Castes and tribes of Southern India. Vol. 1 of 7
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Title: Castes and tribes of Southern India. Vol. 1 of 7
Author: Edgar Thurston
Contributor: K. Rangachari
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CASTES AND TRIBES OF SOUTHERN INDIA. VOL. 1 OF 7 ***
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 I--A and B
Government Press, Madras
1909.
PREFACE.
In 1894, equipped with a set of anthropometric instruments
obtained on loan from the Asiatic Society of Bengal, I commenced an
investigation of the tribes of the Nilgiri hills, the Todas, Kotas,
and Badagas, bringing down on myself the unofficial criticism that
"anthropological research at high altitudes is eminently indicated
when the thermometer registers 100° in Madras." From this modest
beginning have resulted:--(1) investigation of various classes which
inhabit the city of Madras; (2) periodical tours to various parts
of the Madras Presidency, with a view to the study of the more
important tribes and classes; (3) the publication of Bulletins,
wherein the results of my work are embodied; (4) the establishment
of an anthropological laboratory; (5) a collection of photographs of
Native types; (6) a series of lantern slides for lecture purposes;
(7) a collection of phonograph records of tribal songs and music.
The scheme for a systematic and detailed ethnographic survey of the
whole of India received the formal sanction of the Government of
India in 1901. A Superintendent of Ethnography was appointed for each
Presidency or Province, to carry out the work of the survey in addition
to his other duties. The other duty, in my particular case--the
direction of a large local museum--happily made an excellent blend with
the survey operations, as the work of collection for the ethnological
section went on simultaneously with that of investigation. The survey
was financed for a period of five (afterwards extended to eight) years,
and an annual allotment of Rs. 5,000 provided for each Presidency and
Province. This included Rs. 2,000 for approved notes on monographs,
and replies to the stereotyped series of questions. The replies
to these questions were not, I am bound to admit, always entirely
satisfactory, as they broke down both in accuracy and detail. I may,
as an illustration, cite the following description of making fire
by friction. "They know how to make fire, i.e., by friction of wood
as well as stone, etc. They take a triangular cut of stone, and one
flat oblong size flat. They hit one another with the maintenance of
cocoanut fibre or copper, then fire sets immediately, and also by
rubbing the two barks frequently with each other they make fire."
I gladly place on record my hearty appreciation of the services
rendered by Mr. K. Rangachari in the preparation of the present
volumes. During my temporary absence in Europe, he was placed
in charge of the survey, and he has been throughout invaluable in
obtaining information concerning manners and customs, as interpreter
and photographer, and in taking phonograph records.
For information relating to the tribes and castes of Cochin
and Travancore, I gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to
Messrs. L. K. Anantha Krishna Aiyer and N. Subramani Aiyer, the
Superintendents of Ethnography for their respective States. The notes
relating to the Cochin State have been independently published at
the Ernakulam Press, Cochin.
In the scheme for the Ethnographic Survey, it was laid down that
the Superintendents should supplement the information obtained from
representative men and by their own enquiries by "researches into the
considerable mass of information which lies buried in official reports,
in the journals of learned Societies, and in various books." Of this
injunction full advantage has been taken, as will be evident from
the abundant crop of references in foot-notes.
It is impossible to express my thanks individually to the very large
number of correspondents, European and Indian, who have generously
assisted me in my work. I may, however, refer to the immense aid
which I have received from the District Manuals edited by Mr. (now
Sir) H. A. Stuart, I.C.S., and the District Gazetteers, which have
been quite recently issued under the editorship of Mr. W. Francis,
I.C.S., Mr. F. R. Hemingway, I.C.S., and Mr. F. B. Evans, I.C.S.
My thanks are further due to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao, to whom I am
indebted for much information acquired when he was engaged in the
preparation of the District Gazetteers, and for revising the proof
sheets.
For some of the photographs of Badagas, Kurumbas, and Todas, I am
indebted to Mr. A. T. W. Penn of Ootacamund.
I may add that the anthropometric data are all the result of
measurements taken by myself, in order to eliminate the varying error
resulting from the employment of a plurality of observers.
E. T.
INTRODUCTION.
The vast tract of country, over which my investigations in connection
with the ethnographic survey of South India have extended, is commonly
known as the Madras Presidency, and officially as the Presidency
of Fort St. George and its Dependencies. Included therein were the
small feudatory States of Pudukottai, Banganapalle, and Sandur, and
the larger Native States of Travancore and Cochin. The area of the
British territory and Feudatory States, as returned at the census,
1901, was 143,221 square miles, and the population 38,623,066. The
area and population of the Native States of Travancore and Cochin,
as recorded at the same census, were as follows:--
Area. Population.
Sq. Miles.
Travancore 7,091 2,952,157
Cochin 1,361 512,025
Briefly, the task which was set me in 1901 was to record the 'manners
and customs' and physical characters of more than 300 castes and
tribes, representing more than 40,000,000 individuals, and spread
over an area exceeding 150,000 square miles.
The Native State of Mysore, which is surrounded by the Madras
Presidency on all sides, except on part of the west, where the
Bombay Presidency forms the boundary, was excluded from my beat
ethnographically, but included for the purpose of anthropometry. As,
however, nearly all the castes and tribes which inhabit the Mysore
State are common to it and the Madras Presidency, I have given here
and there some information relating thereto.
It was clearly impossible for myself and my assistant, in our travels,
to do more than carry out personal investigations over a small portion
of the vast area indicated above, which provides ample scope for
research by many trained explorers. And I would that more men, like my
friends Dr. Rivers and Mr. Lapicque, who have recently studied Man in
Southern India from an anthropological and physiological point of view,
would come out on a visit, and study some of the more important castes
and tribes in detail. I can promise them every facility for carrying
out their work under the most favourable conditions for research,
if not of climate. And we can provide them with anything from 112°
in the shade to the sweet half English air of the Nilgiri and other
hill-ranges.
Routine work at head-quarters unhappily keeps me a close prisoner in
the office chair for nine months in the year. But I have endeavoured to
snatch three months on circuit in camp, during which the dual functions
of the survey--the collection of ethnographic and anthropometric
data--were carried out in the peaceful isolation of the jungle,
in villages, and in mofussil (up-country) towns. These wandering
expeditions have afforded ample evidence that delay in carrying
through the scheme for the survey would have been fatal. For, as in
the Pacific and other regions, so in India, civilisation is bringing
about a radical change in indigenous manners and customs, and mode
of life. It has, in this connection, been well said that "there will
be plenty of money and people available for anthropological research,
when there are no more aborigines. And it behoves our museums to waste
no time in completing their anthropological collections." Tribes
which, only a few years ago, were living in a wild state, clad in
a cool and simple garb of forest leaves, buried away in the depths
of the jungle, and living, like pigs and bears, on roots, honey,
and other forest produce, have now come under the domesticating,
and sometimes detrimental influence of contact with Europeans, with a
resulting modification of their conditions of life, morality, and even
language. The Paniyans of the Wynaad, and the Irulas of the Nilgiris,
now work regularly for wages on planters' estates, and I have seen
a Toda boy studying for the third standard instead of tending the
buffaloes of his mand. A Toda lassie curling her ringlets with the
assistance of a cheap German looking-glass; a Toda man smeared with
Hindu sect marks, and praying for male offspring at a Hindu shrine;
the abandonment of leafy garments in favour of imported cotton
piece-goods; the employment of kerosine tins in lieu of thatch;
the decline of the national turban in favour of the less becoming
pork-pie cap or knitted nightcap of gaudy hue; the abandonment of
indigenous vegetable dyes in favour of tinned anilin and alizarin dyes;
the replacement of the indigenous peasant jewellery by imported beads
and imitation jewellery made in Europe--these are a few examples of
change resulting from Western and other influences.
The practice of human sacrifice, or Meriah rite, has been abolished
within the memory of men still living, and replaced by the equally
efficacious slaughter of a buffalo or sheep. And I have notes on a
substituted ceremony, in which a sacrificial sheep is shaved so as
to produce a crude representation of a human being, a Hindu sect mark
painted on its forehead, a turban stuck on its head, and a cloth around
its body. The picturesque, but barbaric ceremony of hook-swinging
is now regarded with disfavour by Government, and, some time ago,
I witnessed a tame substitute for the original ceremony, in which,
instead of a human being with strong iron hooks driven through the
small of his back, a little wooden figure, dressed up in turban and
body cloth, and carrying a shield and sabre, was hoisted on high and
swung round.
In carrying out the anthropometric portion of the survey, it was
unfortunately impossible to disguise the fact that I am a Government
official, and very considerable difficulties were encountered owing
to the wickedness of the people, and their timidity and fear of
increased taxation, plague inoculation, and transportation. The
Paniyan women of the Wynaad believed that I was going to have the
finest specimens among them stuffed for the Madras Museum. An Irula
man, on the Nilgiri hills, who was wanted by the police for some mild
crime of ancient date, came to be measured, but absolutely refused to
submit to the operation on the plea that the height-measuring standard
was the gallows. The similarity of the word Boyan to Boer was once
fatal to my work. For, at the time of my visit to the Oddes, who have
Boyan as their title, the South African war was just over, and they
were afraid that I was going to get them transported, to replace the
Boers who had been exterminated. Being afraid, too, of my evil eye,
they refused to fire a new kiln of bricks for the club chambers at
Coimbatore until I had taken my departure. During a long tour through
the Mysore province, the Natives mistook me for a recruiting sergeant
bent on seizing them for employment in South Africa, and fled before my
approach from town to town. The little spot, which I am in the habit
of making with Aspinall's white paint to indicate the position of the
fronto-nasal suture and bi-orbital breadth, was supposed to possess
vesicant properties, and to blister into a number on the forehead,
which would serve as a means of future identification for the purpose
of kidnapping. The record of head, chest, and foot measurements,
was viewed with marked suspicion, on the ground that I was an army
tailor, measuring for sepoy's clothing. The untimely death of a
Native outside a town, at which I was halting, was attributed to my
evil eye. Villages were denuded of all save senile men, women, and
infants. The vendors of food-stuffs in one bazar, finding business
slack owing to the flight of their customers, raised their prices,
and a missionary complained that the price of butter had gone up. My
arrival at one important town was coincident with a great annual temple
festival, whereat there were not sufficient coolies left to drag the
temple car in procession. So I had perforce to move on, and leave the
Brahman heads unmeasured. The head official of another town, when he
came to take leave of me, apologised for the scrubby appearance of his
chin, as the local barber had fled. One man, who had volunteered to
be tested with Lovibond's tintometer, was suddenly seized with fear
in the midst of the experiment, and, throwing his body-cloth at my
feet, ran for all he was worth, and disappeared. An elderly Municipal
servant wept bitterly when undergoing the process of measurement,
and a woman bade farewell to her husband, as she thought for ever,
as he entered the threshold of my impromptu laboratory. The goniometer
for estimating the facial angle is specially hated, as it goes into the
mouth of castes both high and low, and has to be taken to a tank (pond)
after each application. The members of a certain caste insisted on
being measured before 4 P.M., so that they might have time to remove,
by ceremonial ablution, the pollution from my touch before sunset.
Such are a few of the unhappy results, which attend the progress of
a Government anthropologist. I may, when in camp, so far as measuring
operations are concerned, draw a perfect and absolute blank for several
days in succession, or a gang of fifty or even more representatives
of different castes may turn up at the same time, all in a hurry to
depart as soon as they have been sufficiently amused by the phonograph,
American series of pseudoptics (illusions), and hand dynamometer,
which always accompany me on my travels as an attractive bait. When
this occurs, it is manifestly impossible to record all the major, or
any of the minor measurements, which are prescribed in 'Anthropological
Notes and Queries,' and elsewhere. And I have to rest unwillingly
content with a bare record of those measurements, which experience
has taught me are the most important from a comparative point of view
within my area, viz., stature, height and breadth of nose, and length
and breadth of head, from which the nasal and cephalic indices can
be calculated. I refer to the practical difficulties, in explanation
of a record which is admittedly meagre, but wholly unavoidable,
in spite of the possession of a good deal of patience and a liberal
supply of cheroots, and current coins, which are often regarded with
suspicion as sealing a contract, like the King's shilling. I have even
known a man get rid of the coin presented to him, by offering it,
with flowers and a cocoanut, to the village goddess at her shrine,
and present her with another coin as a peace-offering, to get rid of
the pollution created by my money.
The manifold views, which have been brought forward as to the origin
and place in nature of the indigenous population of Southern India,
are scattered so widely in books, manuals, and reports, that it
will be convenient if I bring together the evidence derived from
sundry sources.
The original name for the Dravidian family, it may be noted, was
Tamulic, but the term Dravidian was substituted by Bishop Caldwell,
in order that the designation Tamil might be reserved for the language
of that name. Dravida is the adjectival form of Dravida, the Sanskrit
name for the people occupying the south of the Indian Peninsula
(the Deccan of some European writers). [1]
According to Haeckel, [2] three of the twelve species of
man--the Dravidas (Deccans; Sinhalese), Nubians, and Mediterranese
(Caucasians, Basque, Semites, Indo-Germanic tribes)--"agree in several
characteristics, which seem to establish a close relationship between
them, and to distinguish them from the remaining species. The chief
of these characteristics is the strong development of the beard
which, in all other species, is either entirely wanting, or but
very scanty. The hair of their heads is in most cases more or less
curly. Other characteristics also seem to favour our classing them
in one main group of curly-haired men (Euplocomi); at present the
primæval species, Homo Dravida, is only represented by the Deccan
tribes in the southern part of Hindustan, and by the neighbouring
inhabitants of the mountains on the north-east of Ceylon. But,
in earlier times, this race seems to have occupied the whole of
Hindustan, and to have spread even further. It shows, on the one hand,
traits of relationship to the Australians and Malays; on the other
to the Mongols and Mediterranese. Their skin is either of a light or
dark brown colour; in some tribes, of a yellowish brown. The hair of
their heads is, as in Mediterranese, more or less curled; never quite
smooth, like that of the Euthycomi, nor actually woolly, like that of
the Ulotrichi. The strong development of the beard is also like that
of the Mediterranese. Their forehead is generally high, their nose
prominent and narrow, their lips slightly protruding. Their language
is now very much mixed with Indo-Germanic elements, but seems to have
been originally derived from a very primæval language."
In the chapter devoted to 'Migration and Distribution of Organisms,'
Haeckel, in referring to the continual changing of the distribution
of land and water on the surface of the earth, says: "The Indian
Ocean formed a continent, which extended from the Sunda Islands
along the southern coast of Asia to the east coast of Africa. This
large continent of former times Sclater has called Lemuria, from
the monkey-like animals which inhabited it, and it is at the same
time of great importance from being the probable cradle of the human
race. The important proof which Wallace has furnished by the help of
chronological facts, that the present Malayan Archipelago consists
in reality of two completely different divisions, is particularly
interesting. The western division, the Indo-Malayan Archipelago,
comprising the large islands of Borneo, Java, and Sumatra, was formerly
connected by Malacca with the Asiatic continent, and probably also
with the Lemurian continent, and probably also with the Lemurian
continent just mentioned. The eastern division, on the other hand,
the Austro-Malayan Archipelago, comprising Celebes, the Moluccas,
New Guinea, Solomon's Islands, etc., was formerly directly connected
with Australia."
An important ethnographic fact, and one which is significant, is that
the description of tree-climbing by the Dyaks of Borneo, as given by
Wallace, [3] might have been written on the Anaimalai hills of Southern
India, and would apply equally well in every detail to the Kadirs who
inhabit those hills. [4] An interesting custom, which prevails among
the Kadirs and Mala Vedans of Travancore, and among them alone, so far
as I know, in the Indian Peninsula, is that of chipping all or some of
the incisor teeth into the form of a sharp pointed, but not serrated,
cone. The operation is said to be performed, among the Kadirs, with
a chisel or bill-hook and file, on boys at the age of eighteen, and
girls at the age of ten or thereabouts. It is noted by Skeat and
Blagden [5] that the Jakuns of the Malay Peninsula are accustomed
to file their teeth to a point. Mr. Crawford tells us further that,
in the Malay Archipelago, the practice of filing and blackening the
teeth is a necessary prelude to marriage, the common way of expressing
the fact that a girl has arrived at puberty being that she had her
teeth filed. In an article [6] entitled "Die Zauberbilderschriften
der Negrito in Malaka," Dr. K. T. Preuss describes in detail the
designs on the bamboo combs, etc., of the Negritos of Malacca,
and compares them with the strikingly similar designs on the bamboo
combs worn by the Kadirs of Southern India. He works out in detail
the theory that the design is not, as I called it [7] an ornamental
geometric pattern, but consists of a series of hieroglyphics. It is
noted by Skeat and Blagden [8] that "the Semang women wore in their
hair a remarkable kind of comb, which appears to be worn entirely
as a charm against diseases. These combs were almost invariably
made of bamboo, and were decorated with an infinity of designs,
no two of which ever entirely agreed. It was said that each disease
had its appropriate pattern. Similar combs are worn by the Pangan,
the Semang and Sakai of Perak, and most of the mixed (Semang-Sakai)
tribes." I am informed by Mr. Vincent that, as far as he knows, the
Kadir combs are not looked on as charms, and the markings thereon
have no mystic significance. A Kadir man should always make a comb,
and present it to his wife just before marriage or at the conclusion
of the marriage ceremony, and the young men vie with each other as
to who can make the nicest comb. Sometimes they represent strange
articles on the combs. Mr. Vincent has, for example, seen a comb with
a very good imitation of the face of a clock scratched on it.
In discussing the racial affinities of the Sakais, Skeat and Blagden
write [8] that "an alternative theory comes to us on the high authority
of Virchow, who puts it forward, however, in a somewhat tentative
manner. It consists in regarding the Sakai as an outlying branch of
a racial group formed by the Vedda (of Ceylon), Tamil, Kurumba, and
Australian races.... Of these the height is variable, but, in all four
of the races compared, it is certainly greater than that of the Negrito
races. The skin colour, again, it is true, varies to a remarkable
degree, but the general hair character appears to be uniformly long,
black and wavy, and the skull-index, on the other hand, appears to
indicate consistently a dolichocephalic or long-shaped head." Speaking
of the Sakais, the same authorities state that "in evidence of their
striking resemblance to the Veddas, it is perhaps worth remarking
that one of the brothers Sarasin who had lived among the Veddas and
knew them very well, when shown a photograph of a typical Sakai, at
first supposed it to be a photograph of a Vedda." For myself, when I
first saw the photographs of Sakais published by Skeat and Blagden,
it was difficult to realise that I was not looking at pictures of
Kadirs, Paniyans, Kurumbas, or other jungle folk of Southern India.
It may be noted en passant, that emigration takes place at the present
day from the southern parts of the Madras Presidency to the Straits
Settlements. The following statement shows the number of passengers
that proceeded thither during 1906:--
Madras-- Total.
South Arcot Porto Novo 2,555
Cuddalore 583
Pondicherry 55
Tanjore Negapatam 238
and
Nagore 45,453
Karikal 3,422
"The name Kling (or Keling) is applied, in the Malay countries, to
the people of Continental India who trade thither, or are settled in
those regions, and to the descendants of settlers. The Malay use of
the word is, as a rule, restricted to Tamils. The name is a form of
Kalinga, a very ancient name for the region known as the Northern
Circars, i.e., the Telugu coast of the Bay of Bengal." [9] It is
recorded by Dr. N. Anandale that the phrase Orang Kling Islam (i.e.,
a Muhammadan from the Madras coast) occurs in Patani Malay. He further
informs us [10] that among the Labbai Muhammadans of the Madura coast,
there are "certain men who make a livelihood by shooting pigeons with
blow-guns. According to my Labbai informants, the 'guns' are purchased
by them in Singapore from Bugis traders. 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."
On the evidence of the very close affinities between the plants and
animals in Africa and India at a very remote period, Mr. R. D. Oldham
concludes that there was once a continuous stretch of dry land
connecting South Africa and India. "In some deposits," he writes, [11]
"found resting upon the Karoo beds on the coast of Natal, 22 out of
35 species of Mollusca and Echinodermata collected and specifically
identified, are identical with forms found in the cretaceous beds
of Southern India, the majority being Trichinopoly species. From the
cretaceous rocks of Madagascar, six species of cretaceous fossils were
examined by Mr. R. B. Newton in 1899, of which three are also found
in the Ariyalur group (Southern India). The South African beds are
clearly coast or shallow water deposits, like those of India. The
great similarity of forms certainly suggests continuity of coast
line between the two regions, and thus supports the view that the
land connection between South Africa and India, already shown to have
existed in both the lower and upper Gondwána periods, was continued
into cretaceous times."
By Huxley [12] the races of mankind are divided into two primary
divisions, the Ulotrichi with crisp or woolly hair (Negros; Negritos),
and the Leiotrichi with smooth hair; and the Dravidians are included
in the Australoid group of the Leiotrichi "with dark skin, hair
and eyes, wavy black hair, and eminently long, prognathous skulls,
with well-developed brow ridges, who are found in Australia and in
the Deccan." There is, in the collection of the Royal College of
Surgeons' Museum, an exceedingly interesting "Hindu" skull from
Southern India, conspicuously dolichocephalic, and with highly
developed superciliary ridges. Some of the recorded measurements of
this skull are as follows:--
Length 19.6 cm.
Breadth 13.2 cm.
Cephalic index 67.3
Nasal height 4.8 cm.
Nasal breadth 2.5 cm.
Nasal index 52.1 cm.
Another "Hindu" skull, in the collection of the Madras Museum,
with similar marked development of the superciliary ridges, has the
following measurements:--
Length 18.4 cm.
Breadth 13.8 cm.
Cephalic index 75
Nasal height 4.9 cm.
Nasal breadth 2.1 cm.
Nasal index 42.8
I am unable to subscribe to the prognathism of the Dravidian
tribes of Southern India, or of the jungle people, though aberrant
examples thereof are contained in the collection of skulls at
the Madras Museum, e.g., the skull of a Tamil man (caste unknown)
who died a few years ago in Madras (Pl. I-a). The average facial
angle of various castes and tribes which I have examined ranged
between 67° and 70°, and the inhabitants of Southern India may be
classified as orthognathous. Some of the large earthenware urns
excavated by Mr. A. Rea, of the Archæological Department, at the
"prehistoric" burial site at Aditanallur in the Tinnevelly district,
[13] contained human bones, and skulls in a more or less perfect
condition. Two of these skulls, preserved at the Madras Museum,
are conspicuously prognathous (Pl. I-b). Concerning this burial
site M. L. Lapieque writes as follows. [14] "J'ai rapporté un
specimen des urnes funéraires, avec une collection assez complète du
mobilier funéraire. J'ai rapporté aussi un crâne en assez bon état,
et parfaitement déterminable. Il est hyperdolichocéphale, et s'accorde
avec la série que le service d'archéologie de Madras a déja réunie. Je
pense que la race d'Adichanallour appartient aux Proto-Dravidiens." The
measurements of six of the most perfect skulls from Aditanallur in
the Madras Museum collection give the following results:--
Cephalic Cephalic Cephalic
length, breadth, index.
cm. cm.
18.8 12.4 66.
19.1 12.7 66.5
18.3 12.4 67.8
18. 12.2 67.8
18. 12.8 77.1
16.8 13.1 78.
The following extracts from my notes show that the hyperdolichocephalic
type survives in the dolichocephalic inhabitants of the Tamil country
at the present day:--
Class Number Cephalic index below 70.
examined.
Palli 40 64.4; 66.9; 67; 68.2; 68.9; 69.6.
Paraiyan 40 64.8; 69.2; 69.3; 69.5.
Vellala 40 67.9; 69.6.
By Flower and Lydekker, [15] a white division of man, called the
Caucasian or Eurafrican, is made to include Huxley's Xanthochroi
(blonde type) and Melanochroi (black hair and eyes, and skin of
almost all shades from white to black). The Melanochroi are said to
"comprise the greater majority of the inhabitants of Southern Europe,
North Africa, and South-west Asia, and consist mainly of the Aryan,
Semitic, and Hamitic families. The Dravidians of India, the Veddahs
of Ceylon, and probably the Ainus of Japan, and the Maoutze of China,
also belong to this race, which may have contributed something to
the mixed character of some tribes of Indo-China and the Polynesian
islands, and have given at least the characters of the hair to the
otherwise Negroid inhabitants of Australia. In Southern India they
are largely mixed with a Negrito element, and, in Africa, where
their habitat becomes coterminous with that of the Negroes, numerous
cross-races have sprung up between them all along the frontier line."
In describing the "Hindu type," Topinard [16] divides the population of
the Indian peninsula into three strata, viz., the Black, Mongolian, and
the Aryan. "The remnants of the first," he says, "are at the present
time shut up in the mountains of Central India under the name of Bhils,
Mahairs, Ghonds, and Khonds; and in the south under that of Yenadis,
Kurumbas, etc. Its primitive characters, apart from its black colour
and low stature, are difficult to discover, but it is to be noticed
that travellers do not speak of woolly hair in India. [17] The second
has spread over the plateaux of Central India by two lines of way,
one to the north-east, the other to the north-west. The remnants of the
first invasion are seen in the Dravidian or Tamil tribes, and those of
the second in the Jhats. The third more recent, and more important as
to quality than as to number, was the Aryan." In speaking further of
the Australian type, characterised by a combination of smooth hair
with Negroid features, Topinard states that "it is clear that the
Australians might very well be the result of the cross between one
race with smooth hair from some other place, and a really Negro and
autochthonous race. The opinions held by Huxley are in harmony with
this hypothesis. He says the Australians are identical with the ancient
inhabitants of the Deccan. The features of the present blacks in India,
and the characters which the Dravidian and Australian languages have
in common, tend to assimilate them. The existence of the boomerang
in the two countries, and some remnants of caste in Australia, help
to support the opinion."
Of the so-called boomerangs of Southern India, the Madras Museum
possesses three (two ivory, one wooden) from the Tanjore armoury
(Pl. II). Concerning them, the Dewan of Pudukkottai writes to me as
follows. "The valari or valai tadi (bent stick) is a short weapon,
generally made of some hard-grained wood. It is also sometimes made
of iron. It is crescent-shaped, one end being heavier than the other,
and the outer end is sharpened. Men trained in the use of the weapon
hold it by the lighter end, whirl it a few times over their shoulders
to give it impetus, and then hurl it with great force against the
object aimed at. It is said that there were experts in the art of
throwing the valari, who could at one stroke despatch small game,
and even man. No such experts are now forthcoming in the Pudukkottai
State, though the instrument is reported to be occasionally used in
hunting hares, jungle fowl, etc. Its days, however, must be counted as
past. Tradition states that the instrument played a considerable part
in the Poligar wars of the last century. But it now reposes peacefully
in the households of the descendants of the rude Kallan and Maravan
warriors, preserved as a sacred relic of a chivalric past, along
with other old family weapons in their puja (worship) room, brought
out and scraped and cleaned on occasions like the Ayudha puja day
(when worship is paid to weapons and implements of industry), and
restored to its place of rest immediately afterwards." At a Kallan
marriage, the bride and bridegroom go to the house of the latter,
where boomerangs are exchanged, and a feast is held. This custom
appears to be fast becoming a tradition. But there is a common saying
still current "Send the valai tadi, and bring the bride." [18]
It is pointed out by Topinard, [19] as a somewhat important piece of
evidence, that, in the West, about Madagascar and the point of Aden in
Africa, there are black tribes with smooth hair, or, at all events,
large numbers of individuals who have it, mingled particularly among
the Somalis and the Gallas, in the region where M. Broca has an idea
that some dark, and not Negro, race, now extinct, once existed. At
the meeting of the British Association, 1898, Mr. W. Crooke gave
expression to the view that the Dravidians represent an emigration from
the African continent, and discounted the theory that the Aryans drove
the aboriginal inhabitants into the jungles with the suggestion that
the Aryan invasion was more social than racial, viz., that what India
borrowed from the Aryans was manners and customs. According to this
view, it must have been reforming aborigines who gained the ascendancy
in India, rather than new-comers; and those of the aborigines who
clung to their old ways got left behind in the struggle for existence.
In an article devoted to the Australians, Professor R. Semon writes
as follows. "We must, without hesitation, presume that the ancestors
of the Australians stood, at the time of their immigration to the
continent, on a lower rung of culture than their living representatives
of to-day. Whence, and in what manner, the immigration took place,
it is difficult to determine. In the neighbouring quarter of the globe
there lives no race, which is closely related to the Australians. Their
nearest neighbours, the Papuans of New Guinea, the Malays of the Sunda
Islands, and the Macris of New Zealand, stand in no close relationship
to them. On the other hand, we find further away, among the Dravidian
aborigines of India, types which remind us forcibly of the Australians
in their anthropological characters. In drawing attention to the
resemblance of the hill-tribes of the Deccan to the Australians,
Huxley says: 'An ordinary cooly, such as one can see among the
sailors of any newly-arrived East India vessel, would, if stripped,
pass very well for an Australian, although the skull and lower jaw
are generally less coarse.' Huxley here goes a little too far in his
accentuation of the similarity of type. We are, however, undoubtedly
confronted with a number of characters--skull formation, features,
wavy curled hair--in common between the Australians and Dravidians,
which gain in importance from the fact that, by the researches
of Norris, Bleek, and Caldwell, a number of points of resemblance
between the Australian and Dravidian languages have been discovered,
and this despite the fact that the homes of the two races are so far
apart, and that a number of races are wedged in between them, whose
languages have no relationship whatever to either the Dravidian or
Australian. There is much that speaks in favour of the view that the
Australians and Dravidians sprang from a common main branch of the
human race. According to the laborious researches of Paul and Fritz
Sarasin, the Veddas of Ceylon, whom one might call pre-Dravidians,
would represent an off-shoot from this main stem. When they branched
off, they stood on a very low rung of development, and seem to have
made hardly any progress worth mentioning."
In dealing with the Australian problem, Mr. A. H. Keane [20] refers to
the time when Australia formed almost continuous land with the African
continent, and to its accessibility on the north and north-west
to primitive migration both from India and Papuasia. "That such
migrations," he writes, "took place, scarcely admits of a doubt,
and the Rev. John Mathew [21] concludes that the continent was
first occupied by a homogeneous branch of the Papuan race either
from New Guinea or Malaysia, and that these first arrivals, to be
regarded as true aborigines, passed into Tasmania, which at that time
probably formed continuous land with Australia. Thus the now extinct
Tasmanians would represent the primitive type, which, in Australia,
became modified, but not effaced, by crossing with later immigrants,
chiefly from India. These are identified, as they have been by
other ethnologists, with the Dravidians, and the writer remarks that
'although the Australians are still in a state of savagery, and the
Dravidians of India have been for many ages a people civilized in
a great measure, and possessed of literature, the two peoples are
affiliated by deeply-marked characteristics in their social system as
shown by the boomerang, which, unless locally evolved, must have been
introduced from India.' But the variations in the physical characters
of the natives appear to be too great to be accounted for by a single
graft; hence Malays also are introduced from the Eastern Archipelago,
which would explain both the straight hair in many districts, and a
number of pure Malay words in several of the native languages." Dealing
later with the ethnical relations of the Dravidas, Mr. Keane says that
"although they preceded the Aryan-speaking Hindus, they are not the
true aborigines of the Deccan, for they were themselves preceded by
dark peoples, probably of aberrant Negrite type."
In the 'Manual of Administration of the Madras Presidency,'
Dr. C. Macleane writes as follows. "The history proper of the south
of India may be held to begin with the Hindu dynasties formed by a
more or less intimate admixture of the Aryan and Dravidian systems of
government. But, prior to that, three stages of historical knowledge
are recognisable; first, as to such aboriginal period as there may
have been prior to the Dravidian; secondly, as to the period when
the Aryans had begun to impose their religion and customs upon the
Dravidians, but the time indicated by the early dynasties had not yet
been reached. Geology and natural history alike make it certain that,
at a time within the bounds of human knowledge, Southern India did not
form part of Asia. A large southern continent, of which this country
once formed part, has ever been assumed as necessary to account
for the different circumstances. The Sanscrit Pooranic writers,
the Ceylon Boodhists, and the local traditions of the west coast,
all indicate a great disturbance of the point of the Peninsula and
Ceylon within recent times. [22] Investigations in relation to race
show it to be by no means impossible that Southern India was once
the passage-ground, by which the ancient progenitors of Northern and
Mediterranean races proceeded to the parts of the globe which they now
inhabit. In this part of the world, as in others, antiquarian remains
show the existence of peoples who used successively implements of
unwrought stone, of wrought stone, and of metal fashioned in the
most primitive manner. [23] These tribes have also left cairns and
stone circles indicating burial places. It has been usual to set
these down as earlier than Dravidian. But the hill Coorumbar of the
Palmanair plateau, who are only a detached portion of the oldest
known Tamulian population, erect dolmens to this day. The sepulchral
urns of Tinnevelly may be earlier than Dravidian, or they may be
Dravidian.... The evidence of the grammatical structure of language is
to be relied on as a clearly distinctive mark of a population, but,
from this point of view, it appears that there are more signs of the
great lapse of time than of previous populations. The grammar of the
South of India is exclusively Dravidian, and bears no trace of ever
having been anything else. The hill, forest, and Pariah tribes use the
Dravidian forms of grammar and inflection.... The Dravidians, a very
primeval race, take a by no means low place in the conjectural history
of humanity. They have affinities with the Australian aborigines,
which would probably connect their earliest origin with that
people." Adopting a novel classification, Dr. Macleane, in assuming
that there are no living representatives in Southern India of any
race of a wholly pre-Dravidian character, sub-divides the Dravidians
into pre-Tamulian and Tamulian, to designate two branches of the same
family, one older or less civilised than the other.
The importance, which has been attached by many authorities to the
theory of the connection between the Dravidians and Australians,
is made very clear from the passages in their writings, which I
have quoted. Before leaving this subject, I may appropriately cite
as an important witness Sir William Turner, who has studied the
Dravidians and Australians from the standpoint of craniology. [24]
"Many ethnologists of great eminence," he writes, "have regarded the
aborigines of Australia as closely associated with the Dravidians of
India. Some also consider the Dravidians to be a branch of the great
Caucasian stock, and affiliated therefore to Europeans. If these two
hypotheses are to be regarded as sound, a relationship between the
aboriginal Australians and the European would be established through
the Dravidian people of India. The affinities between the Dravidians
and Australians have been based upon the employment of certain words
by both people, apparently derived from common roots; by the use of
the boomerang, similar to the well-known Australian weapon, by some
Dravidian tribes; by the Indian peninsula having possibly had in a
previous geologic epoch a land connection with the Austro-Malayan
Archipelago, and by certain correspondences in the physical type
of the two people. Both Dravidians and Australians have dark skins
approximating to black; dark eyes; black hair, either straight,
wavy or curly, but not woolly or frizzly; thick lips; low nose with
wide nostrils; usually short stature, though the Australians are
somewhat taller than the Dravidians. When the skulls are compared
with each other, whilst they correspond in some particulars, they
differ in others. In both races, the general form and proportions are
dolichocephalic, but in the Australians the crania are absolutely
longer than in the Dravidians, owing in part to the prominence of
the glabella. The Australian skull is heavier, and the outer table
is coarser and rougher than in the Dravidian; the forehead also is
much more receding; the sagittal region is frequently ridged, and the
slope outwards to the parietal eminence is steeper. The Australians
in the norma facialis have the glabella and supra-orbital ridges
much more projecting; the nasion more depressed; the jaws heavier;
the upper jaw usually prognathous, sometimes remarkably so." Of twelve
Dravidian skulls measured by Sir William Turner, in seven the jaw was
orthognathous, in four, in the lower term of the mesognathous series;
one specimen only was prognathic. The customary type of jaw, therefore,
was orthognathic. [25] The conclusion at which Sir William Turner
arrives is that "by a careful comparison of Australian and Dravidian
crania, there ought not to be much difficulty in distinguishing one
from the other. The comparative study of the characters of the two
series of crania has not led me to the conclusion that they can be
adduced in support of the theory of the unity of the two people."
The Dravidians of Southern India are divided by Sir Herbert Risley
[26] into two main groups, the Scytho-Dravidian and the Dravidian,
which he sums up as follows:--
"The Scytho-Dravidian type of Western India, comprising the Maratha
Braahmans, the Kunbis and the Coorgs; probably formed by a mixture of
Scythian and Dravidian elements, the former predominating in the higher
groups, the latter in the lower. The head is broad; complexion fair;
hair on face rather scanty; stature medium; nose moderately fine,
and not conspicuously long.
"The Dravidian type extending from Ceylon to the valley of the Ganges,
and pervading the whole of Madras, Hyderabad, the Central Provinces,
most of Central India, and Chutia Nagpur. Its most characteristic
representatives are the Paniyans of the South Indian Hills and the
Santals of Chutia Nagpur. Probably the original type of the population
of India, now modified to a varying extent by the admixture of Aryan,
Scythian, and Mongoloid elements. In typical specimens, the stature
is short or below mean; the complexion very dark, approaching black;
hair plentiful with an occasional tendency to curl; eyes dark; head
long; nose very broad, sometimes depressed at the root, but not so
as to make the face appear flat."
It is, it will be noted, observed by Risley that the head of the
Scytho-Dravidian is broad, and that of the Dravidian long. Writing some
years ago concerning the Dravidian head with reference to a statement
in Taylor's "Origin of the Aryans," [27] that "the Todas are fully
dolichocephalic, differing in this respect from the Dravidians, who
are brachycephalic," I published [28] certain statistics based on the
measurements of a number of subjects in the southern districts of the
Madras Presidency. These figures showed that "the average cephalic
index of 639 members of 19 different castes and tribes was 74.1;
and that, in only 19 out of the 639 individuals, did the index exceed
80. So far then from the Dravidian being separated from the Todas by
reason of their higher cephalic index, this index is, in the Todas,
actually higher than in some of the Dravidian peoples." Accustomed as
I was, in my wanderings among the Tamil and Malayalam folk, to deal
with heads in which the dolichocephalic or sub-dolichocephalic type
preponderates, I was amazed to find, in the course of an expedition
in the Bellary district (in the Canarese area), that the question
of the type of the Dravidian head was not nearly so simple and
straightforward as I had imagined. My records of head measurements
now include a very large series taken in the plains in the Tulu,
Canarese, Telugu, Malayalam, and Tamil areas, and the measurements
of a few Maratha (non-Dravidian) classes settled in the Canarese
country. In the following tabular statement, I have brought together,
for the purpose of comparison, the records of the head-measurements
of representative classes in each of these areas:--
========================================================================
| |Number | Cephalic Index |Number
| |of |=========================|of times
Class | Language |subjects|Average|Maximum,|Minimum,|index
| |examined| | cm. | cm. |was 80
| | | | | |or above
==============+=============+========+=======+========+========+========
Sukun Sale | Marathi | 30 | 82.2 | 90.0 | 73.9 | 21
Suka Sale | Do. | 30 | 81.8 | 88.2 | 76.1 | 22
Vakkaliga | Canarese | 50 | 81.7 | 93.8 | 72.5 | 27
Billava | Tulu | 50 | 80.1 | 91.5 | 71.0 | 27
Rangari | Marathi | 30 | 79.8 | 92.2 | 70.7 | 14
Agasa | Canarese | 40 | 78.5 | 85.7 | 73.2 | 13
Bant | Tulu | 40 | 78.0 | 91.2 | 70.8 | 12
Kapu | Telugu | 49 | 78.0 | 87.6 | 71.6 | 16
Tota Balija | Do. | 39 | 78.0 | 86.0 | 73.3 | 10
Boya | Do. | 50 | 77.9 | 89.2 | 70.5 | 14
Dasa Banajiga | Canarese | 40 | 77.8 | 86.2 | 72.0 | 11
Ganiga | Do. | 50 | 77.6 | 85.9 | 70.5 | 11
Golla | Telugu | 60 | 77.5 | 89.3 | 70.1 | 9
Kuruba | Canarese | 50 | 77.3 | 83.9 | 69.6 | 10
Bestha | Telugu | 60 | 77.1 | 85.1 | 70.5 | 9
Pallan | Tamil | 50 | 75.9 | 87.0 | 70.1 | 6
Mukkuvan | Malayalam | 40 | 75.1 | 83.5 | 68.6 | 2
Nayar | Do. | 40 | 74.4 | 81.9 | 70.0 | 1
Vellala | Tamil | 40 | 74.1 | 81.1 | 67.9 | 2
Agamudaiyan | Do. | 40 | 74.0 | 80.9 | 66.7 | 1
Paraiyan | Do. | 40 | 73.6 | 78.3 | 64.8 |
Palli | Do. | 40 | 73.0 | 80.0 | 64.4 | 1
Tiyan | Malayalam | 40 | 73.0 | 78.9 | 68.6 |
========================================================================
The difference in the character of the cranium is further brought out
by the following tables, in which the details of the cephalic indices
of typical classes in the five linguistic areas under consideration
are recorded:--
(a) Tulu. Billava.
71 **
72 **
73 *
74
75
76 ***
77 *****
78 ******
79 **
80 ** Average.
81 ***
82 *****
83 ********
84 ****
85 ****
86 *
87
88
89
90 *
91 *
(b) Canarese. Vakkaliga.
73 *
74
75 **
76 *****
77 **
78 *****
79 *******
80 **
81 ***
82 *** Average.
83 ***
84 **
85 ***
86 ***
87 **
88 **
89 *
90
91 *
92 *
93 *
94 *
(c) Telugu. Kapu.
72 *
73 *******
74 **
75 **
76 *******
77 ******
78 * Average.
79 ****
80 ****
81 *******
82 **
83 ***
84 *
85 *
86
87
88 *
(d) Vellala. Tamil.
68 *
69
70 *
71 ***
72 **********
73 *******
74 ** Average.
75 ******
76 ***
77 ****
78
79
80 **
81 *
(e) Malayalam. Nayar.
70 **
71 *****
72 *****
73 ******
74 * Average.
75 ******
76 ****
77 ****
78 ***
79 **
80
81
82 *
These tables not only bring out the difference in the cephalic index
of the classes selected as representative of the different areas,
but further show that there is a greater constancy in the Tamil and
Malayalam classes than in the Tulus, Canarese and Telugus. The number
of individuals clustering round the average is conspicuously greater
in the two former than in the three latter. I am not prepared to
hazard any new theory to account for the marked difference in the
type of cranium in the various areas under consideration, and must
content myself with the observation that, whatever may have been the
influence which has brought about the existing sub-brachycephalic or
mesaticephalic type in the northern areas, this influence has not
extended southward into the Tamil and Malayalam countries, where
Dravidian man remains dolicho- or sub-dolichocephalic.
As an excellent example of constancy of type in the cephalic index,
I may cite, en passant, the following results of measurement of the
Todas, who inhabit the plateau of the Nilgiri hills:--
69 **
70 *******
71 ***********
72 *******
73 ************** Average.
74 *********************
75 *********
76 ******
77 *
78 *
79 *
80
81 *
I pass on to the consideration of the type of cranium among various
Brahman classes. In the following tables, the results of measurement
of representatives of Tulu, Canarese, Marathi, Tamil and Malayalam
Brahmans are recorded:--
=============================================================================
| |Number | Cephalic Index |Number
| |of |==========================|of times
Class | Language |subjects| | | |index
| |examined|Average.|Maximum.|Minimum.|was 80
| | | | | |or above
===============+================+========+========+========+========+========
Shivalli | Tulu | 30 | 80.4 | 96.4 | 69.4 | 17
Mandya | Canarese | 50 | 80.2 | 88.2 | 69.8 | 31
Karnataka | Do. | 60 | 78.4 | 89.5 | 69.8 | 19
Smarta | | | | | |
(Desastha) | Marathi [29] | 43 | 76.9 | 87.1 | 71 | 9
Tamil | | | | | |
(Madras city)| Tamil | 40 | 76.5 | 84 | 69 | 3
Nambutiri | Malayalam [30] | | 76.3 | | |
Pattar | Tamil [31] | 25 | 74.5 | 81.4 | 69.1 | 2
=============================================================================
(a) Tulu. Shivalli.
69 *
70
71
72 *
73 *
74
75
76 ****
77
78 ***
79 ***
80 ** Average.
81 ***
82 ****
83 **
84 **
85
86 *
87
88 *
89 *
90
91
92
93
94
95
96 *
(b) Canarese. Karnataka Smarta.
70 *
71 **
72 **
73 **
74 ******
75 ***
76 ****
77 *****
78 ********** Average.
79 **
80 *****
81 ****
82 ****
83 **
84 **
85 *
86 *
87 *
88 **
89 *
(c) Tamil. Madras City.
69 *
70 **
71 *
72 *
73 **
74 ***
75 ****
76 **** Average.
77 ******
78 *****
79 *****
80 **
81
82 **
83 *
84 *
(d) Tamil. Pattar.
69 **
70 *
71 ***
72 **
73 ***
74 Average.
75 ****
76 *****
77
78 *
79 **
80 *
81 *
Taking the evidence of the figures, they demonstrate that, like the
other classes which have been analysed, the Brahmans have a higher
cephalic index, with a wider range, in the northern than in the
southern area.
There is a tradition that the Shivalli Brahmans of the Tulu country
came from Ahikshetra. As only males migrated from their home, they
were compelled to take women from non-Brahman castes as wives. The
ranks are said to have been swelled by conversions from these castes
during the time of Sri Madhvacharya. The Shivalli Brahmans are said
to be referred to by the Bants as Mathumaglu or Mathmalu (bride)
in allusion to the fact of their wives being taken from the Bant
caste. Besides the Shivallis, there are other Tulu Brahmans, who
are said to be recent converts. The Matti Brahmans were formerly
considered low by the Shivallis, and were not allowed to sit in the
same line with the Shivallis at meal time. They were only permitted
to sit in a cross line, separated from the Shivallis, though in the
same room. This was because the Matti Brahmans were supposed to be
Mogers (fishing caste) raised to Brahmanism by one Vathiraja Swami,
a Sanyasi. Having become Brahmans, they could not carry on their
hereditary occupation, and, to enable them to earn a livelihood,
the Sanyasi gave them some brinjal (Solanum Melongena) seeds, and
advised them to cultivate the plant. From this fact, the variety of
brinjal, which is cultivated at Matti, is called Vathiraja gulla. At
the present day, the Matti Brahmans are on a par with the Shivalli
Brahmans, and have become disciples of the Sodhe mutt (religious
institution) at Udipi. In some of the popular accounts of Brahmans,
which have been reduced to writing, it is stated that, during the time
of Mayura Varma of the Kadamba dynasty, [32] some Andhra Brahmans were
brought into South Canara. As a sufficient number of Brahmans were
not available for the purpose of yagams (sacrifices), these Andhra
Brahmans selected a number of families from the non-Brahman caste,
made them Brahmans, and chose exogamous sept names for them. Of these
names, Manoli (Cephalandra Indica), Perala (Psidium Guyava), Kudire
(horse), and Ane (elephant) are examples.
A character, with which I am very familiar, when measuring the heads
of all sorts and conditions of natives of Southern India, is the
absence of convexity of the segment formed by the posterior portion
of the united parietal bones. The result of this absence of convexity
is that the back of the head, instead of forming a curve gradually
increasing from the top of the head towards the occipital region,
as in the European skull figured in plate IIIa, forms a flattened
area of considerable length almost at right angles to the base of
the skull as in the "Hindu" skull represented in plate IIIb. This
character is shown in a marked degree in plate IV, which represents
a prosperous Linga Banajiga in the Canarese country.
In discussing racial admixture, Quatrefages writes as follows. [33]
"Parfois on trouve encore quelques tribus qui ont conservé plus on
moins intacts tous les caractères de leur race. Les Coorumbas du Malwar
[Malabar] et du Coorg paraissent former un noyau plus considérable
encore, et avoir conservé dans les jungles de Wynaad une indépendence
à peu près complète, et tous leurs caractères ethnologiques." The
purity of blood and ethnological characters of various jungle tribes
are unhappily becoming lost as the result of contact metamorphosis from
the opening up of the jungles for planter's estates, and contact with
more civilised tribes and races, both brown and white. In illustration,
I may cite the Kanikars of Travancore, who till recently were in the
habit of sending all their women into the seclusion of the jungle on
the arrival of a stranger near their settlements. This is now seldom
done, and some Kanikars have in modern times settled in the vicinity
of towns, and become domesticated. The primitive short, dark-skinned
and platyrhine type, though surviving, has become changed, and many
leptorhine or mesorhine individuals above middle height are to be met
with. The following are the results of measurements of Kanikars in
the jungle, and at a village some miles from Trivandrum, the capital
of Travancore:--
===========================================================
| Stature cm. | Nasal Index.
==============+=======================+====================
| Av. | Max. | Min. | Av. | Max. | Min.
Jungle | 155.2 | 170.3 | 150.2 | 84.6 | 105 | 72.3
Domesticated | 158.7 | 170.4 | 148 | 81.2 | 90.5 | 70.8
===========================================================
Some jungle Chenchus, who inhabit the Nallamalai hills in the
Kurnool district, still exhibit the primitive short stature and high
nasal index, which are characteristic of the unadulterated jungle
tribes. But there is a very conspicuous want of uniformity in their
physical characters, and many individuals are to be met with, above
middle height, or tall, with long narrow noses. A case is recorded,
in which a brick-maker married a Chenchu girl. And I was told of a
Boya man who had married into the tribe, and was living in a gudem
(Chenchu settlement).
=========================================================
| Stature cm. | Nasal Index.
==============+=====================+====================
| Av. | Max.| Min. | Av. | Max. |Min.
| 162.5 | 175 | 149.6 | 81.9 | 95.7 | 68.1
=========================================================
By the dolichocephalic type of cranium which has persisted, and which
the Chenchus possess in common with various other jungle tribes, they
are still, as shown by the following table, at once differentiated
from the mesaticephalic dwellers in the plains near the foot of the
Nallamalais:--
================================================
| | Number of
| Cephalic| times the
| Index. | index was
| | 80 or over.
========================+=========+=============
40 Chenchus | 74.3 | 1
60 Gollas | 77.5 | 9
50 Boyas | 77.9 | 14
39 Tota Balijas | 78.0 | 10
49 Kapus | 78.8 | 16
19 Upparas | 78.8 | 4
16 Mangalas | 78.8 | 7
17 Verukalas | 78.6 | 6
12 Medaras | 80.7 | 8
================================================
In a note on the jungle tribes, M. Louis Lapicque, [34] who carried
out anthropometric observations in Southern India a few years ago,
writes as follows. "Dans les montagnes des Nilghirris et d'Anémalé,
situées au coeur de la contrée dravidienne, on a signalé depuis
longtemps des petits sauvages crépus, qu'on a même pensé pouvoir, sur
des documents insuffisants, identifier avec les negritos. En réalité,
it n'existe pas dans ces montagnes, ni probablement nulle part dans
l'Inde, un témoin de la race primitive comparable, comme pureté,
aux Andamanais ni même aux autres Negritos. Ce que l'on trouve là,
c'est simplement, mais c'est fort précieux, une population métisse
qui continue au delà du Paria la série générale de l'Inde. Au bord
de la forêt vierge ou dans les collines partiellement défrichées,
il y a des castes demi-Parias, demi-sauvages. La hiérachie sociale
les classe au-dessous du Paria: on peut même trouver des groupes ou le
facies nègre, nettement dessiné, est tout à fait prédominant. Ehbien,
dans ces groupes, les chevelures sont en général frisées, et on en
observe quelques-unes qu'on peut même appeler crépues. On a donc le
moyen de prolonger par l'imagination la série des castes indiennes
jusq'au type primitif qui était (nous n'avons plus qu'un pas à faire
pour le reconstruire), un Nègre.... Nous sommes arrives à reconstituer
les traits nègres d'un type disparu en prolongeant une série graduée
de métis. Par la même méthode nous pouvons déterminer théoriquement
la forme du crâne de ce type. Avec une assez grande certitude, je
crois pouvoir affirmer, après de nombreuses mesures systématiques,
que le nègre primitif de l'Inde était sousdolichocéphale avec un
indice voisin de 75 ou 76. Sa taille, plus difficile à préciser, car
les conditions de vie modifient ce caractère, devait être petite, plus
haute pourtant que celle des Andamanais. Quant au nom qu'il convient
de lui attribuer, la discussion des faits sociaux et linguistiques
sur lesquels est fondée la notion de dravidien permet d'établir que
ce nègre était antérieur aux dravidiens; il faut done l'appeller
Prédravidien, ou, si nous voulons lui donner un nom qui ne soit pas
relatif à une autre population, on peut l'appeler Nègre Paria."
In support of M. Lapicque's statement that the primitive inhabitant
was dolichocephalic or sub-dolichocephalic, I may produce the evidence
of the cephalic indices of the various jungle tribes which I have
examined in the Tamil, Malayalam, and Telugu countries:--
===================================================
| Cephalic Index.
|==========+==========+==========
| Average. | Maximum. | Minimum.
==================+==========+==========+==========
Kadir | 72.9 | 80.0 | 69.1
Irula, Chingleput | 73.1 | 78.6 | 68.4
Kanikar | 73.4 | 78.9 | 69.1
Mala Vedan | 73.4 | 80.9 | 68.8
Panaiyan | 74.0 | 81.1 | 69.4
Chenchu | 74.3 | 80.5 | 64.3
Sholaga | 74.9 | 79.3 | 67.8
Paliyan | 75.7 | 79.1 | 72.9
Irula, Nilgiris | 75.8 | 80.9 | 70.8
Kurumba | 76.5 | 83.3 | 71.8
===================================================
It is worthy of note that Haeckel defines the nose of the Dravidian
as a prominent and narrow organ. For Risley has laid down [35] that,
in the Dravidian type, the nose is thick and broad, and the formula
expressing the proportionate dimension (nasal index) is higher
than in any known race, except the Negro; and that the typical
Dravidian, as represented by the Male Paharia, has a nose as broad
in proportion to its length as the Negro, while this feature in the
Aryan group can fairly bear comparison with the noses of sixty-eight
Parisians, measured by Topinard, which gave an average of 69.4. In
this connection, I may record the statistics relating to the nasal
indices of various South Indian jungle tribes:--
====================================================
| Nasal Index.
|================================
| Average. | Maximum. | Minimum.
===================+==========+==========+==========
Paniyan | 95.1 | 108.6 | 72.9
Kadir | 89.8 | 115.4 | 72.9
Kurumba | 86.1 | 111.1 | 70.8
Sholaga | 85.1 | 107.7 | 72.8
Mala Vedan | 84.9 | 102.6 | 71.1
Irula, Nilgiris | 84.9 | 100. | 72.3
Kanikar | 84.6 | 105. | 72.3
Chenchu | 81.9 | 95.7 | 68.1
====================================================
In the following table, I have brought together, for the purpose of
comparison, the average stature and nasal index of various Dravidian
classes inhabiting the plains of the Telugu, Tamil, Canarese, and
Malayalam countries, and jungle tribes:--
======================================================
| | Nasal |
|Linguistic area.| Index.| Stature.
===================+================+=======+=========
Paniyan | Jungle tribe | 95.1 | 157.4
Kadir | Do. | 89.8 | 157.7
Kurumba | Do. | 86.1 | 157.9
Sholaga | Do. | 85.1 | 159.3
Irula, Nilgiris | Do. | 84.9 | 159.8
Mala Vedan | Do. | 84.9 | 154.2
Kanikar | Do. | 84.6 | 155.2
Chenchu | Do. | 81.9 | 162.5
Pallan | Tamil | 81.5 | 164.3
Mukkuvan | Malayalam | 81. | 163.1
Paraiyan | Tamil | 80. | 163.1
Palli | Do. | 77.9 | 162.5
Ganiga | Canarese | 76.1 | 165.8
Bestha | Telugu | 75.9 | 165.7
Tiyan | Malayalam | 75. | 163.7
Kuruba | Canarese | 74.9 | 162.7
Boya | Telugu | 74.4 | 163.9
Tota Balija | Do. | 74.4 | 163.9
Agasa | Canarese | 74.3 | 162.4
Agamudaiyan | Tamil | 74.2 | 165.8
Golla | Telugu | 74.1 | 163.8
Vellala | Tamil | 73.1 | 162.4
Vakkaliga | Canarese | 73. | 167.2
Dasa Banajiga | Do. | 72.8 | 165.3
Kapu | Telugu | 72.8 | 164.5
Nayar | Malayalam | 71.1 | 165.2
======================================================
This table demonstrates very clearly an unbroken series ranging from
the jungle men, short of stature and platyrhine, to the leptorhine
Nayars and other classes.
In plate V are figured a series of triangles representing (natural
size) the maxima, minima, and average nasal indices of Brahmans of
Madras city (belonging to the poorer classes), Tamil Paraiyans, and
Paniyans. There is obviously far less connection between the Brahman
minimum and the Paraiyan maximum than between the Brahman and Paraiyan
maxima and the Paniyan average; and the frequent occurrence of high
nasal indices, resulting from short, broad noses, in many classes has
to be accounted for. Sir Alfred Lyall somewhere refers to the gradual
Brahmanising of the aboriginal non-Arayan, or casteless tribes. "They
pass," he writes, "into Brahmanists by a natural upward transition,
which leads them to adopt the religion of the castes immediately
above them in the social scale of the composite population, among
which they settle down; and we may reasonably guess that this process
has been working for centuries." In the Madras Census Report, 1891,
Mr. H. A. Stuart states that "it has often been asserted, and is
now the general belief, that the Brahmans of the South are not pure
Aryans, but are a mixed Aryan and Dravidian race. In the earliest
times, the caste division was much less rigid than now, and a person
of another caste could become a Brahman by attaining the Brahmanical
standard of knowledge, and assuming Brahmanical functions; and, when
we see the Nambudiri Brahmans, even at the present day, contracting
alliances, informal though they be, with the women of the country,
it is not difficult to believe that, on their first arrival, such
unions were even more common, and that the children born of them would
be recognised as Brahmans, though perhaps regarded as an inferior
class. However, those Brahmans, in whose veins mixed blood is supposed
to run, are even to this day regarded as lower in the social scale,
and are not allowed to mix freely with the pure Brahman community."
Popular traditions allude to wholesale conversions of non-Brahmans
into Brahmans. According to such traditions, Rajas used to feed
very large numbers of Brahmans (a lakh of Brahmans) in expiation of
some sin, or to gain religious merit. To make up this large number,
non-Brahmans are said to have been made Brahmans at the bidding
of the Rajas. Here and there are found a few sections of Brahmans,
whom the more orthodox Brahmans do not recognise as such, though the
ordinary members of the community regard them as an inferior class
of Brahmans. As an instance may be cited the Marakas of the Mysore
Province. Though it is difficult to disprove the claim put forward
by these people, some demur to their being regarded as Brahmans.
Between a Brahman of high culture, with fair complexion, and long,
narrow nose on the one hand, and a less highly civilised Brahman
with dark skin and short broad nose on the other, there is a vast
difference, which can only be reasonably explained on the assumption
of racial admixture; and it is no insult to the higher members of
the Brahman community to trace, in their more lowly brethren, the
result of crossing with a dark-skinned, and broad-nosed race of short
stature. Whether the jungle tribe are, as I believe, the microscopic
remnant of a pre-Dravidian people, or, as some hold, of Dravidians
driven by a conquering race to the seclusion of the jungles, it is
to the lasting influence of some such broad-nosed ancestor that the
high nasal index of many of the inhabitants of Southern India must,
it seems to me, be attributed. Viewed in the light of this remark,
the connection between the following mixed collection of individuals,
all of very dark colour, short of stature, and with nasal index
exceeding 90, calls for no explanation:--
========================================================
| Stature. | Nasal | Nasal | Nasal
| |height. |breadth.| Index.
==================+==========+========+========+========
| cm. | cm. | cm. |
Vakkaliga | 156 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 90.7
Moger | 160 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 90.7
Saiyad Muhammadan | 160 | 4.4 | 4 | 90.9
Kammalan | 154.4 | 4.4 | 4 | 90.9
Chakkiliyan | 156.8 | 4.4 | 4 | 90.9
Vellala | 154.8 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 91.6
Malaiyali | 158.8 | 4 | 3.7 | 92.5
Konga Vellala | 157 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 92.7
Pattar Brahman | 157.6 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 92.9
Odde | 159.6 | 4.3 | 4 | 93
Smarta Brahman | 159 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 95.1
Palli | 157.8 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 95.1
Pallan | 155.8 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 100
Bestha | 156.8 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 100
Mukkuvan | 150.8 | 4 | 4 | 100
Agasa | 156.4 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 100
Tamil Paraiyan | 160 | 4 | 4.2 | 105
========================================================
I pass on to a brief consideration of the languages of Southern
India. According to Mr. G. A. Grierson [36] "the Dravidian family
comprises all the principal languages of Southern India. The name
Dravidian is a conventional one. It is derived from the Sanskrit
Dravida, a word which is again probably derived from an older
Dramila, Damila, and is identical with the name of Tamil. The name
Dravidian is, accordingly, identical with Tamulian, which name has
formerly been used by European writers as a common designation of the
languages in question. The word Dravida forms part of the denomination
Andhra-Dravida-bhasha, the language of the Andhras (i.e., Telugu),
and Dravidas (i.e., Tamilians), which Kumarila Bhatta (probably
7th Century A.D.) employed to denote the Dravidian family. In India
Dravida has been used in more than one sense. Thus the so-called five
Dravidas are Telugu, Kanarese, Marathi, Gujarati, and Tamil. In Europe,
on the other hand, Dravidian has long been the common denomination of
the whole family of languages to which Bishop Caldwell applied it in
his Comparative Grammar, and there is no reason for abandoning the
name which the founder of Dravidian philology applied to this group
of speeches."
The five principal languages are Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Canarese,
and Oriya. Of these, Oriya belongs to the eastern group of the
Indo-Aryan family, and is spoken in Ganjam, and a portion of the
Vizagapatam district. The population speaking each of these languages,
as recorded at the census, 1901, was as follows:--
Tamil 15,543,383
Telugu 14,315,304
Malayalam 2,854,145
Oriya 1,809,336
Canarese 1,530,688
In the preparation of the following brief summary of the other
vernacular languages and dialects, I have indented mainly on the
Linguistic Survey of India, and the Madras Census Report, 1901.
Savara.--The language of the Savaras of Ganjam and Vizagapatam. One
of the Munda languages. Concerning the Munda, linguistic family,
Mr. Grierson writes as follows. "The denomination Munda (adopted
by Max Müller) was not long allowed to stand unchallenged. Sir
George Campbell in 1866 proposed to call the family Kolarian. He
was of opinion that Kol had an older form Kolar, which he thought
to be identical with Kanarese Kallar, thieves. There is absolutely
no foundation for this supposition. Moreover, the name Kolarian is
objectionable, as seeming to suggest a connexion with Aryan which does
not exist. The principal home of the Munda languages at the present
day is the Chota Nagpur plateau. The Munda race is much more widely
spread than the Munda languages. It has already been remarked that
it is identical with the Dravidian race, which forms the bulk of the
population of Southern India."
Gadaba.--Spoken by the Gadabas of Vizagapatam and Ganjam. One of the
Munda languages.
Kond, Kandhi, or Kui.--The language of the Kondhs of Ganjam and
Vizagapatam.
Gondi.--The language of the Gonds, a tribe which belongs to the
Central Provinces, but has overflowed into Ganjam and Vizagapatam.
Gattu.--A dialect of Gondi, spoken by some of the Gonds in Vizagapatam.
Koya or Koi.--A dialect of Gondi, spoken by the Koyis in the
Vizagapatam and Godavari districts.
Poroja, Parja, or Parji.--A dialect of Gondi.
Tulu.--The language largely spoken in South Canara (the ancient
Tuluva). It is described by Bishop Caldwell as one of the most highly
developed languages of the Dravidian family.
Koraga.--Spoken by the Koragas of South Canara. It is thought by
Mr. H. A. Stuart [37] to be a dialect of Tulu.
Bellera.--Spoken by the Belleras of South Canara, and regarded as a
dialect of Canarese or Tulu.
Toda.--The language of the Todas of the Nilgiri hills, concerning
which Dr. W. H. R. Rivers writes as follows. [38] "Bernhard Schmid,
[39] who wrote in 1837, appears to have known more of the true Toda
language than any one who has written since, and he ascribes two-thirds
of the Toda vocabulary to Tamil, and was unable to trace the remaining
third to any other language. Caldwell [40] believed the language
of the Todas to be most closely allied to Tamil. According to Pope,
[41] the language was originally old Canarese with the addition of
a few Tamil forms, but he has included in his vocabulary words which
have probably been borrowed from the Badagas."
Kota.--A mixture of Canarese and Tamil spoken by the Kotas of the
Nilgiri hills.
Badaga.--The language of the Badagas of the Nilgiri hills. Said to
be an ancient form of Canarese.
Irula.--Spoken by the Irulas of the Nilgiris, and said to be a dialect
of Tamil. According to Mr. Stuart, Kasuba or Kasuva is another dialect
of Tamil spoken by the sub-division of the Irulas which bears the
same name.
Kurumba.--Spoken by the Kurumbas of the Nilgiri hills, Malabar,
and Mysore, and regarded as a dialect of Canarese.
Konkani.--A dialect of Marathi, spoken almost entirely in the South
Canara district by Sarasvat and Konkani Brahmans and Roman Catholic
Christians.
Marathi.--In the Tanjore district, the descendants of the former
Maratha Rajas of Tanjore speak this language. It is also spoken in
the Bellary district, which was formerly under Maratha dominion,
by various Maratha castes, and in the feudatory State of Sandur.
Patnuli or Khatri.--A dialect of Gujarati, spoken by the Patnulkarans
who have settled for the most part in the town of Madura. They are
immigrants from Saurashtra in Gujarat, who are said to have come
south at the invitation of the Nayak kings of Madura.
Lambadi.--The language of the nomad Lambadis, Brinjaris, or Sugalis. It
is described by Mr. W. Francis [42] as a patois "usually based on one
of the local vernaculars, and embroidered and diversified with thieves'
slang and expressions borrowed from the various localities in which
the tribe has sojourned. Cust thought that Lambadi was Semi-Dravidian,
but the point is not clear, and it has been classed as Indo-Aryan."
Korava or Yerukala.--A dialect of Tamil spoken by the nomad caste
bearing these names. Like the Lambadis, they have a thieves' slang.
Vadari.--Recorded as a vulgar Telugu dialect spoken by a wandering
tribe of quarrymen in the Bombay Presidency, the Berars, and
elsewhere. They are doubtless Oddes or Wudder navvies, who have
migrated from their home in the Telugu country.
TABLE A.
==========================================================================
| | | Length cm. | Breadth cm. | Index. |Index
|No.| Caste or |==============+==============+==============|80 and
| | Tribe. | Av.|Max.|Min.| Av.|Max.|Min.| Av.|Max.|Min.|over.
====+===+=============+====+====+====+====+====+====+====+====+====+======
| 40|Badaga, | | | | | | | | | |
| | Nilgiris |18.9|20.2|18. |13.6|14.5|12.8|71.7|77.5|66.1| 0
M. | 18|Kanikar |18.8|19.5|18.2|13.6|14.2|13. |72.5|76.1|68.1| 0
M. | 40|Mappilla, | | | | | | | | | |
| | Muhammadan |18.9|20. |18. |13.7|14.6|13. |72.8|78.5|68. | 0
J. | 23|Kadir |18.4|19.4|17.2|13.4|13.8|12.5|72.9|80. |69. | 1
M. | 40|Tiyan |18.9|20.3|17.8|13.7|14.9|12.6|73. |80.3|68.5| 1
Tam.|40 |Palli |18.6|19.6|17.4|13.6|14.6|12.1|73. |80. |64.4| 1
Tam.|40 |Irula |18.5|19.6|17. |13.5|14.4|12.8|73.1|78.6|68.4| 0
|82 |Toda, | | | | | | | | | |
| | Nilgiris |19.4|20.4|18.2|14.2|15.2|13.3|73.3|81.3|68.7| 1
J. |20 |Kaanikar |18.5|19.4|17.8|13.6|14.2|13. |73.4|78.9|69.1| 0
Tam.|29 |Ambattan |18.6|19.2|18. |13.7|14.6|12.5|73.4|76.9|67.2| 0
J. |25 |Mala Vedan |18.5|19.6|17.4|13.6|14.6|13. |73.4|80.9|68.8| 1
Tam.|40 |Paraiyan |18.6|19.7|17. |13.7|14.5|13. |73.6|78.3|64.8| 0
M. |25 |Cheruman |18.3|19.3|17.1|13.5|14.2|12.3|73.9|80.1|67.7| 1
M. |25 |Paniyan |18.4|19.3|17.5|13.6|14.9|13. |74. |81.1|69.4| 1
Tam.|40 |Agamudaiyan |18.8|20. |17.8|13.9|14.6|12.8|74. |80.9|66.7| 1
|25 |Kota, | | | | | | | | | |
| | Nilgiris |19.2|20.2|18.3|14.2|15.1|13.4|74.1|79.1|69.9| 0
Tam.|40 |Vellala |18.6|19.6|17.7|13.8|14.6|13.1|74.1|81.1|67.9| 2
Tam.|20 |Smarta | | | | | | | | | |
| | Brahman |18. |19.2|17.8|14. |14.8|13. |74.2|80.4|67.8| 1
Tam.|50 |Malaiyali |18.3|19.3|17. |13.6|14.4|12.8|74.3|82.8|61. | 2
J. |40 |Chenchu |18.2|19.6|17.2|13.5|14.4|12.4|74.3|80.5|64.3| 1
M. |40 |Nayar |18.7|19.8|17.4|13.9|15. |13.2|74.4|81.9|70.4| 1
Tam.|25 |Pattar | | | | | | | | | |
| | Brahman |18.8|20.3|17.2|14. |15.1|13.1|74.5|81.4|69.1| 2
Tam.|23 |Malasar |18.2|19.2|17.3|13.5|14.4|12.4|74.5|80. |70. | 1
J. |57 |Urali |18.2|19.3|17.2|13.5|14.4|12.8|74.6|81.9|69.8| 1
Tam.|50 |Chakkiliyan |18.6|19.8|17.6|13.9|15.2|13. |74.9|80.9|70.4| 1
J. |20 |Sholaga |18.2|19.4|17.2|13.6|14.6|12.2|74.9|79.3|67.8| 0
Tel.|30 |Madiga, | | | | | | | | | |
| | Adoni |18.6|20.2|17. |13.9|14.6|13. |75. |82.2|71.3| 2
Tam.|40 |Kammalan |18.4|19.7|17.3|13.7|14.7|13.1|75. |81.5|68.4| 5
M. |40 |Mukkuvan |19. |20.4|17.6|14.2|15.2|13.4|75.1|83.5|68.6| 2
Tam.|40 |Sheik | | | | | | | | | |
| | Muhammadan |18.3|20. |16.7|13.8|14.5|12.8|75.6|81.6|71.5| 2
C. |50 |Dayare | | | | | | | | | |
| | Muhammadan |18.5|19.7|17. |14. |15. |13. |75.6|83.3|68.5| 8
Tam.|40 |Saiyad | | | | | | | | | |
| | Muhammadan |18.5|19.6|17.2|14. |15. |13.1|75.6|84.9|68.2| 2
J. |26 |Paliyan |17.8|18.6|17.1|13.5|14. |13. |75.7|79.1|72.8| 0
J. |25 |Irula |18. |19.1|17. |13.7|14.3|13.1|75.8|80.9|70.8| 1
Tam.|50 |Pallan |18.3|19.6|17.2|13.9|14.9|12.6|75.9|87. |70.1| 6
Tam.|42 |Idaiyan |18.3|19. |16.8|14. |14.6|13.2|76. |81.9|71.3| 5
Tam.|40 |Pathan | | | | | | | | | |
| | Muhammadan |18.5|19.6|17.2|14.2|15.2|13.3|76.2|83.1|71.1| 2
M. |24 |Pulayan |18.3|19.3|17. |13.9|15. |13. |76.3|83. |72.3| 5
J. |22 |Kurumba |17.9|18.7|16.9|13.7|14.5|13. |76.4|83.3|71.8| 2
Tel.|40 |Madiga, | | | | | | | | | |
| | Hospet |18.3|20. |17.2|14. |15.4|13. |76.5|83.3|68. | 8
C. |50 |Sedan |18.4|19.4|17. |14.1|14.8|13.2|76.6|82.6|72.6| 7
C. |40 |Toreya |18.3|19.2|17.2|14.1|15.2|13. |76.6|86.4|70.2| 5
Mar.|24 |Desastha | | | | | | | | | |
| | Brahman |18.7|20.2|18. |14.4|15.2|13.2|77. |83.4|71. | 4
Tel.|30 |Mala |18.4|19.8|16.8|14.2|14.8|13.4|77.1|85.9|70.3| 6
Tel.|60 |Bestha |18.4|19.4|16.6|14.2|15.6|13.2|77.1|85.1|70.5| 11
C. |50 |Kuruba, | | | | | | | | | |
| | Mysore |18.1|19.4|17.2|14. |15. |12.8|77.3|83.9|70.3| 9
Tel.|40 |Odde |18.2|20.4|17.2|14.1|15.2|13.4|77.3|83.1|70.1| 10
Tel.|60 |Golla |18.2|19.6|16.4|14.1|15.1|13.2|77.5|89.3|70.1| 12
C. |40 |Dasa | | | | | | | | | |
| | Banajiga |18.6|19.8|17.3|14.4|15.6|13.4|77.8|85.5|72. | 11
Tel.|25 |Komati, | | | | | | | | | |
| | Adoni |18.2|19.4|17. |14.3|15.2|13.3|77.9|88.2|72.2| 8
C. |40 |Okkiliyan, | | | | | | | | | |
| | Coimbatore |18.2|19.4|17. |14.2|15.2|13.2|77.9|88.2|71.7| 9
C. |50 |Boya |18. |19.2|16.8|14. |15.2|13. |77.9|89.2|70.5| 14
Tu. |40 |Bant |18.5|20. |17. |14.4|16.6|13.1|78. |91.2|70.8| 12
Tel.|49 |Kapu |18.2|19.8|16.8|14.2|15.6|13.2|78. |87.6|71.6| 16
Tel.|39 |Tota | | | | | | | | | |
Tel.|39 | Balija |18.1|19. |17. |14.1|15. |13. |78. |86. |73.3| 10
C. |60 |Madhva | | | | | | | | | |
| | Brahman |18.4|19.8|16.6|14.3|15.2|13.2|78. |88.5|68. | 18
C. |40 |Bedar, | | | | | | | | | |
| | Hospet |18.4|20. |16.8|14.3|15.2|13.2|78.1|85.3|70.8| 13
Tel.|38 |Uppara |18. |19. |16.2|14. |15.2|13.2|78.1|87.8|71.7| 9
C. |25 |Linga | | | | | | | | | |
| | Banajiga, | | | | | | | | | |
| | Sandur |18.2|19.4|16.6|14.2|15. |13.4|78.3|87.9|73.7| 7
C. |60 |Karnataka | | | | | | | | | |
| | Smarta | | | | | | | | | |
| | Brahman |18.5|20.7|17. |14.4|15.8|13.4|78.4|89.5|69.8| 19
Tel.|30 |Padma | | | | | | | | | |
| | Sale |17.8|19.|16.5|14.1|15.1|13.2|78.7 |86.2|72.8| 10
C. |50 |Kuruba, | | | | | | | | | |
| | Hospet |18.1|19.6|17. |14.2|15.4|13.4|78.9|88.4|72.9| 19
Tel.|50 |Telugu | | | | | | | | | |
| | Banajiga |18.4|19.2|16.6|14.5|15.4|13.2|79. |89.5|71.9| 18
C. |50 |Panchala |18.3|19.4|17.2|14.4|15.6|13. |79. |89.5|71.3| 23
C. |50 |Holeya |17.9|19.6|16.6|14.1|15.2|13.2|79.1|87.4|70. | 20
C. |25 |Bedar, | | | | | | | | | |
| | Adoni |18.1|19.2|17. |14.4|15. |13.6|79.4|85.9|74.1| 12
Mar.|30 |Rangari |18.1|19.8|16.8|14.5|15.4|13.8|79.8|92.2|70.7| 14
Tel.|25 |Togata |17.7|19. |16.2|14.2|14.8|13.6|80. |88.1|73.7| 13
Tu. |50 |Billava |18.2|20.6|16.4|14.6|15.6|13.2|80.1|91.5|71. | 28
C. |30 |Linga | | | | | | | | | |
| | Banajiga, | | | | | | | | | |
| | Adoni |18.1|19.4|16.7|14.4|15.2|13.6|80.1|87.4|74.1| 14
C. |50 |Hebbar | | | | | | | | | |
| | Brahman |18.4|19.6|17.2|14.7|16.4|13.4|80.1|92.1|72.8| 21
C. |50 |Mandya | | | | | | | | | |
| | Brahman |18.5|20.2|16.6|14.8|15.8|13.4|80.2|88.2|69.8| 31
Tu. |30 |Shivalli | | | | | | | | | |
| | Brahman |18.5|19.6|16.8|14.9|16.2|13.6|80.4|96.4|72.3| 17
C. |20 |Ganiga |18. |19.1|16.6|14.4|15.2|14. |80.5|86.7|74.5| 11
C. |20 |Devanga |18. |19.6|17. |14.5|15.5|13.6|80.8|87.1|74.7| 10
Tel.|25 |Komati |17.6|18.8|16.4|14.3|14.8|13.4|81. |87.1|74.5| 16
C. |50 |Vakkaliga, | | | | | | | | | |
| | Mysore |17.7|19.5|15.8|14.5|15.7|13.2|81.7|93.8|72.5| 27
Mar.|30 |Suka | | | | | | | | | |
| | Sale |17.7|18.8|16.6|14.5|15. |13.4|81.8|88.2|76.1| 22
Mar.|30 |Sukun | | | | | | | | | |
| | Sale |17.6|19. |16. |14.4|15.4|13.6|82.2|90. |73.9| 21
==========================================================================
TABLE B.
====+===+============================+=================+=================
| | | Stature cm. | Nasal Index.
== |No.| Caste or Tribe. +=====+=====+=====+=====+=====+=====
| | | Av. | Max.|Min. | Av. | Max.|Min.
====+===+============================+=====+=====+=====+=====+=====+=====
M. |40 |Nayar |165.2|179. |152.2| 71.1| 78.7|54.4
C. |50 |Hebbar Brahman |163.2|174.4|150.8| 71.2| 87.2|55.4
C. |60 |Karnataka Smarta Brahman |164.2|176. |150.6| 71.5| 91.5|61.1
C. |50 |Dayare Muhammadan |166.4|181.8|150. | 71.5| 82.6|59.3
Mar.|60 |Madhva Brahman |163.3|176.2|151.8| 72. | 93.2|58.8
Tu. |40 |Bant |165.7|179.2|155.8| 72.2| 86.1|61.6
Tam.|40 |Sheik Muhammadan |164.6|174.8|153.8| 72.4| 87. |60.
Tam.|29 |Ambattan |165.7|173.2|153.2| 72.4| 84.3|57.9
Tu. |50 |Billava |163.2|175.8|149.4| 72.6| 92.8|60.
C. |50 |Sedan |163.3|177.2|153.2| 72.7| 92.9|59.3
C. |40 |Dasa Banajiga |165.3|177.8|152. | 72.8| 82.6|59.3
Tel.|49 |Kapu |164.5|177.6|152.6| 72.8| 90.5|62.7
C. |50 |Mandya Brahman |165.7|177.8|150.6| 73. | 97.8|58.4
C. |50 |Vakkaliga, Mysore |167.2|181. |155.2| 73. | 85. |62.3
Tam.|40 |Vellala |162.4|172.8|153.2| 73.1| 91.5|60.8
Tel.|30 |Padma Sale |159.9|171.4|153.8| 73.2| 83.7|61.5
C. |40 |Okkiliyan |166. |179.6|154.6| 73.5| 90.7|63.5
C. |50 |Kuruba, Mysore |163.6|174.2|152. | 73.5| 88.4|64.
Mar.|30 |Rangari |161.3|168.4|154.4| 73.6| 84.1|63.5
Tam.|42 |Idaiyan |164.3|178. |154.6| 73.6| 91. |62.7
Tel.|25 |K mati, Sandur |162.5|169.2|153.4| 74.1| 88.9|62.5
C. |30 |Linga Banajiga |163.4|171.2|154. | 74.1| 85.7|60.4
Tel.|60 |Golla |163.8|173.8|151. | 74.1| 83. |61.5
M. |40 |Tiyan |164.2|171.6|155.2| 74.2| 85.7|61.5
Tam.|40 |Agamudaiyan |165.8|175.6|153.6| 74.2| 88.9|73.8
Tel.|39 |Tota Balija |163.9|176.8|149.6| 74.4| 83. |65.4
C. |25 |Linga Banajiga, Sandur |165.6|173. |157.8| 74.6| 86.4|61.5
Mar.|30 |Sukun Sale |160.3|167.6|152.5| 74.8| 84.4|61.5
Mar.|30 |Suka Sale |161.1|170. |147.8| 74.8| 86.1|62.3
C. |50 |Panchala |162.3|177.2|151.6| 74.8| 88.9|62.
C. |50 |Kuruba, Hospet |162.7|175.4|162.2| 74.9| 92.2|75.8
.. |82 |Toda, Nilgiris |169.8|186.8|157.6| 74.9| 89.1|61.2
C. |50 |Boya |160.8|171.6|151.9| 75. | 86. |66.
Tel.|50 |Telugu Banajiga |164.6|176.2|151.6| 75. | 97.7|66.
M. |40 |Mappilla, Muhammadan |164.8|174.4|145. | 75.1| 88.1|64.
C. |50 |Holeya |162.8|175.2|151.5| 75.1| 88.9|64.6
... |40 |Badaga, Nilgiris |164.1|180.2|154. | 75.6| 88.4|62.7
Mar.|24 |Desastha Brahman |163.4|175. |151.4| 75.8| 87.2|66.7
Tel.|60 |Bestha |165.7|181. |155. | 75.9| 100.|63.3
C. |30 |Toreya |164.2|180.6|156.4| 76.1| 87.2|62.7
Tel.|30 |Mala |163.9|175. |153.8| 76.2| 93.2|67.3
Tam.|40 |Pathan Muhammadan |164.4|177.6|155.6| 76.2| 83.1|71.1
Tam.|25 |Pattar Brahman |164.3|175. |153.4| 76.5| 95.3|64.7
...|25 |Kota, Nilgiris |162.9|174.2|155. | 77.2| 92.9|64.
Tam.|40 |Palli |162.5|171.6|149.8| 77.3| 90.5|68.3
Tam.|40 |Kammalan |159.7|171.8|146.4| 77.3| 90.9|63.3
Tel.|40 |Odde |164.4|172.4|155. | 77.3| 93. |65.4
C. |40 |Bedar, Hospet |165.4|176.6|156. | 77.5| 93. |78.1
Tel.|40 |Madiga, Hospet |162.9|173.4|152.2| 77.5|90.1 |66.7
Tel.|30 |Togata |160.5|168.9|151.4| 77.5|93.9 |68.8
Tam.|50 |Malaiyali |163.9|173.2|153.2| 77.8|100. |63.8
Tel.|25 |Komati, Adoni |161. |168.3|153.2| 77.8|100. |65.3
Tam.|40 |Palli |162.5|169.4|151. | 77.9|95.1 |60.8
M. |25 |Cheruman |157.5|166.4|145.8| 78.1|88.9 |69.6
Tam.|50 |Chakkiliyan |162.2|174.5|150.3| 78.9|97.6 |64.
M. |24 |Pulayan |153. |162.6|143.4| 79.3|92.7 |68.
C. |25 |Bedar, Adoni |165.4|176.2|156.6| 79.4|91. |65.2
Tam.|40 |Paraiyan |162.1|171.4|149.4| 80. |91.8 |66.
J. |57 |Urali |159.5|171.6|147.8| 80.1|97.7 |66.7
Tam.|40 |Irula |159.9|166.8|150.2| 80.4|90.5 |79.
Tel.|30 |Madiga, Adoni |163.1|173.2|154.2| 80.8|102.6|69.4
M. |40 |Mukkuvan |163.1|177.8|150.8| 81. |104.8|62.5
M. |18 |Kanikar |158.7|170.4|148. | 81.2|90.5 |70.8
Tam.|50 |Pallan |164.3|177.6|151.5| 81.5|100. |68.8
J. |40 |Chenchu |162.5|175. |148. | 81.9|95.7 |68.1
J. |26 |Pulayan |150.5|158.4|143.1| 82.9|100.2|70.8
J. |20 |Kanikar |155.2|170.3|150.2| 84.6|105. |72.3
J. |25 |Mala Vedan |154.2|163.8|140.8| 84.9|102.6|71.1
J. |25 |Irula |159.8|168. |152. | 84.9|100. |72.3
J. |20 |Sholaga |159.3|170.4|151.2| 85.1|107.7|72.8
J. |22 |Kurumba |158. |167. |149.6| 86.1|111.1|70.8
J. |23 |Malasar |161.2|170.5|152.8| 87.2|102.4|75.4
J. |23 |Kadir |157.7|169.4|148.6| 89.8|115.4|72.9
J. |25 |Paniyan |157.4|171.6|152. | 95.1|108.6|72.9
============================================================================
CASTES AND TRIBES OF SOUTHERN INDIA.
Abhisheka.--Abhisheka Pandarams are those who are made to pass through
some ceremonies in connection with Saiva Agama.
Acchu Tali.--A sub-division of Vaniyan. The name refers to the peculiar
tali (marriage badge) worn by married women.
Acchuvaru.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as
"Oriya-speaking carriers of grain, etc., on pack bullocks. Treated
as a sub-division of Gaudo." The Acchuvarus are not Oriya people,
but are attached to the Devanga weavers, and receive their name from
the fact that they do acchupani, i.e., thread the long comb-like
structures of the hand-loom. They correspond to the Jatipillais of
the Kaikolan weavers, who do acchuvelai.
Acchu Vellala.--A name assumed by some Pattanavans.
Achan.--Achan, meaning father or lord, was returned, at the Cochin
census, 1901, as a title of Nayars. According to Mr. Wigram [43]
it is used as a title of the following:--
1. Males in the Royal Family of Palghat.
2. The minister of the Calicut Raja, known as Mangat Achan.
3. The minister of the Cochin Raja, known as Paliyat Achan.
4. The minister of the second Raja of Calicut, known as Chenli Achan.
Acharapakam Chetti.--One of the sub-divisions of the Chettis, generally
grouped among the Beri Chettis (q.v.).
Achari.--See Asari.
Adapadava (man of the wallet).--A name, referring to the dressing-bag
which barbers carry, applied to Lingayat barbers in South Canara.
Adapapa.--Returned in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a sub-caste
of Balija. The name is applied to female attendants on the ladies of
the families of Zamindars, who, as they are not allowed to marry, lead
a life of prostitution. Their sons call themselves Balijas (see Khasa).
Adavi (forest or jungle).--The name of a sub-division of Yanadis,
and also of a section of Gollas in Mysore. [44]
Adaviyar.--Adaviyar or Ataviyar is the name of a class of
Tamil-speaking weavers found in the Tanjore and Tinnevelly districts.
Addaku (Bauhinia racemosa).--A sept of Jatapu. The leaves of this
tree are largely used as food platters, in Madras, and generally on
the east coast.
Addapu Singa.--Mendicants who beg only from Mangalas in the Telugu
country.
Adhigari.--Defined by Mr. Wigram [45] as the head of the amsam or
parish in Malabar, corresponding to the Manigar (village munsiff)
in east coast districts and Patel in South Canara. The title Adhigari
(one in power) is assumed by some Agamudaiyans, and Adhikari occurs
as an exogamous sept of the Badagas, and the title of village headman
among some Oriya castes. In South Canara, it is a sept of Stanika.
Adi (primitive or original).--The name of a division of Linga Balijas,
and of Velamas who have abandoned the practice of keeping their
females gosha (in seclusion). It is also applied by the Chenchus to
the original members of their tribe, from whom the man-lion Narasimha
obtained his bride Chenchita.
Adichchan.--A sub-division of Nayar.
Adikal (slaves or servants).--Included among the Ambalavasis. It
is recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, that "tradition
states that Sankaracharya, to test the fidelity of certain Brahmins
to the established ordinances of caste, went to a liquor-shop, and
drank some stimulants. Not recognising that the obligations, from
which adepts like Sankara were free, were none the less binding
on the proletariat, the Brahmins that accompanied the sage made
this an excuse for their drinking too. Sankara is said to have then
entered a foundry, and swallowed a cup of molten metal, and handed
another to the Brahmins, who had apparently made up their minds to
do all that may be done by the Acharya. But they begged to differ,
apologised to him as Atiyals or humble servants, and accepted social
degradation in expiation of their sinful presumption. They are now
the priests in temples dedicated to Bhadrakali, and other goddesses
who receive offerings of liquor. They practise sorcery, and aid in
the exorcising of spirits. They have the upanayana-samskara, and
wear the sacred thread. The simantam ceremony is not performed. They
are to repeat the Gayatri (hymn) ten times, and observe eleven days'
death pollution. Their own caste-men act as priests. The Atiyammamar
wear the same jewellery as the Nambutiri women, but they do not screen
themselves by a cadjan (palm leaf) umbrella when they go out in public,
nor are they accompanied by a Nayar maid."
Adimittam.--An occupational sub-division of Marans, who clean the
court-yards of temples in Travancore.
Adisaivar.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "a
sub-caste of Vellala. They are singers of Devara hymns in Saiva
temples." The name indicates those who have been Saivites from the
beginning, as opposed to recent Saivites. Adisaivas are Saivites, who
have survived the absorbing influence of the Lingayat sect. Saivites
who profess the Lingayat doctrines are known as Virasaivas. Some
Pandarams, who belong to the Sozhia sub-division of the Vellalas,
regularly recite Tamil verses from Thevaram and Tiruvachagam in
Saivite temples. This being their profession, they are also called
Oduvar (readers or reciters).
Aditya Varada.--Kurubas, who worship their God on Sunday.
Adiyan.--Adiyan (adi, foot) has been defined [46] as meaning literally
"a slave, but usually applied to the vassals of Tamburans and other
powerful patrons. Each Adiyan had to acknowledge his vassalage
by paying annually a nuzur (gift of money) to his patron, and was
supposed also to be ready to render service whenever needed. This
yearly nuzur, which did not generally exceed one or two fanams, was
called adima-panam" (slave money), adima meaning feudal dependency
on a patron.
Adiyodi.--Adiyodi or Atiyoti, meaning slave or vassal, has been
returned at times of census as a sub-division of Samantan. It is,
Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [47] "the caste of the Kadattanad Rajah in
North Malabar. The tradition is that, when he was driven out of his
territories in and around Calicut by the Zamorin, he took shelter
under the Rajah of Chirakkal, who gave him the Kadattanad country to
hold as his vassal. Some Atiyotis advance no pretension to be above
Nayars in rank."
Adutton (a bystander).--A synonym for Kavutiyan, a caste of Malayalam
barbers. In like manner, the name Ambattan for Tamil barbers is said to
be derived from the Sanskrit amba (near), s'tha (to stand), indicating
that they stand near to shave their clients or treat their patients.
Agamudaiyan.--The Agamudaiyans, Mr. W. Francis writes, [48] are "a
cultivating caste found in all the Tamil districts. In Chingleput,
North Arcot, Salem, Coimbatore and Trichinopoly, they are much less
numerous than they were thirty years ago. The reason probably is that
they have risen in the social scale, and have returned themselves as
Vellalas. Within the same period, their strength has nearly doubled
in Tanjore, perhaps owing to the assumption of the name by other
castes like the Maravans and Kallans. In their manners and customs
they closely follow the Vellalas. Many of these in the Madura district
are the domestic servants of the Marava Zamindars." The Agamudaiyans
who have settled in the North Arcot district are described [49] by
Mr. H. A. Stuart as "a class of cultivators differing widely from
the Agamudaiyans of the Madura district. The former are closely
allied to the Vellalas, while the latter are usually regarded as a
more civilised section of the southern Maravans. It may be possible
that the Agamudaiyans of North Arcot are the descendants of the first
immigrants from the Madura district, who, after long settlement in
the north, severed all connexions with their southern brethren." In
some districts, Agamudaiyan occurs as a synonym of Vellalas, Pallis
and Melakkarans, who consider that Agamudaiyan is a better caste name
than their own.
The Agamudaiyans proper are found in the Tanjore, Madura, and
Tinnevelly districts.
It is noted in the Tanjore Manual that Ahamudaiyar (the equivalent of
Agamudaiyan) is "derived from the root aham, which, in Tamil, has many
significations. In one of these, it means a house, in another earth,
and hence it has two meanings, householder and landholder; the suffix
Udeiyar indicating ownership. The word is also used in another form,
ahambadiyan, derived from another meaning of the same root, i.e.,
inside. And, in this derivation, it signifies a particular caste, whose
office it was to attend to the business in the interior of the king's
palace, or in the pagoda." "The name," Mr. J. H. Nelson writes, [50]
"is said by the Rev. G. U. Pope, in his edition of the Abbé Dubois'
work, [51] to be derived from aham, a temple, and padi, a step, and to
have been given to them in consequence of their serving about the steps
of temples. But, independently of the fact that Madura pagodas are not
approached by flights of steps, this seems to be a very far-fetched and
improbable derivation of the word. I am inclined to doubt whether it
be not merely a vulgar corruption of the well-known word Ahamudeiyan,
possessor of a house, the title which Tamil Brahmans often use in
speaking of a man to his wife, in order to avoid the unpolite term
husband. Or, perhaps, the name comes from aham in the sense of earth,
and pati, master or possessor."
Concerning the connection which exists between the Maravans, Kallans,
and Agamudaiyans (see Kallan), the following is one version of a
legend, which is narrated. The father of Ahalya decided to give her
in marriage to one who remained submerged under water for a thousand
years. Indra only managed to remain thus for five hundred years, but
Gautama succeeded in remaining for the whole of the stipulated period,
and became the husband of Ahalya. Indra determined to have intercourse
with her, and, assuming the guise of a cock, went at midnight to the
abode of Gautama, and crowed. Gautama, thinking that daybreak was
arriving, got up, and went to a river to bathe. While he was away,
Indra assumed his form, and accomplished his desire. Ahalya is said
to have recognised the deception after two children, who became the
ancestors of the Maravans and Kallans, were born to her. A third child
was born later on, from whom the Agamudaiyans are descended. According
to another version of the legend, the first-born child is said to have
faced Gautama without fear, and Agamudaiyan is accordingly derived
from aham or agam, pride, and udaiyan, possessor. There is a Tamil
proverb to the effect that a Kallan may come to be a Maravan. By
respectability he may develope into an Agamudaiyan, and, by slow
degrees, become a Vellala, from which he may rise to be a Mudaliar.
Of the three castes, Kallan, Maravan and Agamudaiyan, the last are said
to have "alone been greatly influenced by contact with Brahmanism. They
engage Brahman priests, and perform their birth, marriage, and death
ceremonies like the Vellalas." [52] I am told that the more prosperous
Agamudaiyans in the south imitate the Vellalas in their ceremonial
observances, and the poorer classes the Maravans.
Agamudaiyan has been returned, at times of census, as a sub-division of
Maravan and Kallan. In some places, the Agamudaiyans style themselves
sons of Sembunattu Maravans. At Ramnad, in the Madura district, they
carry the fire-pot to the burning ground at the funeral of a Maravan,
and also bring the water for washing the corpse. In the Tanjore
district the Agamudaiyans are called Terkittiyar, or southerners,
a name which is also applied to Kallans, Maravans, and Valaiyans. The
ordinary title of the Agamudaiyans is Servaikkaran, but many of them
call themselves, like the Vellalas, Pillai. Other titles, returned
at times of census, are Adhigari and Mudaliar.
At the census, 1891, the following were returned as the more
important sub-divisions of the Agamudaiyans:--Aivali Nattan,
Kottaipattu, Malainadu, Nattumangalam, Rajaboja, Rajakulam,
Rajavasal, Kallan, Maravan, Tuluvan (cf. Tuluva Vellala) and
Servaikkaran. The name Rajavasal denotes those who are servants of
Rajas, and has been transformed into Rajavamsa, meaning those of kingly
parentage. Kottaipattu means those of the fort, and the Agamudaiyans
believe that the so-called Kottai Vellalas of the Tinnevelly
district are really Kottaipattu Agamudaiyans. One sub-division of
the Agamudaiyans is called Sani (cow-dung). Unlike the Maravans and
Kallans, the Agamudaiyans have no exogamous septs, or kilais.
It is recorded, in the Mackenzie Manuscripts, that "among the Maravas,
the kings or the rulers of districts, or principal men, are accustomed
to perform the ceremony of tying on the tali, or in performing the
marriage at once in full, with reference to females of the Agambadiyar
tribe. The female children of such marriages can intermarry with the
Maravas, but not among the Agambadiyar tribe. On the other hand, the
male offspring of such marriages is considered to be of the mother's
tribe, and can intermarry with the Agambadiyas, but not in the tribe
of the Maravas." I am told that, under ordinary circumstances, the
offspring of a marriage between a Maravan and Agamudaiyan becomes an
Agamudaiyan, but that, if the husband is a man of position, the male
issues are regarded as Maravans. Adult marriage appears to be the
rule among the Agamudaiyans, but sometimes, as among the Maravans,
Kallans and other castes, young boys are, in the southern districts,
sometimes married to grown-up girls.
The marriage ceremonial, as carried out among the poorer Agamudaiyans,
is very simple. The sister of the bridegroom proceeds to the home of
the bride on an auspicious day, followed by a few females carrying a
woman's cloth, a few jewels, flowers, etc. The bride is seated close
to a wall, facing east. She is dressed up in the cloth which has been
brought, and seated on a plank. Betel leaves, areca nuts, and flowers
are presented to her by the bridegroom's sister, and she puts them
in her lap. A turmeric-dyed string or garland is then placed round
the bride's neck by the bridegroom's sister, while the conch shell
(musical instrument), is blown. On the same day the bride is conducted
to the home of the bridegroom, and a feast is held.
The more prosperous Agamudaiyans celebrate their marriages according
to the Puranic type, which is the form in vogue amongst most of the
Tamil castes, with variations. The astrologer is consulted in order
to ascertain whether the pair agree in some at least of the points
enumerated below. For this purpose, the day of birth, zodiacal signs,
planets and asterisms under which the pair were born, are taken into
consideration:--
1. Varam (day of birth).--Days are calculated, commencing with the
first day after the new moon. Counting from the day on which the
girl was born, if the young man's birthday happens to be the fourth,
seventh, thirteenth, sixteenth, or seventeenth, it is considered good.
2. Ganam (class or tribe).--There are three ganams, called Manusha,
Deva, and Rakshasa. Of the twenty-seven asterisms, Aswini, Bharani,
etc., some are Manusha, some Deva, and some Rakshasa ganam. Ashtham
and Swathi are considered to be of Deva ganam, so individuals born
under these asterisms are regarded as belonging to Deva ganam. Those
born under the asterisms Bharani, Rogini, Puram, Puradam, Uththaradam,
etc., belong to the Manusha ganam. Under Rakshasa ganam are included
Krithika, Ayilyam, Makam, Visakam, and other asterisms. The bridal
pair should belong to the same ganam, as far as possible. Manusha
and Deva is a tolerable combination, whereas Rakshasa and Deva,
or Rakshasa and Manusha, are bad combinations.
3. Sthridirgam (woman's longevity).--The young man's birthday should
be beyond the thirteenth day, counting from the birthday of the girl.
4. Yoni (female generative organs).--The asterisms are supposed to
belong to several animals. An individual belongs to the animal to
which the asterism under which he was born belongs. For example, a
man is a horse if his asterism is Aswini, a cow if his asterism is
Uththirattadhi, and so on. The animals of husband and wife must be
on friendly terms, and not enemies. The elephant and man, horse and
cow, dog and monkey, cat and mouse, are enemies. The animals of man
and wife should not both be males. Nor should the man be a female,
or the wife a male animal.
5. Rasi (zodiacal sign).--Beginning from the girl's zodiacal sign,
the young man's should be beyond the sixth.
6. Rasyathipathi (planet in the zodiacal sign).--The ruling planets
of the zodiacal signs of the pair should not be enemies.
7. Vasyam.--The zodiacal signs of the pair should be compatible, e.g.,
Midunam and Kanni, Singam and Makaram, Dhanus and Minam, Thulam and
Makaram, etc.
8. Rajju (string).--The twenty-seven asterisms are arranged at various
points on four parallel lines drawn across three triangles. These lines
are called the leg, thigh, abdomen, and neck rajjus. The vertices of
the triangles are the head rajjus. The asterisms of the pair should
not be on the same rajju, and it is considered to be specially bad
if they are both on the neck.
9. Vriksham (tree).--The asterisms belong to a number of trees, e.g.:--
Aswini, Strychnos Nux-vomica.
Bharani, Phyllanthus Emblica.
Krithikai, Ficus glomerata.
Puram, Butea frondosa.
Hastham, Sesbania grandiflora.
Thiruvonam, Calotropis gigantea.
Uththirattadhi, Melia Azadirachta.
Some of the trees are classed as milky, and others as dry. The young
man's tree should be dry, and that of the girl milky, or both milky.
10. Pakshi (birds).--Certain asterisms also belong to birds, and the
birds of the pair should be on friendly terms, e.g., peacock and fowl.
11. Jadi (caste).--The zodiacal signs are grouped into castes as
follows:--
Brahman, Karkatakam, Minam, and Dhanus.
Kshatriya, Mesham, Vrischikam.
Vaisya, Kumbam, Thulam.
Sudra, Rishabam, Makaram.
Lower castes, Midhunam, Singam, and Kanni.
The young man should be of a higher caste, according to the zodiacal
signs, than the girl.
After ascertaining the agreement of the pair, some close relations
of the young man proceed to some distance northward, and wait
for omens. If the omens are auspicious, they are satisfied. Some,
instead of so going, go to a temple, and seek the omens either by
placing flowers on the idol, and watching the direction in which
they fall, or by picking up a flower from a large number strewn in
front of the idol. If the flower picked up, and the one thought of,
are of the same colour, it is regarded as a good omen. The betrothal
ceremony is an important event. As soon as the people have assembled,
the bridegroom's party place in their midst the pariyam cloth and
jewels. Some responsible person inspects them, and, on his pronouncing
that they are correct, permission is given to draw up the lagna
patrika (letter of invitation, containing the date of marriage,
etc.). Vigneswara (the elephant god Ganesa) is then worshipped,
with the lagna patrika in front of him. This is followed by the
announcement of the forthcoming marriage by the purohit (priest),
and the settlement of the amount of the pariyam (bride's money). For
the marriage celebration, a pandal (booth) is erected, and a dais,
constructed of clay and laterite earth, is set up inside it. From
the day on which the pandal is erected until the wedding day, the
contracting couple have to go through the nalagu ceremony separately or
together. This consists in having their bodies smeared with turmeric
paste (Phaseolus Mungo paste), and gingelly (Sesamum) oil. On the
wedding day, the bridegroom, after a clean shave, proceeds to the house
of the bride. The finger and toe-nails of the bride are cut. The pair
offer pongal (boiled rice) to the family deity and their ancestors. A
square space is cleared in the centre of the dais for the sacred fire
(homam). A many-branched lamp, representing the thousand-eyed Indra,
is placed to the east of the square. The purohit, who is regarded
as equivalent to Yama (the god of death), and a pot with a lamp on
it representing Agni devata, occupy the south-east corner. Women
representing Niruti (a devata) are posted in the south-west corner.
The direction of Varuna (the god of water) being west, the bridegroom
occupies this position. The best man, who represents Vayu (the god of
wind) is placed in the north-west corner. As the position of Kubera
(the god of wealth) is the north, a person, with a bag full of money,
is seated on that side. A grinding-stone and roller, representing
Siva and Sakthi, are placed in the north-east corner, and, at their
side, pans containing nine kinds of seedlings, are set. Seven pots
are arranged in a row between the grinding-stone and the branched
lamp. Some married women bring water from seven streams or seven
different places, and pour it into a pot in front of the lamp. The
milk-post (pal kambam) is set up between the lamp and the row of
pots. This post is usually made of twigs of Ficus religiosa, Ficus
bengalensis, and Erythrina indica, tied together and representing
Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva. Sometimes, however, twigs of Odina Wodier,
and green bamboo sticks, are substituted. At the close of the marriage
ceremonies, the Erythrina or Odina twig is planted, and it is regarded
as a good sign if it takes root and grows. The sacred fire is kindled,
and the bridegroom goes through the upanayana (thread investiture)
and other ceremonies. He then goes away from the house in procession
(paradesa pravesam), and is met by the bride's father, who brings him
back to the pandal. The bride's father and mother then wash his feet,
and rings are put on his toes (kalkattu, or tying the leg). The purohit
gives the bridegroom a thread (kankanam), and, after washing the feet
of the bride's father and mother, ties it on his wrist. A thread is
also tied on the left wrist of the bride. The pair being seated in
front of the sacred fire, a ceremony called Nandisradham (memorial
service to ancestors) is performed, and new clothes are given to the
pair. The next item is the tying of the tali (marriage badge). The
tali is usually tied on a turmeric-dyed thread, placed on a cocoanut,
and taken round to be blessed by all present. Then the purohit gives
the tali to the bridegroom, and he ties it on the bride's neck amidst
silence, except for the music played by the barber or Melakkaran
musicians. While the tali is being tied, the bridegroom's sister
stands behind the bride, holding a lamp in her hand. The bridegroom
ties one knot, and his sister ties two knots. After the tali-tying,
small plates of gold or silver, called pattam, are tied on the
foreheads of the pair, and presents of money and cloths are made to
them by their relations and friends. They then go seven times round
the pandal, and, at the end of the seventh round, they stand close to
the grinding-stone, on which the bridegroom places the bride's left
foot. They take their seats on the dais, and the bridegroom, taking
some parched rice (pori) from the bride's brother, puts it in the
sacred fire. Garlands of flowers are given to the bride and bridegroom,
who put them on, and exchange them three or five times. They then
roll flowers made into a ball. This is followed by the waving of
arathi (coloured water), and circumambulation of the pandal by the
pair, along with the ashtamangalam or eight auspicious things, viz.,
the bridesmaid, best man, lamp, vessel filled with water, mirror,
ankusam (elephant goad), white chamara (yak's tail fly-flapper), flag
and drum. Generally the pair go three times round the pandal, and,
during the first turn, a cocoanut is broken near the grinding-stone,
and the bride is told that it is Siva, and the roller Sakthi, the two
combined being emblematical of Ardanarisvara, a bisexual representation
of Siva and Parvathi. During the second round, the story of Arundati
is repeated to the bride. Arundati was the wife of the Rishi Vasishta,
and is looked up to as a model of conjugal fidelity. The morning star
is supposed to be Arundati, and the purohit generally points it out
to the bridal pair at the close of the ceremonial, which terminates
with three homams. The wedding may be concluded in a single day,
or last for two or three days.
The dead are either buried or cremated. The corpse is carried to the
burning or burial-ground on a bier or palanquin. As the Agamudaiyans
are Saivites, Pandarams assist at the funeral ceremonies. On the second
or third day after death, the son and others go to the spot where the
corpse was buried or burnt, and offer food, etc., to the deceased. A
pot of water is left at the spot. Those who are particular about
performing the death ceremonies on an elaborate scale offer cooked food
to the soul of dead person until the fifteenth day, and carry out the
final death ceremonies (karmandhiram) on the sixteenth day. Presents
are then given to Brahmans, and, after the death pollution has been
removed by sprinkling with holy water (punyaham), a feast is given
to the relatives.
The Agamudaiyans worship various minor deities, such as Aiyanar,
Pidari, and Karupannaswami.
Agaru.--Agaru, or Avaru, is recorded, in the Madras Census Report,
1901, as a small caste of Telugu cultivators in Vizagapatam and
Ganjam, who are also sellers of vegetables and betel leaves. Agaru
is said to mean betel in their language, which they call Bhasha,
and contains a good deal of Oriya. An extensive colony of Agarus is
settled at Nellimerla near Vizianagram. Both males and females engage
in the cultivation of the betel vine, and different kinds of greens,
which find a ready sale in the Vizianagram market. Marriage is usually
after puberty, and an Oriya Brahman officiates. The dead are burnt.
Agarwal.--A few members of this Upper India trading caste, who deal
in grain and jewellery, and are also bankers and usurers, have been
returned at times of census.
Agasa.--In the South Canara district, there are three distinct classes
of washermen, viz., (1) Konkani Christians; (2) Canarese-speaking
washermen, who seem to be allied to the Agasas of Mysore; (3)
Tulu-speaking washermen. The Tulu-speaking Agasas follow the aliya
santana law of inheritance (in the female line). Madivala (madi, a
clean cloth) is a synonym for Agasa. The word Agasa is derived from
agasi, a turban.
The Agasas of Mysore have been described as follows. [53] "The Agasa
is a member of the village hierarchy, his office being hereditary,
and his remuneration being grain fees from the ryots. Besides washing,
he occasionally ekes out his substance by carrying on his donkeys
grain from place to place. He is also employed in bearing the torch
in marriage and other public ceremonies. The principal object of
worship is the pot of boiling water (ubbe), in which dirty clothes
are steeped. Animals are sacrificed to the god with the view of
preventing the clothes being burnt in the ubbe pot. Under the name
of Bhuma Deva, there are temples dedicated to this god in some large
towns, the service being conducted by pujaris (priests) of the Agasa
caste. The Agasas are Vishnuvaits, and pray to Vishnu, Pattalamma,
and the Saktis. Their gurus (religious preceptors) are Satanis. A
unique custom is attached to the washerman's office. When a girl-wife
attains puberty, it is the duty and privilege of the washerman to carry
the news, accompanied by certain presents, to her husband's parents,
for which the messenger is duly rewarded."
The Tulu Madivalas of the South Canara district, like other Tulu
castes, have exogamous septs or balis. They will wash clothes for
all castes above the Billavas. They also supply cloths for decorating
the marriage booth and funeral cars, and carry torches. They worship
bhuthas (devils), of whom the principal one seems to be Jumadi. At
the time of kolas (bhutha festivals), the Madivalas have the right
to cut off the heads of the fowls or goats, which are sacrificed. The
animals are held by Pombadas or Paravas, and the Madivala decapitates
them. On the seventh day after the birth of a child, the washerwoman
ties a thread round its waist. For purificatory ceremonies, the
Madivali should give washed clothes to those under pollution.
In their ceremonial observances, the Madivalas closely follow the
Bants. In some places, they have a headman called, as among the Bants,
Gurikara or Guttinaya. At marriages, the pouring of the dhare water
over the united hands of the bride and bridegroom is the duty of the
father or maternal uncle of the bride, not of the headman.
Some Maratha washermen call themselves Dandu (army) Agasa.
The insigne of the washermen at Conjeeveram is a pot, such as that
in which clothes are boiled.
Agastya (the name of a sage).--An exogamous sept of Kondaiyamkottai
Maravans.
Agni (fire).--An exogamous sept of the Kurubas and Gollas, and
sub-division of the Pallis or Vanniyans. The equivalent Aggi occurs as
an exogamous sept of Boya. The Pallis claim to be Agnikula Kshatriyas,
i.e., to belong to the fire race of Kshatriyas.
Agraharekala.--A sub-division of Bhatrazu, meaning those who belong
to the agraharam, or Brahman quarter of a village.
Ahir.--A few members of this Upper India caste of cowherds have been
returned at times of census.
Ahmedi.--Returned, at times of census, as a general name for
Muhammadans.
Aivattukuladavaru (people of fifty families).--A synonym for Bakuda.
Aiya.--Aiya or Ayya, meaning father, is the title of many classes,
which include Dasari, Devanga, Golla, Idiga, Jangam, Konda Dora,
Komati, Koppala Velama, Linga Balija, Mangala, Muka Dora, Paidi,
Satani, Servegara, and Tambala. It is further a title of the
Patnulkarans, who claim to be Brahmans, and a sub-division of the
Tamil Pallans.
Aiyar occurs very widely as a title among Tamil Brahmans, and is
replaced in the Telugu and Canarese countries by Bhatlu, Pantulu, and
Sastrulu. It is noted by the Rev. A. Margöschis that "the honorific
title Aiyar was formerly used exclusively by Brahmans, but has now
come to be used by every native clergyman. The name which precedes
the title will enable us to discover whether the man is Christian
or Hindu. Thus Yesudian Aiyar means the Aiyar who is the servant of
Jesus." The Rev. G. U. Pope, the well-known Tamil scholar, was known
as Pope Aiyar.
Aiyanar.--A sub-division of Kallan, named after Aiyanar, the only
male deity among the Grama Devata or village deities.
Aiyarakulu.--In the Madras Census Report, 1901, Aiyarakam is summed
up as being a caste of Telugu cultivators, who, in their social
and religious observances, closely follow the Kapus and Balijas, may
intermarry with Telagas, and will accept drinking water from the hands
of Gollas. According to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao, to whom I am indebted
for the following note, the Aiyarakulu are a section of Kapus, who
rose in the social scale by Royal favour. The name is derived from
aiya and rikam, denoting the act of being an aiya or distinguished
person. The Aiyarakulu state that their forefathers were soldiers in
the Vizianagram army, and rendered great services to the Rajas. They
have a story to the effect that, on one occasion, they proceeded on an
expedition against a Golconda force, and gave so much trouble to the
Muhammadan commander thereof that, after putting them to the sword,
he proceeded to their own country, to destroy their homes. On hearing
of this, the women, dressing themselves in male attire, advanced with
bayonets and battle-axes against the Muhammadans, and drove them off
in great disorder. The Raja, in return for their gallant conduct,
adorned their legs with silver bangles, such as the women still wear
at the present day.
The Aiyarakulu are divided into gotras, such as naga (cobra), tabelu
(tortoise), etc., which are strictly totemistic, and are further
divided into exogamous septs or intiperulu. The custom of menarikam,
according to which a man should marry his maternal uncle's daughter,
is in force. Girls are married before puberty, and a Brahman officiates
at the wedding rites, during which the bride and bridegroom wear silver
sacred threads, which are subsequently converted into rings. Some
Aiyarakulu call themselves Razus, and wear the sacred thread, but
interdine and intermarry with other members of the community. The
remarriage of widows, and divorce are forbidden.
The principal occupation of the Aiyarakulus is cultivating, but, in
some parts, many of them are cart-drivers plying between the plains
of Vizagapatam and the Agency tracts. The usual title of members of
the caste is Patrudu.
Akasam (sky).--An exogamous sept of Devanga.
Akattu Charna.--A sub-division of Nayar.
Akattulavar.--A name, indicating those inside (in seclusion or gosha),
by which Nambutiri and Elayad and other females are called.
Akshantala (rice grain).--A gotra of Odde. Akshathayya is the name
of a gotra of Gollas, who avoid rice coloured with turmeric and
other materials.
Akula (betel leaf: Piper Betle).--An exogamous sept of Kamma and
Bonthuk Savara, and a sub-division of Kapu. The presentation of betel
leaves and areca nuts, called pan-supari, as a complimentary offering
is a wide-spread Indian custom.
Ala.--A sub-division of Golla.
Alagi (pot).--An exogamous sept of Vakkaliga.
Alavan.--The Alavans are summed up, in the Madras Census Report,
1901, as "workers in salt-pans, who are found only in Madura and
Tinnevelly. Their titles are Pannaiyan and Muppan. They are not allowed
to enter Hindu temples." In the Travancore Census Report, 1901, it is
recorded that "the Alavans or Uppalavans (salt Alavans) are so called
because they work in alams or salt-pans. Three or four centuries ago,
seven families of them are said to have been brought over from the
Pandyan territory to Travancore, to work in the salt-pans. It is said
that there are at Tamarakkulam, Puttalam, and other places in South
Travancore, inscriptions recording their immigration, but these have
not been deciphered. They speak Tamil. They are flesh-eaters. Drinking
is rare among them. Burial was the rule in ancient days, but now the
dead are sometimes burned. Tattooing is a general custom. The tutelary
deities are Sasta and Bhadrakali. As a class the Alavans are very
industrious. There are no better salt labourers in all Southern India."
Albino.--The picture drawn by the Abbé Dubois [54] of albino Natives is
not a pleasant one. "This extreme fairness," he says, "is unnatural,
and makes them very repulsive to look at. In fact, these unfortunate
beings are objects of horror to every one, and even their parents
desert them. They are looked upon as lepers. They are called Kakrelaks
as a term of reproach. Kakrelaks are horrible insects, disgustingly
dirty, which give forth a loathsome odour, and shun the day and its
light. The question has been raised as to whether these degenerate
individuals can produce children like themselves, and afflicted with
nyctalopia. Such a child has never come under my observation; but I
once baptised the child of a female Kakrelak, who owed its birth to
a rash European soldier. These unfortunate wretches are denied decent
burial after death, and are cast into ditches."
This reference to albinos by the observant Abbé may be amplified
by the notes taken on several albino Natives in Madras and Mysore,
which show, inter alia, that the lot of the present day albino is
not an unhappy one.
Chinna Abboye, æt. 35. Shepherd caste. Rope (insigne of office) round
waist for driving cattle, and tying the legs of cows when milking
them. Yellowish-white hair where long, as in the kudumi. Bristles
on top of shaved head pure white. Greenish-brown iris. Father dark;
mother, like himself, has white hair and pink skin. One brother an
albino, married. One child of the usual Native type. Cannot see well
in glare of sunlight, but sees better towards sunset. Screws his
eyelids into transverse slits. Mother kind to him.
Vembu Achari, æt. 20. Artist. Kudumi (top-knot) yellowish-white. White
eyebrows and moustache. Bright pink lips, and pink complexion. Iris
light blue with pink radiating striæ and pink peripheral zone. Sees
best in the evening when the sun is low on the horizon. Screws up his
eyelids to act as a diaphragm. Mother, father, brothers and sisters,
all of the ordinary Native type. No relations albino, as far as he
knows. Engaged to be married. People like himself are called chevapu
(red-coloured), or, in derision, vellakaran (European or white
man). Children sometimes make game of him, but people generally are
kind to him.
Moonoosawmy, æt. 45. Belongs to the weaver class, and is a well-to-do
man. Albino. Had an albino sister, and a brother of the ordinary
type. Is the father of ten children, of whom five are albinos. They
are on terms of equality with the other members of their community, and
one daughter is likely to be married to the son of a prosperous man.
----, æt. 22. Fisherman caste. Albino. His maternal uncle had an
albino daughter. Has four brothers, of whom two are albinos. Cannot
stand the glare of the sun, and is consequently unable to do outdoor
work. Moves freely among the members of his community, and could
easily secure a wife, if he was in a position to support one.
----, æt. 36. Rajput. Hardware merchant. His father, of ordinary Native
type, had twelve children, five of whom were albino, by an albino wife,
whose brother was also albino. Married to a woman of Native type,
and had one non-albino child. His sister, of ordinary Native type,
has two albino children. Iris light blue. Hair yellowish. Complexion
pink. Keeps left eye closed, and looks through a slit between eyelids
of right eye. People call him in Canarese kempuava (red man). They
are kind to him.
Alia.--The Alias are an Oriya cultivating caste, found mainly in
the Gumsur taluk of Ganjam. In the Madras Census Report, 1891, it is
suggested that the name is derived from the Sanskrit holo, meaning a
plough. The further suggestions have been made that it is derived from
alo, meaning crop, or from Ali, a killa or taluk of Orissa, whence
the Aliyas have migrated. In social position the Alias rank below
the Bhondaris and Odiyas, who will not accept water touched by them.
Various titles occur within the caste, e.g., Biswalo, Bonjo, Bariko,
Jenna, Kampo, Kondwalo, Lenka, Mahanti, Molla Nahako, Patro, Podhano,
Podiyali, Ravuto, Siyo, and Swayi. Like other Oriya castes, the Alias
have gotras, and the marriage rules based on titles and gotras are
peculiar. A Podhano man may, for example, marry a Podhano girl,
if their gotras are different. Further, two people, whose gotras
are the same, may marry if they have a different title. Thus, a man,
whose gotra is Goru and title Podhano, may marry a girl of a family
of which the gotra is Goru, but title other than Podhano.
Infant marriage is the rule, and, if a girl does not secure a
husband before she reaches maturity, she goes through a mock marriage
ceremony, in which the bridegroom is represented by a brass vessel
or an arrow. Like many other Oriya castes, the Aliyas follow the
Chaitanya form of Vaishnavism, and also worship various Takuranis
(village deities).
Alige (drum).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba.
Aliya Santanam.--Inheritance in the female line. The equivalent,
in the Canara country, of the Malayali marumakkathayam.
Allam (ginger).--An exogamous sept of Mala.
Allikulam (lily clan).--Returned, at times of census, as a sub-division
of Anappan.
Alvar.--An exogamous sept of Toreya. Alvar is a synonym of Garuda,
the winged vehicle of Vishnu. Alvar Dasari occurs as a sub-division
of Valluvans, which claims descent from Tiruppan Alvar, one of the
Vaishnava saints.
Amaravatiyavaru.--A name, denoting people of Amaravati on the Kistna
river, recorded [55] as a sub-division of Desabhaga Madigas. Amaravati
also occurs as a sub-division, or nadu, of Vallamban.
Ambalakkaran.--In the Madras Census Report, 1891, Mr. H. A. Stuart
writes that "Ambalakkaran (ambalam, an open place [56]) is the usual
designation of a head of a village in the Maravan and Kallan districts,
and it is, or was the common agnomen of Kallans. I am not able to
state what is the precise connection between the Ambalakkaran and
Kallan castes, but, from some accounts which I have obtained, the
Ambalakkarans seem to be very closely connected, if not identical
with Muttiriyans (Telugu Mutracha), who have been classed as village
watchmen; and this is borne out by the sub-divisions returned, for,
though no less than 109,263 individuals have given Ambalakkaran as the
sub-division also, yet, of the sub-divisions returned, Muttiriyan and
Mutracha are the strongest. Marriage is usually deferred until after
puberty, and widow re-marriage is permitted, but there does not seem
to be the same freedom of divorce at will as is found among Kallans,
Maravans, etc. The dead are either burnt or buried. The consumption
of flesh and liquor is allowed. Their usual agnomen is said to be
Servaikkaran, but the titles Muttiriyan, Ambalakkaran, Malavarayan,
Mutarasan, and Vannian are also used. The usual agnomen of Muttiriyans,
on the other hand, is said to be Nayakkan (Naik)."
In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Ambalakkarans are summed up
as follows. "A Tamil caste of cultivators and village watchmen. Till
recently the term Ambalakkaran was considered to be a title of the
Kallans, but further enquiries have shown that it is the name of
a distinct caste, found chiefly in the Trichinopoly district. The
Ambalakkarans and Muttiriyans of a village in Musiri taluk wrote a
joint petition, protesting against their being classified as Kallans,
but nevertheless it is said that the Kallans of Madura will not eat in
Ambalakkaran's houses. There is some connection between Ambalakkarans,
Muttiriyans, Mutrachas, Uralis, Vedans, Valaiyans, and Vettuvans. It
seems likely that all of them are descended from one common parent
stock. Ambalakkarans claim to be descended from Kannappa Nayanar,
one of the sixty-three Saivite saints, who was a Vedan or hunter by
caste. In Tanjore the Valaiyans declare themselves to have a similar
origin, and in that district Ambalakkaran and Muttiriyan seem to
be synonymous with Valaiyan. [Some Valaiyans have Ambalakkaran as a
title.] Moreover, the statistics of the distribution of the Valaiyans
show that they are numerous in the districts where Ambalakkarans are
few, and vice versâ, which looks as though certain sections of them
had taken to calling themselves Ambalakkarans. The upper section
of the Ambalakkarans style themselves Pillai, which is a title
properly belonging to Vellalas, but the others are usually called
Muppan in Tanjore, and Ambalakkaran, Muttiriyan, and Servaigaran
in Trichinopoly. The headman of the caste panchayat (council) is
called the Kariyakkaran, and his office is hereditary in particular
families. Each headman has a peon called the Kudi-pillai, whose duty it
is to summon the panchayat when necessary, and to carry messages. For
this he gets an annual fee of four annas from each family of the caste
in his village. The caste has certain endogamous sections. Four of
them are said to be Muttiriyan or Mutracha, Kavalgar, Vanniyan, and
Valaiyan. A member of any one of these is usually prohibited by the
panchayats from marrying outside it on pain of excommunication. Their
customs are a mixture of those peculiar to the higher castes and those
followed by the lower ones. Some of them employ Brahmans as purohits
(priests), and wear the sacred thread at funerals and sraddhas
(memorial services for the dead). Yet they eat mutton, pork, and
fowls, drink alcohol, and allow the marriage of widows and divorced
women." Muttiriyan and Kavalgar both mean watchman. Vanniyan is
certainly a separate caste, some members of which take Ambalakkaran as
a title. The Ambalakkarans are apparently Valaiyans, who have separated
themselves from the main stock on account of their prosperity.
For the following note, I am indebted to Mr. F. R. Hemingway. The
Ambalakkarans or Muttiriyans are more numerous in the
Trichinopoly district and Pudukkottai than in any other part of the
Presidency. Though they have been treated as separate castes, they
appear to be one and the same in this district, generally calling
themselves Muttiriyan in the Trichinopoly taluk, and Ambalakkaran
elsewhere, and having no objection to either name. They admit they are
called Valaiyans, but repudiate any connection with the caste of that
name, and explain the appellation by a story that, when Siva's ring
was swallowed by a fish in the Ganges, one of their ancestors invented
the first net (valai) made in the world. As relics of their former
greatness they point to the thousand-pillared mantapam at Srirangam,
which is called muttarasan koradu, and a big matam at Palni, both
of which, they say, were built by their kings. To the latter every
household of the caste subscribes four annas annually. They say that
they were born of the sweat (muttu, a pearl or bead of perspiration)
of Parama-siva. The caste is divided into a number of nadus, the
names and number of which are variously given. Some of these are
Ettarai, Koppu, Adavattur, Tirampalaiyam, Vimanayakkanpalaiyam in
the Trichinopoly taluk, and Amur, Savindippatti, and Karungali in
Musiri taluk. Widow remarriage is allowed in some of these nadus,
and not in others. They use the titles Muttiriyan, Ambalakkaran,
Servaikaran, and Kavalkaran. They admit their social inferiority to
the Vellalans, Kallans, Nattamans, and Reddis, from all of whom they
will accept meals, but consider themselves superior to Pallis, Uralis,
Uppiliyans, and Valaiyans. Their usual occupation is cultivation,
but they have also taken to petty trade, and some earn a living as
masons and kavalgars (watchmen). They wear the sacred thread during
their marriages and funerals. They have panchayats for each village
and for the nadu, and have also a number of the Patnattu Chettis,
who are recognized as elders of the caste, and sit with the head of
the nadu to decide cases of adultery, etc.
Ambalavasi.--This is summed up, in the Madras Census Report, 1901,
as "a generic name applied to all classes of temple servants in
Malabar. There are many sub-divisions of the caste, such as Poduval,
Chakkiyar, Nambiyassan, Pidaran, Pisharodi, Variyan, Nambi, Teyyambadi,
etc., which are assigned different services in the Hindu temples,
such as the preparation of garlands, the sweeping of the floor,
the fetching of fire-wood, the carrying of the idols in procession,
singing, dancing, and so on. Like most of the temple servant classes,
they are inferior to the lower Brahmans, such as the Mussads, and
food will not be taken from the hands of most of them even by Nayars."
In the Travancore Census Report, 1901, it is noted that "the
term Ambalavasi (one who lives in a temple) is a group-name,
and is applied to castes, whose occupation is temple service. The
Keralamahatmya speaks of them as Kshetravasinah, which means those
who live in temples. They are also known as Antaralas, from their
occupying an intermediate position between the Brahmans and the
Brahmanical Kshatriyas of Malabar on the one hand, and the Sudras
on the other. While according to one view they are fallen Brahmans,
others, such as the writer of the Keralolpatti, would put them down
as an advance from the Sudras. The castes recognised as included in
the generic name of Ambalavasi are:--
Nambiyassan. Nambiyar.
Pushpakan. Pisharati.
Puppalli. Variyar.
Chakkiyar. Nattupattan.
Brahmani or Daivampati. Tiyattunni.
Adikal. Kurukkal.
Nambidi. Poduval.
Pilappalli.
"All these castes are not connected with pagodas, nor do the Muttatus,
who are mainly engaged in temple service, come under this group,
strictly speaking. The rationale of their occupation seems to be that,
in accepting duty in temples and consecrating their lives to the
service of God, they hope to be absolved from the sins inherited from
their fathers. In the case of ascent from lower castes, the object
presumably is the acquisition of additional religious merit.... The
delinquent Brahman cannot be retained in the Brahmanic function
without lowering the standard of his caste. He had, therefore, to be
allotted other functions. Temple service of various kinds, such as
garland-making for the Pushpakan, Variyar and others, and popular
recitation of God's works for the Chakkiyar, were found to hold an
intermediate place between the internal functions of the Brahmans and
the external functions of the other castes, in the same sense in which
the temples themselves are the exoteric counterparts of an esoteric
faith, and represent a position between the inner and the outer
economy of nature. Hence arose probably an intermediate status with
intermediate functions for the Antaralas, the intermediates of Hindu
Society. The Kshatriyas, having commensal privileges with the Brahmans,
come next to them in the order of social precedence. In the matter of
pollution periods, which seem to be in inverse ratio to the position
of the caste, the Brahmans observe 10 days, the Kshatriyas 11 days,
and the Sudras of Malabar (Nayars) 16 days. The Ambalavasis generally
observe pollution for 12 days. In some cases, however, it is as short
as 10, and in others as long as 13 and even 14, but never 16 days."
It is further recorded, in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, that
"Ambalavasis (literally temple residents) are persons who have the
privilege of doing service in temples. Most of the castes have
grown out of sexual relations between members of the higher and
lower classes, and are therefore Anulomajas and Pratilomajas. [57]
They may be broadly divided into two classes, (1) those that wear
the sacred thread, and (2) those that do not wear the same. Adikal,
Chakkiyar, Nambiyar or Pushpakan, and Tiyyattu Nambiyar belong to
the threaded class, while Chakkiyar, Nambiyar, Pisharoti, Variyar,
Puthuval, and Marar are non-threaded. Though all Ambalavasis have to
do service in temples, they have many of them sufficiently distinct
functions to perform. They are all governed by the marumakkathayam
law of inheritance (through the female line); some castes among
them, however, follow the makkathayam system (from father to son). A
Nambiyar, Pisharoti, or Variyar marries under special circumstances
a woman of his own caste, and brings home his wife into the family,
and their issue thus become members of the father's family, with the
right of inheriting the family property, and form themselves into a
fresh marumakkathayam stock. In the matter of tali-kettu (tali-tying)
marriage, and marriage by union in sambandham (alliance), they follow
customs similar to those of Nayars. So far as the employment of Brahman
as priests, and the period of birth and death pollution are concerned,
there are slight differences. The threaded classes have Gayatri
(hymn). The purificatory ceremony after birth or death pollution
is performed by Nambudris, but at all funeral ceremonies, such as
pinda, sradha, etc., their own caste men officiate as priests. The
Nambudris can take meals cooked by a Brahman in the house of any of the
Ambalavasis except Marars. In fact, if the Nambudris have the right
of purification, they do not then impose any restrictions in regard
to this. All Ambalavasis are strict vegetarians at public feasts. The
Ambalavasis sit together at short distances from one another, and take
their meals. Their females unite themselves in sambandham with their
own caste males, or with Brahmans or Kshatriyas. Brahmans, Kshatriyas,
or Nambidis cannot take water from them. Though a great majority of the
Ambalavasis still follow their traditional occupations, many of them
have entered the public service, and taken to more lucrative pursuits."
The more important sections of the Ambalavasis are dealt with in
special articles.
Ambattan.--For the following note I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana
Rao. The Ambattans are the Tamil barbers, or barber-surgeons. The
word is usually derived from the Sanskrit amba (near) and s'tha (to
stand), i.e., he who stands near to shave his clients, or treat his
patients. In like manner, the Kavutiyan caste of Malayalam barbers
is called Adutton, signifying bystander. The Ambattan corresponds to
the Mangala of the Telugu country, the Vilakkatalavan of Malabar, the
Kshauraka of the Canarese Brahmans, and the Hajam of Muhammadans. Not
improbably the name refers to the original occupation of medicine-man,
to which were added later the professions of village barber and
musician. This view seems to receive some support from the current
tradition that the Ambattans are the descendants of the offspring
of a Vaisya woman by a Brahman, to whom the medical profession was
allotted as a means of livelihood. In this connection, it may be
noted that the Ambattan women are the recognised midwives of the Hindu
community in the Tamil country. It is impossible to say how far the
above tradition is based on the verse of Manu, the ancient law-giver,
who says that "from a Brahmana with the daughter of a Vaisya is born
a son called an Ambashtha." In a succeeding verse, he states that as
children of a Brahmana by a woman of one of the three lower castes,
the Ambashthas are one of the six base-born castes or apasada. He
says further that Brahmans may eat of a barber's food--a permission
which, it is hardly necessary to say, they do not avail themselves
of. A single exception is, however, noteworthy. At the temple of
Jugganath, within the temple precincts, neither the barber, nor the
food which he prepares, and is partaken of by the higher classes,
including Brahmans, conveys pollution. The pujari, or officiating
priest, at this famous temple is a barber, and Brahmans, except
those of the extreme orthodox section, partake of his preparations
of rice, after they have been offered to the presiding deity. This
is, apparently, the only case in which the rule laid down by Manu
is followed in practice. It is not known how far the text of Manu is
answerable for the popular Sanskrit saying, which calls the barber a
"good Sudra." There is an opinion entertained in certain quarters that
originally the barber's touch did not pollute, but that his shaving
did. It is an interesting fact that, though the Ambattans are one of
Manu's base-born castes, whose touch causes pollution which requires
the pouring of water over the head to remove it, they are one of
the most Brahmanised of the lower castes. Nothing, perhaps, shows
this so well as their marriage ceremonies, throughout which a Brahman
officiates. On the first two days, homam or sacred fire, fed with ghi
(clarified butter) is kindled. On the third day, the tali (marriage
badge) is placed in a circular silver or brass thattu (dish), and
touched with the forefinger of the right hand first by the presiding
Brahman, followed by other Brahmans, men of superior castes, and the
caste-men headed by the Perithanakkaran or head-man. It is then, amid
weird music, tied to the bride's neck before the sacred fire. During
this ceremony no widows may be present. The relations of the bride and
bridegroom scatter rice on the floor in front of the bridal pair, after
the Brahman priest and head-man. This rice, which is called sesham
(remainder), is strictly the perquisite of the local washerman. But
it is generally purchased by the headman of the family, in which the
marriage is taking place, and handed over, not to the washerman, but
to the Perithanakkaran. The Brahman receives as his fee money and a
pair of silk-bordered cloths; and, till the latter are given to him,
he usually refuses to pronounce the necessary mantras (prayers). He
also receives the first pan-supari (betel leaves and areca nuts),
plantains, and cocoanuts. Each day he has to get rid of the pollution
caused by entering a barber's house by bathing. During the fourth and
fifth days, homam is burnt, and shadangu, or merry-making between the
bride and bridegroom before the assembled spectators, takes place,
during which the bride sings songs, in which she has been coached from
infancy. On the fifth day the removal of the kankanam, or threads
which have been tied round the wrists of the bride and bridegroom,
is performed, after the priest's account has been settled.
Among the Konga Vellalas of the Salem district, it is the Ambattan who
officiates at the marriage rites, and ties the tali, after formally
proclaiming to those present that he is about to do so. Brahmans are
invited to the wedding, and are treated with due respect, and presented
with money, rice, and betel. It would appear that, in this case, the
Brahman has been ousted, in recent times, from his priestly functions
by the Ambattan. The barber, when he ties the tali, mutters something
about Brahman and Vedas in a respectful manner. The story goes that,
during the days of the Chera, Chola, and Pandya Kings, a Brahman and
an Ambattan were both invited to a marriage feast. But the Brahman,
on his arrival, died, and the folk, believing his death to be an
evil omen, ruled that, as the Brahman was missing, they would have
an Ambattan; and it has ever since been the custom for the Ambattan
to officiate at weddings.
A girl, when she reaches puberty, has to observe pollution for eleven
days, during which she bathes daily, and is presented with a new cloth,
and adorned by a girl who is said to have "touched" her. This girl has
to bathe before she can take her meals, or touch others. Every morning,
a dose of pure gingelly (Sesamum indicum) oil, mixed with white of
egg, is administered. The dietary must be strictly vegetarian. On the
twelfth day, the girl who has been through the ceremonial has a final
bath, and enters the house after it has been purified (punyavachanam).
The rule, once a widow always a widow, is as true of Ambattans as of
high-class Brahmans. And, if asked whether the remarriage of widows
is permitted, they promptly reply that they are not washermen.
The dead are cremated, with the exception of young children, who
are buried. The death ceremonies are conducted by a Brahman priest,
who is remunerated for his services with money and a cloth. Gifts of
money and cloths are also made to other Brahmans, when the days of
pollution are over. Annual memorial ceremonies (sradh) are performed,
as by Brahmans. It is a privilege (they consider it as such) of
the Ambattans to cremate the bodies of village paupers other than
Brahmans. And, on ordinary occasions of death, they lead the son or
person who is entitled to light the funeral pyre, with a brass pot
in their hands, round the corpse, and indicate with a burning cinder
the place to which the light must be applied.
As a community the Ambattans are divided into Saivites and
Vaishnavites. Members of the latter section, who have been branded
by their Brahman guru with the chank and chakram, abstain from animal
food, and intoxicating drinks. Intermarriage between the two sections
is allowed, and commonly practised. They belong to the right-hand
faction, and will not eat with Komatis, who belong to the left. They
have, however, no objection to shaving Komatis. The Ambattans of
the Chingleput district are divided into four sections, each of
which is controlled by a Perithanakkaran. One of these resides
in Madras, and the other three live respectively at Poonamallee,
Chingleput, and Karunguzhi in the Madurantakam taluk of the Chingleput
district. Ambattans are now-a-days found over the whole Tamil area of
the Madras Presidency. Originally, free movement into the various parts
of the Presidency was far from easy, and every Ambattan, wherever he
might migrate to, retained his subjection to the chief or headman of
his native village. Thus, perhaps, what was at first a tribal division
gradually developed into a territorial one. Each Perithanakkaran
has under him six hundred, or even a thousand Kudithalakkarans,
or heads of families. His office being hereditary, he is, if only
a minor, treated with respect and dignity. All the preliminaries of
marriage are arranged by him. On important occasions, such as settling
disputes, he is assisted by a panchayat, or council of elders. In
this way are settled quarrels, questions arising out of adultery,
or non-payment of fines, which it is his duty to collect. He is
further responsible for the marriage rice-money, which is added to a
communal tax of 2 1/2 annas per family, which is imposed annually for
charitable purposes. The charities take the form of the maintenance
of chattrams, or places where pilgrims are fed free of charge at
holy places. Two such institutions are maintained in the Chingleput
district, the centre of the Ambattan community, one at Tirupporur,
the other at Tirukalikundram. At these places Brahmans are given
free meals, and to other caste Hindus sadabath, or things necessary
for meals, are presented. Sometimes the money is spent in building
adjuncts to holy shrines. At Srirangam, for example, the Ambattans,
in days gone by, built a fine stone mantapam for the local temple. If
the Perithanakkaran cannot satisfactorily dispose of a case with the
assistance of the usual panchayat (council), it is referred to the
higher authority of the Kavarai or Desai Setti, or even to British
Courts as a last resource.
The barber has been summed up by a district official [58] as "one
of the most useful of the village servants. He leads an industrious
life, his services being in demand on all occasions of marriages,
feasts, and funerals. He often combines in himself the three useful
vocations of hair-dresser, surgeon, and musician. In the early hours
of the morning, he may be seen going his rounds to his employers'
houses in his capacity of shaver and hair-cutter. Later on, he will
be leading the village band of musicians before a wedding procession,
or playing at a temple ceremony. Yet again he may be observed paying
his professional visits as Vythian or physician, with his knapsack
of surgical instruments and cutaneous drugs tucked under his arm. By
long practice the barber becomes a fairly skilful operator with the
knife, which he uses in a rough and ready manner. He lances ulcers
and carbuncles, and even essays his hand in affections of the eye,
often with the most disastrous results. It is the barber who takes
away cricks and sprains, procures leeches for those wishing to be
bled, and otherwise relieves the physical ills of his patients. The
barber woman, on the other hand, is the accoucheuse and midwife of
the village matrons. It may be said without exaggeration that many
of the uterine ailments which furnish patients to the maternity wards
of the various hospitals in this country are attributable to the rude
treatment of the village midwife."
The Ambattan will cut the nails, and shave not only the head and
face, but other parts of the body, whereas the Telugu barber will
shave only down to the waist. The depilatory operations on women
are performed by female hair-dressers. Barbers' sons are taught to
shave by taking the bottom of an old well-burnt clay cooking-pot,
and, with a blunt knife, scraping off the collected carbon. They
then commence to operate on pubescent youths. The barber who shaves
Europeans must not be a caste barber, but is either a Muhammadan
or a non-caste man. Quite recently, a youthful Ambattan had to
undergo ceremonial purification for having unconsciously shaved a
Paraiyan. Paraiyans, Malas, and other classes of the lower orders,
have their own barbers and washermen. Razors are, however, sometime
lent to them by the Ambattans for a small consideration, and cleansed
in water when they are returned. Parasitic skin diseases are said to
originate from the application of a razor, which has been used on a
number of miscellaneous individuals. And well-to-do Hindus now keep
their own razor, which the barber uses when he comes to shave them. In
the southern districts, it is not usual for the Ambattans to go to
the houses of their customers, but they have sheds at the backs of
their own houses, where they attend to them from daybreak till about
mid-day. Occasionally, when sent for, they will wait on Brahmans and
high-class non-Brahmans at their houses. Numbers of them, besides,
wait for customers near the riverside. Like the English hair-cutter,
the Ambattan is a chatter-box, retails the petty gossip of the station,
and is always posted in the latest local news and scandal. The barbers
attached to British regiments are migratory, and, it is said, have
friends and connections in all military cantonments, with whom they
exchange news, and hold social intercourse. The Ambattan fills the rôle
of negotiator and go-between in the arrangement of marriages, feasts,
and funeral. He is, moreover, the village physician and surgeon, and,
in the days when blood-letting was still in vogue, the operation
of phlebotomy was part of his business. In modern times, his nose
has, like that of the village potter, been put out of joint by civil
hospitals and dispensaries. His medicines consist of pills made from
indigenous drugs, the nature of which he does not reveal. His surgical
instrument is the razor which he uses for shaving, and he does not
resort to it until local applications, e.g., in a case of carbuncle,
have failed.
In return for his multifarious services to the villagers, the Ambattan
was given a free grant of land, for which he has even now to pay only
a nominal tax. But, in the days when there was no survey or settlement,
if the barber neglected his duties, he was threatened with confiscation
of his lands. At the present day, however, he can sell, mortgage,
or make a gift thereof. As the Ambattans became divided up into a
number of families, their duties in the village were parcelled out
among them, so that each barber family became attached to certain
families of other castes, and was entitled to certain rights from
them. Among other claims, each barber family became entitled to three
or four marakkals of paddy (unhusked rice), which is the perquisite
of the married members thereof. It may be noted that, in village
communities, lands were granted not only to the barber, but also
to village officials such as the blacksmith, carpenter, washerman,
astrologer, priest, dancing-girl, etc.
In his capacity of barber, the Ambattan is called Nasivan (unholy man),
or, according to the Census Reports, Nasuvan (sprung from the nose),
or Navidan. He is also known as Panditan or Pariyari (doctor), and
Kudimaghan (son of the ryot). The last of these names is applied to him
especially on occasions of marriage, when to call him Nasivan would
be inauspicious. The recognised insigne of his calling is the small
looking-glass, which he carries with him, together with the razor,
and sometimes tweezers and ear-pick. He must salute his superiors by
prostrating himself on his stomach, folding his arms, and standing at
a respectful distance. He may not attend at Brahman houses on new or
full-moon days, Tuesday, Saturday, and special days such as Ekadasi
and Dwadasi. The most proper days are Sunday and Monday. The quality
of the shave varies with the skill of the individual, and there is
a Tamil proverb "Go to an old barber and a new washerman." Stories
are extant of barbers shaving kings while they were asleep without
waking them, and it is said that the last Raja of Tanjore used to be
thus entertained with exhibitions of their skill. The old legend of
the barber who, in return for shaving a Raja without awakening him,
requested that he might be made a Brahman, and how the Court jester
Tennali Raman got the Raja to cancel his agreement, has recently been
re-told in rhyme. [59] It is there described how the barber lathered
the head "with water alone, for soap he had none." The modern barber,
however, uses soap, either a cheap quality purchased in the bazar,
or a more expensive brand supplied by his client.
By a curious corruption, Hamilton's bridge, which connects the
Triplicane and Mylapore divisions of the city of Madras, has become
converted into Ambattan, or barber's bridge. And the barber, as
he shaves you, will tell how, in days before the bridge was built,
the channel became unfordable during a north-east monsoon flood. A
barber, who lived on the Triplicane side, had to shave an engineer,
whose house was on the Mylapore side. With difficulty he swam across,
and shaved the sahib while he was asleep without waking him, and,
in return, asked that, in the public interests, a bridge should be
built over the channel.
Ambattans of Travancore.--For the following note I am indebted to
Mr. N. Subramani Aiyer. The barbers of Travancore are called by various
designations, those in Central and South Travancore preferring to
be known by the name of Kshaurakan or Kshaurakkaran, a corruption
of the Sanskrit kshuraka, while Ambattan seems to find general
favour in the south. A curious name given to the caste throughout
Travancore is Pranopakari, or one who helps the souls, indicating
their priestly functions in the ceremonials of various castes. A
contraction of this name found in the early settlement records is
Pranu. The members of those families from which kings and noblemen
have at any time selected their barbers are called Vilakkittalavan,
or more properly Vilakkuttalayan, meaning literally those who shave
heads. In North Travancore many families are in possession of royal
edicts conferring upon them the title of Panikkar, and along with
it the headmanship of the barber families of the village in which
they reside. Others have the title of Vaidyan or doctor, from the
secondary occupation of the caste.
Endless endogamous septs occur among the barbers, and, at Trivandrum,
there are said to be four varieties called Chala Vazhi, Pandi
Vazhi, Attungal Vazhi, and Peruntanni Vazhi. But it is possible
to divide all the Kshaurakans of Travancore into three classes,
viz., Malayalam-speaking Ambattans, who follow the makkathayam law
of inheritance; (2) Malayalam-speaking Ambattans who follow the
marumakkathayam law of inheritance; (3) Tamil-speaking barbers, who
have in many localities adopted Malayalam as their mother-tongue,
and indicate their recent conversion in this direction by preserving
unchanged the dress and ornaments of their womenkind. In Pattanapuram,
for example, there is a class of Malayalam-speaking barbers known as
Pulans who immigrated into that taluk from the Tamil country about two
hundred years ago, and reveal their kinship with the Tamil-speaking
barbers in various ways. In Kottayam and some other North Travancore
taluks, a large number of barbers may be described as recent
converts of this character. In theory at least, the makkathayam and
marumakkathayam Ambattans may be said to form two distinct endogamous
groups, of which the former regard themselves as far superior to the
latter in social position. Sometimes the makkathayam Ambattans give
their girls in marriage to the marumakkathayam Ambattans, though
the converse can never hold good. But, in these cases, the girl is
not permitted to re-enter the paternal home, and associate with the
people therein.
A local tradition describes the Travancore Kshaurakans as pursuing
their present occupation owing to the curse of Surabhi, the divine
calf. Whatever their origin, they have faithfully followed their
traditional occupation, and, in addition, many study medicine in their
youth, and attend to the ailments of the villagers, while the women
act as midwives. When a high-caste Hindu dies, the duty of supplying
the fuel for the funeral pyre, and watching the burning ground,
devolves on the barber.
In their dress and ornaments the Travancore barbers closely resemble
the Nayars, but some wear round gold beads and a conch-shaped marriage
jewel round the neck, to distinguish their women from those of the
Nayars. This, however, does not hold good in South Travancore, where
the women have entirely adopted the Nayar type of jewelry. Tattooing
prevails to a greater extent among the barbers than among other
classes, but has begun to lose its popularity.
The barbers not only worship the ordinary Hindu deities, but also
adore such divinities as Murti, Maden, and Yakshi. The corpses of those
who die as the result of accident or contagious disease, are buried,
not burnt. A sorcerer is called on to raise the dead from the grave,
and, at his instance, a kuryala or small thatched shed is erected,
to provide a sanctum for the resurrected spirit. Every year, in the
month of Makaram (January-February), the day on which the Utradam star
falls is taken as the occasion for making offerings to these spirits.
In every village certain families had bestowed on them by the
chieftains of Kerala the right of deciding all questions affecting
the caste. All social offences are tried by them, and the decision
takes the form of an order to celebrate iananguttu or feast of the
equals, at which the first article served on the leaf placed before
the assembled guests is not food, but a sum of money.
The tali-kettu and sambandham ceremonies are celebrated, the former
before, and the latter after the girl has reached puberty. The
preliminary rites of betrothal and kapu-kettu (tying the string
round the wrist) over, the bridegroom enters the marriage hall in
procession. There are no Vedic rites; nor is there any definite priest
for the marriage ceremony. The conch-shell is blown at odd intervals,
this being considered indispensable. The festivities last for four
days. A niece and nephew are regarded as the most legitimate spouses
of a son and daughter respectively.
After the cremation or burial of a corpse, a rope is held by two of
the relations between the dead person's remains and the karta (chief
mourner), and cut in two, as if to indicate that all connection between
the karta and the deceased has ceased. This is called bandham aruppu,
or severing of connection. Pollution lasts for sixteen days among all
sections of the barbers, except the Tamils, who regain their purity
after a death in the family on the eleventh day.
Ambiga.--A synonym of Kabbera.
Ambojala (lotus: Nelumbium).--A house-name of Korava.
Amma (mother).--A sub-division of Pallan and Paraiyan. It is also the
title of the various goddesses, or mothers, such as Ellamma, Mariamma,
etc., which are worshipped as Grama Devatas (village deities) at the
temples known as Amman-koil.
Ammukkuvan.--A sub-division of Katalarayan. [60] (See Valan.)
Anapa (Dolichos Lablab).--A gotra of Komati.
Anasa (ferrule).--A gotra of Kurni.
Anchu (edge or border).--A gotra of Kurni.
Andara (pandal or booth).--A sept of Kuruba.
Ande.--Ande (a pot) as a division of the Kurubas refers to the small
bamboo or wooden vessel used when milking goats. It further denotes a
division of the Koragas, who used to wear a pot suspended from their
necks, into which they were compelled to spit, so as not to defile
the highway.
Anderaut.--Recorded, in the Census Report, 1901, as a sub-division of
Kurumba. Probably a form of Ande Kuruba. Raut is frequently a title
of headmen among Lingayats.
Andi.--In a note on Andis in the Madras Census Report, 1901,
Mr. W. Francis writes that "for a Brahman or an ascetic, mendicancy
was always considered an honourable profession, to which no sort of
shame attached. Manu says 'a Brahman should constantly shun worldly
honour, as he would shun poison, and rather constantly seek disrespect
as he would seek nectar'; and every Brahman youth was required to
spend part of his life as a beggar. The Jains and Buddhists held the
same views. The Hindu Chattrams [61] and Uttupuras, the Jain Pallis,
and the Buddhist Viharas owe their origin to this attitude, they
being originally intended for the support of the mendicant members of
these religions. But persons of other than the priestly and religious
classes were expected to work for their living, and were not entitled
to relief in these institutions. Begging among such people--unless,
as in the case of the Pandarams and Andis, a religious flavour attaches
to it--is still considered disreputable. The percentage of beggars in
the Tamil districts to the total population is .97, or more than twice
what it is in the Telugu country, while in Malabar it is as low as
.09. The Telugus are certainly not richer as a class than the Tamils,
and the explanation of these differences is perhaps to be found in the
fact that the south is more religiously inclined than the north, and
has more temples and their connected charities (religion and charity go
hand in hand in India), and so offers more temptation to follow begging
as a profession. Andis are Tamil beggars. They are really inferior to
Pandarams, but the two terms are in practice often indiscriminately
applied to the same class of people. Pandarams are usually Vellalas
by caste, but Andis are recruited from all classes of Sudras, and
they consequently have various sub-divisions, which are named after
the caste to which the members of each originally belonged, such as
the Jangam Andis, meaning beggars of the Jangam caste, and the Jogi
Andis, that is, Andis of the Jogi caste. They also have occupational
and other divisions, such as the Kovil Andis, meaning those who do
service in temples, and the Mudavandis or the lame beggars. Andi is
in fact almost a generic term. All Andis are not beggars however;
some are bricklayers, others are cultivators, and others are occupied
in the temples. They employed Brahman priests at their ceremonies, but
all of them eat meat and drink alcohol. Widows and divorcées may marry
again. Among the Tinnevelly Andis, the sister of the bridegroom ties
the tali (marriage badge) round the bride's neck, which is not usual."
In the Madras Census Report, 1891, the Andis are summed up as
"beggars who profess the Saiva faith. They may be found in all the
Tamil districts, begging from door to door, beating a small gong with a
stick. The Andis differ from most other castes, in that a person of any
caste may join their community. Some of them officiate as priests in
village temples, especially when large sacrifices of goats, buffaloes,
and pigs are made. They usually bury the dead. They have returned 105
sub-divisions, of which the most important are the following:--Jangam,
Komanandi, Lingadari, Mudavandi, and Uppandi. Komanam is the small loin
cloth, and a Komanandi goes naked, except for this slight concession
to decency. Mudam means lame, and the Mudavandis (q.v.) are allowed
to claim any deformed child belonging to the Konga Vellala caste. The
etymology of Uppandi is difficult, but it is improbable that it has
any connection with uppu, salt.
In the Tanjore Manual, it is noted that "in its ordinary acceptation
the word Andi means houseless beggars, and is applied to those who
profess the Saiva faith. They go out every morning, begging for alms
of uncooked rice, singing ballads or hymns. They play on a small
gong called semakkalam with a stick, and often carry a conch shell,
which they blow. They are given to drinking."
It is recorded [62] that "South Indian beggars are divided into two
classes, Panjathandi and Paramparaiandi. The former are famine-made
beggars, and the latter are beggars from generation to generation. The
former, a common saying goes, would rob from the person of a child
at a convenient opportunity, while the latter would jump into a well,
and pick up a child which had fallen into it by an accident, and make
it over to its parents."
Andi (a god) occurs as an exogamous section of Sirukudi Kallans.
Andinia.--Recorded by Mr. F. Fawcett as an inferior sub-division of
Dombs, who eat frogs.
Anduran.--A sub-division of Nayar potters, who manufacture earthenware
articles for use in temples. The name is derived from Andur, a place
which was once a fief under the Zamorin of Calicut.
Ane (elephant).--An exogamous sept of Holeya, Kappiliyan, Kuruba,
Kadu Kurumba, Moger, and Gangadikara Vakkaliga. Yenigala or Yenuga
(elephant) is further an exogamous sept of Kapus, who will not touch
ivory. Anai-kombu (elephant tusk) occurs as a sub-division of Idaiyan.
Angarakudu (the planet Mars).--A synonym of Mangala.
Anja.--In the Madras Census Report, 1891, Ajna is returned as a
sub-division of Pallan. This, however, seems to be a mistake for Anja
(father), by which name these Pallans address their fathers.
Anju Nal (five days).--Recorded in the Salem Manual, as a name given
to Pallis who perform the death ceremony on the fifth day after death.
Anjuttan (men of the five hundred).--Recorded at times of census,
as a sub-division of Panan, and a synonym of Velan. In the Gazetteer
of Malabar, it appears as a sub-division of Mannans, who are closely
akin to the Velans. The equivalent Anjuttilkar occurs as a synonym
for Tenkanchi Vellalas in Travancore.
Anna (brother).--The title of numerous classes, e.g., Dasari, Gavara,
Golla, Konda Dora, Koppala Velama, Mangala, Mila, Paidi, and Segidi.
Annam (cooked rice).--An exogamous sept of Gamalla and Togata.
Annavi.--A title of Savalakkarans, who play on the nagasaram (reed
instrument) in temples.
Antalavar.--Recorded in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a
sub-division of Nayar.
Antarala.--A synonym of Ambalavasi, denoting those who occupy an
intermediate position between Brahmans and Sudras.
Antarjanam (inside person).--A term applied to Nambutiri Brahman
females, who live in seclusion. [63]
Anuloma.--One of the two classes of Sudras, viz., Anuloma and
Veloma. The term Anuloma is applied to those born of a higher-caste
male and a lower-caste female, e.g., barbers are said to be the
offspring of a Brahman and a Vaisya woman.
Anumala (seeds of Dolichos Lablab).--An exogamous sept of Devanga. The
equivalent Anumolla occurs as an exogamous sept of Kamma.
Anuppan.--The Anuppans are described, in the Madras Census Report,
1891, as "a small caste of Canarese farmers, found chiefly in the
districts of Madura, Tinnevelly, and Coimbatore. Their original home
appears to have been Mysore or South Canara, probably the former. Their
language is a corrupt form of Canarese. The most important sub-division
is Allikulam (lily clan). Some of them are Saivites, and others
Vaishnavites. Brahmans are employed as priests by the Vaishnavites,
but not by the Saivites. Remarriage of widows is practised, but a
woman divorced for adultery cannot remarry during the life-time of
her husband."
In the Gazetteer of the Madura district, it is stated that "the
Anuppans are commonest in the Kambam valley. They have a tradition
regarding their migration thither, which closely resembles that current
among the Kappiliyans and Tottiyans (q.v.). Local tradition at Kambam
says that the Anuppans were in great strength here in olden days,
and that quarrels arose, in the course of which the chief of the
Kappiliyans, Ramachcha Kavandan, was killed. With his dying breath
he cursed the Anuppans, and thenceforth they never prospered, and now
not one of them is left in the town. Their title is Kavandan. They are
divided into six territorial groups called Medus, which are named after
three villages in this district, and three in Tinnevelly. Over each of
these is a headman called the Periyadanakkaran, and the three former
are also subject to a Guru who lives at Sirupalai near Madura. These
three are divided again into eighteen kilais or branches, each of
which intermarries only with certain of the others. Caste panchayats
(councils) are held on a blanket, on which (compare the Tottiyan
custom) is placed a pot of water containing margosa (Melia Azadirachta)
leaves, to symbolise the sacred nature of the meeting. Women who go
astray with men of other castes are expelled, and various ceremonies,
including (it is said) the burying alive of a goat, are enacted to show
that they are dead to the community. The right of a man to his paternal
aunt's daughter is as vigorously maintained as among the Kappiliyans
and Tottiyans, and leads to the same curious state of affairs (i.e., a
woman, whose husband is too young to fulfil the duties of his position,
is allowed to consort with his near relations, and the children so
begotten are treated as his). No tali (marriage badge) is tied at
weddings, and the binding part of the ceremonies is the linking, on
seven separate occasions, of the little fingers of the couple. Like
the Kappiliyans, the Anuppans have many caste and family deities,
a number of whom are women who committed sati." (See Kappiliyan).
Apoto.--Apoto, or Oppoto, is a sub-division of Gaudos, the occupation
of which is palanquin-bearing.
Appa (father).--A title of members of various Telugu and Canarese
castes, e.g., Idiga, Kannadiyan, Linga Balija, and Tambala.
Arab.--A Muhammadan territorial name, returned at times of census. In
the Mysore Census Report, 1901, the Arabs are described as itinerant
tradesmen, whose chief business is horse-dealing, though some deal
in cloths.
Aradhya.--For the following note I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana
Rao. The Aradhyas are a sect of Brahmans found mainly in the four
northern districts of the Madras Presidency, and to a smaller extent
in the Cuddapah and Kurnool districts. A few are also found in the
Mysore State. They differ in almost every important respect from other
Brahmans. Basava, the founder of the Lingayat religion, was born in a
family of Brahmans, who, with others round about them, were apparently
the first converts to his religion. According to Mr. C. P. Brown, [64]
they were "in all probability his personal friends; he persuaded them
to lay aside their name, and call themselves Aradhya or Reverend.' They
revere the four Aradhyas, visionary personages of the Lingayat creed,
of whom very little is known. At all social and religious functions,
birth, marriage, initiation and funerals, four vases of water are
solemnly placed in their name, and then invoked to preside over
them. Their names are Revanaradhya, Marularadhya, Ekoramaradhya,
and Panditaradhya. In four ages, it is said, these four successively
appeared as precursors of the divine Basava, and were, like Basava,
Brahmans. A Purana, known as the Panditaradhya Charitra, is named
after the last of these. Versions thereof are found both in Canarese
and Telugu. A Sanskrit poem, called Siddhanta Sikhamani, represents
Revanaradhya as a human manifestation of one of the ministers of Siva.
As might be expected, the members of this sect are staunch
Saivites. They wear both the Brahminical sacred thread, and the linga
suspended from another thread. They revere in particular Ganapathi. The
lingam which they wear they usually call the prana lingam, or life
lingam. The moment a child, male or female, is born, it is invested
with the lingam; otherwise it is not considered to have pranam or
life. The popular belief is that, if by some accident the lingam is
lost, a man must either fast until he recovers it, or not survive
so dire a calamity. This is a fixed dogma with them. A man who loses
his prana linga stands up to his neck in water, and repeats mantrams
(sacred formulæ) for days together; and, on the last day, the lost
lingam comes back to him miraculously, if he has been really orthodox
in his life. If he does not succeed in recovering it, he must starve
and die. The theory is that the lingam is the life of the man who
wears it, and, when it is lost beyond recovery, he loses his own
life. Incredible stories of miraculous recoveries of the lingam are
told. In one case, it is said to have returned to its owner, making
a loud noise in water; and in another it was found in a box under
lock and key. In this connection, the following story is narrated
by Colonel Wilks. [65] "Poornia, the present minister of Mysore,
relates an incident of a Lingayat friend of his, who had unhappily
lost his portable God, and came to take a last farewell. The Indians,
like more enlightened nations, readily laugh at the absurdities of
every sect but their own, and Poornia gave him better counsel. It is a
part of the ceremonial preceding the sacrifice of the individual that
the principal persons of the sect should assemble on the bank of some
holy stream, and, placing in a basket the lingam images of the whole
assembly, purify them in the sacred waters. The destined victim in
conformity to the advice of his friend, suddenly seized the basket,
and overturned its contents into the rapid Caveri. Now, my friends,
said he, we are on equal terms; let us prepare to die together. The
discussion terminated according to expectation. The whole party took
an oath of inviolable secrecy, and each privately provided himself
with a new image of the lingam."
Aradhyas, as has been indicated, differ from other Brahmans in general
in some of their customs. Before they partake of food, they make an
offering of it to the lingam which they are wearing. As they cannot
eat without making this offering, they have the entire meal served
up at the commencement thereof. They offer the whole to the lingam,
and then begin to eat. They do not accept offerings distributed in
temples as other Brahmans do, because they have already been offered to
the God, and cannot therefore be offered again to the lingam. Unlike
other Lingayats, Aradhyas believe in the Vedas, to which they give
allegorical interpretations. They are fond of reading Sanskrit, and
a few have been well-known Telugu poets. Thus, Palapuri Somanatha,
who lived in the fourteenth century A.D., composed the Basava Purana
and the Panditaradhya Charitra, and the brothers Piduparthi Somanatha
and the Basavakavi, who lived in the sixteenth century, composed
other religious works.
Aradhyas marry among themselves, and occasionally take girls in
marriage from certain of the Niyogi sub-divisions of the Northern
Circars. This would seem to show that they were themselves Niyogis,
prior to their conversion. They do not intermarry with Aruvelu
Niyogis. Unlike other Brahmans, they bury their dead in a sitting
posture. They observe death pollution for ten days, and perform the
ekodishta and other Brahminical ceremonies for their progenitors. They
perform annually, not the Brahminical sradha, but the aradhana. In
the latter, there is no apasavyam (wearing the sacred thread from
right to left), and no use of gingelly seeds and dharba grass. Nor
is there homam (raising the sacrificial fire), parvanam (offering
of rice-balls), or oblation of water. Widows do not have their
heads shaved.
The title of the Aradhyas is always Aradhya.
Arakala.--A small class of cultivators, recorded mainly from the
Kurnool district. The name is possibly derived from araka, meaning
a plough with bullocks, or from arakadu, a cultivator.
Arampukatti.--The name, denoting those who tie flower-buds or prepare
garlands, of a sub-division of Vellalas.
Aranadan, See Ernadan.
Arane (lizard).--An exogamous sub-sept of Kappiliyan.
Arashina (turmeric).--A gotra or exogamous sept of Agasa, Kurni,
Kuruba, and Odde. The equivalent Pasupula occurs as an exogamous sept
of Devanga. In Southern India, turmeric (Curcuma) is commonly called
saffron (Crocus). Turmeric enters largely into Hindu ceremonial. For
example, the practice of smearing the face with it is very widespread
among females, and, thinking that it will give their husbands increase
of years, women freely bathe themselves with turmeric water. The
use of water, in which turmeric has been infused, and by which they
give the whole body a bright yellow colour, is prescribed to wives
as a mark of the conjugal state, and forbidden to widows. [66] To
ward off the evil eye, a vessel containing turmeric water and other
things is waved in front of the bridal couple at weddings. Or they
are bathed in turmeric water, which they pour over each other. The
tali or bottu (gold marriage badge) is attached to a cotton thread
dyed with turmeric, and, among some castes, the tying together of the
hands of the bride and bridegroom with such a thread is the binding
portion of the ceremony.
Arasu or Rajpinde.--"This caste," Mr. Lewis Rice writes (1877):-- [67]
"are relatives of or connected with the Rajahs of Mysore. During
the life-time of the late Maharaja, they were divided into two
factions in consequence of the refusal of thirteen families headed
by the Dalavayi (the chief of the female branch) to pay respect to
an illegitimate son of His Highness. The other eighteen families
consented to the Rajah's wishes, and treat the illegitimate branch,
called Komarapatta, as equals. The two divisions intermarry and eat
together, and the family quarrel, though serious at the time, is not
likely to be permanent. They are employed chiefly under Government
and in agriculture, most of the former being engaged in the palace at
Mysore. Rajpindes are both Vishnavites and Sivites, and their priests
are both Brahmans and Lingayat Waders."
In the Madras Census Report, 1891, Arasu (= Raja or king) is given
as a sub-division of the Tamil Pallis and Paraiyans. Urs appears as
a contracted form of Arasu in the names of the Mysore royal family,
e.g., Kantaraj Urs.
Arathi.--The name, indicating a wave offering to avert the evil eye,
of an exogamous sept of Kuruba.
Arati (plantain tree).--An exogamous sept of Chenchu.
Arava.--Arava, signifying Tamil, has been recorded as a sub-division
of some Telugu classes, e.g., Golla and Velama. The name, however,
refers to Tamil Idaiyans and Vellalas, who have settled in the
Telugu country, and are known respectively as Arava Golla and Arava
Velama. In some places in the Telugu country, Tamil Paraiyans,
employed as servants under Europeans, horse-keepers, etc., are known
as Arava Malalu (Malas). The Irulas of the North Arcot district are,
in like manner, sometimes called Arava Yanadis. Arava also occurs
as a division of Tigalas, said to be a section of the Tamil Pallis,
who have settled in Mysore. An ingenious suggestion has been made
that Arava is derived from ara, half, vayi, mouthed, in reference
to the defective Tamil alphabet, or to the termination of the words
being mostly in consonants.
Aravan.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a
sub-division of Nayar.
Arayan.--See Valan.
Archaka.--Archaka, or Umai Archaka, is a title of Occhans, who are
priests at temples of Grama Devatas (village deities).
Are.--A synonym for Marathi. The name occurs as a sub-division
of Kunchigar and Kudubi. In South Canara Arya Kshatri occurs as
the equivalent of Are, and, in the Telugu country, Are Kapu refers
to Marathi cultivators. Arya Kuttadi is a Tamil synonym of Marathi
Dommaras. Concerning the Ares, Mr. H. G. Stuart writes as follows. [68]
"Of the total number of 6,809 Ares, 4,373 are found in South Canara,
Bellary and Anantapur, and these are true Ares. Of the rest I am not
able to speak with certainty, as the term Arya, which is a synonym
of Are, is also used as an equivalent of Marathi, and sometimes
in a still wider sense. The true Ares are husbandmen of Maratha
origin. They wear the sacred thread, have Brahmans as their priests,
and give allegiance to the head of the Sringeri Mutt. Marriage of
girls takes place either before or after puberty, and the remarriage
of widows is not allowed. A husband may divorce his wife for adultery,
but a wife cannot divorce her husband. When the guilt of a woman is
proved, and the sanction of the Guru obtained, the husband performs
the act of divorce by cutting a pumpkin in two at a place where three
ways meet. The use of animal food is allowed, but intoxicating liquors
are forbidden." The Ares of South Canara, Mr. Stuart writes further,
[69] "usually speak Marathi or Konkani, but in the Kasaragod taluk,
and possibly in other parts too, they speak Canarese. Their exogamous
septs are called manathanas. They use the dhare form of marriage
(see Bant), but the pot contains a mixture of water, milk, ghee
(clarified butter), honey and curds instead of the usual plain water."
The Marathi-speaking Areyavaru or Aryavaru of the South Canara
district follow the makkala santana law of inheritance (from father
to son). For ceremonial purposes, they engage Shivalli Brahmans. An
interesting feature of the marriage rites is that the bridegroom makes
a pretence of going to a battle-field to fight, presumably to show that
he is of Kshatriya descent. The ceremony is called dandal jatai. The
bridegroom ties a bead on the neck of the bride if of the Powar sept,
and a disc if of the Edar sept. The Areyavaru eat fowls and fish. The
former are killed after certain mantrams (prayers) have been uttered,
and, if a priest is available, it is his duty to despatch the bird. The
caste deity is Ammanoru (Durga), in the worship of whom the Areyavaru,
like other Maratha castes, employ Gondala mendicants.
Are (Bauhinia racemosa).--A gotra of Kurni.
Ari.--The Aris or Dutans are described, in the Travancore Census
Report, 1901, as a "small but interesting community confined to a
village in the Tovala taluk. By traditional occupation they are the
Ambalavasis of the Saivaite temple of Darsanamkoppa. They are strict
vegetarians, wear the Brahminical thread, perform all the Brahminical
ceremonies under the guidance of Brahman priests, and claim a position
equal to that of the Aryappattars. But they are not allowed to dine
with the Brahmans, or to enter the mandapa in front of the garbhagriha,
the inner sanctuary of a Hindu shrine. Their dress and ornaments are
like those of the Tamil Brahmans, and their language is Tamil. Their
period of pollution, however, is as long as fifteen days."
Ari (ebony).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba.
Arigala.--Arigala, denoting a dish carried in procession, occurs
as an exogamous sept of Mutracha. Arigala and Arika, both meaning
the millet Paspalum scrobiculatum, are septs of Jatapu and Panta
Reddi. The latter may not use the grain as food.
Arikuravan.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a
sub-division of Nayar.
Arisi.--A sub-division of Savara.
Ariyar.--Ariyar or Ariyanattu Chetti is given as a caste title by
Pattanavans.
Ariyur.--Ariyur or Ariviyur is the name of a sub-division of
Nattukottai Chettis.
Arli (Ficus religiosa).--An exogamous sept of Stanika.
Arudra (lady-bird).--An exogamous sept of Kalingi.
Arupathukatchi (sixty house section).--A sub-division of Valluvan.
Arupattanalu Taleikattu (sixty-four, who covered their heads).--A
sub-division of Chetti.
Aruththukattatha.--The name, meaning those who do not tie the tali a
second time, of a section of Paraiyans who do not allow the remarriage
of widows.
Aruva.--The Aruvas are an interesting caste of cultivators along the
sea-coast in the Berhampur taluk of Ganjam. They say that they are
descended from the offspring of alliances between Patanis (Muhammadans)
and Oriya women. Like other Oriya castes, they have a number of titles,
e.g., Nayako, Patro, Podhano, Ponda, Mondolo, and Mollana, some of
which seem to be exogamous, and there are also numerous exogamous
septs or bamsams. The headman is styled Nayako, and he is assisted
by a Bhollobhaya. Both these offices are hereditary. The Aruvas
say that they belong to two Vedas, viz., the males to Atharva Veda,
and the females to Yajur Veda. Muhammadans are believed by them to
be Atharvavedis.
A member of the caste, called Mollana, officiates on ceremonial
occasions. A pure Oriya casteman will not allow his son to marry
his sister's daughter, but this is permitted in most places by the
Aruvas. The marriage ceremonial, except in a few points of detail,
conforms to the general Oriya type. On the day before the wedding,
a milk-post of bamboo is erected, and in front of it a new cloth,
and various articles for worship are placed. When the fingers of the
contracting couple are linked together, and at other stages of the
marriage rites, the Mollana recites certain formulæ, in which the
words Bismillahi and Allah occur.
The dead are always buried. In former days, stone slabs, with Arabic or
Hindustani legends in Oriya characters inscribed on them, used to be
set up over the grave. For these, two sticks are now substituted. The
corpse of a dead person is sewn up in a kind of sack. As it is
being lowered into the grave, the Mollana recites formulæ, and those
present throw earth over it before the grave is filled in. They then
take their departure, and the Mollana, standing on one leg, recites
further formulæ. On the following day, bitter food, consisting of rice
and margosa (Melia Azadirachta) leaves, is prepared, and given to the
agnates. On the third day after death, the burial-ground is visited,
and, after water has been poured over the grave, a cloth is spread
thereon. On this relations of the deceased throw earth and food. A
purificatory ceremony, in which ghi (clarified butter) is touched,
is performed on the fifteenth day. On the fortieth day, the Mollana
officiates at a ceremony in which food is offered to the dead person.
The Aruvas do not take part in any Muhammadan ceremonial, and do not
worship in mosques. Most of them are Paramarthos, and all worship
various Hindu deities and Takuranis (village gods). At their houses,
the god is represented by a mass of mud of conical shape, with
an areca nut on the top of it. In recent times, a number of Aruva
families, owing to a dispute with the Mollana, do not employ him for
their ceremonials, in which they follow the standard Oriya type. They
neither interdine nor intermarry with other sections of the community,
and have become an independent section thereof.
Arya.--Arya or Ariya (noble) occurs as a class of Pattar Brahmans,
a division of Samagaras, and an exogamous sept of Kurubas. Some
Pattanavans call themselves Ariya Nattu Chetti (Chettis of the country
of chiefs), Ariyar, or Ayyayirath Thalaivar (the five thousand chiefs).
Asadi.--The Asadis of the Bellary district are summed up, in the
Madras Census Report, 1901, as "a sub-caste of Mala or Holeya, which,
in Bellary, are almost interchangeable terms. They are prostitutes and
dancers." Among the Madigas, men called Asadi, who have undergone an
initiation ceremony, go about, in company with the Matangis (dedicated
prostitutes), playing on an instrument called the chaudike, and
singing the praises and reciting the story of Ellamma. (See Madiga.)
Asan (teacher).--The title of Variyans, who have held the hereditary
position of tutors in noblemen's families. Also a title of Pisharati
and Kanisan.
Asari.--In most parts of the Madras Presidency, Mr. H. A. Sturat
writes, "Asari (or Achari) is synonymous with Kammalan, and may denote
any of the five artizan castes, but in Malabar it is practically
confined to the carpenter caste. The Asari of Malabar is the Brahman
of the Kammala castes. The Kammala castes generally pollute Nayars
by approaching within twelve feet, and Brahmans by coming within
thirty-six feet; but an Asari with his measuring rod in his hand
has the privilege of approaching very near, and even entering the
houses of higher castes without polluting them. This exception may
have arisen out of necessity." At the census, 1901, some Sayakkarans
(Tamil dyers) returned Asari as a title.
In a Government office, a short time ago, the head clerk, a Brahman
named Rangachari, altered the spelling of the name of a Kammalan from
Velayudachari to Velayudasari in the office books, on the ground that
the former looked Brahmanical.
Ashtakshari (eight syllables).--A sub-division of Satanis, who believe
in the efficacy of the eight syllables om-na-mo-na-ra-ya-na-ya in
ensuring eternal bliss. The name ashtabhukkulu, or those who eat the
eight greedily, also occurs as a sub-division of the same people.
Ashtalohi.--The name, meaning workers in eight metals, of a small class
of Oriya artizans. According to one version the eight metals are gold,
silver, bell-metal, copper, lead, tin, iron, and brass; according to
another, gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, load-stone, iron, and steel.
Ashtikurissi.--Ashtikurissi (ashti, a bone) or Attikurissi is an
occupational sub-division of Nayars and Marans, who officiate at the
funerals of Nambutiri Brahmans and Nayars, and help in collecting
the remains of the bones after cremation.
Asili.--The name for Telugu toddy-drawers in the Cuddapah
district.
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