Part 2

Chamar.--Nearly three hundred members of this Bengal caste of tanners and workers in leather were returned at the census, 1901. The equivalent Chamura occurs as the name of leather-workers from the Central Provinces.

Chandala.--At the census, 1901, more than a thousand individuals returned themselves as Chandala, which is defined as a generic term, meaning one who pollutes, to many low castes. "It is," Surgeon-Major W. R. Cornish writes, [11] "characteristic of the Brahmanical intolerance of the compilers of the code that the origin of the lowest caste of all (the Chandala) should be ascribed to the intercourse of a Sudra man and a Brahman woman, while the union of a Brahman male with a Sudra woman is said to have resulted in one of the highest of the mixed classes." By Manu it was laid down that "the abode of the Chandala and Swapaca must be out of the town. They must not have the use of entire vessels. Their sole wealth must be dogs and asses. Their clothes must be the mantles of the deceased; their dishes for food broken pots; their ornaments rusty iron; continually must they roam from place to place. Let no man who regards his duty, religious and civil, hold any intercourse with them, and let food be given to them in potsherds, but not by the hand of the giver."

Chandra (moon).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba. The name Chandravamsapu (moon people) is taken by some Razus, who claim to be Kshatriyas, and to be descended from the lunar race of kings of the Mahabharata.

Chanipoyina (those who are dead).--An exogamous sept of Orugunta Kapu.

Chapa (mat).--An exogamous sept of Boya.

Chappadi (insipid).--An exogamous sept of Jogi.

Chapparam (a pandal or booth).--An exogamous sept of Devanga.

Chapparband.--The Chapparbands are manufacturers of spurious coin, who hail from the Bombay Presidency, and are watched for by the police. It is noted, in the Police Report, 1904, that good work was done in Ganjam in tracing certain gangs of these coiners, and bringing them to conviction.

For the following note I am indebted to a report [12] by Mr. H. N. Alexander of the Bombay Police Department. The name Chapparband refers to their calling, chapa meaning an impression or stamp. "Among themselves they are known as Bhadoos, but in Hindustan, and among Thugs and cheats generally, they are known as Khoolsurrya, i.e., false coiners. While in their villages, they cultivate the fields, rear poultry and breed sheep, while the women make quilts, which the men sell while on their tours. But the real business of this class is to make and pass off false coin. Laying aside their ordinary Muhammadan dress, they assume the dress and appearance of fakirs of the Muddar section, Muddar being their Pir, and, unaccompanied by their women, wander from village to village. Marathi is their language, and, in addition, they have a peculiar slang of their own. Like all people of this class, they are superstitious, and will not proceed on an expedition unless a favourable omen is obtained. The following account is given, showing how the false coin is manufactured. A mould serves only once, a new one being required for every rupee or other coin. It is made of unslaked lime and a kind of yellow earth called shedoo, finely powdered and sifted, and patiently kneaded with water to about the consistency of putty. One of the coins to be imitated is then pressed with some of the preparation, and covered over, and, being cut all round, is placed in some embers. After becoming hardened, it is carefully laid open with a knife, and, the coin being taken out, its impression remains. The upper and lower pieces are then joined together with a kind of gum, and, a small hole being made on one side, molten tin is poured in, and thus an imitation of the coin is obtained, and it only remains to rub it over with dirt to give it the appearance of old money. The tin is purchased in any bazaar, and the false money is prepared on the road as the gang travels along. Chapparbands adopt several ways of getting rid of their false coin. They enter shops and make purchases, showing true rupees in the first instance, and substituting false ones at the time of payment. They change false rupees for copper money, and also in exchange for good rupees of other currencies. Naturally, they look out for women and simple people, though the manner of passing off the base coin is clever, being done by sleight of hand. The false money is kept in pockets formed within the folds of their langutis (loin-cloths), and also hidden in the private parts."

The following additional information concerning Chapparbands is contained in the Illustrated Criminal Investigation and Law Digest [13]:--"They travel generally in small gangs, and their women never follow them. They consult omens before leaving their villages. They do not leave their villages dressed as fakirs. They generally visit some place far away from their residence, and there disguise themselves as Madari fakirs, adding Shah to their names. They also add the title Sahib, and imitate the Sawals, a sing-song begging tone of their class. Their leader, Khagda, is implicitly obeyed. He is the treasurer of the gangs, and keeps with him the instruments used in coining, and the necessary metal pieces. But the leader rarely keeps the coins with him. The duty of passing the false coins belongs to the Bhondars. A boy generally accompanies a gang. He is called Handiwal. He acts as a handy chokra (youngster), and also as a watch over the camp when the false coins are being prepared. They generally camp on high ground in close vicinity to water, which serves to receive the false coins and implements, should danger be apprehended. When moving from one camp to another, the Khagda and his chokra travel alone, the former generally riding a small pony. The rest of the gang keep busy passing the coins in the neighbourhood, and eventually join the pair in the place pre-arranged. If the place be found inconvenient for their purpose, another is selected by the Khagda, but sufficient indication is given to the rest that the rendezvous might be found out. This is done by making a mark on the chief pathway leading to the place settled first, at a spot where another pathway leads from it in the direction he is going. The mark consists of a mud heap on the side of the road, a foot in length, six inches in breadth, and six in height, with an arrow mark pointing in the direction taken. The Khagda generally makes three of these marks at intervals of a hundred yards, to avoid the chance of any being effaced. Moulds are made of Multani or some sticky clay. Gopichandan and badap are also used. The clay, after being powdered and sifted, is mixed with a little water and oil, and well kneaded. The two halves of the mould are then roughly shaped with the hand, and a genuine coin is pressed between them, so as to obtain the obverse on one half and the reverse impression on the other. The whole is then hardened in an extempore oven, and the hole to admit the metal is bored, so as to admit of its being poured in from the edge. The halves are then separated, and the genuine rupee is tilted out; the molten alloy of tin or pewter is poured in, and allowed to cool. According to the other method, badap clay brought from their own country is considered the most suitable for the moulds, though Multani clay may be used when they run out of badap. Two discs are made from clay kneaded with water. These discs are then highly polished on the inner surface with the top of a jvari stalk called danthal. A rupee, slightly oiled, is then placed between the discs, which are firmly pressed over it. The whole is then thoroughly hardened in the fire. The alloy used in these moulds differs from that used in the others, and consists of an alloy of lead and copper. In both cases, the milling is done by the hand with a knife or a piece of shell. The Chapperbands select their victims carefully. They seem to be fairly clever judges of persons from their physiognomy. They easily find out the duffer and the gull in both sexes, and take care to avoid persons likely to prove too sharp for them. They give preference to women over men. The commonest method is for the Bhondar to show a quantity of copper collected by him in his character of beggar, and ask for silver in its place. The dupe produces a rupee, which he looks at. He then shakes his head sadly, and hands back a counterfeit coin, saying that such coins are not current in his country, and moves on to try the same trick elsewhere. Their dexterity in changing the rupees is very great, the result of long practice when a Handiwal."

Further information in connection with the Chapparbands has recently been published by Mr. M. Paupa Rao Naidu, from whose account [14] the following extract is taken. "Chapperbands, as their name implies, are by profession builders of roofs, or, in a more general term, builders of huts. They are Sheikh Muhammadans, and originally belonged to the Punjab. During the Moghul invasion of the Carnatic, as far back as 1687-88, a large number of them followed the great Moghul army as builders of huts for the men. They appear to have followed the Moghul army to Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, and Seringapatam until the year 1714, when Bijapur passed into the hands of the Peshwas. The Chapperbands then formed part of the Peshwa's army in the same capacity, and remained as such till the advent of the British in the year 1818, when it would appear a majority of them, finding their peculiar profession not much in demand, returned to the north. A part of those who remained behind passed into the Nizam's territory, while a part settled down in the Province of Talikota. A legendary tale, narrated before the Superintendent of Police, Raipur, in 1904, by an intelligent Chapperband, shows that they learnt this art of manufacturing coins during the Moghul period. He said 'In the time of the Moghul Empire, Chapperbands settled in the Bijapur district. At that time, a fakir named Pir Bhai Pir Makhan lived in the same district. One of the Chapperbands went to this fakir, and asked him to intercede with God, in order that Chapperbands might be directed to take up some profession or other. The fakir gave the man a rupee, and asked him to take it to his house quickly, and not to look backwards as he proceeded on his way. As the man ran home, some one called him, and he turned round to see who it was. When he reached his house, he found the rupee had turned into a false one. The man returned to the fakir, and complained that the rupee was a false one. The fakir was much enraged at the man's account of having looked back as he ran, but afterwards said that Chapperbands would make a living in future by manufacturing false coins. Since that time, Chapperbands have become coiners of false money.' On every Sunday, they collect all their false rupees, moulds, and other implements, and, placing these in front of them, they worship Pir Makhan, also called Pir Madar. They sacrifice a fowl to him, take out its eyes and tail, and fix them on three thorns of the trees babul, bir, and thalmakana; and, after the worship is over, they throw them in the direction in which they intend to start. The Chapperbands conceal a large number of rupees in the rectum, long misusage often forming a cavity capable of containing ten to twenty rupees. So also cavities are formed in the mouth below the tongue."

In a case recorded by Mr. M. Kennedy, [15] "when a Chapperband was arrested on suspicion, on his person being examined by the Civil Surgeon, no less than seven rupees were found concealed in a cavity in his rectum. The Civil Surgeon was of opinion that it must have taken some considerable time to form such a cavity." A similar case came before the Sessions Judge in South Canara a few years ago.

The following case of swindling, which occurred in the Tanjore district, is recorded in the Police Report, 1903. "A gang of Muhammadans professed to be able to duplicate currency notes. The method was to place a note with some blank sheets of paper between two pieces of glass. The whole was then tied round with string and cloth, and smoked over a fire. On opening the packet, two notes were found, a second genuine one having been surreptitiously introduced. The success of the first operations with small notes soon attracted clients, some of them wealthy; and, when the bait had had time to work, and some very large notes had been submitted for operation, the swindlers declared that these large notes took longer to duplicate, and that the packet must not be opened for several days. Before the time appointed for opening, they disappeared, and the notes were naturally not found in the packets. One gentleman was fleeced in this way to the value of Rs. 4,600." The administration of an enema to a false coiner will sometimes bring to light hidden treasure.

Chaptegara.--The Chaptegaras or Cheptegaras are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart [16] as "carpenters who speak Konkani, and are believed to have come from the Konkan country. Caste affairs are managed by a Gurikar or headman, and the fines collected are paid to the Sringeri math. They wear the sacred thread, and employ Karadi Brahmans as purohits. Infant marriage is practised, and widow marriage is not permitted. The dead are burned if means allow; otherwise they are buried. They are Saivites, and worship Durga and Ganapati. They eat flesh and drink liquor. Their titles are Naik, Shenai, etc." It is noted, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, that Saraswat Brahmans will eat with them. Choutagara has been recorded as a corrupt form of Chaptegara.

Charamurti.--A class of Jangams, who go from village to village preaching.

Charodi.--The Charodis have been described [17] as "Canarese carpenters corresponding to the Konkani Cheptegaras (or Chaptegaras), and there is very little difference in the customs and manners of the two castes, except that the former employ Shivalli and Konkanashta Brahmans instead of Karadis. Their title is Naika." In the Madras Census Report, 1901, Mesta is returned as a Konkani-speaking sub-caste of Charodi.

Chatla (winnow).--An exogamous sept of Madiga. Chatla Dhompti occurs as a sub-division of Madigas, who, at marriages, place the offering of food, etc. (dhompti), in a winnow.

Chatri.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as an equivalent of Kshatriya. It occurs also as the name of an exogamous sept, meaning umbrella, of the Holeyas.

Chaturakshari.--A sub-division of Satanis, who believe in the efficacy of the four syllables Ra-ma-nu-ja.

Chaudari.--Chaudari, or Chowdari, is recorded as a title of Haddi, Kalingi, and Komati.

Chaya (colour) Kurup.--A class of Kollans in Malabar, who work in lacquer.

Cheli (goat).--An exogamous sept of Bottada and Mattiya.

Chelu (scorpion).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba. The equivalent thelu occurs among the Padma Sales.

Chembadi.--The Chembadis are a Telugu caste, the occupations of which are fresh-water fishing, and rowing boats or coracles. In fishing, unlike the Besthas who use a cast-net, they employ a large drag-net, called baithivala, the two ends of which are fastened to poles. When a new net is made, it is folded up, and placed on the edge of a pond or tank. Mud is spread over it, and on it are placed three masses of mud kneaded into a conical shape. These represent the God, and cakes, called kudumulu, are set before them. A male member of the caste, biting one of the cakes and keeping it between his teeth, goes round the net, and then drags it to the water, in which the conical masses become disintegrated. Like the Besthas, they smear a new net with the blood of the first fish caught in it, but they do not burn a mesh of the net.

Some Chembadis regard Gurappa Gurunathadu as their caste deity, and connect him, for some unknown reason, with the jammi tree (Prosopis spicigera). Jammi occurs as the name of a gotra, and some children are named Gurappa or Gurunathadu. When such children are five, seven, or nine years old, they are taken on an auspicious day to a jammi tree and shaved, after the tree has been worshipped with offerings of cooked food, etc.

At the betrothal ceremony in this caste, immediately after the girl has taken up areca nuts, placed them in her lap, and folded them in her cloth, the headman takes up the betel leaves and areca nuts (thambulam) before him with crossed hands. This ceremony corresponds to the thonuku thambulam of the lower classes, e.g., Malas and Mangalas. Among the Mangalas and Tsakalas, the thambulam is said to be taken up by a Balija Setti. For the funeral ceremonies, the Chembadis engage a Dasari of their own caste. During their performances, flesh and toddy may not be offered to the deceased person.

Chembian.--A name assumed by some Pallis or Vanniyans, who claim that they belong to the Chola race, on the supposition that Chembinadu is a synonym for Chola.

Chembillam (chembu, copper).--An exogamous section of Mukkuvan.

Chembotti.--In the Madras Census Report, 1901, it is stated that the name Chembotti is derived from "chembu, copper, and kotti, he who beats." They are coppersmiths in Malabar, who are distinct from the Malabar Kammalans. They are supposed to be descendants of men who made copper idols for temples, and so rank above the Kammalans in social position, and about equally with the lower sections of the Nayars. The name is also used as an occupational term by the Konkan Native Christian coppersmiths. In the Cochin and Travancore Census Reports, Chembukotti is recorded as an occupational title or sub-caste of Nayars who work in copper, chiefly in temples and Brahman houses.

In the Gazetteer of the Malabar district, the Chembottis are described as copper-workers, whose traditional business is the roofing of the Sri-kovil, or inner shrine of the temple with that metal. They are said to have originally formed part of the Kammalan community. "When the great temple at Taliparamba was completed, it was purified on a scale of unprecedented grandeur, no less than a thousand Brahmans being employed. What was their dismay when the ceremony was well forward, to see a Chembotti coming from the Sri-kovil, where he had been putting finishing touches to the roof. This appeared to involve a recommencement of the whole tedious and costly ritual, and the Brahmans gave vent to their feelings of despair, when a vision from heaven reassured them, and thereafter the Chembottis have been raised in the social scale, and are not regarded as a polluting caste."

Chembetti, or Chemmatti, meaning hammer, occurs as an exogamous sept of the Telugu Yanadis.

Chempakaraman.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as an honorific title of Nayars.

Chenchu.--The Chenchus or Chentsus are a Telugu-speaking jungle tribe inhabiting the hills of the Kurnool and Nellore districts. In a letter addressed to the Bengal Asiatic Society, [18] transmitting vocabularies of various tribes inhabiting Vizagapatam, by Mr. Newill, it is stated that "the Chenchu tribe, whose language is almost entirely corrupt Hindi and Urdu with a few exceptions from Bengali, affords one more example to the many forthcoming of an uncultured aboriginal race having abandoned their own tongue." The compiler of the Kurnool Manual (1885) remarks that Mr. Newill's vocabulary "seems to belong to the dialect spoken by Lambadis, who sometimes wander about the hills, and it is not unlikely that he was misled as to the character of the persons from whom his list was taken." As examples of the words given by Mr. Newill, the following may be quoted:--

Bone, had. One, yek. Cat, billeyi. Ten, das. Ear, kan. Far, dur. Elephant, hate. Drink, pi. Tiger, bag. Sweet, mitha.

It is probable that Mr. Newill confused the Chenchus with the Bonthuk Savaras (q.v.) who speak corrupt Oriya, and are called Chenchu vandlu, and, like the Chenchus, believe that the god Narasimha of Ahobilam married a girl belonging to their tribe. As a further example of the confusion concerning the Chenchus, I may quote the remarks of Buchanan [19] about the Irulas, who are a Tamil-speaking jungle tribe: "In this hilly tract there is a race of men called by the other natives Cad Eriligaru, but who call themselves Cat Chensu. The language of the Chensu is a dialect of the Tamil, with occasionally a few Karnata or Telinga words intermixed, but their accent is so different from that of Madras that my servants did not at first understand what they said. Their original country, they say, is the Animalaya forest below the ghats, which is confirmed by their dialect." In the Census Report, 1901, Chenchu is said to be the name by which Irulas of North Arcot and the Mysore plateau are called sometimes, and, in the Census Report, 1891, Chenchu is given as a sub-division of the Yanadis. There can be little doubt that the Chenchus and Yanadis are descended from the same original stock. Mackenzie, in the local records collected by him, speaks of the Chenchus as being called Yanadi Chenchus. The Chenchus themselves at the present day say that they and the Yanadis are one and the same, and that the tribes intermarry.

In Scott's 'Ferishta,' the Chenchus are described as they appeared before Prince Muhammad Masúm, a son of Aurangzib, who passed through the Kurnool district in 1694, as "exceedingly black, with long hair, and on their heads wore caps made of the leaves of trees. Each man had with him unbarbed arrows and a bow for hunting. They molest no one, and live in caverns or under the shady branches of trees. The prince presented some of them with gold and silver, but they did not seem to put any value on either, being quite unconcerned at receiving it. Upon the firing of a gun, they darted up the mountains with a surprising swiftness uncommon to man. In Taylor's 'Catalogue raisonné of Oriental Manuscripts,' the Chenchus are described as people who "live to the westward of Ahobalam, Srisailam, and other places, in the woods or wilds, and go about, constantly carrying in their hands bows and arrows. They clothe themselves with leaves, and live on the sago or rice of the bamboo. They rob travellers, killing them if they oppose. This people afflict every living creature (kill for food is supposed to be meant)." It is noted in the Kurnool Manual that in former times the Chenchu headman used to "dispose of murder cases, the murderer, on proof of guilt, being put to death with the same weapons with which the murder was committed. [20] Captain Newbold, writing in 1846, says that, passing through the jungle near Pacharla, he observed a skull bleached by the sun dangling from the branch of a tamarind tree, which he was informed was that of a murderer and hill-robber put to death by the headman. In the time of the Nabobs, some of the Chenchu murderers were caught and punished, but the practice seems to have prevailed among them more or less till the introduction of the new police in 1860, since which time all cases are said to be reported to the nearest police officer."