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), andKudimaghan (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.17It is there described how the barber lathered the head “with water alone, for soap he had none.” The modern barber, however, uses soap, either a cheap quality purchased in the bazar, or a more expensive brand supplied by his client.By a curious corruption, Hamilton’s bridge, which connects the Triplicane and Mylapore divisions of the city of Madras, has become converted into Ambattan, or barber’s bridge. And the barber, as he shaves you, will tell how, in days before the bridge was built, the channel became unfordable during a north-east monsoon flood.A barber, who lived on the Triplicane side, had to shave an engineer, whose house was on the Mylapore side. With difficulty he swam across, and shaved the sahib while he was asleep without waking him, and, in return, asked that, in the public interests, a bridge should be built over the channel.Ambattans of Travancore.—For the following note I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyer. The barbers of Travancore are called by various designations, those in Central and South Travancore preferring to be known by the name of Kshaurakan or 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-speakingAmbattans 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 theneck, 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.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(SeeVālan.)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 AndēKuruba. 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 Chattrams19and 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 inpractice 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,whichis 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.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 recorded20that “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.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.21Anuloma.—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-castefemale,e.g., barbers are said to be the offspring of a Brāhman and a Vaisya woman.Anumala(seeds ofDolichos 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 againinto 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.” (SeeKāppiliyan).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 theCuddapah 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,22they 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 fastuntil 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.”Āradhya Brāhman.Āradhya Brāhman.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.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,SeeErnādan.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.24To 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.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). TheIrulas 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.—SeeVālan.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 wifecannot 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 (seeBant), 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 butinteresting 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 milletPaspalum 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.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.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 “asub-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. (SeeMādiga.)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 syllablesōm-na-mō-nā-rā-yā-nā-yain ensuring eternal bliss. The name ashtabhukkulu, or those who eat the eightgreedily, 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. (SeeIdiga.)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.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.
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), andKudimaghan (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.17It is there described how the barber lathered the head “with water alone, for soap he had none.” The modern barber, however, uses soap, either a cheap quality purchased in the bazar, or a more expensive brand supplied by his client.By a curious corruption, Hamilton’s bridge, which connects the Triplicane and Mylapore divisions of the city of Madras, has become converted into Ambattan, or barber’s bridge. And the barber, as he shaves you, will tell how, in days before the bridge was built, the channel became unfordable during a north-east monsoon flood.A barber, who lived on the Triplicane side, had to shave an engineer, whose house was on the Mylapore side. With difficulty he swam across, and shaved the sahib while he was asleep without waking him, and, in return, asked that, in the public interests, a bridge should be built over the channel.Ambattans of Travancore.—For the following note I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyer. The barbers of Travancore are called by various designations, those in Central and South Travancore preferring to be known by the name of Kshaurakan or 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-speakingAmbattans 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 theneck, 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.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(SeeVālan.)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 AndēKuruba. 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 Chattrams19and 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 inpractice 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,whichis 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.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 recorded20that “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.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.21Anuloma.—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-castefemale,e.g., barbers are said to be the offspring of a Brāhman and a Vaisya woman.Anumala(seeds ofDolichos 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 againinto 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.” (SeeKāppiliyan).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 theCuddapah 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,22they 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 fastuntil 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.”Āradhya Brāhman.Āradhya Brāhman.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.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,SeeErnādan.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.24To 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.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). TheIrulas 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.—SeeVālan.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 wifecannot 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 (seeBant), 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 butinteresting 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 milletPaspalum 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.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.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 “asub-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. (SeeMādiga.)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 syllablesōm-na-mō-nā-rā-yā-nā-yain ensuring eternal bliss. The name ashtabhukkulu, or those who eat the eightgreedily, 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. (SeeIdiga.)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.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.
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), andKudimaghan (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.17It is there described how the barber lathered the head “with water alone, for soap he had none.” The modern barber, however, uses soap, either a cheap quality purchased in the bazar, or a more expensive brand supplied by his client.By a curious corruption, Hamilton’s bridge, which connects the Triplicane and Mylapore divisions of the city of Madras, has become converted into Ambattan, or barber’s bridge. And the barber, as he shaves you, will tell how, in days before the bridge was built, the channel became unfordable during a north-east monsoon flood.A barber, who lived on the Triplicane side, had to shave an engineer, whose house was on the Mylapore side. With difficulty he swam across, and shaved the sahib while he was asleep without waking him, and, in return, asked that, in the public interests, a bridge should be built over the channel.Ambattans of Travancore.—For the following note I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyer. The barbers of Travancore are called by various designations, those in Central and South Travancore preferring to be known by the name of Kshaurakan or 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-speakingAmbattans 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 theneck, 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.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(SeeVālan.)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 AndēKuruba. 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 Chattrams19and 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 inpractice 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,whichis 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.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 recorded20that “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.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.21Anuloma.—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-castefemale,e.g., barbers are said to be the offspring of a Brāhman and a Vaisya woman.Anumala(seeds ofDolichos 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 againinto 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.” (SeeKāppiliyan).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 theCuddapah 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,22they 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 fastuntil 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.”Āradhya Brāhman.Āradhya Brāhman.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.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,SeeErnādan.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.24To 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.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). TheIrulas 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.—SeeVālan.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 wifecannot 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 (seeBant), 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 butinteresting 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 milletPaspalum 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.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.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 “asub-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. (SeeMādiga.)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 syllablesōm-na-mō-nā-rā-yā-nā-yain ensuring eternal bliss. The name ashtabhukkulu, or those who eat the eightgreedily, 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. (SeeIdiga.)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.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.
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), andKudimaghan (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.17It is there described how the barber lathered the head “with water alone, for soap he had none.” The modern barber, however, uses soap, either a cheap quality purchased in the bazar, or a more expensive brand supplied by his client.By a curious corruption, Hamilton’s bridge, which connects the Triplicane and Mylapore divisions of the city of Madras, has become converted into Ambattan, or barber’s bridge. And the barber, as he shaves you, will tell how, in days before the bridge was built, the channel became unfordable during a north-east monsoon flood.A barber, who lived on the Triplicane side, had to shave an engineer, whose house was on the Mylapore side. With difficulty he swam across, and shaved the sahib while he was asleep without waking him, and, in return, asked that, in the public interests, a bridge should be built over the channel.Ambattans of Travancore.—For the following note I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyer. The barbers of Travancore are called by various designations, those in Central and South Travancore preferring to be known by the name of Kshaurakan or 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-speakingAmbattans 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 theneck, 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.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(SeeVālan.)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 AndēKuruba. 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 Chattrams19and 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 inpractice 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,whichis 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.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 recorded20that “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.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.21Anuloma.—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-castefemale,e.g., barbers are said to be the offspring of a Brāhman and a Vaisya woman.Anumala(seeds ofDolichos 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 againinto 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.” (SeeKāppiliyan).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 theCuddapah 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,22they 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 fastuntil 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.”Āradhya Brāhman.Āradhya Brāhman.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.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,SeeErnādan.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.24To 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.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). TheIrulas 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.—SeeVālan.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 wifecannot 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 (seeBant), 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 butinteresting 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 milletPaspalum 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.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.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 “asub-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. (SeeMādiga.)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 syllablesōm-na-mō-nā-rā-yā-nā-yain ensuring eternal bliss. The name ashtabhukkulu, or those who eat the eightgreedily, 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. (SeeIdiga.)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.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.
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), andKudimaghan (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.17It is there described how the barber lathered the head “with water alone, for soap he had none.” The modern barber, however, uses soap, either a cheap quality purchased in the bazar, or a more expensive brand supplied by his client.
By a curious corruption, Hamilton’s bridge, which connects the Triplicane and Mylapore divisions of the city of Madras, has become converted into Ambattan, or barber’s bridge. And the barber, as he shaves you, will tell how, in days before the bridge was built, the channel became unfordable during a north-east monsoon flood.A barber, who lived on the Triplicane side, had to shave an engineer, whose house was on the Mylapore side. With difficulty he swam across, and shaved the sahib while he was asleep without waking him, and, in return, asked that, in the public interests, a bridge should be built over the channel.
Ambattans of Travancore.—For the following note I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyer. The barbers of Travancore are called by various designations, those in Central and South Travancore preferring to be known by the name of Kshaurakan or 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-speakingAmbattans 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 theneck, 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.
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(SeeVālan.)
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 AndēKuruba. 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 Chattrams19and 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 inpractice 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,whichis 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.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 recorded20that “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.
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-castefemale,e.g., barbers are said to be the offspring of a Brāhman and a Vaisya woman.
Anumala(seeds ofDolichos 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 againinto 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.” (SeeKāppiliyan).
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 theCuddapah 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,22they 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 fastuntil 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.”
Āradhya Brāhman.Āradhya Brāhman.
Āradhya Brāhman.
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.
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,SeeErnādan.
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.24To 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.
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). TheIrulas 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.—SeeVālan.
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 wifecannot 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 (seeBant), 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 butinteresting 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 milletPaspalum 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.
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.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 “asub-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. (SeeMādiga.)
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 syllablesōm-na-mō-nā-rā-yā-nā-yain ensuring eternal bliss. The name ashtabhukkulu, or those who eat the eightgreedily, 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. (SeeIdiga.)
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.
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.