Part 11

It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that, "amongst Kammalans, the betrothal ceremony is similar to that of the Tiyans. If more than one brother is to be married, to the same girl, her mother asks how many bridegrooms there are, and replies that there are mats and planks for so many. Cohabitation sometimes begins from the night of the betrothal, the eldest brother having the priority, and the rest in order of seniority on introduction by the bride's brother. If the girl becomes pregnant, the formal marriage must be celebrated before the pregnancy has advanced six months. At the formal marriage, the bridegrooms are received by the bride's mother and brothers; two planks are placed before a lighted lamp, before which the bridegrooms and the bride's brothers prostrate themselves. The bride is dressed in a new cloth, and brought down by the bridegroom's sister and fed with sweetmeats.

"Next day all the bridegroom's party visit the Tandan of the bride's desam (village), who has to give them arrack (liquor) and meat, receiving in his turn a present of two fanams (money). The next day the bride is again feasted in her house by the bridegrooms, and is given her dowry consisting of four metal plates, one spittoon, one kindi (metal vessel), and a bell-metal lamp. The whole party then goes to the bridegroom's house, where the Tandan proclaims the titles of the parties and their desam. All the brothers who are to share in the marriage sit in a row on a mat with the bride on the extreme left, and all drink cocoanut milk. The presence of all the bridegrooms is essential at this final ceremony, though for the preceding formalities it is sufficient if the eldest is present."

The Kammalans burn the corpses of adults, and bury the young. Fifteen days' pollution is observed, and at the expiration thereof the Thali-kurup pours water, and purification takes place. On the third day the bones of the cremated corpse are collected, and placed in a new earthen pot, which is buried in the grounds of the house of the deceased. One of the sons performs beli (makes offerings), and observes diksha (hair-growing) for a year. The bones are then carried to Tirunavaya in Ponnani, Tiruvilamala in Cochin territory, Perur in Coimbatore, or Tirunelli in the Wynad, and thrown into the river. A final beli is performed, and the sradh memorial ceremony is celebrated. If the deceased was skilled in sorcery, or his death was due thereto, his ghost is believed to haunt the house, and trouble the inmates. To appease it, the village washerman (Mannan) is brought with his drums, and, by means of his songs, forces the devil into one of the members of the household, who is made to say what murthi or evil spirit possesses him, and how it should be satisfied. It is then appeased with the sacrifice of a fowl, and drinking the juice of tender cocoanuts. A further demand is that it must have a place consigned to it in the house or grounds, and be worshipped once a year. Accordingly, seven days later, a small stool representing the deceased is placed in a corner of one of the rooms, and there worshipped annually with offerings of cocoanuts, toddy, arrack, and fowls. In the grounds of some houses small shrines, erected to the memory of the dead, may be seen. These are opened once a year, and offerings made to them.

The Kammalans worship various minor deities, such as Thikutti, Parakutti, Kala Bairavan, and others. Some only worship stone images erected under trees annually. They have barbers of their own, of whom the Mannan shaves the men, and the Mannathi the women. These individuals are not admitted into the Mannan caste, which follows the more honourable profession of washing clothes.

In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the following sub-castes of Malabar Kammalans are recorded:--Kallan Muppan and Kallukkotti (stone-workers), Kotton (brass-smith), Pon Chetti (gold merchant), and Puliasari (masons). In the Cochin Census Report, 1901, it is stated that "the Kammalans are divided into six sub-castes, viz., Marasari (carpenter), Kallasari (mason), Musari (brazier), Kollan (blacksmith), Tattan (goldsmith), and Tolkollan (leather-worker). Of these six, the first five interdine, and intermarry. The Tolkollan is considered a degraded caste, probably on account of his working in leather, which in its earlier stages is an unholy substance. The other sub-castes do not allow the Tolkollans even to touch them. Among the Marasaris are included the Marasaris proper and Tacchans. The Tacchans are looked upon by other castes in the group as a separate caste, and are not allowed to touch them. All the sub-castes generally follow the makkathayam law of inheritance, but there are some vestiges of marumakkathayam also among them. There is a sub-caste called Kuruppu, who are their barbers and priests. They officiate as priest at marriage and funeral ceremonies. When they enter the interior shrine of temples for work in connection with the image of a god, or with the temple flagstaff, the Asari and Musari temporarily wear a sacred thread, which is a rare privilege. Their approach within a radius of twenty-four feet pollutes Brahmans. On the completion of a building, the Marasari, Kallasari and Kollan perform certain pujas, and sacrifice a fowl or sheep to drive out the demons and devils which are supposed to have haunted the house till then."

For the following note on the Kammalans of Travancore, I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramania Aiyar. "The titles of the Malayalam Kammalans are Panikkan and Kanakkan. The word Panikkan means a worker, and Kanakkan is the title given to a few old and respectable Kammalas in every village, who superintend the work of others, and receive the highest remuneration. It is their business to sketch the plan of a building, and preside at the vastubali rite. Many Tamil Kammalans have naturalised themselves on the west coast, and speak Malayalam. Between them and the Malayalam Kammalans neither intermarriage nor interdining obtains. The latter are divided into five classes, viz., Asari or Marapanikkan (workers in wood), Kallan or Kallasari (workers in stone), Musari (braziers and coppersmiths), Tattan (goldsmiths), and Kollan (workers in iron). To these the Jatinirnaya and Keralaviseshamahatmya add a sixth class, the Tacchan or Irchchakollan, whose occupation is to fell trees and saw timber. The Tacchans are also known as Villasans (bowmen), as they were formerly required to supply bows and arrows for the Travancore army.

Epigraphic records point to the existence of the five classes of Kammalans in Malabar at least as early as the beginning of the ninth century A.D., as a Syrian Christian grant refers to them as Aimvazhi Kammalas. There is a tradition that they were brought to Kerala by Parasu Rama, but left in a body for Ceylon on being pressed by one of the early Perumal satraps of Cranganur to marry into the washerman caste, after they had by a special arrangement of the marriage shed trapped to death a large number of that obnoxious community. The King of Ceylon was requested, as an act of international courtesy, to send back some of the Kammalans. As, however, they were loth to return to their former persecutor, they were sent in charge of some Izhavas, who formed the military caste of the island. The legend is given in detail by Canter Visscher, who writes as follows. "In the time of Cheramperoumal, a woman belonging to the caste of the washermen, whose house adjoined that of an Ajari (the carpenter caste), being occupied as usual in washing a cloth in water mixed with ashes (which is here used for soap), and having no one at hand to hold the other end of it, called to a young daughter of the Ajari, who was alone in the house, to assist her. The child, not knowing that this was an infringement of the laws of her caste, did as she was requested, and then went home. The washerwoman was emboldened by this affair to enter the Ajari's house a few days afterwards; and, upon the latter demanding angrily how she dared to cross his threshold, the woman answered scornfully that he belonged now to the same caste as she did, since his daughter had helped to hold her cloth. The Ajari, learning the disgrace that had befallen him, killed the washerwoman. Upon this, her friends complained to Cheramperoumal, who espoused their cause, and threatened the carpenters; whereupon the latter combined together to take refuge in Ceylon, where they were favourably received by the King of Candy, for whom the Malabars have great veneration. Cheramperoumal was placed in great embarrassment by their departure, having no one in his dominions who could build a house or make a spoon, and begged the King of Candy to send them back, promising to do them no injury. The Ajaris would not place entire confidence in these promises, but asked the king to send them with two Chegos (Chogans) and their wives, to witness Cheramperoumal's conduct towards them, and to protect them. The king granted their request, with the stipulation that on all high occasions, such as weddings and deaths and other ceremonies, the Ajaris should bestow three measures of rice on each of these Chegos and their descendants as a tribute for their protection; a custom which still exists. If the Ajari is too poor to afford the outlay, he is still obliged to present the requisite quantity of rice, which is then given back to him again; the privilege of the Chegos being thus maintained.

"The Kammalans are to some extent educated, and a few of them have a certain knowledge of Sanskrit, in which language several works on architecture are to be found. Their houses, generally known as kottil, are only low thatched sheds. They eat fish and flesh, and drink intoxicating liquors. Their jewelry is like that of the Nayars, from whom, however, they are distinguished by not wearing the nose ornaments mukkutti and gnattu. Some in Central Travancore wear silver mukkuttis. Tattooing, once very common, is going out of fashion.

"In timber work the Asaris excel, but the Tamil Kammalans have outstripped the Tattans in gold and silver work. The house-building of the Asari has a quasi-religious aspect. When a temple is built, there is a preliminary rite known as anujgna, when the temple priest transfers spiritual force from the image, after which a cow and calf are taken thrice round the temple, and the Kanakkan is invited to enter within for the purposes of work. The cow and calf are let loose in front of the carpenter, who advances, and commences the work. On the completion of a building, an offering known as vastubali is made. Vastu is believed to represent the deity who presides over the house, and the spirits inhabiting the trees which were felled for the purpose of building it. To appease these supernatural powers, the figure of a demon is drawn with powders, and the Kanakkan, after worshipping his tutelary deity Bhadrakali, offers animal sacrifices to him in non-Brahmanical houses, and vegetable sacrifices in Brahman shrines and homes. An old and decrepit carpenter enters within the new building, and all the doors thereof are closed. The Kanakkan from without asks whether he has inspected everything, and is prepared to hold himself responsible for any architectural or structural shortcomings, and he replies in the affirmative. A jubilant cry is then raised by all the assembled Asaris. Few carpenters are willing to undertake this dangerous errand, as it is supposed that the dissatisfied demons are sure to make short work of the man who accepts the responsibility. The figure is next effaced, and no one enters the house until the auspicious hour of milk-boiling.

"Vilkuruppu or Vilkollakkuruppu, who used formerly to supply bows and arrows for the Malabar army, are the recognised priests and barbers of the Kammalans. They still make and present bows and arrows at the Onam festival. In some places the Kammalans have trained members of their own caste to perform the priestly offices. The Malayala Kammalans, unlike the Tamils, are not a thread-wearing class, but sometimes put on a thread when they work in temples or at images. They worship Kali, Matan, and other divinities. Unlike the Tamil Kammalans, they are a polluting class, but, when they have their working tools with them, they are less objectionable. In some places, as in South Travancore, they are generally regarded as higher in rank than the Izhavas, though this is not universal.

"The tali-kettu ceremony is cancelled by a ceremony called vazhippu, by which all connection between the tali-tier and the girl is extinguished. The wedding ornament is exactly the same as that of the Izhavas, and is known as the minnu (that which shines). The system of inheritance is makkathayam. It is naturally curious that, among a makkathayam community, paternal polyandry should have been the rule till lately. 'The custom,' says Mateer, 'of one woman having several husbands is sometimes practiced by carpenters, stone-masons, and individuals of other castes. Several brothers living together are unable to support a single wife for each, and take one, who resides with them all. The children are reckoned to belong to each brother in succession in the order of seniority.' But this, after all, admits of explanation. If only the marumakkathayam system of inheritance is taken, as it should be, as a necessary institution in a society living in troublous times, and among a community whose male members had duties and risks which would not ordinarily permit of the family being perpetuated solely through the male line, and not indicating any paternal uncertainty as some theorists would have it; and if polyandry, which is much more recent than the marumakkathayam system of inheritance, is recognised to be the deplorable result of indigence, individual and national, and not of sexual bestiality, there is no difficulty in understanding how a makkathayam community can be polyandrous. Further, the manners of the Kammalars lend a negative support to the origin just indicated by the marumakkathayam system of inheritance even among the Nayars. The work of the Kammalars was within doors and at home, not even in a large factory where power-appliances may lend an element of risk, for which reason they found it quite possible to keep up lineage in the paternal line, which the fighting Nayars could not possibly do. And the fact that the marumakkathayam system was ordained only for the Kshatriyas, and for the fighting races, and not for the religious and industrial classes, deserves to be specially noted in this connection."

Kammara.--The Kammaras are the blacksmith section of the Telugu Kamsalas, whose services are in great demand by the cultivator, whose agricultural implements have to be made, and constantly repaired. It is noted, in the Bellary Gazetteer, that "until recently the manufacture of the huge shallow iron pans, in which the sugar-cane is boiled, was a considerable industry at Kamalapuram. The iron was brought by pack bullocks from Jambunath Konda, the dome-shaped hill at the Hospet end of the Sandur range, and was smelted and worked by men of the Kammara caste. Of late years, the cheaper English iron has completely ousted the country product, the smelting industry is dead, and the Kammaras confine themselves to making and mending the boilers with English material. They have a temple of their own, dedicated to Kali, in the village, where the worship is conducted by one of themselves." The name Baita Kammara, meaning outside blacksmiths, is applied to Kamsala blacksmiths, who occupy a lowly position, and work in the open air or outside a village. [82]

Kammiyan.--A Tamil name for blacksmiths.

Kampa (bush of thorns).--An exogamous sept of Yerukala.

Kampo.--In the Manual of the Ganjam district, the Kampos are described as Oriya agriculturists. In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the name is taken as an Oriya form of Kapu. Kampu is the name for Savaras, who have adopted the customs of the Hindu Kampos.

Kamsala.--The Kamsalas, or, as they are sometimes called, Kamsaras, are the Telugu equivalent of the Tamil Kammalans. They are found northward as far as Berhampore in Ganjam. According to tradition, as narrated in the note on Kammalans, they emigrated to the districts in which they now live on the disruption of their caste by a certain king. The Kamsalas of Vizagapatam, where they are numerically strong, say that, during the reign of a Chola king, their ancestors claimed equality with Brahmans. This offended the king, and he ordered their destruction. The Kamsalas fled northward, and some escaped death by taking shelter with people of the Ozu caste. As an acknowledgment of their gratitude to their protectors, some of them have Ozu added to their house-names, e.g., Lakkozu, Kattozu, Patozu, etc.

The Kamsalas have territorial sub-divisions, such as Murikinadu, Pakinadu, Dravida, etc. Like the Kammalans, they have five occupational sections, called Kamsali (goldsmiths), Kanchari or Musari (brass-smiths), Vadrangi (carpenters), and Kasi or Silpi (stone-masons). In a note on the Kamsalas of the Godavari district, Mr. F. R. Hemingway writes that "they recognise two main divisions, called Desayi (indigenous) and Turpusakas (easterns) or immigrants from Vizagapatam. They sometimes speak of their occupational sub-divisions as gotras. Thus, Sanathana is the iron, Sanaga, the wooden, Abhonasa, the brass, Prathanasa, the stone, and Suparnasa, the gold gotra." Intermarriage takes place between members of the different sections, but the goldsmiths affect a higher social status than the blacksmiths, and do not care to interdine or intermarry with them. They have taken to calling themselves Brahmans, have adopted Brahmanical gotras, and the Brahmanical form of marriage rites. They quote a number of well-known verses of the Telugu poet Vemana, who satirised the Brahmans for their shortcomings, and refer to the Sanskrit Mulastambam and Silpasastram, which are treatises on architecture. They trace their descent from Visvakarma, the architect of the gods. Visvakarma is said to have had five sons, of whom the first was Kammaracharya. His wife was Surelavathi, the daughter of Vasishta. The second was Vadlacharyudu. The third was Rudra or Kamcharacharya of the Abhavansa gotra, whose wife was Jalavathi, the daughter of Paulasthya Brahma. The fourth was Kasacharyudu of the Prasnasa gotra. His wife was Gunavati, the daughter of Visvavasa. The fifth was Agasalacharya or Chandra of the Suvarnasa gotra, whose wife was Saunati, the daughter of Bhrigumahamuni. Visvakarma had also five daughters, of whom Sarasvathi was married to Brahma, Sachi Devi to Indra, Mando Dari to Ravana, and Ahalya to Gautama. Since they were married to the devatas, their descendants acquired the title of Acharya. The use of the umbrella, sacred thread, golden staff, the insignia of Garuda, and the playing of the bheri were also allowed to them. It is recorded by the Rev. J. Cain [83] that "the so-called right-hand castes object most strongly to the Kamsalilu being carried in a palki (palanquin), and three years ago some of them threatened to get up a little riot on the occasion of a marriage in the Kamsali caste. They were deprived of this opportunity, for the palki was a borrowed one, and its owner, more anxious for the safety of his property than the dignity of the Kamsali caste, recalled the loan on the third day. A ringleader of the discontented was a Madras Pariah. The Kamsalilu were formerly forbidden to whitewash the outside of their houses, but municipal law has proved stronger in this respect than Brahmanical prejudice." The Kamsalas of Ganjam and Vizagapatam do not make such a vigorous claim to be Brahmans, as do those further south. They rear poultry, partake of animal food, do not prohibit the use of alcoholic liquor, and have no gotras. They also have sub-divisions among them, which do not wear the sacred thread, and work outside the village limits. Thus, the Karamalas are a section of blacksmiths, who do not wear the sacred thread. Similarly, the Baita Kammaras are another section of blacksmiths, who do not wear the thread, and, as their name implies, work outside the village. In Vizagapatam, almost the only castes which will consent to receive food at the hands of Kamsalas are the humble Malas and Rellis. Even the Tsakalas and Yatas will not do so. There is a popular saying that the Kamsalas are of all castes seven visses (viss, a measure of weight) less.

In 1885, a criminal revision case came before the High Court of Madras, in which a goldsmith performed abishekam by pouring cocoanut-water over a lingam. In his judgment, one of the Judges recorded that "the facts found are that 1st accused, a goldsmith by caste, on the night of the last Mahasivaratri, entered a Siva temple at Vizagapatam, and performed abishekam, i.e., poured cocoanut-water over the lingam, the 2nd and 3rd accused (Brahmans) reciting mantrams (sacred formulæ) while he did so. Another Brahman who was there expostulated with 1st accused, telling him that he, a goldsmith, had no right to perform abishekam himself, upon which 1st accused said that it was he who made the idol, and he was fit to perform abishekam. An outcry being raised, some other Brahmans came up, and objected to 1st accused performing abishekam, and he was turned out, and some ten rupees spent in ceremonies for the purification of the idol. The 2nd-class Magistrate convicted the 1st accused under sections 295 and 296, Indian Penal Code, and the 2nd and 3rd accused of abetment. All these convictions were reversed on appeal by the District Magistrate. There was certainly no evidence that any of the accused voluntarily caused disturbance to an assembly engaged in the performance of religious worship or religious ceremonies, and therefore a conviction under section 296 could not be supported. In order to support a conviction under section 295, it would be necessary for the prosecution to prove (1) that the accused 'defiled' the lingam, and (2) that he did so, knowing that a class of persons, viz., the Brahmans, would consider such defilement as an insult to their religion. It may be noted that the 1st accused is a person of the same religion as the Brahmans, and, therefore, if the act be an insult at all, it was an insult to his own religion. The act of defilement alleged was the performance of abishekam, or the pouring of cocoanut-water over the lingam. In itself, the act is regarded as an act of worship and meritorious, and I understand that the defilement is alleged to consist in the fact that the 1st accused was not a proper person--not being a Brahman--to perform such a ceremony, but that he ought to have got some Brahman to perform it for him." The other Judge (Sir T. Muttusami Aiyar) recorded that "in many temples in this Presidency, it is not usual for worshippers generally to touch the idol or pour cocoanut-water upon it, except through persons who are specially appointed to do so, and enjoined to observe special rules of cleanliness. If the accused knew that the temple, in the case before us, is one of those temples, and if he did the act imputed to him to ridicule openly the established rule in regard to the purity of the lingam as an object of worship, it might then be reasonably inferred that he did the act wantonly, and with the intention of insulting the religious notions of the general body of worshippers. The Sub-Magistrate refers to no specific evidence in regard to the accused's knowledge of the usage. I may also observe that, in certain temples attended by the lower classes, the slaughtering of sheep is an act of worship. But, if the same act is done in other temples to which other classes resort as places of public worship, it is generally regarded as a gross outrage or defilement." The High Court upheld the decision of the District Magistrate.