Part 2

In reply to a question by the Census Superintendent, 1891, as to the names of the sub-divisions of the caste, it was stated that "the Vanniyans are either of the solar and lunar or Agnikula race, or Ruthra Vanniyar, Krishna Vanniyar, Samboo Vanniyar, Brahma Vanniyar, and Indra Vanniyar." The most important of the sub-divisions returned at the census were Agamudaiyan, Agni, Arasu (Raja), Kshatriya, Nagavadam (cobra's hood, or ear ornament of that shape), Nattaman, Olai (palm leaf), Pandamuttu, and Perumal gotra. Pandamuttu is made by Winslow to mean torches arranged so as to represent an elephant. But the Pallis derive the name from panda muttu, or touching the pandal, in reference to the pile of marriage pots reaching to the top of the pandal. The lowest pot is decorated with figures of elephants and horses. At a marriage among the Pandamuttu Pallis, the bride and bridegroom, in token of their Kshatriya descent, are seated on a raised dais, which represents a simhasanam or throne. The bride wears a necklace of glass beads with the tali, and the officiating priest is a Telugu Brahman. Other sub-castes of the Pallis, recorded in the Census Report, 1901, are Kallangi in Chingleput, bearing the title Reddi, and Kallaveli, or Kallan's fence, in the Madura district. The occupational title Kottan (bricklayer) was returned by some Pallis in Coimbatore. In the Salem district some Pallis are divided into Anju-nal (five days) and Pannendu-nal (twelve days), according as they perform the final death ceremonies on the fifth or twelfth day after death, to distinguish them from those who perform them on the sixteenth day. [19] Another division of Pallis in the Salem district is based on the kind of ear ornament which is worn. The Olai Pallis wear a circular ornament (olai), and the Nagavadam Pallis wear an ornament in shape like a cobra and called nagavadam.

The Pallis are classed with the left-hand section. But the Census Superintendent, 1871, records that "the wives of the agricultural labourers (Pallis) side with the left hand, while the husbands help in fighting the battles of the right; and the shoe-makers' (Chakkiliyan) wives also take the side opposed to their husbands. During these factional disturbances, the ladies deny to their husbands all the privileges of the connubial state." This has not, however, been confirmed in recent investigations into the customs of the caste.

The Pallis are Saivites or Vaishnavites, but are also demonolaters, and worship Mutyalamma, Mariamma, Ayanar, Muneswara, Ankalamma, and other minor deities. Writing nearly a century ago concerning the Vana Pallis settled at Kolar in Mysore, Buchanan states [20] that "they are much addicted to the worship of the saktis, or destructive powers, and endeavour to avert their wrath by bloody sacrifices. These are performed by cutting off the animal's head before the door of the temple, and invoking the deity to partake of the sacrifice. There is no altar, nor is the blood sprinkled on the image, and the body serves the votaries for a feast. The Pallivanlu have temples dedicated to a female spirit of this kind named Mutialamma, and served by pujaris (priests) of their own caste. They also offer sacrifices to Mariamma, whose pujaris are Kurubaru."

Huge human figures, representing Mannarswami in a sitting posture, constructed of bricks and mortar, and painted, are conspicuous objects in the vicinity of the Lawrence Asylum Press, Mount Road, and in the Kottawal bazar, Madras. At the village of Tirumalavayal near Avadi, there is a similar figure as tall as a palmyra palm, with a shrine of Pachaiamman close by. Mannarswami is worshipped mainly by Pallis and Beri Chettis. An annual festival is held in honour of Pachaiamman and Mannarswami, in which the Beri Chettis take a prominent part.

During the festivals of village deities, the goddess is frequently represented by a pile of seven pots, called karagam, decorated with garlands and flowers. Even when there is an idol in the temple, the karagam is set up in a corner thereof, and taken daily, morning and evening, in procession, carried on the head of a pujari or other person. On the last day of the festival, the karagam is elaborately decorated with parrots, dolls, flowers, etc., made of pith (Æschynomene aspera), and called pu karagam (flower pot).

The Pallis live in separate streets or quarters distinctively known as the Palli teru or Kudi teru (ryots' quarter). The bulk of them are labourers, but many now farm their own lands, while others are engaged in trade or in Government service. The occupations of those whom I have examined at Madras and Chingleput were as follows:--

Merchant. Cultivator. Bullock and pony cart driver. Printer. Lascar. Sweetmeat vendor. Flower vendor. Fitter. Sawyer. Oil-presser. Gardener. Polisher. Bricklayer. Mason.

Some of the Chingleput Palli men were tattooed, like the Irulas, with a dot or vertical stripe on the forehead. Some Irulas, it may be noted en passant, call themselves Ten (honey) Vanniyans, or Vana (forest) Pallis.

Like many other castes, the Pallis have their own caste beggars, called Nokkan, who receive presents at marriages and on other occasions. The time-honoured panchayat system still prevails, and the caste has headmen, entitled Perithanakkaran or Nattamaikkaran, who decide all social matters affecting the community, and must be present at the ceremonial distribution of pansupari.

The Kovilars, and some others who aspire to a high social status, practice infant marriage, but adult marriage is the rule. At the betrothal ceremony, the future bridegroom goes to the house of his prospective father-in-law, where the headman of the future bride must be present. The bridegroom's headman or father places on a tray betel, flowers, the bride-price (pariyam) in money or jewels, the milk money (mulapal kuli), and a cocoanut. Milk money is the present given to the mother of the bride, in return for her having given nourishment to the girl during her infancy. All these things are handed by the bridegroom's headman to the father or headman of the bride, saying "The money is yours. The girl is ours." The bride's father, receiving them, says "The money is mine. The girl is yours." This performance is repeated thrice, and pan-supari is distributed, the first recipient being the maternal uncle. The ceremony is in a way binding, and marriage, as a rule, follows close on the betrothal. If, in the interval, a girl's intended husband dies, she may marry some one else. A girl may not marry without the consent of her maternal uncle, and, if he disapproves of a match, he has the right to carry her off even when the ceremony is in progress, and marry her to a man of his selection. It is stated, in the Vannikula Vilakkam, that at a marriage among the Pallis "the bride, after her betrothal, is asked to touch the bow and sword of the bridegroom. The latter adorns himself with all regal pomp, and, mounting a horse, goes in procession to the bride's house where the marriage ceremony is celebrated."

The marriage ceremony is, in ordinary cases, completed in one day, but the tendency is to spread it over three days, and introduce the standard Puranic form of ritual. On the day preceding the wedding-day, the bride is brought in procession to the house of the bridegroom, and the marriage pots are brought by a woman of the potter caste. On the wedding morning, the marriage dais is got ready, and the milk-post, pots, and lights are placed thereon. Bride and bridegroom go separately through the nalagu ceremony. They are seated on a plank, and five women smear them with oil by means of a culm of grass (Cynodon Dactylon), and afterwards with Phaseolus Mungo (green gram) paste. Water coloured with turmeric and chunam (arathi) is then waved round them, to avert the evil eye, and they are conducted to the bathing-place. While they are bathing, five small cakes are placed on various parts of the body--knees, shoulders, head, etc. When the bridegroom is about to leave the spot, cooked rice, contained in a sieve, is waved before him, and thrown away. The bridal couple are next taken three times round the dais, and they offer pongal (cooked rice) to the village and house gods and the ancestors, in five pots, in which the rice has been very carefully prepared, so as to avoid pollution of any kind, by a woman who has given birth to a first child. They then dress themselves in their wedding finery, and get ready for the tying of the tali. Meanwhile, the milk-post, made of Odina Wodier, Erythrina indica, or the handle of a plough, has been set up. At its side are placed a grindstone, a large pot, and two lamps called kuda-vilakku (pot light) and alankara-vilakku (ornamental light). The former consists of a lighted wick in an earthenware tray placed on a pot, and the latter of a wooden stand with several branches supporting a number of lamps. It is considered an unlucky omen if the pot light goes out before the conclusion of the ceremonial. It is stated by Mr. H. A. Stuart [21] that in the North Arcot district "in the marriage ceremony of the Vanniyans or Pallis, the first of the posts supporting the booth must be cut from the vanni (Prosopis spicigera), a tree which they hold in much reverence because they believe that the five Pandava Princes, who were like themselves Kshatriyas, during the last year of their wanderings, deposited their arms in a tree of this species. On the tree the arms turned into snakes, and remained untouched till the owners' return." The Prosopis tree is worshipped in order to obtain pardon from sins, success over enemies, and the realisation of the devotee's wishes.

When the bride and bridegroom come to the wedding booth dressed in their new clothes, the Brahman purohit gives them the threads (kankanam), which are to be tied round their wrists. The tali is passed round to be blessed by those assembled, and handed to the bridegroom, who ties it on the bride's neck. While he is so doing, his sister holds a light called Kamakshi vilakku. Kamakshi, the goddess at Conjeeveram, is a synonym for Siva's consort Parvathi. The music of the flute is sometimes accompanied by the blowing of the conch shell while the tali is being tied, and omens are taken from the sounds produced thereby. The tali-tying ceremony concluded, the couple change their seats, and the ends of their clothes are tied together. Rice is thrown on their heads, and in front of them, and the near relations may tie gold or silver plates called pattam. The first to do this is the maternal uncle. Bride and bridegroom then go round the dais and milk-post, and, at the end of the second turn, the bridegroom lifts the bride's left foot, and places it on the grindstone. At the end of the third turn, the brother-in-law, in like manner, places the bridegroom's left foot on the stone, and puts on a toe-ring. For so doing, he receives a rupee and betel. The contracting couple are then shown the pole-star (Arundhati), and milk and fruit are given to them. Towards evening, the wrist-threads are removed, and they proceed to a tank for a mock ploughing ceremony. The bridegroom carries a ploughshare, and the bride a small pot containing conji (rice gruel). A small patch of ground is turned up, and puddled so as to resemble a miniature field, wherein the bridegroom plants some grain seedlings. A miniature Pillayar (Ganesa) is made with cow-dung, and betel offered to it. The bridegroom then sits down, feigning fatigue, and the bride gives him a handful of rice, which his brother-in-law tries to prevent him from eating. The newly-married couple remain for about a week at the bride's house, and are then conducted to that of the bridegroom, the brother-in-law carrying a hundred or a hundred and ten cakes. Before they enter the house, coloured water and a cocoanut are waved in front of them, and, as soon as she puts foot within her new home, the bride must touch pots containing rice and salt with her right hand. A curious custom among the Pallis at Kumbakonam is that the bride's mother, and often all her relatives, are debarred from attending her marriage. The bride is also kept gosha (in seclusion) for all the days of the wedding. [22]

It is noted by Mr. Hemingway that some of the Pandamuttu Pallis of the Trichinopoly district "practice the betrothal of infant girls, the ceremony consisting of pouring cow-dung water into the mouth of the baby. They allow a girl to marry a boy younger than herself, and make the latter swallow a two-anna bit, to neutralise the disadvantages of such a match. Weddings are generally performed at the boy's house, and the bride's mother does not attend. The bride is concealed from view by a screen."

It is said that, some years ago, a marriage took place at Panruti near Cuddalore on the old Svayamvara principle described in the story of Nala and Damayanti in the Mahabharata. According to this custom, a girl selects a husband from a large number of competitors, who are assembled for the purpose.

Widow remarriage is permitted. At the marriage of a widow, the tali is tied by a married woman, the bridegroom standing by the side, usually inside the house. Widow marriage is known as naduvittu tali, as the tali-tying ceremony takes place within the house (naduvidu).

To get rid of the pollution of the first menstrual period, holy water is sprinkled over the girl by a Brahman, after she has bathed. She seats herself on a plank, and rice cakes (puttu), a pounding stone, and arathi are waved in front of her. Sugar and betel are then distributed among those present.

The dead are sometimes burnt, and sometimes buried. As soon as an individual dies, the son goes three times round the corpse, carrying an iron measure (marakkal), wherein a lamp rests on unhusked rice. The corpse is washed, and the widow bathes in such a way that the water falls on it. Omission to perform this rite would entail disgrace, and there is an abusive phrase "May the water from the woman's body not fall on that of the corpse." The dead man and his widow exchange betel three times. The corpse is carried to the burning or burial-ground on a bamboo stretcher, and, on the way thither, is set down near a stone representing Arichandra, to whom food is offered. Arichandra was a king who became a slave of the Paraiyans, and is in charge of the burial-ground. By some Pallis a two-anna piece is placed on the forehead, and a pot of rice on the breast of the corpse. These are taken away by the officiating barber and Paraiyan respectively. [23] Men who die before they are married have to go through a post-mortem mock marriage ceremony. A garland of arka (Calotropis gigantea) flowers is placed round the neck of the corpse, and mud from a gutter is shaped into cakes, which, like the cakes at a real marriage, are placed on various parts of the body.

A curious death ceremony is said by Mr. Hemingway to be observed by the Arasu Pallis in the Trichinopoly district. On the day after the funeral, two pots of water are placed near the spot where the corpse was cremated. If a cow drinks of the water, they think it is the soul of the dead come to quench its thirst.

In some places, Palli women live in strict seclusion (Gosha). This is particularly the case in the old Palaigar families of Ariyalur, Udaiyarpalaiyam, Pichavaram, and Sivagiri.

The caste has a well-organised Sangham (association) called Chennai Vannikula Kshatriya Maha Sangham, which was established in 1888 by leaders of the caste. Besides creating a strong esprit de corps among members of the caste in various parts of the Madras Presidency, it has been instrumental in the opening of seven schools, of which three are in Madras, and the others at Conjeeveram, Madhurantakam, Tirukalikundram and Kumalam. It has also established chuttrams (rest-houses) at five places of pilgrimage. Chengalvaraya Nayakar's Technical School, attached to Pachaiappa's College in Madras, was founded in 1865 by a member of the Palli caste, who bequeathed a large legacy for its maintenance. There is also an orphanage named after him in Madras, for Palli boys. Govindappa Nayakar's School, which forms the lower secondary branch of Pachaiappa's College, is another institution which owes its existence to the munificence of a member of the Palli caste. The latest venture of the Pallis is the publication of a newspaper called Agnikuladittan (the sun of the Agnikula), which was started in 1908.

Concerning the Pallis, Pallilu, or Palles, who are settled in the Telugu country as fishermen, carpenters, and agriculturists, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes [24] that "it seems probable that they are a branch of the great Palli or Vanniya tribe, for Buchanan refers to the Mina (fish) Pallis and Vana Pallis." As sub-castes of these Pallis, Vada (boatmen), Marakkadu and Edakula are given in the Census Report, 1901. In the North Arcot Manual, Palli is given as a sub-division of the Telugu Kapus. In some places the Pallis call themselves Palle Kapulu, and give as their gotram Jambumaharishi, which is a gotram of the Pallis. Though they do not intermarry, the Palle Kapulu may interdine with the Kapus.