Part 9

Chitrakara or Chitrakaro.--The Chitrakaros of Ganjam, who are a class of Oriya painters (chitra, painting), are returned in the Census Report, 1901, as a sub-caste of Muchi. In the Mysore Census Report, 1891, the Chitragaras are said to be "also called Bannagara of the Rachevar (or Raju) caste. They are painters, decorators and gilders, and make trunks, palanquins, 'lacquer' toys and wooden images for temples, cars, etc." At Channapatna in Mysore, I interviewed a Telugu Chitrakara, who was making toys out of the white wood of Wrightia tinctoria. The wood was turned on a primitive lathe, consisting of two steel spikes fixed into two logs of wood on the ground. Seated on the floor in front of his lathe, the artisan chucked the wood between the spikes, and rotated it by means of a bow held in the right hand, whereof the string was passed round the wood. The chisel was held between the sole of the right foot and palm of the left hand. Colours and varnish were applied to the rotating toy with sticks of paint like sealing-wax, and strips of palm leaf smeared with varnish. In addition to the turned toys, models of fruits were made from mud and sawdust, cane cradles made by Medaras were painted and idols manufactured for the Holi festival at Bangalore, and the figure of Sidi Viranna for the local pseudo-hook-swinging ceremony. The Chitrakaras, whom I saw at Tumkur, had given up making toys, as it did not pay. They manufacture big wooden idols (grama devata), e.g., Ellamma and Mariamma, and vehicles for various deities in the shape of bulls, snakes, peacocks, lions, tigers, and horses. They further make painted figures of Lakshmi, and heads of Gauri, the wife of Siva, decorated with gold-leaf jewels, which are worshipped by Brahmans, Vakkaligas, Komatis, and others at the annual Gauri puja; and mandahasa (god houses) with pillars carved with figures of Narasimha and conventional designs. These mandahasas serve as a receptacle for the household gods (salagrama stone, lingam, etc.), which are worshipped daily by Smarta and Madhva Brahmans. These Chitrakaras claimed to be Suryavamsam, or of the lunar race of Kshatriyas, and wear the sacred thread.

Chitravaliar.--A synonym of Alavan.

Chogan.--See Izhava.

Cholapuram or Sholavaram.--A sub-division of Chetti.

Choliya Pattar.--A name for Pattar Brahmans in Malabar.

Chondi.--See Sondi.

Choutagara.--A corrupt form of Chaptegara.

Chovatton.--Priests of Muttans and Tarakans.

Chuditiya.--See Kevuto.

Chunam (lime).--A sub-division of Toreyas, who are manufacturers of lime. Chunam, made from calcined shells, limestone, etc., is largely used for building purposes, and the chunam plaster of Madras has been long celebrated for its marble-like polish. Chunam is also chewed with betel.

Chuvano.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a small Oriya cultivating caste, supposed to be of Kshatriya parentage.

D

Daindla.--The name, denoting those who hid or ran away, of a sub-division of Mala.

Daivampati.--Recorded in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a caste included among Ambalavasis, and a sub-division of Nayar.

Dakkala.--Dakkala or Dakkali is the name of a class of mendicants who beg from Madigas only. In the Kurnool district they are said to have divided the district with the Mushtis, and not to beg except within their own limits.

The following story is told as regards the origin of the Dakkalas. A smith was asked to make a bottu (marriage badge) for Siva's wedding, and for this purpose required bellows, fire-pot, hammer, etc. Jambuvadu called his eldest son, and prepared the various implements from sundry parts of the body, except the backbone. Being highly pleased at this, the gods endowed the backbone with life, and the son went to his father Jambuvadu, who failed to recognise him, and refused to admit him. He was told that he must live as a beggar attached to the Madigas, and was called Dakkala because he was brought to life from a vertebral column (dakka).

The Dakkalas wander from place to place. They may not enter Madiga houses, outside which meals are given to them by males only, as females are not allowed to serve them. Madiga women may not tread on the footsteps of the Dakkalas.

Dakku (fear).--An exogamous sept of Mala.

Dakni.--Dakni or Deccani is defined in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "a territorial name meaning a Musalman of the Deccan; also a name loosely applied to converts to Islam." In the Tanjore district, Muhammadans who speak Hindustani, and claim pure Muhammadan descent, are spoken of as Daknis or Dakanis. In other Tamil districts they are called Patanigal, to distinguish them from Labbais and Marakkayars. The Daknis follow the Muhammadan ritual except in their marriages, which afford an example of a blend between Hindu and Muhammadan ceremonials. Like Hindus, they erect, at times of marriage, a milk-post of bamboo, to which are tied a two-anna piece, and a bit of sugar-candy done up in a Turkey red cloth. The post is handed to the headman, who decorates it with a garland of flowers and a roll of betel, and places it in a hole made in the court-yard of the house, wherein milk has been sprinkled. On the following day, two big pots are placed near the milk-post, and filled with water by four married couples. Around the pots, nine kinds of seed grains are sprinkled. On the third day, the bridegroom's party proceeds to the house of the bride with thirteen trays of betel, fruits, flowers, sandal paste, and a paste made of turmeric and henna (Lawsonia alba) leaves. The bride is decorated, and sits on a plank. Women smear the face and hands of the bridal couple with the pastes, and one of them, or the bridegroom's sister, ties a string of black beads round the bride's neck. While this is being done, no one should sneeze. Wrist threads (kankanam) are tied on the wrists of the bride and bridegroom. On the fourth day, the nikka rite is celebrated, and the newly-married couple sit together while the nalagu ceremony of smearing them with sandal, and waving coloured water (arati), is performed. The two pots containing water are kept for forty days, and then examined. If the water remains sweet, and does not "teem with vermin," it is regarded as a good omen. The seed grains, too, should by this time have developed into healthy seedlings.

Dammula.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a small class of Telugu beggars, and priests in the temples of village goddesses.

Dandasi.--The Dandasis are summed up in the Ganjam Manual as being village watchmen, many of whom are great thieves. "It is curious," Mr. S. P. Rice writes, [45] "to find that the word Naiko [meaning leader or chief], which is corrupted into the Telugu Naidu, is the caste distinction of the lowest class, the village watcher and professional thief. This man, for all that his cognomen is so lofty, goes by the generic name of Dandasi. This word means worthy of punishment, and assuredly no appellation ever fitted its owner more completely than does this. He is the village policeman and the village thief, a curious mixture of callings." According to other versions, the name is derived from danda, a stick, and asi, sword, from dandabadi, a stout bamboo stick, or from dandapasi, stick and rope, in reference to the insignia of the Dandasi's office.

A large number of criminals, undergoing punishment in Ganjam for robbery and thieving, are Dandasis. The members of the caste, like the Tamil Kallans, believe that thieving is their traditional occupation, and, as such, regard it as justifiable. There is a legend that they adopted this occupation as their profession because their ancestors assisted the Pandavas to escape from the lac fort which was constructed by the Kurus with a view to killing them, by digging a secret subterranean passage. According to another story, the Dandasis are descended from the offspring of a clandestine amour of Krishna with Dhuuthika, Radha's handmaid. The Dandasis perform an interesting ceremony of initiation into the profession of thieving, when a child is born. When it is three or five days old, the headman (Behara) is invited to attend. A breach is made in the wall, or beneath the door sill. Through this the infant is passed by the Behara three times, and received by some members of the family. Each time the Behara repeats the words "Enter, baby enter. May you excel your father!" The Dandasis, when questioned concerning this custom, denied its existence, but some admitted that it was carried out in former days. An old woman stated that her grandchild was passed through a breach beneath the door, but was not inclined to enter into details.

A number of exogamous septs occur among the Dandasis, of which the following may be noted. Members of the Santarasi sept must avoid using mats made of the sedge which goes by this name. Kilalendias avoid touching the bamboo posts used by washermen to support the ropes on which cloths are hung to dry. They sacrifice a pig and seven fowls to their gods on the new-moon day, on which the head of a male child is first shaved. Diyasis show special reverence for the sun, and cloths, mokkutos (forehead chaplets), garlands, and other articles to be used by the bride and bridegroom at a wedding, are placed outside the house, so that they may be exposed to it. Members of the Ekopothiriya sept are regarded as low in the social scale, and the following legend is narrated to account for this. A Dandasi went, with his relations and friends, to the house of a Dandasi of the Ekopothiriya sept, to arrange a marriage. The guests were hospitably received, and the prospective bride asked her father what kind of curry was going to be served to them. He replied that barikolora (backyard Momordica) [46] was to be cooked. This aroused the curiosity of some of the guests, who went to the backyard, where, instead of Momordica, they saw several blood-suckers (lizards) running about. They jumped to the conclusion that these were what the host referred to as barikolora, and all the guests took their departure. Ekopothiriyas will not partake of food from the same plate as their grown-up children, even if a married daughter comes on a visit to them.

The Dandasis worship various Takuranis (village deities), e.g., Sankaithuni, Kulladankuni, Kombesari and Kalimuki. The gods are either represented temporarily by brass vessels, or permanently by three masses of clay, into each of which a small bit of gold is thrust. When Bassia (mahua) buds or mangoes are first eaten in their season, a sacrifice is made, and a goat and fowl are killed before the produce of the harvest is first partaken of.

The Dandasis have a headman, called Behara, who exercises authority over several groups of villages, and each group is under a Nayako, who is assisted by a Dondia. For every village there is a Bholloboya, and, in some places, there is an officer, called Boda Mundi, appointed by the Zamindar, to whom irregularities in the community have to be reported. When a woman is delivered of a still-born child, the whole family is under pollution for eleven days. The headman is then invited to attend, and presents are given to him. He sprinkles water over members of the family, and they are thereby freed from this pollution.

A certain portion of the property stolen by Dandasis is set apart for the headman, and, like the Tamil Kallans and Maravans, they seem to have a blackmailing system. If a Dandasi is engaged as a watchman, property is safe, or, if stolen, is recovered and restored to its owner.

Girls are married after puberty. A man may marry his maternal uncle's, but not his paternal aunt's daughter. The marriage ceremonies usually last three days, but are sometimes spread over seven days, in imitation of the higher castes. On the day (gondo sono) before the wedding day, seven new pots are brought from a potter's house, and placed in a room. Seven women throw Zizyphus jujuba leaves over them, and they are filled with water at a tank (pond). One of the pots must be carried by the sister-in-law of the bridegroom. A brass vessel is tied up, and worshipped. Towards evening, a fowl is sacrificed at an 'ant' hill. The bridegroom is shaved on this day by his sister's husband. Like other Oriya castes, the Dandasis collect water at seven houses, but only from those of members of castes higher than their own. The pot containing this water is hung up over the marriage dais (bedi). On the wedding (bibha) day, the bridegroom sits on the dais, with the bride, seated in her maternal uncle's lap or at his side, in front of him. The headman, or some respected elder of the community, places a betel nut cutter, on, or with some rice and betel nut between the united hands of the contracting couple, and ties them together with seven turns of a turmeric-dyed thread. He then announces that ... the granddaughter of ... and daughter of ... is united to ... the grandson of ... and son of ... The parents of the bride and bridegroom pour turmeric-water from a chank (Turbinella rapa) shell or leaf over their united hands. The nut-cutter is removed by the bride's brother, and, after striking the bridegroom, he goes away. The couple then play with cowry (Cypræ arabica) shells, and, while they are so engaged, the ends of their cloths are tied together, and the rice which is in their hands is tied in a knot. When the play is finished, this knot is untied, and the rice is measured in a small earthen pot, first on behalf of the bride, and is pronounced to be all right. It is then again measured, and said to have diminished in quantity. This gives rise to jokes at the expense of the bridegroom, who is called a thief, and other hard names. Those who imitate the ceremonial of the higher castes make the bridegroom go away in feigned anger, after he has broken the pot which is hanging over the dais. He is brought back by his brother-in-law.

On the occasion of the first menstrual period, a girl is under pollution for seven days. If she is engaged to be married, her future father-in-law makes her a present of jewels and money on the seventh day, and thereby confirms the marriage contract.

The dead are cremated. A widow accompanies the corpse of her husband to the boundary of the village, carrying a ladle and pot, which she throws down at the boundary, and returns home. On the day after the funeral, the embers are extinguished, and an effigy of the deceased is made on the spot where he was cremated, and food offered to it. Toddy is distributed among those who have assembled at the house. On the tenth day, food is offered on ten fragments of pots. On the eleventh day, if the dead man was an important personage in the community, a ceremony, corresponding to the jola jola handi of the higher castes, is performed. A cloth is spread on the ground, on the spot where the corpse was cremated, and the ground round it swept by women, whose backs are turned towards the cloth, so that they cannot see it. Two men, with swords or big knives, sit by the side of the cloth and wait till an insect settles on the cloth. They then at once put the swords or knives on the cloth, and, folding it up, place it on a new winnowing-basket. It is taken home, placed on the floor, and connected by means of a long thread with the household god (mass of clay or vessel). It is then shaken near the god, so that the insect falls out.

Dandasi further occurs as a sub-division of the Kondras, the members of which have taken to the profession of village watchmen.

Dandi (a staff).--A house name of Korava.

Dandu (army).--A sub-division of Idiga, and an exogamous sept of Boya and Kapu. It has been suggested that the name is not Dandu but Dande, meaning pole, in reference to the apparatus used by the Idigas in climbing palm trees for the extraction of toddy. Dandu Agasa, indicating army washerman, occurs as a name for some Maratha Dhobis in Mysore, whose forefathers probably accompanied armies in times of war.

Dara (stream of water).--An exogamous sept of Mala.

Darabala.--Taken, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a sub-caste of Mala. It is a common house-name among many Telugu castes.

Darala (thread).--An exogamous sept of Madiga.

Darzi.--Darzi or Darji is a Muhammadan occupational term, meaning tailor. "The east," it has been said, [47] "now sews by machinery. The name of Singer is known from the Mediterranean to the Pacific. In every bazaar in India one may see men--they are always men, not women--in turban or Mussalman cap, crouching over the needle-plate, and working the pedals." The value of the imports of sewing-machines rose, in British India, from Rs. 5,91,046 in 1901-02 to Rs. 10,06,625 in 1904-05.

Das.--The title of Jain immigrants from Northern India, most of whom are established as merchants, and also of the Mahants of the Tirumala (Tirupati) temple, e.g., Balaram Das, Bhagavan Das.

Dasari.--"Dasari or Tadan," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [48] "is a mendicant caste of Vaishnavas, the reputed descendants of a wealthy Sudra of one of the northern districts, who, being devoid of offspring, vowed that, should he be blessed with children, he would devote one to the service of his god. He subsequently had many sons, one of whom he named Dasan (servant), and placed entirely at the service of the deity. Dasan forfeited all claim to participate in his father's estate, and his offspring are therefore all beggars.

"The caste, like that of the Satanis, is reinforced by idle members of the lower Sudra classes, who, being branded by the gurus of Tirupati and other shrines, become Dasaris thereby. They usually wander about, singing hymns to a monotonous accompaniment upon a leather instrument called tappai (tabret). Some Sudra castes engage them thus to chant in front of the corpse at funerals, and many, accompanying bands of pilgrims travelling to Tirupati, stimulate their religious excitement by singing sacred songs. A few, called Yerudandis, (q.v.), take possession of young bulls that have been devoted to a swami, and teach them to perform tricks very cleverly. The bulls appear to understand what is said to them, and go through various antics at the word of command. Some Dasaris exhibit what is called the Panda Servai performance, which consists in affecting to be possessed by the spirit of the deity, and beating themselves all over the body with a flaming torch, after covering it probably with some protecting substance. In such modes do they wander about and receive alms, each wearing as a distinction a garland of beads made of tulasi (Ocimum sanctum) wood. Every Dasari is a Tengalai. They have six sub-divisions, called Balija, Janappa, Palli, Valluva, Gangeddula, and Golla Dasaris, which neither eat together nor intermarry. As these are the names of existing and distinct castes, it is probable that the Dasaris were formerly members of those classes, who, through their vagabond tastes, have taken to a mendicant life. Beyond prohibiting widow remarriage, they have no social restrictions."

Concerning the mendicants of Anantapur, Mr. W. Francis writes [49] that "the beggars who are most in evidence are the Dasaris. This community is recruited from several castes, such as the Kapus, Balijas, Kurubas, Boyas, and Malas, and members of it who belong to the last two of these (which are low in the social scale) are not allowed to dine with the others. All Dasaris are Vaishnavites, and admission to the community is obtained by being branded by some Vaishnavite guru. Thenceforward the novice becomes a Dasari, and lives by begging from door to door. The profession is almost hereditary in some families. The five insignia of a Dasari are the conch shell, which he blows to announce his arrival; the gong which he strikes as he goes his rounds; the tall iron lamp (with a cocoanut to hold the oil for replenishing it) which he keeps lighted as he begs; the brass or copper vessel (sometimes with the namam painted on it) suspended from his shoulder, in which he places the alms received; and the small metal image of Hanuman, which he hangs round his neck. Of these, the iron lamp is at once the most conspicuous and the most indispensable. It is said to represent Venkatesa, and it must be burning, as an unlighted lamp is inauspicious. Dasaris also subsist by doing puja (worship) at ceremonial and festival occasions for certain of the Hindu castes." In the Kurnool district, when a girl is dedicated as a Basavi (dedicated prostitute), she is not, as in some other parts of the country, married to an idol, but tied by means of a garland of flowers to the tall standard lamp (garudakambham) of a Dasari, and released by the man who is to receive her first favours, or by her maternal uncle.

The Dasaris in Mysore are described in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, as "mendicants belonging to different classes of Sudras. They become Dasas or servants dedicated to the God at Tirupati by virtue of a peculiar vow, made either by themselves or their relatives, at some moment of anxiety or danger, and live by begging in His name. Dasaris are always Vaishnavites, as the vows are taken only by those castes which are worshippers of that deity. Dasaris are invited by Sudras on ceremonial days, and feasted. Properly speaking, Dasari is not a caste, but simply an occupational division. Among certain castes, the custom of taking a vow to become a Dasari prevails. In fulfilment of that vow the person becomes a Dasari, and his eldest son is bound to follow suit, the others taking to other walks of life. The following castes take the vow of becoming Dasari:--Telugu Banajiga, Holeya, Tigala, and Vakkaliga. The duty of a Dasari requires that he should daily bathe his head, and take care that, while eating with the profane, their victuals do not get mixed with his. Every Saturday, after bathing and praying for some hours, he must cook his own food in a clean pot. They go about the streets singing some Hari Keerthanams, with a gong and conch to relieve the dull monotony of their mumblings."

Concerning the synonym Tadan, this is stated [50] to be "a corruption of the Sanskrit dasa which, with the Tamil termination an, stands for dasan. The word is often used in this form, but often as Dasari. The word is applied to Vaishnava mendicants. They go out every morning, begging for alms of uncooked rice, and singing ballads or hymns. They play on a small drum with their fingers, and often carry a conch shell, which they blow. They are given to drinking." In the Nellore Manual, the Dasrivandlu are summed up as being "mendicants and thieves in the Telugu and Canarese countries. They usually practise what is known as scissor-theft." The mendicant Dasaris, who are dealt with in the present note, are stated by Mr. S. M. Natesa Sastri [51] to be called Gudi Dasari, as the gudi or temple is their home and to be a set of quiet, innocent and simple people, leading a most idle and stupid life. "Quite opposed," he adds, "to the Gudi Dasaris in every way are the Donga Dasaris or thieving Dasaris. They are the most dreaded of the criminal classes in the Bellary district. These Donga Dasaris are only Dasaris in name." (See Donga Dasari.)