among a few bricks, and made inflammable +by a thatching or coating of cholum straw bound round it. The top of +this straw pillar was composed of a separate sheaf. When all was ready, +and the chorus had sung a strain expressive of grief at Kama's doom, +a rocket, representing Siva's fiery glance, shot along a string, +and (with some external assistance) lighted the Kama stake, thus +closely following the procedure in an Italian church festival. The +player who represented Kama now retired into the background, as he +was supposed to be dead, and the rest, hopping and dancing, circled +slowly round the fire wailing for his fate. It seemed to be a matter +of special import to the audience that the stake should be completely +consumed. This was an omen of prosperity in the coming year. The +funeral dance round the fire continued for a long while, and, when it +was but a short time to sunrise, the mummers were still beating their +breasts round the smouldering ashes. It seemed that, though some of +the songs were composed for the occasion, a great part of the play was +traditional, and the audience knew what to expect at any given period +in the performance. At one stage it was whispered that now the giant +would come in, and lift up a sheep with his teeth. In a few moments +he made his appearance, and proved to be a highly comic monster. His +arms, legs, and body were tightly swathed in neatly twisted straw +ropes, leaving only his feet and hands bare. His head was covered +by a huge canvas mask, flat on front and back, so that the actor had +the appearance of having introduced his head into the empty shell of +some gigantic crab. On the flat front of this mask-dial was painted a +terrible giant's face with portentous tusks. Thus equipped, the giant +skipped round the various characters, to the terror of the buffoon, +brandishing a quarter-staff, and executing vigorous moulinets. An +unwilling sheep was pushed into the ring, and the giant, after much +struggling, tossed the animal bodily over his head with a dexterous +fling that convinced most of the onlookers that he had really performed +the feat with his teeth." + +Malava.--The Malavas or Mala Bhovis are a small cultivating caste +in South Canara, "the members of which were formerly hunters and +fishermen. They profess Vaishnavism, and employ Shivalli Brahmans +as their priests. Hanuman is their favourite deity. Like the Bants +and other castes of Tuluva, they are divided into exogamous septs +called balis, and they have the dhare form of marriage. They speak +Canarese." [163] They are said to be really Mogers, who have separated +from the fishing community. The term Bhovi is used to denote Mogers +who carry palanquins, etc. + +Malavarayan.--A title of Ambalakkaran. + +Malayali.--The Malayalis or Malaialis, whom I examined in the Salem +district, dwell on the summits and slopes of the Shevaroy hills, +and earn their living by cultivating grain, and working on coffee +estates. Suspicious and superstitious to a degree, they openly +expressed their fear that I was the dreaded settlement officer, +and had come to take possession of their lands in the name of the +Government, and transport them to the Andaman islands (the Indian +penal settlement). When I was engaged in the innocent occupation of +photographing a village, the camera was mistaken for a surveying +instrument, and a protest raised. Many of them, while willing to +part with their ornaments of the baser metals, were loth to sell or +let me see their gold and silver jewelry, from fear lest I should +use it officially as evidence of their too prosperous condition. One +man told me to my face that he would rather have his throat cut than +submit to my measuring operations, and fled precipitately. The women +stolidly refused to entrust themselves in my hands. Nor would they +bring their children (unwashed specimens of brown humanity) to me, +lest they should fall sick under the influence of my evil eye. + +In the account which follows I am largely indebted to Mr. H. LeFanu's +admirable, and at times amusing, Manual of the Salem district. + +The word Malaiali denotes inhabitant of the hills (malai = hill or +mountain). The Malaialis have not, however, like the Todas of the +Nilgiris, any claim to be considered as an ancient hill tribe, but are +a Tamil-speaking people, who migrated from the plains to the hills in +comparatively recent times. As a shrewd, but unscientific observer put +it concisely to me, they are Tamils of the plains with the addition of +a kambli or blanket; which kambli is a luxury denied to the females, +but does duty for males, young and old, in the triple capacity of great +coat, waterproof, and blanket. According to tradition, the Malaialis +originally belonged to the Vellala caste of cultivators, and emigrated +from the sacred city of Kanchipuram (Conjeeveram) to the hills about +ten generations ago, when Muhammadan rule was dominant in Southern +India. When they left Kanchi, they took with them, according to their +story, three brothers, of whom the eldest came to the Shevaroy hills, +the second to the Kollaimalais, and the youngest to the Pachaimalais +(green hills). The Malaialis of the Shevaroys are called the Peria +(big) Malaialis, those of the Kollaimalais the Chinna (little) +Malaialis. According to another version "the Malaiali deity Kariraman, +finding himself uncomfortable at Kanchi, took up a new abode. Three of +his followers, named Periyanan, Naduvanan, and Chinnanan (the eldest, +the middle-man, and the youngest) started with their families to +follow him from Kanchi, and came to the Salem district, where they +took different routes, Periyanan going to the Shevaroys, Naduvanan +to the Pachaimalais and Anjur hills, and Chinnanan to Manjavadi." + +A further version of the legendary origin of the Malaialis of the +Trichinopoly district is given by Mr. F. R. Hemingway, who writes +as follows. "Their traditions are embodied in a collection of songs +(nattukattu). The story goes that they are descended from a priest of +Conjeeveram, who was the brother of the king, and, having quarrelled +with the latter, left the place, and entered this country with his +three sons and daughters. The country was then ruled by Vedans and +Vellalans, who resisted the new-comers. But 'the conch-shell blew +and the quoit cut,' and the invaders won the day. They then spread +themselves about the hills, the eldest son (Periyanan), whose name +was Sadaya Kavundan, selecting the Shevaroys in Salem, the second son +(Naduvanan, the middle brother) the Pachaimalais, and the youngest +(Chinnanan) the Kollaimalais. They married women of the country, +Periyanan taking a Kaikolan, Naduvanan a Vedan, and Chinnanan a 'Deva +Indra' Pallan. They gave their sister in marriage to a Tottiyan +stranger, in exchange for some food supplied by him after their +battle with the men of the country. Some curious customs survive, +which are pointed to in support of this story. Thus, the women +of the Pachaimalai Malaiyalis put aside a portion of each meal in +honour of their Vedan ancestors before serving their husbands, and, +at their marriages, they wear a comb, which is said to have been a +characteristic ornament of the Vedans. Bridegrooms place a sword and +an arrow in the marriage booth, to typify the hunting habits of the +Vedans, and their own conquest of the country. The Malaiyalis of +the Kollaimalais are addressed by Pallan women as brother-in-law +(macchan), though the Malaiyalis do not relish this. It is also +said that Tottiyan men regard Malaiyalis as their brothers-in-law, +and always treat them kindly, and that the Tottiyan women regard +the Malaiyalis as their brothers, but treat them very coldly, in +remembrance of their having sold their sister 'for a mess of pottage.'" + +The account, which the Malaialis of the Javadi hills in North +Arcot give of their origin, is as follows. [164] "In S.S. 1055 (1132 +A.D.) some of the Vedars of Kangundi asked that wives should be given +them by the Karaikkat Vellalas of Conjeeveram. They were scornfully +refused, and in anger kidnapped seven young Vellala maidens, whom they +carried away to Kangundi. To recover them, seven Vellala men set out +with seven dogs, leaving instructions with their wives that, if the +dogs returned alone, they should consider that they had perished, and +should cause the funeral ceremonies to be performed. Arriving at the +Palar, they found the river in flood, and crossed it with difficulty ; +but their dogs, after swimming half way, turned back and returned to +Conjeeveram. The men, however, continued their journey, and killed +the Vedars who had taken away their maidens, after which they went +back to their homes, but found that they had been given up as lost, +their wives had become widows, their funeral ceremonies performed, +and they were in consequence outcastes. Under these circumstances, +they contracted marriages with some Vedar women, and retired to the +Javadis, where they took to cultivation, and became the ancestors of +the Malaiali caste. This account has been preserved by the Malaialis +in a small palm-leaf book." There is, Mr. Francis writes, [165] a +tradition in the South Arcot district that "the hills were inhabited by +Vedans, and that the Malaialis killed the men, and wedded the women; +and at marriages a gun is still fired in the air to represent the +death of the Vedan husband." The Malaialis returned themselves, at the +last census, as Karaikkat Vellalas. The Malaialis of South Arcot call +themselves Kongu Vellalas. All the branches of the community agree +in saying that they are Vellalans, who emigrated from Kanchipuram, +bringing with them their god Kariraman, and, at the weddings of the +Kalrayans in South Arcot, the presiding priest sings a kind of chant +just before the tali is tied, which begins with the words Kanchi, +the (sacred) place, and Kariraman in front. Copper sasanams show +that the migration occurred at least as early as the beginning of +the sixteenth century. + +The Malaialis of the Shevaroys call themselves Kanchimandalam. Many, at +the last census, returned themselves as Vellala and Karalan. Malakkaran +and Mala Nayakkan are also used as synonyms for Malaiali. All have +Goundan as their second name, which is universally used in hailing +them. The first name is sometimes derived from a Hindu god, and my +notes record Mr. Green, Mr. Black, Mr. Little, Mr. Short, Mr. Large, +and Mr. Big nose. + +As regards the conditions under which the Malaialis of the Salem +district hold land, I learn from the Manual that, in 1866, the +Collector fixed an area around each village for the cultivation of +the Malaialis exclusively, and, in view to prevent aggression on +the part of the planters, had the boundaries of these areas surveyed +and demarcated. This area is known as the "village green." With this +survey the old system of charging the Malaialis on ploughs and hoes +appears to have been discontinued, and they are now charged at one +rupee per acre on the extent of their holdings. The lands within +the green are given under the ordinary darakhast [166] rules to the +Malaialis, but outside it they are sold under the special waste land +rules of 1863. In 1870 the Board of Revenue decided that, where the +lands within the green are all occupied, and the Malaialis require +more land for cultivation, land outside the limits of the green may +be given them under the ordinary darakhast rules. In 1871 it was +discovered that the planters tried to get lands outside the green +by making the Malaialis first apply for it, thereby evading the +waste land rules. The Board then ordered that, if there was reason +to suspect that a Malaiali was applying for lands outside the green +on account of the planters, the patta (deed of lease) might be refused. + +Subscribing vaguely to the Hindu religion, the Malaialis, who +believe that their progenitors wore the sacred thread, give a +nominal allegiance to both Siva and Vishnu, as well as to a number of +minor deities, and believe in the efficacy of a thread to ward off +sickness and attacks by devils or evil spirits. "In the year 1852," +Mr. LeFanu writes, "a searching enquiry into the traditions, customs, +and origin of these Malaialis was made. They then stated that smearing +the face with ashes indicates the religion of Siva, and putting +namam that of Vishnu, but that there is no difference between the two +religions; that, though Sivaratri sacred to Siva, and Sriramanavami and +Gokulashtami sacred to Vishnu, appear outwardly to denote a difference, +there is really none. Though they observe the Saturdays of the month +Peratasi sacred to Vishnu, still worship is performed without reference +to Vishnu or Siva. They have, indeed, certain observances, which would +seem to point to a division into Vaishnavas and Saivas, the existence +of which they deny; as for instance, some, out of respect to Siva, +abstain from sexual intercourse on Sundays and Mondays; and others, +for the sake of Vishnu, do the same on Fridays and Saturdays. So, +too, offerings are made to Vishnu on Fridays and Saturdays, and to +Siva on Sundays and Mondays; but they denied the existence of sects +among them." + +"On the Kalrayans," Mr. Francis writes, [167] "are very many +shrines to the lesser gods. The Malaialis themselves do the puja +(worship). The deities include Mariamma, Draupadi, and many other +village goddesses. In some of the temples are placed the prehistoric +celts and other stone implements which are found on these hills. The +people do not understand what these are, and reverence them +accordingly. The practice of taking oaths before these shrines to +settle disputes is common. The party makes a solemn affidavit of the +truth of his case in the presence of the god, holding some burning +camphor in his hand. Having made his statement, he blows out the +flame to signify that, if he is lying, the god is welcome to snuff +him out in the same sudden manner." + +In April 1896, I paid a visit to the picturesquely situated village +of Kiliur, not far distant from the town of Yercaud, on the occasion +of a religious festival. The villagers were discovered, early in the +morning, painting pseudo-sect-marks on their foreheads with blue and +pink coal-tar dyes, with the assistance of hand looking-glasses of +European manufacture purchased at the weekly market, and decorating +their turbans and ears with the leafy stems of Artemisia austriaca, +var. orientalis, and hedge-roses. The scene of the ceremonial was in a +neighbouring sacred grove of lofty forest trees, wherein were two hut +temples, of which one contained images of the goddess Draupadi and +eight minor deities, the other images of Perumal and his wife. All +the gods and goddesses were represented by human figures of brass +and clay. Two processional cars were gaily decorated with plantain +leaves and flags, some made in Germany. As the villagers arrived, +they prostrated themselves before the temples, and whiled away the +time, till the serious business of the day began, in gossiping with +their friends, and partaking of light refreshment purchased from +the fruit and sweetmeat sellers, who were doing a brisk trade. At +10 A.M. the proceedings were enlivened by a band of music, which +played at intervals throughout the performance, and the gods were +decorated with flowers and jewelry. An hour later, puja was done to +the stone image of the god Vigneswara, within a small shrine built of +slabs of rock. Before this idol cooked rice was offered, and camphor +burnt. The plantain stems, with leaves, were tied to a tree in the +vicinity of the temples, and cooked rice and cocoanuts placed beneath +the tree. A man holding a sword, issued forth, and, in unison with +the collected assemblage, screamed out "Govinda, Govinda" (the name +of their god). The plantain stems were next removed from the tree, +carried in procession with musical honours, and placed before the +threshold of one of the temples. Then some men appeared on the scene +to the cry of "Govinda," bearing in one hand a light, and ringing a +bell held in the other. Holy water was sprinkled over the plantain +stems, and puja done to the god Perumal by offering samai (grain) +and burning camphor. Outside one of the temples a cloth was spread +on the ground, and the images of Draupadi and other deities placed +therein. From the other temple Perumal and his wife were brought forth +in state, and placed on two cars. A yellow powder was distributed +among the crowd, and smeared over the face. A cocoanut was broken, +and camphor burnt before Perumal. Then all the gods, followed by the +spectators, were carried in procession round the grove, and a man, +becoming inspired and seized with a fine religious frenzy, waved +a sword wildly around him, but with due respect for his own bodily +safety, and pointed it in a threatening manner at the crowd. Asked, +as an oracle, whether the omens were propitious to the village, he +gave vent to the oracular (and true) response that for three years +there would be a scarcity of rain, and that there would be famine +in the land, and consequent suffering. This performance concluded, +a bamboo pole was erected, bearing a pulley at the top, with which +cocoanuts and plantains were connected by a string. By means of +this string, the fruits were alternately raised and lowered, and +men, armed with sticks, tried to hit them, while turmeric water was +dashed in their faces just as they were on the point of striking. The +fruits, being at last successfully hit, were received as a prize by +the winner. The gods were then taken back to their temple, and three +men, overcome by a mock convulsive seizure, were brought to their +senses by stripes on the back administered with a rope by the pujari +(officiating priest). A sheep being produced, mantrams (prayers) +were recited over it. The pujari, going to a pool close by, bathed, +and smeared turmeric powder over his face. A pretence was made to cut +the sheep's throat, and blood drawn with a knife. The pujari, after +sucking the blood, returned to the pool, and indulged in a ceremonial +ablution, while the unhappy sheep was escorted to the village, and +eventually eaten at a banquet by the villagers and their guests. + +An annual festival, in honour of the god Servarayan, is held at +the shrine on the summit of the Shevarayan hill, past which a stream +flows. At this festival, in 1904, "on one side of the temple, two long +rows of fruit, flower, and grain stalls were erected. Supported on +two posts was a merry-go-round with wooden seats instead of boats, the +cost of a ride thereon being a quarter of an anna. Women carried their +children to a pool of water beside the temple, known as the wishing +well, and, after sprinkling some of the holy fluid on themselves and +their offspring, spoke their wishes aloud, fully believing that they +would be granted. Suddenly there was a beating of drums, and blowing +of trumpets, and horns, which announced the time when the god was +to be brought out, and shown to the people, who made a rush to the +temple, to obtain a good view. The god was carried by two priests +robed in white, with garlands of jasmine round their necks. Then +followed two other priests, clothed in the same manner, who bore the +goddess on their shoulders. Another carried the holy water and fire +in silver vessels from the temple, sprinkling the former in front of +the deities, and the latter they passed before them. These services +being completed, each deity was placed on a wooden horse with gay +trappings, and carried to the top of the hill, where they were met +with shouts from the people. The deities were placed in a palanquin, +and carried to the four points of the hill, and, at each point, the men +put their burden down, and cocoanuts were broken in front of them, and +fruit, grain, and even copper coins were scattered. Those who wished +to take the vow to be faithful to their god had to receive fifteen +lashes on their bare backs with a stout leather thong, administered +by the chief priest. When questioned about the pain, they answered, +'Oh, it is nothing. It is just like being scratched by an ant.' The +god and goddess were then carried back into the temple." [168] + +Of this festival, as celebrated in May, 1908, the following account +has been given. [169] "The annual Malayali festival was held on the +top of Shevarayan. It was the occasion of the marriage anniversary +of the god Servarayan, after whom the Shevaroy Hills have been named, +to a goddess, the presiding deity of the Cauvery river. This hill is +believed by the Malayalis to be the place where their god Servarayan +lived, died, and was buried. On one side of the hill, the temple of +the god nestles in the midst of a sacred grove of trees. Some say that +there is a secret tunnel leading from the shrine to another part of +the hill, and a second one opening lower down into Bear's Cave. It was +an interesting sight to watch visitors and devotees as they came from +the four quarters of the Shevaroys. A few hill-men danced a serpentine +dance, stepping to the music supplied by village drums, and occasional +shrill blasts from the horns. Huge cauldrons were sending up blue +wreaths of smoke into the sky, which, it was explained to us, contained +food to be dispensed as charity to the poor. The temple yard was hung +with flowers and leaves, with which also the rude structure known +as the temple gate was decorated. On the summit of the hill, wares +of all sorts and conditions were displayed to tempt purchasers. The +articles for sale consisted of fruits, palm sugar, cocoanuts, monkey +nuts, and other nuts, mirrors which proved very popular among the +fair sex, fancy boxes, coloured powder for caste marks, cloth bags, +strings of sweet-scented flowers, rattles for children, etc.... We +were startled by hearing the noise of loud drums and shrill trumpets, +and were told that the god was about to be brought forth. This was +accompanied by shouting, clapping, and the beating of drums. The god +and goddess were placed in two chariots, bedecked with flowers, jewels +and tapestries, and umbrellas and fans also figured prominently. The +procession passed up to the left of the temple, the deities being +supported on the shoulders of sturdy Malayalis. As the people met it, +they threw fruit, nuts, and cocoanut water after the cars. The god +was next placed by the temple pujari (priest) in the triumphal car, +and was led with the goddess to that part of the hill from which +the Cauvery can best be seen. Here the procession halted while the +priest recited some incantations. Then it marched down the hill, +sometimes resting the god on cairns specially built for the purpose, +from where a view of the outlying villages is obtained. The belief +is that, as the god glances at these villages, he invokes blessings +on them, and the villagers will always live in prosperity." + +To Mr. W. Mahon Daly, I am indebted for the following account of a +Malaiali bull dance, at which he was present as an eye-witness. "It is +the custom on the Shevaroy hills, as well as the plains, to have a bull +dance after the Pongal festival, and I had the pleasure of witnessing +one in a Malaiali village. It was held in an open enclosure called +the manthay, adjoining the village. It faces the Mariamma shrine, +and is the place of resort on festive occasions. The village councils, +marriages, and other ceremonies are held here. On our arrival, we were +courteously invited to sit under a wide spreading fig-tree. The bull +dance would literally mean a bull dancing, but I give the translation +of the Tamil 'yerothu-attum,' the word attum meaning dance. This is a +sport which is much in vogue among the Malaialis, and is celebrated +with much éclat immediately after Pongal, this being the principal +festival observed by them. No doubt they have received the custom from +those in the plains. A shooting excursion follows as the next sport, +and, if they be so fortunate as to hunt down a wild boar or deer, +or any big game, a second bull dance is got up. We were just in time +to see the tamasha (spectacle). The manthay was becoming crowded, +a regular influx of spectators, mostly women arrayed in their best +cloths, coming in from the neighbouring villages. These were marshalled +in a circle round the manthay, all standing. I was told that they were +not invited, but that it was customary for them to pour in of their +own accord when any sports or ceremonial took place in a village; and +the inhabitants of the particular village were prepared to expect a +large company, whom they fed on such occasions. After the company had +collected, drums were beaten, and the long brass bugles were blown; +and, just at this juncture, we saw an elderly Malaiali bring from his +hut a coil of rope made of leather, and hand it over to the pujari or +priest in charge of the temple. The latter placed it in front of the +shrine, worshipped it thrice, some of the villagers following suit, +and, after offering incense, delivered it to a few respectable village +men, who in turn made it over to a lot of Malaiali men, whose business +it was to attach it to the bulls. This rope the oldest inhabitant +of the village had the right to keep. The bulls had been previously +selected, and penned alongside of the manthay, from which they were +brought one by one, and tied with the rope, leaving an equal length +on either side. The rope being fixed on, the bull was brought to +the manthay, held on both sides by any number who were willing, +or as many as the rope would permit. More than fifteen on either +side held on to a bull, which was far too many, for the animal had +not the slightest chance of making a dart or plunge at the man in +front, who was trying to provoke it by using a long bamboo with a +skin attached to the end. When the bull was timid, and avoided his +persecutors, he was hissed and hooted by those behind, and, if these +modes of provocation failed to rouse his anger, he was simply dragged +to and fro by main force, and let loose when his strength was almost +exhausted. A dozen or more bulls are taken up and down the manthay, +and the tamasha is over. When the manthay happens to have a slope, +the Malaialis have very little control over the bull, and, in some +instances, I have seen them actually dragged headlong to the ground +at the expense of a few damaged heads. The spectators, and all the +estate coolies who were present, were fed that night, and slept in +the village. If a death occurs in the village a few days before the +festival, I am told that the dance is postponed for a week. This +certainly, as far as I know, is not the custom in the plains." + +The man of highest rank is the guru, who is invited to settle +disputes in villages, to which he comes, on pony-back or on foot, +with an umbrella over him, and accompanied by music. The office of +guru is hereditary, and, when he dies, his son succeeds him, unless +he is a minor, in which case the brother of the deceased man steps +into his shoes. If, in sweeping the hut, the broom touches any one, +or when a Malaiali has been kicked by a European or released from +prison, he must be received back into his caste. For this purpose +he goes to the guru, who takes him to the temple, where a screen is +put up between the guru and the applicant for restoration of caste +privileges. Holy water is dedicated to the swami(god), by the guru, +and a portion thereof drunk by the man, who prostrates himself before +the guru, and subsequently gives a feast of pork, mutton, and other +delicacies. The Malaialis, it may be noted, will eat sheep, pigs, +fowls, various birds, and black monkeys. + +Each village on the Shevaroys has its own headman, an honorary +appointment, carrying with it the privilege of an extra share of the +good things, when a feast is being held. A Kangani is appointed to +do duty under the headman, and receives annually from every hut two +ballams of grain. When disputes occur, e.g., between two brothers +regarding a woman or partition of property, the headman summons a +panchayat (village council), which has the power to inflict fines in +money, sheep, etc., according to the gravity of the offence. For every +group of ten villages there is a Pattakaran (head of a division), who +is expected to attend on the occasion of marriages and car festivals. A +bridegroom has to give him eight days before his marriage a rupee, +a packet of betel leaves, and half a measure of nuts. Serving under +the Pattakaran is the Maniakaran, whose duty it is to give notice of +a marriage to the ten villages, and to summon the villagers thereto. + +In April 1898, on receipt of news of a wedding at a distant village, +I proceeded thither through coffee estates rich with white flowers +bursting into flower under the grateful influence of a thunderstorm. En +route, a view was obtained of the Golden Horn, an overhanging rock +with a drop of a thousand feet, down which the Malaialis swing +themselves in search for honey. On the track through the jungle a +rock, known from the fancied resemblance of the holes produced by +weathering to hoof-marks as the kudre panji (horse's footprints), +was passed. Concerning this rock, the legend runs that a horse jumped +on to it at one leap from the top of the Shevarayan hill, and at the +next leap reached the plains at the foot of the hills. The village, +which was the scene of the festivities, was, like other Malaiali +villages, made up of detached bee-hive huts of bamboo, thatched with +palm-leaves and grass, and containing a central room surrounded +by a verandah--the home of pigs, goats, and fowls. Other huts, of +similar bee-hive shape, but smaller, were used as storehouses for +the grain collected at the harvest-season. These grain-stores have +no entrance, and the thatched roof has to be removed, to take out the +grain for use. Tiled roofs, such as are common in the Badaga villages +on the Nilgiris, are forbidden, as their use would be an innovation, +which would excite the anger of the Malaiali gods. The Malaialis +have religious scruples against planing or smoothing with an adze +the trees which they fell. The area of lands used to be ascertained +by guesswork, not measurement, and much opposition was made to an +attempt to introduce chain measurements, the Malaialis expressing +themselves willing to pay any rent imposed, if their lands were +not measured. Huts built on piles contain the flocks, which, during +the day, are herded in pens which are removable, and, by moving the +pens, the villagers manage to get the different parts of their fields +manured. Round the village a low wall usually runs, and, close by, are +the coffee, tobacco, and other cultivated crops. Outside the village, +beneath a lofty tree, was a small stone shrine, capped with a stone +slab, wherein were stacked a number of neolithic celts, which the +Malaialis reverence as thunderbolts from heaven. I was introduced to +the youthful and anxious bridegroom, clad in his wedding finery, who +stripped before the assembled crowd, in order that I might record his +jewelry and garments. On the first day, the bridegroom, accompanied by +his relations, takes the modest dowry of grain and money (usually five +rupees) to the bride's village, and arranges for the performance of +the nalangu ceremony on the following day. If the bride and bridegroom +belong to the same village, this ceremony is performed by the pair +seated on a cot. Otherwise it is performed by each separately. The +elders of the village take a few drops of castor-oil, and rub it into +the heads of the bride and bridegroom; afterwards washing the oil off +with punac (Bassia oil-cake) and alum water. One of the elders then +dips betel-leaves and arugum-pillu (Cynodon Dactylon) in milk, and with +them describes a circle round the heads of the young couple, who do +obeisance by bowing their heads. The proceedings wind up with a feast +of pork and other luxuries. On the following day, the ceremony of tying +the tali (marriage emblem) round the bride's neck is performed. The +bride, escorted by her party, comes to the bridegroom's village, and +remains outside it, while the bridegroom brings a light, a new mat, +and three bundles of betel leaves and half a measure of areca nuts, +which are distributed among the crowd. The happy pair then enter the +village, accompanied by music. Beneath a pandal (booth) there is a +stone representing the god, marked with the namam, and decorated with +burning lamps and painted earthen pots. Before this stone the bride and +bridegroom seat themselves in the presence of the guru, who is seated +on a raised dais. Flowers are distributed among the wedding guests, +and the tali, made of gold, is tied round the bride's neck. This +done, the feet of both bride and bridegroom are washed with alum +water, and presents of small coin received. The contracting parties +then walk three times round the stone, before which they prostrate +themselves, and receive the blessing of the assembled elders. The +ceremony concluded, they go round the village, riding on the same +pony. The proceedings again terminate with a feast. I gather that +the bride lives apart from her husband for eleven or fifteen days, +during which time he is permitted to visit her at meal times, with the +object, as my interpreter expressed it, of "finding out if the bride +loves her husband or not. If she does not love him, she is advised +by the guru and headman to do so, because there are many cases in +which the girls, after marriage, if they are matured, go away with +other Malaialis. If this matter comes to the notice of the guru, +she says that she does not like to live with him. After enquiry, +the husband is permitted to marry another girl." + +A curious custom prevailing among the Malaialis, which illustrates +the Hindu love of offspring, is thus referred to by Mr. Le Fanu. "The +sons, when mere children, are married to mature females, and the +father-in-law of the bride assumes the performance of the procreative +function, thus assuming for himself and his son a descendant to take +them out of Put. When the putative father comes of age, and, in their +turn, his wife's male offspring are married, he performs for them +the same office which his father did for him. Thus, not only is the +religious idea involved in the words Putra and Kumaran carried out, +but also the premature strain on the generative faculties, which this +tradition entails, is avoided. The accommodation is reciprocal, and +there is something on physiological grounds to recommend it." Putra +means literally one who saves from Put, a hell into which those who +have not produced a son fall. Hindus believe that a son can, by the +performance of certain rites, save the souls of his ancestors from this +place of torture. Hence the anxiety of every Hindu to get married, +and beget male offspring. Kumaran is the second stage in the life of +an individual, which is divided into infancy, childhood, manhood, +and old age. Writing to me recently, a Native official assures me +that "the custom of linking a boy in marriage to a mature female, +though still existing, has, with the advance of the times, undergone a +slight yet decent change. The father-in-law of the bride has relieved +himself of the awkward predicament into which the custom drove him, +and now leaves the performance of the procreative function to others +accepted by the bride." + +Widow remarriage among the Peria Malaialis is, I am informed, +forbidden, though widows are permitted to contract irregular +alliances. But, writing concerning the Malaialis of the Dharmapuri +taluk of the Salem district, Mr. Le Fanu states that "it is almost +imperative on a widow to marry again. Even at eighty years of age, +a widow is not exempted from this rule, which nothing but the most +persistent obstinacy on her part can evade. It is said that, in case +a widow be not remarried at once, the Pattakar sends for her to his +own house, to avoid which the women consent to re-enter the state of +bondage." Of the marriage customs of the Malaialis of the Javadi hills +the same author writes that "these hills are inhabited by Malaialis, +who style themselves Vellalars and Pachai Vellalars, the latter being +distinguished by the fact that their females are not allowed to tattoo +themselves, or tie their hair in the knot called 'kondai.' The two +classes do not intermarry. In their marriage ceremonies they dispense +with the service of a Brahman. Monday is the day chosen for the +commencement of the ceremony, and the tali is tied on the following +Friday, the only essential being that the Monday and Friday concerned +must not follow new-moon days. They are indifferent about choosing a +'lakkinam' (muhurtham or auspicious day) for the commencement of the +marriage, or for tying the tali. Widows are allowed to remarry. When +a virgin or a widow has to be married, the selection of a husband is +not left to the woman concerned, or to her parents. It is the duty +of the Urgoundan to inquire what marriageable women there may be in +the village, and then to summon the Pattan, or headman of the caste, +to the spot. The latter, on his arrival, convenes a panchayat of +the residents, and, with their assistance, selects a bridegroom. The +parents of the happy couple then fix the wedding day, and the ceremony +is performed accordingly. The marriage of a virgin is called 'kalianam' +or 'marriage proper'; that of a widow being styled 'kattigiradu' +or 'tying' (cf. Anglice noose, nuptial knot). Adultery is regarded +with different degrees of disfavour according to the social position +of the co-respondents. If a married woman, virgin or widow, commits +adultery with a man of another caste, or if a male Vellalan commits +adultery with a woman of another caste, the penalty is expulsion from +caste. Where, however, the paramour belongs to the Vellala caste, +a caste panchayat is held, and the woman is fined Rs. 3-8-9, and +the man Rs. 7. After the imposition of the fine, Brahman supremacy +is recognised, the guru having the privilege of administering the +tirtam, or holy water, to the culprits for their purification. For +the performance of this rite his fee varies from 4 annas to 12 +rupees. The tirtam may either be administered by the guru in person, +or may be sent by him to the Nattan for the purpose. The fine imposed +on the offenders is payable by their relatives, however distant; +and, if there be no relatives, then the offenders are transported +from their village to a distant place. Where the adulteress is a +married woman, she is permitted to return to her husband, taking any +issue she may have had by her paramour. In special cases a widow is +permitted to marry her deceased husband's brother. Should a widow +remarry, her issue by her former husband belong to his relatives, +and are not transferable to the second husband. The same rule holds +good in successive remarriages. Where there may be no relatives of +the deceased husband forthcoming to take charge of the children, +the duty of caring for them devolves on the Urgoundan, who is bound +to receive and protect them. The Vellalars generally bury their dead, +except in cases where a woman quick with child, or a man afflicted with +leprosy has died, the bodies in these cases being burnt. No ceremony +is performed at child-birth; but the little stranger receives a name +on the fifteenth day. When a girl attains puberty, she is relegated +to a hut outside the village, where her food is brought to her, +and she is forbidden to leave the hut either day or night. The same +menstrual and death customs are observed by the Peria Malaialis, +who bury their dead in the equivalent of a cemetery, and mark the +site by a mound of earth and stones. At the time of the funeral, +guns are discharged by a firing party, and, at the grave, handfuls of +earth are, as at a Christian burial service, thrown over the corpse." + +If a woman among the Malaialis of the Javadi hills commits adultery, +the young men of the tribe are said to be let loose on her, to +work their wicked way, after which she is put in a pit filled with +cow-dung and other filth. An old man naively remarked that adultery +was very rare. + +At a wedding among the Malaialis of the South Arcot district, "after +the tali is tied, the happy couple crook their little fingers together, +and a two-anna bit is placed between the fingers, and water is poured +over their hands. The priest offers betel and nut to Kari Raman, +and then a gun is fired into the air." [170] + +The father of a would-be bridegroom among the Malaialis of the +Yelagiris, when he hears of the existence of a suitable bride, +repairs to her village, with some of his relations, and seeks out the +Urgoundan or headman, between whom and the visitors mutual embraces are +exchanged. The object of the visit is explained, and the father says +that he will abide by the voice of four in the matter. If the match is +fixed up, he gives a feast in honour of the event. When the visitors +enter the future bride's house, the eldest daughter-in-law of the +house appears on the threshold, and takes charge of the walking-stick +of each person who goes in. She then, with some specially prepared +sandal-paste, makes a circular mark on the foreheads of the guests, +and retires. The feast then takes place, and she again appears before +the party retire, and returns the walking-sticks. [171] + +At a marriage among the Malai Vellalas of the Coimbatore district, +the bride has to cry during the whole ceremony, which lasts three +days. Otherwise she is considered an "ill woman." When she can no +longer produce genuine tears, she must bawl out. If she does not do +this, the bridegroom will not marry her. In the North Arcot district, +Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [172] "a Malaiali bride is sometimes carried +off by force, but this custom is viewed with much disfavour, and +the bridegroom who resorts to it must paint his face with black and +white dots, and carry an old basket filled with broken pots and other +rubbish, holding a torn sieve over him as an umbrella, before the +celebration of the marriage. At the wedding, the bridegroom gives the +girl's father a present of money, and a pile of firewood sufficient +for the two days' feast. On the first day the food consists of rice +and dhal (Cajanus indicus), and on the second day pork curry is +consumed. At sunrise on the third day the bridegroom produces the +tali. A sword is then laid on the laps of the bridal pair, and the +Nattan (headman), or an elderly man blesses the tali, and gives it to +the bridegroom, who ties it round the bride's neck. Before marriage, +a man has to serve for at least a year in the house of the bride, +in order to receive the consent of her parents." + +"The North Arcot Malaialis," Mr. Stuart writes, "occupy eighteen +nadus or districts. The Nattan (headman) of Kanamalai nadu is +called the Periya (big) Nadan, and is the headman of the caste. He +has the power to nominate Nattans for other nadus, to call caste +panchayats, to preside over any such meetings, and to impose fines, +and excommunicate any Malaiali. He can inflict corporal punishment, +such as whipping with a tamarind switch, on those persons who violate +their tribal customs. This power is sometimes delegated by him to +the other Nattans. Of the fines collected, the Periya Nattan takes +two shares, and the rest is distributed equally among the Urans +(village heads). The village precincts are considered sacred, and +even Brahmans are desired to walk barefoot along their alleys. They +are both Saivites and Vaishnavites, and worship Kali and Perumal, +wearing the namam and sacred ashes alike. Their worship is somewhat +peculiar, and kept more or less a mystery. Its chief object is Kali, in +whose honour they celebrate a feast once a year, lasting for fifteen +days. During this time no people of the plains venture near them, +believing that no intruder will ever leave the spot alive. Even the +Malaiali women are studiously debarred from witnessing the rites, and +those who take part in them are not permitted to speak to a woman, +even should she be his wife. The ceremonies take place in the open +air, at a particular spot on the hills, where the goddess is to be +adored in the shape of a stone called Vellandiswami. The nature of +the rites it is difficult to learn. In the village they worship, +also excluding women, small images of Venkateswara of Tirupati, +which are carefully concealed in caskets, and not allowed to be seen +by people of other castes. A few bundles of tobacco are buried with +the dead. When any one falls ill, the Malaialis do not administer +medicine, but send for a pujari, and ask him which god or goddess the +patient had offended. The assessment paid to Government by them is +a fixed charge for each plough or hoe possessed, without reference +to the extent of land cultivated. They collect jungle produce, +particularly the glandular hairs of the fruits of a certain flower +(Mallotus philippinensis), which is used by the Rangaris for dyeing +silk a rich orange, and the roots of a plant called shenalinsedi, +supposed to possess wonderful medicinal virtues, curing, among other +things, snake-bite." The Malaialis of the Javadi hills in the North +Arcot district also earn a living by felling bamboos and sandal trees. + +The Malaialis snare with nets, and shoot big game--deer, tigers, +leopards, bears, and pigs--with guns of European manufacture. Mr. Le +Fanu narrates that, during the Pongal feast, all the Malaialis of +the Kalrayans go hunting, or, as they term it, for parvettai. Should +the Palaiagar fail to bring something down, usage requires that the +pujari should deprive him of his kudumi or top-knot. He generally +begs himself off the personal degradation, and a servant undergoes +the operation in his stead. A few years ago, a party of Malaialis of +the Shevaroys went out shooting with blunderbusses and other quaint +weapons, and bagged a leopard, which they carried on a frame-work, with +jaws wide open and tail erect, round Yercaud, preceded by tom-toms, +and with men dancing around. + +The Malaiali men on the Shevaroys wear a turban and brown kumbli +(blanket), which does duty as great coat, mackintosh, and umbrella. A +bag contains their supply of betel and tobacco, and they carry a +bill-hook and gourd water-vessel, and a coffee walking-stick. As +ornaments they wear bangles, rings on the fingers and toes, and in +the nose and ears. The women are tattooed by Korava women who come +round on circuit, on the forehead, outside the orbits, cheeks, arms, +and hands. Golden ornaments adorn their ears and nose, and they also +wear armlets, toe-rings, and bangles, which are sometimes supplemented +by a tooth-pick and ear-scoop pendent from a string round the neck. For +dress, a sari made of florid imported cotton fabric is worn. I have +seen women smoking cheroots, made from tobacco locally cultivated, +wrapped up in a leaf of Gmelina arborea. Tattooing is said to be +forbidden among the Malaialis of the Javadi hills in North Arcot. + +Concerning the Malaialis of the Trichinopoly district, +Mr. F. R. Hemingway writes as follows. "As far as this district +is concerned, they are inhabitants of the Pachaimalais and +Kollaimalais. The Malaialis of the two ranges will not intermarry, +but have no objection to dining together. For purposes of the +caste discipline, the villages of both sub-divisions are grouped +into nadus. Each nadu contains some twenty or thirty villages. Each +village has a headman called on the Pachaimalais Muppan, and on the +Kollaimalais Ur-Kavundan or Kutti-Maniyam. Again, on the Pachaimalais, +every five or ten villages make up a sittambalam, over which is +a Kavundan, and each nadu is ruled by a Periya Kavundan. In the +Kollaimalais there are no sittambalams, but the nadu there is also +presided over by a Periya Kavundan, who is sometimes called a Sadi +Kavundan. Again, on the Kollaimalais, the first four nadus are grouped +into one pattam under the Pattakaran of Valappur, and the other three +into another under the Pattakaran of Sakkiratti. The nadu headmen on +the Pachaimalais also do duty as Pattakarans. All these appointments +are hereditary. The permission of the Pattakaran has to be obtained +before a marriage can take place, but, on the Kollaimalais, he deputes +this power to the Sadi Kavundan. The Pattakarans of both ranges have +recognised privileges, such as the right to ride on horseback, and +use umbrellas, which are denied to the common folk. + +"The Malaiyalis recognise the sanctity of the large Vishnu temple +at Srirangam, and of the Siva temple at Anaplesvaran Kovil on the +Kollaimalais. To the festival of the latter in Adi (July-August) +the Malaiyalis of all three divisions flock. In every village is a +temple or image of Perumal. Kali is also commonly worshipped, but +the Malaiyalis do not connect her with Siva. Almost every village +further contains temples to Mariyayi, the goddess of cholera, and to +the village goddess Pidari. On the Kollaimalais, Kali is also looked +upon as a village goddess, but she has no attendant Karuppans, nor is +she worshipped by shedding blood. Pidari is often called Manu Pidari +on the Pachaimalais, and is represented by a heap of mud. At midnight, +a sheep and some cooked rice are taken to this, a man cleaning the +pathway to the temple by dragging a bunch of leaves. The sheep is +killed, and its lungs are inflated and placed on the heap. On the +Kollaimalais two other goddesses, Nachi and Kongalayi, are commonly +worshipped. At the worship of the former, perfect silence must be +observed, and women are not allowed to be in the village at the +time. It is supposed that, if anyone speaks during the ceremony, he +will be stung by bees or other insects. The goddess has no image, +but is supposed to appear from the surface of the ground, and to +glitter like the comb of a cock. Kongalayi has an image, and her +worship is accompanied by music. All these goddesses are worshipped +every year before the ground is cultivated. The Malaiyalis, like the +people of the plains, worship Pattavans. But, on the Kollaimalais, +instead of thinking that these are people who have died a violent +death, they say they are virtuous men and good sportsmen, who have +lived to a ripe old age. The test of the apotheosis of such a one +is that his castemen should have a successful day's sport on some +day that they have set aside in his honour. They sometimes offer +regular sacrifices to the Pattavans, but more usually offer the head +of any game they shoot. Sometimes a man will dream of some evil spirit +turning Pattavan, and then he is taken to a Strychnos Nux-vomica tree, +and his hair nailed to the trunk and cut. This is supposed to free +the caste from further molestation. The same practice is observed +on the Pachaimalais, if the ghost appears in a dream accompanied +by a Panchama. On the Kollaimalais, holy bulls, dedicated to the +Srirangam temple, are taken round with drums on their backs by men +with feathers stuck in their hair, and alms are collected. When +these animals die, they are buried, and an alari tree is planted +over the grave. This practice is, however, confined to Vaishnavites, +and to a few families. Saivites set free bulls called poli yerudu in +honour of the Anaplesvaram god. These bulls are of good class, and, +like the tamatams, are honoured at their death. + +"The Malaiyali houses are built of tattis (mats) of split bamboo, +and roofed with jungle grass. The use of tiles or bricks is believed +to excite the anger of the gods. The Kollaimalai houses seem always +to have a loft inside, approached by a ladder. The eaves project +greatly, so as almost to touch the ground. In the pial (platform at the +entrance) a hole is made to pen fowls in. On the tops of the houses, +tufts of jungle grass and rags are placed, to keep off owls, the +ill-omened kottan birds. The villages are surrounded with a fence, +to keep the village pigs from destroying the crops outside. The +Pachaimalai women wear the kusavam fold in their cloth on the right +side, but do not cover the breasts. The Kollaimalai women do not +wear any kusavam, but carefully cover their breasts, especially +when at work outside the village site, for fear of displeasing the +gods. The Pachaimalai people tattoo, but this custom is anathema +on the Kollaimalais, where the Malaiyalis will not allow a tattooed +person into their houses for fear of offending their gods. + +"All the Malaiyalis are keen sportsmen, and complain that sport is +spoilt by the forest rules. The Kollaimalai people have a great beat +on the first of Ani (June-July), and another on the day of the first +sowing of the year. The date of the latter is settled by the headman +of each village, and he alone is allowed to sow seeds on that day, +everyone else being debarred on pain of punishment from doing any +manner of work, and going out to hunt instead. On the Kollaimalais, +bull-baiting is practiced at the time of the Mariyayi festival in Masi +(February-March). A number of bulls are taken in front of the goddess, +one after the other, and, while some of the crowd hold the animals with +ropes, a man in front, and another behind, urge it on to unavailing +efforts to get free. When one bull is tired out, another is brought +up to take its place. + +"The Malaiyalis have a good many superstitions of their own, which +are apparently different from those of the plains. If they want rain, +they pelt each other with balls of cow-dung, an image of Pillaiyar +(Ganesa) is buried in a manure pit, and a pig is killed with a kind of +spear. When the rain comes, the Pillaiyar is dug up. If a man suffers +from hemicrania, he sets free a red cock in honour of the sun on a +Tuesday. A man who grinds his teeth in his sleep may be broken off +the habit by eating some of the food offered to the village goddess, +brought by stealth from her altar. People suffering from small-pox are +taken down to the plains, and left in some village. Cholera patients +are abandoned, and left to die. Lepers are driven out without the +slightest mercy, to shift for themselves. + +"With regard to marriage, the Malaiyalis of the Trichinopoly district +recognise the desirability of a boy's marrying his maternal aunt's +daughter. This sometimes results in a young boy marrying a grown-up +woman, but the Malaiyalis in this district declare that the boy's +father does not then take over the duties of a husband. On the +Kollaimalais, a wife may leave her husband for a paramour within the +caste, but her husband has a right to the children of such intercourse, +and they generally go to him in the end. You may ask a man, without +giving offence, if he has lent his wife to anyone. Both sections +practice polygamy. A betrothal on the Pachaimalais is effected by +the boy's taking an oil bath, followed by a bath in hot water at +the bride's house, and watching whether there is any ill omen during +the process. On the Kollaimalais, the matter is settled by a simple +interview. On both hill ranges, the wedding ceremonies last only one +day, and on the Pachaimalais a Thursday is generally selected. The +marriage on the latter range consists in all the relatives present +dropping castor-oil on to the heads of the pair with a wisp of grass, +and then pronouncing a blessing on them. The terms of the blessing are +the same as those used by the Konga Vellalas. The bridegroom ties the +tali. On the Kollaimalais, the girl is formally invited to come and be +married by the other party's taking her a sheep and some rice. On the +appointed day, offerings of a cock and a hen are made to the gods in +the houses of both. The girl then comes to the other house, and she +and the bridegroom are garlanded by the leading persons present. The +bridegroom ties the tali, and the couple are then made to walk seven +steps, and are blessed. The garlands are then thrown into a well, +and, if they float together, it is an omen that the two will love +each other. + +"Both sections bury their dead. On the Kollaimalais, a gun is fired +when the corpse is taken out for burial, and tobacco, cigars, betel +and nut, etc., are buried with the body. + +"Two curious customs in connection with labour are recognised on both +ranges. If a man has a press of work, he can compel the whole village +to come and help him, by the simple method of inviting them all to a +feast. He need not pay them for their services. A different custom is +that, when there is threshing to be done, any labourer of the caste +who offers himself has to be taken, whether there is work for him or +not, and paid as if he had done a good day's work. This is a very hard +rule in times of scarcity, and it is said that sometimes the employer +will have not only to pay out the whole of the harvest, but will also +have to get something extra from home to satisfy the labourers." + +It is noted by Mr. Garstin [173] that "in his time (1878) the Malaialis +of the South Arcot district kept the accounts of their payments of +revenue by tying knots in a bit of string, and that some of them once +lodged a complaint against their village headman for collecting more +from them than was due, basing their case on the fact that there +were more knots in the current year's string than in that of the +year preceding. The poligars, he adds, used to intimate the amount +of revenue due by sending each of the cultivators a leaf bearing on +it as many thumb-nail marks as there were rupees to be paid." + +Malayali.--A territorial name, denoting an inhabitant of the Malayalam +country. It is noted, in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, that this +name came in very handy to class several of the Malabar tribes, who +have immigrated to the province, and whose names were unfamiliar to +census officials. There is, in the city of Madras, a Malayali club +for inhabitants of the Malayalam country, who are there employed in +Government services, as lawyers, or in other vocations. I read that, +in 1906, the Malabar Onam festival was celebrated at the Victoria +Public Hall under the auspices of this club, and a dramatised version +of the Malayalam novel Indulekha was performed. + +Malayan.--Concerning the Malayans, Mr. A. R. Loftus-Tottenham writes as +follows. "The Malayans are a makkathayam caste, observing twelve days' +pollution, found in North Malabar. Their name, signifying hill-men, +points to their having been at one time a jungle tribe, but they have +by no means the dark complexion and debased physiognomy characteristic +of the classes which still occupy that position. They are divided into +nine exogamous illams, five of which have the names Kotukudi, Velupa, +Cheni, Palankudi, and Kalliath. The men do not shave their heads, +but allow the hair to grow long, and either part it in the middle, +or tie it into a knot behind, like the castes of the east coast, +or tie it in a knot in front in the genuine Malayali fashion. The +principal occupation of the caste is exorcism, which they perform by +various methods. + +"If any one is considered to be possessed by demons, it is usual, +after consulting the astrologer in order to ascertain what murti +(form, i.e., demon) is causing the trouble, to call in the Malayan, +who performs a ceremony known as tiyattam, in which they wear masks, +and, so disguised, sing, dance, tom-tom, and play on a rude and +strident pipe. Another ceremony, known as ucchaveli, has several forms, +all of which seem to be either survivals, or at least imitations of +human sacrifice. One of these consists of a mock living burial of the +principal performer, who is placed in a pit, which is covered with +planks, on the top of which a sacrifice is performed, with a fire +kindled with jack wood (Artocarpus integrifolia) and a plant called +erinna. In another variety, the Malayan cuts his left forearm, and +smears his face with the blood thus drawn. Malayans also take part +with Peruvannans (big barbers) in various ceremonies at Badrakali +and other temples, in which the performer impersonates, in suitable +costume, some of the minor deities or demons, fowls are sacrificed, +and a Velicchapad pronounces oracular statements." + +As the profession of exorcists does not keep the Malayans fully +occupied, they go about begging during the harvest season, in various +disguises, of which that of a hobby-horse is a very common one. They +further add to their income by singing songs, at which they are very +expert. Like the Nalkes and Paravas of South Canara, the Malayans +exorcise various kinds of devils, with appropriate disguises. For +Nenaveli (bloody sacrifice), the performer smears the upper part of his +body and face with a paste made of rice-flour reddened with turmeric +powder and chunam (lime) to indicate a bloody sacrifice. Before +the paste dries, parched paddy (unhusked rice) grains, representing +small-pox pustules, are sprinkled over it. Strips of young cocoanut +leaves, strung together so as to form a petticoat, are tied round the +waist, a ball of sacred ashes (vibhuthi) is fixed on the tip of the +nose, and two strips of palmyra palm leaf are stuck in the mouth to +represent fangs. If it is thought that a human sacrifice is necessary +to propitiate the devil, the man representing Nenaveli puts round his +neck a kind of framework made of plantain leaf sheaths; and, after +he has danced with it on, it is removed, and placed on the ground in +front of him. A number of lighted wicks are stuck in the middle of +the framework, which is sprinkled with the blood of a fowl, and then +beaten and crushed. Sometimes this is not regarded as sufficient, +and the performer is made to lie down in a pit, which is covered +over by a plank, and a fire kindled. A Malayan, who acted the part +of Nenaveli before me at Tellicherry, danced and gesticulated wildly, +while a small boy, concealed behind him, sang songs in praise of the +demon whom he represented, to the accompaniment of a drum. At the +end of the performance, he feigned extreme exhaustion, and laid on +the ground in a state of apparent collapse, while he was drenched +with water brought in pots from a neighbouring well. + +The disguise of Uchchaveli is also assumed for the propitiation of the +demon, when a human sacrifice is considered necessary. The Malayan who +is to take the part puts on a cap made of strips of cocoanut leaf, +and strips of the same leaves tied to a bent bamboo stick round his +waist. His face and chest are daubed with yellow paint, and designs +are drawn thereon in red or black. Strings are tied tightly round the +left arm near the elbow and wrist, and the swollen area is pierced +with a knife. The blood spouts out, and the performer waves the arm, +so that his face is covered with the blood. A fowl is waved before him, +and decapitated. He puts the neck in his mouth, and sucks the blood. + +The disguises are generally assumed at night. The exorcism consists +in drawing complicated designs of squares, circles, and triangles, +on the ground with white, black, and yellow flour. While the man who +has assumed the disguise dances about to the accompaniment of drums, +songs are sung by Malayan men and women. + +Malayan.--A division of Panikkans in the Tamil country, whose exogamous +septs are known by the Malayalam name illam (house). + +Maldivi.--A territorial name, meaning a native of the Maldive islands, +returned by twenty-two persons in Tanjore at the Census, 1901. + +Male Kudiya.--A synonym of Kudiya, denoting those who live in the +hills. + +Maleru.--It is noted, in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, that "in some +temples of the Malnad there exists a set of females, who, though not +belonging to the Natuva class, are yet temple servants like them, and +are known by the name of Maleru. Any woman who eats the sacrificial +rice strewn on the balipitam (sacrificial altar) at once loses caste, +and becomes a public woman, or Maleru." The children of Malerus by +Brahmans are termed Golakas. Any Maleru woman cohabiting with one of +a lower caste than her own is degraded into a Gaudi. In the Madras +Census Report, 1901, Male or Malera is returned as a sub-caste of +Stanika. They are said, however, not to be equal to Stanikas. They +are attached to temples, and their ranks are swelled by outcaste +Brahman and Konkani women. + +Maleyava.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a small +Canarese-speaking caste of beggars. In the South Canara Manual, it +is stated that they are "classed as mendicants, as there is a small +body of Malayalam gypsies of that name. But there may have been some +confusion with Malava and Male Kudiya." + +Mali.--"The Malis," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [174] "are now mostly +cultivators, but their traditional occupation (from which the +caste name is derived) is making garlands, and providing flowers +for the service of Hindu temples. They are especially clever in +growing vegetables. Their vernacular is Uriya." It is noted, in +the Census Report, 1901, that the temple servants wear the sacred +thread, and employ Brahmans as priests. It is further recorded, in +the Census Report, 1871, that "the Malis are, as their name denotes, +gardeners. They chose for their settlements sites where they were able +to turn a stream to irrigate a bit of land near their dwellings. Here +they raise fine crops of vegetables, which they carry to the numerous +markets throughout the country. Their rights to the lands acquired +from the Parjas (Porojas) are of a substantial nature, and the only +evidence to show their possessions were formerly Parja bhumi (Poroja +lands) is perhaps a row of upright stones erected by the older race +to the memory of their village chiefs." + +For the following note, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The +Malis say that their ancestors lived originally at Kasi (Benares), +whence they emigrated to serve under the Raja of Jeypore. They are +divided into the following sub-divisions:--Bodo, Pondra, Kosalya, +Pannara, Sonkuva, and Dongrudiya. The name Pondra is said to be +derived from podoro, a dry field. I am informed that, if a Pondra is +so prosperous as to possess a garden which requires the employment +of a picottah, he is bound to entertain as many men of his caste +as choose to go to his house. A man without a picottah may refuse +to receive such visits. A picottah is the old-fashioned form of a +machine still used for raising water, and consists of a long lever +or yard pivotted on an upright post, weighted on the short arm, +and bearing a line and bucket on the long arm. + +Among the Bodo Malis, a man can claim his paternal aunt's daughter in +marriage, which takes place before the girl reaches puberty. A jholla +tonka (bride-price) of forty rupees is paid, and the girl is conducted +to the house of the bridegroom, in front of which a pandal (booth) +has been erected, with nine pots, one above the other, placed at the +four corners and in the centre. In the middle of the pandal a mattress +is spread, and to the pandal a cloth, with a myrabolam (Terminalia +fruit), rice, and money tied up in it, is attached. The contracting +couple sit together, and a sacred thread is given to the bridegroom +by the officiating priest. The bride is presented with necklaces, +nose-screws, and other ornaments by the bridegroom's party. They +then repair to the bridegroom's house. The ceremonies are repeated +during the next three days, and on the fifth day the pair are bathed +with turmeric water, and repair to a stream, in which they bathe. On +their return home, the bridegroom is presented with some cheap jewelry. + +Among the Pondra Malis, if a girl is not provided with a husband +before she reaches puberty, a mock marriage is performed. A pandal +(booth) is erected in front of her house, and she enters it, carrying +a fan in her right hand, and sits on a mattress. A pot, containing +water and mango leaves, is set in front of her, and the females throw +turmeric-rice over her. They then mix turmeric powder with castor-oil, +and pour it over her from mango leaves. She next goes to the village +stream, and bathes. A caste feast follows after this ceremonial has +been performed. The girl is permitted to marry in the ordinary way. A +Bodo Mali girl, who does not secure a husband before she reaches +puberty, is said to be turned out of the caste. + +In the regular marriage ceremony among the Pondra Malis, the +bridegroom, accompanied by his party, proceeds to the bride's village, +where they stay in a house other than that of the bride. They send +five rupees, a new cloth for the bride's mother, rice, and other +things necessary for a meal, as jholla tonka (present) to the bride's +house. Pandals, made of four poles, are erected in front of the +houses of the bride and bridegroom. Towards evening, the bridegroom +proceeds to the house of the bride, and the couple are blessed by +the assembled relations within the pandal. On the following day, the +bridegroom conducts the bride to her pandal. They take their seat +therein, separated by a screen, with the ends of their cloths tied +together. Ornaments, called maguta, corresponding to the bashinga, +are tied on their foreheads. At the auspicious moment fixed by the +presiding Desari, the bride stretches out her right hand, and the +bridegroom places his thereon. On it some rice and myrabolam fruit are +laid, and tied up with rolls of cotton thread by the Desari. On the +third day, the couple repair to a stream, and bathe. They then bury +the magutas. After a feast, the bride accompanies the bridegroom to his +village, but, if she has not reached puberty, returns to her parents. + +Widow remarriage is permitted, and a younger brother usually marries +the widow of his elder brother. + +The dead are burnt, and death pollution lasts for ten days, during +which those who are polluted refrain from their usual employment. On +the ninth day, a hole is dug in the house of the deceased, and a lamp +placed in it. The son, or some other close relative, eats a meal by the +side of the hole, and, when it is finished, places the platter and the +remains of the food in the hole, and buries them with the lamp. On the +tenth day, an Oriya Brahman purifies the house by raising the sacred +fire (homam). He is, in return for his services, presented with the +utensils of the deceased, half a rupee, rice, and other things. + +Mali further occurs as the name of an exogamous sept of Holeya. (See +also Ravulo.) + +Maliah (hill).--A sub-division of Savaras who inhabit the hill-country. + +Malighai Chetti.--A synonym of Acharapakam Chettis. In the city of +Madras, the Malighai Chettis cannot, like other Beri Chettis, vote +or receive votes at elections or meetings of the Kandasami temple. + +Malik.--A sect of Muhammadans, who are the followers of the Imam Abu +'Abdi 'llah Malik ibn Anas, the founder of one of the four orthodox +sects of Sunnis, who was born at Madinah, A.H. 94 (A.D. 716). + +Malle.--Malle, Malli, Mallela, or Mallige, meaning jasmine, has been +recorded as an exogamous sept of Bestha, Holeya, Kamma, Korava, Kurni, +Kuruba, Madiga, Mala, Odde, and Tsakala. The Tsakalas, I am informed, +will not use jasmine flowers, or go near the plant. In like manner, +Besthas of the Malle gotra may not touch it. + +Malumi.--A class of Muhammadan pilots and sailors in the Laccadive +islands. (See Mappilla.) + +Mamidla (mango).--An exogamous sept of Padma Sale. + +Mana (a measure).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba. + +Manavalan (bridegroom).--A sub-division of Nayar. + +Manayammamar.--The name for Mussad females. Mana means a Brahman's +house. + +Mancha.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a Musalman +tribe in the Laccadive islands. + +Manchala (cots).--An exogamous sept of Odde. The equivalent mancham +occurs as a sept of Panta Reddis, the members of which avoid sleeping +on cots. + +Manchi (good).--An exogamous sept of Padma Sale and Yanadi. + +Mandadan Chetti.--There are at Gudalur near the boundary between the +Nilgiri district and Malabar, and in the Wynad, two classes called +respectively Mandadan Chettis and Wynad Chettis (q.v.). + +The following account of the Mandadan Chettis is given in the Gazetteer +of the Nilgiris. "They speak a corrupt Canarese, follow the makkatayam +law of inheritance (from father to son), and seem always to have +been natives of the Wynaad. Mandadan is supposed to be a corruption +of Mahavalinadu, the traditional name still applied to the country +between Nellakottai and Tippakadu, in which these Chettis principally +reside. These Chettis recognise as many as eight different headmen, who +each have names and a definite order of precedence, the latter being +accurately marked by the varying lengths of the periods of pollution +observed when they die. They are supposed to be the descendants +in the nearest direct line of the original ancestors of the caste, +and they are shown special respect on public occasions, and settle +domestic and caste disputes. Marriages take place after puberty, +and are arranged through go-betweens called Madhyastas. When matters +have been set in train, the contracting parties meet, and the boy's +parents measure out a certain quantity of paddy (unhusked rice), +and present it to the bride's people, while the Madhyastas formally +solicit the approval to the match of all the nearest relatives. The +bride is bathed and dressed in a new cloth, and the couple are +then seated under a pandal (booth). The priest of the Nambalakod +temple comes with flowers, blesses the tali, and hands it to the +bridegroom, who ties it round the bride's neck. Sometimes the young +man is made to work for the girl as Jacob did for Rachael, serving +her father for a period (generally of from one to four years), the +length of which is settled by a panchayat (council). In such cases, +the father-in-law pays the expenses of the wedding, and sets up +the young couple with a house and some land. Married women are not +prohibited from conferring favours on their husbands' brothers, but +adultery outside the caste is severely dealt with. Adoption seems to +be unknown. A widow may remarry. If she weds her deceased husband's +brother, the only ceremony is a dinner, after which the happy pair are +formally seated on the same mat; but, if she marries any one else, +a pandal and tali are provided. Divorce is allowed to both parties, +and divorcées may remarry. In their cases, however, the wedding rites +are much curtailed. The dead are usually burnt, but those who have +been killed by accidents or epidemics are buried. When any one is +at death's door, he or she is made to swallow a little water from a +vessel in which some rice and a gold coin have been placed. The body is +bathed and dressed in a new cloth, sometimes music is played and a gun +fired, and in all cases the deceased's family walk three times round +the pyre before it is fired by the chief mourner. When the period of +pollution is over, holy water is fetched from the Nambalakod temple, +and sprinkled all about the house. These Chettis are Saivites, and +worship Betarayasvami of Nambalakod, the Airu Billi of the Kurumbas, +and one or two other minor gods, and certain deified ancestors. These +minor gods have no regular shrines, but huts provided with platforms +for them to sit upon, in which lamps are lit in the evenings, are +built for them in the fields and jungles. Chetti women are often +handsome. In the house they wear only a waist-cloth, but they put on +an upper cloth when they venture abroad. They distend the lobes of +their ears, and for the first few years after marriage wear in them +circular gold ornaments somewhat resembling those affected by the +Nayar ladies. After that period they substitute a strip of rolled-up +palm leaf. They have an odd custom of wearing a big chignon made up +of plaits of their own hair cut off at intervals in their girlhood." + +Mandadi.--A title of Golla. + +Mandai.--An exogamous section of Kallan named after Mandai Karuppan, +the god of the village common (Mandai). + +Mandha.--Mandha or Mandhala, meaning a village common, or herd of +cattle collected thereon, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of +Bedar, Karna Sale, and Madiga. + +Mandi (cow).--A sept of Poroja. + +Mandiri.--A sub-division of Domb. + +Mandula.--The Mandulas (medicine men) are a wandering class, the +members of which go about from village to village in the Telugu +country, selling drugs (mandu, medicine) and medicinal powders. Some +of their women act as midwives. Of these people an interesting account +is given by Bishop Whitehead, [175] who writes as follows. "We found +an encampment of five or six dirty-looking huts made of matting, each +about five feet high, eight feet long and six feet wide, belonging to +a body of Mandalavaru, whose head-quarters are at Masulipatam. They +are medicine men by profession, and thieves and beggars by choice. The +headman showed us his stock of medicines in a bag, and a quaint stock +it was, consisting of a miscellaneous collection of stones and pieces +of wood, and the fruits of trees. The stones are ground to powder, +and mixed up as a medicine with various ingredients. He had a piece +of mica, a stone containing iron, and another which contained some +other metal. There was also a peculiar wood used as an antidote +against snake-bite, a piece being torn off and eaten by the person +bitten. One common treatment for children is to give them tiles, ground +to powder, to eat. In the headman's hut was a picturesque-looking +woman sitting up with an infant three days old. It had an anklet, +made of its mother's hair, tied round the right ankle, to keep off the +evil eye. The mother, too, had a similar anklet round her own left +ankle, which she put on before her confinement. She asked for some +castor-oil to smear over the child. They had a good many donkeys, +pigs, and fowls with them, and made, they said, about a rupee a day +by begging. Some time ago, they all got drunk, and had a free fight, +in which a woman got her head cut open. The police went to enquire +into the matter, but the woman declared that she only fell against a +bamboo by accident. The whole tribe meet once a year, at Masulipatam, +at the Sivaratri festival, and then sacrifice pigs and goats to their +various deities. The goddess is represented by a plain uncarved stone, +about four-and-a-half or five feet high, daubed with turmeric and +kunkuma (red powder). The animals are killed in front of the stone, +and the blood is allowed to flow on the ground. They believe that +the goddess drinks it. They cook rice on the spot, and present some +of it to the goddess. They then have a great feast of the rest of +the rice and the flesh of the victims, get very drunk with arrack, +and end up with a free fight. We noted that one of the men had on +an anklet of hair, like the woman's. He said he had been bitten by +a snake some time ago, and had put on the anklet as a charm." + +The Mandula is a very imposing person, as he sits in a conspicuous +place, surrounded by paper packets piled up all round him. His method +of advertising his medicines is to take the packets one by one, and, +after opening them and folding them up, to make a fresh pile. As he +does so, he may be heard repeating very rapidly, in a sing-song tone, +"Medicine for rheumatism," etc. Mandulas are sometimes to be seen +close to the Moore Market in the city of Madras, with their heaps of +packets containing powders of various colours. + +Mangala.--"The Mangalas and Ambattans," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [176] +"are the barber castes, and are probably of identical origin, but, +like the potters, they have, by difference of locality, separated into +Telugus and Tamilians, who do not intermarry. Both are said to be the +offspring of a Brahman by a Vaisya woman. The Telugu name is referred +to the word mangalam, which means happiness and also cleansing, and is +applied to barbers, because they take part in marriage ceremonies, and +add to the happiness on the occasion by the melodious sounds of their +flutes (nagasaram), while they also contribute to the cleanliness of +the people by shaving their bodies. The Telugus are divided into the +Reddibhumi, Murikinadu, and Kurichinadu sub-divisions, and are mostly +Vaishnavites. They consider the Tamilians as lower than themselves, +because they consent to shave the whole body, while the Telugus only +shave the upper portions. Besides their ordinary occupation, the +members of this caste pretend to some knowledge of surgery and of the +properties of herbs and drugs. Their females practice midwifery in a +barbarous fashion, not scrupling also to indulge largely in criminal +acts connected with their profession. Flesh-eating is allowed, but +not widow marriage." + +"Mangalas," Mr. Stuart writes further, [177] "are also called Bajantri +(in reference to their being musicians), Kalyanakulam (marriage +people), and Angarakudu. The word angaramu means fire, charcoal, a live +coal, and angarakudu is the planet Mars. Tuesday is Mars day, and one +name for it is Angarakavaramu, but the other and more common name is +Mangalavaramu. Now mangala is a Sanskrit word, meaning happiness, and +mangala, with the soft l, is the Telugu for a barber. Mangalavaramu +and Angarakavaramu being synonymous, it is natural that the barbers +should have seized upon this, and given themselves importance by +claiming to be the caste of the planet Mars. As a matter of fact, +this planet is considered to be a star of ill omen, and Tuesday is +regarded as an inauspicious day. Barbers are also considered to be of +ill omen owing to their connection with deaths, when their services +are required to shave the heads of the mourners. On an auspicious +occasion, a barber would never be called a Mangala, but a Bajantri, +or musician. Their titles are Anna and Gadu." Anna means brother, +and Gadu is a common suffix to the names of Telugus, e.g., Ramigadu, +Subbigadu. A further title is Ayya (father). + +For the following note on the Mangalas, I am indebted to +Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The caste is divided into two endogamous +divisions, Telaga and Kapu, the ancestors of which were half brothers, +by different mothers. They will eat together, but will not intermarry, +as they regard themselves as cousins. The primary occupation of the +caste is shaving the heads of people belonging to the non-polluting +castes, and, for a small consideration, razors are lent to Madigas and +Malas. A Mangala, in the Vizagapatam district, carries no pollution +with him, when he is not actually engaged in his professional +duties, and may often be found as storekeeper in Hindu households, +and occupying the same position as the Bhondari, or Oriya barber, +does in the Oriya country. Unlike the Tamil Ambattan, the Mangala has +no objection to shaving Europeans. He is one of the village officials, +whose duties are to render assistance to travellers, and massage their +limbs, and, in many villages, he is rewarded for his services with a +grant of land. He is further the village musician, and an expert at +playing on the flute. Boys are taught the art of shaving when they are +about eight years old. An old chatty (earthen pot) is turned upside +down, and smeared with damp earth. When this is dry, the lad has to +scrape it off under the direction of an experienced barber. + +Mangala Pujari.--The title of the caste priest of the Mogers. + +Mangalyam.--A sub-division of Marans, who, at the tali-kettu +ceremony of the Nayars, carry the ashtamangalyam or eight auspicious +things. These are rice, paddy (unhusked rice), tender leaves of the +cocoanut, a mimic arrow, a metal looking-glass, a well-washed cloth, +burning fire, and a small round wooden box called cheppu. Mangalyam +occurs as the name for Marans in old Travancore records. + +Mangalakkal.--This and Manigramam are recorded, in the Travancore +Census Report, 1901, as sub-divisions of Nayar. + +Manikala (a measure).--An exogamous sept of Yanadi. + +Manikattal.--A synonym of Deva-dasi applied to dancing-girls in the +Tamil country. + +Maniyakkaran.--Maniyakkaran or Maniyagaran, meaning an overseer, +occurs as a title or synonym of Parivaram and Sembadavan. As a name +of a sub-division of the Idaiyan shepherds, the word is said to be +derived from mani, a bell, such as is tied round the necks of cattle, +sheep, and goats. Maniyakkaran has been corrupted into monegar, +the title of the headman of a village in the Tamil country. + +Manjaputtur.--A sub-division of Chettis, who are said to have emigrated +to the Madura district from Cuddalore (Manjakuppam). + +Manla (trees).--An exogamous sept of Chenchu. + +Mannadi.--A title of Kunnavans of the Palni hills, often given as +the caste name. Also a title of Pallans and Muttans. + +Mannadiyar.--A trading sub-division of Nayar. + +Mannan.--The Mannans are a hill tribe of Travancore, and are said to +have been originally dependents of the kings of Madura, whom they, like +the Uralis and Muduvans, accompanied to Neriyamangalam. "Later on, they +settled in a portion of the Cardamom Hills called Makara-alum. One of +the chiefs of Poonyat nominated three of these Mannans as his agents at +three different centres in his dominions, one to live at Tollairamalai +with a silver sword as badge and with the title of Varayilkizh Mannan, +a second to live at Mannankantam with a bracelet and the title of +Gopura Mannan, and a third at Utumpanchola with a silver cane and the +title of Talamala Mannan. For these headmen, the other Mannans are +expected to do a lot of miscellaneous services. It is only with the +consent of the headmen that marriages may be contracted. Persons of +both sexes dress themselves like Maravans. Silver and brass ear-rings +are worn by the men. Necklets of white and red beads are worn on +the neck, and brass bracelets on the wrist. Mannans put up the best +huts among the hill-men. Menstrual and puerperal impurity is not so +repelling as in the case of the Uralis. About a year after a child +is born, the eldest member of the family ties a necklet of beads +round its neck, and gives it a name. The Mannans bury their dead. The +coffin is made of bamboo and reeds, and the corpse is taken to the +grave with music and the beating of drums. The personal ornaments, +if any, are not removed. Before filling in the grave, a quantity +of rice is put into the mouth of the deceased. A shed is erected +over the site of burial. After a year has passed, an offering of +food and drink is made to the dead. The language of the Mannans is +Tamil. They have neither washermen nor barbers, but wash clothes and +shave for one another. The Mannans stand ahead of the other hill-men +from their knowledge of medicine, though they resort more to Chattu +than to herbs. Drinking is a very common vice. Marumakkathayam is +the prevailing form of inheritance (in the female line); but it is +customary to give a portion to the sons also. Marriage takes the form +of tali-tying. The tali (marriage badge) is removed on the death of +the husband. Women generally wait for two years to marry a second +husband, after the death of the first. A Mannan claims the hand of +his maternal uncle's daughter. The Sasta of Sabarimala and Periyar is +devoutly worshipped. The Mannans are experts in collecting honey. They +eat the flesh of the monkey, but not that of the crocodile, snake, +buffalo or cow. They are fast decreasing in numbers, like the other +denizens of the hills." [178] + +Concerning the Mannans, Mr. O. H. Bensley writes as follows. [179] +"I enjoy many pleasant reminiscences of my intercourse with these +people. Their cheery and sociable disposition, and enjoyment of +camp life, make it quite a pleasure to be thrown into contact with +them. Short, sturdy, and hairless, the Mannans have all the appearances +of an 'aboriginal' race. The Mannan country extends southward from the +limit occupied by the Muduvans on the Cardamom Hills to a point south +of the territory now submerged by the Periyar works. [180] They have, +moreover, to keep to the east of the Periyar river. Smallpox ravages +their villages, and fever lives in the air they breathe. Within +the present generation, three of their settlements were at the +point of extinction, but were recruited from other more fortunate +bands. Very few attain to old age, but there were until lately three +old patriarchs among them, who were the headmen of three of the most +important sections of the tribe. The Muduvans and Mannans pursue +the same destructive method of cultivation, but, as the latter are +much fewer in numbers, their depredations are not so serious. None +of the tribes east of the Periyar pay any tax to the Government, +but are expected, in return for their holdings, to perform certain +services in the way of building huts and clearing paths, for which +they receive fixed payment. They have also to collect forest produce, +and for this, too, they obtain fixed rates, so that their treatment +by the Government is in reality of the most liberal kind. Mannans do +not always look at things in quite the light one would expect. For +example, the heir to an English Earldom, after a pleasant shooting +trip in Travancore, bestowed upon a Mannan who had been with him +a handsome knife as a memento. Next day, the knife was seen in the +possession of a cooly on a coffee estate, and it transpired that the +Mannan had sold it to him for three rupees, instead of keeping it as +an heirloom. A remarkable trait in the character of the Mannans is +the readiness with which they fraternise with Europeans. Most of the +other tribes approach with reluctance, which requires considerable +diplomacy to overcome. Not so the Mannan. He willingly initiates a +tyro and a stranger into the mysteries of the chase. Though their +language is Tamil, and the only communication they hold with the +low country is on the Madura side, they have this custom in common +with the Malayalis, that the chieftainship of their villages goes to +the nephew, and not to the son. One does not expect to find heroic +actions among these simple people. But how else could one describe +the following incident? A Mannan, walking with his son, a lad about +twelve years old, came suddenly upon a rogue elephant. His first act +was to place his son in a position of safety by lifting him up till +he could reach the branch of a tree, and only then he began to think +of himself. But it was too late. The elephant charged down upon him, +and in a few seconds he was a shapeless mass." + +Mannan (Washerman caste).--See Vannan and Velan. + +Mannedora (lord of the hills).--A title assumed by Konda Doras. Manne +Sultan is a title of the Maharaja of Travancore and the Raja of +Vizianagram. The Konda Doras also style themselves Mannelu, or those +of the hills. + +Mannepu-vandlu.--Said [181] to be the name, derived from mannemu, +highland, for Malas in parts of the Godavari district. + +Mannu (earth).--A sub-division of Oddes, who are earth-workers. Manti, +which has also been returned by them at times of census, has a similar +significance (earthen). Man Udaiyan occurs as a synonym of Kusavan, +and Manal (sand) as an exogamous sept of Kappiliyan. Man Kavarai is +recorded in the Salem Manual as the name of a class of salt makers +from salt-earth. + +Mantalayi.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a +sub-division of Nayar. + +Mappilla.--The Mappillas, or Moplahs, are defined in the Census Report, +1871, as the hybrid Mahomedan race of the western coast, whose numbers +are constantly being added to by conversion of the slave castes of +Malabar. In 1881, the Census Superintendent wrote that "among some of +them there may be a strain of Arab blood from some early generation, +but the mothers throughout have been Dravidian, and the class has been +maintained in number by wholesale adult conversion." Concerning the +origin of the Mappillas, Mr. Lewis Moore states [182] that "originally +the descendants of Arab traders by the women of the country, they +now form a powerful community. There appears to have been a large +influx of Arab settlers into Malabar in the ninth century A.D. and the +numbers have been constantly increased by proselytism. The Mappillas +came prominently forward at the time of the Portuguese invasion +at the end of the fifteenth century A.D." "The Muhammadan Arabs," +Dr. Burnell writes, [183] "appear to have settled first in Malabar +about the beginning of the ninth century; there were heathen Arabs +there long before that in consequence of the immense trade conducted by +the Sabeans with India." "There are," Mr. B. Govinda Nambiar writes, +[184] "many accounts extant in Malabar concerning the introduction of +the faith of Islam into this district. Tradition says that, in the +ninth century of the Christian era, a party of Moslem pilgrims, on +their way to a sacred shrine in Ceylon, chanced to visit the capital +of the Perumal or king of Malabar, that they were most hospitably +entertained by that prince, and that he, becoming a convert to their +faith, subsequently accompanied them to Arabia (where he died). It +is further stated that the Perumal, becoming anxious of establishing +his new faith in Malabar, with suitable places of worship, sent his +followers with letters to all the chieftains whom he had appointed +in his stead, requiring them to give land for mosques, and to endow +them. The Perumal's instructions were carried out, and nine mosques +were founded and endowed in various parts of Malabar. Whatever truth +there may be in these accounts, it is certain that, at a very early +period, the Arabs had settled for commercial purposes on the Malabar +coast, had contracted alliances with the women of the country, +and that the mixed race thus formed had begun to be known as the +Mappillas. These Mappillas had, in the days of the Zamorin, played +an important part in the political history of Malabar, and had in +consequence obtained many valuable privileges. When Vasco da Gama +visited Calicut during the closing years of the fifteenth century, +we find their influence at court so powerful that the Portuguese +could not obtain a commercial footing there. The numerical strength +of the Mappillas was greatly increased by forcible conversions +during the period when Tippu Sultan held sway over Malabar." [At +the installation of the Zamorin, some Mappilla families at Calicut +have certain privileges; and a Mappilla woman, belonging to a certain +family, presents the Zamorin with betel nuts near the Kallai bridge, +on his return from a procession through the town.] According to one +version of the story of the Perumal, Cheraman Perumal dreamt that the +full moon appeared at Mecca on the night of the new moon, and that, +when on the meridian, it split into two, one half remaining in the +air, and the other half descending to the foot of a hill called Abu +Kubais, where the two halves joined together. Shortly afterwards, +a party of pilgrims, on their way to the foot-print shrine at Adam's +peak in Ceylon, landed in Cheraman Perumal's capital at Kodungallur, +and reported that by the same miracle, Muhammad had converted a number +of unbelievers to his religion. + +The cephalic index of the Mappillas is lower than that of the other +Muhammadan classes in South India which I have examined, and this +may probably be explained by their admixture with dolichocephalic +Dravidians. The figures are as follows:-- + + + Number examined. Cephalic index. + + Mappilla 40 72.8 + Sheik Muhammadan 40 75.6 + Saiyad Muhammadan 40 75.6 + Daira Muhammadan 50 75.6 + Pathan Muhammadan 40 76.2 + + +From the measurement of a very few Mappillas, members of the +Hyderabad Contingent, and Marathas, who went to England for the +Coronation in 1902, Mr. J. Gray arrived at the conclusion that +"the people on the west coast and in the centre of the Deccan, +namely the Moplas, Maharattas, and Hyderabad Contingent, differ +considerably from the Tamils of the east coast. Their heads are +considerably shorter. This points to admixture of the Dravidians +with some Mongolian element. There is a tradition that the Moplas +are descended from Arab traders, but the measurements indicate that +the immigrants were Turkish, or of some other Mongolian element, +probably from Persia or Baluchistan." [185] + +The cephalic indices, as recorded by Mr. Gray, were:-- + + + Number examined. Cephalic index. + + Tamils 6 75.4 + Moplas 6 77.5 + Hyderabad Contingent 6 75 + Maharattas 7 79 + + +The number of individuals examined is, however, too small for the +purpose of generalisation. + +In the Census Report, 1891, it is noted that some Mappillas have +returned "Putiya Islam," meaning new converts to Islam. These are +mostly converts from the Mukkuvan or fisherman caste, and this process +of conversion is still going on. Most of the fishermen of Tanur, where +there is an important fish-curing yard, are Mukkuvan converts. They are +sleek and well-nourished, and, to judge from the swarm of children who +followed me during my inspection of the yard, eminently fertile. One +of them, indeed, was polygynous to the extent of seven wives, each +of whom had presented him with seven sons, not to mention a large +consignment of daughters. On the east coast the occurrence of twins +is attributed by the fishermen to the stimulating properties of fish +diet. In Malabar, great virtue is attributed to the sardine or nalla +mathi (good fish, Clupea longiceps), as an article of dietary. + +"Conversion to Muhammadanism," Mr. Logan writes, [186] "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." The +same applies to the Nayadis, of whom some have escaped from their +degraded position by conversion to Islam. In the scale of pollution, +the Nayadi holds the lowest place, and consequently labours under the +greatest disadvantage, which is removed with his change of religion. + +As regards the origin and significance of the word Mappilla, according +to Mr. Lewis Moore, it means, "(1) a bridegroom or son-in-law; (2) the +name given to Muhammadan, Christian, or Jewish colonists in Malabar, +who have intermarried with the natives of the country. The name is +now confined to Muhammadans." It is noted by Mr. Nelson [187] that +"the Kallans alone of all the castes of Madura call the Muhammadans +Mappilleis, or bridegrooms." In criticising this statement, Yule and +Burnell [188] state that "Nelson interprets the word as bridegroom. It +should, however, rather be son-in-law. The husband of the existing +Princess of Tanjore is habitually styled by the natives Mappillai +Sahib, as the son-in-law of the late Raja." "Some," Mr. Padmanabha +Menon writes, [189] "think that the word Mappila is a contracted form +of maha (great) and pilla (child), an honorary title as among Nairs +in Travancore (pilla or pillay). Mr. Logan surmises that maha pilla +was probably a title of honour conferred on the early Muhammadans, or +possibly on the still earlier Christian immigrants, who are also down +to the present day called Mappilas. The Muhammadans generally go by +the name of Jonaga Mappilas. Jonaka is believed to stand for Yavanaka, +i.e., Greek!" [190] [In the Gazetteer of the Tanjore district, Yavana +is recorded as meaning Ionia.] It is, indeed, remarkable that in the +Payyanorepat, perhaps the earliest Malayalam poem extant, some of the +sailors mentioned in it are called Chonavans. (The Jews are known as +Juda Mappila.) Dr. Day derives the word Mapilla from Ma (mother) and +pilla (child). [Wilson gives Mapilla, mother's son, as being sprung +from the intercourse of foreign colonists, who were persons unknown, +with Malabar women.] Duncan says that a Qazi derived the name from Ma +(mother) and pilla a (puppy) as a term of reproach! Maclean, in the +Asiatic Researches, considered that the word came from maha or mohai +(mocha) and pilla (child), and therefore translated it into children +or natives (perhaps outcasts) of Mohai or Mocha. A more likely, and +perhaps more correct derivation is given by Mr. Percy Badger in a note +to his edition of the Varthema. "I am inclined to think," he says, +"that the name is either a corruption of the Arabic muflih (from the +root fallah, to till the soil), meaning prosperous or victorious, +in which sense it would apply to the successful establishment of +those foreign Mussalmans on the western coast of India; or that it +is a similar corruption of maflih (the active participial form of the +same verb), an agriculturist--a still more appropriate designation of +Moplahs, who, according to Buchanan, are both traders and farmers. In +the latter sense, the term, though not usually so applied among +the Arabs, would be identical with fella'h." By Mr. C. P. Brown the +conviction was expressed that Mappilla is a Tamil mispronunciation +of the Arabic mu'abbar, from over the water. + +"The chief characteristic of the Mappillas," Mr. Govinda Nambiar +writes, "as of all Mussalmans, is enthusiasm for religious +practices. They are either Sunnis or Shiahs. The Sunnis are the +followers of the Ponnani Tangal, the chief priest of the orthodox +party, while the Shiahs acknowledge the Kondotti Tangal as their +religious head. There are always religious disputes between these +sects, and the criminal courts are not seldom called in to settle +them." In an account of the Mappillas, [191] Mr. P. Kunjain, a Mappilla +Government official (the first Mappilla Deputy Collector), states that +"there are a few Moplahs in the Ernad and Waluwanad taluks who are +the followers of the Kondotti Tangal, and are, therefore, believed +to be heretics (Shias). The number of these is dwindling. The reason +why they are believed to be heretics, and as such outcasted, is +that they are enjoined by their preceptor (the Tangal) to prostrate +before him. Prostration (sujud), according to strict doctrines, is +due to God alone." At Mulliakurichi in the Walluwanad taluk there +are two mosques. One, the Pazhaya Palli, or old mosque, belongs to, +or is regarded as belonging to the Kondotti sect of Mappillas. The +other is called Puthan Palli, or new mosque. This mosque is asserted +by the Ponnani sect of Mappillas to have been erected for their +exclusive use. The Kondotti sect, on the other hand, claim that +it was erected by them, as the old mosque was not large enough +for the growing congregation. They do not claim exclusive use of +the new mosque, but a right to worship there, just like any other +Muhammadan. The Ponnani sect, however, claim a right to exclude +the Kondotti people from the new mosque altogether. In September, +1901, there was a riot at the mosque between members of the rival +sects. The Mappillas have a college at Ponnani, the chief seat of +their religious organisation, where men are trained in religious +offices. This institution, called the Jammat mosque, was, it is said, +founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century A.D. by an Arab divine +for the purpose of imparting religious instruction to youths of the +Muhammadan community. The head of the institution selects the ablest +and most diligent from among the students, and confers on him the +title of Musaliar. He is then appointed to preach in mosques, and to +explain the meaning of the Koran and other sacred writings. There are +other religious offices, as those of the Kazi, Katib, and Mulla. The +highest personages of divinity among them are known as Tangals. In +the middle of the last century there was a very influential Tangal +(Mambram Tangal), who was suspected of fomenting outbreaks, and who +conferred his blessing on the murderous projects of his disciples. Of +him it is stated that he was regarded as imbued with a portion of +divinity, and that the Mappillas swore by his foot as their most +solemn oath. Earth on which he had spat or walked was treasured up, +and his blessing was supremely prized. Even among the higher class +of Mappillas, his wish was regarded as a command. + +Mr. A. R. Loftus-Tottenham informs me that "it is quite common +now for Mappillas to invoke Mambram Tangal when in difficulties. I +have heard a little Mappilla, who was frightened at my appearance, +and ran away across a field, calling out 'Mambram Tangal, Mambram +Tangal.' The Tangal, who had to be induced to leave Malabar, went +off to Constantinople, and gained great influence with the Sultan." + +In 1822 it was recorded [192] by Mr. Baber, in a circuit report, +that the Tarramal and Condotty Tangals "pretend to an extraordinary +sanctity, and such is the character they have established, that the +people believe it is in their power to carry them harmless through +the most hazardous undertakings, and even to absolve them of the +most atrocious crimes. To propitiate them, their votaries are lavish +in their presents, and there are no description of delinquents who +do not find an asylum in the mosques wherein these Tangals take up +their abode, whether pursued by the Police, or by their own evil +consciences." There is a legend current on the Kavarathi island of +the Laccadives that a Tangal of that island once cursed the crows for +dropping their excrement on his person, and now there is not a crow +on the island. On another occasion, hearing the cries of a woman in +labour, the Tangal prayed to God that the women of the island might +suffer from no such pains in future. So strong is the belief in +the immunity from the pangs of child-birth which was thus obtained, +that the women of the neighbouring islands go over to Kavarathi for +delivery, in order to have an easy confinement. [193] + +In connection with Mappilla superstition, Mr. Tottenham writes as +follows. "A beggar died (probably of starvation) by the roadside in +Walluvanad taluk. When alive, no one worried about him. But, after +he died, it was said that celestial voices had been heard uttering +the call to prayer at the spot. The Mappillas decided that he was a +very holy man, whom they had not fed during his life, and who should +be canonised after death. A little tomb was erected, and a light may +be seen burning there at night. Small banners are deposited by the +faithful, who go in numbers to the place, and there is, I think, +a money-box to receive their contributions." Mr. Tottenham writes +further that "the holy place at Malappuram is the tomb of the Sayyids +(saints or martyrs) who were killed in a battle by a local military +chieftain. These Sayyids are invoked. At Kondotti there is a very +pretentious, and rather picturesque tomb--a square building of gneiss +surmounted by a cupola--to one of the Tangals. Near it is a small +tank full of more or less tame fish. It is one of the sights of the +place to see them fed. At the great festival called neercha (vow), +the Mappillas go in procession, headed by banners, elephants (if they +possess them), and music, and carrying offerings to the head-quarters +(Malappuram and Kondotti are the principal ones) of some Tangal, where +they deposit the banners, I think at the tomb of the local saint, +and present the offerings to the Tangal. At Malappuram, an enormous +crowd of ten to twenty thousand assembles, and there is a great tamasha +(popular excitement). You will sometimes see a man with his hair uncut, +i.e., he does not cut it till he has fulfilled the vow." + +There is a tradition that, some centuries ago, one Sheik Mahomed Tangal +died. One night, some Mappillas dreamt that his grave, which was near +the reefs, was in danger of being washed away, and that they should +remove the body to a safe place. They accordingly opened the grave, and +found the body quite fresh, with no sign of decomposition. The remains +were piously re-interred in another place, and a mosque, known as +Sheikkinde Palli, built. The Mappillas of Calicut celebrate annually, +on the 15th day of Rajub, the anniversary of the death of Sheik Mahomed +Tangal, the date of which was made known through inspiration by an +ancestor of the Mambram Tangal. The ancestor also presented the Mullah +of the mosque with a head-dress, which is still worn by successive +Mullahs on the occasion of the anniversary festival. "The festival goes +by the name of Appani (trade in bread). A feature of the celebration is +that every Moplah household prepares a supply of rice cakes, which are +sent to the mosque to be distributed among the thousands of beggars +who gather for the occasion. A very brisk trade is also carried on +in these rice cakes, which are largely bought by the charitable for +distribution among the poor. On the day of the anniversary, as well +as on the day following, prayers are offered up to the souls of the +departed. According to a legend, the pious Sheik, during his travels +in foreign lands, arrived at Achin disguised as a fakir. One day, some +servants of the local Sultan came to him, recognising in him a holy +man, and begged his help in a serious difficulty. Their Sultan, they +said, had a favourite parrot which used to be kept in a golden cage, +and, the door of this cage having been inadvertently left open, the +parrot had escaped. On hearing of the loss of his favourite bird, the +Sultan had threatened his ministers and servants with dire punishment, +if they failed to recover the bird. Sheik Mahomed Koya directed the +servants to place the cage in the branches of a neighbouring tree, +assuring them that the parrot would come and enter his cage. Saying +this, the holy man departed. The servants did as he had bidden them, +and had the gratification of seeing the bird fly into the cage, and +of recovering and conveying it to their master. The Sultan asked the +bird why it went away when it had a beautiful golden cage to live in, +and a never failing supply of dainty food to subsist upon. The parrot +replied that the beautiful cage and the dainty food were not to be +compared with the delights of a free and unfettered life spent under +the foliage of feathery bamboos, swayed by gentle breezes. The Sultan +then asked the bird why it had come back, and the bird made answer +that, while it was disporting itself with others of its species in +a clump of bamboos, a stifling heat arose, which it feared would +burn its wings, but, as it noticed that on one side of the clump +the atmosphere was cool, it flew to that spot to take shelter on a +tree. Seeing the cage amidst the branches, it entered, and was thus +recaptured and brought back. The Sultan afterwards discovered that it +was the fakir who had thus miraculously brought about the recovery of +his bird, and further that the fakir was none other than the saintly +Sheik Mahomed Koya Tangal. When the news of the Tangal's death was +subsequently received, the Sultan ordered that the anniversary of the +day should be celebrated in his dominions, and the Moplahs of Calicut +believe that the faithful in Achin join with them every year in doing +honour to the memory of their departed worthy." [194] + +It is recorded, in the Annual Report of the Basel Medical Mission, +Calicut, 1907, that "cholera and smallpox were raging terribly +in the months of August and September. It is regrettable that the +people, during such epidemics, do not resort to hospital medicines, +but ascribe them to the devil's scourge. Especially the ignorant +and superstitious Moplahs believe that cholera is due to demoniac +possession, and can only be cured by exorcism. An account of +how this is done may be interesting. A Thangal (Moplah priest) +is brought in procession, with much shouting and drumming, to the +house to drive out the cholera devil. The Thangal enters the house, +where three cholera patients are lying; two of these already in a +collapsed condition. The wonder-working priest refuses to do anything +with these advanced cases, as they seem to be hopeless. The other +patient, who is in the early stage of the disease, is addressed as +follows. 'Who are you?'--'I am the cholera devil'. 'Where do you come +from?'--'From such and such a place'. 'Will you clear out at once or +not?'--'No, I won't'. 'Why?'--'Because I want something to quench my +thirst'. 'You want blood?'--'Yes'. Then the Thangal asks his followers +and relatives to give him what he asks. A young bull is brought into +the room and killed on the spot, and the patient is made to drink +the warm blood. Then the Thangal commands him to leave the place at +once. The patient, weak and exhausted, gathers up all his strength, and +runs out of the house, aided by a cane which is freely applied to his +back. He runs as far as he can, and drops exhausted on the road. Then +he is carried back, and, marvellous to say, he makes a good recovery." + +"The most important institution," Mr. A. S. Vaidyanatha Aiyar writes, +[195] "among the Mappilas of Malabar is the office of the Mahadun +(Makhdum) at Ponnani, which dates its origin about four centuries +ago, the present Mahadun being the twenty-fifth of his line. [The +line of the original Makhdum ended with the eighteenth, and the +present Makhdum and his six immediate predecessors belong to a +different line.] In the Mahadun there was a sect of religious head +for the Mappilas from Kodangalur to Mangalore. His office was, and +is still held in the greatest veneration. His decrees were believed +to be infallible. (His decrees are accepted as final.) The Zamorins +recognised the Mahadunship, as is seen from the presentation of the +office dress at every succession. In the famous Jamath mosque they +(the Mahaduns) have been giving instruction in Koran ever since they +established themselves at Ponnani. Students come here from different +parts of the country. After a certain standard of efficiency, the +degree of Musaliar is conferred upon the deserving Mullas (their name +in their undergraduate course). This ceremony consists simply in the +sanction given by the Mahadun to read at the big lamp in the mosque, +where he sometimes gives the instruction personally. The ceremony is +known as vilakkath irikka (to sit by the lamp). When the degree of +Musaliar is conferred, this sacred lamp is lit, and the Mahadun is +present with a number of Musaliars. These Musaliars are distributed +through the length and breadth of the land. They act as interpreters +of the Koran, and are often appointed in charge of the mosques. When I +visited the Jamath, there were about three hundred students. There is +no regular staff of teachers. Students are told off into sections under +the management of some senior students. The students are confined to +the mosque for their lodgings, while most of them enjoy free boarding +from some generous Mappilla or other." + +I am informed by Mr. Kunjain that "Mulla ordinarily means a man who +follows the profession of teaching the Koran to children, reading +it, and performing petty religious ceremonies for others, and lives +on the scanty perquisites derived therefrom. The man in charge of a +mosque, and who performs all petty offices therein, is also called +a Mulla. [196] This name is, however, peculiar to South Malabar. At +Quilandi and around it the teacher of the Koran is called Muallimy, +at Badagara Moiliar (Musaliar), at Kottayam Seedi, at Cannanore Kalfa, +and north of it Mukri. The man in charge of a mosque is also called +Mukir in North Malabar, while in South Malabar Mukir is applied to the +man who digs graves, lights lamps, and supplies water to the mosque." + +The mosques of the Mappillas are quite unlike those of any +other Muhammadans. "Here," Mr. Fawcett writes, [197] "one sees +no minarets. The temple architecture of Malabar was noticed by +Mr. Fergusson to be like that of Nepal: nothing like it exists between +the two places. And the Mappilla mosque is much in the style of the +Hindu temple, even to the adoption of the turret-like edifice which, +among Hindus, is here peculiar to the temples of Siva. The general +use nowadays of German mission-made tiles is bringing about, alas! a +metamorphosis in the architecture of Hindu temples and Mappilla +mosques, the picturesqueness disappearing altogether, and in a few +years it may be difficult to find one of the old style. The mosque, +though it may be little better than a hovel, is always as grand as +the community can make it, and once built it can never be removed, +for the site is sacred ever afterwards. Every Mappilla would shed his +blood, rather than suffer any indignity to a mosque." The mosques +often consist of "several stories, having two or more roofs, one +or more of the upper stories being usually built of wood, the sides +sloping inwards at the bottom. The roof is pent and tiled. There is +a gable end at one (the eastern) extremity, the timber on this being +often elaborately carved." + +One section of Mappillas at Calicut is known as "Clap the hand" +(Keikottakar) in contradistinction to another section, which may not +clap hands (Keikottattakar). On the occasion of wedding and other +ceremonies, the former enjoy the privilege of clapping their hands as +an accompaniment to the processional music, while the latter are not +permitted to do so. [198] It is said that at one time the differences +of opinion between the two sections ran so high that the question +was referred for decision to the highest ecclesiastical authorities +at Mecca. + +The Mappillas observe the Ramazan, Bakrid, and Haj. "They only observe +the ninth and tenth days of Muharam, and keep them as a fast; they +do not make taboots. [199] A common religious observance is the +celebration of what is called a mavulad or maulad. A maulad is a +tract or short treatise in Arabic celebrating the birth, life, works +and sayings of the prophet, or some saint such as Shaik Mohiuddin, +eleventh descendant of the prophet, expounder of the Koran, and worker +of miracles, or the Mambram Tangal, father of Sayid Fasl. For the +ceremony a Mulla is called in to read the book, parts of which are in +verse, and the congregation is required to make responses, and join in +the singing. The ceremony, which usually takes place in the evening, +concludes with, or is preceded by a feast, to which the friends +and relations are invited. Those who can afford it should perform a +maulad in honour of Shaik Mohiuddin on the eleventh of every month, +and one in honour of the prophet on the twelfth. A maulad should +also be performed on the third day after death. It is also a common +practice to celebrate a maulad before any important undertaking on +which it is desired to invoke a blessing, or in fulfilment of some +vows; hence the custom of maulads preceding outbreaks." [200] + +For a detailed account of the fanatical [201] outbreaks in the +Mappilla community, which have long disturbed the peace of Malabar +from time to time, I must refer the reader to the District Manual and +Gazetteer. From these sources, and from the class handbook (Mappillas) +for the Indian Army, [202] the following note relating to some of +the more serious of the numerous outbreaks has been compiled. [203] + +Towards the end of the seventeenth century, the Mappillas massacred +the chief of Anjengo, and all the English gentlemen belonging to the +settlement, when on a public visit to the Queen of Altinga. [204] +In 1841, seven or eight Mappillas killed two Hindus, and took post +in a mosque, setting the police at defiance. They, and some of their +co-religionists who had joined them, were shot down by a party of +sepoys. In the same month, some two thousand Mappillas set at defiance +a police guard posted over the spot where the above criminals had +been buried, and forcibly carried off their bodies, to inter them +with honours in a mosque. + +An outbreak, which occurred in 1843, was celebrated in a stirring +ballad. [205] A series of Mappilla war-songs have been published +by Mr. Fawcett. [206] In October, 1843, a peon (orderly) was found +with his head and hand all but cut off, and the perpetrators were +supposed to have been Mappilla fanatics of the sect known as Hal +Ilakkam (frenzy raising), concerning which the following account was +given in an official report, 1843. "In the month of Metam last year, +one Alathamkuliyil Moidin went out into the fields before daybreak +to water the crops, and there he saw a certain person, who advised +him to give up all his work, and devote his time to prayer at the +mosque. Moidin objected to this, urging that he would have nothing to +live upon. Whereupon, the above-mentioned person told him that a palm +tree, which grew in his (Moidin's) compound, would yield sufficient +toddy, which he could convert into jaggery (crude sugar), and thus +maintain himself. After saying this, the person disappeared. Moidin +thought that the person he saw was God himself, and felt frantic +(hal). He then went to Taramal Tangal, and performed dikkar and +niskaram (cries and prayers). After two or three days, he complained +to the Tangal that Kafirs (a term applied by Muhammadans to people of +other religions) were making fun of him. The Tangal told him that the +course adopted by him was the right one, and, saying 'Let it be as I +have said,' gave him a spear to be borne as an emblem, and assured him +that nobody would mock him in future. Subsequently several Mappillas, +affecting hal ilakkam, played all sorts of pranks, and wandered about +with canes in their hands, without going to their homes or attending +to their work. After several days, some of them, who had no means of +maintaining themselves unless they attended to their work, returned to +their former course of life, while others, with canes and Ernad knives +(war knives) in their hands, wandered about in companies of five, six, +eight, or ten men, and, congregating in places not much frequented +by Hindus, carried on their dikkar and niskaram. The Mappillas in +general look upon this as a religious vow, and provide these people +with food. I hear of the Mappillas talking among themselves that +one or two of the ancestors of Taramal Tangal died fighting, that, +the present man being advanced in age, it is time for him to follow +the same course, and that the above-mentioned men affected with hal +ilakkam, when their number swells to four hundred, will engage in a +fight with Kafirs, and die in company with the Tangal. One of these men +(who are known as Halar), by name Avarumayan, two months ago collected +a number of his countrymen, and sacrificed a bull, and, for preparing +meals for these men, placed a copper vessel with water on the hearth, +and said that rice would appear of itself in the vessel. He waited +for some time. There was no rice to be seen. Those who had assembled +there ate beef alone, and dispersed. Some people made fun of Avarumayan +for this. He felt ashamed, and went to Taramal Tangal, with whom he +stayed two or three days. He then went to the mosque at Mambram, and, +on attempting to fly through the air into the mosque on the southern +side of the river at Tirurangadi, fell down through the opening of +the door, and became lame of one leg, in which state he is reported +to be still lying. While the Halar of Munniyur desam were performing +niskaram one day at the tomb of Chemban Pokar Muppan, a rebel, +they declared that in the course of a week a mosque would spring +up at night, and that there would be complete darkness for two full +days. Mappillas waited in anxious expectation of the phenomenon for +seven or eight days and nights. There was, however, neither darkness +nor mosque to be seen. Again, in the month of Karkigadam last, some +of the influential Mappillas led their ignorant Hindu neighbours to +believe that a ship would arrive with the necessary arms, provisions, +and money for forty thousand men; and that, if that number could +be secured meanwhile, they could conquer the country, and that the +Hindus would then totally vanish. It appears that it was about this +time that some Tiyyar (toddy-drawers) and others became converts. None +of the predictions having been realised, Mappillas, as well as others, +have begun to make fun of the Halar, who, having taken offence at this, +are bent upon putting an end to themselves by engaging in a fight." + +Since the outbreak near Manjeri in 1849, when two companies of sepoys +were routed after firing a few shots, European troops have always been +engaged against the Mappillas. On the occasion of that outbreak, one +of the Mappillas had his thigh broken in the engagement. He remained in +all the agony of a wound unattended to for seven days, and was further +tortured by being carried in a rough litter from the Manjeri to the +Angadipuram temple. Yet, at the time of a further fight, he was hopping +to the encounter on his sound leg, and only anxious to get a fair blow +at the infidels before he died. It is recorded that, on one occasion, +when a detachment of sepoys was thrown into disorder by a fierce rush +of death-devoted Mappillas, the drummer of the company distinguished +himself by bonneting an assailant with his drum, thereby putting the +Mappilla's head into a kind of straight jacket, and saving his own +life. [207] In 1852 Mr. Strange was appointed Special Commissioner to +enquire into the causes of, and suggest remedies for, the Mappilla +disturbances. In his report he stated, inter alia, that "a feature +that has been manifestly common to the whole of these affairs is that +they have been, one and all, marked by the most decided fanaticism, +and this, there can be no doubt, has furnished the true incentive to +them. The Mappillas of the interior were always lawless, even in the +time of Tippu, were steeped in ignorance, and were, on these accounts, +more than ordinarily susceptible to the teaching of ambitious and +fanatical priests using the recognised precepts of the Koran as +handles for the sanction to rise and slay Kafirs, who opposed the +faithful, chiefly in the pursuit of agriculture. The Hindus, in the +parts where outbreaks have been most frequent, stand in such fear of +the Mappillas as mostly not to dare to press for their rights against +them, and there is many a Mappilla tenant who does not pay his rent, +and cannot, so imminent are the risks, be evicted." Mr. Strange stated +further that "the most perverted ideas on the doctrine of martyrdom, +according to the Koran, universally prevail, and are fostered among +the lower classes of the Mappillas. The late enquiries have shown that +there is a notion prevalent among the lower orders that, according to +the Mussalman religion, the fact of a janmi or landlord having in due +course of law ejected from his lands a mortgagee or other substantial +tenant, is a sufficient pretext to murder him, become sahid (saint), +and so ensure the pleasures of the Muhammadan paradise. It is well +known that the favourite text of the banished Arab priest or Tangal, +in his Friday orations at the mosque in Tirurangadi, was 'It is no +sin, but a merit, to kill a janmi who evicts.'" Mr. Strange proposed +the organisation of a special police force exclusively composed +of Hindus, and that restrictions should be put on the erection of +mosques. Neither of these proposals was approved by Government. But +a policy of repression set in with the passing of Acts XXII and XXIV +of 1854. The former authorised the local authorities to escheat the +property of those guilty of fanatical rising, to fine the locality +where outrages had occurred, and to deport suspicious persons out +of the country. The latter rendered illegal the possession of the +Mappilla war-knife. Mr. Conolly, the District Magistrate, proceeded, +in December, 1854, on a tour, to collect the war-knives through the +heart of the Mappilla country. In the following year, when he was +sitting in his verandah, a body of fanatics, who had recently escaped +from the Calicut jail, rushed in, and hacked him to pieces in his +wife's presence. He had quite recently received a letter from Lord +Dalhousie, congratulating him on his appointment as a member of the +Governor's Council at Madras. His widow was granted the net proceeds +of the Mappilla fines, amounting to more than thirty thousand rupees. + +In an account of an outbreak in 1851, it is noted that one of the +fanatics was a mere child. And it was noticed, in connection with +a more recent outbreak, that there were "several boys who were +barely fourteen years old. One was twelve; some were seventeen or +eighteen. Some observers have said that the reason why boys turn +fanatics is because they may thus avoid the discomfort, which the +Ramzan entails. A dispensation from fasting is claimable when on the +war-path. There are high hopes of feasts of cocoanuts and jaggery, +beef and boiled rice. At the end of it all there is Paradise with +its black-eyed girls." [208] + +In 1859, Act No. XX for the suppression of outrages in the district +of Malabar was passed. + +In 1884, Government appointed Mr. Logan, the Head Magistrate of +Malabar, to enquire into the general question of the tenure of land and +tenant right, and the question of sites for mosques and burial-grounds +in the district. Mr. Logan expressed his opinion that the Mappilla +outrages were designed "to counteract the overwhelming influence, +when backed by the British courts, of the janmis in the exercise +of the novel powers of ouster, and of rent-raising conferred upon +them. A janmi who, through the courts, evicted, whether fraudulently +or otherwise, a substantial tenant, was deemed to have merited death, +and it was considered a religious virtue, not a fault, to have killed +such a man, and to have afterwards died in arms, fighting against an +infidel Government." Mr. MacGregor, formerly Collector of Malabar, had, +some years before, expressed himself as "perfectly satisfied that the +Mappilla outrages are agrarian. Fanaticism is merely the instrument, +through which the terrorism of the landed classes is aimed at." + +In 1884 an outbreak occurred near Malappuram, and it was +decided by Government to disarm the taluks of Ernad, Calicut, and +Walluvanad. Notwithstanding the excited state of the Mappillas at +the time, the delicate operation was successfully carried out by +the district officers, and 17,295 arms, including 7,503 fire-arms of +various kinds, were collected. In the following year, the disarming +of the Ponnani taluk was accomplished. Of these confiscated arms, +the Madras Museum possesses a small collection, selected from a mass +of them which were hoarded in the Collector's office, and were about +to be buried in the deep sea. + +In 1896 a serious outbreak occurred at Manjeri, and two or three +notoriously objectionable landlords were done away with. The +fanatics then took up a position, and awaited the arrival of the +British troops. They took no cover, and, when advancing to attack, +were mostly shot down at a distance of 700 to 800 yards, every man +wounded having his throat cut by his nearest friend. In the outbreak +of 1894, a Mappilla youth was wounded, but not killed. The tidings +was conveyed to his mother, who merely said, with the stern majesty +of the Spartan matron of old, 'If I were a man, I would not come back +wounded.' [209] "Those who die fighting for the faith are reverenced +as martyrs and saints, who can work miracles from the Paradise to +which they have attained. A Mappilla woman was once benighted in a +strange place. An infidel passed by, and, noticing her sorry plight, +tried to take advantage of it to destroy her virtue. She immediately +invoked the aid of one of the martyrs of Malappuram. A deadly serpent +rushed out of a neighbouring thicket, and flew at the villain, +who had dared to sully the chastity of a chosen daughter. Once, +during a rising, a Mappilla, who preferred to remain on the side +of order and Government, stood afar off, and watched with sorrow +the dreadful sight of his co-religionists being cut down by the +European soldiery. Suddenly his emotions underwent a transformation, +for there, through his blinding tears and the dust and smoke of the +battle, he saw a wondrous vision. Lovely houris bent tenderly over +fallen martyrs, bathed their wounds, and gave them to drink delicious +sherbet and milk, and, with smiles that outshone the brightness of +the sun, bore away the fallen bodies of the brave men to the realms +beyond. The watcher dashed through the crowd, and cast in his lot +with the happy men who were fighting such a noble fight. And, after +he was slain, these things were revealed to his wife in a vision, +and she was proud thereat. These, and similar stories, are believed +as implicitly as the Koran is believed." [210] + +It is noted by Mr. Logan [211] that the custom of the Nayars, in +accordance with which they sacrificed their lives for the honour of +the king, "was readily adopted by the Mappillas, who also at times--as +at the great Mahamakham twelfth year feast at Tirunavayi--devoted +themselves to death in the company of Nayars for the honour of the +Valluvanad Raja. And probably the frantic fanatical rush of the +Mappillas on British bayonets is the latest development of this +ancient custom of the Nayars." + +The fanatical outbreaks of recent times have been exclusively limited +to the Ernad and Walluvanad taluks. There are quartered at the present +time at Malappuram in the Ernad taluk a special Assistant Collector, a +company of British troops, and a special native police force. In 1905, +Government threw open 220 scholarships, on the results of the second +and third standard examinations, to Mappilla pupils of promise in the +two taluks mentioned above, to enable them to prosecute their studies +for the next higher standard in a recognised school connected with the +Madras Educational Department. Twenty scholarships were further offered +to Mappillas in the special class attached to the Government School +of Commerce, Calicut, where instruction in commercial arithmetic, +book-keeping, commercial practice, etc., is imparted in the Malayalam +language. In 1904, a Mappilla Sanskrit school was founded at Puttur, +some of the pupils at which belong to the families of hereditary +physicians, who were formerly good Sanskrit scholars. + +At a Loyalty meeting of Mappillas held at Ponnani in 1908 under +the auspices of the Mannath-ul-Islam Sabha, the President spoke as +follows. "When the Moplahs are ranged on the side of order, the peace +of the country is assured. But the Moplah is viewed with suspicion by +the Government. He has got a bad name as a disturber of the peace. He +is liable to fits, and no one knows when he may run amock. From this +public platform I can assure the Government as well as the public +that the proper remedy has at last been applied, and the Moplah fits +have ceased, never to return. What the remedy was, and who discovered +it, must be briefly explained. Every Moplah outbreak was connected +with the relapse of a convert. In the heat of a family quarrel, in a +moment of despair, a Hindu thought to revenge himself upon his family +by becoming a convert to Islam. In a few days, repentance followed, +and he went back to his relatives. An ignorant Mullah made this +a text for a sermon. A still more ignorant villager found in it an +opportunity to obtain admission into the highest Paradise. An outbreak +results. The apostate's throat is cut. The Moplah is shot. Deportation +and Punitive Police follow. The only rational way to put a final stop +to this chronic malady was discovered by a Hindu gentleman. The hasty +conversions must be stopped. Those who seek conversion must be given +plenty of time to consider the irrevocable nature of the step they +were going to take. The Mullahs must be properly instructed. Their +interpretation of the Koran was wrong. There is absolutely nothing +in our scriptures to justify murders of this kind, or opposition to +the ruling power. The ignorant people had to be taught. There was no +place in Paradise for murderers and cut-throats. Their place was lower +down. Three things had to be done. Conversion had to be regulated; +the Mullahs had to be instructed; the ignorance of the people had +to be removed. Ponani is the religious head-quarters of the Moplahs +of the West Coast, including Malabar, South Canara, and the Native +States of Cochin and Travancore. The Jarathingal Thangal at Ponani is +the High Priest of all the Moplahs; the Mahadoom Thangal of Ponani +is the highest authority in all religious matters. It is he that +sanctifies the Musaliars. The Mannath-ul-Islam Sabha at Ponani was +started under the auspices of the Jarathingal Thangal and the Mahadoom +Thangal. Two schools were opened for the education of new converts, +one for boys and the other for girls. Strict enquiries were made as +to the state of mind and antecedents of all who seek conversion. They +are kept under observation long enough, and are admitted only on the +distinct understanding that it is a deliberate voluntary act, and they +have to make up their minds to remain. Some six thousand converts +have passed through our schools since the Sabha was started. The +Musaliars are never sanctified until they are thoroughly grounded in +the correct principles of our religion, and an assurance is obtained +from them that they will never preach rebellion. No Musaliar will +break a promise given to the Thangal. The loyalty of the Musaliars +and Mullahs is thus assured. Where there is no Musaliar to bless them, +there is no Moplah to die as a martyr. The Mullahs are also taught to +explain to all villagers that our scriptures condemn opposition to +the ruling power, and that loyalty to the Sovereign is a religious +duty. We are also trying to spread education among the ignorant +villagers. In order further to enlist the sympathies of the people, +extensive charities have been organised. Sixteen branches of the Sabha +have been opened all over South Malabar and the States of Travancore +and Cochin. A very large number of domestic quarrels--divorce cases, +partition cases, etc.--have been settled by arbitration through these +branch associations. It is an immense power for good." + +The Mappillas have been summed up, as regards their occupations, as +being traders on the coast, and cultivators in the interior, in both of +which callings they are very successful and prosperous. "In the realm +of industry," it has been said, "the Moplah occupies a position, which +undoubtedly does him credit. Poverty is confined almost exclusively +to certain wild, yet picturesque tracts in the east of Malabar, where +the race constitutes the preponderating element of the population, +and the field and farm furnish the only means of support to the +people. And it is just in those areas that one may see at their best +the grit, laboriousness, and enterprise of the Moplah. He reclaims +dense forest patches, and turns them into cultivated plots under the +most unfavourable conditions, and, in the course of a few years, by +hard toil and perseverance, he transforms into profitable homesteads +regions that were erstwhile virgin forest or scrubby jungle. Or he +lays himself out to reclaim and plant up marshy lands lying alongside +rivers and lagoons, and insures them from destruction by throwing +up rough but serviceable dykes and dams. In these tracts he is also +sometimes a timber merchant, and gets on famously by taking out permits +to fell large trees, which he rafts down the rivers to the coast. The +great bulk of the Moplahs in these wild regions belong purely to the +labouring classes, and it is among these classes that the pinch of +poverty is most keenly felt, particularly in the dull monsoon days, +when all industry has to be suspended. In the towns and coast ports, +the Moplahs are largely represented in most branches of industry and +toil. A good many of them are merchants, and get on exceedingly well, +being bolder and more speculative than the Hindus of the district. The +bulk of petty traders and shop-keepers in Malabar are also Moplahs, +and, in these callings, they may be found at great distances from +home, in Rangoon, Ceylon, the Straits and elsewhere, and generally +prospering. Almost everywhere in their own district they go near +monopolising the grocery, hardware, haberdashery, and such other +trades; and as petty bazar men they drive a profitable business on +the good old principle of small profits and quick returns. No native +hawker caters more readily to Mr. Thomas Atkins (the British soldier) +than the Moplah, and, in the military stations in Malabar, 'Poker' +(a Moplah name) waxes fat and grows rich by undertaking to supply +Tommy with tea, coffee, lemonade, tobacco, oilman stores, and other +little luxuries." + +"Some Mappillas," Mr. A. Chatterton writes, [212] "have taken to +leather-working, and they are considered to be specialists in the +making of ceruppus or leather shoes. In Malabar the trade in raw hides +and skins is chiefly in the hands of Mappillas. Weekly fairs are held +at several places, and all the available hides and skins are put up for +sale, and are purchased by Muhammadans." Some Mappillas bind books, +and others are good smiths. "The small skull caps, which are the +universal head-gear of Mappilla men and boys, are made in different +parts of Malabar, but the best are the work of Mappilla women at +Cannanore. They are made of fine canvas beautifully embroidered by +hand, and fetch in the market between Rs. 2 and Rs. 3." [213] + +The Mappillas take an active share in the fish-curing operations along +the west coast, and the Mukkuvans, who are the hereditary fishermen of +Malabar, are inclined to be jealous of them. A veteran Mukkuvan, at the +time of my inspection of the Badagara fish-curing yard in 1900, put the +real grievance of his brethren in a nutshell. In old days, he stated, +they used salt-earth for curing fishes. When the fish-curing yards +were started, and Government salt was issued, the Mukkuvans thought +that they were going to be heavily taxed. They did not understand +exactly what was going to happen, and were suspicious. The result was +that they would have nothing to do with the curing-yards. The use +of salt-earth was stopped on the establishment of Government salt, +and some of the fishermen were convicted for illegal use thereof. They +thought that, if they held out, they would be allowed to use salt-earth +as formerly. Meanwhile, the Mappillas, being more wide-awake than the +Mukkuvans, took advantage of the opportunity (in 1884), and erected +yards, whereof they are still in possession. A deputation of Mukkuvans +waited on me. Their main grievance was that they are hereditary +fishermen, and formerly the Mappillas were only the purchasers of +fish. A few years ago, the Mappillas started as fishermen on their +own account, with small boats and thattuvala (tapping nets), in using +which the nets, with strips of cocoanut leaves tied on to the ropes, +are spread, and the sides of the boats beaten with sticks and staves, +to drive the fish into the net. The noise made extends to a great +distance, and consequently the shoals go out to sea, too far for the +fishermen to follow in pursuit. In a petition, which was submitted to +me by the Mukkuvan fish-curers at Badagara, they asked to have the +site of the yard changed, as they feared that their women would be +'unchastised' at the hands of the Mappillas. + +"Small isolated attempts," Major Holland-Pryor writes, "to recruit +Mappillas were made by various regiments quartered in Malabar some +years ago, but without success. This was probably owing to the fact +that the trial was made on too small a scale, and that the system +of mixed companies interfered with their clannish propensities. The +district officers also predicted certain failure, on the ground +that Mappillas would not serve away from their own country. Their +predictions, however, have proved to be false, and men now come +forward in fair numbers for enlistment." In 1896, the experiment of +recruiting Mappillas for the 25th Madras Infantry was started, and +the responsible task of working up the raw material was entrusted +to Colonel Burton, with whose permission I took measurements of his +youthful warriors. As was inevitable in a community recruited by +converts from various classes, the sepoys afforded an interesting +study in varied colouration, stature and nasal configuration. One +very dark-skinned and platyrhine individual, indeed, had a nasal +index of 92. Later on, the sanction of the Secretary of State was +obtained for the adoption of a scheme for converting the 17th and +25th regiments of the Madras Infantry into Mappilla corps, which were +subsequently named the 77th and 78th Moplah Rifles. "These regiments," +Major Holland-Pryor continues, "at present draw their men principally +from Ernad and Valuvanad. Labourers from these parts are much sought +after by planters and agents from the Kolar gold-fields, on account of +their hardiness and fine physique. Some, however, prefer to enlist. The +men are generally smaller than the Coast Mappillas, and do not show +much trace of Arab blood, but they are hardy and courageous, and, +with their superior stamina, make excellent fighting material." In +1905 the 78th Moplah Rifles were transferred to Dera Ismail Khan in +the Punjab, and took part in the military manoeuvres before H.R.H. the +Prince of Wales at Rawalpindi. It has been observed that "the Moplahs, +in dark green and scarlet, the only regiment in India which wears the +tarbush, are notable examples of the policy of taming the pugnacious +races by making soldiers of them, which began with the enlistment of +the Highlanders in the Black Watch, and continued to the disciplining +of the Kachins in Burma. In the general overhauling of the Indian +Army, the fighting value of the Moplahs has come into question, and +the 78th Regiment is now at Dera Ismail Khan being measured against +the crack regiments of the north." In 1907, the colours of the 17th +Madras Infantry, which was formed at Fort St. George in 1777, and +had had its name changed to 77th Moplah Rifles, were, on the regiment +being mustered out, deposited in St. Mark's Church, Bangalore. + +It has been said of the Mappillas [214] that "their heads are true +cocoanuts; their high foreheads and pointed crowns are specially +noticeable for being kept shaven, and, when covered, provided with +only a small gaily embroidered skull-cap." + +The dress of the Mappillas is thus described in the Gazetteer of +Malabar. "The ordinary dress of the men is a mundu or cloth, generally +white with a purple border, but sometimes orange or green, or plain +white. It is tied on the left (Hindus tie it on the right), and kept in +position by a nul or waist string, to which are attached one or more +elassus (small cylinders) of gold, silver, or baser metal, containing +texts from the Koran or magic yantrams. A small knife is usually worn +at the waist. Persons of importance wear in addition a long flowing +garment of fine cotton (a kind of burnoos), and over this again may +be worn a short waistcoat like jacket, though this is uncommon in +South Malabar, and (in the case of Tangals, etc.) a cloak of some +rich coloured silk. The European shirt and short coat are also coming +into fashion in the towns. A small cap of white or white and black is +very commonly worn, and round this an ordinary turban, or some bright +coloured scarf may be tied. Mappillas shave their heads clean. Beards +are frequently worn, especially by old people and Tangals. Hajis, or +men who have made their pilgrimage to Mecca, and other holy men, often +dye the beard red. Women wear a mundu of some coloured cloth (dark +blue is most usual), and a white loose bodice more or less embroidered, +and a veil or scarf on the head. In the case of the wealthy, the mundu +may be of silk of some light colour. Women of the higher classes are +kept secluded, and hide their faces when they go abroad. The lower +classes are not particular in this respect. Men wear no jewellery, +except the elassus already mentioned, and in some cases rings on the +fingers, but these should not be of pure gold. Women's jewellery is +of considerable variety, and is sometimes very costly. It takes the +form of necklaces, ear-rings, zones, bracelets, and anklets. As among +Tiyans and Mukkuvans, a great number of ear-rings are worn. The rim +of the ear is bored into as many as ten or a dozen holes, in addition +to the one in the lobe. Nose-rings are not worn. + +"Incredibly large sums of money," Mr. P. Kunjain writes, [215] "are +spent on female ornaments. For the neck there are five or six sorts, +for the waist five or six sorts, and there are besides long rows +of armlets, bracelets, and bangles, and anklets and ear ornaments, +all made of gold. As many as ten or fourteen holes are bored in each +ear, one being in the labia (lobe) and the remainder in the ala +(helix). The former is artificially widened, and a long string of +ornaments of beautiful manufacture suspended to it. As strict Sunnis +of the Shafi school, the boring of the nose is prohibited." + +I have in my possession five charm cylinders, which were worn round +the waist by a notorious Mappilla dacoit, who was shot by the police, +and whom his co-religionists tried to turn into a saint. It is noted, +in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that, though magic is condemned by the +Koran, the Mappilla is very superstitious, and witchcraft is not by +any means unknown. Many Tangals pretend to cure diseases by writing +selections from the Koran on a plate with ink or on a coating of ashes, +and then giving the ink or ashes mixed with water to the patient +to swallow. They also dispense scrolls for elassus, and small flags +inscribed with sacred verses, which are set up to avert pestilence +or misfortune. The Mappilla jins and shaitans correspond to the +Hindu demons, and are propitiated in much the same way. One of their +methods of witchcraft is to make a wooden figure to represent the +enemy, drive nails into all the vital parts, and throw it into sea, +after curses in due form. A belief in love philtres and talismans is +very common, and precautions against the evil eye are universal. + +In 1903, a life-size nude female human figure, with feet everted +and turned backwards, carved out of the wood of Alstonia scholaris, +was washed ashore at Calicut. Long nails had been driven in all over +the head, body and limbs, and a large square hole cut out above the +navel. Inscriptions in Arabic characters were scrawled over it. By +a coincidence, the corpse of a man was washed ashore close to the +figure. Quite recently, another interesting example of sympathetic +magic, in the shape of a wooden representation of a human being, was +washed ashore at Calicut. The figure is eleven inches in height. The +arms are bent on the chest, and the palms of the hands are placed +together as in the act of saluting. A square cavity, closed by +a wooden lid, has been cut out of the middle of the abdomen, and +contains apparently tobacco, ganja (Indian hemp), and hair. An iron +bar has been driven from the back of the head through the body, and +terminates in the abdominal cavity. A sharp cutting instrument has +been driven into the chest and back in twelve places. + +"The Mappillas of North Malabar," Mr. Lewis Moore writes, [216] "follow +the marumakkathayam system of inheritance, while the Mappillas of South +Malabar, with some few exceptions, follow the ordinary Muhammadan +law. Among those who profess to follow the marumakkathayam law, the +practice frequently prevails of treating the self-acquisitions of a +man as descendible to his wife and children under Muhammadan law. Among +those who follow the ordinary Muhammadan law, it is not unusual for a +father and sons to have community of property, and for the property +to be managed by the father, and, after his death, by the eldest +son. Mr. Logan [217] alludes to the adoption of the marumakkathayam +law of inheritance by the Nambudris of Payyanur in North Malabar, and +then writes 'And it is noteworthy that the Muhammadans settled there +(Mappillas) have done the same thing.' Mr. Logan here assumes that the +Mappillas of North Malabar were Muhammadans in religion before they +adopted the marumakkathayam law of inheritance. There can, however, +be but little doubt that a considerable portion, at all events, of +these so-called Mappillas were followers of marumakkathayam rules and +customs long before they embraced the faith of Islam." "In the case of +the Mappillas," Mr. Vaidyanatha writes, "it is more than probable that +there were more numerous conversions from marumakkathayam families +in the north than in the south. The number of makkathayam adherents +has always been small in the north. According to marumakkathayam, the +wife is not a member of the husband's family, but usually resides in +her family house. The makkathayam Mappillas, curiously enough, seldom +take their wives home. In some parts, such as Calicut, a husband is +only a visitor for the night. The Mappillas, like the Nayars, call +themselves by the names of their houses (or parambas)." It is noted by +Mr. P. Kunjain [218] that the present generation of Moplahs following +marumakkathayam is not inclined to favour the perpetuation of this +flagrant transgression of the divine law, which enjoins makkathayam +on true believers in unequivocal terms. With the view of defeating +the operation of the law, the present generation settled their +self-acquisition on their children during their lifetime. A proposal +to alter the law to accord with the divine law will be hailed with +supreme pleasure. This is the current of public opinion among Moplahs. + +It is recorded in the Gazetteer of Malabar that "in North Malabar, +Mappillas as a rule follow the marumakkathayam system of inheritance, +though it is opposed to the precepts of the Koran; but a man's +self-acquisitions usually descend to his wife and family in accordance +with the Muhammadan law of property. The combination of the two +systems of law often leads to great complications. In the south, +the makkatayam system is usually followed, but it is remarkable that +succession to religious stanams, such as that of the Valiya Tangal of +Ponnani, usually goes according to the marumakkathayam system. There +seems to be a growing discontent with the marumakkathayam system; but, +on the other hand, there is no doubt that the minute sub-division of +property between a man's heirs, which the Koran prescribes, tends to +foster poverty, especially amongst petty cultivators, such as those +of Ernad and Walavanad." + +It is unnecessary to linger over the naming, tonsure, circumcision, and +ear-boring ceremonies, which the Mappilla infant has to go through. But +the marriage and death customs are worthy of some notice. [219] "Boys +are married at the age of 18 or 20 as a rule in North Malabar, and +girls at 14 or 15. In South Malabar, early marriages are more common, +boys being married between 14 and 18, and girls between 8 and 12. In +exceptional cases, girls have been known to be married at the age of +2 1/2, but this only happens when the girl's father is in extremis, +since an orphan must remain unmarried till puberty. The first thing +is the betrothal or settlement of the dowry, which is arranged by +the parents, or in North Malabar by the Karnavans. Large dowries are +expected, especially in North Malabar, where, in spite of polygamy, +husbands are at a premium, and a father with many daughters needs to +be a rich man. The only religious ceremony necessary is the nikka, +which consists in the formal conclusion of the contract before two +witnesses and the Kazi, who then registers it. The nikka may be +performed either on the day of the nuptials or before it, sometimes +months or years before. In the latter case, the fathers of the bride +and bridegroom go to the bride's family mosque and repeat the necessary +formula, which consists in the recital of the Kalima, and a formal +acceptance of the conditions of the match, thrice repeated. In the +former case, the Kazi, as a rule, comes to the bride's house where +the ceremony is performed, or else the parties go to the Kazi's +house. In North Malabar, the former is the rule; but in Calicut +the Kazi will only go to the houses of four specially privileged +families. After the performance of the nikka, there is a feast in the +bride's house. Then the bridegroom and his attendants are shown to a +room specially prepared, with a curtain over the door. The bridegroom +is left there alone, and the bride is introduced into the room by her +mother or sister. In North Malabar, she brings her dowry with her, +wrapped in a cloth. She is left with the bridegroom for a few minutes, +and then comes out, and the bridegroom takes his departure. In some +cases, the bride and bridegroom are allowed to spend the whole night +together. In some parts of South Malabar, it is the bride who is first +conducted to the nuptial chamber, where she is made to lie down on a +sofa, and the bridegroom is then introduced, and left with her for a +few minutes. In North Malabar and Calicut, the bride lives in her own +house with her mother and sisters, unless her husband is rich enough +to build her a house of her own. In South Malabar, the wife is taken +to the husband's house as soon as she is old enough for cohabitation, +and lives there. Polygamy is the rule, and it is estimated that in +South Malabar 80 per cent. of the husbands have two wives or more, +and 20 per cent. three or four. In North Malabar, it is not usual +for a man to have more than two wives. The early age at which girls +are married in South Malabar no doubt encourages polygamy. It also +encourages divorce, which in South Malabar is common, while in the +north it is comparatively rare, and looked upon with disfavour. All +that is required is for the husband to say, in the presence of the +wife's relations, or before her Kazi, that he has 'untied the tie, +and does not want the wife any more,' and to give back the stridhanam +or dowry. Divorce by the wife is rare, and can be had only for definite +reasons, such as that the husband is incapable of maintaining her, or +is incurably diseased or impotent. Widows may remarry without limit, +but the dearth of husbands makes it difficult for them to do so. + +"When a man dies, his body is undressed, and arranged so that the +legs point to Mecca. The two big toes are tied together, and the hands +crossed on the chest, the right over the left; the arms are also tied +with a cloth. Mullas are called in to read the Koran over the corpse, +and this has to be continued until it is removed to the cemetery. When +the relatives have arrived, the body is washed and laid on the floor +on mats, over which a cloth has been spread. Cotton wool is placed in +the ears, and between the lips, the fingers, and the toes, and the +body is shrouded in white cloths. It is then placed on a bier which +is brought from the mosque, and borne thither. At the mosque the bier +is placed near the western wall; the mourners arrange themselves in +lines, and offer prayers (niskaram) standing. The bier is then taken +to the grave, which is dug north and south; the body is lowered, +the winding sheets loosened, and the body turned so as to lie on +its right side facing Mecca. A handful of earth is placed below the +right cheek. The grave is then covered with laterite stones, over +which each of the mourners throws a handful of earth, reciting the +Kalima and passages from the Koran. Laterite stones are placed at the +head and foot of the grave, and some mailanji (henna: Lawsonia alba) +is planted at the side. A Mulla then seats himself at the head of the +grave, and reads certain passages of the Koran, intended to instruct +the dead man how to answer the questions about his faith, which it is +supposed that the angels are then asking him. The funeral concludes +with distribution of money and rice to the poor. For three days, a +week, or forty days, according to the circumstances of the deceased, +Mullas should read the Koran over the grave without ceasing day and +night. The Koran must also be read at home for at least three days. On +the third day, a visit is made to the tomb, after which a maulad is +performed, the Mullas are paid, alms are distributed, and a feast +is given to the relations, including the deceased's relations by +marriage, who should come to his house that day. A similar ceremony +is performed on the fortieth day, which concludes the mourning; and +by the rich on anniversaries. Widows should keep secluded in their +own houses for three months and ten days, without seeing any of the +male sex. After that period, they are at liberty to remarry." + +Concerning the Mappillas of the Laccadives, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes +as follows. [220] "The customs of the Mappillas of the Laccadive +islands are peculiar. The people are not called Mappilas, but +(1) Koya, (2) Malumi, (3) Urukkaran, (4) Takru, (5) Milikhan, +and (6) Melac'cheri. No. 1 is the land and boat owning class, +and is superior to the rest. Nos. 2 to 5 are pilots and sailors, +and, where they are cultivators, cultivate under No. 1. No. 6 were +the slaves of the first division; now they cultivate the Koyas' +lands, take the produce of those lands in boats to the mainland, +and pay 20 per cent. of the sale-proceeds to the Koya owners. The +islanders generally dress like ordinary Mappilas. The Melac'cheris, +however, may use only a coarser kind of cloth, and they are not +allowed intermarriage with the other classes. If any such marriage +takes place, the offender is put out of caste, but the marriage is +deemed a valid one. The current tradition is that these Laccadive +Mappilas were originally the inhabitants of Malabar--Nambudiris, +Nayars, Tiyyas, etc.--who went in search of Cheraman Perumal when the +latter left for Mecca, and were wrecked on these islands. The story +goes that these remained Hindus for a long time, that Obeidulla, +the disciple of Caliph Abu Bakr, having received instructions from +the prophet in a dream to go and convert the unbelievers on these +islands, left for the place and landed on Ameni island, that he was +ill-treated by the people, who were all Brahmans, but that, having +worked some miracles, he converted them. He then visited the other +islands, and all the islanders embraced the Moslem faith. His remains +are said to be interred in the island of Androth. Among this section +of the Mappilas, succession is generally--in fact almost entirely--in +the female line. Girls are married when they are six or seven years +old. No dowry is given. They are educated equally with the boys, and, +on marriage, they are not taken away from school, but continue there +until they finish the course. In the island of Minicoy, the largest +of the islands, the women appear in public, and take part in public +affairs. The women generally are much more educated than the ordinary +Mappila males of the mainland. The Koyas are said to be descendants +of Nambudiris, Melach'cheris of Tiyyans and Mukkuvans, and the rest +of Nayars. Whatever the present occupation of Koyas on these islands, +the tradition that Koyas were originally Brahmans also confirms the +opinion that they belong to the priestly class." + +In a note on the Laccadives and Minicoy, [221] Mr. C. W. E. Cotton +writes that "while it would appear that the Maldives and Minicoy were +long ago peopled by the same wave of Aryan immigration which overran +Ceylon, tradition ascribes the first settlements in the northern +group to an expedition shipwrecked on one of the Atolls so late as +825 A.D. This expedition is said to have set out from Kodungallur +(Cranganore) in search of the last of the Perumal Viceroys of Malabar, +a convert either to Buddhism or Islam, and included some Nambudris, +commonly employed, as Duarte Barbosa tells us, on account of their +persons being considered sacrosanct, as envoys and messengers in times +of war, and perhaps also for dangerous embassies across the seas. Some +support may be found for this tradition in the perpetuation of the +name illam for some of the principal houses in Kalpeni, and in the +existence of strongly marked caste divisions, especially remarkable +among communities professing Mahomedanism, corresponding to the +aristocrats, the mariners, and the dependants, of which such an +expeditionary force would have been composed. The Tarwad islands, +Ameni, Kalpeni, Androth, and Kavarathi, were probably peopled first, +and their inhabitants can claim high-caste Hindu ancestry. There has +been no doubt everywhere considerable voluntary immigration from the +coast, and some infusion of pure Arab blood; but the strain of Negro +introduced into the Maldives by Zanzibar slaves is nowhere traceable +in Minicoy or the northern Archipelago." + +In a further note, Mr. Cotton writes as follows. [222] "The inhabitants +of Androth, Kalpeni, Kavaratti and Agatti, are Mappillas, almost +undistinguishable, except in the matter of physical development, +from those on the mainland. The admixture of Arab blood seems to +be confined to a few of the principal families in the two 'tarwad' +islands, Kalpeni and Androth. The islanders, though Muhammadans, +perpetuate the old caste distinctions which they observed before +their conversion to Islam. The highest caste is called Koya, in its +origin merely a religious title. The Koyas represent the aristocracy +of the original colonists, and in them vests the proprietorship of +most of the cocoanut trees and the odams (ships), which constitute +the chief outward and visible signs of wealth on the islands. They +supply each Amin with a majority of his council of hereditary +elders (Karanavans). The lowest and largest class is that of the +Melacheris (lit. high climbers), also called Thandels in Kavaratti, +the villeins in the quasi-feudal system of the islands, who do the +tree-tapping, cocoanut plucking, and menial labour. They hold trees +on kudiyan service, which involves the shipping of produce on their +overlord's boat or odam, the thatching of his house and boat-shed, +and an obligation to sail on the odam to the mainland whenever called +upon. Intermediately come the Malumis (pilots), also called Urakars, +who represent the skilled navigating class, to which many of the +Karnavans in Kavaratti belong. Intermarriage between them and the less +prosperous Koyis is now permitted. Monogamy is almost the universal +rule, but divorces can be so easily obtained that the marriage tie +can scarcely be regarded as more binding than the sambandham among +the Hindus on the coast. The women go about freely with their heads +uncovered. They continue to live after marriage in their family or +tarwad houses, where they are visited by their husbands, and the system +of inheritance in vogue is marumakkathayam as regards family property, +and makkatayam as regards self-acquisitions. These are distinguished +on the islands under the terms Velliyaricha (Friday) and Tingalaricha +(Monday) property. The family house is invariably called pura in +contradistinction to Vidu--the wife's house. Intermarriage between the +inhabitants of different islands is not uncommon. The islanders are +very superstitious, and believe in ghosts and hobgoblins, about the +visible manifestations of which many stories are current; and there +is an old mamul (established) rule on all the islands forbidding any +one to go out after nightfall. Phantom steamers and sailing ships +are sometimes seen in the lagoons or rowed out to on the open sea; +and in the prayers by the graves of his ancestors, which each sailor +makes before setting out on a voyage, we find something akin to the +Roman worship of the Manes. The Moidin mosque at Kalpeni, and the big +West Pandaram at Androth are believed to be haunted. There are Jarams +(shrines) in Cheriyam and Cheriyakara, to which pilgrimages are made +and where vows are taken, and it is usual to chant the fateah [223] +on sighting the Jamath mosque in Androth, beneath the shadow of which +is the tomb of Mumba Mulyaka, the Arab apostle to the Laccadives." + +In his inspection report of the Laccadives, 1902, Mr. G. H. B. Jackson +notes that "the caste barrier, on the island of Androth, between the +Koya and the Malumi class and the Melacheris is as rigid as ever. It +divides capital from labour, and has given the upper classes much of +the appearance of an effete aristocracy." In a more recent inspection +report (1905), Mr. C. W. E. Cotton writes as follows. "Muhammadans, +owing to their inordinate love of dress, are apt to give an exaggerated +impression of wealth, but I should think that, despite the laziness of +all but the Melacheris, the majority of the inhabitants (of Androth) +are well-to-do, and, in this respect, compare very favourably with +those of the other islands. The Qazi and several other Karnavars, who +have a smattering of the Koran, go to the mainland, and, in centres of +superstition, earn considerable sums by their profession of extreme +learning and piety. The long satin coats (a canary yellow is the +fashionable tint) procured in Bombay or Mangalore are evidence of the +financial success of their pilgrimages. It is perhaps fortunate that +the Koyas have discovered this additional source of income, for, though +they continue to own nearly all the cargo-carrying odams (boats), +their position as jenmis (landlords) has been seriously jeopardised +owing to the repudiation of their obligations as Kudians by many of +the enterprising Melacheri community. The Melacheris are now alive to +the fact that, as their tenure is not evidenced by documents and rests +upon oral assertions, they have a very reasonable chance of freeing +themselves of their overlords altogether. The Mukhyastars are quite +a representative lot. Sheikindevittil Muthu Koya is a fine specimen +of the sea-faring Moplah, and the Qazi, twenty-fourth in descent +from Mumby Moolyaka, the Arab who converted the islanders to Islam, +struck me as a man of very considerable attainments. In his report +on the dispensary at Androth (1905), Mr. K. Ibrahim Khan, hospital +assistant, states that "the quacks are said to be clever enough to +treat cases both by their drugs and by their charms. They actually +prevent other poor classes seeking medical and surgical treatment in +the dispensary, and mislead them by their cunning words. Most of the +quacks come to the dispensary, and take medicines such as santonine +powders, quinine pills, purgatives, etc. They make use of these for +their own cases, and thus earn their livelihood. The quacks are among +the Koya class. The Koyas are jenmis, and the Malims and Melacheris +are their tenants. The latter, being low classes, always believe them, +and depend upon their landlords, who are also their physicians, to +treat them when they fall sick. The islanders, as a rule, have no +faith in English medical treatment. The rich folks who can afford +it go to Malabar for native treatment; only the poorer classes, +who have neither means to pay the quacks here nor to go to Malabar, +attend the dispensary with half inclination." + +Marakallu.--Marakallu or Marakadu, meaning fishermen, has been +recorded as a sub-division of Pallis engaged as fishermen in the +Telugu country. The equivalent of Mukku Marakkaleru is a title or +synonym of Moger and Marakkan of Mukkuvan. Marakkayar is a title of +Labbai boatmen. + + + + + + + +NOTES + + +[1] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[2] Original Inhabitants of Bharatavarsa, 1893. + +[3] Account of the Primitive Tribes and Monuments of the Nilgiris, +1873. + +[4] Ind. Ant., II, 1873. + +[5] Aboriginal Tribes of the Nilgiri hills, 1870. + +[6] Tribes inhabiting the Neilgherry hills. By a German Missionary. + +[7] The Todas, 1906. + +[8] A Singular Aboriginal Race of the Nilagiris. + +[9] Tribes of the Neilgherries, 1868. + +[10] At Kotamale there are three temples, two dedicated to Kamataraya +and one to Kalikai. + +[11] Goa and the Blue Mountains, 1851. + +[12] Tribes inhabiting the Neilgherry hills. By a German Missionary. + +[13] Reise nach Süd-Indien, 1894. + +[14] Mysore Census Report, 1891. + +[15] Madras Census Report, 1901. + +[16] Ind. Ant., III, 1874. + +[17] Cf. Pendukkumekki and Valasu sub-divisions of the Idaiyan caste. + +[18] The present note is mainly based on the articles by the +Rev. J. Cain in the Indian Antiquary V, 1876, and VIII, 1879; and +the Madras Christian College Magazine, V, 1887-8, and VI, 1888-9. + +[19] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[20] Calcutta Christian Observer, May and June, 1853, Second Edition, +by the Rev. J. M. Descombes and J. A. Grierson, Calcutta, 1900. + +[21] Gazetteer of the Godavari district. + +[22] Gazetteer of the Godavari district. + +[23] Notes for a Lecture on the Tribes and Castes of Bombay, 1907. + +[24] Manual of the Godavari district. + +[25] Rev. W. Taylor. iii. 1862. + +[26] This account is taken from a note by Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. + +[27] Ethnog. Survey of Cochin. Monograph No. II, Kshatriyas, 1906. + +[28] Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district. + +[29] Monograph, Ethnog. Survey of Cochin, Kootan, 1905. + +[30] Manual of the South Canara district. + +[31] Indian Forester, XXXII, 1906. + +[32] This account is taken from a note by Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. + +[33] Madras Mail, 1907. + +[34] Ind. Ant., IV, 1875. + +[35] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[36] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[37] Not collectors of art pottery, but Collectors or District +Magistrates. + +[38] Madras Mail, 1903. + +[39] Manual of the South Canara district. + +[40] Mysore Census Report, 1901. + +[41] Mysore and Coorg Gazetteer. + +[42] Manual of the Salem district. + +[43] Ind. Ant., X, 1881. + +[44] Manual of the Madura district. + +[45] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[46] Manual of Malabar. + +[47] Madras Census Report, 1901. + +[48] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[49] Mysore Census Report, 1901. + +[50] Gazetteer of the Anantapur district. + +[51] Gazetteer of the Bellary district. + +[52] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[53] W.F.S. Ind. Ant., VI, 1877. + +[54] Madras Mail, November 1905. + +[55] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[56] Manual of the Nilgiri district. + +[57] Mysore Census Report, 1901. + +[58] Journey through Mysore, Canara, and Malabar, 1807. + +[59] Asian, 1902. + +[60] Manual of the Nilgiri district. + +[61] Aboriginal Race of the Neilgherry hills, 1832. + +[62] Ind. Ant., VI, 1877. + +[63] Rude Stone Monuments. + +[64] Police Admn. Report, 1900. + +[65] Agricult. Ledger Series, No. 47, 1904. + +[66] Comptes rendus des Séances de la Société de Biologie, T. LVIII, +1019. + +[67] Gazetteer of the Malabar district. + +[68] Op. cit. + +[69] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[70] Tennent, Ceylon. + +[71] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[72] Gazetteer of the Madura district. + +[73] Journ. Roy. Asiat. Soc., 1899, 267-8. + +[74] Madras Pottery. Journ. Ind. Arts, VII, 1897. + +[75] Brahmanism and Hinduism. + +[76] Gazetteer of the Madura district. + +[77] Ind. Law Reports, Madras Series, XVII, 1894. + +[78] A Native. Pen and ink sketches of Native life in S. India. + +[79] Madras Mail. + +[80] Trans. S. Ind. branch, Brit. Med. Association, XIV, 1906. + +[81] Classified Collection of Tamil Proverbs, 1897. + +[82] J. S. F. Mackenzie. Ind. Ant., IV, 1875. + +[83] Historical Sketches of the South of India, Mysore, 1810-17. + +[84] Mem. Asiat. Soc., Bengal, Miscellanea Ethnographica, I, 1906. + +[85] Journ. and Proc. Asiatic Society of Bengal, I, No. 9, 1905. + +[86] Gazetteer of the South Arcot district. + +[87] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[88] Mysore Census Report, 1891, 1901. + +[89] Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, XV, Part I, 1883. + +[90] Hindu Feasts, Fasts and Ceremonies, 1903. + +[91] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[92] Linguistic Survey of India, IX, 1907. + +[93] From Kashmir to the Madras Presidency. + +[94] Notes on Criminal Classes of the Madras Presidency. + +[95] Mysore Census Report, 1891. + +[96] Ind. Ant. VIII, 1879. + +[97] Gazetteer of the Bellary district. + +[98] Narrative of the Operations of Little's Detachment against Tippoo +Sultan, 1794. + +[99] Shells of Cypræa moneta. + +[100] S. M. Natesa Sastri, Calcutta Review, 1905. + +[101] Narrative of a Journey through the Upper Provinces of India, +1844. + +[102] Hindu Manners, Customs, and Ceremonies. + +[103] Historical Sketches of the South of India: Mysore. + +[104] Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district. + +[105] Report on Public Instruction, Mysore, 1901-02; and Mysore Census +Report, 1891. + +[106] Manual of the Cuddapah district. + +[107] Jeypur, Breklum, 1901. + +[108] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[109] Mysore Census Report, 1901. + +[110] Gazetteer of the Anantapur district. + +[111] Ind. Ant., VIII., 1879. + +[112] Ind. Ant., XXX., 1901. + +[113] Narrative of Little's Detachment, 1784. + +[114] Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district. + +[115] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[116] Section III, Inhabitants, Madras Government Press, 1907. + +[117] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[118] Manual of Mysore and Coorg. + +[119] Lilly, Renaissance Types. + +[120] J. F. Fleet, Epigraphia Indica. V, 1898-99. + +[121] The Proceedings, partly in Canarese and partly in English, +were published at the Star Press, Mysore, in 1905. + +[122] Madras Journal of Literature and Science, XI, 1840. + +[123] R. Sewell. A Forgotten Empire, Vijayanagar, 1900. + +[124] Indian Review, May, 1907. + +[125] Madras Series, VII, 1884. + +[126] Madras Series, VIII, 1885. + +[127] Bombay Gazetteer. + +[128] Manual of the Nellore district. + +[129] Manual of the Kurnool district, 1886. + +[130] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[131] Madras Mail, 1902. + +[132] While Wearing Sandals, or Tales of a Telugu Pariah Tribe. + +[133] Madras Christ. Coll. Mag., XXIII (New Series V), 1906. + +[134] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[135] A. Chatterton, Monograph of tanning and working in Leather, +Madras, 1904. + +[136] Manual of the Kurnool district. + +[137] Manual of the Bellary district. + +[138] Madras Museum Bull. V. 3, 1907. + +[139] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[140] Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of the Bombay Presidency, +1882. + +[141] Manual of the Cuddapah district. + +[142] Manual of the Bellary district. + +[143] Manual of the Bellary district. + +[144] Manual of the Bellary district. + +[145] Gazetteer of the Anantapur district. + +[146] Mysore Census Report, 1901. + +[147] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[148] Notes from a Diary, 1881-1886. + +[149] Manual of the Kurnool district. + +[150] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[151] Madras Diocesan Record, 1905. + +[152] Gazetteer of the Godavari district. + +[153] Madras Museum Bull. V. 3, 1907. + +[154] East and West, 6th May 1907. + +[155] Gazetteer of the Anantapur district. + +[156] Madras and Tinnevelly Dioces. Mag., June, 1908. + +[157] Gochi, a clout, a truss or flap; a waist-cloth. C. P. Brown, +Telugu Dictionary. + +[158] Gazetteer of the Godavari district. + +[159] Ind. Ant., III, 1874; VI, 1877. + +[160] Native Life in Travancore, 1883. + +[161] Journey from Madras through the countries of Mysore, Canara, +and Malabar, 1807. + +[162] Calcutta Review, 1902. + +[163] Manual of the South Canara district. + +[164] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[165] Gazetteer of the South Arcot district. + +[166] Darakhast: application for land for purposes of cultivation; +or bid at an auction. + +[167] Gazetteer of the South Arcot district. + +[168] Madras Mail, 1904. + +[169] Madras Mail, 1908. + +[170] Gazetteer of the South Arcot district. + +[171] C. Hayavadana Rao, MS. + +[172] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[173] Manual of the South Arcot district. + +[174] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[175] Madras Diocesan Magazine, 1906. + +[176] Manual of the North Arcot district. + +[177] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[178] Travancore Census Report, 1901. + +[179] Lecture delivered at Trivandrum. + +[180] See A. T. Mackenzie. History of the Periyar Project. Madras, +1899. + +[181] Rev. J. Cain. Ind. Ant., VIII, 1879. + +[182] Malabar Law and Custom. 3rd ed., 1905. + +[183] Elements of South Indian Palæography. + +[184] Madras Review, 1896. + +[185] Man, 1903. + +[186] Manual of Malabar. + +[187] Manual of the Madura district. + +[188] Hobson-Jobson. + +[189] Ind. Ant., XXXI, 1902. + +[190] Cf. Javan, Genesis X, 2; Isaiah, LXVI, 19; Ezekiel, XXVII, +13, 19. + +[191] Malabar Quart. Review, 1903. + +[192] Vide Correspondence on Moplah Outrages, 1849-53. + +[193] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[194] Madras Mail, 1908. + +[195] Malabar Quart. Review, 1906. + +[196] When not officially attached to a mosque, the Mulla is said to +be called Nattu (country) Mulla. + +[197] Ind. Ant., XXX, 1901. + +[198] P. V. Ramunni, loc. cit. + +[199] The taboot is "a kind of shrine, or model of a Mahomedan +mausoleum, of flimsy material, intended to represent the tomb of Husain +at Kerbela, which is carried in procession during the Mohurram." Yule +and Burnell, Hobson-Jobson. + +[200] Gazetteer of the Malabar district. + +[201] Fanatical (fanum, a temple). Possessed by a deity or devil, +frantic, mad, furious. Murray. New English Dictionary. + +[202] Major Holland-Pryor, 1904. + +[203] See also Government Orders, Judicial Department, Nos. 1267, +24th May, 1894; 2186, 8th September, 1894; 1567, 30th September, +1896; and 819, 25th May, 1898. + +[204] Forbes' Oriental Memoirs. + +[205] Manual of Malabar, 1887, p. 102. + +[206] Ind. Ant., XXX, 1901. + +[207] General Burton. An Indian Olio. + +[208] Calcutta Review, 1897. + +[209] Calcutta Review, 1897. + +[210] Ibid. + +[211] Manual of Malabar. + +[212] Monograph on Tanning and Working in Leather, 1904. + +[213] Gazetteer of Malabar. + +[214] General Burton. Op. cit. + +[215] Loc. cit. + +[216] Op. cit. + +[217] Manual of Malabar. + +[218] Loc. cit. + +[219] Gazetteer of the Malabar district. + +[220] Madras Census Report, 1891. + +[221] Malabar Quarterly Review, Vol. 3, 1906. + +[222] Gazetteer of the Malabar district. + +[223] The recital of the first chapter of the Koran. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Castes and Tribes of Southern India, by +Edgar Thurston + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42994 *** |