Part 41

In his inspection report of the Laccadives, 1902, Mr. G. H. B. Jackson notes that "the caste barrier, on the island of Androth, between the Koya and the Malumi class and the Melacheris is as rigid as ever. It divides capital from labour, and has given the upper classes much of the appearance of an effete aristocracy." In a more recent inspection report (1905), Mr. C. W. E. Cotton writes as follows. "Muhammadans, owing to their inordinate love of dress, are apt to give an exaggerated impression of wealth, but I should think that, despite the laziness of all but the Melacheris, the majority of the inhabitants (of Androth) are well-to-do, and, in this respect, compare very favourably with those of the other islands. The Qazi and several other Karnavars, who have a smattering of the Koran, go to the mainland, and, in centres of superstition, earn considerable sums by their profession of extreme learning and piety. The long satin coats (a canary yellow is the fashionable tint) procured in Bombay or Mangalore are evidence of the financial success of their pilgrimages. It is perhaps fortunate that the Koyas have discovered this additional source of income, for, though they continue to own nearly all the cargo-carrying odams (boats), their position as jenmis (landlords) has been seriously jeopardised owing to the repudiation of their obligations as Kudians by many of the enterprising Melacheri community. The Melacheris are now alive to the fact that, as their tenure is not evidenced by documents and rests upon oral assertions, they have a very reasonable chance of freeing themselves of their overlords altogether. The Mukhyastars are quite a representative lot. Sheikindevittil Muthu Koya is a fine specimen of the sea-faring Moplah, and the Qazi, twenty-fourth in descent from Mumby Moolyaka, the Arab who converted the islanders to Islam, struck me as a man of very considerable attainments. In his report on the dispensary at Androth (1905), Mr. K. Ibrahim Khan, hospital assistant, states that "the quacks are said to be clever enough to treat cases both by their drugs and by their charms. They actually prevent other poor classes seeking medical and surgical treatment in the dispensary, and mislead them by their cunning words. Most of the quacks come to the dispensary, and take medicines such as santonine powders, quinine pills, purgatives, etc. They make use of these for their own cases, and thus earn their livelihood. The quacks are among the Koya class. The Koyas are jenmis, and the Malims and Melacheris are their tenants. The latter, being low classes, always believe them, and depend upon their landlords, who are also their physicians, to treat them when they fall sick. The islanders, as a rule, have no faith in English medical treatment. The rich folks who can afford it go to Malabar for native treatment; only the poorer classes, who have neither means to pay the quacks here nor to go to Malabar, attend the dispensary with half inclination."

Marakallu.--Marakallu or Marakadu, meaning fishermen, has been recorded as a sub-division of Pallis engaged as fishermen in the Telugu country. The equivalent of Mukku Marakkaleru is a title or synonym of Moger and Marakkan of Mukkuvan. Marakkayar is a title of Labbai boatmen.

NOTES

[1] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[2] Original Inhabitants of Bharatavarsa, 1893.

[3] Account of the Primitive Tribes and Monuments of the Nilgiris, 1873.

[4] Ind. Ant., II, 1873.

[5] Aboriginal Tribes of the Nilgiri hills, 1870.

[6] Tribes inhabiting the Neilgherry hills. By a German Missionary.

[7] The Todas, 1906.

[8] A Singular Aboriginal Race of the Nilagiris.

[9] Tribes of the Neilgherries, 1868.

[10] At Kotamale there are three temples, two dedicated to Kamataraya and one to Kalikai.

[11] Goa and the Blue Mountains, 1851.

[12] Tribes inhabiting the Neilgherry hills. By a German Missionary.

[13] Reise nach Süd-Indien, 1894.

[14] Mysore Census Report, 1891.

[15] Madras Census Report, 1901.

[16] Ind. Ant., III, 1874.

[17] Cf. Pendukkumekki and Valasu sub-divisions of the Idaiyan caste.

[18] The present note is mainly based on the articles by the Rev. J. Cain in the Indian Antiquary V, 1876, and VIII, 1879; and the Madras Christian College Magazine, V, 1887-8, and VI, 1888-9.

[19] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[20] Calcutta Christian Observer, May and June, 1853, Second Edition, by the Rev. J. M. Descombes and J. A. Grierson, Calcutta, 1900.

[21] Gazetteer of the Godavari district.

[22] Gazetteer of the Godavari district.

[23] Notes for a Lecture on the Tribes and Castes of Bombay, 1907.

[24] Manual of the Godavari district.

[25] Rev. W. Taylor. iii. 1862.

[26] This account is taken from a note by Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar.

[27] Ethnog. Survey of Cochin. Monograph No. II, Kshatriyas, 1906.

[28] Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district.

[29] Monograph, Ethnog. Survey of Cochin, Kootan, 1905.

[30] Manual of the South Canara district.

[31] Indian Forester, XXXII, 1906.

[32] This account is taken from a note by Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar.

[33] Madras Mail, 1907.

[34] Ind. Ant., IV, 1875.

[35] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[36] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[37] Not collectors of art pottery, but Collectors or District Magistrates.

[38] Madras Mail, 1903.

[39] Manual of the South Canara district.

[40] Mysore Census Report, 1901.

[41] Mysore and Coorg Gazetteer.

[42] Manual of the Salem district.

[43] Ind. Ant., X, 1881.

[44] Manual of the Madura district.

[45] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[46] Manual of Malabar.

[47] Madras Census Report, 1901.

[48] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[49] Mysore Census Report, 1901.

[50] Gazetteer of the Anantapur district.

[51] Gazetteer of the Bellary district.

[52] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[53] W.F.S. Ind. Ant., VI, 1877.

[54] Madras Mail, November 1905.

[55] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[56] Manual of the Nilgiri district.

[57] Mysore Census Report, 1901.

[58] Journey through Mysore, Canara, and Malabar, 1807.

[59] Asian, 1902.

[60] Manual of the Nilgiri district.

[61] Aboriginal Race of the Neilgherry hills, 1832.

[62] Ind. Ant., VI, 1877.

[63] Rude Stone Monuments.

[64] Police Admn. Report, 1900.

[65] Agricult. Ledger Series, No. 47, 1904.

[66] Comptes rendus des Séances de la Société de Biologie, T. LVIII, 1019.

[67] Gazetteer of the Malabar district.

[68] Op. cit.

[69] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[70] Tennent, Ceylon.

[71] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[72] Gazetteer of the Madura district.

[73] Journ. Roy. Asiat. Soc., 1899, 267-8.

[74] Madras Pottery. Journ. Ind. Arts, VII, 1897.

[75] Brahmanism and Hinduism.

[76] Gazetteer of the Madura district.

[77] Ind. Law Reports, Madras Series, XVII, 1894.

[78] A Native. Pen and ink sketches of Native life in S. India.

[79] Madras Mail.

[80] Trans. S. Ind. branch, Brit. Med. Association, XIV, 1906.

[81] Classified Collection of Tamil Proverbs, 1897.

[82] J. S. F. Mackenzie. Ind. Ant., IV, 1875.

[83] Historical Sketches of the South of India, Mysore, 1810-17.

[84] Mem. Asiat. Soc., Bengal, Miscellanea Ethnographica, I, 1906.

[85] Journ. and Proc. Asiatic Society of Bengal, I, No. 9, 1905.

[86] Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

[87] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[88] Mysore Census Report, 1891, 1901.

[89] Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, XV, Part I, 1883.

[90] Hindu Feasts, Fasts and Ceremonies, 1903.

[91] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[92] Linguistic Survey of India, IX, 1907.

[93] From Kashmir to the Madras Presidency.

[94] Notes on Criminal Classes of the Madras Presidency.

[95] Mysore Census Report, 1891.

[96] Ind. Ant. VIII, 1879.

[97] Gazetteer of the Bellary district.

[98] Narrative of the Operations of Little's Detachment against Tippoo Sultan, 1794.

[99] Shells of Cypræa moneta.

[100] S. M. Natesa Sastri, Calcutta Review, 1905.

[101] Narrative of a Journey through the Upper Provinces of India, 1844.

[102] Hindu Manners, Customs, and Ceremonies.

[103] Historical Sketches of the South of India: Mysore.

[104] Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district.

[105] Report on Public Instruction, Mysore, 1901-02; and Mysore Census Report, 1891.

[106] Manual of the Cuddapah district.

[107] Jeypur, Breklum, 1901.

[108] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[109] Mysore Census Report, 1901.

[110] Gazetteer of the Anantapur district.

[111] Ind. Ant., VIII., 1879.

[112] Ind. Ant., XXX., 1901.

[113] Narrative of Little's Detachment, 1784.

[114] Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district.

[115] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[116] Section III, Inhabitants, Madras Government Press, 1907.

[117] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[118] Manual of Mysore and Coorg.

[119] Lilly, Renaissance Types.

[120] J. F. Fleet, Epigraphia Indica. V, 1898-99.

[121] The Proceedings, partly in Canarese and partly in English, were published at the Star Press, Mysore, in 1905.

[122] Madras Journal of Literature and Science, XI, 1840.

[123] R. Sewell. A Forgotten Empire, Vijayanagar, 1900.

[124] Indian Review, May, 1907.

[125] Madras Series, VII, 1884.

[126] Madras Series, VIII, 1885.

[127] Bombay Gazetteer.

[128] Manual of the Nellore district.

[129] Manual of the Kurnool district, 1886.

[130] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[131] Madras Mail, 1902.

[132] While Wearing Sandals, or Tales of a Telugu Pariah Tribe.

[133] Madras Christ. Coll. Mag., XXIII (New Series V), 1906.

[134] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[135] A. Chatterton, Monograph of tanning and working in Leather, Madras, 1904.

[136] Manual of the Kurnool district.

[137] Manual of the Bellary district.

[138] Madras Museum Bull. V. 3, 1907.

[139] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[140] Dynasties of the Kanarese Districts of the Bombay Presidency, 1882.

[141] Manual of the Cuddapah district.

[142] Manual of the Bellary district.

[143] Manual of the Bellary district.

[144] Manual of the Bellary district.

[145] Gazetteer of the Anantapur district.

[146] Mysore Census Report, 1901.

[147] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[148] Notes from a Diary, 1881-1886.

[149] Manual of the Kurnool district.

[150] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[151] Madras Diocesan Record, 1905.

[152] Gazetteer of the Godavari district.

[153] Madras Museum Bull. V. 3, 1907.

[154] East and West, 6th May 1907.

[155] Gazetteer of the Anantapur district.

[156] Madras and Tinnevelly Dioces. Mag., June, 1908.

[157] Gochi, a clout, a truss or flap; a waist-cloth. C. P. Brown, Telugu Dictionary.

[158] Gazetteer of the Godavari district.

[159] Ind. Ant., III, 1874; VI, 1877.

[160] Native Life in Travancore, 1883.

[161] Journey from Madras through the countries of Mysore, Canara, and Malabar, 1807.

[162] Calcutta Review, 1902.

[163] Manual of the South Canara district.

[164] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[165] Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

[166] Darakhast: application for land for purposes of cultivation; or bid at an auction.

[167] Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

[168] Madras Mail, 1904.

[169] Madras Mail, 1908.

[170] Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

[171] C. Hayavadana Rao, MS.

[172] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[173] Manual of the South Arcot district.

[174] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[175] Madras Diocesan Magazine, 1906.

[176] Manual of the North Arcot district.

[177] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[178] Travancore Census Report, 1901.

[179] Lecture delivered at Trivandrum.

[180] See A. T. Mackenzie. History of the Periyar Project. Madras, 1899.

[181] Rev. J. Cain. Ind. Ant., VIII, 1879.

[182] Malabar Law and Custom. 3rd ed., 1905.

[183] Elements of South Indian Palæography.

[184] Madras Review, 1896.

[185] Man, 1903.

[186] Manual of Malabar.

[187] Manual of the Madura district.

[188] Hobson-Jobson.

[189] Ind. Ant., XXXI, 1902.

[190] Cf. Javan, Genesis X, 2; Isaiah, LXVI, 19; Ezekiel, XXVII, 13, 19.

[191] Malabar Quart. Review, 1903.

[192] Vide Correspondence on Moplah Outrages, 1849-53.

[193] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[194] Madras Mail, 1908.

[195] Malabar Quart. Review, 1906.

[196] When not officially attached to a mosque, the Mulla is said to be called Nattu (country) Mulla.

[197] Ind. Ant., XXX, 1901.

[198] P. V. Ramunni, loc. cit.

[199] The taboot is "a kind of shrine, or model of a Mahomedan mausoleum, of flimsy material, intended to represent the tomb of Husain at Kerbela, which is carried in procession during the Mohurram." Yule and Burnell, Hobson-Jobson.

[200] Gazetteer of the Malabar district.

[201] Fanatical (fanum, a temple). Possessed by a deity or devil, frantic, mad, furious. Murray. New English Dictionary.

[202] Major Holland-Pryor, 1904.

[203] See also Government Orders, Judicial Department, Nos. 1267, 24th May, 1894; 2186, 8th September, 1894; 1567, 30th September, 1896; and 819, 25th May, 1898.

[204] Forbes' Oriental Memoirs.

[205] Manual of Malabar, 1887, p. 102.

[206] Ind. Ant., XXX, 1901.

[207] General Burton. An Indian Olio.

[208] Calcutta Review, 1897.

[209] Calcutta Review, 1897.

[210] Ibid.

[211] Manual of Malabar.

[212] Monograph on Tanning and Working in Leather, 1904.

[213] Gazetteer of Malabar.

[214] General Burton. Op. cit.

[215] Loc. cit.

[216] Op. cit.

[217] Manual of Malabar.

[218] Loc. cit.

[219] Gazetteer of the Malabar district.

[220] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[221] Malabar Quarterly Review, Vol. 3, 1906.

[222] Gazetteer of the Malabar district.

[223] The recital of the first chapter of the Koran.