Part 8

Andi.--In a note on Andis in the Madras Census Report, 1901, Mr. W. Francis writes that "for a Brahman or an ascetic, mendicancy was always considered an honourable profession, to which no sort of shame attached. Manu says 'a Brahman should constantly shun worldly honour, as he would shun poison, and rather constantly seek disrespect as he would seek nectar'; and every Brahman youth was required to spend part of his life as a beggar. The Jains and Buddhists held the same views. The Hindu Chattrams [61] and Uttupuras, the Jain Pallis, and the Buddhist Viharas 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 Pandarams and Andis, 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. Andis are Tamil beggars. They are really inferior to Pandarams, but the two terms are in practice often indiscriminately applied to the same class of people. Pandarams are usually Vellalas by caste, but Andis are recruited from all classes of Sudras, 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 Andis, meaning beggars of the Jangam caste, and the Jogi Andis, that is, Andis of the Jogi caste. They also have occupational and other divisions, such as the Kovil Andis, meaning those who do service in temples, and the Mudavandis or the lame beggars. Andi is in fact almost a generic term. All Andis are not beggars however; some are bricklayers, others are cultivators, and others are occupied in the temples. They employed Brahman priests at their ceremonies, but all of them eat meat and drink alcohol. Widows and divorcées may marry again. Among the Tinnevelly Andis, the sister of the bridegroom ties the tali (marriage badge) round the bride's neck, which is not usual."

In the Madras Census Report, 1891, the Andis 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 Andis 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, Komanandi, Lingadari, Mudavandi, and Uppandi. Komanam is the small loin cloth, and a Komanandi goes naked, except for this slight concession to decency. Mudam means lame, and the Mudavandis (q.v.) are allowed to claim any deformed child belonging to the Konga Vellala caste. The etymology of Uppandi 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 Andi 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 semakkalam with a stick, and often carry a conch shell, which they blow. They are given to drinking."

It is recorded [62] that "South Indian beggars are divided into two classes, Panjathandi and Paramparaiandi. 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."

Andi (a god) occurs as an exogamous section of Sirukudi Kallans.

Andinia.--Recorded by Mr. F. Fawcett as an inferior sub-division of Dombs, who eat frogs.

Anduran.--A sub-division of Nayar potters, who manufacture earthenware articles for use in temples. The name is derived from Andur, a place which was once a fief under the Zamorin of Calicut.

Ane (elephant).--An exogamous sept of Holeya, Kappiliyan, Kuruba, Kadu Kurumba, Moger, and Gangadikara Vakkaliga. Yenigala or Yenuga (elephant) is further an exogamous sept of Kapus, who will not touch ivory. Anai-kombu (elephant tusk) occurs as a sub-division of Idaiyan.

Angarakudu (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 Nal (five days).--Recorded in the Salem Manual, as a name given to Pallis who perform the death ceremony on the fifth day after death.

Anjuttan (men of the five hundred).--Recorded at times of census, as a sub-division of Panan, and a synonym of Velan. In the Gazetteer of Malabar, it appears as a sub-division of Mannans, who are closely akin to the Velans. The equivalent Anjuttilkar occurs as a synonym for Tenkanchi Vellalas in Travancore.

Anna (brother).--The title of numerous classes, e.g., Dasari, Gavara, Golla, Konda Dora, Koppala Velama, Mangala, Mila, Paidi, and Segidi.

Annam (cooked rice).--An exogamous sept of Gamalla and Togata.

Annavi.--A title of Savalakkarans, who play on the nagasaram (reed instrument) in temples.

Antalavar.--Recorded in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a sub-division of Nayar.

Antarala.--A synonym of Ambalavasi, denoting those who occupy an intermediate position between Brahmans and Sudras.

Antarjanam (inside person).--A term applied to Nambutiri Brahman females, who live in seclusion. [63]

Anuloma.--One of the two classes of Sudras, viz., Anuloma and Veloma. The term Anuloma is applied to those born of a higher-caste male and a lower-caste female, e.g., barbers are said to be the offspring of a Brahman and a Vaisya woman.

Anumala (seeds of Dolichos Lablab).--An exogamous sept of Devanga. 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. Brahmans 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 Kappiliyans 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 Kappiliyans, Ramachcha 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 Medus, which are named after three villages in this district, and three in Tinnevelly. Over each of these is a headman called the Periyadanakkaran, and the three former are also subject to a Guru who lives at Sirupalai near Madura. These three are divided again into eighteen kilais or branches, each of which intermarries only with certain of the others. Caste panchayats (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 Kappiliyans 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 tali (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 Kappiliyans, the Anuppans have many caste and family deities, a number of whom are women who committed sati." (See Kappiliyan).

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., Idiga, 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.

Aradhya.--For the following note I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The Aradhyas are a sect of Brahmans found mainly in the four northern districts of the Madras Presidency, and to a smaller extent in the Cuddapah and Kurnool districts. A few are also found in the Mysore State. They differ in almost every important respect from other Brahmans. Basava, the founder of the Lingayat religion, was born in a family of Brahmans, who, with others round about them, were apparently the first converts to his religion. According to Mr. C. P. Brown, [64] they were "in all probability his personal friends; he persuaded them to lay aside their name, and call themselves Aradhya or Reverend.' They revere the four Aradhyas, visionary personages of the Lingayat 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 Revanaradhya, Marularadhya, Ekoramaradhya, and Panditaradhya. In four ages, it is said, these four successively appeared as precursors of the divine Basava, and were, like Basava, Brahmans. A Purana, known as the Panditaradhya Charitra, is named after the last of these. Versions thereof are found both in Canarese and Telugu. A Sanskrit poem, called Siddhanta Sikhamani, represents Revanaradhya 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 Brahminical sacred thread, and the linga suspended from another thread. They revere in particular Ganapathi. The lingam which they wear they usually call the prana 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 pranam or life. The popular belief is that, if by some accident the lingam is lost, a man must either fast until he recovers it, or not survive so dire a calamity. This is a fixed dogma with them. A man who loses his prana 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. [65] "Poornia, the present minister of Mysore, relates an incident of a Lingayat 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."

Aradhyas, as has been indicated, differ from other Brahmans 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 Brahmans do, because they have already been offered to the God, and cannot therefore be offered again to the lingam. Unlike other Lingayats, Aradhyas believe in the Vedas, to which they give allegorical interpretations. They are fond of reading Sanskrit, and a few have been well-known Telugu poets. Thus, Palapuri Somanatha, who lived in the fourteenth century A.D., composed the Basava Purana and the Panditaradhya Charitra, and the brothers Piduparthi Somanatha and the Basavakavi, who lived in the sixteenth century, composed other religious works.

Aradhyas marry among themselves, and occasionally take girls in marriage from certain of the Niyogi sub-divisions of the Northern Circars. This would seem to show that they were themselves Niyogis, prior to their conversion. They do not intermarry with Aruvelu Niyogis. Unlike other Brahmans, they bury their dead in a sitting posture. They observe death pollution for ten days, and perform the ekodishta and other Brahminical ceremonies for their progenitors. They perform annually, not the Brahminical sradha, but the aradhana. 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 homam (raising the sacrificial fire), parvanam (offering of rice-balls), or oblation of water. Widows do not have their heads shaved.

The title of the Aradhyas is always Aradhya.

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 Vellalas.

Aranadan, See Ernadan.

Arane (lizard).--An exogamous sub-sept of Kappiliyan.

Arashina (turmeric).--A gotra or exogamous sept of Agasa, Kurni, Kuruba, and Odde. The equivalent Pasupula occurs as an exogamous sept of Devanga. 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. [66] To 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 tali 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 Rajpinde.--"This caste," Mr. Lewis Rice writes (1877):-- [67] "are relatives of or connected with the Rajahs of Mysore. During the life-time of the late Maharaja, 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 Rajah'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. Rajpindes are both Vishnavites and Sivites, and their priests are both Brahmans and Lingayat Waders."

In the Madras Census Report, 1891, Arasu (= Raja 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., Kantaraj Urs.

Arathi.--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 Vellalas, 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 Malalu (Malas). The Irulas of the North Arcot district are, in like manner, sometimes called Arava Yanadis. 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 Nayar.

Arayan.--See Valan.

Archaka.--Archaka, or Umai Archaka, is a title of Occhans, who are priests at temples of Grama Devatas (village deities).

Are.--A synonym for Marathi. The name occurs as a sub-division of Kunchigar and Kudubi. In South Canara Arya Kshatri occurs as the equivalent of Are, and, in the Telugu country, Are Kapu refers to Marathi cultivators. Arya Kuttadi is a Tamil synonym of Marathi Dommaras. Concerning the Ares, Mr. H. G. Stuart writes as follows. [68] "Of the total number of 6,809 Ares, 4,373 are found in South Canara, Bellary and Anantapur, and these are true Ares. Of the rest I am not able to speak with certainty, as the term Arya, which is a synonym of Are, is also used as an equivalent of Marathi, and sometimes in a still wider sense. The true Ares are husbandmen of Maratha origin. They wear the sacred thread, have Brahmans as their priests, and give allegiance to the head of the Sringeri 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 wife cannot 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 Ares of South Canara, Mr. Stuart writes further, [69] "usually speak Marathi or Konkani, but in the Kasaragod taluk, and possibly in other parts too, they speak Canarese. Their exogamous septs are called manathanas. They use the dhare form of marriage (see Bant), but the pot contains a mixture of water, milk, ghee (clarified butter), honey and curds instead of the usual plain water."

The Marathi-speaking Areyavaru or Aryavaru of the South Canara district follow the makkala santana law of inheritance (from father to son). For ceremonial purposes, they engage Shivalli Brahmans. 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 dandal jatai. 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 Areyavaru 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 Ammanoru (Durga), in the worship of whom the Areyavaru, like other Maratha castes, employ Gondala mendicants.

Are (Bauhinia racemosa).--A gotra of Kurni.

Ari.--The Aris or Dutans are described, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a "small but interesting community confined to a village in the Tovala taluk. By traditional occupation they are the Ambalavasis of the Saivaite temple of Darsanamkoppa. They are strict vegetarians, wear the Brahminical thread, perform all the Brahminical ceremonies under the guidance of Brahman priests, and claim a position equal to that of the Aryappattars. But they are not allowed to dine with the Brahmans, 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 Brahmans, and their language is Tamil. Their period of pollution, however, is as long as fifteen days."

Ari (ebony).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba.

Arigala.--Arigala, denoting a dish carried in procession, occurs as an exogamous sept of Mutracha. Arigala and Arika, both meaning the millet Paspalum scrobiculatum, are septs of Jatapu 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 Nayar.

Arisi.--A sub-division of Savara.

Ariyar.--Ariyar or Ariyanattu Chetti is given as a caste title by Pattanavans.

Ariyur.--Ariyur or Ariviyur is the name of a sub-division of Nattukottai Chettis.

Arli (Ficus religiosa).--An exogamous sept of Stanika.

Arudra (lady-bird).--An exogamous sept of Kalingi.

Arupathukatchi (sixty house section).--A sub-division of Valluvan.

Arupattanalu Taleikattu (sixty-four, who covered their heads).--A sub-division of Chetti.

Aruththukattatha.--The name, meaning those who do not tie the tali 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 Berhampur taluk of Ganjam. They say that they are descended from the offspring of alliances between Patanis (Muhammadans) and Oriya women. Like other Oriya castes, they have a number of titles, e.g., Nayako, Patro, Podhano, Ponda, Mondolo, and Mollana, some of which seem to be exogamous, and there are also numerous exogamous septs or bamsams. The headman is styled Nayako, and he is assisted by a Bhollobhaya. Both these offices are hereditary. The Aruvas say that they belong to two Vedas, viz., the males to Atharva Veda, and the females to Yajur Veda. Muhammadans are believed by them to be Atharvavedis.