The following note on a Kondh funeral dance in the Ganjam Maliahs is

from the pen of an eye-witness. [176] "The dead Patro is, as usual,

a hill Uriya, of ancient lineage, no less than that of the great totem

of nola bompsa or the ancestral wood-pigeon that laid its eggs in the

hollow of a bamboo, from which this family sprang. Various and most

interesting are the totems of the Maliahs. In passing, I may mention

another curious totem, that of the pea-fowl, two eggs of which a

man brought home to his wife, who laid them in an earthen pot, and

from them sprang a man-child, the progenitor of a famous family. But

to return to the Patro. Before sunset, mourned by his two wives,

the younger and favourite one carrying a young child of light bamboo

colour, he had been burnt, without much ceremony, in an open grassy

spot, his ashes scattered to the four winds of heaven, and the spot

marked by wooden posts driven deep into the soil. Not now would be

celebrated the funeral obsequies, but a month hence on the accession

of his eldest son, the future Patro, a fair lad of eighteen years. As

the day for the obsequies drew near, an unusual bustle filled the

air. Potters from the low country arrived, and hundreds upon hundreds

of earthen pots of all sizes and shapes were turned, and piled in

great heaps near the village. Huge buffaloes, unconscious of their

approaching fate, lay tethered near, or wallowing in bovine luxury

in a swamp hard by. Messengers had been sent far and near to all the

Patros, Molikos, and Bissoyis. Even the Kuttiya Khonds were not left

out. The auspicious morning at length dawned, when a distinguished

company began to arrive, each chief with his followers, and in many

cases his wives and little children, all dressed in their best, and

bent on enjoying everything to the utmost. I noticed fine stalwart

men from Udiagiri on the edge of the ghauts, together with Khonds from

more civilised Baliguda, and Khonds from cold and breezy Daringabadi,

cheerful in spite of the numbers of their relatives that had found a

horrid tomb inside a man-eating tiger that since 1886 (together with

another ally lately started) had carried off more than four hundred

of their kith and kin. Distinguished amongst even that wild horde for

savagery were the Khonds from the Kuttiya country, who live on tops of

hills, and whose women are seldom, if ever, seen. These are remarkable

for their enormous quantities of frizzly hair tied in huge chignons

over the right brow, and decorated with feathers of every hue--the

jay, the parrot, the peacock and the white quills of the paddy-bird

predominating. Their short, sturdy limbs are hung in every direction

with necklaces and curious blue beads and cut agates, said to be dug

out of ancient burial places and cromlechs in Central India. Certain

it is that almost no inducement will prevail on a Khond to voluntarily

part with these precious heirlooms. As each fresh detachment arrived,

their first occupation was to go to a neighbouring tank (pond), and,

after a wash and decoration of head and hair with either the orthodox

feathers, or, prettier still, with wreaths of wild flowers, to repair

to the late chief's house, and, presenting themselves at the door,

condole, with much vigour of lungs, with the now less disconsolate

widows on their recent loss. This ceremony over, they tendered

their allegiance to the young son of the dead Patro, permitted

by Government to take his place, and each man received from him an

earthen cooking-pot, and each circle of villages a buffalo. The Khond

is a beef eater, but a curious custom prevails in some parts, that a

married woman must abstain from the flesh of a cow. These preliminary

ceremonies over, the crowd adjourned, with great noise of shouting,

blowing of buffalo horns, and beating of drums, to the open grassy

spot marked by posts, where the late Patro had been burned, and where

a recently killed buffalo, weltering in its gore, now lay. Among

the throng of men, women and children, most of the former more than

slightly elevated by drinking copious draughts of a kind of beer made

from the kuhari grain, were three Khonds carrying long poles surmounted

by huge bunches of peacock feathers that blazed in the sunlight

like emeralds and sapphires. The funeral dance now commenced. The

dance itself is simple in the extreme, for, when the right spot was

reached, old men and young began gyrating round and round in a large

circle, a perfect human merry-go-round. The old grey-beards, plodding

slowly round the ring, and stamping on the soil with their aged feet,

presented a great contrast to the younger and wilder men, who capered

and pranced about, sometimes outside the circle, waving their tanghis

in the air, and every now and then leaping up to the slain buffalo,

and dipping their axes into its blood, and then back again, dancing

more wildly than ever, round and round from west to east, till the

eye ached to behold the perpetual motion of this animated wheel. In

the centre revolved the three men with the huge bunches of peacock

feathers afore-mentioned. When any dropped out of the circle to rest

there were many eager and willing to take their places, and so, with

relays of fresh dancers, this human circle revolved on for three whole

days, only ceasing at nightfall, when by large fires the various tribes

cooked in the earthen pots provided the buffaloes presented by the new

Patro. In olden days, an animal was given to each village, but on this

occasion only to a circle of villages, occasioning thereby certain

grumblings among the wiseacres for the good old days of the past,

when not only buffaloes in plenty, but Meriah human victims as well

were lavishly provided and sacrificed. 'Ichabod,' said they in Khond,

'the glory of the Maliahs hath departed.' On the afternoon of the

third day, the Patros, Molikas, Bissoyis, and others of the great

men began to depart with their retainers for their distant homes in

the jungles, having had a thoroughly good time. The women, who had

been very shy at first, fled at my approach, now, after three days'

familiarity with a white face, began to show symptoms of friendliness,

so that they allowed me to go quite near to them to examine their

pretty necklaces of coloured grasses, silver coins, and curious beads,

and to count the numbers of small sticks (generally about twelve or

fifteen) of broom that were arranged in the shape of a crescent round

the outer edges of the pierced ears of each unmarried village belle,

and to observe at close quarters the strange tattooed patterns in

blue of zigzag and curve that to my eyes disfigured their otherwise

comely faces. As to beauty of figure, I think very few can compare

with a young and well-grown Khond maiden, with her straight back and

handsome proportions. It was, therefore, without much difficulty that

I persuaded some of them to dance before me. Six buxom girls stepped

out, all of them the respectable daughters of well-to-do Khonds,

prepared to dance the famous peacock dance. Round their supple but

massive waists was twisted the strip of national Khond cloth of blue,

red and white, and for bodices what could be more becoming than their

glossy brown skins of nature's millinery, gracefully wreathed with

garlands of coloured grasses and strings of gay beads. The polished

jet black hair, neatly tied in a knot at the back, and decorated with

pretty lacquered and silver combs, or with forest flowers, added yet

more to their picturesque appearance. Each girl now took a long strip

of white cloth, and, winding it round her waist, allowed one end to

trail at the back in the fashion of a Liberty sash. This was supposed

to represent the tail of the peacock. Three of the girls then faced

the three others, and, with their left hands resting on their hips,

and their elbows sticking out (to represent the wings), and the right

arms extended in front with the fingers outstretched to simulate the

neck and beak, began to dance to the ear-piercing shrieks of cracked

trumpet, and to the deep beatings of a Maliah drum marking excellent

time. On and on they danced, advancing and retiring, and now and then

crossing over (not unlike the first figure of the quadrille), while

their tinkling feet, 'like little mice, stole in and out,' the heels

alternately clashing against each other, in exact time to the music,

and the lips gracefully waving from side to side as they advanced or

retired. There was perfect grace of movements combined with extreme

modesty, the large expressive eyes veiled by the long lashes never

once being raised, and the whole demeanour utterly oblivious to the

crowd of enthusiastic admirers that surrounded them on all sides. But

for the wild scene around, the noise and shrieking of instruments,

and the fantastic dresses of the Khonds (many of whom had buffalo

horns tied on to their painted faces, or had decorated their heads

with immense wigs of long black hair), one might easily have supposed

these shrinking damsels to have been the pick of a Mission School

specially selected for propriety to dance the South Indian kummi

before, say, an itinerant Bishop of ascetic tendencies and æsthetic

temperament. When their heaving, panting bodies showed that exhausted

nature claimed them for her own, the man with the trumpet or the drum

would rush up, and blow or beat it almost under their drooping heads,

urging them with shouts and gesticulations to further energy, till at

length the shades of night crept over the hills, and, with one accord,

the dancing and the deafening music ceased, while the six girls stole

quietly back and were soon lost in the crowd."

Of superstitions among the Kondhs, the following are recorded by

Mr. Jayaram Moodaliar:--

"When a Kondh starts out on a shooting expedition, if he first

meets an adult female, married or unmarried, he will return home,

and ask a child to tell the females to keep out of his way. He will

then make a fresh start, and, if he meets a female, will wave his

hand to her as a sign that she must keep clear of him. Before a

party start out for shooting, they warn the females not to come

in their way. The Kondh believes that, if he sees a female, he

will not come across animals in the jungle to shoot. If a woman

is in her menses, her husband, brothers, and sons living under

the same roof, will not go out shooting for the same reason.

A Kondh will not leave his village when a jathra (festival) is

being celebrated, lest the god Pennu should visit his wrath on him.

They will not cut trees, which yield products suitable for human

consumption, such as the mango, jak, jambul (Eugenia Jambolana), or

iluppai (Bassia) from which they distil a spirituous liquor. Even

though these trees prevent the growth of a crop in the fields,

they will not cut them down.

If an owl hoots over the roof of a house, or on a tree close

thereto, it is considered unlucky, as foreboding a death in the

family at an early date. If an owl hoots close to a village, but

outside it, the death of one of the villagers will follow. For

this reason, the bird is pelted with stones, and driven off.

They will not kill a crow, as this would be a sin amounting to

the killing of a friend. According to their legend, soon after the

creation of the world there was a family consisting of an aged man

and woman, and four children, who died one after the other in quick

succession. Their parents were too aged to take the necessary steps

for their cremation, so they threw the bodies away on the ground,

at some distance from their home. God appeared to them in their

dreams one night, and promised that he would create the crow,

so that it might devour the dead bodies.

They do not consider it a sin to kill a Brahminy kite (Haliastur

indus: Garuda pakshi), which is held in veneration throughout

Southern India. A Kondh will kill it for so slight an offence as

carrying off his chickens.

They will not cut the crops with a sickle with a serrated edge,

such as is used by the Oriyas, but use a straight-edged knife. The

crops, after they have been cut, are removed to the village, and

threshed by hand, and not with the help of cattle. While this is

being done, strangers (Kondh or others) may not look on the crop,

or speak to them, lest their evil eye should be cast on them. If

a stranger is seen approaching near the threshing-floor, the

Kondhs keep him off by signalling to him with their hands, without

speaking. The serrated sickle is not used, because it produces a

sound like that of cattle grazing, which would be unpropitious. If

cattle were used in threshing the crop, it is believed that the

earth god would feel insulted by the dung and urine of the animals.

They believe that they can transform themselves into tigers or

snakes, half the soul leaving the body and becoming changed into

one of these animals, either to kill an enemy, or satisfy hunger

by having a good feed on cattle in the jungle. During this period,

they are believed to feel dull and listless, and disinclined for

work, and, if a tiger is killed in the forest, they will die

synchronously. Mr. Fawcett informs me that the Kondhs believe

that the soul wanders during sleep. On one occasion, a dispute

arose owing to a man discovering that another Kondh, whose spirit

used to wander about in the guise of a tiger, ate up his spirit,

and he became ill.

When cholera breaks out in a village, all males and females smear

their bodies from head to foot with pig's fat liquefied by heat,

and continue to do so until a few days after the disappearance

of the dread disease. During this time, they do not bathe, lest

the smell of the fat should be washed away."

The Kondhs are said [177] to prevent the approach of the goddess

of small-pox by barricading the paths with thorns and ditches, and

boiling caldrons of stinking oil. The leopard is looked upon in some

way as a sacred beast by the Kondhs of the northern Maliahs. They

object to a dead leopard being carried through their villages, and

oaths are taken on a leopard's skin.

Referring to elf stones, or stones of the dead in European

countries, to which needles, buttons, milk, eggs, etc., are offered,

Mr. F. Fawcett describes [178] a Kondh ceremony, in which the ground

under a tree was cleared in the form of a square, within which were

circles of saffron (turmeric), charcoal, rice, and some yellow powder,

as well as an egg or a small chicken. A certain Kondh had fever caused

by an evil spirit, and the ceremony was an invitation to it to come

out, and go to another village.

The following account of a cow-shed sacrifice is given by

Mr. Fawcett. [179] "A special liquor is brewed from grain for the

ceremony, on the first day of which there is a general fast, a pig

is bought by general subscription, and dragged to the place where

it is to be sacrificed by a rope 'through its belly.' The pig is

stoned to death, but, ere it dies, each Khond cuts off some of the

hair and a little piece of the ear, which are treasured. The meat

is divided among them, and cooked with rice. The priest goes from

house to house, and performs the ceremony of the cow-shed. The ropes

of the cattle (chiefly buffaloes) which are out grazing are tied to

the central point in the cow-shed, and the other ends are laid on the

ground across the shed. These ropes are the visible objects, to which

sacrifice is made. The head of a chicken is buried near the ends tied

to the post, and near it are ranged leaves, on which are placed rice,

flesh of the pig, and a bit of its ear. A little in front of these is

buried a rotten egg. The chicken, whose head is buried, is boiled,

and eaten by children who have not yet donned a cloth. The Khond

puts the rice, piece of the ear, and the hair of the pig, under the

roof. In the evening the cattle come home, and are tied by the ropes

used in the ceremony. Then the women break their fast--they must eat

then. Drinking and dancing occupy the two following days, during which

no manure is removed from the cow-shed. On the third day, the Khonds

come out with a lump of it in the hand, and throw it in one place,

forming a heap, on which the priest pours liquor and rice."

The following example of a Kondh oath is given by

Mr. J. A. R. Stevenson. "The subject of the circumstance is first

repeated by the swearing party, and a basket containing the following

things is held before him:--

A blood-sucker (lizard).

A bit of tiger's skin.

A peacock's feather.

Earth from a 'white-ant' hill.

Rice mixed with fowl's blood.

A lighted lamp.

He proceeds with his oath, touching each object in the basket at

that part of the oath which refers to that object. 'Oh! father

(god), I swear, and, if I swear falsely, then, Oh! father, may I

become shrivelled and dry like a blood-sucker, and thus die. May I

be killed by a tiger. May I crumble to dust like this white-ant's

hill. May I be blown about like this feather. May I be extinguished

like this lamp.' In saying the last words, he puts a few grains of

rice in his mouth, and blows out the lamp, and the basket with its

contents is made to touch the top of his head."

In 1904, a case illustrating the prevailing belief in witchcraft

occurred in the Vizagapatam hill tracts. The youngest of three

brothers died of fever, and, when the body was cremated, the fire

failed to consume the upper portion. The brothers concluded that

death must have been caused by the witchcraft of a certain Kondh. They

accordingly attacked him, and killed him. After death, the brothers

cut the body in half, and dragged the upper half to their own village,

where they attempted to nail it up on the spot where their deceased

brother's body failed to burn. The accused were arrested on the spot,

with the fragment of the Kondh's corpse. They were sentenced to death,

and the sentence was confirmed by the High Court. [180]

In 1906, a Kondh, suspecting a Pano girl of having stolen some

cloths and a silver ornament from him, went to the dhengada house

in Sollagodo, where the girl slept with other unmarried girls,

and took her to his village, where he confined her in his house. On

the following day, he took her to an Oriya trader, who thrashed her,

in order to make her confess to the theft. Subsequently, some of the

villagers collected to see her undergo the ordeal of boiling water. A

pot nearly full of water was boiled, some cow-dung and sacred rice

added, and a rupee placed in the pot. The girl was ordered to take

out the rupee. This she did three times, but, on the fourth occasion,

the water scalded her hand and forearm. She was then ordered to pay

as a fine her ear-ring, which was worth one rupee. This she did,

as it was the custom for an unsuccessful person to hand over some

property. Her right hand was practically destroyed as the result of the

scalding. An elderly Patro (headman) deposed that the ordinary practice

in trials of this sort is to place two pots of water, one boiling and

the other cold. In the boiling water a rupee and some rice are placed,

and the suspected person has to take out the rupee once, and should

then dip his hand in the cold water. If the hand is then scalded,

the person is considered guilty, and has to pay a fine to the caste.

In trial by immersion in water, the disputants dive into a pool,

and he who can keep under water the longest is considered to be

in the right. On one occasion, some years ago, when two villages

were disputing the right of possession of a certain piece of land,

the Magistrate resorted to a novel method to settle the dispute. He

instituted a tug-of-water between an equal number of representatives

of the contending parties. The side which won took possession of the

disputed property, to the satisfaction of all. [181]

In connection with sacred rice, which has been referred to above,

reference may be made to the custom of Mahaprasad Songatho. "It

is prevalent among the Khonds and other hill tribes of Ganjam and

Orissa, and is found among the Oriyas. Sangatho means union or

friendship. Mahaprasad Songatho is friendship sworn by mahaprasad,

i.e., cooked rice consecrated to god Jagannath of Puri. The remains

of the offering are dried and preserved. All pilgrims visiting Puri

invariably get a quantity of this mahaprasad, and freely distribute

it to those who ask for it. It is regarded as a sacred thing,

endowed with supreme powers of forgiving the sins and wrongs of

men by mere touch. It is not only holy itself, but also sanctifies

everything done in its presence. It is believed that one dare not

commit a foul deed, utter a falsehood, or even entertain an evil

thought, when it is held in the hands. On account of such beliefs,

witnesses in law suits (especially Oriyas) are asked to swear by

it when giving evidence. Mahaprasad Songatho is sworn friendship

between two individuals of the same sex. Instances are on record of

friendship contracted between a wealthy and cultured townsman and a

poor village rustic, or between a Brahmin woman of high family and

a Sudra servant. Songatho is solemnised with some ceremonies. On an

auspicious day fixed for the purpose, the parties to the Songatho,

with their relatives, friends and well-wishers, go to a temple in

procession to the festive music of flutes and drum. There, in that

consecrated place, the would-be friends take a solemn oath, with the

god before them, mahaprasad in their hands, and the assemblage to

witness that they will be lifelong friends, in spite of any changes

that might come over them or their families. The ceremony closing,

there will be dinners, gifts and presents on both sides, and the

day is all mirth and merriment. Thus bound by inseparable ties of

friendship, they live to the end of their lives on terms of extreme

intimacy and affection. They seize every opportunity of meeting,

and living in each other's company. They allow no festival to pass

without an exchange of new cloths, and other valuable presents. No

important ceremony is gone through in any one's house without the

other being invited. Throughout the year, they will send each other

the various fruits and vegetables in their respective seasons. If one

dies, his or her family does not consider the bond as having been

snapped, but continues to look upon the other more or less in the

same manner as did the deceased. The survivor, if in need of help,

is sure to receive assistance and sympathy from the family of the

deceased friend. This is how the institution is maintained by the

less civilised Oriyas of the rural parts. The romance of the Songatho

increases with the barbarity of the tribe. The Khonds, and other hill

tribes, furnish us with an example of Songatho, which retains all

its primitive simplicity. Among them, Songatho is ideal friendship,

and examples of Damon and Pythias are not rare. A Khond has been known

to ruin himself for the sake of his friend. He willingly sacrifices

all that he has, and even his life, to protect the interests of his

friend. The friends have nothing but affection for each other." [182]

It is noted, in the Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district, that "the

Khonds steal cattle, especially those belonging to Brinjari gangs, in

an open manner, for the sake of their flesh. In 1898, at Veppiguda near

Gudari a party of them attacked four constables who were patrolling

the country to check these thefts, thrashed them, and carried off all

their property and uniforms. Efforts to arrest these men resulted

in the inhabitants of their village fleeing to the hills, and, for

a time, it looked as if there was danger of others joining them, and

of the Khonds going out. In 1882, the Khonds of Kalahandi State rose

against the Uriyas, and murdered some hundreds of them. Luckily the

invitation to join them, conveyed by the circulation of the head,

fingers, hair, etc., of an early victim, was not accepted by the

Khonds of this district." The news of the rising was conveyed to

Mr. H. G. Prendergast, Assistant Superintendent of Police, by a Domb

disguised as a fakir, who carried the report concealed in his languti

(cloth). He was rewarded with a silver bangle. At a meeting held

at the village of Balwarpur, it was decided that the Kultas should

all be killed and swept out of the country. As a sign of this, the

Kondhs carried brooms about. At Asurgarh the police found four headless

corpses, and learnt from the widows all that they had to say about the

atrocities. The murders had been committed in the most brutal way. All

the victims were scalped while still alive, and one had an arm and a

leg cut off before being scalped. As each victim died, his death was

announced by three taps on a drum given slowly, followed by shouting

and dancing. The unfortunate men were dragged out of their houses,

and killed before their women and children. Neither here nor anywhere

else were the women outraged, though they were threatened with death

to make them give up buried treasure. One woman was in this way made

to dig up a thousand rupees. On a tamarind tree near the village of

Billat, affixed to it as a trophy, there was the scalped head of a

Kulta, hacked about in the most horrible way. [183]

The fact is noted by Mr. Jayaram Moodaliar that the Kondh system

of notation is duodecimal. Thirteen is twelve and one, forty three

twelves and four, and so forth.

Kondh Bibliography.

Aborigines of the Eastern Ghâts. Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, XXV,

39-52, 1856.

Caldwell, R. Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South Indian

Family of Languages, 2nd edn., appendix, 516-17, 1875.

Campbell, G. Specimens of Languages of India, including those of the

Aboriginal Tribes of Bengal, the Central Provinces and the Eastern

Frontier, 95-107, 1904, Calcutta.

Campbell, Major-General. Personal Narrative of Service amongst the

Wild Tribes of Khondistan, 1864.

Dalton, E. T. Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal, 285-301, 1872.

Duff, Rev. A. The First Series of Government Measures for the Abolition

of Human Sacrifices among the Khonds. Selections from the Calcutta

Review, 194-257, 1845-6.

Fawcett, F. Miscellaneous Notes. Journ., Anthrop. Soc., Bombay,

II, 247-51.

Francis, W. Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam District, Vol. I, 1907.

Friend-Pereira, J. E. Marriage Customs of the Khonds. Journ.,

Asiat. Soc. Bengal, LXXI, part III, 18-28, 1903.

Friend-Pereira, J. E. Totemism among the Khonds. Journ., Asiat. Soc.,

Bengal, LXXIII, Part III, 39-56, 1905.

Frye, Captain. Dialogues and Sentences in the Kondh Language, with

an English translation, 1851, Cuttack.

Frye, Captain. Fables in the Kondh Language, with an English

translation, 1851, Cuttack.

Frye, Captain. Fables in the Kondh Language, with an Oriya translation,

1851, Cuttack.

Frye, Captain. The History of Joseph in the Kui or Kondh Language,

1851, Cuttack.

Frye, Captain. Primer and Progressive Reading Lessons in the Kondh

Language, with an Oriya translation, 1851, Cuttack.

Frye, Lieut. J. P. On the Uriya and Kondh Population of Orissa. Journ.,

Roy. Asiat. Soc. of Great Britain and Ireland, XVII, 1-38, 1860.

Grierson, G. A. Linguistic Survey of India, IV, 457-71, 1906.

History of the Rise and Progress of the Operations for the Suppression

of Human Sacrifice and Female Infanticide in the Hill tracts of

Orissa. Selections from the Records of the Government of India (Home

Department) No. V, 1854, Calcutta.

Hunter, W. W. Orissa II, 67-100, 1872.

Huttmann, G. H. Lieut. Macpherson's Report upon the Khonds of the

Districts of Ganjam and Cuttack. Calcutta Review, VIII, 1-51, 1847.

Huttmann, G. H. Captain Macpherson's Report upon the Khonds of the

Districts of Ganjam and Cuttack. Calcutta Review, X, 273-341, 1848.

Lingum Letchmajee. Introduction to the Grammar of the Kui or Kondh

Language, 2nd edn., 1902, Calcutta.

Macpherson, Captain S. C. An account of the Religious Opinions

and Observances of the Khonds of Goomsur and Boad. Journ.,

Roy. Asiat. Soc. of Great Britain and Ireland, VII, 172-99, 1843.

Macpherson, Captain S. C. An account of the Religion of the Khonds

in Orissa. Journ., Roy. Asiat. Soc. of Great Britain and Ireland,

XIII, 216-74, 1852.

Macpherson, Lieut. Report upon the Khonds of the Districts of Ganjam

and Cuttack, 1863, Madras.

Maltby, T. J. Ganjam District Manual, 65-87, 1882.

Rice, S. P. Occasional Essays on Native South Indian Life, 97-102,

1901.

Risley, H. H. The Tribes and Castes of Bengal, I, 397-413. 1891.

Smith, Major J. McD. Practical Handbook of the Khond Language, 1876,

Cuttack.

Taylor, Rev. W. On the Language, Manners, and Rites of the Khonds

or Khoi Jati of the Goomsur Mountains from documents furnished by

J. A. R. Stevenson. Madras Journ. Lit. and Science, VI, 17-46, 1837.

Taylor, Rev. W. Some Additional Notes on the Hill Inhabitants of the

Goomsur Mountains. Madras Journ., Lit. and Science, VII, 89-104, 1838.

Kondra.--The Kondras or Kondoras are a fishing caste in Ganjam, who

fish in ponds, lakes, rivers, and backwaters, but are never engaged

in sea-fishing. It has been suggested that the name is derived from

konkoda, a crab, as they catch crabs in the Chilka lake, and sell

them. The Kondras rank very low in the social scale, and even the

Haddis refuse to beat drums for them, and will not accept partially

boiled rice, which they have touched. In some places, the members

of the caste call themselves Dasa Divaro, and claim descent from the

boatmen who rowed the boat when King Bharatha went to Chithrakutam,

to inform Rama of the death of Dasaratha. Apparently the caste is

divided into two endogamous sections, viz., Macha Kondras, who follow

the traditional occupation of fishing, and Dandasi Khondras, who have

taken to the duties of village watchmen. As examples of septs or

bamsams, the following may be cited:--kako (crow), bilva (jackal),

gaya (cow), kukkiriya (dogs), ghasia (grass), bholia (wild dog),

sanguna (vulture). A few said that reverence is paid to the animals

after which the bamsam is named before the marriage ceremonies, but

this was denied by others. The headman of the caste is styled Behara,

and he is assisted by the Dolobehara and Bhollobaya. There is also a

caste messenger called Chattia. The Behara receives a fee of a rupee

on occasions of marriage, and one anna for death ceremonies.

Girls are married either before or after puberty. Sometimes a girl

is married in performance of a vow to the sahada (Streblus asper)

tree. The ground round the tree is cleaned, a new cloth is then tied

round the trunk, and a bow and arrow are rested against it. The

Behara officiates as priest, and on behalf of the girl, places

near the tree twelve handfuls or measures of rice and twelve of dal

(peas: Cajanus indicus), and twelve pieces of string on a leaf, as

provisions for the bridegroom. If the girl has not reached maturity,

she must remain seven days near the tree; otherwise she remains four

days. On the last day, the Behara, sitting close to the tree, says:

"We have given you provisions for twelve years. Give us a tsado-patra

(deed of separation)." This is written on a palmyra leaf, and thrown

down near the tree.

The dead are cremated, and the corpses of both men and women are said

to be placed face downwards on the pyre. Among many other castes,

only those of women are placed in this position. The death ceremonies

are similar to those observed by many Oriya castes. A bit of bone is

removed from the burning-ground, and food offered to it daily until

the tenth day, when all the agnates, as well as the brothers-in-law

and sons-in-law of the deceased, are shaved. The sons of the sister of

the dead person are also expected to be shaved if they are fatherless;

but, if their father is alive, they are shaved on the following day.

The Kondras regard Ganga-devi as their caste deity, but worship also

other deities, e.g., Chamunda, Buddhi, and Kalika.

Konga.--Konga or Kongu is a territorial term, meaning inhabitant of

the Kongu country. It has, at recent times of census, been returned as

a division of a large number of classes, mostly Tamil, which include

Ambattan, Kaikolan, Kammalan, Kuravan, Kusavan, Malayan, Odde, Pallan,

Paraiyan, Shanan, Uppara, and Vellala. It is used as a term of abuse

among the Badagas of the Nilgiri hills. Those, for example, who made

mistakes in matching Holmgren's wools, were scornfully called Konga

by the onlookers. Similarly, in parts of the Tamil country, a tall,

lean and stupid individual is called a Kongan.

Konga Vellala.--For the following note on the Konga Vellalas of the

Trichinopoly district, I am indebted to Mr. F. R. Hemingway. They seem

to have little in common with the other Vellalas, except their name,

and appear to hold a lower position in society, for Reddis will not

eat with them, and they will dine with Tottiyans and others of the

lower non-Brahman castes. They live in compact communities, generally

in hamlets. Their dwellings are generally thatched huts, containing

only one room. They are cultivators, but not well off. Their men can

generally be recognized by the number of large gold rings which they

wear in the lobes of the ears, and the pendant (murugu), which hangs

from the upper part of the ears. Their women have a characteristic

tali (marriage badge) of large size, strung on to a number of cotton

threads, which are not, as among other castes, twisted together. They

also seem always to wear an ornament called tayittu, rather like the

common cylindrical talisman, on the left arm.

The Konga Vellalas are split into two endogamous divisions, viz., the

Konga Vellalas proper, and the Tondan or Ilakanban-kuttam (servant

or inferior sub-division). The latter are admittedly the offspring

of illegitimate intercourse with outsiders by girls and widows of

the caste, who have been expelled in consequence of their breach of

caste rules.

The Kongas proper have an elaborate caste organisation. Their country

is divided into twenty-four nadus, each comprising a certain number of

villages, and possessing recognised head-quarters, which are arranged

into four groups under the villages of Palayakottai, Kangayam, Pudur

and Kadayur, all in the Coimbatore district. Each village is under a

Kottukkaran, each nadu under a Nattu-kavundan or Periyatanakkaran, and

each group under a Pattakkaran. The last is treated with considerable

respect. He wears gold toe-rings, is not allowed to see a corpse,

and is always saluted with clasped hands. He is only occasionally

called in to settle caste disputes, small matters being settled by the

Kottukkarans, and matrimonial questions by the Nattukavundan. Both

the Kongas proper, and the Tondans have a large number of exogamous

septs, the names of which generally denote some article, the use

of which is taboo, e.g., kadai (quail), pannai (Celosia argentea,

a pot-herb). The most desirable match for a boy is his maternal

uncle's daughter. To such an extent is the preference for such unions

carried out, that a young boy is often married to a grown-up woman,

and it is admitted that, in such cases, the boy's father takes upon

himself the duties of a husband until his son has reached maturity,

and that the wife is allowed to consort with any one belonging to

the caste whom she may fancy, provided that she continues to live

in her husband's house. With widows, who are not allowed to remarry,

the rules are more strict. A man convicted of undue intimacy with a

widow is expelled from the caste, unless she consents to his leaving

her and going back to the caste, and he provides her with adequate

means to live separately. The form of consent is for the woman to say

that she is only a mud vessel, and has been broken because polluted,

whereas the man is of bell-metal, and cannot be utterly polluted. The

erring man is readmitted to the caste by being taken to the village

common, where he is beaten with an erukkan (arka: Calotropis gigantea)

stick, and by providing a black sheep for a feast to his relatives.

At weddings and funerals, the Konga Vellalas employ priests of their

own caste, called Arumaikkarans and Arumaikkaris. These must be married

people, who have had children. The first stage, so far as a wife is

concerned, is to become an elutingalkari (woman of seven Mondays),

without which she cannot wear a red mark on her forehead, or get any

of her children married. This is effected, after the birth of at least

one child, by observing a ceremonial at her father's house. A pandal

(booth) of green leaves is erected in the house, and a fillet of pungam

(Pongamia glabra) and tamarind twigs is placed round her head. She

is then presented with a new cloth, prepares some food and eats it,

and steps over a mortar. A married couple wait until one of their

children is married, and then undergo the ceremony called arumaimanam

at the hands of ten Arumaikkarans and some Pulavans (bards among

the Kaikolans), who touch the pair with some green grass dipped in

sandal and water, oil, etc. The man then becomes an Arumaikkaran,

and his wife an Arumaikkari. All people of arumai rank are treated

with great respect, and, when one of them dies, a drum is beaten by

a man standing on another man's shoulders, who receives as a present

seven measures of grain measured, and an equal quantity unmeasured.

The betrothal ceremony takes place at the house of the future bride,

in the presence of both the maternal uncles, and consists in tying

fruit and betel leaf in the girl's cloth. On the wedding day, the

bridegroom is shaved, and an Arumaikkari pours water over him. If he

has a sister, the ceremony of betrothing his prospective daughter

to her son, is performed. He then goes on horseback, carrying some

fruit and a pestle, to a stone planted for the occasion, and called

the nattukal, which he worships. The stone is supposed to represent

the Kongu king, and the pestle the villagers, and the whole ceremony

is said to be a relic of a custom of the ancient Kongu people, to

which the caste formerly belonged, which required them to obtain

the sanction of the king for every marriage. On his return from

the nattukal, balls of white and coloured rice are taken round the

bridegroom, to ward off the evil eye. His mother then gives him three

mouthfuls of food, and eats the remainder herself, to indicate that

henceforth she will not provide him with meals. A barber then blesses

him, and he repairs on horseback to the bride's house, where he is

received by one of her party similarly mounted. His ear-rings are

put in the bride's ears, and the pair are carried on the shoulders

of their maternal uncles to the nattukal. On their return thence,

they are touched by an Arumaikkaran with a betel leaf dipped in oil,

milk and water. The tali (marriage badge) is worshipped and blessed,

and the Arumaikkaran ties it on her neck. The barber then pronounces

an elaborate blessing, which runs as follows: "Live as long as the

sun and moon may endure, or Pasupatisvarar (Siva) at Karur. May your

branches spread like the banyan tree, and your roots like grass,

and may you flourish like the bamboo. May ye twain be like the flower

and the thread, which together form the garland and cleave together,

like water and the reed growing in it." If a Pulavan is present, he

adds a further blessing, and the little fingers of the contracting

couple are linked together, anointed with milk, and then separated.

The death ceremonies are not peculiar, except that the torch for

the pyre is carried by a Paraiyan, and not, as among most castes,

by the chief mourner, and that no ceremonies are performed after the

third day. The custom is to collect the bones on that day and throw

them into water. The barber then pours a mixture of milk and ghi

(clarified butter) over a green tree, crying poli, poli.

The caste has its own beggars, called Mudavandi (q.v.).

Kongara (crane).--An exogamous sept of Padma Sale, and Kamma.

Konhoro.--A title of Bolasi.

Konkani.--Defined, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a territorial

or linguistic term, meaning a dweller in the Konkan country (Canara),

or a person speaking the Konkani dialect of Marathi. Kadu Konkani

(bastard Konkani) is a name opposed to the God or pure Konkanis. In

South Canara, "the Konkani Brahmans are the trading and shop-keeping

class, and, in the most out-of-the-way spots, the Konkani village

shop is to be found." [184]

The following note on Konkanis is extracted from the Travancore Census

Report, 1901. "The Konkanis include the Brahman, Kshatriya, and Vaisya

castes of the Sarasvata section of the Gauda Brahmans. The Brahmans

of this community differ, however, from the Konkanastha Maharashtra

Brahmans belonging to the Dravida group. The Konkani Sudras who have

settled on this coast are known by a different name, Kudumikkar. The

Konkanis' original habitation is the bank of the Sarasvati, a river

well known in early Sanskrit works, but said to have lost itself

in the sands of the deserts north of Rajputana. According to the

Sahyadrikanda, a branch of these Sarasvatas lived in Tirhut in Bengal,

whence ten families were brought over by Parasurama to Gomantaka, the

modern Goa, Panchakrosi, and Kusasthali. Attracted by the richness and

beauty of the new country, others followed, and the whole population

settled themselves in sixty villages and ninety-six hamlets in and

around Goa, the settlers in the former being called Shashtis (Sanskrit

for sixty), and those in the latter being called Shannavis or Shenavis

(Sanskrit for ninety-six). The history of those Sarasvatas was one of

uninterrupted general and commercial prosperity until about twenty

years after the advent of the Portuguese. When King Emanuel died

and King John succeeded him, the policy of the Goanese Government is

believed to have changed in favour of religious persecution. A large

efflux to the Canarese and Tulu countries was the result. Thence

the Konkanis appear to have migrated to Travancore and Cochin,

and found a safe haven under the rule of their Hindu sovereigns. In

their last homes, the Konkanis extended and developed their commerce,

built temples, and endowed them so magnificently that the religious

institutions of that community, especially at Cochin and Alleppey,

continue to this day almost the richest in all Malabar.

"Canter Visscher writes [185] that 'the Canarese who are permanently

settled in Malabar are the race best known to the Europeans, not

only because the East India Company trade with them and appoint one

of their members to be their merchant, giving him the attendance of

two Dutch soldiers: but also because from the shops of these people

in town we obtain all our necessaries, except animal food. Some sell

rice, others fruits, others various kinds of linen, and some again

are money-changers, so that there is hardly one who is not engaged in

trade.' The occupation of the Konkanis has been commerce ever since the

advent of the Portuguese in India. Some of them make papatams [186]

(popadams) which is a condiment of almost universal consumption in

Malabar. Till recently, the Konkanis in Travancore knew nothing else

than trade. But now, following the example of their kinsmen in Bombay

and South Canara, they are gradually taking to other professions.

"Having settled themselves in the Canarese districts, most of

the Konkanis came under the influence of Madhavacharya, unlike

the Shenavis, who still continue to be Smartas. The worship of

Venkataramana, the presiding deity of the Tirupati shrine, is held in

great importance. Every Konkani temple is called Tirumala Devasmam, as

the divinity that resides on the sacred hill (Tirumala) is represented

in each."

Konsari.--The Konsaris derive their name from konsa, a bell-metal

dish. They are Oriya workers in bell-metal, and manufacture dishes,

cups and plates. Brahmans are employed by them as purohits (priests)

and gurus (preceptors). They eat fish and mutton, but not fowls or

beef, and drink liquor. Marriage is infant. Remarriage of widows and

divorcées is permitted.

Koonapilli vandlu.--Beggars attached to Padma Sales.

Koppala.--A section of Velamas, who tie the hair in a knot (koppu)

on the top of the head, and an exogamous sept of Mutrachas, whose

females do up their hair in a knot when they reach puberty.

Kora (sun).--A sept of Gadaba, Muka Dora, and Rona.

Koracha.--See Korava.

Koraga.--The Koragas are summed up, in the Madras Census Report,

1901, as being a wild tribe of basket-makers and labourers, chiefly

found in Mudbidri, and in Puttur in the Uppinangadi taluk of South

Canara. They are, Mr. M. T. Walhouse writes, [187] "a very quiet

and inoffensive race; small and slight, the men seldom exceeding

five feet six inches; black-skinned, like most Indian aborigines,

thick-lipped, noses broad and flat, and hair rough and bushy. Their

principal occupation is basket-making, and they must labour for their

masters. They live on the outskirts of villages, and may not dwell

in houses of clay or mud, but in huts of leaves, called koppus. Like

many of the wild tribes of India, they are distinguished by unswerving

truthfulness. The word of a Koragar is proverbial."

The Koragas rank below the Holeyas. In some towns, they are employed

by the sanitary department as scavengers. They remove the hide, horns,

and bones of cattle and buffaloes, which die in the villages, and

sell them mainly to Mappilla merchants. They accept food, which is

left over after feasts held by various castes. Some are skilful in the

manufacture of cradles, baskets, cylinders to hold paddy, winnowing and

sowing baskets, scale-pans, boxes, rice-water strainers, ring-stands

for supporting pots, coir (cocoanut fibre) rope, brushes for washing

cattle, etc. They also manufacture various domestic utensils from

soapstone, which they sell at a very cheap rate to shopkeepers in

the bazar.

"Numerous slave-castes," Mr. Walhouse continues, "exist throughout

India, not of course recognised by law--indeed formally emancipated by

an Act of Government in 1843--but still, though improved in condition,

virtually slaves. Their origin and status are thus described. After

the four principal classes, who sprang from Brahma, came six Anuloma

castes, which arose from the intercourse of Brahmans and Kshatriyas

with women of the classes below them respectively. The term Anuloma

denotes straight and regular hair, which in India characterises

the Aryan stock. After these came six Pratiloma castes, originating

in reverse order from Brahman and Kshatriya women by fathers of the

inferior classes. The third among these was the Chandala, the offspring

of Shudra fathers by Brahman women. The Chandalas, or slaves, were

sub-divided into fifteen classes, none of which might intermarry, a

rule still strictly observed. The two last, and lowest of the fifteen

classes, are the Kapata or rag-wearing, and the Soppu or leaf-wearing

Koragas. Such is the account given by Brahman chroniclers; but the

probability is that these lowest slave-castes are the descendants of

that primitive population which the Aryan invaders from the north

found occupying the soil, and, after a struggle of ages, gradually

dispossessed, driving some to the hills and jungles, and reducing

others to the condition of slaves. All these races are regarded by

their Hindu masters with boundless contempt, and held unspeakably

unclean. This feeling seems the result and witness of times when the

despised races were powerful, and to be approached as lords by their

now haughty masters, and was probably intensified by struggles and

uprisings, and the memory of humiliations inflicted on the ultimately

successful conquerors. Evidences for this may be inferred from many

curious rights and privileges, which the despised castes possess

and tenaciously retain. Moreover, the contempt and loathing in which

they are ordinarily held are curiously tinctured with superstitious

fear, for they are believed to possess secret powers of magic and

witchcraft, and influence with the old malignant deities of the soil,

who can direct good or evil fortune. As an instance, if a Brahman

mother's children die off when young, she calls a Koragar woman,

gives her some oil, rice, and copper money, and places the surviving

child in her arms. The out-caste woman, who may not at other times

be touched, gives the child suck, puts on it her iron bracelets,

and, if a boy, names it Koragar, if a girl, Korapulu. She then

returns it to the mother. This is believed to give a new lease of

life. Again, when a man is dangerously ill, or perhaps unfortunate,

he pours oil into an earthen vessel, worships it in the same way

as the family god, looks at his face reflected in the oil, and puts

into it a hair from his head and a nail paring from his toe. The oil

is then presented to the Koragars, and the hostile gods or stars are

believed to be propitiated." According to Mr. Ullal Raghvendra Rao,

[188] old superstitious Hindus never venture to utter the word Koraga

during the night.

It is noted in the Manual of the South Canara district, that "all

traditions unite in attributing the introduction of the Tulu Brahmins

of the present day to Mayur Varma (of the Kadamba dynasty), but they

vary in details connected with the manner in which they obtained a

firm footing in the land. One account says that Habashika, chief of

the Koragas, drove out Mayur Varma, but was in turn expelled by Mayur

Varma's son, or son-in-law, Lokaditya of Gokarnam, who brought Brahmins

from Ahi-kshetra, and settled them in thirty-two villages." Concerning

the power, and eventual degradation of the Koragas, the following

version of the tradition is cited by Mr. Walhouse. "When Lokadiraya,

whose date is fixed by Wilks about 1450 B.C., was king of Bhanvarshe in

North Canara (a place noted by Ptolemy), an invader, by name Habashika,

brought an army from above the ghauts, consisting of all the present

Chandala or slave-castes, overwhelmed that part of the country,

and marched southward to Mangalore, the present capital of South

Canara. The invading host was scourged with small-pox, and greatly

annoyed by ants, so Habashika moved on to Manjeshwar, a place of

ancient repute, twelve miles to the south, subdued the local ruler

Angarawarma, son of Virawarma, and reigned there in conjunction with

his nephew; but after twelve years both died--one legend says through

enchantments devised by Angarawarma; another that a neighbouring ruler

treacherously proposed a marriage between his sister and Habashika,

and, on the bridegroom and his caste-men attending for the nuptials,

a wholesale massacre of them all was effected. Angarawarma, then

returning, drove the invading army into the jungles, where they were

reduced to such extremity that they consented to become slaves, and

were apportioned amongst the Brahmans and original landholders. Some

were, set to watch the crops and cattle, some to cultivate, others

to various drudgeries, which are still allotted to the existing

slave-castes, but the Koragars, who had been raised by Habashika to the

highest posts under his government, were stripped and driven towards

the sea-shore, there to be hanged, but, being ashamed of their naked

condition, they gathered the leaves of the nicki bush (Vitex Negundo),

which grows abundantly in waste places, and made small coverings for

themselves in front. On this the executioners took pity on them and let

them go, but condemned them to be the lowest of the low, and wear no

other covering but leaves. The Koragas are now the lowest of the slave

divisions, and regarded with such intense loathing and hatred that up

to quite recent times one section of them, called Ande or pot Koragars,

continually wore a pot suspended from their necks, into which they were

compelled to spit, being so utterly unclean as to be prohibited from

even spitting on the highway; and to this day their women continue

to show in their leafy aprons a memorial of the abject degradation

to which their whole race was doomed." It is said that in pre-British

days an Ande Koraga had to take out a licence to come into the towns

and villages by day. At night mere approach thereto was forbidden,

as his presence would cause terrible calamity. The Koragas of those

days could cook their food only in broken vessels. The name Vastra,

by which one class of Koragas is called, has reference to their

wearing vastra, or clothes, such as were used to shroud a dead body,

and given to them in the shape of charity, the use of a new cloth

being prohibited. According to another account the three divisions

of the Koragas are (1) Kappada, those who wear clothes, (2) Tippi,

who wear ornaments made of the cocoanut shell, and (3) Vanti, who

wear a peculiar kind of large ear-ring. These three clans may eat

together, but not intermarry. Each clan is divided into exogamous

septs called balis, and it may be noted that some of the Koraga balis,

such as Haledennaya and Kumerdennaya, are also found among the Mari

and Mundala Holeyas.

On the subject of Koraga dress, Mr. Ullal Raghvendra Rao informs

us that "while the males gird a piece of cloth round their loins,

the females cover their waist with leaves of the forest woven

together. Various reasons are assigned for this custom. According to a

tradition, at the time when the Koragars had reigned, now far distant,

one of these 'blacklegged' (this is usually the expression by which

they are referred to during the night) demanded a girl of high birth in

marriage. Being enraged at this, the upper class withheld, after the

overthrow of the Koragas, every kind of dress from Koraga women, who,

to protect themselves from disgrace, have since had recourse to the

leaves of the forest, conceiving in the meantime that god had decreed

this kind of covering." Mr. Walhouse writes [189] further that the

Koragas wear an "apron of twigs and leaves over the buttocks. Once

this was the only covering allowed them, and a mark of their deep

degradation. But now, when no longer compulsory, and of no use, as it

is worn over the clothes, the women still retain it, believing its

disuse would be unlucky." "The Koragas," Mr. H. A. Stuart tells us,

[190] "cover the lower part of their body with a black cloth and the

upper part with a white one, and their head-dress is a cap made of

the areca-nut spathe, like that worn by the Holeyas. Their ornaments

consist of brass ear-rings, an iron bracelet, and beads of bone strung

on a thread and tied around their waist." The waist-belt of a Koraga,

whom I saw at Udipi, was made of owl bones.

"It may," Mr. Walhouse states, [191] "be noted that, according to the

traditional accounts, when the invading hosts under Habashika were

in their turn overthrown and subjected, they accepted slavery under

certain conditions that preserved to them some shadow of right. Whilst

it was declared that they should be for ever in a state of servitude,

and be allowed a meal daily, but never the means of providing for

the next day's meal. Each slave was ascripted to his master under the

following forms, which have come down to our days, and were observed

in the purchase or transfer of slaves within living memory. The slave

having washed, anointed himself with oil, and put on a new cloth, his

future owner took a metal plate, filled it with water, and dropped

in a gold coin, which the slave appropriated after drinking up the

water. The slave then took some earth from his future master's estate,

and threw it on the spot he chose for his hut, which was given over

to him with all the trees thereon. When land was transferred, the

slaves went with it, and might also be sold separately. Occasionally

they were presented to a temple for the service of the deity. This was

done publicly by the master approaching the temple, putting some earth

from before its entrance into the slave's mouth, and declaring that

he abjured his rights, and transferred them to the deity within. Rules

were laid down, with the Hindoo passion for regulating small matters,

not only detailing what work the slaves should do, but what allowances

of food they should receive, and what presents on certain festival

occasions they should obtain from, or make to the master. On marriages

among themselves, they prostrated themselves before the master and

obtained his consent, which was accompanied with a small present of

money and rice. The marriage over, they again came before the master,

who gave them betel nuts, and poured some oil on the bride's head. On

the master's death, his head slave immediately shaved his hair

and moustache. There was also a list of offences for which masters

might punish slaves, amongst which the employment of witchcraft, or

sending out evil spirits against others, expressly figures; and the

punishments with which each offence might be visited are specified,

the worst of which are branding and flogging with switches. There was

no power of life and death, and in cases of withholding the usual

allowance, or of punishments severer than prescribed, slaves might

complain to the authorities."

On the subject of Koraga slavery, Mr. Ullal Raghvendra Rao writes that

"although these slaves are in a degraded condition, yet they by no

means appear to be dejected or unhappy. A male slave gets three hanis

of paddy (unhusked rice) or a hani and a half of rice daily, besides a

small quantity of salt. The female slave gets two hanis of paddy, and,

if they be man and wife, they can easily sell a portion of the rice to

procure other necessaries of life. They are also allowed one cloth each

every year, and, besides, when transferred from one master to another,

they get a cocoanut, a jack tree (Artocarpus integrifolia), and a piece

of land where they can sow ten or twenty seers of rice. The greater

number of slaves belong to the Alia Santanam castes (inheritance in

the female line), and among these people a male slave is sold for

three pagodas (fourteen rupees) and a female slave for five pagoda;

whereas the few slaves who belong to the Makkala Santanam castes

(inheritance in the male line) fetch five pagodas for the man slave,

and three pagodas for the female. This is because the children of the

latter go to the husband's master, while those of the former go to the

mother's master, who has the benefit of the husband's services also. He

has, however, to pay the expenses of their marriage, which amount to

a pagoda and a half; and, in like manner, the master of the Makkala

Santana slave pays two pagodas for his marriage, and gets possession

of the female slave and her children. The master has the power of

hiring out his slave, for whose services he receives annually about

a mura of rice, or forty seers. They are also mortgaged for three or

four pagodas."

For the marriages of the Koragas, Mr. Walhouse informs us that

"Sunday is an auspicious day, though Monday is for the other slave

castes. The bridegroom and bride, after bathing in cold water, sit

on a mat in the former's house, with a handful of rice placed before

them. An old man presides, takes a few grains of rice and sprinkles

on their heads, as do the others present, first the males and then

the females. The bridegroom then presents two silver coins to his

wife, and must afterwards give six feasts to the community." At these

feasts every Koraga is said to vie with his neighbour in eating and

drinking. "Though amongst the other slave castes divorce is allowed by

consent of the community, often simply on grounds of disagreement, and

the women may marry again, with the Koragars marriage is indissoluble,

but a widow is entitled to re-marriage, and a man may have a second,

and even third wife, all living with him."

Concerning the ceremonies observed on the birth of a child, Mr. Ullal

Raghvendra Rao writes that "after a child is born, the mother (as

among Hindoos) is unholy, and cannot be touched or approached. The

inmates take leave of the koppu for five nights, and depend on the

hospitality of their friends, placing the mother under the sole charge

of a nurse or midwife. On the sixth night the master of the koppu

calls his neighbours, who can hardly refuse to oblige him with their

presence. The mother and the child are then given a tepid bath, and

this makes them holy. Members of each house bring with them a seer of

rice, half a seer of cocoanut oil, and a cocoanut. The woman with the

baby is seated on a mat--her neighbour's presents before her in a flat

basket. The oldest man present consults with his comrades as to what

name will best suit the child. A black string is then tied round the

waist of the baby. The rice, which comes in heaps from the neighbours,

is used for dinner on the occasion, and the cocoanuts are split into

two pieces, the lower half being given to the mother of the child,

and the upper half the owner. This is the custom followed when the

baby is a male one; in case of a female child, the owner receives

the upper half, leaving the lower half for the mother. Koragars were

originally worshippers of the sun, and they are still called after the

names of the days of the week--as Aita (a corruption of Aditya, or the

sun); Toma (Soma, or the moon); Angara (Mangala); Gurva (Jupiter);

Tanya (Shani, or Saturn); Tukra (Shukra, or Venus). They have no

separate temples for their God, but a place beneath a kasaracana

tree (Strychnos Nux-vomica) is consecrated for the worship of the

deity which is exclusively their own, and is called Kata. Worship

in honour of this deity is usually performed in the months of May,

July, or October. Two plantain leaves are placed on the spot, with a

heap of boiled rice mixed with turmeric. As is usual in every ceremony

observed by a Koragar, the senior in age takes the lead, and prays to

the deity to accept the offering and be satisfied. But now they have,

by following the example of Bants and Sudras, exchanged their original

object of worship for that of Bhutas (demons)."

On the subject of the religion of the Koragas, Mr. Walhouse states

that "like all the slave castes and lower races, the Koragars

worship Mari Amma, the goddess presiding over small-pox, the

most dreadful form of Parvati, the wife of Siva. She is the most

popular deity in Canara, represented under the most frightful form,

and worshipped with bloody rites. Goats, buffaloes, pigs, fowls,

etc., are slaughtered at a single blow by an Asadi, one of the slave

tribes from above the ghauts. Although the Koragars, in common with

all slaves, are looked upon as excommunicated and unfit to approach

any Brahminical temple or deity, they have adopted the popular Hindoo

festivals of the Gokalastami or Krishna's birthday, and the Chowti. In

the latter, the preliminaries and prayers must be performed by a

virgin." Concerning these festivals, Mr. Ullal Raghvendra Rao gives

the following details. "The Koragars have no fixed feasts exclusively

of their own, but for a long time they have been observing those

of the Hindus. Of these two are important. One is Gokula Ashtami,

or the birthday of Krishna, and the other is the Chowti or Pooliyar

feast. The latter is of greater importance than the former. The

former is a holy day of abstinence and temperance, while the latter

is associated with feasting and merry-making, and looks more like

a gala-day set apart for anything but religious performance. On the

Ashtami some cakes of black gram are made in addition to the usual

dainties. The services of Bacchus are called in aid, and the master

of the koppu invites his relatives and friends. A regular feasting

commences, when the master takes the lead, and enjoys the company

of his guests by seating himself in their midst. They are made to

sit on the floor crosswise with a little space intervening between

every guest, who pays strict regard to all the rules of decency and

rank. To keep up the distinction of sexes, females are seated in an

opposite row. The host calls upon some of his intimates or friends

to serve on the occasion. The first dish is curry, the second rice;

and cakes and dainties come in next. The butler Koragar serves out

to the company the food for the banquet, while the guests eat it

heartily. If one of them lets so much as a grain of rice fall on his

neighbour's plate, the whole company ceases eating. The offender is

at once brought before the guests, and charged with having spoiled

the dinner. He is tried there and then, and sentenced to pay a fine

that will cover the expenses of another banquet. In case of resistance

to the authority of the tribunal, he is excommunicated and abandoned

by his wife, children and relatives. No one dare touch or speak to

him. A plea of poverty of course receives a kind consideration. The

offender is made to pay a small sum as a fine, which is paid for

him by a well-to-do Koragar. To crown the feast, a large quantity

of toddy finds its way into the midst of the company. A small piece

of dry areca leaf sewed together covers the head of a Koragar, and

forms for him his hat. This hat he uses as a cup, which contains a

pretty large quantity of liquid. A sufficient quantity is poured into

their cup, and if, in pouring, a drop finds its way to the ground,

the butler is sure to undergo the same penalty that attaches itself to

any irregularity in the dinner as described above. After the banquet,

some male members of the group join in a dance to the pipe and drum,

while others are stimulated by the intoxicating drink into frisking

and jumping about. To turn to the other festival. The inmates of

the house are required to fast the previous night--one and all of

them--and on the previous day flesh or drink is not allowed. The

next morning before sunrise, a virgin bathes, and smears cowdung

over a part of the house. The place having been consecrated, a new

basket, specially made for the occasion, is placed on that spot. It

contains a handful of beaten rice, two plantains, and two pieces of

sugar-cane. The basket is then said to contain the god of the day, whom

the sugar-cane represents, and the spot is too holy to be approached by

man or woman. A common belief which they hold, that the prayers made

by a virgin are duly responded to on account of her virgin purity,

does not admit of the worship being conducted by any one else. The

girl adorns the basket with flowers of the forest, and prays for the

choicest blessings on the inmates of the house all the year round.

A Koraga woman, when found guilty of adultery, is said to be treated

in the following extraordinary way. If her paramour is of low caste

similar to herself, he has to marry her. But, in order to purify her

for the ceremony, he has to build a hut, and put the woman inside. It

is then set on fire, and the woman escapes as best she can to another

place where the same performance is gone through, and so on until she

has been burnt out seven times. She is then considered once more an

honest woman, and fit to be again married. According to Mr. Walhouse,

"a row of seven small huts is built on a river-bank, set fire to,

and the offender made to run over the burning sticks and ashes as a

penance." A similar form of ordeal has been described as occurring

among the Bakutas of South Canara by Mr. Stuart. "When a man is

excommunicated, he must perform a ceremony called yelu halli sudodu,

which means burning seven villages, in order to re-enter the caste. For

this ceremony, seven small booths are built, and bundles of grass are

piled against them. The excommunicated man has then to pass through

these huts one after the other, and, as he does so, the headman sets

fire to the grass" (cf. Koyi). It is suggested by Mr. R. E. Enthoven

that the idea seems to be "a rapid representation of seven existences,

the outcast regaining his status after seven generations have passed

without further transgression. The parallel suggested is the law of

Manu that seven generations are necessary to efface a lapse from the

law of endogamous marriage."

Of death ceremonies Mr. Walhouse tells us that "on death the bodies

of all the slave castes used to be burnt, except in cases of death

from small-pox. This may have been to obviate the pollution of the

soil by their carcases when their degradation was deepest, but now,

and from long past, burial is universal. The master's permission is

still asked, and, after burial, four balls of cooked rice are placed

on the grave, possibly a trace of the ancient notion of supplying

food to the ghost of the deceased." A handful is said [192] to be

"removed from the grave on the sixteenth day after burial, and buried

in a pit. A stone is erected over it, on which some rice and toddy

are placed as a last offering to the departed soul which is then

asked to join its ancestors."

"It may," Mr. Walhouse writes, "be noted that the Koragars alone of

all the slave or other castes eat the flesh of alligators (crocodiles),

and they share with one or two other divisions of the slaves a curious

scruple or prejudice against carrying any four-legged animal, dead

or alive. This extends to anything with four legs, such as chairs,

tables, cots, etc., which they cannot be prevailed upon to lift

unless one leg be removed. As they work as coolies, this sometimes

produces inconvenience. A somewhat similar scruple obtains among the

Bygas of Central India, whose women are not allowed to sit or lie on

any four-legged bed or stool." Like the Koragas, the Bakudas of South

Canara "will not carry a bedstead unless the legs are first taken off,

and it is said that this objection rests upon a supposed resemblance

between the four-legged cot and the four-legged ox." [193]

Of the language spoken by the Koragars, Mr. Ullal Raghvendra Rao

states that "it is a common belief that the Koragar has a peculiar

dialect generally spoken by him at his koppu. He may be induced to

give an account of his feasts, his gods, his family, but a word about

his dialect will frighten him out of his wits. Generally polite and

well-behaved, he becomes impolite and unmannerly when questioned about

his dialect." "All the Hindoos," Mr. Walhouse writes, "believe that the

Koragars have a language of their own, understood only by themselves,

but it seems doubtful whether this is anything more than an idiom,

or slang." A vocabulary of the Koraga dialect is contained in the

South Canara Manual (1895).

Korama.--See Korava.

Korava.--Members of this nomad tribe, which permeates the length of

the Indian peninsula, through countries where many languages and

dialects are spoken, are likely to be known by different names in

different localities, and this is the case. They are known as Korava

from the extreme south to the north of the North Arcot district,

where they are called Koracha or Korcha, and in the Ceded Districts

they become Yerukala or Yerakala. In Calcutta they have been traced

practising as quack doctors, and assuming Maratha names, or adding

terminations to their own, which suggest that they belong to a caste in

the south higher in the social scale than they really do. Some Koravas

pass for Vellalas, calling themselves Agambadiar Vellalas with the

title Pillai. Others call themselves Palli, Kavarai, Idaiyan, Reddi,

etc. [194] As railways spread over the country, they readily adapted

themselves to travelling by them, and the opportunities afforded for

going quickly far from the scene of a recently committed crime, or

for stealing from sleeping passengers, were soon availed of. In 1899,

the Superintendent of Government Railways reported that "the large

organization of thieves, commonly called Kepmari Koravas (though they

never call themselves so), use the railway to travel far. Some of them

are now settled at Cuttack, where they have set up as native doctors,

whose speciality is curing piles. Some are at Midnapur, and are going

on to Calcutta, and there were some at Puri some time ago. It is said

that a gang of them has gone recently to Tinnevelly, and taken up their

abode near Sermadevi, calling themselves Servaikars. One morning, in

Tinnevelly, while the butler in a missionary's house was attending to

his duties, an individual turned up with a fine fowl for sale. The

butler, finding that he could purchase it for about half the real

price, bought it, and showed it to his wife with no small pride in

his ability in making a bargain. But he was distinctly crestfallen

when his wife pointed out that it was his own bird, which had been

lost on the previous night. The seller was a Korava."

In 1903, a gang of Koravas, travelling in the guise of pujaris,

was arrested at Puri. The Police discovered that a warrant remained

unexecuted against one of them, who had been concerned in a dacoity

case in North Arcot many years previously. The report of the case

states that "cognate with the Kepmaries is a class of Korava pujaris

(as they call themselves in their own village), who, emanating from

one small hamlet in the Tanjore district, are spread more or less

all over India. There are, or were until the other day, and probably

are still some of them in Cuttack, Balasore, Midnapur, Ahmedabad,

Patna, Bombay, Secunderabad, and other places. One of them attained

a high position in Bombay. Their ostensible profession is that of

curing piles and fistulas, but it is noticeable that, sooner or later

after their taking up their abode at any place, the Kepmaries are

to be found somewhere near, and the impression, which is not quite a

certainty but very nearly so, is that they play the convenient rôle of

receivers of property stolen by the Kepmaries." Kepmari is regarded

as a very strong term of abuse, indicating, as it does, a rogue of

the worst character. In the southern districts, the Kasukkar Chettis

and Shanans are said to be very much trusted by the Koravas in the

disposal of property.

It is noted by Mr. H. A. Stuart [195] that the Koravas or Yerukalas

are a vagrant tribe found throughout the Presidency, and in many

parts of India. In the Telugu country they are called Yerukalavandlu

or Korachavandlu, but they always speak of themselves as Kurru,

and there is not the slightest room for the doubt that has been

expressed regarding the identity of the Koravas and Yerukalas. Several

derivations of Yerukala have been proposed by Wilson and others. It

has been suggested, for example, that yeru is connected with erra,

meaning red. In Telugu Yerukalavandlu would mean fortune-tellers, and

Dr. Oppert suggests that this is the origin of the name Yerukala. He

says [196] "it is highly probable that the name and the occupation

of the fortune-telling Kuruvandlu or Kuluvandlu induced the Telugu

people to call this tribe Yerukulavandlu. Dr. Oppert further connects

Kurru with the root ku, a mountain; and, in a Tamil work of the ninth

century, [197] Kurru or Kura (Kuramagal) is given as the name of a hill

tribe." A strong argument in favour of the caste name being connected

with the profession of fortune-telling is afforded by the fact that

women go about the streets, calling out "Yeruko, amma, yeruku," i.e.,

prophecies, mother, prophecies. The Kuravas are, Mr. Francis writes,

[198] "a gipsy tribe found all over the Tamil country, but chiefly in

Kurnool, Salem, Coimbatore and South Arcot. Kuravas have usually been

treated as being the same as the Yerukalas. Both castes are wandering

gipsies, both live by basket-making and fortune-telling, both speak a

corrupt Tamil, and both may have sprung from one original stock. It is

noteworthy in this connection that the Yerukalas are said to call one

another Kurru or Kura. But their names are not used as interchangeable

in the districts where each is found, and there seem to be no real

differences between the two bodies. They do not intermarry, or eat

together. The Kuravas are said to tie a piece of thread soaked in

turmeric water round the bride's neck at weddings, while Yerukalas

use a necklace of black beads. The Yerukalas have a tradition that

those who went to fetch the tali and pipe never returned, and they

consequently use black beads as a substitute for the tali, and a

bell for the pipe. The Kuravas worship Subramanya, the son of Siva,

while the Yerukalas worship Vishnu in the form of Venkateswara and his

wife Lakshmi. It may be noted that, in a very early Sanskrit drama,

the Brahman thief mocks Subramanya as being the patron saint of

thieves. The Kuravas treat the gentler sex in a very casual manner,

mortgaging or selling their wives without compunction, but the

Yerukalas are particular about the reputation of their womankind,

and consider it a serious matter if any of them return home without

an escort after sunset. The statistics of this year accordingly show

Yerukalas separately from Koravas. The reports from the various

districts, however, give such discrepant accounts of both castes,

that the matter is clearly in need of further enquiry." There is no

district in the Madras Presidency or elsewhere, where both Koravas

and Yerukalas live, unless it be the smallest possible corner of the

Coimbatore district bordering on the south-east of Mysore, for the

name Korcha intervenes; and, for a wide strip of country including the

north of the North Arcot district and south of the Cuddapah district,

the Korava is known as a Korcha, and the Census Superintendent,

in common with other authorities, has admitted these names to be

synonymous. It is in the north of the Cuddapah district that the

Yerukalas first appear in co-existence with the Korcha. The Korcha

being admitted on all sides to be the same as the Korava, our doubt

regarding the identity of the Korava with the Yerukala will be disposed

of if we can establish the fact that the Korcha and the Yerukala are

the same. The Rev. J. Cain, writing [199] about the Yerukalas of the

Godavari district, states that "among themselves they call each other

Kuluvaru, but the Telugu people call them Erakavaru or Erakalavaru,

and this name has been derived from the Telugu word eruka, which

means knowledge or acquaintance, as they are great fortune-tellers."

According to Balfour, [200] the Koravas, or a certain section of

them, i.e., the Kunchi Koravas, were known as Yerkal Koravar, and

they called the language they spoke Yerkal. The same authority,

writing of the Yerkalwadu, alludes to them as Kurshiwanloo, and

goes on to say that they style themselves Yerkal, and give the same

appellation to the language in which they hold communication. The

word Yerkal here undoubtedly stands for Yerukala, and Kurshi for

Korcha. It is evident from this, supported by authorities such as

Wilson, Campbell, Brown and Shortt, that the doubt mentioned by the

Census Superintendent in regard to the identity of the Yerukala and

Korava had not arisen when the Cyclopædia of India was published,

and it is the subsequent reports of later investigators that are

responsible for it. The divergencies of practices reported must be

reckoned with, and accounted for. They may be due to local customs

existing in widely separated areas. It is contended that the Koravas

and Yerukalas do not intermarry or eat together. A Korava, who has

made a permanent home in a village in the south, if asked whether he

would marry a Yerukala, would most certainly answer in the negative,

probably having never heard of such a person. A circular letter,

submitted to a number of Police Inspectors in several districts,

produced the same sort of discrepant information complained of by the

Census Superintendent. But one Inspector extracted from his notes the

information that, in 1895, marriages took place between the southern

Koravas of a gang from the Madura district and the Yerukalas of the

Cuddapah district; and, further, that the son of one of a gang of

Yerukalas in the Anantapur district married a Korcha girl from a gang

belonging to the Mysore State. The consensus of opinion also goes

to prove that they will eat together. Yerukalas undoubtedly place a

string of black beads as a tali round the bride's neck on marriage

occasions, and the same is used by the Koravas. Information concerning

the use of a turmeric-dyed string came from only one source, namely,

Hosur in the Salem district, and it was necessary even here for the

string to be furnished with a round bottu, which might be a bead. A

plain turmeric-soaked thread appears to be more the exception than

the rule. Yerukalas are both Vaishnavites and Saivites, and a god

worshipped by any one gang cannot be taken as a representative god

for the whole class. Yerukalas may treat their womankind better

than the southern Koravas, but this is only a matter of degree, as

the morals of both are slack. The Yerukalas, occupying, as they do,

the parched centre of the peninsula, more frequently devastated by

famine than the localities occupied by the Koravas, may have learnt

in a hard school the necessity of taking care of their wives; for,

if they allowed them to pass to another man, and a drought ruined his

crop and killed the cattle, he would find it hard to procure another,

the probability being that the price of wives rises in a common ratio

with other commodities in a time of scarcity.

From the accounts given by them, it appears that the Koravas claim

to have originated in mythological ages. The account varies slightly

according to the locality, but the general outlines agree more or less

with the story related in the Bhagavatham. The purohits, or priests,

are the safest guides, and it was one of them who told the following

story, culled, as he admitted, from the Sastras and the Ramayana. When

the great Venudu, son of Agneswathu, who was directly descended from

Brahma, ruled over the universe, he was unable to procure a son and

heir to the throne, and, when he died, his death was looked on as

an irreparable misfortune. His body was preserved. The seven ruling

planets sat in solemn conclave, and consulted as to what they should

do. Finally they agreed to create a being from the right thigh of

the deceased Venudu, and they accordingly fashioned and gave life to

Nishudu. But their work was not successful, for Nishudu turned out

to be not only deformed in body, but repulsively ugly in face. It was

agreed at another meeting of the planets that he was not a fit person

to be placed on the throne. So they set to work again, and created

a being from the right shoulder of Venudu, and their second effort

was crowned with success. They called the second creation Proothu

Chakravarthi, and, as he gave general satisfaction, he was placed on

the throne. This supersession naturally caused the first-born Nishudu

to be discontented, and he sought a lonely place, in which he communed

with the gods, begging of them the reason why they had created him

if he was not to rule. The gods explained that he could not now be

placed on the throne, as Chakravarthi had already been installed,

but that he should be a ruler over forests. In this capacity Nishudu

begat the Boyas, Chenchus, Yanadis, and Koravas. The Boyas were

his legitimate children, but the others were all illegitimate. It

is because Nishudu watched in solemn silence to know his creator

that some of his offspring called themselves Yerukalas (yeruka,

to know). Another story explains the name Korava. When the princes

Dharmaraja and Duryodana were at variance, the former, to avoid strife,

went into voluntary exile. A woman who loved him set out in search

of him, but, through fear of being identified, disguised herself as

a fortune-teller. In this manner she found him, and their offspring

became known as Koravas, from kuru, fortune-telling.

The appellation Koracha or Korcha appears to be of later date than

Korava, and is said to be derived from the Hindustani kori (sly), korri

nigga (sly look) becoming corrupted into Korcha. Whenever this name was

applied to them, they had evidently learnt their calling thoroughly,

and the whole family, in whatever direction its branches spread,

established a reputation for cunning in snaring animals or birds,

or purloining other peoples' goods, until to-day their names are used

for the purpose of insulting abuse in the course of a quarrel. Thus

a belligerant might call the other a thieving Yerukala, or ask, in

tones other than polite, if he belongs to a gang of Korchas. In the

Tamil country, a man is said to kura-kenju, or cringe like a Korava,

and another allusion to their dishonesty is kurapasangu, to cheat like

a Korava. The proverb "Kuruvan's justice is the ruin of the family"

refers to the endless nature of their quarrels, the decision of which

will often occupy the headmen for weeks together.

In communicating among themselves, the Koravas and Yerukalas speak a

corrupt polyglot, in which the words derived from several languages

bear little resemblance to the original. Their words appear to be

taken chiefly from Tamil, Telugu, and Canarese. A short vocabulary of

the Yerukala language has been published by the Rev. J. Cain. [201]

The Yerukalas call this language Oodra, which seems to stand for

gibberish or thieves' slang, or, as they explain, something very

hard to understand. Oriya or Oodra is the language of the districts

of Ganjam and Orissa. The word Oriya means north, and the fact that

the Yerukalas call their language Oodra would seem to confirm their

belief that they are a northern tribe. The wanderers always know

more than one language colloquially, and are able to make themselves

understood by the people of the country through which they may be

passing. Those who have settled in villages invariably speak the

language of the locality. When talking among themselves, they call a

Brahman Thanniko Koravan, or the bathing Korava. They consider the

Brahmans to be more cunning than themselves, and, as they are fond

of bathing to remove pollution, they have given them this nickname.

A detailed account of the Korava slang and patois has been published

by Mr. F. Fawcett, Deputy Inspector-General of Police, [202] from

whose note thereon the following examples are taken:--

Constable Erthalakayadu. Red-headed man.

Head constable Kederarilu. The man who rides on an

ass.

Taking bribe Kalithindrathu. Eating ragi food.

Toddy Uggu perumalu White water, or good water.

ollaithanni.

Fowls Rendukal Naidu. The Naidu of two legs.

Mussalmans Arthupottavungo. Those who have cut

(circumcised).

Pariah Utharalu keenjalu. The man that pipes.

Butcher's knife Elamayarathe That for striking those

bottarathu. that graze leaves.

Rupees Palakanna. Milk eyes.

Ollakelluka. White pebbles.

Korava society is purely patriarchal, and, in whatever division or

sept of the caste a Korava may be born, he has to subordinate himself

to the will of his elders or the leaders of his particular gang. The

head of a gang is called the Peru Manusan or Beriya Manasan (big

man). He is selected principally because of his age, intelligence,

and the influence he commands amongst the members of the gang. It

is a post which carries with it no remuneration whatever, but the

holder presides at all consultations, and is given the position of

honour at all social functions.

Concerning the caste government, Mr. Fawcett writes that "the

kulam or caste assembly adjudicates claims, inflicts penalties,

ejects individuals from the caste, or readmits them thereto. Free

drinking of toddy at the expense of one of the parties accompanies

every caste assembly. It is the aggrieved party who gives notice for

assembly of the kulam. The disputants join hands, thereby indicating

to the kulam that their dispute should be decided by them. Each pays

one rupee. The kulam may decide the dispute at once, or adjourn

for further consideration at any time. The next meeting is called

the second joining of hands, when each pays one rupee, as before,

to be spent in toddy. A man who fails to attend when the kulam

has been convened loses his caste absolutely. If there is a third

adjournment, that is a third joining of hands, each side pays Rs. 3

1/2 for toddy, to keep the kulam in good spirits. As this is always

the final adjournment, the decision is sometimes arrived at by means

of an ordeal. An equal quantity of rice is placed in two pots of equal

weight having a quantity of water, and there is an equal quantity of

firewood. The judges satisfy themselves most carefully as to quantity,

weights, and so on. The water is boiled, and the man whose rice boils

first is declared to be the winner of the dispute. The loser is to

recoup the winner all his expenses. It sometimes happens that both

pots boil at the same time; then a coin is to be picked out of a

pot containing boiling oil. There is yet another method of settling

disputes about money. The amount claimed is brought by one party,

and placed beside an idol. The claimant is then asked to take it, and,

should nothing unpleasant happen to him or to his family afterwards,

he is declared to have made out his claim. The kulam has nothing

whatever to do with planning the execution of offences, but is

sometimes called upon to decide about the division of plunder, as,

for instance, when any member of a criminal expedition improperly

secretes something for himself. But they engage vakils (pleaders)

for defending members of the gang who are charged with a criminal

offence, whether they have been concerned in it or not."

There are a great many classes of Koravas, most of them obtaining

their names from the particular occupations they have followed as an

ostensible means of livelihood for many generations. But, whatever

they may call themselves, they all, according to Mr. Mainwaring,

fall within three divisions, viz.:--

1. Sakai, Sampathi, Sathupadi.

2. Kavadi or Gujjula.

3. Devarakonda, Mendrakutti, or Menapadi.

The members of the first two divisions are pure Koravas, the legitimate

descendants of Koravas who have never married outside the caste,

whereas the third division represents and includes the mixed marriages,

and the offspring thereof. The Koravas receive into their ranks members

of castes other than Paraiyans (including Malas and Madigas), Yanadis,

Mangalas, and Tsakalas. The ceremony of introduction into the Korava

community consists in burning the tongue with a piece of gold. The

Koravas have a strong objection to taking food touched by Medaras,

because, in their professional occupation of doing wicker-work, they

use an awl which resembles the tool used by Madigas in shoe-making. The

Koravas are said to be divided into two large families, which they call

Pothu and Penti, meaning male and female. All the families included

in the first division noted above are Pothu, and those in the second

Penti. The families in the third division, being the product of mixed

marriages, and the position of females being a lowly one, they are also

considered to be Penti. The Pothu section is said to have arisen from

men going in search of brides for themselves, and the Pentis from men

going in search of husbands for their daughters. When a Korava, male

or female, wishes to marry, a partner must be sought in a division

other than their own. For example, a Korava of the first division is

bound to marry a female belonging to the second or third division,

who, after marriage, belongs to her husband's division. This may be

a little hard on the women of the first division, because they are

bound to descend in the social scale. However, their daughters can

rise by marrying into the first division. For the purpose of religious

ceremonies, each division has fixed duties. The members of the first

division have the right of decorating the god, and dressing him in

his festival attire. Those of the second division carry the god and

the regalia in procession, and burn incense, and those of the third

drag the temple car, and sing and shout during its progress. For this

reason, it is said, they are sometimes called Bandi (cart).

"The major divisions," Mr. Paupa Rao Naidu writes, "are four in number,

and according to their gradation they are Sathepati, Kavadi, Manapati,

Mendragutti. They are all corrupted Tamil words.

"1. Sathepati is a corruption of Sathupadi, which means adorning

a Hindu deity with flowers, jewels and vestments.

"2. Kavadi, meaning a pole carried on the shoulders with two

baskets pendant from its ends, in which are contained offerings

for a deity or temple.

"3. Manapati is a corruption of Manpadi, which means singing in

praise of god, when He is worshipped in a temple.

"4. Mendragutti is a corruption of Menrikutti, which means

stitching a pair of shoes, and presenting them to the temple--a

custom still prevalent at Tirupati and other important shrines.

"Of these four divisions, the first two are, or rather were,

considered superior to the other two, a Kavadi man being styled

Pothuvadu (man), and a Sathepati man Penti (female)."