Akasam, sky.
Anumala, seeds of Dolichos lablab.
Boggula, charcoal.
Bandla, rock or cart.
Chintakai, tamarind fruit.
Challa, buttermilk.
Chapparam, pandal or booth.
Dhoddi, cattle-pen, or courtyard.
Dhuggani, money.
Yerra, red.
Konda, mountain.
Kaththi, knife.
Bandari (treasurer).
Busam, grain.
Dhondapu (Cephalandra indica).
Elugoti, assembly.
Gattu, bank or mound.
Paidam, money.
Gonapala, old plough.
Gosu, pride.
Jigala, pith.
Katta, a dam.
Kompala, houses.
Konangi, buffoon.
Katikala, collyrium.
Kaththiri, scissors.
Moksham, heaven.
Pasupala, turmeric.
Pidakala, dried cow-dung cakes.
Pothula, male.
Pachi powaku, green tobacco.
Padavala, boat.
Pouzala, a bird.
Pammi, clay lamp.
Thalakoka, female cloth.
Thutla, hole.
Utla, ropes for hanging pots.
Vasthrala, cloths.
Matam, monastery.
Madira, liquor or heap of earth.
Medam, fight.
Masila, dirt.
Olikala, funeral pyre and ashes.
Prithvi, earth.
Peraka, tile.
Punjala, cock or male.
Pinjala, cotton-cleaning.
Pichchiga, sparrow.
Sika (kudumi: tuft of hair).
Sandala, lanes.
Santha, a fair.
Sajje (Setaria italica).
The majority of Devangas are Saivites, and wear the lingam. They do
not, however, wash the stone lingam with water, in which the feet
of Jangams have been washed. They are not particular as to always
keeping the lingam on the body, and give as an explanation that,
when they are at work, they have to touch all kinds of people. Some
said that merchants, when engaged in their business, should not wear
the lingam, especially if made of spatikam (quartz), as they have to
tell untruths as regards the value and quality of their goods, and
ruin would follow if these were told while the lingam was on the body.
In some parts of Ganjam, the country folk keep a large number of
Brahmini bulls. When one of these animals dies, very elaborate funeral
ceremonies take place, and the dead beast is carried in procession
by Devangas, and buried by them. As the Devangas are Lingayats,
they have a special reverence for Basavanna, the sacred bull, and
the burying of the Brahmini bull is regarded by them as a sacred and
meritorious act. Other castes do not regard it as such, though they
often set free sacred cows or calves.
Devangas and Padma Sales never live in the same street, and do not
draw water from the same well. This is probably due to the fact that
they belong to the left and right-hand factions respectively, and
no love is lost between them. Like other left-hand castes, Devangas
have their own dancing-girls, called Jathi-biddalu (children of the
castes), whose male offspring do achchupani, printing-work on cloth,
and occasionally go about begging from Devangas. In the Madras
Census Report, 1901, it is stated that "in Madura and Tinnevelly,
the Devangas, or Sedans, consider themselves a shade superior to the
Brahmans, and never do namaskaram (obeisance or salutation) to them,
or employ them as priests. In Madura and Coimbatore, the Sedans have
their own dancing-girls, who are called Devanga or Seda Dasis in the
former, and Manikkattal in the latter, and are strictly reserved for
members of the caste under pain of excommunication or heavy fine."
Concerning the origin of the Devanga beggars, called Singamvadu,
the following legend is current. When Chaudeswari and Devalan were
engaged in combat with the Asuras, one of the Asuras hid himself
behind the ear of the lion, on which the goddess was seated. When
the fight was over, he came out, and asked for pardon. The goddess
took pity on him, and ordered that his descendants should be called
Singamvallu, and asked Devalan to treat them as servants, and support
them. Devangas give money to these beggars, who have the privilege
of locking the door, and carrying away the food, when the castemen
take their meals. In assemblies of Devangas, the hand of the beggar
serves as a spittoon. He conveys the news of death, and has as the
insignia of office a horn, called thuththari or singam.
The office of headman, or Pattagar, is hereditary, and he is assisted
by an official called Sesha-raju or Umidisetti who is the servant of
the community, and receives a small fee annually for each loom within
his beat.
Widow remarriage is permitted in some places, and forbidden
in others. There may be intermarriage between the flesh-eating
and vegetarian sections. But a girl who belongs to a flesh-eating
family, and marries into a vegetarian family, must abstain from meat,
and may not touch any vessel or food in her husband's family till
she has reached puberty. Before settling the marriage of a girl,
some village goddess, or Chaudeswari, is consulted, and the omens
are watched. A lizard chirping on the right is a good omen, and on
the left bad. Sometimes, red and white flowers, wrapped up in green
leaves, are thrown in front of the idol, and the omen considered good
or bad according to the flower which a boy or girl picks up. At the
marriage ceremony which commences with distribution of pan-supari
(betel) and Vigneswara worship, the bride is presented with a new
cloth, and sits on a three-legged stool or cloth-roller (dhonige). The
maternal uncle puts round her neck a bondhu (strings of unbleached
cotton) dipped in turmeric. The ceremonies are carried out according
to the Puranic ritual, except by those who consider themselves to
be Devanga Brahmans. On the first day the milk post is set up being
made of Odina Wodier in the Tamil, and Mimusops hexandra in the Telugu
country. Various rites are performed, which include tonsure, upanayanam
(wearing the sacred thread), padapuja (washing the feet), Kasiyatra
(mock pilgrimage to Benares), dharadhattam (giving away the bride),
and mangalyadharanam (tying the marriage badge, or bottu). The
proceedings conclude with pot searching. A pap-bowl and ring are
put into a pot. If the bride picks out the bowl, her first-born will
be a girl, and if the bridegroom gets hold of the ring, it will be
a boy. On the fifth day, a square design is made on the floor with
coloured rice grains. Between the contracting couple and the square a
row of lights is placed. Four pots are set, one at each corner of the
square, and eight pots arranged along each side thereof. On the square
itself, two pots representing Siva and Uma, are placed, with a row of
seedling pots near them. A thread is wound nine times round the pots
representing the god and goddess, and tied above to the pandal. After
the pots have been worshipped, the thread is cut, and worn, with the
sacred thread, for three months. This ceremony is called Nagavali.
When a girl reaches puberty, a twig of Alangium Lamarckii is placed
in the menstrual hut to keep off devils.
The dead are generally buried in a sitting posture. Before the grave is
filled in, a string is tied to the kudumi (hair knot) of the corpse,
and, by its means, the head is brought near the surface. Over it a
lingam is set up, and worshipped daily throughout the death ceremonies.
The following curious custom is described by Mr. C. Hayavadana
Rao. Once in twelve years, a Devanga leaves his home, and joins
the Padma Sales. He begs from them, saying that he is the son of
their caste, and as such entitled to be supported by them. If alms
are not forthcoming, he enters the house, and carries off whatever
he may be able to pick up. Sometimes, if he can get nothing else,
he has been known to seize a lighted cigar in the mouth of a Sale,
and run off with it. The origin of this custom is not certain, but
it has been suggested that the Devangas and Sales were originally one
caste, and that the former separated from the latter when they became
Lingayats. A Devanga only becomes a Chinerigadu when he is advanced
in years, and will eat the remnants of food left by Padma Sales on
their plates. A Chinerigadu is, on his death, buried by the Sales.
Many of the Devangas are short of stature, light skinned, with
sharp-cut features, light-brown iris, and delicate tapering
fingers. Those at Hospet, in the Bellary district, carried thorn
tweezers (for removing thorns of Acacia arabica from the feet),
tooth-pick and ear-scoop, suspended as a chatelaine from the
loin-string. The more well-to-do had these articles made of silver,
with the addition of a silver saw for paring the nails and cutting
cheroots. The name Pampanna, which some of them bore, is connected with
the nymph Pampa, who resides at Hampi, and asked Parameswara to become
her husband. He accordingly assumed the name of Pampapathi, in whose
honour there is a tank at Anagundi, and temple at Hampi. He directed
Pampa to live in a pond, and pass by the name of Pampasarovara.
The Sedans of Coimbatore, at the time of my visit in October, were
hard at work making clothes for the Dipavali festival. It is at times
of festivals and marriages, in years of prosperity among the people,
that the weavers reap their richest harvest.
In the Madras Census Report, 1901, Bilimagga (white loom) and Atagara
(weavers and exorcists) are returned as sub-castes of Devanga. The
usual title of the Devangas is Chetti.
The shortness of stature of some of the weaving classes which I have
examined is brought out by the following average measurements:--
cm.
Padma Sale 159.9
Sukun Sale 160.3
Togata 160.5
Suka Sale 161.1
Devendra.--A name assumed by some Pallans, who claim to be descended
from the king of the gods (devas).
Dhabba (split bamboo).--Dhabba or Dhabbai is the name of a sub-division
of Koravas, who split bamboos, and make various articles therefrom.
Dhakkado.--A small mixed class of Oriya cultivators, concerning whom
there is a proverb that a Dhakkado does not know his father. They
are described, in the Census Report, 1891, as "a caste of cultivators
found in the Jeypore agency tracts. They are said to be the offspring
of a Brahman and a Sudra girl, and, though living on the hills, they
are not an uncivilised hill tribe. Some prepare and sell the sacred
thread, others are confectioners. They wear the sacred thread, and
do not drink water from the hands of any except Brahmans. Girls are
married before puberty, and widow marriage is practiced. They are
flesh-eaters, and their dead are usually buried."
In a note on the Dhakkados, Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao writes that
"the illegitimate descendant of a Brahman and a hill woman of the
non-polluting castes is said to be known as a Dhakkado. The Dhakkados
assume Brahmanical names, but, as regards marriages, funerals, etc.,
follow the customs of their mother's caste. Her caste people intermarry
with her children. A Dhakkado usually follows the occupation of his
mother's caste. Thus one whose mother is a Kevuto follows the calling
of fishing or plying boats on rivers, one whose mother is a Bhumia
is an agriculturist, and so on."
Dhakur.--Stated, in the Manual of the Vizagapatam district, to be
illegitimate children of Brahmans, who wear the paieta (sacred thread).
Dhanapala.--A sub-division of Gollas, who guard treasure while it is
in transit.
Dhangar.--Dhangar, or Donigar, is recorded, in the Madras Census
Report, 1901, as a Marathi caste of shepherds and cattle-breeders. I
gather, from a note [89] on the Dhangars of the Kanara district in
the Bombay Presidency, that "the word Dhangar is generally derived
from the Sanskrit dhenu, a cow. Their home speech is Marathi, but they
can speak Kanarese. They keep a special breed of cows and buffaloes,
known as Dhangar mhasis and Dhangar gais which are the largest cattle
in Kanara. Many of Shivaji's infantry were Satara Dhangars."
Dhaniala (coriander).--An exogamous sept of Kamma. Dhaniala Jati,
or coriander caste, is an opprobrious name applied to Komatis,
indicating that, in business transactions, they must be crushed as
coriander fruits are crushed before the seed is sown.
Dhare.--An exogamous sept of Kuruba. In the Canara country, the
essential and binding part of the marriage ceremony is called dhare
(see Bant).
Dharmaraja.--An exogamous sept of the Irulas of North Arcot. Dharmaraja
was the eldest of the five Pandavas, the heroes of the Mahabharatha.
Dhippo (light).--An exogamous sept of Bhondari. The members thereof
may not blow out lights, or extinguish them in any other way. They
will not light lamps without being madi, i.e., wearing silk cloths,
or cloths washed and dried after bathing.
Dhobi.--A name used for washerman by Anglo-Indians all over India. The
word is said to be derived from dhoha, Sanskrit, dhav, to wash. A
whitish grey sandy efflorescence, found in many places, from which,
by boiling and the addition of quicklime, an alkali of considerable
strength is obtained, is called Dhobi's earth. [90] "The expression
dhobie itch," Manson writes, [91] "although applied to any itching
ringworm-like affection of any part of the skin, most commonly
refers to some form of epiphytic disease of the crutch or axilla
(armpit)." The disease is very generally supposed to be communicated
by clothes from the wash, but Manson is of opinion that the belief
that it is contracted from clothes which have been contaminated by
the washerman is probably not very well founded.
Dhobi is the name, by which the washerman caste of the Oriyas
is known. "They are said," Mr. Francis writes, [92] "to have come
originally from Orissa. Girls are generally married before maturity,
and, if this is not possible, they have to be married to a sword or
a tree, before they can be wedded to a man. Their ordinary marriage
ceremonies are as follows. The bridal pair bathe in water brought from
seven different houses. The bridegroom puts a bangle on the bride's
arm (this is the binding part of the ceremony); the left and right
wrists of the bride and bridegroom are tied together; betel leaf
and nut are tied in a corner of the bride's cloth, and a myrabolam
(Terminalia fruit) in that of the bridegroom; and finally the people
present in the pandal (booth) throw rice and saffron (turmeric) over
them. Widows and divorced women may marry again. They are Vaishnavites,
but some of them also worship Kali or Durga. They employ Bairagis,
and occasionally Brahmans, as their priests. They burn their dead, and
perform sraddha (annual memorial ceremony). Their titles are Chetti
(or Maha Chetti) and Behara." The custom of the bridal pair bathing
in water from seven different houses obtains among many Oriya castes,
including Brahmans. It is known by the name of pani-tula. The water
is brought by married girls, who have not reached puberty, on the
night preceding the wedding day, and the bride and bridegroom wash
in it before dawn. This bath is called koili pani snano, or cuckoo
water-bath. The koil is the Indian koel or cuckoo (Eudynamis honorata),
whose crescendo cry ku-il, ku-il, is trying to the nerves during the
hot season.