Concerning the Jains of the South Arcot district, Mr. W. Francis

writes [210] that "there is no doubt that in ancient days the Jain

faith was powerful in this district. The Periya Puranam says that

there was once a Jain monastery and college at Pataliputra, the old

name for the modern Tirupapuliyur, and remains of Jain images and

sculptures are comparatively common in the district. The influence

of the religion doubtless waned in consequence of the great Saivite

revival, which took place in the early centuries of the present era,

and the Periya Puranam gives a story in connection therewith, which is

of local interest. It says that the Saivite poet-saint Appar was at one

time a student in the Jain college at Pataliputra, but was converted to

Saivism in consequence of the prayers of his sister, who was a devotee

of the deity in the temple at Tiruvadi near Panruti. The local king was

a Jain, and was at first enraged with Appar for his fervent support

of his new faith. But eventually he was himself induced by Appar to

become a Saivite, and he then turned the Paliputra monastery into

a temple to Siva, and ordered the extirpation of all Jains. Later

on there was a Jain revival, but this in its turn was followed by

another persecution of the adherents of that faith. The following

story connected with this latter occurs in one of the Mackenzie

Manuscripts, and is supported by existing tradition. In 1478 A.D.,

the ruler of Gingee was one Venkatampettai, Venkatapati, [211] who

belonged to the comparatively low caste of the Kavarais. He asked the

local Brahmans to give him one of their daughters to wife. They said

that, if the Jains would do so, they would follow suit. Venkatapati

told the Jains of this answer, and asked for one of their girls as a

bride. They took counsel among themselves how they might avoid the

disgrace of connecting themselves by marriage with a man of such a

caste, and at last pretended to agree to the king's proposal, and

said that the daughter of a certain prominent Jain would be given

him. On the day fixed for the marriage, Venkatapati went in state to

the girl's house for the ceremony, but found it deserted and empty,

except for a bitch tied to one of the posts of the verandah. Furious

at the insult, he issued orders to behead all Jains. Some of the faith

were accordingly decapitated, others fled, others again were forced

to practice their rites secretly, and yet others became Saivites

to escape death. Not long afterwards, some of the king's officers

saw a Jain named Virasenacharya performing the rites peculiar to his

faith in a well in Velur near Tindivanam, and hauled him before their

master. The latter, however, had just had a child born to him, was

in a good temper, and let the accused go free; and Virasenacharya,

sobered by his narrow escape from death, resolved to become an

ascetic, went to Sravana Belgola, and there studied the holy books

of the Jain religion. Meanwhile another Jain of the Gingee country,

Gangayya Udaiyar of Tayanur in the Tindivanam taluk, had fled to the

protection of the Zamindar of Udaiyarpalaiyam in Trichinopoly, who

befriended him and gave him some land. Thus assured of protection,

he went to Sravana Belgola, fetched back Virasenacharya, and with

him made a tour through the Gingee country, to call upon the Jains

who remained there to return to their ancient faith. These people

had mostly become Saivites, taken off their sacred threads and put

holy ashes on their foreheads, and the name Nirpusi Vellalas, or

the Vellalas who put on holy ash, is still retained. The mission was

successful, and Jainism revived. Virasenacharya eventually died at

Velur, and there, it is said, is kept in a temple a metal image of

Parsvanatha, one of the twenty-four Tirthankaras, which he brought

from Sravana Belgola. The descendants of Gangayya Udaiyar still

live in Tayanur, and, in memory of the services of their ancestor

to the Jain cause, they are given the first betel and leaf on

festive occasions, and have a leading voice in the election of the

high-priest at Sittamur in the Tindivanam taluk. This high-priest,

who is called Mahadhipati, is elected by representatives from the

chief Jain villages. These are, in Tindivanam taluk, Sittamur itself,

Viranamur, Vilukkam, Peramandur, Alagramam, and the Velur and Tayanur

already mentioned. The high-priest has supreme authority over all Jains

south of Madras, but not over those in Mysore or South Canara, with

whom the South Arcot community have no relations. He travels round

in a palanquin with a suite of followers to the chief centres--his

expenses being paid by the communities he visits--settles caste

disputes, and fines, and excommunicates the erring. His control over

his people is still very real, and is in strong contrast to the waning

authority of many of the Hindu gurus. The Jain community now holds a

high position in Tindivanam taluk, and includes wealthy traders and

some of quite the most intelligent agriculturists there. The men use

the title of Nayinar or Udaiyar, but their relations in Kumbakonam

and elsewhere in that direction sometimes call themselves Chetti

or Mudaliyar. The women are great hands at weaving mats from the

leaves of the date-palm. The men, except that they wear the thread,

and paint on their foreheads a sect-mark which is like the ordinary

Vaishnavite mark, but square instead of semi-circular at the bottom,

and having a dot instead of a red streak in the middle, in general

appearance resemble Vellalas. They are usually clean shaved. The

women dress like Vellalas, and wear the same kind of tali (marriage

emblem) and other jewellery. The South Arcot Jains all belong to the

Digambara sect, and the images in their temples of the twenty-four

Tirthankaras are accordingly without clothing. These temples, the

chief of which are those at Tirunirankonrai [212] and Sittamur, are

not markedly different in external appearance from Hindu shrines,

but within these are images of some of the Tirthankaras, made of

stone or of painted clay, instead of representations of the Hindu

deities. The Jain rites of public worship much resemble those of the

Brahmans. There is the same bathing of the god with sacred oblations,

sandal, and so on; the same lighting and waving of lamps, and burning

of camphor; and the same breaking of cocoanuts, playing of music,

and reciting of sacred verses. These ceremonies are performed by

members of the Archaka or priest class. The daily private worship in

the houses is done by the laymen themselves before a small image of

one of the Tirthankaras, and daily ceremonies resembling those of the

Brahmans, such as the pronouncing of the sacred mantram at daybreak,

and the recital of forms of prayer thrice daily, are observed. The

Jains believe in the doctrine of re-births, and hold that the end of

all is Nirvana. They keep the Sivaratri and Dipavali feasts, but say

that they do so, not for the reasons which lead Hindus to revere these

dates, but because on them the first and the last of the twenty-four

Tirthankaras attained beatitude. Similarly they observe Pongal and

the Ayudha puja day. They adhere closely to the injunctions of their

faith prohibiting the taking of life, and, to guard themselves from

unwittingly infringing them, they do not eat or drink at night lest

they might thereby destroy small insects which had got unseen into

their food. For the same reason, they filter through a cloth all

milk or water which they use, eat only curds, ghee and oil which

they have made themselves with due precautions against the taking of

insect life, or known to have been similarly made by other Jains,

and even avoid the use of shell chunam (lime). The Vedakkarans

(shikari or hunting caste) trade on these scruples by catching

small birds, bringing them to Jain houses, and demanding money

to spare their lives. The Jains have four sub-divisions, namely,

the ordinary laymen, and three priestly classes. Of the latter, the

most numerous are the Archakas (or Vadyars). They do the worship in

the temples. An ordinary layman cannot become an Archaka; it is a

class apart. An Archaka can, however, rise to the next higher of the

priestly classes, and become what is called an Annam or Annuvriti,

a kind of monk who is allowed to marry, but has to live according

to certain special rules of conduct. These Annams can again rise

to the highest of the three classes, and become Nirvanis or Munis,

monks who lead a celibate life apart from the world. There is also a

sisterhood of nuns, called Aryanganais, who are sometimes maidens, and

sometimes women who have left their husbands, but must in either case

take a vow of chastity. The monks shave their heads, and dress in red;

the nuns similarly shave, but wear white. Both of them carry as marks

of their condition a brass vessel and a bunch of peacock's feathers,

with which latter they sweep clean any place on which they sit down,

lest any insect should be there. To both classes the other Jains make

namaskaram (respectful salutation) when they meet them, and both are

maintained at the cost of the rest of the community. The laymen among

the Jains will not intermarry, though they will dine with the Archakas,

and these latter consequently have the greatest trouble in procuring

brides for their sons, and often pay Rs. 200 or Rs. 300 to secure a

suitable match. Otherwise there are no marriage sub-divisions among the

community, all Jains south of Madras freely intermarrying. Marriage

takes place either before or after puberty. Widows are not allowed

to remarry, but are not required to shave their heads until they are

middle-aged. The dead are burnt, and the death pollution lasts for

twelve days, after which period purification is performed, and the

parties must go to the temple. Jains will not eat with Hindus. Their

domestic ceremonies, such as those of birth, marriage, death and so

on resemble generally those of the Brahmans. A curious difference

is that, though the girls never wear the thread, they are taught the

thread-wearing mantram, amid all the ceremonies usual in the case of

boys, when they are about eight years old."

It is recorded, in the report on Epigraphy, 1906-1907, that at

Eyil in the South Arcot district the Jains asked the Collector for

permission to use the stones of the Siva temple for repairing their

own. The Collector called upon the Hindus to put the Siva temple in

order within a year, on pain of its being treated as an escheat.

Near the town of Madura is a large isolated mass of naked rock, which

is known as Anaimalai (elephant hill). "The Madura Sthala Purana

says it is a petrified elephant. The Jains of Conjeeveram, says this

chronicle, tried to convert the Saivite people of Madura to the Jain

faith. Finding the task difficult, they had recourse to magic. They

dug a great pit ten miles long, performed a sacrifice thereon, and

thus caused a huge elephant to arise from it. This beast they sent

against Madura. It advanced towards the town, shaking the whole earth

at every step, with the Jains marching close behind it. But the Pandya

king invoked the aid of Siva, and the god arose and slew the elephant

with his arrow at the spot where it now lies petrified." [213]

In connection with the long barren rock near Madura called Nagamalai

(snake hill), "local legends declare that it is the remains of a huge

serpent, brought into existence by the magic arts of the Jains, which

was only prevented by the grace of Siva from devouring the fervently

Saivite city it so nearly approaches." [214] Two miles south of Madura

is a small hill of rock named Pasumalai. "The name means cow hill,

and the legend in the Madura Sthala Purana says that the Jains,

being defeated in their attempt to destroy Madura by means of the

serpent which was turned into the Nagamalai, resorted to more magic,

and evolved a demon in the form of an enormous cow. They selected this

particular shape for their demon, because they thought that no one

would dare kill so sacred an animal. Siva, however, directed the bull

which is his vehicle to increase vastly in size, and go to meet the

cow. The cow, seeing him, died of love, and was turned into this hill."

On the wall of the mantapam of the golden lotus tank (pothamarai)

of the Minakshi temple at Madura is a series of frescoes illustrating

the persecution of the Jains. For the following account thereof, I am

indebted to Mr. K. V. Subramania Aiyar. Sri Gnana Sammandha Swami,

who was an avatar or incarnation of Subramaniya, the son of Siva,

was the foremost of the sixty-three canonised saints of the Saivaite

religion, and a famous champion thereof. He was sent into the world

by Siva to put down the growing prevalence of the Jaina heresy, and

to re-establish the Saivite faith in Southern India. He entered on

the execution of his earthly mission at the age of three, when he was

suckled with the milk of spirituality by Parvati, Siva's consort. He

manifested himself first at the holy place Shiyali in the present

Tanjore district to a Brahman devotee named Sivapathabja Hirthaya

and his wife, who were afterwards reputed to be his parents. During

the next thirteen years, he composed about sixteen thousand thevaram

(psalms) in praise of the presiding deity at the various temples which

he visited, and performed miracles. Wherever he went, he preached the

Saiva philosophy, and made converts. At this time, a certain Koon

(hunch-back) Pandyan was ruling over the Madura country, where,

as elsewhere, Jainism had asserted its influence, and he and all

his subjects had become converts to the new faith. The queen and the

prime-minister, however, were secret adherents to the cult of Siva,

whose temple was deserted and closed. They secretly invited Sri Gnana

Sammandha to the capital, in the hope that he might help in extirpating

the followers of the obnoxious Jain religion. He accordingly arrived

with thousands of followers, and took up his abode in a mutt or

monastery on the north side of the Vaigai river. When the Jain priests,

who were eight thousand in number, found this out, they set fire to

his residence with a view to destroying him. His disciples, however,

extinguished the flames. The saint, resenting the complicity of the

king in the plot, willed that the fire should turn on him, and burn him

in the form of a virulent fever. All the endeavours of the Jain priests

to cure him with medicines and incantations failed. The queen and

the prime-minister impressed on the royal patient the virtues of the

Saiva saint, and procured his admission into the palace. When Sammandha

Swami offered to cure the king by simply throwing sacred ashes on him,

the Jain priests who were present contended that they must still be

given a chance. So it was mutually agreed between them that each

party should undertake to cure half the body of the patient. The

half allotted to Sammandha was at once cured, while the fever raged

with redoubled severity in the other half. The king accordingly

requested Sammandha to treat the rest of his body, and ordered the

Jaina priests to withdraw from his presence. The touch of Sammandha's

hand, when rubbing the sacred ashes over him, cured not only the

fever, but also the hunched back. The king now looked so graceful

that he was thenceforward called Sundara (beautiful) Pandyan. He was

re-converted to Saivism, the doors of the Siva temple were re-opened,

and the worship of Siva therein was restored. The Jain priests, not

satisfied with their discomfiture, offered to establish the merits of

their religion in other ways. They suggested that each party should

throw the cadjan (palm-leaf) books containing the doctrines of their

respective religions into a big fire, and that the party whose books

were burnt to ashes should be considered defeated. The saint acceding

to the proposal, the books were thrown into the fire, with the result

that those flung by Sammandha were uninjured, while no trace of the

Jain books remained. Still not satisfied, the Jains proposed that the

religious books of both parties should be cast into the flooded Vaigai

river, and that the party whose books travelled against the current

should be regarded as victorious. The Jains promised Sammandha that,

if they failed in this trial, they would become his slaves, and serve

him in any manner he pleased. But Sammandha replied: "We have already

got sixteen thousand disciples to serve us. You have profaned the name

of the supreme Siva, and committed sacrilege by your aversion to the

use of his emblems, such as sacred ashes and beads. So your punishment

should be commensurate with your vile deeds." Confident of success,

the Jains offered to be impaled on stakes if they lost. The trial took

place, and the books of the Saivites travelled up stream. Sammandha

then gave the Jains a chance of escape by embracing the Saiva faith,

to which some of them became converts. The number thereof was so great

that the available supply of sacred ashes was exhausted. Such of the

Jains as remained unconverted were impaled on stakes resembling a sula

or trident. It may be noted that, in the Mahabharata, Rishi Mandaviar

is said to have been impaled on a stake on a false charge of theft. And

Ramanuja, the Guru of the Vaishnavites, is also said to have impaled

heretics on stakes in the Mysore province. The events recorded in

the narrative of Sammandha and the Jains are gone through at five of

the twelve annual festivals at the Madura temple. On these occasions,

which are known as impaling festival days, an image representing a Jain

impaled on a stake is carried in procession. According to a tradition

the villages of Mela Kilavu and Kil Kilavu near Solavandan are so

named because the stakes (kilavu) planted for the destruction of the

Jains in the time of Tirugnana extended so far from the town of Madura.

For details of the literature relating to the Jains, I would refer

the reader to A. Guérinot's 'Essai de Bibliographie Jaina,' Annales

du Musée Guimet, Paris, 1906.

Jain Vaisya.--The name assumed by a small colony of "Banians," who

have settled in Native Cochin. They are said [215] to frequent the

kalli (stone) pagoda in the Kannuthnad taluk of North Travancore,

and believe that he who proceeds thither a sufficiently large number

of times obtains salvation. Of recent years, a figure of Brahma is

said to have sprung up of itself on the top of the rock, on which

the pagoda is situated.

Jakkula.--Described [216] as an inferior class of prostitutes, mostly

of the Balija caste; and as wizards and a dancing and theatrical

caste. At Tenali, in the Kistna district, it was customary for each

family to give up one girl for prostitution. She was "married" to

any chance comer for one night with the usual ceremonies. Under the

influence of social reform, the members of the caste, in 1901, entered

into a written agreement to give up the practice. A family went back on

this, so the head of the caste prosecuted the family and the "husband"

for disposing of a minor for the purpose of prostitution. The records

state that it was resolved, in 1901, that they should not keep the

females as girls, but should marry them before they attain puberty. "As

the deeds of the said girls not only brought discredit on all of us,

but their association gives our married women also an opportunity

to contract bad habits, and, as all of our castemen thought it good

to give up henceforth the custom of leaving girls unmarried now in

vogue, all of us convened a public meeting in the Tenali village,

considered carefully the pros and cons, and entered into the agreement

herein mentioned. If any person among us fail to marry the girls in

the families before puberty, the managing members of the families

of the girls concerned should pay Rs. 500 to the three persons whom

we have selected as the headmen of our caste, as penalty for acting

in contravention of this agreement. If any person does not pay the

headmen of the caste the penalty, the headmen are authorised to

recover the amount through Court. We must abstain from taking meals,

living, or intermarriage with such of the families as do not now join

with us in this agreement, and continue to keep girls unmarried. We

must not take meals or intermarry with those that are now included in

this agreement, but who hereafter act in contravention of it. If any

of us act in contravention of the terms of the two last paragraphs,

we should pay a penalty of Rs. 50 to the headmen."

Jalagadugu.--Defined, by Mr. C. P. Brown, [217] as "a caste of

gold-finders, who search for gold in drains, and in the sweepings

of goldsmiths' shops." A modest livelihood is also obtained, in

some places, by extracting gold from the bed of rivers or nullahs

(water-courses). The name is derived from jala, water, gadugu,

wash. The equivalent Jalakara is recorded, in the Bellary Gazetteer,

as a sub-division of Kabbera.

In the city of Madras, gold-washers are to be found working in the

foul side drains in front of jewellers' shops. The Health Officer

to the Corporation informs me that he often chases them, and breaks

their pots for obstructing public drains in their hunt for pieces of

gold and other metals.

For the following note on the gold-washers of Madras, I am indebted

to Dr. K. T. Mathew: "This industry is carried on in the city by the

Oddars, and was practically monopolised by them till a few years back,

when other castes, mostly of the lower orders, stepped in. The Oddars

now form a population of several thousands in the city, their chief

occupation being conservancy cooly work. The process of gold washing

is carried out by women at home, and by the aged and adults in their

spare hours. The ashes, sweepings, and refuse from the goldsmiths'

shops are collected on payment of a sum ranging from one rupee to ten

rupees per mensem, and are brought in baskets to a convenient place

alongside their huts, where they are stored for a variable time. The

drain silts from streets where there are a large number of jewellers'

shops are similarly collected, but, in this case, the only payment to

be made is a present to the Municipal peon. The materials so collected

are left undisturbed for a few days or several months, and this storing

away for a time is said to be necessary to facilitate the extraction of

the gold, as any immediate attempt to wash the stuff results in great

loss in the quantity obtained. From the heap as much as can be taken

on an ordinary spade is put into a boat-shaped tub open at one end,

placed close to the heap, and so arranged that the waste water from the

tub flows away from the heap behind, and collects in a shallow pool in

front. The water from the pool is collected in a small chatty (earthen

vessel), and poured over the heap in the tub, which is continually

stirred up with the other hand. All the lighter stuff in this way

flows out of the tub, and all the hard stones are every now and then

picked out and thrown away. This process goes on until about a couple

of handfuls of dark sand, etc., are left in the tub. To this a small

quantity of mercury is added, briskly rubbed for a minute or two,

and the process of washing goes on, considerable care being taken to

see that no particle of mercury escapes, until at last the mercury,

with a great many particles of metallic dust attached, is collected

in a small chatty--often a broken piece of a pot. The mercury, with

the metallic particles in it, is then well washed with clean water,

and put into a tiny bag formed of two layers of a piece of rag. The

mass is then gently pressed until all the mercury falls into a chatty

below, leaving a small flattened mass of dark substance in the bag,

which is carefully collected, and kept in another dry chatty. The

washing process is repeated until enough of the dark substance--about a

third of a teaspoonful--is collected. This substance is then mixed with

powdered common salt and brick-dust, put into a broken piece of a pot,

and covered with another piece. The whole is placed in a large earthen

vessel, with cow-dung cakes well packed above and below. A blazing

fire is soon produced, and kept up till the mass is melted. This mass

is carefully removed, and again melted with borax in a hole made in a

piece of good charcoal, by blowing through a reed or hollow bamboo,

until the gold separates from the mass. The fire is then suddenly

quenched, and the piece of gold is separated and removed."

Jalari.--The Jalaris are Telugu fishermen, palanquin-bearers, and

cultivators in Ganjam and Vizagapatam. The name, Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao

writes, is derived from jala, a net. Some are fresh-water fishermen,

while others fish with a cast-net (visuru valalu) from the sea-shore,

or on the open sea. They bear the name Gangavamsamu, or people of

Ganga, in the same way that a division of the Kabbera fishing caste

is called Gangimakkalu. In caste organisation, ceremonial, etc.,

the Jalaris coincide with the Milas. They are called Noliyas by the

Oriyas of Ganjam. They have house-names like other Telugus, and their

females do not wear brass bangles, as low-caste Oriya women do.

The Jalaris have two endogamous divisions, called panrendu kotla

(twelve posts), and edu kotla (seven posts), in reference to the number

of posts for the booth. The former claim superiority over the latter,

on the ground that they are illegitimate Jalaris, or recently admitted

into the caste.

Like other Telugu castes, the Jalaris have a caste council under

the control of a headman called Pilla. In imitation of the Oriyas,

they have created an assistant headman called Dolobehara, and they

have the usual caste servant.

In their puberty, marriage and death ceremonies, they closely follow

the Vadas and Palles. The prohibitions regarding marriage are of the

Telugu form, but, like the Oriya castes, the Jalaris allow a widow to

marry her deceased husband's younger brother. The marriage ceremonies

last for three days. On the first day, the pandal (booth), with the

usual milk-post, is erected. For every marriage, representatives of

the four towns Peddapatnam, Vizagapatam, Bimlipatam, and Revalpatnam,

should be invited, and should be the first to receive pan-supari (betel

leaves and areca nuts) after the pandal has been set up. Peddapatnam

is the first to be called out, and the respect may be shown to any

person from that town. The representatives of the other towns must

belong to particular septs, as follows:--

Vizagapatam Buguri sept.

Revalpatnam Jonna sept.

Bimlipatam Sundra sept.

The Jalaris are unable to explain the significance of this "counting

towns," as they call it. Possibly Peddapatnam was their original

home, from which particular septs emigrated to other towns. On the

second day of the marriage ceremonies, the tying of the sathamanam

(marriage badge) takes place. The bridegroom, after going in procession

through the streets, enters the house at which the marriage is to be

celebrated. At the entrance, the maternal uncle of the bride stands

holding in his crossed hands two vessels, one of which contains water,

and the other water with jaggery (crude sugar) dissolved in it. The

bridegroom is expected to take hold of the vessel containing the

sweetened water before he enters, and is fined if he fails to do

so. When the bridegroom approaches the pandal, some married women

hold a bamboo pole between him and the pandal, and a new earthen

pot is carried thrice round the pole. While this is being done, the

bride joins the bridegroom, and the couple enter the pandal beneath

a cloth held up to form a canopy in front thereof. This ceremonial

takes place towards evening, as the marriage badge is tied on the

bride's neck during the night. An interesting feature in connection

with the procession is that a pole called digametlu (shoulder-pole),

with two baskets tied to the ends, is carried. In one of the baskets

a number of sieves and small baskets are placed, and in the other

one or more cats. This digametlu is always referred to by the Vadas

when they are questioned as to the difference between their marriage

ceremonies and those of the Jalaris. Other castes laugh at this custom,

and it is consequently dying out.

The Jalaris always marry young girls. One reason assigned for this

is "the income to married young girls" at the time of the marriage

ceremonies. Two or more married couples are invited to remain at the

house in which the marriage takes place, to help the bridal couple in

their toilette, and assist at the nalagu, evil eye waving, and other

rites. They are rewarded for their services with presents. Another

instance of infant marriage being the rule on account of pecuniary

gain is found among the Dikshitar Brahmans of Chidambaram. Only married

males have a voice in temple affairs, and receive a share of the temple

income. Consequently, boys are sometimes married when they are seven

or eight years old. At every Jalari marriage, meals must be given to

the castemen, a rupee to the representatives of the patnams, twelve

annas to the headman and his assistant, and three rupees to the Malas.

Like other Telugu castes, the Jalaris have intiperus (septs),

which resemble those of the Vadas. Among them, Jonna and Buguri are

common. In their religious observances, the Jalaris closely follow

the Vadas.

The Madras Museum possesses a collection of clay and wooden figures,

such as are worshipped by the fishing castes at Gopalpur, and other

places on the Ganjam coast. Concerning these, Mr. J. D'A. C. Reilly

writes to me as follows. The specimens represent the chief gods

worshipped by the fishermen. The Tahsildar of Berhampur got them

made by the potters and carpenters, who usually make such figures for

the Gopalpur fishermen. I have found fishermen's shrines at several

places. Separate families appear to have separate shrines, some

consisting of large chatties (earthen pots), occasionally ornamented,

and turned upside down, with an opening on one side. Others are made

of bricks and chunam (lime). All that I have seen had their opening

towards the sea. Two classes of figures are placed in these shrines,

viz., clay figures of gods, which are worshipped before fishing

expeditions, and when there is danger from a particular disease which

they prevent; and wooden figures of deceased relations, which are quite

as imaginative as the clay figures. Figures of gods and relations

are placed in the same family shrine. There are hundreds of gods to

choose from, and the selection appears to be a matter of family taste

and tradition. The figures which I have sent were made by a potter

at Venkatarayapalle, and painted by a carpenter at Uppulapatti,

both villages near Gopalpur. The Tahsildar tells me that, when he

was inspecting them at the Gopalpur traveller's bungalow, sixty or

seventy fishermen objected to their gods being taken away. He pacified

them by telling them that it was because the Government had heard of

their devotion to their gods that they wanted to have some of them

in Madras. The collection of clay figures includes the following:--

Bengali Babu.--Wears a hat, and rides on a black horse. He blesses

the fishermen, secures large hauls of fish for them, and guards them

against danger when out fishing.

Samalamma.--Wears a red skirt and green coat and protects the fishermen

from fever.

Rajamma, a female figure, with a sword in her right hand, riding on

a black elephant. She blesses barren women with children, and favours

her devotees with big catches when they go out fishing.

Yerenamma, riding on a white horse, with a sword in her right hand. She

protects fishermen from drowning, and from being caught by big fish.

Bhagirathamma, riding on an elephant, and having eight or twelve

hands. She helps fishermen when fishing at night, and protects them

against cholera, dysentery, and other intestinal disorders.

Nukalamma.--Wears a red jacket and green skirt, and protects the

fishing community against small-pox.

Orosondi Ammavaru.--Prevents the boats from being sunk or damaged.

Bhagadevi.--Rides on a tiger, and protects the community from cholera.

Veyyi Kannula Ammavaru, or the goddess of a thousand eyes, represented

by a pot pierced with holes, in which a gingelly (Sesamum) oil light

is burnt. She attends to the general welfare of the fisher folk.

Jali (Acacia arabica).--A gotra of Kurni.

Jalli.--Jalli, meaning palm tassels put round the neck and horns of

bulls, occurs as an exogamous sept of Jogi. The name occurs further

as a sub-division of Kevuto.

Jambava.--A synonym of the Madigas, who claim descent from the rishi

Audi Jambavadu.

Jambu (Eugenia Jambolana).--An exogamous sept of Odde.

Jambuvar (a monkey king with a bear's face).--An exogamous sept of

Kondaiyamkottai Maravan.

Jamkhanvala (carpet-maker).--An occupational name for Patnulkarans

and Patvegars.

Jammi (Prosopis spicigera).--A gotra of Gollas, members of which may

not use the tree. It is further a gotra of Chembadis. Children of this

caste who are named after the caste god Gurappa or Gurunathadu are

taken, when they are five, seven, or nine years old, to a jammi tree,

and shaved after it has been worshipped with offerings of cooked food,

etc. The jammi or sami tree is regarded as sacred all over India. Some

orthodox Hindus, when they pass it, go round it, and salute it,

repeating a Sanskrit verse to the effect that "the sami tree removes

sins; it is the destroyer of enemies; it was the bearer of the bows

and arrows of Arjuna, and the sight of it was very welcome to Rama."

Janappan.--The Janappans, Mr. W. Francis writes, [218] "were

originally a section of the Balijas, but they have now developed

into a distinct caste. They seem to have been called Janappan,

because they manufactured gunny-bags of hemp (janapa) fibre. In Tamil

they are called Saluppa Chettis, Saluppan being the Tamil form of

Janappan. Some of them have taken to calling themselves Desayis or

Desadhipatis (rulers of countries), and say they are Balijas. They

do not wear the sacred thread. The caste usually speaks Telugu,

but in Madura there is a section, the women of which speak Tamil,

and also are debarred from taking part in religious ceremonies, and,

therefore, apparently belonged originally to some other caste."

In a note on the Janappans of the North Arcot district [219]

Mr. H. A. Stuart states that Janappan is "the name of a caste,

which engages in trade by hawking goods about the towns and

villages. Originally they were merely manufacturers of gunny-bags

out of hemp (janapa, Crotalaria juncea), and so obtained their

name. But they are now met with as Dasaris or religious beggars,

sweetmeat-sellers, and hawkers of English cloths and other goods. By

the time they have obtained to the last honourable profession, they

assume to be Balijas. Telugu is their vernacular, and Chetti their

usual caste name. According to their own tradition, they sprung from

a yagam (sacrificial rite) made by Brahma, and their remote ancestor

thus produced was, they say, asked by the merchants of the country

to invent some means for carrying about their wares. He obtained some

seeds from the ashes of Brahma's yagam, which he sowed, and the plant

which sprang up was the country hemp, which he manufactured into

a gunny-bag. The Janapa Chettis are enterprising men in their way,

and are much employed at the fairs at Gudiyattam and other places

as cattle-brokers."

The Saluppans say that they have twenty-four gotras, which are divided

into groups of sixteen and eight. Marriage is forbidden between members

of the same group, but permitted between members of the sixteen and

eight gotras. Among the names of the gotras, are the following:--

Vasava. Madalavan.

Vamme. Piligara.

Mummudi. Mukkanda.

Pilli Vankaravan. Vadiya.

Makkiduvan. Thonda.

Thallelan. Kola.

Gendagiri.

The Janappans of the Telugu country also say that they have only

twenty-four gotras. Some of these are totemistic in character. Thus,

members of the Kappala (frog) gotra owe their name to a tradition

that on one occasion, when some of the family were fishing, they

caught a haul of big frogs instead of fish. Consequently, members of

this gotra do not injure frogs. Members of the Thonda or Thonda Maha

Rishi gotra abstain from using the fruit or leaves of the thonda plant

(Cephalandra indica). The fruits of this plant are among the commonest

of native vegetables. In like manner, members of the Mukkanda sept may

not use the fruit of Momordica Charantia. Those of the Vamme gotra

abstain from eating the fish called bombadai, because, when some of

their ancestors went to fetch water in the marriage pot, they found

a number of this fish in the water collected in the pot. So, too,

in the Kola gotra, the eating of the fish called kolasi is forbidden.

In their marriage customs, those who live in the Telugu country follow

the Telugu Puranic form, while those who have settled in the Tamil

country have adopted some of the marriage rites thereof. There are,

however, some points of interest in their marriage ceremonies. On the

day fixed for the betrothal, those assembled wait silently listening

for the chirping of a lizard, which is an auspicious sign. It is said

that the match is broken off, if the chirping is not heard. If the

omen proves auspicious, a small bundle of nine to twelve kinds of

pulses and grain is given by the bridegroom's father to the father

of the bride. This is preserved, and examined several days after the

marriage. If the grain and pulses are in good condition, it is a sign

that the newly married couple will have a prosperous career.

There are both Saivites and Vaishnavites among these people,

and the former predominate in the southern districts. Most of the

Vaishnavites are disciples of Bhatrazus. The Bhatrazu priest goes round

periodically, collecting his fees. Those among the Saivites who are

religiously inclined are disciples of Pandarams of mutts (religious

institutions). Those who have settled in the Salem district seem to

consider Damayanti and Kamatchi as the caste deities.

The manufacture of gunny-bags is still carried on by some members of

the caste, but they are mainly engaged in trade and agriculture. In

the city of Madras, the sale of various kinds of fruits is largely

in the hands of the Janappans.

Sathu vandlu, meaning a company of merchants or travellers, occurs

as a synonym of Janappan.

In the Mysore Census Report, 1901, Janappa is returned as a

sub-division of the Gonigas, who are sack-weavers, and makers of

gunny-bags.

Jandayi (flag).--An exogamous sept of Yanadi.

Janga (calf of the leg).--An exogamous sept of Mala.

Jangal Jati.--A synonym, denoting jungle folk, of the Kurivikarans

or Kattu Marathis.

Jangam.--It is noted, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, that "strictly

speaking, a Jangam is a priest to the religious sect of Lingayats,

but the term is frequently loosely applied to any Lingayat, which

accounts for the large numbers under this head (102,121). Jangams

proper are said to be of two classes, Pattadikaris, who have a definite

head-quarters, and Charamurtis, who go from village to village,

preaching the principles of the Lingayat sect. Many Jangams are priests

to Sudras who are not Lingayats, others are merely religious beggars,

and others of them go in for trade." In the Census Report, 1891, it

is further recorded that "the full name is Jangama Lingayat, meaning

those who always worship a moveable lingam, in contradistinction

to the Sthavara (immoveable) lingam of the temples. Only two of

the sub-divisions returned are numerically important, Ganayata and

Sthavara. The sub-division Sthavara is curious, for a Sthavara Jangam

is a contradistinction in terms. This sub-division is found only in

the two northern districts, and it is possible that the Jangam caste,

as there found, is different from the ordinary Jangam, for, in the

Vizagapatam District Manual, the Jangams are said to be tailors." In

the Telugu country Lingayats are called Jangalu.

The Ganta Jangams are so called, because they carry a metal bell

(ganta).

The Jangams are thus referred to by Pietro della Valle. [220]

"At Ikkeri I saw certain Indian Friars, whom in their language they

call Giangama, and perhaps are the same with the sages seen by me

elsewhere; but they have wives, and go with their faces smeared with

ashes, yet not naked, but clad in certain extravagant habits, and a

kind of hood or cowl upon their heads of dyed linen of that colour

which is generally used amongst them, namely a reddish brick colour,

with many bracelets upon their arms and legs, filled with something

within that makes a jangling as they walk. I saw many persons come

to kiss their feet, and, whilst such persons were kissing them, and,

for more reverence, touching their feet with their foreheads, these

Giangamas stood firm with a seeming severity, and without taking

notice of it, as if they had been abstracted from the things of the

world." (See Lingayat.)

Janjapul (sacred thread).--An exogamous sept of Boya.

Janmi.--Janmi or Janmakaran means "proprietor" or "landlord"; the

person in whom the janman title rests. Janman denotes (1) birth,

birthright, proprietorship; (2) freehold property, which it was

considered disgraceful to alienate. Janmabhogam is the share in the

produce of the land, which is due to the Janmi." [221] In 1805-1806,

the Collector of Malabar obtained, for the purpose of carrying out

a scheme of assessment approved by Government, a return from all

proprietors of the seed, produce, etc., of all their fields. This

return is usually known as the Janmi pymaish of 981 M.E. (Malabar

era). [222]

Writing to me concerning Malabar at the present day, a correspondent

states that "in almost every taluk we have jungle tribes, who call

themselves the men of Janmis. In the old days, when forests were sold,

the inhabitants were actually entered in the contract as part of

the effects, as, in former times, the landlord sold the adscripti

or ascripti glebæ with the land. Now that is not done. However,

the relationship exists to the following extent, according to what a

Tahsildar (native magistrate) tells me. The tribesmen roam about the

forests at will, and each year select a place, which has lain fallow

for five years or more for all kinds of cultivation. Sometimes they

inform the Janmis that they have done so, sometimes they do not. Then,

at harvest time, the Janmi, or his agent, goes up and takes his share

of the produce. They never try to deceive the Janmi. He is asked to

settle their disputes, but these are rare. They never go to law. The

Janmi can call on them for labour, and they give it willingly. If badly

treated, as they have been at times by encroaching plainsmen, they run

off to another forest, and serve another Janmi. At the Onam festival

they come with gifts for the Janmi, who stands them a feast. The

relation between the jungle folk and the Janmi shows the instinct

in a primitive people to have a lord. There seems to be no gain in

having a Janmi. His protection is not needed, and he is hardly ever

called in to interfere. If they refused to pay the Janmi his dues,

he would find it very hard to get them. Still they keep him." In the

middle of the last century, when planters first began to settle in

the Malabar Wynad, they purchased the land from the Janmis with the

Paniyans living on it, who were practically slaves of the landowners.

The hereditary rights and perquisites claimed, in their villages,

by the astrologer, carpenter, goldsmith, washerman, barber, etc.,

are called Cherujanmam.

Janni.--The name of the caste priests of Jatapus.

Japanese.--At the Mysore census, 1901, two Japanese were returned. They

were managers of the silk farm instituted on Japanese methods by

Mr. Tata of Bombay in the vicinity of Bangalore.

Jat.--A few members of this North Indian class of Muhammadans,

engaged in trade, have been returned at times of census in Mysore.

Jatapu.--The Jatapus are defined, in the Madras Census Report,

1901, as "a civilised section of the Khonds, who speak Khond on the

hills and Telugu on the plains, and are now practically a distinct

caste. They consider themselves superior to those Khonds who still

eat beef and snakes, and have taken to some of the ways of the castes

of the plains."

For the following note, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The

name Jatapu is popularly believed to be an abbreviated form of Konda

Jatapu Doralu, or lords of the Khond caste. To this caste the old

chiefs of the Palkonda Zamindari are said to have belonged. It is

divided into a number of septs, such, for example, as:--

Thorika or Thoyika, who revere the thorika kodi, a species of

wild fowl.

Kadrika, who revere another species of fowl.

Mamdangi, who revere the bull or cow.

Addaku, who revere the addaku (Bauhinia racemosa), which is used

by low-country people for eating-platters.

Konda Gorre, who revere a certain breed of sheep.

Navalipitta, who revere the peacock.

Arika, who revere the arika (Paspalum scrobiculatum).

Other septs, recorded in the Census Report, 1901, are Koalaka (arrow),

Kutraki (wild goat), and Vinka (white ant, Termes).

Marriage is celebrated either before or after a girl reaches puberty. A

man may claim his paternal aunt's daughter as his wife. The marriage

ceremonies closely resemble those of the low-country Telugu type. The

bride-price, called voli, is a new cloth for the bride's mother, rice,

various kinds of grain, and liquor. The bride is conducted to the house

of the bridegroom, and a feast is held. On the following morning,

the kallagolla sambramam (toe-nail cutting) ceremony takes place,

and, later on, at an auspicious hour, the wrist threads (kankanam) are

tied on the wrists of the contracting couple, and their hands joined

together. They then bathe, and another feast is held. The remarriage

of widows is allowed, and a younger brother may marry the widow of

his elder brother. Divorce is permitted, and divorcées may remarry.

The dead are usually buried, but those who die from snake-bite are

said to be burnt. Death pollution lasts for three days, during which

the caste occupation of cultivating is not carried on. An annual

ceremony is performed by each family in honour of the dead. A fowl

or goat is killed, a portion of the day's food collected in a plate,

and placed on the roof of the house. Once in twenty years or so, all

the castemen join together, and buy a pig or cow, which is sacrificed

in honour of the ancestors.

The caste goddess is Jakara Devata, who is propitiated with sacrifices

of pigs, sheep, and buffaloes. When the crop is gathered in, the

first fruits are offered to her, and then partaken of.

The caste headman is called Nayudu or Samanthi, and he is assisted

by the Janni, or caste priest, who officiates at ceremonials, and

summons council meetings.

The caste titles are Dora, Naiko, and Samanto.

Jatikirtulu.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a class

of beggars in the Cuddapah district. The name means those who praise

the caste, and may have reference to the Bhatrazus.

Jati Pillai (children of the caste).--A general name for beggars,

who are attached to particular castes, from the members of which they

receive alms, and at whose ceremonies they take part by carrying

flags in processions, etc. It is their duty to uphold the dignity

of the caste by reciting the story of its origin, and singing its

praises. As examples of Jati Pillais, the following may be cited:--

Mailari attached to Komatis.

Viramushti attached to Beri Chettis and Komatis.

Nokkan attached to Pallis.

Mastiga attached to Madigas.

It is recorded by Mr. M. Paupa Rao Naidu [223] that some Koravas, who

go by the name of Jatipalli Koravas, "are prevalent in the southern

districts of the Madras Presidency, moving always in gangs, and

giving much trouble. Their women tattoo in return for grain, money,

or cloths, and help their men in getting acquainted with the nature

and contents of the houses."

Jaura.--The Jauras are a small Oriya caste, closely allied to the

Khoduras, the members of which manufacture lac (jau) bangles and

other articles. Lac, it may be noted, is largely used in India for

the manufacture of bangles, rings, beads, and other trinkets worn as

ornaments by women of the poorer classes. Dhippo (light) and mohiro

(peacock) occur as common exogamous septs among the Jauras, and are

objects of reverence. The Jauras are mainly Saivites, and Suramangala

and Bimmala are the caste deities. Titles used by members of the

caste are Danse, Sahu, Dhov, and Mahapatro.

Javvadi (civet-cat).--An exogamous sept of Medara.

Jelakuppa (a fish).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba.

Jen (honey).--A sub-division of Kurumba.

Jenna.--A title of Oriya castes, e.g., Bolasi and Kalinji.

Jerribotula (centipedes).--An exogamous sept of Boya.

Jetti.--A Telugu caste of professional wrestlers and gymnasts, who, in

the Telugu districts, shampoo and rub in ointments to cure nerve pains

and other disorders. In Tanjore, though living in a Tamil environment,

they speak Telugu. They wear the sacred thread, and consider themselves

to be of superior caste, never descending to any degrading work. During

the days of the Rajas of Tanjore, they were employed in guarding

the treasury and jewel rooms. But, since the death of the late Raja,

most of them have emigrated to Mysore and other Native States, a few

only remaining in Tanjore, and residing in the fort.

The Jettis, in Mysore, are said [224] to have been sometimes employed

as executioners, and to have despatched their victim by a twist of

the neck. [225] Thus, in the last war against Tipu Sultan, General

Matthews had his head wrung from his body by the "tiger fangs of

the Jetties, a set of slaves trained up to gratify their master with

their infernal species of dexterity." [226]

They are still considered skilful in setting dislocated joints. In

a note regarding them in the early part of the last century, Wilks

writes as follows. "These persons constitute a distinct caste,

trained from their infancy in daily exercises for the express purpose

of exhibitions; and perhaps the whole world does not produce more

perfect forms than those which are exhibited at these interesting

but cruel sports. The combatants, clad in a single garment of light

orange-coloured drawers extending half-way down the thigh, have

their right arm furnished with a weapon, which, for want of a more

appropriate term, we shall name a cæstus, although different from

the Roman instruments of that name. It is composed of buffalo horn,

fitted to the hand, and pointed with four knobs, resembling very

sharp knuckles, and corresponding to their situation, with a fifth

of greater prominence at the end nearest the little finger, and at

right angles with the other four. This instrument, properly placed,

would enable a man of ordinary strength to cleave open the head of his

adversary at a blow; but, the fingers being introduced through the

weapon, it is fastened across them at an equal distance between the

first and second lower joints, in a situation, it will be observed,

which does not admit of attempting a severe blow, without the risk

of dislocating the first joints of all the fingers. Thus armed, and

adorned with garlands of flowers, the successive pairs of combatants,

previously matched by the masters of the feast, are led into the

arena; their names and abodes are proclaimed; and, after making their

prostrations, first to the Raja seated on his ivory throne, and then

to the lattices behind which the ladies of the court are seated, they

proceed to the combat, first divesting themselves of the garlands,

and strewing the flowers gracefully over the arena. The combat is a

mixture of wrestling and boxing, if the latter may be so named. The

head is the exclusive object permitted to be struck. Before the end

of the contest, both of the combatants may frequently be observed

streaming with blood from the crown of the head down to the sand of

the arena. When victory seems to have declared itself, or the contest

is too severely maintained, the moderators in attendance on the Raja

make a signal for its cessation by throwing down turbans and robes,

to be presented to the combatants. The victor frequently goes off the

arena in four or five somersaults, to denote that he retires fresh

from the contest. The Jettis are divided into five classes, and the

ordinary price of victory is promotion to a higher class. There are

distinct rewards for the first class, and in their old age they are

promoted to be masters of the feast."

In an account of sports held before Tipu Sultan at Seringapatam,

James Scurry, who was one of his prisoners, writes as follows. [227]

"The getiees would be sent for, who always approached with their

masters at their head, and, after prostration, and making their

grand salams, touching the ground each time, they would be paired,

one school against another. They had on their right hands the

wood-guamootie (wajramushti) of four steel talons, which were fixed

to each back joint of their fingers, and had a terrific appearance

when their fists were closed. Their heads were close shaved, their

bodies oiled, and they wore only a pair of short drawers. On being

matched, and the signal given from Tippu, they begin the combat,

always by throwing the flowers, which they wear round their necks,

in each other's faces; watching an opportunity of striking with the

right hand, on which they wore this mischievous weapon which never

failed lacerating the flesh, and drawing blood most copiously. Some

pairs would close instantly, and no matter which was under, for the

gripe was the whole; they were in general taught to suit their holds to

their opponent's body, with every part of which, as far as concerned

them, they were well acquainted. If one got a hold against which his

antagonist could not guard, he would be the conqueror; they would

frequently break each other's legs and arms; and, if anyway tardy,

Tippu had means of infusing spirit into them, for there were always

two stout fellows behind each, with instruments in their hands that

would soon put them to work. They were obliged to fight as long as

Tippu pleased, unless completely crippled, and, if they behaved well,

they were generally rewarded with a turban and shawl, the quality

being according to their merit."

The Jettis of Mysore still have in their possession knuckle-dusters of

the type described above, and take part annually in matches during the

Dasara festival. A Jetti police constable, whom I saw at Channapatna,

had wrestled at Baroda, and at the court of Nepal, and narrated to me

with pride how a wrestler came from Madras to Bangalore, and challenged

any one to a match. A Jetti engaged to meet him in two matches for

Rs. 500 each, and, after going in for a short course of training,

walked round him in each encounter, and won the money easily.

The Mysore Jettis are said to be called, in some places, Mushtigas. And

some are stated to use a jargon called Mallabasha. [228]

Jetti further occurs as the name of an exogamous sept of the Kavarais.

Jew.--It has been said by a recent writer that "there is hardly a

more curious, and in some respects one might almost say a more weird

sight than the Jew town, which lies beyond the British Settlement at

Cochin. Crossing over the lagoon from the beautiful little island of

Bolghotty, where the British Residency for the Cochin State nestles

in a bower of tropical vegetation, one lands amidst cocoanut trees,

opposite to one of the old palaces of the Cochin Rajahs, and, passing

through a native bazaar crowded with dark-skinned Malayalis, one

turns off abruptly into a long narrow street, where faces as white as

those of any northern European race, but Semitic in every feature,

transport one suddenly in mind to the Jewish quarter in Jerusalem,

or rather perhaps to some ghetto in a Polish city."

In the preparation of the following note, I have been much indebted to

the Cochin Census Report, 1901, and to a series of articles published

by Mr. Elkan N. Adler in the Jewish Chronicle. [229]

The circumstances under which, and the time when the Jews migrated to

the Malabar Coast, are wrapped in obscurity. They themselves are able

to give accounts of only isolated incidents, since whatever records

they had were lost at the destruction by the Portuguese of their

original settlement at Cranganur in 1565, and by the destruction at a

later period of such fragments as remained in their possession in the

struggle between the Portuguese and the Dutch, for the Portuguese,

suspecting that the Jews had helped the Dutch, plundered their

synagogue in Cochin.

It is recorded by the Dutch Governor Moens [230] that "when Heer

van Goens besieged Cochin, the Jews were quite eager to provide the

troops of the Dutch Company with victuals, and to afford them all

the assistance they could, hoping that they would enjoy under this

Company the greatest possible civil and religious liberty; but,

when the above-mentioned troops were compelled to leave this coast

before the end of the good monsoon, without having been able to take

Cochin, the Portuguese did not fail to make the Jews feel the terrible

consequences of their revenge. For, no sooner had the Dutch retreated,

than a detachment of soldiers was sent to the Jewish quarters, which

were pillaged and set fire to, whilst the inhabitants fled to the

high-lands, and returned only after Cochin was taken by the Dutch.

"The Jews, who still hold that the Malabar Israelites were in

possession of an old copy of the Sepher Thora, say that this copy,

and all other documents, got lost on the occasion when the Portuguese

destroyed the Jewish quarters, but this is not likely. For, whereas

they had time to save their most valuable property according to their

own testimony, and to take it to the mountains, they would not have

failed to take along with them these documents, which were to them

of inestimable value. For it is related that for a new copy of the

Pentateuch which at that time was in their synagogue they had so much

respect, and took such great care of it, that they even secured this

copy, and took it along, and (when they returned) carried it back

with great rejoicing, as it was done in olden times with the Ark of

the Covenant."

Writing in the eighteenth century, Captain Hamilton states [231] that

the Jews "have a synagogue at Cochin, not far from the King's Palace,

in which are carefully kept their Records, engraven on copper plates

in Hebrew characters; and when any of the characters decay, they

are new cut, so that they can show their own History from the Reign

of Nebuchadnezzar to this present time. Myn Heer Van Reeda, about the

year 1695, had an Abstract of their History translated from the Hebrew

into low Dutch. They declare themselves to be of the Tribe of Manasseh,

a Part whereof was, by order of that haughty Conqueror Nebuchadnezzar,

carried to the easternmost Province of his large Empire, which, it

seems, reached as far as Cape Comerin, which journey 200,000 of them

travelled in three years from their setting out of Babylon."

The elders of the White Jews of Cochin have in their possession a

charter on two copper plates in Vatteluttu character, "the original

character which once prevailed over nearly all the Tamil country

and south-west coast, but which has long ceased to be used in the

former place, and, in the latter, is now only known in a later form,

used for drawing up documents by Hindu Rajas." [232] Concerning this

copper-plate charter, Mr. Adler writes that "the white Jews say that

they have always held it; the black Jews contend that it was originally

theirs. The title-deed is quaint in many ways. It consists of three

strips of copper, one of which is blank, one etched on both sides,

and the third on one side only. The characters are made legible by

being rubbed with whitening. The copper plates have a round hole in

the corner, through which a string was passed to tie them together

under seal, but the seal is lost. They are now kept together by a

thin and narrow copper band, which just fits."

Taking Dr. Gundert's [233] and Mr. Ellis' [234] translation of the

charter as guides, Mr. Burnell translates it as follows:-- [235]

Svasti Sri.--The king of kings has ordered (This is) the act of grace

ordered by His Majesty Srî Pârkaran Iravi Vanmar [236] wielding the

sceptre and reigning in a hundred thousand places, (in) the year

(which is) the opposite to the second year, the thirty-sixth year,

(on) the day he designed to abide in Mûyirikkôdu. [237] We have

given to Isuppu Irabbân [238] Ansuvannam (as a principality), and

seventy-two proprietary rights (appertaining to the dignity of a

feudal lord) also tribute by reverence (?) and offerings, and the

profits of Ansuvannam, and day-lamps, and broad garments (as opposed

to the custom of Malabar), and palankins, and umbrellas, and large

drums, and trumpets, and small drums and garlands, and garlands across

streets, etc., and the like, and seventy-two free houses. Moreover,

we have granted by this document on copper that he shall not pay

the taxes paid by the houses of the city into the royal treasury,

and the (above-said) privileges to hold (them). To Isuppu Irabbân,

prince of Ansuvannam, and to his descendants, his sons and daughters,

and to his nephews, and to (the nephews) of his daughters in natural

succession, Ansuvannam (is) an hereditary estate, as long as the world

and moon exist. Srî. The charter is witnessed by various local chiefs.

A somewhat different reading is given by Dr. G. Oppert [239] who

renders the translation as follows:--

"Hail and happiness! The King of Kings, His Holiness Srî Bhaskara Ravi

Varma, who wields the sceptre in many hundred thousand places, has made

this decree on the day that he was pleased to dwell in Muyirikodu in

the thirty-sixth year of his reign. We have granted unto Joseph Rabban

Anjavannan the [dignity of] Prince, with all the seventy-two rights

of ownership. He shall [enjoy] the revenues from female elephants

and riding animals, and the income of Anjavannan. He is entitled to

be honoured by lamps by day, and to use broad-cloth and sedan chairs,

and the umbrella and the drums of the north and trumpets, and little

drums, and gates, and garlands over the streets, and wreaths, and so

on. We have granted unto him the land tax and weight tax. Moreover,

we have by these copper tablets sanctioned that, when the houses

of the city have to pay taxes to the palace, he need not pay, and

he shall enjoy other privileges like unto these. To Joseph Rabban,

the prince of Anjavannam, and to his descendants, and to his sons and

daughters, and to the nephews and sons-in-law of his daughters, in

natural succession, so long as the world and moon exist, Anjuvannam

shall be his hereditary possession." It is suggested by Dr. Oppert

that Anjuvannam is identical with the fifth or foreign caste.

Dr. E. Hultzsch, the latest authority on the subject of the copper

plates, gives the following translation: [240] "Hail! Prosperity! (The

following) gift (prasada) was graciously made by him who had assumed

the title 'King of Kings' (Kogon), His Majesty (tiruvadi) the King

(ko), the glorious Bhaskara Ravivarman, in the time during which (he)

was wielding the sceptre and ruling over many hundred thousands of

places, in the thirty-sixth year after the second year, on the day on

which (he) was pleased to stay at Muyirikkodu. We have given to Issuppu

Irappan (the village of) Anjuvannam, together with the seventy-two

proprietary rights (viz.), the tolls on female elephants and other

riding-animals, the revenue of Anjuvannam, a lamp in day-time,

a cloth spread (in front to walk on), a palanquin, a parasol, a

Vaduga (i.e., Telugu?) drum, a large trumpet, a gateway, an arch,

a canopy (in the shape) of an arch, a garland, and so forth. We have

remitted tolls and the tax on balances. Moreover, we have granted with

(these) copper-leaves that he need not pay (the dues) which the (other)

inhabitants of the city pay to the royal palace (koyil), and that (he)

may enjoy (the benefits) which (they) enjoy. To Issuppu Irappan of

Anjuvannam, to the male children and to the female children born of

him, to his nephews, and to the sons-in-law who have married (his)

daughters (we have given) Anjuvannam (as) an hereditary estate for

as long as the world and the moon shall exist. Hail! Thus do I know,

Govardhana-Martandan of Venadu. Thus do I know, Kodai Srikanthan of

Venapalinadu. Thus do I know, Manavepala-Manavyan of Eralanadu. Thus

do I know, Irayiram of Valluvanadu. Thus do I know, Kodai Ravi of

Nedumpuraiyurnadu. Thus do I know, Murkham Sattan, who holds the office

of sub-commander of the forces. The writing of the Under-Secretary

Van--Talaiseri--Gandan Kunrappolan."

"The date of the inscription," Dr. Hultzsch adds, "was the

thirty-sixth year opposite to the second year. As I have shown on a

previous occasion, [241] the meaning of this mysterious phrase is

probably 'the thirty-sixth year (of the king's coronation, which

took place) after the second year (of the king's yauvarajya).' The

inscription records a grant which the king made to Issuppu Irappan,

i.e., Joseph Rabban. The occurrence of this Semitic name, combined

with the two facts that the plates are still with the Cochin Jews,

and that the latter possess a Hebrew translation of the document,

proves that the donee was a member of the ancient Jewish colony on

the western coast. The grant was made at Muriyikkodu. The Hebrew

translation identifies this place with Kodunnallur (Cranganore),

where the Jewish colonists resided, until the bad treatment which

they received at the hands of the Portuguese induced them to settle

near Cochin. The object of the grant was Anjuvannam. This word means

'the five castes,' and may have the designation of that quarter of

Cranganore, in which the five classes of Artisans--Ain-Kammalar,

as they are called in the smaller Kottayam grant--resided."

In a note on the Kottayam plate of Vira Raghava, which is in the

possession of the Syrian Christians, Rai Bahadur V. Venkayya writes

as follows. [242] "Vira-Raghava conferred the title of Manigramam

on the merchant Iravikkorran. Similarly Anjuvannam was bestowed by

the Cochin plates on the Jew Joseph Rabban. The old Malayalam work

Payyanur Pattola, which Dr. Gundert considered the oldest specimen

of Malayalam composition, refers to Anjuvannam and Manigramam. The

context in which the two names occur in this work implies that they

were trading institutions. In the Kottayam plates of Sthanu Ravi,

both Anjuvannam and Manigramam are frequently mentioned. Both of them

were appointed along with the six hundred to be 'the protectors' of

the grant. They were 'to preserve the proceeds of the customs duty

as they were collected day by day,' and 'to receive the landlord's

portion of the rent on land. If any injustice be done to them,

they may withhold the customs and the tax on balances, and remedy

themselves the injury done to them. Should they themselves commit

a crime, they are themselves to have the investigation of it.' To

Anjuvannam and Manigramam was granted the freehold of the lands of

the town (of Kollam?). From these extracts, and from the reference in

the Payyanur Pattola, it appears that Anjuvannam and Manigramam were

semi-independent trading corporations. The epithet Setti (merchant)

given to Ravikkorran, the trade rights granted to him, and the sources

of revenue thrown open to him as head of Manigramam, confirm the view

that the latter was a trading corporation. There is nothing either

in the Cochin grant, or in the subjoined inscription to show that

Anjuvannam and Manigramam were, as believed by Dr. Gundert and others,

Jewish and Christian principalities, respectively. It was supposed by

Dr. Burnell that the plate of Vira-Raghava created the principality

of Manigramam, and the Cochin plates that of Anjuvannam, and that,

consequently, the existence of these two grants is presupposed

by the plates of Sthanu Ravi, which mention both Anjuvannam and

Manigramam very often. The Cochin plates did not create Anjuvannam,

but conferred the honours and privileges connected therewith to a Jew

named Joseph Rabban. Similarly, the rights and honours associated with

the other corporation, Manigramam, was bestowed at a later period on

Ravikkorran. Therefore, Anjuvannam and Manigramam must have existed

as institutions even before the earliest of these three copper-plates

was issued. It is just possible that Ravikkorran was a Christian by

religion. But his name and title give no clue in this direction, and

there is nothing Christian in the document, except its possession by

the present owners."

It is recorded by Mr. Francis Day [243] that Governor Moens obtained

three different translations of the plates, and gave as the most

correct version one, in which the following words occur:--"We, Erawi,

Wanwara, Emperor of Malabar ... give this deed of rights to the good

Joseph Rabban, that he may use the five colours, spread his religion

among the five castes." Mr. Burnell, however, notes that Dr. Gundert

has ascertained beyond doubt that Anjuvannan (literally five colours)

does not mean some privilege, but is the name of a place.

Concerning the copper-plates, Governor Moens writes thus. "The

following translation is by the Jewish merchant Ezechiel Rabby, who

was an earnest explorer of anything that had any connection with his

nation. After this I will give another translation, which I got from

our second interpreter Barend Deventer, who was assisted by an old

and literary inhabitant of Malabar; and lastly I will add a third

one, which I obtained from our first interpreter Simon of Tongeren,

assisted by a heathen scribe of Calicut, in order thus not to allow

the Jews to be the judges in their own affair, but rather to enable

the reader to judge for himself in this doubtful matter. The first

translation runs thus:--

"By the help of God, who created the universe and appoints

the kings, and whom I honour, I, Erawi Wanwara, Emperor of

Malabar, grant in the 36th year of our happy reign at the court

of Moydiricotta--alias Cranganore--this Act of Privileges to

the Jew Josep Rabaan, viz., that he may make use of the five

colours, spread his religion among the five castes or dynasties,

fire salutes on all solemnities, ride on elephants and horses,

hold stately processions, make use of cries of honour, and in

the day-time of torches, different musical instruments, besides a

big drum; that he may walk on roads spread with white linen, hold

tournaments with sticks, and sit under a stately curtain. These

privileges we give to Josep Rabaan and to the 72 households,

provided that the others of this nation must obey the orders

of his and their descendants so long as the sun shall shine

on the earth. This Act is granted in the presence of the Kings

of Trevancore, Tekkenkore, Baddenkenkore, Calicoilan, Aringut,

Sammoryn, Palcatchery, and Colastry; written by the secretary

Calembi Kelapen in the year 3481 Kalijogam.

"'The second translation differs in important statements from the

first, and would deserve more attention when neutral people of

Malabar could be found, who could testify to the credibility of

the same; but, notwithstanding the trouble I have taken to find

such persons, it has been hitherto in vain. The second translation

runs thus:--

"'In the quiet and happy time of our reign, we, Erawi Wanwara,

imitator of (successor to ?) the sceptres, which for many hundreds

of thousands of years have reigned in justice and righteousness,

the glorious footsteps of whom we follow, now in the second year

of our reign, being the 36th year of our residence in the town

of Moydiricotta, grant hereby, on the obtained good testimony

of the great experience of Joseph Rabaan, that the said person

is allowed to wear long dresses of five colours, that he may use

carriages together with their appurtenances, and fans which are

used by the nobility. He shall have precedence to the five castes,

be allowed to burn day-lamps, to walk on spread out linen, to make

use of palanquins, Payeng umbrellas, large bent trumpets, drums,

staff, and covered seats. We give him charge over the 72 families

and their temples, which are found both here and elsewhere, and

we renounce our rights on all taxes and duties on both houses. He

shall everywhere be allowed to have lodgings. All these privileges

and prerogatives, explained in this charter, we grant to Joseph

Rabaan head of the five castes, and to his heirs, sons, daughters,

children's children, the sons-in-law married to the daughters,

together with their descendants, as long as the sun and moon shall

shine; and we grant him also all power over the five castes, as

long as the names of their descendants shall last. Witnesses hereof

are the Head of the country of Wenaddo named Comaraten Matandden;

the head of the country of Wenaaodea named Codei Cheri-canden;

the Head of the country of Erala named Mana Bepalamaan; the Head

of the country Walonaddo named Trawaren Chaten; the Head of the

country Neduwalur named Codei Trawi; besides the first of the

lesser rulers of territories of the part of Cusupady Pawagan,

namely the heir of Murkom Chaten named Kelokandan; written by

the secretary named Gunawendda Wanasen Nayr, Kisapa Kelapa;

signed by the Emperor.

"'The third translation runs as follows:--

"'In the name of the Most High God, who created the whole world

after His own pleasure, and maintains justice and righteousness,

I, Erwij Barman, raise my hands, and thank His Majesty for his

grace and blessing bestowed on my reign in Cranganore, when

residing in the fortress of Muricotta. I have granted for good

reasons to my minister Joseph Raban the following privileges;

that he may wear five coloured cloths, long dresses, and hang on

the shoulders certain cloths; that they may cheer together, make

use of drums and tambourines, burn lights during the day, spread

cloths on the roads, use palanquins, umbrellas, trumpet torches,

burning torches, sit under a throne (?), and act as Head of all

the Jews numbering seventy-two houses, who will have to pay him

the tolls and taxes of the country, no matter in what part of the

country they are living; these privileges I give to Joseph Raban

and his descendants, be they males or females, as long as any

one of them is alive, and the sun and moon shine on the earth;

for this reason I have the same engraved on a copper-plate as an

everlasting remembrance. Witnesses are the Kings of Travancore,

Berkenkore, Sammorin, Arangolla, Palcatchery, Collastry, and

Corambenaddo; written by the secretary Kellapen.

"'The aforesaid copper-plate is written in the old broken Northern

Tamil language, but with different kinds of characters, viz., Sanskrit

and Tamil, and is now read and translated by a heathen scribe named

Callutil Atsja, who was born at Calicut, and who, during the war,

fled from that place, and stays at present on the hills.

"'When these translations are compared with one another, it will

be observed at once that, in the first, the privileges are granted

to the Jew Joseph Rabban, and to the 72 Jewish families, whereas,

in the second, no trace is found of the word Jew; and Joseph

Rabban is, in the third, not called a Jew, but the minister of

the king, although he may be taken for a Jew from the context in

the course of the translation, for he is there appointed as Head

of all the other Jews to the number of 72 houses. It is equally

certain that the name of Rabaan is not exclusively proper to the

Jews only. Furthermore, the first and last translations grant

the above-mentioned privileges not only to Joseph Rabaan, but

also to the 72 Jewish families, whereas, according to the second

translation, the same are given to Joseph Rabaan, his family

and offspring only. The second translation, besides, does not at

all mention the freedom granted, and the consent to spread the

Jewish religion among the five castes. Thus, it is obvious that

these three translations do not agree, that the first and third

coincide more with each other than they do with the second; that,

for that reason, the first and last translations deserve more to

be believed than the second, which stands alone; but that this,

for that very reason, does not prove what it, properly speaking,

ought to prove, and, whereas I am not acquainted with the Malabar

language, I prefer to refrain from giving my opinion on the

subject. For hitherto I have been unable to come across, either

among the people of Malabar and Canara, or among the literary

priests and natives, any one who was clever enough to translate

these old characters for the fourth time, notwithstanding the

fact that I had sent a copy of these characters to the north and

south of Cochin, in order to have them deciphered.

"'The witnesses who were present at the granting of this charter

differ also. The first and third translations, however, seem also

to concur more with each other than with the second one. But the

discrepancy of the second translation lies in this, that in it

not the personal names of the witnesses are recorded, but only

their offices or dignities, in which they officiated at that time;

whereas the mistake in the first and third translations consists

herein, that the witnesses are called kings, and more so of those

places by which names these places were called some time after and

subsequently when times had changed, and by which names they are

still known. The second translation, however, calls them merely

heads of the countries, in the same manner as they were known at

the time of the Emperor, when these heads were not as yet kings,

because these heads bore the title of king and ruler only after

the well-known division of the Malabar Empire into four chief

kingdoms, and several smaller kingdoms and principalities. It must

be admitted, however, that the head of the country of Cochin is,

in the first and third translations, not mentioned by that name,

although the kingdom of Cochin is in reality one of the four

chief kingdoms of Malabar. I add this here for elucidation,

in order that one should not wonder, when reading this charter,

that inferior heads of countries and districts of the Malabar

Empire could be called kings, because the Empire being at that

time not as yet divided, they were not kings. It seems, therefore,

to have been a free translation, of which the translators of the

first and third translations have made use, and which has been

pointed out in the second translation.

"'The other statements of this charter, especially the authority

over the five castes, must be explained according to the

ancient times, customs, and habits of the people of Malabar,

and need not be taken into consideration here. Whether this

charter has in reality been granted to the Jews or not, it is

certain that not at any time has a Jew had great authority over

his co-religionists, and still less over the so-called five

castes. Moreover, the property of the Jews has never been free

from taxes, notwithstanding the fact that the kings to whom they

were subject appointed as a rule as heads of the Jews men of their

own nationality. They were known by the name of Moodiliars, who

had no other authority than to dispose of small civil disputes,

and to impose small fines of money.

"'There is, however, a peculiarity, which deserves to be

mentioned. Although, in the charter, some privileges are granted,

which were also given to other people, yet to no one was it ever

permitted to fire three salutes at the break of day, or on the

day of a marriage feast of one who entered upon the marriage

state, without a previous request and special permission. This

was always reserved, even to the present day, to the kings of

Cochin only. Yet up to now it was always allowed to the Jews

without asking first. And it is known that the native kings do

not easily allow another to share in outward ceremonies, which

they reserve for themselves. If, therefore, the Jews would have

arrogated to themselves this privilege without high authority,

the kings of Cochin would put a stop to this privilege of this

nation, whose residences are situated next to the Cochin palace,

but for this reason, I suppose, dare not do so.'"

Various authorities have attempted to fix approximately the date

of the copper-plate charter. Mr. Burnell gives 700 A.D. as its

probable date. The Rev. G. Milne Rae, accepting the date as fixed

by Mr. Burnell, argues that the Jews must have received the grant a

few generations after the settlement, and draws the conclusion that

they might have settled in the country some time about the sixth

century A.D. Dr. J. Wilson, in a lecture [244] on the Beni-Israels

of Bombay, adopts the sixth century of the Christian era as the

probable date of the arrival of the Beni-Israels in Bombay, about

which time also, he is inclined to think, the Cochin Jews came to

India, for their first copper-plate charter seems to belong to this

period. There is no tradition among the Jews of Cochin that they

and the Beni-Israels emigrated to the shores of India from the same

spot or at the same time, and the absence of any social intercourse

between the Beni-Israels and the Cochin Jews seems to go against

this theory. In one of the translations of the charter obtained by

the Dutch Governor Moens, the following words appear: "Written by the

Secretary Calembi Kelapoor, in the year 3481 of the Kali-yuga (i.e.,

379 A.D.)." This date does not appear, however, in the translations

of Gundert, Ellis, Burnell and Oppert. The charter was given in the

thirty-sixth year of the reign of the donor Bhaskara Ravi Varma. And,

as all, except the last of the foreign Viceroys of Kerala, are said to

have been elected for twelve years only, Cheruman Perumal, reputed to

be the last of Perumals, who under exceptional circumstances had his

term extended, according to Malabar tradition, to thirty-six years,

may be identical with Bhaskara Ravi Varma, who, Mr. Day says, reigned

till 378 A.D. Mr. C. M. Whish gives a still earlier date, for he

fixes 231 A.D. as the probable date of the grant. In connection with

the claim to the antiquity of the settlement of the Jews in Malabar,

it is set forth in the Cochin Census Report that they "are supposed

to have first come in contact with a Dravidian people as early as

the time of Solomon about B.C. 1000, for 'philology proves that the

precious cargoes of Solomon's merchant ships came from the ancient

coast of Malabar.' It is possible that such visits were frequent

enough in the years that followed. But the actual settlement of

the Jews on the Malabar coast might not have taken place until long

afterwards. Mr. Logan, in the Manual of Malabar, writes that 'the

Jews have traditions, which carry back their arrival on the coast

to the time of their escape from servitude under Cyrus in the sixth

century B.C.,' and the same fact is referred to by Sir W. Hunter

in his 'History of British India.' This eminent historian, in his

'Indian Empire' speaks of Jewish settlements in Malabar long before

the second century A.D. A Roman merchant ship, that sailed regularly

from Myos Hormuz on the Red Sea to Arabia, Ceylon, and Malabar, is

reported to have found a Jewish colony in Malabar in the second century

A.D. In regard to the settlement of the Jews in Malabar, Mr. Whish

observes that 'the Jews themselves say that Mar Thomas, the apostle,

arrived in India in the year of our Lord 52, and themselves, the Jews,

in the year 69.' In view of the commercial intercourse between the

Jews and the people of the Malabar coast long before the Christian

era, it seems highly probable that Christianity but followed in the

wake of Judaism. The above facts seem to justify the conclusion that

the Jews must have settled in Malabar at least as early as the first

century A.D."

At Cochin the Jews enjoyed full privileges of citizenship, and were

able to preserve the best part of their religious and civil liberty,

and to remain here for centuries unseen, unknown, and unsearched

by their persecutors. But, in the sixteenth century, they fell

victims by turns to the oppression of fanatical Moors and over-zealous

Christians. "In 1524, the Mahomedans made an onslaught on the Cranganur

Jews, slew a great number, and drove out the rest to a village to the

east; but, when they attacked the Christians, the Nayars of the place

retaliated, and in turn drove all the Mahomedans out of Cranganur. The

Portuguese enlarged and strengthened their Cranganur fort, and

compelled the Jews finally to desert their ancient settlement of

Anjuvannam." Thus, with the appearance of a powerful Christian nation

on the scene, the Jews experienced the terrors of a new exile and a

new dispersion, the desolation of Cranganur being likened by them to

the desolation of Jerusalem in miniature. Some of them were driven to

villages adjoining their ruined principality, while others seem to have

taken shelter in Cochin and Ernakulam. "Cranganore," Mr. Adler writes,

"was captured by the Mahomedan Sheikh or Zamorin in 1524, and razed

to the ground. The Rajah Daniel seems to have previously sent his

brother David to Europe to negociate with the Pope and the Portuguese

for an offensive and defensive alliance against the Zamorin. Anyhow,

a mysterious stranger, who called himself David Rubbeni, appeared in

Rome in March, 1524, and, producing credentials from the Portuguese

authorities in India and Egypt, was received with much honour by

the Pope, King John of Portugal, and the Emperor Charles the Fifth

in turn. After some years he fell a victim to the inquisition, but

his failure and non-return to India are more easily explained by the

fact that he was too late, and that the State he represented was no

longer existent, than by the cheap assumption of all our historians,

including Graetz, that he was an impostor with a cock-and-bull

story. Whether the famous diary of David Rubbeni is genuine or

not is less certain. But I have elsewhere sought to re-establish

this long-discredited ambassador, and here limit myself to drawing

attention to his name, which seems to have been David Rabbani. To

this day David is one of the commonest names among the Cochin Jews,

as well as the B'nei Israel, and Rabbani is the name of the ruling

family under the copper grant. Its alteration into Rubeni was due to

sixteenth century interest in the lost ten tribes, and a consequent

desire of identifying the Royal family as sprung from Reuben, the

first-born of Israel. Reuben, too, is a favourite name among the

B'nei Israel. With the destruction of their capital, the Jews left

and migrated, though to no great distance. Within 20 miles south

of Cranganore are four other places, all on the Cochin back-water,

where the Black Jews still have synagogues. Parur, Chennan Mangalam,

and Mala have each one synagogue, Ernakulam has two, and Cochin three,

of which one belongs to the White Jews. The Parur Jews have also

the ruins of another synagogue marked by a Ner Tamid, which they say

existed 400 years ago, when there were eighteen Bote Midrash (schools)

and 500 Jewish houses. This tradition further confirms the importance

of Cranganore before 1524. With the advent of the Dutch, better times

ensued for the Jews. The Dutch were bitter foes of the Portuguese

and their inquisition, and friends of their enemies. Naturally the

Jews were on the side of the Dutch, and, as naturally, had to suffer

for their temerity. In 1662 the Dutch attacked the Ranee's palace

at Mattancheri and besieged the adjoining town of Cochin, but had

to retire before Portuguese reinforcements. The Portuguese therefore

burnt the synagogue adjoining the palace, because they suspected the

Jews, no doubt with justice, of having favoured the Dutch. In the

following year, however, 'the Dutch renewed their attack on Cochin,

this time with complete success. The port and town fell into their

hands, and with it fell the Portuguese power in India. By a series

of treaties, Cochin and Holland became close allies, and the Dutch

settlement became firmly established in Cochin.' The Dutch helped

the White Jews to rebuild their synagogue. The Dutch clock is still

the pride of Cochin Jewry."

It is well known that the Cochin Jews are generally divided into two

classes, the White and the Black. Writing in the early part of the

eighteenth century, [245] Baldæus states that "in and about the City

of Cochin, lived formerly some Jews, who even now have a synagogue

allow'd them without the Fortifications; they are neither White

nor Brown, but quite black. The Portuguese Histories mention that

at a certain time certain blasphemous papers against our Saviour,

with some severe reflections against the Jesuit Gonsalvus Pereira

(who afterwards suffer'd Martyrdom at Monopatapa) being found in a

box set in the Great Church for the gathering of Alms; and the same

being supposed to be laid there by some European Jews, who now and then

used to resort thither privately, this gave occasion to introduce the

Inquisition into Goa." It is noted by the Rev. J. H. Lord [246] that

"Jacob Saphir, a Jewish traveller, who visited his co-religionists

in Cochin in recent years, having described some of the Jews resident

there as black, hastens to tone down his words, and adds, they are not

black like the raven, or as the Nubians, but only as the appearance

of copper. But Hagim Jacob Ha Cohen, another modern Jewish traveller,

chastizing the latter for calling them black at all, declares that

he will write of this class everywhere as the non-white, and never

anywhere (God forbid!) as the Black." The Black Jews claim to have

been the earliest settlers, while the White Jews came later. But

the latter assert that the former are pure natives converted to the

Jewish faith. These two difficult, yet important, issues of priority of

settlement and purity of race have divided antiquarians and historians

quite as much as they have estranged the two classes of Jews themselves

from one another. According to the Rev. C. Buchanan, [247] the White

Jews dwelling in Jews' town in Mattancheri are later settlers than

the Black Jews. They had only the Bible written on parchment, and of

modern appearance, in their synagogue, but he managed to get from the

Black Jews much older manuscripts written on parchment, goat's skin,

and cotton paper. He says that "it is only necessary to look at their

countenances to be satisfied that their ancestors must have arrived in

India many years before the White Jews. Their Hindu complexion, and

their very imperfect resemblance to the European Jews, indicate that

they had been detached from the parent stocks in Judea many ages before

the Jews in the West, and that there have been marriages with families

not Israelitish." The Rev. J. Hough observes [248] that the Black Jews

"appear so much like the natives of India, that it is difficult at

first sight to distinguish them from the Hindu. By a little closer

observation, however, the Jewish contour of their countenances cannot

be mistaken." In the lecture already referred to, Dr. Wilson states

that "their family names, such as David Castile (David the Castilian)

go to prove that they (the White Jews) are descended of the Jews

of Spain, probably of those driven from that country in the reign

of Ferdinand and Isabella, and of German and Egyptian Jews. The real

ancient Jews of Cochin are the Black Jews' descendants, we believe, of

Judea-Arabians and Indian proselytes. Some rather obscure references

to the Jews of Cochin and Quilon are made by Benjamin of Tudela, who

returned to Spain from his eastern voyage in 1173. He found no White

Jews in India. Speaking of those in the pepper country near Chulam

(Quilon), he says that all the cities and countries inhabited by

these people contain only about 100 Jews (members of the synagogue),

who are of black colour as well as the other inhabitants." Referring

to Jan Linschoten's 'Itinerary,' published in Holland in 1596,

Mr. Adler observes that "the Jews who interested our traveller were

the 'rich merchants and of the king of Cochin's nearest counsellers,

who are most white of colour like men of Europe, and have many fair

women. There are many of them that came of the country Palestine and

Jerusalem thither, and spoke over all the exchange verie perfect and

good Spanish.' This directly confirms the view that the White Jews

were new comers from foreign lands. Their knowledge of Spanish is

now quite a thing of the past, but it proves that they were Sephardim."

In regard to the claim of the White Jews to being the only genuine

Jews, it may be of interest to record the opinion of a Jew, Rabbi

David D'Beth Hithel, who travelled in Cochin in 1832. He says

that "the White Jews say of them (the Black Jews) that they are

descendants of numerous slaves who were purchased and converted to

Judaism, set free and carefully instructed by a rich White Jew some

centuries ago. At his cost, they say, were all their old synagogues

erected. The Black Jews believe themselves to be the descendants of

the first captivity, who were brought to India, and did not return

with the Israelites who built the second temple. This account I am

inclined to believe correct. Though called Black Jews--they are of

somewhat darker complexion than the White Jews--yet they are not of

the colour of the natives of the country, or of persons descended

from Indian slaves." This passage bears reference to a tradition

current among the Black Jews that they are the descendants of the

Jews who were driven out of the land of Israel thirteen years before

the destruction of the first temple built by Solomon. They are said

to have first come to Calicut, whence they emigrated to Cranganur.

"The White Jews," Mr. Adler writes, "claiming that they, and they

alone, are the true descendants of the aboriginal Jews of Cranganur,

retain the copper tablets in their possession, and boast that,

about the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Rajah of Cochin

invested the head of the Hallegua family with the hereditary title

of Mudaliar or Noble [and a wand with a silver knob as a sign of his

dignity], with the power of punishing certain crimes. The males of

that family still bear the title, but their feudal rights have been

abrogated. Nowadays the number of White Jews has dwindled to less than

200, so that it was easy to procure a list of all their names. From

the foreign origin of their surnames (Kindel, Ashkenazi, Mizrahi,

Koder, Roby, Sassoon), as well as for other reasons, it seems certain

that the White Jews are late comers, who did not settle in India till

after the destruction of Cranganur. They were traders, who came to

Cochin; they prospered under the rule of the Dutch, and built their

synagogue and quarter after the Black Jews were already established

there. Though, now, they hold themselves jealously aloof from the

Black Jews, they were at first quite intimate and friendly. The Indian

environment has had the opposite effect to that which England has had

upon our Ashkenazim and our no longer exclusive Sephardim. In India

caste is varna, which means colour, and their difference in colour has

produced caste distinctions among the Indian Jews. But, although the

White Jews are fair, some of them are certainly not quite white, nor

are the Black Jews quite black. Some of the 'Black' Jews are hardly

distinguishable from their 'White' brethren. Their customs, ritual,

and religious observances are the same. Their synagogues are so alike

that it needs some keenness of eyesight to detect that two pictures

are not of the identical building. The only great (?) difference

is that the White Jews have theirs tiled with rare old blue tiles,

over which newspaper correspondents wax eloquent. They say the tiles

are old Dutch, but really they are genuine Chinese [blue and white

Canton China], [249] whereby hangs a tale. The synagogue was built

nearly 200 years ago in a corner of the Rajah's palace-yard. At that

time, the Dutch were in possession of what is now British Cochin, and

they were the only people trading with China. The Rajah, through his

allies the Dutch, had imported a large quantity of the best China

tiles to pave his Darbar hall, but the Jews, says Mr. Thurston,

thought they would just do for the synagogue they were building, so

they told the Rajah that he could not possibly use them, inasmuch as

bullock's blood had been employed in their manufacture. His Highness,

much perturbed at the indignity to so sacred an animal, bade them

take the tiles away, and never let him see them again. Hence their

presence in the synagogue. The other synagogue has tiles also, but

they are of gleaming white." The synagogues, it may be added, are

square whitewashed buildings, surmounted by a bell-tower. It is said

that the Kadyabagan synagogue of the Black Jews is admitted by the

White Jews to be the oldest at present existing, having been built

in the 12th century.

It is recorded by Governor Moens that "in the Jewish quarters

(situated) next to the palace of the king of Cochin at Cochin de Sima

there are two synagogues, viz., one for the White Jews, and the other

for the Black Jews. The latter have readers of their own tribe, who

hold the services, but, when a White Rabbi comes to their synagogue,

the honour of conducting the service must be given to him."

"The dates," the Rev. J. H. Lord writes, "of the synagogues of the

Black Jews altogether antedate those of the White. Thus, the date

on the mural slab of the now disused and dilapidated Cochin Angadi

synagogue is A.D. 1344 = 563 years ago. That of the Kadavambagom

synagogue in Cochin is A.D. 1639, or = 268 years ago. That of the

Cochin Theckumbagom synagogue is A.D. 1586, or = 321 years ago;

while that of the synagogue of the White Jews is A.D. 1666 or =

241 years ago. Hence the institutions of the Black Jews are the

more ancient. The tomb-stone dates of the Black Jews are also far

more ancient than those of the White Jews. The earliest date of any

tomb-stone of the Black Jews is six hundred years old."

It is further noted by the Rev. J. H. Lord that "the Black Jews

are still the ones who make use of the privileges granted in the

copper-plate charter. They still carry a silk umbrella, and lamps

lit at day-time, when proceeding to their synagogue on the 8th day

after birth of sons. They spread a cloth on the ground, and place

ornaments of leaves across the road on occasions when their brides

and bridegrooms go to get married, and use then cadanans (mortars

which are charged with gunpowder, and fired), and trumpets. After

the wedding is over, four silk sunshades, each supported on four

poles, are borne, with lamps burning in front, as the bridal party

goes home. The Black Jews say that the White Jews use none of these,

and never have done so. The White Jews aver that they were accustomed

formerly to use such privileges, but have discontinued them."

There is record of disputes between the White and Black Jews for as

early a time as that of the Dutch settlement, or even earlier. Jealousy

and strife between the two sections on matters of intermarriage and

equal privileges seem to have existed even during the time of the

Portuguese. Canter Visscher, in his 'Letters from Malabar,' [250]

refers to these party feelings. "The blacks," he writes, "have a

dark coloured Rabbi, who must stand back if a white one enters,

and must resign to him the honour of performing the divine service

in the synagogue. On the other hand, when the black Rabbis enter the

synagogue of Whites, they must only be hearers. There has lately been

a great dispute between the two races; the Black wishing to compel the

White Jewesses to keep their heads uncovered, like their own women,

and trying to persuade the Rajah to enforce such a rule. The dispute

ended, however, with permission given to every one, both men and women,

to wear what they chose."

More than once, Jewish Rabbis have been appealed to on the subject of

racial purity, and they have on all occasions upheld the claims of a

section of the Black Jews to being Jews, and the White Jews have as

often repudiated such decisions, and questioned their validity. The

weight of authority, and the evidence of local facts, seem to militate

against the contention of the White Jews that the Black Jews do

not belong to the Israelitish community, but are the descendants of

emancipated slaves and half castes. The White Jews appear to have

maintained the purity of their race by declining intermarriage with

the Black Jews. It must be admitted that, in the earlier centuries,

the original settlers purchased numerous slaves, who have since then

followed the religion of their masters. It is recorded by Stavorinus

[251] that "when these Jews purchase a slave, they immediately manumit

him; they circumcise him and receive him as their fellow Israelite,

and never treat him as a slave." It is noted by Canter Visscher [252]

that "the Jews make no objection to selling their slaves who are

not of their own religion to other nations, obliging them, however,

when sold, to abandon the use of the Jewish cap, which they had

before worn on their heads. But slaves, male or female, once fully

admitted into their religion by the performance of the customary

rites, can never be sold to a stranger." The Jews are said to have

had former fugitive connections with the women of these converts,

and brought into existence a mixed race of Dravidians and Semitics. It

would be uncharitable to infer from this that all the Black Jews are

the descendants of converted slaves or half-castes, as it would be

unreasonable to suppose that all of them are the descendants of the

original settlers. It is noted by Mr. Adler that "the Rev. J. H. Lord

quotes an interesting pronouncement on the racial purity of the

Black Jews of Malabar made by Haham Bashi of Jerusalem in 1892. The

Rabbi is said to have referred to the Maharikash (R. Jacob Castro,

of Alexandria), whose responsum in 1610 confirmed the 'Jichus' or the

'Mejuchasim' and decided likewise. He is even said to have allowed

one of his relatives to marry a Brown Jew! Nowadays, the White Jews

hold aloof from the larger community, black or brown, and profess to

be of another caste altogether. But one of the most intelligent of

their number, who took us round the synagogues, professed to think

such exclusiveness exaggerated and unfair, and admitted that their own

grandfathers had lived with Black Jewesses in a more or less binding

marital relation, and it is abundantly clear that, till recently,

the Black and White Jews were quite friendly, and the very fact of

the White Jews holding the title-deeds merely proves that they were

trusted by the true owners to keep them for safe custody, as they

were richer and possessed safes. In an article in the 'Revue des

Deux Mondes,' [253] Pierre Loti, writing of the Black Jews, says that

"le rabbin me fait d'ameres doléances sur la fierté des rivaux de la

rue proche, qui ne veulent jamais consentir à contracter marriage,

ni même à frayer avec ses paroissiens. Et, pour comble, me dit-il,

le grand rabbin de Jérusalem, à qui on avait adressé une plainte

collective, le priant d'intervenir, s'est contenté d'émettre, en

réponse, cette généralité plutôt offensante: Pour nicher ensemble,

il faut être des moineaux de même plumage."

In recent years, a distinction appears to have grown up among the

Black Jews, so that they now want to be distinguished as Brown Jews

and Black Jews, the former claiming to be Meyookhasim or genuine

Jews. In this connection, Mr. Adler writes that "the Black Jews are

themselves divided into two classes, the Black Jews proper, who are

darker, and have no surnames, and the noble, who have family names

and legitimate descent, and claim to be the true descendants of the

Cranganur or Singili Jews."

The White Jews are generally known by the name of Paradesis

(foreigners). This designation is found in some of the Sirkar (State)

accounts, and also in a few Theetoorams or Royal writs granted to

them. It is argued that they must have been so called at first to

distinguish them from the more ancient Israelites. The existence for

centuries of three small colonies of Black Jews at Chennamangalam and

Mala in the Cochin State, and Parur in Travancore, at a distance of

five or six miles from Cranganur, shows that they must have sought

refuge in those places on being hard pressed by the Moors and the

Portuguese. There are no White Jews in any of these stations, nor

can they point to any vested interests in the tracts about Cranganur,

the most ancient Jewish settlement in the State.

The Jews wear a long tunic of rich colour, a waistcoat buttoned up

to the neck, and full white trousers. They go about wearing a skull

cap, and put on a turban when they go to the synagogue. The Black

Jews dress more or less like the native Mahomedans. Many of them

put on shirts, and have skull caps like the Jonaka Mappilas. They

generally wear coloured cloths. The Jews invariably use wooden

sandals. These, and their locks brought down in front of the ears,

distinguish them from other sections of the population. The Jewesses

always wear coloured cloths. Hebrew is still the liturgical language,

and is studied as a classic by a few, but the home language is

Malayalam. The White Jews celebrate their marriages on Sundays,

but the Black Jews still retain the ancient custom of celebrating

them on Tuesdays after sunset. Though polygamy is not prohibited,

monogamy is the rule. The males generally marry at the age of 20,

while the marriageable age for girls is 14 or 15. Marriages are

generally celebrated on a grand scale. The festivities continue for

seven days in the case of the White Jews, and for fifteen days among

the Black Jews, who still make use of some of the ancient privileges

granted by the charter of Cheraman Perumal. The Jews of all sections

have adopted a few Hindu customs. Thus, before going to the synagogue

for marriage, a tali (marriage badge) is tied round the bride's neck

by some near female relative of the bridegroom (generally his sister)

in imitation of the Hindu custom, amidst the joyful shouts (kurava)

of women. Divorce is not effected by a civil tribunal. Marriages are

dissolved by the making good the amount mentioned in the kethuba or

marriage document. In regard to their funerals, the corpse is washed,

but not anointed, and is deposited in the burial-ground, which is

called Beth Haim, the house of the living.

Like their brethren in other parts of the world, the Cochin Jews

observe the Sabbath feasts and fasts blended intimately with their

religion, and practice the rite of circumcision on the eighth day, when

the child is also named. The Passover is celebrated by the distribution

of unleavened bread, but no kid is killed, nor is blood sprinkled upon

the door-post and lintel. The other feasts are the feast of Pentecost,

feast of Trumpets, and feast of Tabernacles. The day of atonement,

and the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem, are observed as

fasts. On the day of atonement, the Jews pray in the synagogue from

5 A.M. till 7 P.M. The Jewish fasts commence from 5 P.M. on the day

previous to the fast, and end at 7 P.M. next day. Their days begin

and end with sunset. The feast of Tabernacles is observed with more

pomp and ceremony than other feasts. A pandal, or temporary shed,

with a flat roof, covered over with plaited leaves of the cocoanut

palm, and decorated with festoons, is put up in the court-yard of,

or near every house, beneath which the inmates of the house assemble

and take their meals. On the last day of the feast, a large can

filled with oil is lit up in front of the synagogue. On that day,

the congregation assembles in the synagogue. Persons of both sexes

and of all ages meet in the house of prayer, which is gorgeously

decorated for the occasion. On this day, when the books are taken

outside the synagogue by the male congregation, the females, who are

seated in the gallery, come into the synagogue, and, when the books

are taken back, they return to their gallery.

The genuine Jews are, as indicated, known as M'yukhasim (those of

lineage or aristocracy), while converts from the low castes are

called non-M'yukhasim. According to the opinion of Jewish Rabbis,

Tabila, or the holy Rabbinical bath, removes the social disabilities

of the latter. Those who have had recourse to this bath are free

to marry genuine Jews, but respect for caste, or racial prejudice,

has invariably stood in the way of such marriages being contracted.

From a recent note (1907), I gather that "the Jews, realising that

higher and more advanced education is needed, have bestirred

themselves, and are earnestly endeavouring to establish an

institution which will bring their education up to the lower secondary

standard. The proposed school will be open to both the White and

Black Jews. In order to place the school on a good financial basis,

one of the leading Jews, Mr. S. Koder, approached the Anglo-Jewish

Association for aid, and that Society has readily agreed to provide

a sum of £150 a year for the upkeep of the school. Generous, however,

as this offer is, it is found that the amount is insufficient to cover

the expenditure; so the Jews are going to raise a public subscription

amongst themselves, and they also intend to apply to the Cochin Darbar

for a grant under the Educational Code." [254]

I was present at the Convocation of the Madras University in 1903,

when the Chancellor conferred the degree of Bachelor of Arts on the

first Jew who had passed the examination.

According to the Cochin Census, 1901, there were 180 White, and 957

Black Jews.

Jhodia.--A sub-division of Poroja.

Jhoria.--A sub-division of Gaudo.

Jilaga (pith).--An exogamous sept of Devanga.

Jilakara (cumin seeds: Cuminum cyminum). An exogamous sept of Balija

and Togata.

Jinigar.--"There are," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [255] "a few members

of this caste, chiefly in the Chendragiri taluk, whose ordinary

occupation it now is to paint pictures. They were, however, once, it

is said, artificers, and the account given of them is as follows. They

were originally Razus from the Northern Circars, who, coming to the

Chendragiri Raja for employment, were set to watch members of the

Kammala caste who served the Raja, in order to prevent idleness

or fraud. After some time, the Kammalans finished an idol's car,

and, being inflated with pride, demanded to be allowed to sit in it

before the swami was himself placed there. For their arrogance they

were expelled, and the Razus, having by observation learnt something

of their craft, discharged their duties to the community. Under the

Nabobs they abandoned this walk of life, and took to saddlery, whence

came their name from jini a saddle, and now they are merely muchis."

Mr. W. Francis informs us [256] that "in Bellary wood-carving is done

by Jinigaras, who have taught the art to some Muhammadans, who are

now often more skilful than their teachers. Two of them made a teak

doorway, carved in the Chalukyan style, which obtained a medal at the

Arts Exhibition at the Delhi Darbar, and is now in the Madras Museum."

At Nandyal in the Kurnool district, I recently saw a Jinigar, who

makes "lacquer" (gesso) fans, trays, large circular table tops, etc.,

and paintings of Hindu deities and mythological subjects. He made

a number of panels used in the dado of Lady Curzon's boudoir at the

circuit house, Delhi. A medal was awarded to him for his gesso ware

at the Delhi Exhibition, but it was, in colouring, inferior to that

of the collection which was sent to the Indo-Colonial Exhibition

in 1886. The "lacquer" ware of Kurnool has been said to be perhaps

the finest Indian gesso work produced anywhere. The work turned out

at Mandasa in Ganjam is much bolder, and suitable for decoration on

a large scale. A similar method of decoration was formerly largely

used in Saracenic architectural decoration of interiors in various

countries. The patterns of the Kurnool ware are floral, and in slight

relief, and the colours are very bright with much gilding. At Nossam,

in Ganjam, leather dishmats are painted with pictures of deities and

floral designs. Native circular playing-cards, and fans made of palmyra

leaves or paper and cloth "lacquered" and painted in brilliant colours,

are also made here.

In the Nellore district, the Jiniga-vandlu make toys, pictures, and

models in paper and pith. At Trichinopoly, very elaborate and accurate

models of the great Hindu temples, artificial flowers, bullock coaches,

etc., are made of the pith of sola (Æschynomene aspera), which is also

used in the construction of sola topis (sun-hats). The Madras Museum

possesses a very quaint pith model of the Raja of Tanjore in darbar,

with performing wrestlers and Deva-dasis, made many years ago.

Jinka.--(Indian gazelle, Gazella bennetti).--An exogamous sept of

Padma Sale. The equivalent Jinkala is a sept of Boya.

Jira.--In the Bellary district, a Lingayat who sells flowers calls

himself a Jira, and his caste Jira kula.

Jirige (cumin: Cuminum cyminum).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba, and

gotra of Kurni.

Jivala (an insect).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba.

Jogi.--The Jogis, who are a caste of Telugu mendicants, are summed

up by Mr. H. A. Stuart [257] as being "like the Dasaris, itinerant

jugglers and beggars. They are divided into those who sell beads, and

those who keep pigs. They are dexterous snake-charmers, and pretend

to a profound knowledge of charms and medicine. They are very filthy

in their habits. They have no restrictions regarding food, may eat

in the house of any Sudra, and allow widows to live in concubinage,

only exacting a small money penalty, and prohibiting her from washing

herself with turmeric-water." In addition to begging and pig-breeding,

the Jogis are employed in the cultivation of land, in the destruction

of pariah dogs, scavenging, robbery and dacoity. Some of the women,

called Killekyata, are professional tattooers. The Jogis wander about

the country, taking with them (sometimes on donkeys) the materials

for their rude huts. The packs of the donkeys are, Mr. F. S. Mullaly

informs us, [258] "used as receptacles for storing cloths obtained

in predatory excursions. Jogis encamp on the outskirts of villages,

usually on a plain or dry bed of a tank. Their huts or gudisays are

made of palmyra leaves (or sedge) plaited with five strands forming

an arch." The huts are completely open in front.

In the Tamil country, the Jogis are called Dhoddiyan or Tottiyan

(q.v.), and those who are employed as scavengers are known as

Koravas or Oddans. The scavengers do not mix with the rest of the

community. Some Jogis assert that they have to live by begging in

consequence of a curse brought on them by Parvati, concerning whose

breasts one of their ancestors made some indiscreet remarks. They

consider themselves superior to Malas and Madigas, but an Oddan

(navvy caste) will not eat in the house of a Jogi. They are said to

eat crocodiles, field rats, and cats. There is a tradition that a Jogi

bridegroom, before tying the bottu (marriage badge) on his bride's

neck, had to tie it by means of a string dyed with turmeric round the

neck of a female cat. People sometimes object to the catching of cats

by Jogis for food, as the detachment of a single hair from the body

of a cat is considered a heinous offence. To overcome the objection,

the Jogi says that he wants the animal for a marriage ceremony. On

one occasion, I saw a Madiga carrying home a bag full of kittens,

which, he said, he was going to eat.

The Jogi mendicants go about, clad in a dirty loin-cloth (often red

in colour) and a strip of cloth over the shoulders, with cobras,

pythons, or rat snakes in baskets, and carrying a bag slung over the

shoulder. The contents of one of these bags, which was examined, were

fruits of Mimusops hexandra and flower-spikes of Lippia nodiflora (used

for medicine), a snake-charming reed instrument, a piece of cuttle-fish

shell, porcupine quills (sold to goldsmiths for brushes), a cocoanut

shell containing a powder, narrikombu (spurious jackals' horns) such as

are also manufactured by Kuruvikarans, and two pieces of wood supposed

to be an antidote for snake-poisoning. The women go about the streets,

decorated with bangles and necklaces of beads, sharks' vertebræ, and

cowry shells, bawling out "Subbamma, Lachchamma," etc., and will not

move on till alms are given to them. They carry a capacious gourd,

which serves as a convenient receptacle for stolen articles.

Like other Telugu castes, the Jogis have exogamous septs or intiperu,

of which the following are examples:--

Vagiti, court-yard.

Uluvala, horse-gram.

Jalli, tassels of palmyra leaves put round the necks of bulls.

Vavati (relationship).

Gundra, round.

Bindhollu, brass water-pot.

Cheruku, sugar-cane.

Chappadi, insipid.

Boda Dasiri, bald-headed mendicant.

Gudi, temple.

At the Mysore census, 1901, Killekyata, Helava, Jangaliga, and Pakanati

were returned as being Jogis. A few individuals returned gotras, such

as Vrishabha, Kaverimatha, and Khedrumakula. At the Madras census,

Siddaru, and Pamula (snake) were returned as sub-castes. Pamula is

applied as a synonym for Jogi, inasmuch as snake-charming is one of

their occupations.

The women of the caste are said to be depraved, and prostitution is

common. As a proof of chastity, the ordeal of drinking a potful of

cow-dung water or chilly-water has to be undergone. If a man, proved

guilty of adultery, pleads inability to pay the fine, he has to walk

a furlong with a mill-stone on his head.

At the betrothal ceremony, a small sum of money and a pig are given

to the bride's party. The pig is killed, and a feast held, with much

consumption of liquor. Some of the features of the marriage ceremony

are worthy of notice. The kankanams, or threads which are tied by the

maternal uncles to the wrists of the bride and bridegroom, are made

of human hair, and to them are attached leaves of Alangium lamarckii

and Strychnos Nux-vomica. When the bridegroom and his party proceed to

the bride's hut for the ceremony of tying the bottu (marriage badge),

they are stopped by a rope or bamboo screen, which is held by the

relations of the bride and others. After a short struggle, money is

paid to the men who hold the rope or screen, and the ceremonial is

proceeded with. The rope is called vallepu thadu or relationship rope,

and is made to imply legitimate connection. The bottu, consisting of a

string of black beads, is tied round the bride's neck, the bride and

bridegroom sometimes sitting on a pestle and mortar. Rice is thrown

over them, and they are carried on the shoulders of their maternal

uncles beneath the marriage pandal (booth). As with the Oddes and

Upparavas, there is a saying that a Jogi widow may mount the marriage

dais (i.e., remarry) seven times.

When a girl reaches puberty, she is put in a hut made by her brother

or husband, which is thatched with twigs of Eugenia Jambolana, margosa

(Melia Azadirachta), mango (Mangifera Indica), and Vitex Negundo. On

the last day of the pollution ceremony the girl's clothes and the

hut are burnt.

The dead are always buried. The corpse is carried to the burial-place,

wrapped up in a cloth. Before it is lowered into the grave, all present

throw rice over the eyes, and a man of a different sept to the deceased

places four annas in the mouth. Within the grave the head is turned

on one side, and a cavity scooped out, in which various articles of

food are placed. Though the body is not burnt, fire is carried to the

grave by the son. Among the Jalli-vallu, a chicken and small quantity

of salt are placed in the armpit of the corpse. On the karmandhiram,

or day of the final death ceremonies, cooked rice, vegetables, fruit,

and arrack are offered to the deceased. A cloth is spread near the

grave, and the son, and other agnates, place food thereon, while

naming, one after the other, their deceased ancestors. The food is

eaten by Jogis of septs other than the Jalli-vallu, who throw it into

water. If septs other than the Jalli were to do this, they would be

fined. Those assembled proceed to a tank or river, and make an effigy

in mud, by the side of which an earthen lamp is placed. After the

offering of cooked rice, etc., the lamp and effigy are thrown into

the water. A man who is celebrating his wife's death-rites then has

his waist-thread cut by another widower while bathing.

The Jogis worship Peddavadu, Malalamma, Gangamma, Ayyavaru, Rudramma,

and Madura Virudu.

Some women wear, in addition to the marriage bottu, a special bottu

in honour of one of their gods. This is placed before the god and

worn by the eldest female of a family, passing on at her death to

the next eldest.

As regards the criminal propensities of the Jogis, Mr. Mullaly writes

as follows. [259] "On an excursion being agreed upon by members of

a Joghi gang, others of the fraternity encamped in the vicinity are

consulted. In some isolated spot a nim tree (Melia Azadirachta) is

chosen as a meeting place. Here the preliminaries are settled, and

their god Perumal is invoked. They set out in bands of from twelve

to fifteen, armed with stout bamboo sticks. Scantily clad, and with

their heads muffled up, they await the arrival of the carts passing

their place of hiding. In twos and threes they attack the carts, which

are usually driven off the road, and not unfrequently upset, and the

travellers are made to give all they possess. The property is then

given to the headman of the gang for safe-keeping, and he secretes it

in the vicinity of his hut, and sets about the disposal of it. Their

receivers are to be found among the 'respectable' oil-mongers of 11

villages in the vicinity of their encampments, while property not

disposed of locally is taken to Madras. Readmission to caste after

conviction, when imprisonment is involved, is an easy matter. A feed

and drink at the expense of the 'unfortunate,' generally defrayed from

the share of property which is kept by his more fortunate kinsfolk,

are all that is necessary, except the ceremony common to other classes

of having the tongue slightly burnt by a piece of hot gold. This is

always performed by the Jangam (headman) of the gang. The boys of the

class are employed by their elders in stealing grain stored at kalams

(threshing-floors), and, as opportunity offers, by slitting grain

bags loaded in carts."

Jogi.--A sub-division of Kudubi.

Jogi Gurukkal.--See Yogi Gurukkal.

Jogi Purusha.--The Purushas or Jogi Purushas seem to have come into

existence in recent times, and to be divided into two distinct classes,

one of which has crystallised into a caste, while the other merely

follows a cult practiced by several other castes. Those in South

Canara, who speak Marathi and Tulu, say that they form a caste,

which will not admit members of other castes into its ranks. There

is a head mutt (religious institution) at Kadiri, with subordinate

mutts at Halori and Bhuvarasu, all in South Canara. The Jogi Purushas

are disciples of one or other of these mutts. Their special deity

is Bairava, but some regard Gorakshanath as their god. They are

initiated into the Bairava cult by their priest. They may lead either

a celibate or married life. The celibates should have a hole bored in

the middle of the ear, and wear therein a ring of rhinoceros horn or

china-clay. Those who wish to lead a married life need not have a hole

in the ear, but, at the time of their initiation, a piece of clay is

pressed over the spot where the hole should be. All Jogi Purushas who

have become the disciples of a guru (spiritual instructor) of their

cult ought to have a brass, copper, or silver pipe, called singanatha,

tied on a thread round the neck. Before taking their meals, they are

expected to pray to Bairava, and blow the pipe.

The Jogi Purushas follow the Makkalakattu system of inheritance (in

the male line), and, for their marriage ceremonies, engage a Karadi

Brahman. The dead are buried in a sitting posture. The bojja, or final

death ceremony, is usually performed on the twelfth day, and a Brahman

priest officiates thereat. The ceremony consists in offering food to

the crows, making presents to Brahmans, and undergoing purificatory

rites for the removal of death pollution. If the deceased has been

initiated into the Bairava cult, puja (worship) must be done at the

grave every alternate day from the third day till the bojja day.

Some Jogi Purushas are professional mendicants, while others work as

coolies, peons, etc.

Jonagan.--Jonagan is given, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as the

name applied to "Musalman traders of partly Hindu parentage. The word

is from the Tamil Sonagan, which means Arabia, and is not strictly

the name of any Musalman tribe, but is a loose term applied by the

Tamils to Musalmans of mixed descent." In the Gazetteer of South

Arcot, Mr. Francis says that "the term Jonagan or Sonagan, meaning

a native of Sonagan or Arabia, is applied by Hindus to both Labbais

and Marakkayars, but it is usually held to have a contemptuous

flavour." According to another version, Jonagan is applied to

sea-fishermen and boatmen, and the more prosperous traders are called

Marakkayars. In a note on the Mappillas of Malabar, Mr. Padmanabha

Menon writes that "the Muhammadans generally go by the name of Jonaga

Mappillas. Jonaka is believed to stand for Yavanaka, i.e., Greek."

Joti (light).--An exogamous sept of Boya.

Jotinagara.--Jotinagara (people of the city of light) and Jotipana

are high sounding synonyms of the Canarese oil-pressing Ganigas,

who express illuminant oils from seeds. In like manner, the Tamil

oil-pressing Vaniyans are known as Jotinagarattar and Tiru-vilakku

Nagarattar (dwellers in the city of holy lamps).

Juda Mappilla.--A name by which the Cochin Jews are known.

Julaha.--A few members of this Muhammadan class of weavers have been

returned at times of census.

Jungu (cock's-comb).--A gotra of Kurni.