Part 3

Thogamalai Korava.--Recorded [13] as a synonym of a thief class in the southern districts of the Madras Presidency. In a recent note on the Koravas, Mr. F. Fawcett writes that "a fact to be noted is that people such as the members of the well-known Thogamalai gang, who are always called Koravas by the police, are not Koravas at all. They are simply a criminal community, into which outsiders are admitted, who give their women in marriage outside the caste, and who adopt children of other castes."

Thogaru (bitter).--An exogamous sept of Musu Kamma.

Thoka (tail).--An exogamous sept of Yerukala.

Thonda (Cephalendra indica).--An exogamous sept of Musu Kamma, and gotra of Janappans, members of which abstain from using the fruit or leaves of the thonda plant.

Thumma (babul: Acacia arabica).--An exogamous sept of Mala and Padma Sale. The bark, pods, and leaves of the babul tree are used by tanners in the preparation of hides and skins, or as a dye.

Thumu (iron measure for measuring grain).--An exogamous sept of Mutracha.

Thupa (ghi, clarified butter).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba.

Thurpu (eastern).--A sub-division of Yerukala and Yanadi.

Thuta (hole).--An exogamous sept of Devanga.

Tigala.--Tigala is summed up, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "a Canarese synonym for the Tamil Palli; applied also by the Canarese people to any Tamil Sudras of the lower castes." In parts of the Mysore country, the Tamil language is called Tigalu, and the Canarese Madhva Brahmans speak of Tamil Smarta Brahmans as Tigalaru.

Some of the Tigalas, who have settled in Mysore, have forgotten their mother-tongue, and speak only Canarese, while others, e.g., those who live round about Bangalore, still speak Tamil. In their type of cranium they occupy a position intermediate between the dolichocephalic Pallis and the sub-brachy cephalic Canarese classes.

The difference in the type of cranium of the Tigalas and Tamil Pallis is clearly brought by the following tabular statements of their cephalic indices:--

a. Tigala--

68 * 69 70 71 * 72 ***** 73 **** 74 * 75 * 76 ***** 77 **** 78 ***** 79 *** 80 *** 81 **** 82 * 83 84 **

b. Palli--

64 * 65 66 67 ** 68 * 69 * 70 * 71 **** 72 ***** 73 ******* 74 **** 75 ******** 76 * 77 * 78 * 79 ** 80 *

The Tigalas are kitchen and market gardeners, and cultivate the betel vine. They apparently have three divisions, called Ulli (garlic or onions), Ele (leaf), and Arava (Tamil). Among the Ulli Tigalas, several sub-divisions, and septs or budas named after deities or prominent members of the caste, exist, e.g.:--

I. Lakkamma-- Tota devaru (garden god). Dodda devaru (big or chief god). Dodda Narasayya. Dodda Nanjappa. II. Ellamma-- Narasayya. Muddanna. III. Sidde devaru.

The Tigalas have a headman, whose office is hereditary, and who is assisted by a caste servant called Mudre. Council meetings are usually held at a fixed spot, called goni mara katte or mudre goni mara katte, because those summoned by the Mudre assemble beneath a goni (Ficus mysorensis) tree, round which a stone platform is erected. The tree and platform being sacred, no one may go there on wearing shoes or sandals. The members of council sit on a woollen blanket spread before the tree.

Like the Pallis or Vanniyans, the Tigalas call themselves Agni Vanni, and claim to be descended from the fire-born hero Agni Banniraya. In connection with the Tigalas who have settled in the Bombay Presidency, it is noted [14] that "they are a branch of the Mysore Tigalas, who are Tamil Palli emigrants from the Madras Presidency, and, like the Palli, claim a Kshatriya origin." The Tigalas possess a manuscript, said to be a copy of a sasana at Conjeeveram (Kanchi), from which the following extracts are taken. "This is a Kanchi sasana published by Aswaththa Narayanswami, who was induced to do so by the god Varadaraja of Conjeeveram. This sasana is written to acquaint the descendants of the Mahapurusha Agni Banniraya with the origin, doings, and gotra of their ancestor Banniraya. This Banniraya sprang from fire, and so is much beloved by Vishnu the many-armed, the many-eyed, and the bearer of the chank and chakram, and who is no other than Narayana, the lord of all the worlds great and small, and the originator of the Vedas and Vedanta.... All those who see or worship this sasana relating to Agni Banniraya, who obtained boons from the Trimurthis, Devatas, and Rishis, and who is the ancestor of the Tigalas, will be prosperous, and have plenty of grain and children. Those who speak lightly of this caste will become subject to the curses of Banniraya, Trimurthis, Rishis, and Devas. The glory of this sasana is great, and is as follows:--The keeping and worshipping of this purana will enable the Tigalas of the Karnataka country to obtain the merit of surapadavi (the state of Devas), merit of doing puja to a thousand lingams, a lakh of cow gifts, and a hundred kannikadanams (gifts of virgins for marriage)." The sasana is said to have been brought to the Canarese country because of a quarrel between the Pallis and the Tigalas at the time of a Tigala marriage. The Tigalas were prevented from bringing the various biruthus (insignia), and displaying them. The sasana was brought by the Tigalas, at an expenditure of Rs. 215, which sum was subsequently recovered from the Pallis.

Tigala occurs further as the name of a sub-division of Holeya.

Tikke (gem).--A gotra of Kurni.

Ti (fire) Kollan.--A sub-division of Kollan.

Tinda (polluting).--A sub-division of Kanisan. Tinda Kuruppu, meaning a teacher who cannot approach, is a synonym of the Kavutiyan barber caste.

Tiperum (ti, fire).--A sub-division of Kollan blacksmiths.

Tiragati Gantlavallu (wandering bell hunters).--Stated, in the Manual of the Vizagapatam district, to repair hand-mills, catch antelopes, and sell the skins thereof. In hunting, they use lights and bells.

Tirlasetti (the name of a Balija Chetti).--An exogamous sept of Yanadi.

Tirumalpad.--Tirumalpad has been summed up as "one of the four divisions of Kshatriyas in Travancore. The term, in its literal sense, conveys the idea of those who wait before kings. In mediæval times the Tirumalpads were commanders of armies." By Mr. Wigram [15] Tirumalpad is defined as a member of a Royal Family. In the Madras Census Report, 1891, it is stated that "there are two Tirumalpads, one a Samanta, and the other a so-called Kshatriya. The former observes customs and manners exactly similar to Eradis and Nedungadis. In fact, these are all more or less interchangeable terms, members of the same family calling themselves indifferently Eradi or Tirumalpad. The Kshatriya Tirumalpad wears the sacred thread, and the rites he performs are similar to those of Brahmans, whose dress he has also adopted. He has, however, like Nayars, tali-kettu and sambandham separately. His females take Nambudiri consorts by preference, but may have husbands of their own caste. Their inheritance is in the female line, as among Nayars and Samantas. Generally the females of this caste furnish wives to Nambudiris. The touch of these females does not pollute a Nambudiri as does that of Nayars and Samantas, and, what is more, Nambudiris may eat their food. The females are called Nambashtadiri."

For the following note on Tampans and Tirumalpads, I am indebted to the Travancore Census Report, 1901. "The Tampans and Tirumalpats come under the category of Malabar Kshatriyas.The word Tampan is a contraction of Tampuran, and at one time denoted a ruling people. When they were divested of that authority by the Ilayetattu Svarupam, they are said to have fallen from the status of Tampurans to Tampans. Their chief seat is the Vaikam taluk. The Tirumalpats do not seem to have ruled at all. The word Tirumulpatu indicates those that wait before kings. There is an old Sanskrit verse, which describes eight classes of Kshatriyas as occupying Kerala from very early times, namely (1) Bhupala or Maha Raja, such as those of Travancore and Cochin, (2) Rajaka or Rajas, such as those of Mavelikara and Kotungallur, (3) Kosi or Koiltampuran, (4) Puravan or Tampan, (5) Sripurogama or Tirumulpat, (6) Bhandari or Pantarattil, (7) Audvahika or Tirumalpat, (8) Cheta or Samanta. From this list it may be seen that two classes of Tirumulpats are mentioned, namely, Sripurogamas who are the waiters at the Raja's palace, and the Audvahikas who perform Udvaha or wedding ceremony for certain castes. Both these, however, are identical people, though varying in their traditional occupations. The chief seats of the Tirumulpats are Shertallay and Tiruvalla."

The Tampans and Tirumulpats are, for all purposes of castes, identical with other Malabar Kshatriyas. Every Tampan in Travancore is related to every other Tampan, and all are included within one circle of death and birth pollution. Their manners and customs, too, are exactly like those of other Kshatriyas. They are invested with the sacred thread at the sixteenth year of age, and recite the Gayatri (hymn) ten times thrice a day. The Nambutiri is the family priest, and (death) pollution lasts for eleven days. The Kettukalyanam, or tali-tying ceremony, may be performed between the seventh and the fourteenth year of age. The tali is tied by the Aryappattar, while the Namputiris recite the Vedic hymns. Their consorts are usually Namputiris, and sometimes East Coast Brahmans. Like all the Malabar Kshatriyas, they follow the marumakkathayam system of inheritance (through the female line). Tampans and Tirumulpats are often the personal attendants of the Travancore Maharajas, whom they serve with characteristic fidelity and devotion.The Tirumulpats further perform the tali-tying ceremony of the Nayar aristocracy.

The names of the Tirumulpats and Tampans are the same as those of other classes of Kshatriyas. The title Varma is uniformly added to their names. A few families among these, who once had ruling authority, have the titular suffix Bhandarattil, which is corrupted into Pantarattil. The Tampans call themselves in documents Koviladhikarikal, as they once had authority in kovils or palaces.

Tiruman (holy deer).--An exogamous section of Kallan.

Tirumudi (holy knot).--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "bricklayers, whose women are usually prostitutes; found chiefly in Salem and Coimbatore. They are either Vettuvans or Kaikolans. Kaikolan women, when they are dedicated to the temple, are supposed to be united in wedlock with the deity.

Tiruvalluvan.--A sub-division of Valluvan. Tiruvalluvar, the author of the Kural, is said to have belonged to the Valluva caste.

Tiru-vilakku-nagarattar (dwellers in the city of holy lamps).--A name assumed by Vaniyans (oil-pressers).

Tiyadi.--A synonym of the Tiyattunni section of Ambalavasis (see Unni).

Tiyan.--The Tiyans, and Izhuvans or Iluvans, are the Malayalam toddy-drawing castes of Malabar, Cochin, and Travancore. The following note, except where otherwise indicated, is taken from an account of the Tiyans of Malabar by Mr. F. Fawcett.

The Tiyans in Malabar number, according to the census returns, 512,063, or 19·3 per cent. of the total population. The corresponding figures for the Izhuvans are 101,638, or 3·8 per cent. The Tiyans have been summed up [16] as the middle class of the west coast, who cultivate the ground, take service as domestics, and follow trades and professions--anything but soldiering, of which they have an utter abhorrence.

The marumakkatayam system (inheritance through the female line), which obtains in North Malabar, has favoured temporary connections between European men and Tiyan women, the children belonging to the mother's tarvad. Children bred under these conditions, European influence continuing, are often as fair as Europeans. It is recorded, in the Report of the Malabar Marriage Commission, 1894, that "in the early days of British rule, the Tiyan women incurred no social disgrace by consorting with Europeans, and, up to the last generation, if the Sudra girl could boast of her Brahman lover, the Tiyan girl could show more substantial benefits from her alliance with a white man of the ruling race. Happily, the progress of education, and the growth of a wholesome public opinion, have made shameful the position of a European's concubine; and both races have thus been saved from a mode of life equally demoralising to each." On this point, Mr. L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer writes as follows. [17] "It is true that there is an elevation both physically and mentally in the progeny of such a parentage. On making enquiries about this, I learn from a respectable and educated Tiyan gentleman that this union is looked upon with contempt by the respectable class of people, and by the orthodox community. I am further informed that such women and children, with their families, are under a ban, and that respectable Tiya gentlemen who have married the daughters of European parentage are not allowed to enjoy the privileges of the caste. There are, I hear, several such instances in Calicut, Tellicherry, and Cannanore. Women of respectable families do not enter into such connection with Europeans."

It is commonly supposed that the Tiyans and Izhuvans came from Ceylon. It is recorded, in the South Canara Manual, that "it is well known that both before and after the Christian era there were invasions and occupations of the northern part of Ceylon by the races then inhabiting Southern India, and Malabar tradition tells us that some of these Dravidians migrated again from Iram or Ceylon northwards to Travancore and other parts of the west coast of India, bringing with them the cocoanut or southern tree (tengina mara), and being known as Tivars (islanders) or Iravars, which names have since been altered to Tiyars and Ilavars. Dr. Caldwell derives Iram from the Sanskrit Simhala through the Pali Sihala by the omission of the initial S." It is noted by Bishop Caldwell [18] that there are traces of a common origin of the Iluvans and Shanars, Shanar (or Shener), for instance, being a title of honour amongst the Travancore Ilavars. And it is further recorded [19] that there is a tradition that the Shanars came originally from Ceylon. The Izhuvans are supposed to derive their caste name from Izha dwipa (island) or Simhala dwipa (both denoting Ceylon). In a Tamil Puranic work, quoted by Mr. Anantha Krishna Iyer, mention is made of a King Illa of Ceylon, who went to Chidambaram in the Tamil country of Southern India, where a religious discussion took place between the Buddhist priests and the Saivite devotee Manickavachakar in the presence of King Illa, with the result that he was converted to the Saivite faith. From him the Iluvans are said to be descended.

The Tiyans are always styled Izhuvan in documents concerning land, in which the Zamorin, or some Brahman or Nayar grandee, appears as landlord. The Tiyans look down on the Izhuvans, and repudiate the relationship. Yet they cannot but submit to be called Izhuvan in their documents, for their Nayar or Brahman landlord will not let them have the land to cultivate, unless they do so. It is a custom of the country for a man of a superior caste to pretend complete ignorance of the caste of an individual lower in the social scale. Thus, in the Wynad, where there are several jungle tribes, one is accustomed to hear a man of superior caste pretending that he does not know a Paniyan from a Kurumba, and deliberately miscalling one or the other, saying "This Paniyan," when he knows perfectly well that he is a Kurumba. It is quite possible, therefore, that, though Tiyans are written down as Izhuvans, the two were not supposed to be identical. State regulations keep the Izhuvans of Cochin and Travancore in a position of marked social inferiority, and in Malabar they are altogether unlettered and uncultured. On the other hand, the Tiyans of Malabar provide Magistrates, Sub-Judges, and other officials to serve His Majesty's Government. It may be noted that, in 1907, a Tiya lady matriculate was entertained as a clerk in the Tellicherry post-office.

A divagation must be made, to bring the reader to a comprehension of the custom surrounding mattu, a word signifying change, i.e., change of cloth, which is of sufficient importance to demand explanation. When a man or woman is outcasted, the washerwoman (or man) and the barber of the community (and no other is available) are prohibited from performing their important parts in the ceremonies connected with birth, death, and menstruation. A person who is in a condition of impurity is under the same conditions; he or she is temporarily outcasted. This applies to Nambutiris and Nayars, as well as to the Tiyans. Now the washerwoman is invariably of the Tiyan caste. There are Mannans, whose hereditary occupation is washing clothes for Nambutiris and Nayars, but, for the most part, the washerwoman who washes for the Nayar lady is of the Tiyan caste. A woman is under pollution after giving birth to a child, after the death of a member of her tarvad, and during menstruation. And the pollution must be removed at the end of the prescribed period, or she remains an outcaste--a very serious thing for her. The impurity is removed by receiving a clean cloth from the washerwoman, and giving in exchange her own cloth to be washed. This is mattu, and, be it noted, the cloth which gives mattu is one belonging to the washerwoman, not to the person to be purified. The washerwoman gives her own cloth to effect the purification. Theoretically, the Tiyan has the power to give or withhold mattu, and thus keep any one out of caste in a state of impurity; but it is a privilege which is seldom if ever exercised. Yet it is one which he admittedly holds, and is thus in a position to exercise considerable control over the Nambutiri and Nayar communities. It is odd that it is not a soiled cloth washed and returned to the person which gives purification, but one of the washerwoman's own cloths. So the mattu may have a deeper meaning than lies in mere change of cloth, dressing in a clean one, and giving the soiled one to a person of inferior caste to wash. This mattu is second in importance to no custom. It must be done on the last day of pollution after birth and death ceremonies, and menstruation, or the person concerned remains outcasted. It is noteworthy that the Izhuvans know nothing of mattu.

An Izhuvan will eat rice cooked by a Tiyan, but a Tiyan will not eat rice cooked by an Izhuvan--a circumstance pointing to the inferiority of the Izhuvan. A Nayar, as well as a Tiyan, will partake of almost any form of food or drink, which is prepared even by a Mappilla (Malabar Muhammadan), who is deemed inferior to both. But the line is drawn at rice, which must be prepared by one of equal caste or class, or by a superior. An Izhuvan, partaking of rice at a Tiyan's house, must eat it in a verandah; he cannot do so in the house, as that would be defilement to the Tiyan. Not only must the Izhuvan eat the rice in the verandah, but he must wash the plates, and clean up the place where he has eaten. Again, an Izhuvan could have no objection to drinking from a Tiyan's well. Further, there is practically no mixture in the distribution of Tiyans and Izhuvans. Where there are Izhuvans there are no Tiyans, and vice versâ. [In a photograph of a group of Izhuvan females of Palghat eating their meal, which was sent to me, they are all in a kneeling posture, with the buttocks supported on the heels. They are said to assume the same attitude when engaged in grinding and winnowing grain, and other occupations, with a resultant thickening of the skin over the knees.]

Differences, which might well come under the heading marriage, may be considered here, for the purpose of comparison between the Tiyans and Izhuvans. During the preliminaries to the marriage ceremony among the Tiyans, the date of the marriage having been fixed in the presence of the representatives of the bride and bridegroom, the following formula is repeated by the Tandan or headman of the bride's party. Translated as accurately as possible, it runs thus. "The tara and changati of both sides having met and consulted; the astrologer having fixed an auspicious day after examining the star and porutham; permission having been obtained from the tara, the relations, the illam and kulam, the father, uncle, and the brothers, and from the eight and four (twelve illams) and the six and four (ten kiriyams); the conji and adayalam ceremonies and the four tazhus having been performed, let me perform the kanjikudi ceremony for the marriage of ... the son of ... with ... daughter of ... in the presence of muperium." This formula, with slight variations here and there, is repeated at every Tiyan marriage in South Malabar. It is a solemn declaration, giving validity to the union, although, in the way that custom and ritual survive long after their original significance has been forgotten, the meaning of many of the terms used is altogether unknown. What, for instance, is the meaning of muperium? No one can tell. But a few of the terms are explainable.

Tara. The tara was the smallest unit in the ancient government system, which, for want of a better term, we may style feudal. It was not exactly a village, for the people lived apart. Each tara had its Nayar chieftain, and also its Tiyan chief or Tandan, its astrologer, its washerman, its goldsmith, and other useful people, each serving the community for the sake of small advantages. Each tara was its own world.

Changati (friend). The friends of both parties which negotiated the marriage.

Porutham (agreement). Examination of the horoscopes of the boy and girl makes it possible to ascertain whether there is agreement between the two, and the union will be propitious.

Illam. Here intended to mean the father's family.

Kulam. The name, derived from kula a branch, here denotes the mother's family.

Twelve illams, ten kiriyams. The word illam, now used exclusively for the residence of a Nambutiri, is supposed to have been used in days of old for the house of a person of any caste. And this supposition is said to find support in the way that a Tiyan coming from the south is often greeted in South Canara. Thus, a Malabar Tiyan, travelling to the celebrated temple at Gokarnam in South Canara, is at once asked "What is your illam and kiriyam?" He has heard these terms used in the foregoing formula during his own or another's marriage ceremony, but attached no meaning to them. To the man of South Canara they have genuine meaning. One should be able to answer the question satisfactorily, and thus give a proper account of himself. If he cannot, he gets neither food nor water from the South Canara Tiyan. This also holds good, to some extent, in the case of a southern Tiyan visiting the northern parts of the Cherakal taluk of Malabar.

The ten illams of South Malabar are as follows:--

Tala Kodan. Nellika (Phyllanthus Emblica). Paraka or Varaka. Ala. Ten Kudi or Tenan Kudi. Padayan Kudi. Kannan. Varakat. Kytat inferior. Puzhampayi or Bavu

The illams of North Malabar are said to be--

Nellika. Pullanhi. Vangeri. Koyikkalan. Padayam Kudi. Tenan Kudi. Manan Kudi. Vilakkan Kudi.