Abhishēka.—Abhishēka Pandārams are those who are made to pass through some ceremonies in connection with Saiva Āgama.

Acchu Tāli.—A sub-division of Vāniyan. The name refers to the peculiar tāli (marriage badge) worn by married women.

Acchuvāru.—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 Acchuvārus are not Oriya people, but are attached to the Dēvānga 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 Jātipillais of the Kaikōlan weavers, who do acchuvēlai.

Acchu Vellāla.—A name assumed by some Pattanavans.

Achan.—Achan, meaning father or lord, was returned, at the Cochin census, 1901, as a title of Nāyars. According to Mr. Wigram1 it is used as a title of the following:—

1. Males in the Royal Family of Palghāt. [2]

2. The minister of the Calicut Rāja, known as Mangāt Achan.

3. The minister of the Cochin Rāja, known as Paliyat Achan.

4. The minister of the second Rāja of Calicut, known as Chenli Achan.

Acharapākam Chetti.—One of the sub-divisions of the Chettis, generally grouped among the Bēri Chettis (q.v.).

Āchāri.—See Āsāri.

Adapadava (man of the wallet).—A name, referring to the dressing-bag which barbers carry, applied to Lingāyat barbers in South Canara.

Ādapāpa.—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 Khāsa).

Adavi (forest or jungle).—The name of a sub-division of Yānādis, and also of a section of Gollas in Mysore.2

Adaviyar.—Adaviyar or Ataviyar is the name of a class of Tamil-speaking weavers found in the Tanjore and Tinnevelly districts.

Addāku (Bauhinia racemosa).—A sept of Jātapu. 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.

Adhigāri.—Defined by Mr. Wigram3 as the head of the amsam or parish in Malabar, corresponding to the Manigar (village munsiff) in east coast districts and [3]Patēl in South Canara. The title Adhigāri (one in power) is assumed by some Agamudaiyans, and Adhikāri 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 Stānika.

Ādi (primitive or original).—The name of a division of Linga Balijas, and of Velamas who have abandoned the practice of keeping their females gōsha (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 Nāyar.

Adikal (slaves or servants).—Included among the Ambalavāsis. It is recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, that “tradition states that Sankarāchārya, 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 Āchārya. But they begged to differ, apologised to him as Atiyāls or humble servants, and accepted social degradation in expiation of their sinful presumption. They are now the priests in temples dedicated to Bhadrakāli, and other goddesses who receive offerings of liquor. They practise sorcery, and aid in the exorcising of spirits. They have the upanayana-samskāra, and wear the sacred thread. The sīmantam ceremony is not performed. They are to repeat the Gāyatri (hymn) ten times, and observe eleven [4]days’ death pollution. Their own caste-men act as priests. The Atiyammamar wear the same jewellery as the Nambūtiri 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 Nāyar maid.”

Adimittam.—An occupational sub-division of Mārāns, who clean the court-yards of temples in Travancore.

Ādisaivar.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as “a sub-caste of Vellāla. They are singers of Dēvāra hymns in Saiva temples.” The name indicates those who have been Saivites from the beginning, as opposed to recent Saivites. Ādisaivas are Saivites, who have survived the absorbing influence of the Lingayat sect. Saivites who profess the Lingāyat doctrines are known as Vīrasaivas. Some Pandārams, who belong to the Sōzhia sub-division of the Vellālas, regularly recite Tamil verses from Thēvāram and Tiruvāchagam in Saivite temples. This being their profession, they are also called Ōduvar (readers or reciters).

Āditya Vārada.—Kurubas, who worship their God on Sunday.

Adiyān.—Adiyān (adi, foot) has been defined4 as meaning literally “a slave, but usually applied to the vassals of Tamburans and other powerful patrons. Each Adiyān 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. [5]

Adiyōdi.—Adiyōdi or Atiyōti, meaning slave or vassal, has been returned at times of census as a sub-division of Sāmantan. It is, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,5 “the caste of the Kadattanād Rājah 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 Rājah of Chirakkal, who gave him the Kadattanād country to hold as his vassal. Some Atiyōtis advance no pretension to be above Nāyars in rank.”

Aduttōn (a bystander).—A synonym for Kāvutiyan, a caste of Malayālam 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,6 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 Vellālas. 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 Vellālas. 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 described7 by Mr. H. A. Stuart as “a class of cultivators differing widely from the Agamudaiyans of the Madura district. [6]The former are closely allied to the Vellālas, 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 Vellālas, Pallis and Mēlakkārans, 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 āham, 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 Udeiyār 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,8 “is said by the Rev. G. U. Pope, in his edition of the Abbé Dubois’ work,9 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 [7]whether it be not merely a vulgar corruption of the well-known word Ahamudeiyān, 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 Vellāla, 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 [8]influenced by contact with Brāhmanism. They engage Brāhman priests, and perform their birth, marriage, and death ceremonies like the Vellālas.”10 I am told that the more prosperous Agamudaiyans in the south imitate the Vellālas 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 Sembunāttu Maravans. At Ramnād, 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 Sērvaikkāran, but many of them call themselves, like the Vellālas, Pillai. Other titles, returned at times of census, are Adhigāri and Mudaliar.

At the census, 1891, the following were returned as the more important sub-divisions of the Agamudaiyans:—Aivali Nāttān, Kōttaipattu, Malainādu, Nāttumangalam, Rājabōja, Rājakulam, Rājavāsal, Kallan, Maravan, Tuluvan (cf. Tuluva Vellāla) and Sērvaikkāran. The name Rājavāsal denotes those who are servants of Rājas, and has been transformed into Rājavamsa, meaning those of kingly parentage. Kōttaipattu means those of the fort, and the Agamudaiyans believe that the so-called Kōttai Vellalas of the Tinnevelly district are really Kōttaipattu Agamudaiyans. One sub-division of the Agamudaiyans is called Sāni (cow-dung). Unlike the Maravans and Kallans, the Agamudaiyans have no exogamous septs, or kilais.

[9]

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 tāli, 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. [10]

The more prosperous Agamudaiyans celebrate their marriages according to the Purānic 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. Vāram (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, Dēva, and Rākshasa. Of the twenty-seven asterisms, Aswini, Bharani, etc., some are Manusha, some Dēva, and some Rākshasa ganam. Ashtham and Swāthi are considered to be of Dēva ganam, so individuals born under these asterisms are regarded as belonging to Dēva ganam. Those born under the asterisms Bharani, Rōgini, Pūram, Pūrādam, Uththarādam, etc., belong to the Manusha ganam. Under Rākshasa ganam are included Krithika, Āyilyam, Makam, Visākam, and other asterisms. The bridal pair should belong to the same ganam, as far as possible. Manusha and Dēva is a tolerable combination, whereas Rākshasa and Dēva, or Rākshasa and Manusha, are bad combinations.

3. Sthridīrgam (woman’s longevity).—The young man’s birthday should be beyond the thirteenth day, counting from the birthday of the girl.

4. Yōni (female generative organs).—The asterisms are supposed to belong to several animals. An [11]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 Uththirattādhi, 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. Rāsi (zodiacal sign).—Beginning from the girl’s zodiacal sign, the young man’s should be beyond the sixth.

6. Rāsyathipathi (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 Mīnam, Thulām 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.:—

[12]

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. Jādi (caste).—The zodiacal signs are grouped into castes as follows:—

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.). Vignēswara (the elephant god Ganēsa) is then worshipped, with the lagna patrika in front of him. This is followed by the announcement of the forthcoming [13]marriage by the purōhit (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 (hōmam). A many-branched lamp, representing the thousand-eyed Indra, is placed to the east of the square. The purōhit, who is regarded as equivalent to Yama (the god of death), and a pot with a lamp on it representing Agni dēvata, occupy the south-east corner. Women representing Niruti (a dēvata) 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 Vāyu (the god of wind) is placed in the north-west corner. As the position of Kubēra (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 (pāl kambam) is set [14]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 (paradēsa pravēsam), 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 (kālkattu, or tying the leg). The purōhit 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 Nāndisrādham (memorial service to ancestors) is performed, and new clothes are given to the pair. The next item is the tying of the tāli (marriage badge). The tāli is usually tied on a turmeric-dyed thread, placed on a cocoanut, and taken round to be blessed by all present. Then the purōhit gives the tāli to the bridegroom, and he ties it on the bride’s neck amidst silence, except for the music played by the barber or Mēlakkāran musicians. While the tāli 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 tāli-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 [15]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 ārathi (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 Ardanārisvara, 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 purōhit generally points it out to the bridal pair at the close of the ceremonial, which terminates with three hōmams. 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, Pandārams 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 [16]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 (karmāndhiram) on the sixteenth day. Presents are then given to Brāhmans, and, after the death pollution has been removed by sprinkling with holy water (punyāham), a feast is given to the relatives.

The Agamudaiyans worship various minor deities, such as Aiyanar, Pidāri, and Karupannaswāmi.

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 Bhāsha, 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 Brāhman officiates. The dead are burnt.

Agarwāl.—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 santāna law of inheritance (in the female line). Madivāla (madi, a clean cloth) is a synonym for [17]Agasa. The word Agasa is derived from agasi, a turban.

The Agasas of Mysore have been described as follows.11 “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 Bhūma Dēva, there are temples dedicated to this god in some large towns, the service being conducted by pūjāris (priests) of the Agasa caste. The Agasas are Vishnuvaits, and pray to Vishnu, Pattalamma, and the Saktis. Their gurus (religious preceptors) are Sātānis. 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 Madivālas 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 bhūthas (devils), of whom the principal one seems to be Jumadi. At the time of kōlas (bhūtha festivals), the Madivālas have the right to cut off the heads of the [18]fowls or goats, which are sacrificed. The animals are held by Pombadas or Paravas, and the Madivāla decapitates them. On the seventh day after the birth of a child, the washerwoman ties a thread round its waist. For purificatory ceremonies, the Madivāli should give washed clothes to those under pollution.

In their ceremonial observances, the Madivālas 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 dhāre 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 Marātha 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 Bōya. The Pallis claim to be Agnikula Kshatriyas, i.e., to belong to the fire race of Kshatriyas.

Agrahārekala.—A sub-division of Bhatrāzu, meaning those who belong to the agrahāram, or Brāhman 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 Bākuda. [19]

Aiya.—Aiya or Ayya, meaning father, is the title of many classes, which include Dāsari, Dēvānga, Golla, Īdiga, Jangam, Konda Dora, Kōmati, Koppala Velama, Linga Balija, Mangala, Mūka Dora, Paidi, Sātāni, Servēgāra, and Tambala. It is further a title of the Patnūlkarans, who claim to be Brāhmans, and a sub-division of the Tamil Pallans.

Aiyar occurs very widely as a title among Tamil Brāhmans, and is replaced in the Telugu and Canarese countries by Bhatlu, Pantulu, and Sāstrulu. It is noted by the Rev. A. Margöschis that “the honorific title Aiyar was formerly used exclusively by Brāhmans, 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 Grāma Dēvata 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 Kāpus 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 Kāpus, 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 Rājas. They have a story [20]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 Rāja, 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 gōtras, such as nāga (cobra), tābēlu (tortoise), etc., which are strictly totemistic, and are further divided into exogamous septs or intipērulu. The custom of mēnarikam, according to which a man should marry his maternal uncle’s daughter, is in force. Girls are married before puberty, and a Brāhman 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 Rāzus, 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 Pātrudu.

Ākāsam (sky).—An exogamous sept of Dēvānga.

Akattu Charna.—A sub-division of Nāyar.

Akattulavar.—A name, indicating those inside (in seclusion or gōsha), by which Nambūtiri and Elayad and other females are called. [21]

Akshantala (rice grain).—A gōtra of Oddē. Akshathayya is the name of a gōtra of Gollas, who avoid rice coloured with turmeric and other materials.

Ākula (betel leaf: Piper Betle).—An exogamous sept of Kamma and Bonthuk Savara, and a sub-division of Kāpu. The presentation of betel leaves and areca nuts, called pān-supāri, as a complimentary offering is a wide-spread Indian custom.

Āla.—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 Mūppan. 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 Pāndyan territory to Travancore, to work in the salt-pans. It is said that there are at Tāmarakkulam, 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 Sāsta and Bhadrakāli. 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 Dubois12 of albino Natives is not a pleasant one. “This extreme [22]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 Achāri, 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, [23]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. Rājput. 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 Gumsūr tāluk of Ganjam. In the Madras Census Report, 1891, it is suggested that the name is derived from the Sanskrit holo, meaning a plough. The [24]further suggestions have been made that it is derived from alo, meaning crop, or from Ali, a killa or tāluk of Orissa, whence the Aliyas have migrated. In social position the Alias rank below the Bhondāris and Odiyas, who will not accept water touched by them.

Various titles occur within the caste, e.g., Biswalo, Bonjo, Bāriko, Jenna, Kampo, Kondwalo, Lenka, Mahanti, Molla Nāhako, Pātro, Podhāno, Podiyāli, Ravuto, Siyo, and Swāyi. Like other Oriya castes, the Alias have gōtras, and the marriage rules based on titles and gōtras are peculiar. A Podhāno man may, for example, marry a Podhāno girl, if their gōtras are different. Further, two people, whose gōtras are the same, may marry if they have a different title. Thus, a man, whose gōtra is Goru and title Podhāno, may marry a girl of a family of which the gōtra is Goru, but title other than Podhāno.

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 Tākurānis (village deities).

Alige (drum).—An exogamous sept of Kuruba.

Aliya Santānam.—Inheritance in the female line. The equivalent, in the Canara country, of the Malayāli marumakkathāyam.

Allam (ginger).—An exogamous sept of Māla.

Allikulam (lily clan).—Returned, at times of census, as a sub-division of Anappan.

Ālvar.—An exogamous sept of Toreya. Ālvar is a synonym of Garuda, the winged vehicle of Vishnu. Ālvar Dāsari occurs as a sub-division of Valluvans, which claims descent from Tiruppān Ālvar, one of the Vaishnava saints. [25]

Amarāvatiyavaru.—A name, denoting people of Amarāvati on the Kistna river, recorded13 as a sub-division of Desabhaga Mādigas. Amarāvati also occurs as a sub-division, or nādu, of Vallamban.

Ambalakkāran.—In the Madras Census Report, 1891, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes that “Ambalakkāran (ambalam, an open place14) 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 Ambalakkāran and Kallan castes, but, from some accounts which I have obtained, the Ambalakkārans seem to be very closely connected, if not identical with Muttiriyans (Telugu Mutrācha), 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 Ambalakkāran as the sub-division also, yet, of the sub-divisions returned, Muttiriyan and Mutrācha 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 Sērvaikkāran, but the titles Muttiriyan, Ambalakkāran, Malavarāyān, Mutarāsan, and Vannian are also used. The usual agnomen of Muttiriyans, on the other hand, is said to be Nāyakkan (Naik).”

In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Ambalakkārans are summed up as follows. “A Tamil caste of [26]cultivators and village watchmen. Till recently the term Ambalakkāran 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 Ambalakkārans and Muttiriyans of a village in Musiri tāluk 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 Ambalakkāran’s houses. There is some connection between Ambalakkārans, Muttiriyans, Mutrāchas, Urālis, Vēdans, Valaiyans, and Vēttuvans. It seems likely that all of them are descended from one common parent stock. Ambalakkārans claim to be descended from Kannappa Nāyanar, one of the sixty-three Saivite saints, who was a Vēdan or hunter by caste. In Tanjore the Valaiyans declare themselves to have a similar origin, and in that district Ambalakkāran and Muttiriyan seem to be synonymous with Valaiyan. [Some Valaiyans have Ambalakkāran as a title.] Moreover, the statistics of the distribution of the Valaiyans show that they are numerous in the districts where Ambalakkārans are few, and vice versâ, which looks as though certain sections of them had taken to calling themselves Ambalakkārans. The upper section of the Ambalakkārans style themselves Pillai, which is a title properly belonging to Vellālas, but the others are usually called Mūppan in Tanjore, and Ambalakkāran, Muttiriyan, and Sērvaigāran in Trichinopoly. The headman of the caste panchāyat (council) is called the Kāriyakkāran, and his office is hereditary in particular families. Each headman has a peon called the Kudi-pillai, whose duty it is to summon the panchāyat 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 [27]endogamous sections. Four of them are said to be Muttiriyan or Mutrācha, Kāvalgar, Vanniyan, and Valaiyan. A member of any one of these is usually prohibited by the panchāyats 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 Brāhmans as purōhits (priests), and wear the sacred thread at funerals and srāddhas (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 Kāvalgar both mean watchman. Vanniyan is certainly a separate caste, some members of which take Ambalakkāran as a title. The Ambalakkārans 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 Ambalakkārans or Muttiriyans are more numerous in the Trichinopoly district and Pudukkōttai 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 tāluk, and Ambalakkāran 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 [28]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 nādus, the names and number of which are variously given. Some of these are Ettarai, Kōppu, Adavattūr, Tīrāmpālaiyam, Vīmānayakkanpālaiyam in the Trichinopoly tāluk, and Amūr, Savindippatti, and Karungāli in Musiri tāluk. Widow remarriage is allowed in some of these nādus, and not in others. They use the titles Muttiriyan, Ambalakkāran, Sērvaikāran, and Kāvalkāran. They admit their social inferiority to the Vellālans, Kallans, Nattamāns, and Reddis, from all of whom they will accept meals, but consider themselves superior to Pallis, Urālis, Uppiliyans, and Valaiyans. Their usual occupation is cultivation, but they have also taken to petty trade, and some earn a living as masons and kāvalgars (watchmen). They wear the sacred thread during their marriages and funerals. They have panchāyats for each village and for the nādu, and have also a number of the Patnattu Chettis, who are recognized as elders of the caste, and sit with the head of the nādu to decide cases of adultery, etc.

Ambalavāsi.—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 Poduvāl, Chākkiyar, Nambiyassan, Pidāran, Pishārodi, Vāriyan, Nambi, Teyyambādi, 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 Brāhmans, such as the Mūssads, and food will not be taken from the hands of most of them even by Nāyars.” [29]

In the Travancore Census Report, 1901, it is noted that “the term Ambalavāsi (one who lives in a temple) is a group-name, and is applied to castes, whose occupation is temple service. The Kēralamāhātmya speaks of them as Kshētravāsinah, which means those who live in temples. They are also known as Antarālas, from their occupying an intermediate position between the Brāhmans and the Brāhmanical Kshatriyas of Malabar on the one hand, and the Sūdras on the other. While according to one view they are fallen Brāhmans, others, such as the writer of the Kēralolpatti, would put them down as an advance from the Sūdras. The castes recognised as included in the generic name of Ambalavāsi are:—

“All these castes are not connected with pagodas, nor do the Muttātus, 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 Brāhman cannot be retained in the Brāhmanic 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, Vāriyar and others, and popular recitation of God’s [30]works for the Chākkiyar, were found to hold an intermediate place between the internal functions of the Brāhmans 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 Antarālas, the intermediates of Hindu Society. The Kshatriyas, having commensal privileges with the Brāhmans, 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 Brāhmans observe 10 days, the Kshatriyas 11 days, and the Sūdras of Malabar (Nāyars) 16 days. The Ambalavāsis 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 “Ambalavāsis (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.15 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, Chākkiyar, Nambiyar or Pushpakan, and Tiyyāttu Nambiyar belong to the threaded class, while Chākkiyar, Nambiyar, Pishāroti, Vāriyar, Puthuvāl, and Mārar are non-threaded. Though all Ambalavāsis have to do service in temples, they have [31]many of them sufficiently distinct functions to perform. They are all governed by the marumakkathāyam law of inheritance (through the female line); some castes among them, however, follow the makkathāyam system (from father to son). A Nambiyar, Pishāroti, or Vāriyar 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 marumakkathāyam stock. In the matter of tāli-kettu (tāli-tying) marriage, and marriage by union in sambandham (alliance), they follow customs similar to those of Nāyars. So far as the employment of Brāhman as priests, and the period of birth and death pollution are concerned, there are slight differences. The threaded classes have Gāyatri (hymn). The purificatory ceremony after birth or death pollution is performed by Nambūdris, but at all funeral ceremonies, such as pinda, srādha, etc., their own caste men officiate as priests. The Nambūdris can take meals cooked by a Brāhman in the house of any of the Ambalavāsis except Mārars. In fact, if the Nambūdris have the right of purification, they do not then impose any restrictions in regard to this. All Ambalavāsis are strict vegetarians at public feasts. The Ambalavāsis 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 Brāhmans or Kshatriyas. Brāhmans, Kshatriyas, or Nambidis cannot take water from them. Though a great majority of the Ambalavāsis 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 Ambalavāsis are dealt with in special articles. [32]

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 Kāvutiyan caste of Malayālam barbers is called Aduttōn, signifying bystander. The Ambattan corresponds to the Mangala of the Telugu country, the Vilakkatālavan of Malabar, the Kshauraka of the Canarese Brāhmans, and the Hajām 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 Brāhman, 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 Brāhmana with the daughter of a Vaisya is born a son called an Ambashtha.” In a succeeding verse, he states that as children of a Brāhmana 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 Brāhmans 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 Brāhmans, conveys pollution. The pūjāri, or officiating priest, [33]at this famous temple is a barber, and Brāhmans, 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 Sūdra.” 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 Brāhman officiates. On the first two days, hōmam or sacred fire, fed with ghī (clarified butter) is kindled. On the third day, the tāli (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 Brāhman, followed by other Brāhmans, men of superior castes, and the caste-men headed by the Perithanakkāran 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 Brāhman priest and head-man. This rice, which is called sēsham (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 Perithanakkāran. The Brāhman receives as his fee money and a pair of silk-bordered cloths; and, till the [34]latter are given to him, he usually refuses to pronounce the necessary mantras (prayers). He also receives the first pān-supāri (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, hōmam 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 Vellālas of the Salem district, it is the Ambattan who officiates at the marriage rites, and ties the tāli, after formally proclaiming to those present that he is about to do so. Brāhmans 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 Brāhman has been ousted, in recent times, from his priestly functions by the Ambattan. The barber, when he ties the tāli, mutters something about Brāhman and Vēdas in a respectful manner. The story goes that, during the days of the Chēra, Chōla, and Pāndya Kings, a Brāhman and an Ambattan were both invited to a marriage feast. But the Brāhman, on his arrival, died, and the folk, believing his death to be an evil omen, ruled that, as the Brāhman 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 [35]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 (punyāvāchanam).

The rule, once a widow always a widow, is as true of Ambattans as of high-class Brāhmans. 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 Brāhman priest, who is remunerated for his services with money and a cloth. Gifts of money and cloths are also made to other Brāhmans, when the days of pollution are over. Annual memorial ceremonies (srādh) are performed, as by Brāhmans. It is a privilege (they consider it as such) of the Ambattans to cremate the bodies of village paupers other than Brāhmans. 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 Brāhman 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 Kōmatis, who belong to the left. They have, however, no objection to shaving Kōmatis. The Ambattans of [36]the Chingleput district are divided into four sections, each of which is controlled by a Perithanakkāran. One of these resides in Madras, and the other three live respectively at Poonamallee, Chingleput, and Karunguzhi in the Madurantakam tāluk 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 Perithanakkāran has under him six hundred, or even a thousand Kudithalakkārans, 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 panchāyat, 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 2½ 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 Tirupporūr, the other at Tirukalikundram. At these places Brāhmans are given free meals, and to other caste Hindus sadābāth, or things necessary for meals, are presented. Sometimes the money is spent in building adjuncts to holy shrines. At Srīrangam, for example, the Ambattans, in days gone by, built a fine [37]stone mantapam for the local temple. If the Perithanakkāran cannot satisfactorily dispose of a case with the assistance of the usual panchāyat (council), it is referred to the higher authority of the Kavarai or Desāi Setti, or even to British Courts as a last resource.

The barber has been summed up by a district official16 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.” [38]

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, Mālas, 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 Brāhmans and high-class non-Brāhmans 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 [39]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 marakkāls 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 Nāsivan (unholy man), or, according to the Census Reports, Nāsuvan (sprung from the nose), or Nāvidan. He is also known as Panditan or Pariyāri (doctor), and [40]Kudimaghan (son of the ryot). The last of these names is applied to him especially on occasions of marriage, when to call him Nāsivan 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 Brāhman houses on new or full-moon days, Tuesday, Saturday, and special days such as Ekādasi and Dwādasi. 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 Rāja of Tanjore used to be thus entertained with exhibitions of their skill. The old legend of the barber who, in return for shaving a Rāja without awakening him, requested that he might be made a Brāhman, and how the Court jester Tennāli Rāman got the Rāja to cancel his agreement, has recently been re-told in rhyme.17 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. [41]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 Kshaurakkāran, 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 Prānopakāri, 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 Prānu. 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, Pāndi Vazhi, Attungal Vazhi, and Peruntanni Vazhi. But it is possible to divide all the Kshaurakans of Travancore into three classes, viz., Malayālam-speaking Ambattans, who follow the makkathāyam law of inheritance; (2) Malayālam-speaking [42]Ambattans who follow the marumakkathāyam law of inheritance; (3) Tamil-speaking barbers, who have in many localities adopted Malayālam as their mother-tongue, and indicate their recent conversion in this direction by preserving unchanged the dress and ornaments of their womenkind. In Pattanapūram, for example, there is a class of Malayālam-speaking barbers known as Pūlāns 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 tāluks, a large number of barbers may be described as recent converts of this character. In theory at least, the makkathāyam and marumakkathāyam 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 makkathāyam Ambattans give their girls in marriage to the marumakkathāyam 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 Nāyars, but some wear round gold beads and a conch-shaped marriage jewel round the [43]neck, to distinguish their women from those of the Nāyars. This, however, does not hold good in South Travancore, where the women have entirely adopted the Nāyar 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, Māden, 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 Kērala 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 ianangūttu 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 tāli-kettu and sambandham ceremonies are celebrated, the former before, and the latter after the girl has reached puberty. The preliminary rites of betrothal and kāpu-kettu (tying the string round the wrist) over, the bridegroom enters the marriage hall in procession. There are no Vēdic 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. [44]

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 Kabbēra.

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, Māriamma, etc., which are worshipped as Grāma Dēvatas (village deities) at the temples known as Amman-kōil.

Ammukkuvan.—A sub-division of Katalarayan.18 (See Vālan.)

Anapa (Dolichos Lablab).—A gōtra of Kōmati.

Anasa (ferrule).—A gōtra of Kurni.

Anchu (edge or border).—A gōtra of Kurni.

Andara (pandal or booth).—A sept of Kuruba.

Andē.—Andē (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.

Andēraut.—Recorded, in the Census Report, 1901, as a sub-division of Kurumba. Probably a form of Andē [45]Kuruba. Raut is frequently a title of headmen among Lingāyats.

Āndi.—In a note on Āndis in the Madras Census Report, 1901, Mr. W. Francis writes that “for a Brāhman or an ascetic, mendicancy was always considered an honourable profession, to which no sort of shame attached. Manu says ‘a Brāhman should constantly shun worldly honour, as he would shun poison, and rather constantly seek disrespect as he would seek nectar’; and every Brāhman youth was required to spend part of his life as a beggar. The Jains and Buddhists held the same views. The Hindu Chattrams19 and Uttupuras, the Jain Pallis, and the Buddhist Vihāras 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 Pandārams and Āndis, 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. Āndis are Tamil beggars. They are really inferior to Pandārams, but the two terms are in [46]practice often indiscriminately applied to the same class of people. Pandārams are usually Vellālas by caste, but Āndis are recruited from all classes of Sūdras, 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 Āndis, meaning beggars of the Jangam caste, and the Jōgi Āndis, that is, Āndis of the Jōgi caste. They also have occupational and other divisions, such as the Kōvil Āndis, meaning those who do service in temples, and the Mudavāndis or the lame beggars. Āndi is in fact almost a generic term. All Āndis are not beggars however; some are bricklayers, others are cultivators, and others are occupied in the temples. They employed Brāhman priests at their ceremonies, but all of them eat meat and drink alcohol. Widows and divorcées may marry again. Among the Tinnevelly Āndis, the sister of the bridegroom ties the tāli (marriage badge) round the bride’s neck, which is not usual.”

In the Madras Census Report, 1891, the Āndis 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 Āndis 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, Kōmanāndi, Lingadāri, Mudavāndi, and Uppāndi. Kōmanam is the small loin cloth, and a Kōmanāndi goes naked, except for this slight concession to decency. Mudam means lame, and the Mudavāndis (q.v.) are allowed to claim any deformed child belonging to the Konga Vellāla caste. [47]The etymology of Uppāndi 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 Āndi 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 sēmakkalam with a stick, and often carry a conch shell, which they blow. They are given to drinking.”

It is recorded20 that “South Indian beggars are divided into two classes, Panjathāndi and Paramparaiāndi. 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.”

Āndi (a god) occurs as an exogamous section of Sirukudi Kallans.

Āndinia.—Recorded by Mr. F. Fawcett as an inferior sub-division of Dōmbs, who eat frogs.

Āndurān.—A sub-division of Nāyar potters, who manufacture earthenware articles for use in temples. The name is derived from Āndūr, a place which was once a fief under the Zamorin of Calicut.

Ānē (elephant).—An exogamous sept of Holeya, Kāppiliyan, Kuruba, Kādu Kurumba, Mogēr, and Gangadikāra Vakkaliga. Yēnigala or Yēnuga (elephant) is further an exogamous sept of Kāpus, who will not touch ivory. Ānai-kombu (elephant tusk) occurs as a sub-division of Idaiyan. [48]

Angārakudu (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 Nāl (five days).—Recorded in the Salem Manual, as a name given to Pallis who perform the death ceremony on the fifth day after death.

Anjuttān (men of the five hundred).—Recorded at times of census, as a sub-division of Panān, and a synonym of Vēlan. In the Gazetteer of Malabar, it appears as a sub-division of Mannāns, who are closely akin to the Vēlans. The equivalent Anjūttilkar occurs as a synonym for Tenkanchi Vellālas in Travancore.

Anna (brother).—The title of numerous classes, e.g., Dāsari, Gavara, Golla, Konda Dora, Koppala Velama, Mangala, Mila, Paidi, and Segidi.

Annam (cooked rice).—An exogamous sept of Gamalla and Togata.

Annāvi.—A title of Savalakkārans, who play on the nāgasaram (reed instrument) in temples.

Antalavar.—Recorded in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a sub-division of Nāyar.

Antarāla.—A synonym of Ambalavāsi, denoting those who occupy an intermediate position between Brāhmans and Sūdras.

Antarjanam (inside person).—A term applied to Nambūtiri Brāhman females, who live in seclusion.21

Anuloma.—One of the two classes of Sūdras, viz., Anuloma and Veloma. The term Anuloma is applied to those born of a higher-caste male and a lower-caste [49]female, e.g., barbers are said to be the offspring of a Brāhman and a Vaisya woman.

Anumala (seeds of Dolichos Lablab).—An exogamous sept of Dēvānga. 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. Brāhmans 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 Kāppiliyans 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 Kāppiliyans, Rāmachcha 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 Mēdus, which are named after three villages in this district, and three in Tinnevelly. Over each of these is a headman called the Periyadanakkāran, and the three former are also subject to a Guru who lives at Sirupālai near Madura. These three are divided again [50]into eighteen kilais or branches, each of which intermarries only with certain of the others. Caste panchāyats (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 Kāppiliyans 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 tāli (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 Kāppiliyans, the Anuppans have many caste and family deities, a number of whom are women who committed sati.” (See Kāppiliyan).

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., Īdiga, 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.

Ārādhya.—For the following note I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The Ārādhyas are a sect of Brāhmans found mainly in the four northern districts of the Madras Presidency, and to a smaller extent in the [51]Cuddapah and Kurnool districts. A few are also found in the Mysore State. They differ in almost every important respect from other Brāhmans. Basava, the founder of the Lingāyat religion, was born in a family of Brāhmans, who, with others round about them, were apparently the first converts to his religion. According to Mr. C. P. Brown,22 they were “in all probability his personal friends; he persuaded them to lay aside their name, and call themselves Ārādhya or Reverend.’ They revere the four Ārādhyas, visionary personages of the Lingāyat 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 Rēvanārādhya, Marulārādhya, Ekorāmarādhya, and Panditārādhya. In four ages, it is said, these four successively appeared as precursors of the divine Basava, and were, like Basava, Brāhmans. A Purāna, known as the Panditārādhya Charitra, is named after the last of these. Versions thereof are found both in Canarese and Telugu. A Sanskrit poem, called Siddhānta Sikhāmani, represents Rēvanārādhya 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 Brāhminical sacred thread, and the linga suspended from another thread. They revere in particular Ganapathi. The lingam which they wear they usually call the prāna 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 prānam or life. The popular belief is that, if by some accident the lingam is lost, a man must either fast [52]until he recovers it, or not survive so dire a calamity. This is a fixed dogma with them. A man who loses his prāna 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.23 “Poornia, the present minister of Mysore, relates an incident of a Lingāyat 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.”

[53]

Ārādhyas, as has been indicated, differ from other Brāhmans 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 Brāhmans do, because they have already been offered to the God, and cannot therefore be offered again to the lingam. Unlike other Lingāyats, Ārādhyas believe in the Vēdas, to which they give allegorical interpretations. They are fond of reading Sanskrit, and a few have been well-known Telugu poets. Thus, Pālapūri Sōmanātha, who lived in the fourteenth century A.D., composed the Basava Purāna and the Panditārādhya Charitra, and the brothers Piduparthi Sōmanātha and the Basavakavi, who lived in the sixteenth century, composed other religious works.

Ārādhyas marry among themselves, and occasionally take girls in marriage from certain of the Niyōgi sub-divisions of the Northern Circars. This would seem to show that they were themselves Niyōgis, prior to their conversion. They do not intermarry with Āruvēlu Niyōgis. Unlike other Brāhmans, they bury their dead in a sitting posture. They observe death pollution for ten days, and perform the ekodishta and other Brāhminical ceremonies for their progenitors. They perform annually, not the Brāhminical srādha, but the ārādhana. 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 hōmam (raising the sacrificial fire), parvānam (offering of rice-balls), or oblation of water. Widows do not have their heads shaved. [54]

The title of the Ārādhyas is always Ārādhya.

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 Vellālas.

Aranādan, See Ernādan.

Arane (lizard).—An exogamous sub-sept of Kāppiliyan.

Arashina (turmeric).—A gōtra or exogamous sept of Agasa, Kurni, Kuruba, and Oddē. The equivalent Pasupula occurs as an exogamous sept of Dēvānga. 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.24 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 tāli 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. [55]

Arasu or Rājpinde.—“This caste,” Mr. Lewis Rice writes (1877):—25 “are relatives of or connected with the Rājahs of Mysore. During the life-time of the late Mahārāja, 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 Rājah’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. Rājpindes are both Vishnavites and Sivites, and their priests are both Brāhmans and Lingāyat Waders.”

In the Madras Census Report, 1891, Arasu (= Rāja 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., Kantarāj Urs.

Ārathi.—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 Vellālas, 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 Mālalu (Mālas). The [56]Irulas of the North Arcot district are, in like manner, sometimes called Arava Yānādis. 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 Nāyar.

Arayan.—See Vālan.

Archaka.—Archaka, or Umai Archaka, is a title of Ōcchans, who are priests at temples of Grāma Dēvatas (village deities).

Ārē.—A synonym for Marāthi. The name occurs as a sub-division of Kunchigar and Kudubi. In South Canara Ārya Kshatri occurs as the equivalent of Ārē, and, in the Telugu country, Ārē Kāpu refers to Marāthi cultivators. Ārya Kūttādi is a Tamil synonym of Marāthi Dommaras. Concerning the Ārēs, Mr. H. G. Stuart writes as follows.26 “Of the total number of 6,809 Ārēs, 4,373 are found in South Canara, Bellary and Anantapur, and these are true Ārēs. Of the rest I am not able to speak with certainty, as the term Ārya, which is a synonym of Ārē, is also used as an equivalent of Marāthi, and sometimes in a still wider sense. The true Ārēs are husbandmen of Marātha origin. They wear the sacred thread, have Brāhmans as their priests, and give allegiance to the head of the Sringēri 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 [57]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 Ārēs of South Canara, Mr. Stuart writes further,27 “usually speak Marāthi or Konkani, but in the Kāsaragōd tāluk, and possibly in other parts too, they speak Canarese. Their exogamous septs are called manathanas. They use the dhāre 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 Marāthi-speaking Arēyavaru or Aryavaru of the South Canara district follow the makkala santāna law of inheritance (from father to son). For ceremonial purposes, they engage Shivalli Brāhmans. 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 dandāl jātai. 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 Ārēyavaru 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 Ammanōru (Durga), in the worship of whom the Ārēyavaru, like other Marātha castes, employ Gondala mendicants.

Are (Bauhinia racemosa).—A gōtra of Kurni.

Āri.—The Āris or Dūtans are described, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a “small but [58]interesting community confined to a village in the Tovala tāluk. By traditional occupation they are the Ambalavāsis of the Saivaite temple of Darsanamkōppa. They are strict vegetarians, wear the Brāhminical thread, perform all the Brāhminical ceremonies under the guidance of Brāhman priests, and claim a position equal to that of the Āryappattars. But they are not allowed to dine with the Brāhmans, 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 Brāhmans, and their language is Tamil. Their period of pollution, however, is as long as fifteen days.”

Āri (ebony).—An exogamous sept of Kuruba.

Arigala.—Arigala, denoting a dish carried in procession, occurs as an exogamous sept of Mutrācha. Arigala and Arika, both meaning the millet Paspalum scrobiculatum, are septs of Jātapu 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 Nāyar.

Arisi.—A sub-division of Savara.

Āriyar.—Ariyar or Āriyanāttu Chetti is given as a caste title by Pattanavans.

Ariyur.—Āriyūr or Ariviyūr is the name of a sub-division of Nāttukōttai Chettis.

Arli (Ficus religiosa).—An exogamous sept of Stānika.

Ārudra (lady-bird).—An exogamous sept of Kālingi.

Arupathukatchi (sixty house section).—A sub-division of Valluvan.

Arupattanālu Taleikattu (sixty-four, who covered their heads).—A sub-division of Chetti. [59]

Aruththukattātha.—The name, meaning those who do not tie the tāli 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 Berhampūr tāluk of Ganjam. They say that they are descended from the offspring of alliances between Patānis (Muhammadans) and Oriya women. Like other Oriya castes, they have a number of titles, e.g., Nāyako, Pātro, Podhāno, Ponda, Mondolo, and Mollana, some of which seem to be exogamous, and there are also numerous exogamous septs or bamsams. The headman is styled Nāyako, and he is assisted by a Bhollobhaya. Both these offices are hereditary. The Aruvas say that they belong to two Vēdas, viz., the males to Atharva Vēda, and the females to Yajur Vēda. Muhammadans are believed by them to be Atharvavēdis.

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. [60]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 ghī (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 Tākurānis (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.

Ārya.—Ārya or Āriya (noble) occurs as a class of Pattar Brāhmans, a division of Sāmagāras, and an exogamous sept of Kurubas. Some Pattanavans call themselves Āriya Nāttu Chetti (Chettis of the country of chiefs), Āriyar, or Ayyāyirath Thalaivar (the five thousand chiefs).

Āsādi.—The Āsādis of the Bellary district are summed up, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as “a [61]sub-caste of Māla or Holeya, which, in Bellary, are almost interchangeable terms. They are prostitutes and dancers.” Among the Mādigas, men called Āsādi, who have undergone an initiation ceremony, go about, in company with the Mātangis (dedicated prostitutes), playing on an instrument called the chaudike, and singing the praises and reciting the story of Ellammā. (See Mādiga.)

Āsan (teacher).—The title of Variyans, who have held the hereditary position of tutors in noblemen’s families. Also a title of Pishārati and Kanisan.

Āsāri.—In most parts of the Madras Presidency, Mr. H. A. Sturat writes, “Āsāri (or Āchāri) is synonymous with Kammālan, and may denote any of the five artizan castes, but in Malabar it is practically confined to the carpenter caste. The Āsāri of Malabar is the Brāhman of the Kammāla castes. The Kammāla castes generally pollute Nāyars by approaching within twelve feet, and Brāhmans by coming within thirty-six feet; but an Āsāri 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 Sāyakkārans (Tamil dyers) returned Āsāri as a title.

In a Government office, a short time ago, the head clerk, a Brāhman named Rangachāri, altered the spelling of the name of a Kammālan from Velayudachāri to Velayudasāri in the office books, on the ground that the former looked Brāhmanical.

Ashtākshari (eight syllables).—A sub-division of Sātānis, who believe in the efficacy of the eight syllables ōm-na-mō-nā-rā-yā-nā-ya in ensuring eternal bliss. The name ashtabhukkulu, or those who eat the eight [62]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 Nāyars and Mārāns, who officiate at the funerals of Nambūtiri Brāhmans and Nāyars, and help in collecting the remains of the bones after cremation.

Asili.—The name for Telugu toddy-drawers in the Cuddapah district. (See Idiga.)

Āsupāni.—An occupational name for Mārāns who play on the temple musical instruments āsu and pāni.

Asvo (horse).—An exogamous sept of Ghāsi.

Atagara or Hatagara.—A sub-division of Dēvānga.

Aththi (Ficus glomerata).—An exogamous sept of Stānika.

Atikunnan.—Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a sub-division of Nāyar.

Ātreya.—A Brāhmanical gōtra of Bhatrāzus. Ātreyas are descendants of Ātri, a rishi who is regarded by some as one of the ten Prajapatis of Manu.

Ātta (mother).—A sub-division of Pallan.

Āttangarai (river-bank).—A sub-division of Konga Vellāla.

Attikankana (cotton marriage thread).—A sub-division of Kurubas, who tie a cotton thread round the wrist at weddings.

Ātumpātram.—A name, meaning an object which dances, for Dēva-dāsis in Travancore. [63]

Aunvallur (possessors of cattle).—A fanciful name for Idaiyans.

Avaru.—A synonym of Agaru.

Aviri (Indigofera tinctoria).—An exogamous sept of Padma Sālēs, who use indigo in the manufacture of coloured cloth fabrics.

Avisa (Sesbania grandiflora).—A gōtra of Mēdara.

Āvu (snake).—An exogamous sept of Kuruba.

Āvula (cow).—An exogamous sept of Balija, Bōya, Golla, Kāpu, Korava, Mutrācha, and Yerukala.

Āyar (cow-herd).—A synonym or sub-division of Idaiyan and Kōlayān.

Ayōdhya (Oudh).—A sub-division of Kāpus, who say that they originally lived in Oudh.

Āzhāti.—Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a synonym of Pishārati.

Badaga.—As the Todas are the pastoral, and the Kotas the artisan tribe of the Nīlgiris, so the agricultural element on these hills is represented by the Badagas (or, as they are sometimes called, Burghers). Their number was returned, at the census, 1901, as 34,178 against 1,267 Kotas, and 807 Todas. Though the primary occupation of the Badagas is agriculture, there are among their community schoolmasters, clerks, public works contractors, bricklayers, painters, carpenters, sawyers, tailors, gardeners, forest guards, barbers, washermen, and scavengers. Many work on tea and coffee estates, and gangs of Badagas can always be seen breaking stones on, and repairing the hill roads. Others are, at the present day, earning good wages in the Cordite Factory near Wellington. Some of the more prosperous [64]possess tea and coffee estates of their own. The rising generation are, to some extent, learning Tamil and English, in addition to their own language, which is said to resemble old Canarese. And I have heard a youthful Badaga, tending a flock of sheep, address an errant member thereof in very fluent Billingsgate. There were, in 1904–1905, thirty-nine Badaga schools, which were attended by 1,222 pupils. In 1907, one Badaga had passed the Matriculation of the Madras University, and was a clerk in the Sub-judge’s Court at Ootacamund.

A newspaper discussion was carried on a few years ago as to the condition of the Badagas, and whether they are a down-trodden tribe, bankrupt and impoverished to such a degree that it is only a short time before something must be done to ameliorate their condition, and save them from extermination by inducing them to emigrate to the Wynād and Vizagapatam. A few have, in recent years, migrated to the Anaimalai hills, to work on the planters’ estates, which have been opened up there. One writer stated that “the tiled houses, costing from Rs. 250 to Rs. 500, certainly point to their prosperity. They may frequently borrow from the Labbai to enable them to build, but, as I do not know of a single case in which the Labbai has ever seized the house and sold it, I believe this debt is soon discharged. The walled-in, terraced fields immediately around their villages, on which they grow their barley and other grains requiring rich cultivation, are well worked, and regularly manured. The coats, good thick blankets, and gold ear-rings, which most Badagas now possess, can only, I think, point to their prosperity, while their constant feasts, and disinclination to work on Sundays, show that the loss of a few days’ pay does not affect them. On the other hand, a former Native official on [65]the Nīlgiris writes to me that “though the average Badaga is thrifty and hard-working, there is a tendency for him to be lazy when he is sure of his meal. When a person is sick in another village, his relatives make it an excuse to go and see him, and they have to be fed. When the first crop is raised, the idler pretends that ‘worms’ have crept into the crop, and the gods have to be propitiated, and there is a feast. Marriage or death, of course, draws a crowd to be fed or feasted. All this means extra expenditure, and a considerable drain on the slender income of the family. The Rowthan (Muhammadan merchant) from the Tamil country is near at hand to lend money, as he has carried his bazar to the very heart of the Badaga villages. First it is a bag of rāgi (food grain), a piece of cloth to throw on the coffin, or a few rupees worth of rice and curry-stuff doled out by the all-accommodating Rowthan at a price out of all proportion to the market rate, and at a rate ranging from six pies to two annas for the rupee. The ever impecunious Badaga has no means of extricating himself, with a slender income, which leaves no margin for redeeming debts. The bond is renewed every quarter or half year, and the debt grows by leaps and bounds, and consumes all his earthly goods, including lands. The advent of lawyers on the hills has made the Badagas a most litigious people, and they resort to the courts, which means expenditure of money, and neglect of agriculture.” In the funeral song of the Badagas, which has been translated by Mr. Gover,1 one of the crimes enumerated, for which atonement must be made, is that of preferring a complaint to the Sirkar (Government), and one of their numerous proverbs embodies the same idea. “If you [66]prefer a complaint to a Magistrate, it is as if you had put poison into your adversary’s food.” But Mr. Grigg writes,2 “either the terrors of the Sirkar are not what they were, or this precept is much disregarded, for the Court-house at Ootacamund is constantly thronged with Badagas, and they are now very much given to litigation.”

I gather from the notes, which Bishop Whitehead has kindly placed at my disposal, that “when the Badagas wish to take a very solemn oath, they go to the temple of Māriamma at Sigūr, and, after bathing in the stream and putting on only one cloth, offer fruits, cocoanuts, etc., and kill a sheep or fowl. They put the head of the animal on the step of the shrine, and make a line on the ground just in front of it. The person who is taking the oath then walks from seven feet off in seven steps, putting one foot immediately in front of the other, up to the line, crosses it, goes inside the shrine, and puts out a lamp that is burning in front of the image. If the oath is true, the man will walk without any difficulty straight to the shrine. But, if the oath is not true, his eyes will be blinded, and he will not be able to walk straight to the shrine, or see the lamp. It is a common saying among Badagas, when a man tells lies, ‘Will you go to Sigūr, and take an oath?’ Oaths are taken in much the same way at the temple of Māriamma at Ootacamund. When a Hindu gives evidence in the Court at Ootacamund, he is often asked by the Judge whether he will take an oath at the Māriamma temple. If he agrees, he is sent off to the temple with a Court official. The party for whom he gives evidence supplies a goat or sheep, which is killed [67]at the temple, the head and carcase being placed in front of the image. The witness steps over the carcase, and this forms the oath. If the evidence is false, it is believed that some evil will happen to him.”

The name Badaga or Vadugan means northerner, and the Badagas are believed to be descended from Canarese colonists from the Mysore country, who migrated to the Nīlgiris three centuries ago owing to famine, political turmoil, or local oppression in their own country. It is worthy of notice, in this connection, that the head of the Badagas, like that of the Todas and Kotas, is dolichocephalic, and not of the mesaticephalic or sub-brachycephalic type, which prevails throughout Mysore, as in other Canarese areas.

Of the Mysorean heads, the following are a few typical examples:—

Concerning the origin of the Badagas, the following legend is current. Seven brothers and their sisters were living on the Talamalai hills. A Muhammadan [68]ruler attempted to ravish the girl, whom the brother saved from him by flight. They settled down near the present village of Bethalhada. After a short stay there, the brothers separated, and settled in different parts of the Nīlgiris, which they peopled. Concerning the second brother, Hethappa, who had two daughters, the story goes that, during his absence on one occasion, two Todas forced their way into his house, ravished his wife, and possessed themselves of his worldly effects. Hearing of what had occurred, Hethappa sought the assistance of two Balayaru in revenging himself on the Todas. They readily consented to help him, in return for a promise that they should marry his daughters. The Todas were killed, and the present inhabitants of the village Hulikallu are supposed to be the descendants of the Balayaru and Badaga girls. The seven brothers are now worshipped under the name Hethappa or Hetha.

In connection with the migration of the Badagas to the Nīlgiris, the following note is given in the Gazetteer of the Nīlgiris. “When this flitting took place there is little to show. It must have occurred after the foundation of the Lingāyat creed in the latter half of the twelfth century, as many of the Badagas are Lingāyats by faith, and sometime before the end of the sixteenth century, since in 1602 the Catholic priests from the west coast found them settled on the south of the plateau, and observing much the same relations with the Todas as subsist to this day. The present state of our knowledge does not enable us to fix more nearly the date of the migration. That the language of the Badagas, which is a form of Canarese, should by now have so widely altered from its original as to be classed as a separate dialect argues that the movement took place nearer the twelfth than the sixteenth century. On the other hand, the [69]fact (pointed out by Dr. Rivers3) that the Badagas are not mentioned in a single one of the Todas’ legends about their gods, whereas the Kotas, Kurumbas, and Irulas, each play a part in one or more of these stories, raises the inference that the relations between the Badagas and the Todas are recent as compared with those between the other tribes. A critical study of the Badaga dialect might perhaps serve to fix within closer limits the date of the migration. As now spoken, this tongue contains letters (two forms of r for instance) and numerous words, which are otherwise met with only in ancient books, and which strike most strangely upon the ear of the present generation of Canarese. The date when some of these letters and words became obsolete might possibly be traced, and thus aid in fixing the period when the Badagas left the low country. It is known that the two forms of r, for example, had dropped out of use prior to the time of the grammarian Kēsirāja, who lived in the thirteenth century, and that the word betta (a hill), which the Badagas use in place of the modern bettu, is found in the thirteenth century work Sabdamanidarpana.”

It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Nīlgiris, that “Nelliālam, about eight miles north-west of Dēvāla as the crow flies, is the residence of the Nelliālam Arasu (Urs), who has been recognised as the janmi (landlord) of a considerable area in the Munanād amsam, but is in reality a Canarese-speaking Lingāyat of Canarese extraction, who follows the ordinary Hindu law of inheritance, and is not a native of the Wynād or of Malabar. Family tradition, though now somewhat misty, says that in the beginning two brothers named Sadāsiva Rāja Urs and Bhujanga Rāja Urs moved (at some date and for [70]some reason not stated) from Ummattūr (in the present Chāmarājnagar taluk of Mysore), and settled at Malaikōta, the old fort near Kalhatti. Their family deities were Bhujangēsvara and Ummattūr Urakātti, which are still worshipped as such. They brought with them a following of Bēdars and Badagas, and thereafter always encouraged the immigration to the hills of more Canarese people. The village of Bannimara, a mile west of Kalhatti, is still peopled by Bēdars who are said to be descendants of people of that caste who came with the two brothers; and to this day, when the Badagas of the plateau have disputes of difficulty, they are said to go down to Nelliālam with presents (kānikai) in their hands, and ask the Arasu to settle their differences, while, at the time of their periodical ceremonies (manavalai) to the memory of their ancestors, they send a deputation to Nelliālam to invite representatives of the Arasu to be present.”

Close to the village of Bethalhada is a row of cromlechs carved with figures of the sun and moon, human beings, animals, etc., and enclosed within a stone kraal, which the Badagas claim to be the work of their ancestors, to whom periodical offerings are made. At the time of my visit, there were within one of the cromlechs a conch shell, lingam, bell, and flowers. A number of these sculptured cromlechs at Sholūr, Mēlūr, and other spots on the Nīlgiris, are described and figured by Breeks,4 who records that the cromlech at Jakata Kambē is interesting as being the place of the yearly sacrifice performed by the Badagas of the Jakanēri grāma (village) by their Kāni Kurumba. And he adds that the Badagas would seem to have usually selected the [71]neighbourhood of these cromlechs for their temples, as for example, at Mēlūr, Kakūsi, H’laiuru, Tudūr, and Jakatāda.

It is recorded5, in connection with the legends of the Badagas, that “in the heart of the Banagudi shōla, not far from the Doddūru group of cromlechs, is an odd little shrine to Karairāya, consisting of a ruined stone hut surrounded by a low wall, within which are a tiny cromlech, some sacred water-worn stones, and sundry little pottery images representing a tiger, a mounted man, and some dogs. These keep in memory, it is said, a Badaga who was slain in combat with a tiger; and annually a festival is held, at which new images are placed there, and vows are paid. A Kurumba makes fire by friction and burns incense, throws sanctified water over the numerous goats brought to be sacrificed, to see if they will shiver in the manner always held necessary in sacrificial victims, and then slays, one after the other, those which have shown themselves duly qualified. Hulikal Drūg, usually known as the Drūg, is a precipitous bluff at the very end of the range which borders on the south the great ravine which runs up to Coonoor. It is named from the neighbouring village of Hulikal, or tiger’s stone, and the story goes that this latter is so called because in it a Badaga killed a notorious man-eater which had long been the terror of the country side. The spot where the beast was buried is shown near the Pillaiyar temple to the south of Hulikal village, and is marked by three stones. Burton says there used formerly to be a stone image of the slain tiger thereabouts. Some two miles south-east of Kōnakarai in a place known as Kōttai-hāda, or the fort flat, lie [72]the remains of the old fort Udaiya Rāya Kōta. Badaga tradition gives a fairly detailed account of Udaiya Rāya. It says he was a chief who collected the taxes for the Ummattūr Rājas, and that he had also a fort at Kullanthorai, near Sirumugai, the remains of which are still to be seen. He married a woman of Netlingi hamlet of Nedugula, named Muddu Gavari, but she died by the wrath of the gods because she persuaded him to celebrate the annual fire-walking festival in front of the fort, instead of at the customary spot by the Mahālingasvāmi temple about half a mile off. Ānaikatti is a hamlet situated in the jungle of the Moyar valley. The stream which flows past it tumbles over a pretty fall on the slopes of Bīrmukkū (Bimaka) hill. The Badagas call the spot Kuduraihallo, or the ravine of the horse, and say the name was given it because a Badaga, covered with shame at finding that his wife gave him first sort rice but his brother who lived with them only second sort, committed suicide by jumping his horse down the fall.”

According to Mr. Grigg, the Badagas recognise eighteen different “castes or sects.” These are, however, simplified by Mr. S. M. Natesa Sāstri6 into six, “five high castes and one low caste.” They are—

“Udayas are Lingāyats in religion, and carry the Sivalinga—the Siva image—tied round their necks. They claim to be superior to all the other Badagas, and [73]are regarded as such. They are priests to all the Badagas of the Lingāyat class, and are strict vegetarians. They do not intermarry with any of the other high caste Badaga sects. Udaya was, and is the title assumed by the Maisūr Rājas, and those Badagas, by being thus designated as a caste, claim superior blood in their veins.” The Lingāyat Badagas are commonly called Lingakutti. “Next in rank come the Hāruvas. From their name being so closely connected with the Āryas—the respectable—and from their habit of wearing the Brāhmanical thread, we are warranted in believing that they must originally have been the poor Brāhman priests of the Badagas that migrated to this country (the Nīlgiris), though they have now got themselves closely mingled with the Badagas. These Hāruvas are also strict vegetarians, and act as priests.” It has been suggested that the Hāruvas (jumper) derive their name from the fire-walking ceremony, which they perform periodically. A further, and more probable suggestion has been made to me that Hāruva comes from a Canarese word meaning to beg or pray; hence one who begs or prays, and so a Brāhman. The Canarese Basava Purāna frequently uses the word in sense. “The Adhikāris are to a certain extent vegetarians. The other two high castes, and of course the low caste Toreyas also, have no objection of any kind to eating flesh. It is also said that the vegetarian Adhikāri, if he marries into a flesh-eating caste of the Badagas, betakes himself to this latter very readily.” The Kanakas are stated by Mr. Grigg to be the accountants, who were probably introduced when the hills were under the sway of the Tamil chiefs. This would, however, seem to be very improbable. “The Toreyas are regarded as sons and servants to the five high caste Badaga sects—to the Hāruvas especially. [74]They are the lowest in the scale, and they are prohibited from intermarrying with the other or high caste Badagas, as long as they are sons to them.” The Toreya does the menial duties for the tribe. He is the village servant, carries the corpses to the burning-ground, conveys the news of a death from village to village, is the first to get shaved when a death occurs, and is sent along with a woman when she is going to visit her mother or mother-in-law at a distance from her own home. “The Udayas, Adhikāris and Kanakas are Lingāyats in religion, and the other three, the Hāruvas, Badagas, and Toreyas are Saivites.” Of the six divisions referred to, the Udayas and Toreyas are endogamous, but intermarriage is permissible between the other four. At the census, 1891, a large number of Badagas returned as their sub-division Vakkaliga, which means cultivator, and is the name of the great cultivating caste of Mysore.

Seven miles west of Coonoor is a village named Athikārihatti, or village of the Athikāri or Adhikāri section of the Badagas. “The story goes that these people, under a leader named Karibetta Rāya, came from Sarigūr in Mysore territory, and settled first at Nelliturai (a short distance south-west of Mēttupālaiyam) and afterwards at Tūdūr (on the plateau west of Kulakambi) and Tadasimarahatti (to the north-west of Mēlūr), and that it was they who erected the sculptured cromlechs of Tūdūr and Mēlūr. Tūdūr and Tadasimarahatti are now both deserted; but in the former a cattle kraal, an old shrine, and a pit for fire-walking may still be seen, and in the latter another kraal, and one of the raised stone platforms called mandaikallu by the Badagas. Tradition says that the Badagas left these places and founded Athikārihatti and its hamlets instead, because the Kurumbas round about continually troubled [75]them with their magic arts, and indeed killed by sorcery several of their most prominent citizens.”7

Like other Canarese people, the Badagas have exogamous septs or kūlas, of which Māri, Madhave (marriage), Kastūri (musk), and Belli (silver) are examples. A very large number of families belong to the Māri and Madhave septs, which were time after time given as the sept name in reply to my enquiries. It may be noted that Belli occurs as an exogamous sept of the Canarese classes Vakkaliga, Toreya, and Kuruba, and Kastūri is recorded in my notes as a sept of the Vakkaligas and Telugu Kammas.

The Badagas dwell in extensive villages, generally situated on the summit of a low hillock, composed of rows of comfortable thatched or tiled houses, and surrounded by the fields, which yield the crops. The houses are not separate tenements, but a line of dwellings under one continuous roof, and divided by party walls. Sometimes there are two or three, or more lines, forming streets. Each house is partitioned off into an outer (edumane) and inner apartment (ozhaga or ōgamane). If the family has cows or buffaloes yielding milk, a portion of the latter is converted into a milk-house (hāgōttu), in which the milk is stored, and which no woman may enter. Even males who are under pollution, from having touched or passed near a Kota or Paraiyan, or other cause, may not enter it until they have had a ceremonial bath. To some houses a loft, made of bamboo posts, is added, to serve as a store-house. In every Badaga village there is a raised platform composed of a single boulder or several stones with an erect stone slab set up thereon, called sūththu [76]kallu. There is, further, a platform, made of bricks and mud, called mandhe kallu, whereon the Badagas, when not working, sit at ease. In their folk-tales men seated thereon are made to give information concerning the approach of strangers to the village. Strangers, who are not Badagas, are called Holeya. The Rev. G. Richter gives8 Badaga Holeya as a division of the lowly Holeyas, who came to Coorg from the Mysore country. In front of the houses, the operations of drying and threshing grain are carried out. The cattle are kept in stone kraals, or covered sheds close to the habitations, and the litter is kept till it is knee or waist deep, and then carried away as manure for the Badaga’s land, or planters’ estates.

“Nobody,” it has been said,9 “can beat the Badaga at making mother earth produce to her utmost capacity, unless it be a Chinese gardener. To-day we see a portion of the hill side covered with rocks and boulders. The Badagas become possessed of this scene of chaos, and turn out into the place in hundreds, reducing it, in a few weeks, to neat order. The unwieldy boulders, having been rolled aside, serve their purpose by being turned into a wall to keep out cattle, etc. The soil is pounded and worried until it becomes amenable to reason, and next we see a green crop running in waves over the surface. The Badagas are the most progressive of all the hill tribes, and always willing to test any new method of cultivation, or new crops brought to their notice by the Nilgiri Horticultural Society.”

Writing in 1832, Harkness states10 that “on leaving his house in the morning the Burgher pays his adoration [77]to the god of day, proceeds to the tu-el or yard, in which the cattle have been confined, and, again addressing the sun as the emblem of Siva, asks his blessing, and liberates the herd. He allows the cattle to stray about in the neighbourhood of the village, on a piece of ground which is always kept for this purpose, and, having performed his morning ablutions, commences the milking. This is also preceded by further salutations and praises to the sun. On entering the house in the evening, the Burgher addresses the lamp, now the only light, or visible emblem of the deity. ‘Thou, creator of this and of all worlds, the greatest of the great, who art with us, as well in the mountain as in the wilderness, who keepeth the wreaths that adorn the head from fading, who guardeth the foot from the thorn, God, among a hundred, may we be prosperous.’”

The Badaga understands the rotation of crops well. On his land he cultivates bearded wheat (beer ganji), barley, onions, garlic, potatoes, kīrē (Amarantus), sāmai (Panicum miliare), tenai (Setaria italica), etc.

“Among the Badagas,” Mr. Natesa Sastri writes, “the position of the women is somewhat different from what it is among most peoples. Every Badaga has a few acres to cultivate, but he does not mainly occupy himself with them, for his wife does all the out-door farm work, while he is engaged otherwise in earning something in hard cash. To a Badaga, therefore, his wife is his capital. Her labour in the field is considered to be worth one rupee per day, while an average male Badaga earns merely three annas. A Badaga woman, who has not her own acres to cultivate, finds work on some other lands. She thus works hard for her husband and family, and is quite content with the coarsest food—the korali (Setaria italica) flour—leaving the [78]better food to the male members of the family. This fact, and the hard work the Badaga women have to perform, may perhaps account to some extent for the slight build of the Badagas as a race. The male Badaga, too, works in the field, or at his own craft if he is not a cultivator, but his love for ready cash is always so great that, even if he had a harvest to gather the next morning, he would run away as a cooly for two annas wages.” Further, Mr. Grigg states that “as the men constantly leave their villages to work on coffee plantations, much of the labour in their own fields, as well as ordinary household work, is performed by the women. They are so industrious, and their services of such value to their husbands, that a Badaga sometimes pays 150 or 200 rupees as dowry for his wife.” In the off season for cultivation, I am informed, the Badaga woman collects faggots for home consumption, and stores them near her house, and the women prepare the fields for cultivation by weeding, breaking the earth, and collecting manure.

In his report on the revenue settlement of the Nilgiris (1885), Mr. (now Sir) R. S. Benson notes that “concurrently with the so-called abolition of the bhurty (or shifting) system of cultivation, Mr. Grant abolished the peculiar system in vogue up to that time in Kundahnad, which had been transferred from Malabar to the Nilgiris in 1860. This system was known as erkādu kothukādu. Under it, a tax of Re. 1 to Re. 1–8–0 was levied for the right to use a plough or er, and a tax of from 4 to 8 annas was levied for the right to use a hoe or kothu. The so-called patta issued to the ryot under this system was really no more than a license to use one or more hoes, as the case might be. It merely specified the amount payable for each instrument, but in no cases [79]was the extent or position of the lands to be cultivated specified. The ryot used his implements whenever and wherever he pleased. No restrictions, even on the felling of forests, were imposed, so that the hill-sides and valleys were cleared at will. The system was abolished in 1862. But, during the settlement, I found this erkādu kothukādu system still in force in the flourishing Badaga village of Kinnakorai, with some fifty houses.”

In connection with the local self-government of the Badagas, Mr. A. Rajah Bahadur Mudaliar writes to me as follows. “In former days, the monegar was a great personage, as he formed the unit of the administration. The appointment was more or less hereditary, and it generally fell to the lot of the richest and most well-to-do. All disputes within his jurisdiction were placed before him, and his decision was accepted as final. In simple matters, such as partition of property, disputes between husband and wife, etc., the monegars themselves disposed of them. But, when questions of a complicated nature presented themselves, they took as their colleagues other people of the villages, and the disputes were settled by the collective wisdom of the village elders. They assembled at a place set apart for the purpose beneath a nīm (Melia Azadirachta) or pīpal tree (Ficus religiosa) on a raised platform (ratchai), generally situated at the entrance to the village. The monegar was ex-officio president of such councils. He and the committee had power to fine the parties, to excommunicate them, and to readmit them to the caste. Parents resorted to the monegar for counsel in the disposal of their daughters in marriage, and in finding brides for their sons. If any one had the audacity to run counter to the wishes of the monegar in matters [80]matrimonial, he had the power to throw obstacles in the way of such marriages taking place. The monegar, in virtue of his position, wielded much power, and ruled the village as he pleased.” In the old days, it is said, when he visited any village within his jurisdiction, the monegar had the privilege of having the best women or maids of the place to share his cot according to his choice. In former times, the monegar used to wear a silver ring as the badge of office, and some Badagas still have in their possession such rings, which are preserved as heirlooms, and worshipped during festivals. The term monegar is, at the present day, used for the village revenue official and munsiff.

I gather that each exogamous sept has its headman, called Gouda, who is assisted by a Parpattikāran, and decides tribal matters, such as disputes, divorce, etc. Fines, when inflicted, go towards feasting the tribe, and doing pūja (worship) to the gods. In the case of a dispute between two parties, one challenges the other to take an oath in a temple before the village council. A declaration on oath settles the matter at issue, and the parties agree to abide by it. It is the duty of the Parpattikāran to make arrangements for such events as the Heththeswāmi, Devvē and Bairaganni festivals, and the buffalo sacrificing festival at Konakkore. The Parpattikāran takes part in the purification of excommunicated members of the tribe, when they are received back into it, for example, on release from prison. The tongue of the delinquent is burnt with a hot sandal stick, and a new waist thread put on. He is taken to the temple, where he stands amidst the assembled Badagas, who touch his head with a cane. He then prostrates himself at the feet of the Parpattikāran, who smears his forehead with sacred ashes. It is, further, the duty of [81]the Parpattikāran to be present on the occasion of the Kannikattu (pregnancy) ceremony.

A quarter of a century ago, a Badaga could be at once picked out from the other tribes of the Nīlgiris by his wearing a turban. But, in the present advanced age, not only does the Toda sometimes appear in the national head-dress, but even Irulas and Kurumbas, who only a short time ago were buried in the jungles, living like pigs and bears on roots, honey and other forest produce, turn up on Sundays in the Kotagiri bazar, clad in turban and coat of English cut. And, as the less civilised tribes don the turban, so the college student abandons this picturesque form of head-gear in favour of the less becoming and less washable porkpie cap, while the Badaga men and youths glory in a knitted night-cap of flaring red or orange hue. The body of the Badaga man is covered by a long body-cloth, sometimes with red and blue stripes, wrapped “so loosely that, as a man works in the fields, he is obliged to stop between every few strokes of his hoe, to gather up his cloth, and throw one end over his shoulder.” Male adornment is limited to gold ear-rings of a special pattern made by Kotas or goldsmiths, a silver waist-thread, silver bangle on the wrist, and silver, copper, or brass rings. The women wear a white body-cloth, a white under-cloth tied round the chest, tightly wrapped square across the breasts, and reaching to the knees, and a white cloth worn like a cap on the head. As types of female jewelry and tattooing, the following examples may be cited:—

1. Tattooed on forehead with dashes, circles and crescent; spot on chin; double row of dots on each upper arm over deltoid; and devices and double row of dots on right forearm. Gold ornament in left nostril. Necklets of glass beads and silver links with four-anna [82]piece pendent. Silver armlet above right elbow. Four copper armlets above left elbow. Four silver and seven composition bangles on left forearm. Two silver rings on right ring-finger; two steel rings on left ring-finger.

2. Tattooed on forehead; quadruple row of dots over right deltoid; star on right forearm.

3. Tattooed like the preceding on forehead and upper arm. Spot on chin; elaborate device on right forearm; rayed star or sun on back of hand.

4. Tattooed like the preceding on forehead and arm. Triple row of dots on back and front of left wrist, and double row of dots, with circle surrounded by dots, across chest.

Toreya women are only allowed to wear bangles on the wrist.

The tattoo marks on the foreheads of Udayar women consist of a crescent and dot, and they have a straight line tattooed at the outer corners of the eyes. Women of the other sub-divisions have on the forehead two circles with two vertical dashes between them, and a horizontal or crescentic dash below. The circles are made by pricking in the pigment over an impression made with a finger ring, or over a black mark made by means of such a ring. The operation is performed either by a Badaga or Korava woman. The former uses as needles the spines of Carissa spinarum, and a mixture of finely powdered charcoal or lamp-black mixed with rice gruel. The marks on the forehead are made when a girl is about eight or nine years old, and do not, as stated by Mr. Natesa Sastri, proclaim to the whole Badaga world that a girl is of marriageable age.

In colour the Badagas are lighter than the other hill tribes, and the comparative pallor of the skin is specially noticeable in the females, whom, with very few exceptions, [83]I was only able to study by surreptitious examination, when we met on the roads. In physique, the typical Badaga man is below middle height, smooth-skinned, of slender build, with narrow chest and shoulders.

Badaga men have cicatrices on the shoulder and forearm as the result of branding with a fire-stick when they are lads, with the object, it is said, of giving strength, and preventing pain when milking or churning. In like manner, the Todas have raised cicatrices (keloids) on the shoulder produced by branding with a fire-stick. They believe that the branding enables them to milk the buffaloes with perfect ease.

The Badagas have a very extensive repertoire of hora hesaru, or nicknames, of which the following are examples:—

[84]

Among the Badagas, Konga is used as a term of abuse. Those who made mistakes in matching Holmgren’s wools, with which I tested them, were, always called Konga by the onlookers.

When two Badagas meet each other, the elder touches the head of the younger with his right hand. This form of salutation is known as giving the head. A person of the Badaga section gives the head, as it is called, to an Udaiyar, in token of the superiority of the latter. When people belong to the same sept, they say “Ba, anna, appa, thamma, amma, akka” (come, father, brother, mother, sister, etc.). But, if they are of different septs, they will say “Ba, māma, māmi, bava” (come, uncle, aunt, brother-in-law, etc.). “Whenever,” Dr. Rivers writes,11 “a Toda meets a Badaga monegar (headman), or an old Badaga with whom he is acquainted, a salutation passes between the two. The Toda stands before the Badaga, inclines his head slightly, and says ‘Madtin pudia.’ (Madtin, you have come). The Badaga replies ‘Buthuk! buthuk!’ (blessing, blessing), and rests his hand on the top of the Toda’s head. This greeting only takes place between Todas and the more important of the Badaga community. It would seem that every Badaga headman may be greeted in this way, but a Toda will only greet other Badaga elders, if he is already acquainted with them. The salutation is made to members of all the various castes of the Badagas, except the Toreyas. It has been held to imply that the Todas regard the Badagas as their superiors, but it is doubtful how far this is the case. The Todas themselves say they follow the custom because the Badagas help to support them. It seems to be a mark of respect paid [85]by the Todas to the elders of a tribe with which they have very close relations, and it is perhaps significant that no similar sign of respect is shown to Toda elders by the Badagas.”

Every Badaga family has its Muttu Kota, from whom it gets the agricultural implements, pots, hoes, etc. In return, the Kotas receive an annual present of food-grains, mustard and potatoes. For a Kota funeral, the Badagas have to give five rupees or a quantity of rice, and a buffalo. The pots obtained from the Kotas are not used immediately, but kept for three days in the jungle, or in a bush in some open spot. They are then taken to the outer apartment of the house, and kept there for three days, when they are smeared with the bark of Meliosma pungens (the tūd tree of the Todas) and culms of Andropogon Schœnanthus (bzambe hullu). Thus purified, the pots are used for boiling water in for three days, and may then be used for any purpose. The Badagas are said to give a present of grain annually to the Todas. Every Toda mand (or mad) seems to have its own group of Badaga families, who pay them this gudu, as it is called. “There are,” Dr. Rivers writes, “several regulations concerning the food of the palol (dairy man of a Toda sacred dairy). Any grain he eats must be that provided by the Badagas. At the present time more rice is eaten than was formerly the case. This is not grown by the Badagas, but nevertheless the rice for the palol must be obtained through them. The palol wears garments of a dark grey material made in the Coimbatore district. They are brought to the palol by the Badaga called tikelfmav. The earthenware vessels of the inner room (of the ti dairy) are not obtained from the Kotas, like the ordinary vessels, but are made by Hindus, and are procured through the Badagas.” [86]

The Badagas live in dread of the Kurumbas, and the Kurumba constantly comes under reference in their folk-stories. The Kurumba is the necromancer of the hills, and believed to be possessed of the power of outraging women, removing their livers, and so causing their death, while the wound heals by magic, so that no trace of the operation is left. He is supposed, too, to have the power of opening the bolts of doors by magic and effecting an entrance into a house at night for some nefarious purpose. The Toda or Badaga requires the services of the Kurumba, when he fancies that any member of his family is possessed of the devil, or when he wants to remove the evil eye, to which he imagines that his children have been subjected. The Kurumba does his best to remove the malady by repeating various mantrams (magical formulæ). If he fails, and if any suspicion is aroused in the mind of the Toda or Badaga that he is allowing the devil to play his pranks instead of loosing his hold on the supposed victim, woe betide him. The wrath of the entire village, or even the whole tribe, is raised against the unhappy Kurumba. His hut is surrounded at night, and the entire household massacred in cold blood, and their huts set on fire. This is very cleverly carried out, and the isolated position of the Kurumba settlements allows of very little clue for identification. In 1835 no less than fifty-eight Kurumbas were thus murdered, and a smaller number in 1875 and 1882. In 1891 the live inmates of a single hut were murdered, and their hut burnt to ashes, because, it was said, one of them who had been treating a sick Badaga child failed to cure it. The crime was traced to some Kotas in conjunction with Badagas, but the District Judge disbelieved the evidence, and all who were charged were acquitted. Every Badaga family pays an annual [87]tax of four annas to the Kurumbas, and, if a Kurumba comes to a Badaga hatti (village), a subscription is raised as an inducement to him to take his departure. The Kurumba receives a fee for every Badaga funeral, and for the pregnancy ceremony (kannikattu).

It is noted by Dr. Rivers that “the Toda sorcerers are not only feared by their fellow Todas, but also by the Badagas, and it is probably largely owing to fear of Toda sorcery that the Badagas continue to pay their tribute of grain. The Badagas may also consult the Toda diviners, and it is probable that the belief of the Badagas in the magical powers of the Todas is turned to good account by the latter. In some cases, Todas, have been killed by Badagas owing to this belief.”

Among the Todas, the duties of milking the buffaloes and dairy-work are entrusted to special individuals, whereas any Badaga male may, after initiation, milk the cows and buffaloes, provided that he is free from pollution. Every Badaga boy, when he is about seven or nine years old, is made to milk a cow on an auspicious day, or on new year’s day. The ceremony is thus described by Mr. Natesa Sastri. “Early in the morning of the day appointed for this ceremony, the boy is bathed, and appears in his holiday dress. A she-buffalo, with her calf, stands before his house, waiting to be milked. The parents, or other elder relations of the boy, and those who have been invited to be present on the occasion, or whose duty it is to be present, then conduct the boy to the spot. The father, or some one of the agnatic kindred, gives into the hands of the boy a bamboo vessel called honē, which is already very nearly full of fresh-drawn milk. The boy receives the vessel with both his hands, and is conducted to the buffalo. The elder relations show him the process, and the boy, [88]sitting down, milks a small quantity into the honē. This is his first initiation into the duty of milking, and it is that he may not commit mistakes on the very first day of his milking that the honē is previously filled almost to the brim. The boy takes the vessel filled with milk into his house, and pours some of the sacred fluid into all his household eating vessels—a sign that from that day he has taken up on himself the responsibility of supplying the family with milk. He also throws some milk in the faces of his parents and relatives. They receive it very kindly, and bless him, and request him to continue thus to milk the buffaloes, and bring plenty and prosperity to the house. After this, the boy enters the milk-house (hāgōttu), and places milk in his honē there. From this moment, and all through his life, he may enter into that room, and this is therefore considered a very important ceremony.”

A cow or buffalo, which has calved for the first time, has to be treated in a special manner. For three or five days it is not milked. A boy is then selected to milk it. He must not sleep on a mat, or wear a turban, and, instead of tying his cloth round his waist, must wear it loosely over his body. Meat is forbidden, and he must avoid, and not speak to polluting classes, such as Irulas and Kotas, and menstruating women. On the day appointed for milking the animal, the boy bathes, and proceeds to milk it into a new honē purified by smearing a paste of Meliosma (tūd) leaves and bark over it, and heating it over a fire. The milk is taken to a stream, where three cups are made of Argyreia (mīnige) leaves, into which a small quantity of the milk is placed. The cups are then put in the water. The remainder of the milk in the honē is also poured into the stream. In some places, especially where a Mādeswara temple is [89]close at hand, the milk is taken to the temple, and given to the pūjāri. With a portion of the milk some plantain fruits are made into a pulp, and given to an Udaya, who throws them into a stream. The boy is treated with some respect by his family during the period when he milks the animal, and is given food first. This he must eat off a plate made of Argyreia, or plantain leaves.

Besides the hāgōttu within the house, the Badagas have, at certain places, separate dairy-houses near a temple dedicated to Heththeswāmi, of which the one at Bairaganni (or Bērganni) appears to be the most important. The dairy pūjāri is here, like the Toda palol, a celibate. In 1905, he was a young lad, whom my Brāhman assistant set forth to photograph. He was, however, met at a distance from the village by a headman, who assured him that he could not take the photograph without the sanction of fifteen villages. The pūjāri is not allowed to wander freely about the village, or talk to grown-up women. He cooks his own food within the temple grounds, and wears his cloth thrown loosely over his body. Once a year, on the occasion of a festival, he is presented with new cloths and turban, which alone he may wear. He must be a strict vegetarian. A desire to marry and abandon the priesthood is believed to be conveyed in dreams, or through one inspired. Before leaving the temple service, he must train his successor in the duties, and retires with the gains acquired by the sale of the products of the herd and temple offerings. The village of Bairaganni is regarded as sacred, and possesses no holagudi (menstrual hut).

Bishop Whitehead adds that “buffaloes are given as offerings to the temple at Bairaganni, and become the property of the pūjāri, who milks them, and uses the [90]milk for his food. All the villagers give him rice every day. He may only eat once a day, at about 3 P.M. He cooks the meal himself, and empties the rice from the cooking-pot by turning it over once. If the rice does not come out the first time, he cannot take it at all. When he wants to get married, another boy is appointed in his place. The buffaloes are handed over to his successor.” The following legend in connection with Bairaganni is also recorded by Bishop Whitehead. “There is a village in the Mēkanād division of the Nīlgiris called Nundāla. A man had a daughter. He wanted to marry her to a man in the Paranganād division about a hundred years ago. She did not wish to marry him. The father insisted, but she refused again and again. At last she wished to die, and came near a tank, on the bank of which was a tree. She sat under the tree and washed, and then threw herself into the tank. One of the men of Bairaganni in the Paranganād division saw the woman in a dream. She told him that she was not a human being but a goddess, an incarnation of Parvati. The people of Nundāla built a strong bund (embankment) round the tank, and allow no woman to go on it. Only the pūjāri, and Badagas who have prepared themselves by fasting and ablution, are allowed to go on the bund to offer pūja, which is done by breaking cocoanuts, and offering rice, flowers, and fruits. The woman told the man in his dream to build a temple at Bairaganni, which is now the chief temple of Heththeswāmi.”

Concerning the initiation of a Lingāyat Badaga into his religion, which takes place at about his thirteenth birthday, Mr. Natesa Sastri writes as follows. “The priest conducts this ceremony, and the elder relations of the family have only to arrange for the performance [91]of it. The priests belong to the Udaya sect. They live in their own villages, and are specially sent for, and come to the boy’s village for the occasion. The ceremony is generally done to several boys of about the same age on the same day. On the day appointed, all the people in the Badaga village, where this ceremony is to take place, observe a strict fast. The cows and buffaloes are all milked very early in the morning, and not a drop of the milk thus collected is given out, or taken by even the tenderest children of the village, who may require it very badly. The Udaya priest arrives near the village between 10 A.M. and noon on the day appointed. He never goes into the village, but stops near some rivulet adjacent to it. The relations of the boy approach him with a new basket, containing five measures of uncooked rice, pulse, ghī, etc., and a quarter of a rupee—one fanam, as it is generally designated. The priest sits near the water-course, and lights a fire on the bank. Perfumes are thrown profusely into it, and this is almost the only ceremony before the fire. The boys, whose turn it is to receive the linga that day, are all directed to bathe in the river. A plantain leaf, cut into one foot square, is placed in front of the fire towards the east of it. The lingas, kept in readiness by the parents of the boys, are now received by the priest, and placed on the leaves. The boys are asked to wash them—each one the linga meant for his wearing—in water and milk. Then comes the time for the expenditure of all the collected milk of the morning. Profusely the white fluid is poured, till the whole rivulet is nothing but a stream of milk. After the lingas are thus washed, the boys give them to the priest, who places them in his left palm, and, covering them with his right, utters, with all the solemnity due to the occasion, the following [92]incantation, while the boys and the whole village assembled there listen to it with the most profound respect and veneration ‘Oh! Siva, Hara, Basava, the Lord of all the six thousand and three thousand names and glories, the Lord of one lakh and ninety-six thousand ganas (body-guards of Siva), the donor of water, the daily-to-be worshipped, the husband of Parvati. Oh! Lord, O! Siva Linga, thy feet alone are our resort. Oh! Siva, Siva, Siva, Siva.’ While pronouncing this prayer, the priest now and then removes his right palm, and pours water and milk round the sacred fire, and over the lingas resting in his left palm. He then places each of the lingas in a cloth of one cubit square, rolls it up, and requests the boys to hold out their right palms. The young Badaga receives it, repeats the prayer given about five times, and, during each repetition, the palm holding the linga tied up in the cloth is carried nearer and nearer to his neck. When that is reached (on the fifth utterance of the incantation), the priest ties the ends of the rolled up cloth containing the Siva emblem loosely round the boy’s neck, while the latter is all the while kneeling down, holding with both his hands the feet of the priest. After the linga has been tied, the priest blesses him thus: ‘May one become one thousand to you. May you ever preserve in you the Siva Linga. If you do so, you will have plenty of milk and food, and you will prosper for one thousand years in name and fame, kine and coin.’ If more than one have to receive the linga on the same day, each of them has to undergo this ceremony. After the ceremony is over, the priest returns to his village with the rice, etc., and fees. Every house, in which a boy has received the linga, has to give a grand feast on that day. Even the poorest Badaga must feed at least five other Badagas.” [93]

The foregoing account of the investiture with the lingam apparently applies to the Mēkanād Udayas. The following note is based on information supplied by the Udayas of Paranginād. The ceremony of investiture is performed either on new year’s day or Sivarāthri by an Udaya priest in the house of a respected member of the community (doddamane), which is vacated for the occasion. The houses of the boys and girls who are to receive lingams are cleaned, and festoons of tūd and mango leaves, lime fruits, and flowers of Leucas aspera (thumbē) are tied across the doorways, and in front of the house where the ceremony is to be performed. Until the conclusion thereof, all the people of the village fast. The candidates, with their parents, and the officiating priest repair to the doddamane. The lingams are handed over to the priest, who, taking them up one by one, does pūja to them, and gives them to the children. They in turn do pūja, and the lingams, wrapped in pink silk or cotton cloths, are tied round their necks. The pūja consists of washing the lingams in cow’s urine and milk, smearing them with sandal and turmeric paste, throwing flowers on them, and waving incense and burning camphor before them. After the investiture, the novices are taught a prayer, which is not a stereotyped formula, but varies with the priest and village.

Like other Lingayats, the Udayas respect the Jangam, but do not employ the Jangama thirtham (water used for washing the Jangam’s feet) for bathing their lingams. In Udaya villages there is no special menstrual hut (holagudi). Milk is not regarded by them as a sacred product, so there is no hāgōttu in their houses. Nor do they observe the Manavalai festival in honour of ancestors. Other ceremonies are celebrated by them, as [94]by other Badagas, but they do not employ the services of a Kurumba.

Important agricultural ceremonies are performed by the Badagas at the time of sowing and harvest. The seed-sowing ceremony takes place in March, and, in some places, e.g., the Mēkanād and Paranginād, a Kurumba plays an important part in it. On an auspicious day—a Tuesday before the crescent moon—a pūjāri of the Devvē temple sets out several hours before dawn with five or seven kinds of grain in a basket and sickle, accompanied by a Kurumba, and leading a pair of bullocks with a plough. On reaching the field selected, the pūjāri pours the grain into the cloth of the Kurumba, and, yoking the animals to the plough, makes three furrows in the soil. The Kurumba, stopping the bullocks, kneels on the ground between the furrows facing east. Removing his turban, he places it on the ground, and, closing his ears with his palms, bawls out “Dho, Dho,” thrice. He then rises, and scatters the grain thrice on the soil. The pūjāri and Kurumba then return to the village, and the former deposits what remains of the grain in the store-room (attu). A new pot, full of water, is placed in the milk-house, and the pūjāri dips his right hand therein, saying “Nerathubitta” (it is full). This ceremony is an important one for the Badagas, as, until it has been performed, sowing may not commence. It is a day of feasting, and, in addition to rice, Dolichos Lablab is cooked.

The other agricultural ceremony is called Devvē habba or tenai (Setaria italica), and is usually celebrated in June or July, always on a Monday. It is apparently performed in honour of the two gods Mahālingaswāmi and Hiriya Udaya, to whom a group of villages will have temples dedicated. For example, the Badagas in [95]the neighbourhood of Kotagiri have their Hiriya Udaya temple at Tāndanād, and Mahālingaswāmi temple at Kannērmukku. This Devvē festival, which should on no account be pronounced duvve, which means burning-ground, is celebrated at one place, whither the Badagas from other villages proceed, to take part in it. About midday, some Badagas and the temple pūjāri go from the temple of Hiriya Udaya to that of Mahālingaswāmi. The procession is usually headed by a Kurumba, who scatters fragments of tūd bark and wood as he goes on his way. The pūjāri takes with him the materials necessary for doing pūja, and, after worshipping Mahālingaswāmi, the party return to the Hiriya Udaya temple, where milk and cooked rice are offered to the various gods within the temple precincts. On the following day, all assemble at the temple, and a Kurumba brings a few sheaves of Setaria italica, and ties them to a stone set up at the main entrance. After this, pūja is done, and the people offer cocoanuts to the god. Later on, all the women of the Madhave sept, who have given birth to a first-born child, come, dressed up in holiday attire, with their babies, to the temple. On this day they wear a special nose ornament, called elemukkuththi, which is only worn on one other occasion, at the funeral of a husband. The women do pūja to Hiriya Udaya, and the pūjāri gives them a small quantity of rice on mīnige (Argyreia) leaves. After eating this, they leave the temple in a line, and wash their hands with water given to them by the pūjāri. This ceremonial, performed by women of the Madhave sept, is called Mandēdhanda. As soon as the Devvē festival is concluded, the reaping of the crop commences, and a measure or two of grain from the crop gathered on the first day, called nīsal, is set apart for the Mahālingaswāmi temple. [96]

The most important gods of the Badagas are Heththeswāmi, Mahālingaswāmi, Hiriya Udaya, Mādeswara, Mānkāli, Jadeswāmi, and Nīlgiri Rangaswāmi. And at the present day, some Badagas proceed to the plains, to worship at the Saivite temple at Karamadai in Coimbatore, or at Nanjangōd in Mysore.

The festival in honour of Heththeswāmi is celebrated in the month of January at Baireganni. It is sometimes called ermathohabba, as, with it, ploughing operations cease. It always commences on a Monday, and usually lasts eight days. A Sēdan or Dēvānga weaver comes with his portable hand-loom, and sufficient thread for weaving a dhubati (coarse cloth) and turban. At Baireganni there is a special house, in which these articles are woven. But, at other places where the festival is observed, the Badagas go to the weaver’s village to fetch the required cloths. Early on the second morning of the festival, some of the more respected Badagas and the weaver proceed to the weaving house after bathing. The weaver sets up his loom, and worships it by offering incense, and other things. The Badagas give him a new cloth, and a small sum of money, and ask him to weave a dhubati and two kachches (narrow strips of cloth). Daily, throughout the festival, the Badagas collect near the temple, and indulge in music and songs. Until the last day, they are not permitted to set eyes on the god Heththeswāmi. On the morning of the last day, the pūjāri, accompanied by all the Badagas, takes the newly woven cloths to a stream, in which they are washed. When they are dry, all proceed to the temple, where the idol is dressed up in them, and all, on this occasion only, are allowed to look at it. Devotees pay a small offering of money, which is placed on a tray near the idol. The crowd begins to disperse in [97]the afternoon, and, on their way back to their villages, the wants of the travellers are attended to by people posted at intervals with coffee, fruit, and other articles of food. If the Badagas have to go to a weaver’s village for the cloths, the weaver is, when the order is given for them, presented with four annas, after he has bathed. When handing the money to him, the Badagas bawl out “This is the fee for making the cloths to be worn by Heththe Iramāsthi and Parasakti Parvati.” On the last day of the festival, the cloths are washed, and one of them is made to represent an idol, which is decorated with waist and neck ornaments, and an umbrella. All prostrate themselves before it, and make offerings of money. Fruits and other things are then offered to Heththeswāmi and some recite the following prayer. “May all good acts be remembered, and all bad ones be forgotten. Though there may be a thousand and one sins, may I reach the feet of God.”

The following further information in connection with the Baireganni festival is given by Bishop Whitehead. “The people from other villages offer money, rice, fruits, umbrellas of gold or silver for the goddess, cloths, and buffaloes. The buffaloes are never killed, but remain as the property of the temple. The pūjāri calls the representatives of one village, and tells them what Hetheswāmi says to him, e.g., ‘This year you will have good [or bad] crops; cholera or small-pox, good [or bad] rain, etc.’ As the people present their offerings, they prostrate themselves, kneeling down and touching the ground with their foreheads, and the pūjāri gives them some flowers, which they wear in their hair. The people and the pūjāri play on the kombu [horn], and ring bells while the offerings are being made. After the offerings have finished, all the men dance, in two companies, in [98]front of the temple, one shouting ‘How-ko, How-ko,’ and the other ‘Is-hōli.’ The dance was taught them by the Todas, and the words are Toda.”

In connection with the Jadeswāmi festival the ceremony of walking through fire [burning embers] is carried out at Mēlūr, Tangālu, Mainelē, Jakkanāre, Tenād, and Nidugala. At Mēlūr and Tangālu, the temples belong to the Hāruvas, who carry out all the details of ceremony. The temple at Tenād is owned by the Udayas, by whom the ceremonial is performed. In other places, the celebrants are Badagas. The festival is observed, on an elaborate scale, at Nidugala during the month of January. All those who are going to walk over the burning embers fast for eight days, and go through the rite on the ninth day. For its performance, Monday is considered an auspicious day. The omens are taken by boiling two pots of milk side by side on two hearths. If the milk overflows uniformly on all sides, the crops will be abundant for all the villages. But, if it flows over on one side only, there will be plentiful crops for villages on that side only. The space over which the embers are spread is said to be about five yards long, and three yards broad. But, in some places, e.g., Jakkanāre and Mēlūr, it is circular as at the Muhammadan fire-walking ceremony. For making the embers, the wood of Eugenia Jambolana and Phyllanthus Emblica are used. For boiling the milk, and setting fire to the wood, a light obtained by friction must be used. The process is known as niligolu, or upright stick. The vertical stick is made of a twig of Rhodomyrtus tomentosus, which is rotated in a socket in a long thick piece of a bough of Debregeasia velutina, in which a row of sockets has been made. The rotation is produced by a cord passed several times round the vertical stick, of [99]which each end is pulled alternately. The horizontal block is pressed firmly on the ground by the toes of a man, who presses a half cocoanut shell down on the top of the vertical stick, so as to force it down into the socket. A Badaga, who failed in an attempt to demonstrate the making of fire by this method, gave as an excuse that he was under worldly pollution, from which he would be free at the time of the fire-walking ceremony. Though the Badagas make fire by friction, reference is made in their folk legends, not to this mode of obtaining fire, but to chakkamukki (flint and steel), which is repeatedly referred to in connection with cremation. After the milk boiling ceremonial, the pūjāri, tying bells on his legs, approaches the fire pit, carrying milk freshly drawn from a cow, which has calved for the first time, and flowers of Rhododendron arboreum, Leucas aspera, or jasmine. After doing pūja, he throws the flowers on the embers, and they should remain unscorched for a few seconds. He then pours some of the milk over the embers, and no hissing sound should be produced. The omens being propitious, he walks over the glowing embers, followed by an Udaya, and the crowd of celebrants, who, before going through the ordeal, count the hairs on their feet. If any are singed, it is a sign of approaching ill fortune, or even death. In an account of the fire-walking ceremony, in 1902, it is noted that “the Badagas strongly repudiate the insinuation of preparing their feet to face the fire ordeal. It is done to propitiate Jeddayswāmi, to whom vows are invoked, in token of which they grow one twist or plait of hair, which is treasured for years, and finally cut off as an offering to Jeddayswāmi. Numbers of Chettis were catering to the crowd, offering their wares, bangles, gay-coloured handkerchiefs, as well as edibles. The Kotas supplied the music, and an [100]ancient patriarch worked himself up to a high pitch of inspiration, and predicted all sorts of good things for the Badagas with regard to the ensuing season and crops.”

The following legend, relating to the fire-walking ceremony, is recorded by Bishop Whitehead. “When they first began to perform the ceremony fifty or sixty years ago, they were afraid to walk over the fire. Then the stone image of Mahālinga Swāmi turned into a snake, and made a hole through the temple wall. It came out, and crawled over the fire, and then went back to the temple. Then their fear vanished, and they walked over the embers. The hole is still to be seen in the temple.”

Of the fire-walking ceremony at Mēlūr, the following account is given in the Gazetteer of the Nīlgiris. “It takes place on the Monday after the March new moon, just before the cultivation season begins, and is attended by Badagas from all over Mērkunād. The inhabitants of certain villages (six in number), who are supposed to be the descendants of an early Badaga named Guruvajja, have first, however, to signify through their Gottukārs, or headmen, that the festival may take place; and the Gottukārs choose three, five, or seven men to walk through the fire. On the day appointed, the fire is lit by certain Badaga priests and a Kurumba. The men chosen by the Gottukārs then bathe, adorn themselves with sandal, do obeisance to the Udayas of Udayarhatti near Kēti, who are specially invited and feasted; pour into the adjacent stream milk from cows which have calved for the first time during the year; and, in the afternoon, throw more milk and some flowers from the Mahālingasvāmi temple into the fire pit, and then walk across it. Earth is next thrown on the embers, and they walk across [101]twice more. A general feast closes the ceremony, and next day the first ploughings are done, the Kurumba sowing the first seeds, and the priests the next lot. Finally, a net is brought. The priest of the temple, standing over it, puts up prayers for a favourable agricultural season; two fowls are thrown into it, and a pretence is made of spearing them; and then it is taken and put across some game path, and some wild animal (a sāmbhar deer if possible) is driven into it, slain, and divided among the villagers. This same custom of annually killing a sāmbhar is also observed at other villages on the plateau, and in 1883 and 1894 special orders were passed to permit of its being done during the close season. Latterly, disputes about precedence in the matter of walking through the fire at Mēlūr have been carried as far as the civil courts, and the two factions celebrate the festival separately in alternate years. A fire-walking ceremony also takes place annually at the Jadayasvāmi temple in Jakkanēri under the auspices of a Sivāchāri Badaga. It seems to have originally had some connection with agricultural prospects, as a young bull is made to go partly across the fire-pit before the other devotees, and the owners of young cows which have had their first calves during the year take precedence of others in the ceremony, and bring offerings of milk, which are sprinkled over the burning embers.”

At the Sakalathi festival, in the month of October, Badagas, towards evening, throw on the roofs of their houses flowers of Plectranthus Wightii, Crotalaria obtecta, Lobelia nicotianœfolia, Achyranthes aspera, and Leucas aspera. On the following day, they clean their houses, and have a feast. In the afternoon, numbers of them may be seen in the streets drawing in front of their houses pictures in wood-ashes of buffaloes, bulls, cows, [102]ploughs, stars, sun and moon, snakes, lizards, etc. They then go into their houses, and wash their hands. Taking up in his clean hands a big cake, on which are placed a little rice and butter, the Badaga puts on it three wicks steeped in castor oil, and lights them. The cake is then waved round the heads of all the children of the house taken to a field, and thrown therein with the words “Sakalathi has come.” The cake-thrower returns home, and prostrates himself before a lamp placed in the inner room, and repeats a long formula, composed of the various synonyms of Siva.

In the month of November, a festival called Dodda Habba (big feast) is celebrated. In the afternoon, rice is cooked in whey within the hāgōttu, and eaten on mīnige leaves. Throughout the day the villagers play at various ball games.

A festival, which is purely local, is celebrated near Konakore in honour of Mahangkāli. A buffalo is led to the side of a precipice, killed by a Kurumba with a spear, and thrown over the edge thereof. There is a legend that, in olden days, a pūjāri used to put a stick in the crevice of a rock, and, on removing it, get the value of a buffalo in fanams (gold coins). But, on one occasion, he put the stick in a second time, in the hopes of gaining more money. No money, however, was forthcoming and, as a punishment for his greed, he died on the spot.

All Badaga villages, except those of the Udayas, have a hut, called holagudi, for the exclusive use of women during their monthly periods. A few months before a girl is expected to reach puberty, she is sent to the holagudi, on a Friday, four or five days before the new moon day. This is done lest, in the ordinary course of events, the first menstruation should commence on an inauspicious day. The girl remains in the holagudi one [103]night, and returns home on the following day clad in new cloths, leaving the old ones in the hut. When she arrives at her house, she salutes all the people who are there, and receives their blessing. On Sunday she goes to the houses of her relations, where she is given kadalai (Cicer arietinum) and other food. She may not enter the inner apartment of her house until she has seen the crescent moon. Badaga women observe five days menstrual pollution. If a woman discovers her condition before washing her face in the early morning, that day is included in the pollution period. Otherwise, the period must be prolonged over six days. On the third day she bathes in cold water, using the bark of Pouzolzia (thorēkōlu), and on the fourth day is allowed a change of clothing after a bath. On this day she leaves the hut, and passes a portion of the night in the verandah of her house. After cooking and eating her evening meal, she bathes, and enters the outer room. Early on the following morning, the spot which she has occupied is cleaned, and she bathes in a stream. Returning home, she eats her food in the outer room, where she remains till next morning. Even children may not be touched by a menstruating woman. If, by chance, this happens, the child must be washed to remove the pollution, before it can be handled by others. This restriction is apparently not observed by any other tribe or caste.

Writing concerning marriage among the Badagas, Harkness states12 that “it is said to be common for one who is in want of labourers to promise his daughter in marriage to the son or other relative of a neighbour not in circumstances so flourishing as himself. And, these engagements being entered into, the intended bridegroom [104]serves the father of his betrothed as one of his own family till the girl comes of age, when the marriage is consummated, and he becomes a partner in the general property of the family of his father-in-law.”

A man may marry a girl belonging to the same village as himself, if he and she are not members of the same exogamous sept. In most cases, however, all the inhabitants of a village are of the same sept, and a man has to take as his wife a girl from a village other than his own.

Among all sections of the Badagas, adult marriage is the general rule, though infant marriage is also practised. Marriage is preceded by a simple form of courtship, but the consent of the parents to the union is necessary. A girl does not suffer in reputation if she is rejected by a number of suitors, before she finally settles down. Except among the Udayas, the marriage ceremony is of a very simple nature. A day or two before that fixed for taking the girl to the house of her husband-elect, the latter proceeds to her village, accompanied by his brothers, who, as a token of respect, touch the feet of all the Badagas who are assembled. The bride is taken to the house of the bridegroom, accompanied by the Kota band. Arrived there, she stands at the entrance, and her mother-in-law or sister-in-law brings water in a vessel, and pours it into her hands thrice. Each time she lets the water fall over her feet. The mother-in-law then ties round her neck a string of beads (māle mani), and leads her to the outer room (edumane), where cooked sāmai (Panicum miliare) and milk is given to her. This she pretends to eat, and the bridegroom’s sister gives her water to wash her hands with. The bride and two married women or virgins (preferably the bridegroom’s sisters) go to a stream in procession, accompanied by the [105]Kota musicians, and bring therefrom water for cooking purposes in decorated new pots. The bride then salutes all her new relations, and they in turn give her their blessing. The ceremonial concludes with a feast, at the conclusion of which, in some cases, the bride and bridegroom sit on the raised verandah (pial), and receive presents.

“Though,” a correspondent writes, “the Badaga is simple, and his wants are few, he cannot resist the temptation of wine and women. The Badaga woman can change husbands as often as she pleases by a simple system of divorce, and can also carry on with impunity intimacy within the pale of her own community. It is not uncommon to find Badaga women changing husbands, so long as youth and vigour tempt them to do so, and confining themselves eventually to the last individual, after age and infirmity have made their mark, and render such frolics inexpedient.” A former Magistrate of the Nīlgiris informs me that he tried more than one case, in which a married man filed a complaint against another man for kidnapping or enticing away his wife for immoral purposes. The father of the woman was always charged as an abetter, and pleaded that, as no pariyam (bride price) had been paid by the husband, though he and the woman lived together as man and wife, no criminal offence could be proved against either the father or the abductor. Polygamy is permitted, and the plurality of wives is a gain to the husband, as each wife becomes a bread-winner, and supports her children, and the man makes each wife superintend one department of the day’s work. Remarriage of widows is very common, and a widow may marry the brother of her deceased husband. It is said to be etiquette among the Badagas that, when a woman’s husband is away, she [106]should be accessible to her brothers-in-law. Instances occur, in which the husband is much younger than his wife, who, until he has reached maturity, cohabits with her paternal aunt’s son, or some one whom she may have a fancy for. The marriage ceremony of the Udayas is carried out on an elaborate scale, and is based on the type of ceremonial which is carried out by some castes in the plains. Before dawn on the marriage day, the brothers and cousins of the bridegroom go, accompanied by some Udayas and the Kota band, to the forest, whence they bring two sticks of Mimusops hexandra, to do duty as the milk-posts. The early hour is selected, to avoid the chance of coming across inauspicious objects. The sticks should be cut off the tree at a single stroke of the bill-hook, and they may not be laid flat on the ground, but placed on a blanket spread thereon. The Udayas, who joined in the procession, collect twelve posts of Mimusops as supports for the marriage booth (pandal). In front of the house, which is to be the scene of the wedding, two pits are dug, into which cow-dung water is poured. The pūjāri does pūja to the milk-posts by offering sugar-cane, jaggery (crude sugar), etc., and ties two threads thereto. The posts are then placed in the pits by five people—the parents of the bridal couple and the priest. The booth, and dais or enclosure, are then erected close to the milk-posts. On the second day, the bridegroom’s party, attended by Kota musicians, dressed up in dancing costume, go to the house of the bride, where a feast is held. The bride then salutes a lamp, and prostrates herself at the feet of her parents, who bless her, saying “May your body and hands soon be filled (i.e., may you have a child), and may your life be prosperous.” The bride is taken in procession to the house of the bridegroom, [107]accompanied by some Udayas, and a Toreya carrying a bag of rice. At the entrance to the house she is blindfolded, and her mother-in-law pours water over her feet, and waves coloured water (ārathi) in front of her. She then enters the house, right foot foremost, and sits on a mat. Three married women, nearly related to the bridegroom, proceed, with the Kota musicians, to a stream, carrying three pots decorated with leaves of Leucas aspera. The priest does pūja, and the pots are filled with water, and brought back in procession to the marriage dais. The water is poured into three vessels placed thereon three times by each of the three women. Within the marriage enclosure, two raised platforms are set up by a Toreya. The bridegroom, after going round the enclosure three times with his brothers and sisters, enters it, and bathes with the water contained in the vessels. He then dresses himself in new clothes, and is carried to the outer room by his maternal uncle. The bride is then treated in like manner, but is taken to the inner room. At a fixed auspicious hour, the bridal couple repair to the enclosure, where the bridegroom stands on a mat. A screen is held up by four or five men between him and the bride, who stands facing him, while the priest ties the ends of their clothes together. They then link their little fingers together, the screen is removed, and they seat themselves on the mat. The bridegroom’s sister brings a tray with a mass of rice scooped out into a cavity to hold ghī for feeding a lighted wick (annadha ārathi) on it, and, placing it before the bridal pair, sits down. The tāli, consisting of a golden disc, is worshipped by the priest, and given to the bridegroom, who ties it on to the bride’s neck. In some places it is tied by four or five elders, belonging to different villages, who are not widowers. The contracting [108]couple then put on wreaths called sammandha mālai, or wreaths establishing relationship, and the wrist threads are tied on. The bride’s sister brings some rice and milk in a cup, into which the linked fingers of the bride and bridegroom are thrust. Taking up some of the rice, they put it into each other’s mouths three times. After they have washed their hands, the maternal uncle or priest asks them if they have seen Aranjoti (the pole-star), and they reply in the affirmative. On the third day, presents are given to the newly-married couple, and the wrist threads are removed. Going to a stream, they perform a mimic ceremony of sowing, and scatter cotton and rice seed in two small pans made by a Toreya with cow-dung. Widow remarriage is permitted among the Udayas, and a widow may marry a cousin, but not her dead husband’s brother. At the marriage ceremony, a priest makes a mark with sacred ashes on the foreheads of the contracting couple, and announces the fact of their union.

It is noted by Dr. Rivers that “Breeks has stated that the Toda custom is that the house shall pass to the youngest son. It seems quite clear that this is wrong, and that this custom is absolutely unknown among the Todas. It is, however, a Badaga custom, and among them I was told that it is due to the fact that, as the sons of a family grow up and marry, they leave the house of the parents and build houses elsewhere. It is the duty of the youngest son to dwell with his parents, and support them as long as they live, and, when they die, he continues to live in the paternal home, of which he becomes the owner.”

A ceremony is performed in the seventh month of a woman’s first pregnancy, which is important, inasmuch as it seals the marriage contract, and, after its performance, [109]divorce can only be obtained through the decree of the panchāyat (tribal council). Moreover, if it has not been performed, a man cannot claim the paternity of the child. The ceremony is called kanni kattodu or kanni hākodu (thread tying or throwing). The husband and wife are seated in the midst of those who have assembled for the occasion, and the former asks his father-in-law whether he may throw the thread round his wife’s neck, and, having received permission, proceeds to do so. If he gets the thread, which must have no knots in it, entangled in the woman’s bunch of hair (kondai), which is made large for the occasion by the addition of false hair, he is fined three rupees. On the day of the ceremony, the man and his wife are supposed to be under pollution, and sit in the verandah to receive presents. The mats used by them for sleeping on are cleaned on the following morning, and they get rid of the pollution by bathing.

A first confinement must not take place within the house, and the verandah is converted into a lying-in chamber, from which the woman is, after delivery, removed to the outer apartment, where she remains till she is free from pollution by catching sight of the crescent moon. If a woman has been delivered at her father’s house, she returns to the home of her husband within a month of the birth of the child on an auspicious day. On arrival there, the infant is placed near the feet of an old man standing by a lamp within the milk-house. Placing his right hand over the head of the infant, the old man blesses it, and a feast is held, before the commencement of which two cups, one containing milk, and the other cooked rice, are produced. All the relations take up a little of the milk and rice, and touch the tongue of the baby with them. [110]

A child receives its name on the seventh, ninth, or eleventh day. A sumptuous meal is given to the community, and the grandfather (paternal, if possible) milks a cow, and pours the milk into a brass cup placed in the milk-house. With it a little cooked sāmai grain is mixed. The babe is washed with water brought from a stream; marked on the forehead with sacred ashes; a turmeric-dyed thread is tied round its waist; a silver or iron bangle placed on its wrists; and a silver bead tied by a thread round its neck. Thus decorated, the infant is taken up by the oldest man of the village who is not a widower, who gives it a name, which has already been chosen. The elder, and the child’s parents and grandparents then place a little milk in its mouth.

Children, both male and female, go through a shaving ceremony, usually when they are seven months old. The infant is seated in the lap of a Badaga, and, after water has been applied to its head by a Badaga or a barber, the maternal uncle removes some of the hair with a razor, and then hands it over to another Badaga or a barber to complete the operation.

Of the death rites as carried out by the Badaga sub-division, the following note was recorded during a visit to Kotagiri. When death is drawing near, a gold coin, called Vīrarāya hana or fanam, dipped in butter or ghī, is given to the dying man to swallow. If he is too far gone to be capable of swallowing, the coin is, according to Mr. Natesa Sastri, tied round the arm. But our informants told us that this is not done at the present day. “If,” Mr. Gover writes,13 “the tiny coin slips down, well. He will need both gold and ghī, the one to sustain his strength in the dark journey to the river of death, the [111]other to fee the guardian of the fairy-like bridge that spans the dreaded tide. If sense remains to the wretched man, he knows that now his death is nigh. Despair and the gold make recovery impossible, and there are none who have swallowed the Birianhana, and yet have lived. If insensibility or deathly weakness make it impossible for the coin to pass the thorax, it is carefully bound in cloth, and tied to the right arm, so that there may be nought to hinder the passage of a worthy soul into the regions of the blessed.” The giving of the coin to the dying man is apparently an important item, and, in the Badaga folk-tales, a man on the point of death is made to ask for a Vīrarāya fanam. When life is extinct, the corpse is kept within the house until the erection of the funeral car (gudikattu) is completed. Though Gover states that the burning must not be delayed more than twenty-four hours, at the present day the Badagas postpone the funeral till all the near relations have assembled, even if this necessitates the keeping of the corpse for two or three days. Cremation may take place on any day, except Tuesday. News of a death is conveyed to distant hamlets (hattis) by a Toreya, who is paid a rupee for his services. On approaching a hamlet, he removes his turban, to signify the nature of his errand, and, standing on the side of a hill, yells out “Dho! Dho! who is in the hamlet?” Having imparted his news, he proceeds on his journey to the next hamlet. On the morning of the day fixed for the funeral, the corpse is taken on a charpoy or native cot to an open space, and a buffalo led thrice round it. The right hand of the corpse is then lifted up, and passed over the horns of the buffalo. A little milk is drawn, and poured into the mouth of the corpse. Prior to this ceremony, two or three buffaloes may be let loose, and one of them captured, after the [112]manner of the Todas, brought near the corpse, and conducted round the cot. The funeral car is built up in five to eleven tiers, decorated with cloths and streamers, and one tier must be covered with black chintz. At the funeral of a young man, the Rev. A. C. Clayton noticed that the car was surmounted by a flag, and hung about with bread, oranges, plantains, and the bag containing the books which the youth had used in the Basel Mission School.14 By the poorer members of the community the car is replaced by a cot covered with cloth, and surmounted by five umbrellas. Immediately after the buffalo ceremony, the corpse is carried to the car, and placed in the lowest storey thereof, washed, and dressed in coat and turban. A new dhupati (coarse cloth) is wrapped round it. Two silver coins (Japanese yens or rupees) are stuck on the forehead. Beneath the cot are placed a crowbar, and baskets containing cakes, parched paddy, tobacco, chick pea (Cicer arietinum), jaggery and sāmai flour. A number of women, relations and friends of the dead man, then make a rush to the cot, and, sitting on it round the corpse, keep on waiting, while a woman near its head rings a bell. When one batch is tired, it is replaced by another. Badaga men then pour in in large numbers, and salute the corpse by touching the head, Toreyas and female relations touching the feet. Of those who salute, a few place inside the dhupati a piece of white cloth with red and yellow stripes, which has been specially prepared for the purpose. All then proceed to dance round the car to the music of the Kota band, near male relations removing their turban or woollen night cap, as a mark of respect, during the first three revolutions. Most of the male dancers are dressed up in [113]gaudy petticoats and smart turbans. “No woman,” Mr. Natesa Sastri writes, “mingles in the funeral dance if the dead person is a man, but, if the deceased is a woman, one old woman, the nearest relative of the dead, takes part in it.” But, at the funerals of two men which we witnessed, a few women danced together with the men. Usually the tribesmen continue to arrive until 2 or 3 P.M. Relations collect outside the village, and advance in a body towards the car, some, especially the sons-in-law of the dead man, riding on ponies, some of them carrying sāmai grain. As they approach the car, they shout “Ja! hoch; Ja! hoch.” The Muttu Kotas bring a double iron sickle with imitation buffalo horns on the tip, which is placed, with a hatchet, buguri (flute), and walking stick, on the car or on the ground beside it. When all are assembled, the cot is carried to an open space between the house and the burning-ground, followed by the car and a party of women carrying the baskets containing grain, etc. The car is then stripped of its trappings, and hacked to pieces. The widow is brought close to the cot, and removes her nose ornament (elemukkuthi), and other jewels. At both the funerals which we witnessed, the widow had a narrow strip of coloured chintz over her shoulders. Standing near the corpse, she removed a bit of wire from her ear-rings, a lock of hair, and a palm leaf roll from the lobe of the ear, and tied them up in the cloth of her dead husband. After her, the sisters of the dead man cut off a lock of hair, and, in like manner, tied it in the cloth. Women attached to a man by illegitimate ties sometimes also cut off a lock of hair, and, tying it to a twig of Dodonæa viscosa, place it inside the cloth. Very impressive is the recitation, or after-death confession of a dead man’s sins by an elder of the tribe standing at the head of the [114]corpse, and rapidly chanting the following lines, or a variation thereof, while he waves his right hand during each line towards the feet. The reproduction of the recitation in my phonograph never failed to impress the daily audience of Badagas, Kotas and Todas.