Part 22

In a speech delivered at Salem in 1906, Sir Arthur Lawley, Governor of Madras, spoke as follows. "I know something of the prosperity of the weaving industry in days gone by, and I regret exceedingly to learn that it is not in so flourishing a condition as at one time it well claimed to be. Now, we have all of us heard a good deal of Swadeshi, and the Government is being constantly urged, from time to time, to do something to foster the industries of this country. We made a beginning here by setting up a Weaving Institute. We believed that by doing so we should put within the knowledge of the weavers of this district methods whereby their output of cloth would be greater, while the cost was reduced, and that thus their material prosperity would be considerably advanced. Now it is somewhat of a surprise, and considerable disappointment to me to learn that this effort which we have made is regarded with suspicion, if not with hostility. I am afraid our motives have been misunderstood, because I need hardly assure you that the idea that the Government should enter into competition with any of the industries of the country never suggested itself to us. We desired simply and solely to infuse some fresh spirit into an industry which was languishing."

In a note on the weaving industry, Mr. E. B. Havell writes thus. [132] "The principle of the Danish co-operative system as applied to dairy-farming is the combination of a number of small proprietors for sending their products to a central factory, in which each of them has a share proportionate to the quantity of his contributions. In the management of the factory, each member has an absolutely equal voice, irrespective of his holdings. Adapting such a system to the Indian weaving industry, each weaving community would have a central establishment under its own control, which would arrange the purchase of material at wholesale rates, prepare warps for the weavers' looms, and organise the sale of the finished products. The actual weaving would be carried on as at present in the weavers' houses by the master weavers and their apprentices. If a system of this kind would retain the economic advantages of the factory system, and eliminate its many evils, it is obvious that a factory, owned and controlled by the weavers themselves, and worked only for their advantage, is a very different thing to a factory controlled by capitalists only for the purpose of exploiting the labour of their employees."

As bearing on the general condition of the weaving community, the following extract from the Report of the Famine in the Madras Presidency, 1896-97, may be quoted. "Among the people who felt the distress at the beginning were the weavers. It is a well-known fact that the people of the weaver castes, as well as Mussalman weavers, are generally improvident, and consequently poor. In favourable times, the weavers generally earn fair wages. They, however, spend all they earn without caring to lay by anything, so that very few of their caste are in well-to-do circumstances. The same is the case with the Mussalman weavers. All these weavers are entirely in the hands of the sowcars (money-lenders), who make advances to them, and get cloths in return. The cloths thus obtained by the sowcars are exported to other parts of the country. It may be taken as a general fact that most of the professional weavers are indebted to the sowcars, and are bound to weave for them. So long as the seasons are favourable, and sowcars get indents for cloths from their customers, they continue their advances to their dependent weavers. But when, owing to any cause, the demand decreases, the sowcars curtail their advances proportionately, and the weavers are at once put to difficulty. According to the fineness and kind of fabrics turned out by the weavers, they may be divided into fine cloth weavers and silk weavers, and weavers of coarse cloths. It is the coarse cloth weavers that would be affected with the first appearance of distress. The consumers of their manufactures are the poorer classes, and, with the appearance of scarcity and high prices, the demand for the coarser kinds of cloths would cease. Such was actually the case at the beginning of the recent distress. The weavers are, as a class, not accustomed to hard manual labour, nor are they able to work exposed to heat and sun. If such people are put on earth-work, they would certainly fail to turn out the prescribed task, and consequently earn insufficient wages. They would thus be, as it were, punished for no fault of theirs. This state of things would last at least for some time, until the weavers got accustomed to earth-work. Again, these people have, by constant work at their own craft, attained to a certain degree of skill and delicacy, and, if compelled to do earth-work during the temporary unfavourable season, they would certainly lose, to some extent, their skill and delicacy of hand, and would become unfit, in that degree, for their accustomed work when favourable season returns. They would thus be put to inconvenience doubly. During the first part of the distress, their skill of hand, and delicacy of constitution would stand in their way, and, after the return of good season, the loss of manual skill and delicacy would place them at a disadvantage. It can be easily seen that giving relief to the weavers in their own calling is the most economical form of relief. In this form of special relief, Government advances materials to the weavers to be woven into different kinds of cloths. Government has no doubt to incur a large initial expenditure in the shape of value of materials, and wages for weavers for making these materials into cloths. But all the materials are returned woven into cloths, so that, at the close of the operations, Government has a stock of cloths, which can be disposed of without difficulty on the return of favourable times, and the cost incurred recovered. In this way, Government not only administers relief to a pretty large section of its poor subjects, but keeps up, with little or no cost to itself, the industrial skill of this section of the people."

Of proverbs relating to the weaver, one runs to the effect that, "if you want to narrow the breadth of a river, you should plant reeds on its margin; and, if you desire to destroy the sanitation of a village, you should bring weavers to it, and settle them there." When the dyes have to be fixed, and the dyed twist has to be washed, the weavers generally resort to running water, and pollute it. The several processes of twisting and untwisting threads, preparing skeins, etc., make combined labour a necessity in the weaving industry; and, wherever one finds a weaver settlement, he must find there a large number of these people, as is explained by the proverb that "the Chetti (merchant) lost by partnership, while the weaver came to grief by isolation." When plying shuttles in the weaving process, the weavers always use their feet in shifting the warp, by treading on a press. Thus, if a weaver unfortunately happens to have a sore on his foot, it means loss to him; or, as the proverb says, "If a dog gets a sore on its head, it never recovers from it; and even so a weaver who gets a sore on his foot." [133]

Salige (wire).--A gotra of Kurni.

Saliyan.--The Saliyan weavers of Kornad and Ayyampet, in the Tanjore district, are a Tamil-speaking class, who must not be confused with the Telugu Sales. They afford an interesting example of how a limited number of families, following the same occupation, can crystallise into a separate caste. They claim to have a Puranam relating to their origin, which is said to be found in the Sthalapuranam of the Nalladai temple. They believe that they are the descendants of one Saliya Maha Rishi, a low-caste man, who did service for one Visakar, who was doing penance near Nalladai. Through the grace of the rishi Visakar, Saliya became a rishi, and married two wives. The Saliyans are said to be descended from the offspring of the first wife, and the Mottai Saliyans from the offspring of the second.

The Saliyans have taken to wearing the sacred thread, engage Brahman purohits, and are guided by Brahman priests. They are said to have had their own caste priests until a Brahman from Sendangudi, near Mayavaram, accepted the office of priest. It is reported that, in former days, the Saliyans were not allowed to sell their goods except in a fixed spot called mamaraththumedu, where they set out their cloths on bamboos. High-caste people never touched the cloths, except with a stick. At the present day the Saliyans occupy a good position in the social scale, and employ Brahman cooks, though no other castes will eat in their houses.

A curious feature in connection with the Saliyans is that, contrary to the usual rule among Tamil castes, they have exogamous septs or vidu (house), of which the following are examples:--

Mandhi, black monkey. Kottangkachchi, cocoanut shell. Thuniyan, cloth. Kachchandhi, gunny-bag. Vellai parangi, white vegetable marrow. Ettadiyan, eight feet. Thadiyan, stout. Kazhudhai, donkey. Thavalai, frog. Sappaikalan, crooked-legged. Malaiyan, hill. Kaththan, an attendant on Aiyanar. Ozhakkan, a measure. Thondhi, belly. Munginazhi, bamboo measure. Odakkazhinjan, one who defæcated when running. Kamban, the Tamil poet. Ottuvidu, tiled house. Kalli, Euphorbia Tirucalli. Sirandhan, a noble person. Thambiran, master or lord. Kollai, backyard. Madividu, storeyed house. Murugan, name of a person.

The Saliyans have further acquired gotras named after rishis, and, when questioned as to their gotra, refer to the Brahman purohits.

The Saliyan weavers of silk Kornad women's cloths, who have settled at Mayavaram in the Tanjore district, neither intermarry nor interdine with the Saliyans of the Tinnevelly district, though they belong to the same linguistic division. The Tinnevelly Saliyans closely follow the Kaikolans in their various ceremonials, and in their social organisation, and interdine with them. Saliya women wear three armlets on the upper arm, whereas Kaikola women only wear a single armlet. The Saliyans may not marry a second wife during the lifetime of the first wife, even if she does not bear children. They may, however, adopt children. Some of the Tinnevelly Saliyans have taken to trade and agriculture, while others weave coarse cotton cloths, and dye cotton yarn.

In the Census Report, 1901, Ataviyar is recorded as "a synonym for, or rather title of the Tinnevelly Sales." Further, Pattariyar is described as a Tamil corruption of Pattu Saliyan, returned by some of the Tinnevelly Sales. The Adaviyar or Pattalia Settis are Tamilians, probably an offshoot of the Kaikolans, and have no connection with the Telugu Pattu Sales, who, like the Padma Sales, retain their mother-tongue wherever they settle. It is recorded [134] in connection with the Saliyar of the Chingleput district, many of whom are Kaikolans, that "a story is current of their persecution by one Salva Naik (said to have been a Brahman). The result of this was that large bodies of them were forced to flee from Conjeeveram to Madura, Tanjore, and Tinnevelly, where their representatives are still to be found."

The Adaviyars follow the Tamil Puranic type of marriage ceremonies, and have a sirutali (small tali) as a marriage badge. The caste deity is Mukthakshiamman. The dead are always cremated.

Saluppan.--The Tamil equivalent of the Telugu Janappan, which is derived from janapa, the sunn hemp (Crotolaria juncea).

Samagara.--The Samagaras have been described [135] as "the principal class of leather-workers in the South Canara district. They are divided into two endogamous groups, the Canarese Samagaras and the Arya Samagaras. The latter speak Marathi. Though the Samagaras are in the general estimation as low a caste as the Holeyas, and do not materially differ from them in their religious and other ceremonies and customs, they are, as a rule, of much fairer complexion, and the women are often very handsome. The tanning industry is chiefly carried on by the Samagaras, and their modus operandi is as follows. The hides are soaked for a period of one month in large earthen vats containing water, to which chunam is added at the rate of two seers per hide. After the expiry of the above period, they are soaked in fresh water for three days, in view to the chunam being removed. They are then put into an earthen vessel filled with water and the leaves of Phyllanthus Emblica, in which they remain for twelve days. After this, they are removed and squeezed, and replaced in the same vessel, where they are allowed to remain for about a month, after which period they are again removed, washed and squeezed. They are then sewn up and stuffed with the bark of cashew, daddala, and nerale trees, and hung up for a day. After this, the stitching is removed, and the hides are washed and exposed to the sun to dry for a day, when they become fit for making sandals. Some of the hides rot in this process to such an extent as to become utterly unfit for use."

The badge of the Are Samagara at Conjeeveram is said [136] to be the insignia of the Mochis (or Mucchis), a boy's kite.

Samantan.--"This," the Census Superintendent, 1891, writes, "may be called the caste of Malayalam Rajahs and chieftains, but it is hardly a separate caste at all, at any rate at present, for those Nayars and others who have at any time been petty chieftains in the country, call themselves Samantas. The primary meaning of the word Samanta is given by Dr. Gundert [137] as the chief of a district." The number of people who returned themselves as Samantas (including a few Samantan Brahmans) at the Census, 1881, was 1,611, and in 1901 they increased to 4,351.

In a suit brought against the Collector of Malabar (Mr. Logan) some years ago by one Nilambur Thachara Kovil Mana Vikrama, alias Elaya Tirumalpad, the plaintiff entered an objection to his being said by the Collector to be of "a caste (Nayar), who are permitted to eat fish and flesh, except of course beef." He stated in court that he was "a Samantan by caste, and a Samantan is neither a Brahman, nor a Kshatriya, nor a Vaisya, nor a Sudra." Samantan, according to him, is a corruption of Samantran, which, he stated, meant one who performs ceremonies without mantrams. He said that his caste observes all the ceremonies that Brahmans do, but without mantrams. And he gave the following as the main points in which his caste differs from that of the Nayars. Brahmans can take their food in the houses of members of his caste, while they cannot do so in those of Nayars. At the performance of sradhs in his caste, Brahmans are fed, while this is not done in the case of Nayars. Brahmans can prepare water for the purpose of purification in his house, but not in that of a Nayar. If a Nayar touches a Samantan, he has to bathe in the same way as a Brahman would have to do. For the performance of marriages and other ceremonies in his caste, Malabar Brahmans are absolutely necessary. At marriages the tali is tied by Kshatriyas. A Samantan has fourteen days' pollution, while a Nayar has fifteen. He can only eat what a Brahman can eat. He added that he was of the same caste as the Zamorin of Calicut. A number of witnesses, including the author of the Keralavakhsha Kramam, were examined in support of his assertions. It was noted by the District Judge that no documentary evidence was produced, or reference to public records or works of authority made in support of the theory as to the existence of a caste of Samantas who are not Nayars, and are classed under Kshatriyas, and above the Vaisyas. The following account is given by the author of the Keralavakhsha Kramam of the origin of the Samantas. Some Kshatriyas who, being afraid of Parasu Rama, were wandering in foreign parts, and not observing caste rules, came to Malabar, visited Cheraman Perumal, and asked for his protection. On this Cheraman Perumal, with the sanction of the Brahmans, and in pursuance of the rules laid down by the Maharajas who had preceded him, classed these people as members of the Samantra caste. "That this book," the Judge observed, "can be looked on as being in any way an authority on difficult and obscure historical questions, or that the story can be classed as more than a myth, there are no grounds for supposing." No linguistic work of recognised authority was produced in support of the derivation of the word Samantan from Samantran, meaning without mantrams.

One exhibit in the case above referred to was an extract from the report of a commission appointed to inspect the state and condition of the province of Malabar. It is dated 11th October, 1793, and in it allusion is made to the 'Tichera Tiroopaar' who is described as a chief Nayar of Nilambur in the southern division of the country. Evidence was given to show that Tichera Tiroopaar is the Nilambur Tirumulpad. And, in a letter from the Supervisor of Malabar, dated 15th November, 1793, allusion is made to Tichera Tiroopaar as a Nayar. Two extracts from Buchanan's well-known work on Mysore, Canara and Malabar, were also filed as exhibits. In one Buchanan relates what was told him by the Brahmans of the history of 'Malayala'. Among other things, he mentions that Cheraman Perumal, having come to the resolution of retiring to Mecca, went to Calicut. "He was there met by a Nayar who was a gallant chief, but who, having been absent at the division, had obtained no share of his master's dominions. Cheraman Perumal thereupon gave him his sword, and desired him to keep all that he could conquer. From this person's sisters are descended the Tamuri Rajahs or Zamorins." In the second extract, Buchanan sums up the result of enquiries that he had made concerning the Zamorin and his family. He states that the head of the family is the Tamuri Rajah, called by Europeans the Zamorin, and adds: "The Tamuri pretends to be of a higher rank than the Brahmans, and to be inferior only to the invisible gods, a pretension that was acknowledged by his subjects, but which is held as absurd and abominable by the Brahmans, by whom he is only treated as a Sudra."

An important witness said that he knew the plaintiff, and that he was a Sudra. He stated that he had lived for two years in the Zamorin's kovilagom, and knew the customs of his family. According to him there was no difference between his own caste customs and those of the Zamorin. He said that Samantan means a petty chieftain, and drew attention to the 'Sukra Niti,' edited by Dr. Oppert, where a Samantan is said to be "he who gets annually a revenue of from one to three lakhs karshom from his subjects without oppressing them." There are, according to him, some Nayars who call themselves Samantas, and he added that when, in 1887, the Collector of Malabar called for lists of all stanom-holders [138] in the district, he examined these lists, and found that some of the Nayar chiefs called themselves Samantan.

"A consideration of all the evidence," the Judge writes, "appears to me to prove conclusively that the plaintiff is a Nayar by caste.... What appears to me, from a consideration of the evidence, to be the safe inference to draw is that the members of the plaintiff's family, and also the descendants of certain other of the old Nayar chieftains, have for some time called themselves, and been called by others, Samantas, but that there is no distinctive caste of that name, and that the plaintiff is, as the defendant has described him, a Nayar by caste." [139]

The Samantans are summed up as follows in the Gazetteer of Malabar. "Samantan is the generic name of the group of castes forming the aristocracy of Malabar, and it includes the following divisions:--Nambiyar, Unnitiri, Adiyodi, all belonging to North Malabar; and Nedungadi, Vallodi, Eradi, and Tirumulpad, all belonging to South Malabar. There are also Nayars with the title of Nambiyar and Adiyodi. Nedungadi, Vallodi and Eradi, are territorial names applied to the Samantans indigenous to Ernad, Walavanad, and Nedunganad respectively; or perhaps it may be more correct to say that the tracts in question take their names from the ruling classes, who formerly bore sway there. Eradi is the caste to which belongs the Zamorin Raja of Calicut. It is also the name of a section of Kiriyattil Nayars. The Raja of Walavanad is a Vallodi. Tirumulpad is the title of a class of Samantans, to which belong a number of petty chieftains, such as the Karnamulpad of Manjeri and the Tirumulpad of Nilambur. The ladies of this class are called Kolpads or Koilammahs. Many Nambiyars in North Malabar claim to belong to the Samantan caste, but there is at least reason to suppose that they are properly Nayars, and that the claim to the higher rank is of recent date. That such recruitment is going on is indicated by the difference between the number of persons returned as Samantans in the censuses of 1901 and 1891 (4,351 and 1,225 respectively), which is far above the normal percentage of increase of population. Kshatriyas wear the punul (thread); Samantans as a rule do not. Most Kshatriyas eat with Brahmans, and have a pollution period of eleven nights, indicating that their position in the caste hierarchy lies between the Brahmans with ten days and the Ambalavasis proper with twelve. Samantans as a rule observe fifteen days' pollution, and may not eat with Brahmans. Both follow marumakkatayam (inheritance in the female line), and their women as a rule have sambandham (alliance) only with Brahmans or Kshatriyas. Those who belong to the old Royal families are styled Raja or Tamburan (lord), their ladies Tamburattis, and their houses Kovilagams or palaces. Some Samantans have the caste titles of Kartavu and Kaimal. But it does not appear that there are really any material differences between the various classes of Samantans, other than purely social differences due to their relative wealth and influence."